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syrena-del-mar · 7 months

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Threads of Boston's Intimacy: Crochet, Cotton, and Connections

So I've been tracking and locating most of the outfits that each character has been wearing since episode 1, mostly because I like the choices that wardrobing department made (and wanted to know the brand of the pieces) and also because some of the shirts worn were so incredibly on the nose (looking at you Drake).

I've seen so many talk about Mew's own fashion transformation and how much it says about his style transforming from his own to Ray's. But Boston has a bit of his own transformation in his style since he lost Nick and the rest of his friends.

This week, we finally see Boston back in his crochet shirt when he pays a visit to Nick's electronic store. And it got me thinking as to why Boston style went through such a switch up at the exact time that he lost his friends, Nick, and he was no longer actively "hunting" around for someone else to sleep with.

Crochet Tops Pre-Audio Leakage

Fashion and the wardrobe that characters wear typically tell a story. We've seen that the Only Friends team has deliberately chosen specific tops to accompany the actual visual and verbal story-telling that occurs. Drake's infamous nude-painting collage button up, which I'm still unable to locate, immediately comes to mind. Boston's fashion is not an exception to this, and I'm leaning on to the side that not only the visual prints on the clothes he wears is important but also the textile of the garments are communicating his emotional landscape. For the first arc, while Boston did wear some ripped cotton shirts, they were sparse and far between as he mostly wore some variation of a crocheted or knit top. (Please keep in mind, that going forward, when I refer to crochet tops I also include his knit shirts but opted to not to state it in favor of being succinct and avoid repetitiveness.)

Crochet tops are known for their intricate and openwork patterns, because of those open patchworks, most crochet tops are, at some degree, see-through. I can't help but think that it symbolizes Boston's willingness to be transparent, he's very much up-front with what he wants physically and takes on an attitude of 'what you see is what you get.'

The very nature of crochet is delicate, it's one of the few methods that is unable to be recreated by machinery due to the intricacy and complexity, which the same could be said about the complexities it takes to manage the multiple sexual encounters that Boston has. There's an ease and comfort that Boston finds in his one-night stand, because he's used to it, he's able to navigate the complications, whether that's people catching feelings. Even with all his non-committal connections, he's transparent and authentic to himself, he navigates the intricate landscape of all his entanglements how he saw fit.

The crochet tops encapsulate Boston's ability to weave the threads of his emotional connections with transparency and authenticity, even if they are fleeting moments since he has no expectation of remaining in Thailand. The crochet tops he wore were a poignant symbol of his approach to his relationships.

Solid Cotton Tops Post-Audio Leakage

The last time we saw Boston in his colorful crochet tops, prior to episode 10, was during his confrontation with Mew at the pool in episode 7. Now Boston's full transition to mainly wearing solid cotton tops following cutting Nick out of his life and concurrently being cut out of Mew's, Cheum's, and Ray's life is another substantive symbol that his clothing is an emotional response to his emotional state. Solid cotton tops are known for their practicality and sturdiness, which a stark contrast to the intricate and delicate features of any crocheted garment.

Boston's choice of solid cotton tops, we witness a visual and symbolic withdrawal into a more guarded emotional state. Boston is very much detracts himself from the lives of his friends as they had wished, only appearing when he has to. His tops and leather jacket, act as an armor, protecting Boston from the sudden emotional turmoil that he was subject to with the use of his sex tape and audio as revenge by his friends. It's as if Boston uses these shirts to construct a barrier between himself and the outcomes of his actions, a means to cope with the distress and instability that had suddenly appeared in his life. Intimacy wise, Nick had been the only consistent person he had and he had trusted him. Meanwhile Mew used his sex-tape as a threat to out him to his father, Boston took hit after hit. The solidity of the cotton fabric is a reflection of his resilience in dealing with those emotional challenges, he creates an emotional boundaries explicitly when it came to Nick.

The solid cotton shirts, in this context, show us Boston's need for a protective layer against the turbulent emotional waters that the revenge inevitably brings, it's his only sense of stability in an arguably tumultuous period. He had no plans on creating connections in Thailand because he knew his time was fleeting, his sexual prowess was more self-sabotage, even IF it brought him momentary bliss and happiness. But he had made those connections, with Mew, Cheum, Ray, and even Nick. It's why he withdrew, it's why he finds himself realizing that he has destroyed every good thing in his life.

Return to Crochet Tops and His Return to Nick

Boston is going through a journey of self-realization and self-actualization. He's more than his body and his body count, he wants more than that. I swear, his decision to return to his crochet tops when he sought out Nick was purposeful. The crochet-top, characterized by intricate and openwork patterns, is seemingly back to take center stage in his wardrobe, now signifying a complex shift in his emotional landscape.

