Flypsyde

Halfway through episode 4: What the hell did I just see? Seriously, wtf?

I just went from liking two of the main characters a lot to thinking one's a dumb-ass and the other is a shit head. Wow.

Halfway thru ep. 4...had to take a break to say that this show just kind of went to shit for me all of a sudden. I was enjoying it quite a bit until Barry began to obviously flirt with/entice Mando even as he told him "don't ever break my sister's heart." Then off they go to a resort (how original!), Barry does more flirting, maneuvers Mando into sharing a room with him, gives him a touchy-feely swimming lesson, then apparently bangs the other muscle boy who showed up at the motel after meeting just hours earlier, then comes down to his and Mando's room, accepts Mando's confession and instead of reacting with even a tiny bit of discretion, compassion or maturity, proceeds to bang Mando, his sister's boyfriend (right after the muscle boy no less; did he even wash his dick off?!) WITH THE CURTAINS TO THE SLIDING DOORS OFF THE POOL WIDE OPEN, neither of them the slightest bit concerned that Kisha is going to stroll over from next door and see them going at it on the bed (wtf?), then they lay there and chat like newlyweds about their mutual dream with the curtains wide open still...and then all of a sudden Mando's back home in bed already mooning over his girlfriend's brother who just fucked him while Barry and Krisha are on their way home. Seriously? And all this after Barry threw a hissy fit after catching his gross BF coming out of a motel with poor Babo's BF as if he were all morally offended. I don't know where to begin?

I am anything but a prude, but I have no patience for sexual cheating in a relationship. If people want an open relationship and everyone's on board, that's one thing, but this is none of those things. And it all happened so freaking fast. Totally weird writing and plot developments.

I give Mando a break because he's a naive, sexually inexperienced, romantically inexperienced, socially inexperienced young guy trying to navigate coming out of the closet or staying in all by himself when he runs into this Barry/Kisha train wreck. But man, this turn of events takes Barry from cool, chill, nice, hot dude to scum bag of the earth.

Blatantly pursues and seduces his sister's BF while playing the protective big brother.
Takes advantage of a vulnerable moment to fuck his sister's BF while she's in the very next room RIGHT AFTER HAVING SEX WITH SOME RANDOM HOOKUP.
DOESN'T BOTHER TO CLOSE THE CURTAINS.
TOTAL DOUCHE/SCUM BAG

It might be the curtains thing that bugs me the most. I kept waiting for Kisha to walk down to their room and see Mando with his legs in the air and Barry in between them. Yikes.

Whatever you say. I am not going to keep repeating myself. You and I fundamentally disagree on the quality of this series' portrayal of that relationship. You think it's great. I think it sucks the big one. Fine. People disagree.

Directness is not the same thing as "rudeness."

How many replies am I going to get that say "it's supposed to be like that." Apparently many people can't read. I NEVER said "its not supposed to be like that." I never said "I don't like it to be like that." I basically said "this portion of a very good series is not well-written/this relationship's dynamics are not explained by the script/plot. The replies I get simply speculate as to the answers the series does not provide. OK. Whatever. I'm not going to bother repeating my questions because I've stated them above more than once and no one answers so there's no point.

You're comparing drunk driving with BL fan service, right? I'll have to admit, you've gone over the top as far as I'm concerned. Drunk driving kills and maims people. BL fan service gets fujoshis on the Internet worked up. To me it's kind of bizarre to put those two things on the same footing.

I think you take the whole fan-service thing way too seriously. I don't. I can't get myself upset about it, sorry.

So can I ask you a question though? Why do you "hate" fan service so much? Why does it bother you? How does it effect YOU? Why do you seemingly take it so deathly seriously? If some guys mess up their real-life love lives by doing fan service, then that is a result of a choice they made, they knew what they were doing and so...what? I'm not getting the level of upset on your part. But I would agree with you that an actor who does fan-service and then has some shipper mess with his life on social media, he bears some responsibility for that. But I do not think he "deserves" it as some kind of punishment or just desserts. It's just a risk that comes with the job.

