#and we know puen is like that because of REASONS

[chinzillas]

PUENxTALAY - ⌛VICE VERSA (2022)  Just let me cry a little bit longer I ain't gon' smile if I don't want to Hey, man, we all can't be like you I wish we were all rose-colored too My rose-colored boy

[bengiyo]

Hidden Agenda: Zo Experienced The Knowing

I was tagged by @respectthepetty this morning in her post about Zo and how much damage Puen did to him. At the end of the post she mentioned that Zo probably Knew who he was this whole time. I want to talk about the timing of this reveal, what it means for this kind of show, and how I feel about it.

I have admittedly been struggling with this show. I think Dunk is often a little hard for me to read, and I often wish that he hadn’t been given such an internal character to play. However, I think the team may be using that to their advantage to cloud our ability to read Zo. 

Zo began the series in a debate with Joke about how people need to be honest about their feelings before going into a relationship with someone, and he’s been nervous to approach Nita. We’ve also seen him showing dismay about possibly being a bad mentor to Pok, along with his general reticence to Joke’s advances. I think I’ve decided that I’m okay with the show recontextualizing much of what we’ve seen before, but I don’t generally like it. Sure, it rewards those who pay close attention, but there’s too much going on for me to do an extensive rewatch to see those scenes again in a new light. However, I like it for queer reasons. 

What fascinates me about our sudden reread of Zo as a Known Gay (placeholder term I use for everyone; Zo hasn’t identified himself; let me have fun) is we watched Zo go through this during their Chiang Khan trip when he realized Pok was seeing Jeng. At that time I only read Zo as concerned with being read as homophobic by his junior who couldn’t come out to him, but now it’s even sadder because Zo was not only concerned about being seen as homophobic he was also not being seen as a member of the community. 

The constant concern he expresses is that he’ll make people uncomfortable. He’s afraid to approach Nita, and has a huge panic when a not-date doesn’t exactly go over well with her. I thought this was part of his confused feelings for Joke, but it’s also about how Zo doesn’t trust himself in romance because of what Puen did. I feel especially sad for Zo because Puen messed him up so badly that he can’t even pursue an opposite-sex romance with confidence either. I felt like a part of Zo hoped that things would be easier if there wasn’t a gay component to the romance and yet he’s still feeling weird and uncertain.

As for whether Zo suffered The Knowing, I am not sure how far back Zo Knew. I can’t tell from his interactions with his mom, but it’s clear from his scenes with Puen and the matter-of-fact way he describes what happened to Joke that he had put a lot of thought into his feelings for Puen at the time. So, because of the way Puen’s actions continue to impact Zo, he goes on the board.

I'm at least relieved that as @justafriend-ql pointed out in her reblog that confirming that Puen did like him, and it wasn't all in Zo's head, allowed him to finally enjoy a moment with a guy he likes and who clearly likes him.

[blmpff]

No, because I'm still stuck on Aob and Puen.

I get this scene, we haven't believed in Aob's cold facade for a while/ever. He'd caught feelings for Puen whether he liked it or not, and for unknown (underwritten) reasons tried to brush them off/ignore them and keep Puen at arm's length.... so to speak:

This one is understandable for the same reasons as listed above, he has (actively repressed) feelings for Puen and doesn't want to interact with him sexually and/or see him that way with other people, so he walks away:

Now where did this lovely-dovey, high school style piggy backing later that very same day came from?? Did seeing Puen with Ndozenth client suddenly broke his shyness and tore down his walls to make a move on him??

There was no backstory on either of them (Puen attends the rich kids uni, and the sport's scholarship money isn't enough hence the side gig as Playboyy, that's it), we don't know any reasons for their actions, they get the least time and what they do get barely holds together (Aob is the Top Playboyy and had to teach Puen the ropes, period). Are they casualties of the writing room or the editing room?

I'm with @italianpersonwithashippersheart's tags on this post that they probably suffered due to rewrites, which is a shame and also really sticks out. Like I said in the linked post, the promotional posters gave the impression that Nuth and Phop will probably have the least to do with the plot (even despite the "?"),

why is the two guys from one of the two main groups then.

It's giving hard "pair up the leftovers" and "we don't know what to do with you" vibes. I wonder if it'll change in the future, there are still 6 episodes ahead of us.

[stormyoceans]

Can i kindly redirect your attention to the fact that Talay easily caught Puen and held him without problems around the waist like 👀 Something tells me this is not the first time it happened

YOU CAN AND YOU SHOULD BECAUSE I /KNOW/ THAT HAS HAPPENED BEFORE 👀👀👀

and like not to be that person but im obsessed with how everyone involved in this show decided that top/bottom discourse is stupid and that the only reason puentalay is called like that is because it rolls off the tongue better than talaypuen. p'x kicked the door open the first day of workshop like LISTEN UP PEOPLE. WE'RE MAKING THESE BOYS SWITCHES. THEY BOTH LIKE TO MANHANDLE AS MUCH AS THEY LIKE TO BE MANHANDLED AND I WANT EVERYONE TO KNOW ABOUT IT. one employee in the background timidly raising their hand and going like but how are we gonna do that if we gotta keep things PG-13. jimmy heard that and went like CHALLENGE ACCEPTED meanwhile p'x had already pulled up a 23 pages power point presentation on HOW TO USE TROPES TO VISUALLY SHOW THAT YOUR CHARACTERS ARE VERSES

[lukaherehelp]

Playboyy EP1 - "Sex is about everyone"

PART 1

okey, let's get it:

The fountain a la WAP really fits the show, ain't going to lie.

Something tells me that Zouy liked/likes Nant, idk why. Like, they are showing us that Zouy and Nant were pretty close and Nant was definetly a safe space for Zouy for everything, sex talk included. September 15th, 2022 - what was your wish, Zouy?

