#no one is more perfect for fadel than style

[axelsthoughtss]

When is Fadel gonna realize that he never really stood a chance the moment Style laid his eyes on him?

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - It's Quiet but Sweet RN

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

I'm early I know, I have a v busy weekend.

Jan 2025 Week 2

Ongoing Series - Thai

Your Sky (Sun iQIYI) ep 8 of 12 - So awkward and so cute! I love the sibling relationships in this show. They’re all so wonderful. 

Could we talk about Thomas in that aborted sex scene? That ultra sensual sniff test neck thing?

He did a phenomenal job at conveying Japanese thirst with Taiwanese payback, unique IMHO for Thai BL. Kong did a pretty standard Thai style uke call and response, perhaps a bit more sexy than most. But Thomas was really spectacular. All in all, a particularly sensual make-out scene, rare in this kind of BL. I applaud the actors and director.

These two are so lovely.

OMG Lee has a phi he likes? Where did this nugget of joy come from?

Hyung romance crumbs are a go! Just for me? How kind. Goodness Lee has got great game, watch that boy work. He certainly didn’t get it from his older brother. Also that was such a smooth approach, what a classy way to get permission to court. I don’t know why we got this inserted tiny short story, but I’m not mad about it. I hope we get more. But this is crumbs, can’t expect it. 

ThamePo (Fri YT) ep 5 of 12 - I love how Po understands Nano's feeling of heartbreak as just that, since to lose a friend (or friends) can be as painful as losing a lover. Po is such an empathic character, I love him so. 

The Heart Killers (Weds Gaga) ep 7 of 12 - I did bark with laughter at Style’s dad interrupting them. Also I enjoy the tension of knowing that there is doom in coming. It’s fun to watch these actors really stretch themselves to portray loving boyfriends with secrets. Bison looks like a determined little feral thing, Fadel just looks tired poor baby. 

Caged Again (Fri Gaga) ep 10 end - Pet fish baby + cat = snack…… EPIC. Also giving a cat a career as a stuntman is genius. 

Final Thoughts

A sweet and innocent show with an absurd premise = sunshine penguin + grumpy panther become human boys and fall in love. With great leads and sides, a solid (if campy) support cast, and sweetly queer backbone, this still never entirely resonated with me because it was just a little too slow. Still I can totally understand why others loved it so much. 8/10 

Fourever You (Thurs YT) ep 15 of 16 - I love that North has no artifice whatsoever. But frankly I’m really more interested in the 2 pairings still to come. If we are lucky. Arthit “getting bitten by piranhas” thing was hilarious. 

Sangmin Dinneaw (Sun iQIYI) ep 2 of 10 - Of course I love the argument over linguistics, this time honorifics. So good. But the rest of this ep was pretty slow. 

Perfect 10 Liners (Sun YT) ep 11 of 24 - Gun is a little dim, poor thing, but I do kinda adore him. Yotha is a bit of a melodramatic queen though I love how he deadpan responds to teasing and always acts exactly like a boyfriend. And I see GMMTV’s patented “single brain cell club” is back. 

The Boy Next World (Sun IQIYI) ep 1 of 10 - Well it’s certainly intriguing. And I like this pair better here than in their first series. 

Ossan‘s Love Thailand (Mon YouTube) ep 1 of 12 - Oof. Well, it’s better than the original, but that’s not saying much (from me). It’s slightly less overacted. I still find the lead utterly unappealing and I have no idea why anyone, including the audience, is supposed to be interested in him. But if he looks like Earth maybe it makes a little bit more sense? Mix is great. Honestly? This just made me wanna rewatch Thousand Stars.  

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

See Your Love (Taiwan Weds Gaga) ep 13 end - What a darling little show. I genuinely couldn’t have enjoyed it more. About a deaf care worker and his spoiled broken little prince. Taiwanese at its softest and best. Highly recommended. Easy 9/10

(for me the only flaws are the first 1/3 and the fact that it's unlikely this will be a big rewatch for me)

Our Youth AKA Miseinen: Mijukuna Oretachi wa Bukiyo ni Shinkochu (Japan Tues Gaga) ep 10 end - The feeding each other water thing when the water-bottle trope is so prevalent in JBL = just so good. 

Summation 

Adapted from a Korean Webtoon I can see why this went to Japan, it's super harsh for KBL Essentially a story about two lonely boys from opposite sides of the track who fall madly in love in high school, despite the fact that one is  repressed and the other abused. Despite a rough premise (trigger warnings) this is an oddly lovely little show. Darker than is my personal preference but sublimely stylish, turns out sometimes that combo works for me (see The 8th Sense). The world that springs to mind is “refined.” I enjoyed the restful distancing feel of the filming style.

This is an easy 9/10 from me. 

Eternal Butler (Taiwan Fri Gaga) ep 5 of 12 - I’m sorry but if you have a sex robot, he should be self lubing. Just saying. Also…… better at parking (pun not intended). I like the sides now. I’m enjoying this more than the first installment, easer power dynamic to digest. I do kinda adore the main couple and all their kinks. 

