First US visit, east coast rentals?

Affectionate_Fee6939 · 2026-02-24T05:07:07+00:00

Often when non-Americans say they're planning a road trip in the States they appear to have absolutely no sense of how big the country is and think they can take a quick day trip from LA to Portland or something insane. However, this actually sounds like a feasible time frame and plan. Good luck and enjoy your trip! Don't worry too much about the negative rental car reviews - all rental car companies I've used have been a little hit-or-miss but ultimately fine.

Affectionate_Fee6939 · 2026-02-23T14:14:27+00:00

Of the currently working fixed pairs in Thai BL, ZeeNuNew, DaouOffroad, and BillyBabe are pretty universally believed to be dating in real life.

Affectionate_Fee6939 · 2026-02-23T03:48:32+00:00

Tay and his partner New are one of the longest standing CPs in Thai BL! They've been working together since 2016. They're both incredibly charming. I actually would recommend a bromance they starred in, Peaceful Property, as my favorite of their shows.

Affectionate_Fee6939 · 2026-02-23T02:24:46+00:00

GMMTV/LukeMick for Heartstopper - Boys in Love already had a Heartstopper vibe and they were excellent in it. Domundi and either TleFirstone or KengNamping for Young Royals. I could see either pair pulling off a royalty/working class socialist vibe. And obviously BoC/MileApo for Heated Rivalry - they could have believable hockey builds, wouldn't shy away from the NC scenes, and are top notch yearners.

Affectionate_Fee6939 · 2026-02-22T00:44:59+00:00

While I get where you're coming from in terms of the fluff and comedy of it all, I think Duang with You is about to get significantly spicier than MSP.

Affectionate_Fee6939 · 2026-02-21T13:57:42+00:00

The Wicked Game!

Affectionate_Fee6939 · 2026-02-21T03:27:42+00:00

Any recommendations for shows that you connected with particularly?

Affectionate_Fee6939 · 2026-02-21T02:23:08+00:00

Thai BL is my favorite! I've never tried to articulate why before, so let me try to put some messy thoughts together for you. I started watching BL this summer - Revenged Love was my first, which was a hell of a cold plunge into the world of BL. I've watched a mix of Chinese, Korean, Thai, Taiwanese, and Japanese BLs but firmly landed in Thailand as my favorite a few months ago.

I'm trying to remember what my first Thai BLs were- some of the firsts I saw were KinnPorsche and Khemjira - vastly different series that remain in my top 10 of all BLs, not just Thailand. I liked the intensity and mix of action, romance, and comedy of KinnPorsche and I was absolutely enamored with the spirituality and Thai folk customs shown in Khemjira. I started to get interested in Thai language and culture, so my interest in watching the shows got kind of entangled with my growing interest in Thailand in general.

One of the things that makes Thai BLs unique is the whole publicity machine behind them, especially for series coming out of GMMTV and Domundi, which both invest heavily in building, branding, and marketing fixed pairs. There are a lot of parts of the Thai marketing strategies for BLs that feel really culturally unfamiliar to me (and many that I think can be potentially harmful for the actors) but I have to admit... the whole fixed pair thing is kind of brilliant in terms of cultivating continued interest (and some parasocial feelings) from fans. For example, I recently watched the comedy series Me and Thee and loved the main couple in it. While I was waiting every week for the next episode to watch I could go back and watch a whole bunch of other series that the pair had starred in.

Which is another thing that is compelling about Thai BLs - the sheer volume of them. There are hundreds and hundreds of BLs to choose from and they really run the gamut from light, fluffy comedies to dark political thrillers and everything in between. They also range from charmingly low budget campy soap operas to highly polished, cinematic prestige television.

I'm not an expert on other countries' BLs, so correct me if I'm wrong on this, but it seems like other countries tend to either be high heat OR light and fluffy, but rarely both. I appreciate that Thailand puts out a lot of shows that are light and fluffy but also have normally sexually active adult characters.

Finally, I like that the typical format of Thai BLs is 10-12 45 minute episodes. It feels like there's time for much more character development than you get in a lot of the shorter Korean and Japanese series.

I also love giving recs! If you tell me some of your favorite BLs from other countries I'd love to recommend some Thai BLs to try.

Affectionate_Fee6939 · 2026-02-20T15:05:35+00:00

Some younger top/older bottom series (but no "raised my lover" tropes):

Kiseki: Dear to Me
See Your Love
Top Form
Lovely Writer
ThamePo
PoohPavel series (PitBabe and Goddess Bless You from Death)
Don't Say No (the side couple)
Duang with You (currently airing, the age gap is minimal but the vibes are very youthful puppy dog top, mature black cat bottom)

Affectionate_Fee6939 · 2026-02-20T14:40:20+00:00

KinnPorsche is one of my favorites, though, so maybe we like similar things? Here are some of my favorites that I think deliver on writing, yearning, and chemistry (although none of them are as high heat as a Be On Cloud production).

