#thai bl recommendations for those who don't really like Thai BL

[absolutebl]

Hello, hi.

Next week is Cherry Magic's last episode and I'd like a suggestion as to what to watch next. Since last year I've watched some shows that I've enjoyed to different degrees. So far I've vibed more with the Japanese ones and only have watched two Thai shows: step by step and cherry magic.

I definitely like cherry magic more but I'd like to watch some more Thai bl, as I can see they're very popular, but honestly I don't know where to begin. I don't know if mentioning my favorite shows would help?

Old fashion cupcake

Cherry magic (JP)

I cannot reach you

Semantic error

Thank you so much in advance 🙌🏽

This is a perfect question for me!

I think you're vibbing more with Cherry Magic Th because it's following the original yaoi so closely, so it's def more JBL feeling story than it is ThBL.

Okay so your favorites are:

Old Fashion Cupcake

Cherry Magic original

I Cannot Reach You*

Semantic Error*

You've named some of my all time favorites, and 2 of my VERY few top 10s*. (For more of my top 10 JBLs, try here (pre 2023). For my top 10 KBLs, those are here. And my top BLs of all time are here.)

But you want Thai recommendations?

Before I start, off script, seek ye Seven Days. It's my favorite JBL of all time and it's absolutely amazing and very special. It's in two parts and worth every effor to try to find. Here's me talking about it.

First, let me triage some connective tissue.

It seems like you like soft and gentle BL. (Try this cozy list.)

You like JBL so that means higher filming standards and certain aura of authenticity.

Also a lower heat level.

Okay, here are 10 Thai BLs I think you should try, in order...

10 Thai BLs to try if you prefer soft Japanese BL

1 Until We Meet Again (YouTube)

UWMA is, without question, a work of narrative genius with a powerful and cohesive romantic backbone and stellar performances. It is (to date) the only Thai BL that I’ve rated a 10/10 predominantly on the basis of story structure. That said it is also very well cast (and it’s a BIG cast), with solid production values, and enduring pair branding and a softness and complexity that should appeal for a JBL stan. More of my feels on this on here.

trigger warning on the original trigger

2 I Feel You Linger in the Air (iQIYI or grey)

I truly loved this time travel romance. IFYLITA is an exquisite BL, from filming techniques to narrative framework (much like Until We Meet Again). Steeped in history and family drama it edges into lakorn AKA soap opera. This is an elegant and classy BL… from Thailand which normally doesn't even try for classy. The main couple (both as a pair and individuals) were excellent, particularly Bright (Yai) whose eye-work acting style is a personal favorite of mine. Pity about the ending. Oh it wasn’t that sad but it wasn’t great either. However, JBL isn't noted for sticking the landings either. Full review and discussion here.

3 My Ride (Gaga)

Thai BL grew up with this little pulp (the first ever to make my end of year top 10). It’s a truly lovely and special little show featuring the extremely rare pairing of sunshine/sunshine (AKA a cinnamon roll couple) plus mature explorations of relationships using one of the softest, sweetest and most innocent friends to lovers vehicles. Kindly, overworked doctor meets broken-hearted motorcycle taxi driver in an “other side of the tracks” slow burn romance. The support cast is excellent, making for great friendship groups and family dynamics. With honest queer rep that adds to, but doesn’t impede, the story, and genuine conversation about the nature of class, wealth, and classism, not to mention communication, honesty, and respect for boundaries, you can’t go wrong with this show. Full review.

My caveat with this one is, like Step by Step, it is a Thai pulp which mean production values will not be up to Japan's standards. So if you bounce hard off the style of the first few 2 eps, it doesn't get better, so drop it and move on.

4 A Tale of Thousand Stars (YouTube)

With great casting and cinematography this drama nods at BL tropes but manages to elevate them (and itself) with a strong mature story concept about a spoiled rich kid who gets a heart transplant and becomes a rural teacher in order to pay out survivor’s guilt. On the way he falls in love with a local park ranger and contends with his own classism and escapist tendencies. Everyone seemed to perfectly suit their roles and GMMTV made the most out of its stable. Combined with excellent production (and post production) values, 1000 Stars is without question GMMTV’s most mature, charming, and smart BL series. I think it should go down as one of the top BLs of all time. I feel safe recommending this one to friends and non BL watchers.

5 He's Coming to Me (YouTube)

Boy and ghost boy fall in love, must solve ghost’s murder. Peak pining but also pretty tame, features my favorite sweet but important coming out sequence. The third in my precious triumvirate of unbeatable Thai BLs, that are only nominally BL because the story, acting, and production values are so good. (others are UWMA & 1k*)

You don't mention any PNR or high concept, but I still think it's worth giving this one a try.

6 Moonlight Chicken (YouTube)

I enjoyed this complicated little show, even though it’s spectacularly messy gay with lots of shrapnel and authentic pain. I thought the leads (EarthMix from 1k*) turned in their most compelling performance to date. But it was GeminiFourth (My School President) who stole my heart. That said, the most interesting central relationship was that of Jim & Li Ming, their father-son angst mixed with evident affection made me tear up. This was more slice of life than it was BL, but it ended happily so I’m not mad at it. Full review here.

It's not as soft as you like, but you might try it anyway, because it is Very Good.

A note if you watch this and enjoy GeminiFourth, you could try their BL, My School President. I chose not to explicitly rec it to you because it's VERY Thai Bl with lots of comedy and slapstick, and you named prestige JBL and KBL (which are the anthesis of this). Taht said, MSP has no more or less than Japan's Cherry Magic, so you might enjoy it.

7 Make a Wish (grey)

An odd pull but I'm going with it. This PNR (from noted Y-novelist Sammon - Manner of Death & Triage) about a doctor who can see the dead and strikes a bargain with a wish-granting irreverent tree angel - naturally they fall in love. The Thai afterlife is incredibly bureaucratic but I enjoyed the premise and the unfolding of the story (it’s not predictable but still satisfying and with nice little twist). I like that the doctor is just gay af and has a fag hag bestie and everything. The cast is excellent but the comedic stylings could feel too overblown and tonally off. (But again no more than something like Japan's Cherry Magic.) It had sad parts and did make me cry but is ultimately happy with a great sex scene, good smiley kisses, and all the agency.

8 Bed Friend (YouTube -cut version, iQIYI - v high heat)

You didn't name My Personal Weatherman (a great high heat JBL from last year) but if you want to try some Thai-style high heat, this is your best bet. Office frienamies transition a flaming hot one night stand into a f-buddy relationship that is built on a puppy/cat dynamic (and kinks into it at one point). Our puppy is loyal, smitten, and protective with endlessly longing eyes, while our cat is snarky, prickly, and deeply damaged (ALL THE TRIGGERS). NetJames give lovely high-heat with excellent chemistry and tuned-in performances of surprising depth, the story ultimately fails them at little as it waffles and went off the rails. But that's a Thai BL thing. Full review here.

Triggers include: child abuse, attempted rape, family abuse

9 The Eclipse (YouTube)

This is a good show but the cast is excellent and the leads are absolutely flawless, which elevates it beyond just good. We got a nuanced and multifaceted burgeoning relationship: philosophical (and socio-political) conflict contrasted to moments of empathy; flirtation contrasted to moments of genuine affection, plus plenty of angst. This narrative is less about love than it is about courage and tenderness. However, near the end the pacing was off and the plot frustrating. Still, this is an enjoyable watch, with a finale that features verbal consent and a fun blooper reel.