When it Rains it Pours (Japan Thurs Gaga) ep 1 of 10 - Convoluted story about a man in a relationship who is sexually unfulfilled and his friend who is in love with him, who accidentally become secret confidants.

Teenager Judge (Vietnam Sat YT) ep 15 of ? - no time this week, two next week.

It's airing but......

Winter Is Not The Death of Summer (Thai ???) - has been picked up to air on WeTV, or something? Criminals who meet in prison fall in love. I did find it on YouTube, initially un-subbed, then subs happened by which time I got distracted. It is very pulp but intriguing. For now it's to the wayside until someone tells me it landed safely. Occasionally Thai pulps want to be edgy and it's not a good look on them. But sometimes they do good.

In Case You Missed it

End of year wraps are here!

2024 Trend Report

MY BEST & WORST BLs of 2024

Best Kisses (and sex scenes) of 2024

BL's 2024 Quirky Awards

2024 Awards - Quick Picks

Next Week Looks Like This:

January Drops

1/15 Impression of Youth (Taiwan Weds Viki iQIYI) 9 eps - Same team as DNA Says Love You, so I have high hopes.

2025 Line Up

BL Announced for 2025 - PART 1

BL Announced for 2025 - PART 2

20 BLs Announced for 2025 That I'm Really Excited About

GMMTV 2025 Line Up - My Totally Biased and Wildly Flawed Feels

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

It me. (Fourever You)

Gayest bridge in Thailand is back!

Love a good lap lie.

I NEED MOAR!!! (all Your Sky)

(last week)

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

[secriden]

So I was pondering just why I like Style so much and why his specific "failings" and imperfections are so compelling to me - and I think it's because all the other main characters are flawed in ways that are obvious but not very relatable.

Fadel and Bison are murders. Regardless of their motivations and how much they buy into Mama Lilly's propaganda, they still have taken lives and do so with little remorse. Kant is actively lying to, manipulating and taking advantage of Bison and Style (his supposed best friend) for his own ends with seemingly very little compunction. Yes, he's got his reasons; but still.

And then you have Style. His major flaw is that he is thoughtless and selfish and he doesn't seem to understand how to leash in his impulsive desires. This means he constantly ignores or crosses Fadel's boundaries to the point that, by the end of episode 3, is genuinely hurtful. All the same, compared to the things Fadel, Bison, and Kant have done and are still doing (reminder: ep 3 opened with another murder/assassination), this is relatively tame.

But that's precisely why I think people are being so harsh to him vs the other characters. Many of us have felt like the victim of someone like this because it's so common and so we relate to Fadel's frustration and then hurt and anger, and that makes Style actions feel painful in a way that’s personal. Few of us have been victims of the level of violence or manipulation that Fadel and Bison and Kant are dishing out.

Yet that's precisely why I like Style - he's imperfect in ways that add realistic complexity to his character. Why would we expect a character who is bold, brash, and impulsive to also be thoughtful and considerate?? He acts before he can think about things: that's the whole point of his character. He juxtaposes Fadel perfectly because Fadel "plans everything down from years, months, weeks to days" and Style hasn't acted with more than 8 seconds of forethought in his life. It’s part of what makes him perfect for Kant's plan in the first place.

But then, but THEN once Style begins interacting with Fadel, we start to get moments when Style seems to still and become intensely focused - most notably:

Right after the confrontation in the locker rooms (sadly I don't think anyone's gif'ed this yet, so screenshots it is!)...

…after his conversation with Bison about Fadel…

…and when he watches Fadel beat 3 guys up with ease.

We are watching Style find reasons to grow. We are seeing moments when he’s catching himself, slowing down, thinking, wondering. And while it initially starts with curiosity, he so quickly falls into fascination and obsession, and by the end of episode 3 it’s clear he wants more. It's not just about understanding Fadel anymore, Style wants to have him for himself. And if he's going to be something meaningful to Fadel he’s going to have to mature.

This is why I find Style so interesting and so fun to watch. He’s loud, in your face, and obnoxious so the layers aren’t as obvious. We think there’s nothing more there, but his complexity is deceptively hidden while they’re ironically much clearer in the quiet characters like Fadel and Kant.

And I don't think it's unreasonable to expect this growth. Style is written TO HAVE ROOM TO GROW. And, yes, I do think Style is going to rise gloriously to the challenge. We already have hints that this is precisely where the narrative means to take him:

(Fuck, look at how soft and earnest Style's expression is in the left screenshot. ;A;)

He’s by no means perfect but that gives him space to have a hell of a character arc and I, for one, can’t wait for it. 🙌

[iguessitsjustme]

Rating The Heart Killers characters again because why not? (Written after episode 5)

Bison - 150/10. You remain great. Every time you unravel a little more, I like you more. Become unhinged. Become terrifying. Become. Bison. (It also brings me a lot of joy every time you do something that brings fear to Kant’s eyes. Very fun for me.)

