#ONLY JIMMYSEA CAN DO IT

[dean-winchester-is-my-cherry-pie]

WHAT THE FUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[stormyoceans]

Sorry for ranting in your ask box idk if any of this will make sense but I've been thinking if jimmysea do get a series with jojo I really hope it's them as a standalone and not an ensemble. I don't hate other gmm actors (ik ppl want a hia gang drama tbh idrc about that) but seeing the mess during only friends, I don't want jimmysea being subjected to that same discourse especially when they've been bl fandoms punching bags before *war flashbacks of vvs era*.

Not to be confused with me fearing jimmysea will be overshadowed by others or their screentime will diminish when they can definitely hold their own but just for their protection from other fandoms (and for my sanity) I just don't want them in a ensemble but knowing jojo he loves a big ol' cast so we'll see.

i completely understand you on this, anon, we've truly been in the trenches with vice versa just fighting for our life begging people to at least be respectful to jimmysea in their own damn show that i feel like the moment we hear that someone - ANYONE - is gonna be in a show with them we immediately start to have flashbacks of war like you said and PANIC

and i get that only friends didn't really help to calm our worries because those few months were ROUGH. i feel like the only reason i was able to enjoy the show in any way is because i kept my opinions to myself and avoided getting too involved with it outside from reblogging some gifsets, which is kinda the opposite of what a fandom should be imho like. if i have to refrain from actively joining a particular fandom because im afraid the experience is gonna be so negative it will actually affect my personal enjoyment of the show, then that kinda defeats the point of fandom itself. but i digress ;;;;;;;

the thing is. i feel like discourse and disputes between fans can arise regardless of how big a cast is, and while im the first one to recognize i'd rather not have jimmysea share a show with certain actors not because of the actors themselves but because of a particular category of fans of said actors, i also wouldn't want to preclude them any possibility for growth. if that makes sense ;;;;;;

in the end despite all my worries and fears and personal preferences, the most important thing to me is that they're gonna have a new show together in the future. i'd definitely rather have them be the sole focus of it, but if it's gonna be an ensemble cast with multiple pairings then i will just hope for the best and focus all my energies on supporting jimmysea

IF WE GOT WHERE WE ARE WHEN IT WAS ONLY 50 OF US AND WITH THE MOST POPULAR FANDOM AT THE TIME AGAINST JIMMYSEA THEN BY GOD WE CAN WITHSTAND EVERYTHING AND COME OUT OF IT EVEN STRONGER THAN BEFORE

[absolutebl]

Hi ABL! Can I be what I'm assuming is the 80th person to ask for your analysis about the move of Prem and Boun to GMMTV? Particularly, any thoughts on:

Why did the move happen and does it mean anything that they moved together?

What might this mean for new series with them as a pair and the potential to break up their pairing?

Are there any GMMTV talents that you'd love to see Boun or Prem paired with?

Thanks in advance for any insights!

BounPrem move to GMMTV

DISCUSS!

AKA Thai BL industry speculation, my favorite game!!

I am actually cautiously optimistic about this.

They're an ideal pair for GMMTV to get. Especially if GMMTV continues optioning Japanese IP. These two are beautifully suited to A LOT of yaoi. Just imagine them in a Thai version of Takumi-kun? !

Rise up Broccoli Nation... let's talk kabedons!

Why did the move happened?

From BounPrem's perspective:

I think they've been pretty underserved by their current home and that home is pushing them towards pulps (I refuse to talk about Even Sun and I found Between Us pretty darn disappointing too.) If they want higher quality narratives and content, GMMTV is a better home for them.

Also it will handle their brand better for sponsorship and longevity. I was shocked not to see them on more stuff in Bangkok. Most sponsor gigs and major promos and billboards and such were GMMTV pairs and... ZeeNunew

Right now there are good indication for pairs who WANT to stick together (even while aging up) that GMMTV can handle it - because of what they've done with OffGun and TayNew recently.

It's clear that GMMTV will throw a good pair at decent content (or at least popular stuff) pretty regularly. With GMMTV, BounPrem stand an even better chance at landing a prestige piece, since they have an established fan base.

From the pair's perspective, this is a good career move.

Now, from GMMTV's perspective, let's talk...

Does it mean anything that they moved together?

Yes, it most likely means GMMTV signed them as a BL pair. Some of GMMTV's other hot properties like EarttMix, OffGun, and TayNew clearly want to do (and have done) more than just BL for GMMTV. Even "second levels" like JimmySea are being split for het dramas. It means they lose their BL talent for a good potion of filming season, while they film some other property.

If GMMTV can sign a high value pair that's happy to stay doing BL regularly, that will work very well for them.

ALSO they've add a hot property pair into their stable that's on the EarthMix (highly commercial) level AND willing to do high heat. I think this is key. GMMTV has shown they want to move into sexier stuff (NC-GMMTV?) with things like Moonlight Chicken and Only Friends. VERY few of their existing pairs are willing to go there, and can do it as well as, BounPrem. These 2 do lust and thirst in a way that most GMMTV pairs can't (they are just too brotherly with each other).

I think this is a sign GMMTV want's to enter the after dark market, and move international markets too. (The higher heat stuff tends to be particularly popular outside of Thailand.)

Also, I think it's pretty clear some of GMMTV's hoped for heavy hitters last year (like PerthChimon) aren't working out for them, so it makes sense to onboard a solid bankable pair whole cloth at this juncture.

I said a while ago I thought GMMTV would make a play for ZeeNunew. I didn't have BounPrem on the list as a backup option, but these pairs are kinda similar, and fill the same niche.

Anyway, smart move all 'round, IMHO.

What might this mean for new series with them as a pair and the potential to break up their pairing?

I think the pairing is now less likely to break up than ever.

I think they've possibly been tempted to sign BY a prestige new series carrot. We could get something historical with them in it. Or, like I said, something Japanese IP. Probably higher heat than GMMTV has given us in a full BL.

Eyes Target the Finder thoughtfully. (It was VERY popular when I was over there.)

Are there any GMMTV talents that you'd love to see Boun or Prem paired with?

Like I said, I think GMMTV's objective in signing them would actually be the opposite - NOT to split the pair.

But if you just want me to speculate for fun (and piss stadn off), I'm always happy to do so.

First is great with anyone, so First with either... or both. First is like the MSG of GMMTV, always improves the taste of any dish.

It might be fun to see Jimmy paired with Prem. But in all honestly I really want a Jimmy + Khaotung thing to happen.

I think Mix has some BDE too, so I think he should play the seme for a change, why not him and Prem?

As for Boun, I think he's a little more dependent on the pairing. It's hard for me to imagine him with someone else. Lemme think. Someone with a very soft screen presence, maybe? How about Gun?

Heh he, now I'm just winding ya'll up.

Let me have my foibles.

[respectthepetty]

I need to stress something somewhere. And I know you will be able to help or even help be observe but, I have a haunting feeling that in the clips we have of Mork reading to Day, is in the future and….Mork isn’t actually there anymore . … many reasons with the scenes set up but the main things for me is the fish. There is only one in the rank now in that scene. And the book marks in the book. 1 fish bookmark, the other an avocado? And their legs are covered with a blanket. So no 2 slippers of fish is shown……am I creating narrative things that are not there or seeing things wrong? it just feels almost a melancholy scene set up in front of the tank…… and I’m scared!!

What are your thoughts pretty please?!

Anon, I'm choosing violence first, then I'll be kind.

On Spanish TikTok, or as I like to call it Tea Talk, someone stated they saw the book's ending, and it ended with Mork dying and donating his eyes to Day.