"Pacebook". I love this show, I swear. Now, the video is posted on the 18th although the video is from a year ago, but also: First's comment asking "where are you? are you coming to class?" was made 2 weeks ago. So... Nant went missing at the beginning of 3rd year.

as I said before, hilarious that Zouy and Jade share the same laptop, "Deadline is faster than Karma" is the true collegue/uni experience!

The parallels to OF are strong but I'm not going to go deep into it. A little tmi: I'm a virgin, I'm not ashame of it and never will be. On contrary to Zouy (and Mew) I'm lucky to have friends since my high school years that never cared neither pressured me into changing this about me. As everyone fuckin should. And that's the commentary both shows are doing on this. But we are going to focus on Playboyy here. Zouy pointing out that Porche, Captain and First being so on the nose about each others sex lifes is the reason Nant went missing, is a really valid point. This group probably met each other on 1st year, so at 18 years old. That's still an age were you can easily sucumb to pressure from your "friends" whom are just giving "friendly advice", while you are trying to "fit in". But it can get you into serious trouble. Porsche, Captain and First are finding out now that their "harmless" behaviour can lead to bad things happening to others only because these others (Nant and Zouy) wanna "fit in" with the group with them.

Feeling all those eyes on you, even if they are "friendly", is a heavy burden.

Now, the whole scene with Jump was highly amusing at the begining, but when it came the time to be Jump and Zouy to be alone, it was painful to watch for the same reason I just talked about but also gives us more insight on Zouy's relationship with sex: he's not ready to get physical yet but he still gets horny like the rest of the lads in this household (everyone is horny 24/7, I love them)

baby boy was so out of his element, come here, let me wrap you in a blankie. is okey.

Now, I must say: Him asking Jump to pose like Rose in Titanic IS FUCKIN HILARIOUS. PEAK ART CLICHÉ. He really said "I want to paint you like one of my french girls" and I almost busted a lung laughing.

I feel like this is some random model drawing, not Nant. But I could be wrong.

Another moment that knocked the air out of my lungs: Porche and Captain walking on Zouy and First. CAN WE PLEASE START LOCKING THE FUCKIN DOORS? DIDN'T WE LEARNED FROM VENUS IN THE SKY?!

This "punishment" is not effective at all but deeply amusing.

Zouy comments again how uncomfortable this makes him and I feel so sorry for him. I know the rest are just trying "to help" but they are not helping at all. Their behaviour got Nant into trouble in the first place and Zouy clearly doesn't wanna end like him as well...

Now, the demon @respectthepetty has teached us well about color and I wanna point out:

Zouy's backack is yellow... and so is Teena's bike

Also, lowkey introducing us to Keen. Captain gets so distracted side-eyeing him that he ends up bumping into Puen. And it adds another problem: the rich kids don't like the scholarship students.

They know what they are doing...

... and I thank them for it *cue chrome arts by onlyoneof*

See, this is when I started loosing my shit:

Sir, we get it, you are hot af, BUT 5FT WAY PLEASE, WE JUST MET.

fuckin hell Kaowoat, you are a beautiful man, lord have mercy on me.

I'm going to end up with a collection of this three and there reactions, am I not?

I'LL CONTINUE ON ANOTHER POST.

[respectthepetty]

Joke, what happened in high school?

I have absolutely no faith in Director Tee or his crew to deliver anything in Hidden Agenda's finale because I have watched all of his other shows and know he loses plots like they're loose change in his car, but . . .

I still think we are getting a time jump (beyond the three months one)

There is something about this scene in the preview that feels like a "goodbye" to me.

And it's all because of the forehead touch because it's not a kiss.

Zo tells his mom that he doesn't want to get sidetracked, and she reminds him to keep people around who support him. He is also looking dressed up kind of like he had an interview or something (to go aboard?!)

The show has harped on getting what you want if you work hard at it. The wall art reads "If you work towards goals everything is achievable" and "Winners are losers who failed and gave it one more try" and the topics of the debate were "success is the fruit of hard work" and "are you the master of your own fate?"

Joke has proven that working hard to get what he wants paid off since he wanted Zo and got him, but he looks bothered, perhaps because Zo is about to get what he worked hard for - a chance to study abroad.

Joke goes to visit his family, alone apparently, in his "Have a new idea" sweater

But Zo shows up to witness Joke crying.

In my colors theory, Zo is yellow (light), and Joke is red (dark), but for some reason blue kept popping up,

So it's odd that Joke is surrounded by his red family while a little blue guy chills over his heart.

Joke has a secret, and the dad felt some type away about it.

I keep whining that someone Joke loved left (died) and he feels he is to blame because he is too protective of Zo. He has issues with his family, and I don't think it's solely because he is gay.

Joke cried when he saw his mom was proud of him, but Joke has family trauma.

And it started in high school.

So my guess is he had a Zo x Puen and Trin x Wave situation happen to him as well, which is hasn't told Zo about.

Possibly because he reacted violently as he tends to do, which is why he was so hostile towards Zo their freshmen year when he felt he wasn't being heard.

But is this secret going to ruin them?

I doubt it,

but I want that time jump bad enough that I'm kind of praying it does.

@slayerkitty, I completely agree with you 100%. I'm happy we both came to the same conclusion, and let's hope Tee gives us a reason for all of Joke's behavior in the finale.

Tee is going to drive me insane!

[mygwenchan]

The Playboyys and the baddie bunch are reunited at last and as @scarefox has already mentioned, this scene with the still unconscious Puen does indeed look like a renaissance painting :)

Porche finally sees reason and decides it is time for him and Jump to run away together! Jump is still skeptical, but other than killing Jason, they really don't have another choice, I think

The police arrive and Nont has to face the reality that he bit off more than he can chew. Jason and the whole thing with Nant is simply too big for him alone to handle. Sadly the police doesn't seem to be interested in pursuing the case either. But well... I bet Nont's dad isn't the only one who can pay them off and tell them to do (or not do) stuff. Wouldn't be surprised if Jason also has police officers who work for him

And we're getting a bit political! Yeah... if you have enough money you can simply pay off the police and get away with whatever crime you've committed.

