Find the Blue Sky

And an added bonus: sunscreen will help prevent skin cancer :)

duang with you | episode 5

Let’s all appreciate that Pai was appalled at the idea of North getting a dog, but the second he learned the crate was actually where North keeps his husband he was like “oh thank God, great job little buddy.”

See, in normal circumstances a character like Duang would annoy me and make me cringe so hard that would make watching this show harder. But the thing is, this character is really well calibrated. Yes, he is A LOT, a lot of the time. But he's not brainless and out of touch. He's not ignoring Qin's boundaries and most importantly his words. When he needs to stay away, he stays away. When Qin says stop it, he does. I mean he's definitely testing the line at all times but never crossing it.

And Qin, my beautiful tsundere. (I still think he fell first btw, but let's ignore that for now.) His walls are crumbling and this episode was essentially just watching bricks fall while he lost his balance from the tremors. And this is why I love sunshine x grumpy pairings, because there's a very strong element of 'it had to be you'. And that's very true here. Qing was so closed off, so used to being alone and not depending on other people that he needed a fierce and devoted puppy to break through the walls.

This moment... I felt Qin’s emotions in my soul and in my chest. He wants to give in, but he hates feeling this way because it’s so safe in the little box he built for himself; in there, he can control everything. But now Duang is shaking it all up and all these emotions are pouring in and Qin's losing his grip on everything and it's so terrifying to him.

So he needs to keep up this facade a bit longer even if it's just to make himself feel comfortable. Cause he's not fooling anyone else right now. We all know getting a tattoo with someone, of something that same someone drew, is of course normal friend behaviour, nothing more. Why would you think that means anything? That's crazy. They are buddies. Buddies who dance and sing together. Buddies who share meals. Buddies that paint together. Buddies with matching pyjamas. Buddies who kiss? Maybe, soon? Anyway...

Thank you for giving me a series that carried me through one of the hardest days of my life. Thank you for giving me a story that held me together.

And the young idiots.

But it's really a show about the actual two types of gays: gay rights.

And gay wrongs.

Be gay.

Do crime.

How should I thank you? Bow? Kneel? Or accept your love to return your favor? Or admit that I'm a deaf person who should rely on others, and needs others' sympathy and care? Do you think I want this? If I hadn't got sick or taken the antipyretic injection, I would have been a normal person like you. I would have been able to find a job. I would have known when my mom lost consciousness.

Why me? Haven't I tried hard enough? Haven't I been patient enough? What else should I do so that I can hear again?

Via NPR...

---------------------- LAGO DI TESERO, Italy — A local dog made a bid for Olympic glory Wednesday morning, breaking out of his doghouse and onto the homestretch of the cross-country ski course in the middle of a race.

Two-year-old Nazgul was quickly collared by race officials and returned unharmed to his home at a nearby bed-and-breakfast, but not before his genial presence lit up television sets and social media channels around the world — even if he perplexed some of the athletes who encountered him.

"I was like, 'Am I hallucinating?" said Tena Hadzic, a 21-year-old Croatian skier who encountered the dog on her trip down the homestretch.

But his owners connected with NPR for a brief interview while they were driving to watch an Olympic biathlon race at another venue.

"He was crying this morning more than normal because he was seeing us leaving — and I think he just wanted to follow us," said the owner, "He always looks for people."

Nazgul is a "stubborn, but very sweet" Czechoslovakian wolfdog, the owner said.

Race organizers did not make Nazgul available for questions after his capture. -------------------

My favorite part was showing the Omega photo finish.

When the BL director uses doorways, windows, mirrors, or other apertures to give the audience the impression of looking at something they maybe shouldn’t. 

Peekaboo Framing

It’s an emotional distancing technique to make viewers feel simultaneously slightly uncomfortable and privy to something very private. 

It can also be done by including a wall or some over very close object of setting/location to one (or both) sides of the frame, so that the viewer feels as if they are looking around the corner of something. Or have just waking into a room and happened upon the drama unfolding there. 

For this reason this technique is often used to depict loneliness or extreme intimacy, when characters are exposing themselves to deep emotions. 

It is also usually off center, to give an unsettling weight to the image. 

The director of Until We Meet Again, New, used this technique for the KornIn characters specifically, both alone and together. He was showcasing the hidden frightened threatened nature of their romance. It’s in direct contrast to DeanPharm who are often depicted center screen with regards to apertures as well in open public spaces as a couple, fully exposed with no close objects interrupting the view. I think this is intentional, showing how both the couple and society has changed after reincarnation. 

Similarly, the director of Lovely Writer fell back on peekaboo framing for Gene and Sib, but only when they were engaging in scenes of extreme domesticity. Their actual kissing scenes were filmed directly. 

This is interesting as it’s almost as if the commentary of the lens is that the domestic boyfriends emotional aspect of their relationship is more private than the physical. Which makes prefect sense under the construct of this particular narrative. 

The peekaboo framing technique is pretty common in most cinematography but in BL it’s often drawing on yaoi manga traditions, especially if there is an indirect angle to the lens. 

This technique exists in contrast to Central Aperture Framing. 

The unique niche of the Thai BL model in pairing actors together long-term means they bank on maximising existing chemistry. In theory an established pairing will only continue to strengthen their connection with each project, in the hopes this correlates on-screen.

It got me thinking when I saw the Cat for Cash Ep2 BTS. The director pointed out that First was reacting too much like himself - he was getting cuteness aggression whenever Khaotung touched him. Then I remembered during The Eclipse, the director also gave Khaotung a similar note, that he was going way beyond 'Ayan' to help First in a scene, rather than staying strictly in character.

It made me consider established chemistry from a different angle, where sometimes it can prove to be a challenge the actors need to overcome. The closer you are in real life, the more you have to fight against the ingrained behaviours or feelings you have in your off-screen relationship each time you reset to a new series. This is also uniquely different to real life couples who act alongside one another (e.g. Emily Blunt and John Krasinski) which tend to be a one-off. BL pairings are repeatedly reinventing and the relationship demands are different each time.

Once you have such a strong bond off-screen like they do, you are having to work consciously to prevent it from interfering with the character you're currently playing. You can't allow your natural biases for your partner to veer you off track.

Throughout the entirety of Only Friends, I was constantly wondering how FK diffused after their really intense fight scenes. (I am so, so curious about how they handle this in general, whether they have to wind down separately or they do this together). In the BTS clip below, First is taking care of Khao between takes, but Khao's expression says that he's still very much in character as Ray. It must be such an odd headspace to exist in when you're straddling your character and yourself - and so is your partner and best-friend. Especially during emotional scenes that require consistent immersion. You're dipping in and out of an in-between state until you've finished and then you can fully step out of it and resume your off-screen dynamic.

We often talk about how existing chemistry works wonders when it comes to depicting intimacy. But this made me realise it's equally impressive when you have to fight against it in order to achieve the required outcome. Like your chemistry is speaking too loudly and needs to be toned down. In short, this was just another excuse for me to applaud FK and all the other couples that do this so well.

Cat for Cash | Behind The Scenes Episode 3