The people of Tea Talk ripped that video to shreds. The comments section was not pleased with the mentiras (lies), and Indonesian TikTok even showed up in the fray with the actual book to prove the original poster was "Livin' La Vida Loca."

I don't know how this cookie will crumble, but let me remind you of two things:

#1 - This is GMMTV.

It gave us The Shipper in 2020 at the height of the pandemic, and I think it has been correcting that wrong since.

And it gave us Only Friends in 2023.

I wanted murder and mayhem. Instead it gave everyone happy endings except the slut because apparently he had too many "happy endings" and *morality* or some bullshit.

If you are watching Playboyy, it's what Only Friends could have been if Disney BL hadn't produced it.

I might sound salty (because I am), but I'm really just trying to emphasize that GMMTV wouldn't. Period. Full stop. GMMTV wouldn't give us a sad ending to a branded pair. It will kill a mom quick, but sad times for a branded pair? ¡Nunca! For example, how did we all know Palm x Nueng were gonna be safe and sound in Never Let Me Go? Our Skyy 2. Can't have Our Skyy 3 if it kills a ship now can it?

#2 - This is Aof

The director, producer, and screenwriter extraordinaire shot Pat (Ohm) on Christmas Eve.

He killed Papang!

Hell, he killed Singto before the series even started!

Mork (NOT GAWIN, NO!) got beat up and was hospitalized!

And yet, we got a happy ending each time.

The man wants to make use cry, but he has never ended with queer trauma to do so.

Which is why there are still two fish in that tank.

And I think the avocado is a shout out to Jimmy's love of them (because who doesn't love avocados, am I right?).

So as much as I do not think the reading scenes we keep getting are set in the present,

I don't think they are setting us up for a sad future, especially because Korea already did this trick.

If you watched To My Star 2: Our Untold Stories last year, you know that shit hurt, every, single, episode,

and because it hurt, we were too blinded by the pain to notice the happiness sprinkled throughout.

The happiness we were seeing wasn't flashbacks of their past relationship or even snippets of their current one.

THEY WERE GLIMPSES OF THEIR HAPPY FUTURE!

Korea gave us The Eighth Sense and Strongberry's Choco Milk Shake, both which had the perfect premises to fuck us over, and yet my only complaint was NO POLY!

If Korea can delivery happy endings, Disney BL can too (but not the kind it punished Boston for. Never those kind). It isn't Taiwan, and it certainly isn't Japan who is ALWAYS itching to give maximum pain. This is "soft power" Thailand, GMMTV, Aof, and a branded pair. If GMMTV brought out Gawin to get Krist and Joss back to kiss a homie, I greatly doubt it would tank the JimmySea ship for a sad ending (did you get the pun?). If there is one thing I can count on GMMTV for, it's to secure the bag. Sell merch. Sell novels. Sell a special box edition of the series. Sell the ship. That won't happen if this is sad.

Also, color-coded boys in love get happy endings.

It's science.

[wen-kexing-apologist]

Last Twilight, Ep. 1 Thoughts

Full disclosure, I am very neutral about JimmySea as a pairing, and literally the only reason I am watching Last Twilight is to see how Aof Handles Disability: Round 2. While I certainly had quibbles with some stuff in Moonlight Chicken, I was generally impressed by the way Aof navigated that storyline both on and off-screen. And seeing characters with disabilities in BL has been extremely rare. 

So, I just want to share my thoughts on the first episode of Last Twilight because there was not enough going on in it for me to personally write an actual analysis. I also want to make it clear that I am not blind, and do not know how accurate an experience any of what is going on may be to blind people. 

BUT! I will say that I was desperately in love with the way they opened the entire show. And I don’t mean like the intro, I mean the “this is a fictional series///raikon dopini” announcement at the beginning because they blurred it at the beginning (and let it become clear over time). Aof and co are getting a lot of mileage with their use of Day’s level of vision, but I personally think it is important to periodically remind the audience of what Day’s working with:

OH ALSO, CONTENT WARNING FOR STROBE EFFECTS FROM TIME 0:18-0:34 IN PART ONE. 

That said, there were a few aspects of Day’s disability storyline that I found interesting. 

I loved watching everybody interview for the caretaker position, it was really fun to see the comedy and ridiculousness of some of the common sentiments (shout out to Mr. “I’m not helping him, he’s helping me”, worst anyone has ever done it, buddy: 12/10) being played for the absurdities they are.

I loved some of the set dressing, even if it feels a little obvious. The painting in Day’s house with like four or five heads being split by one giant eye in the center is a fucking brilliant choice. (and this is not related to the disability aspect, but the little bandaid Rung put on her car absolutely killed me, what an adorably tragic detail). 

3. I already said it, but I loved the way that Aof and co cuts between their normal sharpness and Day’s level of vision. Especially because Aof is using Sea, who I feel like most of the fan base knows, and has seen very much be Not Blind. I think stories that center around disability should actually be spending time showing the audience the difficulties that can stem from disability. It was extremely helpful, to me at least, to know what and how Day sees, you get a much better sense of danger when he walks in to the street, when you know how he is trying to navigate. I loved how impossible it was to differentiate the shuttlecock from the ground during the badminton game. And, I think they got the balance right, and didn’t over use that tactic in the first episode, but I will be interested to see if they continue to use it throughout the show

4. The semi-infantilization of Day by his family. This feels so similar to some aspects of Heart’s family dynamics and so different in others. Both families are very protective of their disabled child in the sense that they (in my mind) overestimate their child’s limitations. But, where Heart’s family was more detached from him: leaving him alone in the house so often, not learning sign language, etc. Day’s mother won’t even let Day stand up and walk like…30 feet in a straight line. Day’s brother, Night, yells at Day for getting out of the car and going up to the Society for the Blind so he can search for music to listen to. It is really fascinating actually, having just wrapped up Unit 2: Race, Class, and Disability from @bengiyo’s queer cinema syllabus, to compare the way Day, a grown adult man, is being treated by his family, compared to say, Leo from The Way He Looks. There are definitely intersections of concern and tighter leashes around these characters than I think either Day or Leo would like. But, because Leo has been blind his entire life, there are aspects of his blindness that are normalized and integrated in his family that are not present in Day’s because…they are new to the whole blindness thing.  __

Something I am iffy about as this progresses is the conversation around eye transplants for Day.  Of course, everyone has the right to choose how to handle their disability, but in a story that from my own interpretation feels like it is partially about accepting new realities, I am waiting to see how that particular story element shapes up. I also think there is/was an opportunity to play with sound in thai show, and I do not know if they are going to do that. But, GMMTV and sound design have never really gone hand in hand.  __

One thing I very much did not like about Day’s disability storyline: 

THE FUCKING CENTER FOR THE BLIND DOES NOT HAVE BRAILLE

ANYWHERE!

I don’t know where they shot this, if it was at an actual center or if it was a set/made to be a center for the blind but…

There is no braille on the elevator 

There is no braille on the books

There is no way to easily know what CDs are on that table. 

And like, I have no clue as of yet if braille is something that Day has learned (and I did look it up there is both Thai and Lao braille). It’s been a year since he started losing his vision, so he would have had time to learn. But this center does not revolve around Day, so either way, WHY THE FUCK IS THERE NO BRAILLE? I have to assume this is a place they just dressed as a center for the blind, and that there were limited changes they could make to the space or something to justify the fact that this society for the blind is not accessible for the blind. 

Also, everybody in the center was staring at Day trying to find the CD that he dropped, and like…y’all are staff at a center for the blind, why are you acting so surprised? 

Curious to see how this show continues. 

[waitmyturtles]

Last Twilight, episode 3: reflections

I am caught up with this fabulous show from the holiday backlog, and I think one thing that’s catching me by surprise is how intentionally mellow and straightforward it is, all while it’s honoring the small and large heartbreaks that Day has endured and continues to endure as he progresses in adjusting to his new state.