On the other hand, Nont... darling, I don't hink you want the police to look into the whole thing, because that would mean pretty much all of you would end up in jail for one thing or another (I mean, Porche even killed someone just a few minutes ago, so...)

We get a new bit of information about Nant! After Nant left Hotel Harvey, Jason's men found him and took him with them. Meaning that Nant was probably held captive by Jason this whole time! Idk if it even matters anymore, why exactly Jason wanted to kill Nant. Fact is, unless Nant escaped from him, Jason is the reason why Nant is dead.

Yeah, it's definitely better to be on Nont's side! He and his army of twinks could take down a whole syndicate no problem lol

Hmm, the "master's house": Is that a new location or one we already know? 🤔 In any case, must be in close proximity to the Playboyy lounge and Teena's old dorm

Ugh, poor Nont. It's been a rough day for him ;;

[sunshinechay]

Not gonna lie, I do like the twist that the gang finds out Nont isn’t Nant early on in the series.

As much as I love the “twin takes the other’s place secretly” trope (Not Me and Twins my beloved) there honestly was no reason for Nont not to tell them now.

Porsche may be sus af but I’m starting to think it’s just sus in a usual way (bitchy little asshole who will sell you to Satan for one corn chip) and not in a “I killed Nant and I’m trying to be super cool about the fact that his look alike showed up unexpectedly”.

I’m not sure if Nuth did it either to be honest. He seems like a red herring if ever I saw one but I don’t know who else it could be.

I’m also tentatively ruling out Aob as the actual murderer but not as any kind of mastermind/co-conspirator for the same reason I’m ruling out Soong for now. The murder doesn’t have any noticeable tattoos while both Aob and Soong do. And again, it’s only a tentative ruling out, that could change. Plus Aob is way to muscular to be the murderer (the fact that that is part of my evidence).

It’s pretty clear that Prom had/has some kind of feelings for Nant, though with what little evidence we have, I think it’s more likely that he is developing feelings for Nont rather than Nant. As well, he didn’t have a dog mask which I think is also important. He could have gotten rid of it but somehow I don’t think he did.

Captain had a vested interest in keeping Nant alive. He was selling the clips that Nant was filming. Why kill your source if in come. Plus, Captain is way too smart to film himself killing Nant.

Do Keen or Puen even know who Nant is?

Finally, Zouey is turning out the be exactly what was said on the tin for him. The naive virgin in over his head and falling for a boy he has no business falling for. Plus I’ll bet my last nickel he had a massive crush on Nant. While him murdering Nant could explain he fear of sex, he seems to have other reasons that First at the very least knows what it is.

So having seen a few episodes my suspect list is narrowed down to (for now):

- Teena (unlikely but still a candidate)

- Jump (also unlikely but still possible because he has the smallest connection to Nant, could change very quickly)

- Nuth (again I think he might be a red herring but I digress it could still be him)

- Phop (if you think I’m ruling out the guy who “bought” Nant’s laptop then you are wrong)

-Porsche (again I think he’s just kind of sus in the usual way, not the murderer kind of way but alas)

And my dark horse of this competition:

- First (highly unlikely but I’m not ruling him out completely)

[autisticbokutoenthusiast]

ep 6 playboyy rewatch stray thoughts

- not gaga auto jumping to nont and jump 👀 guess i rewatch that scene often….

- headlines: someone making noise complaint was killed, drunk partygoer shoots friend, i heard “lgbtq” but didn’t see subs about it…, leaked photos of elites partying on a. yacht with drugs and women

- the section in english is interesting is this a convo between nuth aob and puen?

- i feel like we don’t talk about this aobpuen scene enough….

ep 6 the truth is a glass of wine

- here we have the framing of the baddies but porsche is always cropped out

- zouey being like “we should throw a party” and first and captain immediately start discussing which animals to dress as. i see you

- kerjiejr nont like can yall be serious we are not having an animal themed party…. the theme will be sexy sleepwear skdjrkkrrjjr

- captain is such a menace akjsjdjsjejr wait why are his nails so long i thought he played rugby

- ZOUEYTEENA i’m popping them in my mouth

- is this rooftop the baddies? like what doesn’t their house have damn

- porsche being a menace for no reason

- get it tutor!! yes jump suck that boobie!!

- jump is so tired free my mans jdjdjdjjd on the phone sucking and moaning like it better be teena on the other line

- the sunglasses JUMP HAS CHAIN NECKLACE

- aob can do anything except role playing he’s in love with puen… aobpuen enthusiasts we are so back

- i can’t pretend to be in love with you because be- because because you’re not pretty… enough!!!

- aob crying scene oh i forgot…

- aob also in a chain necklace aurrrkay

- nont on the verge of just giving up

- promnont scene of all time “sex doesn’t change you, just reveals things… is there anything you want to reveal”

- jump walking into the party pointing at prom and walking away my autistic meow meow if this production. he also lookin like a whole meal

- first is so fucking dramatic skdjjdkd if jejdjjg

- why are you toasting me we’ve accomplished jack shit go solve the fucking murder

- it’s the way porsche zouey and prom have similar outfits….