10 Love By Chance (YouTube)

Okay I dithered a lot over this last one and finally chose this. Because in an intro to Thai BL you should have at least one trail by fire and that's bound to be a MAME offering.

AePete’s meet cute is one of the best ever put on screen. They are just so genuine and soft with each other, it’s hard not to love them from the first moment. All the best Thai BL tropes deployed (and there are a lot of them) are earned honestly by the narrative, including the seme/uke dynamic (such as it is). The characters are unique as this is a poor/rich pairing, where Ae is tough & scrappy, caring & protective, and probably demisexual, while Pete is timid, shy, lonely, and out gay (with his peers). The language is also glorious with Pete using formal (even old fashioned) register, while Ae is entirely rude. You can train your ear for Thai high & low registers with this show (in fact, it's why I started learning them). As surrounding characters point out, they shouldn't work together, and yet they're very much wonderful when they are together.

HOWEVER: You watch LBC for the mains, ignore the sides (trigger warnings), and don't bother with any of the follow ups and you'll be fine. AePete will remain in your heart for a really long time. They are still one of my all time favorite couples. Also (still) two of the Thai BL industry's most famous actors.

For those who are wondering, yes the last contender was, indeed, Bad Buddy. But I chose LBC purely on the basis of softness.

There it is.

I hope I have picked some winners for you and please loop back around and let me know how it goes?

I really want to know if any of these worked for you, this was such a fun challenge.

(source)

[thebroccolination]

it confuses the hell out of me how Tumblr out of all places harbors most negativity toward BMF. situation it's much better now though, but the early period and before the show aired was nothing but spite an vitriol filling the tags. on the bright side, pretty much every other platform is head over heels for BMF, especially Reddit. they're usually critical af but BMF seems to be universally praised. anyways, I'm beyond excited for the remaining eps, and here's hoping for a strong finale so this show becomes one of the often recommended ones 🙏

On BMF getting more negativity on Tumblr than other places:

I thiiiiink it's because Tumblr has an especially high North American/European user base, and that's where the majority of the Krist hate seems to come from. What people still point to (the IG story, the rape filter joke, the "I don't want to watch Singto specifically kiss other men because this is fanservice on a variety TV show that people are going to quote out of context as me saying I don't like watching men kiss" thing) are either debunked or happened years ago, but when interfans arrived in droves in 2020, they kicked up old news like it was brand new and passed around hearsay like it was fact.

I mean, even I've learned new things since I made my post and thread about Krist back in September. For one, GMM didn't arrange his press conference in 2020 to address the issues. Krist did. Even though he'd already apologized multiple times over the years for things he never repeated, he still wanted to take accountability because of the amount of attention interfans were bringing to it. Part of that press conference was Krist even saying he'd never make excuses for what he's done and that he'll apologize as long as he's asked to.

The first(?) apology Krist made for the IG story was long, long ago, one I can't even find a translation for, that's how long ago it was. But Krist's long-time fans said that someone did translate it, but their English wasn't strong, so interfans picked apart their translation as if Krist's apology was lacking. (It's like how some interfans criticized Win in Between Us for being forceful because the subtitles originally said "kiss me" when what he actually said in Thai was "can I kiss you?" Interfans who don't speak Thai just make assumptions based on translations sometimes and it's part of my villain origin story.) Again, I don't have the apology to hand, but apparently one part of it was Krist saying something like, "I responded without thinking of how it would look. As a Y actor, I don't have those kinds of bigoted thoughts. This is my home, and I'm very proud of and supportive of the community that's raised me and cared for me," and the fan translation apparently paraphrased all of that into something like, "As a BL actor, of course I'm not homophobic." So like. Even when he's apologized, interfans have historically found a way to throw rocks at him anyway, so it gets exhausting to see people casually calling him homophobic because Melanie in Minnesota saw a screenshot of an IG story on Twitter and then made a list of six problematic BL actors you should definitely avoid because they skin babies and punt puppies into volcanoes.

On BMF being great:

I'm so excited for the last three episodes. \:D/

I'm so proud of Krist and Gawin for the work they've done up until now. It's wild to think about the amount of information they had to keep in mind as they were filming. Because, like, series already film out of order, but they also had to keep in mind different timelines of the same characters out of order. The fact that you can see not only Kawi's growth but everyone else's as well so fluidly and consistently over the episodes so far says a great deal about the quality of the production, I think. The directing, the writing, the acting. All of it is really, truly phenomenal.

Aaahhhh why is it only Tuesday. :'(

ANYWAY thank you, Anon! Sorry for the rant about Krist. I'm just tired of seeing him get so much hate for years on end when he's such a loving and giving person who's been a vocal queer ally since SOTUS. Not just during Pride, either. He really has been deeply misconstrued by interfans at large, and I just hope the people who've made up their minds about hating him (and the ones who've made their hate so public they're too stubborn to admit they misread him) will just learn to ignore him and stop tormenting him. He's already suffered panic attacks and depression as a result of the constant abuse, and it's repulsive that anyone thinks that's acceptable to do.

[visualtaehyun]

Hey, I just wanna know from where did you start learning thai? Also, what advice do you give to those who wanna start learning it

Hiya anon ✨

I'm not sure how much help I can be, considering I'm not doing a course or following an app or anything people usually do for language learning 🥴 I've been learning mostly by immersion tbh - I've been almost exclusively watching Thai series for over a year now, plus interviews, variety shows, youtube content, songs, so many songs lol, tweets, etc.

My personal learning approach is pretty loose and chaotic lmao but here goes:

1) The biggest hurdle for me was the script. Apart from already having started to notice recurring words being said in the Thai BLs I was watching at the time, I also wanted to be able to read people's tweets! In the end, it was a combination of 1) an app I happened to find (Pocket Thai Master for Android, it's free on the Play store!) and 2) the Wikipedia article on the Thai script that both helped me to understand and start reading and writing. Coming from a non-tonal mother tongue, learning the script early on really helps to understand the tones in Thai so it's something I would for sure recommend!

2) I started keeping a lil vocabulary notebook (you know those two-column ones?) shortly before my Bangkok vacation earlier this year. It not only helped with new vocabulary but also kept me practicing writing! Anytime I encounter a new word, I look it up on either or all of the following online dictionaries: thai-language.com, thai2english, Longdo Dictionary (which I literally just now realized can be set to English in the upper right corner, I've just been using it in Thai ever since I found it djsjdh), Wiktionary in Thai, or if all else fails I google it and might find an old forum entry or maybe an article if it's a slang word or idiom. I recall having dinner in a Bonchon in Bangkok and brokenly asking the waitress for chopsticks so, while waiting, I looked up and took down the word's spelling and pronunciation and when she came back and saw me copying all the info into my little notebook liKE A NERD she laughed and complimented me for the effort haha

3) If I hear a Thai word I'm unfamiliar with that I can't look up because I don't know the spelling, there's a few approaches. If I have context for its meaning, for example subtitles, then I look up the translation instead and hope I find it. If I don't, then there's the option of using thai-language.com's Reverse Phonemic Transcription function (this site in general is my holy grail tbh, it's why I mostly stick to its romanization style for any of my #local woman harps on about linguistics posts). Another option is using the papago app's speech-to-text function. Yes, you read that right. A Korean translation app, that I previously used when I was learning Korean and thus still had on my phone, proved to be useful for me to make sense of the spelling or pronunciation of Thai words. At the beginning, I only used it to read me homonyms out loud so I could parse the difference in tones lol but then I realized it wasn't half bad at rendering an accurate transcription! Sometimes I use that feature to check my own pronunciation or remind myself of the spelling of a word.