Other posts have caught the gentle loveliness of Mhok remembering to put his Pink Milk shirt on so that Day would have a better chance of seeing Mhok at the market. I loved every moment of that recognition.

But what got me about this episode was the continued focus on the isolation and judgement of the two men. How Day’s mom is so eager to throw the towel out on Mhok. But in particular: what really haunted me was Mhok discovering how Day has cut himself off from his university friends.

This is the second time in an Asian drama about disability that this has been a large narrative point, clearly one that will be expanded in this series. The Japanese dorama Silent, which aired last year (and one that I HIGHLY recommend, featuring beloved Ren Meguro of Kieta Hatsukoi), was centered on a young man whose progressive hearing loss causes him to disconnect entirely from his high school friend group, literally overnight, including his devoted girlfriend. The series, in part, focuses on his return to that group and how it impacts him and his friends vis à vis his different state.

There’s unintentional isolation — one may be ignored and/or belittled for having a disability. And there’s intentional isolation — the isolation that an individual causes upon oneself out of embarrassment, out of fear, out of depression, all of it. And all of it can compound. And this show isn’t shying away, or offering a cleaned-up version, of depicting this isolation. It’s just doing so in a very evenly paced and growing way.

Last bit. The idea of community — SUCH A HUGE THEME in Aof Noppharnach’s works. Aon recommending a book that Day must read. The university chancellor declaring that he and Day must fight together. The relieved embrace of Mhok to Day after they find each other in the market. Against Day’s best efforts, he’s attracting a new community around him, one that he’ll have to adjust to, but one that’s clearly growing around him to care about him and for him. Community and partnership were bound to happen in this show, and it’s happening just so lovingly.

Damn — this show is such a panacea for me after the fandom craziness of Only Friends. I feel a little less burnt out with every LT episode.

P.S. This is no knock on JimmySea AT ALL — I am impressed by them, I am totally enjoying them. I noted to my friends @neuroticbookworm and @lurkingshan that they don’t have quite the “hormonal sizzle,” if I may quote myself, as Aof’s more memorable pairs in EarthMix, OhmNanon, and TayNew. But again, this is no knock, just a notice, and things may get more sizzly (oh gawd) as the series goes on. I’m becoming a secret Sea stan, and Jimmy as Badass is definitely working.

[hallowpen]

Last Twilight has me conflicted...

I've had some time to sit with the ending for a while and I just cannot find myself definitively deciding whether or not I'm okay with it. And I think the reason for that is because there are valid opinions for both sides of the argument.

From a narrative standpoint, Last Twilight should have been given the room to fully flesh out its story. After episode 10, things began to feel a little rushed and overlooked. This tends to happen too often in Thai QL dramas, that are limited by their amount of episodes, when the meat of their stories are left toward the end of the series.

This is all meant to say that Last Twilight could have benefited from some breathing room: (I'm only touching on three story points because these seem to be the biggest cause for contention among watchers...and I don't want this post to ramble on forever)

The Breakup - I remain firmly in the camp that the breakup was inevitable and not 'unnecessary'. Had it been executed properly and given the deeper conversation it warranted between the two involved characters, it would have absolutely landed a lot better. Mhok and Day are incredibly young and both are still on their journey to find/accept themselves. When your self discovery becomes intertwined in someone else's, stuff can become misconstrued and messy. Mhok and Day each had to stand on their own two feet and realize that they did not need to have the other in their life in order to do so. It was important for the characters to SAY that they did not want to be an anchor in each other's lives. (I personally don't think a solution as simple as 'long distance relationship' would have worked here. LDR's are hard work and it would have detracted from the focus they needed to have on themselves as individuals). After time apart, they could always come back together and re-evaluate. (Blocking someone's number and completely writing them out of your life after one bump in the road may not have been the way to go about this either). In a healthy adult relationship, Mhok and Day would TALK about what each of them want out of a reconciliation and take culpability for what went wrong in the past. IT'S NOT ALL JUST ON MHOK...

Mhok - Which brings me to my next point... I've come to the conclusion that I have to accept Last Twilight as Day's story and Day's point of view. Mhok was, unfortunately, left by the wayside. There was so much to unpack there and the writers really could have delved deeper into Mhok's background and trauma...but they chose not to. Mhok's characterization felt as if it were an untapped well with incredible narrative potential. The added bonus of seeing Jimmy truly bringing this character to full realization would have been glorious, but alas... I digress. Mhok's journey exists only in the land of time jumps.

Day's Vision - The ending is what I struggle the most to find peace with. I think I remain somewhere in the middle where I can see the series working in either direction had the narrative been aligned properly. Whether or not Day's vision was restored does not take away from his journey, yet it still feels like its 'message' got lost in the crossfire. Without getting too personal, how the ending was presented just felt so ableist. There were uses of the word "normal" that I did not like and it felt like a scramble to wrap everything up in a nice, neat, little bow. I think there needed to be a deeper conversation woven within the story as to why Day chose to have the surgery and how, while that choice was available to and worked for him, it is not a universally shared experience/reality amongst the disabled community. Maybe I just selfishly expect too much from these kinds of series, I don't know.

All in all, time skips can be a useful tool... but what happens in the in between is sometimes too important to overlook, especially in a show that is so character driven. I will end this by saying that JimmySea absolutely acted their butts off, and as someone who had never seen them act together before, I consider myself to be a newly instated fan. I look forward to whatever other projects they should have together.

[ginnymoonbeam]

Top 5 kisses of the year!

Oh friend, you know what I am ABOUT! I have so many opinions on kisses, I even have a spreadsheet with a detailed assessment rubric. If I'd kept up with that sheet even a little bit this year, I wouldn't have had to scrabble through my recollections to answer... but the scrabbling was fun, and also gave me an excuse to rewatch some choice scenes.

Before I answer (you knew this wasn't going to be short), some general thoughts on what makes a really great drama kiss. Physicality is important: the lips, the hands, the eye contact, the way both bodies express desire and the pull to be closer. But a really great kiss is also full of emotional context and narrative meaning. It's as much an expression of character as any other actions or words. It shows who these people are to each other in this moment, and it lets us see the individuality of their desires and feelings.

The really great kiss scenes usually also come after a buildup of tension, releasing like a musical chord resolving. A kiss that I have been dying to see will hit so much harder than an equally sensual kiss with an established couple that does it all the time, or with a pair I've just seen meet. That's not a knock against established couple kisses or lust-at-first-sight kisses: I enjoy both, a lot. But the kisses that really make an impression, that make my chest ache and leave me thinking about them for days, tend to be Big Moments.

So here you go, my top 5 BL kisses of 2023.

Step by Step car makeout

gif by smittenskitten

Step by Step might have been a letdown, but Pat and Jeng's chemistry never faltered. This car makeout, after having to spend a day in the office trying to keep up a professional front, holds some of the most raw, frenzied desire we've gotten this year. The way they look at each other, the way they grab for each other, it's blazingly good. And the thing that makes this a standout scene for me: in their groping and grappling, they hit the car horn, stop and laugh about it, and then keep kissing. One of my kissing scene peeves is when any small interruption brings the scene to an end, as if a spell has been broken and they've been reverted to normal not-kissing people. I punched the air when Pat and Jeng stopped for a minute and then got right back into it, like two people who really want to be kissing each other should do.

