Tumgik
#en of love
imogenegomi · 1 month
Text
231 notes · View notes
zhaozi · 3 months
Text
Tumblr media Tumblr media
clay from mars 👽
184 notes · View notes
respectthepetty · 21 days
Text
Me, reading through absolutebl's post about what to watch after Pit Babe and seeing my beautiful Kimberly mentioned
BECAUSE BENZ WAS IN THIS IS LOVE STORY!
Tumblr media
I knew I loved Kimberly the most-est for a reason. I'm so sorry I didn't realize, Benz.
Tumblr media
He should show up in Jack & Joker, just for me! Meet up with all the former Rookie Thailand kids, and be cool! Randomly show up as a driver dropping off something.
34 notes · View notes
twig-tea · 8 months
Text
Thai QL Favorites Tag Game
Tagged by @telomeke and @waitmyturtles, thank you both for the tag!
Credit: this game was created by @thatgirl4815 as Thai BL Favorites Tag Game.
I want you all to know before I start that asking for favourites is biphobic so you're going to have to ignore the places where I bent/ignored the rules about how many choices I was allowed to have. Also, this is so long, and took forever, I'm so sorry:
Favorite Thai QL:
Tumblr media
I could caveat this until the end of time, but I'm going to go with the definition of "favourite" that's "has a special place in my heart" rather than necessarily "best"; and that's undoubtedly Until We Meet Again. I got very not normal about this show. When it was airing, I used to rewatch every episode before the new episode, and then rewatch the newly aired episode at least once before binging the show to date again. And I've binged it several times since. Sometimes if I need to cry, I'll put on the first 10 minutes and ugly-sob. This show felt like an apology and catharsis for years of built-up bury-your-gays induced trauma from queer media, in addition to a balm for all of the external relationship drama tropes in BL. I think I've talked about it around here somewhere before, how this show sets up all of the tropes for things that go wrong for couples in BL, and then everything is fine, over and over? And it was airing during the very start of the pandemic before the world was calling it a pandemic, when I was so worried about everything and governments hadn't caught up to being afraid yet, and I felt so alone, and this show over and over again said "it'll be ok", at a time I really needed to hear that. Plus it's got the whole epic-love-story-across-lives and the family acceptance redemption arc that as a still-only-partially-out-to-my-family-in-my-30s queer absolutely destroys me. Anyway, there are other shows that I would agree are as good or better (shout out to He's Coming to Me, I Told Sunset about You, Bad Buddy, Not Me, The Eclipse), but UWMA remains my fave (and gets two gifs for being top spot).
Tumblr media
Favorite Pairing: I have seen this interpreted as branded pairs & as fictional couple, so I'm going to take that excuse to answer both questions. I'm honestly not a fan branded pairs as a thing and agree with @lurkingshan's comments on this, I tend to prefer it when people continuously work with different actors. That being said, JoongDunk seem to be having a lot of fun with the whole fanservice game, which is fun to watch for as long as they're enjoying themselves and continue to be in on the joke, which seems to be the case.
Tumblr media
Fictional couple? Right at this moment I am still thinking about Khatha and Dome from Midnight Museum. I think this one hit me in my Chinese epics button, because the story felt a lot like a danmei (not the least because you could argue it reads as censored bromance). But this show asks questions about fate, God, the devil, multiverses, and then has its characters choosing to reject all of the above in order to choose each other? SIGN ME UP. Legitimately it's the most fun I've had watching a tv show in awhile, it was bananas, and I loved the journey of Khatha figuring out who Dome was in relationship to Chan, and deciding to love Dome as Dome, at the same time that Dome was also figuring out who he was, and deciding he preferred who he was when he was with Khatha. But also just Tor + Gun are incredible actors (Tor having been a stand-out since Hormones and Gun of course since The Blue Hour) and I would watch either of them in anything, but together they were magnetic (and evidence for my earlier point re: branded pairs, as much as I enjoy Off & Gun together!).
Tumblr media
Most underrated actor: I'm going to say James Teeradon. He had a few small roles in Hormones 2 & 3, Diary of Tootsies, and The Stranded, and he had the main role in Project S: Skate our Souls and in Great Men Academy. First, I should say, you could argue none of these classify as BLs. Second, all of these have trigger warnings, so please take care of yourself and feel free to ask if you want content warnings. But he's one of those actors who never looks like the same person in each role he's playing, and he absolutely gives me shivers. His performance as Boo in Skate our Souls was legitimately chill-inducing--this one in particular has serious trigger warnings, I put off watching it for a long time because I knew about the warnings and waited until I was in the right headspace, and it still messed with me for weeks. But oh man, oh man that show, it rewrote part of my DNA. I don't even know that under-rated is fair to say since there was buzz around him when he was in these shows a few years ago, but he was trying to make it as part of a band for awhile and he hasn't been in much since. If there's one person I want to see in something else who a lot of other people don't talk about these days, it's James.
Tumblr media
Cheating and taking the opportunity to choose a second actor from definitely-a-BL series: Fluke Chinnathan from Second Chance the Series. While Second Chance had a lot of flaws, the acting by Fluke and Tong was stellar. Their micro-expressions and body language was unreal. I feel strongly enough about this that I wrote an ode to it as part of the BL-Bracket for best kiss scene. No idea what Fluke is up to or if he even wants to keep acting, but I'd love to see him in something else--he's one of the only other actors (than James, mentioned above) that I'll go in to MyDramaList occasionally just to check to see if they're in anything new. PS if you do give Second Chance a shot, please know going in that Run and Games, real life brothers who are both actors, are both in this series but never in a scene together, and their characters are similar, so a lot of people have trouble telling them apart without knowing there are two different characters in the show.
