#BL coming August 2023

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - Bunch of Stuff Coming in August

July 2023 Wk 5

Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs. Organized by which ones (in each category) I’m enjoying most.

Ongoing Series - Thai

Laws of Attraction (Sat iQIYI) 2-3 of 8 - Oh good, we now know that Thailand has the same statutory rape laws as the US. Dub con is as dub con does. MEANWHILE Oh my God I love evil lawyer cutie so much. Him and his beautiful weaponized smile, maybe my new favorite character. I like the way this director is playing with noir mystery tropes, settings, and archetypes too - it’s feeling very 60s pulp, I’m getting gay Travis McGee vibes. Grandma knowing that her grandson likes boys is so sweet. I have to be completely frank here, this is what I wanted from both Manner of Death and KP. I truly love this show

Hidden Agenda that isn’t hidden (Sun GMMTV YouTube) ep 3 of 10 - It’s a very Cyrano de Bergerac kind of narrative... If Cyrano fell in love with Christian instead of Roxanne. Mock date was fun. 

Low Frequency (Sat iQIYI) ep 4 of 8 - Into the lion’s den. Investigation begins. Why isn’t the ghost acting lookout? Who are these random side characters? I’m confused. Half way through kiss is right on schedule tho. 

Wedding Plan (Weds YT & iQIYI) ep 2 of 7 - The kiss was nice, but it’d be nicer if Nuea had punched Lom. Manipulative arse. A trash watch is happening!

Be Mine Super Star (Mon Viki) ep 4 of 12 - Meh. 

Dinosaur Love (Sun iQIYI) ep 5 of 8 eps - The hazing has begun + secret relationship and it’s kinda like a v soft SOTUS. Dino is getting a bit too controlling and obsessive for me so it slid down the ranks. I much prefer La Cusine’s version of this dynamic. The friends protecting Dino’s interests were funny tho - boy is so obsessed he outsources his stalking. 

Be My Favorite (Fri YouTube) ep 10 of 12 - Max is BEST BOY. I hate Kawi. Tra la la. Trash watch here.

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Jun & Jun (Korea Thurs Viki) 2 of 8 - Our ex idol is a total FLIRT. Nice to see an uke with agency. I mean baby girl is a newbie worker bee… but still flirty, good for you, sweetie. I see your little lip bite and so does your soon to be husband. Speaking of, I love Choi Jun’s style of seme aggression: a little sleezy + a bit too handsy + ultra clever with his words. Plus tie tug!!! Also threatening to take off your TAILORED suit so baby wears your shirt and smells like you? HOT. Boy you sped right past American style and into Italian - that’s real Corinthian leather, that is. 

Stay By My Side (Taiwan Fri Gaga) 5 of 10 eps - Mid series kiss right on schedule. Thank you for never upsetting me, Taiwan. Omg. Such boyfriends. Only Taiwan gets this sappy. I have to say, I watch this show after Tokyo on purpose. (I need the pallet cleanser.) Still, I’m scared that the perception will be that Bu Xia is using Jiang Chi, not in love with him, when the truth about ghosts comes out. Why doesn’t BX’s useless sister do something for her disaster brother? I guess JC likes a needy boy? Oh no, the kiss confusion. Lip touch but rejection (?). Nooooo. I suppose they have to draw this out for 10 eps. Gah, they’re so cute. But BX is a bit dim, isn’t he? Poor thing. 

Minato's Laundromat Season 2 AKA Minato Shouji Coin Laundry Season 2 (Japan Thu Gaga) 4 of 12 eps - Shin is such a worrywart, over protective, over the top boyfriend. I guess we saw a little bit of give from Minato? More than usual, baby steps. This is Japan after all.

Tokyo in April is... AKA Shigatsu no Tokyo wa (Japan Fri Gaga) ep 7 of 8 - Japan’s favorite trope = the running of the gays. Kazama knows everything now. Ep ends on one of my few triggers. SKIP! Japan you better NOT go there.

Vian the series (Vietnam YouTube ) ep 11-12fin - terrible ending, he turned back into a cat and the whole thing was pointless. I am very annoyed. 4/10 FATALLY FLAWED 

It’s airing but ...

Stay With Me ... NO I WILL NOT! And you can’t make me.

In case you missed it

Stay (Pinoy YouTube) finished its run at 7 eps. It’s mostly English & set in LA (shudder) so I did not bother. I say little to no chatter about this (that’s normal with the Pinoy stuff tho). Did anyone watch and enjoy? 

Next Week Looks Like This:

Coming August 2023

8/1 Stay Still (Hong Kong Tues YouTube) 5 eps - Yes we have had BL from Hong Kong before, but that was... before... who knows what it’ll be like now. Hayden, moves into a new apartment and starts a complicated relationship with his neighbor’s grandson, Damien, after an unexpected kiss. Meanwhile: Archie rekindles a romance with his high school sweetheart, Kelvin, who is now married.

8/11 Love Class Season 2 (Korea Fri Viki) 10 eps - Hyun, Minwoo and Joo-Hyuk are looking forward to their freshman year at college. But trials and tribulations of love that await them outside the classroom: from learning about maturity to being unable to forget the scars of past lovers. (All new cast from season 1.) 

8/12 My Personal Weatherman AKA Taikan Yoho (Japan Sat ????) 8 eps - hum. 

8/19 Love in Translation (Thai Sat One31) ? eps - Two strangers start working in a cafe together.

8/20 My Universe series begins (Thai Sun iQIYI) 24 episodes - This is sampler pack BL, 12 pairs, each pair gets 2 episodes, not entirely sure on the order they’ll drop in. Known couples include EarthBank from Destiny Seeker and KaownahTurbo from Love Stage!!!, mostly fresh faces otherwise. Jane to direct several. 

8/22 Kisseki: Dear to Me formerly known as Miracle (Taiwan Tues ????) 13 eps - From screenwriter Lin Pei Yu (We Best Love, H3: Trapped) features a student doctor forced to take care of a gangster. I love the premise and like the writer, I’m thinking Viki or Gaga will get this one.  

8/24 Man Suang (Thailand movie domestic cinemas) - historical drama about Thai burlesque with KP’s MileApo. Tong is in this one too? 

8/? Sing My Crush previously Follow The Wind (Korea ????) 8 eps - supposed to have released in the first half of 2022 this is a adaption of Myung’s webtoon, from the director of My Sweet Dear, and the Love Tractor production house, looks like Korea does About Youth.

8/? Why R U? (Korean remake)  is supposed to be out this month, filming started in sept 22. I find everything about this hilarious. I mean if Korea remakes it, we lose all the sexy and then... would we have a story at all? No we would not. Not even for six short eps. It’d be like one of those mesh shopping bags. 

We can probably expect a new BL from GMMTV too, to slot into BMF’s spot mid month. 

2023 forthcoming BL master post (see comments, some are inaccurate, NOT KEPT UPDATED)

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

I do love a hyung romance, and this aggressive ghost-ish thing is working for me. (Low Frequency) 

Hidden Agenda + My Ride. 

So coy

I agree with @heretherebedork​ that these two make a great side couple but I am utterly in love with...

HER. (All Laws of Attraction.) 

(Last week)

[lgbtally4ever]

BLs COMING in August 2023

[twig-tea]

Canadian LGBTQ+ rights; a whirlwind summary

Back in August of 2023 @wen-kexing-apologist wrote an absolutely stellar piece here, and I didn't want to co-opt it (especially because it was already written with an American gaze and I don't want to pile on/distract from the fact that we're talking about Thai BL) so I decided to make this a separate post. And then it lingered in the sad pile of my drafts. But, I'm gonna post it anyway, and take this as an excuse to talk about Canadian history of LGBTQ+ rights apropos of absolutely nothing except the most recent move of the provinces (specifically Saskatchewan) to use the notwithstanding clause to force through legislation that the courts have said goes against our charter of rights and freedoms--specifically legislation that says a teacher cannot respect a child's pronouns without permission of the parent. This is being taken to court (latest as of this writing is that in Feb 2024 the group fighting the law was granted the right to be heard by the court in spite of the notwithstanding clause being invoked, so there is still a chance of it getting revoked via the courts).

WKA talks about what the conversation was like in the US around queer rights in the 20th century; highly recommend reading the linked post first. In Canada the conversation was a little different though with very similar themes; we had the shift to a focus on "privacy" as the driver of our rights long before the HIV/AIDS epidemic, in the 1960s. So much of the push and pull of our laws around homosexuality and gender identity and expression have had to do with the public vs private.

Sodomy has been illegal in Canada since colonization (earliest known conviction: 1648) but laws against gross indecency, which included dancing, kissing, or touching between two men, didn't get codified in Canada until 1892 (and not extended to apply to women until 1953 (thanks)). While these laws essentially outlawed any physical public affection between men from the turn of the century, the fervor to root out and eliminate gayness from society didn't really reach its pitch until mid-century.

I need you all to know about the Fruit Machine, which was an ostensibly "scientific" detection device to identify and purge gay and lesbian civil servants from the military and public service in Canada. While the machine was built in the 1950s and used through the 1950s and 1960s, the practice of using psychology, polygraphs, and interrogation to force military and public servants to come out and take a voluntary discharge existed through to the 1990s.

Our former Prime Minister PE Trudeau made famous the line "there is no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation" as part of his so-called decriminalization of homosexuality 1967; this is of course a joke because "buggery" and "gross indecency" stayed on the books for another 20 years, the only difference being they were only punishable if the people involved were under 21, there were 3 or more people present, or the participants were performing these acts outside of their home. You may notice that this meant the policing of public space was where and how homophobia continued to be perpetuated by the state via police.

Highlighting the importance of privacy as a framework for gay rights at this time, The Right to Privacy movement was the name for one of the forerunners of modern Canadian LGBTQ+ rights groups through the 1970s--though worth noting that this group in particular was criticized for its exclusion of WLW and our trans siblings (some of whom of course overlap). The infamous bathhouse raids of 1981 ("Operation Soap"), leading to at the time the largest arrest in Toronto's history, were one of the precipitating factors in the recognizable start of the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement. In 1986, five years after the raids and thanks to massive effort by LGBTQ+ organizing, sexual orientation was added to the protected list of attributes that it is illegal to discriminate against under the Canadian Human Rights Act (gender identity and expression was added in 2012), and in 1987 "anal intercourse" was made legal for those over 18 (the legal age of consent was made the same for everyone--16--in 2019), and "gross indecency" as a law was finally repealed. The fight for marriage equality was the next step after achieving real decriminalization, and was strongly based on the right to freedom from discrimination as protected by the Human Rights Act.

[Just going to take this moment to note that for some reason they never struck off the law criminalizing sodomy when more than two people are present; this is still an inequality on the books now and people do (rarely) still get charged with it.]

In the late 1980s and 1990s, the censorship fight was most famously held in the written sphere--if you've seen the movie Better than Chocolate, you might already be familiar what I'm talking about. From approximately 1986 through to 2000, Canada Border Services targeted shipments to queer bookstores, holding them up, sometimes destroying the content, putting those businesses at risk, and preventing queer content that passed through border control to be stocked in physical stores. It took the Supreme Court of Canada's ruling in 2000 to shut down that practice as an illegal suppression of a bookstore (Little Sisters in Vancouver, BC, shout-out!)'s right to freedom of expression.