I Cannot Reach You infirmary kiss

gif by jimmysea

Now we go to the opposite end of the sensuality spectrum. This kiss was short and gentle in comparison to every other kiss on this list, but the narrative impact is profound. I Cannot Reach You is only the second BL I've seen to put direct focus on the physical intimacy side of a friends-to-lovers story, where sexual desire appears as an unsettling element in the friendship that both parties need to wrestle with in their own way. This kiss shows the resolution of that struggle, the mutual acceptance and mutual desire. Yamato is not holding himself back any more and Kakeru is fully accepting and reflecting his desire. And while it's not the most involved kiss, the sensuality is absolutely there: the softness of the lips, the cradling of Kakeru's face, the hands! Gorgeous.

Last Twilight rooftop kiss

gif by jimmysea

Aof Noppharnach knows how to build a goddamn moment. Not for nothing is he the architect of the top-rated kiss on my spreadsheet (yes, it's the one you think.) This is the perfect example of a kiss as character and story work, a kiss that has a distinct narrative role, a kiss that's physically distinctive and suited to the moment the characters are in. Day has just been kissed out of pity and is despairing that that's the only feeling he can evoke in others; Mok has spent weeks realizing how much he wants Day even as he watches Day move away from him and toward someone else. Mok needed to kiss Day aggressively in this moment, and Day needed to feel that desire aimed at him, and we the audience needed a release from the agonies we'd been feeling for both of them all episode long.

I Feel You Linger In The Air post-ballroom kiss

gif by tenprems

Whew... what is there even to say? The buildup to this one was extraordinary, the romance of it unparalleled. Gorgeous, gorgeous scene. Also this is a good place to mention that kissing in the rain is good. Kissing in the rain is always very good. I've been known to give bonus points for other environmental elements too, but rain will always score big.

This list hasn't been ranked thus far - all four of these kisses are wonderful in such different ways, and I didn't want to take the time to actually fill out my rubric to get a numerical score for each of them (maybe I will after I post.) But the last is unquestionably #1 for me: it's the one I knew right away was going on the list, the best kiss scene of 2023 and one of the best of all time.

La Pluie apartment floor makeout

gif by wanderlust-in-my-soul

In all my talk about narrative weight and character, let it not be thought that I don't care about the physicality and the sensuality. Boy do I, and boy did this scene deliver! These boys want each other intensely, and every element of the scene made me feel that right down to my toes. It's the way they touch each other, the way they look at each other, the way their mouths move. There's an editing choice that I adore, perfectly conveying the escalation from first exploratory kisses to heated passion. And then the way they stop, because Patts recognizes that Tai would regret going further in this moment, as fired-up as he is right now. This kiss scene says so much about who they both are and how they feel about each other, and it does it while delivering a fire I still feel after [mumblemumble] rewatches.

Thanks so much for the ask and letting me go on about one of my favorite things!

Ask me my Top 5 BL anything!

(they probably won't all be this long)

[nomerrynolife]

About that Last Twilight ending...

So, I’m just gonna say it straight that probably doesn’t resound with the rest of you viewers here.

I don’t hate it.

BUT

I don’t like it either.

I won’t delve into the whole ableism/ableist issue as for one, I’m not a disabled person, specifically not a blind person. It is not my place to give an opinion on this as I can’t and won’t ever understand what it’s like to be blind. And there’s quite a few posts already that have commented on this issue quite strongly so that’s that.

I just wanna write down my thoughts as a BL drama lover, Thai Drama enthusiasts, and as JimmySea fan. Also, my POV as someone who is there at the Fan Meeting in Siam Pavalai. It’s been a week, and I was busy since and only had the time now to gather my thoughts and feelings towards the finale.

The Sudden Break-Up and Blocking. I’m not sure why the writers decided to made Day to be a brat who can’t have a proper discussion on Mhok’s decision to stay. Because we see in episode 11 that Day is actually happy and supportive and encouraging Mhok to go to Hawaii if he’s selected. The least the writer could do is make them talk (or argue) it out instead, breaking up is okay if they still disagree, but blocking Mhok for 3 years? A bit excessive don’t you think?

The Non-Existent Discussion About Mhok’s Trauma. This is like the elephant in the room that never got addressed or shown at all except the nightmare in episode 11 and occasional name dropping of Rung. We get it that Day can’t see that Mhok is having a nightmare, nor did he can read Mhok’s expression if he’s upset or sad about anything but throughout their friendship they didn’t talk at all about Rung and Mhok’s family in depth? They didn’t make Day asked what happened with Mhok’s sister? Like if the writers gonna make this as the reason Mhok is staying why didn’t this issue ever brought up before? This makes the break up uncalled for since Day didn’t know the real reason Mhok is staying and rejecting the job offer.

Day’s Not Giving Back �� I know a lot of people is saying how Mhok keeps on giving and Day not giving back or did anything at all for Mhok, but I think Day’s contributions is Mhok’s improvements in himself i.e. giving up smoking, learning to cook better, learning to be a proper caretaker instead of just being someone who brought Day’s food. It wasn’t physical or significant but it’s there, no matter how small.

Mhok Excessive Flirting – I don’t mind (in fact I quite enjoy it) the flirting and sweetness and cutesy antics but after the blocking for 3 years Mhok can just comeback and flirt shamelessly and acting like nothing happen………… I know this is probably just to make a happy scene for us since we cried a lot over the previous episodes but come on now, as realistic as their flirting is no one in real world would immediately flirt after not seeing each other for 3 years.

Mhok Admitting He Did Pity Day (W.T.F??) – Out of all the fuck-ups in episode 12 this is the fuck ups I’m most angry with. The rest of the flaws in the episode is forgivable but this is like the Lord of the Fuck-Ups. We have seen from the first episode that Mhok is rather curious than pity, and we know the decision to decline the job offer stems from Mhok unaddressed trauma over his sister’s death. He rather be with Day instead of being away, worrying, wondering, and feeding on his paranoia (definitely NOT pitying) so when Mhok apologize and admitting that he did pity Day I almost threw my phone to P’Aof across the cinema hall.

The Sudden Eye Donation – I know a lot of people quite preferred that Day remained blind, after all the entire series centers around Day accepting his blindness, and to show that blind people can lead a normal life. The only thing I’m disagreeing over is how soon Day got the eye donation. I don’t think in any part of the world organ donation is easy to come by, let alone twice in the span of 3 years, no matter how rich his family is (Mhon isn’t exactly a politician that gets away with everything). In my head the ending would be Mhok and Day living life like normal couple, having a meal with Night, Porjai and Mhon, and the scene cut to shows Mhon’s phone ring at the back, showing Eye Donation Center calling and series ended there with P’Aof name appearing (you know like Inception ending where we didn’t know whether Dom’s coming back to his kids is real or not). The decision to make Day received the eye donation as soon as they make up seems lazy and unnecessarily convenient to me.

Day’s Heart Shattered into Pieces Comments – I saw someone said on twitter (I couldn’t find the link sorry) “did Day have amnesia or something” and did he forget he said “this is good” when he goes completely blind for the first time on the mountain and compare it to the last epilogue where Day said his heart is shattered into pieces when he goes blind. I think what was meant here is one can accept one’s fate, but still be heartbroken with it. I like to think this is like how we deal with death of loved ones, we accept that’s it’s God’s will but we are still heartbroken over it. Day did accept his blindness; doesn’t mean he can’t be heartbroken.

Scriptwriter Having a Blind Friend to Comment– There’s the series scriptwriter on twitter, where they said they have a blind friend and when they wrote the script, the scenes and the characters feelings is in consultation with the said blind friend. So, when the finale is written they did have an argument among themselves on how to go about, whether Day stays blind or gets an eye donation. I saw a lot of hate being directed to P’Aof, I just hope people know he’s not the only screenwriter on this series. And I know I said earlier on I don’t mind that Day got his sight back but I can’t help but feels like the whole point of one palm distance and “the last image that I see” is… pointless. The songs still slaps btw.

