Carm's corner

Finally, a proper update!!


Finished reading

• Khemjira’s Rescue, by Cali
  

Finished watching

Dramas

• Khemjira (Thai BL) - 12 episodes
• I’m the Most Beautiful Count (Thai BL) - 13 episodes
• The Journey to Kill You (Japanese BL) - 6 episodes

Movies

• Dear Dakanda (Thailand, 2005)
• Love Actually (UK, 2003)
• Sinners (USA, 2025)
• The Paradise of Thorns (Thailand, 2024)
• Frankenstein (USA, 2025)

Reality show

• DMD Frienship - 6 episodes

Currently reading

• SVSSS Vol. 4 - Chapter 26
• Counterattack - Chapter 198
• Panguan - Chapter 22
  

Currently watching

Dramas

• The Long Ballad (Chinese drama) – No schedule – 5/49 episodes
• The Story of Bihyeong (Korean BL) –Thursdays – 10/12 episodes
• The Wicked Game (Thai BL) – Saturdays – 6/10 episodes
• Mystique in the Mirror (Thai BL) – Wednesdays – 2/8 episodes
• Me and Who (Thai BL) – Fridays – 4/10 episodes
• Theory of Love (Thai BL) – No schedule – 2/12 episodes
• The Cursed Love (Thai BL) – No schedule (no idea what days is airing) – 3/10 episodes
• Zomvivor (Thai drama) – No schedule – 1/7 episodes
• Goddess Bless You From Death (Thai BL) – Fridays – 1/13 episodes

Documentary

• Debo, puedo y quiero: Juan Gabriel (Mexican documentary) – No schedule – 2/4 episodes

On hold

Anime

• Sanrio Danshi– No schedule – 7/12
• Komi Can’t Communicate – No schedule – 4/24
• Rokuhōdō Yotsuiro Biyori – No schedule – 2/12
   

Dramas

• The Bangkok Boy (Thai BL) – No schedule – 2/12 episodes
• Perfect 10 Liners (Thai BL) – No schedule – 4/24 episodes

I finished Khemjira on Saturday, October 25th, which means it's been over a week now, and I haven't gotten over it. In fact, I'm trying to write another post just about Khemjira, but it's taking me a bit of time to organize all my thoughts about it because there are so many.

I'm currently watching, once again, several shows that air weekly, and the schedule seems a bit more balanced throughout the week. There are a couple of series that are on hold and that I want to watch, but the thing is, my thoughts are still 80% focused on Khemjira.

On Friday, for example, I started writing down an idea for a fic that had been bouncing around in my head for days. I grabbed a notebook and started writing with a medium point blue Bic pen. I wrote many pages, and now I have to transcribe it, haha. I started doing that yesterday and didn't get very far. Today I've done a few things like laundry and ordering groceries, but I want to make some progress. I have a small problem in that regard, because one part involves some research, but every time I try to do it, I end up reading related things but not directly what I need for the fic. I say it's a problem as if I didn't love doing this, but I admit it doesn't help much with the specific process of writing the fic.

I also finished watching I’m the Most Beautiful Count and The Journey to Killing You. I liked the second one a lot more, although I would have loved to see more of the characters and their internal conflicts.

Normally, I really appreciate how compact Japanese BLs are, telling just what they need to in so few episodes, but sometimes I'm left wanting more. I guess in this case, I'll have to turn to the source material to satisfy that craving.

As for I’m the Most Beautiful Count, I liked it, but I felt it was missing something. The premise is interesting (plus it involves transmigration to a past era) but it's one of those cases where the different elements of the story don't quite come together to form a cohesive whole… I don't know how else to explain it. It was entertaining most of the time, but it was lacking… something, something like a final polish.

Something interesting about most of the series I'm currently watching is that they all have a supernatural, folkloric, or magical element. The Story of Bihyeong is about a dokkaebi and other creatures from Korean folklore; it's a simple but lovely story, I’m having so much fun watching it. Mystique in the Mirror is intriguing because I still don't know if it's a psychological thriller or a supernatural thriller, and I'm very curious. Me and Who is about an ordinary working class guy who, after being hit by a car (or was it a motorcycle? I don’t remember) on a rainy night, transmigrates into a different universe where he's the heir to a very wealthy family and is engaged, and his fiancé in that universe can read minds. The Cursed Love is about past lives, finding an ancient lost city, and powers to control the elements like in Avatar: The Last Airbender. Zomvivor… well, it's in the name, it's about zombies. And Goddess Bless You From Death involves violent crimes, strange rituals and beliefs in ghosts and deities. So it's evident what captures my interest the most these days, but also in general. I guess it's a bit like when I was young and obsessed with vampires.