There are hundreds of phone repair shops that he could have gone to. There are millions of other pictures that he could have used for his lock screen. He still chose Nick. He's still transparent. Boston has always been self-assured in who he wants and who he is, and even though to some degree he reaped what he sowed, he was also a victim. He was hurt by Nick, but he still wants the one man that sees him more than good lay. Nick saw him for who he was and still loved him for it, he wouldn't necessarily change him for it. Nick saw him for his talent, for his interest in photography, as an actual three-dimensional person in all his hypocrisy and sharp words. Nick verbally acknowledging this and choosing to let him go unknowingly moved Boston.

It was a significant step in Boston's journey of personal growth and self-awareness. He's realizing that he self-sabotages and purposefully hurts the people he cares about. He chooses to reintegrate himself into Nick's life, with all the complexity and vulnerability that comes out of their past relationship. He might not have said it directly, but the moment he handed his phone to Nick with the lock screen showing his favorite picture of Nick, he was being crystal clear.

When Nick seeks him out on the rooftop, Boston is back in his cotton shirt, because that's when he fully realizes that he created his own consequences. He finally realizes how much it hurts to lose his friend group, even though he though he had kept people at arm's length since he was always going to end up in New York. When Nick finds him, he's completely in thought on the verge of realization that he's self-destructive (not to dissimilar to Ray). So he has the protection back on, because dissecting yourself and your problems are painful and exhausting. He realizes that his actions resulted in his friends of three years either thinking he's low enough to blackmail and SA someone or smug that he's being accused of such. That's his breaking point and he needed that protection. It'll be interesting if we see more of his crochet tops from now on.

Final Thoughts

Since episode 1, Boston has always fascinated me. Now this isn't a 'in defense of' or 'look at my poor meow-meow' post either, but we as viewers have an omniscient-type of view of everything that has been happening and until today's episode, I wasn't really sure what pushed Boston to be so volatile. For the first time, we saw Boston be truly and completely vulnerable with Nick. He's finally the one that looked for Nick, who reached out to him, and he did it while being in his crochet top, just like when they first hooked up.

I'm not fully part of the camp that thinks that Boston likes sleeping around, and this isn't because of some personal moral scorn for "sexual promiscuity" and preference for "sexual purity", but more because it seemed like Boston was doing it more for the company while avoiding any really human connections that would make him miss Thailand if he were sent to New York. It became comfortable, it became easy, so while I do think he got momentary gratification, I don't think it truly made him happy. We have two episodes left and I'm truly excited to see where Boston's story and wardrobe leads us next.

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dribs-and-drabbles · 7 months

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ONLY FRIENDS IS SO GOOOOOOOOD

#only friends #only friends the series #ofts #ofts ep 10 #this is my academic level meta essay on the ep #based on my watching experience of the end of part 4 #ALL the actors are bloody brilliant but FUCK khaotung is a mile above the rest #oscar for khaotung when?#oh I think I've written that in a tag before for his performance in the eclipse...#lemmie go find it #in the meantime...anyone want to scream along with me?#khaotung thanawat #the man that you are

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autisticbokutoenthusiast · 4 months

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somethign about how ray bursts into sands apartment and sand, in his usual slightly annoyed but mostly calm manner just asks "why are you so frustrated? is it a withdrawal symptom?" makes me want to chew cement. like he's not even really phased by getting shoved in his own house by the guy who last he saw was sweet and loving and just enters his "ok how can we fix this' mode. like hes always a lil sarcastic but just something about in this moment instead of immidiately getting angry in return, him basically saying "why are you upset, whats wrong?" is just sooo. and like im not good at faces so throughout the fight to me it just looks like sand doesn't have any emotions except the fact hes crying a little but i think thats on purpose. i think hes purposely trying to remain neutral. he's always moving closer to ray, who keeps shoving him back, without making any actual move to touch him, just little steps to keep a safe distance without being too far away. like i haven't watched the apartment fight in over a month and i know how it goes but i still thought there were moments where sand would reach out to hold ray (maybe this is because im in an examing ep 4 ray headspace and that was a ray that was very loud about how much he needed to be held) and he obviously he didn't but to me it looked like he was going to... idk just something about the understanding and patience sand has for ray and ray loving him for it but also self sabotoging about it has me in my feels

#sandray #only friends the series #ofts ep 10

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itsmelb · 7 months

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This ep still has me in its chokehold.

BistonNick "making love" urg that was so 🥲🥲

Ray being emo af. Also Khao wow.