I stopped watching Lovely Writer after one and a half episodes, but that was because I was bored, not because it offended me in some way. My understanding from people who watched and liked it is that it calls the BL industry into question for the very things you seem to object to. I think it CRITICIZES the production companies and their marketing strategies for the way they treat their actors and the things they require them to do as part of their contracts. It seems to me you should give that show a try, as it is meant to address and call into question many of the things you don't like about the BL biz.

End of ep 2. Hey, this is getting good. :D Just fluff and sweetness with some mild angst on the way, but dear god, Barry getting out of the pool in that Speedo made my entire life to this point worth living. Alex has a rare quality: He's extremely handsome and sexy but he is not intimidating or off-putting in his beauty. Some people are so spectacularly, dramatically, breath-takingly gorgeous that you're afraid to go near them or talk to them. They're like a sculpture or a painting you'd just look at and admire. Alex, at least in his character as Barry, is almost that beautiful but not...quite maybe? And to me that is a very GOOD thing. I think he's a knock-out in looks AND personality.

"deserve" is a loaded word in this context. I would just say that all four of these guys are adults, they know what they are doing and they know all about fujoshis and shippers and social media insanity, and they are making a choice to take the chance that something negative might happen as a result of their actions and they are doing it anyway. All of us do that every day in ways large and small with every action we take.

When I drive to the store there is a small chance I will have a car wreck and even be severely injured. Does that keep me from driving to the store? No. So if there is an accident and I or someone else is injured, does that mean I "deserve" for that to happen because I took the risk? Hardly.

If I were these young actors and had the chance to perform in an internationally-watched series and do promo vids/interviews/etc. as part of that, and do fan-service silliness too, I would most DEFINITELY take the chance for the sake of my career. And what is the worst that has happened as a result of fan service? Mean things being said on the Internet? Who cares? I would hope I'd have the good sense to stay away from social media altogether.

By the way, ChenTu, especially Chen, is LOVING his fan service duties; he's taking it quite a bit further than most BL guys I've seen and he doesn't seem the least bit worried about it, he's having fun as he should be. If he's not worried, neither am I.

Now I'll be having naughty thoughts about Kokoy and Alex's four "fish balls" for the rest of the evening.

Just finished episode 1. Wow, so glad I decided to give this series a shot on a whim. What a fun, cute, funny, sweet, touching show so far. Kokoy is an strikingly talented actor. That last scene where he cried real tears while eating his fish balls made me laugh and it made me sad at the same time, just as it was meant to do. Not many actors could have pulled that little bit off. His character here is quite different from in Gameboys, two completely different people. Just a very talented, versatile actor and exceedingly handsome to boot. I want to go swimming in those dimples.

His love-interest, Alex, seems to be a fine actor too; very natural in this role. I love the physical pairing of the two; both gorgeous but very different. Likeable on first glance. Drop-dead handsome but doesn't seem at all conceited or into himself.

I usually don't care for the over-the-top stereotypical screaming queens we see in Filipino BLs, but something about Babo has me rooting for him already. I wish him good luck with his tall/handsome boyfriend who showed up at the fish ball stand. :D Babo is a swishy sister-man but he doesn't have that mean/vicious edge so many of this type of character display.

The only bad thing about this show so far is the theatre director's hairdo and dye job. Yikes.

lol I get that about it pushing the plot forward, but the writers should come up with some reason why he HAS to allow the freaks to do the cleanup even though they are a mess themselves and put him in danger of being caught. I know he is insane but he is also highly intelligent; I just don't buy that he'd take such a risk. Wouldn't he want to protect his "art" and his ability to keep making it from the authorities?

Anyway, it's not a make or break thing for me...I love this series and especially Dong Wook. He rocks.

I didn't mean to imply you were promoting YOURSELF or your work, which actually I'm not sure I would object to anyway. :D I was trying to say that in posting fan-service videos you may be giving more attention to media that you object to. Just a thought.

If it's that bad for them, then I think leaving the industry is precisely what a young actor should do. There are other kinds of acting work to be had, but good luck finding any that doesn't require doing promotional stuff. From what I've seen of "fan service" it's obvious the guys are playing a part and having fun doing so. Again, I hate it when a few weirdos around the edges ruin a good time for everyone else.

