I feel like this might become a topic of discussion so allow me to put my 2 cents in. Condoms, lube, and proper prep before penetrative sex (whether implied or explicit) should be standard practice in all BL sex scenes. HOWEVER, there are times when omitting them serves a narrative purpose. That's exactly what we saw with Jay and Sun in today's episode.
Sun wants to cry because it's cathartic for him and Jay knows that. Also, Jay being the dacryphiliac that he is, likes to see—rather is aroused by Sun's crying. There also seems to be a pain kink at play, but I'll leave that topic to those more well-versed in nuances of BDSM. Back to my point: Jay using his spit instead of lube to finger Sun is very intentional. Is it safe? No. Does it make sense in the context of the story? Absolutely.
There's no question that Jay has lube somewhere in that room, but unlike lube, spit provides less slip and thus more pain which will help Sun reach the tearful release he's longing for. That is the point. Even though Jay is purposefully causing Sun pain, he's constantly watching and checking in to make sure that Sun is getting what he needs in that sweet spot between the pleasure AND the desired pain. This is also why the camera focuses on Sun for most of the scene. It's so that we can see that Sun is very much okay with what Jay is doing.
Sorn using polite speech as foreplay: he does this throughout their entire conversation, dropping in polite words and phrases right up until Jun asks him to take off his robe (e.g. switching from gu to hia when referring to himself; omitting mueng and using mia (the nuance surrounding this term in relation to the Thai queer community, as it's interpreted by the Western audiences, is not something I'm qualified to speak on. All I can say is that the lit. translation is wife (also used in many Asian language translations), and depending on the interpretation of the person who's translating, love, darling, sweetheart, spouse etc. may be used as they fit the context and capture some of the nuance involved) when addressing Jun; adding ka and (na) khrap to the end of his questions and sentences, respectively)
I saw that some of you were losing your minds because Peem used ter to refer to Khem during their tension-thick conversation at the end of ep 7 (same lol). The funny thing is Peem has been using the chan/ter pronouns with Khem since the beginning. The reason it caught your attention this time around is because his tone significantly softened.
Before when Peem used ter to address Khem, his tone was that of teacher talking to a student or a phi to a nong. Now his tone is laced with the endearment one would use toward their significant other ^-^
Why did Xiang Yong and Wan Zhe’s wishes come true this time around when they've been making wishes in the same spot for years prior without any success? It's because Hao Wei was skipping rocks into the ocean.
Walk with me.
In the epilogue of ep. 9 Hong teaches teen Xiang Yong how to properly wish upon a shooting star. Basically the steps are to (1) pick up one of the blue and grey rocks (aka shooting star fragments) from the strategically placed rock sculpture, (2) throw the rock into the sea, and (3) earnestly make a wish.
The subs on Gagaoolala are incorrect for the scene above, so please refer to this post by @thisonelikesaliens for a more accurate translation
Keeping that in mind, let’s go back to ep. 1 for a sec. Xiang Yong (XY) and Wan Zhe (WZ) are sitting on the ridge while Hao Wei (HW) is below them at the cove skipping rocks. A couple of the rocks HW chose for skipping were actually the star fragments that Hong showed teen XY in the ep. 9 epilogue.
HW throws them into the ocean before XY and WZ make their wishes, and that's why their wishes come true.
Now some of you might be wondering how HW find out about the cove. Well, in the ep. 9 epilogue, the person that teen XY sends the picture of the cove to is HW.
At this point in the series, it's unclear whether or not HW knows about the lore and made a wish of his own, but because he unintentionally participated in XY and WZ's wishes, it seems that he isn't fully affected by the consequences. That is, unlike everyone else, HW never really felt like XY was a stranger to him. And although he's unable to clearly remember everything that happened between him and XY over the past few weeks, he's still able to vaguely recall somethings by way of his dreams and feelings déjà vu.
At its core, this is a love story and HW's mysterious wristband, which reads "Let your heart drift with the tides of stars," seems to be a silent reminder for HW (consciously or unconsciously is TBD) as the story moves along. I for one am interested to see exactly how far the tides will take him as his heart makes its way back to XY.
That's all I've got regarding HW for now, but I'd like to talk about Hong for a bit. By now, I think it'd be safe to assume that Brother Hong may be a magical sea creature. But what's his purpose in the story?
Well, from what we've seen so far, it is possible that he's been tasked with collecting star fragments from the ocean and bringing them ashore for humans to make their wishes. He also has to keep watch over the wish-makers and offer very vague guidance, if necessary.