4) I always like to recommend @lurkingteapot's comprehensive Thai language learning resources post (it's far more coherent than my post here lol). And shoutout to @recentadultburnout for posting about Thai language and culture as a native speaker (both on tumblr and on ao3)! 🙏

5) This might be minor or self-evident but ya know- install the Thai keyboard for your devices! You're gonna need it sooner or later anyway if you wanna actually use the language. And if you're a keycap and keyboard nerd like me and happen to fall in love with a keyboard in a Siam Discovery store ehem then I do recommend getting a Thai layout keyboard (or keyboard stickers!) because that has proven to help me a lot in terms of ease of learning on desktop and familiarizing myself with letters I don't often encounter. Throwback to that one time I was on the train, revising consonants and their tone classes, and indignantly texted a very confused yet amused family member a photo of my hand-written copy of the Thai consonant table, asking how I'm ever supposed to differentiate between ฎ and ฏ!! Even now, I have to lean in and squint like an old lady to see the difference on desktop. 😭

I hope at least some of this proves to be helpful in your quest to learn Thai! In any case, you're not alone on tumblr or in our little BL/GL/QL fandom bubble - I know of several users who are learning Thai, like @airenyah and @philologique and the aforementioned @lurkingteapot, just to name a few I personally follow and who I'm sure all have their own advice to give if you shoot them an ask~

สู้ ๆ นะ :) /suu suu na/

[lurkingshan]

BL/QL Ask game : The Ugly, the Bad and the Worst

Tagged by @clara-maybe-ontheroad to start some trouble. There are a lot of these, so I'm mostly going to do quick hits and maybe expand on a few that really get me going.

The categories are:

Worst soundtrack / weirdest song choice in a BL

It would be easier to list the BL soundtracks that are not horrible (offense intended).

Most cringe-inducing line (cute)/Most cringe-inducing line (actually bad)

I'm so bad at remembering specific lines of dialogue unless I think they're beautiful/heart-wrenching, so I got nothing.

Most stupid decision made by a character

In a BL?? Baby, I do not have all day.

Worst plot line

Hmmm I'm gonna give in to recency bias and say faking amnesia to get your fiancé to love you again after you iced him out and denied him sex for four years because of your tiger attack-related PTSD (no I am not making that up, never change actually Naughty Babe).

The most problematic show you've watched

Problematic is in the eye of the beholder, so honestly who can say.

A show people love but you find bad

LOLOLOL. There are. So many. Probably the one with the wildest fandom fervor :: Shan personal enjoyment ratio is KinnPorsche.

A show people find bad but you will defend

Theory of Love and y'all stay wrong about this. It is easily one of the best early Thai bls and the writing, character development, and narrative structure are all excellent, but people hate slutty characters so they can't deal with it.

A show that is just objectively bad but you enjoyed it/were horny/because of that one character

Why r u? What can I say, I'm a Fighter/Tutor girlie.

A bad show that you kept watching because you were intrigued/fascinated

Hmmm I usually just drop it if I'm truly not having fun. I guess you could count me finishing Minato's Laundromat 2 despite knowing any hope for it was over at the end of episode 9. I just needed to see how mad I was going to be in the end (pretty damn mad).

A bad show that you would still recommend

There is too much BL nowadays to be trifling with the bad shit.

The character that ruined a show the most/most awful character that you hated

PLERN PLENG (Together With Me). cc: @bengiyo the co-president of the Plern Pleng antis.

Most awful character that you loved

Boston, a beautiful chaos demon (Only Friends).

A character that wasn't awful but that you just don't like

Anyone played by Podd or Jimmy (it's their faces I can't stand them sorry to those men).

A hero that should have been a villain

This is an interesting one! I’m not sure this counts, but I’ll just say I did not love the way The Untamed white washed Wei Wuxian and removed his culpability for all his worst choices (I recognize this was largely due to censorship). I much prefer the more morally complex and deeply flawed version of him we got in MDZS.

A morally bad character you're into/you're not into and you wish people would stop being into

I don't believe in holding fictional characters to real life moral standards. Bad behavior makes for good stories.

The show that disappointed you the most

Let me take this opportunity to drag Plus & Minus again, a show that had all the right ingredients to be a top tier friends to lovers narrative and absolutely blew it to do some beyond clichéd noble idiocy and breakup bs that violated character and undercut the relationship to such a degree that I can never rewatch or enjoy anything about it again.

The Worst Show of Them All Because of Your Own Reasons

Hmm I do not have one. It's rare for me to not be able to find something of value in any media I consume.

Tagging @chickenstrangers @sorry-bonebag @kayatoasted @blmpff @twig-tea in case you want to play!

[jojotichakorn]

time for me to gather all my thoughts together!

out of the 15 announced series, i am - to various degrees - interested in 10, which is a pretty solid amount!

i will definitely be watching:

we are! it's yet another uni drama, but you know what? i don't give a shit. i like me a uni drama. pondphuwin are definitely the mains, with satangwinny either being a secondary couple or also mains - it is not entirely clear from the trailer. my vote is always for marcpawin, who are playing a background couple here along with aouboom. so a very solid cast for me. incredible news.

my love mix-up! i adore kieta hatsukoi, i adore fourth, i adore gemini. feels like a recipe for success to me.

wandee goodday! a bl about actual fucking adults? wow. sign me up right away please. i am not familiar with the main actors, but thor is a part of a secondary couple, and podd is also there, so that's great.

my golden blood! GAWIN as a main character? gawin with JOSS? joss is a VAMPIRE? i want it NOW. like TODAY. exciting af!

pluto! seems like a very dramatic gl with many twists and turns, i am also very excited.

the other five series i am unsure of, for different reasons:

ossan's love th. it's actually likely i will end up watching it, but i (shock horror) haven't actually seen ossan's love, and i feel like i can't say that i will or will not be watching it with as much certainty as those who have seen the original. i will definitely get to it at some point soon though. if i like the original, i'll watch the thai version too.

the trainee. at the moment, i don't feel necessarily excited for this series, so whether i watch it or not will depend on either me having enough free time when it will be coming out to just kind of casually enjoy it, or people really raving about it while it's already coming out and me deciding to spend time on it because of that.

kidnap. pretty much the same exact situation as the trainee. did not grip my attention that much, but we will see if that changes. there is, of course, also the chance that the real trailers for either of the two will change my mind. mock trailers can be a bit clumsy sometimes.

only boo. it did not particularly intrigue me and - unlike the trainee and kidnap - the leads cannot recommend me the series just by virtue of being themselves, because i don't know them. so i am even less inclined than i am with the trainee, knowing how great offgun's chemistry is, and kidnap, because... well, ohm. if something convinces me to watch this - i will. otherwise, it's a pass.

high school frenemy. is it deep platonic love or do they want to stick their tongues down each other's throats? the second i know for sure, the decision will be made. in which direction, i'm sure you can imagine.