Tumblr media
(Also, I 100% would have said Suar for this question before La Pluie, because he did not get enough credit for You're My Sky and I think he was incredible).
Favorite Character: Honestly, I've deleted my answer to this so many times now. Choosing one is so hard! I'm going to go with White from Not Me. Incredibly loyal, strong moral values (but willing to break the rules/law to fulfil those values because he understands that law ≠ morality), self-sacrificing, extremely competent in some ways, but also has serious blind spots in others that leads to him making very silly choices especially around who they trust, lacking in self esteem especially around whether or not people will want him around. The way he chooses to give up his privilege--not for his brother, because he could have found a way to go back to his old life after everything if he wanted--because he saw what was wrong with all of it and decided to do what he could to help fix it (and not participate in it) is something that really resonated with me. I also love that he is an absolute marshmallow who cannot hide that fact. Plus White being a disaster bi who wanted Sean from the beginning endeared him to me forever. And it doesn't hurt that he's played by Gun Atthaphan
Tumblr media
Favorite Side Character: I have also started and stopped this section so many times. Natty and her absolutely terrible taste in women from Diary of Tootsies, Na being at some points the only reason I kept watching Tonhon Chonlatee, Namo being smart enough to know to pretend she doesn't know what's going on in Not Me, Tong the ecovillage owner from Bad Buddy, Daisy and their incredible gender and mix of self esteem + self esteem issues in Secret Crush on You.
Alright I'm giving it to Dream in Something in My Room. I don't have good reasons for this; her character was artistic, had supernatural powers, green asymmetrical hair, and was stoic with a hidden dark past, and I am a simple woman. I wanted to know everything about her.
Tumblr media
Favorite scene in a QL: How can I choose just one?! I'm choosing three and you can't stop me.
Third place, Not Me, with Sean and White under the pride flag. It has everything: It's iconic, it's cinematic, it's cathartic, it's political, it's a critical character moment, it has great music, it's full of queer joy, and it brings me so much happiness every time I see it.
Tumblr media
Second: Dean and Pharm in front of the Pra Aphai Mani & sea ogress sculptures in the aquarium in Until We Meet Again. Partially because I love aquariums so much, partially because this sequence is one of the first ones we really get to see the hints of Intouch in Pharm. The way he moves around that aquarium is nothing like how he moves at school or his condo, and it's one of the things that struck me so hard on rewatch; while that scene did so much work towards establishing their characters the first time around, the second+ time it has so much more meaning. The throwaway line by Pharm about relating to the ogress now gives me chills.
Tumblr media
Plus the way the aquarium scene got called back in I Promise You the Moon makes me really happy.
But first and top, the one that will forever live in my mind for the way it made me feel in my body: Teh and Oh-Aew on the rug in I Told Sunset About You. That moment, my god. Butterflies. Chills. Chewing glass. Devastation. I don't know that I've ever felt any other scene so viscerally; it transported me back to being a teenager and cuddling in clearly non-platonic ways with my bestie and wondering what was happening. Thinking about it now still gives me goosebumps. Maybe a bit of a weird choice because of the pain but I don't shy away from some pain in my faves!
Tumblr media
Favorite line in a QL: Honestly I could put one of several meaningful quotes in here, probably the ones I've thought about most being the one from Bad Buddy that a few other folks have noted ("I may not be able to change the world but the world can't change me either"); and "can't we just get a little bit of space?" from The Warp Effect that I mentioned in my Silvy appreciation post. but the first thing that came to mind was this cracktastic banger moment from En of Love: This is Love Story that runs through my head every time a character P-Nong's someone when they don't mean it like that (and especially when newbies get confused about whether characters are actually related):
"'P' but not brothers; the way 'daddy' [said in English] doesn't really mean father. You get it?"
--Param, being a little shit (affectionate)
Tumblr media
But also I think special mention needs to go to this new and immediate classic by Tien in La Pluie:
Tumblr media
Most Anticipated QL (& why): I am very excited for 23.5 and Only Friends, also WuJu Bakery (does that count if it's Korean but starring Thai actors?) but....This is niche and might never happen, but MindTrio announced awhile ago that they were going to put out Chemistry in Love, which was either a sequel or related to Calculating Love? Listen, this is a low-budget production company making a slightly quirky trope-filled shorts that tend to have pretty cinematography but falter a bit on plot and pacing, and in Calculating Love the main character hits on his love interest with a series of math/graphing equations and coffee. I fully acknowledge that I am a particular kind of nerd, but I just really, really want to see people flirting with their Extremely Geeky special interests. Some sort of of follow-up to Calculating Love has been a maybe-thing since 2020, so it's most anticipated by amount of time I've been waiting. I have a list of 290 "upcoming" shows that may or may not ever happen so I'll stop there.
Tumblr media
Healthiest relationship in a QL: I was very persuaded by @waitmyturtles' arguments re: King and Uea, and I thought about My Only 12% and even wrote a whole thing about Tinn and Gun from MSP before deleting it.