(blushing...) I'm basking in your pride, my commenter friend. I'm a Mr. by the way. :)

Watched one of the videos. ChenTu is definitely working the hell out of the fan service. Guys, even gay ones, just hanging out, rarely put their chins on each others' shoulders and look dreamily into each others' eyes such as Chen especially is doing. It's almost a parody of a BL couple. lol Gay or straight, those are NOT the actions of someone who is hoping to avoid fujoshis and shippers going crazy. They are doing it on purpose and having a lot of fun. So what?

OK, I just watched both videos. First of all, I could be wrong of course but I see four actors having a lot of fun doing part of what thousands of other less successful actors only dream of: Being cast in a successful show and doing promotional work for it. It is a gay/BL series so it would be weird if there wasn't some gay/BL vibes to it. I can't understand a word of what they say but the entire video seems to be precisely ABOUT their lovey-dovey scenes in the series itself so why wouldn't they flirt and act silly while they are doing the promo?

ChenTu are having more fun with it, especially Chen, and taking it further than the other two, but again, this all comes with the territory and Tu and he seem to be having fun. No one looks awkward or uncomfortable, you'd be able to tell if they were.

PengWei come off more as two straight guys hanging out so obviously they are not being "forced" to do anything either. For some reason Peng comes off as the most appealing of the four IRL. I like his easy manner and ready laugh/smile.

Anyway, why let a few crazy shippers on the Internet ruin the fun for everyone? ignore them.

WHY WHY WHY do you keep spreading this stuff around and promoting what you claim to object to? I am going to watch these vids now simply because you keep posting them and now I'm curious. I never would have done so otherwise and I doubt I'm the only one who has reacted that way. Are you sure you don't work for the production company? :D

"Violence?" Seriously? Taking photos is violence? You're never going to stop a small minority of crazy people on the Internet spreading bullshit. So why give them all this attention? I certainly hope the studios prepare their actors for what's coming as a result of their appearances in promo vids and fan-service. If they don't, they are stupid. And any young woman who dates a BL star like Max has got to know what's headed her way. I would suggest she and you stay OFF social media altogether. It's a twisted/sick place to begin with and unhealthy people are going to do unhealthy things. So why look at it or read it? Of course what these psychos on the Internet do is not right or good but it's also never going to stop, so deal with it.

Serious question: I have watched exactly ONE actor interview/game show/whatever from ALL the many dozens of BLs and movies I have watched. Why do you seek out this stuff and spread the links to it around if you find it objectionable? I don't get that? Ignore it, don't promote it.

Personally, I don't think it is true to say "MOST people cannot separate..." I don't think that's accurate at all. I think its a small, fringe group of crazies who make trouble as a result of fan service. But surely the agencies AND the actors know this is coming and are prepared for it...it's part of the job. Are there really Thai BL actors who have not "survived" shipping and fan-service? I mean, who have actually died or killed themselves as a direct result of that phenomenon?

Well, once you're 18, at least in the USA, you're an adult and can do what you want. I think lots of 20 year-olds are more mature than a lot of 70 year-olds. People get to do what they choose and then pay the price. That's how life works. It is up to the actor to seek advice and guidance and then weigh the costs and the rewards. If they find a certain aspect of stardom to be not worth the price well, then, they can quit the industry. Who's going to "ban" a clause in a private contract? The government? The industry itself? This sort of thing has been going on in entertainment at least for a century or more.

I hate how savage and inhuman the entertainment biz, and lots of other businesses are, especially K-Pop (I love Jonghyun so can relate), which is insane but I think the best thing is for those who are motivated to do so to shine as much light as possible on what actually goes on. Unfortunately, that too has been happening for decades but the call of stardom almost always outweighs the fear of negative consequences. Actors' unions in the USA have been somewhat successful in fighting some of the worst abuses but it is still pretty much up to the individual what they agree to.

Parents see dollar signs too, unfortunately. I wouldn't take everything presented in Lovely Writer, which I tried to watch but found boring, as though it were Gospel truth.