#i love our actor ming <3< /div> Explore tagged Tumblr posts

[herewegobebe]

MINHO ✦ Chase MV

[denimbex1986]

'...“It’s fun playing bad, but actually he’s not,” the actor says, smiling as he reflects on his character, Crowley. “He’s a villain with a heart. The amount of really evil things he does are vanishingly small.”

...As it always has, “Good Omens” dissects the view of good and evil as absolutes, showing viewers that they are not as separate as we were led to believe growing up. Aziraphale and Crowley’s long-standing union is proof of this. The show also urges people to look at what defines our own humanity. For Tennant — who opted to wear a T-shirt emblazoned with the words “Leave trans kids alone you absolute freaks” during a photocall for Season 2 — these themes are more important now than ever before.

“In this society that we’re currently living in, where polarization seems ever more present, fierce and difficult to navigate. Negotiation feels like a dirty word at times,” he says, earnestly. “This is a show about negotiation. Two extremes finding common ground and making their world a better place through it. Making life easier, kinder and better. If that’s the sort of super objective of the show, then I can’t think of anything more timely, relevant or apt for the rather fractious times we’re living in.”

“Good Omens” is back by popular demand for another season. How does it feel?

It’s lovely. Whenever you send something out into the world, you never quite know how it will land. Especially with this, because it was this beloved book that existed, and that creates an extra tension that you might break some dreams. But it really exploded. I guess we were helped by the fact that we had Neil Gaiman with us, so you couldn’t really quibble too much with the decisions that were being made. The reception was, and continues to be, overwhelming.

Now that you’re no longer bound by the original material that people did, perhaps, feel a sense of ownership over, does the new content for Season 2 come with a sense of freedom for you? This is uncharted territory, of sorts.

That’s an interesting point. I didn’t know the book when I got the script. It was only after that I discovered the worlds of passion that this book had incited. Because I came to it that way, perhaps it was easier. I found liberation from that, to an extent. For me, it was always a character that existed in a script. At first, I didn’t have that extra baggage of expectation, but I acquired it in the run-up to Season 1 being released… the sense that suddenly we were carrying a ming vase across a minefield.

In Season 2, we still have Neil and we also have some of the ideas that he and Terry had discussed. During the filming of the first one, Neil would drop little hints about the notions they had for a prospective sequel, the title of which would have been “668: The Neighbour of the Beast,” which is a pretty solid gag to base a book around. Indeed there were elements like Gabriel and the Angels, who don’t feature in the book, that were going to feature in a sequel. They were brought forward into Season 1. So, even in the new episodes, we’re not entirely leaving behind the Terry Pratchett-ness of it all.

It’s great to see yourself and Michael Sheen reunited on screen as these characters. Fans will have also watched you pair up for Season 3 of “Staged.�� You’re quite the dynamic duo. What do you think is the magic ingredient that makes the two of you such a good match?

It’s a slightly alchemical thing. We knew each other in passing before, but not well. We were in a film together [“Bright Young Things,” 1993] but we’d never shared a scene. It was a bit of a roll of the dice when we turned up at the read-through for “Good Omens.” I think a lot comes from the writing, as we were both given some pretty juicy material to work with. Those characters are beloved for a reason because there’s something magical about them and the way they complete each other. Also, I think we’re quite similar actors in the way we like to work and how we bounce off each other.

Does the shorthand and trust the two of you have built up now enable you to take more risks on-screen?

Yes, probably. I suppose the more you know someone, the more you trust someone. You don’t have to worry about how an idea might be received and you can help each other out with a more honest opinion than might be the case if you were, you know, dancing around each other’s nervous egos. Enjoying being in someone’s orbit and company is a positive experience. It makes going to work feel pleasant, productive, and creative. The more creative you can be, the better the work is. I don’t think it’s necessarily a given that an off-screen relationship will feed into an on-screen one in a positive or negative way. You can play some very intimate moments with someone you barely know. Acting is a peculiar little contract, in that respect. But it’s disproportionately pleasurable going to work when it’s with a mate.

Fans have long discussed the nature of Crowley and Aziraphale’s relationship. In Season 2, we see several of the characters debate whether the two are an item, prompting them to look at their union and decipher what it is. How would you describe their relationship?

They are utterly co-dependent. There’s no one else having the experience that they are having and they’ve only got each other to empathize with. It’s a very specific set of circumstances they’ve been dealt. In this season, we see them way back at the creation of everything. They’ve known each other a long time and they’ve had to rely on each other more and more. They can’t really exist one without the other and are bound together through eternity. Crowley and Aziraphale definitely come at the relationship with different perspectives, in terms of what they’re willing to admit to the relationship being. I don’t think we can entirely interpret it in human terms, I think that’s fair to say.

Yet fans are trying to do just that. Do you view it as beyond romantic or any other labels, in the sense that it’s an eternal force?

It’s lovely [that fans discuss it] but you think, be careful what you wish for. If you’re willing for a relationship to go in a certain way or for characters to end up in some sort of utopian future, then the story is over. Remember what happened to “Moonlighting,” that’s all I’m saying! [Laughs]

Your father-in-law, Peter Davison, and your son, Ty Tennant, play biblical father-and-son duo Job and Ennon in Episode 2. In a Tumblr Q&A, Neil Gaiman said that he didn’t know who Ty’s family was when he cast him. When did you become aware that Ty had auditioned?

I don’t know how that happened. I do a bunch of self-tapes with Ty, but I don’t think I did this one with him because I was out of town filming “Good Omens.” He certainly wasn’t cast before we started shooting. There were two moments during filming where Neil bowled up to me and said, “Guess, who we’ve cast?” Ty definitely auditioned and, as I understand it, they would tell me, he was the best. I certainly imagine he could only possibly have been the best person for the job. He is really good in it, so I don’t doubt that’s true. And then my father-in-law showed up, as well, which was another delicious treat. In the same episode and the same family! It was pretty weird. I have worked with both of them on other projects, but never altogether.

There’s a “Doctor Who” cameo, of sorts, in Episode 5, when Aziraphale uses a rare annual about the series as a bartering tool. In reality, you’ll be reprising your Time Lord role on screen later this year in three special episodes to mark the 60th anniversary. Did you always feel you’d return to “Doctor Who” at some point?

There’s a precedent for people who have been in the series to return for a multi-doctor show, which is lovely. I did it myself for the 50th anniversary in 2013, and I had a wonderful time with Matt [Smith]. Then, to have John Hurt with us, as well, was a little treat. But I certainly would never have imagined that I’d be back in “Doctor Who” full-time, as it were, and sort of back doing the same job I did all those years ago. It was like being given this delightful, surprise present. Russell T Davies was back as showrunner, Catherine Tate [former on-screen companion] was back, and it was sort of like the last decade and a half hadn’t happened.

Going forward, Ncuti Gatwa will be taking over as the new Doctor. Have you given him any advice while passing the baton?

Oh God, what a force of nature. I’ve caught a little bit of him at work and it’s pretty exciting. I mean, what advice would you give someone? You can see Ncuti has so much talent and energy. He’s so inspired and charismatic. The thing about something like this is: it’s the peripherals, it’s not the job. It’s the other stuff that comes with it, that I didn’t see coming. It’s a show that has so much focus and enthusiasm on it. It’s not like Ncuti hasn’t been in a massive Netflix series [“Sex Education,”] but “Doctor Who” is on a slightly different level. It’s cross-generational, international, and has so much history, that it feels like it belongs to everyone.

To be at the center of the show is wonderful and humbling, but also a bit overwhelming and terrifying. It doesn’t come without some difficulties, such as the immediate loss of anonymity. It takes a bit of getting used to if that’s not been your life up to that point. I was very lucky that when I joined, Billie Piper [who portrayed on-screen companion, Rose] was still there. She’d lived in a glare of publicity since she was 14, so she was a great guide for how to live life under that kind of scrutiny. I owe a degree of sanity to Billie.

Your characters are revered by a few different fandoms. Sci-fi fandoms are especially passionate and loyal. What is it like being on the end of that? I imagine it’s a lot to hold.

Yes, certainly. Having been a fan of “Doctor Who” since I was a tiny kid, you’re aware of how much it means because you’re aware of how much it meant to you. My now father-in-law [who portrayed Doctor Who in the 80s] is someone I used to draw in comic strips when I was a kid. That’s quite peculiar! It’s a difficult balance because on one end, you have to protect your own space, and there aren’t really any lessons in that. That does take a bit of trial and error, to an extent, and it’s something that you’re sometimes having to do quite publicly. But, it is an honor and a privilege, without a doubt. As you’ve said, it means so much to people and you want to be worthy of that. You have to acknowledge that and be careful with it. Some days that’s tough, if you’re not in the mood.

I know you’re returning to the stage later this year to portray Macbeth. You’ve previously voiced the role for BBC Sounds, but how are you feeling about taking on the character in the theater?

I’m really excited about it. It’s been a while since I’ve done Shakespeare. It’s very thrilling but equally — and this analogy probably doesn’t stretch — it’s like when someone prepares for an Olympic event. It does feel like a bit of a mountain and, yeah, you’re daring to set yourself up against some fairly worthy competition from down the years. That’s both the challenge and the horror of doing these types of things. We’ve got a great director, Max Webster, who recently did “Life of Pi.” He’s full of big ideas. It’s going to be exciting, thrilling, and a little bit scary. I’m just going to take a deep breath.

Before we part ways, let’s discuss the future of “Good Omens.” Gaiman has said that he already has ideas for Season 3, should it happen. If you were to do another season, is there anyone in particular you’d love to work with next time around or anything specific you’d like to see happen for Crowley?

Oh, Neil Gaiman knows exactly where he wants to take it. If you’re working with people like Gaiman, I wouldn’t try to tamper with that creative void. Were he to ask my opinion, that would be a different thing, but I can’t imagine he would. He’s known these characters longer than me and what’s interesting is what he does with them. That’s the bit that I’m desperate to know. I do know where Crowley might end up next, but it would be very wrong if I told you.

[At this point, Tennant picks up a pencil and starts writing on a hotel pad of paper.]

I thought you were going to write it down for me then. Perhaps like a clandestine meeting on a bench in St James’ Park, but instead you’d write the information down and slide it across the table…

I should have done! I was drawing a line, which obviously, psychologically, I was thinking, “Say no more. You’re too tempted to reveal a secret!” It was my subconscious going “Shut the fuck up!”

