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blue-grama · 5 months

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Fave Thai BL moments of 2023

I thought about doing fave series for my own personal BL Wrapped, but this is the "live inside 3 seconds forever via a GIF" website. So: Here are some moments I keep coming back to. Thank you to the GIFmakers because you all are amazing.

Wen and Jim's first meeting, Moonlight Chicken

There are so many visceral, gorgeous moments in Moonlight Chicken, but this scene?? My Roman Empire. Perfectly encapsulates the feeling of being drunk and wistful somewhere hot and humid. Anything could happen and everything mundane feels beautiful. Mix does yearning so well.

2. Khun Yai's drunken poetry recitation, I Feel You Linger in the Air

Again with the drunken yearning. Yai's such a romantic and I love that in a period piece. Bright nailed that foggy intoxicated state and his makeup people nailed the flush in his cheeks.

3. The olive oil, I Feel You Linger in the Air

This was maybe the most intimate scene of the year. The TENSION, the backwards way they get into the scene, the cuts between Jom and Jom with Yai. It was so creative and ridiculously well-done. I just--

4. The spin, Laws of Attraction

Laws of Attraction was here to have a good time and so was I. Also, Jam Rachata should call me.

5. Tinn destroys a custom bedframe, Laws of Attraction

This was everything. A clear Manner of Death homage, undercut with Laws of Attraction's unhinged brand of humor, in a scene that rapidly swung into full tear-your-heart-out mode. LoA was a series that knew exactly what it wanted to be and never failed to deliver. Often in slow motion.

6. The 25th hour, Only Friends

I ultimately felt like Only Friends faltered pretty hard on story, and I will always be mad about Boston, but when this series hit, it hit. I loved its aesthetics and the music, and I will credit the writers with creating some absolutely amazing characters. The Sand and Ray angst in Episode 5 was probably the peak of Only Friends for me. The 25th hour concept was so good, and First and Khaotung just nailed the emotion.

7. The fishtank, Last Twilight

It says a lot that just four episodes in, I struggled with which moment to pull out of Last Twilight. I'm going with the fish tank, because of the cinematography of it all -- the split between the clarity and the blur, the reflections, the way it's giving 1996 Romeo + Juliet. This also could have been the hands, or the pink shirt at the marketplace, or the flirting-via-the-scent-of-jasmine scene or or ... Anyway, Aof Noppharnach 4lyfe.

#laws of attraction the series #last twilight #only friends the series #i feel you linger in the air #ifylita #moonlight chicken #i'm gonna remember something else i can't live without as soon as i post this #thai bl #2023 bl #earthmix #jimmysea #jamfilm #firstkhao #brightnonkul

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cipheramnesia · 1 year

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One of my personal internal conspiracy theories is that big budget special effects movies and streaming series with like hundreds of millions or billions of dollars sunk into them are some kind of very open embezzlement schemes.

Even the best paid actors and directors and such can't explain the budget. The money certainly isn't on the screen when it comes to anything from costumes to cinematography to visual effects or editing. It's openly known all the jobs that contribute to "making the pictures look good" are getting their parts of the budget slashed. The Avengers Infinity Wars movies have got $300M price tags and they do NOT look like it. Rings of Power cost like $700M and literally used off the shelf craft store fabric for armor. They dump cheap CGI in because there's no union to keep the pricing fair and shoot everything on green screen so there's no travel and where is the money going?

But for example if you're a producer you also get paid, and all I can think about is how producers with business degrees are deciding on how the budget should be used on these huge shows with country sized price tags and if the budget isn't going into anything or anyone involved in the actual work of the movie, but the guy who thinks the movie needs to cost less and be a business product also thinks he has the most important job and he gets to decide where the money goes? Are these guys just like "okay, our salary will be $299M and the rest goes to the production itself."

I know I'm missing things, but I've seen hundreds of movies that look gorgeous and beautiful and have amazing effects and camerawork and they're all a tenth of the big budget shows and movies, or less, so where is the other 90+% of the money going? It's VISIBLY NOT PRESENT IN THE FINISHED PRODUCT. Who has it?

Someone already went into the technical details in the reblogs.

#idk this is conspiracy thinking #just obsesses me #they look cheap because they are cheap yet the budgets are huge #this one got locked bc some nice people went into detail and helped #and then the rings of powar fandom decided to start using it for harassment

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welcometothejianghu · 9 months

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Welcome to another round of W2 Tells You What You Should See, where W2 (me) tries to sell you (you) on something you should be watching. Today's choice: 成化十四年/The Sleuth of the Ming Dynasty

(The) Sleuth of (the) Ming Dynasty (it's hard to get an agreement on how many definite articles should go where) is a beautiful, high-budget 2020 drama about a weenie genius detective, his long-suffering and deeply traumatized sugar daddy, and the eunuch with the most difficult job in the Great Ming: keeping these two dumbasses from getting their fool selves imperially executed.

Depending on how you like it, it's either an OT3 or an OTP with an intense, underage third wheel, and either way, it's delightful. I wouldn't call it a comedy, but it has very many funny elements that keep the drama fun and engaging. The first half is full of shorter mysteries that are clever and thoughtfully plotted, and the second half goes in on the longer mystery that ties them all together.

I've already done my quick guide to the early-episode characters, if you want a taste of just how many people are running around and how wonderful they all are. But in case you want to know a little bit more before you commit yourself to a 48-episode series, here's five reasons I think you should watch it!

1. The whole thing smacks of gender

Yeah, this was originally going to be selling point #2, but I know what the people want.