- nonts boots don’t go with the rest of the fit… i’m sorry but it’s true. still love this fit tho

- captain is a FUCKING MENACE kaksjdjd that’s my boy

- discord peeps who said teena had sadistic sex with jason…. i’m starting to think yall are right

- zouey kinda taken himself out here cause he tried to have sex with teena and jump like now look where we are zouey you should have asked a different question skdjdjjdjfj

- wtf is going on with the belly button on captain rn 🤨

- why jump and keen kinda eyeing eachother up a ton like ok…

- PROM AND NONT YOURE FIRST SCENE TOGETHER NONT WORE A MASK PUT YOUR FINGIES DOWN

- i’m obsessed with jump teena soong hanging out also them all teasing jump for being a himbo i love them

- FIRST HAS BEEN STANDING ANGSTILY ON A CHAIR THIS WHOLE TIME AKDJJDJDJRJD

- does jump know jason is the daddy….

- “if we play more games we’ll definitely know” <- me when i’m about to be proven wrong skdjdjjr

- jump and teena hyping eachother up im gonna screammmmmm oh proms there too?!?!?!

- jump in the bg is killing me he’s so fucking funny

- i’m jumping on the teena can’t dance train yall im gonna roast tf outta this boy

- teena straight jamming through all the drama ekktkkrjjt teena is the only character in a romcom im obsessed with him

- teena got thr puppy dog eyes out someone help my man

- “you can choose to be masculine but be awful or be a pussy and not hurt people” ok zouey

- and teena returns to heal position

- captainkeen the only ones who understand the assignment of this game aksjjdkdk

- hold on what goes on with zoueys jacket….

- zouey first and teenasoong being chaotic besties yessss

- jump also understood the assignment

- “twins are so identical” always takes me out like he just says what comes to mind but this is the thing that makes nont want to burn him alive

- jump seems into the wax play before nont starts… being nont…. so noted

- nant appears to at least 3 characters as haunting visions…. aurrrrkay

- the lighting in this nuthphop scene is absolutely fantastic

- prom being so worried for porsche….

- porsche tells prom “if he finds out you gave nant his money he will kill both of you…” which might not mean anything but also….

- phop in his pearls and chains

- oh nuth…..

- nont really loves masks like ok

- here we go captain being a menace

- it’s soongs room?!??!? what?!?! do they all live in the same abandoned hotel?!?!? do they not run into eachother?!?!?!

- captain being a menace again skdjdis

- the bloody handprint still fascinates me

- poor nuth once again. kinda obsessed with nuth going through it in the corner and phop just continuing on. like it’s probably an average day for them…….

- nuthphop enthusiasts how we feeling… who else feels like they’re about to pass out…

- i’m kinda obsessed with the turn of events. like nuth being like i just got got on vid cam cause i was trying to be horny about the fact you made me so jealous i wanted to kill you…. wanna be my bf?

- i love this scene actually….

[miss0atae]

Random thoughts about Playboyy the series ep 13:

I can't believe we are already at the 13th episode. I spent 13 weeks with these boys and watched their antics!

Again I thought things happened a bit too fast for my liking, but it's okay. I imagined they would face only terrible and tragic things, however, I believe the outcome is in their favour.

▪️Nont and Prom have a weird dynamic. I believe they kind of like role play a bit too much. Playing tragic lovers but ended up kissing and professing their love for each other. They are so dramatic. I still believe Prom is mostly a character who stands there and looks good (the expression in my first language sounds so much better than in English --") but their couple grew on me, thanks to their fans on this website.

▪️Nont is struggling with his latest decisions because he endangered several people close to him and Zouey (who never missed a change to rightly scold everyone) told him he can't consider them friends if he never really cares about their well being in his quest of truth and revenge. I don't like the preachy attitude of Zouey, but I can admit he is always good at making people ponder about what they are doing. He is the best therapist for most of these characters.

▪️Puen is alive and mostly well. Yeah! Last week, I was afraid he was dead. Now, Aob and him must hide from Jason Lee and they found shelter at the boys' house. First helped them settle. Again, I decided I'm not a fan of them individually but as a couple, I believe they are meant to be. I hope they will get the chance to be happy and free from Jason's wrath. Turns out, Aob never found Nant so all this torture from last week was for nothing.

▪️We still haven't learnt about the video Phop found on Nuth's computer. We just know it has something to do with Nant and it happened around the time he faked his death. Nuth wants to move on and be able to enjoy a quiet life with Phop. They are a couple I really like since their conversation about the struggles they face even inside their own community. I'm glad Nuth never decided to get full psycho on Phop as I feared several episodes ago. I need them to be able to leave their problems away and move on to another chapter of their lives. However, I don't like this last drug deal Nuth wants to do for Jason. It smells like bad news and terrible outcomes. Also, why does he not want to give the video to Nont? I want to see this video!

▪️Zouey was so suspicious in the previous episode, but we never got anything from it in this one. Is it going to happen in the last episode? Is he really hiding something? Apart from that I just can't stand him. I don't even have a good reason. I feel bad because I read many posts about him and what he is bringing to the story. The message he is sharing and how important it is. Unfortunately, his character is really unlikeable for me. He always sounds judgy to me.

▪️Porsche, Jump and Tutor worked together to help Jump be free of Jason by faking his death. I knew he couldn't be dead. I just didn't expect Tutor to help the couple because of the history he shared with them. Jump also insisted on the fact it would change nothing since he wants to only be with Porsche. I had to say bye-bye to my idea of them being a throuple. It would have been a very toxic throuple, but they would have made it, in my version of the story ����. Nont also learnt about this and he now wants to team up with them to take down Jason. Nont is incapable of doing nothing. He is a very goal-driven person.

▪️Now let's talk about Keen. I understood he wanted to get back at Captain because of the videos and consequences. However, I don't get why he is still pretending to be in love with him? He got him expelled and Captain didn't suspect him to be behind it. He should just break up with him and move on. He told Captain he would still help me get to his dream of being a professional athlete... For what reason? Their couple is so dysfunctional. Will Captain learn the truth in the next episode or will he forever be in the dark? I can't see them being happy together after everything.

