#and it does really seem that kisses are framed differently in thai series in general - whether queer or het

[projectjasper]

hiiii

i’ve only just started watching bb but i’m honestly so glad i waited i binged all 6 episodes last night and it was magnificent incredible showstopping the only thing i love more than enemies to lovers is enemies to rivals to frenemies to lovers to enemies to friends then back to lovers.

also im not joking i think i felt my soul leave my body during that kiss i was crying and shitting and sliding down the wall i was not expecting that at all im just a little bummed at the fact so many people keep saying that’s the only kiss like in the whole series i mean i’m not complaining at least we didn’t have to wait 12 weeks for it but it just kinda sucks to think about all the fluff we’re gonna be getting next week and knowing they might not kiss again i literally feel like i’m being edged

heey!! in some sense i am jealous of you, because binging bb was probably fucking incredible, but i do now welcome you to our wonderful community here, we are unhinged but super fun (and smart) during the week between the episodes 😌

as for kissing, it's honestly such a complex issue. because, on the one hand, at least in all the het series i know about, the couples don't really kiss that much either? i am not saying that there are absolutely no homophobic reasons for the attitude to kisses in bls, but it's also not exactly right to compare them to the way we see intimacy of queer relationships (and relationships in general) depicted in western media. on the other hand, queer intimacy is very important to show as a way to normalize it, and it's possibly even important to push the usual boundaries in order to make it seem as a regular normal occurrence in a relationship rather than a big deal.

i am going to be honest, there are some tropes with kissing that i have seen in bls before that i personally really don't like. whenever they do this awkward sort of build up to it, with the characters being constantly interrupted, it feels very weird to me. i also don't like when the whole series is built up to a kiss (unless the characters get together at the very end, obviously). and in general, i am very used to kisses being shown as something very constant and very casual, but then again, there is clearly a difference in how intimacy is portrayed in western media that i grew up with and specifically thai media that we are watching rn.

with bad buddy itself, i don't want to make any predictions or assumptions, for many reasons. but in light of everything i said, i do want everyone to remember that - even if maybe there is some gmm involvement somewhere in there - we do have a gay man working on this show, he is literally at the helm of it all, and i think he is going to deal with this in a proper way. and for all fellow westerners out there that grew up specifically on western media, i think we might lack some cultural context to this as well.

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL

Oct 2021 Wk 4

Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs.

Ongoing Series - Thai

My Mate Match (Line) Ep 3 - what a ridiculous show, they just did poly versions of crash into me, lie on the floor, AND carry baby to bed tropes with a completely straight face (rhetorical straight of course). I’m kinda glad it’s only 6 eps. Certainly, I couldn’t take a full run of this utter nonsense. On the flip side, we got actual kissing which I honestly was not expecting and I felt oddly embarrassed about, and then a confession which I definitely felt embarrassed about. Partly, I guess that’s because the conceit of the show means all these things always occur in front of a third person. Now if it were going to go genuinely poly I wouldn’t mind but I just don’t think Thailand is brave enough for that yet. On the other hand. What if they are? What if poly is where this show is headed? Wouldn’t that be AMAZING?   Also, anyone want to take bets on one of the semes being the owner of the house? 

Bite Me Ep 9 (Viki) - apparently the hets staged a hostile plot takeover (does the actress playing Eve look like Plustor Pronpiphat’s sister to you too?) Back to the BL: look I don’t get what’s going on, either. If they were going to throw in the rich guy faen fatal, why didn’t they bring him in a LOT earlier instead of the Eve character? Why is Aek so against Aue? It is just that he thought they were friends? And honestly at this juncture why does any character like Aek? He’s cute and all but does he have a personality apart from being a great cook? The audience is generally feeling betrayed and that’s fair. Aek has to have a damn good reason for acting the way he’s acting and SOON or this show won’t be able to redeem itself. Pity. 

NilunDon Ep 0 - is supposed to drop Sunday but I’m not sure where. Hopefully I’ll be able to report on it next week. 

Bad Buddy (YouTube) Ep 1 - oh it’s really flipping good. Much better than I was hoping and about what I expected. Trust Ohm and Nanon. The pacing is good too, I’m live blogging this one here. Watch it ‘cause it’s gonna sweep tumblr. 

