https://github.com/laylavish/uBlockOrigin-HUGE-AI-Blocklist

Install this blocklist using the instructions on the GitHub page. For Firefox, you will need to install uBlockOrigin for this. Google Chrome no longer allows the uBlockOrigin extension, so I'm assuming you're at least primarily a Firefox user - or about to be (see browser alternatives below).

For Google Chrome or mobile browsers, this will work with uBlacklist. See the GitHub page for full details on compatibility.

Remove AI Widgets:

If you go to your uBlockOrigin Filter lists page, you can select to filter out AI Widgets - this should completely remove the 'AI Mode' widget/button from your Google search page, in addition to the work done by the Huge AI Blocklist.

Using the uBlockOrigin Huge AI Blocklist filter has made my Google searches look like they used to, and gives me genuine search results.

Look at this. It's beautiful. It's informative. It's not a heap of burning trash bloated with fake information made up by a hallucinating chat bot.

We can go even further: return to the old school search results.

Now, the above results are great and should be free of generative AI junk, but some people would rather not see any of the summary widgets or 'people also ask' box at all. Fear not! You can remove all that by using the 'Web' mode in the Google search bar. Click the 'More' drop down menu and select 'Web'.

Huzzah! Incredible. It's like a functional search engine again.

You can make this the default Google search mode in Google Chrome using Method 1 from this page (https://allthings.how/how-to-turn-off-ai-mode-in-google-chrome/). Unfortunately, I don't know if there's a way to do this in Firefox too. This is why for the most part I still use DuckDuckGo (see below) as my default search engine, and only use Google to supplement my searches on the rare occasion I'm just missing something.

Remember, if you clear your cookies, your search engine preferences will reset, including any settings you enabled/disabled to avoid AI. This applies to DuckDuckGo as well; check your settings every time you clear your browser!

Extra filters (optional):

I've also added four filters (their order doesn't matter) to the My Filters page. Full disclosure: I'm not sure they still work, or may only work on Chrome, but I'm keeping them anyway, just in case.

From https://www.reddit.com/r/uBlockOrigin/comments/1i7kg83/comment/m8lllwr/: see which solution in the list works for you, it seems to be different for everybody.

google.*##div[jscontroller]:not(:has(div[jscontroller].YzCcne)):has(.YzCcne)

From https://allthings.how/how-to-turn-off-ai-mode-in-google-chrome/:

www.google.com##.Beswgc

www.google.com##.olrp5b

www.google.com##.hdzaWe

Make sure you hit the apply changes button when you add filters.

Browser alternatives: escaping Google Chrome.

If you haven't jumped ship from Chrome yet, I'd recommend doing so. Sometimes Chrome outperforms Firefox for niche purposes or because a website doesn't bother to fully support non-Chrome browsers, but the days of Chrome being the superior browser are long gone — by about 10 years. If you're trying to escape Chromium browsers, beware that a lot of the popular Chrome alternatives are just Chrome in a different hat.

Firefox has been the most popular non-Chromium browser for years, and for good reason. However, the company running Mozilla Firefox has annoyed their users, me included, by refusing to take an anti- generative-ai stance, and even included AI features in the Mozilla Firefox browser. Most Firefox users specifically use it because they hate Google's enshittification and want a privacy-focused, clean browser that doesn't hog their RAM and CPU for no reason. So, you can imagine that Mozilla's attitude has pissed us all off recently. You can turn off the AI features in Firefox with the built-in settings, but the company has recently steered straight into the burning garbage heap by saying they want to make the browser based on AI.

Waterfox and LibreWolf:

There are really good alternatives based on Firefox (open-source) which are not affiliated with Mozilla (the company), if you don't like how it operates. Waterfox and LibreWolf are even more trimmed down and privacy-focused than Mozilla's Firefox, and don't use AI. Anti-ai statements: Waterfox and LibreWolf.