This is not a show about gender. But boy it is a show that has a lot to say about gender, and not just by way of critiquing premodern Chinese gender roles (though it does do that!). Many of the cis characters are either a) somewhat gender nonconforming, b) canny enough to weaponize binary gender expectations, or c) both. Sui Zhou's entire third-act storyline is about how expectations of masculinity exacerbate PTSD in veterans. Three different AFAB characters either dress or live as men. The part where one of the male characters goes undercover in drag is played for laughs, but the joke isn't 'ha ha, a boy in a dress,' it's 'ha ha, this particular boy in a particular dress, and also he's terrible at it.'

And that's even before we get to the eunuchs.

There are several professionally dickless, permanently unmanned characters running around. One-third of the OT3 canonically had his external genitalia nonconsensually removed when he was five years old, and because of this, he has been given unimaginable authority. He's basically the second most powerful man in the entire empire, and he only gets that way by being unquestionably, ostentatiously, and genuinely submissive to the first most powerful man.

I have seen other Chinese media where eunuchs are treated like sinister clowns, good only to be the bad guys and the butts of jokes. Sleuth's main eunuchs are real and complex characters, and because of this, the show gets to explore what it is to live in this weird third-gender category of incredible power and powerlessness.

Now, don't go into this expecting woke gender treatises. Wang Zhi's never going to sit down and go, "You know, my friend and fellow eunuch Ding Rong, because of my lack of a penis, I understand my relationship to masculinity differently than other men do." But the show understands that even if he doesn't say it, it's true. And that makes a lot of the characters and their relationships just so much more interesting.

2. Uncle Jackie Money

Sleuth was the was the fourth c-drama I dove into, following the Untamed, Word of Honor, and Guardian -- or, Some Money BL, Less Money BL, and No Money BL. So imagine my absolute wall-eyed shock to find this was All The Money BL, courtesy of its executive producer, Jackie Chan (seen here with some of his handsome boys):

Sleuth looks good. The costumes are amazing. The sets are stunning. The cinematography is beautiful. Everything is so detailed, and while I can't speak to the absolute historical accuracy of all those details (see point 3), they're still gorgeous. In fact, you know what? I'm going to shut up and show you some of the promotional images.

(For actual screenshots, I'm just going to point you at @rongzhi's tsomd photoset tag, as they have done a tremendous service to the fan community -- though do beware of spoilers.)

Uncle Jackie's influence doesn't end with the money, though. Even though things get a bit goofy and wirework-y near the end, most of the drama's fights are shows of real martial arts skill. You can see his fingerprints on a lot of the choreography -- I'm thinking particularly of the time Tang Fan tries (and fails!) to stab Sui Zhou three times, which is pure Jackie Chan high-speed dexterity.

Add this one to the category of shows your Average American Television Enjoyer Who Can Handle Subtitles would like. In fact, I have shown the first episode to my normie father-in-law, who was impressed. Show it to your dad! See if he picks up on the gay!

3. I am from ... HISTORY!

The Chinese title translates to "The 14th Year of Chenghua," which works out to the year 1478. There are some clear anachronisms, but they tend to be played for comedy, so it's hard to hold that against them. On the whole, though, the show is trying real hard to evoke a very specific moment, and I feel it does so beautifully.

This does, however, mean that several of the characters are real people. I don't even have a good sense of how many of them are based on historical figures, that's how many. Hilariously, Wang Zhi's tag on AO3 used to read "Wang Zhi (?-1487 CE)."

Moreover, these are characters I've seen pop up in other media, played very differently! In particular, Noble Consort (up there in blue) tends to be written as an uncomplicated villain elsewhere, whereas Sleuth gives her a chance to add some goodness to her badness, until, damn, you can't but root for the bitch. (It also downplays the cradle-robbing, which, honestly, is for the best.)

You may have guessed from the eunuch section earlier, but it bears repeating: Wang Zhi is straight-up the best character in the show. He's smart as hell, and he has to be, because the second he's stupid, he's dead. I actually consider it helpful to know ahead of time that he's never going to do a heel turn -- I feel like on my first watchthrough, I was holding my breath for the first two-thirds of the show, waiting for his sudden but inevitable betrayal. It does not come. Wang Zhi is one of the heroes.

He's also, like, evil. He orders people flogged, tortured, and executed. The very first thing you see him doing is sinister as hell. And the show clearly doesn't think this is good, but it also doesn't judge him for it. He's a traumatized seventeen-year-old who has not had a normal moment of his entire life. He's working thanklessly for a boss who could kill him on a whim -- and he's doing it because he literally, physically was made for his job. He's mildly freaking out because he has no emotional grounding to help him understand that these weirdos want to be his friends.

Was the real Wang Zhi like this? That's beside the point. The point is, you get to see how someone in that position could wind up as the war-crimes-committing platonic ideal of a little meow meow.

4. oh my god the food

Warning: This show will make you hungry.

Again, beware of spoilers, but @peppersandcreamsicle and @qinzai have put together an entire cook-along Google Doc so you don't just have to drool -- you can do something about it! Or you can just read it and learn about Chinese cuisine, which is a little more my speed.

But it's not just about how good the food looks. Food is a vital emotional part of the series. People bond over it. They make and share it as a sign of love and care. It indicates status, ethnicity, interest, personality. The show's message about the healing power of cooking for the people you love will bring you to tears.

And yes, Sui Zhou is the main one doing the cooking, so get ready to drool over both the dishes and the handsome man preparing them.

Oh, and as though that weren't enough, Fu Meng Po can actually cook in real life. He's so dreamy. Absolute unreal handsome man with a devastatingly sexy voice. (I know my opinion might be different if I could hear his Taiwanese accent, but I can't so it's not!)

5. An Unsunk Ship

So like I said, my intros to c-drama couples had been WangXian, WenZhou, and WeiLan. That meant I'd basically come to terms with the idea that you can't have a main couple in a BL-but-not-really drama without splitting them up at least a little in the end, for no-homo plausible deniability reasons.

