jpny01

Got it - thanks. I misunderstood you before but I've got it now. I'm not triggered by anything - well, I don't care much for poop jokes, especially if I'm eating while watching, but that's about it!

I'm seeing a lot of people say Ep 4 was good. Should I just skip to there? I'm on Ep II part 1 and I can't do it. It don't seem like I could possibly be missing anything if I skip ahead since there's no plot. Any recommendations? Skip to 4?

I had missed that angle about the snacks - I'm glad I asked, that makes a lot of sense. I hope the relationship of the main couple begins to move - the series is half over and nothing has really happened. It looks like next ep will get things going.

That would be so great - I would love that! I don't want it to be Aey! And that would be different and interesting - and maybe even valuable commentary about BL fandom. I commented that I don't feel a lot of chemistry between Gene and Sib, and can you guess what the reaction was? It ranged from someone actually accusing me of being the actor playing Aey to "then don't watch!"

Maybe in some cultures it's just more taboo than in others - IDK. I guess it's good that people are sensitive to abusive situations, but I would like everyone to look at each situation individually to see if anyone is being harmed rather than issuing blanket condemnations - because isn't that much different than homophobia? Someone elsewhere mentioned that incest is often parents abusing children - yes, and that's child abuse, not adult step-brothers getting it on. If that happens in a BL, I'll be the first to protest.

It's also morally problematic when a gay character (or "not gay, only into this one guy") pursues a straight gay who has said "no" (usually multiple times) for an entire series, which is then normalized and the straight guy turns gay (or rather "not gay, only in love with pursuer") and everyone lives happily ever after. Imagine how creepy it would appear if the pursued guy were a girl. And yet that's the basis of the majority of BL (albeit happily declining).

Anyway, I just don't like it when people selectively object to things that make them personally uncomfortable on moral grounds (as opposed to just not being into it or liking to watch as show that contains it, which is of course fine). That's what bigotry is. Anything has to be evaluated on the basis of harm to anyone involved and whether or not there is true consent.

Does he know Sib likes Gene, though? I didn't get the impression he knew until this episode at the cafeteria when he saw them interacting. Gene is always so cool - even unkind - to Sib that I'm not sure anyone around them is aware of the situation. When Aey asked Gene for help with Sib, it didn't look like he was aware that he was asking the wrong person.

So far he hasn't been - to me his role makes me nervous about Sib because Sib seems irrationally hostile to him. or maybe the actor is too good and is making us more sympathetic to him than the writer intended, but that doesn't make too much sense given how much attention they've given to him, especially this episode. But I'm with you - I don't want any more suffering for him.

Maybe not "no" chemistry, but static and repetitive chemistry that's not enough to keep interesting. It can't just be based on how attractive one of the two is and how uncomfortable the other one is. It can start that way, but half the series is over now and nothing has happened.

Oh, that's right! Thanks for that, that makes a lot of sense!

I like that! I think this next episode will be important - maybe some of my issue will be solved by more movement in the plot and revealing more about what is driving everyone.

I think the phone scene was supposed to be funny, and showed us that not everyone was willing to put up with Andre's shit just because of who he is. The reason Andre has been a dick has been covered and he's realized how awful he's been and apologized, if that means anything. It's also gotten way less preachy. No pressure, just sayin'. :)

Thank you. I'm old.

I think maybe it's that Kao's acting is intended to convey that he's hiding something, so there's something restrained and artificial about Sib's behavior, but that it's starting to drag on too long and so it comes off as static and we're not getting enough character development and relationship progression. It's there, but very, very slow.

Coupled with the contrast of more happening with Aey's storyline in just this episode than Gene & Sib have gotten in the entire series so far, and it just leaves the main storyline feeling flat.

It looks like we might get some faster progress next ep, and I'm hoping all the themes which feel a little half-hearted come together in a meaningful way. I did like Sib's comment about how that scene was feeling rapey - that suggests that he's a good person, and yet I we don't know why he's so cold to Aey, and apparently not altogether nice to anyone but Gene, which suggests some deep or monomaniacal motive.

Hmm. Maybe I just need to analyze this more so that I generate more interest in the story for myself, lol. I think Kao and Up have been good in other things, so I think it's just the screenplay or directing, or maybe the story is biding it's time and is going to jump out at us shortly. I'm certainly not dropping it!

Why are you on a discussion board if you are unable to read opinions that differ from yours, and can you come up with something less immature than "well don't watch it then!" I was expressing an opinion and asking for feedback. You're just launching a personal attack, so who is a waste of time? It's amazing that you could have written that with no sense of irony.

I don't disagree - I may not have put it clearly. I meant in the context of BL, where as far as I know it's never actual incest, it's step-siblings who almost always don't even know they're step-siblings (Addicted/Heroin), or their parents marry suddenly (Brothers) and they're almost always the same age. The only morally problematic case I can think of is Trapped 4.

I can't think on an example where incest is romanticized in media - I've only ever seen it in transgressive erotica with strong warning tags.

There are way, way more prevalent and much worse and more damaging tropes in BL that nobody seems to have a problem with, but somehow the show Brothers is anathema.

That makes sense - I agree there's something strange about him, but I think it's that he's damaged and has been through a lot of suffering. That makes him interesting and compelling as a character to me, and I find that I care more about him than I do Gene, who I find rude and boring, but I realize that's all subjective.

I'm here to stay and support you!

To me the problem would be any type of relationship where there's a power imbalance where consent is called into question. Any parent that would do that to their child is twisted and horrible. Likewise, an older sibling with a younger one. I'm just questioning how anyone could think there's anything wrong with the series Brothers, where two boys of similar ages are step siblings because their parents suddenly got married one day. I just don't see any legitimate moral objection, but some people refused in disgust to watch it.

OK, but this episode wasn't cute, it was dark and disturbing. It was certainly more interesting due to the Aey storyling than past eps, though.

Why is everyone in BL fandom so obsessed with incest? Who cares? As long as people are in a consensual relationship, why judge? It's almost always people who didn't realize they are related by marriage or people who don't like each other who are thrown together because their parents married. Why is that a problem for anyone? How is that a toxic trope? To be honest, I don't see it as any better than homophobia - the majority of humanity sees homosexual relationships as inherently morally wrong, so are they right? If something is about love and harms nobody, then what is wrong, and who are we to judge? A situation had to be looked at in context and evaluated on an individual basis. If you have two brothers and one is 25 and the other is 15, then there's a problem because I think consent is very dubious due to the power dynamic. If two 18 years olds are suddenly brothers because their parents got married that weekend, what could possibly be wrong with that? Or if Gene and Sib are somehow related but didn't grow up even knowing each other, who cares?