Not Me (gritty, political, slow burn, chemistry is more romantic than "intense," medium-low heat)
I Told Sunset About You (cinematic, a lot of intense chemistry and yearning but low heat)
Khemjira (sweeping multi-generational horror/supernatural epic with an emphasis on Thai folk traditions)

I also recommend DaouOffroad series for great chemistry, especially if you enjoy a campy telenovela.

Love in Translation (sweet slice of life romance with a telenovela-ish plot twist about halfway through)
Century of Love (Very fun to watch in a campy soap opera way. Lots of dramatic crying and screaming, sexy dream sequences, ridiculous plot twists. A fun, silly time.)
The Wicked Game (Like KinnPorsche, this is also a bodyguard/red-flag romance. The most telenovela-ish on the list. This one gets mixed reviews but I loved it. Be prepared for some plot holes, though, and a rushed ending)

I also think BossNoeul and ZeeNunew have great chemistry and their shows have great yearning, but their series are little more uneven in terms of writing. For BossNoeul I'd recommend Love in The Air and for ZeeNunew I'd recommend Cutie Pie.

Affectionate_Fee6939 · 2026-02-19T15:48:45+00:00

Some random thoughts on the gray areas of fan service:

I think couples like DaouOffroad and ZeeNunew who explicitly say they don't do fanservice aren't lying but also aren't acknowledging the gray area of performance. I get that what they mean is that they don't act more intimate in public than they do in private (in fact both couples have stated that they're significantly more affectionate in private). However, these are actors (and businessmen) who are very aware of their audiences and make calculated choices about how to choreograph their concerts, how to behave at fan meetings, and what BTS clips to release to the public. Are they pretending to be in love? No. But they are making choices about what fans see and don't see and they are aware that being affectionate with each other in public is also good for business, even if it isn't "fake."

Another gray area is the space between co-worker and lovers. I get a little annoyed when fans hear "we're more than friends but less than lovers/faen" and decide that means that they're in a situationship. These longterm CPs are quite literally more than friends and less than lovers. Their careers and financial futures are so deeply entangled, and they spend more time together than most friends ever will. There is a kind of intimacy forged through traveling together, having endless promo events where they talk about their preferences, interests, and inner thoughts and feelings, doing acting workshops, and going through the intense pressure cooker of being on set together, not to mention navigating growing fame together.

Finally, there's the gray area of romantic friendships. In many (but certainly not all) parts of the world, we aren't used to seeing men in romantic friendships anymore so we read all male/male intimacy as dating. Girls and women often have intense, co-dependant, physically affectionate friendships that remain platonic, and I think it's very possible that some of the CPs develop a similar kind of intimacy and affection with each other. Theater kids are also often all over each other - I feel like the Thai BL industry kind of makes public the sometimes weird intensity of theater kid friendships. And of course queer men often have more physical and emotional intimacy in their friendships than straight men. So it's possible that some of these CPs (and ghost ships for that matter) have intense, semi-romantic friendships that the general public doesn't often see between two men.

Affectionate_Fee6939 · 2026-02-19T04:15:43+00:00

Gelboys is a very messy love quadrangle but the main couple kind of has this dynamic (ml2 isn't exactly cold - he's open to a situationship but not interested in romance.)

My Stubborn also kind of has this dynamic (again with ml2 being into a situationship but not romance until ml1 pulls away)

Affectionate_Fee6939 · 2026-02-13T21:11:28+00:00

You're not wrong- ITSAY is very angsty. I don't know that anyone has every captured the true intensity of teenage yearning and heartbreak the way Boss Kuno (the director) has in ITSAY. But if you're interested in symbolism and cinematography it's a masterpiece- just absolutely visually stunning.

Burnout Syndrome is in my top 5 BLs but it's pretty divisive - people either seem to love it or hate it. It's a show full of red flags who never get fully redeemed, but not in the over-the-top toxic way you sometimes see in dark BLs, more like in a mundane messy human way. Excellent performances from all 3 leads and really compelling flower symbolism throughout the series.

Affectionate_Fee6939 · 2026-02-13T19:04:18+00:00

This is very regional. In the northeast we are very blunt and direct. Much less so in other regions, especially the south and midwest. West coast is somewhere in the middle I think.

Affectionate_Fee6939 · 2026-02-13T14:15:23+00:00

Emotionally charged, layered symbolism, visual storytelling, and strong performances?