Raids on safe spaces for sexual activity continued to be a driver for action through to the 21st century. The WLW bathhouse the Pleasure Palace (changed from "Pussy Palace" in the late 90s to be more inclusive of our sisters without that particular body part) was raided in the year 2000; 19 years after Operation Soap, and notably the first and last raid on a queer woman's bathhouse in Canadian history. What followed was a massive public coal-raking of police, including the very telling call to action: "out of the bars! Into the streets!" I don't think this was necessarily the intended implication at the time, but looking back the threat was that if we were not given our rights, we would be in everyone's faces (and conversely if we were given our rights, we'd be quiet). The legalization of marriage between any two consenting persons of legal age came five years later in 2005 (I don't mean to imply this effort was the only reason--the fight for marriage equality was active all the way through the 90s and early 2000s; it's just an interesting parallel that two of the biggest wins for equality for queer people in Canada came 5 years after a historic police raid).

One of the factors in gaining acceptance of LGBTQ+ people in Canada was the fight for marriage equality; as it focused the conversation on sameness rather than difference. The queer activism movement here pivoting from messaging around bathhouses and being left alone to marriage equality was an intentional, strategic attempt to be accepted as the same rather than being honoured for our differences. And that fight coming after the HIV/AIDS epidemic and bathhouse raids is no accident as it framed queer people directly in opposition to the stigma of promiscuity that surrounded assumptions about gay people which fed into the lack of support for medical intervention, research, and treatment for HIV/AIDS (here in Canada too, our history is just as gross on that front, people just don't talk about it as much. But Canada followed the US government's example, and so people were left without medical resources for at least eight years in Canada (since the first cases were identified here in 1982) and THREE YEARS after they had been approved by the US--AZT wasn't available in Canada until 1990. Three years in which people died unnecessarily. We similarly approved PrEP four years after the FDA, in 2016. Today, despite "universal health care", if you want access to PrEP, it will depend on the province you're in as to whether you can get it at all for free or whether you need to pay--in my province, it takes 2 months to get free PrEP).

Today, just over 50% of the people with HIV/AIDS in Canada are men who have sex with men; it's estimated 80% of people infected with HIV know their status, of those 75% are being treated, and of those 89% are effectively unable to transmit the virus. In that context, the ongoing fight re: HIV/AIDS in Canada today is around decriminalization, specifically decriminalization of drugs (since ~20% of HIV infections are from IV drug use--one of the many reasons I support harm reduction strategies), and the decriminalization of non-disclosure (since Canada is one of the few places where you can be charged for not sharing your HIV status with a sexual partner). Until very recently, we were also fighting to be able to give blood--it was only in 2022 that men who have sex with men were allowed to donate blood in Canada, which meant every visit to a blood donation clinic involved questions about the gender of your sexual partner(s). And, as mentioned at the top, one of the rights we are fighting to retain right now, is the right to have our gender expression respected without forced outing to a parent or guardian; Once again, the fight in Canada has become centered around the right to privacy.

Slightly tangential to the topic at hand, but I would be remiss in talking about moments in recent history when the law did not prosecute us, but it failed to protect us. In the 2010s, a serial killer was targeting men who he thought he could get away with making disappear; and he was right. The police ignored calls from the community to treat the case as a serial killer for years. Bruce McArthur killed 8 men who had gone missing from Toronto's Gay Village between 2010 and 2017, several who were vulnerable because they were distant from their families (because they were gay and closeted), homeless, and/or in immigration limbo (waiting for status), so it took longer for them to be reported missing. During this time, through to just weeks before the arrest, the Toronto Police insisted in public statements that there was no serial killer.

Black and Indigenous queer people have regularly died as a result of the police being called while they were in crisis. An unnamed trans woman (who was midgendered by the SIU after her death); Regis Korchinksy-Paquet, both in 2020. In 2022, Dani Cooper, queer activist who advocated against police-run wellness checks, was shot and killed by police during a wellness check called for them.

As a positive step, in 2016, Black Lives Matter Toronto staged a protest as part of the annual Pride Parade, making a list of demands, but the one that got the most coverage was the demand to ban police at Pride. This was taken up by the Pride Toronto committee, and since 2017 police have been banned from having an official float or presence at the parade. This has been taken up by several Canadian cities including Vancouver and Hamilton and inspired action in other cities globally.

With that context, in which queer people are rightfully distrustful of police, it is alarming that police-reported hate crimes against LGBTQ+ people (one of the only ways we have of tracking hate crime consistently) had a record-breaking increase in 2023.

In 2017, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (the son of PM Trudeau quoted above) gave a public apology to LGBTQ+ Canadians. Here's just a brief excerpt:

"To the kids who are listening at home and who fear rejection because of their sexual orientation or their gender identity and expression; And to those who are nervous and scared, but also excited at what their future might hold; We are all worthy of love, and deserving of respect. And whether you discover your truth at 6 or 16 or 60, who you are is valid. To members of the LGBTQ2 communities, young and old, here in Canada and around the world: You are loved. And we support you."

The important part about this apology was twofold; one, it explicitly named many of the specific instances of oppression I mentioned above, and two, it listed the things the government was doing to make reparations. This included the repeal of the law that equalized the age of consent (which went through two years later, as mentioned above), the pardoning of people who had a criminal record due to unjust laws based on LGBTQ+ discrimination, settlement of a class action lawsuit for victims of The Purge, and a commitment to work towards better resources for mental health and housing for LGBTQ+ people, as well as a committment to continue working to remove the barriers for gay men to donate blood (which went through in 2022). One of the other important achievements was the change to allow an "X" option under gender on Canadian Passports (so the three available options are M/F/X) in 2019 [some provincial gender opt-out options have existed since 2017].

The current government is by no stretch perfect, but it has been good to see some of these moments of our history acknowledged and corrected for. As the global pressure towards fascism continues, it's critical that we remember these changes are the result of hard work, not inevitable "progress", that these fights are ongoing and require our energy, and that change, using a variety of tactics, is possible.

Quick hit facts if you prefer a list to a narrative:

In Canada, it was illegal for men to hold hands with men or women to hold hands with women in public until the 1960s;

The government tried to expunge us from public service in the 60s and 70s;

it was illegal for men to have threesomes until the 1990s;

bathhouse raids were made possible due to legislative inequalities through the 2000s;

Canada took three years longer than the US to approve treatments for HIV/AIDS, four years longer to approve PrEP, and still today access can be complicated/expensive;

it was possible to be of legal age to have sex but not anal sex until 2019;

Gay men were barred from donating blood until 2022;

Canada remains one of the few countries in the world where you can be prosecuted for not disclosing your HIV status (though does not apply if you retain a minimal viral load);

In 2023 some provincial governments tried to make kids choose between gender expression and their privacy (and potentially safety) from their parents; as of March 2024 that fight is still actively being fought.

The take-aways I hope people get from this post:

This history is more recent than we pretend, and is ongoing

Framing gay rights as right to privacy vs right to being not prosecuted for being in public is nuanced and intertwined

Transphobes need to fuck off

Some references/further reading/watching:

Brief history of LGBTQ+ laws in Canada at the Canadian Encyclopedia

The Fruit Machine documentary made by TVO

Article on HIV/AIDS in Canada policy written by one of the policymakers

Timeline of HIV/AIDS Developments (only goes to 2010 so does not include PreP, which was approved in Canada in 2016, four years after its availability in the US)

Article on The Pleasure Palace raid by one of the organizers

Article on the Bathhouse Raids 40 years after Operation Soap

Article on Bruce McArthur's crimes and the review of how police handled the case by former judge Gloria Epstein

Regis Korchinksy-Paquet and the unnamed trans woman dead after interactions with police

Dani Cooper's death

Article about the Supreme Court case brought by Little Sisters bookshop

HIV Non-Disclosure Law Fact Sheet

Article about the end of the blood ban for men who have sex with men

Black Lives Matter Toronto on their 2016 action at Toronto Pride

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's apology

Gender "X" Options on Passports

Stream Better Than Chocolate (you may need to look up where it's available in your region)

Little Sisters Book & Art Emporium

Glad Day Bookshop (Makes a claim for being the oldest queer bookshop in the world; one of the few queer public spaces being maintained/actively protected as more and more of our spaces are eroded, and also just a personal fave so I'm taking the excuse to shout it out too)

[ranchthoughts]

✨2023: A Summary✨

Post your most popular and/or favourite edit/gifset/analysis for each month (it’s okay to skip months!)

Tagged by @lurkingshan (here) and @wen-kexing-apologist (here). Thanks for the tags!

In 2023, I made 175 original posts, including 45 metas about 12 different shows and two large scale projects (the GMMTV Multiverse and the GMMTV Kissing charts). It was interesting to see what meta (and how much) I had written in which months. It's also fun looking back as I approach my one year anniversary of watching and writing about BL - I'm so grateful for all the wonderful people I've met and gotten to chat with over these past months!

January and February [0 metas]

I wasn’t on BL Tumblr yet! Any and all meta came in the form of thoughts, texts, and powerpoint presentations.

March [6 metas]

My BL Tumblr debut! I started this blog with the intention of 1) more easily gathering and archiving posts for future reference, and 2) collecting my thoughts somewhere other than text threads and my notes app, so I began posting meta the day I got here.

Most popular: what started as me thinking about Win’s rock t-shirt from ep 11 and then grew from there… - reading a lot into a random Thai ql shirt choice? Me?

Favourite(s): Thoughts on Tinn, his mother, and coming out (part 1, part 2); Thoughts on Tinn, his mother, and music - My first meta ever posted! I keep returning to Tinn and his mother's relationship in My School President...

April [1 meta]

By default, the most popular (and favourite): Gun's feelings are realistic - I love when MSP subverts our expectations

May [13 metas]

Oh damn! This was a big meta month for me. Some of my favourite metas I've ever written were posted this month.

Most popular: The Eighth Sense and Missing Pieces - I am really proud of this one. It also made me laugh that I apologized for the length at the beginning when I would go on to post much, MUCH longer metas.

Favourite(s): Thoughts on genre, tropes, Bad Buddy, and My School President (aka my Bad Buddy and MSP thesis, which began life as a powerpoint presentation... now here's one of those much, MUCH longer metas in question); Wai as a faen fatale (which also began life as part of that same powerpoint presentation and I think perfectly encapsulates my analytical style); Conversations in ITSAY that are about more than they seem (I am really proud of the analysis I did here and the writing style I used to present it). This was also the month in which I started my deeply self-indulgent GMMTV Multiverse project, which later inspired my mission to record all GMMTV kisses.

June [11 metas]

Oh nooo another bunch of my favourites. This is cruel to make me choose.

Most popular: Thinking about Pran's "Pat, you've got to stop doing this to me" (I love this one! and this was the first of several times I've gotten to collaborate with the wonderful @dudeyuri)

Favourite(s): An analysis of the baseball mom shirt, Bad Buddy ep. 5 (my entry into the venerable field of Bad Buddy/ql shirt analysis and also encapsulates pretty much everything I try to do in my metas); An impassioned defense of the Bad Buddy ep. 5 rooftop kiss (combines many of my favourite things: reading deeply into the minute details of Bad Buddy, an analytical framework that just clicks itself together as I write, and literature reviews); and Thinking about Snow White as the engineering play, part 1 (shout out to the two other people going ham on Snow White as an allegory during the Our Skyy 2 madness - @chickenstrangers (here) and @letgomaggie (here))

July [3 metas]

Most popular (and favourite): Thinking about Pat, Pran, and pursuit (I think this was my first time articulating the idea of Pat and Pran's commitment to the bit, a concept which continues to circle in my head. This was also another collaboration with the wonderful @dudeyuri!)