Tang Fan and Sui Zhou are still definitvely, unequivocally together when the story ends, as the iconic pentultimate scene of the series confirms with beauty and simplicity. I refuse to give any more details than that, but that ship's afloat.

(These shirtless pictures aren't from the end, but I wanted to include them, and I didn't have a better place to do it. ...Also, you know, ships and water? Yeah?)

And I think their winding up together reflects Sleuth's entire attitude. Tang Fan is made of sunshine, and the series loves him for it. There is tragedy aplenty in this show, but there's no misery. It is ultimately a hopeful show that believes in the power of second chances, if you're willing to take them. Time and again, the moral of the story is that you are only ever as good as the people who have your back -- but you have to be willing to let them have your back. Let people help you. Let people cook for you. Let people give you a reason to keep living. And then keep living.

Also, Sui Zhou gets two good kabedons off on that little twink, which means they're legally married now. I don't make the rules.

Bonus: Banger opening theme

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This is one you will watch all 48 times.

Bonus #2: The Halo Video

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This is the video that made me go, huh, these Sleuth boys seem like other boys I've enjoyed! Perhaps I shall enjoy them as well! And then I did. So if that might be convincing to you too, well, have at it. Even if it isn't, it's a fascinating three-minute study of shared those-boys-are-in-love visual language across these shows.

Fair warning that it contains shots from right up to the end, so if you'd rather go in completely blank, give this one a pass until later. (Excuse me while I now go watch it for the 10000th time.)

Have I convinced you to watch it yet?

It originally ran on iQiyi, though Viki's got it as well, and Viki's is free if you're willing to put up with some ads about it.

...I just noticed iQiyi's description of the series reads, "When the two handsome leading actors Darren Wang and Fu Meng-Po work together, what will happen? A lovely prefectural judge and an arrogant embroiered [sic] uniform guard join hands to crack unusual cases! Are you going to choose a new idol?" And you know what? Yes. The details are a little off, but that is the correct spirit. Thank you, thirsty blurb.

#sleuth of the ming dynasty #the sleuth of ming dynasty #tsomd #成化十四年 #sloof #i made this #rec post

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waitmyturtles · 3 months

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Love For Love's Sake: unorganized musings on an utterly brilliant show

TW: suicide, suicide attempts and ideation among LGBTQ+ youth

I love that @lurkingshan clocked early on, before my heated two-day binge of Love For Love's Sake, that I would NOT be able to write meta on this show right after I watched it. It's been five days, and all I have are just loose mental strings. Everyone has had such amazing input and theories and thoughts into this incredible show. What I said to @bengiyo while I was watching it was: I'm not entirely sure I'm following everything, but this show is still hitting every high point of my dopamine cycle, which means it's GOOD, and maybe making sense, somehow.

In any case, I don't think I can write meta on this show, in part because I don't know if there are any concrete conclusions I can come to about this show -- which I think is an inherent part of its brilliance. I'm just in awe that we, as BL fans, got this show in the genre we love, complete with stellar acting, gorgeous cinematography, phenomenal writing, all of it. (I'm back a lot on iQIYI right now, ready for my KinnPorsche OGMMTVC rewatch, and I'm noticing that LFLS is just eating by way of numbers. Fucking WELL DESERVED.)

All I want to do is just share some instinctual feelings about where my mind was landing a couple days after I finished watching LFLS. This is the scene I've been thinking about the most right now.

I don't have a theory as to the "reality" of the ending of the show -- if Myungha is alive in "reality," is alive in an alternate universe, is reincarnated, or if what's shown at the end of the series is a kind of heaven. I love that there's no real way we can interpret that.

What I love about this scene that I've screencapped -- and thinking about the elusive and inconclusive meanings of the ending -- is that, truly, theories about fate and destiny ARE indeed theories. Myungha's grandmother believes one thing, and Myungha believes something else. Sunbae is able to play around with.... something, with time, with fate, with our dependence on technology, something, to make something happen to Myungha that gives him a happy ending with Yeowoon somewhere, sometime, in some wrinkle of time.

Going back for a second (I told you these thoughts were unorganized), something that hit me deeply about this show were the great number of themes it touched upon. This show touched upon:

Suicide Homophobia Bullying Self-acceptance Self-love Familial abandonment Familial abuse Substance abuse Intergenerational trauma Elder hierarchy and respect (both in families and in society) Pre-destination Christianity (stay with me for a sec) Buddhism (same)

and probably many more that I'm missing.

I couldn't help but think of Lee Sun-Kyun's recent suicide in South Korea -- even though this show was likely produced well before that incident. Nonetheless, it had me thinking about what suicide means in South Korea, considering the ever-growing presence of Christianity in that country, with 23% of South Koreans identifying as some kind of Christian. The show also had me thinking in general of sins, and of fate, in Christianity.

Just thinking out loud. Korea produces fewer BLs than we'd expect from that national entertainment powerhouse. Efforts to cancel Seoul Pride last year were made in earnest by pro-Christian forces -- but Pride won out.

As same-sex orientation so often is, suicide is also discouraged in Christian circles. We can see, literally, how homosexuality is discouraged in South Korea vis à vis Pride. I'll assume the same for suicide in South Korea, despite the many celebrities in the recent past that have met that fate publicly.

What does South Korea feel about the suicides of young people who might be queer? The percentages of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts among South Korean LGBTQ+ youth are high.

We can see and feel the palpable message from LFLS that self-love, despite how oneself, and society, might feel about an individual's sexual orientation, is well worth fighting for and celebrating. But Myungha, in some reality, is still dead. And death will be his eventual fate anyway, as will be the fate for all of us.