Next week we'll be the last episode. It's almost the end. 🥹

[hurlumerlu]

As usual, badly put together thoughts on Playboyy episode 5 under the cut :

My main thought on this episode is how heavy on melancholy it was. It was a lot less funny and dramatic and a lot more, idk. contemplative ? or at least that's how it felt to me. Also a lot more unsettling, we are definitely not playing anymore. Funnily enough, this gravitas is pretty close to what I hoped for when I started Playboyy, but now that I actually have it I feel wrongfooted and unsure. Which is great ! I've always enjoyed shows where I didn't know what I was in for before starting an episode (perhaps a little too much) and I appreciate the unease.

Related to the above : I like that the Nuth & Phop scenes are packed with tender moments (the piggyback, the very begining of the shaving scene, "haha i'm halucinating him :D/i'm right there", waking up in each other's arms) amidst the constant current of dread. It helps lay out the reasons Phop comes back (drugs aside) on an emotional level, and it also makes the peaks in tension that much stronger because you keep waiting for the other shoe to drop and because it could be sweet ! it could. it's good suspense.

Honnestly the fact that Nuth has been so strongly established as suspect n°1 when we're only in episode 5 makes me really doubt that he is, for lack of a better term, our Big Bad. Which does not mean I think of him as an innocent little sweetheart (don't pay people in drugs is imo a pretty low bar and he couldn't even clear that) and he absolutely had something to do with Nant's troubles, but I feel like there is something else at play. Could be way off though ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Unpopular opinion probably but I worry for him too. He does not seem well ! He also doesn't seem to have much of a support system ! If this all ends badly - if it already has, for Nant, because of him - I don't think I'll be able to shake off the feeling that it all could have been avoided.

Please don't kill Phop please don't kill Phop please don't kill Phop

Other characters I would like to not see die are Nont (very much so), Soong, and Jump. (and Puen because I play favourites) the others are fair game for me not because I don't like them but because I can see multiple narrative payoffs for their death. It all depend on how it's done. (honnestly I can also imagine narrative payoffs for Nont's death, and worse endings for him than death, but. uh. I'll be gutted for sure)

Since I mentioned Soong - I told myself I would not gripe about this but I am absolutely going to gripe about this : how did Nont convince him to drink/take drugs with him ? Did he think this was Nant ? it was all very weird and I did not get how we got for point a to point c. You could argue it doesn't matter but it's the kind of things that matters to me ! Anyway, moving on :

Soong keeps having a bad time. And I'm sure many would say he deserved it, but as I'm not generally interested in characters getting their just deserts (unless it's funny) I'm still mostly feeling kinda sad for the guy, in an awkward sort of way

I'm sorry I said Nont was not good at threatening people. turns out he's just not good at threatening people with sharp objects. He's disturbingly into it when it comes to fire though ! (but also Nont baby you're gonna burn your thumb)

Zouey & Teena were very cute. So where Zouey & First trying to investigate Soong.

You know who isn't cute ? Porche. I want to sit that boy down and have a loooong talk with him. It probably wouldn't help but someone has to try.

Anyway we knew that already but the fact that none of these rich little fuckers where willing to help Nant out when they could easily have pooled their money... with friends like these, honnestly.

This may have been a wake up call for Captain ? wait and see I guess.

Captain and Puen being on good enough terms that Captain told him everything about the fake sex tape is interesting. I'm still really interested in their dynamic !

Look. Puen was so charming (and charmed) all episode and Aob was so prickly, it's hard for me not to get into the relationship that is dangled in front of us (and I didn't try). However everytime I watch this series I think of Love Conquers All (2006) and its ironic-ass title, so I look at every single relationships promised by this show with doubt and mistrust

SPEAKING OF WHICH : lmao @Prom and his little evil smile. control your face, sir.

But I still believe he didn't know why Nant was missing, so I wonder what he was smiling evily for. Plenty of options to chose from though ! Maybe he just wants to get back at the ex-playboyys for asserting their independence, which would be bad enough, but I doubt that's all. Oh well, we'll see !

Last thought : I could have sworn I saw the bottom of a brazilian flag in one of Nuth and Poph scene but I can't find it again :(

[bengiyo]

BL/QL ASK GAME : THE UGLY, THE BAD AND THE WORST

I was tagged by @clara-maybe-ontheroad on some fandom asks in a tag game. I normally don't think this hard about things I don't like, but here we go.

Worst soundtrack / weirdest song choice in a BL

Remember Me. It was horrible.

Most cringe-inducing line (cute)

Probably “Kiss you until you drop.” Sarawat is low-key a gay disaster. I still find it endearing.

Most cringe-inducing line (actually bad)

“I’ll make you my wife.” I know the Kongpob line was a big deal, but I’m still not into it.

Most stupid decision made by a character

Probably Pat’s decision to help Wai since he got shot for it. Also Teh giving up his spot for Oh-aew.

Worst plot line

I’m still salty about it, so the stupid fucking amnesia plot in Minato’s Laundromat 2.

The most problematic show you've watched

Honestly, it’s Handsome Stewardess because of the IPV and the way it was handled.

A show people love but you find bad

Probably Star in My Mind and Sky in Your Heart?

A show people find bad but you will defend

Right now? Wedding Plan. Historically? Make It Right.

A show that is just objectively bad but you enjoyed it

Rainbow Prince

A bad show that you kept watching because you were intrigued/fascinated

Low Frequency

A bad show that you kept watching because you were horny

‘Cause You’re My Boy because Frank and Drake had that.

A bad show that you kept watching because of that one character

Ocean Likes Me for Holland’s character.

A bad show that you would still recommend

Once Again. It was kind of difficult, but it executed its themes well.

The character that ruined a show the most

Puen in Vice Versa.

Most awful character that you hated

PLERN PLENG from Together Wtih Me. I know @negrowhat and @lurkingshan got my back on this one.

Most awful character that you loved

Green from 2gether. Gun deserved and still deserves better.