August [7 metas]

Here comes Only Friends... and the GMMTV Kissing Multiverse project.

Most popular: GMMTV Kissing Multiverse updates 1, 2 and 3 (this is so much fun to track and analyze, and I've been really touched by everyone else's excitement for the project too); Various thoughts and musings on Only Friends and ephemerality (the Ephemerality Squad assembles!)

Favourite: Thinking about Boston: a study of episode 3 - I find Boston's mind a fascinating place to explore

September [8 metas]

Oh look! It's more Only Friends!

Most popular: Mansplain, Manipulate, Manwhore: Ray confronting Boston - once again, I love getting into Boston's head. This post was inspired by @wen-kexing-apologist's scene breakdowns, especially their Fight Night one

Favourite(s): The above, and also The Mundanity of Meanness

October [5 metas]

Most popular (and favourite): The first fist bump in Bad Buddy - oof. I've gotta come back to this idea sometime.

November [3 metas]

Most popular: The Latest Update to the Kissing Multiverse - the hotly anticipated post-Only Friends update to the kissing charts

Favourite: the kissing charts, and Thinking about Pat, Pran, and competition - again, I love to think about Pat and Pran. I consider this one to be part of an ongoing series, along with my earlier metas on pursuit and the rooftop.

December [1 meta]

Most popular (and favourite): Not Me and earrings - technically an addition on @chickenstrangers' post, but was a relief to get my months old "Not Me is about ears and earrings!" thoughts out.

some no pressure tags: @chickenstrangers, @distant-screaming, @dudeyuri, @neuroticbookworm, @slayerkitty, @telomeke, @twig-tea, @waitmyturtles

[gunsatthaphan]

~ Monthly BL Breakdown: August 2023 ~ 

🕶️ Happy September!!! 🌻

Disclaimer: ALL shows can be streamed here or here, as well as on Youtube and other platforms. For more info on where to watch what, check out this post! 

New breakdowns are coming at the end of every month - feel free to add stuff!  -> previous breakdowns

What came out this month? (green = seen/currently watching)

🌟 Stay Still - August 1st (Hong Kong)  🌟 Sing My Crush - August 2nd (South Korea)   🌟 The New Employee (movie version) - August 3rd (South Korea)  🌟 Love in Translation - August 5th (Thailand)  🌟 My Personal Weatherman - August 11th (Japan)  🌟 Love Class Season 2 - August 11th (South Korea)  🌟 Only Friends - August 12th (Thailand) ✅ 🌟 Dangerous Romance - August 18th (Thailand) ✅ 🌟 I Feel You Linger in the Air - August 18th (Thailand) 🌟 Friend. Boy Friend - August 19th (Thailand)  🌟 Lucky Love - August 20th (Thailand)  🌟 Casanova Begins - August 20th (Thailand) 🌟 My Universe - August 20th (Thailand)  🌟 Kiseki: Dear to Me - August 22nd (Taiwan)  🌟 My Plantito - August 23rd (Philippines) 🌟 Why R U? Korean Remake - August 24th (South Korea)  🌟 Man Suang - August 25th (Thailand, cinema release) 🌟 Firstly "Like" You (movie) - August 27th (Thailand) 🌟 Crazy Handsome Rich - August 28th (Thailand) 

Monthly likes/dislikes

❣️ Only Friends - I mean. do I have to add anything lmao. that shit has me in a tight ass chokehold lmao. there are a few minor things that I wish were different but overall I'm obsessed and it's nice to have something that lives up to the hype. we don't get that very often. Thumbs in up.

👎🏻 Dangerous Romance - so far I don't like it, let's hope it gets better.

New series & movie announcements

🎥 Fermat Kitchen (manga adaption) - Date TBA (Japan)

🎥 Love Supremacy Zone - Date TBA (South Korea)

🎥 Blossom Campus - Date TBA (South Korea)

🎥 A Secret Love (starring Kimmon W. & Kut T.) - Date TBA (Thailand)

🎥 Organize The Chaos - Date TBA (Thailand)

🎥 Iridescent Love - Date TBA (Thailand)

🎥 The Hell Guards - Date TBA (Thailand)

🎥 Wheels and Axle (movie) - Coming November 17th (Japan)

🎥 Love For Love's Sake - Date TBA (South Korea)

🎥 Ambiguous (high school romance) - Coming early 2024 (South Korea)

Other news from the BL world

❗️ Actor Inn Sarin (The Miracle of Teddy Bear) joined GMMTV. ❗️ The upcoming Domundi BL Middleman's Love as well as the GMMTV adaption of Cherry Magic have commenced filming. Both shows will likely air towards the end of the year. ❗️ Over a year after its initial announcement, the upcoming BL Wish Me Luck (starring Na Naphat & Fiat Pattadon) is now in production. ❗️ The uncensored Chinese BL Stay With Me was renewed for a second season. Further details are unknown.

❗️The Korean BL manhwa The Art of Taming a Tiger is getting a Korean synchronization/dub. Mingyu (Boys Planet), Lee Minwook (My Magic Closet), OBON (BOYS24) & Han Gi Chan (Where Your Eyes Linger) were announced as the main voice actors.

❗️The 2014 Thai BL Love Sick is getting a remake that is scheduled for 2024, marking the 10 year anniversary of the production. The show was Thailand's first mainstream BL and is considered a classic and a milestone in the industry. The remake will be produced by the company Tia51. Further details are unknown.

❗️The GMMTV BLs The Eclipse and Moonlight Chicken won Best LGBTQ+ Programs Made in Asia at this year's Content Asia Awards. ❗️ The period BL Man Suang (starring Mile Phakphum and Apo Nattawin) has made history as the movie with the highest advance ticket sales in Thailand in the last 20 years, grossing over 10 million baht on its opening day alone.

❗️Actor Bright Vachirawit announced that he is leaving GMMTV to start his own entertainment company.

❗️ It was revealed that the GMMTV2024 event will take place in October this year. Every year the company hosts an event where they announce their new project lineup for the upcoming year, including a trailer + a short Q&A with the respective cast. The event usually takes place in November or December. A GeminiFourth BL has already been confirmed by the company a few months back; rumors for other BL mains include PondPhuwin and JoongDunk, as well as a new GL couple. Further details are unknown.

Upcoming series & movies for September

👉🏻 Senior Love Me? Season 2 - September 1st (Thailand)

👉🏻 Naughty Babe - September 2nd (Thailand)

👉🏻 Venus in the Sky - September 2nd (Thailand)

👉🏻 Marry Go Round - September 3rd (Thailand)

👉🏻 The Promise: Honeymoon Lost and Found - September 9th (Thailand)

👉🏻 Our Story - September 9th (Philippines)

👉🏻 You Are Mine - September 15th (Taiwan)

👉🏻 Bump Up Business - September 15th (South Korea)

👉🏻 Right Time, Right You - September 17th (Thailand)

👉🏻 Kimi ni wa Todokanai - September 27th (Japan)

👉🏻 Absolute Zero - September 27th (Thailand)

[piningintrovert]

2023: A Year in Review

Thank you for the tag @wanderlust-in-my-soul and @25shadesoffebruary; I'm always down for a trip down memory lane

Rules: Link your favorite and most popular post(s) of each month of the year and tag some CCs friends

January

Most popular: Payu and Rain make up, Love in the Air Special Episode (understandable lol just like with everything else, they were insane for this) Favorite: Yeo Jung becoming Dong Eun's executioner, The Glory (full black and white set, my beloved AND this monologue is just so *gestures wildly*) Honorable mention: Tinn asking Sound to help Chinzilla, My School President (had a lot fun playing the text and emoji animations; it took forever and a day but it was worth it)

February

Most popular: The Complete BL Sass™ Collection (finally gave the people what they wanted lol) Favorite: Masumi finding out the world is going to end, The End of the World With You (one word: ACTING)

March

Most popular: You're my man; don't call yourself a pebble, My Beautiful Man 2 Favorite: (same as above)

April

Most popular: Payu touching Rain's lips, Love in the Air (deleted scene) Favorite: Kiyoi just wanted Hira to feed him, My Beautiful Man 2 (shameless plug for my "don't mind me" collection)

May

Most popular: Why do you like me?, Be My Favorite Tralier Favorite: Deleted scene from Payu & Rain's first time, Love in the Air (I still maintain that it was a CRIME to cut that scene out)

June

Most popular: Bad Buddy meta; Ink and Wai are the only ones who know about Pat and Pran's relationship as shown with their outfits Favorite: Tongfah and Paper's first kiss, Second Chance (the blue in this scene speaks to me)

July

Most popular: Payu and Rain attending Sky and Prapai's wedding, Wedding Plan (I would like to know when we're getting the special episode of WP where Nuea plans Payu and Rain's wedding) Favorite: Domestic Kazuma and Ren, Tokyo in April is...

August

Most popular: Henry, the world-class insomniac, Red, White & Royal Blue Favorite: Prince Henry "You're in his DMs" tweet (this was the first time I made an edit like this and I love how it came out)

September, October & November

I went offline for a bit so nothing for these months

December

Most popular: Smol Rain next to Big Zaddy Payu, Love in the Air (first set after my three month hiatus; way to come back with a bang) Favorite: Welcome to Smirk City, Pit Babe (the first gif... need I say more?)

It's always nice to look back on the year like this because I sometimes feel like I don't contribute enough to the fandom (dw I'm actively trying to change that mindset ^-^), and something like this really helps puts things into perspective for me. Even with a three-month hiatus, I created quite a bit of content—content that I'm proud of :)

Tagging @raypakorn @musicdramalove @snimeat @forcebook @spicyvampire @aejeonghae @maxescheibechlinichacheli @dengswei; feel free to ignore~

[maybe-boys-do-love]

So related to the news about Thailand today, I want to detail a thing i noticed when writing a longer piece about Boston on Only Friends, because I think especially watching as foreigners, we can forget or ignore some really cool subtextual commentary that's happening in the QL shows we're watching.

We learn a couple episodes in that Boston's dad is running for office. When we first meet Boston's dad, Nick is working on his campaign flyer, which reads among other slogans, "Give me a chance to improve." (Thanks to @thaisongsengsub for the translation). Boston enters the scene wearing a graphic tee that says 1998. In 1998, the Thai Rak Thai party was founded in Thailand by Thaksin Shinawatra, who would become the first democratically elected prime minister of Thailand to serve a full term in 2001. According to the Guardian article where much of my info's coming from, he "introduced a universal healthcare scheme, village funds to stimulate growth, as well as policies to boost entrepreneurship and help the country recover from the Asian financial crisis. He also presided over the repayment of the debt Thailand owed to the IMF ahead of schedule."