But I'm going to use this soapbox to give a hot take and say, by the end of the series, that it's Nuea and Toh from Secret Crush on You. Both of them have secretly loved each other for the whole series, and shown it in their own very unhealthy ways: Toh by keeping a collection of everything that reminds him of Nuea, and Nuea by being extremely cool-guy persona around Toh. But by the end, both of them have aired their insecurities about their relationship, and have committed to working on their relationship together. Toh stops assuming that they will break up (which Nuea explained was hurtful to him) and declares he'll fight for their relationship in front of Nuea's parents, and Nuea allows himself to be seen as very uncool through his vulnerability, and is more open about his uncool thoughts and feelings. I remember them being surprisingly healthy about jealousy too, once they're together, showing trust in one another when that photography club kid shows up. Nuea also makes a really sweet gesture that I think gets misunderstood at the end of the show; Toh explains that his collection makes him happy, that Nuea is more important so he'll give it up if he has to but he really, really does not want to. So Nuea finds a way to make the collection about them rather than about him, so that he can embrace it too and be less discomfited by it. I feel like there's not enough "meeting people where they are", and too many makeover fantasies in romance for my tastes. Instead, Secret Crush on You said listen, people are weird, and we all just need to find the other weirdos whose jagged edges fit with ours. And it's work figuring out together how they will fit, and they won't fit perfectly, but that's ok. As long as everyone is comfortable, it can be a little weird. It may be less realistic than say the way similar themes are handled in Utsukushii Kare, because behavioural change (especially around self-worth) is hard irl, but the question wasn't about which relationship is most realistic lol SCOY also said embrace cringe culture and I am here for it even if it is sometimes hard to watch because it is SO CRINGE; but I respect it for living its truth.
Tumblr media
Most toxic relationship in a QL: Oof. I am a strong believer in "if it works for them, that's their business", as is probably evident from above, but the reveal of what was going on with King and Peat in Love Area (parts 1 & 2) was really next level BS and managed to be both toxic and ableist, so it gets a special mention and no gif.
Guilty pleasure series: I don't really subscribe to feeling guilty about liking things, but I have a bunch that don't get a lot of love and I fully understand why lol In addition to the example of Calculating Love above (which is like, a 6 on MDL, and TBH harsh but fair), I really enjoyed I Will Knock You. Maybe it was just the novelty but I loved the character of Noey so much, his vintage aesthetic, the amount of time spent around and in temples, and the most adorable closing credit sequence of all time (shows that have closing credit sequences that reflect the main relationship in the show is one of my favourite tropes!). The criticisms about it, especially the ones about the Thi character, are fully valid and I would not actually recommend it without a lot of caveats (e.g. warnings for blushing virgin trope + age gap, and sooort of glorification of gang membership?), but I had a great time.
Tumblr media
Also maybe Y-Destiny episodes 9 & 10? Tohru and First as Kaeng and Puth, whew. I have a special place in my heart for storylines where the characters sleep together as friends with benefits and then have to renegotiate those boundaries because I've lived it more than once lol (Only Friends when?!). But the ending episode for the series was actually so offensively bad, I like to forget it exists.
Most underrated series: You're My Sky and He's Coming to Me have already gotten a lot of love so I'll just say YES to those. Would have said My Ride before this recent release to YT. Does Triage count if it's nominated for awards but nobody ever talks about it (probably because the distribution was so messy)? I think My Only 12% doesn't get enough love because of the pacing of the last episodes, but the rest of the show was SO good.
But I'm going to take this opportunity to get on a sandbox about Diary of Tootsies (spanning S1, S2, and the movie sequel Tootsies and the Fake).
Tumblr media
This show is not BL; it is decidedly queer. There is no single love story, and if there is, it's undermined. And yet, because it's a comedy, it also gets overlooked in the lists of Important Queer Viewing (which is fair, honestly, that is not a read). But it means my blorbo of a show often doesn't get hyped up, so I'm taking the opportunity.
This show I would argue sits squarely in the by/for/about queers category as per @wen-kexing-apologist’s by/for/about Venn diagram. Watching it feels like a group hug; it's so very clearly written by actual queer people (even if this wasn't confirmed everywhere online, the screenwriter is out and speaks about this, but it's also just obvious) and I recognize so much of my friends and people I've known in these messy queers. It deals with casual sex, drug use, HIV, adoption, being closeted at work, and more.
It is also so funny. I didn't think I liked toilet humour until Make it Right and Diary of Tootsies proved me wrong. I honestly think about the scene with Natty and the handbag in the car approximately once a month. And the opening sequence of the sequel film!! What a choice for opening credits. And these queer friends are mean to one another, even in the moments they're being supportive of one another, and it is both familiar and delightful (also reminds me of this post by @bengiyo about whether viewers still love us when we're mean). The found family tropes are STRONG in this one, friends.
There is some fatphobia, though I always struggle with how much to warn for that because this show also has one of the only fat characters in QL who gets a character arc, a love interest, and to be a whole person. And to dance! The dance sequencesssss especially in S2, oh my heart. So much queer joy in this show in general!
Last thing I'll say about this show is that it also gets left off people's lists because the "main couple" if you can say there is one is not the one most fans were rooting for--I will admit, myself included. But the narrative convinced me to be satisfied with what we got, which is honestly to its credit!
Anyway TL;DR Diary of Tootsies makes me extremely happy and I'm glad it exists.
