jpny01

So... Force has been at the gym a lot, I can see.

That's a tad dark, but with that cast I'm there. I'm not crazy about the amnesia plot, but other than that it looks interesting, at least.

Well, I agree that First is one of the best at GMMTV, but I don't think he's better than all the rest of the cast. I shouldn't have said that about you liking screaming and crying - you had referred to scenes that had screaming and crying so I made a leap that doesn't really follow.

I'm a little amazed that you're not getting anything from Earth, Fourth & Gemini for subtlety, but I guess we all see different things.

I 100% agree. I don't like the ship thing. Usually when there's magic between a couple it's due to a combination of specific circumstances and a degree of chance.

If you've ever seen The Godfather, Vito's death scene was improvised, and ended up incredibly powerful and loaded with symbolism, with Vito acting like a monster and his grandson pretend-shooting him. Or on a more prosaic level, The Omen was what it was for the final shot, which resulted from the director telling the actor not to smile under any circumstances.

Earth and Mix were cast specifically for 1,000 Stars - Earth was perfect for the character Phupha and Mix is great at being upper-class, so he was a good fit for his role too, and the scenery was its own character. When you stick them in something else just to have them together, you're not going to get the same effect. Not only that, but when you pair people together for 20 years, they get too comfortable with each other and lose that electricity. While I like both of them in this, it doesn't have the same chemistry and romantic tension of 1,000 Stars, and fortunately that's not needed as this is about trauma and fear of being hurt or trying to escape it.

Fourth and Gemini are a bit of an exception, because they're equally compelling in both this and MSP - but if they continue to be paired, they'll deflate.

I want to see both of them acting against other people. It's not like Max & Tul who were on the verge of aging out of BL - these two are 18. Do we want nothing but them with each other for 12 years?

Regarding the comparison to MSP, I'm not sure either. I think it's lost a little steam from the stellar first few episodes, largely because their getting together has been put off so long that it's getting implausible and repetitive, so I'll have to wait till the end to judge. This series could also peter out - I think Bad Buddy had a strong start then devolved into 6 episodes of dull fan-service, although I know that's not a majority opinion, and I thought 1,000 Stars took a dive near the end when everyone behaved totally out of character to generate fairly ridiculous drama. Also not a majority opinion.

That scene with Fourth was incredible. Not only how Jim asserted his authority but how Li Ming submitted to it, realizing he'd gone too far. It wasn't intimidation - the hurt on Jim's face was more palpable than his anger, and Fourth's reaction was pitch-perfect, guilt rather than fear, that showed his love and respect despite his frustration. I don't know how two people could pack more into a short scene.

I didn't say you were - I just said there is a narrative. You stated your opinion in detail which is different.

I thought Khaotung was almost unwatchably cringey in The Eclipse, totally out of his comfort zone and it showing badly. I don't find Earth particularly attractive, BTW - Fourth is way more my type. But that doesn't affect how good an actor he is. If only First made an impact, then I'm not sure you're fully appreciating this series, because although he is good, so is everyone else in this. I think First is one of the better actors in BL, but we haven't seen it yet except in the bank scene, where he was fantastic.

I get it, you like huge emotions and screaming and crying. There's nothing wrong with that. But many people prefer subtlety and finese.

But I do agree with you about Mix - I'm not seeing what everyone else is. I don't think he's bad, but I don't think he's in the same league as most of the other actors in this.

The point was Venus was fully formed and didn't have to develop. Likewise, a large proportion of the BL audience expects moral perfection from the first minute of the drama.

You disagreed with my point, and my phrasing was fairly clearly intended to be humorous, incidentally, and then you raved about how good Earth's acting was - that's my point about this "Earth is stiff" narrative. Everyone says that but nobody really thinks that.

Jim's reaction to the surprise party was totally realistic. being surprised doesn't mean you shriek and leap five feet into the air, it means something happens that you don't expect, and Jim was annoyed. I would - and have - reacted exactly like that. I think somehow an expectation of histrionics over everything has developed, so when someone behaves like an actual man, everyone likes it, but then feels compelled to label it "stiff". Would you rather Jim cry constantly like Fluke Natouch in all his roles? I wouldn't. Crying isn't great acting, it's a specific skill, and even then not everyone has it and many actors are given fake tears between cuts - something Earth clearly didn't need - producing one small tear in an incredibly real and powerful bit of acting.

But you're in your mid-30s, and that makes a huge difference in your outlook. If you're 18 the situation is likely to be that you go to college because you're expected to or made to by your parents and probably don't fully know what you want to do in life. If you're in your mid-30s, you're working on a personal goal set entirely by yourself, directed entirely by yourself.

The issue isn't that I resent or can't afford to pay for dinner or plane tickets, it's that I want a partner who can make equal decisions. Someone 35 has likely traveled, has a good amount of social experience, life experience, has worked and understands and can create realistic long-term goals etc. that allows them to be an equal participant with a partner - even one considerably older - than is possible for someone who is still a student.

The issue with age isn't the physical aspect, although for a huge number of people it is - just look at the discussion forum here at MDL if there's an age difference between a pair, or even the actors playing them - the issue is in perspective, You cannot tell me that someone who's 21 has perspective and experience equal to someone who is 40. It's just not possible.

Thus age matters. I don't see how it's arguable. In the case of Wen and Jim it's not the issue, if that's all you're sainy, then I agree with you - but Wen is in his late 20s and has a career, not a 21 and a student. If he were 21 and still in college, do you think there would even be a discussion to be had? It would be a hard no on Jim's part and Wen probably wouldn't be interested anyway. He'd be barely past where Li Ming is let alone be able to guide him and facilitate a reconcilliation with Jim. Nor would Li Ming look at him as an adult figure to respect and listen to.

