The Closeted BL Fan

I love the musical score for that movie. I have it in one of my playlists.

I hope all is well with you. I have read your juices of truth and I see where you are coming from. But it tells me you still don't quite understand BL. In the west queer baiting is not ok because of all the reasons I'm confident you can list and elaborate on. But from what I understand, in South East Asian countries, both parties (the stars and the fans) are in on the queer baiting. K-Pop is the perfect example of what I mean. That industry and the BL industry is dominated by an audience that is late teens and early twenty something year old girls. And they love the queer baiting, they scream for it actually. One male star might kiss another male star on the cheek and the crowd would erupt in a frenzy. The stars are probably not gay or even bi but they play along and give their fans the service they so desperately desire. It's what keeps the fan's adoration and the dollars rolling in. You may frown at that but the male stars don't seem to mind. Both fan and star are MUTUALLY in agreement with the queer baiting, hence the wheels of the industry keeps on turning.

But in the West there is no such agreement between stars and their fans thus why queer baiting can be so problematic in that part of the world, it's either you are a gay/bi male or not. In the BL and K-Pop world, however, males showing loving affection toward each other is way more nuanced than just sticking a LGBTQ label on it. Look at china's censoring of BL relationships in mass media, for example. All of their BL content has to be shown as bromances between the male characters. But to this day they have produced some of the most beloved "BL" shows ever (The Untamed, Guardian, Word of Honor). None of the male characters in those shows have identified as gay/bi. But because of the nuanced nature of how BL understands gay relationships, you could still tell an effective story of deep love without even having the male characters hug once (but sometimes the chemistry is so off the charts you literally beg to see them kiss).

You claim I am selfish because I stated BL is a girl's fantasy about two straight guys. But I was just re-stating the origins of BL, when you go researching for what is BL all of the sources will tell you that BL was and is catered to mainly women. It's only now that guys like myself are into it that they make BL content with consideration for the sizeable male audience that it has garnered in mind. But don't get it twisted, BL content is still consumed by a majority margin straight women, and so naturally the industry will cater to the fantasy that they want to see (hot straight guys falling head over heels for each other). But does that mean there isn't proper representation of LGBTQ couples in those Asian countries? Of course there is. Several great LGBTQ shows and movies come out of those countries every year that do not follow the BL model. They have the "proper representation" that you made mention of. But as I said BL is it's own thing, and I explained why it's like that.

Believe it or not, BL is actually pushing the conversation of Gay Relationships in many Asian society forward in a positive direction. The younger generations that obsess over BL now have tons of illustrations to show their parents and grand-parents why gay relationships are not as taboo as they may think. The shows are entertaining to watch and a lot of them depict the couples going through issues that an actual gay couple would while living in an Asian society. This may help to relax some of the prejudices the older folks might have about such relationships as they watch real life scenarios play out before their eyes and see the male couple overcome them in the end. BL is a phenomena that only ten years ago was a hush-hush topic in Asian society. Now it's an industry that has basically taken over the mainstream. Production companies are more excited about launching their BL projects than their regular projects. Great BL shows are bringing more revenue and streams than their heterosexual counterparts, meaning the BL audience is only getting bigger and bigger each year. Not just for Asian audiences but globally too. If that's not the signs of a society becoming less prejudice and homophobic I don't know what is.

Hmmm...guys, there is something that is bothering me about some "BL fans". They seem to have forgotten what BL is all about. They seem to have forgotten the fantasy part of BL. I see a noticeable amount of "fans" complaining about the BL troupe of two straight guys falling for each other and declaring that they don't like other guys, just each other. But isn't that what the genre is at its core? I have learned that about the genre and it makes for a better viewing experience when you know what you are getting yourself into before you watch the shows. BL is it's own genre from normal LGBTQ media in that IT IS A FANTASY, mainly from the female's perspective. Just like in the West where there is a lot of fantasies about hot straight girls getting together with each other from a guy's perspective.
Look at the queer baiting in K-Pop for example, K-Pop fans ship the hell out of their male stars and many fanfictions result from those ships. The male stars are also in on it, for the most part, and give their fans some of the fan service they so desperately desire. It's basically the currency that keeps the K-Pop wheel turning. BL is that exact set-up, but on steroids. That's why a lot of K-Pop fans eventually fall into the BL genre. They contribute so much gains to the industry that this year there was an explosion of BL content like never before and I didn't even get to see half of it (granted a good chunk of the shows weren't that great story wise and production wise). That means producers and brands are willing to fund BL projects because of all the attention and potential revenue the genre has. As a fan of BL I thought we understood the core of what the industry is. So when I see some "BL Fans" complain bitterly about main leads not identifying as gay or bisexual but yet would fall for a guy (hence the fantasy) baffles my mind. I think those "fans" who complain are projecting their expectations of LGBTQ media onto BL when BL is it's own thing, as I explained.