Kant - 3/10. Mid. You bore me. You’re too perfect. Where is your edge?? I loved your backstory of being a criminal but of course you just did it for Babe. I’ve heard a lot about what you do for Babe but I sure haven’t seen a lot. I need to be shown and not told for this brotherly love to work.

Style - 100,000,000,000/10. Now we’re getting more than just unhinged chaos. We’re getting depth. And I knew you’d be fine with Fadel being a killer as soon as you got over the initial shock. Where Kant has fear in his eyes around Bison, you have understanding and resignation. You know soon it will be too late for you. And as you and Fadel grow closer, the pain that the lies and manipulations will bring only becomes more and more delicious.

Fadel - 849572937493733937293638392747/10. One day. After all the lies and betrayal has passed. After you are finally set free. You will rest. Style will be there and you will feel safe enough to close your eyes and nap. And you will be free. You have done so much and you care so much. You just hide it behind the highest walls. You protect your heart and you try to protect Bison’s heart as well. And I think you know better than anyone how Bison truly is and what he is capable of without someone holding him in check. And you deserve one million hugs from the one you love.

[bubbipond]

Fadel and Bison are definitively each other’s biggest support systems and protectors, while also being each other’s biggest downfalls and obstacles. See the thing is both have things they want to do in life, but they also both know that they can’t because of the other. The biggest issue that they both have is the lack of communication. They communicate perfectly when it comes to their job or when it comes to moving around. But when it comes to personal things, that’s where they fall flat. Which I would argue is far more important to communicate about than work because their lack of communication is why they are stuck in their current situation.

Fadel is stuck in a never-ending routine of having to restart because of Bison’s emotions. While Bison is consistently playing dumb and keeping them both safe even when Fadel can’t. But the thing is, both are doing it without the knowledge of the other and without really talking to the other. Fadel definitively believes Bison is incapable of making sound decisions. While Bison definitively believes that Fadel is an unmovable (physically and emotionally) obstacle for them both. But neither would ever leave the other and that is very important to the story. Fadel can’t just leave Bison because he does not see him as someone who can take care of himself. Bison can’t just leave Fadel because as we have seen, Fadel is easier to manipulate than Bison. Their need to keep each other safe and to make sure their last familiar bonds stay intact, make it impossible to move away from their current circumstance. I’m not saying this is a bad thing or that their relationship is toxic. But the problem with codependency is that when you get to a place where you want to break away, you almost always fall short. Whether it is through an outside source or through your feeling for the other person. Almost everything Fadel and Bison do is to protect the other. Fadel would absolutely die if it meant saving Bison and Bison would absolutely die if it meant saving Fadel. Even when it comes to Kant and Style we see that neither brother (no matter how much love they feel) will break from the other even if come next week, they have deferring feelings about this new information.

It’s also very important for “Mom’s” cause, them being so codependent. With that level of dependency, she only truly needs to manipulate one for the other to stay. They will absolutely never leave without each other. If Fadel needs to stay, Bison will stay too. If Bison needs to stay, Fadel will stay too. Even when they start to dream about a new life and a more normal life that life is still definitively just the two of them. Which obviously has a lot to do with their line of work, but, if their line of work changes and is no longer dangerous, they shouldn’t have to keep people out. The problem that stands with that is that they both dream of having other people and living normal lives but they don’t know what that means in terms of each other. Bison enlisted Kant to find someone for Fadel but he never intended to actually leave Fadel (and by leave I don’t mean never speak to again just not be so attached at the hip). While even in Fadel’s perfect scenario with Style, there was never a point where Bison was not also a major factor. Style and Kant are probably the first time in their lives since their parents died that they had something apart from the other. But even then, they are literally dating best friends. Until one or both of them realize that they can still be brothers and family without being detrimental to the other, they won’t be able to move on. Even when/if they get away from their current life.

[ropebunnykant]

i've said it before, but i truly feel like a lot of the hate towards kant really comes from a place of people not understanding him and why he's handling everything the way he is. like i feel like at this point, more people understand his motivations and the fact that he's doing all of this to be able to raise babe, but i feel like the disconnect is now coming from the way he's handling it all.

and like, i understand that everyone has different interpretations, but one thing i have never been able to understand and get behind is the idea that kant, at any point, didn't feel anything for bison. we see before kant gets blackmailed by christ, before he is told that bison is an assassin and he needs to get close, that kant clearly felt something real on his and bison's first night together. you can make the argument about it just being because they had really good sex, and i'm not saying that wasn't part of it, but the thing is that when kant is laying there, daydreaming about bison with that silly smile on his face, he's not thinking about just the sex. yes, we get a shot of that too in his little daydream, but we also just get bison at the bowling alley. and kant tells style that bison didn't stick around as if he's disappointed, and again, sure, you can make the argument that he just wanted to make a fuck buddy out of bison or something like that, but style is teasing him about it in the same way a friend teases you about a crush - and style knows kant and his fuck boy ways better than anyone, so it's obvious this isn't just the way kant acts when he has good sex with someone.