In 2006 Thaksin Shinawatra was deposed by a military coup and his party was outlawed. Only Friends spoiler alert: Just as Boston lives in exile from his friend group and from Thailand by the series' end, Shinawatra would live in self-imposed exile beginning in 2008 and lasting fifteen years to avoid legal charges. Interestingly the former prime minister returned for the first time the same month that Only Friends premiered, August of 2023 (upon his return he was promptly put into custody).

A new incarnation of this populist neoliberal party formed after the dissolution of Thai Rak Thai, the People's Power Party, followed by Pheu Thai Party when the PPP was dissolved. Shinawatra's younger sister, Yingluck Sinawatra, would take on leadership of the party and become the Thailands first female prime minister from 2011-2014, when her tenure was also ended by the courts and a military coup from which she fled to exile. The party is currently being run by Shinawatra's daughter, Paetongtarn Shinawatra.

The Move Forward Party, a more progressive Thai party, that was dissolved by the courts yesterday had previously been part of a coalition in Parliament with the Pheu Thai Party but decided to not vote for its candidate for Prime Minister after the PTP decided to include more conservative parties that supported the military junta in its coalition also in August of 2023 (you know, the period Only Friends was being written), as reported by Bangkok Post. All this is to say that there were a lot of politics in Thailand happening around the time of Only Friends.

For those willing to observe Jane Austen's "fine brush strokes" that she uses to offer portraits of romance, you'll find observations that would've otherwise been censored on slavery, the military, estate law, and most obviously, marriage law and female citizenship. Thai BL series don't have to be as explicit as Not Me to comment on political affairs. In fact, because of the political situation some of their commentaries require a deft touch like the one we see in Only Friends. I don't want to say exactly how I think Only Friends interprets the political situation it hints at here. Hopefully you can at least see that this idea of improvement, inclusion, and exile is as tied to the concept of friendship on Only Friends as it is to Thai politics. I only want to recommend that you watch for how QLs address class, political actors, geopolitics, and condemnation more broadly because to my eyes, they are doing some of the most subtle but radical commentary happening in any contemporary media, which I won't say makes them better or worse, but goddamn does it make them interesting.

[slayerkitty]

2023 in Review: Meta Edition

So I got tagged to do a moth-by-month meta review by a few people - @chickenstrangers, @lurkingshan, and @ranchthoughts. I wasn't sure I had enough meta or posts, but then I remembered Only Friends...

So I figured, why not?

January/February

No meta from me yet - was still lurking/starting to poke my head out and interact a little.

March

My Favorite/Most Popular: Dome is Jesus! So I've long said that my first BL meta was for La Pluie, and that's true. However, my first meta since I started watching Thai dramas was for Midnight Museum (which is, technically, not a BL). Thus we have my Dome is Jesus meta. And I don't think I was wrong? But he was also way more than that, lol.

April

My Favorite/Most Popular: Dome is one of the four Horseman of the Apocalypse. Midnight Museum season 2 WHEN?

May

No meta this month.

June

My Favorite/Most Popular: Dream loves Nara. HAHA, my first La Pluie/BL meta and it's about the GL side couple. Dream wore that red 'N' right over her heart on that sweater and since I've been to the @respectthepetty school of color, I noticed it right away. AND I WAS RIGHT.

July

My Favorite/Most Popular: Turtle Tai. My La Pluie meta where I over identify with Tai for several paragraphs. I have no idea if it helped others who were struggling with Tai get a better understanding of where he was coming from emotionally, but writing it was cathartic and I'm so glad @lurkingshan poked at me and said I should write it.

August

Most Popular: Let's Talk About Trust, Baby. One of my first Only Friends metas from early on, when the show was absolutely eating my brain. I had a lot of fun breaking down the trust dynamics of the characters.

My Favorite: Baby, Let's Try. My breakdown of the Let's Try OST MV (and Only Friends BTS videos) analyzing the different framing devices and effects used and what it might be saying regarding our larger group discussions on ephemerality in regard to the show. When I watched this MV and realized what was happening, I had to drop everything and write out meta and that was so much fun.

September

Most Popular: Narrative Frameworks in Only Friends (post episode 4). I ended up doing this weekly and it was so fascinating... until the frameworks went away. Why, P'Jojo?

My Favorite: Working with @jenyifer to figure out the story of the Only Friends end cards for each episode. It finally put the mystery of those moments to rest and figuring out where they originated or where they fight in the chronology of the show really added some depth to certain moments.

October

My Favorite/Most Popular: With the dramatics and exhausting reveals of the Red Peafowl casting announcements, I loved my reaction: Let's Just Stan the Fucking Bird. @blmpff mentioned fan club memberships and the Featherheads were born.

November

My Favorite/Most Popular: (Stages of) Grief in Last Twilight. I wanted to explore where Day and Mhok were with the grieving process. My only Last Twilight meta (so far?).

December

My Favorite/Most Popular: Narrative Choices in For Him the series.

Honorable Mention: my most noted post of the year, lmao, but not a meta - my second Pit Babe is trending post.

Look at me, I got all wordy from July through November, LOL. Here's hoping for more meta and more brain rotting BLs in 2024.

Not tagging anyone, but if you see this and you wanna do it, consider yourself tagged!!

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - Well... at lease we have Wandee & Stand-in?

Organized, in each category, with ones I'm enjoying most at the top.

May 2024 Wk 4

Ongoing Series - Thai

Wandee Godday (Sat YT) ep 4 of 12 - The geept is strong with this one AKA Yak CAN flirt. Wandee now knows he isn’t the only one with a crush on someone else. AND YET they are SO DAMN CUTE together. I do wonder sometime if Yak is running a counter con with Dee pretending to have a crush on Taem. Meanwhile, mad props on the HPV vax public service! Good for them!!! Now that's my kind of product placement. I do have a feeling the sad bit with these two is gonna be VERY sad and last longer than we like. 

My Stand-In (Thai Fri iQIYI) ep 5 of 12 eps - It’s a riveting show. Pleasant? No. Riveting? Yes. Tiny crumbs for Ming’s assistant. Joe is best boy. That is all. I LOVE this show.

We Are (Weds iQIYI) ep 8 of 16 - TOO MANY SOUND EFFECTS. Omg get your fingers off those buttons you computer wanking sound dude (you know it’s a dude) what tf do you think this is? Lovely Writer? Also, they left ALL their drinks! Can you not walk and drink at the same time in a BL? Meanwhile not much happened that hadn’t already happened AKA bit of a filler ep. That said, the friendship group stuff is glorious!!! Also this brand of super gentle flirting suits PondPhuwin better than any of their prior rolls. It reminds me of how much I think they suit a historical. There is a gentle dignity to these two. 

Only Boo! (Sun YouTube) ep 7 of 12 - I love how kindly the turn down was. But most of the dancing stuff was dull. I don’t know I just find the actor playing Kang pretty vacant of appeal I guess. 

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

At 25:00 in Akasaka AKA 25 Ji Akasaka de (Japan Thurs Gaga) ep 6 of 10 - As is not uncommon with JBL I’m being to get frustrated with Yuki the Uke. Sigh. I’m probably gonna stay that way for several episodes given the pacing of this show. 

Living With Him AKA Kare no Iru Seikatsu (Japan Thurs Gaga) ep 7 of 10 - Also frustrating. Willful misunderstanding. We got us some running of the gays but boy is this drawn out. 

Blossom Campus (Korea Thurs Gaga & iQIYI) ep 3-4 of 6 - The puppy is a bit too much sunshine innocent for me. And the professor is a bit creepy. I don't know, I'm not loving this one like I want to.

It's airing but...

You Made My Day (Thai YT) ep 1 of 5 - mini series staring the I Will Knock You couple Tar & Bom, started but I couldn't find it. I also didn't try very hard.

The Time of Fever AKA Unintentional Love Story 2 (Korea movie) trailer released to Korean theaters 5/25. HoTae & DongHee, side couple from Unintentional Love Story are back! Same actors, same character names. I love them. I NEED TO SEE THIS. How?

OMG Vampire (Thai Sun ????) ep 2 of 10 - yeah I can't find it.

In case you missed it

Crossing my fandoms moment, major Kpop blog ran the following: OMEGA X Hangyeom Talks Jazz For Two, Brotherhood, And More With KpopStarz

Tis the season of remakes? Both Addicted Heroin (August, my love!) and My Love Mix-Up (G4!) are coming from Thailand. I am very excited to see both. I love a Thai remake, often more than the original.

Next Week Looks Like This:

Upcoming BLs for 2024 are listed here. This list is not kept updated, so please leave a comment if you know something new or RP with additions.

May Releases

VBL (Taiwan) is releasing 4 'Special Episode' epilogues to their 4 2023 shows every Friday this month on Gagaoolala, Viki & Viu. Not sure on search terms or how to find these. (Or, frankly, if we need them.)

5/10 – You Are Mine

5/17 – VIP Only

5/24 – Stay By My Side

5/31 – Anti Reset

5/28 My Biker 2 (Thai movie YT?) - trailer

5/30 Knock Knock Boys (Thai Thurs WeTV & Gaga) - I do love Best and I'm interested in seeing him in a new pairing. That said, I'm not wild about Seng. Still, this looks like a chaotic pulpy mess, I'm looking forward to wallowing in it one way or another.

5/31 The Time of Huannan (Taiwan movie) - May not be BL

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

All Wandee Gooday.

Icky no longer allows screen shots or there would have been a bunch from Stand-in.

(Last week)

Streaming services are listed by how I (usually) watch, which is with a USA based IP, and often offset by a day because time zones are a pain.

The tag BLigade: @doorajar @solitaryandwandering @my-rose-tinted-glasses @babymbbatinygirl @babymbbatinygirl @isisanna-blog @mmastertheone @pickletrip @aliceisathome @urikawa-miyuki @tokillamonger @sunflower-positiiivity

@rocketturtle4 @blglplus @anythinggoesintheshire @everlightly @renafire @mestizashinrin @bl-bam-beyond @small-dark-and-delicious @saezurumurmurs

Sigh, Tumblr in it's infinate wisdom doesn't like too many tags.

There's these tricks, remember:

[lgbtally4ever]

12 New BLs Airing in August!

[gothicbarbie]

BL'S I'm Watching (August 2023)

In order of my enjoyment!

1. Only Friends - Breath of fresh air! It's messy, it's sexy, it's entertaining... it's got a lot of pairings I love seeing together. I like that it's just a more mature BL. Yes, the high heat is great, but it's about these characters feeling comfortable with their sexuality. I want more!

2. My Personal Weatherman - Always enjoy JBL's and high heat ones are even better because imo they always feel more realistic. The plot of this is a bit strange but the chemistry is great and I want to see where it all goes.

3. Hidden Agenda - Joongdunk are just so adorable. Besides the fact that they are just the most attractive pairing to look at, they have clearly gotten even more comfortable around one another. I like that the plot is going in a different direction than I expected. It's not the most amazing BL I've ever seen but I'm enjoying it.

4. Love Class 2 - I was busy last week so I am behind on episodes but I did enjoy the start of the show. A tad confusing on first watch but it made sense in the rewatch. An interesting plot with 3 different pairings to root for, so it's a fun watch. There are a few elements I don't care for but it's not too bad.

5. Dangerous Romance - A bit of a sketchy start and I can't stand bullies, but I am happy that Chimon and Perth get a chance to shine and I wanted more of them. Let's see where it goes.