Yes, the BL genre is not perfect, it has its annoying flaws. But please don't suck the fantasy out of BL. It's what we BL fans enjoy the most about these shows. It's the reason why week after week we return for the episodes and feel heartache during the waiting period for the next episode. Then when the show has finished airing we watch the entire thing again from episode one. We love the silly fantasy! Take that away and we are just left with Brokeback Mountain!
(Note that I love that movie but I just used it to emphasize the point)

You remind me of the saying: "Be careful what you wish for cause you just might get it!" But I don't think that's the message the show is intentionally going for. That message is a by-product of how Teh left things with Oh-aew at the end of episode 3. Yes, I agree with you! The actual story of the show lies with Teh wanting to get closer than anyone else to Oh-aew and also he has to make Oh-aew realize that he's not a bad guy. But the decisions Teh make to achieve that goal seems so convoluted. In my opinion he is doing what the writer wants and not what Teh would actually do. No person would willing give their lover over to another person when they could actually do something about it. Yeah I know Teh and Oh-aew weren't actually lovers as yet but Teh's feelings for Oh-aew (even if he doesn't understand them) wouldn't allow him to do that. The only way I see that happening is if Teh thinks Bas is the better guy for Oh-aew and clearly that isn't the case.
But finally he gets Oh-aew to the point where Oh-aew is all his (because as I said: "The writer willed to be so"), he chickens out and chooses to run away. But he doesn't run away because he is scared or anything like that, nope Teh wasn't scared. He ran away because he came to the realization that society is critical of guys being with guys. It makes me wonder, does the writer really understand what was happening in Oh-aew and Teh's pants at that moment? And plus all of the conditions were perfect? Yes, Teh probably hasn't accepted his sexuality as yet. But in that moment, especially after caressing each other in the way they were doing, Teh wouldn't have had time to think. Sex was happening. But the morning after, that's where the actual story arc would continue where Teh would now have to come to grips with himself and his sexuality. That seems the more logical route to me as a writer.

Hmmm I hear ya, but the show you are describing is not what was shown on screen to us the audience, well at least not to me. What I saw was Teh, being his manipulative self, pushing Oh-aew to be with Bas in the hopes that Oh-aew would realize that Bas is not the guy for him and would come running back to Teh remembering all of the good times they had. But when Teh started becoming upset by the fact that Oh-aew and Bas were actually hitting it off (two people that obviously liked each other mind you) I was like "What the hell did you expect you idiot?". Hence why I don't think Teh would realistically push Oh-aew to be with Bas. Maybe he would have done it because he didn't think he was good enough for Oh-aew but not because he didn't understand his feelings. Teh very well knew what he was feeling or else he wouldn't have done all of those nice things for Oh-aew that we can clearly see is being more than just a friend. But where the story lies is showing that Teh doesn't want to accept those feelings or isn't ready to accept them, hence why he would push Oh-aew to be with Bas. But that's not the story we saw on screen now was it? What we see on screen is him wanting Oh-aew to always be by his side and at the same time pushing Oh-aew to go be with a next guy.

People are jealous for two main reasons: when they want something that they don't have or when they want something all to themselves. Yes I agree jealousy is what drove Teh to do all of the manipulative things that he did. But from a writing perspective I don't think jealousy should have been the primary emotion driving Teh's actions. He is the one that gave Oh-aew away. It was within his power to stop Bas and Oh-aew's relationship from happening, and that's the logical thing jealousy would have made him do, not give his love interest away to his rival. That's like lighting a fire and being upset that the flames have the audacity to burn you. And you can't say that Teh didn't think of Bas a rival from the get go because it was clear as day that Teh has feelings for Oh-aew from the very start of his manipulating.
And as for the sex part, two horny boys hot for each other aren't going to use their heads very much when they are put in the situation as Teh and Oh-aew that night. They are going to do it, that's basically a fact. The story, however, would have been the morning after the act. How are they going to react with each other? More specifically, how is Teh going to react to Oh-aew?