From this page: https://programming.dev/post/42546774

In short: LibreWolf is for those who want a “locked-down” fortress out of the box, while Waterfox is for those who want a privacy-conscious browser that still feels like a normal, convenient daily driver. Choose LibreWolf if: You want the highest level of privacy without having to manually edit config files, and you don’t mind occasionally “fixing” a broken website or re-logging into accounts. Choose Waterfox if: You want a privacy-respecting browser that supports Firefox Sync, has an Android counterpart, and handles streaming sites/logins without any extra friction (it supports WideWine out of the box, which lets you stream DRM protected content (netflix, hulu, disney, etc). — [email protected]

I've heard good things about both of these browsers and will investigate them further to decide whether to personally switch from Mozilla Firefox.

DuckDuckGo:

I would also recommend installing the DuckDuckGo extension to your browsers and setting it to be your default search engine.

I've had DuckDuckGo installed on my browsers, Chrome or Firefox, for like 10 years now. It is a good search engine, it's unobtrusive, and blocks trackers, cookies, and does not save any data about you. I've also used it as my default mobile browser for years, along with Firefox mobile, which you can add the AI Blocklist to (see again the GitHub page). I haven't tried the DuckDuckGo desktop browser yet, but I imagine it works just fine like the mobile version. I think DuckDuckGo's browser is also Chromium-based, at least indirectly. I use Firefox with the DuckDuckGo extension so I can have a widely-supported, non-Chromium browser, but include all of DuckDuckGo's anti-tracking features.

Note: DuckDuckGo has included AI in its browser product, however you can opt-out of all AI features with the built-in settings and they will not push it on you like Google does. I hope they remove AI features entirely in the future, but for now I am comfortable with the barriers in place to keep AI out of my face. Firefox also has AI features like Chrome does, which you can turn off with the built-in settings.

There's also noai.duckduckgo search, an alternative version of its normal search engine which removes AI-generated images and turns off AI results/assists by default. Even though DuckDuckGo's inclusion of any AI features annoys me, its policy to make these features 100% optional builds trust with this browser/extension/search engine.

You can always use Google search if you need to, but with uBlockOrigin and the AI Blocklist filter added on, at least you shouldn't have AI-altered search results or the AI overview anymore.

Other browsers exist, probably:

There are certainly more non-Chromium alternatives out there, but Firefox, Waterfox, and LibreWolf are the top three recommended to me. That link to alternatives, plus this ComputerCity page are the best lists I could find in a brief search. If you google "non-Chromium browsers" you'll get a lot of mixed results which require a bit of digging to realise they're not really recommending you what you looked for at all.

I've heard about Ecosia over the years, and while I like the idea of a search engine that plants a tree for each query, I don't think that's actually what happens — at least, that's what they used to be reputed to do, but I believe that's an unsustainable business model which has likely changed. In 2026, Ecosia says it uses 100% of its profits for the planet and runs its search engine off clean energy. That's cool! It's still Chromium-based. And it also uses generative AI for chat bots, so I don't trust its principles on environmentalism. I need to do more reading on this to form a stronger opinion about it.

I hope this post has helped at least some of you have a better experience browsing the web and googling your questions.

Roses without thorns

Wings without horns

Skin stained in color

Still, I grow duller

The Replay pilot that aired seems to be three of the author Julalumpa’s stories rolled into one show. All were RPF fanfiction that the author monetized against the TOS of Joylada (Thai fiction platform). She hid them behind an additional paywall to hide that they were monetized.

What RPF fanfiction fancon you ask: Wang Yi Bo and Xiao Zhan (the lead actors for the censored Chinese BL The Untamed—can we see the third rail here?) While the author herself is Thai and was not involved in the 227 incident that lead to the banning of AO3 in China, and artists to lose brand deals and receive death threats, this is the RPF fandom at the heart of that scandal.

One of the biggest problems seems to stem from the fact that she not only used specific details from their lives in these fanfictions, but also used photographs to embed within and promote her fics that definitely she did not pay to license for commercial use. Some of these pictures were of the actors themselves, some were fan edits that were made of them photoshopped into various costumes and some of them were professional photos of additional real people that she embedded (specifically a whole bunch of the stuff in the motorcycle fanfiction were professional racing photos and photos from news articles of racers including Wang Yi Bo in his time as a racer himself). This is several levels of copyright infringement happening around countries with much stricter laws around copyright but also defamation and use of likeness than the West.