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

My Sweet Dear (Korea - Viki) Ep 3-4 - waiting on subs is HARD with this one. Korea is being strategically tropey again with sing feelings (sigh), piggyback, carry baby to bed, and cooking for him (of course) all deployed in ep 3. I like a cocky/tsundere pairing plus the professional rivals thing, but the tsundere has to soften now as we’re at the halfway point. So far, no one has been given a reason to soften yet but fingers crossed they can redeem Mr Cocky with broken backstory, and our tsundere with a gooey center, even in such a short time frame. 

Vanishing My First Love AKA Kieta Hatsukoi (Japan - indie subbed) Ep 3 - MY BABIES! OMG another plot twist. Eeee so good. From love rivals to besties! How is this show so warm and fuzzy and cute? I’m getting the same vibe I got from Cherry Magic or Seven Days and this makes me very happy. Japan can turn on a yen though, so VMFL could go rotten fast but right now, it’s beyond adorable. (Did you notice Aida is played by Suzuki Jin? He’s the lead, Uenoyama, from Given! Completely different character, I almost didn’t recognize him.) Also the dog cuts = truly hilarious. ALSO they’re writing Ida as kind of ace/grey/demi and I really like that. Reminds me of Ae in Love By Chance. 

In Case You Missed It

TharnType 1 & 2 are now available on Viki. 

20 minutes of BTS footage from OhmFluke’s upcoming new drama (with subs) Oh! My Sunshine Night. It’s university set and seems to involve sports as well as music. And at least we know they’re shooting publicity for it. 

New Thai BL Restarted (AKA Restart(ed) AKA Re*Started AKA Re’Started) launched a fundraising trailer. (More on this show here, thanks @heretherebedork​.)  Looks like a sort of Top Secret Together meets Y-Destiny or En of Love. Clothing brand ClothLabel is their main backer (so this is a little like how Summerdaze or Ingredients came into existence - as a long form advertisement). Features 3 couples:

Supergay flirt & his friend who’s not as straight as either of them thought (whacha know this is kinda what I was just calling out for from SantaEarth)

Nerd baby (literally that’s what the voice-over called him dek nerd) meets (younger?) boy who wants to bring him out of his shell

Friend zone, roommates - dork meets hot boy, kinda a nice version of KhaiThird?

That title tho - fix your SEO boys, that game is a losing game. 

GOSSIP

Gaga is bring us a Taiwanese GL! Fragrance of the First Flower on Nov 12, 2021. This is very exciting! (But remember, Taiwan = no guarantee it will end happily. I don’t know about you but I’m still bitter over Handsome Stewardess.) 

Vietnamese BL Mr. Cinderella is coming Nov 28, 2021!!! 

Japanese BL (!!!) Utsukushii Kare is coming, possibly soon? (Thanks to @clairificusrex​ for the tip) This is adapted from a yaoi of the same name, so MDL has a plot description. It’s high school set and seems to be a grumpy/grumpy pairing with old school whipping boy (master/servant) trope. So that’ll be fun if they do it. Japan loves to serve us some kinky AF controversy. Anyway I speculate about the dynamic and talk about the casting here. It’s either gonna be amazing or a glorious mess. (Nov 18 says the twitters) 

Next Week Looks Like This:

Some shows may be listed later than actual air date for International subs accessibility reasons. Also I tend to put Sat/Sun stuff onto Mondays. 

Upcoming 2021 BL master post here. (many of these now looking unlikely to happen this year) 

Links to watch are provided when possible, ask in a comment if I missed something.

This week’s best moments?

[talkingbl]

The Good and Bad of Make It Right (MIR)

SPOILER WARNING. TW: rape, dubious consent, minors

I wasn't going to do this one for a number of reasons but honestly, my thoughts are so overwhelming that the review just wrote itself so...enjoy I guess

The Good:

FrameBook. If you've watched MIR, you had to know this would be king. Ohm is so incredibly gifted that even 15 year-old him had us all thinking Frame had genuine feelings for Book. Their intimacy just seems so natural at moments that it covers up some of the more amateurish aspects of Ohm's acting. But aside from the incredible chemistry Ohm is able to manufacture as Frame and the vulnerability Toey exuded as Book, it was the unconventional progression of their relationship from competitors (at least in matters of the heart) to lovers that made them so iconic.

Lukmo's character arc. As the series progresses, Lukmo becomes increasingly more sympathetic and is shown to be a loyal, loving friend. By the end of Season/Series 1, you're starting to get all the good parts of him and less of his obnoxious teen-boy "humor."