At some point, I want to pick up The Long Ballad again this week.

Another drama I started and is now a bit on pause is Theory of Love. I started watching this series as part of an exercise proposed by someone in the sphere of mexican Thai BL fans. The person proposed it as a rewatch exercise, but with a twist: before watching each episode, watch the movie that inspired that episode's title. It's designed to watch one movie and one episode per week. I've seen the first two movies (Dear Dakanda and Love Actually), as well as the first two episodes. In my case, it's not a rewatch because I haven't seen the series before. But I have to confess something: based on how the series starts, I find it a bit hard to think of that couple as endgame, so most of the time I'm thinking that the best thing for the protagonist would be to get over his crush and move on with his life, find someone else… It sounds strange, because I think this is the first time this has happened to me since I started watching BL series.

I've watched several series where the couples aren't what I would consider a healthy pair, and some even have very toxic relationships (hahaha, damn, I can visualize certain people judging me for my tastes, even when they're no longer part of my circles, lol). But I don't know, I suppose many of those scenarios are very unrealistic, whereas having a crush on your university friend who doesn't even notice you exist, and who is also an asshole, is very realistic… or maybe not. The exercise initially seemed interesting to me, but when I made the list of movies, I think it didn't really motivate me much either, since almost all of them are romances or romantic comedies, and although I appreciate the genre for what it is and there are even a couple on the list that I genuinely like, the others didn't excite me much, especially since I've already seen many of them. I'm not usually opposed to revisiting movies or series I've already seen because I think distance helps you see them differently, with a different filter, with more baggage, understanding different kinds of references, but in this case, it's just not motivating me much. I'm still thinking about whether to continue or not. The idea excited me at first because I love searching for and learning about the references in works, and also seeing how they relate to each other. It's one of the things I love most about reading, watching series and movies, and listening to music. But well, I don't know. This is the movie list:

• Dear Dakanda
• Love Actually
• Friends with Benefits
• Crazy Stupid Love
• 10 Things I Hate About You
• Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
• Flipped
• The Proposal
• Love Triangle
• Begin Again
• He's Just Not That Into You
• My Dear

Finally, this past week I watched three movies that I liked a lot. Last Sunday I had an invitation to a friend's bridal shower, but I had a fever that, although mild, was definitely going to prevent me from having a good time, so I ended up not going and, instead, watched Sinners with some pals on Discord. I liked it a lot; the music is fantastic.

Later in the week, on Wednesday night, I finally decided to watch The Paradise of Thorns (I didn’t watch it just because Keng Harit and Jeff Satur are in it, I swear), and it left me thinking about many things. Thailand legalized equal marriage last year, but when the movie was made, it hadn't happened yet, and that's one of the points that triggers the whole plot. It impacted me a lot, perhaps because I've lived in poverty for most of my life and, even without fully understanding the characters' specific circumstances, I think it's a movie that reflects the desperation of having nothing very well. There are many layers intertwined in the film, and I think the characters are complex, extremely human. But also, the cinematography is amazing. I liked it a lot, but I admit I suffered. And it's not a movie I would recommend lightly, for example. This film reaffirms my taste for Boss Kuno's work, whom I discovered this year (Gelboys, I Told Sunset About You).

And yesterday, I went with the kid to see Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein. We went to see it at the movie theater in the local university's cultural complex. It was a great movie. Everything I expected and more. I'm a huge Guillermo del Toro fan. Also, I think Guillermo understands Gothic horror perfectly; the man has been obsessed with that theme forever, and that’s why I love his work too. Of course, I couldn't help but cry at a certain point in the movie, and I felt an enormous, enormous satisfaction when I heard the kid's sobs at that same part. When we left, I apologized for taking him to see a movie that I knew could have that effect on him, but he said no, that he had liked it a lot, and that he especially liked everything it says about what it means to be human. He specifically mentioned two passages: when William asks Victor which part of all the ones that conform a human being contains the soul, and also when Victor says the creature doesn't know the difference between being chained and mistreated, and not being so, and Elizabeth throws it in his face that Victor does know that difference. Afterwards, my son asked me to lend him the novel to read. Mission accomplished.

But if we're honest, watching those three movies in one week is a bit intense. I still have images from all three etched in my mind. But I'm not complaining, because I truly love it when a work leaves a deep impression on me.

Anyway, I'll keep trying to put my thoughts about Khemjira in order, both for the post and for my fic.

I also have to catch up on reading Panguan, and if time allows, maybe even finish Counterattack or SVSSS before the year ends. But I don't want to get ambitious, because I can rarely get things done when I try to bite off more than I can chew.