Did Jimmy Sea Have Any Say About Their Character At All? As someone who’s portraying the characters, did a very good job with it and seem to understand and empathize a lot with their characters' situation, I wonder if they have any say on Mhok’s character admitting he’s at fault or whether Day should be more considerate of Mhok’s situation. Because we never see Day equally apologizing for not giving Mhok the chance to explain himself. And it’s quite out of character for Mhok to admit that he did pity Day. What I see from Hollywood is that actors have “creative differences” with the scriptwriter all the time in regard to the character they’re portraying so that probably doesn’t apply to Thai entertainment.

People Wishing Death To Fans Attending – guys, come on. It’s a spur of the moment thing, we cheered because we were shocked, happy, annoyed (??). All in all, I have fun throughout the whole fan meeting, the excitement to meet JimmySea, the anxiousness in how it gonna end, the eye to eye contact with JimmySea during the group photo. They’re real people guys, so beautiful up-close. Namtan is ETHEREAL, such a Goddess.

One thing I’m glad that in this fandom, even after the critics, fans bashing and semi-disastrous finale, I see no one is blaming Jimmy and Sea. If anything, they truly deserve the praises, the love and the accolades that they have received so far from their outstanding portrayal as Mhok and Day.

For those who’s just starting to binge-watching the series, please do continue and don’t be discouraged seeing all these negative reviews and comments. Please enjoy JimmySea’s visual and acting (coz I love them so much they deserve the world even when the series ending is not what everyone’s expected and I’m crying as I’m typing this while begging you to not hate them), just that don’t get your hopes up, keep your expectations low and prepare to be let down at the end.

Here’s a couple of pictures at the fan meeting, if you got the chance to go to the next fan meeting please do. I practically sold my kidney for the last minute flight coz I'm waited only after I got the admission tickets to buy the flight tickets.

Thank you for these memories, thank you for enjoyment for the past 12 weeks, thank you JimmySea. I will cherish this forever 💜💙

[leonpob]

Top 10 Bls for 2023

So I feel like this is going to be such a long post. First of all I struggled so much choosing what was going to make the top 10 and why. I feel like my opinions are a little different from the majority. For example, I did not incude Only Friends, Moonlight Chicken, Our Sky 2 or Our Dating Sim. It was interesting how my top 5 was easy and after that I was like ahhh what do I do?! So here is what occurred. Thank you bestie @gunsatthaphan as always for making the gifs. They are GORGEOUS and add so much to my words. Without further ado,

I have been anticipating this show since it was first announced in 2022. Let me just say, I LOVE JimmySea. I love their acting and chemistry. I also love these characters Day and Mohk. Jimmy and Sea are both doing a fantastic job at portraying them. This might be my favorite show of all time and I don't know how that is, but after each episode I just love it more and more. P'Aof always does such a good job directing each scene. I love his vision especially in this series. If you know me at all you know A Tale of A Thousand Stars has been my absolute favorite show for years now. Nothing has surpassed it. I think Last Twilight might do that. I had to give it to the top for these reasons alone. It's kind of funny that JimmySea are the top spot 2 years in a row. They just do something for me.

My precious little Korean BL. I was obsessed with this show. I think I watched it 3 times. This one just proves I prefer story over nc lol. This show had so much story which I enjoyed and the mains were so cute as Ji Won Young slowly found himself falling for Yoon Tae Joon. The second couple were also pretty fun and added to the show. This is why it is number 2. Go watch it if you enjoy story with a happy ending. I could probably watch this one 5 more times. The way it was acted was also fun it really kept me invested. So much character development. Okay I will stop now.

Did we think this would be this high on the list? I don't know. What I do know is watching this week to week was so fun and I still listen to a majority of the songs on spotify. This was high school, but also was so fun. Tinn was such a simp for Gun. FourthGemini did very well. As we can tell by the gif I ended up loving WinnySatang as SoundWin in this. They were just adorable! The umbrella scene, the singing scene, the scooter scene. They had so many. Also the fact this show did a music video for one of my favorite Thai songs was just...gah! I need to rewatch this one soon. I miss it.

Ah! my precious show that I waited forever and a decade to air. When the first trailer came out I was like YES. I am one of the few that have no qualms with Krist and then when it switched from Mike to Gawin I was like HUH?! It ended up working somehow. GawinKrist did very well and had pretty damn good chemistry. This story was so fun. The time traveling and the different stories. I loved watching Kawi become himself. Piasang never waivered and that was adorable. Aye as Pear was also so nice to see. All of the characters in this show were done so well. It had to get the number 4 spot. Unable was one of my most played song this fall most likely lol I love Gawin's voice.

I was surprised by how much I loved this show. It was so cute and done so well. It was one of the best surprises of the summer. There was so much story and characterization. It had such a good plot. I just loved them the whole way through. I don't usually like friends to lovers it depends how it is done and this was done perfectly. Love my little Bo Ram and Han Tae. Go watch this if you haven't. Cuties being cute.

ForceBook always take me over. I don't know why, but I just love them. GunCher were so cute and adorable and healthy. I throroughly enjoyed this show. They had to be in my top 10. Also we can't forget how adorable and sweet the second couple were. Koala hugs for the win okay?

PondPhuwin as Palm and Nungdiao. What a great show. I loved every second of this. All of the drama and excitement. All of the references to the Chinese story. I just really liked this one and I love PondPhuwin. Also the little snippet we got of PerthChimon. This was a good show. I don't care what the majority of you say. The ending scene with needing a charger is the cutest thing ever.

I don't know what it is about this show. I don't know why I love HiraKiyoyi so much. They are so strange and yet these two actors just captivate the characters and I can't stop watching. This scene is so funny because we have never seen Kiyoyi really get jealous of Hira. That is why my dumbass couple who can't communicate if their lives depended on it are in the number 8 spot.

I honestly have no idea if anyone else enjoyed this one as much as I did, but I really loved them. They were so cute. I am a sucker for we met before and cuteness. Lee Jun and Ha Ram were just cute. Ha Ram softened Lee Jun from his previous relationship. Also their chemistry was pretty dang good.

I really struggled in placing this in my top 10 for a multitude of reasons. The main one being the second couple took over the show and we got a rushed ending for the mains. That kind of irked me a lot. I just had to include it though because of one man BAI ZONG YI. He was the CUTEST character to ever exist. He never ever waivered. Him and Piaseng should compare notes LOL Anyway my babies are rounding out the tenth spot. I didn't dislike Ai Di and Chen Yi, but I was upset by how they took over. Both couples had chemistry chemistrying 🧪 which was nice.

So with this list I had to exclude a lot of shows that I did enjoy. I am going to list them here.

It pained me not to include Our Skyy 2 because I loved all of the couples but some of the episodes were just so cringe lol or bad. My precious PhuphaTian getting their happy ending was probably one of the best things though. That scene still brings me to 😭 . The episodes of Our Skyy 2 that were good were Never Let Me Go, A Boss and a Babe, 1000 Stars and it pains me to say this, but the Bad Buddy one was not that bad because it included 1000 Stars. Also Vice Versa's was weird, but it was enjoyable.

Minato Shouji Coin Laundry 2 didn't make the cut and that hurt so much because I think Minato and Shin are a comfort couple for me and they were adorable this season. It was just the plot. I don't want to spoil this if you haven't seen it, but yeah. I still love them though so they are getting mentioned.😍

Love Tractor was such a cute show and the character of Ye Chan was just so puppy coded and adorable. 🐶

Moonlight Chicken was a show I was so difficult about. I don't know why, but I did not enjoy it as much as I wanted to so it was not included. EarthMix still have my heart 🧡 and FourthGemini stole the show.