6. Minato's Laundry 2 - Still a great show. Lots of cute moments. I think season 1 was better and Minato is irritating me quite a bit with his insecurities and pulling away. It doesn't make a lot of sense to me personally but I still like the show and will finish it out.

7. Stay By My Side - Not Taiwan's best, and the main pairing is a bit awkward in their kissing imo but I still the show is very fun and they are cute.

8. Laws of Attraction - Interesting-ish plot. A few pairings to root for. There is def. some boring parts and issues I have with the show but I am still liking it.

9. Be Mine Superstar - I find the plot of this one pretty boring TBH but I freaking love JaFirst. It's not their best series and I find Ja's character pretty awkward. But it's watchable.

10. The Wedding Plan - This plot is weird. Don't get the fake marriage or why the main guy can't be honest. I think the chemistry is alright but not overwhelming. I am not fully invested but its a short series and I wanna see how it goes.

11. Jun and Jun - ehhhh idk about this one guys. I can't get into it. I wanted to, but office romances aren't for me, and I think this one is especially boring. I like the chemistry between the main two but I find a lot of their moments a bit uncomfortable and there is a lack of consent in a lot of areas. Not Korea's best.

12. Stay Still- Not even sure what I am watching but its so short so I'm just kinda skimming.

On Hold:

1. I Feel You Linger in the Air

2. Lost in Translation

Tried the pilots of these and they felt very slow so I had to put them on hold for now and may come back to them later or if I hear good things about them.

Recently Finished:

1. Stay With Me - For anyone with doubts, this is definitely a BL. Some sweet kisses (though not on the lips) and lots of flirting and innuendo. A terrible ending but it'll apparently get a season 2, so I'll hold out. I genuinely loved this series!

2. Sing My Crush - Not big on musical plots and I found the storyline here a bit boring and like I'd seen it before, but it was okay. The main couple was very cute. Didn't love it as much as everyone else, but it was still good and worth the watch

EXTRAS:

Advance Bravely - Not currently airing. It's also I think technically a bromance but there are def. suggestive moments and scenes and I find the chemistry really good an entertaining so I'm enjoying it.

Catch Me Baby - Not currently airing. Only watched 1 ep and had to skim it, I found it very weird. I'm only really watching for Net/James.

[kaitou-al]

Hi! I'll be in the artist alley at Citrus Con, which is an 18+ online BL/queer media con from August 26-27, 2023. There will be a stamp rally, and the Bigcartel store will open at that time.

It's free to register! Come and say hi if you like~

[tsukiyadori]

Reading+Listening Log 2024.09 - September

Previous: Reading+(Watching)+Listening Log 2024.08 - August

——————————————————————————

Reading languages: German, English, French, Japanese, not listing which was what. (There’s also been some feeble attempts at Chinese, but that was more music.)

Titles are as I’ve read them either first or most and thus remember it for that title mostly

Not going to bother putting in the original titles of translated reads unless there is something worthy of note to it

Cursive titles have been completed

If it says a volume number, it may mean it has been finished or is still in progress

Some notes’ content may be subject to repetition here and there, as I also copied some older notes from casual conversations over and didn’t go through any rounds of cutting things down.

——————————————————————————

SEPTEMBER

A new Jeweler Richard volume has come out. I have still not read the last one… And I do remember whining about messing up the date of that one's digital release in October 2023. Which means, It's been over a year now I started these logs, and I am somewhat amazed that they have kept on this long.

(classified) level one has now been vanquished. There are things I'd want to ramble about it, but it'll still have to wait. Here is hoping I still remember all of it…

Also, a non-weeb/otaku read since a long while. And I immediately regretted it...

Light Novels/Web Novels/Asian Novels:

Everyone Loves the Cannon Fodder Rosmei Preview Fushi no Kami v1 Sasaki & Peeps v1 The Apothecary Diaries v3 The Blessing of Liefe: Leave This Magical Letdown Alone! v1 The Eminence in Shadow v3 The Executioner and Her Way of Life v1 The Isolator LN v5 The Saint's Magic Power is Omipotent LN v1 Your Forma v5-6

Western Novels:

Der Mensch erscheint im Holozän // Max Frisch

Manga:

A Livid Lady's Guide to Getting Even: How I Crushed My Homeland with My Mighty Grimoires (Manga) v3 A Side Character's Love Story ch52-57.4 Ano Natsu ga Houwa suru. ch21.2 Are You Okay with a Slightly Older Girlfriend? ch23.3-29.1 Asahina Wakaba & Her Chubby-Chubby Boyfriend ch1-7.1 Ascendance of a Bookworm Part 3 (Manga) v3 BL Game no Shujinkou no Otouto de aru Koto ni Ki ga Tsukimashita ch20 Beast Tamer ch7-19 Buta no Liver wa Kanetsushiro v3 Closer Heartbeat ch8-29 Dahlia lässt den Kopf nicht hängen v3-6 Daijuukou to Unicornis no Otome ch16.2-17.2 Domestic na Kanojo v18-20 Duchess in the Attic (Manga) v3 Firefly Wedding ch11-23 Girl Crush ch66-67 Goodbye, Overtime! This Reincarnated Villainess Is Living for Her New Big Brother (Manga) v2 Haikyu v42-43 Hallo, ich bin eine Hexe und mein Schwarm wünscht sich einen Liebestrank von mir v4ch20 Harebare Biyori ch26 Hari to Hitsuji no Fune ch12.1 How I Attended an All-Guy's Mixer ch17-29 How a Single Gold Coin Can Change an Adventurer’s Life ch16-20 I Can Go Adventuring by Myself, Mom!: The Son Raised by the Strongest Overprotective Dragon-Mom ch1-2.1 I Parry Everything: What Do You Mean I’m the Strongest? I’m Not Even an Adventurer Yet! (Manga) ch1-3 I don't want to work anymore ch22-22.2 I'm Not Even an NPC In This Otome Game! ch1-4.5 I'm a Noble on the Brink of Ruin, So I Might as Well Try Mastering Magic (Manga) ch7-11 Kemutai Hanashi Skimming up to ch31.1 Kijima-san & Yamada-san ch24.3-25 Kimi ni wa Todokanai ch42-43 Knitter's High ch30.2-3 Koisuru (Otome) no Tsukurikata ch84-87 Kono Koi wo Hoshi ni wa Negawanai ch16.1 Living With My Brother's Wife ch75-89 Mr. Mallow Blue ch31 My Housemate Sano-kun Is Just My Editor! ch3.2-9.1 Okazari Ouhi ni Nattanode, Kossori Hataraki ni deru koto ni Shimashita ~Usagi ga Iru no de Hitorine mo Sabishiku Arimasen!~ ch29.1 Reincarnated as a 15-Year-Old Queen: I’m an Ex-office Worker, but the Young King Is Interested in Me?! ch1-2 Seraph of the End ch131-140 Shinde Miro to Iwareta no de Shinimashita. ch13-16 Shojo Null ch2-33 Shuumatsu Touring ch39.3-40.2 Sonna Kazoku nara Sutechaeba? ch78 Strawberry Love ch8.3-12.1 The 6th Loop: I'm Finally Free of Auto Mode in this Otome Game ch11.3-15 The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten ch14.1-215.3 The Daily Life of a Middle-Aged Online Shopper in Another World ch1-3 The Emperor's Caretaker ch1-6 The Eternal Fool's Words of Wisdom: A Pawsitively Fantastic Adventure (Manga) ch1, v2ch7-12 The Ex-Villainess’s Unsightly Daughter ch1-6.2 The Greatest Magicmaster's Retirement Plan - The Alternative - ch1-4.4 The Magic in this Other World is Too Far Behind! (Light Novel) v1p3 The Prince's Keeper: The Cursed Prince is Too Fluffy to Resist! ch3.2-6 The Royal Tutor v10-17 The Vexations of a Shut-in Vampire Princess ch4.3-9 Trying Out Alchemy After Being Fired as an Adventurer!: Frontier Settling? No Problem, Leave It to Me! ch3-8.1 Unnamed Memory ch39.1-2 Watashi wo Tabetai, Hitodenashi kaimaku3, 40.1-2 Yakuza Reincarnation v1-4ch16 Yomei Ichinen to Senkokusareta Boku ga, Yomei Hantoshi no Kimi to Deatta Hanashi ch11.3-13.2

Webtoons:

A Royal Princess with Black Hair ch66-97 Can the Grand Duke and the Marquis be Friends? ch44-58 Fair Wind Scroll ch1-29 For Stella ch34-61 Ice Lamp: The Chronicles of Kira ch57-67 Moriarty's Perfect Crime ch1-8 Taberare Usa ch119-122

Music/Music Videos:

RADWIMPS - Suzume (Suzume No Tojimari) [Dante Levo and Kindred Remix]

Zhou Shen - 铃芽之旅

Zhou Shen - Shenself - 02 - 蜃楼 Mirage

Zhou Shen - Shenself - 08 - 缝合

Zhou Shen - Shenself - 11 - 没关系

Zhou Shen - 我的答案

Zhou Shen - 人是_ (电影《流浪地球2》定义主题曲)

Zhou Shen, Terry Zhong - 春雪

Zhou Shen - Endless Sailing（电视剧《三体》主题曲）

Zhou Shen - 永恒孤独（《三体》电视剧主题曲）

G.E.M. - 面壁者 (《三体》动画片尾主题曲)

谭维维 - 歌者 《三体》广播剧最终季主题曲

咻咻满 - 《歌者 Singer》 Cover 【三体 Three Body Problem】 广播剧最终季主题曲

咻咻满 - 《奇点》 三体 同人印象曲

Zhou Shen - 浮光

谭维维 - 3811 - 09 - 小娟 (化名)

TommyMuzzic - Different Kind Of Beautiful

TommyMuzzic - Different Kind Of Beautiful (8D Audio)

Alec Benjamin - Different Kind Of Beautiful (Piano Version)

Alec Benjamin - Different Kind Of Beautiful

Notes:

Fushi no Kami v1: I FINISHED IT. Good heavens, that took since spring to finish it. The world setting really isn't uninteresting, but all that Maika cheese was starting to get me cheese nausea. MC fellow is going to town now it seems, so here is hoping less Maika, and it makes for a more smooth read for me.

Sasaki & Peeps v1: That equally took several months. I'm not sure what it is, but while I find the plot lines not even uninteresting, reading it is a complete slog. I can't really pinpoint the why. What I do know what made me go from considering to dropping it to probably actually doing it is the end note with that neighbor girl. That's such a misguided conclusion she comes to, and it's not like anyone made any such advances or taught her that toxic way that you could say she was brainwashed, especially not from the MC to whom she is directing it now. It's…. ouf. The magical girl is equally just a bit ????, and it's unfortunately not too much the sort of ? that made me intrigued. Other than that, it's refreshing to have an isekai with regular switching back to present reality, but somehow the addition of psychics was reminiscent of the setup of The Isolator sans aliens kinda lowered that contrast of real world vs. fantasy isekai. Granted, it still managed to make do having all of it without feeling exactly cramped. I do wonder what made it such a hard read for me…

The Blessing of Liefe: Leave This Magical Letdown Alone! v1: The third of it those perfectly light romance reads following the two last month, and ouf. I think I ran out of steam there. MC is nicely badass, but the romance thingy kinda came out of left nowhere. If the male lead was introduced before his illustrated dashing entrance to find MC kneeling down looking for a memento trinket, to then turn out, they were childhood friends, then I must have completely missed it. The thing with having no "5-elements magic? -> defective" seems to be getting to be another staple trope? Where did it even come from originally? (Have to say, Dahlia in Bloom employs it in a much more interesting way.)

