#modc cast

[shijiujun]

KISEKI Dear to Me: 3.5 CPs + GANGSTER/MOB + SALT DEATH PTSD

Alright guys, temporarily bursting out of hiatus to talk about this show because DAMN if there's anything we know works in BL-land, it's like underworld AU (hello History3: Trapped and KP lmao), and even better if this underworld AU has like DILFs and two familiar actors who WERE FORCED APART in their previous roles and who knows if that'll happen again BUT!

Without further ado...

Title: Kiseki Dear to Me, based on novel Dear to Me by Lin Peiyu Beginning: Aug. 22, 2023, 7PM (GTM+8) Episodes: 13 Total No. of CPs: THREE CONFIRMED + "childhood friends" DILFs

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CP 1: BAD BOY + GOOD STUDENT

Fan Zherui x Bai Zongyi: Fan Zherui, 25 years old, is a gang member who turned to the gangs due to family problems, and one day when he's injured, Bai Zongyi saves him, he falls in love with him and decides to leave the gang, but things go awry when his enemy Zhang Teng (played by Wayne, see CP 3) comes after for revenge. Bai Zongyi is a good student, your cutest boy next door, who is independent and has some PTSD from when he was beaten up in the rain - meets Fan Zherui and for once realises what it means to be loved, to have someone to care for him and more. TWO MEOW MEOWS?! Anyway, Bai Zongyi, according to MDL, will take the rap for some fight for Zherui, and then end up in jail, but then very weirdly the official description says that CP 2's Eddie ends up in jail for Bai Zongyi, I'm a tad confused but WHATEVER we will find out when we watch the damn show.

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CP 2: ADOPTED SON OF GANG BOSS + CHILDHOOD "YOUNGER BROTHER" PUPPY

Chen Yi x Eddie (Ai Di): They both grew up together with Eddie as the younger 'brother', with Chen Yi being 'adopted' by gang boss Chen Dongyang after his parents, also gang members die to protect the boss. Eddie has been chasing after him for the longest time, and has a sad family background as his parents are druggies and he was only able to grow up well under the protection of Chen Dongyang, and he only listens to Chen Yi. UNREQUITED-REQUITED love, but Eddie sees how Chen Yi feels deeply about Chen Dongyang (I don't know what that means from the description LMAO like??) and decides to leave Chen Yi, and somehow get embroiled in something and ends up in jail for Bai Zongyi. Chen Yi is only just understanding his own feelings for Eddie when Eddie literally goes to jail DOGBLOOD MUCH?! Anyway they will reunite 4 years later.

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CP 3: MY BAOBEIS?!?!?! MY LOVELIES WHO MADE US GET PTSD OVER SALT?! WILL THESE TWO GANG MEMBERS GET THEIR HAPPILY EVER AFTERS THEY BETTER FUCKING DO

Zhang Teng x A-Jun: BOTH GANG MEMBERS if you couldn't tell from their loud af shirts and thick ass accessories LMAO omg I cannot believe how happy I am to see these two again. A-Jun is Zhang Teng's like follower??? Has been following him since he joined the gang and both fears and reveres him, and Zhang Teng is just angry ball of angst and revenge and vengeance, if you couldn't tell from Wayne's face. I cannot believe they're in a setting! WHERE THEY MIGHT NOT GET GOOD ENDINGS WAS SALT SEPARATION NOT ENOUGH TELL ME YALL

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CP 3.5: DILFS? "CHILDHOOD FRIENDS" DADS???

Friends yall do not understand how I feel about these two uncles. IF you've ever watched Taiwan family dramas, these two, especially the one on the left Xie Chengjun, is a fucking LEGEND, he's in EVERY SINGLE FAMILY DRAMA all hundreds of episodes of them, he's literally like THE dude to idolise he's been paired up with EVERY SINGLE POPULAR GODDESS ACTRESS in Taiwan - I KID YOU NOT I GREW UP WATCHING HIM on OUR CHANNELS EVERY SINGLE DAY ACROSS 5-7 POPULAR FAM DRAMAS it's been like 20 years ISTG.

Anyway I'm NOT SURE if they are actually going to be a CP at all BUT (1) at press conference this week, these two made kissy faces at each other sooooo...?