@thisonelikesaliens brought up the possibility of him being the sea turtle from the Japanese tale of Urashima Tarō, and after reading the story, I think the likelihood of that being the case is quite high. This story could be a reimagining of the folktale considering that sea turtles have been a prominent, recurring motif throughout the series.
Whatever his role in the story is, he seems to think that his work is done as he's on his way back home with the mysterious hourglass in hand. Another possibility is that his ability to return home is contingent upon a number of wishes being made. Either way, his departure leaves many unanswered questions, especially for XY, but I hope it'll all come together in the end.
If you've made it this far, thanks for reading! Looking forward to what the next episode has in store :)
the contrast between trin and tanwa's budding relationship versus krailert and naran's has been on the forefront of my mind because the layers seem to go on forever.
if i ever have time to expound on this (much more than i have in this post lol), maybe i will but for now my main point is this: trin and tanwa's relationship is operating from a place of leisure/luxury while krailert and naran's is operating from a place of urgency/scarcity.
both trin and krailert have loved and lost someone in the most tragic way, but krailert has never been able to openly and properly grieve win's presumed death because their relationship was not socially or politically acceptable. to make matters worse, the knowledge of his and win's relationship was used to lock him in the gilded cage of his current life.
fortunately, the playful banter between klai rung and sarasawadee provided an outlet and gave him the freedom to be his true self. but at some point, the conversations had through lines on a page were no longer enough—he had to meet the kindred spirit behind the mask. if anything he would gain a friend, but naran initiating that kiss during their clandestine meeting in the library (surrounded by walls of prose—the very thing that brought them together? insane) changed everything. every interaction, every meeting from that moment on had the weight and uncertainty of tomorrow behind it. so without the promise of "later" or "next time" krailert has to make the most of every second he has with naran because he knows all too well how this story ends.
on the other hand, the stakes are not as high for trin. even though he's in the midst of self-discovery, he's able to dance in the rain and stand in the light of the afternoon sun with tanwa while he figures things out. that is something krailert—who in the arms of another man can only feel the faint warmth of the sun just as the shadows of the night begin to take hold—can only dream of experiencing.
Payu’s racing suit: A masterclass in foreplay and kink exploration
One helluva title, huh? Well listen, I’ve been cursed with a great attention to detail (the notes app is sick of me atp) and an even greater desire to share so here we are. Wanna come along for the ride?
It's race day and this is the first time we get to see Payu in his gear, hence this very important full-body shot for which audience is quite grateful (I took the liberty of speaking for all of us, but if you disagree, remember that denial is a river in Egypt 😌). Though we will come to see later on, that no one is as grateful as Rain.
One thing about Rain, he's going to brat. And as amused as Payu is, he's going to nip it right in the bud (hair tousle, my beloved 😭). That aside, we know that Payu is almost always in tune with Rain, and he can clearly see that baby boy is more than loving how he looks in his racing gear. And Rain saying that his suit is cool a second time gives Payu the confirmation he needs, and an opening for foreplay and the exploration of Rain's budding cosplay kink.
Now despite rendering Rain parched and speechless at that thought of him stripping out of his gear, leave it to Payu to take it to the next level.
Rain is visibly excited. And although he has not verbally responded, his body language is speaking volumes, even if at this point he doesn't fully get what Payu is implying.
Payu has essentially given Rain the permission to dress him within the boundaries of cosplay, and confirms this by asking Rain to help with putting on his gloves.
Now I'd like to think the purpose of Payu's request two-fold: (1) to show (just the audience atp because Rain doesn't understand what's happening yet) that he’s noticed the beginnings of Rain's kink and (2) to engage another one of Rain's senses as he continues their foreplay. So far there's been sight, sound, smell, and now Payu has added touch.
We all know that Payu probably entertained the idea of having Rain go full-contact right in the middle of the garage, but he still has a race to win so the gloves will have to do for now.
The race is over and Payu has fulfilled his promise to Rain: he has claimed victory unscathed. And now Payu is looking forward to his reward: reaping the benefits all of that glorious foreplay.
By the time they get home, Rain is damn near feral. He’s so turned on that even Payu is pleasantly surprised. And honestly can we blame Rain? We’ve established that Payu looks hot in his racing gear, but he looks even hotter winning in his racing gear. The latter is not lost on Rain and it’s showing in the way he’s kissing and touching Payu.