And this little happy moment. I just am devastated. Urg give me some rest for real 😭

(Give me more wet Force haha)

#personal ofts rambles #ofts #only friends the series #forcebook #topmew #boeing #bostonnick #sandray #ofts ep 10

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jojotichakorn · 7 months

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dan: is emotionally mature about the kiss, instantly tries to establish boundaries and genuinely discuss what it means so there would be no misunderstandings, mixed signals, or guessing games

nick: *pikachu face* people talk like this for real???

#only friends the series #ofts #archer watches ofts #ofts: ep 10

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khaopybara · 6 months

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KHAOTUNG THANAWAT as PRETTY PRINCESS RAY

#only friends #ofts #ray pakorn #khaotung thanawat #i followed instructions and made images that move i'm so proud of myself #i'm sure someone might have gifed this before but i didn't have it my blog and i just needed it #pretty ray going down the stairs of his mansion has been living free in my brain since ep 10 #and it apparently works i'm glad #:: mygifs!#th: only friends

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odd-one-advocate · 7 months

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only friends text posts part 6 (ep 9 edition)

check out: [part 5] | [part 7]

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tswizzlesfan · 7 months

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in one single episode boeing came, raised hell, kissed his ex's ex, served cunt, showed off his unholy body, bought a plant, and honestly he slayed. 10/10. NO NOTES!!

time to go now tho buddy, leave my man sand alone hes got enough going on

#only friends the series #ofts #only friends #only friends ep 10 #only friends boeing #mond tanutchai

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icouldhyperfixatehim · 7 months

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#only friends #ofts #liomsa #liomsa: only friends #liomsa: memery #ep 10 lads i'm starting to get worried about her #....it's getting cold out...

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blorbingqls · 7 months

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the fact that you, as a lesbian who understands sexualities well, invalidated bisexuality and pansexuality? i will kill you pretty badly

#only friends the series #ofts #jace reacts and reblogs #only friends ep 10

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rabbiitte · 7 months

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Those who say Mew is "overreacting" to the breakup with a man he has known for only three months are the embodiment of the "break-ups happen every day, you don't have to lose it" line from right where you left me by Taylor Swift.

People react differently to heartbreak, there's no universally correct way to react to a breakup or cheating (we can discuss later whether it was or not cheating).

Also, perhaps you should keep in mind that Top is Mew's first serious relationship and, probably, Mew's first love. Mew's reaction is valid for him, considering his first love is involved. The emotional impact of such an experience can be profound. Expecting the same reaction from every person in these situations oversimplifies the complexity of emotions.

Just to be clear, I don't justify Mew's quest for revenge when he already told Top he forgives him, but his feelings are valid.

Narratively, Mew is stuck while everyone around him develops, but I feel like it makes sense for him (because let's remember how obsessed Mew was with maintaining control so he wouldn't get hurt. Mew was not only hurt, he lost the ability to be in control, self-control, the ability to judge others, confidence in himself and others, among other things). After learning about Top and Boston, he was busy trying “not to feel". Actually, EP10 is the first episode after the breakup in which Mew is able to think and reflect on his feelings in a deep way. So, at least to me, it makes sense. Though all seems lost now, once Mew can get over what happened, it will involve a lot of development and advancement for him.

#only friends the series #only friends series #only friends series ep 10 #only friends #ofts #mew #book #top #force #topmew #forcebook #gmmtv #thai bl #right where you left me #taylor swift #evermore

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monsamborabutterfly · 7 months

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Okay as every week here are my thoughts on this week's of EP and oh boy do I have thoughts lol

1) atom you dirty little shit I hope karma fucking gets you good. Zero empathy for him. I get it realizing you are queer can be tough & so can be sleeping with someone for the first time but falsely accusing Boston like that is horrible.

Title I think you're a great actor but stop playing such fucking annoying people please and thank you🙏🙏

2) the fact that all his so called friends just went with it without even thinking about it shows me that they all fucking suck. I hope atom will tell the truth and they'll apologize to Boston for once.

3) sorry to all my topmew babes out there but my god do mew and boing have chemistry. I want book and mond in a show together so bad now.

ALSO TOPMEWBOING angry sex give it to me

4) boing is a shady little bitch but God I'm living for it!!

5) low-key hope we see sand and boing kiss!! I love my sandray but the "not me ghost shipping part" of me would be fucking delighted to see it ngl.

