jpny01

I was just thinking - I know there's much more to N. China than Beijing, but that's the only place I've been there - I think the air quality should be a much larger concern than rain, especially in the winter. I was there in winter, got up, showered. got into a sealed car and to the airport, and just from that when I wiped my face with the damp towel the airline provides everyone (again with the damp towels), it was brown.

I've also been to Outer Mongolia (don't ask), but the air there was pristine. Most of the other major cities Westerners would have reason to go to are near the sea, which cleans the air, or Chengdu, which isn't particularly poluted - maybe they use more hydroelectric power.

I think we're unlike to see poor air quality feature in BLs as that's an implied criticism of the government.

I think you're misreading my comment. Obviously Asians aren't vulnerable to water - if they were they would have all died by now as East Asia is one of the wetter areas of the planet, and obviously you can't win a war by throwing cups of water at someone. I think it's obvious that the comment was sarcasm, but I'm sorry if it wasn't clear.

My comment is about an overused and fairly ridiculous trope - whenever a BL character is rained on, he immediately gets sick. And then is usually cured by being dabbed with a damp towel. All BL is Asian, so all BL characters this happens to are Asians. It has nothing to do with actual real-life Asians.

It's not totally alien in the West - mothers are still sure you'll die if you go outside without a jacket. But the point is that you won't, as we know from science that illness is caused by bacteria and viruses, not temperature. Sure, prolonged exposure to cold can weaken you immune system, but being doused with water isn't going to hurt you. BTW, Hirohito (emperor of Japan) had to take a freezing cold shower every day when he was growing up, and he lived to be 88.

Anyway, it's not the belief that you'll get sick that's the problem, it's that really fit teenagers are actually getting sick from getting wet in all these stories. That trope hasn't gotten to the point that it makes me crazy yet - that's reserved for accidental kiss and trip/fall/stare. The problem with those are they're the REASON boys fall in love, rather than just a plot or comedic device. People should fall in love for more substantial reasons than that.

I'm opposed to plot type tropes - you kind of have to have one, right? Or what's the story about? It's my favorite too. My point was that they wouldn't start out as enemies if they weren't going to end up together. If Shin Woo were a support character, he could be an obstacle between Tae & DaOn, but as a main character, it makes no sense except within the context of enemies to lovers, therefore it's 100% likely that Tae and Shin Woo are the endgame.

It's the little tropes that add up to be annoying, like accidental kisses or getting immediately sick from water touching a character (and being immediately healed by being dapped with damp towel).

When I was that age, there were girls who wouldn't give up, no matter how I tried to discourage them - even to the point of telling them I was gay.

Here's a BL moment: At a party, a girl who liked me dragged me off to a room - she was sloppy drunk and all over me, so I told her I was gay, and she said that just made her want me even more, then attacked. I had to physically pry her off me, told her we could talk more when she was in a state to, and left.

I went back out to the party, and made the mistake of talking to her best friend, who was really beautiful, and drunk girl was jealous of her. She marched out of the room up to me and slapped me hard on the face, which of course made everyone think I had just sexually assaulted her or something.

It's like they wanted to have a character like that but wouldn't commit to it. It's a bit of a risk to have a featureless character like this - even his appearance is sort of featureless. You can see the difference between Tae and what the actor is like in real life.

Let me try to describe what I mean - the acting is great, the writing is great, all the various elements that go into it are just fine - but the way it's directed and edited makes it difficult to watch. There are a few extraneous scenes with characters we don't care about, there are scenes that go on too long, and the mood is too relentlessly sad and dark, and it hasn't ventured into that sort of furtive love you experience at that age. I don't mean that the story lacks energy, it's the execution.

This would be less of a problem in a typical BL because they're are fundamentally outrageous and silly, so there's humor, rromance, and fantasy covering up how boring the story really is.

I think this is too ambitious a project for a first-time director, especially one that hasn't experienced any of this himself.