OMG ok I am letting this go now. Tagging @redxblueihateloveyou because you've not been active for awhile so this way you'll see this whenever you come back, and @formayhem because we are newly buds and I'd be curious about your answers! At this point everyone else must have been tagged by now, so please just consider yourself tagged if you haven't done this yet and tag me so I see it! I've been loving reading everyone's answers.
75 notes · View notes
pharawee · 1 year
Text
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
Jeff Nathadej as GUN & Got Kanidsorn as BAR —FUTURE THE SERIES, Episode 1
113 notes · View notes
negrowhat · 1 year
Note
Is he…. you know…… on the university swim team?
(I am so sorry)
NO BECAUSE LITERALLY ALL THE SWIM TEAM MEMBERS!
Tumblr media
lmaoo this is all I can do.
165 notes · View notes
absolutebl · 2 years
Text
BL Directors - Overview
Some DMing has made me think perhaps it’s time for a master post about some of the directors we have who always (or often) specialize in BL. I’m interested in better training my eye to spot BL director style (I think I have Cheewin & New down). This isn’t going to be an exhaustive list, but there are certainly ones whose names come up a lot, and some who have a very specific style. So I’m hoping many of you are as interested as me. 
Tumblr media
A word on address in Thai: 
Many bloggers will refer to directors as P’New (for example) to distinguish them as directors, also because this is often mode of address used by their actors in bts and on promo circuit. Quite apart from the fact that there is a good chance I am older than many of these directors, the correct form of address to ANY ADULT from an outsider or stranger (like me) is Khun. So technically I should use K’New. However, to distinguish in my posts a director like New from say an actor like New of TayNew, I will occasionally use the moniker “Director New,” otherwise, as with other Thai names I will just use the person’s ชื่อเล่น chuelen. 
Tumblr media
New Siwaj
BEST KNOWN FOR: Until We Meet Again, Make It Right series (2016, 2017, 2019 co-directed with Cheewin) 
OTHER NOTED BLS: Star and Sky series (2022), 7 Project (2021), My Gear And Your Gown (2020), Love By Chance 1 & 2 (2018, 2020)
FORTHCOMING: Absolute Zero, Between Us 
OFTEN WORKS FOR: GMMTV, Wabi Sabi, MAME projects 
LIKES TO CAST: Mean (will be co-directing Remember Me), Title, BounPrem, smol Earth, Yacht, Sammy, Plan, BoomPeak, Perth 
STYLE: basic but high tech (he likes a lot of different camera work); redundant transition shot (he likes to reuse the same one for a given location in a series - Dean’s house = the koi pond in UWMA, for example); staged distance (long) shots; central aperture framing; neutral tones and backgrounds; school settings; good at encouraging genuine emotion, gets his actors to cry a lot; likes location shoots (forests, beaches) 
NOTES OF INTEREST: He’s the producer but not director for Dear Doctor, I'm Coming for Soul; he’s the cinematographer but not director for En of Love: Love Mechanics; he was the screenwriter & director for both Love by Chance and Until We Meet Again
CONCERNS: none really, his style can sometimes feel redundant and a bit dull, like he’s phoning it in (see my thoughts on Star) but that’s about it, no negative rumors that I’ve noticed, he is very inconsistent in his story picks and therefor results (since he is so workmanlike he needs a very strong narrative to carry him), some stuff of his I love, others I can’t stand.  
TRIVIA: New’s cousins in the industry include Captain (Noh in Love Sick) and Primrose (Aim in Love Sick) 
Tumblr media
Cheewin Thanamin
BEST KNOWN FOR: Why R U? (2020)
OTHER NOTED BLS: That's My Candy (2022), Secret Crush On You (2022), the YYY series (2020), Make It Right series (2016, 2017, 2019 co-directed with New) 
FORTHCOMING: War of Y, Bed Friend, Middleman's Love
OFTEN WORKS FOR: LINE TV, Channel 3, GMM One
LIKES TO CAST: Zee, BoomPeak, JimmyTommy, MaxNat, YoonLay, Poppy 
STYLE: commercial; bright, cheerful, favors primary colors, a touch campy and slapstick; no manga framing techniques; likes close-ups and mid-shots (few distance shots and when they are there, VERY staged); no drone work mostly dolly & steadicam; likes beach locations; loves a pillow clutch trope; very much signature Thai BL; good on higher heat; touch voyeuristic; later work has a queerer POV
NOTES OF INTEREST: Cheewin cut director’s teeth on the set of Love Sick 2, co-directing with two others. I don’t know the particulars on Cheewin’s preferred gender/pronouns or sexual orientation (translated into English) but Cheewin uses queer coded Thai linguistics (of the kind I discuss in this post), most specifically preferring ha, ja, and kha when being interviewed. So I would guess Cheewin identifies (by western definitions) as queer and/or gender fluid. 
CONCERNS: almost always weak on story and plot, some marketing (fan scamming) rumors on some projects
TRIVIA: Cheewin played side role Christina in the Make it Right series, and the press conference host in 2021′s Lovely Writer. 