I have what you guys might call two unpopular opinion about this show. So far, I'm only at episode three and I plan to watch episode 4 before the day has finished. I am completely open to you guys' opinion of my unpopular opinions. Maybe it's just that I need to see it from a different perspective or something. Don't get me wrong, I think this series is a masterpiece of Thai cinema (lol, even though it's technically a television show) but there are two aspect of the story that are bugging me to the point of frustration.
The first of my unpopular opinion was when Teh made the decision to push Oh-aew into the arms of Bas with the hope that somehow he will come running back to him. I mean, what if Oh-aew and Bas really really hit it off and Oh-aew decided that Bas was a better guy for him than Teh? The only reason why Oh-aew and Bas truly didn't workout is because the writer willed it so. I thought the story would have been Teh passively trying to show Oh-aew that he cares about him more than anyone else in the world while Oh-aew doesn't realize it and is all smitten by Bas, a guy who also cares for him but not as much as Teh. Oh-aew was holding a grudge against Teh so it would make sense for him to run into the arms of Bas, who he would perceive to be a better guy until Teh opens his eyes and heart. But noooooo, Teh is shoving Oh-aew to be with Bas and then he has the audacity to get upset when Oh-aew starts choosing Bas over him? Somehow Oh-aew is to see pass all of that to realize that Teh doesn't really want him to be with Bas even though he is cheering the two of them on as a couple, Oh-aew would have to be psychic to suddenly come to that realization, realistically speaking.
But Oh-aew beats such insurmountable odds and finds his way back to Teh (because as I said "Only because the writer willed it so"). Then clearly things are getting hot and they want to f**k. But what happens? At the last moment Teh decides he is not ready for it or that the pressure of society's expectations is too much in his mind or some shit like that and he pulls away from Oh-aew, in the absolute heat of the moment!!! I'm sorry guys but realistically how many people you know can do that? They were practically locked in a dark and cozy room by themselves with no one to disturb them till morning, and not to mention, they were in heat! Do you know how many virginities have been willingly lost in that same situation? Do you know how many 'oops' pregnancies have happened because of that exact situation? Realistically Teh was never pulling away in such a state with such perfect conditions. 9 times out of 10 they were f**king! The 1 time out of 10 would probably be due to unforeseen circumstances, like a spaceship crashing through the roof and them having to nurse the only surviving alien back to health.

Hmmm, there is a lot of good points that you've brought to my attention but I can't help but think of the warning: "Don't try this at home" and I'll explain why shortly. But first (I may be wrong), but it sounds as though either you or someone you know has gone through some type of trauma like the one you described above and for that I'm truly sorry. I hope things have gotten better for you or that person.
I may sound a bit insensitive when I say; what happened to you personally or to someone you know is not necessarily what might happen to someone else. I think you are reading into the show way more seriously than intended and it's coming from what you or someone you know may have experienced. When a story is told you don't always have to agree with the choices a character makes or the things that happens to characters. Sometimes you might even disagree with the message the story is sending and that is understood. But the one important thing being a drama student has taught me is to be open to different narratives and try to understand why characters would make decisions that you know in real life you would never make.
Now, I don't know about Gui's situation with Solo's father as yet because right now I'm only at episode three and I'm about to go watch episode four right after leaving you with this reply. Maybe when that situation shows itself on screen I will be better equipped to give my thoughts on it. But as long as the story is told in such a way that what happens with Gui is justified because it's a logical decision that such a character or characters would make, I'm ok with it even if they were "forced" into it. I might not agree with it but I can try to understand why the character feels that way or does whatever he/she does. It's basically the nature of a well written story. That's why I thought about the warning: "Don't try this at home". Because while Gui is most likely going to have his happy ending and ride off into the sunset with Solo (because good BL) despite the fact he might be dependent on Solo (hence being each other's Oxygen). The same cannot be said for anyone else that may find themselves in that situation. They might very well be in the mess you described in your comment. But the reason why the "Don't try this at home" warning isn't there is because it's supposed to be understood by the viewers that it's fictional people in their own fictional situation (hence why they may get to ride off into the sunset and you might not) and it's not offensive to anyone .

P.S: It may seem like I'm defending Oxygen the series but I'm really not. I'm just defending Story. And so far there isn't much fault that I find with the story Oxygen is telling, objectively speaking. Maybe just a few annoying tropes here or there and Khim upsetting my BL fantasy. But it isn't her fault.