Ah yes, the touching … let's focus on that.
As they’re kissing, Rain’s hand glides along Payu’s side, pulling him close, and lingering for a bit to feel the fit and structure of the suit against Payu's body — the smooth feel of the elbow pad and the grain of the leather on Payu’s ass.
Side note: I find it fascinating that Payu starts mirroring Rain’s movements for a bit. I don’t know whether they’re just really locked in and hot for each other or it’s meant to be a form of subconscious reassurance for Rain (both. both is good.), but whatever it is seems to be working because Rain’s energy is at 1000%.
Baby boy is so lost in the sauce that even palms and strokes Payu through the suit (he really said "all hands on di—" I'm sorry lol), later pulling him close to feel the full weight of all of that leather on his body.
Now, we could say that this is just the way people touch each other while in the midst of a pre-sex make out session, but that is not the case here. Payu can feel the difference and remarks on it, continuing their earlier conversation at the garage.
Another side note: Imagine being so in tune and obsessed with your partner that you're able to continue conversations hours later as if the passage of time doesn’t exist. Absolute insanity.
Anyway~ naked and deep in throes of passion, it's at this point they switch gears for a bit (pun intended) with it being Rain's turn to do the talking.
From the garage up until now, Payu has a created a safe space for Rain to release his inhibitions (s/o to my girl Natasha Bedingfield 🎶) and explore this new side of himself. And while that's true, the rules established in their D/s relationship are still in place. One of them is no swearing. But Rain is feeling carefree and especially bratty, so he levels up the dirty talk, adding some profanity to spice things up.
They both know that a punishment is inevitable, but there's some nuance involved. Rain is the midst of self-discovery, so Payu opts for a less severe punishment for the swearing. He bites Rain's lips, but he does it with degree of playfulness that encourages Rain to continue. Without the swearing, of course.
Taking the hint and most importantly, staying on theme (i.e. riding Payu like a finely-tuned motorcycle … again, I'm sorry lol), Rain takes over both verbally and physically, and it is absolutely doing it for Payu.
In fact, Payu is so pleased that he offers Rain a lifetime subscription of free riding lessons. All jokes aside, the way that Payu responds (in that he mirrors Rain's word choice) shows that he is enjoying this cosplay scene just as much as Rain.
Thoroughly spent and content after crossing yet another finish line for the day, Payu reassures and encourages Rain once more. And in turn, Rain checks in with Payu confirming that everything was enjoyable for the both of them.
Communication? We love to see it.
Even while basking in the afterglow of their bisexually-lit post-coital bliss, that race suit is still on Rain's mind. Again, can we really blame him? He realizes that the cosplay aspect of it is something that he likes. And although things seemed to come naturally to him, this is still very much uncharted territory for Rain. Payu acknowledges this and provides aftercare in the form of teasing encouragement, promising to purchase a few costumes for later cosplay sessions.
Rain may not be ready to fully accept his newfound kink, but knows that he can explore it further with Payu whenever he's ready. And the open and consistent communication they've had during this time will help them build a solid foundation to do that.
If you made to this point, thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed and I'll catch you in the next one :)
Bonus: An update from the special episode
A few months have passed and as you can see our lovely couple has indeed gone on to further explore their cosplay kink.
AND they even added a few others to the mix. Good for them and may the kinks be ever in their favor.
I would like to bring your attention to very important word that was sort of lost in translation during the love scene below.
When Cir breaks to speak to Phu, the English subtitles we've seen read:
Remember. You're the only Phukan I have.
That is what he says in the first two phrases (which by themselves count as a full confession). However, the subtitles don't capture what he whispers right after:
มาตลอด/matalot (adverb, colloquial) always, all along
Because of this, I toggled through all of the subtitles and in my opinion, the Vietnamese translation fully captures and conveys the feeling and gravity of Cir's words:
Remember, I only have this Phukan. That [was] always the case.
The Portuguese and Malay subtitles come in at a close second:
Remember. I always had only you, one Phukan.
Remember. I only have you, [the] one and only Phukan.
The "always" Cir whispers emphasizes that this Phu is and has always been the only Phu in his life—this life or any other.
Is Great wearing these asymmetrical shirts to show how off-balance he's currently feeling? I hope so because I love when plot lines translate into a character's wardrobe choices.
It honestly would make sense because the anomaly always seems to be on his left side, closest to the heart, which could be in reference to the myocarditis the other patients with the same abilities have experienced.