but then captain christ calls. and kant is given this job that he has to do. this isn't an option, he doesn't have a choice here. it's do this job for captain or he brings back his car theft charges and he looses custody of babe. you can argue about his tactic in getting close, sure, but the truth is i don't think kant trying to be bison's friend would have even worked, nor would it have likely made much sense because they had already slept together.

and again, i've said it before, but a lot of the reason that kant was able to be convincing with everything in the beginning is because while sure, he was definitely playing things up, he also did always have a real interest in bison. kant isn't a good liar. we've been shown this time and time again, not just with bison, but with fadel and even with style. if kant hadn't had any interest in bison to begin with, he wouldn't have been able to fake it so easily. there's just no way to me that he didn't have some amount of interest from the beginning.

his interest has always been real. the problem has always come in with the fact that kant knows it can't be.

and i think in the beginning, it was easy for him to justify it, to brush it off. to tell himself "it was just good sex" or "it's just a crush" because as much as it may be real, kant needs to to be a lie. he needs to be faking it, be lying through his teeth, because none of this is real! he can't approach bison in a way he otherwise may, he has to be over the top. he can't win bison's heart naturally, he has to wiggle his way in, he has to lie and cheat and manipulate, he has to pay off his friends to help him and drug him to get information. it can't be real because even if it is, he has to do these things anyways. even if it's real, he won't get to keep him in the end. it's either bison gets locked up or kant does, and if he's the one in the cell, then there's no one to take care of babe.

so of course kant pushes away and ignores every bit of feelings he has until he can't anymore. of course he ignores the way he redraws bison's cat tattoo for him when he doesn't have to. he ignores the fact that maybe he does actually like it when bison hits him, that maybe they are the perfect match. he ignores the little kiss he gives bison despite him being totally out of it. he ignores the note he has in his phone of all the things bison likes, the things he dislikes.

until he's sat in bison's room and he sees pictures of the northern lights and thinks "he has dreams, just like babe does."

until bison calls him his boyfriend and he giggles like a teenager with a crush.

until he's in the shower and can't stop thinking about bison giving him his heart and the way he doesn't deserve it.

until style calls him on it, tells him what he already knows but can't be true, that bison has him wrapped around his finger.

until bison is telling him he loves every story on his body. until bison is kissing his way up his skin like he's something beautiful and precious but he's not. because bison says he loves the parts of him he thinks are ugly. but would he still if he knew? would he still look at kant with all that love, all that vulnerability, if he knew it was built on a false start? would he still find those parts beautiful, too?

of course kant doesn't think so. of course he has no reason to believe bison would forgive him. how can he expect that when he can't even forgive himself?

so it's better, isn't it, to just get it all over with? to do what he needs to and try to live with himself once it's all over? to let himself love bison for just one night because he'll lose him either way after that, won't he?

that's what it is, for kant. he can't keep bison. no matter how much he wants to. no matter how real any of it is.

[massy2ly]

PART 2: Let’s talk about what i would love to see in episode 9 with KantStyle, because there’s so much potential brewing here. (PART 1 is about FadelStyle)

*I love Kant but some facts can’t be denied*

Alright, let’s get into this because I’ve been waiting for the right moment to talk about it, and episode 9 feels like the perfect setup. Here’s the deal: Kant needs to step up as a friend. Ep 9 would be the ideal moment for him to finally shut up all of us (yes, myself included) who’ve been side-eying him as the shady bestie who’s put Style’s safety and feelings on the back burner.

Listen, Style has done so much for this guy. He’s been his ultimate ride-or-die—no questions asked—and we love him for it. But let’s be real for a second. When has Kant ever done anything for him? I wanted to give Kant the benefit of the doubt, so I rewatched their scenes before writing this, and guess what? Crickets. Nada. There’s not a single moment where Kant really comes through for Style. And now, with Style out here groveling for Fadel—while Fadel acts like the king of the “hard-to-get” Olympics—this would be the perfect time for Kant to finally show up and have his back. Think back to the “first date” episode. Style asked Fadel to help Kant with the Bison situation. And that discussion at the bowling alley? Even knowing Fadel would snap back, Style still tried to ease things and showed nothing but support for Kant and Bison’s relationship. He’s been going out of his way for Kant, even when it clashed with his own feelings for Fadel. That’s a real one. So, where’s that energy from Kant?

Now, how could Kant make it right? Dream scenario incoming, but hear me out: he could actually explain Style’s role in the so-called “betrayal” more clearly. The fandom is still tearing its hair out because Style hasn’t laid it all out for Fadel. And we know—or at least hope we all agree—that Kant’s betrayal runs way deeper than Style’s. There’s been zero acknowledgment of the fact that Style didn’t even know the full truth until after he and Fadel started dating. Also, Style owned up to his feelings the second he realized he was falling for Fadel. He even argued with Kant about it while Kant was still busy repressing his feelings for Bison. And let’s not forget, Style wasn’t out here scheming—he was pushing Fadel over and over again to open up and tell the truth. A real snitch wouldn’t be doing all that.