Only Friends was a show that everyone was waiting all year for. I think they did a very good job, It was entertaining and Mew is probably my favorite character of the year aside from Mohk of course lol I just couldn't include it in my top. I'm sorry :(

I am actually surprised that there were so many Korean shows on the list this year. They really showed up. If you read the whole thing. Thank you. This took me hours to think about and put together.

[telomeke]

LAST TWILIGHT – SOME EARLY THOUGHTS

If you're hesitating at the doorstep of Last Twilight because you're not a fan of JimmySea, or because you've been overly disappointed by GMMTV of late, or because the plot of this BL seems hackneyed and/or sappy... I think Ep.1 may yet surprise you, as it did me. 😍

Whenever Khun Noppharnach eases into the director's seat, some kind of magic happens. I have no other explanation for this... I never thought much of this branded pair; Vice Versa was one big yawn as far as I was concerned (despite some very interesting world-building – but all that promise was soon squandered), and Jimmy's acting never seemed too far removed from barely-animated woodblock (in BBS especially, though he was greatly improved in VV).

But Ep.1 of Last Twilight has made me re-think all of that... Yes the plot does reek somewhat of the contrived (bad boy meets suffering, deficient angel and each is obviously fated to be the other's salvation). But Director Aof has managed to introduce some nuance into their portrayals (Sea's Day isn't some shining, selfless martyr – he's a sardonic, cynical, self-hating Dr. House destined for a different cane; Jimmy's Bad Boy Mhok – hello do-over Wai! – has emotional baggage from his sister's death and a strangely believable, platonic and supportive relationship with his ex-girlfriend Porjai, played by a luminous Namtan). The acting from the two main leads is notches above what we've seen them do in previous outings (I live for Sea's snarky little smirks, whenever Day's self-hate threatens to explode out at the world; and there are flashes of emotion crossing Jimmy's face that I never thought I'd live to see – watch the expressions flicker across his face when Porjai visits him in the lock-up, bearing dark news of his big sis Rung).

I think part of Director Aof's talent, that we never seem to give him enough credit for, is his ability to draw out the best from his actors. If they're limited by inexperience, there's only so much he can do (thus the Wai we got in Bad Buddy) but once they have more to give, it shows and I think he's the catalyst.

The cinematog is crisp and clear, but it also makes heavy use of close-ups with elements (usually faces) always slightly out-of-frame, calling out to Day's visual predicament perhaps? 🤔

And we've already had a director cameo! Assistant Director Meng Chaiyapat Pitisutrakul was also one of the interview candidates at Ep.1 [1‌/4] 21.16 and ‌Ep.1 [1‌/4] 23.18 (he mentions his appearance on Facebook, linked here.)

I have cautious hopes for this one. You can sense Khun Noppharnach's assured hand operating behind the scenes, and it truly shows up in the work onscreen. Such a contrast with Only Friends, and so refreshing too.

[i-got-the-feels]

Every Month of 2023

I adore this because it's a great way to see your journey as an artist you had throughout the year.

Thank you @smileytharn for the tag

I tag @smittenskitten @moonlightsdream @moonkhao @celestial-sapphicss @snimeat @alienwlw @alexshenry @jimmysea @laurenkmyers @forcebook @forursmiles @dingyuxi @dengswei @tinnchan @sparklyeyedhimbo @spicyvampire @raypakorn @pranink @pranpats @natahjikio @seawherethesunsets and whoever wants to do this :)

JANUARY

cinematography shots set of episode 7 of never let me go- here. Not even surprised that was a beautifully shot show

FEBRUARY

For gays, it's a never let me go set of episode Titles and for the lesbians it's a set with poem I wrote for Sam's love for Mon

Gays Lesbians

MARCH

I am whipped for her. No susprises this edit of this show is here.

Glory Part 2

APRIL

Charlotte and Engfa's rainbow photoshoot

Among shows, I am so glad both the midnight museum sets I cried making over were well liked. 1) the set of midnight museum with stories of artifacts in it 2) tarot cards set

MAY

This good bad mother set gif set

For graphics, this boss and babe one. I am so happy because the damn quote and scene had melted my heart

JUNE

I cannot choose between these two

First most interacted with set is the pisaeng one

Second most interacted with set is this bad buddy one

JULY

I am so fucking proud of this set. Really glad this connected with people- it is a set of kawi realising his love for pisaeng

AUGUST

Bad Buddy x RWRB set no body is surprised

Gonna include 2 more sets I adore

This beautiful conclusion to kawi and pisaeng's journey

Another Bad Buddy x RWRB set that had absolutely no business flopping like this

SEPTEMBER

I am going to have 2 categories for september. 1 being english speaking gays, the other being thai speaking gays

for english speaking gays its season 1 and season 2 episode titles from hannibal

for thai speaking gays, both sets are from only friends. one being ray's heartbreak over mew and this personal favorite set of mine - only friends couple dynamics as book covers it is my baby WITH only friends couples as taylor swift songs - this was a bitch Yo edit okay? . I am proud of these sets

OCTOBER

She can always get it.

Kareena Kapoor in Masaba

November

This scene was so comforting, I can't even. I am so glad this set was liked by yall.

Ray and sand getting together

December

Going to categorize this into korean and thai, because my demon and last twilight took over my brain this month

For Last Twilight, this one with Day and his journey and how Mork has supported him. Their first meeting . And how they see each other

For, My Demon, this set I made half asleep when episode 6 aired. Followed by the one I worked on the longest because the dialogue of this scene of what would she do if the world were ending and finally the role they play in each others life

Also special shout to my edit on namjoohyuk as the unhinged vigilate - baby you are beautiful, its just that 4 people on here watched the show

[stormyoceans]

VICE VERSA (RE)WATCH 2024

with last twilight ending and no show to replace it on friday yet, i thought this might be a good time to do a vice versa community rewatch and maybe give an excuse to all the new jimmysea fans to watch the show for the first time if they didn't get around to it.

the schedule: from february 2 to may 9

as this is quite sudden and im hoping to reach as many people as possible, i thought we could do one episode per week, without having only a single set date but rather a range of days where each one of us can decide when to watch it. so the schedule would look like this:

feb 02 - feb 08: ocean blue (ep 1)

feb 09 - feb 15: forest green (ep 2)

feb 16 - feb 22: soft blush (ep 3)

feb 23 - feb 29: deep magenta (ep 4)

mar 01 - mar 07: winter white (ep 5)

mar 08 - mar 14: fire yellow (ep 6)

mar 15 - mar 21: sunset orange (ep 7)

mar 22 - mar 28: cloudy gray (ep 8)

mar 29 - apr 04: midnight black (ep 9)

apr 05 - apr 11: pink (ep 10)

apr 12 - apr 18: real red (ep 11)

apr 19 - apr 25: crystal clear (ep 12)

apr 26 - may 02: faded pink? (our skyy ep 1)

may 03 - may 09: multicolor (our skyy ep 2)

how to watch: youtube (main series + our skyy)

what to do: watch or rewatch the episodes

that's pretty much the only mandatory thing that is required to do, but if you feel like it you can also:

liveblog your watch

share your favorite scene(s) from the episode

pick your top weekly outfit

reblog old and new posts

create content like memes, fics, gifs, edits, etc.

anything you want!!!!!

if you do any of these tho, please tag your posts with #vvrewatch24 so people can find them!!!!

the main goal i hope to achieve with this is for everyone to just have fun and maybe find some comfort. a big thank you in advance to anyone who will consider participating or even just sharing this post!!!!

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - I Gave a 10/10 to a BL... me!