Sometimes I feel frustrated when I read some of your reactions to what are not bad shows at all, Oxygen being one of them. Maybe the way Oxygen chooses to tell it's story isn't your cup of tea; fine! Move onto another damn show! Don't leave unfair reviews of the show that deceive people into believing Oxygen is so bad. I love what I'm seeing from the series so far. Is it perfect? No, not even close! But I've never come across a perfect show in my 20 something years of existence. I think Oxygen deserves much more love than a lot of you guys are admitting though.
I have absolutely no problem with the way Solo's character is portrayed. From what I can tell, that's exactly how he is supposed to be; FLAT! He is meant to seem dull and uninterested. But when it comes to Gui (his Oxygen) he would go to war, even becoming overly protective of him at times.
So what if Gui might leave his dream of becoming an engineer to be with his Oxygen (Solo)? People leave everything behind and run away with the person they love all the time. Some make it and make a happy life for themselves while others aren't so fortunate. It's just a chance you take with the person you love. Whatever destiny has in store for the two of you so be it. And besides, Solo is rich, Gui wouldn't be lacking anything in life. But the fact remains that both of them will chose the life that they want to have together. Gui is perfectly capable of making decisions and he chooses Solo over everything else, deal with it!
But isn't that what the BL genre is about? A fantasy?! We, BL fans, are supposed to know by now that these shows obviously don't follow real life situations. Check the engineering faculty of your local universities and find how many guys there are gay for each other. What you would most likely find is a fist coming to your face. If you want too see gay couples in real life situations go watch any other regular LGBT show and leave us true BL fans alone with our fantasies.
I remember just a couple of years ago when we were praying for new BLs and we had to wait agonizingly for months before we were blessed with brand new shows. Now it's raining BLs. Yes not all of them are great, I admit, but we should at least be Thankful. Instead, some of you choose to bash shows for silly reasons like a character is too submissive for your liking. As long as the character's submissiveness properly serves the story being told why should it be an issue? Guys, If we continue like this the producers of BLs will give up on the genre and move onto other projects. Then we will all lose.

P.S: Yes every show should expect constructive criticism. That's the only way the show and the genre can get better at the craft of storytelling. But the reaction a lot of you guys give is not constructive at all. You are simply just hating.

Ok, I think the people that want to see Tine and Sarawat make out or something should chill! It's clearly not that kind of show. If you don't like how the couple is portrayed move onto the next series and stop being so negative all the time. You are projecting your idea of what a couple should be like onto Tine and Sarawat's relationship and that's not cool. Every relationship is different and clearly they are happy with their relationship. It's worrying to read people's rants about how Tine and Sarawat aren't romantic enough as if all successful relationships have to be that way.
Episode 4 of Still 2gether was a 9/10 for me. My eyes were glued to my computer screen from the start of the episode to the end. I was genuinely interested in everything that was happening on screen and strangely I didn't want the episode to end. 2gether the series hasn't done that to me since Tine decided to live with Sarawat. Even the product placement in episode 4 of Still 2gether worked well with the story. The best part of the episode from a technical stand point was the last bit where Tine was moving past all the couples of series while on his way to Sarawat. That was an intriguing way showcasing all of them and it highlighted how unique each couple was when you saw them one after the other like that.
Then the episode ended nicely with Tine and Sarawat finally being '2gether' after 2 weeks apart. That was the most authentic I have seen Sarawat and Tine be since they started living together. The moment was very honest between the two and it showed the kind of relationship they have with each other. Yes, they aren't very touchy feely kissy with each other but that's ok. They look very happy just the way they are and I support that 100%.

I think both sides of the argument about Tin/Can in season 2 of Love By Chance are very valid. But more than half of the upset fans would be less upset if the reboot of Tin/Can wasn't so distastefully done. No lie, the quality of the show noticeably dropped from season one. Can is still Can, in my opinion, because of the brilliance of the actor Plan in that role. But there is something off about Tin, he doesn't quite seem like his old self. In season one Tin was mysterious and emotionally unavailable with a hint of danger. But now, in season two, he's just a creepy guy lurking around in the background.
I also think the writer of season two was a bit cowardly taking the easy way out. Pete is no more so you basically re-boot a huge part of the show? Nah! I think better could have been done. Any writer worth their salt is supposed to be good enough to come up with solutions that remedies the Pete situation. You don't have to be 100% faithful to the books, some things about the story can change on screen as long as it's a logical change. Yes, Pete was supposed to be instrumental in Tin/Can's story in season 2. So, how to work around that? Well you have to get creative! Use other characters or elements of the story to make Tin/Can work. The fans of the show would have respected the skills of the writer a 100 times more if something like that was done. Starting them over from scratch was cheating, in my opinion.
I absolutely hate the way Love By Chance Season 2 handled product placement. I understand that it has to be done, even huge Hollywood Blockbuster movies can't get around product placement. The sponsors have to advertise their products! But it should be criminal to have multiple 2-3 minute length scenes in an episode solely devoted to product placement. I don't know about you guys but I tumble right out of the BL fantasy when shit like that happens. During those scenes you become ultra aware that you are sitting in front of your computer or phone watching a show. That's not good!
But, it's only the first two episodes of a season that spans 12 episodes. Maybe i'm being too harsh. So i'm gonna stick with it through out the coming weeks to see if things will improve, and most likely they will. The story of Tin/Can is too strong to fail....I hope. But then again, we're going be forced to sit through 2 or 3 more weeks of things we've already seen before just because of our loyalty to Tin/Can. BEST YEAR EVER!