The first few episodes of TeeFuse. Tee is one of the better characters in this series and much of the charm of the series comes down to Boom's charismatic disposition, Tee's genuine and unquestioning interest in Fuse, and the way Fuse struggles with his feelings for Tee. Because MIR was made in a time before Thai BL tropes were really a thing, Fuse's struggles with accepting his feelings for Tee seem novel and are explored in a much more raw and almost childish way. This inner struggle is different from, for example, that of Pick in Puppy Honey because instead of becoming homophobic, Fuse's mulling over and ultimate acceptance is largely portrayed as more of general indecision and curiosity on his part. Specifically, indecisiveness about whether to break up with his girlfriend. Of course the internalized homophobia is part of why he doesn't accept his feelings for Tee, but not only does he not constantly vocalize it (and no, being in denial about being gay isn't *necessarily always* synonymous with homophobia), but his rejection of Tee also comes largely as a consequence of his already having been in a relationship with Jean.

Most of the actors are the same age as their characters. This roots the world the story takes place in and, by (most likely unintentional) extension, serves as an escape from all of the toxic standards set by shows that cast ripped 28 year-olds to play high school seniors.

The communication between all the couples at one point or another is some of the best in BL. With the notable exception of late series TeeFuse, all the couples have moments of brilliance where communication errors in a typical Romance show would completely ruin the relationships between couples. In MIR, the process of solving communication-related problems is either given realistic development or doesn't need development in the first place due to characters immediately solving any issues that could stem from miscommunication.

Yok as a concept. The fact that he is a main character and is more on the femme side (and has a best friend who is also quite femme) feels like a revolutionary step forward in Thai BL (until you realize it never really happens again 🙃).

The Bad:

FrameBook. This relationship literally should not exist. Its beginning is worse than even TharnType. And it's not really that you can't have characters experience trauma like rape in stories at all, it's just that you shouldn't then downplay it dramatically and then make the rapist a sympathetic character...

Lukmo. I fucking hated this guy at the beginning lmao. He's homophobic, colorist, gross, annoying, and just an all-around asshole. He had 0 redeemable qualities until he saw TeeFuse kiss

TeeFuse. Ch- I just- So Tee rapes a drunken Fuse and its effects are played for laughs, and then they spend the better part of the season not actually being together with Fuse just being completely indecisive about what he wants and Tee just?? doing whatever the hell with discount Saint Suppapong for a couple of eps to, I guess, move on from Fuse? I don't know girl the whole thing was just weird to me.

Most of the actors are the same age as their characters. So let's just address the elephant in the room that all of these kids behaved like adults at some point in the story...ESPECIALLY Frame, Tee and Fuse. This is quite controversial because while it's not out of the ordinary for teen shows to showcase its characters grappling with the complexities of sexual relationships, it is if the actors playing those characters are themselves teenagers. Peak would've been no older than 16 when he began filming for MIR, Ohm no older than 15, and Boom 14-15. And they were not just hinting at sex scenes but actually showcasing foreplay in their scenes.. I understand that it is normal/natural and am not necessarily saying teens can't portray teen issues, I'm just saying that some of it can be seen as a bit much given these guys' ages. Not to mention the fact that the entire approach to sex was very unrealistic. Like, the idea that Book and Fuse would basically be in severe pain for days after having sex just shows a lack of basic knowledge on how average human bodies work and the safe/enjoyable ways to engage in penetrative sex. But beyond the general unsafeness of the sex are some of the ideas that the show portrays as normal in teen relationships that are completely unrealistic--though I find that the most egregious levels of unrealism come in Make It Right 2.

The toilet humor reached new levels of gross with this one.

The casual colorism is just all over the place and is, in fact, one of the main character's primary motivations for befriending another main character (thinking of Rodtang and Fuse here). In fact, I stopped watching MIR 3 times mere minutes into the first episode after Fuse talks about his sister's line of whitening serums. The incessant worship of white skin (and consequent down-putting of dark skin) from multiple characters at several points throughout the show is not only extremely problematic but actually annoying.

The concept of "to get over a girl date a guy" is not even actually the joke it seems to be in this series and is, in fact, played as a legitimate coping strategy. The main problem I have with this is that none of the guys who use this strategy are ever actually interested in men before they try this out. They are painted as straight boys who can magically turn gay at the drop of a hat and, seeing as how it is never refuted, this is dangerous messaging.

I have like a thousand very complicated thoughts on this show but this is a good gist I think. So....yeah.