[clairedaring]

if you're hoping for joe 2.0 to get his 'revenge' in the second half of the series...

warning: mild novel spoilers (but also not really because i'm just discussing things that have been shown in the trailer)

i really think you should either drop the series or give up the hopes of a satisfying makjang revenge storyline in my stand-in instead of setting yourself up for disappointment. because that simply isn't the story that my stand-in is trying to tell.

so what is my stand-in about really?

well, for me i think its a romance tragicomedy drama about an idiotic scum male lead losing the person he loves most because of his own arrogance and refusal to listen to his heart and the series of unfortunate events that happened consequently for our protagonist who was living a peaceful and quiet life as a stunt actor before the scum male lead entered his life.

joe 2.0 and his approach to life

i've mentioned it twice now that one of my favorite traits of joe/zhou xiang is that kindness in his strength where even if he can be choose to be mean or cruel, he simply doesn't because he has such a soft heart and he's weak to see others in pain (joe is my fellow enfp people pleaser okay) (⁠っ⁠˘̩⁠╭⁠╮⁠˘̩⁠)⁠っ which is why even in his 2.0 life, you won't get to see joe turning 180 degree and going around to hurt everyone who's ever hurt him like it's some makjang kdrama.

and while that seems like it could be fun, i think the reason why i loved professional body double (my stand-in novel) so much in the first place is because that very distinction between joe and other rebirth/second chance at life protagonists that you often see in revenge kdramas/cdramas/thai lakorns.

logically, if my stand-in was a 24-episode one31 lakorn/thai soap opera, joe would be full of hatred and burning rage after his rebirth and started his intricated revenge plot while still falling in love with ming whom he should hate the most.

and yet he isn't (or at least it seems to me so far).

if you read the lyrics 'Die For You' - the opening ost of my stand-in, i think you can have a good guess of what the second half of the story will be like.

Even running away to death can't help. If my heart had chosen to stop at you I'll have to surrender with the confusion I feel. To come back to the same old place. Even if I have to die, disappear and then be reborn But the love is still buried deep inside, even if it's been shattered into pieces Even if my life ends, I can't stop my heart from calling out to you Because this whole body, life, spirit It is yours only, for all eternity.

and even from the trailer of my stand-in, you can tell that joe 2.0 has a lot of internal conflicting feelings about whether he could trust ming again after the betrayal he faced in his 1.0 life. and i feel like essentially the journey of ming proving to joe 2.0 that he really does love joe is very much the central plot in the second half part of the story.

so i'd like to take this part to note how well the series has done to adapt the novel so far. i think a good adapted change they've made is this early realization of feelings for ming in the joe 1.0 timeline. i do think the novel made him realized his feelings a little bit later but my stand-in did well to show within ep.3 what happiness could have looked like for joe 1.0 and ming and i think it rationalizes a bit more more for why joe 2.0 would still have feelings for ming 'buried deep inside' even when he's been badly hurt the first time around. and reading the story i've always found it interesting that they took this route to focus on the re-entangled complex relationship between mingjoe rather than going for a joe-centric revenge makjang plot (i swear if this was your typical thai lakorn, joe would seduce ming while planning to take down his whole family or something).

of course, that's not to dismiss that there's a lot of character growth for joe in the second half of the story, especially in his building of self-confidence, self-worth, the ability to put himself first and the fight for his own happiness above all. but like i've mentioned above, his growth journey is not at the expense of a drastic personality change in regards to the kind hearted joe we saw in his 1.0 life. instead, we get kind hearted joe 2.0 who quickly adapts to his new life and attempts to start anew while conflicted feelings resurface for him as he is pulled back into the relationships he once had.

all in all, my stand-in is still at the heart of it, a love story. perhaps, a dark romance as my friend @dragonsandphoenix would call it, but a romance nonetheless. i think that is what also makes professional body double such a compelling read too, because the progression in the feelings and complex emotions of these characters are so tightly written that it's convincing enough for me (maybe not for others though) to believe that yan ming xiu has/will always love zhou xiang (to the point ymx would probably eliminate anyone else who dared to steal zx from him). obsessive love? yes. do they both need therapy? probably. yet i still believe in their happy ending? of course.

final note/disclaimer: then again, this is just my PERSONAL opinions based on the novel and up til 3 episodes of my stand-in (which seems to be very faithful to the novel so far), who knows maybe they can anger novel fans and adapt it completely differently later on (something i sure hope they don't but we'll seeeee) ƪ(˘⌣˘)ʃ

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - The Stand-in Stands Up (all puns intended)

Organized, in each category, with ones I'm enjoying most at the top.

June 2024 Week 1

Ongoing Series - Thai

My Stand-In (Fri iQIYI) ep 7 of 12 eps - I do enjoy that the other Joe’s past is now coming back to haunt the present. For our Joe, the hits just keep on coming. Meanwhile, I know my heartstrings are being intentionally tugged, but I did feel sorry for Ming in this episode (at the last). And I think Up is doing a great job with this frankly difficult role if he can make me feel anything approaching sympathy for Ming. Ming's breakdown was excellent. Very dramatic.

Wandee Goodday (Sat YT) ep 6 of 12 - These two are entirely boyfriends who just don’t happen to be dating. It’s Schrödinger’s relationship. It's crazy that these two are already sleeping together and I still can’t wait for them to kiss. Very nicely done. Good tension point. This was a really cute episode but nothing much happened.

In other news, the sound effects REALLY bother me in this show. It might have been in the running as a 10/10, except for those fucking sound effects.

We Are (Weds iQIYI) ep 10 of 16 - I like how the majority of this show is just basically struggling with first love. It’s strangely sweet and innocent as a result. Frankly, right now, I need that - it’s comforting. It’s not exciting, but I can’t deny that thi is the highlight of the middle of my week.

Peem to Phum = use your words. Phum = SMOOCH. 

Bet you all heard this one coming: NO SINGING. 

Note: Satang (Toey) is a fantastic actor. I love the way he changes the physicality of his body for his roles. In this part, he’s kind of loose-limbed and floppy. He doesn't look younger but the way he inhabits his body does.

My Love Mix-Up Th (Fri YT) ep 1 of 12 - GeminiForth (AKA G4) are back and glory-be they showed up on YouTube. Still I’m worried it won’t stay there after the Cherry Magic debacle. So I stayed up late that night to gank it. 

Back to the show.

One of the things I’ve always loved about this IP, is how genuine and decent and earnest all of the kids are. They’re all trying so hard not to hurt each other's feelings. It’s all just a terrible case of miscommunication. G4 are perfect casting for these roles. That said, I have the same challenges with this version as I did with the JBL - it’s a bit frenetic and can be clownishly too MUCH for me. 

Meanwhile, the he feeds strays trope has popped up again. 

Love Sea (Sun iQIYI) ep 1 of 10 - Trash watch here. MAME warning! I found it rather lacklustre and inoffensive but still managed to invent dildo smores.

Knock Knock Boys (Thurs Gaga) eps 3 of 12 - Honestly? I’m kind of enjoying watching the friendships develop between the housemates. Of course I know they’re probably gonna all end up sleeping together, but right now the communal easy-going companionship and teasing is the most fun. Other than that, this is an unremarkable Thai BL pulp with better than normal acting and consistency (for a pulp).

Only Boo! (Sun YT) ep 9 of 12 - Moo is the clinginess boyfriend in the entire universe. The thing I think I love best about this couple, and the show, is what great communicators they are. That said they are not great actors. I don’t mean to be rude, and I don’t expect great acting from my Thai BL, but it’s a little rough going sometimes with this pair.

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

At 25:00 in Akasaka AKA 25 Ji Akasaka de (Japan Thurs Gaga) ep 8 of 10 - It’s taken me a long time, but I finally realized what I dislike about this show. It’s the pacing. Or rather, the lack of it. And I’m not saying that the pacing is necessarily off, in fact this is a typical JBL thing. But for some reason, in this show, I find it particularly annoying.

Blossom Campus (Korea Thurs Gaga & iQIYI) ep 5-6fin - Honestly, this was a perfectly fine little friends to lovers BL, with better than average kissing from Korea. But for some reason it never really hit for me. The very end was extremely odd. A bit of a disappointment for a longer piece from Strongberry. I think they tried to be too classically BL and that is just not their strength-berry. Strongberry is better when they explore something a little edgy, or a little outside the box. 7/10

It's airing but...

The Last Time (Fri YT?) - Convoluted story of loss and possible reincarnation or something. Can't find it.

OMG Vampire (Thai Sun ???) 10 eps - also I can't find it. Comments from last week suggest this is not my thing anyway, but Lee Long Shi very much IS my thing, so... maybe I'll put it on hold for a bit and y'all can let me know.

In case you missed it

The Time of Fever AKA Unintentional Love Story 2 (Korea movie) trailer released to Korean theaters 5/25. HoTae & DongHee, side couple from Unintentional Love Story are back! Same actors, same character names. I love them. I NEED TO SEE THIS. How?

You Made My Day (Thai YT) - mini series staring the I Will Knock You couple Tar & Bom, started but I couldn't find it. I also didn't try very hard. Apparently it's cute but basically a 10 min advert.

KWill To Reunite With Seo In Guk, Ahn Jae Hyun in Comeback! For those who don't know the MV for his song Please Don't is a heavy hitting shock tactic BL adjacent piece featuring major Korean actors. (The closest we are likely to ever get.) Look it was a BIG DEAL at the time. Kinda like Kpop's Broke Back Mountain moment. More here:

I don't often report on the Kpop scene but this is very interesting.

Next Week Looks Like This:

Upcoming BLs for 2024 are listed here. This list is not kept updated, so please leave a comment if you know something new or RP with additions.

June Releases

6/14 Let's Eat Together Aki and Haru 2 AKA Aki wa Haru to Gohan wo Tabetai 2 Haime! (Japan movie Gaga?) - Continues the (frankly) lackadaisical story from part 1.

6/15 Sunset Vibes AKA SunsetXVibes (Thailand Sat iQIYI) 12 eps - Star Hunter + MosBank on iQIYI for 12 weeks? If nothing else it's gonna be a wild and sexy ride. A one night stand but "uh-oh he’s my boss," adapted from a web series. I’m game. Maybe it’ll have a better story than Big Dragon? Maybe it will have a plot? We can but hope.

6/26 The Rebound (Thai Weds VIU?) - MeenPing are back in their 3rd BL together, a basketball based romance (Meen was a national basketball player, so yay for that). I like this pair better than most (I still do miss Meen with Est but Est has a fantastic looking new BL coming from GMMTV so yeah...) Anyway I'm up for a sports romance starring a man who, yah know, actually played that sport so... I'm game (pun intended).

(Speaking of, why can't Est be a merman? This... I ask you?.)

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

Flipping stellar side couple Wandee, thank you.

Love the mains too of course.

This is that funny little unnamed (muli-named) BL/GL something from Korea that's happening on YouTube right now. It's cute! I guess it's falling under the moniker Fake Buddies.

(Last week)

Streaming services are listed by how I (usually) watch, which is with a USA based IP, and often offset by a day because time zones are a pain.

The tag BLigade: @doorajar @solitaryandwandering @my-rose-tinted-glasses @babymbbatinygirl @babymbbatinygirl @isisanna-blog @mmastertheone @pickletrip @aliceisathome @urikawa-miyuki @tokillamonger @sunflower-positiiivity

@rocketturtle4 @blglplus @anythinggoesintheshire @everlightly @renafire @mestizashinrin @bl-bam-beyond @small-dark-and-delicious @saezurumurmurs

Sigh, Tumblr in it's infinite wisdom doesn't like too many tags.

There's these tricks, remember.

[romancomicsblog]

5 DC Animes I want to see after My Adventures with Superman

My Adventures with Superman opened the door for DC in a big way. Not only did it revitalize fans for more Superman content ahead of Superman: Legacy, but quickly put Jack Quaid up there in the conversation for best portrayal of Superman.

While that conversation is yet to be determined, I think the fact that this version of Superman connected with people made one thing clear, people are hungry for more quality animation.

While I am excited at the potential of more Jack Quaid Superman, I think DC would be kicking themselves if they didn't branch out this universe and try to build to something greater.