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

Nov 2023 Wk 3

Ongoing Series - Thai

My Dear Gangster Oppa (Thurs iQIYI) ep 4 of 8 - I love this show. I adore Tew's the simple backstory. No frills. No fuss. He got dragged in the way many do and he can kill so they kept him. They aren’t trying to make it needlessly complicated (which is rare for Thailand). That said, the pacing is way tf off, the emotional arc is rushed and then sappy out of absolutely nowhere. Before you ask, the kiss is not at issue, we halfway through they should be kissing, but the romantic life changes - too soon. But I don’t care. Finally, they left us this ep reminded of 2 v important things,

this pair kisses beautifully

in BL all mafia be gay

Fun fun!

Last Twilight (Fri YT) ep 2 of 12 - It's official, I love this. It’s a classic caregiver/bodyguard trope where one of them is opening the other one up to the world, but sweetly. I’m enjoying the softness of JimmySea's take and I hope GMM TV takes its cues from the success of My School President and doesn’t push this particular show into rough or edgy territory. Stay on target GMMTV. Don't mess with my bias again!

Twins the series (Fri GaGa) ep 3 of 10 - Finally, our adorable side couple has emerged! This show remains engaging without losing pace (despite the main couple being slow burn), which is all I want from a Thai pulp, and more I could ask for currently from a sports BL. 

(Note: when I dictate the computer always puts "Thai pope" instead of Thai pulp - this is hilarious to me.)

Pit Babe (Fri iQIYI) ep 1 of 14 - I guess they didn’t strip the omegaverse out of this. Unfortunately, I’m not an omegaverse fan, so I find its presence extremely off putting. (But it’s kind of amazing that somebody finally put one on our screen.) Unsurprisingly, it’s a lot of alpha posturing and hyper masculinity, because that’s what this kind of worldbuilding is an excuse for (lazy writing and lazier characterization). This means I don’t like Babe AT ALL except that he’s smell orientated and a bit verse. Way is lovely tho, because Nut is a great soft screen presence amongst the testosterone haze. 

Middleman’s Love (Fri YT & iQIYI ep 2 of 8 - I’m not gonna lie (when have I ever bothered to lie to you all?) I’m struggling with this show. The sound effects are getting worse. That is not allowed. Still I found this installment slightly more bearable than the last last, probably because there was more of the cast in play and less of Jade being too cringe to live. 

Absolute Zero (Weds iQIYI) ep 8 of 12 - AKA temporal paradox of pain.

My Universe (Sun iQIYI) Friends Forever ep 13 of 24 - Ooo it’s a bit of a teacher/student (coach/player) thing. Linguistic negotiation and kinkification of phi. Also actually kinky. But not consensually. Gonna get dark. Bummer. 

Playboyy (Thurs Gaga) 1 of 14(!) eps - Whines. Must I? Gaga doesn’t have a skip ahead button. Sad sack main characters really do not work for me. But this was better than I expected. I wasn’t expecting much. 

Look: This is helmed by Cheewin (shudder) with screenplay by Den (Only Friends - shudder the second) under Copy A Bangkok (they deserve not my shuddders). It's gonna be a shizz show people. It's Thai dark War of Y style - my least favorites. Apparently, there is meant to be a "plot" but when has Cheewin ever bothered with plot?

On a completely different note does the blond look like that Korean actor/idol from At a Distance Spring is Green & Wanna One to anyone else? Or is it just me? (Park Ji Hoon)

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

A Breeze of Love (Korea iQIYI) eps 3-4 of 8 - I like it a lot. Dongwook is so obtuse and socially awkward and reserved and needy and Dohyun is so gay over and simultaneously wildly confused by this behavior. Fantastic. A bit stiff, even for Korea, btu I'm okay with it since everything else I'm watching right now is decidedly NOT stiff.

I finished it!

Let's Eat Together Aki and Haru AKA Aki wa Haru to Gohan wo - Japan BL movie 1.5 hr

Best friends life together during university - cheerful sunshine loves to cook, grumpy tsundere loves to eat. Aki is a bit manic pixie dream boy for me (not my favorite archetype) but they’re cute and it’s one of those Japanese slice of life pieces like Our Dining Table that isn’t really a romance in fact it’s barely a drama. This isn’t friends to lovers because they’re basically already in a relationship (which everyone around them knows) they just aren’t fucking. I did spend a lot of time worrying that they weren’t eating any green things whatsoever. In the end this isn’t my thing when there’s no kissing at all, and this was a bit too dull even for JBL. Sorry Japan, one cannot trade on cute and cheese alone. I know, you want to. But that's not a BL or a personality. 6/10 

I Cannot Reach You AKA I Can't Reach You AKA Kimi ni wa Todokanai (Japan, maybe coming to Netflix) 8 eps - This classic friends-to-lovers BL is everything Japan does best. Angsty. Emo. Aching. Driven by real thirst. Yamato is deeply in love with his childhood bestie, Kakeru, and has been for ages, unable to hide his ungainly damaging high school need. He wants Kakeru in every way possible and it oozes off of the screen. Kakeru is silly and a little simple, but not frenetic or overly camp about it. He is earnest, and genuinely wants to keep Yamato in his life which means giving a romance (and gayness) a fair chance. We watch him realize his affection and what form it can take in a truly authentic way. This show was impossibly kind to both of its lead characters and I felt honored that I got to watch something so lovely and rare play out on my screen.

I LOVE LOVE LOVED THIS. IT'S SO GOOD.

10/10

Let me be perfectly clear: I have watched 646 BLs and only handed out nine 10/10s.

I talk more about why this one made the cut, here.

It's Airing But...

One Room Angel (Japan Gaga) 6 eps - adaptation of Harada’s manga (which I did not like) about a clerk who's stabbed, nearly dies, and returns home to find an angel waiting for him. With only 5 eps and a good chance this won’t end happy, I'm gonna wait and let you tell me how it goes.

SHADOW (Thai Gaga) 14 eps - I'm not wild about Thai horror (or horror at all) even one featuring Singto and Fluke. I'm holding off on this one and if told it's good I'll binge later.

Beyond The Star (Weds iQIYI) 8 eps - House of Stars meets Boyband. I was NOT impressed. Waiting to be told if I should bother.

What Did You Eat Yesterday Season 2 AKA Kinou Nani Tabeta? Season 2 (Japan Gaga) 10 eps - I find this series more fun to binge, so I'm waiting until it completes its run.

Next Week Looks Like This

STARTING

11/20 Bake Me Please (Mon Gaga) ep 1 of 6 - trailer here, stars Ohm (of OhmFluke) opposite Guide (bestie from IFYLITA). This looks like an actually gay version of Antique Bakery (play it again, BL). I'm intrigued, it looks HELLA pretty.

11/22 7 Days Before Valentine (Weds ????) ep 1 of 10 - trailer here, horror-esk. Adapted from y-novel of the same name, directed by Tu (180 Degree) stars Jet (Why You… Y Me?). When you want your old love again, but fate sends you a reaper instead. All he can do for you is kill people. I'll likely give this a pass and wait to binge if safe.

11/24 VIP Only (Taiwan Fri Gaga) ep 1 of 10 - Screenplay by Lin Pei Yu (WBL) about a chef who courts a shy writer with spicy beef noodles.

11/25 The Sign (Sat ????) ep 1 of 10 - trailer here, horror-esk, but with a suspense and adult characters. Special investigators who loved each other in previous lives reunite in new bodies. Stars Billy Patchanon (BillySeng) & Babe Tanatat (new). Includes other SCOY favorites as a special investigation team. I may give this a try (depending on distribution) because I'm into the non-horror bits.