Tumblr media
Aof Noppharnach
BEST KNOWN FOR: Bad Buddy (2021), A Tale of Thousand Stars (2021) 
OTHER NOTED BLS: Still 2gether (2020), Dark Blue Kiss (2019), He's Coming to Me (2019), Our Skyy (2018) 
FORTHCOMING: Moonlight Chicken
WORKS FOR: GMMTV (content production director) 
LIKES TO CAST: EarthMix, Ohm, Nannon, Tay 
STYLE: cinematic, thoughtful, sometimes a little overworked; attention paid to setting; likes strong scripts; LOVES a long shot (crane work I think); pays more and better attention to audio, background music, and sound than many other Thai directors, specifically will choose orchestral music (less singing, thank fuck) 
NOTES OF INTEREST: he clearly prefers experienced actors and established pairs or pre-existing friendship dynamics to ease the way for the intimacy scenes; he obviously tests and pushes his actors and is a bit of a perfectionist (actors and viewers seem to appreciate this) 
CONCERNS: I have concerns around Moonlight Chicken because I don’t think his strength is in higher heat and messy gay, but as a director he hasn’t really failed us yet, so... 
TRIVIA: Is the screenwriter behind the My Dear Loser series. So far as I can tell linguistically, identifies as gay. Produced but did not direct Cupid's Last Wish, Baker Boys, Fish Upon the Sky (so, lets keep him directing and NOT producing, okay?). Has had cameos in Baker Boys, Bad Buddy, A Tale of Thousand Stars, Our Skyy and Friend Zone. Appeared in BL: Broken Fantasy documentary. According to tumblr comments is openly gay (someone drop a primary source in the links to confirm?). 
Tumblr media
Other Thai directors to keep an eye on:
EXPERIENCED THAI DIRECTORS NOT FOCUSED ON BL 
Ma-Deaw Chookiat - director & noted screenwriter, he does a range of genres, not just BL. He is responsible for the first gay YA drama out of Thailand, The Love of Siam (2007), as well as Grean Fictions (2013) which is not a BL but features many BL actors in their first major roles, and similarly dramatic and not BL but gay Songkram Yeng Poo To Be Continued: Secret of a Heart That Doesn't Exist and Dew the Movie. He’s from Chiang Mai and often casts northern actors. Amongst BL fans he is best know for Manner of Death and Triage. His BL is “BL light” often not really owing anything to the film genre but just the original y-novel story. He has neither a queer lens nor a BL style, but more of an objective outsider almost documentarian approach. This results in content that’s a lot more like western queer indie cinema than BL. He likes a strong almost literary story, driven by characters, and following that character to see what happens (VERY few tropes). He’s heavy on action and mystery elements, and likes complexity and movement in space, time, narration, and camera shots (I think he uses hand held quite a bit). There is no guaranteed happy ending with his work, but he will include gay threads whenever he feels like it regardless of genre (see Slam Dance) which is relatively rare out of Thailand. 
Nuchy Anucha - co-founder of G Motif, one of the largest video production companies in Thailand. Nuchy is trans and explicitly queer in all her work, she is the genius behind Not Me, but she is not focused on BL. 
Tumblr media
Thitipan Raksasat - works mainly as a marketing director and comes out of musical theater, he did the two X-rated and not really BL but hella gay installments of Love Next Door, and most recently Love Stage!! He brings a queer lens to his work and good high heat, and I really hope he does more BL. 
Mike Phontharis - Mike’s stuff is all over the place, messy, he’s absolutely does not specialize in BL and does a ton of work. I clearly am not a fan of his style because I’ve struggled with all his BLs, which include: The Tuxedo, Golden Blood and Siew Sum Noi.
Jojo Tichakorn Phukhaotong - I did a whole post on him here. 
Tumblr media
EXPERIENCED THAI DIRECTORS FOCUSED ON BL 
Andy Rachyd - basically birthed Thai BL, and the Thai Pulps, helmed Love Sick (YAY!), both Water Boyys (BOO), Make It Right 1 & 2 (I am trash because I love them), and 'Cause You're My Boy (AKA My Tee), mentored New and Cheewin. Now he does mostly terrible pulps (Thank God It's Friday, Friend Forever, Physical Therapy) and there are some challenging rumors about him. I don’t really know more than that. He has a soap opera style approach to his filming and is pretty darn terrible on story structure. 
Lit Phadung - with only a few exceptions has focused on BL since the unexpected success of SOTUS in 2016. His stuff includes the SOTUS series, Meow Ears Up, My Engineer, Our Skyy, Love Mechanics. He has broken away from GMMTV but I think he’s a better director when he has their backing, funding, organization, and talent pool - it allows him to do ensemble pieces and broad characterization with lots of minor characters and group scenes, at which he excels. He is supposed to be directing My Engineer 2. 
Tee Bundit -  mostly focuses on BL and helmed TharnType, Lovely Writer, and Something in My Room - so yeah, his style is all over the darn place and hard to pin down. I can say he is good at spotting and cultivating chemistry, and he likes a clean, pretty uncluttered picture that feels graphic if not exactly manga influenced, he loves mid-shots and I think is mostly using steadicam and dollies in his stuff. He is the kind of director that feels storyboarded, whether he is or not. He’s behind much anticipated forthcoming BL timeslip historical I Feel You Linger in the Air. 
Tumblr media
Jane Botta - specializes in BL and was the screenwriter of Together with Me and director on Nitiman, Oxygen, Our Skyy, and SOTUS S. His style it a bit slow and I worry about his pacing, but I generally like his work. His next BL is supposed to be Trouble Maker.