Zhou Minglei grew up with Chen Dongyang protecting him as he was a weak and sickly child, so they're childhood friends, and he becomes super unhappy and upset that Chen Dongyang begins to protect and pays attention to Chen Yi ;-; LIKE WHAT IS THIS DESCRIPTION? Okay we could think of this professionally as like two bosses of a gang with their interests at stake BUT THE DESCRIPTION?! And ok Chen Dongyang on the right, he's obviously gang boss, and he relies on Zhou Minglei a lot to fix his problems for him. EXCUSE ME?!

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The main CPs (1 & 2) are torn apart in a particular fight, and they will reunite 4 years later LET'S SEE HOW THAT GOES THANK YOU.

500% I'll be watching this you bet your damn ass because they better give me happy ending Wayne and Junzhi THIS TIME otherwise they're seriously cursed?!?!?!? No more salt accidents fuck you writer for that ;-; AND IF THE DILF PAIRING COMES TRUE even if just bromance and meaningful side eyes, this bitch will take it.

[blmpff]

THOMAS CHANG 10.09.24

[chuuzmii]

Can you believe he was just??? Around???? Hanging on a college campus??? And just got the modc part on a whim?? like its crazy because he was literally put on this earth to be revered and admired. Born to be worshipped forced to be underrated 😭

[orangemocharaktajino]

For a show that was bad pretty much from the beginning, Beyond the Star really outdid themselves by making the final episode so much worse than the rest. This was probably the worst final episode I've ever seen (other than MODC) and that's kinda impressive.

My toxic trait is if the NC scenes are good enough, I can forgive plot holes big enough to drive a bus through.

I loved Tonnam and Phupha, especially in episodes 6 and 7. And unfortunately that's where the fun ends because this bus is just too big.

I have been known to obsess over objectively bad shows before because my main goal as a viewer is entertainment. Sometimes bad writing and ridiculousness can be their own type of fun, imo.

I initially started watching Beyond the Star only because of Willi (Kita) who I loved in another high heat show with very questionable writing, Till the World Ends.

From the initial trailer of Beyond the Star, it seemed like the main storyline would be about twins Tin and Tul (played by actual twins and not simply one actor!) fighting over a man. Now, when I say man, I mean it because another thing that I was excited about initially was this cast's ages. The average age of the main cast is just shy of thirty years old which is something I would frankly love to see more of. Kind of weird for this to happen with a story about a new boyband, but hey.

The main characters and the ages of the actors who play them:

Kita - 34

Nathee - 27

Kengkla - 27

Namo - 26

Tonnam - 27

Phupha - 29

Trin - 30

Tul - 30 (obviously)

Copper - 30

Dance instructor Kawi - 30

CEO Araya - 33

CEO Kiat - 35

I didn't include the babies of the group Mawin (20) and Mangkorn (20) in this because I feel like we got more scenes of other characters explaining away their absence than we got scenes of them. They weren't even in the last two episodes at all so their story had absolutely no resolution.

Unfortunately that's kind of the case for most of the plot lines in this show. We had way too many characters with simultaneously too much going on and not enough going on. Way too much of the CEOs plotting only for them to inexplicably team up at the end. And way too much dance rehearsal footage that apparently needed to be shown instead. The last episode was chock full of loose threads.

I have so many questions

Why so many scenes of Nathee talking about how hot Kita's dad was when he was younger?

Why did they do Willi like this with this wig?

What happened with Kita and Nathee's relationship? Why did they have zero scenes in the finale?

What happened with Film's blackmail plot?

Why wasn't Nathee in the group at the end yet and previously disgraced Kita was?

What happened with Kita and Kawi being pissed about Kita's song being stolen?

Narrator: He did not deal with anything

Why wait until the very last episode to do anything with Tul and Tin and Copper? Okay, so Tul told Tin early on that he liked Copper. Tin agreed not to pursue Copper only to then immediately fuck him the very first chance he got? They decided to have a quickie in the bathtub while Tul was running a simple errand that he would be back from very soon? Not only did they not hurry, they didn't even close the fucking bathroom door????? Tul and Tin almost immediately made up after this even though apparently they already fought over a guy in the past?

Why did Kengkla even like Namo? Bro straight up told him his religious beliefs were stupid and they never really addressed this?

Did they break Namo's glasses during their sex scene? They showed Kengkla taking off Namo's glasses and putting them on the bed beside them and then a few seconds later they seemingly rolled over on them?