The controversy blew up both in Thailand and in China in 2020/2021, and it’s estimated that the author made at least 3 million baht (conservative estimate because there is no data for one of the Joylada revenue streams that was turned on) and nearly caused the Joylada site to fold.

She tried to file the serial numbers off but made very nominal changes to the point that people are still posting the reference photos from her fics alongside the poster GMMTV made for Replay and Wang Yi Bo’s racing number barely being changed from 85 -> 87.

From what I saw, the Thai fans were trying to ask GMMTV to do what they did with Not Me (which was a MarkBambam RPF fanfiction first) which was change significant details and asked interfans not to get too involved and let the Thais handle it internally because once it hit Chinese fans the damage it could do to the Thai actors tied to the project could be consequential.

All of the above: the fact that several real images alongside the RPF were used to prompt and earn money off of the RPF and the fact that the fandom at the base was the actors for the very large The Untamed censored BL which has already had some very serious consequences for the actors and Chinese fandom at large…I think we can see why GMMTV might back away rapidly before the heat turns from them to three of their larger pairs who do numbers internally and internationally. Especially considering how much money China feeds into the international entertainment industry as a whole.

1. Internet Archive. Has plenty of videos to watch, plenty of games you can play that are emulated right on the website. You can also find entire collections of roms. For emulators, check out Emulation General Wiki to find the best emulator for the system you want to emulate.

2. r/piracy has a wiki full of safe places to read comics and manga, to watch anime and cartoons, and to watch movies.

3. Virtualbox, you can set up a Windows XP virtual box and get old PC games from Internet Archive. You can also check out CD Game World if you need a no-cd patch.

4. Saltybet. A Livestream of MUGEN with thousands of characters fighting against each other, sometimes things get hilarious. Runs 24/7.

5. The Cutting Room Floor, spend hours reading up on cut content from your favorite games.

6. Lost Media Wiki, read up on lost movie, books, animation, video games, etc.

7. Neocities, learn coding and make your own website!

8. WebDSR, explore shortband radio

9. Radio Garden, listen to radio stations from around the world

10. Every Noise At Once, explore the widest archive of music genres, with samples and Spotify playlists

“Sometimes, when we’re in this society, this industry, so many people look at you and they’re ready to judge you every time. And I really feel insecure sometimes, that I just care about their eyes, their thoughts like, ‘oh, they’re going to think of me like bla bla bla or something,’ or ‘are they going to like me or not? are they going to hate me?’ Yeah, there are so many things that happen in my brain. And I have to teach myself to be kind, to just focus on what you want, your goals, your people around you, and the things that make you happy — the people that love you. Because we have so many things that can distract you from your goals and from your happiness.”

“One of the lessons that I’ve learned recently is that you have to appreciate your small wins. Because when Khemjira really went viral in a short time, sometimes I couldn’t handle the expectations in my heart or something. I felt really stressed. So I had to talk to my mother, like, ‘hello, mama, sometimes I just feel overwhelmed — happy, sad sometimes too, especially when I see some comments, because I’m really highly sensitive.’ And I’m just like, ‘okay, I have to stop. I have to be with myself and focus on P’Keng, my people, or my fans who always support me.’”

Wtf

how did I not know this!!! I watch this when it was new!!

Krist and Singto have an unhinged history that predates their casting in SOTUS.

Bittersweet wrote the novel SOTUS in 2013 based on a viral photo of Singto as head hazer of the economics department at Kasetsart University.

That’s the famous detail most people know.

What maybe fewer know is that Krist was somewhere in that crowd as a second year, just a year below Singto. Later, Krist asked Singto’s advice on becoming a hazer himself and then followed in his footsteps as a third-year.

So, y’know. Literally the plot of SOTUS.

Bittersweet didn’t even know Krist existed while she was writing the novel. She just saw the viral photo of Singto on Twitter and thought, “Ooh what if hazers and love.” A year later, she had the novel that would inspire a series that would save a company from bankruptcy and skyrocketed that same hazer she’d written about to incredible fame.

But my favorite detail about Krist and Singto is the most unhinged of all.

