jpny01

The default when you're signing up on this site is "female" and there's no way to change it. I put in a ticket but got no response.

I didn't say the entire series is a parody, I said the exaggerated sound effects are. You're making a huge number of assumptions about my positions that I did not say, which calls into question your analytical skills.

Not that they are in evidence much in your analysis if you think silly sound effects are supposed to be a window into Gene's mind - that would make this a cartoon aimed at children.

I think it's unquestionable that the trope most harmful to LGBTQ+ and by far the most prevalent is the predatory gay.

We see the pathetic/aggressive older trans "comic" relief character all over BL, which is really, really offensive - but it goes much further than that.

We're discussing someone's objection to the "incest" in this story - but I'm not seeing an objection to 90% of BL, the plots of which are almost all that a gay boy (or often "not entirely hetero" since the g-word seems to be anathema to so many productions) pursues a straight boy until he turns gay - even though he's in a straight relationship with a girl (who is almost unvaryingly evil in a regressive and anti-feminist way). THAT is playing into the worst fears of homophobes.

If anything, we should praise this show, which doesn't go anywhere near that - in fact it's comical that the entire student body and faculty are apparently gay. Notice how even the bullies never make a homophobic comment? I think that's progress, frankly.

Me too. I'm not sure Chon is sophisticated enough to be trying to make Prab jealous, and I'm not sure he even understands his feelings for the tutor - but I do really like how they annoy each other like people that age would, and the way Prab takes his role as older brother so seriously is really cute and touching.

I understand your point, but the trailer makes the plot clear, and as I mentioned before, "brother" has a broader meaning in Thai culture, which is more or less anyone of a similar age (within a few years) that you're close to.

I would agree that the English title is poorly chosen - maybe "The Stepbrother" or something would be better. The synopsis above's first sentence is problematic, but it haven't found it in any of the actual advertising, so it may be that it's just a poor choice of whoever wrote it, and not really fair to blame the production. If the producers did write it anywhere, then that's a bad choice.

The student isn't actually of age unless he's 18. While the age of consent is 15, it's 18 for relations with someone over 18. But I agree, that isn't really the moral issue, it's the student/teacher relationship, which creates a power imbalance that makes consent very questionable - especially when the student is visibly uncomfortable and ominous music is playing.

If it were Chol & the tutor, I wouldn't mind because the tutor has no power over him - in fact he's actually the "subordinate" in the relationship as a service-provider.

No, I was speaking generally and amplifying what you said, which I agree with. I stuck in a parenthetical comment that I was not referring to you, but I should have put it at the top.

I agree, where there's a power imbalance (which is fine in bed, but not outside that), consent is very dubious - so Tar & Tum is problematic because of the age difference and huge power imbalance, plus the younger one is very damaged, so it would be bordering on evil for his brother to act on his feelings.

I also agree on the cultural bias, which is related to the biological issue, and I don't have a problem with that - but as we've discussed, it's hard to feel that when they're both in their late teens and have just been thrown together by circumstances. I don't get even a teeny bit of "eww" from that.

The word "brothers" has a much broader meaning in the context of Thai culture than it generally does in the West. People use it to refer to good friends, cousins, et. al. in addition to their actual siblings. Similar to the American "bro".

I really like it too - it's a bit too ambitious for their production abilities, but the story is interesting and different. TBH, I'm shallow and could stare at Wade wearing his vacant expression (his arsenal is "vacant" & "vacant and slightly sad". And also "vacant and shirtless", which is best of all) 24/7 and be happy.

I try to keep in mind that productions like this have almost zero budget and have to film with COVID restrictions, so I'm more tolerant of problems than in a larger production. At least there are not roosters crowing non-stop like in most other low-budget series.

The seem to be releasing the episodes gradually on YT about a month after they air - if you like this series, I'd bookmark it and come back to it in a couple of months when you can watch it for free. It would probably be more enjoyable that way as the episodes are so short. It's really good IMO and worth it. The main character's acting is... not great, but you may have noticed what he looks like and I'm shallow.

But I mean that the story is good, not just that.

It's not too interesting to listen to a voice over of preachy dialogue from the previous episode and then watch Angelo watch Damon sleep. That's all that happened for the first 8 minutes of ep 3. Damon being embarrassed about being seen showering was a cute idea, but that was a longggg scene. It would have been better for him to paused for a moment, then shrug.

I'm not sure if I'm watching a BL or am at Sunday School. Kaleb and Enzo are both great actors - Kaleb is able to convey his sadness, loneliness, and longing very effectively. Enzo, on the other hand, is stuck with some pretty bad material - he's doing about as well as anyone could with that script.

I'm thankful that the hug didn't have that triple-take thing BLs do at all the emotional high points that drains all the life out of them, but I suspect they only didn't do it because they don't know how. The technical side of this show is really, really bad. The scene where Damon is talking to his uncle was so incompetently shot and directed that it feels like they're deliberately trying to be bad.

And would someone PLEASE explain the roosters? Why do all Filipino BLs have roosters constantly sounding off in the background? Even in urban settings. Are there THAT many roosters everywhere?

I'm sorry, but this is dependent on a failure of communication that is so implausible that it's hard to take the show seriously. It makes absolutely no sense. This isn't 1900 where you have to sail across the sea to talk, or try to do it by telegraph. They really needed to give a good explanation and they didn't. In fact almost nothing happened in this episode and all the questions were left more or less unaddressed.

So disappointing after how wonderful the first series was. I did like the really weird CTO, and I liked it when Shi De had his shirt off, but that's about it. I didn't really feel Shu Yi's acting - not at all convincing, although Sam Lin is still delivering.

TBH, the fire was so predictable and cliche that it made my eyes roll, although it was very well done. This episode I had a sudden realization that Longtae is really attractive - I hated Tonhon Chonlatee so much that nothing about it appealing, but here...

You know, I don't think Earth is all that sexy in this role. He's absolutely gorgeous, and skin that perfect should be illegal (and that's not even addressing the body), but his character is so emotionally clueless and incompetent at flirting that he's really not sexy.

So it's 100% his acting. His performance in this is a masterpiece of subtlety and intensity. That first scene in the hospital - yow. I suppose his physique probably helps him use his body expressively with a character as tightly wound as Pham, so maybe 99% acting and 1% hotness.

Well, ITSAY II hasn't aired yet, but this one is tough to top.

I'm pretty sure it won't be. The one they tried to make us believe is coming next episode will be aborted. I think when it happens it will be what we're all looking for.

I could completely do without the evil guy storyline - it's totally unnecessary and way, way too predictable. Did anyone not see that coming? I'd rather spend more time on the main pair. And I hope they're not going to make this the "faint of the week" for Tian - these are two men, not a man and a 14-year old Victorian virgin with consumption.

Anyway, when we say "he's a good actor", for most BLs we mean "he's good by BL standards" (which, let's face it...). But Earth is just a plain good actor. The scene at the beginning in the hospital - you could not pack more emotion into a scene with that much subtlety than he did. Mix is doing a good job, but Earth is putting in a performance that would rocket him to stardom if he was American.

The intensity of his longing for Tian is just scalding. The hand scene (both of them!)... if that were me and he was doing that with that tight, tight t-shirt on, I'm not sure I would have been able to control myself. And Earth is not just playing himself - he's totally different in real life. He's got his character nailed - it's 100% convincing. Every subtle expression or gesture is exactly what Pha would do.

Pha is so clueless - Tian is pretty much saying "take me now!" in every scene and he still doesn't get that his feelings are returned. And BTW, Earth is also doing humor very well - like when Tian didn't go with him to town.

I completely forgot that was the reason. Good catch, but seriously, THAT is the most unrealistic thing you're finding in this? How about that the entire student body and faculty are gay? So far there hasn't been one straight male character with the possible but unconfirmed exception of Chon's father, and if I were his wife, I wouldn't let him attend any parent/teacher conferences unaccompanied,.

Two 17 year olds who are thrown together by their parents marrying is so incredibly far from incest that it's bizarre that anyone would raise an issue with it, and to me that position no much different than homophobia, because it's passing judgment on consensual and healthy love between two people.

In fact I would go so far as to say that condemnation of this is what's damaging to the LGBTQ+ community because it's establishing an intolerant and prudish moral framework, which is a driver of homophobia. Nobody except very pro-LGBTQ+ people are watching this, but if a homophobe were reading this, he might argue: "The incest taboo is driven by biological concerns so it's valid. Likewise, sex is driven by the biological need to procreate, so my objection to homosexuality is valid."

What is the actual difference between those two positions? Not much. Both are objecting to completely harmless consensual relations. You don't get to object to love just because it makes you (not you, "you" in general) uncomfortable.

When there are consent issues, which includes adult/minor relations, that is certainly objectionable, and I'm hoping they don't just gloss over that with the teacher/student storyline, but the musical cues suggest there's an awareness it's wrong.

There is a huge, huge difference between two almost-adults who are thrown together by their parents marrying and actual incest. If they grew up together, this would be icky, but they didn't. It's never OK to condemn harmless, legal and consensual love just because it makes you uncomfortable - that's no different than homophobia.

Slippery-slope arguments are generally not morally valid. If I shoot you with a toy gun, will that eventually lead me to shoot you with a real gun? Obviously not. Every action has to be judged on its own merits, not potentialities. This series is really sweet, with Prab really taking his role as big brother seriously - everyone is always saying "love is love is love", but are awfully judgmental about other people.

On the other hand, the teacher-student plotline is problematic, but we haven't seen the conclusion yet, and there is often ominous music surrounding this plotline, so there may be a constructive message to this.

I get what you're saying - but these are adult characters, not high school kids or even college-age. And because the kiss was supposed to be acting, it's not all that different from the accidental kiss trope. Although that was not your standard BL just touch lips and standing there awkwardly, that was some real macking!

Why does everyone always say "so drop it then" when anyone criticized as show? Do you take it that personally?

I'm a gay man too, and I don't hear sound effects in my head in a tight spot. Whenever they use effects, it's already very clear what Gene is thinking by the expression on his face - it's not like he's standing their expressionless. The exaggerated sound effects are meant to be parody, but they've made their point and can stop now.