If Myungha found self-love, AND love through Yeowoon, and found a happy ending in happiness, somewhere, somehow, then -- any Christian judgements about same-sex orientations and suicide are moot, regarding Myungha's fate.

But Myungha also reveals, vis à vis his grandmother, the Buddhist spin on fate. He mentions that she believes in reincarnation. He mentions that she believes in doing good in this life, so as to have a happy life after reincarnation.

And he refutes that. He says -- no. Predestination of any kind is not right. I believe that one can change their lives NOW, in the present, for a happier fate and future, NOW. Otherwise, why even bother trying?

And Sunbae hears that, and constructs a world in which Myungha COULD find a path to a happier ending, simply by working on finding love for himself and unto himself -- in part, though a partner that Myungha relates to deeply at the start of the series. (That Yeowoon might very well be the EMBODIMENT of self-love that Myungha discovers -- yes, that may also be "true" of the show's ending. Whew.)

You know what I love about this show? I love that this show just absolutely CHEWED UP those predestination theories that we get from our generations past, from the spiritual practices that we may have grown up with -- from the indirect, unspoken, unconscious ASSUMPTIONS we may have about life and death. This show iterated that being either in "the" or "a" now, a present, and being willing to change oneself (which I've often written about as being THE hardest thing you can you in your life) can have great, long-lasting -- even eternal benefits and consequences.

I love that this show says: you don't have to rely on all the structures and expectations that lead one to behave the way that they do. We might always expect to be a group of schoolboys who'll bully another for being gay. But -- did we expect one of those bullies to BE gay? The show said, we can also very much turn that on its head, even though it might cost someone some bruises.

Within the absolute truth that all humans will die one day -- what other absolute truths do we have? Man. I need a vacation, some..... stuff, you know what I mean, I need TIME to contemplate that.

This show said, no absolute truths today. Everything is up for grabs by way of how we'll love and accept people, and this show examined ALL THE WAYS, good AND bad, that people are loved and accepted, from total rejection by a parent, to unconditional love from a partner, with a slipper-bearing and loving grandma in-between.

It's been... what, five days since I finished this show, and I CANNOT stop thinking about it. It's just brilliant. These thoughts were messy, but it's meant to be, because I just -- this show, I just can't with how brilliant this show was about all of the inconclusiveness of it that still told such an amazing story.

#love for love's sake #love for love's sake meta #love supremacy zone #love supremacy zone meta #myungha x yeowoon #yeowoon x myungha #lee taevin #cha joowan

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animefeminist · 1 year

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The World is Our Egg: Understanding Adultification through Anthy Himemiya

Content warning: sexual assault, racism, misogynoir, references to chattel slavery, child abuse (emotional, physical, sexual)

Spoilers for Revolutionary Girl Utena

The first time I watched Revolutionary Girl Utena, I wondered where this anime had been my whole life. As an American child growing up in the ‘90s, I was indoctrinated into anime fandom with the holy trinity of Sailor Moon, Pokémon, and Kiki’s Delivery Service. Frankly, what drew me to check out Utena beyond the aesthetics and gorgeous cinematography was that one of the main characters was a Black girl. Anthy’s ethnicity, and by extension Akio’s, is left ambiguous to viewers and is never truly addressed. Whether this is intentional or not, it leaves space for Black and Brown viewers to read their own experiences into her character.

Anthy is a character you grow to understand and appreciate with each rewatch, and not nearly as flat or passive as she’s often labeled by first-time viewers. It’s difficult to assess how long Anthy has been abused since the story can get surreal and dreamlike, but even before her greater backstory is revealed the audience clearly sees Anthy being abused by countless other individuals. What makes this even more difficult to stomach is how little of a reaction this gets from the other characters in the series. The frequency of the abuse, coupled with the fact that both Anthy and her brother, Akio, are the only Black characters in the whole series, made me wonder if there was a larger point Ikuhara was trying to establish. This was when I learned of the concept of Adultification and how this phenomenon not only works against Black and Brown women and AFAB folks in our society today but also contextualizes aspects of Anthy’s story more clearly.

Read it at Anime Feminist!

#revolutionary girl utena #shoujo kakumei utena #anthy himemiya #kunihiko ikuhara #articles

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wanderlust-in-my-soul · 4 months

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Hello. 2023 top 5 BL visually stunning moments. Rose💜

Hello Rose 🤍 Thank you for this one!

There were some really pretty moments in 2023 and giffing them was so much fun. Working with the right coloring to make the scenes pop and to be satisfied with the result was so much fun (and some time a little bit frustrating!).

The following list is not complete, but those are the most visually stunning moments for me, for different reasons.

We start the list with a show I loved to look at but I didn't like to watch it that much after the first episodes:

Chains Of Heart

The cinematography was breathtaking! The coloring was beautiful and I had so much fun making my sets for every week. The story... well that is another story. Chains of heart brought us many beautiful, visually pleasing moments and I remember loving to gif this scene. I enjoy finding moments in series I want to put into a set. And this was one I totally fell in love with.

Next is part of a show I really hope we get some more stunning scenes in the future:

The Sign

Look at this beauty! This is art. This is so fucking beautiful and stunning! My jaw dropped! The coloring, the reds, it is just majestic! It looks so surreal and yet so cool! I am in love with the visuals of this show. There were so many more scenes, but this stood out to me!

And on we go with a series that left us all in pieces at times and also that flashed us with one of the best reunions ever:

The Eighth Sense

The coloring in this scene was so gorgeous (yes, for gifmaking really shitty, because some parts are overcolored and some are a little bit bland)! I was so excited for this reunion. The music, the whole feeling, the waiting, the happiness, just everything was so fucking perfect! And I do love myself a good little kissing scene. And this is one of my most favorite scenes. Visually just one of the most beautiful scenes ever!