6) oh daddy dan...hun I love you but it's time for you to go babes

7) sandray angst hurt so bad but I believe in them. They will make it🤡🤞

8) NOW TO MY FAVOURITE PART OF THIS EPISODE:

Oh BostonNick. This is everything I wanted and so much more than I hoped for. And it was perfect in my opinion. From Nicks pic on Boston's phone to them talking to them making love. I like that it wasn't dragged out. I like that it was so very BostonNick. I cried. Multiple times lol I hope they are allowed to be together now and won't have to go through too much shit anymore. I can't wait for next week's BostonNick in love era

9) I'm glad they're showing ray going to rehab. I don't think we've ever seen something like this in any bl before. I love it!!

10) last but not least I wanna talk about neo and marks acting in the talking scene. I've already seen some shitty takes. And yeah maybe I'm biased but I think they're talented as fuck and some people seem to forget who Nick and Boston are. Mark didn't overact. Nick is just a highly emotional person. He feels things so deeply and he's so in love with Boston it makes fucking sense for him to full on sob cause everything breaks out of him. And Boston cried too but he's very emotionally repressed. He's terrified to show emotions. He's not the type to full on cry in public. I mean we got more emotions from him than I thought we'd get. It was very fitting and I'm sure it's exactly how Jojo and everyone else wanted the scene to be.

Okay done ranting now! Great episode as always!

#only friends the series #topmew #bostonnick #sandray #ofts #only friends ep 10 #thai bl #ofts boston #ofts nick #ofts top #ofts mew #ofts sand #ofts ray

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dribs-and-drabbles · 7 months

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Observations on ep 10:

(I'm sure that music was used in BBS...)

Redemption!

I've never really understood that arm/handholding thing that bl characters do...I've never questioned it before but the lingering camera shots on Top and Mew here has made me want to now...I think it bothers me. I find it odd from a body language perspective. Is it a cultural thing? I've never done it to someone or had it done to me - any thoughts from anyone else?

Oh and I find hugs where one person leaves their arms hanging are always awkward. If someone didn't put their arms around me I would break that hug so fast. I don't know how these characters stay hugging someone who doesn't hug them back. *shudders*

MOND!!

I've never heard those bass notes before the opening credits music kicks in! I'm sure it's just been silent before... *runs away to check* Oh, they've always been there but it's definitely louder on ep 10 than ep 1 - I've obviously had my volume too low to hear it before now.

"To solve the problem you must first admit there is one". And "I don't want to sing at your funeral". Sand slapping some truths on the table.

Why do I get the feeling that Boeing is a shit-stirrer?!

Now that it's come to mind, I can't stop thinking about Papang and Poppy together. Sorry Mark (and Pepper) but I'm rooting for a different ship now.

*incoherent screaming* I just love Khaotung as an actor!!

Oh Atom 😂 smh

I feel sorry for Boston tbh.

I somehow knew Mew was going to push Top in the pool. It's what I would have done. 😂 (But also, more bbs music).

Ooops, accidentally liking Boeing's photo. We've all been there Mew, we've all been there 😂

Yeah, Boeing wasn't 'stolen' from Sand by Top. He's a minx who likes to flirt and shit-stir and get around.

(Have I seen that stripy vest in MSP?)

Is that jealous Boston activated?! Me thinks they're not talking about phones and phone cases... OMG I love these two.

Boeing: 'be with someone who won't cheat on you'. Uh Mew...that is not Boeing. I wouldn't trust him as far as I could throw him.

ANOTHER KISSING PAIR @ranchthoughts!! (I know you know but I need to shout at you anyway)

THAT'S THE DON'T SAY NO HOUSE @colourme-feral!! The 'holy guacamole' house!

Oh nooooooooo Ray's dad paid Sand to encourage Ray to go to rehab. Now Ray knows and it's going to deter him from going. Noooooooooo.

Oh wow. Oh....... Wow. Just wow. Khaotung and First. I just... WOW. But also, it's Ray's turn to slap some truths in Sand's face.

Oooo I don't trust Mew. I think Boeing got to him.

I do like Mond playing evil though.

Oh, ohhhhhhhhhh Boeing is vindictive. I want to feel sorry for Top but...I need more of their backstory first...and Top's motivations for being with Mew...so, the jury's out for now.

Neo does 'kicked puppy' really well.

Oh Mark is incredible. He does that switch from cocky to vulnerable so well.

Just, *takes a deep breath*, THIS SHOW IS SO FRICKING GOOOOOOOOD *incoherent screaming*

See my other post for an serious in-depth meta essay on this ep.

#only friends #only friends the series #ofts #ofts ep 10 #this was a STELLAR ep #S T E L L A R #all the actors were amazing #but khaotung is just...fuuuuuucking incredible #than you jojo #thank you so much for crafting this series for us to see what these actors can do #now do the same for some badass women #please and thank you

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