Aam Anusorn - is a pretty famous new wave Thai filmmaker who comes out of documentary work and does a lot of co-funded projects with other countries including gay narratives like Present Perfect series (w/ Japan) and Call It What You Want (w/ Taiwan) which is also an exposé on the BL industry. He’s a risk-taker who’s been recognized throughout Asian for example he has funding from South Korea to film in China, and also did the BL documentary BL: Broken Fantasy. In addition to those already mentioned he helmed 2 Moons 2 and DID NOT HAVE A GOOD TIME. I would call him a queer director NOT a BL director so I hesitate to even put him on this list. I doubt he will ever do anything “typically” BL ever again. But he does seem to be somewhat driven to queer up the genre so he’s worth keeping an eye on. I have to say, as a genre fan, I dislike everything he’s done except 2 Moons 2. So I think he and I have VERY different taste. 
Tumblr media
Nob Sathanapong - Nob’s first BL is the interesting, but unsuccessful Love of Siam-esk 2016 piece Sweet Student Boy (this is Chimon’s BL, often forgotten, not without reason). Since then he’s done BL (occasionally working for Star Hunter): La Cuisine, both Gen Y series, and forthcoming Ai Long Nhai. His stuff is... messy. 
Phadej Onlahung - came up in the pulps and not much is known about him. Everything he’s directed has been gay if not BL: Dear Doctor, I'm Coming for Soul (I loved it), I Love You, Love Poison (TERRIBLE), Love at 7-11, The Best Twins (also TERRIBLE) and forthcoming Cafe in Love. So very much hit or miss for me. 
NEW THAI BL DIRECTORS 
Tumblr media
Aoftion Kittipat (Aof) - the director of Cutie Pie who clearly has a STRONG yaoi/manga influence to his vision. He’s one of the only Thai directors who does. His scenes and aesthetics are very staged and he pays careful attention to framing details (and spends his money on getting the vision RIGHT). Cutie Pie was his first major directing gig but I really want more from him. However, he has his fingers in LOTS of pies (DomundiTV, Mandee Work, & Emojii Music). He also helped write Why R U? and is producing Middleman's Love & Bed Friend. (The characters that showed up at the end of Cutie Pie.) 
Niink Karnpicha - a young up and coming director specializing in BL, Niink is clearly still working out his POV and style. He trained under New and often works as his assistant director (Star and Sky: Star in My Mind, My Gear And Your Gown, Love By Chance 2, Until We Meet Again). His helmed projects have a similar almost slap dash workman-like approach, whether as screenwriter (7 Project, 2Wish) or director: What Zabb Man! and En of Love series. Like New, as a result, his directing style can come off feeling (oh how do I put this?) a bit lazy. I’d like to see him rise above this and develop his own voice. 
Tumblr media
Chacree Rujiviphat - only known for the Close Friend series and while I was not wild about that series content, I did LOVE the directing style and queer lens, there’s a solid, focused (gritty, but not really because still Thai) honesty to his style. His close camera work is very clear and clean, almost like something from Korea, and I’d love to see him handed a full length BL. 
Pepzi Banchorn - has been a co- or assistant director on KinnPorsche, Bad Buddy, Dark Blue Kiss, and Great Men Academy. I expect and hope we will see her helm her own BL soon as one of the few women consistently involved with directing BL in Thailand, it’s time. 
Tumblr media
OUTSIDE THAILAND 
Tsai Mi Chieh - Legacy director and queen of Taiwanese BLs her works include: About Youth, H3:MODC, Crossing the Line, H1: Stay Away From Me, and Love is Science (BL side). Her entire body of work is in queer media, including Dear Uranus and Hijra In Between. She captures intimacy well. 
Chiang Ping Chen - directed Taiwanese BLs Plus & Minus (2022), Be Loved in House: I Do (2021), Craving You (2020). His preferred tropes and handling of intimacy is distinctly domestic. In other words, he likes close camerawork, home settings, and casual physical affection. 
Nancy Chen - directed HIStory4: Close to You and the Papa & Daddy series. She’s newer to BL but as problematic as H4 was, it did include some good elements (in the main couple) like negotiation and representation of lube, and Papa & Daddy is explicitly queer. So I would keep an eye on her with regards to queer rep. 
Ray Jiang - We Best Love & My Tooth Your Love. He seems to love long shots and working closely with experienced actors taking input from them, giving them space to play with a script. 
Adiamond Lee - Light; Dark Blue & Moonlight; H1: Obsessed; Jump the Boy - she’s an out queer director to keep and eye on, but I’m not wild about her stuff so far. 
Tumblr media
Hwang Da Seul - AKA Our (Evil) Queen directed Korean BLs To My Star & To My Star 2, Blueming, and Where Your Eyes Linger, she’s also a professor in the Department of Film at the Korea National University of Art. So she’s training the next generation of BL directors. Her style is varied, she doesn’t seem to stick to any particular technique or trend. But if you watch her stuff in order you can actually see her improve over all as a director, picking up and trying different techniques. She is also one of the few out of Korea to give us 2nd seasons. I haven’t been wild about them, but that’s my issue.  
Park Sun Jae - directed Peach of Time, the Color Rush series, and Mr. Heart. Clearly can’t be entirely trusted with happy endings but is very strong on story for Korea. He’s atmospheric in his approach with a dream-like POV that suits magical realism more than it does plain old contemporary BL. 
Tumblr media
It should be noted that there are more women directors in BL (and in general) in both Korea and Taiwan, than there are in Thailand. 