I have 5 pitches for characters who I think should get a My Adventures with Superman style show, ideas of who could play them, and what they could bring to this already fantastic universe. Also I gave them all fun titles. Enjoy.

5. Mysteries of the Question

The Question is a character many know from the hit DC show Justice League Unlimited. A wack job with a theory about who is pulling all the strings in the DC Universe, The Question is a ridiculously fun character I'm surprised hasn't been seen in a while.

Putting the Question at the center of a mystery and having to solve cases day to day would make for classic television, all while setting it in a crazy DC world.

The cop chasing him could be the 2nd Question: Renee Montoya, and the mystery could be something as big as an incoming alien invasion or as small as who is leaving riddles across Gotham? Hell he could be after Amanda Waller.

He can run into other detectives like Detective Chimp, Martian Manhunter, even the Batman, and through this side character we introduce half the Justice League.

I'd love a comedian like Charlie Day to voice this mad man, but a good friend of mine brought up Will Arnett and I can't unhear it. The role could be overly dramatic and silly, but can go to the sad levels of Bojack Horseman. He'd be perfect for this universe.

Having a detective who needs to get the a major story out could lead him to our three favorite journalists, making a fun mini crossover imminent.

4. Strange Tales from Arkham Asylum

While What If? Is not my favorite MCU project, the premise itself is quite fun. A narrator telling warped tales of stories we know in a freshing new take.

I'd like to take that concept and add it to DC by exploring Batman's Rogues Gallery in one off, anthology episodes narrated by one Hugo Strange.

Fan favorite characters like Clayface, Mister Freeze, Catwoman, and yes, even The Joker, can be introduced via their backstory with exciting different voice actors, all leading to a breakout in Arkham.

I'd like this to serve as a partial retelling but also reimagining of new characters with an emphasis on the creepy, the macabre, but also the sympathy. I want this to fix the mistakes of past villains in My Adventures with Superman and make them more 3 dimensional and iconic.

For Strange we need a maniacal evil voice who can narrate and keep us captivated. I like Chiwetel Ejiofor for this, and will be happy for the inmates to take him down by the end.

3. Evil-Doers fear the Wrath of Wonder Woman

I'm having fun with these titles.

It is incredibly insane we do not have a definitive Wonder Woman show. I'd like a classic Spectacular Spider-Man or My Adventures with Superman style show centered around ya girl Wonder Woman.

Ares, Giganta, or Cheetah can be the main villain. Hell make her main antagonist Black Adam, but having a magical god character immediately makes the world bigger and the threats greater.

She can run into Shazam (due to their god powers) and round out the League more, but really this is just a project that should already exist. It's wild it doesn't.

Since it is voice acting and we can go any which way with it, I love the voice of Ming Na-Wen. Having a powerful Disney Princess playing Diana also feels appropriate, and brings a sort of wisdom to the League.

2. Blue Beetle Back in School

Blue Beetle in a character basically built for anime.

With the overall critic and audience reviews being positive but the film underperforming, it's clear Blue Beetle has an audience that can steadily grow over time. I think animation is a great way to softly continue the story without it technically being in continuity.

The story should center around Jaime continuing college post getting the scarab, and meeting young heroes like himself along the way all while trying to having a normal life. Classic superhero stuff.

This leaves room for it to be part of any universe you want it to be, or mostly be true, or not at all. Either way, we grow with the character of Blue Beetle, and await his return in the DCU.

This could be a fun way to flesh out the young heroes of the DC universe: Robin, Raven, Cyborg, etc.

It could also start a fun trend of Xolo playing the character across mediums. It's clear Xolo Maridueña loves the character, and if the voice fits, why change it? If Mark Hamill can play the Trickster across animation and live action, so can Xolo.

1. Green Lantern: Cosmic Chronicles

The character done most dirty since his live action debut, Green Lantern could add dynamic interesting fighting to an anime universe. Take Atom Eve from Invincible and her spin-off episode.

Using that type of animation and fluid fight choreography would make for excellent television.

Although we already have a fantastic Green Lantern show (Green Lantern the animated series) with an excellent narrative, I think introducing more Lanterns and wider universe of DC aliens could be really fun. Martians, Thanagarians, Lobo, Mongul, etc all trying to be contained by Lanterns but failing horribly would be awesome. It could all leading to an alien invasion on Earth, putting them directly in line with Superman.

A Green Lantern show could rejuvenate faith in Lanterns before its release, and lead up to the big anime crossover we know we all need.

While I'd love to see all Lanterns, I think having Hal Jordan at the center of it and bringing in others down the line is a good way to go.

Alan Ritchson has played Aquaman, Hawk and even Raphael in Ninja Turtles. A little more hard headed Jordan could be fun to pit against Jack Quaids more hopeful Superman.

While all these shows should get made, I think Lanterns is the most likely. Honestly, I'd be happy to see anything more in the DC Anime Universe.

Thank you for reading! If you'd like to support me you can find all my socials here!

[mahuhumaling]

why this silent moment from EP. 12 is one of my top 5 fav bbs scenes

EXT./INT. SIRIDECHAWAT RESIDENCE — NIGHT

so we open with Dissaya bringing Pran's bedsheet onto his childhood room.

i think it was Charlie Gillespie who said that there's something actors do that never gets talked about by viewers: they act out the space that they're in.

this means that to fully inhabit a character, not only do they have to pretend that they've known their whole lives the scene partners whom they're merely acquaintances with (because they play as their family), but also the physical location.

they have to pretend that the built sets or shooting locations are places they've lived in their whole lives, and the way P'Ple and Nanon act inside the Siridechawat House is a perfect example.

not once do we get a feeling of unfamiliarity in their body when they interact with the objects in the rooms.

there's a great sense of nostalgia in Dissaya's eyes and smile.

it's clear she hasn't been in this bedroom for a while, but it also shows that she has made a lot of memories with Pran here. here is where she raised him. she feels proud of how far he has gone and what kind of person Pran has become.

her little moment gets interrupted by Ming's noise outside, and we get a glimpse of the pink line again that is, by the way, SUCH a great little motif. a visual line that has literally divided the two houses.

here comes my favorite part. the PAUSE that Ming takes as he contemplates CROSSING the line to get to Dissaya's house. honestly i wish there was a wide shot of this instead, as Ming crosses the frame's left to right side so we can really feel the step that he takes and see it visually as a whole.

but ohhh boy, here's the real kicker: the way Dissaya looks at him. she observes first, watching and waiting, scrutinizing as if it's a challenge of "what are you going to do, huh?" you can feel the weight of the history behind that face. how much hate has seeped into years of their old friendship.

but when Ming puts the letters into their mailbox, Dissaya's face dissolves to almost a sense of relief (?), because she has kept her guard up for so long that she's so used to the default of petty fights masquerading the real animosity between the two of them, that she almost couldn't believe that Ming would be man enough to let one kind gesture pass by. or that he's even still capable of doing so.

the hate has clouded her judgment, it's obvious, though we can't fault her for it.

but here, in a few seconds, it clears.

lastly, it cuts to a picture of young Pran, reminding Dissaya that on top of the betrayal and the hate and the anger, what matters most is her love for her only son.

the past few episodes have also emphasized Pran as an only son, and there's a special connection and bond they share that I'm sure a lot of only children relate to.

no dialogue, no internal monologue to show what Dissaya is thinking.

just pure performance, and music.

music.

we all know that it (represented by the guitar) is the ultimate metaphor for Pran's love for and relationship with Pat, right?

so naturally, Ming's little act earlier created a sort of domino effect: Dissaya brings out the guitar from when she overheard her husband and Pran talking about where it was hidden. she takes it out herself and leaves it on the bed for Pran to notice, a silent understanding between parent and child. (...very Asian parenting. add in some sliced fruits, why don't ya?)

Dissaya's love for Pran outweighs her hate for Ming. in fact, it heals.

[x.]

MY TOP 5 FAVORITE BAD BUDDY SCENES

(In no actual order)

3 - Broken Bus Stop Redesigning

5 - Fight in the Dorm Parking Lot

10 - Pran Sings "Our Song" Draft

10 - InkPa in the Darkroom

12 - Dissaya Watches Ming

[sophia-sol]

November recs: fic, vids, short stories, and novelettes

In November I started doing a thing where whenever I read a story or a fic that I enjoyed, I quickly wrote up a brief rec for it and posted it directly to my mastodon account. I am amazed at how much I'm enjoying doing this, and how well it works for me! But this means that I have now built up a backlog of recs that I want to share to my dreamwidth and tumblr as well. So I think going forward I'll post a roundup once a month of the past month's recs, so that y'all can see them as well!

Here's the November ones! Featuring:

7 TGCF fics 13 SVSSS fics 1 MDZS fic 1 NiF fic 1 Persuasion (Jane Austen) fic 2 multifandom vids 5 short stories 3 novelettes

TGCF RECS

Digging for Orchids, by betts

TGCF, hualian

Over the last couple days I reread this fic and was reminded just how GOOD it is

modern AU hualian

roommates! out of work actors! pretending to be husbands!

hualian are canonically both just so weird about each other and so over the top about everything to do with each other always, and this fic captures that dynamic beautifully

the author's careful attention to the physicality of scenes is so good and so important

xie lian is living with chronic pain after a fall and it's so real about how that affects his life

there are so many funny and on point observations of various characters and their relationships with each other!

I had many feelings

LOVE WINS.

On Our Way to Fall, by etymologyplayground

TGCF, hualian

a cute quiet small domestic scene in puqi shrine in the middle parts of book canon

see hua cheng as a cat! hear hua cheng's theory about breathing being sexy! enjoy hua cheng and xie lian being completely smitten with each other! also lady windmaster is a real pal as always

it's super adorable

6k words in length

Celestial Confluence/Cultivation Cross, by pengiesama

TGCF, hualian

a silly funny fic about hua cheng causing chaos in heaven by creating a trendy new gacha game

xie lian, bewildered, ends up on shi qingxuan and ming yi's livestream about the game

hua cheng is absolutely willing to get distracted from the game by gege

there's some excellent comic timing in here!

6k words in length

The Heart and All its Chambers, by etymologyplayground

TGCF, hualian

modern au where hualian are lesbians

xie lian has never had an orgasm, and hua cheng offers to help by loaning her a toy

obviously the help ends up going further than that

it's just so cute and sweet how much xl and hc love each other and take care of each other and are clearly SUPER into each other!

and how good they are about each other's weird hangups about sex!

19k words in length

Stick in the Mud, by etymologyplayground

TGCF, beefleaf

beefleaf before the beefleaf arc goes down

having sex with a strap-on and definitely not having any undercurrents of emotions about anything, what are you talking about, beefleaf would never

god, the note it ends on!!

4k words in length

beloved in your sight, by olivers_box_of_raisins

TGCF, mulian

mu qing pov from the xianle trio era

ft. class issues and teen relationship drama

xie lian is an enormous martial arts nerd and a naive but shining prince; mu qing is pining but hyper-aware of class boundaries and how everyone sees him; feng xin is ready to judge

it's so great and succeeds so well at what it's doing, I love it

I love the last scene, which it ends on, about xie lian's appearance after he ascends. perfect ending to the fic

7k words in length

Your Sweet Breath On My Dice, by Siamesa

TGCF, hualian

canon divergence story where ghost king hua cheng manages to catch up with his god in a different way

that way: xie lian accidentally triggered a curse and now he's swapped bodies with a mysterious ghost….?