Style’s confession—“I worked with the police too”—felt half-baked. Like, sir?? That’s not the full picture, and we all know it. And yet, I love that Style kept it vague because it shows his character. He’s taking full accountability—no sugarcoating, no excuses. But this is where Kant needs to come in. I’m dying to see him take some accountability of his own and reveal some details to Fadel. Style has kept quiet about so much, and Kant’s actions towards Style in the early episodes were downplayed to the point that it’s still stuck in my throat like a bad meal. Kant owes it to Style to face an angry Fadel, risk the fallout, and say the things Style has chosen not to.

And honestly, I’m sick of Kant acting like a kitty cat every time Fadel looks his way. Bro, put on your big boy pants and own up to the mess you dragged your friend into. It’s exhausting watching this friendship feel kinda one-sided sometimes. Style has been and is still going through a lot because of Kant —Fadel is right about what he said in the preview— and yet Kant’s only advice has constantly been, “Oh, just forget about Fadel.” Excuse me? Forget about the man he couldn’t help but fall in love with in the middle of this whole mess? Nah. If Kant doesn’t step up in some way I’m going to be genuinely disappointed. It’s time for him to stop coasting on Style’s loyalty and prove he deserves it. Whether it’s by defending Style to Fadel or taking some heat for his own actions, he needs to show that he values this friendship.

[includedisco]

FadelStyle Short One-shot

Title: Sassy to Sorry

Characters: Fadel, Style

Pairing: Fadel/Style

Fandom: The Heart Killers

Tags: Fluff, Post canon, Established relationship, POV alternating, Domestic fluff

warnings: none

Word Count: 771

Summary: After recklessly gambling away the grocery money Fadel entrusted with him, typically feisty Style returns home meek, bracing himself for Fadel’s reaction. Will Style’s unusual subdued demeanor soften Fadel’s disappointment or will Style face the music?

"So let me get this straight…” Fadel begins, “this morning you tormented me about how I don’t let you help out around the restaurant as my boyfriend. You forced me to send you out to buy groceries and now you’re telling me that you gambled the money away at the market.”

Fadel crosses his arms against his chest while standing in front of Style hoping this is a joke.

“That pretty much sums it up nicely.” Style replies with an awkward little smile.

Style stands there, uncharacteristically ashamed, shoulders slumped and his gaze fixed on the floor. “It was a really fun game.” He relays as his eyes flicker up to meet Fadel’s but dart away, unable to hold the contact.

His throat bobs up and down nervously as he tries to find the right words to redeem himself. “The guys wouldn’t play with me until I agreed to bet actual real money. I thought I’d win.”

Fadel lifts an eyebrow, somehow managing to look more menacing than he did just a few seconds ago. It doesn’t make sense but Style is more nervous now than he was when Fadel severally pointed a gun at him in the past.

“I…I messed up.”  Style stammers, his voice barely above a whisper. The weight of his guilt is profound, hanging heavily in the air between them.

Despite being irritated by Style, Fadel is in all honesty stunned by Style’s timidity right now. It’s so unlike him, and Fadel almost laughs at the sight of him so humbled by remorse and shame. Fadel’s lips thin to hold back the smile threatening to break through. It is hard to be stern with Style when he looks so genuinely remorseful.

“You did mess up.” Fadel’s voice is softer than intended.

“I’m sorry.”

“I can’t believe you actually came back here to tell me what happened.” Fadel ponders out loud, putting his hand on his waist

“What’s the alternative?”

Fadel shrugs a shoulder, “You could have said you dropped the money or got robbed on the way to the market. Or you could have used your own money to buy the groceries. The sky is the limit.”

As realization dawns on Style, his eyes widen slightly, and a flicker of understanding crosses his face. A bashful smile spreads across his features, the kind that speaks of both relief and a touch of embarrassment, his cheeks tinged with a faint blush.

Come to think is it, Style is quite surprised by his own actions too. “I guess I didn’t want to lie to you.” He explains to Fadel. “I figured we should practice honesty to improve our chances of having a healthy marriage.”

Fadel allows himself to smile at that, “We’re getting married?”

Style smiles back, “What? You don’t wanna marry me?”

“Not if you keep gambling our money away.”

“You said our money.” Style’s smile turns into a huge grin, “You’re totally marrying me and knocking me up soon. I can just see it for our future.”

“Again, you can’t get pregnant.”

Style ignores that last remark completely and steps forward, closing the distance between them. He gently wraps his arms around Fadel’s neck. “Do you forgive me?” Style kisses Fadel softly on the cheek

“Ask me again without softening me up with the kisses.” Fadel whispers flirtatiously.

“I like softening you up with kisses.” Style insists and kisses Fadel on the lips, then he scrunches up his nose and widens his eyes, his lips forming the perfect pout as he sings a soft, melodic, “Forgive me please?” his voice sweet and playful.

Fadel can’t help but melt at the sight, his stern expression giving way to a faint smile. He nods, his eyes softening as he places a gentle hand on Style’s slender waist, pulling him closer. Leaning in, Fadel presses a tender kiss to Style’s lips.

