jpny01

Pretty much all BL is stil yaoi - that isn't going to change quickly, and some of the tropes in it probably never. Until this ep it was avoiding the worst of them, but they pulled out their checklist.

There's only ONE episode left. There is no way they can resolve all this without dropping most of the other things going on. Unless this was conceived to be more than one season, I think we're not going to be satisfied with the ending.

Have you been drinking?

Anyway, I actually quite like this series - the two leads are good, and if the color is washed out and yellow on purpose it does lend a feeling of aridity and poverty. If they would tone down the social commentary, (or at least limit it to one or two issues social issues instead of all of them, I'd like it even more. With only 6 episodes, it's irritating when all the farm workers are standing around talking about social issues instead of the plot moving forward, and maybe showing us issues instead of telling us about them.

While trans characters are treated a little better than usual in this series, they're still exploited for comic relief and none of them have substantial roles to play in the story, other than that they're keeping everyone from starving because all the farm workers are trans, which I have to grant is something new.

Lots and lots of roosters. People can be sitting in a classroom at college and there are still roosters. People are at work in an office tower, still roosters. I think I might have heard a rooster crow in a car scene. I presume one was chasing them, or maybe they keep one in the back seat. Just in case a rooster is required. Which is apparently for almost everything.

Also, there are gay characters. That's why a lot of fans of Thai BLs don't like Filipino BLs - BL is romance between straight guys. Also, Filipino BL characters occassionally touch and behave as if they're attracted to each other. Thai BL characters stand around staring into each other's eyes for awkwardly long periods, and the bottom accuses the top (and there is always a strict division between bottom and top) of being a pervert if he wants sex, even if they're in a relationship. I'm exaggerating, but it's largely true.

So far, though - this is following a semi-Thai pattern (only semi because they had sex offscreen) with tons and tons (and more tons) of social issues thrown in.

In both, anyone who is rich is corrupt and evil, with the exception of parents of main characters, when it's only 50/50. But if they're not evil, they're unduly controlling.

I ran it a few times and hit like, but I don't know what else I can do. He needs to appeal - it's possible.

I went over there to see what was going on because you brought it up here, and I couldn't believe it. Holy cow, the strongest disagreements here are so mild and intellectual compared to whatever that place is supposed to be - nobody knows what a sentence is, or an actual reasoned argument - they're Lord of the Flies and loyal to whatever their boy of the month is. Their version of argument is to hurl strange insults at people without really addressing their points. I'm apparently a '"coward" for not jumping into the pit of psychopaths - I have to many better things to do, like discussing BLs with you and everyone here!

I certainly agree with that!

I didn't care for it. It started well, and then almost all the run time was chewed up by yet another pathetic effeminate gay character staring lasciviously at hot boys as the "comic" relief. It's not funny. I'll give it one episode to flesh him out as a character, or I'm out. BL is starting to get boring with the same tropes over, and over, and over, and over... the Filipines has come out with some of the best -written BLs ever, and yet we have this regressive thing. At least Star finally figured out how to do sound.

I'll never be able to look at Darryl in another role without thinking he's going to kill everyone. But the whole family has to have sex with him first.

It depends on the motivation. Usually it's because being gay is unacceptable - that's why the bottom is so often forced - it's less morally questionable to sexually assault someone than to pursue and enjoy bottoming. ("you're only gay if you bottom" being a common attitude in heavily patriarchal cultures). The same applies to a lot of straight drama for female characters.

If you're a man and like a man, you're not necessarily gay, but you're not straight, either. Saying "I'm not gay" is homophobic. "I still also like women" is fine, or "I don't know" or "it doesn't matter". Even "All I know is that I'm in love with Muren."

In this particular series, it appears to be largely formulaic, altough note that the bottom was coerced here too, and again, only the more femine and physically weak person can be the bottom. It would be thrilling if Muren is the "1", but I think we all knew from the first 3 seconds of Ep 1 that was never going to happen.

This trope also perpetuates the extremely dangerous idea that m/m relations is a choice, or that gay men can "turn" straight men if they just try hard enough. Acceptance of gays is much lower in Asia than the West, and the idea that it's a choice is much, much higher. Except, notably, in the Philippines, which has a very high tolerance level - and is most likely to produce BLs with gay characters (although Japan is close behind in at least tolerance).

The best Filipino BLs are hard to beat - in my mind only ITSAY and maybe 1,000 Stars are a match for them, and there are a lot of interesting passion projects with extremely low budgets that I enjoy (especially when Royce Cabrera is in them). There are also a lot of truly awful series, and I hope the success of shows like Gameboys & Gaya Sa Pelikula inspire more on the higher end.

It's not that different for TOATS. I didn't like eps 8 & 9 because it strayed from the story unnecessarily and threw in a load of silly and implausible crises and miscommunication. Other than that I thought the series was perfect. So it's "merely" a 9 instead of a 10 for me.

He did say it - the line was "the reason I've been avoiding you is I can't stop thinking about you that night - I can't forget how you were trapped in passion (i.e. overdosed on rape drugs where he chose to watch him masturbate all night instead of calling emergency services). That IS giving in to your own desires. Mu Ren could have died, and incidentally, watching someone masturbate is a sex act, and Mu Ren was far more incapacitated than Xing Si was.

Mu Ren also moved away from Li Cheng several times and was repulsed by being licked. I'm not particularly bothered by all this, but it's intensely hypocritical for anyone to complain about Yong Jie and not Li Cheng. Mu Ren has said "no" many, many times - Xing Si has never said "no."

Yes, gay men are always struggling to come out. That is not what's happening here. This is one of the stock and homphobic yaoi tropes that you hate (except when you don't.) Neither of these guys is going to end up gay - they are straight guys who fall in love with reach other and have never had and never will have an attration to any other man. That is motivated by homophobia.

And on the subject of tropes, despite Mu Ren being stronger and more together, he is automatically being made into the bottom because he's whispy and weaker physically. Another surrender to formula and stereotypes.

I totally agree on both counts.

What I mean is if the BL audience will watch censored shows just as avidly as actual BL, then what is the motivation to change anything? There is none. The only lever that works is financial. Gay rights is where it is in the USA due to money. Corporations can't afford to lose lgbtq+ employees and customers, and so they refuse to do business in places that discriminate, which forces those places to change. It's taking the long view - short-term pain leads to long-term gain.

It's really more like I'm getting tired of the same four cliches over and over and over. Also, in the case of "I'm not gay, I just like__________ they could just not say anything at all. Let's not get to the point where we're claiming BL belongs to women - it doesn't. If it can avoid irritating a large portion of it viewership (including a lot of women) by just saying nothing, why not do that? In this case, it was "I'm not like THAT" which implies there's something wrong with being gay. If the trope weren't inherently homophobic, it would be fine, but it is.

Because it's cute? It probably has nothing to do with the director - most likely the marketing dept.

If they panned down and it turns out they're not wearing anything below the waist I would agree, but if they were at the beach in swimming suits frolicking, would anyone care? Boys often don't have shirts on.

May I ask if you come from a culture where this is perhaps more uncommon than it is elsewhere? I'm trying to understand the objection, but I can't see it.

I'm not too big to admit you were right and I was wrong.

Things can change fast in China. If BL continues to be a thing and makes money, it will suddenly be allowed. That's why I don't believe in watching bromances that were written as BLs - if you patronize them, they'll make money, and nobody will see the need for BLs.

I thought Xing Si said his 30th birthday is coming up, but "late 20s" is probably enough to sum up where they are.