That's interesting - I like Daon because he's nice. Isn't it better to be too giving than to be a jerk? I get why he's annoying people, though. I think mainly because So Hee doesn't deserve anyone being nice to her, and his doing so is keeping her around to make people miserable.

For me Tae is the character I like least. I find all the other ones well-drawn and interesting, but he's too dull and featureless. That may be intentional - they've even sort of plastered over the actors looks to make him as dull-looking as possible.

Well, I needed that like I need a shot in the head.

The acting is really good - the cinematography is also good. The pacing is not good. These two episodes could have been combined into one, I think. And it's a little too relentlessly dark (in mood) - it gets oppressive, with only Nut's brother to lighten things up. Title did a great job showing Nut's desolation, but we didn't get to see enough of what he's losing - we only know Phob has feelings for him from wistful glances. I think there needed to be a few sweet moments. I was in high school even earlier than this in a heavily Christian area, and as totally repressive as it was, and how deeply in denial I and my high school love were, there were still moments that would have made you ship us hard. But here you're almost relieved they'll be apart so th pain can stop.

I have to agree with the side saying this isn't a BL - this is a gay drama. I do appreciate the realism, but maybe it's TOO real - I don't want to think about my parallel experiences at that age, which are way too similar - it's even set at a time that's more recognizable to the world I grew up in (I don't know what the deal was with that phone, though - that was from 1930). Anyway, I was in a dark mood all day, and now I'm in a lie-in-a-fetal-position mood. Sigh.

Maybe Jeff & Gameplay can cheer me up.

True - I'm not sure I've seen a buildup of not-endgame like this.. But so far it's also stuck with all the tropes, and they all point in one direction. So fear not!

I saw him first.

It wasn't really subtle - you were definitely not reading too much into it.

This series is way too full of tropes and cliches - it's starting to make me actively dislike it. I can live with dealing with every ailment with a damp towel, and the universality of Asians immediately falling ill when touched by water, but the horrible female cliche is so unpleaseant that it ruins the viewing experience.

Also, how does someone manage to draw blood trying to open a door? From his nose, maybe, but has anyone in all of human history tugged hard at a door while standing a few inches from it? Come on. It would have made more sense if someone had opened it with too much force from the inside - in fact it could have been Shin Woo, which would add another touch of drama.

I was thinking sarin.

I think we have 100% certainty, not just hope. I'm kind of surprised anyone thinks it would be someone else - are there a lot of people watching this that haven't seen a BL before?

I think it was perfectly clear that Shin Woo holds that position from the first minute of the series. This is a formula - it's always the one that hates him. It never even occurred to me that it would be anyone else.

I don't know if North Koreans are as vulnerable to rain as S. Koreans, but I'm thinking we could have won the war if we just threw cups of water in their faces.

Shin Woo looked sharp in denim with formal shoes. And OMG, he actually handed a napkin to someone with something on their face instead of rubbing his lips! It's a miracle! The revolution has begun!

Nobody is so incompetent at life that they can't open a door without injuring themselves. Tae is seriously mentally deficient. And how did Shin Woo suddenly materialize with a damp towel? Do all Asian men keep damp towels with them at all times?

I find it a bit implausible that those two particular guys would be pursuing a useless lump like Tae. Is he interesting? No. Any hobbies? No. Intelligent? Clearly not. Great hairstyle? You be the judge. Capable of doing anything at all? No.

And So Hee is so loathesome that I can barely stand to watch the series. And I really wish we get Shin Woo with literally ANYONE other than Tae. How about DaWoo? Or WooWoon (or is it ShiShin)?

I'm going to get yelled at for this, but I don't think he's attractive either as a character or physically (he does have perfect skin - I think. It's hard to tell with the amount of makeup caked on him). I tried to read him as autistic, but he's just not. I wish they had gone that way as it would have been something different and interesting. Instead he just has a low EQ, is under-socialized, and very, very dull. I don't think he's even written autisitic enough to even call it Asperger's.

I can like put it in a spoiler, but I don't see what's spoilered.

OK, let's get you with Gun so I can have Boat.