And sometimes I am a simple girl and think a fish tank, some goldfish and a smiling Jimmy is stunning and visual perfection.

Last Twilight

This scene was so cute and so beautiful and yes, I might be biased because I am in love with Mhok and every moment of him looking at Day is visually stunning, but this scene... It is so soft and I know I will go back there from time to time. It was a good cinematic choice and I applause the creators for all these visual beautiful choices!

The last one might be just me crushing hard on the beautiful visuals:

Only Friends

I was lying on the floor, gasping for air and drooling after this scene. I needed to pause the series and rewatch it immediately. Visually one of the most stunning moments I saw 2023 on my screen!

Ask me Top 5 BL Anything from 2023

#asked #bl game #ask game #anything bl 2023 #bl drama #bl series #thank you so much for this ask 🧡#josi answers #chains of heart #the sign #the eighth sense #last twilight #only friends

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sunfortune · 2 months

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i think i get what makes the 2005 p&p movie so much more popular (and why the distaste for the 1995 miniseries). and im aware i might be fully swinging at a wasps nest.

its bc its essentially Disney’s Pride & Prejudice. the 2005 movie basically just takes the premise of the story and turns it into a romantic fantasy almost. like the misty moors scene is almost too goofy (and imo actually is) in reference to the actual story and character. it overly dramatizes the story at the cost of the depth that made the story so enduringly popular, but that also makes it much easier to consume. this just feels like adding insult to injury now, but i do feel like the 1995 series basically directly lifting the dialogue straight from the novel means that if someone can’t keep up or comprehend early 1800s speaking mannerisms (and the entire story being communicated via the acting and dialogue), they end up basically missing out on the whole thing. (i only say this bc ive discovered that much more people than i thought seem to actually struggle with this)

also i do not understand what is the deal with that damn hand clench. i never understood the (sorry) grasp that scene had on people. the fact that when i last saw it (do not update me i do not want to know) that poll had the matthew mcfayden darcy slightly winning. collin firth said “you’ve bewitched me body and soul” with his eyes better than matt mcf did with his actual mouth. ill say tho that the hand clench scene was necessary bc idk how anyone was supposed to sense darcys attraction when matt mcf made the bold choice to channel eyeore into his portrayal of mr darcy.

i honestly like the hand clench scene in 2005 for the same reason you mentioned bc it is like the ONLY moment that gave any tangible evidence that there was actually something there. every time i bring up how chemistry-less they were in 2005 everyone is like ‘yeah that’s his personality! it’s supposed to be like that!’ etc etc. LIKE a stoic-afraid of his feelings-repressed male character type has never been done in romance before -_-. be serious. you can have ALL that and still have tension and chemistry. (as an example north and south guy has a similar character with a more serious subject matter even! but you can STILL feel the attraction. the pull) they don’t have that in p&p 2005. which dulls the romance before we even get into the loser behavior of rewriting lizzie’s personality to make her softer

like to me it’s a very pretty movie with gorgeous cinematography and some great scenes like the hand clench but watching it as a complete work and in context…i just do not feel what everyone else is feeling. im sorry </3

#ask

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lurkingshan · 6 months

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Did you go into I Feel You Linger In The Air with a lot of expectations? Personally I'm a huge fan of Nonkul so when the cast was announced I was quite livid and my expectations raised a lot when the pilot trailer was dropped but Dee Hup House followed that pilot trailer with Step By Step, Show Me Love and Hidden Agenda so by the time IFYLITA aired, I felt like I had to try minimizing my expectations as much as possible because it's Tee Bundit & co. I can't quite put into words but what about IFYLITA that makes each episode builds up so well and I never really feel like it lost its pace? plot? narrative? (except for maybe a few plot threads I could overlook). What do you think Shan? What do you think are the key elements that keeps IFYLITA's narrative so engaging even though this could have been like any other modern-guy-accidentally-time-traveled-to-the-past-to-fall-in-love-with-guy-from-the-past series?

My friends can attest, I went into I Feel You Linger in the Air with unreasonably high expectations, because I fucking love historicals and time travel romances and before this year we had precious little of either from Thailand. I was so hype for this project from the moment it was announced. And then Step by Step happened and I decided to willfully ignore the Dee Hup House and Tee Bundit parts of this project in order to stay hype. Surely, it would be fine!

And it has, mostly. I can't pretend we haven't seen some Tee Bundit hallmarks in this production. For the first half of the show, he seemed pretty uninterested in the romance, focusing most of the story time on building out the side characters and the politics of the period and leaving Jom and Yai's connection underdeveloped. He has given us almost no information on the time travel mythology, so the finale will either be jam packed with last minute exposition or leave Jom/us with no real understanding of the rules of this universe. He seemed unable to figure out how to make the romance and time travel and queer politics plots co-exist, so instead he kind of chunked them out, taking them one at a time and leading to some kinks in the pacing of each given plot. He spent a lot of time very carefully building serious conflicts only to hand wave them away in one very easy denouement.

But despite all that, this show just works, doesn't it? Usually when I am picking up this many structural issues in a show, I will lose my emotional connection to the story as my brain kicks into analytical mode. But that didn't happen here. The emotions of this story stuck with me throughout; I care about all the characters, I am invested in everyone getting what they deserve, and I was sobbing my little heart out last week as Jom and Yai said their long goodbye. It's been such a beautiful journey, if imperfect, and I credit that to a few things:

Writing aside, the other aspects of this production are all around phenomenal. The cinematography, the set and costume design, the lighting, the music. It's all working together to make this time and place feel so vivid and real. It's so gorgeous to look at and the show really makes you want to just sink into it and get immersed.