I'm not in my 30s anymore - but an absolute cutoff in age for me would be 30, possibly late 20s for a particulary mature person, and I'd prefer someone +/- 10 years to my age, and there's no way I'd look at a college student (well, I'd LOOK at a college student - I wouldn't marry one.) And I don't think I'm unusual in that regard in the slightest.

In Jim's case, although because the actor is 28 it comes off as mildly ridiculous, he's getting to the age where you're really noticing, likely for the first time, that you're getting older - you take a lot longer to heal from injuries, jetlag is worse, digestive issues appear, your wrinkling and greying, not getting a good night's sleep has a larger impact on your performance - it doesn't mean you're no longer attractive, but it is almost like going through puberty, and to many people you are less attractive. It's an adjustment that can maginify the impact of a relationship ending. When you're in your 20s, you still feel your entire life is in front of you, and when you realize that it isn't - like really emotionally realize it, it changes the way you look at everything - especially time. Why do years go by faster as you get older? Because for a 4-year old, a year is 25% of your life. for a 50 year old it's 2%. Your perspective is entirely different.

Unless you're in an urban area where it's really difficult to find housing - living with an ex is "very New York". That's why a lot of couples maintain separate apartments there - if you break up, you're f@#$ed. Either live together or one of you is homeless. Sure, I know, in BL you can't be hedging your bets for a breakup because every boy had One True Love Forever and Ever, Amen.

I'm not dissing Fourth - I think he's incredible. And looks really good after showering, but that's just bonus. But a big bonus.

Bright & Win? Why? They did one BL - why are they still a thing? It should be Fourth & Gemini NOW. Grrr.

Maybe you have that backwards and Earth is who we have to thank for Fourth being so good in that scene. I think people sometimes miss how intense Earth is with subtle expressions. You always know exactly what his character is feeling - I can't say the same about Mix, although I think that's partially because his character is intentionally more opaque.

Oh, I plan to watch everything Jack has been in and rewatch things I've already seen - I don't really remember him in The Stranded because I was so enthralled with poor Beam, plus the Jack & Krit story. I haven't seen Home yet, but it's now next on my list. March is pretty high on the hot-o-meter too.

I like that expression and plan to use it.

I dated a guy who still lived in a one-bedroom with his ex - it didn't work, and can't work. First, you'd have to be saint not to sabotage your ex's love life rather than watch him be lovely with another person, and second, it's weird, and even though I'm not a jealous person, COME ON.

It's not at all easy to understand. We take so much for granted unless it's changed or taken away. I taught English in Poland after college, and when I got back everyone kept commenting on my accent, which I didn't perceive at all - but I realized it was because I'd been speaking English to non-natives for so long and pronouncing everything more precisely than normal (I'm Californian, and the accent there tends to slur words together) so they could understand me and it just became the natural way I spoke. (I'm back to normal now).

If you still think Earth is stiff after this episode, it probably means that you're a bad person.

I don't get where this "Earth is stiff" narrative came from, but it needs to stop. Subtle is not the same thing as stiff. In fact, subtle is harder to do than histrionic, which is easy (and fun).

Anyway, I'll call it. This is the best BL ever. Yes, there's still enough time to totally ruin it, and Aof's series are generally much better in the first half than the second, but the overall cast of this is stronger than 1,000 Stars and Bad Buddy, neither of which had Fourth & Gemini.

I really didn't like Khoutung in The Eclipse - that strutting in-your-face character just didn't work for me, but he's absolutely perfect in this role - so happy to see him playing to his strength as a sweet and outgoing guy. That smile is a killer.

That confrontation between Li ming and Jim was up there with the First & Gawin sketch scene in Not Me. Earth and Fourth were spectacular.

And I'm not sure if I've ever seen a better couple than Fourth & Gemini. I'm usually bored by chaste high school romances, but not when they're done so pitch-perfectly as this - they evoke youthful first love with such realism that it actually hurts.

Also, the guy with the bleached hair is so hot I want to fly to Thailand with a bottle of chloroform.

They're in another series starting this year. It's a GL with them as a side couple, but still.

35 years is the normal life span of a BL mother. Gaipa's mother is some sort of freak of nature since she's got to be in her 50s. I'm sure she'll keel over before this series is over. It will start with a cough or pausing while walking and touching her hand to her temple.

In NLMG, the dancers at the club were all elderly - it was just the thugs picking fights at the ballroom dance at the senior center that were in their 30s. You can rarely attend a ballroom dance at a senior center without at least on gang trying to kick someone to death. Heck, they were lucky there was only one attempted homicide.

Yes, but like it or not, age matters and has a large impact on how people perceive us, and also, an older person may not be interested in getting involved with someone younger.

When I was in my later 30s, there was this boy who was 21 who really liked me, and I just couldn't do it. I wanted a relationship, and dating a college kid who lives in a railroad apartment (meaning I have to go through someone else's bedroom to get to his) and has no money so we can't travel or even dine out unless I cover everything which makes me a parent, not a partner.

So I told him it wouldn't work because of the age difference, and he said "But you're not too old for me."

He's lucky I didn't slap him (it's like when someone says "you look great" then adds the dreaded FOR YOUR AGE.) I responded "I didn't say I was to old for YOU, I'm saying YOU are too young for ME." It's not entirely about the age so much as the place you are in life at different ages, A 40 year old likely knows who he is and what he wants, a 21-year old probably still has a lot of self-discovery ahead of him.

I don't think he can honestly say he's truly disengaged from his relationship with Alan, though. They still live together - in the same bed - and share a common life. He hasn't made a full break, and Jim, wouldn't have slept with him or drawn closer to him if he'd known about Alan, and Wen knows that, which is why he didn't tell him.