porridge feast

So before I go on, Phob isn't a bad person and this isn't a negative judgement of him. I believe he really loves Tinn and has good intentions, and it's because of that fact that I'm glad he's being challenged in a way. His strength as a person, his ethics, and his love of Tinn are strong enough to come out the other side of this difficult time. But he will be changed.

That being said, I think it's good in a way (good—not just appropriate or necessary) that Tinn has rejected Phob post-revolution. Phob has idealized Tinn—who wouldn't, with that face and sweet demeanor—and on some level he has put all his injustices in one big bucket. Like, the status quo is unfair—it resulted in these unfair material things in our lives, and it resulted in me being torn apart from Tinn. The status quo needs to change. And to some extent all these injustices live in one specific person, Prince Vasin. Up until now, that's been sort of convenient for Phob. It's been horrible, but the right & wrong of things, the us vs. them, has been fairly simple.

Phob really loves Tinn. He hasn't deliberately kept him at a distance. But he hasn't given Tinn the room to fully be a real person with his own complicated needs and loyalties. (Their relationship has only really lived in the physical bubble of the house in the country.) I understand why—if he ever started to, a vast quagmire of uncertainties would open up in front of him immediately. He doesn't allow himself to think about those possibilities. Plus, they're all tied up with Tinn's family and in turn with the royal family, which he considers an unfair impediment to so much that could be good in their country and in their lives.

And it wasn't that long ago that he wasn't sure Tinn still cared for him, so he's been focused on his newfound faith in Tinn's love. The trouble is that the strength of Tinn's love was never the question.

Before the actual coup went down, Phob told himself he'd explain things to Tinn and Tinn would understand. But he knew on some level that wasn't a given. If it were, he would have talked to Tinn ahead of time. I think Phob already understood that Tinn had his own complex situation to contend with, but that's been too much of a threat to his hopes for him to really conceive of it. Now he has to. He'll have to find a way to hold the contradictions of the revolution inside him—it's progress, it needed to happen, it will be good in many ways, but it's also been a means of destruction. And some of what has been destroyed wasn't inherently bad.

I was tagged by @my-rose-tinted-glasses—thanks!

Well, I didn't realize I'd watched almost every single one of these. I checked but also asterisked Muteluv, because I watched all but two episodes & that just doesn't count as a DNF to me when the series is super long and includes loads of standalone chapters. (For the record, Love Lock is the bit I didn't finish—sorry, Dew.) DNF just implies that I didn't like it, and that would be very inaccurate. Some of the Muteluv stories could compete for my top three if I'd considered them that way.

I didn't label Ticket to Heaven because it's not "not interested" but it's not fully in "plan to watch" territory. I may get to it one of these days.

What were your top three most anticipated BLs from the 2025 showcase? Are they still your top 3? Why or Why not?

My top three definitely would have included Burnout Syndrome and A Dog and a Plane, but I'm not sure what the third would have been. Burnout Syndrome was interesting, but it didn't really hit for me except in some moments. I thoroughly enjoyed A Dog and a Plane; it wasn't one of my top three but only because competition was fierce.

What similarities and difference have you noticed from BLs in 2024 to BLs in 2025?

I find it very difficult to separate my own increasing familiarity from actual differences in what was done. But I guess it seemed like there was a lot of ambitiousness with what at least felt to me like less consistency. Not that I found GMMTV hugely consistent before, but the swing between the best and the worst among these was insane.

As we roll into BLs for 2026, what are some changes you're hoping will happen/have happened?

It's hard to say, because in so many areas it feels like these folks take two steps forward & one step back. I thought Muteluv was a very successful experiment (artistically at least; I don't have a sense of its popularity) and I'd love to think they'd try something similar again, but I don't see any particular reason to think so. I feel similarly about other GMMTV series that break the mold of the usual format. I can never tell what GMMTV higher-ups take away from the reception of each series. I could tell you my wildest hopes, except I don't see any particular evidence they're coming true.

What are you anticipating to see from the GMMTV 2027 showcase (pairings, tropes, etc.)?

I've only been fully plugged in for this process a couple of times before, but whenever I think they might go for x or y because it's been popular, they do something completely different and I'm left totally confounded. Maybe there will be more winky / meta stuff due to the popularity of Me & Thee?

I hope First & Khaotung get better material than Cat for Cash. I hope there's enough material and focus to go around for this huge stable of actors they now have.

Which series ended up being the biggest surprise of the year?

I became a SeaKeen convert and that was great, but the biggest surprise was absolutely Love You Teacher. I was SO put off by the pilot trailer and even to some extent the actual trailer. I'm a big Perth fan and was coming around to Santa as well, but the concept gave me hives. Thankfully I had friends who could tell me how well it was starting, so I cautiously gave it a shot. And it was so much better than I could have expected.

Which series was the biggest letdown compared to your expectations?

Maybe a tie between Burnout Syndrome and Cat for Cash. Burnout Syndrome could have shown that GMMTV could go grittier and more realistic and could accommodate stronger artistic vision, but it didn't hold together well even if it followed through on its promise at certain moments. I didn't think Cat for Cash was for me, but I hoped it could be fun for cast reasons alone. It was just such a muddle, I couldn't even grab onto it enough to apply my wishful thinking.

Blank template under the cut for anybody who sees this & wants to participate.