Remember toward the end of SOTUS the Series when Kongphob tells Arthit that they actually met before that notorious first gathering? Kongphob first visited the university as a high schooler, and Arthit encouraged him to join the engineering department. A year later, Arthit laughs and says he has zero memory of this.

Bizarrely, BAFFLINGLY, this also mirrors reality.

During a segment in which Krist and Singto were promoting SOTUS, they were asked when they met. Krist said his second year, and Singto looked at him like, What?

Because they met earlier than that.

They met when Krist was a first-year. His band played at an event for the economics department, and Singto was there as a cheerleader.

And Krist has no memory of this.

As Kongphob said: “It’s destiny.”

Like, some of the hype over KristSingto stems from SOTUS and the series being such a viral game-changer in so many ways. But a lot of it is just absolutely wild stuff like that. The universe saw these two and said, “Let’s do some fate.”

And of course, the fact that they auditioned for SOTUS at all, the fact that they were cast together, and the fact that even today, they’re still close, still family, still partners—that helps too.

I saw on Twitter years ago that “SOTUS” was inspired by Singto’s photo and I just believed it without researching (oops), but what actually happened is that Singto’s photo went viral under the same hashtag that inspired Bittersweet to write her novel, so he was invited to audition because of that.

Funny enough, Krist’s photo up there also went viral under a separate hashtag, which is why he was invited to audition.

Fun addition: “SOTUS” was originally under Felloww, not GMMTV. When the production moved to GMMTV, they kept KristSingto on as leads. So they weren’t GMMTV actors to start! They literally joined GMMTV through “SOTUS.”

Assavadevathin

Rule the “Northern” part of the country. A family that originally resided with horses and was rich in resources such as gold.

Presided over by Prince Tharin Assavadevathin

Iconographic info: the crest shows a golden horse clad in armor with crossed swords. This symbolizes the power, stability, and bravery of Assavadevathin.

Bhuchongpisut

Rule the “Eastern” part of the country.

A family that specializes in the medical profession. The region is renowned for its valuable diamonds.

Presided over by Prince Rachata Bhuchongpisut

Iconographic info: the crest features A great serpent amidst roseS and thorns. This symbolizes the fearless nature of Bhuchongpisut in the face of any danger.

Davichmetha

Rule the “Western” part of the country. The family of technological versatility. They have important commercial jewelry, which is linked to gemstones.

Presided over by Prince Chana Davichmetha

Iconographic info: the crest shows a phoenix spreading its wings, adorned with jeweled armor. This reflects the elegance and grace (as well as strength and resilience) of the Davichmetha clan.

Meenanagarin

Rule the “Southern” part of the country.

Originally, the city thrived in the fishing industry, but later, it flourished in the pearl trade, making its renowned jewels rare pearls.

Presided over by Prince Wasin Meenanagarin

Iconographic info: the crest features a shark riding a giant wave, heading toward the guiding star. This symbolizes a calm and calculated hunter like the ancestral fisherman of Meenanagarin.

A few hours ago, FEED uploaded an interview in which KristSingto almost made me cry. The full interview is subbed in English and available here on YouTube. It's thirty minutes long, and KristSingto cover a broad range of topics that show how invaluable their seasoned perspectives on the industry are.

If you're new to KristSingto or curious what they've been up to since you last checked in on them, this could be either a very good introduction to them or a refresher. :)

Note: As far as I can tell, the subtitles are mostly fine, but judging by some of the phrasing, I think they might have been auto-translated or else completely done by AI. Like, the subs call KristSingto "Christmas" twice, which I think a human would have caught. (Quick: who gets the angel topper and who gets the star?) Also, there are several times when Krist or Singto is referring to himself in the third person (as you do in Thai), so the subtitles say "he" rather than "I" so you have to pay attention to the context of what they're talking about to avoid confusion. Another day, another reason to study Thai.

HIGHLIGHTS:

Singto said he's gotten in trouble for giving short answers, so he said his main concern is Krist's health. He's said the same thing in other interviews, so Krist already knew. <3 I think he means in general, since Krist has been physically sick more often in recent years, but mental health is also quite important to both of them.