What was with Kengkla's pained expressions during their NC scene in the finale? Between that and Namo's unhinged smiling paired with the throat grabbing I couldn't tell what was supposed to be happening there. Kinky shit? Does Namo use cosmopolitan magazine's 2004 indian burn handie technique? Too much teeth? The possibilities are endless

Tell me this man isn't Bajoran though with his religious devotion, nose bridge wrinkles, and dangly earrings

Why even include the suicide attempt plot line? The whole thing was infuriating but especially them patting themselves on the back for solving Tonnam's suicidal tendencies by comforting him in the hospital?

You don't have to be sad buddy, you've improved as a dancer!

Narrator: It was not resolved

Also, here's where I have to admit I gave the writing team too much credit. I repeatedly thought that scenes were surely included for a bigger narrative purpose but that was overwhelmingly not the case.

In earlier episodes they showed a hidden camera in one of the rehearsal rooms at the agency that was, unbeknownst to the boys, streaming online. When they showed Phupha and Tonnam about to get it on at the agency and Tonnam specifically said he was worried about being seen, I thought that they were maybe going to be unknowingly exposed online and cause a huge scandal. When I saw the promo for the finale where it showed Tonnam on the ground with pills all around him, I thought for sure that was where they were going. I thought it was a little late for a big plot point like that but oh, how little I knew.

Why have Kengkla asking repeatedly why they're focusing so much on singing and dancing when he wants to be an actor only to have him turn down the acting job so he can be in a different boyband at the end?

Bad writing, bad directing, bad editing, bad pacing, bad dancing (perplexingly shown in slow motion which only exacerbated the lack of sync), bad singing, no character development, way too much focus on the two rival CEOs who are the producers of the show which explains so much.

The workshops must have been good though because the chemistry was the rare positive. Kita and Nathee had a few good scenes and I loved Tonnam and Phupha (except in the finale which I'm going to forget I ever watched). The kissing in the NC scenes was good all around but the lack of direction was pretty apparent. Lots of up and down and back up kind of aimlessness with too much position switching. It seemed like the actors were giving it their best but weren't given any specific instructions and were just kind of stalling until they heard cut.

The intro was catchy but I can't say the actual group they apparently built this show around promoting (in the most roundabout weird way) doesn't leave a bad taste in my mouth because of this mess.

Don't watch this unless you want to try your hand at the world's least efficient way to learn the numbers 1-8 in Thai

Or you know, maybe you could just skip around to the good parts

May these guys find better writing in their next projects

Sadhu

[talkingbl]

The Good and Bad of Not Me

SPOILER WARNING. Also spoilers for S3 of Attack on Titan anime???

The Good:

The plot. You mean someone made an anti-establishment hit piece that touched on nearly every major social issue affecting Thai politics? I'm seated.

The message(s). Just a couple of themes I picked up on: equality for all, triumph over betrayal, the thin line between love and hate, etc. like I just- And the social issues discussed: class struggle, LGBTQ+ acceptance, democracy, racial injustice, etc. It's like this show knew it needed to happen in 2021/2022. Name a single BL series out of Thailand that hits on such important topics with the level of care we got with Not Me. I'm damn near certain you can't.

The acting. I could go on for days about Gun ATP and First KP, but I want to say that Off took another leap with Not Me. Of course, he wasn't perfect and I'm skeptical of how much more he can/will improve from here, but he's come a long way from his P'Pick days and I'm glad to see it. But even beyond these 3 performancess, the entire cast was relatively competent (especially Sing). So much so that I'd elevate Not Me over normal BLs to say that it exists somewhere between higher-end BL experiences (like MODC and TOL) and outright cinematic BL experiences (like ITSAY and Love of Siam). Of course, I'd place it much closer to a TOL than a Love of Siam, I'm just noting that, acting-wise, it's well-done in its own regard for all that it attempted (largely because of ATP's distinguished performance as Black and White).

The twin thing. Listen, when little Black told little White to promise him that he'd fight back when others tried to take advantage of him, I knew I was in this twin shit for the long haul. I love that they basically had a psychic connection. It added so much depth of feeling to the story when we finally got the first face-off between Black and White as adults.

Representation. From the more minor types of representation (short king Black with tall queen Eugene lol), to the more transformative types (positive female characters, Nuch as a transwoman, Gram as a het man who'd dated a trans woman, Yok's mom as a deaf person, etc.) we saw much more diversity on screen than we usually get in BL. I'm especially in love with how no single character's story was reduced to their gender/sex/ability. Instead, Yok's mom dealt with issues of classism and workers' rights, Nuch was a leader in her community and a future lawyer/politician, White and Black's mom was a successful judge who only wanted the best for her sons, etc. This is the type of representation that people want--not representation in name only.