A character that wasn't awful but that you just don't like

I don’t like Dr. Sing in Triage that much.

A hero that should have been a villain

Is this where I dig at Tharntype?

A morally bad character you're into

Zhou Zi Shu from Word of Honor

A morally bad character you're not into and you wish people would stop being into

Vegas from KinnPorsche

The show that disappointed you the most

Bite Me

The Worst Show of Them All Because of Your Own Reasons

The Shipper and My Extraordinary

I don't think I'll tag anyone specific, but if we've been chatting about BL since before 2gether, I wanna know your answers.

[stormyoceans]

it hasn't been that long but as I said vv brainrot will never let you go. I didn't catch it in ep 1 but ep 2, I was just crazy about puentalay dynamics that mork and day radiated.

you can't understand me (day to mork, puen to talay)

why are you shirtless (poor talay asked about it more than once)

get out of my room (tess-talay expelling puen)

how old are you (not again, guys)

you don't want to know what I look like (I'm already dreaming of vice versa, sure)

watching a movie and wasted food that ended up on the floor (poor staff who have to clean it up again)

scary huh (puentalay are here and no one will convince me, even the way day pushed mork gives puentalay)

calling day (calling talay in the ambulance)

after an argument, someone tells the character sea where to look for the character jimmy (neo; namtan)

a ride on a moped (thank god for the absence of yamaha)

mork talks at the aquarium in a soft voice (as if jigsaw is standing nearby)

we have to give the fish a name (let's call the palette by your name - rawi palette)

the way day got nervous after mork's words about loneliness reminded me of puen and talay's date at a jazz restaurant, where puen said he remembered all the lines of the "mascot of friends credits", talay was so nervous at that moment

IT MAY NOT HAVE BEEN THAT LONG BUT VICE VERSA BRAINROT ANON MY BELOVED I'VE MISSED YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!!!

i agree with you that during episode 1 there weren't that many moments that reminded me of vice versa, tho i have to admit i did not quite realized just how many things puen and mork have in common. jimmy really sees a bisexual character with dead parents who gets arrested at least once throughout the show and looks at sea's character with a love so deep and encompassing it strikes you almost like a physical blow to the gut and he's like THAT'S MY TRUE CALLING (also fun fact for anyone who doesn't know it: in the vice versa novel puen has a sister too)

EPISODE 2 THO!!!!!!!!!!! YOU ARE SOOOO RIGHT PUENTALAY'S SPIRITS WERE THERE I FELT THEM IN THE EARTH I FELT THEM IN THE AIR AND THEY GOT ME SOBBING ON MY KNEES!!!!!!! THE MOVIE SCENE WAS SO INSANE LIKE THAT PLAYFULNESS?????? THAT'S JUST PUENTALAY IN A NUTSHELL!!!!!!!!! you honestly got so many parallels, some of which i didn't even think about (THE 'MORK YELLING FOR DAY AND PUEN YELLING FOR TALAY' ONE HAD ME CRAWLING THROUGH SHARDS OF GLASSES THANKS FOR REMINDING ME), but may i also submit to your consideration:

mork looking around day's room vs talay looking around puen's (well, tun's) room (and interesting enough, both contain a sort of aquarium) [WATER MOTIF MY BEST FRIEND WATER MOTIF]

mork giving day a jasmine flower vs puen giving talay lotus flowers (in multiple occasions)

MEANINGFUL GIFTS!!!!!!!!!

shirts with meanings!!!!!!!!!

ALSO LISTEN. GMMTV can pry 'mork' from my cold dead hands but if there's one reason im willing to allow the 'mhok' transliteration is because of THIS

AND THEN THEY WENT AND ALSO MADE JIMMY PLAY MEK IN PLOY'S YEARBOOK LIKE AT THIS POINT THEY'RE DOING IT ON PURPOSE FR ✋😭

[moonchildridden]

hey, I hope your day is going well. I’m curious to know your top 5 favorite bl series/movie

Hey love, my day is going fine, and I hope yours as well. So...this question took me a while to get an answer because my top 5 changes a bit after I watch some series and it's difficult for me to get a definitive and solid set of series that I would kill to watch again and again, non stop. But I got it...I guess (this is for series that already finished airing and based on some that are still airing and I really like it, this list can change at any moment)

5. Bad Buddy

Enemies to lovers? Slow burn? Mutual pining? Angst? Pain and suffering? Bad Buddy provided me with that in a good amount and even doubled a bit in some of those aspects for good measure just to make me suffer a bit. Granted, the novel had more of angst than the series, but it got angst nonetheless and I LOVED IT!

Emotionally constipated characters like Pran are a very truthful representation of how I am in real life and how difficult it is for me to navigate in personal relationships without overthinking to the point of freaking out when something actually happens (episode 5, specially the rooftop scene, was one of my favorite episodes of the series, because of the amount of feelings it managed to pour in those two characters. I even wrote something in Pran's POV of the kiss, and it hurts me to read til this day)

Also, the OST was absolute fire and Nanon (one of my bl boy) was in it, so I was sold.

4. Manner of Death

I don't usually talk about my favorite midia but if there is something that I adore in story genre is police investigation, murder and suspense. Give me a good mystery to solve, good places puzzles to put in place, dubious characters and I will follow you into the dark like a character in a horror movie. Even if MaxTul weren't the actors portraying the protagonists of the story, I would've watched because Sammon is a good writer and I really enjoy her stories.

This story also gave me mutual pining (TanBun really wanted to get on each other but we're simply repressing themselves, Bun more than Tan, for obvious reasons), fire chemistry, a spoon of angst (I really love to suffer, I know), swiftly adopted son (Sorawit is TanBun's child and I won't accept contrary opinions on that) and a happy ever after (or a happy for now, because we really want "Transplant", the continuation of MoD, to be adapted as a series and the chances are getting higher by the minute).