But then Fadel’s demeanor shifts all of a sudden. His eyes darken and his smile turns into a serious, almost menacing look. “We’re going back to the market to get that money back.” He announces, his voice low and determined.

Style blinks at his boyfriend a few times then he adopts an equally serious look on his face, “Okay. The place is far too public for us to fire a gun, so we’ll carry knives instead.” He suggests with fierce resolve.

Fadel’s eyebrows knit as he gives his boyfriend a what-the-fuck kind of look. He wonders how it is that he’s the former hit man and not Style. Sometimes Style’s crazy shocks Fadel.

Style’s resolve doesn’t waver under Fadel’s judgmental stare, “Okay we’ll bring one gun too.” He compromises.

-End-

If you like this little story, here is my Ao3

Thank you for reading☺️

[heretherebedork]

I can’t sleep so I’m choosing to be evil (but only a little bit evil). Can you rank the shows you’re currently watching from favorite to least favorite? I mean, I’m pretty sure I know your top 3 but I’m curious about the rest

Funnily enough, I was thinking about doing this! Perfect timing. And you do know the top three. Absolutely do.

See Your Love: My beloved EVERYTHING. The finest boys in all the land, the best show I watch every week, just the best of everything that I love so, so much.

Caged Again: This show was just absolutely written for me and I love every single second of these boys and their relationships and how the exploration of queer issues through animals turned into humans is more nuanced than a lot of 'deep' shows are. Beloved babies.

Your Sky: Fake dating when one character is in love and the other is slowly falling in love and everyone around them sees that makes me so happy.

Our Youth: I mean, I fully expect a tragic ending and this show is going to hurt like the dickens but it's so good and the boys are so good and so, so well developed. A+.

Heart Killers: Look, I like this show but I need to turn the corner and get to Kant and Style falling in love before I'll truly be Totally And Utterly Invested at this point. Watching them manipulate Fadel and Bison is never gonna be my favorite part.

Fourever You: It's a mess but it's my mess.

Thame Po: I fell for the first episode. So far, so good. But also GMMTV and the episode did pause for a music video but it was fun and I really like Po.

Spare Me Your Mercy: I am enjoying these boys and the drama and everything that is Constantly Happening but, alas, deeply philosophical is not my nature.

LoveSick 2024: Yes, I'm enjoying it. But the cast is too big for me and I keep getting lost in All The Characters because I am bad at this, okay? So I love it but I also get lost in every episode.

Petrichor: We finally got my gaybies on the side! The boys exist and if they have to be murder husbands, they can be, whatever.

Haunted Hearts: Honestly, a surprisingly good Pinoy BL from Oxin films that actually held together even if the ending is sad and the plot got weird in the last two episodes.

Stealing From My Ceo: Look, I just need them to give us more episodes. I know they're coming soon. I liked what I had but I need more damnit.

Teenager Judge: I want this to be higher, damnit, I do! But it's just stalled out a bit and that's so, so common for O2 shows. I'm hopeful for more, honestly. Please.

Winter is Not the Death of Summer but the Birth of Spring: I want to like this more than I am and I am struggling with keeping up with it so I dunno what I'm gonna do about that.

Love in the Air Koi: ... Look, it's better than the original ion the second half so far but the fucking scene is coming soon and I don't trust it at all, not even a little bit.

Perfect 10 Liners: My fucking god are Arc and Arm over yet?!?!? NO!?!?! WHY NOT!?!?!?!

[khaopybara]

Here I'm desperately hoping THK will be a superfun escape from reality 🙏🏻 the way things have gone in my country in the last two days. Who's wishing for it to be dark and serious? 😭 My life is enough dark and serious.

ATTENTION! rant ahead. anon, i'm really sorry i used your ask for this, but when i realized i went on a tangent, it was already too late. i do eventually answer your comment in the last two paragraphs, tho.

i personally use these silly little shows and interact so much with what these actors who live so far from my own reality because i want to use it as an escape route!

i'll be honest and say i don't remember when or how i switched back to asian media after spending a long time only watching western stuff, but i do know i made the switch because queer stories in western media were either a) being cancelled after one season, or b) having tragic/unfulfilling endings for poc/queer characters. I DON'T WANT THAT.

and imagine my surprise in like june of 2023 when i was looking up things to watch and stumbled over a silly little thai show about a loser who can go back in time with his crystal ball, and he tries to win over this girl he has been interested in forever and ends up falling for the guy who he saw as his rival? and ofc be my favorite had a lot of social commentary and personally, i think one of the most beautiful self-discovery journeys to this day in thai bl, but they had a happy ending, and they had an arc, and a story and it was a lot more than any western show could ever dream of giving me (am i saying thai shows, or gmm shows are perfect? no, i know its faults. what i am saying is that as a queer person living in south america, i wish i had these type of things to watch growing up. hayley kiyoko's girls like girls videoclip was the first time i remember seeing two young women kiss and let it be romantic and not fetichization.)

pluto's lastest episode about how non-inclusive the urban environment is for people with disabilities left such an impression they removed the sign that blocked the ada path. THESE STORIES MATTER!

and these stories matter even when they are silly romcoms about assassins brothers falling in love with two dudes, or about an introverted girl who just moved to the big city and hides her identity to flirt with the pretty and popular girl from her class, or about a grumpy veterinarian who suffers an accident and switches bodies with his sister and now he has to go on a country journey to get his body back with his former best friend he's in love with.

so yes, anon, i also hope this will be a fun show you can escape to and have that dose of serotonin even if for just an hour or two of your day. and i hope that even if it makes us cry, you'll be able to cry and allow yourself to let your worries out without feeling guilty about it. that's the magic of storytelling in my opinion, and i have an inkling we'll be up to a very good one that will play with our feelings like a roller-coaster.