P.S: Every time Ae came on screen I skipped. Real life sucks for a lot of us right now. And I refuse to spend time watching a beautiful man mope and sulk all the time like a lost puppy.

Noted and understood!

I understand you being proud that the show is including a Filipino Visayan language. But please remember no one outside of the Philippines can share your appreciation. We don't understand the language, so we won't know there is a different dialect being spoken. Our ears can't detect anything that you are talking about, unfortunately.

From what I've read her, it seems as though the guy just didn't know better. I don't think jumping down someone's throat is the way to teach them though. You have to show them why they are wrong not beat them into submission. He might have been a jerk at first but I think that's just self defense. I secretly want to believe that 90% of the guys that do BL are open to that kind of relationship in real life even though they might proclaim to be heterosexual. All of my friends are straight and ain't no way in hell could you pay them enough to be filmed in a gay relationship. So actors like Aki feel insecure and they respond too harshly sometimes to all of the BL attention.
But this is not Hollywood, no one forced him into the role. He went to the casting call knowing very well what kind of character he would be playing. But the sudden interest and publicity of him being in a BL show and everything that comes with that is forcing him to become defensive, I think.
It's the same situation with Krist from Sotus. After Sotus he ran to do a whole bunch of straight shows just to "prove" he is not as into the BL thing as some people would like him to be. He even got into a lot of hot water for some comments he made publicly.

Really? That's what upset people? I guess it's probably the way he said it. But in fact he is technically correct. The origins of BL says that it's a woman's fantasy about two heterosexual guys falling for each other. Even now, after all of those years BL still follows that formula. If there is no fantasy element to the show then it won't be BL. It would just be any other regular LGBT show. The fantasy of heterosexual or sometimes Bisexual guys falling for each other is the reason why BLs are so appealing to us fans. It's also the reason why the vast majority of BL fans are screaming late teens or early twenties girls.

I am completely out of the Loop about the comments the Aki guy made. I tend to stay away from the actors' personal lives and only judge them on their body of work. But it sounds like he made some interesting comments. Could you send me a link to view them or fill me in on what was really said?

If you like my commentary and would like to hear more of my thoughts, visit my YouTube Channel and take a look at my videos. Just search for my name; The Closeted BL Fan. Thanks for the love guys.

Hmm...Guys I think you are being a bit too harsh with your comments. BLs aren't Hollywood Blockbusters and yet some of you expect them to be, even Hollywood Blockbusters fail sometimes. Yes, the first episode of MY Day the series could have been better but it's not as bad as some of you are saying it is. After watching the first episode, I am very much looking forward to seeing what the rest of the season has to offer. It promises to tell us a good story with complex characters. The production value is pretty good Guys, and finally we get a full 50+ mins episode show after a long time.
My biggest complaint, however, is the background music. It gets a bit too overwhelming at times. But that could easily be fixed on the other unreleased episodes once we bring it to the attention of the production team. The acting is not the greatest but it is good enough to tell the story, and that's okay. There are a couple of directorial choices that I questioned and the editing could use a tad more work but it's not so bad to declare the show terrible.
It's not fair how some of you are judging the entire show just on the flaws of the first episode, lighten up and accept MY Day the series for what it is. When you do you will see it's not as bad as you think it is.

Guys, what do you have planned for today? I recently published a couple of videos that dive into everything BL related on my brand new YouTube channel, go check it out. I analyse BLs to see what makes them tick and try to understand why we (BL Fans) enjoy them so much. Just log onto YouTube and search for me, The Closeted BL Fan. Subscribe to see more content and leave a few likes to show your appreciation. Thank you so much for the love guys. And stay safe!

Guys, what do you have planned for today? I recently published a couple of videos that dive into everything BL related on my brand new YouTube channel, go check it out. I analyse BLs to see what makes them tick and try to understand why we (BL Fans) enjoy them so much. Just log onto YouTube and search for me, The Closeted BL Fan. Subscribe to see more content and leave a few likes to show your appreciation. Thank you so much for the love guys. And stay safe!