The Eminence in Shadow v3: I'm entirely not sure anymore what this even about now. Except there's Shadow doing whatever somehow badass and all his fangirls are being fangirls.

The Executioner and Her Way of Life v1: I had read some of the manga adaption in terms of tempo that one definitely reigns above the novel and probably also made it a bit of a drag to read. (Miss annoying Twin Tails did not help.) I was just considering feeling stupid for already stockpiling so many volumes when the end of the volume did raise some more interest again. I am rather simple-minded. Alternative timelines and time loops kinda reliably bait me.

Your Forma v5-6: Uh oh. I should have checked if there were more vols to come soon, because v6 is not just latest English, but also the latest JP volume. And v6 ends on such a bad cliffhanger! I recommend stopping after v5 until more volumes are out. That being said, it continues with its patterns of having an overly crimson red herring that no none seems to outright suspect, only for that one to have a double layer behind it. But v5 played that up with such ramping up the stakes and v6 completely escalated all and everything while dividing the cast into fragmented parties each with their own interests and priorities. There are so many side plot lines now, and it's juggling it while interconnecting it all and reaping some more payoffs from earlier volumes. So. When's volume 7 coming?

Der Mensch erscheint im Holozän (Man in Holocene): Oh hell darn it. I should have immediately recognized Max Frisch as the same author of Homo Faber. (Whom after that one I really had never wanted to touch again.) His works do leave a lasting impressing and footprint - and it's one I'd love to shake off if I could, because I consider it existential poison to the mind. The plots of those two titles are quite diffrent, but there is a common theme behind it. The futilness of struggle. Powelessness against your circumstances. The world. Life itsef. It'll all end for you at some point and the world will just go on, even with you out of the picture. It's a peculiar sort of gloom that is very earthly and all the more chilling for it, because it's too just a bit too realistic. And just so, so gloom. In this particular one your don't even have the kinda asspully incest inducing coincidence of Homo Farber. It's just about an old man, a widow living alone and not having any much connection to the people in the village, stuck in some real bad rainfall back in the 1980-ish, unstable electricity. And he's there, plastering notes, snippets of knowledge on the wall and slowly and steadily deterioates. What first looked like a descend to insanity because of being a man that really, really should not have been left alone, with struggling with isolation, desolation and pure boredom (this could also be about corona isolation) turns out to not be simple insanity, or not just that, but also dementia. And ouch. From Pagodas build from Crispbread to stave off the hours on the clock and night, to Genesis, Pythagoras, dinosaurs, local Swiss geography, an attempt to escape the place, abadoning halfway, books cut apart and out, chestnut cancer, and…. kitty roasted over fire, because. No real reason really. Beyond probably subtle desparing. There's just this whole sense of helplessness and the ending is just the daughter coming and talking to him like a child full of sorrow and then the place just goes on. Just without him. And there's the whole escape episode where he tries a mountain hike in the rain to go from that village over to Basel. And it's just "what does Herr Geisar want in Basel!". The sheer pointlessness of all. Like humans are pointless. Very much. Somehow we're strangely still there tho.

(Classified) v1 finished: There is a scene where the male MC goes like "How could I, to this day, not know about this?" and my first sentiment on that line was: Right, how did I not about this series? Not that it didn't cross my radar before, but never in a way to really make me pick it up before. There is a sense sense of alienation to the world, while still being perfectly integrated to its social structure, but still maintaining optimism and just doing your best bit by bit to improve the world and the lives of the people in there one way or another, is a mood that probably is just healthy. Also the female MC is still giving me all the aroace vibes imaginable. And (well of course T_T) the other MC has gone cheese infected. Pretty badly, too. But is in full blown denial for the perfectly followable reasons. Which makes this a sort of my second worst personal nightmare, and I was wailing a lot when that descended. I'd have loved them to continue what they had decided on, but maybe, it'll actually find a middle ground of how to reconcile one with the other. Could ramble a whole lot more on this, but it'd have to come end of the year.

Wandering Earth, Three Body Problem Wikipedia Pages: Well, it got there from the fan MV to the Wandering Earth movies and Zhou Shen's Mirage song the month before. And as usual these days I just don't get myself really to actually watch the thing (beyond the trailers anyway). So I read the wikipedia pages instead. And then I clicked on the author of the short stories it was based on and then landed on Three Body Problem. Which I wound up reading all the summaries, too. Sounds rather very interesting, so onto the book queue it went, but then I missed the timing to actually start it because JNC expiry deadlines. Oh well… Maybe still this year.

Domestic na Kanojo v18-20: v18: This buning cheese dumpster suddenly got queer, accompanied by a suicide story, which was kinda not trash, only to then follow up with some very horny-porny show-offs doubling down. And then it ends on a really creepy note. I think this may be the most packed vol so far of having multiple plot strings strung along. (The gay part actually ended wholesome, but looks like Miss Doomed to Suffer MC is getting the creep card, I'm starting to wonder if she is going down a checklist of everything cheese bad.) v19 while reading: Creep. Creep. Also, why shove that that mundane cheese side quest in, can we get the creep arc over already? CREEEEP 🤢 Blegh. The author has it in for Hina, does she? Okay, that sure escalated…. v20: near death netherworld drama, but of course. Also that Elephant Trumpet Rising to the Sky…. well, I give it, the visual presentation was pompous and it does its job to lighten the mood. Also Hina has just signed her final death by cheese suffering-sentence after all. Everything in that world truly is in to torture her, including herself. Everything after…. is being back to to roots that is its dumpster ecchi antics trash form. Can't say it is all that interesting in terms what follows, I mean, this is Natsuo's harem member 4 or 5 or something, and she clearly stands no chance anyway…. And as for the main trio. Just really, bigami is your solution. Even if it's not lawfully allowed, just do it already. How come nobody's even contemplating the idea? (Especially when it actually already made that queer side quest trip.)

Haikyu v42-43: That last game in their school days was honestly…. kinda boring to me. That after time skip felt a bit more fresh. Not much to the ending anymore, but still some volumes. It's nice to see not just soem short epilogue, but a whole arc about folks being adults later on past the school setting.

Kemutai Hanashi Skimming up to ch31.1: I was following it on pivix, and while I had a vague idea that there were more chapters you could buy single I stuck to pixiv, because the slow release there kinda just sit well with how it has this contemplative nature. And I am buying the print books anyway. (Which are also ahead of pixiv as of v4.) Turns out, it's mainly released on some other plattform and over there's it's vastly more ahead. With yet too little time to read through it all, I skimmed through it and there's a whole bunch, like a real whole that can be said and then some more that can't be said yet, so just this one thing for now: I mentioned this in my rambling of ch12 (the final chapter of v2 btw) before. This series's use of black for a mood is spectacular.

Like spectacular.

Breathtakingly so. (I gulped somewhat hard at that scene.)

Koisuru (Otome) no Tsukurikata ch84-87: Oh my gosh. I also did not have too much time to carefully read at first and I got a cheese arrow strinking me down, when skimming it (funnily the same happened for Hiura, but for diffrent reasons), but upon actually properly reading it, it goes on about some youthful existential crisis while also reminding you that it's still a RomCom, a compf fluff one at that. The Swooning arc is forthcoming! (Probably)

Seraph of the End ch131-140: I'm not entirely sure what I am reading here now. Beyond the two MCs kinda trolling everyone. Also Mahiru is having some more screentime and she's still cool and can her sister please stop trying to steal the show.

Shojo Null ch2-33 (finished): This showed quite some potential, but somehow it seems misplaces with Jump. It felt more like it would be more fitting at a place where series like Eden it's an Endless World would feel at home. There are some panels and pages that have quite striking artwork, but then it at many places tries to be an action manga and that's not something the author excels at, at least not yet. Felt rather stiff and more trying and succeeding there. Other than that the ending came fast, downright anticlimatic and while it still manages to have a somewhat round ending, it also feels more axed than not.

The Emperor's Caretaker ch1-6: MC who knows what she wants. art that isn't to shy to have a whole deal of a wardrobe and ornaments. You have my interest. Also looking like having upcoming amounts of cheese. … I will wail about that when it comes to it.

The Royal Tutor v10-17 (finished): Finally read down that pile. After it all: It was boring for me. It's trying to have some sort of compfy humor, but the humor just completely falls flat for me. If one liked the beginning mood tho they'd likely continue to like it. It doesn't really ever stray much from that specific mood.

Unnamed Memory ch39.1-2: Reaching the climax of volume 2's novel. Tinasha smirk towards Lanark after she grabbed the spell from him is just cool. Quite curious how badass the coronation will turn out~

Yakuza Reincarnation v1-4ch16 - Euh. Nope. Not for me. Lots of Beating them up and I kinda got vibes from Wind Breaker just more bloody and deadly and isekai and old geezer instead instead of yourthful puberty. Considering WB wasn't at all for me, I guess that one will remain dropped.

Yomei Ichinen to Senkokusareta Boku ga, Yomei Hantoshi no Kimi to Deatta Hanashi ch11.3-13.2: Darn it, some chapters expired on me again, so more gaps skipping it be… But color me surprised. This is the trope of terminal illness girl leaves guy behind whose world was turned upside down, but then looks like it's ALSO terminal illness guy leaves girl behind. (Who was the best friend of terminal illness girl, so her world gets toppled twice of sorts.) Curious where it goes now.

A Royal Princess with Black Hair ch66-107 (finished): The MC rocks. She so completely rocks. The plot itself is decently round and okay, nothing too outstanding, but Eucienne is just such a great character. Kinda trolling, kinda ridiculous, in her way just upbeat, has wits, is strong and steadfast and quick to act, has a heart full of steadfastness and kindness, while inbetween being a natural and a perfect actress she is pretty, elegant and just badass. I mean just look at this perfect smirk!

And paired with a guy who can keep up with and handle her. How nice that it even gets pointed out at the end as the one big firstmost thing why they are such a good match. It's also nice, that despite the obligatory cheese upcoming, while it may have used a bit of a timing asspull to seperate them, it also skipped over the awkward feelings have changed and by the time they meet again they are perfectly in synch as ever and more than anything they actually know it. No big awkward needs to figure an if out, rather just a short why. So the whole confession stuff at the end is more a thing of a matter of course (she did literally decided to not even try become empress and come back to him), no drama and then it's also seasoned with their usual snides and bantering. Most importantly it was kept crisp and short while adorned with some self-aware humor. Me likes. Somebody take those characters and put them together with some stellar plot, please? ._.

(The only thing that may have irked me, is that it had the need for the obligatory kisses and paint it as the grand curtain lowering climax. So much great build up and then it just has to find its goal in that? Tho the last chapter somewhat mitigates it, as Eucienne kinda goes and half crashes her own wedding. That's pretty cool.)

