15 Day BL Challenge Let's Do This!

15 Day BL Challenge let's do this!

OG here 💚

Day 5 - Biggest Flop

Just gonna put a warning up top if you're a fan of Only Friends maybe don't read this because my answer to this prompt is...

Hoo boy. Let me tell you, when GMMTV rolled out the teaser trailer for this I was SAT.

The cast of Only Friends is absolutely stacked. I adore First and Khaotung. I was so excited to see Mark and Neo in this type of role. And of course the rest of the cast is also amazingly talented. So what went wrong?

Put simply, I just felt like it didn't have any teeth. They marketed Only Friends as a story about a toxic queer friend group and yeah, they were toxic. But they weren't toxic in an interesting or compelling or fun way. They were just toxic for the sake of being toxic. The writers kept creating situations for these characters to be in without threading in any kind of emotional through line or doing something original with the material.

They brought Boeing in and gave him this huge, villanous introduction and then... he didn't do anything? Never in my life have I ever screamed, "JUST FUCK THE GUY!" at my screen until Mew kept teasing Top about fucking Boeing when in fact he... never did.

Even when Mew was entering his, "villain era" it was like... "my villain era is... to be mildly annoying! Take that!"

It's like the writers kept being like, "hey, we're gonna light a fire!!!!" And then they pull out a birthday candle.

It's so weird to me because I think one of GMMTV's biggest strengths is writing friendship groups, particularly in a university context, so it's confusing how miserably they failed with this. None of these characters had each other's backs, they were all just selfish and mean and this is the thing about writing toxic characters: they still need to be likable in some way.

I am all for toxic characters but they have to be entertaining in order for the story to work.

Toxic villain? Make sure everyone loves to hate them or there's something compelling about them that the audience can't tear their eyes away from.

Toxic couple? Make sure the dynamic that they have is magnetic in some way, the audience needs to root for them even if they know they're not good for each other.

Toxic protagonist? Have the audience constantly guessing their motives, good, bad, morally grey? Where does their heart truly lie? What is the reason for their toxic behaviour? Trauma? Heartbreak? Abandonment issues?

Toxic friendship group? How about they be that toxic kind of ride or die? Like they might be shitty and mean to each other but if one of their own gets fucked up you just know they'll unite to kick some teeth in.

And then... there was this guy.

Now GMMTV has a history of writing characters that do terrible things and never get held accountable for their actions but this time it just felt irresponsible. This little twerp tried to ruin Boston's life, accusing him of being a sexual predator, and he got... a two minute tepid talking to in the bathroom? And then a nice little scene with his sister who was like, "give me a hug" and meanwhile Boston gets... nothing?

BOOOOOOOOOOOO

*chanting at my screen at 2am* DO IT DO IT DO IT

@bengiyo put it perfectly here

When I look at Only Friends I see so much wasted potential. Like this scene with Neo and Mark was beautifully done.

Although I didn't like the character of Ray, I loved this scene and that is 100% due to the acting powerhouse that is Khaotung.

If they had been given a better script I truly believe Only Friends could've been amazing.

im tired of online discourse. look at this family of quails

Ohhhh underneath it all he’s so baby girl it hurts

From today’s Sydney protest (06/10/2024)

What time is it? 15 day BL challenge time!

OG here ❤️

Day 9 - Most visually pleasing love scene

When I think of visually pleasing love scenes, the one that immediately popped up in my head was this scene in KinnPorsche.

THE GREEN BATHROOM SCENE 🤌🏻🤌🏻

I’ve rewatched this scene so many times. But not for the reason you’d think.

I adore the way lighting is utilised in this scene.

KinnPorsche is one of the strongest BL technical productions I’ve ever seen. The cinematography, editing, costumes, etc., it’s all so satisfying. And my favourite part about the whole show is the lighting design.

Bisexual lighting you will always be famous

I love lighting design so much that I’m incapable of fully articulating myself. Most of the time I just point and go ASFGQOAN@&&-$6;uwh/-:$2UANBW!!!!!

AJhkkiiqjjHYQU/5167-jajahhyxQSSWA!!!

It is a powerful storytelling tool in visual media but there’s been this trend in western film and television over the past fifteen years to make everything as dark as possible. And no, don’t tell me, “it’s night time, it’s meant to be dark!!” Or “you just don’t get it, it’s a specific, stylistic choice” or “adjust your brightness” when you can watch movies and tv shows from twenty plus years ago that have night scenes and dark aesthetics where you can still see everything.

I also have to mention how lighting is effectively and beautifully used in Between Us.

The contrasting softness of the yellow light on one side and then the colder, hazy blueness coming from the curtains on the opposite side. The way they are still standing in the shadows, you can feel the hesitancy, the quiet desperation, the buzz of electricity emanating between the two of them, the desire, the hunger.

The lighting is used in this scene to help visually convey all of these feelings without having to explicitly explain it to the audience.

These scenes in KinnPorsche and Between Us show how lighting can be used to elevate a scene. Imagine if these scenes had that dim, Game of Thrones-esque lighting.

BORING

It’s that time again, 15 day BL challenge time!

OG here 💜

Day 6 - Fave line from your fave series

I have a few “favourite” BLs but the first one I thought of was this…

BL: Between Us

Now this line might seem simple, but it means so much to me.

The question of consent is so crucial and a common complaint from people on the internet is that consent isn’t “sexy”. Well to those that say that, please watch the two sex scenes in Between Us episodes 1-2, feel the tension, the electricity in the air, the way Win and Team both seem to be holding themselves back at the start but you can tell they are craving each other. They’re so unsteady but at the same time there’s a hunger, a longing, an anticipation that’s sharp and palpable.

And then Win breathes, “Can I kiss you?” And it’s so quiet but it’s like fireworks.

Consent is sexy. And when it’s written well into a scene, it’s goddamn poetry.

ART