some random thoughts:

leads of the series that are coming out right now are clearly taking a little break after this (some of them do have prior comittments for series that haven't come out yet, but from what i remember - it is all secondary/background roles). this makes sense, especially because this is just part 1 of the announcement. so, i'm waiting for whatever news we will get from neo, mark, first, khaotung, force, book, perth, and chimon later.

considering the previous point, i can only Really be mad about the noticeable lack of fluke pusit. my man is clearly in the basement. oh, and aj and jj, who are only playing a background role in one of the series. there is actually a fucking series, where the characters are twins, and they cast ONE GUY to play BOTH, when they have literal fucking twins in their casting pool. wild.

my one real complaint is that i'm getting marcpawin crumbs once again. and i don't mean to anger the gods, because crumbs are better than nothing, but when am i going to fucking get the full loaf of bread? i deserve it. they deserve it. p l e a s e. generally, they seem to still be reluctant about giving current secondary couples the main stage, because satangwinny are either mains along with pondphuwin, or potentially even secondary to them in the drama. let them shine on their own please :(

[29daffodils]

9 Fandom Peeps to Get to Know Better

Augghh I love these games! thank you for tagging me Mickey 🥺🌸(@thisautistic)

3 Ships You Like :

1. Yohan/Moogyeong from The Shape of Your Love (manhwa by Park Nodeok)

this is my ultimate OTP. i never had OTPs before them. they'll be my rise and fall. but yeah, anyway. they. my boys.

2. Vegas/Pete from KinnPorsche The Series

they had me by the throat even before i knew kpts existed and just, well. then i watched kpts and found them and they were everything i hoped for and more. a lot of it is also because vegas and i are very much alike without the mass murder aspect 😂

3. Alan/Gaipa from Moonlight Chicken

listen, MLC is like, the best thing i've watched in a while and alangaipa gave me what i had been craving since yohan/moogyeong c. 2019 : a small rare/ghost ship with barely any screentime but that hooked people in worldwide. firstkhao's acting was just bonus. alangaipa represent everything that i want from my own life. i couldn't not love them.

First Ship Ever :

Kanata/Miyu from Da!Da!Da!

oh, these two. i was head over heels in love with them. i shipped them even when i didn't know that shipping existed or what it meant, when we didn't even have anime on TV besides the broadcast on SONY at 5pm sometimes. i just wanted them in love and happy and raising a kid together. ugh i miss them.

Last Song You Heard :

The Moon Represents My Heart, by the Moonlight Chicken cast! God do I love this song so much! It fits all the ships so well! The lyrics are gold! (I also recently found that this is a cover of the OG by Teresa Teng and that's even more beautiful??)

(also, this has been helping me visualize and write a lot of sand/ray, surprisingly enough.)

Favorite Childhood Book :

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

ahhh, well, this is embarassing. i didn't have a favourite book until adulthood actually. and it's my only favourite (as in something i've read time and again). i don't think i'll ever find another book like this one. this is it for me. nothing can ever top this. (yes, I'm very picky about my favourites lmao)

Currently Reading :

i found out this fic exists because of twitter discourse lmao, and I'm not even a dramione fan, i'll probably never read another work, but goddamn, the writing was stellar. lived up to all that hype. good stuff. (I'm almost at the end so wish me luck!)

Currently Watching :

Our Dining Table

no offence to those who love this, i loved the manga when i read it years ago, but lord was i bored to death even on the second trial at watching this lol. I'm soldiering on though, i'll get through this!

Currently Consuming :

Thai BLs

uhh... not sure what answer this demands actually, so, uhhh... lots of thai BL i guess? that's really what i've been consuming lately. i had never watched thai BLs before KPTS in 2023 so it's eye opening, they've gotten better ( i tried once before , quite a while back when a friend recommended, and i found it ridiculous so i never thought i'd actually ever watch any again lol, mostly because i never was a fan of live action BL dramas in general)

Currently Craving :

💵💵💵💵

well, i'll be honest here, money is vital and that's what I'm craving lol, i gotta feed myself and my cats and pay a 50k laptop repair bill that my company thrust on me even though it's not my fault it's damaged. anyway, essentially I'm experiencing financial doom among other unfortunate events, so here's your chance to commission a fic or donate at my KOFI so...... haha.

alright, this was super fun! I'm tagging @skyfish7 @semantics-error @justfionn @boyslovecorner @peachym00 @lilitblaukatz @ae-azile

(please feel free to ignore if you're feeling up to it!)

[williamrikers]

you're making me consider watching those east asian (korean? japanese?) romantic tv shows you watch. do you have any recommendations for someone who tried to watch one (1) k-drama once (1x) and quickly stopped because the genre conventions were very different from what i was used to and that made it take more energy than i was expecting. (was expecting a typical romantic comedy plot like i'm used to and like, i think it was a typical romantic comedy plot but just like, not western)

like, is there a show that's relatively easy to get into? did i get unlucky with that one k-drama (and my own capacity for adjustment in that moment)?

also something that can help me watch stuff is episode summaries to read beforehand, if you're the kind of person who reads episode summaries sometimes and if so, do you have a recommendation for where to read them?

if this ask feels like work to you, please don't answer it. but if this feels like a nice chance to get someone into a thing you're into, i'd love to hear your recommendations

also i'm guessing they don't speak english in thesee shows, nor dutch, so like, would the first result on google for "show name watch free online" typically have good subtitles or are there things to watch out for or look for?

hi bestie, thank you so much for sending me this ask! i'm really happy to hear that my obsession has made you want to check out what the fuss is all about 😍 i've been almost exclusively watching shows from thailand for the past few months, and i'll gladly recommend some! (as for the episode summaries thing, i'm sorry i can't help you, i never read stuff like that.)

many of these shows are free to watch on youtube, and they usually come with english subtitles of varying quality. lately, gmmtv shows have had really amazing translations, but you need to be a bit forgiving with some of the older shows and shows made by other studios.

that said, let's get into the recommendations!

personally, i started this journey with kinnporsche the series (2022, 14 episodes), but that's like being dropped into the ocean from 500 feet above ground with no warning and expected to stay alive by any means necessary. the experience was absolutely amazing and 100% life-changing for me, and i've been showing kp to as many of my irl friends as possible because in my opinion, everyone should watch it, but as a first foray into thai bl it is... a LOT. (if that sounds intriguing to you, message me privately about where to watch it.)

however, here are some other suggestions in case you want to ease into the whole thing:

are you into comedy?

bad buddy (2021, 12 episodes) free to watch on youtube

this one became an instant classic and has a HUGE fandom here on tumblr. two college students have a shared history as the kids of two families who hate each other, and have been made to compete in everything since childhood... however, what their parents didn't plan for was the two of them falling in love. amazing chemistry between the main couple, will make you ugly cry.

my school president (2022, 12 episodes) free to watch on viki

super sweet romcom about a group of school friends who are in a band and are trying to win a battle of the bands type competition. the main love story is cute, heartfelt and very moving and you're going to end up wanting to adopt all of the kids.

care for some higher heat?

only friends (2023, ongoing) free to watch on youtube

if you want to get into something that's currently airing with a vibrant and active fandom, try only friends. everyone is problematic, morality is for losers, it's incredibly erotic, it's been three episodes and almost all of the main characters have already had sex scenes. plot what plot/insane college friend group without plot.

in case you would like to sob uncontrollably:

laws of attraction (2023, ongoing) free to watch on youtube

a man's niece is killed in a car accident that might actually be a murder. said man hires an unhinged lawyer to investigate. still airing (final episode will air on saturday), WILL twist your heart in such a way that you're probably going to need therapy. insanely heated chemistry between the main pairing, absolutely incredible acting from film thanapat.

moonlight chicken (2023, 8 episodes) free to watch on youtube

a poor restaurant owner is struggling dealing with raising his nephew, his own trauma and the pressures of capitalism. also, some guy he slept with keeps hanging around his restaurant because he wants to teach him to love again. this show makes you feel pain but it always hands you a cup of hot chocolate and caresses your back right after. aftercare for the viewer done right.

free philosophy classes wanted?

not me (2021, 14 episodes) free to watch on youtube

local group of gay anarchists are trying to bring a capitalist to justice. they discuss the concepts of justice and morality at length. what exactly is the power of art? if the law is unjust, then how to define justice? and how can we change the world for the better? made by a trans woman, a must-watch in the genre.

be my favorite (2023, 12 episodes) free to watch on youtube

what does it mean to live a good life? how can we ever know what choices to make? what if you could go back and change the things you did wrong? very gentle, compassionate and kind storytelling. this is my personal favorite bl after kinnporsche and about as far from kinnporsche storytelling-wise as anything could possibly get.

why not go for the classics?

until we meet again (2019, 17 episodes) free to watch on youtube

two college students discover they have a soulmate bond and get flashes of memory from their previous lives, making one of them incredibly traumatized as they try to find out what really happened back then. this one is truly a classic bl: filmed on a potato, atrocious audio quality, trope-heavy. however, the way this show manages to sneak up on you and threaten your entire life is unparalleled and i'm still not over those final two episodes.

he's coming to me (2019, 8 episodes) free to watch on youtube

this one is a hidden gem. there's almost no fandom for it on here but it's a show that i can recommend wholeheartedly. a guy falls in love with a ghost he keeps seeing in the cemetery and tries to help him unravel the secret of his violent death. features a whole bunch of actors who are now considered veterans/heavy hitters.

i hope this was helpful! message me if you have any more questions 😊

[shranstan]

If you're one of those people who complains about seasons of tv shows getting shorter and not having fillery/fluffy episodes (which is fair. I am one of those people) I cannot recommend it enough for you to broaden your horizons a little and try watching non-english-language shows. I am most familiar with the east asian drama scene but I am sure there's plenty of say spanish-language shows, too. China and Korea are like the two most well-known ones in the west but thai lakorns or taiwanese shows are great and long too.

But I want gay stuff, I hear you say. This is also valid. And I don't want it to be fetishized-adjacent like a lot of the "bl" genre. I hear you that is also valid. "Love Is Science?" is a great fun taiwanese show about a match-making agency where the secondary relationship is very queer and interesting. "Rad Diao" is a funny sitcom (the laugh track and sound effects may be alienating but they get less in your face after the first episode) about a guy who becomes his work boss's landlord (and then they fall in love). "To Sir, With Love" is a lakorn (thai soap opera) set in historical times about some gay people I really liked.

These three all have more plot than just two guys kissing and oh idk, some really fun and great female characters, too.

I recommend mydramalist for looking for shows, especially finding a reviewer whose opinions you like and going by their watch list or recommendation list!

[missfangirll]

I am thinking of reviving the Daily Favorite Lines, but on a weekly basis. For those who don't remember, these are fic recommendations for a lot of different fandoms, I did a few specials as well. I post a few lines of the fic I liked and the AO3 link.

[sashimi-time]

Completed BL Dramas Recommendations

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

2 Moons (2017) (Thai) - 12 Episodes

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

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

Semantic Error (2022) (Korean) - 8 Episodes

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

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

Notes: Oh. My. Gods. This drama.

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

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

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

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

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

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - Taiwan has one show, but that's all they need

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

April 2024 Wk 1

Ongoing Series - Thai

Two Worlds (Thurs IQIYI) ep 4 of 10 - I don’t say this often but I LOVE this love triangle. The longing gazes = chef's kiss. I like that we are finally getting flashbacks to Tai’s side of the love affaire. This show remains highly engaging. So pleased for MaxNat.  

Deep Night (Thurs iQiyi) ep 5 of 8 - More lesbians! Yay! Meanwhile, when our leads make up they make out! (Yes I’m proud of myself.) I think this might be BLs first rooftop sex scene. We’ve reached new heights, BLabies. (Yes I’m proud of that too.) Anygay, basically a soap opera at this point, I'm not thrilled but I don’t mind.

"Do you apologize for being straight?"

City of Stars (Fri iQIYI) ep 10 of 12 - It was lovely. Very well done celebrity leaving the closet ep. Nice ensemble work too. Next week is doom! As expected. 

Only Boo! (Sun YouTube) ep 1 of 12 - New main couple for GMMTV in an idol romance about a boy who dances good and a food stand vendor. It’s fine but overly very pulp feeling for something from GMMTV. I'm a little concerned.

1000 Years Old (Thurs iQIYI) ep 8 of 12 - meh.

To Be Continued (Sat C3 Thailand grey) ep 7 of 8 - Never turned up on my usual sites. So will have to wait until next week. 

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Unknown (Taiwan Tues YouTube & Viki) ep 7 of 11 - Qian was, indeed, the one who couldn’t let go. This show is fucking fantastic. It's the best thing I'm watching right now by a mile.

Jazz for Two (Korea Gaga/grey) eps 3-8fin - The bully and the blue-haired drummer side pairing were great. I hated the father. Hated him so much. Our main tsundere seme was a bit too tsundere for me. I was v annoyed by the time he finally softened. I'm amused by all the ways they finagled boys kissin-but-not-kissing in the first half of this show. 2024's "pan around the back of the head" has now become a "dipping of the brolly." We did, however, eventually get an okay kiss.

Honestly?

This was basically what I wanted from Given and didn’t get. So I’m pleased. The music still wasn't great, but you can skip those bits. A solid enemies to lovers BL, where the sins of brothers' past haunts the present. Great optics, decent chemistry, and a tidy script even if tsundere characterization went a bit extreme in some cases. 8/10 RECOMMENDED trigger for suicide

Love is Better the Second Time Around AKA Koi wo Suru nara Nidome ga Joto (Japan Weds Gaga) ep 5 of 6 - We got the past betrayal in detail and it was decently bad. Bitterness understood. Too soon to live together! The BL U-Haul strikes again. I do like their weird curry passive aggressive argument. This is an interesting show. Do I LOVE it? No. But I think I like it.

On a not-really-related note: adoption, including adult adoption, is actually pretty common in Japan (comparatively). It's often tied to business scionism.

My Strawberry Film (Japan Thurs Gaga) ep 8fin - It all turned out to be a tragic GL in the end. Not BL = not my problem. No rating. I will forget its existence right about… now. 

Love is like a Cat (Korea Mon Viki) eps 1-2 of 12 - Okay, weirdly kinky with the head scratching. Not much has happened and I’m not wild about what has. 

It's done, ready to binge, but I suck

What Did You Eat Yesterday Season 2 AKA Kinou Nani Tabeta? Season 2 (Japan Gaga) 10 eps

It's airing but...

We Are (Weds GMMTV iQIYI) ep 1 of 16 - University ensemble BL featuring PondPhuwin, WinnySatang, AouBoom, MarcPawinPoon - basically the good kind of messy gay friendship group (so more My Engineer and less Only Friends). Looks a bit like the Kiss series but everyone is queer. I'm IN but I need my other computer and I'm traveling as usual. So I'll get caught up next week and probably won't regularly be able to watch this one.

Graduation Countdown (Taiwan YouTube) - It's too much for me to keep up with 2 minute verticals, I don't have that kind of TikTok endurance training.

A Secretly Love (Thai Sat WeTV grey) 10 eps - Completed. Worth watching?

Lady Boy Friends (Thai WeTV grey) 16 eps - reminds me a bit too much of Diary of Tootsies only high school. Not my thing. DNF unless it turns a corner and is truly amazing.

Kiseki Chapter 2 (Sun iQIYI) 6 eps - It’s so boring DNFed at 2.

Close Friend Season 3: Soju Bomb! (Weds iQIYI) 6 - The problem with situational comedy BL is it must be situational, comedic and a BL. This show gets 1 of 3 claims correct. 33% is not a passing grade. Dropped at 3.

In the news

Takumi-kun Series 6: Nagai Nagai Monogatari is getting the undeserved honor of Furritsubs. Follow them for details. Tip 'em if you like 'em. (Will I watch it? Oh, probably. Damn it.)

Then Next Prince turned out to be a trailer only. Word on the webs is we will be lucky if we get it this year. It’s BL Princess Diaries. Jimmy has a new pairing (that boy from Night Dream) which is... interesting. All in all, this show does not look good. Pretty but not good.

Next Week Looks Like This:

4/11 Gray Shelter AKA Gray Currents (Korea ????) 4 eps - SooHyuk is only just surviving and reunites with YoonDae, an old friend. They end up living together. One of the leads is played by Choco of Choco Milk Shake.

4/12 Living With Him AKA Kare no Iru Seikatsu (Japan Gaga) 10 eps - Kindly Ryota goes off to uni only to find his new roommate is his childhood bestie, Kazuhito. Kazuhito doesn’t have a girlfriend and Ryota tries to help him figure out why, they fall in love along the way. Same director as Old Fashion Cupcake.

Still to Come in April

4/18 At 25:00, in Alaska AKA 25 Ji, Akasaka de (Japan Gaga) 10 eps - Yuki lands his first starring role in a BL drama alongside superstar Asami (previously his senior at uni). Said superstar suggests they form a sham relationship until filming concludes. As they actually begin to fall in love, the spotlight begins to burn. I think I've seen this before (joke) and also the trailer doesn't inspire confidence.

4/26 My Stand-In (Thai iQIYI) 12 eps - adaptation of Chinese novel "Professional Body Double" by Shui Qiang Cheng. Stars Up (Lovely Writer) and Poom (Bake Me Please) directed by the same team as KP (not a recommendation IMHO - my biggest criticism of that show was the clashing directing styles). This one looks well complicated, lemme try: Joe is a stuntman for famous actor Tong. Joe falls in love with Ming but Ming sees Joe as nothing more than a Tong-replacement. After learning this horrible truth, Joe dies. Joe then wakes up in the body of another man also named Joe. He manages to rebuild the same life as before—with the same people eventually re-meeting Ming. Ming wants Joe back but Joe doesn't understand why. But Ming seems to know what's going on and wants to give him some kind of explanation.

I'm exhausted just trying to describe the plot.

Knock-Knock Boys (Thai WeTV) - 4 college friends conspire to help their friend lose his virginity. Familiar faces like Seng (yes, Billy's previous partner) and Best, news here.

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

NOTE: It looks like one of my personal favorites of last year Unintentional Love Story is getting a spin off!

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

See City of Stars & Unknown.

(Last week)

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

The tag BLigade: @doorajar @solitaryandwandering @my-rose-tinted-glasses @babymbbatinygirl @babymbbatinygirl @isisanna-blog @mmastertheone @pickletrip @aliceisathome @urikawa-miyuki @tokillamonger @rocketturtle4 @blglplus @anythinggoesintheshire

If ya wanna be tagged each week leave a comment and I will add you to the template. Easy peesy.

[thebroccolination]

FOUR THEMED THAI BL SERIES RECOMMENDATIONS

by me (key)

INTRO

I've done top-ten lists before, but I think a better approach than a numbered list is to order them by why I'm recommending them. Some of my favorites are well-known, but a few gems definitely went overlooked in international fandom for various reasons (accessibility, aired during an over-saturated season, etc.), so I wanted to give them a li'l well-deserved boost. Anyway, here are four of my top fifteen selected at random:

¶ IF YOU LIKE A SOLID PLOT

Triage (2022)

Synopsis: Third-year emergency medicine resident Tin has to cope with a deluge of different patients every day. Up until the eighteenth, that is. Tin's life is transformed when university student Tol's car is overturned and he's rushed to the emergency room in serious condition. That night doesn't end when Tin fails to save Tol's life, though. When Tin next wakes, he finds himself in a time loop, a loop he won't be able to leave until he's altered Tol's fate.

Review: This was TaeTee's comeback series after years apart, and it was a massive hit domestically. Due to geoblocking and paywalls (AISPLAY is a notoriously challenge for international viewers), it didn't really take off as a fandom among overseas fans. But oh, is this worth it. Whatever way you choose to watch, I highly, highly recommend this one. The time-loop premise is genuinely fascinating, and so is the actual story structure.

And there are cats!!!

Plot-wise, I'd say Triage has the best writing of any BL series I've seen. More than once, I was texting a friend who'd already seen it, "This is like a show-show!" And what I mean by that is that a lot of BL series still seem to lean on genre-specific tropes to please audiences. They don't really bother themselves with things like character arcs or basic storytelling elements. And those series have value too! Sometimes mindless entertainment is all we want. But if you're in the mood for a series with a plot, some mystery, one of my favorite female characters, one of my favorite side couples, and some brilliant character arcs, definitely give Triage a watch.

Tin is brilliant and analytical but a very broken lightbulb when it comes to most social situations.

Important Note: If you've seen Cutie Pie and/or Love in the Air, you need to see Triage just to witness the incredible duality of Tonnam's acting skills. Sing easily is one of my top five favorite BL characters. He's the grumpy parent friend who will call you stupid for working when you're sick and then bring you soup and an electric blanket. I love him so much, so please love him also and help me write more SingGap fics please there are only like three of us out here and we need more please we're very hungry.

¶ IF YOU LIKE CHARACTER-DRIVEN STORIES

Between Us (2022)

Synopsis: Team is a talented swimmer who just entered university. However, when it comes to swim competitions, he's never able to perform to the best of his abilities. When swim team upperclassman Win comes to know that the problem doesn't lie in Team's abilities or dedication, but rather his trauma and the sleeping difficulties it causes, he offers up his own room for Team to stay in. With the comfort of company, Team's performance starts to improve and feelings start to grow between the two young men. But Team isn't the only one with issues from his past preventing him from moving forward. Win struggles with how to handle receiving love and how to give special treatment to those closest to him. Occurring parallel to the events of "Until We Meet Again," this story focuses on how Win and Team come to know and inspire growth in each other.

We're in The House of WinTeam, you knew it'd be here.

Review: Between Us was first announced in May 2020 (on Win's birthday no less!). WinTeam got me into Thai BL through two gif sets here on Tumblr that I randomly stumbled across in February 2020. I marathoned what was available of Until We Meet Again, and it became and continued to be my favorite BL series until Between Us started airing last month.

Between Us is essentially a series about character studies. Like its parallel series Until We Meet Again, most of the conflicts in Between Us are internal and stem from various sources of trauma (survivor's guilt, parental neglect, parental abuse, etc.). These internal conflicts prevent characters from reaching for love and personal attachments because they don't feel like they deserve them.

This is basically Self-Sabotage: The Series.

The Production's Pandemic Problem: Depictions of trauma, friendship, and queer experiences in Until We Meet Again and Between Us are all handled and framed with profound respect and understanding, and I think a lot of that comes from its director and screenwriter. Both LazySheep and New Siwaj have shared their personal experiences with depression, and throughout the pandemic, they supported each other through their respective struggles. New was running a small agency/studio and supporting actors and staff while legally unable to film any series, and Sheep faced additional ongoing medical conditions along with a demanding full-time job that prevented her from working on Hemp Rope's script adaptation.

At what I presume was a particularly low point for Sheep last August, New made a public announcement that he'd be giving her an unlimited amount of time to heal and rest. He explained that he didn't want to weigh her down more with a deadline, so he made it clear to fans and general public alike that she had his full support and could recover at whatever pace she needed.

Meanwhile, BounPrem had gotten an incredible boost of popularity from their roles in Until We Meet Again…right as covid cases ramped up around the world. For the next two years, they were limited in what roles they could accept because their priority has always been their roles as WinTeam in Between Us. No one had any idea when cases would subside or rise and alter production schedules, and because of that, the only roles BounPrem felt they could accept without affecting Between Us were bit roles in other series. They never complained about the wait, they never abandoned Between Us even though they easily could have moved on, and they never treated their smaller roles with anything but good-natured dedication. In October of 2021, Boun surprised Prem with a cake at an event and, after Prem clapped along with the crowd looking for the recipient, Boun explained with a smile that it was Team's birthday, and Prem laughed with utter delight. No one loves WinTeam or Between Us more than BounPrem.

Studio Wabi Sabi announced Between Us in May 2020 to the delight of fans and actors alike, but the pandemic made the production they envisioned all but impossible. For example, they needed the university as a filming location, but it had been shut down. The Thai government also threw out sporadic restrictions on series production: at one point only twelve people could be present on a film set at a time. Wabi Sabi actually did have production of one series (7 Project) canceled for six months, so they'd already experienced what might happen if they started work on Between Us during the early stages of the pandemic. As fans' complaints increased, with some pointing to the release of new series produced by larger, better-resourced studios like GMMTV, New responded honestly. He tweeted more than once that he could have produced Between Us at any time during the pandemic if all he wanted was the fans' money. He could have filmed a cheap, extremely limited series and thrown it up online to get it done and out of the way.

It's because he was devoted to Sheep's story, his actors' careers, and his own craft that New waited until he could begin filming with reasonable confidence that the government wouldn't cavalierly shut it down. It's because he waited that we have the beautifully filmed, beautifully written, beautifully acted series we have now.

The series itself is up to episode six now, and it's above and beyond what I could have imagined. Sheep clearly had the time and space to create the best possible adaptation from her unfinished novel, BounPrem have had years to build on their mutual trust and professional relationship, and New had the patience to wait until conditions were best.

This has mostly been about the production side, but that will always be a big part of why I recommend this series to people, even once it's finished and I can review it as a whole. The passion and patience is clear in every scene, and because of that I can't recommend this series more wholeheartedly.

¶ IF YOU WERE A THEATRE KID

Something in My Room (2022)

Synopsis: Phat just moved into a new rental house with his mother. There, he meets Phob, an amnesiac ghost, and has to help Phob solve the mystery of his death within forty-nine days of Phob's death. Will they succeed?

Review: I could have titled this category many things: if you like women, if you like multifaceted characters, if you like stories that explore death with unique culturally specific aspects, if you like couples who support and learn from each other, if you like beautiful use of music, if you like LOVE, then Something in My Room.

But there's just something very theatrical to SIMR. (Literally, at one point.) It feels experimental in some ways it's filmed, it lets actors take their time with some moments in ways that feel rewarding, and I just…it feels a little niche to me in that way.

There are four complex female characters in this series. FOUR. And not minor characters, either. Major, significant characters. The actor who plays their landlady is incredible and having the time of her life being enthusiastically spooky, and I ship her with Phat's mother and no one can stop me. Phat's friend Dream also has a fantastically complicated backstory that influences the story directly. Not to mention Phob's mother and just??? Four!!! In a BL?! Seriously, if you're like me and you side-eye every BL series that has nineteen guys and one vaguely woman-shaped lamppost hidden in the background, Something in My Room is the breath of fresh air you've been searching for.

Unfortunately, this series flopped domestically and internationally, but I'm not going to pretend I know why. Personally, I blame the geoblocking and the badly cut free edit they released that confused and lost viewers early on, but it's also possible that this is just a series that didn't resonate with people as strongly as it did with me, and I'll have to live with that. SOMEHOW.

However! Look at my boys. Look at my ghost boy Phob and his alive boyfriend Phat. They just got dead-engaged. :'(

This is a series that was clearly made with a lot of heart and a lot of emotion. It also has a veiled political message in one character's backstory that I'm still blown away by because they hid it so cleverly to get it past censorship. PhobPhat are easily in my top ten favorite couples, and Supanut and Plan have fantastic chemistry.

If it's not for you, that's totally fine. All I hope is that more people give the uncut version a try. Supanut (Phob) gave my favorite acting moment in any series in the last episode, and it haunts me (ha) to this day.

(Also, if you're worried about the ending being sad, I think it's as happy as it could have ended, and I'm a baby when it comes to sad endings. Your mileage may vary, of course, but I was really happy with how it ended.)

¶ IF YOU LIKE SLOW-BURN ROMANCE

SOTUS (2016) + SOTUS S (2017) + Our Skyy (2018)

Synopsis: The "Gear" is one of the engineering mechanical devices in the cogwheel system (as in a clock). Having one signifies that one is a student of the Faculty of Engineering. However, to get one, all engineering freshmen must first undergo the SOTUS (acronym for Seniority, Order, Tradition, Unity, and Spirit) system. Arthit, one of the third-year seniors, often abuses his power over the freshmen by making them do things against the rules. Freshmen students are practically powerless to complain or resist any orders given by their seniors. Arthit was seemingly unstoppable until Kongpob stood up against the abuses by the former. Continual encounters between the two developed from animosity to something much more affectionate.

Review: Whenever I see people recommend SOTUS, it's usually because it's a "classic" and one of the major cornerstones of the industry. I think it's also important to describe it as a slow-burn so people know what they're signing up for. Personally, SOTUS and its sequel have yet to be kicked from my top five (I count them together). The character-building is fantastic, there's a legitimate character arc for Arthit that spans three iterations with the same mental block that takes on different forms in each one, and Kongphob also matures and becomes more and more multifaceted. If you're not a character person, if you're more about the surrounding plot, SOTUS probably won't do it for you.