Bright and Nonkul were perfectly cast in this, and they have been absolutely killing it in these roles. Jom and Yai feel so real to me, both as individuals and as a pair. I really believe in their connection, which is no small thing given the aforementioned underwriting of its development. In a story like this the romance needs to be strong enough that you believe these two would seek each other out across time and space, and I do believe it for them. A lot of that can be credited to the remarkable chemistry these two performers have built together.

The non-romance aspects of the plot are actually compelling. It's always risky to add in a bunch of side stories to a simple romance; you risk distracting from the main story in a way that actually does some damage or leaves the audience bored or confused. But here, the choices about what to add made for a compelling cast of characters, a stronger tie to real history, and an all around more queer show. I love that we got a proper lesbian romance, that we got to see an oppressed woman come into her power, that we got a het dude learning how to be an ally, and that we got to see a queer community form around and bolster Yai and Jom. It's really special and the best of what Tee's interests can lead to when he marshals them well.

So yes, I do think this show stands apart from others in this genre for what it brought to the formula that feels new and fresh. I wish it was more widely accessible because it's truly one of the most beautiful dramas I have ever seen and easily one of the best Thai shows of the year.

#i feel you linger in the air #thai bl #shan answers

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puffmais · 7 months

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I Feel You Linger In The Air (Rant)

I really needed to make this because I've finally discovered why so many bls fans (not everyone) keep ignoring this story in particular, which, in my opinion, holds the place for #1 bl of the year.

People are really not ready to watch great acting, great plot, great cinematography, great ost, great everything. You really have a period bl drama right in front of your eyes, but apparently one of the main excuses is that the relationship "goes really slow", and some people on Twitter and Reddit even said that Jom never shows his feelings just like in the novel, and that is always Khun Yai the one who gives affection. Let's go for the first one: first of all, are we watching the same show? Because we, as an audience, are fully aware that Jom was cheated on by his boyfriend in the present time, then he travels to the past and encounters this man (whom he has previously seen) and of course, he's shocked (both of them are since Khun Yai dreamed about Jom). You just can't expect a relationship to happen in the very first episode, that's not realistic, that never happens. This actually reminded me when Step By Step was airing and everyone kept complaining that "nothing" happened between the two mains, and the plot was slow, and people just stopped watching it. You really need to understand how relationships work: it takes time, and we need to follow the development, we need to feel those moments between the characters. The problem here is those really cringy, bad bl series with zero plot, terrible acting, and obviously having explicit s*x scenes in every episode, that made people forget about enjoying a great story and just consume any garbage content just for the sake of it, and I'm not going to make a list about those bad bls or those terrible actors because you all know who they are. The second one, do you really think Jom never showed his feelings towards Khun Yai? Once again, this is a character that has just been cheated on and got his heart broken by his long-time boyfriend. And let's not forget that this is an adaptation from a novel (yes, I read it), and every time a written work gets adapted into a series (or film) there are always going to be changes and situations in which all the production team has to work to make it as close as possible to the novel, but not the same in its entirety. Someone on Reddit said that they were happy because even though some scenes were changed from the novel, the dialogues were all the exact same and they were faithful in that sense, and I completely agree. Now, if you are saying that Jom doesn't show any emotion, you are coming for Nonkul's acting and I won't tolerate that. This drama has cast two of the best Thai actors in the industry. Both actors even said that they read the novel, and did plenty of research and preparation for their characters. So, no... you are not going to come for these two boys, because they are the best you will ever see.

And now, let's see some examples in which we can see Jom (slowly) growing feelings for Khun Yai: This already happens in EP2. Khun Yai looking so worried, asks Jom if he's feeling unwell and touches him so gently. Just look at Jom's face... I bet his heart made a jump because I know my heart would stop at that moment.

And what about the very next moment? Khun Yai: "It's like you've lost your blessing. Please, let me bring it back for you." (The softness in his voice...)

And Jom looks dazzled the whole time because he has this gorgeous gentleman talking to him like this, caring for him... Anyways, let's go to EP3. The scene in which Khun Yai tells Jom that he's buying clothes for him and Jom is surprised by this. And then, Khun Yai goes: "Do you like it?" (referring to the shirt)

And I bet Jom's brain was like: "Are we talking about the shirt... or you?". He just stares at Khun Yai like he's hypnotized (like more than 5 seconds, I'm not kidding). And what about this whole scene? Khun Yai: "If remembering makes you sad, just forget about it completely."

Here we have Khun Yai once again talking in his ever-soft voice (Bright's voice is just beautiful) and comforting Jom, knowing that he's suffering and having hard times, and Jom just takes and absorbs all this care and affection coming from the other.

When they come back, Jom thanks Khun Yai, he's grateful for everything, you can see it in his smile, and his eyes, and he exudes gratefulness. And then we see him looking at the bracelet that Khun Yai gave to him, and thinking about him... like come on, at this point we all know that Khun Yai is blooming in Jom's heart.

Right, let's jump to EP4. Jom becomes Khun Yai's majordomo and we have the scene in which Khun Yai shows Jom his new room. Khun Yai: "So now we're living under the same roof, Jom."

Look at him! He looks nervous and shy, taking in the fact that he's going to live with his crush and be with him 24/7, like imagine being as lucky as Jom... the boy is internally screaming.

The next scene, when Khun Yai is helping Jom with the typewriter, and Jom makes a mistake.

Khun Yai stops him by touching him and Jom's brain just stops working. My boy is gone, he just stares and stares.

And then, we have the scene in which Jom is helping dress Khun Yai. Jom: "So, why did you have to help me that much?" Khun Yai: "As I said earlier, I just want to choose what I want, and go by my wish sometimes."