(INCREDIBLE premise)

I love xl and hc's very different reactions to finding themselves in each other's bodies

I think my favourite part though might be poor yin yu doing his best to handle the situation, between hc's firm instructions on how to treat xl, and xl's equally firm opinions on what to do

a very fun read overall!

6k words in length

SVSSS RECS

ars adeo latet arte sua, by lavenderandrue

SVSSS, bingqiu

post-canon bingqiu experimenting with roleplay

in which they pretend that lbh is a statue in a museum and sqq is the museum caretaker who understands the statue's true value more than anyone else

yes obviously they're both extremely horny about it and also feelings-horny about it

the asides about the various lbh figurines sqq had in his old life are so funny

I love seeing them able to just be happy and have fun exploring their sexuality together, after all the woes of canon!

the word count is 6969, nice

bereft, bestowed, by sixthmoon (seventhstar)

SVSSS, moshang

cute fic about mobei-jun being hounded by his advisors to get married, but he's uninterested in the various eligible women being presented to him

shang qinghua suggests that mbj set a task that anyone who wants to marry him must fulfill

I think you can guess how this ends :D

3k words in length

in the thin winter sun, by goshkiki

SVSSS, moshang

rule 63 post-canon moshang from mbj's pov, featuring a pining mbj who can't understand why sqh doesn't seem to be interested in being her queen even though sqh is happy enough to have sex with her

gorgeously desperate and despairing, lyrical and in love and hopeless about it

mbj's pov is amazing, and so is seeing sqh through mbj's eyes

note that the fic ends with the pining situation unresolved, but the author is planning a sequel, and the fic is satisfying as it is as well!

17k words in length

Tale Within A Tale, by BrilliantLady

SVSSS, bingqiu

an au where sqq does his best to communicate to lbh prior to the Immortal Alliance Conference, despite having his words held back by the system; so he tells a series of meaningful stories and hopes lbh will draw the right conclusions

the fic is from lbh's pov and I love how earnestly and carefully he tries to put together the clues sqq is giving him! the CONCLUSIONS he draws!!

I screamed internally with delight at multiple points while reading the fic. it's such a delightful read!

32k words in length

Come With Me, by acernor

SVSSS, bingliu

modern au, liu qingge's ex-fiance yue qingyuan is marrying luo binghe's ex shen jiu

lqg & lbh have an ill-advised hookup at the wedding of their exes, and then keep on having ill-advised hookups

both of them are completely incapable of being emotionally self-aware, even as they spend more and more time with each other, most of it framed antagonistically

oh my god they are both so fucked up

the draw and the attraction they both feel toward each other is so well-shown

truly impressed with them for managing to make a happy ending for themselves out of all this!! <3

63k words in length

Cold Blooded Rivalry (Just Add Heat), by acernor and hyphendots

SVSSS, liubingqiu

liu qingge gets hit with a fuck-or-die monster venom! shen qingqiu and luo binghe are here to help him out

the vibes are SO good, from the prickly antagonism between lqg & lbh at the beginning, through the awkward unspoken interest in sqq, to the way lqg goes all melty and floaty at the end

it's SO soft from lqg's pov once the cure is embarked upon and I love it so much

7k words in length

The Cost of Sacrilege, by Prim_the_Amazing

SVSSS, luo binghe & the old palace master

lbh is having a totally chill time of it having a breakdown after his shizun dies

the old palace master of huan hua is ALSO having a totally separate chill breakdown about once again having a disciple under his control (….he thinks) who looks like su xiyan

when their breakdowns intersect, no prizes for guessing who wins lol

It's Time For Binghe Angst

such a good view into what might have happened at the very beginning of the 5 year period where sqq is dead!

5k words in length

The Dark Is Full of Your Voice, by straightforwardly

SVSSS, bingqiu

post-canon au where post bing-ge vs bing-mei fight, it's bing-mei who returns to sqq

prompts that inspired this fic included “Technically awful attempts at comfort are actually very comforting” and “Comfortee flaunts their hurt in order to get more comfort” and it's perfect actually, I love how THEM it is

sqq having zero clue what to do that's Actually Helpful when someone's injured is soooo funny tbh. but his fussing is what really matters!

2k words in length

shen yuan and original luo binghe’s epic adventure in the modern world, by tshirt

SVSSS, bingyuan

shen yuan definitely didn't intend to buy this body pillow of luo binghe what are you talking about

he also definitely didn't involve his "essence" in an accidental ritual that summoned the real luo binghe

however luo binghe is now here and he needs to do SOMETHING about that

extremely funny, tshirt is always so good at the comic timing

the airplane cameo is also perfect

4k words in length

if you don't have your own boyfriend, rented is fine, by nyoomerr

SVSSS, bingyuan

I feel sure I've talked about this fic before but I can't find it in my tags?! I've been following it as a wip and it's now DONE!

the premise: bing-ge transmigrates to our world, and shen yuan thinks he's an attractive but incompetent and down on his luck cosplay-boyfriend-for-rent and takes pity on him

sy tries to reform lbh and turn him into someone who's not terrible at being a boyfriend. meanwhile lbh is slowly discovering that maybe…..it's possible………for someone to care about him and be nice to him just because they like him?? sounds fake! but what if?

every single aspect of their relationship (and everything else in the fic!!!) is a COMPLETE delight. I love to see how much sy's sharp-mouthed peerless cucumber side is out in full force, and how feral lbh is, and how the two of them play off each other

86k words in length

commodity fetishism, by tshirt

SVSSS, moshang

tshirt is a genius, this is SO funny, I'm dying

modern au where mbj is a trust fund baby who's lost access to his trust fund, and what is he going to do, WORK for money?? no.

enter sugar daddy sqh, or possibly findom mbj's paypig sqh

3k words in length

bro you posted cringe, by tshirt

SVSSS, cumplane

yes more tshirt fic, can't stop won't stop

this one's about shang qinghua and shen qingqiu arguing about whether sqh's sex scenes are at all believable

which of course leads to a hands-on demonstration

during which OBVIOUSLY they don't stop arguing

it's so funny and so in character and it's amazing

the excerpts from pidw that are read aloud as evidence are also peak comedy

also it's rule 63

3k words in length

is she, you know, a disciple of xian shu?, by tshirt

SVSSS, mingying

liu mingyan and ning yingying's developing relationship as they find ways to open up and be real with each other

it's so cute!!

I love how it talks about the experience of gender, how nyy likes that with lmy she isn't expected to be a demure flower, and lmy likes that she doesn't have to be perfect, and none of that excludes them from belonging as a woman who loves women

and also they bond over writing RPS, obvs

3k words in length

MDZS RECS

Disrupt, Corrupt, and Interrupt Me, by hansbekhart

MDZS, lan wangji/su minshan

I love fic that takes Su Minshan seriously as a character, it's a rare delight whenever I come across one

Lan Wangji/Su Minshan during the disciple era, before the guest disciples arrive

lwj is a fuckboy and sms is delighted to discover evidence that lwj despite his airs is the same as everyone else

they fuck about it a lot

content note for nonconsensual somnophilia

PERFECT ENDING omg.

3k words in length

NIF RECS

all around us are cliffs (close your eyes and fall), by plalligator

NiF, mei changsu/mu nihuang/xiao jingyan

canon divergence au where after the destruction of the chiyan army, mu nihuang takes her army back to yunnan to set up as an independent ruler, and prince jing disappears

mei changsu, hearing that nihuang has taken a husband and nobody knows who he is: right so I'm going to yunnan

cue identity shenanigans, of course!

the wip is at 5 chapters and 12k words right now, and it's left unmarked what the expected final length will be, but I am HERE for the ride wherever it goes because everything it is doing is delicious to me

it's tagged with mei changsu/mu nihuang/xiao jingyan so I'm assuming that's the endgame ship, which, yes, take me to there

PERSUASION RECS

An Officer and a Gentleman, by cedarboots

Persuasion, Anne/Frederick

a rewrite of Persuasion featuring butch 4 butch Anne/Frederick

god it's so GOOD and I am so EMOTIONAL about it

I love all the ways in which it is both the same and different, the ways their identities affect the things they do and the choices they make

and I mentioned in an earlier post how meaningful it is to be able to see gender non-conforming people like me in historical fiction, living their lives, finding ways to be happy, finding their community. shaking hands with them across time. I see you and you see me.

making Persuasion specifically be the story told is so perfect too because of how it's about getting to know yourself better when you've had time to grow up more

also there's lots of excellently-researched historical content

and lots of feels

READ IT READ IT READ IT

it's such a lovely ending and I nearly cried about it

47k words in length

MULTIFANDOM RECS

Masculine Women, Feminine Men, by Tafadhali

multifandom vid

fanvid about queer movies from mostly pre-Code hollywood days

a fascinating window into the way queer themes were portrayed in that era

fun and thoughtful at the same time

3 minutes in length

We Kiss in a Shadow (I Have Dreamed), by Tafadhali

multifandom vid

a follow-up to the pre-code vid I just recced, this one is about queer themes in 1950's-60's hollywood

very different vibes, and the contrast says a lot when you watch the two back to back

this one does really good understated yearning and unspoken secrets.

SHORT STORY RECS

Brincando Charcos (Jumping Puddles), by Ben Francisco

Short story

a beautiful story about fear and trauma and being latino in the USA, and queer romance and the wisdom of the people who love you, and how something that can help save you and that can bring joy and fun in your life can also be an unhealthy coping mechanism if you take it too far. I loved reading about Javier and Mateo as they developed their relationship!

4k words in length

The Long Mural, by James Van Pelt

Short story

about a stowaway on a generation ship

also about art and being part of a community of amateur artists whose work is worthwhile

I loved the details about the problems with microbial growth in a closed system full of humans who are constantly shedding skin particles, and that the main character sees it as an important job to be part of the clean-up

the future is unknown but worth being a part of

7k words in length

The Dying Lover of Nogorod, by R. K. Duncan

Short story

fantasy story about wizards and dragons and power, and being queer, and being horny for a dragon who is also your death

deliberately written in a higher register, which can too easily feel stilted or cold, but here works to give the whole thing a sense of dignity and depth

5k words in length

To Carry You Inside You, by Tia Tashiro

Short story

sci-fi story about a woman with a port-drive into her brain that allowed her to be a great child actor when she was young, and gives her a career as an adult of plugging in the mental backup of a dead person to visit bereaved families who want their beloved dead back again

about identity, embodiment, and not knowing how to want things

also about body-sharing

in second-person pov which works so well for the things this story is about and the things it's doing! the main character is someone who spends most of her time being someone else, after all

it's so compellingly written!

has the perfect ending, which can be so hard to pull off right

7k words in length

this is the first published story by this author, and something this great is her first; I am excited to think of where she might go from here!