Krist said he's had to take on more responsibility within his family as he's gotten older. He's been very open in the past about his family's early struggles with money following the market crash in the 90s and how he cleared his family's debts through his work after SOTUS. More recently, he lost his grandmother in 2023 just before his solo concerts in Bangkok and now more recently his grandfather just before "The Ex-Morning" begins airing. He's always been extremely devoted to his family.

Meanwhile, Singto is an only child who lost his mother to cancer in university, so he said his priority has become taking care of himself more. Over the past year he's been very forthcoming about his mental health issues in the past and how he addressed them to get to a much healthier and happier place today.

After everything Krist has been through over the past five years especially, hearing him say he's not sad or stressed just healed something in my heart. I'm really so very proud of him. <3

Singto said that because they've both grown up over the past few years, Krist feels more like an equal to him now. They're only a year apart, but I think since they met in school and Krist has always been a little more excitable and trusting, that gap probably felt wider to Singto. He said they're able to communicate better now and that even though their working dynamic was already smooth, even that has improved.

They also talked about changes in the industry from their joint debut in SOTUS in 2016! I've seen Singto speak in the past about how he wanted to see the "BL" or "Y" removed because he thought it was othering, and in this interview he said he's happy that BL isn't considered strange anymore. As the first in the line of fire, KristSingto went through some fairly harrowing things, and he said that he and Krist weren't sure how people would respond to SOTUS.

Krist talked about the international spread of Thai QL and especially the rise of GL! I don't think the subtitles did what he said justice, so I'll toss the ball to resident GL protector @hallowpen in case there's a better way to phrase what he said in English. I think he essentially said that in the era KristSingto released SOTUS in, Thailand was still in a transitional period where queer media was neither accepted or rejected, and he's happy to see it become a normalized part of society.

They discussed the importance of partnerships, and Krist emphasized communication above all to avoid fighting. Singto said that in the past they didn't fight, but they did overlook issues by not talking more. He said they're making a more concerted effort to pay close attention to each other's moods and to raise concerns as they develop so they can clear things up immediately.

Krist said he's much more at ease with Singto back. He's spoken in-depth multiple times before this about what it was like for him when he was on his own for the two years Singto was gone, and it wasn't great for his mental health. From the moment Singto left (amicably) to pursue his own path, Krist missed him and was actively trying to persuade him to come back. While GMMTV had been placing Krist in heterosexual lakorn series for years after SOTUS ended, his heart never really seemed to be in it, and I think he always wanted to continue and stay in the BL world. He always wanted the stability of a partner he knew and trusted, and with Singto home (so to speak) he said it's easier for him to plan for the future, which is less frightening for him now. (In 2023 before Singto returned, I really hoped Krist would pair up with Gawin based on the loveliness of their friendship and chemistry onstage and in "Be My Favorite," but it became clear to me over time that even though Gawin is Krist's most beloved nong and a good friend to him, Krist most likely never would have rebranded himself in another khuujin out of respect to Singto and what they established and built together. For Krist, Singto is and always will be his only partner, I think.)

Singto reiterated how much more smoothly everything is running between him and Krist now that he's come back. (Personally, I think they both really matured and grew enormously as people during those two years on their own.) Essentially, they're both back in their safe zone now that they've reunited, and while they're at a place in their careers where they don't have to fight to be seen or heard, they don't want to rest on their laurels either.

This was by far the most emotional point for me, and it actually got me quite teary-eyed. Krist talked about their fanbase, Peraya, who got so invested in KristSingto based on one series and a sequel in their first two years in the industry together, and then nothing else for years afterward. I've been here for almost five years and like Krist said, all I've ever seen in real time are concert streams and sponsored events. I remember when I became a fan in 2020 the fandom was still super committed to creating SOTUS fanworks and edits even though it was four years old by then. KristSingto obviously knew their fans wanted more series from them, but even back in 2017 they said they had to do what GMMTV gave them, and unfortunately GMMTV didn't yet see BL as a cash cow. KristSingto had the success of normalizing BL, but their fandom has had to wait this long to be rewarded for it with another KristSingto series.

And Krist promised not to disappoint. Which, of course, I trust. <3

See the full interview below: