brainrotting + BLing essentially

Here to share my thoughts, rants, raves about queer media of any kind that I come across. This is a sideblog mostly dedicated to analyses of thai/k/j-bls and western queer shows and movies. :))

[queerstones]

hello everyone!

i’m tay (she/they, 18+) and i’m starting this sideblog to create a dedicated space to discuss about queer media i engage with, mostly having a fun time with thai/k/j-bls and chinese “bromance” dramas. this is largely limited to shows/movies but i might also discuss the original source material, which often happen to be webtoons or novels.

i’ve been watching alot of BL content for a while now but haven’t really tried to organise my thoughts/opinions beyond the occasional reddit threat.

you can expect lots of hot takes/unpopular opinions from this blog because i’m very picky about discourse but also expect some fangirling over favourite characters! this is all fiction at the end of the day, but i do like to get a bit critical sometimes (and even defensive, sorry!) that is VERY fun for me, so if you would ever want to chat about these shows with me, please feel free!

as an intro, here are my top five queer media, including all categories i’d listed above:

1. mo dao zu shi (the novels had me in such a chokehold)

2. monster (the cinematography of this movie is to die for; the story is so beautifully heartwrenching)

3. my beautiful man (absolutely bonkers storyline somehow delivered in a tasteful manner; wonderfully shot)

4. not me (gun’s acting alone is worth putting this show so far up)

5. eighth sense (the atmosphere, the acting, the everything; a very uniquely shot show)

special mention: bad buddy (just a very well made, solid show) and heartstopper (fluffiest queer show made in the west with great acting all around).

shows i’m currently watching:

1. ticket to heaven [upto episode 1]

shows i’ll watch in the near future (probably):

1. let free the curse of taekwondo

[queerstones]

surface-commentary: ticket to heaven ep 1

just watched episode 1 of ticket to heaven! ever since i watched moonlight chicken last year, i’ve kept a curious eye on gemini and fourth, because they impressed me so much with their work in that show and gotta say, they maintain that level of acting in ticket to heaven as well. gemini, in particular, has a totally different *energy* compared to his character as heart and his line delivery is actually wonderfully natural! fourth’s character—tanrak—hasn’t unraveled fully yet, and i do think at moments, his expressions can seem a bit too polished/contrived but i also think this “polite distance good boy” disposition IS infact a bit of an act on tanrak’s part, something he has to hold onto while navigating his faith and being on his best behaviour because if he’s not excelling at the seminary, he doesn’t have a family to fall back on. the seminary isn’t just a place to learn and grow, it is his sole home, and anything that might take him away from this home needs to be avoided in his life. which means tanrak is always in the mindset of doing and *being* good and never taking risks that might cause his position in the seminary to be put in peril (case in point: his hesitance in boldly helping barth openly and instead opting for a more covert route).

that said, gemini fucking killed it in episode one. i’m so, so happy with his portrayal as barth. evidently jaded (but not overdone), a slight aloofness while hearing saccharine sweet preachy words, a wicked mirth lurking juuuuuuuust beneath the surface, ready to be unleashed once he gets more comfortable with tanrak, an anger at the world and his circumstances—his defiance in the face of his unfair persecution. it’s all so subtle yet so LOUD. i usually am more critical when assessing actors like gemini—they go the subdued route and work more with smaller outbursts of emotion—and it worked very well for his character as heart, but he somehow manages to retain his acting style while playing a much more rough around the edges character like barth, too.

one particular moment that really blew me away was during the chat he had with tanrak in the swimming pool and tanrak mentioned that if he had enough faith, he would feel god’s presence and gemini’s fucking PUPILS tremor and you can see in real time how barth processes tanrak’s assertions with his own contrary experiences and it’s so fucking good. so delicious. little gem of stellar acting (pun intended). this guy isn’t perfect and he can improve so much more—idk if acting is his sole passion and smth he wishes to pursue seriously but i really hope he keeps working on his craft because he is imho just so good.

i love this storyline and i’m already rooting for barth and tanrak in both their individual capacities and them as a romantic pairing. it will be interesting to see how they evolve because of each other and i am really looking forward to see tanrak’s journey in particular. i think, contrary to what the father thinks, it is tanrak who stands to learn alot from barth than strictly vice versa and that excites me because fourth has alot of natural grit that will manifest emotionally for tanrak’s internal journey.

editing could be much better and the cinematography is less creative than p’aof’s other works but the writing and acting so far is keeping me hooked.