Quick Terms Guide (Camera Work) 
Tumblr media
hand held (the hardest) - pictured: Until We Meet Again 
Tumblr media
steadicam (and/or tripod) - pictured: La Cuisine 
Tumblr media
dolly track - pictured; Secret Crush On You
Tumblr media
jib - pictured: Until We Meet Again
Tumblr media
crane - pictured: Until We Meet Again
Tumblr media
car rig (set up) - pictured: Cutie Pie
Tumblr media
drone (aerial) - pictured: HIStory 4
This post is dated mid year 2022, not responsible for keeping director’s oeuvres updated, that’s what MDL is for.  
I talk about about BL production studios and how they function, or don’t, here. 
Filming & Lighting Styles
Peekaboo Framing (dirty) 
Central Aperture Framing 
staggered couple framing 
Linear cinematography + near perfect framing, in distance shots
Yaoi (manga) filming, staging & framing techniques in BL 
Diffuse point lighting, AKA Fairy Lights in BL
Unidirectional focused lighting 
Backlighting & Silhouettes 
Spotlight on romantic couple moments 
Tumblr media
Look sometimes we just gonna end on my biases fucking around with a boom mic. I did a lot of work for this post, this is my reward. 
And yours for making it all the way through!  
(source) 
348 notes · View notes
7698 · 9 months
Text
Tumblr media
23 notes · View notes
b-brightvc · 2 years
Text
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
war wanarat icons
like or reblog if u save. don't repost pls! <3
191 notes · View notes
dramawatching · 2 years
Text
me during most of love mechanics: mark you deserve so much better!!! this man is doing you so dirty LEAVE him
me when vee looks at mark with heart eyes: just KISS and LOVE each other you COWARDS get married buy a condo together raise a family
165 notes · View notes
heretherebedork · 1 year
Text
And it's time for Future, the softest BL airing and I cannot wait omfg having tiny soft babies who communicate back is so good. Glorious. Darling. My beloveds.
29 notes · View notes
forkaround · 10 months
Text
I like this universe thing BLs are doing where the side characters of one story get their own full series as opposed to multiple seasons focusing on one couple. It's nice.
20 notes · View notes
zhaozi · 1 month
Text
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
134 notes · View notes
ellsieee · 7 months
Text
Thai QL Favorites!
Tagged by: @benkaaoi (I miss our watch parties bb! 😢)
Credits to: @thatgirl4815 for the Thai BL Favorites Tag Game!
Favorite QL: 
My Tee. It's hard to quantify what exactly equals favorite, so I'm going with the Thai ql series I've rewatched the most. My Tee is my comfort series. It has its issues, but it's not boring or as confusing as the people on mdl would have you believe. I enjoyed the low key, humorous, slice of life, coming of age story. The ending admittedly leaves much to be desired, but the Mork/Tee parts of Our Skyy make up for it.
Tumblr media
Favorite Pairing: 
As in acting pair or CP from a series? For established acting pair it's a toss up between EarthMix and KhaotungFirst. Both acting pairs seem to genuinely be good friends which is probably why they have great chemistry. I might have to give the edge to KT and First because I think they're both better actors individually. For a couple from a series it's gotta be Fighter/Tutor. Why R U was one of my early forays into "spicy" Thai bl so Fighter and Tutor have a special place in my heart. Many spicy Thai bls later, I still think their UST/physical chemistry is one of the best. Honorable mention goes to my favorite fluff couple RamKing who was just barely edged out by Tutor's obsession with Fighter's adam's apple.
Tumblr media Tumblr media
Most underrated actor: 
I don't follow Thai ql closely enough to know who is underrated or overrated. I'm just going to say Drake Laedeke because I wish GMMTV would stop doing him dirty and give him some lead roles. He was decent in My Tee and has been great in his supporting roles, so I think it's about time he got another shot at ml.
Favorite Character:
This one is really hard. I'm going to cheat and say it's a tie between Noey from I Will Knock You and King from My Engineer. Does King count as a main character? I adore Noey for his quirkiness, loyalty, and (over) confidence. The way he bossed Thi into falling in love with him. 😅 I love King's curiosity, persistence and patience with Ram. I also find his spacey, plant loving, dog fearing self very cute.
Tumblr media Tumblr media
Favorite Side Character:
My poor long suffering Gap from Triage. 💙 I loved his friendship with Tin and with the rest of the hospital staff and while I am still salty about being robbed of seeing SingGap become bfs, I still love my sweet, exasperated Gap.
Tumblr media
Favorite Scene in a BL:
Tumblr media
This scene healed my soul. I Told Sunset About You was such a heavy series that I needed this scene so much. It felt like all was right with the world and I believed in true love again.
Favorite Line in a BL:
My mind is totally blank and I cannot think of any profound lines. Instead, the only thing that comes to mind is Praram's "Brother that isn't a brother. Just like how daddy doesn't really mean father" from This Is Love Story. 😅
Tumblr media
Most Anticipated BL (and why): 
I waited too long to do this, all of my anticipated bls came out already (Laws of Attraction & I Feel You Linger In the Air). I guess now I'll pick Sunset Vibes because I am ready to watch MosBank play assholes that deserve only each other again. I am anticipating a most wonderful trash watch. 🧡
Healthiest Relationship in BL:
Saen and Aii from You're My Sky. Saen took it slow with Aii and respected his boundaries. They talked about their problems and tried to meet each other halfway. And they were just all kinds of adorable.
