<![CDATA[This study aims to uncover and describe the representation of toxic relationship among Boys Love (BL) couples in the Thai drama series produced by GMMTV titled “Only Friend : Dream On”. Amidst the high consumption of BL popular culture in Indonesia which contrasts sharply with socio-legal norms and stigma against sexual minorities fictional media often aestheticizes and romanticizes dating violence behaviors. This descriptive qualitative study employs a constructivist paradigm and Charles Sanders Peirce’s triadic semiotic analysis method, dissecting signs through nine trichotomic elements (Qualisign, Sinsign, Legisign ; Icon, Index, Symbol; Rheme, Dicent Sign, Argument). The object of study focuses specifically on key scene excerpts in Episode 10, representing the peak of interpersonal conflict escalation between characters. The findings reveal that toxic relationship are systematically constructed through five main forms : violation of privacy boundaries, emotional manipulation (pity play, blame shifting, and gaslighting), extreme jealousy and mind games through third-party objectification, intimidation via verbal abuse and social isolation, and physical abuse alongside non-consensual intimacy. This study concludes that the series does not merely portray fictional romance, but encodes a reflection of relational distortions and the dangers of normalizing psychological violence in romantic relationships.]]>
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