3. Vice Versa

Stories with supernatural/fantastical aspects have me by the neck, let's start with that. So, when I heard there was a series with parallel universes involved, my interest got picked immediately and I waited to see what I was going to be served (JittiRain, just like MAME, has a reputation of starting well her stories but midway do something that would ruin one or both characters, or even be sus the entire story), considering that I had liked two series based on her novels (2gether and Theory of Love). PuenTalay became my babies the second they met on that airport bathroom. Literally a soulmate meeting.

Another emotionally constipated character in the form of, well, both of them, in various degrees, and two people with an absurd will to love but not having the chance to explore the way they can really love until they are forced to spend time in a different universe than theirs, searching for a way to go back. It was so beautiful to see Puen have a chance to be himself, even if it was in somebody else's body, explore more his interests, gain friends, a family, learn how to express himself, how to pursue something he really wants and how to fight for what he wants; Talay, my sweet boy, someone who also wanted to love but his life was constantly in a blue color mood, only focusing on work because his love life was empty and no one seemed to get his attention, learned how to let go and just enjoy life for the simple things it can offer.

Both of them had an incredible growth, learned how to deal with their insecurities, how to lean on other people when they have a problem, how good it can be to let other person paint your life in a different color. "And now he paints my life pink forever" line, you'll always be famous.

2. Triage

Another Sammon work being adapted into a series (when I say that woman has me in a chokehold, I'm not joking. And when I say that stories with supernatural/fantastical elements also has me in a chokehold, I'm definitely not kidding. This time, were going time loop.

It took is almost three full years to have this series airing, and while some people had already lost all hope of seeing that happening, I kept waiting for it, because TaeTee really wanted to star in this series. And the wait was reeeeeeeeealy worth it.

Granted, there are a lot of differences between the source material and the series, mainly all the story surrounding the human organ trafficking stuff, that wasn't exactly on the novel. The novel focused on piecing together the reason Tin was involved with Tol, what was their relationship and why he was the only only being tasked with saving that boy from dying, over and over again. Seeing the disastrous attempts from Tin to approach Told and warn him about his death, starting from directly telling him that he was going to die (too straightforward, my friend, are you insane?) to make Tol break up with his girlfriend and fall in love with him, so he could save him (very weird plan, my guy) and how things slowly unfold between them was something that I enjoyed reading and watching, and would love to forget everything so I could experience the feelings I had while watching it for the first time.

1. Love In The Air

At this point, are we even surprised with this?

Seriously, I didn't even wanted to watch this series (MAME and her reputation have the power to push away potential viewers in the speed of light, I'm a living proof of that) and was going to let this one pass but then I decided to watch the first episode and see how things would turn out. Not gonna lie, I'm glad I decided to watch the first episode the day it came out.

Payu grabbed my attention with his long hair in a ponytail and his Daddy vibe. Prapai decided to step in and whistle, and I was sold. Rain was my baby himbo, so innocent and fragile that I wanted to keep him wrapped in bubble plastic and never let him go anywhere. Sky called to me because I, unknowingly, saw myself in him. PayuRain and PrapaiSky are literally two sides of the type of relationship I would like to have: as someone with a fairly long lost of kinks, having someone who not only understands but also encourages the exploration of said kinks and the possible discover of many others, Payu is the type of person I would like to have by my side, someone who's secure and stable in their skin, knows how to live their live and has a heart of gold (also because I can be bratty sometimes, give a brat tamer, I would love to push their buttons, just for the kicks. And as someone who is a trauma holder, Prapai is the embodiment of the idea that I would find someone who would understand my pain, my hesitation and my fears and, instead of forcing me to overcome them while I'm not exactly ready, would be by my side every step of the way, being a safe haven, reminding me that I did not deserve what happened to me and that I'm not a broken person or undesirable.

I love how they are so fundamentally different but manages to win my heart in a way that not many couples did and I continue to love them even more everyday. It doesn't matter if my heart leans more towards PrapaiSky (again, trauma holder here, it was bound to happen), I will always carry my weather boys in my heart until the day I die.

I know you only asked for my top 5 but every time I think about my favorite BL series, there is this one series that even if it's not on the top, will always be the favorite amongst all favorite, not only because it was my first bl but also because the amount of identification aspects I found in one of its characters really hooked me and till this day, I smile every time I think about it. So, a honorable mention:

SOTUS/SOTUS S

Many people have various opinions about this one, about a lot of things, but what makes this particular story stick out to me is the fact that Arthit's self discovery journey felt a lot like my own journey, down to a T (or almost down to a T). How he never really thought about it, used to make jokes about queerness but was really not homophobic, how he was "forced" to deal with it by having Kongpop kick his way into his life, the brief "enemies/haters to lovers" thing going on between them, the pining, the leap of faith, the doubts, them trying this new relationship to both of them (I have a headcanon that Kongpop is demissexual but that's not the point here), and how the support of their friends was really important.

And that's just SOTUS. The second season (one of the few early series that didn't have a cheating plot on the second season or a breakup in the penultimate episode of the first season) tackled the transition from the University life, a controlled environment, to the working world, where your life and what you do in it affect more than it is supposed to, how we need to constantly come out to other people, the development of their relationship, how being outed affects your life, your head, the way you react to the situation, how society becomes more judgemental the older you get, how they managed to overcome that; the side stories where one of my favorite things in SOTUS S, and gave us a more in-depth look into their private life, how they were managing that new stage in their lives, how their love continued to grow.

Don't get me started on their episode in Our Skyy, because I cried like a bitch when I watched the first time (without subtitles, because it was a LINE TV production, that primarily only distributed that in Thailand), and then with subtitles because it was so good. Being a couple that has to maintain their relationship at distance is not something I would like to see anyone go through (been there, done that) and when Arthit cried while talking with Kongpop about it...it broke my heart. Fortunately, everything got ok in the end, and my heart was healed.