Tumblr media
Most Toxic Relationship in BL:
Pok and Tong from Gen Y/Gen Y 2. Threats? ✅ SA? ✅ Manipulation? ✅ I remember thinking damn these bitches are so toxic when I was watching Gen Y, but I was also a bit mesmerized by their toxicity. 😅
Tumblr media
Guilty Pleasure Series: 
Guilty pleasure implies that the series needs to be bad, but what's bad? One's trash is another's treasure. A lot of people rag on My Tee, but I like it, so does that make it a guilty pleasure? It doesn't feel like it. I guess I will go with Big Dragon. I can understand why people think it's awful, but I loved it.
Tumblr media
Most Underrated Series: 
I really want to pick You're My Sky because it was a pretty well done uni/sports bl that got very little attention, but I'm picking He's Coming To Me because it's a very good series that doesn't get enough love. The ghost story part of it was both touching and funny and the investigation/non-bl plot was interesting. Ohm's acting was great too.
Tumblr media Tumblr media
If this wasn't restricted to Thai QL, this would have been a lot harder and a lot of my answers would be different I think. I never know who to tag for these things. If you see this, consider yourself tagged. Edit: I tag YOU @victooooorious
11 notes · View notes
pharawee · 2 years
Photo
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
this is love story
201 notes · View notes
negrowhat · 5 months
Text
BL/QL ASK GAME : THE UGLY, THE BAD AND THE WORST
I saw that @bengiyo did this and I would like to participate!
The categories are :
Worst soundtrack / weirdest song choice in a BL
I think some of the background music choices in Love in the Air/Wedding Plan were odd, mostly during SkyPrapai scenes. I think in one scene Itsy Bitsy Spider was playing and in their wedding scene some random ass old song was playing too. And I can't remember which BL it was where a Christmas Song kept playing in the background during random scenes.
Most cringe-inducing line (cute)
Pleum to Kevin: "You're lovely, trust me on that. If you weren't lovely I wouldn't fall for you from the first time we met." The cringe the cheese and he was always saying cheesy stuff like that to Kevin but I ate it up because he was sincere and so up front. We stan.
Most cringe-inducing line (actually bad)
Rain to Payu: "If you don't stop being angry you're going to scare your wifey." I hate how attached MAME is to the "wifey" title for her characters. That scene was cute but that line is just ugh. And the subbers like to translate it as "Darling" but we all know the truth.
Most stupid decision made by a character
Yu Xi Gu leaving to go buy salt for that stupid soup. (History 3: Make Our Days Count)
Worst plot line
Whatever the fuck the step brothers in History 4 had going on. I could honestly move past them being step brothers if every single thing else about their storyline was not so messed up. (History 4: Close to You)
The most problematic show you’ve watched
1000% TharnType and I completely own that shit. TT was a hot ass toxic mess and I ate up every single bit of it.
A show people love but you find bad
Dark Blue and Moonlight. I just hated every single thing about that series. I hated the stupid cheating plot. I hated both of the main guys. Hated the acting. But when that shit came out I remember that people just LOVED it.
A show people find bad but you will defend
En of Love: Tossara. People found Tossara boring and I just loved their lil series. I love Gun and Bar and sure the acting was a little stiff but they gave me such a warm and cozy vibe. They were honest with each other and had relevant conversations and were mostly unproblematic.
A show that is just objectively bad but you enjoyed it
The Best Twins. Like the plot made no sense and depending on which couple was on screen it felt like 3 series in one and some of the acting was not good but it was a funny lil series that featured a ton of our faves before they were our faves. Also fucking THOR??? He's a gem.
A bad show that you kept watching because you were intrigued/fascinated
History: Obsessed, because what the fuck even was that? I had to see how they made it out to the end.
A bad show that you kept watching because you were horny
Waterboyy...Earth looked really, really hot in that one, but my gawd I would never, ever watch that series again. Between them revoking that one girl's lesbian card, the cheating, the sexual assault, and Waii's daddy getting together with Waii's best friend I couldn't stomach it. Highkey glad EarthNew didn't last.
A bad show that you kept watching because of that one character
My Gear and Your Gown. That character actually being the ship PureFolk, because otherwise that series was a total snooze fest.
A bad show that you would still recommend
My Engineer. The series was quite literally a mess and almost felt like a fever dream with it's wacky characters and random happenings with the plot (also some people didn't like the main couple) but the series is so much fun and we were given a gem of a ship with RamKing/PerthLay. It's just a fun series.
The character that ruined a show the most
Fucking Wai in Bad Buddy. I just couldn't stand him outing his own best friend to the whole school. That was so fucking dirty and Pran was still trying to apologize??????? I almost dropped the series after that because I knew he would never apologize and still everything would be forgiven.
Most awful character that you hated
Tita Susan from Gameboys the Movie/Gameboy S2. Plern Pleng from Together with Me. San from TharnType. Lee So Hee from Light on Me. Fighter's daddy.
Most awful character that you loved
Type from TharnType. Ritsu from The End of the World With You.
A character that wasn’t awful but that you just don’t like
Ben from Never Let Me Go. Dome from Ingredients.
A hero that should have been a villain
Theo from Enchante. Waii from Waterboyy. Yeon Seok from First Love Again.
A morally bad character you’re into
Denis from The Director Who Buys Me Dinner.
A morally bad character you’re not into and you wish people would stop being into
The younger step brother from History 4. Day from Love Syndrome 3.
The show that disappointed you the most.
Check Out the Series and Even Sun.
The Worst Show of Them All Because of Your Own Reasons
Dark Blue and Moonlight
11 notes · View notes