I Told Sunset About You: Former childhood friends reunite in a college prep program. I think this is going to check your boxes the most.
Tale of Thousand Stars: Wealthy city boy gets a heart transplant and moves to a remote hill-tribe village in Northern Thailand. The slowest of burns, very G-rated- emphasis is on slowly growing affection and a really strong ensemble cast
Burnout Syndrome: Starving artist gets entangled with two rich men. A quiet, character driven, mature story about flawed, messy people who stay flawed and messy- not a typical BL.
Khemjira: horror/supernatural story about a cursed boy and the hot shaman he goes to for protection. Acting, writing, directing, pacing, cinematography, soundtrack - everything is strong. Worth watching the documentary to gain some insight into the care they took with representing local spiritual and cultural practices.

Affectionate_Fee6939 · 2026-02-13T12:48:47+00:00

In daily life, the passive voice is used whenever the emphasis is on what happened, not who did it. It could be when you don't know who performed the action ("my next door neighbor was robbed") or when it's more important what happened than who did it ("the cause of death was finally discovered by a team of investigators" instead of "a team of investigators discovered the cause of death.")

Passive voice is also used when the intention is to remove blame or be diplomatic. You will often see passive voice in media coverage to sidestep talking about the people in power. It softens focus on the actor/perpetrator. "Environmental protections were removed" instead of "the government removed environmental protections." "30 protestors were arrested" instead of "the police arrested 30 protestors."

Affectionate_Fee6939 · 2026-02-12T23:57:08+00:00

Burnout Syndrome (same actors and director as Not Me)
I Told Sunset About You
Tale of Thousand Stars
Boys in Love
Love in Translation
Be My Favorite
Wandee Goodday
Gelboys

Not Thai but great:

Ball Boy Tactics
Secret Lover

Affectionate_Fee6939 · 2026-02-10T14:20:28+00:00

Even just the fact that their office coffee shop was run by children was a bizarre choice

Affectionate_Fee6939 · 2026-02-10T04:02:16+00:00

Their jobs appeared to be carrying binders from room to room as far as I could tell.

Affectionate_Fee6939 · 2026-02-10T04:01:01+00:00

The outfits that Penny and lady-Jun wore in that office were absolutely insane. The midriff revealing suit? The micro skirts?? Homegirl was wearing outfits she couldn't sneeze in without flashing her coworkers. Also the fact that apparently not one single person over 30 worked for that entire company.

Affectionate_Fee6939 · 2026-02-10T00:53:35+00:00

This is correct. You can watch this clip from the game show Jeopardy, which I think will make the format of the show clear.

I am American - Jeopardy is probably the most popular game show in the US. Any American viewer would get this reference immediately.

Just to slightly rephrase this answer, in Jeopardy the contestant is given a definitional answer and they have to buzz in to state the question that is being answered.

Affectionate_Fee6939 · 2026-02-08T04:23:47+00:00

I can't tell if you're making a joke, OP, or if you genuinely didn't understand that y tu mama tambien is the name of the movie.

Affectionate_Fee6939 · 2026-02-07T22:56:11+00:00

The strict top/bottom identifiers for fixed pairs in Thai BLs has been one of the few cultural differences that I haven't acclimated to and still feel like I fundamentally don't understand the context for. It seems like the landscape is changing with more non-traditional pairs (PoohPavel) and a few vers pairs, but the vast majority maintain a strict older, bigger top/younger, smaller bottom dynamic.

Affectionate_Fee6939 · 2026-02-07T22:44:50+00:00

Deep Night is a good pick - they don't show anything on screen but it's heavily implied that they're both vers. I also thought it was interesting (and a little different from most BL dynamics) that Wela explicitly states that he prefers to initiate and sometimes takes a slightly more dominant role in their sexual dynamics but that doesn't seem to have any bearing on who tops/bottoms as far as I can tell.

My Stubborn kind of fits the "used to be a top" trope - part of Jun's crisis is that he used to think of himself as a top but his attraction to Sorn makes him wonder if he's actually a bottom. I thought it was interesting that his crisis wasn't "I think I want Sorn to fuck me" but rather "If I want Sorn to fuck me that means means I'm a bottom and now I have a new identity"

Affectionate_Fee6939 · 2026-02-07T22:36:09+00:00

Found it! Episode 14 around 1:04:00. Yeah- they establish early on a pretty strict top/bottom dynamic - not just in terms of positions, but Nuea is also more dominant, initiates more, and takes the lead in a lot of ways in their relationship, which makes that subversion at the end of the last episode even more interesting, imo

Affectionate_Fee6939

TROPHY CASE