(also, i can't understand who says they didn't see the comedy of thk when we literally had bison telling his brother kant wants his body first and his heart second, or when style tells fadel his nipples are sensitive and fadel just pinches it with a padlock (?), or kant telling his best friend "hey if you get together with this scary killer dude, i'll give you my dad's car" and style says yes, like come on.)

[secriden]

Oh!! I think-- I think I just had a revelation:

So this moment?? I think it shows us that Fadel thinks that the core of why he's so hurt and angry is that Style was "work[ing] for the police" and "fooling me and my brother". I'm drawing attention to the wording specifically, because it suggests that (to Fadel) the betrayal was about Style getting to know him to find proof of his crimes. That the issues between them are grounded and tied up in the whole hitman/killer secret. Specifically, this focus distances Fadel's pain from being a personal betrayal between just Style and himself.

And yet even when Style confesses that he worked for the police and was tasked by Kant to distract him, Fadel remains relatively calm and collected in his anger.

The thing that does get an almost out of control emotional response, though? It's Style's declaration that his love for Fadel was genuine. This, Fadel could not handle; this, was agony so deep and so profound that it caused a reaction that is the only time we see Style genuinely afraid of Fadel.

But I think this is why Style hasn't bothered to clarify that (a) that he only found out about Fadel's secret after they became boyfriends, (b) that he didn't technically work (directly) for the police and (c) that their initial meeting truly was a coincidence. I've seen a few people wonder why Style continues to allow Fadel to misunderstand these aspects of the circumstances -- and while I'm sure part of it is just the writing/pacing choices of the show, on a character level I wonder if Style isn't defending himself because the distinction does not matter.

Style understands that Fadel's hurt stems not from whether Style approached Fadel because of a genuine attraction at first OR whether Style was working for the police -- but at the centre of Fadel's agony is the simple fact that he thinks Style faked who he was, and that this false display was so utterly perfect that Fadel's tumble into love nearly shattered him to pieces.

(God, the way Fadel has this almost involuntary reaction of confused agony every time Style refers to him as faen. ;A;)

It's why Fadel is constantly trying to see beyond what he thinks is another mask, and why Style devotes himself to being exactly who he is to an almost obnoxious degree. I would argue that more than any other episode -- more even than Episode 1 or 2 (because he did, actually, have ulterior motivations then) -- we are seeing Style as he truly is: not just unfiltered or unedited, but with a purposeful lack of pretension.

This is also why all his focus this episode was to show Fadel that Style truly does know Fadel and is choosing Fadel with his eyes wide open to all that he is.

But this isn't new; Style has been doing this ever since he could, ever since Kant told him the truth and Style had to decide if he was going to keep pursuing Fadel. Because by the end of episode 5, we get this:

[Style] pours the secrets of his knowing and choosing Fadel anyway into the way he presses his lips onto Fadel's skin. [...] Style's kisses contain a purpose that Fadel's kisses couldn't in Episode 3 because in all honesty they were relative strangers back then. -- quoted from this post comparing the storeroom scene with the one in Style's bedroom.

Style knows that everything Fadel fell in love with is still here, still untainted and genuine; because Style fell in love with the truth of Fadel, not the lies, and so all Style really needs to convince Fadel of is the sincerity of his own love. The timing of it doesn't matter, nor does the technicalities of whether or not Style was working for the police through Kant. None of it matters more than Fadel understanding that neither of them fell for each other's masks.

So Style chooses not to defend himself, chooses wordless surrender and instead takes the moments offered to him to press tender kisses to Fadel's hurts -- an intentional callback to the last time Style met all of Fadel's vulnerability with nothing but love and adoration -- and hopes that in so doing, Fadel will see that Style's heart was true and that he has already chosen to give it, unreservedly, to Fadel.

[secriden]

I'm dying of embarrassment as I type this, but I personally don't like being left out of a joke, so...

I've seen some people point out that, in the english subs, when Style says “Your stuff here... fits me perfectly”, that sounds a bit, uh, suggestive. In the sense that, uh, it might suggest that, uh, Style believes that, uh, something else of Fadel would also fit him perfectly.

That- That's it. That's the innuendo.

—

Trivia Time: trying to figure out how to explain this got me curious to see how that particular sentence was translated to other languages, so I changed the subs for the other ones I know to see what the translators did... And guess what! The results I got were completely different!!!!