September's Music: Some more from last month continuing and 浮光 came back from earlier the year. 春雪 came in new and struck a pretty strong chord for several days on loop. Upon looking up the lyrics, it was of course another cheese song (something one sided, but anyway). After that I hit upon some songs of Three Body Problem, which, it turns out were in my to check out playlist already anyway. (It feels like Zhou Shen seems to pop it in and out of just about anything Chinese media by now.) The drama has some tracks of his and Endless Sailing is a terrific case of Enrish to behold. The Chinese version 永恒孤独 definitely sounds a tad better also I do wonder why love songs? Does the book have any? The summaries don't sound that way. Anyway even as such it's refrain line "Please don't answer" is kinda haunting while it also relevance to plot of Three body Problem. I have no idea wherefrom G.E.M.'s 面壁者 is – doesn't look like it's from the drama, but some animated thing? It has a nice melody to kinda just sink into. And then there's Tan Wei Wei/Sitar Tan's 歌者 and also that cover version from 咻咻满 (how bizarre that the cover video is the only place to find some english subs). What a terrific earworm. The first lines/refrain just keeps stiking in my head. "I glanced upon my love / I flew by her side / I presented her with a gift / which is a small piece of solidified time". Maybe it's because I had just learned "gift" from 春雪 and that made me understand the lines pretty much without having to do too much looking up, once I actually listened for the words? Not that I wanted to believe it, because, darn it. Another love song again? (Also why, does this series really have a lot about it?) Also yet again a song that isn't part of the drama series, but rather some radio drama's final season's opening theme? I did find some Chinese audio book reading on youtube, but doesn't look like it's this one. Anyhow tried some more Tan Wei Wei und then 小娟 (化名) struck out melodically, but upon looking up the lyrics it's. Uh. A song about domestic violence referencing some real murder cases. From whining over love songs that's a bit of a cold bucket of water… Then by the end of the month dropped Diffrent Kind of Beautiful by pure coincidence. Just another random play from youtube, but the moment I listened to it was basically when some certain other classified news dropped and it's also been around the same hour where I discovered that other plattform with all those up to date latest Kemutai Hanashi chapters. And while I was skimming those I wasn't perfectly listening to the song either, but the title line stuck and it's melody was a stragely fitting mood for this series, as were some fragments of its lyrics. "A diffrent kind of beautiful / …/ the kind that makes me turn around / … / The kind that takes my breath away and leaves me without air / maybe I'm delusional, it's just that kind of beautiful / … / I was hoping that I'd run into you here / but now I'm stumbling / and I can't seem to figure this out / … " Whiiiich, is a bit of a mishearing of it, and the gaps that I didn't pick up at first totally just make it another (one sided) cheese song, but what I selectively did pick up there in that moment kinda is felt exactly fitting to what Kemutai Hanashi is (specifically had to thing of the scene ch15).A whole series about stumbling and "I can't seem to figure this out", about a diffrent kind of beautiful. Breathtakingly so, a kind that makes me turn around.

[ldysmfrst]

Reciprocal Synergy (1) - Hierarchy

Status: Ongoing series

Chapter number: 1 of unknown

Word count for Chapter: 1,853 

Work count for Story: 1,853 

Genre: Omegaverse Au based off KinnPorsche: Thai BL Drama

A little about the author: I am a mother of two beautiful children, one of whom has special needs, and the other loves everyone. I started a Patreon, and I would be grateful if you donated to help me make ends meet while I am out of work.

This is the very first story I wrote. I posted it here in July 2023, but I have now edited it and finally decided to add it to my library. I hope you enjoy it. I only have two chapters written so far, but I may get back into it... once I am healed up from my hospitalization and almost dying at the start of August 2024.

Each chapter starts with a definition. (thought it would be cool) 💜💜💜

Warnings: NOT BETA READ!! This chapter does have guns, violence, Alpha, and motorcycles.

Library of LdySmFrst / Reciprocal Synergy Master List

hi·er·ar·chy

/ˈhī(ə)ˌrärkē/

noun

A system or organization in which people or groups are ranked one above the other according to status or authority.

It is everywhere and in everything.  

From birth, children are subject to their elders; in schooling, students are subject to teachers who are subject to administration.  

At work, new hires are the bottom man on the totem pole, followed by the leads or supervisors, and above them are managers and directors; then, at the top, you have CEOs and owners.  

Everyone on the planet should abide by all variations of hierarchies.  

However, an internal hierarchy also comes into play when humans are between 15 and 18 years old and present as Alpha, Beta, or Omega. This would tip the scales and disrupt everyone's checks and balances of other hierarchies in play.  

Luckily, times have progressed, and there have been rights movements, laws put in place, and general manners taught to all.  Now, Omegas can hold positions of power, and Alphas can be the homemaker of the family.  Still, they rarely do as it is in their nature to act accordingly and submit appropriately.  

Then you have the scarce and highly respected ones that remain human and never present. They are seen as gemstones or purity markers and are coveted, not in a good way.

That is where you will find my name, Anikinn Theerapanyakun, in the books.  Next to it, Gender class: N/A Human.  Status: Second Child of the Main family, named Heir to the family business.

Once it was clear that my Elder brother, Thankhun—Beta, was not of sound mind after being kidnapped, and my youngest brother, Kimhandt—Alpha, left the family to follow a music career, I was the best and only choice to take over as the leader of the strongest Mafia in Thailand. 

When I never presented a second gender, it was seen by many as a sign that one so rare should be the one to take over. 

One would think that the transition would have been smooth and accepted, but that hardly happens in my world. 

To prove that I was the best choice, aside from my sub-gender rarity, I efficiently managed to turn a higher profit from our “trades” than my father had during his entire reign. This earned respect from many of those who served the family. The ones who didn’t show their proper respect were given reasons to fear disrespecting me as the new Head of the family.  

Some attempted to tell me that I needed to be protected by someone with the sub-gender of an Alpha. Both Alpha men and women came begging my father to mate me off just because I was only a human.  

It didn’t stop there. 

We even got a few offers to mating from the desperate Omega who sought to make a name for themselves as bagging one of Thailand’s top 10 most eligible bachelors. 

I have been burned once, a long time ago, by someone who wanted to mate with me… someone I almost gave my heart and soul to. 

However, there is still unrest among some of the leading mafia families in and around Thailand, and taking a mate would be used against me. So I don’t, trying to avoid any more weakness in my image.  I'm not saying that I don’t dabble in the pretty boy now and again, but nothing committed, always paid for, and no kissing is ever allowed. 

“Damn Italians!  Always trying to show that they only follow my Alphahole of a father!”

“Khun Kinn, we need to get you out of here,” Big, my head of security detail, yells at me over the gunfire and motorcycle engines as we run down the alleyway.  

Ducking, shooting back, trying not to fall, and not knowing where we are going or where the hell my security team is. 

“Ahh!!” Big screams, gripping his arm, “Go on, Khun Kinn.  I will try to hold them off here.  Pete says they are close.  Keep your phone on you, Khun Kinn.  Don’t worry, Arm will trace it, and I will always find you, Boss.” 

Big directs me as the bullets stop flying for a few moments and then shoves me down an alleyway filled with neon lights, smelling of piss, vomit, and booze. 

I trust my team as much as allowed in my world and take off looking for any entrance—the need to get inside without being seen becomes my driving force. 

Why is every street filled with people, dark, and seemingly without a way out?

I look down another alleyway, and I hear music playing!!  Thank God there must be a club or bar nearby, which means they will have a loading dock or patio where I can get in.

Following the music, I hear the shouts and pounding feet behind me, catching up.

Suddenly, the narrow alleyway opens to precisely what I thought it would be: a loading area, but it's not empty.  Even with death following behind me, my breath catches at the sight of a gorgeous, well-toned man leaning against the wall smoking. 

“I need your help!”

The man was startled at my demand as my pursuers busted through the alleyway behind me. 

Quickly, I made my way to stand next to the man, “Aren’t you going to help me?”

After taking a quick glance at the low-life thugs that are squaring off with us and a cursory head-to-toe spine-tingling look at me, the man smiles cheekily and simply says, “$50,000.”

“Excuse me?!?”

“You want my help?  It's gonna cost $50K.  Take it or leave it,” the man states over his shoulder as he puts out his smoke, rolls his defined shoulders, and cracks his neck.  “Do we have a deal?”

“Deal.” 

That is when the world just slowed down.

Without breaking a sweat, the man lays out all three of my pursuers, then smiles at me and bares his elongated K-9s.  

This man is an Alpha, and I just received protection with a price.

I hope he sticks to the money and is not hoping for anything more because I am not an Omega and will not bow down to another Alphahole. 

Slowly, albeit smugly, he walks up to me.  

He is getting ready to say something, but a flash of silver over his shoulder pulls my attention behind him, where one of the thugs struggling to stand is getting prepared to shoot him.  Without any thought, just instinct, I pull the man towards me and cover him.  

A deep, rumbling growl emits from the man I am now hunched over protecting.  

Why the hell am I protecting him now?  

He is the one getting paid to protect me from this shit.

Before another thought can form, the man tugs on my arm and pulls me through what I assume is a bar and out the front.  He hops on an older, slightly beat-up motorcycle.  

All I can do is stare.  

Why is that so hot-looking right now?  

I am trying not to get shot, and here I am, trying not to drool at the sight of a slightly sweaty unknown Alpha with well-toned muscles, tight black pants, and straddling a cheap-ass motorcycle.

BANG BANG

“Fuck, dude!  Get on!” The man yells at me again with a bit of a growl in his voice and starts the motorcycle up.  

Quickly following his orders, for nooooo reason other than to save my ass, I hop on his bike, and off we go.  The sudden jerk of the motorcycle startles me, and I grab onto the man's waist to avoid falling off.  Zig-zagging through traffic, time passes, and the speed slows down, but my grip on the man stays the same.  

Who can blame me, right?  

He is a friendly, solid, warm, burning wood-scented man driving, and I am a passenger.  

If anyone asks, it was for safety reasons.

Once we knew the coast was clear and we were no longer in danger, the man pulled into a filling station, and I got off.

“Thank you for your help.” 

I tell him while attempting to collect some resemblance of decorum with “windblown hair” and an “after being chased” disheveled suit.  

Silence.  

No, you are welcome, or no problem… just silence.  

Looking up, I see the Alpha look at me with piercing eyes, as if he expects me to pull a stunt or KowTow.  

“What is your name?  I need to know for the gift baskets,” I ask, which only gets me a smirk as he slowly stands up and walks toward me, still his gaze unyielding. 

“$50,000.”

“Oh that is right.  I do not carry a wallet on me.  Give me your name and phone number so I can wire it to you?”

“Oh yes, here you go.  I will surely give a man I do not know, who has no scent, and who used me to avoid being killed my number so that his henchmen can come to find me and silence me in my sleep.  I think not.” He smugly and growly informs me, placing his hands on his hips.  

The only thought passing through my mind is ‘I wonder how his hips would feel in my hands or his hand holding my hips instead.”

While I am blatantly staring at said man's hips, he steps close enough to me that a warm puff of air smelling of burning wood, like a fireplace, is blown on my face without me noticing.  

Snapping out of my what can only be explained as a temporary loss of consciousness and not horny teenage-like daydreams, I now realize the Alpha is so close a deep, quick breath would be all it would take to… 

DAMN IT, KINN!  

Think with your brain and not your balls.  

Sneering at the closeness in proximity and taking a step back, the man takes me in one more time.  Running his tongue along his teeth, his eyes light up, and with speed only Alphas possess, he has my left arm in his hand and is grabbing my watch. 