The tone & direction MADE the show. Not Me is tonally the best BL I've watched outside of ITSAY and a couple others that straddle that line between BL and LGBTQ+ cinema. P'Nuchy did the damn thing. We are no longer in cheesy romcom territory, we don't play the OST everytime the leads look at each other, we don't resort to slapstick or toilet humor whenever the situation gets too serious. Instead, the show took itself seriously, treated its viewers like adults, and did would it could to resemble a project made for the silver screen (for the most part crisp film, subtle acting/writing, strong sound design, and great character-development). Without these elements, I think Not Me doesn't feel as gritty and its themes don't come across as powerfully.

The unshakable chemistry of Black's gang. Every single character worked well with the others and their relationships all made sense. And even to the romantic relationships that had developed, those all worked on a level I hadn't seen yet and haven't seen since in BL.

Black. The shining star of the show, to me, was Black. He was cold, calculated, and ruthless, yet vulnerable, idealistic, and trusting to a fault. The way he treated people reeked of arrogance but also exposed an underbelly of extreme loyalty. It was so obvious to me that he cared about Sean, Yok, and Gram, but his way of showing it was often destructive--to everyone else and himself. Above all, though, he was cool as fuck lmao. Like he did what he wanted, fought for what he believed in, didn't take any shit, and was like the mysterious anime protagonist everyone wants to emulate. His character was only bolstered by Gun's portrayal. I loved every second of Black on screen and would do unspeakable things to relieve my first moments watching him in action.

Tod and Black's weird chemistry. I swear to you, Gun had chemistry with fucking everybody in the cast, including himself. But what stood out most about Tod and Black is that they both wanted to kill each other but loved each other (platonically) too much to actually follow through. It was a real tortured feeling. --ATTACK ON TITAN SPOILERS BEGIN-- Reminds me a lot of S3 pt. 2 of Attack on Titan where Bertholdt says to the rest of the 104th that they're all his friends (and good people) but they still had to die. --ATTACK ON TITAN SPOILERS END-- Like, that's such a deep and complicated feeling to portray and Sing and Gun nailed it.

The Bad:

Bad guys still dark-skinned.

The absolute refusal to canonize GramBlack. I'm sorry but GramBlack just makes so much sense to me, but like in a one-sided unrequited love kind of way. Gram being down abysmal for Black would've been that subtle element needed to really make GramEugene even remotely interesting and it would've given Black a lot to consider.

Gram. Literally fuck him lmao fucking snake. Also fuck Mond as an actor.

[geekygirl24]

BL Prompts - Chapter 23 Links

Prompt from MisTResShawnie - S.C.I. Mysteries. Hybrid AU. I'll like to request a sequel to chapter 12. Zhan Yao and Bai YuTong possibly out in the field this time.

Sarawatine Chapter

Prompt from Anonymou - and may I take Basilkums comment as an inspo? I'd love a "safeword use" story, but was unsure which couple to choose. But now I'd like to pick the 2nd MODC couple as well, please!!

(Slightly NSFW!)

Prompt from Skissa: any angsty hurt/comfort plot for kissable lips :)

Prompt from MisTResShawnie: Hi again. Prompt for Mr Unlucky Has No Choice But to Kiss - Magic AU Kota is a light spirit but whenever he tries to use his magic he casts dark magic spells instead….maybe he was cursed. Naoya's presence lifts the curse or simply reverses the effects back to its original intent. Work your magic (pun intended 🤭)! Happy ending

[curlykytta]

I’ve got sunshine…..

[shijiujun]

Wayne Song as Zhang Teng | Huang Chun Chih as A-Jun

Kiseki 奇迹 Dear to Me (2023)

[blmpff]

THOMAS CHANG 04.05.24

[florbexter]

They need to stop.

[patpran]

chunchih_huang ig story update

wayne:

love you~

[you've] worked hard

jun zhi:

love you

today was fun (thumbs up)

[evenasyoungastheyare]

Xiang Hao Ting and   Yu Xi Gu

[tynblackthorn]

We need to talk about “History 2: Crossing the Line”

If you call yourself a BL’s lover and you haven’t watched this drama, you need to stop everything that you are doing like- imediatly.