Nextype, by Sam Kyung Yoo

Short story

a short story about a young woman who was given a neural implant to improve her abilities and skills in school to be able to get a good job

about parental expectations and abusive control

trying to figure out who you are and what you care about when you've never been given the opportunity to be anything but obedient

I had feelings

4k words in length

NOVELETTE RECS

The Year Without Sunshine, by Naomi Kritzer

Novelette

an urban neighbourhood handling an ongoing collapse of systems in a climate crisis by banding together and forming supportive community

doesn't ignore things like temporary and permanent disability

believable amounts of hopeful

10k words in length

Over My Dead Body by shukyou

Novelette

content notes for ummmmmmm body horror? body grossness definitely. also, murder, plus sex with weird consent stuff going on. drug use. probably other stuff too.

but it's not, like, horrifying and depressing about any of that! it's remarkably sweet!

an absolutely incredible piece of original fiction about bodyswap/bodysharing that really makes its home in exploring the weirdness of the situation from the inside. What Is Embodiment. How to have a relationship with the body you're in. Bodies have a lot going on! The brain is part of the body.

probably this story isn't for everyone, but if it is for you then you are in for a TREAT. I adored it.

14k words

Black are the Waters, by Ten Tzeng

Novelette

about the difficulties of being a teen girl whose dad just died, and who is trying to figure out her identity as an othered visible minority, with a large and close-knit multigenerational family whose older generations are more connected with traditional culture and who want her to be too

the traditional culture is selkies

yeah it's a GREAT premise and I love how carefully and believably the selkie culture is imagined, and what the experience of being part of a landed selkie family would be

very emotionally affecting too!

8k words in length

[kattahj]

Thai QL Favorites Tag Game

Tagged by @telomeke – thanks for thinking of me!

Credit also: this game was created by @thatgirl4815 as Thai BL Favorites Tag Game.

Don't expect to get just one answer to any of these. :-)

Favorite Thai QL: I know 3 Will Be Free doesn't "count", but it's just SO GOOD. Also Moonlight Chicken, my first love, and Bad Buddy, which is such solid storytelling from beginning to end.

Favorite pairing: The recent posts by @waitmyturtles has really reminded me how TanBun from Manner of Death are absolutely unhinged in the best possible way, and also so thirsty for each other. Love them!

Most underrated actor: What do you mean Jennie Panhan isn't a massive star with a dozen leading roles? That's criminal!

Even further on the sidelines, Mark Pakin was such a cheeky little scene stealer in Moonlight Chicken (from that very first moment), but he had nothing to do in Bad Buddy, and I haven't followed his career but I hope he has more to do somewhere.

Also, there are a lot of reliable character actors in the older generation that I enjoy whenever they show up. I'm going to single out Jum Amata, who is in everything and always fun to watch.

Favorite character: I've got to say Li Ming from Moonlight Chicken. Such a well-developed role and powerful, nuanced performance, all coming from a teenager. I was impressed then, and I'm still impressed.

Favorite side character: Mae from 3 Will Be Free, come on!

And once again moving further to the sides to mention Fai from Together With Me, who really should have been a lesbian, and Tee from GAP, who was a lesbian and should have been allowed a side romance with Yuki. (They could have cut out some of the more repetitive scenes in the show to make room for it!)

Favorite scene in a QL: (*Pushes Korn dancing in Cupid's Last Wish aside.* Shut UP you're not my favourite!) I have to say Li Ming and Jim in Moonlight Chicken finally sitting down for a conversation, with Li Ming untangling his complicated feelings for his mom and shyly admitting that he loves his uncle.

Also, A Tale of Thousand Stars isn't in my top five or anything, but daaaamn that proposal scene in Our Skyy 2 was super romantic.

And yes, I'm aware I've just mentioned three of Earth's roles here. Your point?

Favorite quote in a QL: Right now, Kit asking his henchmen "Why are you pointing a gun at my son?" in Never Let Me Go is living in my brain rent-free because of what it says about their relationship, and I really ought to make a post talking more about that, but we'll see.

But the line that has had the most personal impact on me overall is probably Uncle Tong in Bad Buddy saying, "You may think one man can't change the world, but I want you to know that this world can't change someone like me either."

Most anticipated QL (and why): The four I've got on my to-watch that haven't been made yet are 23.5 (because more lesbians in general and MilkLove in particular), Last Twilight (more Aof, more disability exploration), Only Friends (more Jojo, more of several actors I like) and Dangerous Romance (more ChimonPerth). I don't want to single out one of them, because I have no idea which one will end up being my favourite!

Healthiest relationship in a QL: Apart from the first episode and a half, HeartLiming from Moonlight Chicken really had no problems with how their relationship was progressing. All their problems were external. It's so healthy that if they weren't a side couple it might even be boring!

Most toxic relationship in a QL: Bright/Farm in Together With Me, hands down. Nothing wrong with an open relationship, but don't do it like THAT (and especially not with an inexperienced kid young enough to be your son).

Guilty pleasure series: Guilt is not a meaningful emotion where entertainment is concerned.

Okay, okay, I do admit feeling a certain amount of guilt at how entertained I was by the trainwreck of Together With Me.

Most underrated series: Truth be told, the ones that make me wish the most for more tumblr posts are the non-Thai GLs I've been watching lately (Sleep With Me and She Makes My Heart Flutter). But of the Thai stuff, I suppose I agree that He's Coming to Me could use some more love.

I don't think there's anyone I could tag who hasn't already been tagged by others, but if you're reading this and would like to do it, feel tagged!

[theheightofdishonor]

2023 year in review: part one

It's close enough to the end of the year that i'm writing my year in review. I decided to do a part for shows that actually aired in 2023. (i may or may not do a second part of this for all the shows i've watched this year but even from an initial glance its a LOT, we'll see. )

From what I have noted, I watched 81 shows this year that finished airing in 2023.

Broken down by country, its

Thailand: 35

Korea: 18

China: 10

Japan: 10

Philippines: 4

Taiwan: 4

48 of these were BL and 16 were GL.

Even this is actually so many that I don't quite know how to even break it down so I guess i'll just go by country?

Thailand

Thailand just has such a large output of content that naturally, the quality also tends to vary wildly meaning this produced both some of my absolute favorites and some of my most beloved.

On the beloved side, Bed Friend, IFYLITA, Moonlight chicken,My school president, and surprisingly Midnight Museum. And on a slightly lower tier, Be My Favorite, Dirty Laundry, Enigma, Shadow, Only Friends, and Warp Effect.

Bed Friend reminded me almost of Tharntype? But like good. I think the execution was great and NetJames definitely has some of the best chemistry in a year chock full of good chemistry. They're great in Middleman's Love too.

I Feel You Linger In the Air is Tee Bundit at his absolute best. He's great at blending genres together. He incorporated horror brilliantly into simr and I love how he leaned into the historical and time travel aspects of this historical time travel romance. There was some really cool things with the directing and the acting from Nonkul and Bright was great too. Me finding out Nonkul was doing a bl was probably how everyone else reacted back when news broke that Nanon was doing BBS. He's one of my favorite actors.

Moonlight Chicken ofc is near perfect. I loved seeing older queer people in a romance with Jim and Wen and the contrast to Li Ming and Heart was great. Not to mention the family and social dynamics and the way the show addresses Beam and Jim's relationship. The only complaint I have is that the lack of physical intimacy between Jim and Wen in the middle portions of the show and near the end felt weird considering the content of the show but even then, it's a pretty minor complaint and everything else about the show is great.

My School President is definitely the one I was most engaged in fandom for. And the only one I was waking up early every morning to watch. (and i'd watch each episode like 2-3 times too). The social media/shipping stuff at the end was fumbled a little bit but I loved the parents in this show and the friend group and tinngun. I still can't believe Fourth and Gemini were like 17-18 when they filmed this. They're both excellent actors. Oh MSP also had the best Our Skyy episodes btw. I'll die on this hill.

Midnight Museum I'll discuss later on too but it was fun. I liked how intentional they were with the cameos where it purposefully gave the actors roles that were completely different from anything they've done before, especially with Tu, Bright, and Nanon. The worldbuilding was also fascinating. I know someone here was making a timeline for it and they mentioned it was a damn pain to figure out but like kinda in a fun way? The decision to make KathaDome a bromance is odd and I hate it and I hate the implications for gmmtv but other than that it was good.

Be My favorite was way better than I ever expected from Jittirain. I do have to say that my experience was marred by the fact that I was constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop, just from my experience with her shows but it didn't which was a pleasant surprise. I liked how they handled Aye's character and Kawi's growth.

I didn't think I'd like Enigma because I don't like Win but it was good. The supernatural/horror genre mix won me over. Also Prim is in this and i'm very weak for her. Win was nowhere on her level but he was more tolerable than I expected. I'm annoyed that she's not going to be in season 2 though because she's the main character?? GMMTV needs to understand that the draw of this show is Prim and not Win.

Only Friends. What a divisive show. I went into this wanting mess and drama and with the aim of not having any other expectations and for the most part, I succeeded. This show brought out the best from everyone in the cast, like genuinely these were some of the best performances that any of these actors have done. Absolutely stellar. Storywise, it was pretty good and very unique in terms of thai bl and gmmtv until that last bit with Boston and Nick which felt malicious and just mean compared to the neutral lens that the show had been portraying the other characters with. Watching it was pretty fun though and again, most of the story was really good so I guess i'm allowing it some grace.

Shadow isn't a bl but it is queer and I appreciated most of what it was doing with the historical horror suspense elements. I think towards the end it definitely was way shakier and I don't understand why they made some of the decisions they made but I really liked the first 3/4 of the show. Fluke and Singto are obviously good too, even though they're both way too old at this point to still be playing high schoolers.

The Warp Effect had the distinct vibe of a PSA and Gigie and Fah should've dated but otherwise, it was a fun watch, I think. I liked Alex's character arc, I liked everyone's character arcs honestly. On my notes, I wrote that the ending was a bit flat so points off for that but it was good.

A lot of these are from GMMTV which when it was good, was incredible and when it was bad, I usually was decent at avoiding them completely

The worst offender from Thailand that I didn't avoid is Tee Bundit with the double hit of Step by Step and Show Me Love. I think people far more eloquent than me have written a lot about sbs so I won't say much but like I almost refrained from watching IFYLITA because of how hurt I was by sbs. And Show Me Love was just like offensively mediocre which hit worse at the time because I had just watched Something In My Room and IFYLITA beforehand and made the mistake of having expectations from Tee. In my defense, Tee's usually good at writing engaging characters and casting for good chemistry so I had no reason to believe he'd fail here.

Hmm what else. Oh actually, brief mention of Nanon's filmography this year since I checked out all of it and he tends to be so good even in mediocre shows that I can't help but be intrigued.

Hmm what else. Oh actually, brief mention of Nanon's filmography this year since I checked out all of it and he tends to be so good even in mediocre shows that I can't help but be intrigued. Dirty Laundry by JoJo was excellent. It was a little hard to get into because i'm not a fan of the genre but i loved it. Also Film and Nanon are a fun pair and I think they get better with every showing. UMG actually was mediocre despite the great cast and I want better from Nanon so I dropped it. Namtam and Milk's characters should lowkey have gotten together though. In Midnight Museum, Nanon's a side character (which i honestly forgot was something gmmtv let him do) but he fucking KILLED it. He played three roles here and all of them were new for him and you could tell the guy was having a blast. I can't say it's some of the best acting I've seen from him but that's only because when Nanon is good, he's always this good. Oh and also, Nanon and View in MM is the best chemistry he's ever had with a girl. Our Skyy, there's not a lot I'm willing to say publicly about all that but Nanon even at half-effort is still better than half of GMMTV's stable. The Jungle was a terrible mess but Nanon was so excellent in it that i'm still writing essays about Nannam and Nanfah months later. Nanon and Mild as a pair were also excellent and the only ones that made it out of this show unscathed. The rest as I said, is a mess but one that could've been somewhat redeemed by making Mix a vampire. (this might not make sense but like watch Mix's performance alright he's trying sooo hard to be shady and mysterious and they never let it go anywhere) My precious was a fairly run of the mill movie with excellent acting. As a plot I think it's a little thin for a show but i'm interested to see how they'll stretch it out. Hopefully the longer runtime means the friend group can be fleshed out a little bit more.

Korea

Well that ended up not being all that brief but moving on, I thought Korea would have more on a showing because I remembered watching a lot of kdramas but turns out most of the kdramas I watched were from previous years so, only 18. A very dramatic drop from Thailand's 35.

The best of these included The Eighth Sense, Our Dating Sim, and Welcome to the Lesbian Bar with Sing My Crush being ever so slightly underneath. I would rec Lesbian Bar to literally everyone, but especially those who enjoyed MLC. It's got that same queer family focus with the central relationship being this baby lesbian and her lesbian aunt. Out of the not queer stuff, My Perfect Stranger was an excellent time travel romance, The Glory Season 2 was better than all the other season twos that came out this year, and

If Korea produced anything too egregious this year (outside of Taxi Driver and Uncanny Counter's season 2s) I missed it. But out of the ones I watched, the most disappointing was A Shoulder To Cry On, followed rather distantly by Bump Up Business, both for very different reasons. I will say though that whatever is wrong with Tae Hyun in A Shoulder To Cry On is very appealing to me in the same way that Tae Joo from Where Your Eyes Linger was except like a weaker version.

China

I once thought i'd never touch a cdrama again but here I am, having watched 3 whole traditional length cdramas this year. The other 7 are almost all from the Legend of Yunze's catalog because I love their content. The best by leaps and bounds was Nu Er Hong by Legend of Yunze. I think it's my favorite out of everything they've made. The studio's really started to figure out their pacing and also this one was fairly dark and dark gl- dark anything really- is right up my alley. A flower for 3 lives and Seven Gods of Joy by the same studio had great concepts but shakier execution. Stepping outside of them, A league of noblemen was probably my favorite traditional cdrama but Mysterious Lotus Casebook was fun fandom-wise since people on tumblr were watching it.

I think the only show i'd classify as bad is probably My everlasting bride which I watched on a whim. Under a miscroscope started good and then ended boring so overall averages into mediocre. This wouldn't be a crime anywhere else but I expect good pacing from my cdramas.

Japan

I liked pretty much everything I watched from Japan this year so imma go with my worst off which was Jack O' Frost. This is more on me than on the show itself because the concept just squicked me out a lot more than I expected it to. Badly enough that i've blocked the tag.

On the best of, I don't even know if I can choose. Hmm, Bokura no micro na shuumatsu, Kimi ni wa todokanai, Kinou nani tabeta s2, both the My Beauitful Man installments, and Taikan Yoho. Ahhh, and Tokyo in April is... Welp well turns out I couldn't actually choose. This was pretty much everything I watched.

I didn't think I'd like Bokura no as much as I ended up liking it. And I don't know if I would've liked it as much if any other country had produced this show. But it was achy and wistful and I fell in love;.

Kimi ni wa todokanai though was hands down my favorite from Japan and I don't even like friends to lovers. It also helped that they, mostly Yamato reminded me a bit of Kageyama and Hinata. Like I know it's just common character archetypes but also, it's kagehina core, yeah? The bed scene where Yamato yeets Kakeru onto the bed was both hilarious and just well done. I liked the way Yamato wrestled with his desire.

I watched Kinou Nani Tabeta s2 just a couple days ago since I was waiting to binge it and i'm glad I wasn't watching this weekly because it would make everything else I watch weekly dull in comparison. Honestly would watch 100 seasons of this. It's perfect.

My Beautiful Man S2 and My Beautiful Man: Eternal were both solid. I think mbm s1 had tighter pacing but week to week, I enjoyed s2 more. For some reason I didn't write notes for either but I do remember liking both so.

Taikan Yoho. If not for the kghn vibes from kimi ni wa, this would be my favorite. Like their dynamic and just the layers of it and how it presents itself in the language of the show is just so tailored to my taste. I think I wanted just a little bit more from them, but what I got was excellent.

Philippines

I only watched four and somehow, it's perfectly split into 2 gls and 2 bls. I really do like pinoy stuff and the way they write relationships but I don't watch a lot of it because I don't know a lot of people who track it and also because most of it is on yt and i don't like the yt interface. But out of what I watched, the best was The Day I Loved You and Stand-In Love.

The Day I Loved You did a good job in handling the love triangle and Eli's illness. I'm not sure how I feel about the ending but it was still good.

Stand-In Love is about 2 best friends who are in a 'stand-in' relationship with each other where the straight one is helping the lesbian one learn how to court a girl but then they end up falling in love. It's like 20 minutes long, it's fucking adorable, very well done for the amount of time it had.

The other two things I watched was Tie the Not and Lei and Mar. Tie the Not is basically just pinoy Wedding Plan and I find that I don't care for the concept. Lei and Mar is a cute friends to lovers that for some reason ends in a car crash. Like it started out really cute and then bam, car crash out of absolutely nowhere. Just, why?

Taiwan

Kiseki: Dear to Me was fun and I liked the cameos. It was a funny experience for me though because I consumed a lot of this show via gifsets but I never actually read the synopsis and whatever the hell I thought this was about was decidedly not it.

Fall For You - it's tragic, it is but I laughed

Stay By My Side reminded me a bit of Hikaru No Go but I can't tell you why. It's more cute domestic fluff than plot but I watched it twice so clearly I didn't mind too much at the time. Plus, it has ghosts and i'm a sucker for supernatural stuff.

You are mine was a mess and I think I watched up til the penultimate episode. What is it with office bls this year?

[sashimi-time]

Completed BL Dramas Recommendations

So, I'm pretty picky about the types of BL dramas I watch. I've watched a lot, but I usually never end up really loving it, you know? I enjoy scenes here and there, so I decided to make a list of the ones I absolutely adored from beginning to end! Warning though, this is…a really short list. If you have any suggestions on BL movies/dramas, please share them!

2 Moons (2017) (Thai) - 12 Episodes

Plot (MDL): Wayo Panitchayasawad is a freshman at a university that is also attended by his long-time secret love, Phana Kongthanin, a second-year student. As the Campus Moon, Pha is extremely popular but he does not seem to enjoy popularity at all. When Yo becomes the Moon of his department, the two meet on a daily basis. Their relationship starts quite rough since Pha seems to pick on Yo, but things change.

Notes: This is actually my very first BL drama, so I guess it will always hold a special place in my heart. It was super light and cute. I loved it! I watched it with my mom (lols), and we both enjoyed it so much! I loved Phana and Wayo in this one. And the song. Mygoodness, the song. It will forever be stuck in my head (1~ 2~ 3~ 4~ 5~ I love you~). Actually, I really liked everyone here! The chemistry was great, the acting, and the friendships. <3 It actually has a 2019 remake (2 Moons 2), where the story progressed much farther than 2 Moons. In that one, I actually mostly enjoyed watching Kit and Ming. They were super cute. The chemistry between them was off the charts. I'd suggest 2 Moons 2 for those two alone. However, I didn't care much for Phana x Wayo in the remake. I liked it more when they weren't on the screen…sorry, but the other couples were way, way more interesting with better chemistry… So yes, I suggest 2 Moons (2017) if you want something light-hearted, fun, and short!

Semantic Error (2022) (Korean) - 8 Episodes

Plot (MDL): Chu Sang Woo is a junior computer science majoring student who prizes reason, rules, and a rigid sense of what is right above all else. As part of his university work, he is told to work on a group project for the liberal arts, whereby the group is required to make a final presentation in order to pass the module. But as the rest of the group – whom he knows nothing about – have decided to leave him to do all the work on his own, he decides to remove their names, and make the presentation in his name.

But little did he know that when he did this, he would deal a heavy blow to the academic prospects of a senior student named Jang Jae Young. The latter, a design major, is Chu Sang Woo’s polar opposite. He is stylish, fun-loving, and – above all – extraordinarily popular. He is the closest thing the college has to a superstar! But when his credit for the liberal arts project is taken away, his grand plans to study abroad are suddenly thrown up in the air. He seeks out Chu Sang Woo and is of a mind to torment him. But when the duo is forced to work together, a strange attraction starts to develop between them…

Notes: Oh. My. Gods. This drama.

I actually read the Manhwa of Semantic Error, so you have no idea how hyped I was to learn about the adaptation. AND IT DID NOT DISAPPOINT ME. o(≧∇≦o)

Everything about this short drama is great. I honestly believe it adapted the web novel really, really well! My friend and I watched it together, and we couldn't stop feeling all fluttery and screeching our hearts out after every episode! ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝ It very easily took the number 1 spot in my list for BL Dramas, no contest. And even though it was short, it didn't feel rushed, you know?

Other than the amazing (in my opinion) story (except for that really, really weird scene in French class. I didn't understand its purpose when I first watched (and rewatched mehehe) this drama, and I still don't understand it to this day), the actors and the acting! Mygoodness. I thought they casted them to a tee. Park Jae Chan is the perfect Cha Sang Woo, and of course, Park Seo Ham is the perfect Jang Jae Young. Don't even get me started on the chemistry between these two because booooooooooi. There would be sparks every time they were in a scene together. WHY ARE THEY SO CUTE TOGETHER?!?!?!? My heart. TT^TT

Other than the two adorable main characters, I absolutely loved the side characters as well! In my opinion, Choi Yu Na is an absolute queen, and I absolutely adore Ryu Ji Hye. Seriously, you can't hate anyone in this.

So if you haven't watched this yet, please, please do. You will not regret it. Just remembering the scenes from this drama makes me feel all fluttery. ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡ HAHAHHA.

[neversee]

Dramas I watched March & April 2023

Post for the first 2 months of the year here

I think march and april I watched a lot of new dramas, but I rewatched some too. Let’s start:

1) Moonlight Chiken

The story is about the owner and workers of the restaurant ‘Moonligh Chiken’, mainly the owner, uncle Jim, and his nephew Li Ming. It starts when a guy got drunk and slept in the pub and Uncle Jim ends up babysitting him. Basically they have a "one night stand" and end up starting a relationship, initially just as "friends" but not so much. We also follow the story of Li Ming, who, after a "misunderstanding", ends up going to work at Heart's house, a deaf young man.

I really liked the story, it's much more serious than all the ones I've watched so far, and it's also very cinematic. I marathoned the drama as I always do, but I think watching it little by little ends up being the best option, because it gives  time to absorb everything that happens in the story. I loved the caracthers, I found really funny the way Wen just fell in love with Uncle Jim so fast, and how he was desperate to be with him. And the couple Li Ming and Heart that were really adorable.

Where to watch it: Youtube.

2) All the Liquors

It's a light-hearted drama about a marketing employee for a beverage company who has to work with a chef who hates alcohol. It’s very nice to watch, nothing really surprising happens here. The episodes are like 15 min long.

Where to watch it: Viki.

3) Our Dating Sim

This one was a surprise, I didn't think I was going to enjoy it as much as I did. It’s a web drama, very short, and korean. And we know that korean BL aren’t as good as the thailand ones, but I don’t know what happened in Korea, because the ones that are released in 2023 are AMAZING.

I LOVED this one, very cute. School friends who get separated and meet again 7 years later working at the same company. It's a second chance romance, and it's amazing. It’s almost a comfort drama, I can rewatch it and never gets boring.

Where to watch it: Viki.

4) Light on Me

I finally watched this drama, in general I found it adorable, cute, day to day school drama, friendships being made, first loves and so on. My favorite character is Noh Shinwoo(?), the dorkiest ice prince ever. I loved that the theme of the story was "courage" - courage to make friends, courage to declare your love, courage to be with the person you love. I loved. What I didn't like was that the story is completely centered on a love triangle, and it’s so focused on it that if I hadn't caught some spoilers, I wouldn't know who the protagonist would end up with, I think that until the penultimate episode it's not clear who he would choose. I understand, but I prefer it when we have already defined the couple and see their evolution. It didn't become my favorite Korean bl, but I loved it.

Where to watch it: Viki.

5) The Eclipse

I didn't even expect to watch this one. I had already tried to watch it before, but the vibe didn't get me, I thought it was too "serious" and I just wanted something light. So a few months went by and I gave it another chance, and guess what? I liked very much. The story is interesting, the actors are good, the characters are excellent. I got hooked. I loved the Akk-Aye couple, they have great chemistry and their scenes are 10/10. Anyone who likes something more dystopian will love this drama.

Where to watch it: Youtube.

6) Unintentional Love Story

Another korean BL that is amazing. It’s the most “korean standard” drama of a korean bl drama. It means that we have a story that has a lot of cliches of korean dramas, the non-BLs ones. I don’t know if other people have the same opinion as me, it’s just what I felt. The episodes are 36-40 min long, wich is very uncommon for a BL.

What the drama is about: a company employee is unfairly fired, goes on vacation in the countryside and comes across a famous craftsman who has been missing from the spotlight for 2 years, he sees this meeting as an opportunity to be rehired, and decides to approach of the guy, only obviously it turns into a romance. I loved this one, It’s a cute romance, very comfort drama.

7) Bed Friend

This one I watched 100% influenced by Tumblr, you have no idea how many  posts I saw about this drama...

The story's about two co-workers who decide to have a friends with benefits relationship. From the plot and gifs I saw, I thought it would be a fun and light story, but it's not. Our protagonist suffered a lot of abuse during his life, including sexual abuse, so the story develops around these issues. If you have any sort of triggers with that, it might be hard to watch. The romance itself is pretty cool, King and Uea as a couple are excellent, and their scenes are so hot, I found it even funny that they were exploring various facets of their sexual relationship. I watched the show on Mandee's youtube channel, but I found out on the 3rd episode that the censored versions are posted on youtube, so basically there are no sex scenes there, only the streaming version, so if you have IQiYi or alternative ways to watch, maybe it's better to watch it there.

After I finished the drama, I got an IQiYi subscription, and watch some episodes to see what was cut it out. And It’s incredible that they cut scenes that were completely normal scenes, mainly in the episode 8. Some episodes they cut like 10 minutes out of it.

Where to watch it: IQiYi, Youtube (censored version).

Dramas I started watching but didn’t finish YET:

1) Till the end of the Moon

I’m loving this one, it’s a enemys to lovers story (really enemies, the ones that try to murder each other), I watched it until episode 19, and I’m trying to watch it slowly. You can watch it on Viki or Youtube.

2) The Love You Give Me

I started this one a couple days ago, it’s in the begining yet, but I’m enjoying, it’s about a couple that got separated 5 years ago, the guy hates the girl, and the girl has a 4 years old son that we “don’t” know who is the father. It’s very light and easy watch drama. I’m watching it on Viki, but it’s on WeTv too.

Drama I REWATCHED:

1) You are my glory: I watched it in 2021, and really enjoyed. I decided to rewatch it, but I’m still  only 13 episodes in (it’s the first part of the drama), and it’s still good, there’s a lot chinese government propaganda, but I don’t really care about it.

2) My School President: I loved this drama soooo much, I can’t help rewatching. It’s still good, the songs are great, I’m probably gonna rewatch more times this year.

3) Between Us: I kinda watch it because I wanted to see how the time line BU and Until We Meet Again worked, but I can tell you that it’s like Team and Win are completly different characters on both dramas. It’s like a multiverse situation. It’s still really good, and I read the novel too, the novel is like a less dramatic version of the drama.

That’s it guys, see you in 2 months!

[jollysailorswan]

I posted 1,947 times in 2022

That's 134 more posts than 2021!

74 posts created (4%)

1,873 posts reblogged (96%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

I tagged 361 of my posts in 2022

#my posts - 43 posts

#wow - 4 posts

#bad buddy - 3 posts

#love him - 2 posts

#😭😭😭😭😭 - 2 posts

#soft - 2 posts

#yoongi legend - 2 posts

#me every time wai appeared on screen - 2 posts

#yeah - 2 posts

#i love thisbfic so much - 1 post

Longest Tag: 127 characters

#kiss scenes can be forced and weird and really bad cause either the actors cant make it work or theyre just terrible at kissing

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Back to our regular schedule with everyone on here ignoring me 🥰

3 notes - Posted May 14, 2022

#4

BTS going to the White House, invited into the Oval Office to discuss with the US president about anti-Asian hate crimes and racism was not in my 2022 bingo card

3 notes - Posted May 31, 2022

#3

This blatant fraud happening right in front of our eyes, making a mockery of BTS’ reach and actual achievements because someone paid you change the rules ONLY for BTS and rewrite history is so disgusting. I’m honestly so upset about this, because the “artists” gaining over this bullshit is the laziest most untalented group of individuals parading as an idol group right now

I hope Karma hits everyone involved like a truck

4 notes - Posted December 1, 2022

#2

some thoughts on Pat’s relationship with his dad cause i’m writing something and someone else has probably said this before but anyway

the reason why Ming maintained the feud with Dissaya’s family was probably because he was ashamed of what he did and didn’t want his kids to know about it. he did not allow Pat and Pa to go anywhere near close to Pran because of the fear that they would discover the rotten shit he did to Dissaya. 

Ming has an unhealthy obsession with his reputation. Pushing Pat to always make sure he doesn’t tarnish his father’s name and always comes first, especially when competing against Pran:

1. having his son be number 1 at everything surely meant that he too deserved that scholarship and he didn’t cheat to get it

2. reminding his son again and again to follow his footsteps was a way to remind him of how great his dad is (in his mind) so that Pat never questions Ming and if Pat were to find out the truth, he would trust his father not the jealous neighbours.

I can think of two possible reasons why he acted like that. One would be that he just didn’t want to disappoint his kids but i feel like if it was just that he would have at least apologised when the truth came out. The other is that as we know Ming toxic masculinity kind of guy. and a man who thinks a lot about himself would never allow for anything to ruin his tough and awesome guy image

how his kids ended up as good as they did was a miracle tbh

5 notes - Posted June 1, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

I'm cursed to compare every single show I watch to ouat and point out how much ouat was lacking in script, character development and emotional growth

I'm still haunted by the way I broke up with that show

9 notes - Posted August 7, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[absolutebl]

2023 Thai BL Favorites List - Mid Year Check In

Tagged by @thatgirl4815​ (thanks hon!) I adapted this to my taste.

Feel free to c/p do the same! 

I’m answering all these right now for 2023, because it’s too complicated for me otherwise. 

Favorite Thai BL 2023:

My School President

Favorite currently active Thai BL Branded Pair:

High Heat: Net James (Bed Friend) 

Established: OhmFluke (609 Bedtime Story)

New: GeminiFourth (My School President & Moonlight Chicken) 

Most underrated Thai BL actor right now: 

Film Thanapat. He was perfectly serviceable in To Sir, With Love but he’s a goddamn revelation in Laws of Attraction. 

Pair the deserves a second chance: 

Haii & Boom (Chains of Heart) 

Favorite Thai BL Main Character 2023:

King (Bed Friend) 

Favorite Thai BL Side Character 2023:

Thiu (My School President)

Favorite Thai BL side dishes 2023: 

Li Ming & Heart (Moonlight Chicken)

Favorite scene in a Thai BL so far:

My School President calling on the spirit of Love Sick. What can I say? I love meta and I love BL remembering it’s own history. This did both. 

Most Anticipated Thai BL (& why):

I Feel You Linger in the Air 

I like the premise, the cast looks great. This is a time travel historical romance adaption of y-novel by Violet Rain about a heartbroken architect who is transported to the 1930s from the producers of Lovely Writer.

Guilty pleasure Thai BL 2023 series (or likely to become so):

Future the series

July 2023 Thai BL Report

ABL has watched:

My School President & Our Skyy 2: My School President

La Pluie

Step By Step

Bed Friend

Between Us

Destiny Seeker

Make a Wish

Moonlight Chicken

Never Let Me Go & Our Skyy 2: Never Let Me Go

Our Skyy 2: A Tale of Thousand Stars

Our Skyy 2: Bad Buddy

Our Skyy 2: Star in My Mind

Our Skyy 2: The Eclipse

A Boss and a Babe & Our Skyy 2: A Boss and a Babe

Cutie Pie 2 You special

Future the series

609 Bedtime Story

Our Skyy 2: Vice Versa

I Will Knock You

Remember Me

Tin Tem Jai

Pastsenger

The Promise

Cafe In Love

Chains of Heart

Hit Bite Love

The Luminous Solution

My Blessing

Currently Watching: 

Be Mine Super Star

Be My Favorite

Dinosaur Love

Hidden Agenda

Laws of Attraction

Love Syndrome III  

Low Frequency

Senior Love Me

Wedding Plan

Can’t Find

Love Upon a Time

Boyband the series

Heart by Heart

Moments Of Love

DNF 

House of Stars

Till the World Ends

Announced for 2023 (maybe still to come?)

After Sundown

1626

Fake Love

Friends Forever

I Wish You Love

Lucky Love

Pisces of Me

Refund Love

Right Time, Right You

You Are My Soulmate

The Camp Fire

The Outing Series

Deep Night

Pit Babe

Rule No.1: Don’t Be Too Emotional

Future From Me

SHADOW

Naughty Babe

Only Friends

Buddy Line Y Animal AKA

Mystique in the Mirror

2 Worlds

Punk Spy

The Next Prince

Kemjira Will Survive

Playboyy

Close Friend 3 Soju Bomb

Waterboyy 3 AKA Waterboys

Acadex

I Feel You Linger in the Air

Middleman’s Love AKA Middle Love

Cinderella Boys

Cherry Magic (Thai remake)

Born to be Y

Dangerous Romance

23.5

4 Minutes

7 Times 4 Days

Big Dragon 2

Big Dragon the movie

Boy Never Smiles

Chiang Mai Adventures

City of Stars 

Colorful Melody

Cooking Crush

Flirt Milk

Friend. Boyfriend

Heroin The Series

Hot Bamee and Yummy Gyogung

Khemjira Will Survive

Last Twilight

Lost in the Woods

Love in Translation

Love Puzzle AKA Plengrak AKA

Love Syndrome – The Beginning

Lover Merman

Man Suang

Night Dream

Our Skyy 2

Our Story

Rule No.1: Don't Be too Emotional

Sunset Vibes

The Chinese Family

The D Project

The Hidden Character

The Internship

The Sign

The Whisperer

True Moon

Two Worlds

Wish Me Luck

Wish You Luck

Y-Moment

Crazy Handsome Rich

For Him the series

Twin The Series AKA Twins

Casanova Begins

Marry Go Round

Venus in the Sky  

[jjheejz]

[WOH Concert D2 Shenanigans] - Supporting Cast Appreciation

(Long post ahead)

Dedicated to the entire cast for making the Hug of the Century happen.

Because of the individual skill showcase segment (Day 2) for the supporting casts, we got to witness a whole chunk of sweets as well as their built-up SUPPORT for WenZhou/JunZhe’s hug.

***Whatever they did below are almost/have crossed the line yet they defied and did it, all for WenZhou/JunZhe.

1. Gao Chong / Heizi laoshi

“The love of Wenzhou” (温周之恋）

“Wishing them grow old together” (白头偕老）

*On a side note, he was so good with his skill! I had the exact same reaction as ZZH! For once I felt like my reaction was broadcasted on screen!

2. Ye Bai Yi / Huang You Ming

Chose the song <A secret that can’t be told> by Jay Chou (不能说的秘密）

Instead of singing from the chorus, he sang the verse straight away before the chorus:

“Rainy days are not the most beautiful, but hiding from the rain with you under a roof is. The most beautiful scene, swinging on the swing, the dream starts to disappear. [Chorus] You said you would...”

The chorus basically is about breaking up so he probably purposely stopped there.

- A secret that can’t be told: Assumed that WenZhou/JunZhe are together

- Rainy days + hiding from the rain with you under a roof: This is a famous CP fans insider knowledge where a group of early CP fans analysed and determined that both of them (during filming) were alone in the same caravan together (just the two of them) to avoid a very heavy rain during the set. They practically spent the entire rainy period alone in that caravan, and it turned out to be true.

*Our ancestor sings well

3. Xie Er, Scorpion King / Li Dai Kun

Chose the song that he sang in an interview that showcased his raging voice (he sang a gentler version here). <Those risky dreams you have> by JJ Lin (那些你很冒险的梦). When he sang the lyrics:

“Those risky dreams you have,” signals the audience. 

“I accompany you to be crazy together” (crazy about having those risky dreams).

Basically he knows that the cpf are all shipping them in their own analysis, stories etc, so he is one of us. (we all know he is ever since his interview)

4. Du Pu Sa X Qian Qiao / Zhao Xi x Ke Nai Yu

It’s okay to ship same gender together. + It’s okay to show it off. They created their own ship off set hahaha. 

*These two beautiful ladies are really sweet too!

Bonus (not in the individual skills segment but everyone knows)

5. Zhao Jing / Wang Ruo Lin laoshi

“Take away someone’s beloved”

This whole open shipping by the entire cast caused all the actor/actresses personal staff to be warned, who sternly warned the actors/actresses, who all knew the serious consequences of continuing sailing on stage, had the Director & backstage crew shivering, spent a HUGE sum of money to stop it from blowing up in trending - this would have been CHAOS if it trended. 

Despite all these backstage shenanigans, the supporting cast gave both of them the courage to do what they want to do on stage, indirectly.

For the Hug of the Century.

[konggodzuko]

I sit in a weird place with the last 2 episodes of Book of Boba Fett. On one hand, they’re really good as just... media, especially episode 5. Tight writing, interesting Star Wars stuff, etc. Problem is, they don’t have much Boba Fett in them. Even worse, they’re better episodes from a quality perspective than the first four episodes, so I got this weird feeling of guilty relief when episode 5 happened and my thought was “Oh thank god, something good.”

So it really sucks! Temura Morrison is a good actor! I love his take on Boba Fett! Ming-Na Wen is a good actor! I love Fennec Shand! I want to want to see more of them, but episodes 1-4 did so little to impress me that episode 5 blew my socks off and I really enjoyed 6.

And, maybe, if 1-4 had been handled better, this wouldn’t be an issue. Those episodes are really... unfocused. While the flashback stuff all has a clear goal, making it more enjoyable (until they kill of the Tuskens unceremoniously, that is, but I digress) the present-day stuff is desperately looking for a plot. The first episode seems to be just about Getting Respect, but that’s fine as first episodes don’t always introduce the main conflict. 2 brings in the Hutt twins, but then they leave in 3 and suddenly we meet our actual main villains, the Syndicate, but episode 4 is mostly flashback so it doesn’t get to do much more with them.

So because of that, despite how much I like 5 & 6, they still sting because 5 doesn’t move the plot forwards at all and 6 *does* move the plot but only the first and last 5 minutes or so do that. The rest is a lot of stuff that really really should’ve been in Mandalorian season 3. 5 was fun as a catch-up but all the Grogu stuff should’ve been saved for later. 

Anyway, if they really stick the landing I’ll probably forgive a lot of the bumps taken to get there. And this is far far far from the worst Star Wars thing I’ve ever seen. So, I dunno, those are my thoughts.

[magicaltear]

thoughts on the bobf finale and the series as a whole?

Oh man, so we're opening this can of worms, huh? I have so many thoughts about the episode and the series as a whole, most of which can be summarized into: I hate how the producers considered The Book of Boba Fett nothing but The Mandalorian season 2.5

But let's go in order, shall we? I literally just finished watching the finale due to a busy week, and I cannot lie, I enjoyed it very much. The battle in Mos Espa was fun and engaging, and I was still excited to witness the betrayal of the other crime families even though we could see that coming a mile away. It was a fantastical All Is Lost story beat, which spurred that amazing interaction between Din and Boba inside the ruins of the Sanctuary. I know we've seen an entire Mandalorian Tribe fight together, but the Boba-Mando team-up still blew my mind. The Scorpenek droids were terrifying as well, and I liked how it felt a bit nostalgic toward the old Droidekas but with a fresher twist. Grogu and Peli are always a treat and pulled a few chuckles from me, and I could gush for hours about Boba Fett finally riding his rancor and having a great duel against Cad Bane that he won using the Tusken gaffi stick. Overall, the season finale was rather entertaining. It had great action sequences, deep character interactions, and pretty much tied up all loose ends to effectively close all the plots that were introduced into the storyline.

However--yes, here it comes, there it is. However! All these great story beats lost a lot of their strength due to the terrible lack of build-up, and that leads us to my thoughts on the series as a whole. Why the hell were we pulled away from our protagonist for two entire episodes right before the season finale? This is when the build-up is supposed to be the strongest; when the tension is to grow so tight it can't help but shatter during the climax. The episodes focusing on Mando and Luke were cool and all, but why were they presented here in the middle of Boba Fett's show instead of the beginning of The Mandalorian season 3? Did the executives somehow fear that a beloved character from the original trilogy would fail to garner enough views and attention? That Temuera Morrison and Ming-Na Wen would not be loved by the fans as protagonists of their own show? Those two amazing actors deserved better, and that point is non-negotiable.

This strange concept of making The Book of Boba Fett nothing but a glorified season 2.5 of another show ended up hurting the story and its characters as much as the actors. The Tusken tribe deserved a lot more screen time for us to explore their culture and their new bond with Boba Fett. Boba Fett deserved more screen time with his rancor as well! Was it a struggle to train it? How many falls did Boba have to take before he grew used to riding it? Spending more time on that aspect of the story would have escalated the level of achievement surrounding Boba when he rode the rancor into battle at Mos Espa. The same thing stands for Boba and his ragtag team of minions. I loved the idea of Boba taking under his wing a bunch of teenagers, but the overall visual design of the Mods completely broke my suspension of disbelief. Perfectly shiny hoverbikes and robotic enhancements in Tatooine!? Please. Had the Mods been more visually fitting to their environment, I would have embraced them without a second thought.

And don't even get me started on how rushed Luke's, Din's and Grogu's storyline was. Din got essentially banished from his tribe and it goes unmentioned for the rest of the show--Din himself doesn't even react to it! I know it's meant to be tackled in The Mandalorian season 3 (hopefully!), but then why introduce it now and not at the beginning of that season? Moreover, Luke and Ahsoka finally met (something the fans have been looking forward to for years!) and they brushed it all away and off camera! Had they kept the Jedi out of this short series, then they would have had the time to once again explain the Jedi's (and George Lucas') true views on attachment instead of leaving it so vague that the fans threw themselves at that old debate again even though it already had a correct canonical answer. The cherry on top here is how the season finale couldn't even fit an on-screen goodbye between Luke and Grogu.

@gffa has done some amazing analyses of the show, and they have a post explaining how easy it would have been to twist the story away from Din so that Luke could still have been granted a cameo while Boba Fett remained at the very center of the plot. I 100% agree. Personally, if I were to re-imagine the show as a professional writer or write a fix-it fic for it, I'd stand by these points:

Give the Tuskens at least one more chapter to shine, be it by Boba's side or by parting ways with him because their ideas for the future were not the same.

Include so many more flashbacks about Boba's time in Kamino, his memories of Jango Fett, and any lessons he learned from him. Do they clash with what the Tuskens taught him? Are they in any way similar?

Explore Boba's role as Daimyo more deeply, showing more occasions in which he applies the lessons he learned from both the Tuskens and Jango. Have him reach a firm alliance/near friendship with Garsa Fwip so that the bombing of the Sanctuary hits harder at the end and serves as a real declaration of war.

Make Din fail to find The Armorer and Paz Vizla before he's summoned by Boba Fett. Leave that reunion and the bombshells that were the Darksaber and Din's banishment for The Mandalorian season 3.

Allow Boba to spend a lot more time with his rancor. Let him grow frustrated at the slow process of the training. Let him be challenged so that his final ride into battle is all the more rewarding.

Make the Pike Syndicate appear a lot more dangerous. They kept teasing us with this whole war and army...well, then show it to us. Make us truly fear for Tatooine's future and the improvements Boba has already made (which the show forgot to show us because they were too busy spotlighting the effects used on The Twins).

Somehow drag Luke into all of this like @gffa suggested. Leave Grogu's choice to be explored in The Mandalorian. We're still following Boba Fett's story here and his past encounters with Luke, not Din's.

Keep Boba Fett and Fennec Shand together during the finale? This was their show yet Fennec's assassination of the mafia leaders felt underwhelming in comparison to Din taking on the Scorpenek droid and Grogu pacifying the scared rancor. Boba should have also gotten the chance to avenge his Tusken tribe properly (because any arguments in favor of him growing past the need for revenge or being the better man were not explored in the show either, there was no time!)

So there you have it, dear anon. These are my thoughts on The Book of Boba Fett and its season finale, fresh after I finished watching the episode. I'm pretty sure there are things I forgot to talk about, and many more that will pop up the longer I stew in the aftermath, so feel free to keep sending me asks or sharing your own thoughts about it. I know my opinion cannot be wrong or right, but I do know I feel a bit disappointed and betrayed because I allowed myself to expect the show to be about Boba Fett, his values, and his growth as a character. Guess we'll have to wait and see what awaits us in The Mandalorian season 3.