Well, there you have it. It was really difficult to get to this definitive top 5, when I could rant about so many series, but these are the ones that really managed to grab my heart, tie it into a chair and don't let go. It got longer than I intended but what to expect from someone who got known here by making analysis and theories posts, right?

Ask my top 5 anything

[mhokday]

HI NICOLE HI!!!!!! since we're getting our boys back, is there anything in particular you want to see for the puentalay episode in our skyy? also do you think we're getting another color title for it 👀

MONICA HIIIIII!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

okay i'm gonna be honest. i completely did not expect to see puentalay ever again. no movie no special ep NOTHING so i never thought of what i would want to see of them. and also, vice versa left me completely and 100% SATISFIED. there's nothing more i would wish for.

however... one thing i did really want to see, but which i doubt will happen since it might be too random to address this, is the bucket hat scene being brought up again. okay so puentalay's meet cute is my favorite scene in the series, wbk. i love it, am obsessed with it, probably rewatched it fifty times after ep 1 aired. we saw puen realizing that talay is the one who gave him the hat, and that is my second favorite scene in the series. we saw puen finding the hat again when he went back to their universe. BUT WE NEVER SAW TALAY ADDRESSING THAT SCENE AT ALL AND THAT MAKES ME FEEL SICK. my biggest bone to pick with vice versa. i want puen to bring it up again. i want talay to be embarrassed about it. give me all the bucket hat references.

but anyways, i don't think that'll be brought up again. it's been a long time since i've watched an our skyy episode, but as far as i can remember it's kind of just a little side story that really doesn't have much relevance to the main plot? and i don't think they have many callbacks to old moments, that's a reason why i feel like the bucket hat scene won't be brought up. but again it's been a LONGGG time since i've watched an our skyy episode so i could be totally wrong! or maybe p'aof wants to do something different this time, who knows!

aside from that, i realllly hope we do have color elements in the episode. my worse fear is that not happening, but color is the staple behind vice versa, and if i don't get another color, i will cry. at the same time i'm not expecting a color title. colors are so specific to vice versa and i also expect the tone of every episode in our skyy 2 to be kind of similar to each other, so they might not put that extra care and effort to do the color thing with vv? i'm a pessimist at heart, but who knows, i'd love to be proven wrong. i would absolutely LOVE to see rainbow. but if not that, i would really like to see a brown or purple color for the episode title because we didn't get those in vv and i really wanted to see them!!!

but yeah, i don't need much out of this, just give me puentalay back being happy and cute and i will be very satisfied!

i do have a fear. a little tiny fear. in the our skyy 2 trailer, we see the hourglass.

when puen flips it, the sand moves, which is kind of ... scary. because in ep 12, he froze the sand in the glass to signify that they would never travel universes again. the movement of the sand represents universe traveling... you know where this is going.

also, talay is wearing earrings in the trailer...

he only wears earrings in the other universe, not the home universe. so yeah, i'm a bit worried that they're going to go back to the alternate universe. if they do, it'll be pretty gimmicky and i'll just try to have fun with it and not take it seriously, but yeah, that's my one fear. it's just a trailer though i don't even know if the plot has been thought out for it yet, so it might just be me overthinking.

anyways those are my thoughts!! monica monica monica im SO EXCITED to see them again! and im curious about your thoughts too :D

[mygwenchan]

Zouey, baby boy, I know you mean well, but this definitely isn't the right time for a therapy session... Fuck it if Captain hates Puen for no reason, we all know he's an asshole. But right now there are more important things to do!

But didn't Puen say he only gave Keen a bj that one time when he first joined the rugby team? Either Captain is exaggerating or Puen was lying...

Also, Soong had sex with Keen as well. He must be glad that he didn't reveal that fact during the party game. Who knows what kind of drama that would've caused between First and Captain... Here is to hoping that Soong can keep his secret!

I think that's the chat Aob saw as well, right? In any case, Captain you're being a dick again. Don't go around looking through other people's phones!

Ohhh~ Ok, so First knew that Captain had some beef with Puen and he deliberately hurt him? Damn... that's pretty bad. Sorry First, but you fucked up and Zouey is rightfully angry with you

And here we have the core of the problem when it comes to all those "unfortunate accidents" that First has caused: He thinks just because someone initially agrees to something that it gives him the right to do whatever he wants with them. I wonder if First has a low empathy level? Cause it seems to me he's not really able to feel compassion or see things from other people's point of view. At the very least he should know: A ripped butthole is definitely a sign to stop 😥

Um... Zouey, what does that mean First knows what Porche AND YOU WENT THOUGH?! What's this about now? Is it about that time Teena overstepped? Or something else? 😨

Oh boy, now Captain and First have their feelings hurt by Zouey... Zouey is right though. Both First and Captain keep hurting people, which really isn't ok

Yeah, I don't think Zouey sees himself as the main character and neither does Nont.

BUT this scene makes it obvious that something hasn't been working out between Captain, First and the other guys in the group for a while now. It's true that Zouey keeps telling these two (and Porche also) how horrible they are, what bad friends they are and that they're the reason why whatever happened to Nant, did happen. Zouey already did that in ep1: "We should admit that Nant disappeared, because he has bad friends like you guys." But as we know by now, Nant disappeared because he was investigating Jason and bit more off than he could chew. Captain and First pushing Nant to have sex had nothing to do with it. So in a way I can understand why Captain gets upset with Zouey. He feels mistreated and misunderstood.

But guys... the mission? Nant? Getting Jason a place in jail? No? Doesn't matter anymore, I guess

The fellowship broke up 😥

The way Nont holds on to Zouey as if he's saying "Don't leave me as well, please. I can't do this alone" 😭

And that's the end of episode 11! Three more to go and who knows what might happen next~ 🤗