11/26 The Whisperer (Sun ????) 1 of 10 - trailer here. Thai horror BL that ALSO involves cheating (what joy is mine). He has dimples (My Ride) but I don't think even that gives me the will. You can tell me how this goes.

11/26 Cooking Crush (Sun YT) 1 of 12 - OffGun are back, trailer here. Adapted from the novel “Love Course! เสื้อกาวน์รุกเสื้อกุ๊กรับ” by iJune4S this is about Prem who runs a not-so-popular restaurant with 2 friends. About to go on a cooking competition with a huge reward, Prem gets involved with Ten, a stressed-out med student who wants Prem to teach him to cook.

Still Coming November BL

11/30 For Him (Thurs ????) ep 1 of 10 - high heat trailer, I suspect iQIYI will scoop this one up. From the people who brought us Unforgotten Night (please no) based on a y-novel, man nursing a heartbreak has a one-night stand, but the other boy didn't want it to end. It looks terribly trashy so I'm in! Maybe I'll do a trash watch?

Nov 2023 line up with screen caps here. Not kept updated.

Original 2023 forthcoming BL master post (see comments, some are inaccurate, NOT KEPT UPDATED).

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

To be fair this was last week but I did get the screen shot until now. (You are Mine)

I Cannot Reach You serving all Japan's favorite tropes plus some very un-Japan decent kisses.

(Last week)

[fortpeat]

10 BL BOYS THAT I WANT "Carnally"

I was tagged by @prapaiwife so thank you Hun 😘. I don't have 10 unfortunately 😂🤭 I can be very picky like that 🫣 but here we go ..

1. Prapai - Love in the Air

I mean is it any surprise that he is at the top of the list I MEAN COME ON LOOK AT HIM. This man fundamentally changed my brain chemistry. When someone asks me what is your ideal dream man I wish just show him. That's it. ✨

2. Mhok - Last Twilight

Gif credit @jimmysea

Mhok is so cute and every time he's on screen I blush like a school girl having her first big crush. The way he takes care of Day will make me go through a box of tissues 😭

3. Porsche - Kinnporsche

Gif credit @nattawins

NOW HIM. OMGGG *deep breaths* it was kinnporsche that brought me back to the world of Asian BL and the rest is history.

4. Ray - Only Friends

Gif credit @lastwlght

Those puppy eyes is just enough to make me do anything and I mean ANYTHING. PLEASEEE he will have me completely wrapped around his fingers in just one second.

5. Sand - Only friends

Gif credit @sunsetandthemoon

Put a beautiful man with adorable smile in a leather jacket and I am done for. Thank you very much.

(Now this list is incomplete but you bet I am definitely adding Tongrak and Mahasamut in here. I don't know what they are like but they are definitely on this list 😂😂)

I don't have anyone specific to tag coz I have seen a lot of you guys have already done it but I am definitely tagging my baby @mbjw (but love, if you have already done it sowiee) 🫣🫣

[wen-kexing-apologist]

Late top 5 ask because I just thought of it: 5 shows that you are always down to rewatch

What a great question that is also such a mean and incredibly evil thing to ask me, wen-kexing-apologist, Chronic Rewatcher lmfao

So fun fact I have seen KinnPorsche 14 times, Our Flag Means Death 11 times, The Old Guard 11 times, Heartstopper 11 times, The Eclipse probably 6 times, Bad Buddy and ITSAY 4 times, etc, etc, etc. And those are counting all the times I have watched a show all the way through. This is not counting the number of times I have actively gone back to watch specific episodes or specific scenes.

See the problem is sometimes I hyperfixate and then I just have to watch it until it is out of my system, sometimes an OST pops in to my head and then I get the urge to watch the show again, and sometimes I agree to edit the transcripts for the backlog of @the-conversation-pod and @bengiyo and @shortpplfedup start talking about a show and I'm like "ahhh good times! I should rewatch that!"

So you can imagine the stress I am under. I'll have to do this by category

Show I Am Constantly Rewatching: Bed Friend

gif by @perths

I know what you may be thinking, and yes you are correct I am in this rewatch for Uea's emotional journey. Uea is my sweet summer child, I love him, I have adopted him in to my family, his happiness is my happiness and I love love love watching him go from a quiet, reserved, unhappy character who keeps getting put in unfair situations through no fault of his own in to this confident, vibrant, happy person who is on his way towards healing. Often times it can be hard for me to pick A Favorite thing; a favorite character, a favorite scene because there are so. many. good. ones. But I am constantly, and I mean constantly rewatching the scene in Episode 8 where Uea tells King about his past. I have lost count of how many times I've seen it, no even kidding I watched that scene before I went to bed just last week. I will always always be down to watch that show because I love seeing how far my boy is able to grow with just a little bit of love, care, and therapy.

Show I Would Rewatch for an Instant Mood Boost: If It's With You

gif by @jimmysea

I have a difficult time understanding/feeling emotion in my body unless I abstract it in to fiction. So when I experience strong emotions it is typically when something super happy or super tragic happens on screen, in a book, during my D&D game, etc. One of my absolute favorite things is when something makes me so happy that my body is no longer able to contain it and I have to do the Neurodivergent Hand Flappies(TM). I think I spent 80% of this show grinning so hard it hurt my face and doing the Neurodivergent Hand Flappies because it just...they made me so happy. Amane is so sweet, and he deserves happiness, and he is getting his happiness and he's just full of sunshine and I already rewatched this show like immediately after it finished. This show joins my This Could Fix Me list.

Show I Would Be Down to Rewatch for Emotional Catharsis: Eternal Yesterday

gif by @duckflyfly

I have not rewatched this show...yet. But I want to, and I know that I will eventually. I can only imagine that it is sadder and more evil the second time around. I cried soooo hard over this show. But it is beautiful, and it is healing, and the pain is a good type of aching pain that comes with coming to terms with grief. With acknowledging grief. With finding where the beauty and peace lie within death and memory, and the way its claws dig in to you and leave you changed forever. Ghosts can be warm, and this show makes me warm despite it all.

Show I Would Be Down to Rewatch for Content: I Told Sunset About You/I Promised You the Moon

gif by @thii-nii

I think I am in @shortpplfedup's camp about how you find new things to think about every time you watch this show. I actually desperately, desperately own I Promised You the Moon several rewatches because I have seen ITSAY four times at this point and IPYTM once. I am currently rewatching IPYTM with a friend who is seeing it for the first time, so that should help. But the first time I watched this show I was unable to function to notice anything, and it wasn't until the third time I'd watched ITSAY when I was rewatching it to prepare for the podcast panel, that I finally was able to form any level of coherent analytical thought to it. So I would rewatch this at any point just to see what more I could pull out of it.

Show I Would Be Down to Rewatch But Haven't Yet: 180 Degree Longitude Passes Through Us

gif by @dingyuxi

Bold, based on how intense of a reaction I had to this show, I know. But this was one of my favorites, I never wrote anything about it because I was too busy having a literal mental breakdown over it, one that was so bad I almost had to bail on the entire show with like...20 minutes left of it, and I originally nixed my plan to show it to a friend. BUT I have watched the specific scene that did me in (and only that scene) and it went over fine once I knew to expect it so I do want to watch the whole thing again. I have a friend who I have been forcing to watch BL shows I liked and I watch them with her, and this is on the list. However, I am currently running her through I Promised You The Moon and What Did You Eat Yesterday? Season 2 so this show is still quite a ways out from a rewatch because I am not a total monster and want to give her some modicum of emotional break between those two shows and 180 Degree.

Bonus:

Show I Would Never Rewatch: Enchante

I hate this show truly an unreasonable amount. I hate Theo so much oh my fucking god. I refuse to watch this again and I'm mad that I finished it.

ASK ME MY TOP 5 OF ANYTHING BL