LOOK AT HIM! HE'S GONE! WE LOST HIM! And besides he understands what Khun Yai is trying to say, Jom is no fool.

Khun Yai leaves and we see Jom like this: he's touching his face (an indicator that his face is probably burning) and he's internally screaming, please at this point we can feel Jom's sincere feelings.

Let's go to EP5. In the beginning scene, Jom sees things from the present time, and he starts screaming. Khun Yai makes his appearance, he's worried and he knows Jom is having a hard time once again. I want to emphasize how Khun Yai is in a drunk state in this scene, but that doesn't stop him from being the same gentleman, and comfort Jom in every possible way.

Khun Yai: "Jom, you're here with me. Just think of this as another home." (I screamed)

The entire scene is chef's kiss. Khun Yai's soft and caring voice, massaging Jom's forehead in an attempt to make Jom feel better and get rid of any negative feelings and thoughts. Caressing his face and then hugging him ever so softly, patting his head, every single gesture is just perfection, so full of affection. The silence in the scene, no need of dialogues, just them loving each other, and Jom being completely gone. He's completely aware that he likes Khun Yai.

Okay, EP6. We have a (very) jealous Khun Yai avoiding Jom and treating him kind of indifferently. In this scene, Jom looks hurt and worried that Khun Yai may be angry at him, and he basically makes Khun Yai explode.

Khun Yai: "Don't you know how I feel about you? Did my actions not reach your heart at all? Or should I write you a long poem? Or in what way should I tell you so that you can understand how I feel about you?".

Imagine your crush advancing to you like this... saying all those words... Jom was speechless, breathless.

Moving forward, Khun Yai finally directly confesses to Jom and asks him if he wants to be with him, and Jom agrees. I loved how Jom didn't reject him but explained to him that he was scared and worried about them becoming lovers and making Khun Yai's life difficult because of his family and society in general. Let's not forget that Jom comes from the present time in which until today LGBTQ people are still chased and k*lled, rejected, and seen as abnormal (I personally felt his speech because I'm bisexual and I know it's hard). And Thailand is still a conservative country in which gay marriage is not allowed, so like I said before: Jom is no fool and he's aware of the whole situation. But... love is stronger and our boys become a couple, and if after all this people still think that Jom has zero emotions or doesn't express himself... just go watch your empty bls in which the characters "fall in love" in the first five minutes like the most unrealistic thing ever.

I want to say that Khun Yai is the greenest flag ever, and Bright & Nonkul's chemistry is out of this world. I hope they work together again in the future because they are the perfect duo. Anyways, to all IFYLITA fans keep spreading the love and enjoying the best bl of the year, we can't wait to see these boys taking all the awards.

#หอมกลิ่นความรัก #i feel you linger in the air #khun yai #jom #bright rapheephong #nonkul chanon #brightnonkul #thai bl #bl drama #myedits #aboutme #personal

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mikimeiko · 2 years

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Yellowjackets | Season 1 (2021)

2021 (1996)

#yellowjackets #yellowjackets season 1 #one gif per episode #with a focus on cinematography because this show is GORGEOUS #i made this #tv series #i just want a tag for the things i personally put out into the world

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romanceyourdemons · 12 days

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following in the tradition of, if not quite living up to the reputation of, farewell my concubine (1993), chen kaige’s temptress moon (1996) once again casts gong li and leslie cheung in an exploration of the shifting meaning and role of gender in a modernizing china. whereas the former film straddles the sino-japanese war, this film spans from the abdication of puyi to the 1920s. the narrative of this modernizing, westernizing, revolutionizing timespan, especially in the film’s setting of shanghai, is that in this period both women and servants, oppressed into total submission by the rigid tradition of the qing dynasty, gained class consciousness and power together—with women in particular taking control of their sexuality and playing a particularly central role in modernization and revolution, as depicted in daybreak (1933), the red detachment of women (1961), and two stage sisters (1964) among others. this film paints a different picture, however. christopher doyle’s lush and richly-toned cinematography takes the opposite approach as his later work on in the mood for love (2000), as well as zhao fei’s work on zhang yimou’s raise the red lantern (1991), both of which uses a static camera and heavy use of frames within frames to telegraph how boxed in the characters feel themselves to be in their world of tradition and regulation. the cinematography of this film is fluid and fast-moving, with close-up tracking shots conveying intimacy, forward movement, instability, and confusion (a confusion that echoes the confusion of chen kaige’s loose and difficult-to-follow plot, but i digress). the characters of this film, male and female, former servant and former daughter, feel themselves to be utterly free of the previous, violent, mentally and sexually exploitative class structure. and yet the violence of that system lingers like the protagonist ruyi’s opium addiction inflicted on her by her father during childhood; the only difference is that this violence has reformed entirely along the lines of gender, in the absence of class-based channels of violence. as nodded to in zhang yimou’s shanghai triad (1995), in the warlord-run, revolution-torn, war-bound nominal republic of china, the lowest-born man is considered more important than the highest-born woman. as this film goes to pains to show through the grooming to violence of both duanwu and zhongliang, this attitude is not a revolution against the oppressive class-based structure of the past, but merely a reframing of it, and the internal corruption and violence that destroyed the old dynasty are bound to destroy the new era. of course, the film does not give up these insights easily; despite its gorgeous visuals and sensitive acting, the story is not particularly well-composed, and it reads more as a series of loosely-connected vignettes than as the the last emperor (1987)-like epic tale chen kaige clearly wanted it to be. nonetheless, temptress moon (1996) has style, it has heart, and it has some interesting ideas within it, and at the end of the day i would recommend it

#ryddles

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dekaydk · 10 months

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Thank you for your service

(illustration: my brain right now)

I only became aware of BL series much less than a year ago after seeing a post about about gay mafia Porsche drivers or something on Tumblr so I have a lot to catch up on and the studios are making more content and all y'all are watching the new stuff and the old stuff and posting gorgeous, well-thought out analyses of character, plot, color, cinematography, culture, and queerness, and I can barely manage to post drivel like "I finally watched this thing and i thought it was, uh, ya know, cool" and yes I realize that you all have some practice at this but can I say (a) I'm super impressed and inspired by the depth and thoughtfulness of what you have to say and (b) I hope to get even 25% as good.