[rylandsgrace]

#The menace to society is back

[queerstones]

atp i’ve watched several shows with phuwin (bl and non-bl) and it irks me sooooo much how people LOVE to discount his acting and downplay his work because of, get this, kissing scenes. okay, okay, i get that in the bl/romance genre kissing scenes are important from an audience’s pov but as someone who’s always more sold on chemistry through conversational and other subtle intimacy scenes, the kissing scenes don’t bother me even if they are bad. because if they are, it’s not just the actor’s fault. the intimacy coordinator and the director also have a hand in not making the scene visually appealing, moreso than the actors involved. and it’s just one small part of a bigger narrative whole and for people to act like phuwin isn’t a very capable actor because he kisses a certain way is absurd to me. some things don’t come naturally to actors—so many suffer in certain parts due to awkward physicality or awkward line delivery but if they are average or good for the most part, we always generalise the performance as a whole good but in phuwin’s case, for some bizarre reason, people choose to take away the entirety of his solid performances because of the short sprinkled in kiss scenes as if it’s the biggest crime in the world??? he’s such a versatile talent and he’s truly improving with every work and his comedic chops as well as emotional intensity ARE good. ofc, he’s not some super great actor but he’s far far from the worse and honestly, for me, he acts very well in intense, emotional or comedic scenes. he’s also a pretty natural actor in terms of moving and doing actions on camera. i hate how much people enjoy putting him down and neglecting all the good acting and hardwork and skills he has developed on screen. he’s not even in my top 5 list of actors but seeing the excessive focus on his kissing instead of appreciating his acting in general—it’s just made me more protective of him lol.

[wanderlust-in-my-soul]

I'll love you through every chapter of your life.

[srnileforme]

close to you, just want to stay this way forever — 5CM • WILLIAM JAKRAPATR

[sherrymagic]

❛ I love you. No matter what you are or aren't, whether you succeed or not, I'll still love you. I'll love you in every chapter of your life. ❜

THAMEPO · HEART THAT SKIPS A BEAT dir. Aticha Tanthanawigrai | 2024-2025

— hbd @srnileforme ♡

[hotasfahrenheit]

we're all loving the way Style figures out the way to win Fadel back is to behave like he did the first time because if it worked once it'll work again but is anyone thinking about the fact that Style knows it'll work because he knows the only way to prove to Fadel that he loves him for real is by being himself and flirting in his over the top way because contuing his methods isn't restarting the courtship, it's maintaining it because it will show Fadel that he wasn't afraid of him the first time and he's not afraid of him still and that he wants him just as badly as he did from the beginning because he isn't changing how he treats Fadel? Style isn't resetting, he's providing the stability that Fadel can't admit he craves with his actions and he knows he can do that through constancy

[queerstones]

currently watching thamepo and i know that most viewers loved jun despite his messiness but there have been very few bl characters that annoy me as much as this guy does and i think the writing really didn’t land this supposed love triangle well. it was dragged out and took away the building momentum from thamepo’s relationship. what jun did was pretty shady and i don’t buy into explanations about him furthering thamepo’s bond because thamepo were doing just fine progressing their relationship at their own terms and pace and were both so refreshingly communicative. if anything, jun’s meddling impaired their interactions for too long a period in too short a show. and jun not realising thame’s feelings were genuine and significant goes against the established characterisation of jun being very observant and smart and i HATE that the friendship between him and thame is soured for me because his actions were so weird and messy and unnecessary. also his callout for thame was such bullshit because thame has repeatedly been there for po and reassured him at every turn and been the antithesis of po’s ex. it’s a pet peeve of mine when a best friend will bash the other over their love interest because aren’t you supposed to know your best friend better? aren't you supposed to understand them? the whole game sequence was so poorly rendered, i wanted to jump inside the screen and defend thame. i honestly would have been fine with jun being messy in episode 5 and 6 in his misguided attempts to test po’s feelings for thame instead of what it ended up being. the drag till episode 8 really ruined my viewing experience because the magic of the first four episodes was so awesome. i am watching the show for thame and po and the bond between MARS but jun’s character, imo, was mishandled and the way he acted deserved a proper call-out. thame is his supposed bff but his actions were so damn shady towards him. he was not entertaining, or endearing to me. he was honestly plain annoying and i know this is a major unpopular opinion but that’s exactly what this account is for. thame’s been so lovely and he tries so hard which is why jun’s actions and his words in episode 8 towards him rub me the wrong way. ugh.

[queerstones]

decided to binge-watch a tale of 1000 stars because i really enjoyed earthmix in moonlight chicken and eight episodes in, i can say this show does frustrate me a bit and i think the direction falls a little short in emotionally charged confrontations so far, but i still enjoyed it a lot. it’s a very meaningfully told story and everyone’s doing a great job with the acting, especially mix. which makes me feel every emotion and up and down that tian’s character has to go through. for me, the strongest character in this show isn’t chief phupha or torfun or khama or longtae but tian. i admire him the most. he has, from the beginning, been someone to look the reality in the eye and confront it. he could have stayed in his comfortable bubble, smothered by his mother, and ignorant of the truth behind the transplant but he actively and stubbornly sought out the reality of what went down and decided to take matters into his own hands in a majorly brave way. he opened himself upto new experiences and always picked himself back up after a failure, no matter how much his guilt tried to stop him. the villagers and phupha’s support was essential to tian’s growth but not more than his own individual, innate resolve to adapt to his new circumstances and persevere.