In spanish, Style says “Todo lo que tienes es muy adecuado” (Everything you have is very adequate). That sounds like a compliment to Fadel, and a subtle teasing to how he looks after (his) things (everything has to be in order; everything has to be adequate).

In portuguese, Style says “Tudo em você parece tão perfeito para mim” (Everything of yours seems to have been bespoken for me). Which!! Makes me wanna scream!! I tried to translate it in a way that made sense in english, but what he's saying in these subs is basically “It seems like you are all perfect for me”. Which is uabsbswuhz the cutest freaking thing????

Anyways. These differences are fun to compare, but I really wish I could understand what he's actually saying in thai 😅 The only thing I know for sure is that the exasperated “Shut up” from Fadel works as a response for all three 🤭

[ In response to my question in the tags in this post, where Style says (English subs) "Your stuff...sure fits me perfectly". (Because my idiot ass didn't realise it was an innuendo ^^;; ]

aksjdf;alsfdj thank you so much for explaining it to me I'm very grateful. Sorry for the embarrassment because. Yeah, I can relate. x'D

Also ohhh oHHH I get it now! I don't know why my brain just took it very literally, like, "Oh hey, your clothes actually do fit me!" which was worth commenting because Style is so clearly skinnier than Fadel, y'know?? Although you can kinda tell in the shot that the pants sit loose on Dunk's hips because boy has he worked on making his waist thin (I say, with great appreciation).

(I just took Fadel's "shut up" as like "please... just stop talking. xD Because he was already so clearly Affected by Style at that point)

*O* the Portuguese translation, OH MY GOD!??! How CUTE!?! I'm tickled pink at how the subs could be creating drastically different impressions for different viewers, though. Because Style definitely comes across as less of a gremlin and more sweetly flirty.

@airenyah and/or @visualtaehyun (I hope its okay that I reach out and ask *A*), by any chance do you know if the Thai was intended as an innuendo?

[massy2ly]

PART 1: Let’s talk about what i would love to see in episode 9 with Style, because there’s so much potential brewing here. (PART 2 is about KantStyle)

First off, I love my chaotic baby Style—sass, unhinged charm, and all—but maybe it’s time for him to dial it down just a notch. That wild, unpredictable personality is exactly what makes him who he is, and honestly, it’s why we root for him so hard. But if he really wants Fadel to take his feelings seriously, he’ll need to show another side of himself—one that proves he’s more than just sparkles and antics.

That doesn’t mean his attitude in episode 8 was wrong. Far from it. What Style did in ep 8 was perfect as the first step in cracking through Fadel’s icy defenses. Before he could even start unloading all those big feelings or fighting for Fadel’s heart, Style had to remind him that the man he fell for is real. No masks, no pretending. The same Style who flirted shamelessly and annoyed the life out of Fadel when they first met is the same man standing there now—loud, brave, and utterly unapologetic—even with a gun in his face. Fadel needed to see that. And judging by his confused, flabbergasted reactions throughout the episode, it’s working. You could practically hear him thinking, “This guy is crazy. He’s really like this. Even now, he’s still treating me like he always has, driving me up the wall.”

But now that the groundwork has been laid, the people saying Style should get a little more serious in episode 9 aren’t wrong. The first step is done—Fadel’s clearly more at ease around him—but now comes the heavy lifting. Like Bison said in the preview, Style needs to prove his love in a way that goes beyond the playful energy we’ve seen so far. This isn’t about throwing himself at Fadel like he did in the early episodes. Lust might’ve been enough to break through when Fadel wasn’t interested, but now? Now Fadel is deeply in love with him and is so hurt that he has a hard time looking him in the eyes. Ofc, the man still clearly wants Style and knows that Style is aware of that—look at that moment in the bathtub when he avoided the kiss. But Fadel’s heart is in the mix now, and with that comes pain, mistrust, and a mountain of unresolved feelings.

Words alone aren’t going to cut it here. Fadel’s already made it clear that talk is cheap to him—he’s an actions-speak-louder kind of guy. Style’s going to need to show, not just tell, that he’s serious. And honestly? I’m not too worried. If the preview’s anything to go by, Style’s already set to put his heart on the line in a way that proves he’s not playing around.

Still, I hope we get to see more of that vulnerable, earnest side of him too. I want some talking too. That’s why I adored their dance scene in episode 8. For a moment, we saw Style getting real—no jokes, no distractions—and Fadel listening, even if he was holding on to his fear and mistrust. There was hope there too, and love, buried under all the hurt. I want more of that—more conversations where Style lets his guard down and speaks from the heart. Because as much as I love his playful, messy personality, Fadel deserves words to match the actions. Words that show he’s serious, that he’s in this for the long haul, and that he’s willing to do whatever it takes to heal the rift between them.So yeah, let Style stay Style—flirtatious, loud, and uniquely him—but give Fadel the serious love confession he deserves. Actions may prove love, but the right words can be just as powerful. Kant knows a thing or two about that, lol.