Some of the recent pieces that have really grabbed me came from @bengiyo @waitmyturtles @wen-kexing-apologist @lurkingshan @istanchan @respectthepetty @mikuni14 all of whom have given me much to think about. Tumblr's search is so bad and I'm not good with recalling screen names much less actual names so please accept any omissions in my citations as being entirely unintentional.

PS: Thank you.

#bl series #film analysis #appreciation

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inventedfangirling · 4 months

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BEST of BL's in 2023 [Thai edition]

(more accurately my favourites from 2023, so that i have something to show for the 100s of hours i spent watching them lmao)

I Feel You Linger In The Air - Head & Shoulders above (almost) every single piece of queer media i've ever watched. Khun Yai and Jom will be forever icons. That drunk poem confession will NEVER be topped. Also LESBIANS AHHHHHH also the way the show explored intimacy AHHH just end meeee

2. Moonlight Chicken - Aof strikes again. Gave me Uncle Jim, Heart, Li Ming and my baby boy Gaipa- the music, the cinematography, the writing, the found fckin family - i will recommend it to EVERY one on the planet if i could.

3. Be My Favourite- I did not expect to enjoy this show as much as i did. I loved what they were tryna say. I LOVED the queer undertones in EVERYTHING. if not for the asexual erasure and Not being an absolute asshole this would have been quite the perfect show. And man is Gawin so darn sculpted perfection, LOOK AT THAT FACE, how to not admire!? Also Pearmai my beloved. AND THAT POEM in episode 11 ARGHHH

4. Bed Friend - I know this was a polarizing series in a lot of ways and I agree to some of the complaints raised BUTTTTTT NET MY FRENZ NET! How am i supposed to not melt into a complete puddle watching King pretend to not be absolutely in love with Uea, and treating him like the babygirl he is, when he looks like THAT. I'm but a mere mortal.

5. La Pluie - I kinda liked the show and disliked it in equal amounts. Saengtai annoyed me quite a LOT towards the end BUT his brother Sangtien - Suar Kritsanaphong had me in the palm of his hand. Him and his kiss with Lomfon is etched firmly in my brain. It HAD to be on this list.

6. Only Friends - Gawd. The Promise. The Promise of it all. Thats what maddens me THE MOST. There was just SO MUCH that they could have done. Even if they stuck with a lot of their similar choices i would have still put it higher up on the list if they hadn't undone all the good work they did in the final episode. I couldnt even bring myself to rewatch anything from this one cos of how disappointingly it ended. That being said - FirstKhao KILLED it as usual, i CANNOT wait for their next one, BOSTON deserved better and my MVP- Mark Pakin AHHH i NEED him on EVERY SHOW EVER but also in ways concerning to me GAWD WHAT A TALENT AND WHAT A FACE.

7. Laws of Attraction - Charn you guys. Charn and his utterly deranged expressions and his even more deranged ex. And ofc everything else the show offered. The drama. The mystery. The family. The romance. THE LESBIANS!!!!? Few things not to love. Especially the finale with all the domestic husbanding going on. Precious af.

8. Hidden Agenda - Far too much nonsensical plotlessness going on here for this to claim this position BUT i'm just a girl watching Joong swoon over his man and losing it in the corridor and proceeding to do that myself cos man he's so damn good in these kinda scenes. I think he'd be good in more serious ones too but I would much prefer it if it was with somebody who could offer more than Dunk (no shade he very cute himself)

POTENTIAL FAVS

The following is a list of shows i loved/liked it a LOT but still watching/running so I can't fully judge

(in no particular order except the first one cos who am i to put an aof show not at the top of any list)

Last Twilight [BEST THING EVER I AM WHOLLY AND IRRETRIEVABLY IN LOVE IM GONNA REWATCH IT LIKE ITS MY JOB PLS I NEED IT TO STICK THE LANDING SO BAD]

Love in Translation - episode 4 what a beauty, one of my fav episodes of any BL in 2023 ever- just LOVED the whole fake date thing - it was EVERYTHING

Wedding Plan - Leads are cute. Lesbians are cuter. Made me laugh. Also CUTENESS hello

Night Dream - Who doesn't love a long unrequited but actually totally requited love story?

The Sign - nothing i can ever say is gonna be enough to encompass just how mind-blowing this series is from concept to execution to CGI to costumes to the gorgeous leads with fckin electric chemistry AND the PINING and the will they won't they arhhhh- TOP TIER STUFF

Cooking Crush - i went into this with minimal expectations, the trailer didnt do much for me BUT oh my gawd i had SO MUCH FUN with each episode, i laughed SO much and i am very much looking forward to the rest of it

Cherry Magic - TayNew back again together. Karan and his gorgeous existence. Loved the og. The trope where one believes they are hard to love & someone who loves them like it’s breathing- its literally made for this show and i am SUPER excited where it goes. PLS PLS PLS let them keep the aroace character aroace PLEASE!?!?!?

#2023 bl wrapped #thai bl wrapped #i feel you linger in the air #moonlight chicken #be my favorite #bed friend #la pluie #laws of attraction #hidden agenda #only friends #last twilight #love in translation #cooking crush #the sign #cherry magic thai #night dream #wedding plan #if i missed any i'd be devastated okay byeee #thai bl

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