#because i feel like their style of bl would work the best with just how obsurd omegaverse as a concept is

[sunshinechay]

So many of us laughed about who would be the first to do an omegaverse BL

I did not pick Thailand but you know what? I am not surprised

[hana-no-seiiki]

YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO FIGHT ME NOT F*CK ME!

yan! school grass (most handsome/perfect guy)/rival x crossdresser! male! reader x yan! friends - part one

tw/cw: mention of abusive parents (but not reader’s) and yandere themes. also your rival has some repressed sexual urges, he really needs to get laid or some head or something-

just read migi and dali and gahd NOW I WANNA WRITE A WHOLE CROSSDRESS /GENDERBENDER BL NOVEL IM IN HORRID ROTTING

Like I imagine this the best with stoic and/or tsun yans the best. You know those types that want to be perfect but only feels perfect when they’re with reader.

ive always loved these tropes as a kid, from mulan to that one tawog episode where darwin fell in love with fem! gumball and like this was even before i knew i wasnt cis but gahd AAAAAAA

also inspired by @moyazaika ‘s rival work. go read it!!

but anyways have the fic, lowercase intentional for first part to differentiate povs.

it was a dare given by your friend group earlier last weekend. wear the girls uniform and a wig for the entire month. it was easy to get the materials necessary for the most part. your mother had several wigs and was more than happy to style her son in feminine clothing. she was just amazing and supportive about your whims like that.

it didn’t take long for you to realize that no one recognized you in your new look.

the day started like many of your other ones at the school, you’d race your rival as the first one in class and whoever wins gets rights to a smug look on their face until the next thing you guys eventually compete on.

but unlike the crestfallen expression you expected — nay wanted — from that stupid pretty boy, you were greeted by what you could only described as complete bafflement.

“what?” despite having a different reaction from what you imagined, you managed to keep a composed appearance. “cat got your tongue?”

“ah. . .”

and that were the only words he said to you the entire day. nothing else. not a single groan of anger whenever you answered everything correctly, he didn’t even attempt at stopping you mid-way or disagree with you answer simply because he wanted to annoy you.

and so you couldn’t help it, as soon as the bell rang signalling lunch time you swiftly turned around to face him.

“are you alright?”

you inquired. not at all worried about his well-being at the slightest. you hated him with all your being after all and you didn’t make an effort to be soft with your tone either.

“h-huh?” he looked dazed. like his head had been in the clouds and you just yanked him down to ground.

your rival never got distracted.

“you—“ you reached out about to smack his face to keep him in check.

“if you’ll excuse me!” he smacked your hand out of the way, screeched at you, and then left in a hurry to who knows where.

nevermind that was definitely him. that silly brat hated it whenever you touched him. he must have just been having issues at home again or something.

Haoyu was trembling — shaking uncontrollably as his breaths turned more shallow by the second. His heart was pumping blood in places of his body where it shouldn’t have been in the middle of school hours. Sweat lined his entire skin and it didn’t help how the bathroom he rushed into had nothing to keep the temperature down.

Who were you?

You sat at his rival’s seat. That nasty kid that always got in his nerves. No one questioned the boy’s absence and he would have asked the teachers on what had happened if you didn’t suddenly take his breath away.

You were, ethereal. Otherworldy even. When he first saw you he was taken away by the way your hair moved in the wind (if only he knew . . .).

Still, he was far too distracted by [Y/N]’s absence to properly let the feeling simmer.

Then, all that went away when you reeled in his mind back at you again at class. You were incredible, capable, intelligent, and oh so perfect. But unlike that stupid child that usually sat in front of him, he did not feel an ounce of envy at all.

If only who could see your eyes as you spoke; the tone of your voice conveyed so much passion that he wanted to see in those beautiful (e/c) orbs.

And his prayers were granted by none other than the goddess that is you,

“Are you alright?”

Your voice? Oh your voice! Haoyu’s heard it already of course, but each new time you spoke it was like a whole new melody, a new piece that immediately turned into his favorite.

His mind was too fried with these thoughts, thoughts that his parents would no doubt beat out of him if they found out.

His feels the parts down there suddenly move. He wasn’t completely unfamiliar with the phenomenon. He wasn’t without his hormones after all. But this was the first time it ever reacted that way so strongly, like if he didn’t give it attention himself it’d explode.

“Mmph…”

And for the time in his entire life, Haoyu does something he knew his parents would definitely be disappointed if not livid about. A hand on his mouth, and another in his school uniform’s pants.

lunch time.

you usually spent those studying or preparing for the next class as hanging out with your friends always ended with you being too distracted to do schoolwork but today you had to show up with ‘proof’ that you went through with their dare.

“yiran ? yichen ?”

no response.

you sighed. as usual, the twins were late. what did you expect? those two would be caught dead before they could be early much less found in the library.

and so you spent the entire time reading,

unaware of the crowd that formed around you while you were busy studying.

[negrowhat]

BL Superlatives of 2023

Instead of doing a roundup (which I still might do) I just decided to do my own Best of 2023 for the handful of BLs I watched this year.

Series I Finished for the Couple- A Boss and A Babe. The plot had way too much going on and a lot of the pieces didn't flow well and a lot of things really pissed me off. Also the only side characters I liked were Porsche and Jack. But I LOVED Boss Daddy Gun and his Cher Bear. They filled me with joy and warm fuzzies and I loved how dependent they were on each other. Gun got was able to let his guard down and Cher found someone he could be vulnerable with.

Love Scene the Made Me HOLLER- Love in Translation. YangPhumjai fucking nasty across their freshly opened convenience store. They fucked in front of the security cameras and with the way they were slamming each other into the shelves I'm surprised more merchandise wasn't all over the floor. 10/10 love scene. Also I adore YangPhumjai.

Messiest Plot-Moonlight Chicken. Between the cheating, crying, screaming, and fighting I was thoroughly entertained. They had my emotions all over the place. I loved the series in it's entirety. (No I haven't watched OF or that would've won lol)

Dilf of the Year- Jeng from Step By Step. Everything about that man screamed 'Daddy'. He was sweet but stern. A very gentle Dom. He ran multiple businesses. He wore dad jeans on his off days. He had a beautiful smile and a BANGING body. And all he wanted to do was cook and take care of Pat...maybe teach him a few thangs. Sigh yeaaaa He was Pat's daddy idc.

Most Likely to Get Jumped- Saengtai from La Pluie. Don't you dare lie and say you didn't want to fight him at SOME point in this series. Tai was just very selfish and did not know how to apologize. He blamed everyone else for everything and he acted like a spoiled brat through most of the series. And I for one wanted to beat him up a couple of times. He's so cute tho.

Best Dressed-Chen Yi x Ai Di from Kiseki: Dear to Me. One favored collars, sweaters, and bright colors and the other had more of a biker-streetwear-combat style and somehow they ended up matching 79% of the time. They looked good together. The stylists popped off.

Most Goodest Boy- Woo Seung Hyun from the New Employee. Just a sweet 28 yr old man eager to work and be his very best. His bubbly personality is easy to love and I just want to squish his face, kiss his forehead, and hug him for hours. I see why Jong Chan fell in love immediately.

Most Sad Boy-Seo Jae Won from The Eighth Sense. He shut himself off to the people around him and allowed terrible people into his life because he didn't care enough to show them who he was in real life, he covered everything with a mask and acted the way people would expect so they wouldn't seem him crumbling inside. He blamed himself for his brother's passing and also for Ji Hyun's accident. He felt like he deserved every bad thing that happened to him and every bad person in his life. Ji Hyun brought light into his life after being shrouded in darkness for so long.

Hottest Couple-KingUea from Bed Friend. The love scenes always delivered. That kitty play scene?????? There was consent everywhere which was also sexy. King was such a green flag and they were hot together. Uea wasn't afraid to be sexy and King was a bonafide bisexual himbo who refused to be shy about sex and all it entails. They were grown and sexy type of hot.

Hottest Scene-The oil rubbing scene from I Feel You Linger in the Air. Not explicit, but extremely sensual. You can feel the desire and tension in that rub down Jom gave Yai. And then Jom going into his room to rub himself down and relive the moment that just passed??? HOT AF. Personally, I think IFYLITA was the most sensual series I watched all year. The series focused a lot on intimacy and physical touch.

Most Potential-Step By Step. This series had all the makings of a perfect plot but then everything just sort of got away from them. The office part of the office romance sort of stepped on the romance part. There was too much business involved and it made the conflict between the two mains unnecessary and annoying. Also they completely neglected the side couple and made their storyline almost non-existent. The eps were long af and yet the time wasn't placed in the right parts of the storylines and some scenes felt like a waste...even some eps. It was a bummer because I liked all the characters and first leg of the series. JengPat are top notch and I wanted more from JaabJane.

Fave Side Dish-YiwaMarine from Wedding Plan. Ooops slipped some girls in! Gawd I LOVED THEM! Yiwa was such a sweet talker! She was def a smooth operator. That line about her liking being short so she could kiss Marine better????? SWOON! I could totally see why Marine could never stay mad at her and was always blushing. They were just the perfect pair of girlfriends turned wives and I'm sad we didn't get invited to their wedding.

[yourpintilts]

Only Friends and Genre Theory

Well - I guess I'll start this blog off with post about everyone's (my) favorite series (it literally has not aired yet) of 2023: Only Friends.

Recently, the nominees for the ContentAsia awards were released, and my friends and I were celebrating the nomination of The Eclipse for Best LGBTQ+ Show (yay!) when a really interesting topic arose. Someone pointed out that Jojo Tichakorn's Never Let Me Go was chosen over The Warp Effect, which they felt was his better work in 2022. Regardless of your opinion on that (though, I agree), we wondered if The Warp Effect is even eligible at all. Of course, the category is LGBTQ+ Shows, but every single nominee is a BL.

I've noticed, in my perusing of BL Twitter and Tumblr that most fans seem to differentiate between BL, lakorns/dramas, and the LGBTQ+ genre, but nobody seems to define them. They are designating the genre by, for lack of a better word (although I consider it pretty accurate), the vibes.

I've seen the off-handed "I wonder what genre it will be" or "It seems like Jojo is leaning away from BL with this series" comment more than once about Only Friends. And really, it's hard to say at all when all we have is a trailer and cryptic social media posts from the cast and crew, but, uh, I'm gonna try. Sort of.

So, let's get into it: Is Only Friends going to be a BL, drama, an LGBTQ+ show, or something else entirely?

Alright, before we get into trying to put a label on the series, let's talk about the labels themselves: it's Genre Theory time!

So, what is genre? Well, most of us would consider it to be the category that we put a type of media or art into: country music, romance novels, etc. Genres help us differentiate amongst the huge sea of art, find patterns and create links between work, and, most practically, help us decide if we will likely enjoy something or not.

Normally, it's not much more complicated than that. Sci-fi, drama, noir, biography - each of these gives you a basic idea of what you're getting into, what tropes you might expect, or how you might feel while consuming it. But film theorists will be film theorists, and it's not actually that simple.

Let's take the horror genre as an example. At its face, we define films as horror because they follow certain tropes and patterns: things like jump scares, the final girl, dark and saturated style, slashers and paranormal, etc. But what about movies like Parasite or Get Out? These films rely less on jump scares and physical horror - it's their concepts themselves that are so scary. And so this is where sub-genres come in, in which Parasite and Get Out are labeled as psychological horror to further define them. And then there are films that just... don't seem to be anything at all. Something like (because I recently watched it) In Bruges, which mixes crime, drama, and comedy, but also never fully leans in to any of them. It sort of defies genre altogether.

So, that's the gist of genre theory. Basically, the point is that sometimes you can put a film or other piece of art in a category, and sometimes you can't.

But, let's be honest. We don't care about other movies. Let's talk about sexy, spectacular, groundbreaking masterpiece that will be Only Friends, and how we can apply genre theory in order to try to figure out what label best fits.

There are several different indicators of a BL, and Only Friends does fit some of them:

Most straightforwardly: the primary story in a BL is a relationship between two male characters. Of course, in this case there are six male leads (and who knows how many different pairings... TopSan, NickSan, RayBoston, and more have their advocates, some even seem likely), but the point is that the series is focused on their relationships together. Along with this, two of the three primary couples - ForceBook and FirstKhaotung - featured in the show are official pairings at GMMTV. BLs nearly always feature couples who have worked or will work together in multiple shows.

The series is also being produced by GMMTV, a company well-known for its stake in the BL genre, and it follows the logistical style of a 12-episode limited series.

But in several other ways, the show is in direct opposition to many of the components of BL. Some may not be intentional, or hard and fast "rules," but they occur so often that they are undeniably associated with BL as a genre.

As mentioned above, two of the lead couples are official pairings, but the other isn't. In fact, Neo and Mark both auditioned for their roles in Only Friends, and Director Jojo Tichakorn has spoken about his intention in casting them: to divert the expectation of clear masculine/feminine and top/bottom roles in queer relationships. The "seme" and "uke" trope, designating who gives and receives sexually (and usually indicating personality and relationship dynamics), has been pervasive in BL. It panders to the homophobic notion that queer relationships must still follow heteronormative standards. With NeoMark - and, as I believe, with all of the relationships in the series - Jojo will subvert that standard.

Also, Only Friends has a not insignificant amount of openly queer people writing, directing, etc. for the show. This certainly isn't the first time this has happened, but since BL began as a genre made by women and for women, Only Friends seems determined to be a series by queer people and for queer people.

And, because we've already established genre is not black and white, there are other aspects of Only Friends that blur the lines of its BL status. Only Friends seems to be much darker, grittier, and realistic the typical dramedy BL. We already know we will see smoking, drug use, sex, cheating, and according to Jojo, this is only scratching the surface. But, of course, the BL genre has evolved as of late, giving us shows like KinnPorsche, which also delve into such topics. So, while BL is largely more comedic and lighthearted, a darker series still can fit the genre.

Of course, there are many other characteristics of BL that Only Friends exhibits and opposes - I could be here forever if I wanted to list every single one, but we have less than a week until episode one, and personally, I want to watch the trailer a thousand more times before Saturday. So hopefully these examples gave you enough of an idea that Only Friends sort of straddles the line of BL (but also that BL itself is incredibly difficult to define, especially as it continues to evolve).

What about the LGBTQ+ genre - can Only Friends better be defined by this? Likely, yes, but my answer is so because the LGBTQ+ genre itself is even vaguer than BL.

(Some even argue that it isn't a genre at all. That's a post for another time.)

Shows labeled as LGBTQ+ are often done so because of a few defining characteristics, usually occurring at the same time: the show features LGBTQ+ characters, depicts LGBTQ+ themes (coming-of-age, acceptance, found family, etc), and is broadly accepted as such by the queer community. Only Friends certainly does the first two, but the third might be a bit trickier than it seems. With the divide between the LGBTQ+ and BL genres, some audiences will argue it fits one over the other.

And perhaps there are some important differences: the LGBTQ+ genre exists on an international scale, with media added to the queer canon from all over the world. Comparatively, I'm not sure I can think of a show outside of Asia that has been labeled as a BL. The LGBTQ+ genre does tend to be more diverse in gender and sexuality than the typical gay male leads in BL, too - BL does stand specifically for Boys' Love while LGBTQ+ encompasses any form of queerness.

But if we're focusing on these standards, I think Only Friends checks these boxes as well. The show seems to clearly be a test for a less conservative international market. And it is more diverse than just gay male leads; Namchueam is sapphic, Jojo has indicated that Ray is bisexual, and Yo is played by Jennie, a trans woman. Sure, there can always be more diversity, but this is absolutely a step forward compared to past, and many current, GMMTV series.

After positioning Only Friends next to the BL genre, then the LGBTQ+ genre, I would love to be able to make a judgment and wrap this all up in a neat little bow.

Actually, that's a lie. I don't want to do that - I am the complicated film theorist I was talking about before. So, it's a good thing I can't, isn't it?

Ultimately, Only Friends is a show that is here to break boundaries, to subvert expectations, to give us something we've never seen before in Thai, or maybe even international, entertainment. It would be an injustice to the series to try to put it in a box, to ignore its little nuances out of convenience.

It doesn't matter whether Only Friends is a BL or LGBTQ+ drama. We should be looking at the show holistically, taking it in as it is rather than through the lens of the things we come to expect from a specific genre. Genre can be useful, yes, but we can't get too held up on applying it where it may not be productive.

And yet (plot twist!), it sort of... does matter? It matters, not in the sense of changing what the show is, but changing the way we perceive and discuss it. The implications that come with a BL series are different than those of an LGBTQ+ series, even though both genres are difficult to define and are ever-changing.

The conversations we have about how innovative Only Friends is, its place in Asian versus international culture, whether it can be considered a success or not, if it's "good" representation and who gets to decide that... all of that is a product of the genre we label a series with. And I'm not really here to argue whether that is a good or a bad thing; like I said, genre can be useful, and fun - there's a reason specific genres remain popular! What I hope this post sparks is external and internal conversation about why we label, and how that might do a service and/or disservice to the media we engage with. Think about the way that you, personally, want to interact with Only Friends and shows like it, accept it, and then challenge it.

[absolutebl]

Hello! I am impressed by your extensive knowledge on media and BL, and by the way you convey your thoughts on it. I learned a lot, and it made me appreciate some sides of this industry that I never really payed attention to. Thus, I would like to know what are your theories/opinions on why the phenomenon of the side ship(s) being more engaging that the main ship is so prevalent in BL. Thank you 💕!

Hi! And thank you.

Theories/opinions on why the phenomenon of the side couple being more engaging that the main couple is so prevalent in BL

Ah...

Side Dish Addiction Syndrome Explained

@heretherebedork and I feel your pain on this one.

1. My pet theory is that since the side dishes have so much less screen time it allows fans to imagine more about them and identify more closely with them. But there’s mroe than that. 

2. They have much less rope to hang themselves with in terms of cliche tropes and dialogue and archetypes. They can be somewhat pastiche (or slap dash, as characters) and we, as watchers, give them more depth than they would (if that had more screen time) actually have earned. 

3. Many script writers are actually better at relationship development in short form rather than long form, because romance as a narrative driver is under-studied and under-appreciated, a lot of people in the film industry just do not understand how it works. Therefore less screen time is actually better, fewer outside voices to fuck it up.  

4. The side dishes are an opportunity to provide a foil to the main characters. 

WinTeam are a great example. Win (outgoing, flirty, cheerful, gregarious) is the opposite of Dean. Team (outgoing, tsundere, tough) is the opposite of Pharm. Sometimes we like them better because of this. They look even better by comparison because they exist as a kind of narrative break (relief) from the relationship style of the leads. 

5. This also means the side dishes can explore archetypes that are not part of the main plot, but might really appeal to a very vocal element of fandom. 

So like hard core BDSM (VegasPete), bad boy flirt and rebellious uke (WinTeam, PitchBank, ForthBeam), new romance rather than preexisting (Cutie Pie’s 3rd tear), younger seme older uke (KhunKaow in Brothers). 

The main character are most likely to lean into the most popular (and therefore safest) major tropes, while also toning it down to makes those characters as palatable as possible to a wider audience (this is the big problem with PhaYo in the 2 Moons franchise = they are colorless and overdone). 

Where as the side characters can go other places, be more edgy, be more mysterious, be more kinky, be more extreme, more sexually liberated and adventurous, be women (!), be more queer AKA be different and unique (to the BL universe). 

And therefore we are more likely to see ourselves in them, to identify with them, or just think of them as special and love them more. 

I don’t think it’s a bad approach, multiple couples. 

It means we have different ones we like and identify with in any given show. Honestly I think the fact that Thailand leans into this partly accounts for the popularity of Thai BL. 

At leaves it always gives some of us some kind of crumbs to latch on to. 

More on this topic:

Rewatch for side couples? 

Top 10 BL Shows Where There is NO Side Couple

Thai BLs Best Side Dishes (prior to 2022)

(source) 

[mikuni14]

Only Friends - Finale

As I feared, Only Friends ended sweetly, true (meaning: monogamous) love won, the villains were exemplarily punished with rejection and loneliness, yep, just another pleasant romance, Hallmark style 🤡

About 3/4 of the way through the series, Only Friends showed that it was not a BL series, that it was not even a romance. The characters were really nasty, problematic and toxic, they couldn't cope with situations and problems, the series was messy and full of unpleasant scenes to the point that it was hard for me to watch at times. But I found myself writing many times that something was terrible, something I didn't like, but then I added: "but this is very real / this is life / I know such stories from real life."

The finale was not life-like, it didn't even feel real. It was romantic, punishing - rewarding - judgmental 😎 All problems either magically disappeared or magically resolved themselves. The characters sit in each other's arms and smile cutely and make wonderful, perfect plans for the future, they promise themselves that everything will be great, that they will be successful, they already plan to start businesses, achieve success in their love and professional lives, their problems, traumas, fears and addictions disappear, burned out by the light of love 🔥 Everything is wonderfully rosy and positive.

Personally, I love romantic stories, I love watching people in love in INTERESTING STORIES and that's one of the reasons why I love BL series, most of which really know how to show love and do it in a million different ways 😊 Even that's why I had a constant problem with Only Friends, because I expected some love stories , I didn't get them and… IT WOULD BE GREAT, if only the series didn't make a strange turn at the end and start pushing this love on us that had no basis so far. And this, in my opinion, is the problem with Only Friends: it seems to me that this series was supposed to be about difficult, messy, toxic relationships of young people, that it is very possible that it would not even end with the characters being in a relationship, but with breakups, perhaps even messy breakups. BECAUSE THAT'S LIFE. And note, you can end a series about couples with their breakups, because it would not be about a "victory of love", but about a "satisfying ending". What happened? From what I heard, the script was changed under pressure from fans. So we probably didn't get the director's cut, just a fan-satisfying version.

Because there is no other explanation for these desperate attempts to prove love in the TopMew and SandRay relationships in the last two episodes. This ridiculous fire, Sand letting go of all his doubts about Ray, Mew and Sand letting go and forgiving everything just to be with their beloved, the sudden appearance of Mond, whose only role was to connect the "right" pairs and destroy the "false" pair, as if he were not human, just a screenwriter's tool.

Only Friends could have been either a romantic series or a gritty and realistic series, not necessarily pleasant, but plot-wise and logically satisfying. In real life, love does not always win, love does not magically cure trauma, addiction, or just being a dick. It can help, it can give motivation, but any change does not come from just being in love. Love is not perfect either, it can be difficult and requires a lot of work, not just, like, some smiles, kisses and making sweet plans and be done. And sometimes the best solution is to give up on love. And that being sexually abstinent or having multiple sexual partners is FINE. That there should be no ideology behind sex. The series could do some really good work on how society views and judges both being a virgin and a "slut". In the end, it was the series that judged both of them 🤷‍♀️ This series could have shown all this if the creators weren't cowards. In fact, the only correct, heteronormative, puritanical version of love and sex won in the series LMAO Fucking cowards 🤡

[bengiyo]

Dangerous Romance Ep 8 Stray Thoughts

Last week, Sailom told Kanghan that if he wants to be his lover he has to get with his friends. Sailom told him he couldn’t just use his money for that, so Kanghan tagged along with them to buy supplies. Kanghan tried to be tough, but he’s a rich boy who passed out in the heat. Then the show decided to have Sailom be unsteady on a bus he uses everyday so Kanghan could catch him. Auto suggested Kanghan actually use his money for them since they’re broke, and so Kanghan took them to a club. The police showed up and caught Auto. Kanghan stepped up to help rescue Auto, leading to problems for Kanghan’s dad. Kanghan missed the final point of their football match, but Guy told Sailom to go take care of Kanghan because he and Auto already knew. These two are now official in a moment that was supposed to be cute, but irked me because they made Sailom look dumb again. Meanwhile, Saifah has wormed his way into becoming the grandmother’s caretaker, so he’s definitely going to fuck this up for everyone.

Visually I think Papang and Chimon were a good choice to play brothers.

I need someone who grew up in Asian school systems to explain how the grading system works. In the US, 65 is still a failing grade.

I think I’ll have to ask one of the Thai speakers later if Kanghan did a cute thing with pronouns when they translated “faen-ja” as “boyfie”

Perth and Chimon are cute together. I really hope we get a better show from them next year.

Aren’t their rooms connected by a bathroom? Why would Kanghan hide behind a curtain? This boy is so dumb it’s painful.

Okay, he’s not as dumb as I thought and got out on his own. I’m glad Saifah didn’t find out about them within a day of being around here.

Guy and Nawa want to fuck each other so bad it makes them look stupid. Now they’re feeding each other and excited about their scheduled fight. Oh, boys.

I’m not even sure how I want to read Sailom being frustrated with Kanghan about not showing up for tutoring. This show seemingly wants it to be about Kanghan’s ability to change and the impact on the romance, but for me I’m still focused on the debt looming over Sailom and Name’s willingness to inflict violence on them for that.

Curious about the grandmother buying the expensive medicine for Saifah. I half-expected him to consider stealing the medicine and selling it to use a generic instead, but now he’s faced with someone choosing to be kind to him.

Yes, let’s check in with Pimfah to reassure the audience that Sailom is misunderstanding Kanghan and he should maybe not be mad.

The cinematography of this apology scene is good, even if I feel like the stakes are constantly shifting in this show.

Oh, right, the windmill analogy.

I do enjoy a training montage.

Glad they didn’t make Perth shave his legs.

The scene work between Ging and Saifah is actually really good.

Is Nawa about to go fight this man in crocs? He’s about to be like ole boy on that Birmingham dock.

Where is my GMMTV variety content of JJ and Euro hanging out and trying restaurants?

Another boy who wants his clothes to smell like his boyfriend. I’m okay with this.

Why is Sailom being precious about intimacy?

I do feel for Kanghan crying in happiness that he achieved something he worked hard for and having someone be proud of him for it.

Why the hell is he paying Saifah in the watch he accused him of stealing? This feels suspect as fuck.

Goddamn. There goes the dad undercutting Kanghan again.

Perth is good whenever the direction is clear.

It’s very weird having the rich boy and poor guy pairing going with the same shit going down in Only Friends with Sand and Ray.

I wonder where these two will run away to. I still don’t think I get Sailom.

Next week: We’re surprised when a card gets canceled while trying to him ‘em up style. Sigh.

It’s really worrisome for me when the best parts of a BL are happening in the side character drama. The best moments this episode were mostly around Saifah, because I just don’t get what’s going on with Sailom.

[iguessitsjustme]

Be My Favorite - Episode 7 Thoughts

This is probably the earliest I’ve watched any of these episodes after it aired. But I purposefully scheduled nothing this weekend so I could catch up on shows and maybe write a little bit about them. So we’re starting with BMF. I got my snacks, I got my drink, I’m ready to goooooo

-I would like the thank the previously on for reminding me that Kawi and Pisaeng kissed because I genuinely forgot about that. Whoops

-The further we get into this show, the more fitting I find this opening. I still love it. GMMTV either has openings I love or openings I hate. There is no in between. And it doesn’t necessarily correlate to whether or not I like a show.

-I don’t blame Pisaeng for telling Kawi it was a just a drunken kiss and cutting him off to tell him not to worry. Kawi has been very clear that he cannot have feelings for him because he’s straight.

-Max is a good friend. So is Pisaeng.

-I say it at least once an episode but I love Pear. I adore her. I know some people might not like that she decided to finish with her class after learning that Kawi’s dad is getting surgery but she knows Pisaeng is there and also she has spent the better part of 7 episodes giving herself and her kindness away to everyone else. She’s allowed to focus on something she wants and needs. She knows that Kawi currently has someone there to offer support so she doesn’t put her life on hold. Max is also waiting until he finishes work because sometimes we can’t just drop everything and run to be with someone. It’s great when we can but life is still happening and Pear will be there when she’s done. The important thing is this time, Kawi is not alone. That’s the best gift we gave himself from this time travel. 

-Oh no. Please no singing. Don’t do this to me. You are not on my list of people allowed to sing in BLs. I’m cry. Oh thank god. It wasn’t actually singing. Praise bless. 

-Oh Pisaeng has now seen the time travel. I think???

-Oh that opening song was slowed waaaay the hell down at the beginning of part 2. What’s gonna happen here? Something sad I bet. 

-Max. That style suits him well. 

-Is Kawi going to know this song? Does this mean that he gets his memory of those 12 years when he time travels? What’s happening here? This is one of my problems with Jittirain stories. There’s a lack of consistency in her world building. Let’s say for the sake of argument, this was a song that Kawi wrote as a teenage me so he knows it, but if he didn’t have memories and knowledge of those 12 years, he wouldn’t have known how it changed during production or what arrangement to use. And based on his reactions to his trips back to the future in previous episodes, he doesn’t have memories of those 12 years. At least not right away like that so I’m having trouble following how he knew to sing that song in that way. That’s why Jittirain shows can’t hold up to shows like 1000 Stars or Bad Buddy. The little details don’t matter in Jittirain shows but those details are what make a difference between shows that stick with you and the mediocre ones that you forget about once they’re done airing. 

-Max is tired. Always tired. And me too. 

-Also Kawi knew the song but didn’t know that place was his???? Also unsurprised that he seems to have turned into an alcoholic. 

-exCUSE THE FUCK OUT OF ME. Pear is marrying Not??? Someone rescue her. 

-So he has snippets of memory? Then how did he know that song right away?

-Oh so Not is an asshole. I’m shocked. 

-I’m fully onboard the Max and Pisaeng ship. Leave Kawi and just love each other. 

-Pisaeng is adorable. Honestly him, Max, and Pear all deserve better. 

-Ew. Sing your feelings trope. Gross. But he’s actually playing the guitar. That pleases me. 

-Now go back to the past and save Pear from Not. Dear gif someone save her from that bastard. 

[gmmtv-bl-tournament-but-evil]

hmm i saw some interesting conversation regarding branded pairs and as someone who is probably more of a fan of my favorite actors personally than professionally, i wanted to chip in.

i think it really is that gmmtv facilitates fans seeing actors as sort of like idols moreso than just actors in a very obvious way. for example, even with shows I’ve loved dearly, i’ve never gotten quite as into the actors as people if it wasn’t facilitated by the company they were signed to.

my favorite bl is japanese and while i became a fan of the main actors as a result, the engagement i had with one of the actors was very much more so simply watching his shows. however one of the other leads was an idol, and as a result I’d do things like watch his variety content and his concert performances.

as someone who has been in both kpop and jpop fandom, i feel as if gmmtv is definitely emulating both in how it promotes its actors, just with more of a shipbaiting tinge to it, and that’s the appeal. you have variety shows to watch, fan meetings, concert performances, social media interactions, etc. and i get why it doesn’t work for a lot of people (it is a very markedly different type of engagement from watching shows, after all) but i see the divide as just what works for whom.

i feel like its both an extension of liking my favorite shows and it feeds into my enjoyment for shows I wouldn’t like as much, just because i have prior emotional investment. for example, i’m pretty sure I wouldn’t be watching cooking crush and cherry magic (neither are really my style) or at least enjoying both as much as I do, if i wasn’t incredibly invested in offgun and taynew. and i don’t see it as much of a problem personally because i am in fact enjoying the ride. liking the actors can elevate an experience for me to be more fun. liking actors gets me to watch more of the non-bl by gmmtv as well (I goddamn love enigma and I would NOT have watched it without a little nudge) of course, that doesn’t mean that a lack of actors i like personally can in any way stop me from watching other shows. i’m not much of a jimmysea fan, but last twilight is a masterpiece.

i dunno, it’s like a different type of fun but one that feeds back into my enjoyment of bl shows. i love watching concerts, looking through different interviews, and otherwise getting to know the guys in my favorite shows.

of course, there are many downsides to the machine, especially with the fanservice and the fan-idol dynamic that can be destructive. i think the current state of ohmnanon is probably the best example of that from gmmtv and shows off a lot of the worst parts of it. crazy, protesting fans. guys who were close who it seems the machine took a negative toll on. it shows off where the problem is with all idolatry, especially when it comes to branded pairs. but i do think at the very least it helps certain people launch themselves up in their careers, and i don’t think the gmmtv bl machine is a problem in and of itself.

idk, totally understand everyone it doesn’t work for, but just wanted to talk a bit about how at the very least, it enriches my experience and makes me more excited for certain shows. i think it can just be a great separate thing as long as fans keep it in moderation irt how parasocial and crazy they get about it (though in many cases fans do not, which i do think is a big problem) really the only downside for me personally is probably feeling kind of bad voting for my favs in this competition, as a pretty big gmmtv 4 pillars fan who also thinks dbk and 2gether were … well let’s just say i don’t think ill be revisiting them very soon. ahaha, anyway. just wanna say i goddamn love my fav actors 🙏

You've brought up some extremely interesting points and nailed them right on the head.

I know we've been talking about this and I just hope what I've said so far hasn't come across as me believing being fans of a certain celebtrity is a bad thing, it's really not. I do that too for some celebrities while still keeping mostly out of the wider fandom.

I think you're absolutely right about GMMTV actively adopting a model that makes it seem like their actors are especially accessible to the public and while I do agree that it can benefit the actors' success in some cases, there are also some mechanics of it that I really don't agree with and wish weren't as popular as they are. Your comparison to the KPop model is also especially fitting because that's exactly what they're emulating and I see this becoming more and more common to the detriment of fandom as a niche.

There are two things in particular I tend to be wary of when speaking about this specific marketing behaviour (because that's ultimately what it is and it's very successful at pulling money into the pockets of actors and performers - which is a good thing - but also into the production house itself - which can go both ways depending on how that reflects on the treatment of the talent):

A) to cite a word that you used, the idolatry that builds around certain figures tends to cloud a lot of fans' perspectives - especially very young ones - as to the fact that celebrities are human beings and they can make mistakes at times. Also, by making them out to be something other than a person, it kind of encourages obsessive and sometimes inappropriate behaviours of possessiveness.

B) this, in turn, feeds the current spread of purity culture toward celebrities that in most cases - especially when it comes to GMMTV - are very young. The results is that even the smallest of mistakes can create a shitstorm big enough to ruin people's careers. I think when talking about OhmNanon, which you very aptly used as an example, part of the whole situation that arose was exactly this. Digging up years-old mistakes and not letting a person grow, especially when so young, can tangibly ruin their future.

Again, I don't think it's a bad thing to like celebrities outside of their works. Sometimes it very much does increase one's appreciation of their art to know the personal context it's coming from and the specific life story behind acting and performing decisions. Unfortunately, with the state of fandom as the huge and more public entity it has become, there would really need to be a wider consciousness of separation between how we feel toward celebrities - down to our most instinctive reactions - and the actual reality that fans might not always be privy to. I believe the majority of fandom (especially outside of Tumblr) is not yet capable of grasping this difference and part of the reason for that is that some production houses encourage such behaviours in the name of money.

I don't know if this is something that I need to say but I'd rather add something unnecessary than cause a misunderstanding. I am, of course, not referring to your specific experience, just continuing a wider conversation about fandom and the ways we approach BL. From the way you describe your own relationship with media and the people who create it, you seem to have struck a really good balance and I'm glad that you sent this message 'cause it gave me a chance to have a deeper conversation about the subject, so thank you for this!

Also, bestie, drop the name of your favourite BL from Japan!!!!! I have such a week spot for Japanese BL too 'cause they were my first introduction to the genre so I need to know!!!!!

[talkingbl]

Thai BL Actors I Don’t Mind Singing *updated 8/19/22*

So, some time ago I made this list. Since I love making lists, I'm back again with an updated version of this. I'm actually going to make it more of a ranking of some of the strongest voices I've heard. Some of the usual suspects will be here but I wanted to add some newer voices I've heard this year to the list.

5. War Wanarat. He has a serviceable voice with a cute tone. Very different from most of the deeper tones you hear a lot in Thai BL. And he even sounds okay live. Would like to hear him more practiced and singing something more upbeat to get a better gauge.

4. PP Krit. Like War, he has a soft, pretty voice. Difference is, he seems to know how to accent it well with his music. I would definitely never mind hearing PP Krit sing.

3. Nine Kornchid. Now we're getting into the more seasoned singers. When Nine is good, he's great. But I definitely feel like I need to consistently hear him sing a song without there being a part where I feel like he struggles to hit his note. That said, I obviously wouldn't mind hearing his voice in a BL/on an OST.

2. Billkin Putthipong. This man can sing and sing live at that. Technically speaking, I think Billkin is the best singer on this list (and, by consequence, the best singer to act in BLs for me). His tone is gorgeous and clear. The only reason he's not higher is because I simply prefer the two I have ranked higher honestly.

1a. Nunew Chawarin. At this point, we are on to the actors whose voices either I adore or who can sing circles around the industry. Nunew has one such voice I really enjoy. While not the most technically proficient or even consistent, when he is on, he is ON. His tone is so sultry, he sings in an appropriate key, his high notes sound strong and clear, he's got a cute little vibrato in his voice and an R&B style. He's literally got EVERYTHING. I don't know why the girls are sleeping on him. Yes he needs some work here and there but it's nothing alarming and he has such a command of his voice it's just wild to see honestly.

1a. Jeff Satur. Not even gonna front, I don't know why Jeff is higher than Nunew for me. I just know I am in love with "Why Don't You Stay" and Jeff sounds heavenly singing it. Obviously it helps that he has a very old-school sounding soulful voice. He's got a rasp, an attitude, and a perfect heaviness going on. You can just tell he feels every word he sings. I am so soothed hearing him.

[celestial-sapphicss]

I was tagged by @praninlove & @dribs-and-drabbles (thank you so much for tagging me this was fun!)

1. Your all-time favourite bl and why: *looks at my entire blog* gee I wonder which one it is

haha, it's bad buddy, without a doubt, the genre is right up my alley, the acting is amazing, it has none of the tropes that I despise, the storytelling is done with so much love and care. also, the OST is amazing!! it felt like the queer rom-com I had always been waiting for. and it has INKPA!! is it perfect? no. do I love it with all my heart? yes.

I'm so glad to have caught up with it in real-time. I have never been that invested in the actors, the cast and the crew of any other bl series before (gonna watch other works by ohm/nanon).

it made me want to actively use Tumblr, start learning photoshop to make gifs and talk about my thoughts. I also connected with some wonderful people from this fandom, the entire experience was just surreal!

2. That one bl that scarred you for life: fish upon the sky. need I explain more? *pi protection squad*. also theory of love. I loved that show except when khai was being, well khai.

3. Is there any bl that made you feel very single: not applicable? haha ):)

4. If you could change one thing from a bl, which one would it be? oh, many things: the 'i only like him' trope, the damsel in distress trope, non-consent, husband-wife/top-bottom tropes, break-up trope and the toxic parts of the industry like excessive fanservice and shipping people irl.

5. That one bl you detest (don’t hold back): okay so detest might be a strong word but there are some very very acclaimed bls that I couldn't quite get into you know? like sotus, uwma, lovely writer, itsay, color rush etc. I think I might need to rewatch atots to really appreciate it, I didn't before because it wasn't really my genre.

6. Your top 5: oh, this is tough! apart from bad buddy?

gaya sa pelikula

cherry magic

manner of death

a tie between dark blue kiss & we best love (season 1)

again it's a tie between ingredients and boys lockdown

(also maybe still 2gether but only because it was way better than 2gether, which happened to be my very first bl. special mention to he's coming to me!) I'm not sure if 3 will be free is a bl, so didn't include it but it's definitely in this list!

7. That trashy bl that you lowkey like: quoting @dribs-and-drabbles, aren't a lot of them trashy? but yeah my engineer (ramking my loves), 2gether, yyy, I can't remember any more (these are completely based on my definition of trashy aka having absolute crackhead energy and guilty pleasures)

8. Your favourite Korean bl (it’s important we know): light on me, easily, so cute!!

9. But also your top 3 for kbls: I really enjoyed to my star! apart from that and light on me, I don't really remember the storyline of any other kb.

10. Season 2? Which one? my engineer. other than that not really big on bl second season considering how they've consistently fucked them up. maybe a still 2gether style follow up for bad buddy featuring domestic bliss and no real plot (sue me for not being over this show) I wanted a gaya sa pelikula 2nd season but well I recently got to know about the mess and I'm trying to distance myself from the show.

11. A bunch of dramas will air soon. Which ones are you most excited about? oh definitely vice versa, never let me go, cherry magic movie, to my star 2, and boys lockdown 2!

12. Tag them!

@surajmukhis @someonek111me @ghostvalleymasters @paint-music-with-me @transpat

Please only do it if you want to, no pressure!

[gb-patch]

Ask Answers: July 10th

I really let asks get away from me lately. I was super focused on working on that Patreon Moment. With that done I can finally think about doing other things, so here’s a new collection of answers!

Thank you for sending in questions everyone ^^.

For the new Patreon moment, will you be able to reference it in step 4? Or just like a tiny nod to it if you pick certain choices?

There won’t be. I’m sorry if you were hoping for that! The Patreon moment is meant to be entirely optional, it’s not something that gets you extra content in the main game.

Is the new CG artist the main one now? :0 I’ve noticed theres been a difference in the art style recently. Is the old CG artist still going to make art for the game? :0

The original artist still makes CGs for the game sometimes, but he mainly focuses on character sprites.

Are you going to put the NSFW our life moment on a website other than patreon? I would love to get it but I can't use patreon atm.

I don’t know. I'm afraid we can't release the Patreon Moment on a normal game storefront because we can't mix 18+ content with our family friendly game. If there's some other place similar to Patreon where it's not the normal type of full-scale public content releases we'd consider using that, but I’m not sure if there is another site that’s better than Patreon in that regard. I'm sorry.

Out of curiosity, in all of your games so far, which characters in each were the most fun to write? They obviously don't have to be your favorite characters!

Buffalo Seer in AFA, really everyone in XOD/XOBD is pretty equally entertaining to write, The Guide in LoV, and Cove in OL!

idk if you accept "personal" questions, but is there anything you've been watching/ listening to lately

Mostly, I’ve been watching/listening to Authortube videos as of late! It’s people who talk generally about the process of how books become traditionally published and/or share their own experience as they attempt to be published. I don’t have an interest in writing normal text based books, but it’s really interesting to hear about that world. I’m listening to a video about royalties right now as I answer these asks.

Will one of the desserts we get to pick be fudge? That'd be such a cute reference! 

Haha, yeah, it should. Unless I completely blank on it and forget when trying to include the various referential food options.

I don't know if this has been asked previously but what would be the approximate heights for the presets MC can choose from Step 2 ~ 4? Are there any measurement you had in mind? Sorry if I didn't make myself clear kk I've been struggling with my English lately 💀 

I don’t know, ahah. I didn’t have any numbers in mind for that. So it’s whatever you imagine it is!

I noticed a bug with the Patreon moment when it comes to what your character wears. When Jamie and Cove are kissing while my character only had dresses selected, I had both the option to remove the dress or to remove the shirt... Picking one of the options to interact with Cove, after he removed his shirt, it had Jamie remove their shirt followed by ther pants despite only having dresses picked. 

Thank you for reporting ^^

I keep refreshing steam to see when the new doc for xobd will be released. I noticed you haven't posted anything about it in quite some time. Would it be possible to ask about a timeline/potential date? (If it's even this year—) I know you and your team are probably working super hard, I'm just super curious! ~Thank you!~ 

There are more stories done, I just haven’t gotten around to publicly releasing them. Hopefully I will have a chance to spend the time on that sooner rather than later!

hello!! i’m not sure if it’s an update but i’ve just replayed our life and at the end i can’t propose to cove anymore? :(( i’ve actually tried playing twice but the options are not there anymore, did you guys remove the options? i’m sorry if you’ve answered this before!! thank you and have a good one :) 

I’m afraid things haven’t been changed or removed, so I think you might’ve accidentally picked the wrong things somewhere along the way and locked yourself out of being able to propose by mistake. Sometimes you meant to say you want to get married but instead you mis-click and have it so the MC isn’t thinking about marriage or something. All I can suggest is starting from the beginning of Step 3 and making sure to follow the steps listed in the FAQ. I’m sorry for that.

Did yall remove some of the options for when youre making out with Cove in the charity moment? I could've sworn you could grab his bonkadonk and its not there anymore 

This is the same situation as the above. We didn’t remove things and you’re not wrong that there are sometimes those options. But there are various choices you have to make to get those options and it sounds like you accidentally missed something. If your relationship isn’t long-term, you can’t do it for example.

HI IM SO EXCITED I CAN FINALLY GET THE STEP 3 DLC 

Thank you for getting it!

Is Shiloh super totally straight bc I’m very gay and a huge Shiloh fan, would my man make an exception?😩

Sadly, he is one of our super straight characters. I’m sorry.

Hi, I have a very dumb question. In Step 2 does Cove not wanna share his drink with us at the mall (or rather why he stops drinking it) because it's an indirect kiss? Or is it like ...weird to him to share? Because if I remember right he eats off our spoon in the birthday scene right? 

Yeah, he’s awkward about it because he likes the MC and it feels very personal to share a straw with his crush.

Hi! If you don't mind me asking, who is the artist for OL2? Their style is so pretty! 

Thank you for saying so! This is her Twitter- https://twitter.com/redridingheart

Do Beginnings & Always and Now & Forever exist in the same universe? 

Yep! XOXO Droplets also exists in the same universe. It’s one big GB Patch world, haha.

Do Pran's parents regret the way they raised him? Do they feel ashamed of it?

No. They’re the type of people best cut out because they’re not gonna change. Which is why Pran does go very limited contact when he’s an adult.

Hi! I just wrapped up my second playthrough of Our Life, and I absolutely adore it, but I had a question. I went to the gallery and found I was missing 2 CGS (specifically Step 1-3 and 2-3) and I had no clue where they would've shown up. Which moments are those found in? 

You get it by telling Cove about his dad offering you money to be his friend in Step 1 and Step 2. You can’t get both in one playthrough, since you can only tell Cove the truth once. I’m really glad you liked it!

Hi hi! Please, how tall is Baxter and Derek? Love the game so much and I can't wait to see more! 

I don’t know, aha. I think Baxter was around 5′10 and Derek was like 5′8/5′9, maybe. I really am not one who has specific heights for things in mind.

is adult cove a bottom, top, or switch? 

A switch, though would choose the top if he had to pick.

I was wondering if there is a way to transfer save data? Even if through the game files. I wanted to be able to transfer my save data from my desktop over to my laptop so that I could continue playing right where I left off from but I'm not entirely sure how to go about that. 

If you save the save folder/persistent data of the game from your desktop and put it into the game folder on your other device, that could work.

Hi! Is it possible for us to know the date when our life: now and forever comes out on steam? Sorry if you've mentioned it before but I haven't seen it and I'm looking foward to that happening and just wanted to know :) 

It’s gonna be a long time, I’m afraid. There’s no estimate right now.

I started playing Our Life with my sister a while ago, and I think you guys should know that we discovered your secret. >:)

L from death note and Cove are clearly the same person, and this whole game is just an origin story!!

I’ve never seen that show so I’m sorry to say I don’t understand the connection/reference you’re trying to make. I’m pretty out of the loop when it comes to media. I don’t watch movies or TV.

Will OL2 have options for disabled MCs?

I understand if it's too complicated, just curious

Unfortunately, it’s not really something we have a plan for. We couldn’t finish the game if we tried to include every disability and have it be meaningful. It’d just be too much content to create. But if we decide to only include a few, how would we choose which disabilities get to be represented and which are left out? I don’t know. It’ll probably have to be something we don’t include as an option again, sadly. I’m sorry.

playing our life > anything else 

Haha, I’m glad you’re enjoying it.

Honestly, I would like to thank Our Life for helping me come to terms with my sexuality. Before, I never would've actually thought that it was possible to like boys romantically and still be asexual. Almost all of the BL visual novels I've read had unskippable sexual content in them and it honestly just didn't click with what I feel. I'm glad I found Our Life. I love the game, the developers, and this fandom so much. Now, I can safely come out as homoromantic AND asexual (at least anonymously here anyway; my parents are still huge homophobes 😂). 

Aw, it’s great to hear you felt comfortable being yourself in the game! That’s wonderful. I’m really sorry about your parents, though.

Will the demo for OL2 be on android? Really not sure if I could wait any longer than I have to aha 

Yeah, it’ll be available for Android once we eventually release a demo!

Do all these reveals perhaps mean development is progressing ahead of schedule? Please let that be the case I'm already obsessed with Qiu 

No, sorry, aha. Art comes along much faster than script/programming-work for us. It’s gonna be a long time before the game is a finished thing you can actually play. But at least we can look at the beautiful images.

Hey! First of all I wanna say I reallllllyyyyy loooovvveeee Our Life and XOXO Droplets! I have over 300 hours of playtime on Our Life… Anyways, I was just wondering, are the Derek and Baxter DLCs going to come out at the same time? If not, which one do you plan to release first? :3 

They will come out separately and Derek will be first! Glad you like the game.

I keep replaying Our Life to get every possible iteration and I am loving it <3 I was wondering if Cove gets locked out of his confession because MC was talking to Lee, would it be possible to confess to him in step 4? 

Yeah, you can avoid the confession in Step 3 and then get it in Step 4.

Hi, my Cove wears bracelets through step 2 and 3 but I still don't get an option to give him a bracelet? I didn't even know that was possible until I seen someone else ask about it lol 

Hm, did you use the Cove creator? Maybe there’s a bug where using the creator to add bracelets doesn’t fulfill the requirement to give Cove a bracelet in Step 3.

Wait, I'm dense, when does Baxter appear in step 2? Is it from big park firework? I feel so bad since i really love Baxter and waiting to buy his dlc. 

It’s in the Soiree Moment. You have to be just friends with Cove, indifferent, or crushing but not ask Cove to the dance at all. Then while there you can find someone new to dance with. But if you bring Cove to the dance while crushing, the MC won’t wanna dance with anyone else so you can’t get the scene.

In step 2 when we go to the soiree I made my mc go alone and baxter chooses the mc to dance, i'm curious, why did he pick the mc? sorry if this has been asked before! 

Because the MC looked to be around his age, seemed to also be searching for a partner, and had nice legs. A perfect option for him.

I read some of the FAQs, and I saw that we could tell Baxter about the condo that he rented there was previously the mean old grandparents. how do we get the mc to tell him that? 

It happens in the DLC Moment “Late Shift”. If you don’t have a job you instead get a longer scene with Baxter.

I don’t know if you’ve addressed this or not, but are you planning on paying voice actors for our life: now and forever? 

Yeah, we pay our VAs in all our projects.

hey can i ask how you did the moments thing in ol? im trying to get into making visual novels and while im VERY sure its out of my comfort zone and all that atm i kinda wanna know just for the future, bc im p sure it would work well for something i wanna do :O but its also fine if you cant say for other reasons :> 

I’m afraid I’m not sure what you mean. Are you asking how we programmed the screen or something script related? Adding Moments like that is pretty straightforward, though. You just have buttons that open to different labels and then the scripts are essentially individual short stories/vignettes. Good luck with your VN!

Since Autumn becomes gender fluid later in the game, will there be a character who remains as he/him to romance in game? 

OL1 has the he/him LIs, OL2 is all about other genders.

I don't want to impose on your creative plans, but a parrot could possibly make a good pet in an OL-type game? They're pretty long-lived and likely to still be thriving by the end even if the MC got them back in step 1. 

I do appreciate the suggestion, but I’m afraid it’s not likely going to happen. I understand there are technically some animals that could theoretically live long enough to last the whole game that or we could have the MC only get a pet after some years have already passed. But the many things that would have to be considered/accommodated for makes it just something we probably can’t manage adding. I’m sorry.

As time passes will we be able to see Qiu and Tamarack's other stage arts as well?

They are both so cute i can't wait to be friends with them!

Yeah, we’ll show content from other Steps in the future. It’ll be a little while from now, though.

Can you date Cove and still have your family comfort you in the car?

You can’t get Cove’s Step 3 confession scene if you have the family comfort you in the car. But that’s not the only way to date him. You can get together with him earlier in the game or later on in Step 4.

Is Mc always going to be the one walking down the aisle or could Cove do it? Also could you choose to have one of your moms walk you? 

No. Cove wouldn’t want to walk down the aisle like that and the MC automatically respects that. And the MC also gets to have their preferences respected, so it’s up to you whether they want to do an aisle walk or not. You also can pick who, if anyone, walks with you.

Once step 4 is out, will you be able to go the whole game on crush/love without either of you confessing? 

Yes, as long as you tell the game you don’t want to progress the relationship. Even in Step 4 it won’t force you to officially get together.

Howdy, so in Step 4, there will be any Romance with Derek that is not part of any dlc? 

He’s only a friend unless you get his romance story.

Will the step 4 in OL2 be one big step or are you considering moments? 

Step 4 is just an epilogue in both games.

hi kind of a weird question but!! we know tht cliff doesn't start dating again but. wht abt flings? like does he ever do 1 night stands or anything? thank u!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Nope. Cliff has a very small interest in sex. If he’s not in a real relationship with a partner he’s crazy about it simply isn’t something he feels a need for, so one night stands wouldn’t even cross his mind.

sorry if you've already answered this, but i was wondering if there were plans for there to be bonus love interests in OL2 like how we have derek and baxter in OL1.

Maybe! There are side characters who could be given romance stories, but whether or not it will happen depends on funding and how long everything else takes to finish.

I don't know if i'm allowed to ask about ol2 here yet, if not u can ignore this or answer it later. My question is can you date one of them and be good friends with the other? I don't want to be strangers with the other bcs i love them both a lot :<

Yes you can!

what patreon level do i have to be to unlock the nsfw moment? im on the $5 one right now, will that give me access to the moment, or just access to the moment progress? 

That’ll give you access! Tier 2 and anything higher allows the player to download it.

[shortpplfedup]

I’m a bit conflicted. Like I enjoyed Bad Buddy, I really did but it’s just not the end all be all for me. And I’m like is it me? For one, the Thai style bl with the sound effects and zany cuts sometimes makes the series seem just juvenile. And I also think there are better recent Thai BL performances- BKPP for acting talent and MaxTul for chemistry/skinship. Bad Buddy could easily be the best gmmtv bl but like of all time? Of all Thai BL? I just… idk feel like everyone is so high and happy right now and I’m like, it was good but like for me not the best ever. (I’m not at all trying to come for you or anyone but I just want to vent I suppose, apologies if this is unwelcome. I just feel like alone)

To each their own Nonny. In genre, for me, Bad Buddy is one of the best stories I've seen and I've thoroughly enjoyed it. I always try to not compare apples to oranges and judge a work by how successfully it accomplishes the mission it's set itself. I rank it up there with ITSAY/IPYTM but it's a totally different genre so I wouldn't put one over another, they're both top ranked to me.

I also love Aof storytelling because of how it takes you on a journey and you end up in a totally different place than you thought you would, but when you look back you see every step of how you got there. I also fall in love with his characters, he is really good at building fully realised 3d characters.

Everybody is gonna feel how they feel about any story, and that's just fine. To each their own.

[absolutebl]

Omg… i saw your analysis on Saint’s acting in LBC and Why R U? And it made me think if you can also analyse Nanon’s acting in Bad Buddy (vs his previous works if you have seen them?). I really really love the way you analysed Saint’s acting and was hoping you could do one for Nanon… still upset i discovered the BL community on tumblr a little late tho… Your analysis is greatly appreciated 🙌🏻🖤

Oooo, okay so hi and welcome!!! The bit I wrote on Saint is here and I’ll reblog it now. 

Why Nanon Korapat's Acting is FANTASTIC 

So Nanon is legacy. His dad, Co Khunakorn, is a very well known Thai actor who has an absolutely MASSIVE back catalogue since the early 90s. (You can see him in BL tangential I'm Tee, Me Too as the absentee father who shows back up and then pretty much out-acts the entire cast of very well established GMMTV staples. Sorry all, he just does.) 

Which is just to say Nanon clearly learned his craft at a very young age. And he is what I would call a professional grade craft actor. 

Nanon does a lot of his emoting with his eyes, slight tilts to his head, and judicious use of those all powerful dimples. In general, no matter what character, he has an innate softness and likability to his expressions that make him, even in interviews or on variety shows, very appealing as a screen presence. 

He’s charismatic. 

Also easy to cast as a the hero, because he can play good/decent human as not boring - which is a SKILL. 

He inhabits his roles in a really specific and highly professional way - with less physicality than Saint (Nanon’s body language is pretty uniform), but more expressive nuance to his face. He’s quiet but concentrated about the space he inhabits on the screen. 

A BL actor with a similar style to him is Taiwanese actor Sam Lin (We Best Love). 

But I should say Nanon’s style contrasts nicely to someone like Ohm, who always inhabits a lot of space on a screen. Ohm uses big gestures and expressions, and his whole body when he acts, giving his characters a certainly boldness (even with a character like Dew). Which is not to say Ohm can’t be subtle just that he uses subtlety to quite a loud character, where as Nanon is the opposite. Nanon is mostly quite subtle and then occasionally outrageous for contrast. As actors they foil each other beautifully, and because they are good friends have great established emotional chemistry, and I think this makes for a deadly combination. This is what watchers of Bad Buddy are primarily responding too.

Also they are both VERY seasoned. Consummate professionals. A lot of BL uses green actors for one or both leads, we rarely get this level of pro paired together on a BL screen. 

Back to Nanon.

So a great way to take in his versatility and range is to watch some of his back catalogue. And since he’s been at GMMTV for a while now, most of it is on YouTube. I actually know him from his early lead role in My Dear Loser: Edge fo 17. 

His character starts out as such a dorky loser (and being bullied) that I know a number of people on Tumblr struggle make it through this series. But he’s absolutely great in it. And while the series is a soft high school coming of age narrative it’s also a bit of a Pygmalion trope. He’s adopted by a biker gang and learns how to be cool and win the girl. So you get to watch Nanon act his way into a new identity through the course of the narrative. (Also it has a great enemies to lovers BL side couple of his bestie, played by Chimon, and Pluem AKA InSun. We’ll come back them.)

Something to know about Nanon that many other Thai BL actors universally fail at (especially the GMMTV stable) and which is another way he’s like Sam Lin, is that he’s not afraid to appear ugly or messy. 

A lot of Thai actors (and Korean actors for that matter) are clearly invested in appearances (which is fine) but that colors their acting with a lot of self conscious reserve (which is not fine). This feels fake or disingenuous to watchers. 

Nanon will get snotty and messy; he’ll fall apart and show a double chin; he gets all over raw on a screen. It GREAT. He entirely inhabits his roles and leaves his own ego outside of the studio. 

When I say professional, that’s what I mean. He’s clearly not work for his directors. I bet he’s a joy on set. 

So, after watching his performance in MDL:Eo17 I’d go for The Gifted and/or Blacklist. 

In both these shows, Nanon plays a slightly edgy but morally sound and driven outsider character. And in both of these he’s paired with Chimon in an enemy-to-bestie relationship. And yeah, both are bromancy enough to have feed some serious shipping. (I honestly have no idea if Chimon went out for the role of Pat or not, or if he doesn’t want to do BL anymore, or if he/GMMTV want to keep the PluemChimon pairing unsullied. I would love see PluemChimon anchor a show, and we all know Pluem would be game.) 

Anyway, initially a lot of BL fans were disappointed in the casting of Bad Buddy because of NanonChimon hopes carried over from these two prior shows (and also Ohm has been historically undervalued). Now, clearly, everyone is on board. 

So you can watch Nanon mature as an actor through the course of Gifted/Blacklist/Gifted Graduation series, but that’s more to do with the roles he’s being given. Frankly, I think he’s pretty great out the gate in MDL:Eo17, these ones just show his range. Gifted is a better show, but Blacklist is shorter and Ohm is also in that one, so pick your poison. Nanon plays a very similar character in both, so you don’t really need to watch it all.  

And there it is. 

That was a very long answer to get at the fact that what Nanon has (that other actors don’t) is an innate charisma and a freedom from ego. I would argue that as a result he’s genuinely one of the best Thai actors of his generation. 

We are incredibly lucky someone somehow persuaded him to do a BL. 

The kiss is going to be VERY interesting with these two. 

* Note: Nanon & Ohm talk about their different acting styles (and acting as a couple) on this episode of Safe House 2, kindly translated by a fan. Apparently Nanon is v Method. (thanks to a kind commenter for the link) 

(source)

[negrowhat]

BL/GL TAG GAME

tagged by @plaidcladjuno FOREVER AGO! Sorry it’s so late!

1. Your all time favorite bl/gl character and why.

Only ONE? JUST ONE? BUT I HAVE A LIST OF BOYS! Ok I guess the person at the top of my list would be Zhou Shu Yi from We Best Love. I find his honesty and ignorance quite endearing. I like that he reacts with his emotions first, you can literally always tell how he’s feeling no matter how he tries to hide it. I love that he’s so intelligent and yet a little dumb. He’s just a passionate character and he makes me so emotional and I love him and he’s so perfectly imperfect!

2. What's your one character from a bl/gl you wanted to punt in to the stratosphere (you only get one so choose wisely)

Fu Yong Jie (the creepy younger step brother) from History 4. He was a scary and creepy character to me. I did not like him and I literally had to skip the entire 2nd couple’s storyline because of him.

3. The best music moment from a bl/gl

I can’t remember what ep it was but in TharnType s1 when Type sees Tharn perform on stage for the very first time...honestly all of Tharn’s performances were great. But that stage unlocked a whole Kink Type didn’t even know he had and also Tharn’s stage presence during that scene was hypnotizing.

4. What's a popular heterosexual text that you would like to see adapted into a bl/gl?

I really don’t have an answer for this question. It’s not anything I’ve ever thought about. PASS.

5. A scene from a bl/gl that always makes you laugh

That one ep in Together With Me when Korn kept running from Knock. Like he was in a full on Forrest Gump run from Knock. And Knock and all their friends were like “What the freak is going on??”

Also the scene in Light on Me when Taekyung accidentally poked Shinwoo’s butt with that dildo!?

That scene in My Engineer when Thara offered to give Frong a lift back to school on his “ride” and he came screeching in with his bicycle.

6. Biggest disappointment?

I didn’t like how the conflict was resolved in My Sweet Dear. By the end of the series the whole “cook-off to see who is head chef” competition felt unnecessary. It didn’t actually solve anything and that time could’ve been used to resolve the actual deception Chef Choi caused.

Also Jun Ho actually d-wording at the end of Kissable Lips??? I actually cried so much and I really, really hoped they could’ve figured out a way for both Jun Ho and Min Hyun to survive. Like the series had so much potential! I love them both tho!

7. What two random bl/gl characters would make hilarious exes?

Forth from 2moons2 and Win from UWMA. The clash of the Bi Motorcycle Himbos. In all honesty they would never work as a couple because they are so much alike and I imagine their breakup would be the most amicable breakup in history. Like what would their origin story even look like??

8. Who would be funniest person to force to watch a bl/gl in it's entirety and which one would you make them watch?

Funniest person in my life? Probably my older sister. I feel like she would genuinely be confused but also so intrigued by the BL universe and I’d probably have her watch something like My Engineer or YYY the series or Y-Destiny. You know something more comedic and less plot heavy so she can just take in the chemistry between characters.

9. Best wardrobe moment/or character wardrobe from a bl/gl (screenshots if you are brave).

Y’all know I love a well styled character and I have to say that some of the best wardrobe styling I’ve ever seen in a series was in Oxygen the series. All the characters had clear personal styles and seemed to wear a lot of the same colors and I loved that so much. Phu wore a lot of grays, Kao wore a ton of red, Gui wore a lot of blue, and Solo wore pretty much all black and white.

Solo has some of the best styling I’ve ever seen in a series. I just love a lot of the pieces in his wardrobe. He always looks good.

I’ll tag @ipromisedthesunset @liyazaki @laowen @placetneplacet​ @fandomfairyuniverse @mysticmerc-awesome @snimeat @ommited-miscellaneously​

[freckledbodty]

Stripping Away The Bloat - The Umibe No Etranger Movie Did The Manga Dirty

I finally got around to watching the movie of Umibe no Etranger - a movie I didn’t know existed based on one of my old favourite BL mangas. And oh boy, does this adaptation reflect a painful trend in manga to anime/movie adaptations overall. Allow me a moment to rant, if you will...

TL;DR: READ THE MANGA BY THE LOVE OF GOD IT’S WONDERFUL. Also the movie is super pretty, but here’s a semi-detailed look at why it still really didn’t do the manga justice. You bet I came with receipts.

A few important notes before you start: 

1. Remember this is just my opinion, and I’d love to hear other people’s point of view on the matter, whether you agree or disagree! 

2. I am not fluent enough in Japanese to read the original without a translation, so my thoughts on the manga are coming from fan translations, which 100% might have affected how I view this! The anime I’m a little more sure on as I can generally tell when the subtitles have deviated, but that does mean I may have missed something/something was lost in translation that means something I say here is incorrect. I’m very sorry for this, so remember this is my view based on the media types I’ve consumed. 

3. Also the manga cuttings I use are not the best quality because of tumblr’s sizing, so even more of a reason to go read the books yourself! 

I’m aware I’m very late to this party, but when I saw the other day that this movie had been made, I was horrified that I hadn’t known about it sooner. I read the manga years ago, and adored it - it’s genuinely a sweet and beautifully drawn romance, and I’d highly recommend it to anyone. With that, however, the movie was a huge disappointment to me and I just need to have a moment to gush in a less than positive way. 

The Pros: 

Let’s get this out of the way, I’d still probably recommend this movie to anyone who likes romance anime-style movies. It’s beautifully animated. Seriously, this movie is stunning, with wonderful expressions, bright colours, and a pretty well suited soundtrack too. The animation tries to match the original art style of the manga, and frankly, I think it captures it perfectly. 10/10. Gorgeous. Watch it just for the prettiness. 

I’m also a big fan of any BL/GL adaptations that get a little more into the mainstream. This movie is definitely a huge win in terms of representation, especially when the manga (on the whole) avoided the more negative tropes that the BL/GL genres have historically been known for. (More on that later...) So that’s a win, and I will take it. 

The Bloat Cut: 

To put it simply, this movie fell into the trap of what I call (in my head) ‘cutting out the bloat’. As a long-time anime and manga fan, who has seen countless adaptations over the years, it’s a common theme that tends to make or break an anime. 

‘Cutting out the bloat’ to me means that the adaptors cut out a lot of the ‘smaller’ moments and panels that are seen in a manga. This movie was thankfully very good at following the original plot and took us through the same beats that the manga did (many adaptations don’t bother doing that at all), but they left out a lot of the extra stuff - the aforementioned ‘bloat’. 

The bloat isn’t really bloat in that it is pointless, however: the problem is that these little moments and scenes are seen to be pointless by the adaptors. Again, understandable: they have a limited run time, and it’s hard to include every little tiny moment, especially when they are ones that are easily scanned passed. Some bloat cutting is necessary to make an adaptation viable at all, but sometimes, it can be hugely detrimental to the piece. Umibe no Etranger is a key example of this. 

Setting: 

I watched this movie without rereading the manga, and as such, I was quickly thrown off by how bad the movie was. This was one of my favourite mangas, wasn’t it? Had I really had such terrible taste? (Yes, let’s not go there, but this manga was not one of my high-school bad decisions). 

The characters felt strange. Personalities did complete 180s after the time skip and did some questionable things that I couldn’t recall finding issue with when I read the manga. The two main characters felt so hot and cold that it didn’t feel like the story I remembered. Even the pacing felt off and janky at times. 

After watching, I went back and reread the manga, and this is where I saw all the ‘bloat’, the little intricate moments and minor panels that were easy to overlook but made the story what it was. Here’s a few of the biggest examples I could find. 

Shun:

Oh, Shun. What did they do to you? 

Shun’s character was bizarre. In the first 15 minutes of the movie, he was bubbly, friendly, and even bold enough to flirt with Mio. After the time skip, he was sour, cold, and completely withdrawn from the world. I understood Mio’s confusion because after the time jump he was a completely different character. 

The manga is often focused on Shun and his inner thoughts, and he’s the one who is hurt the most by the bloat cutting. For starters, he wasn’t as over-the-top friendly at the start of the manga as he was in the anime, and we’re able to see his inner thoughts and worries that cause his reservations from the first few pages we meet him. We also get more hints earlier on as to Shun’s past that explain a lot of his behaviour as a whole, as well as getting little hints as to why he’s even more negative and exhausted after the time jump. 

Mio: 

The biggest bloat cut out in terms of Mio is the big plot point of the phone call. For context, before leaving for the time skip, Mio promises to call Shun once he’s gotten to his new home. In the movie, this is never really brought up again, focusing on the relationship in the present, but this was a huge point to leave out. I think it was cut out because it was explained in one short scene in the manga, and therefore easily mistaken for bloat. 

In the manga, it’s explained that Mio does call, but it’s Eri who answers, and there’s a very important conversation that sets up Mio’s whole character development and explains why he returns to the island set on having a relationship with Shun. Eri warns him that calling Shun, despite knowing that Shun has feelings for him, is cruel and unfair, and tells Mio he shouldn’t contact him unless he’s worked out his feelings. It’s a great scene, and a real shame to leave out when it explains firstly why Mio never called back, and secondly why he is so adamant about his feelings and love for Shun when he does finally return: because he saw Eri’s warning to mean ‘don’t come back unless you are serious’.

Relationship:

In the movie, Mio and Shun didn’t really seem to have a relationship until the drama kicked up and then it quickly seem to disappear again. Shun was extremely held back and reserved, and barely ever seemed to return Mio’s feelings (even in the scenes he was instigating) - he even totally avoided anything resembling physical contact at first. 

Compare this to the manga, where there are little hints of their relationship progressing throughout the chapters. For one, Shun is never as cold and blank as he seems in the film, and when he does seem that way, the manga quickly shows a glimpse of his thoughts to explain how he’s exhausted or distracted - without those little bloated thought bubbles, he just seems... a little cruel frankly.

A really good example of this is the beach kiss scene. In the movie, as Mio is about to kiss him, Shun suddenly announces that he’s hungry and avoids the kiss altogether, leaving Mio confused. 

In the manga, they actually do kiss - it’s their first kiss, in fact. Shun seems embarrassed and his ‘I’m hungry’ feels like more of a way to distract them both. He explains he’s exhausted (which is fair enough, this is a big thing for him to process on little sleep that his inner thoughts earlier in the chapter already set up) rather than just outright shunning him. (Ha. Shun. shun. Get it?) 

A more *noted* bloat they cut out is that Shun and Mio get physical in the manga way earlier than the movie, the touches just not quite being everything Mio wanted. Without those more tender moments, where they actually seem like a couple, it seems like Mio is chasing after Shun desperately, whilst Shun couldn’t care less about him. It detracts from the whole relationship. Below are some examples of the two of them actually seeming like a couple that were cut from the movie, including longing looks from Shun, Shun hugging Mio whilst he’s asleep, and Shun asking to kiss and touch Mio. 

The Issue: 

Bloat cutting always annoys me, but usually, if it’s not hindering the story, I don’t mind. What bothers me most of all in this movie, is that without these subtle little panels and moments, the relationship between Shun and Mio seems... forced, frankly. In the movie, Shun seems to be the instigator of the flirting, and then after the time skip he acts practically disgusted, avoiding a lot of Mio’s advances, and we don’t get to hear his inner thoughts like we do in the manga to explain why he’s feeling this way. 

In the manga, during these ‘bloat’ pieces, Shun is an actual willing participant in the relationship, and Mio isn’t just forcing his advances onto Shun. It’s natural. It’s not flipping between hot and cold, or suddenly ramping up after a big moment of drama, it’s slow and careful and a real relationship. 

This would be a bad change in any adaptation, but it’s especially so in this one. Anyone who is a fan of BL specifically is probably aware of the genre’s bad rep historically for having some... questionable consent issues. This manga didn’t have them. The movie? I’m not so sure, and that’s why it’s rubbed me the wrong way. I could spend another 1000 words talking about this issue as a whole, but I’ll leave it there, you get the idea.

Expected? Yes. Okay? Meh. 

There’s no real point to this post aside from to complain a little and point out just how much more the source material gives us. Cutting the bloat always happens, and I don’t want it to stop happening per say, that would be impossible, but I’d kill for adaptors to just take a little more time to work out what is unnecessary and cutable bloat, and what is something they should really keep in. 

The movie is still cute and beautifully made, so please go watch and see for yourself! Mostly, I’d highly recommend the manga: it’s got the same gorgeous art style, only about 5 chapters long, and the story and relationship is that little bit more firmly built. 

I’ll stop ranting now, and I hope this actually made sense? Anyway, congrats on making it all this way.