he was so sincere in everything he did and willing to learn from others and apologise for his wrongdoings. so lovely to see a rich city kid trope character have such a refreshingly humble head on his shoulders. a large part of it is probably the grounding truth of having attained a “second” go at life but still, i really adored tian throughout his journey. i would have liked more direct communication between phupha and tian when the truth was revealed but i’m satisfied with the show atleast acknowledging that phupha’s way of confronting tian wasn’t the wisest. i think everyone’s entitled to their grief and though i don’t believe that tian is at fault for torfun’s death, i’m fine with him apologising multiple times for it because it’s the only way he can feel forgiven and then forgive himself. that’s the key to tian’s arc. it was much more about him forgiving himself, even for shit that he wasn’t culpable for, than seeking this forgiveness from someone else.

anyway, i think it’s rare to find redemption stories that still feel layered and the amount of social courage tian showed made me a fan of his character and i just wanted to share that.

[queerstones]

i think, all understandable reasons aside, it is undeniable that akin is terrible at being truly communicative of his problems with jin and it would put a massive wedge in any relationship if jin wasn’t as besotted and committed to akin as he is. and the reason this problem is a bit worse than your usual cagey character fare is that akin and jin face stakes that are much more massive than the typical romcom setting, wherein the decisions made affect their entire careers. i’m a little disappointed that the show didn’t hold akin appropriately accountable at the end of episode nine because akin’s character would only appear stronger and more grounded had he first had a conversation with jin after jin saved his ass and if not apologised, atleast promised to mutually resolve these issues if they arise in the future together, as a unit, because again, this matter didn’t solely concern akin—jin was also a target by association—but instead we got a rushed “badass”/“possessive” scene with him putting a ring on jin in, imo, a very unromantic scene. like these are grown ass men, ffs, and akin, with all his tragic elements is also an equally flawed person as jin and if jin can man up and apologise when he fucks up, i would like to see akin do the same. i do hope this comes in episode 10 but for now, the resolution of this conflict is the biggest gripe in terms of character writing i’ve had with the show so far.

[queerstones]

after watching nanon and gun’s non-bl shows (which make a MASSIVE part of their respective body of works) and even knowing that nanon will probably never do a bl again, IF he ever does give it another chance, i want nanon and gun to play more confident, charming guys with just the right amount of cockiness and ocassional bursts of righteous anger because they do it SO well and look so fucking hot while they’re at it. gun in the gifted when he’s punching people>> and nanon in the jungle when he’s conning people>>>> please please let gun be THE cool guy while off plays a more tired loser-ish character for a change and let nanon be in a plot-driven bl where he’s doing all kinds of cool shit while also wooing his love interest!!

[queerstones]

just finished watching moonlight chicken and i wonder if it’s a rite of passage to be fooled into thinking that heart’s actor was actually deaf before learning more about gemini and fourth 😭 like all this time i’ve been reading their shipname but never bothered to check what they looked like or what series they featured in and i also haven’t watched my school president so imagine my shock when i realised this guy was really just being a very good actor.

[bevioletskies]

heart & li ming + favorite moments (in no particular order)

“See? I told you. If you asked your mom nicely, she would let you come.”

[chimons]

TOP FORM กอดกันมั้ย นายตัวท็อป (2025) dir. Boss Wasakorn Khumklaowiriya

[santips-mmdxli]

i understand people is mad at jin for everything that happened in the last episodes, but hating on him is WILD TO ME. GOD FORBID A HUMAN BEING MAKES MISTAKES BECAUSE HE GOT HURT IN THE PROCESS. overall I feel people don't undestand how difficult and complex relationships are (here I thought I was the one with black and white thinking) and no, the show wasn't trying to put jin as the savior, it's about wanting to lift the weight and pain of the one you love, give him some relief while apologizing and taking accountability for said mistake.

they could never make me hate you jun.

[queerstones]

hating on jin is genuinely insane to me because if you take away the context we as the audience received prior, and the show was from jin’s pov, i bet you people would gather behind him in flocks. he was operating on the knowledge that sufficiently hinted at akin having cheated on him and even then, the point to remember is that jin did NOT jump to conclusions. he gave akin multiple chances to explain and elaborate and his ultimatum was also about keeping akin close so they could sort things out. despite akin walking out the car, jin decided to learn the truth on his own and clear things out.

so, i ask these people: what did he even do wrong?

is jin not allowed to act on his emotions or is that solely reserved as a right for akin?

[queerstones]

two underappreciated parts of top form: boom’s physical acting and smart’s acting through different tones of voice. the way boom moves his body in breakdown scenes is so authentic and not at all awkward and i can tell exactly what jin is feeling by the way smart delivers his lines and the shade of voice he uses in different situations. these two are so good at what they do and i hope they get plenty of opportunities to display their skills further!