The first series is fifteen episodes, and by the time Kongphob actually talks about his feelings for Arthit, it feels earned and authentic. SOTUS remains one of the best-written series, I think, with some of the strongest pacing. When I heard that SOTUS saved GMMTV from bankruptcy, I had no trouble believing it. They gambled on giving a BL series a substantial budget in 2015 (airing in 2016), and it absolutely paid off.

Also, just on a wildly destiny-like note, Bittersweet based her novel on a viral photo of Singto acting as head hazer, Krist became a hazer because he was Singto's junior, and then they ended up playing the opposite roles. Just fun to think about, especially with loud extrovert Krist playing the older, shyer character and quiet introvert Singto playing the younger, brasher character.

I play the instrumental "Distant Signals" at least once a week (it's on Spotify under Harry Angstrom and Jonathan Buchanan). It's one of the best examples of music done right in a series, I'd say, and I'm a big fan of when a piece of media uses music well. There are songs in SOTUS S that just pierce my heart if I hear them in passing.

And SPEAKING of SOTUS S, it's like Between Us in that the conflict is almost purely internal. I'm really, really into character-driven stories, and as a queer person who felt pressured back into the closet at my first office job after being extremely open in university? A series set in an office about a queer character who feels pressured back into the closet after being extremely open in university hit a few personal buttons. I think it's still the only series that's fully represented that experience for me. The side stories at the end of every episode showing how open and confident Arthit was when he was in the safe bubble of university compared to how anxious he is in the working world absolutely ruins my heart.

And then there's KongArt themselves. I love them as characters. Episode one of SOTUS feels like a fever dream compared to the rest of the series (and it might have been a pilot to sell sponsors, tbh), because Arthit becomes one of the softest and shyest characters in all of Thai BL.

arthit: i love you kongphob: say it again arthit: no i love you

What I appreciate most about SOTUS is that it's one of the few series that's been given multiple iterations. SOTUS established the relationship between KongArt, SOTUS S explored that relationship at its low point, and Our Skyy tested that relationship by pressing down on its weak point. I think, aside from the actors' popularity, the depth that KongArt's relationship was given is one of the reasons why fans still love the pairing years and years after the source material ended. Arthit's insecurity fuels every conflict, but in ways that I feel are realistic. Every time his anxiety and self-worth issues become a conflict, it's for a different reason, and it's realistic to me that our fears can be partially dissuaded but not completely erased.

In conclusion: these boys all need therapy. I'm casting a vote for Therapy: The Series.

[gaywatch]

I want to watch Moonlight Chicken but I don't know why I'm so hesitant. Please tell me something about it that will make me watch it.

Let's run through some possibilities as to why you're hesitant!

"I'm not really into Thai BLs." The series is much more mature than most of them in pretty much every way. They clearly put a bit more money behind this project and it shows in the writing/production/etc. Thai BLs have grown in overall quality the past couple of years and so far MC is a strong example of that growth.

"I like more lighthearted BL stuff." MC certainly skews dramatic, but there are still lighter moments and it's definitely not all serious faces all the time. The secondary couple alone serves as a sweet little counterpart to the more serious/adult storylines.

"This seems different from other EarthMix series." It is! Some of their stuff comes with a crazy premise (and I say this having loved 1000 Stars) but this one is much more grounded and down-to-earth. They tried something different and so far it's paying off beautifully.

Those are just off the top of my head. Basically, I'm enjoying the series so much overall that I'd even recommend it to people who are a little hesitant or skeptical for whatever reason. Chemistry is on point, it's handling messy material and flawed characters well, I have zero big issues with anything so far.

[sanstropfremir]

Not an ask but just an lol moment. I usually have blogs assossiated with certain topics in my head so coming to read your queendom 2 review and seeing the KinnPorsche stuff was like getting smacked in the face lmao (even though the crossover of thai bl and kpop fans are pretty big) haha

ALKJGH'ASDFL;JKAASDF ;ALKJASDF;LASDF it was right in the middle of a bunch of queendom posts wasn't it lmao. i know the crossover is pretty high but it's totally fair to not associate me with it bc i don't really talk about any of the tv shows i'm watching here. tbh this is the first thai bl i've watched in probably more than two years; i saw the original original trailer from back when it was under that different production company and was like 'HEY who the fuck are those guys this is insane i HAVE to watch this when it comes out' and burned the title into my brain. and i haven't been disappointed this show is fucking GOOD (with a thousand disclaimers and warnings, i legit don't think i would actually recommend it to anyone)

[47beesandaghostinatrenchcoat]

People I’d like to get to know better - tag game

Who I was tagged by: @brothenjoyer :33

Last song: Ptolemaea by Ethel Cain, I forgot this song existed ngl but I had to go digging since last few things I've listened to were from a history podcast.

Currently watching: ok, I've been watching a few things as of late. One Piece (because the live action was SO GOOD it made me start an anime I swore I was never watching), Trigun 97' (just finished trigun stampede) and Manner of death (A Thai BL drama that's super interesting so far)

Spicy/Savory/sweet: depends on the mood tbh, I generally don't like spice but sweet and Savory are pretty tied. I love cooking so in any case I love finding ways to mix and match each flavor

Relationship status: single (someone come kiss me)

Current obsession: I've been kind of out of it recently so my brain has been mush but it's a weird mix of horror, body horror and buildings that are WrongTM in some way, very general but I'm actually writing a short story with those themes (if you wanna hear more I'd be DELIGHTED to infodump about it) as well as my other horror/fantasy adjacent stories I've been writing. I'm also on my deranged soulmatism era (ZoLu has me in a chokehold help)

(Sidenote, Broth, if you're into horror games rn I recommend Jacob Geller's videos, he has some really interesting video essays on a bunch of different games(their themes and design elements) and topics you might like. I could recomend some if you're interested)

Who I want to get to know better: @insomniaclune

(ik broth already tagged you but I know like 2 people here)

If anyone else wants to joint feel free!

[isaksbestpillow]

Hi! About reading a fic from a fandom you don't know - would you recommend it? I've thought about it, I like some tags that are pretty unusual (not weird unusual just unusual lol) but im just never sure if its any good reading a fic where you don't know anything about anything.

Of course i could try but I don't wanna waste my time... Please, id love your thoughts on it!

Hi! Sorry about the late reply! That's enough of my poe-try. Wait what was the question again. Right!!

I'm really curious about those unusual tags now, haha. I mean if you want to share! I'm one of those people who tend to click on unusual tags when I see them. One time I used the tag hamsters on my own fic and ventured to see who else had felt compelled to use that tag haha.

Anyway, I think it all depends on what you like! I have certain kind of writing and stories and tropes and themes that I really like to read (it's the traumas and the healings). If it's a story about recovery or change, I'm a potential reader regardless of who's in the story. But if it's a domestic fluff piece or pwp I need to be invested in the characters before I can fully appreciate the fic. I think there's fic in every fandom I could potentially enjoy, but finding those works when you don't know anything is another story. I promise I'm not saying this just to get people to read my thai bl fic haha.

You say you don't want to waste your time, but I've also read fic in my own fandoms that wasn't really my cup of tea in the end, so it's a matter of perspective, I think. If you're interested in trying, maybe you could check the wikipedia articles or a few gifs or meta posts on tumblr. I haven't seen a single episode of Supernatural or Our flag means death and I don't know how those characters sound like, but I've seen enough gifs to know I would be able to read fic in those fandoms and enjoy it.

Happy reading in any case!!!