I’m a fan of taiwanese and chinese BL’s storys, specifically the “HIStory” saga, and Crossing the Line” is probably the first overall Bl’s I’ve watched in my life, and I’m going to tell you some reasons, among the several ones existent, of why you need to watch it...

1. Xia Yu Hao

This boy... Well, this boy is one of the best things that happened to me. The way that he’s portrayed is unique. You can really feel the pureness and the truth on his feeling about Qiu Zi Xuan’s character. Honestly, the way he looks Zach’s character is so beautiful that I cried everytime I’ve watched this. Fandy’s acting skills really show up on this. You can really enjoy his path into self-discovery, not only about his sexuality — which there’s no problem at all into the whole drama —, but also about his feelings for ZiXuan. Also the way that the bad boy turns into the cutess lovely and passionate baby... It just gives me joy

2. Qiu Zi Xuan

I’ve loved Qiu Zi Xuan at first sight. Not only because he is very (i mean VERY) good looking, but also because his closed personality just gave me vibes that he would be a very misterious and hard-to-read character, which I personally like a lot. He cares about Xia Yu Hao since the first eye contact (information given by the own director but, once you’ve rewatched this, you can see how this is actually pretty accurate), and the way that he celebrates every single Xia Yu Hao’s accomplishments really shows how he cares, even though he doesn’t really know why.

3. Side couples

I feel controversial about these two, honestly. I mean, they’re siblings (non-related by blood), but I feel a little weird about it. I’m not gonna say they’re problematic, I just tried to watch it ignoring the previous relationship involved. Honestly, if you feel the same way, this plot doesn’t affect much in XYH and QZX plot, so you can really just don’t watch those scenes. But I have to admit that they’re very cute together and I wish that they had a kiss scene.

4. Self-discovery

There’s a lot of interesting moments in this show, specifically into XYH’s POV that shows the self discovery and self awarness journey of XYH about his feelings. Some of they are very relatable, some of them are just good to see. The way he looks at QZX almost with like an idolization of his figure is purely cute and awesome. And then the way that he tries to make sure that QZX is okay 100% of the time and trying to know him more and spend more time with him is just a pure way to treat M/M relationship without the whole “I’m in love with a boy” drama.

5. Watch it like a straight drama

As I said previously, there’s no real drama of “being in love with a guy” thing. So, honestly, is just a story about two pearsons loving each other in high school with relatable, and simple problems. And that’s why I needed it so much. You see, XYH is aware that M/M is a tabu, obviously, but he doesnt care that he is disciverying that he loves one. He even ask QZX if this would be a problem to him. We see a lot of prejudice and homphobic attitudes into BL dramas, a lot of them portrayed by the main character itself, and I get that this is part of thw plot and life, but this just don’t gives us the feeling that everything is going to end up tragically.

6. Pureness

XYH and QZX relationship is pure. There’s no other word to describe. There’s a good exploration of sexuality, and the desire but without having to appeal to bed and intimous scenes. I’m not against it (and honestly I would love to see them getting their private moments) but the acting and the scripting is so good that they don’t need those moments so you can tell that they are in love with each other and that they desire each other. It’s more clear into XYH perspective, but it’s also notable into QZX’s POV.

Final considerations (like i’m writing and article or something)

I really love these two, in a way that I can’t really describe. Everyone should watch this, because it’s pure, light and beautiful. I’ve never felt this way about any TV show before (western or eastern) in my life. It’s just beautiful to see and follow XYH and QZX relationships whith theirselves and with each other.

I really wish there would be a sequel, and I’ve seen some things about it on tumblr, but I honestly gave up about it (but I would love if it was true). The thing is, I really think that the ideal would be more screen time in the original season, to show more of them, not a sequel with new plots and problems. I would like to see what happens after the last scene, and they having happy times together, secured with their feelings, and the relationship between the two main couples.

But I honestly i would be sattisfied with just Zach Lu and Fandy Fan acting together even if it’s a hate relationship because I need just more of them together.

So in conclusion, thanks HIStory 2 Crossing The Line for ruinning my life I loved it please do more!!!!!

I also made a FMV of this TV show so, if you are interesses, pls check it out and make sure to leave your opinion!

[aquariusrose]

Huang Chun Chih folks 🙌

[thennowforever-wwefan4life]

I absolutely love how comfortable they are with each other OFF set!

[concealedcraving]

"Love above all"

- Wayne Song