“This will do.  I'm sure it's worth enough.  You can borrow money for a pay phone.” Stepping back, the Alpha mounts the motorcycle, slips on the watch, and starts the engine up. 

Before I knew it, a panic started to make a pit in my stomach. 

He is leaving!  

He can’t go!  

“Wait!” I yell, startling him, “I never got your name.  So I can pray for blessings upon you for helping me?” I question, taking a step forward, praying that Arm and Big arrive before he leaves.

After a sideways glance and a fake smile, "Jom, my name is Jom,” he says as he rides off. 

Arm, my tech geek bodyguard, is talented, but I hope he is good enough to find this Alpha Jom.  He has my favorite watch, and I should give him the money out of proper etiquette, but the pit in my hand just doubled in size at the thought of never finding him again.  

I swear it is just about good business and nothing more… is nothing more… it shouldn’t be anything more... Right?

Next

Tag List - OPEN

@bethanysnow @braveangel777 @danielle143

[gunsatthaphan]

~ Monthly BL Breakdown: July 2023 ~  

🕶️ Happy August!!! 🌻

Disclaimer: ALL shows can be streamed here or here, as well as on Youtube and other platforms. For more info on where to watch what, check out this post!

New breakdowns are coming at the end of every month - feel free to add stuff!  -> previous breakdowns

What came out this month? (green = seen/currently watching)

🌟 Be Mine SuperStar - July 3rd (Thailand) ✅

🌟 Minato Shouji Coin Laundry Season 2 - July 5th (Japan)  

🌟 Stay by My Side - July 7th (Taiwan)

🌟 Stay With Me - July 7th (China, censored) 

🌟 Senior Love Me? (short film) - July 7th (Thailand) 

🌟 Low Frequency - July 8th (Thailand)

🌟 Hidden Agenda - July 9th (Thailand) ✅

🌟 Bump Up Business - July 9th (South Korea) 

🌟 Laws of Attraction - July 15th (Thailand)

🌟 The Star Season 2 - July 15th (Myanmar) 

🌟 Wedding Plan - July 19th (Thailand) ✅

🌟 After Sundown - July 20th (Thailand, cinema-release)

🌟 Jun and Jun - July 20th (South Korea)  

🌟 Monochrome (short film) - July 25th (Thailand) 

🌟 Papa, What Is Love? Season 2 - July 28th (Philippines) 

Monthly likes/dislikes

❣️ Be Mine Superstar - once in a while a trashy low budget show comes along and hits just the right spot - this is that show lmao. I was looking forward to seeing JaFirst again but I did not expect to like it this much lol. It’s ridiculous but the kind that makes me laugh a lot. JaFirst completely reversing their roles has me rolling and is working extremely well. Love Stage vibes all around. I love it so far. 

New series & movie announcements

🎥 Night Dream - Date TBA (Thailand) 

🎥 I Love You I Kill You (novel adaption) - Date TBA (Thailand) 

🎥 Beyond The Duo (short film) - Date TBA (Myanmar) 

🎥 UniverSad (novel adaption) - Date TBA (Thailand) 

🎥 Iridescent love - Date TBA (Thailand) 

🎥 Nai Hia Bok Mai Chop Dek - Date TBA (Thailand) 

🎥 The Hell Guards (Hey Don't Mess With My Heart) - Date TBA (Thailand) 

🎥 Even If I Try To Fall In Love With You (君となら恋をしてみても, manga adaption) - Date TBA (Japan) 

🎥 Wishing Upon the Shooting Stars - Date TBA (Taiwan) 

🎥 Bad Guy My Boss - Date TBA (Thailand) 

Other news from the BL world

❗️ The following BL productions & actors won at this year’s Asia Top Awards 2023:

Ohm Thitiwat: Best Actor (609 Bedtime Story)

Tar Atiwat: Rising Star (I Will Knock You)

PeeTitle: Popularity Award (La Pluie)

Gun Napat: Best Performance in a BL (Luminous Solution) 

Mew Suppasit: Best Serial Actor (Love Me Again) 

KinnPorsche: Most Popular BL Series

❗️ Former StarHunter actor Bas Suradet (2Moons, Gen Y) has joined Studio WabiSabi, along with 4 other new faces in their New Generation Lineup. 

❗️ The novel ไหนเฮียบอกไม่ชอบเด็ก will be adapted into a series by MFlow Entertainment. Auditions are currently being held. Further details are unknown. 

❗️ The upcoming GMMTV BL Cherry Magic released its pilot trailer after an 8 month delay due to copyright issues. Workshops are currently happening. The show will likely air in early 2024.  

❗️ GMMTV announced that GeminiFourth will no longer be part of the upcoming BL/GL drama 23.5 due to changes in storylines & characters. They have been replaced by View Benyapa and June Wanwimol who will play the roles of Aylin & Luna, making it a GL-only drama. Further cast additions include Ciize Rutricha and others. 

❗️ Actor Tul Pakorn (Together With Me, Manner of Death) announced his retirement from acting as he is pursuing a career in real estate in New York after getting his master’s degree. 

❗️ The upcoming Domundi BL Middleman's Love has started workshops. The show will likely air towards the end of the year. 

❗️ The Japanese BL Ossan's Love is rumored to get a third season which will likely premiere in January 2024. Further details are unknown. 

❗️ The Norwegian web series SKAM (2015-2017) will get a Korean adaption called Skam Korea. The series has a total of 7 remakes from 6 European countries + the US. Auditions are currently being held. 

❗️ GeminiFourth announced that they will be starring in another BL series which will be a novel adaption. Further details are unknown. 

Upcoming series & movies for August

👉🏻 Stay Still - August 1st (Hong Kong) 

👉🏻 Sing My Crush - August 2nd (South Korea) 

👉🏻 The New Employee (movie version) - August 3rd (South Korea) 

👉🏻 Love in Translation - August 5th (Thailand) 

👉🏻 My Personal Weatherman - August 11th (Japan) 

👉🏻 Love Class Season 2 - August 11th (South Korea) 

👉🏻 Only Friends - August 12th (Thailand) 

👉🏻 Friend. Boy Friend - August 19th (Thailand) 

👉🏻 Lucky Love - August 20th (Thailand) 

👉🏻 My Universe - August 20th (Thailand) 

👉🏻 Kiseki: Dear to Me - August 22nd (Taiwan) 

👉🏻 Why R U? Korean Remake - August 24th (South Korea) 

👉🏻 Crazy Handsome Rich - August TBA (Thailand) 

[thebroccolination]

So, I have a theory about GawinKrist and Gawin's vampire show with Joss that seemed to come out of nowhere.

THE GOLDEN BLOOD THEORY

Gawin's been around since 2018, but he didn't get a main role in a BL until Be My Favorite. Back in (presumably) 2017, he worked as an usher at a movie theater after graduating from high school in the States in 2016. His two biggest roles before BMF were arguably Mork in the Kiss series (2018-2019), and Dan in Not Me (2021).

He was also the best part of Enchanté (2022), but tragically not one of the main cast.

After Gawin stuck with GMMTV through the worst of the pandemic regulations that restricted filming and then thoroughly proved his range in Not Me, I have a feeling that GMMTV was finally planning to give him his first leading role in a BL series: a vampire series opposite Joss planned for 2023.

Then, unexpectedly, Mike left his leading role in Be My Favorite in maybe August or September, and this is presumably when GMMTV looked at their options for Krist's costar and decided Gawin was their best bet.

Here's my thinking: if Golden Blood was planned for 2023, then GMMTV would have announced it at their showcase for 2023 programming in November of 2022. But the Be My Favorite recasting of Mike for Gawin was announced in September of 2022, so GMMTV could have easily pulled Golden Blood from the lineup and pushed it back a year. Since Gawin has never had a partner and Joss has never been in BL before this, no one was expecting a series from them, so no one would have known to expect anything from Gawin at all. Based on conversations I've had with Gawin's fans, he'd been so inactive that they didn't think he'd have a series at all in 2023.

Meanwhile, GMMTV had already announced Be My Favorite at their 2021 showcase of 2022 programming, and the director Waa had requested more time to work on the script in 2022, so the air date was pushed to 2023. As of September of 2022, Be My Favorite was announced, anticipated, already pushed back a year, and most likely paid for, so it was probably considered a high-priority series. Not to mention it had one of the Holy Trinity and the director of The Gifted attached, and it was to be the first BL series produced by Parbdee Studios.

My mantra with GMMTV for the past several months has been this:

They're incompetent, not malicious.

The fact that Gawin Caskey, better known to most for singing rather than acting, had never performed onstage before this summer at MUSICON in Japan and had to go to Krist before the second show because he had no idea what to talk about between songs is bonkers to me. Like, I'm not at all a GMMTV anti. I praise them when they deserve it, but holy shit. You've had a talent like Gawin Caskey for five years and you only just put him onstage this year?

I think SOTUS being the shock hit that saved them from bankruptcy is a good summary of how GMMTV seems to operate, at least from what I've seen: they throw stuff at a wall and sometimes it works really well! They like money a lot, so if money happens immediately, they do more of that even if they have no idea how it happened or why it was appealing.

Speaking of which—

GAWINKRIST & BE MY FAVORITE PROMOTION

Over the course of filming and promotion, Krist and Gawin became very close. They've both called each other their safe zone, Gawin moved his TV into Krist's house to be a second gaming screen for a while because he was over there constantly, and Krist got Gawin three (3) separate, custom birthday cakes in August (one at a small surprise party, one at the BMF final episode screening, and one at Gawin's birthday event). Krist even integrated Gawin into his university friend group, which is so absolutely fucking wild I can't even. Krist is twenty-eight years old and he adores Gawin so much he wanted Gawin to be part of a friend group he's had for ten years.

Gawin adores Krist's favorite child, they went to an art gallery, and once they even tried to bring a guitar to a beach at night to play music to the stars or some shit (the beach was closed they're both ridiculous). So when Krist calls Gawin "my precious buddy" he doesn't do it as some fanservice thing. They are basically family at this point, regardless of what happens in their professional lives, and it was a beautiful dynamic to watch over the summer.

Part of what made their chemistry so natural in Be My Favorite probably had a lot to do with how much they opened up to each other. Back in May, Krist shared that because he and Gawin aren't especially fond of social media, they discussed how to do the necessary promotion for their series comfortably. Krist actually got Gawin Caskey on TikTok to do TikTok dances, so once again: very good friends.

They also shared videos of them just hanging out at Krist's house eating snacks and playing video games, or playing guitar and riffing, playing with harmonies so beautiful I mourn daily that they don't have an album together.

When the series started airing, Krist invited Gawin to his house to watch the episodes together and go over their acting choices. But GMMTV had also scheduled Krist for a slew of solo concerts throughout Asia, so he had to watch some of them alone on the road overseas. What would have been a fun weekly promotion opportunity was complicated by GMMTV's bizarrely timed scheduling. (Of course, Krist rarely has a day off in general, but you'd think they'd organize his schedule to prioritize his first BL series since 2017.)

Be My Favorite didn't get much promotion overall compared to other GMMTV series, and GawinKrist especially seemed to be treated sort of as an afterthought. They had a few podcast interviews, they went to see Elementals at the cinema (which ended up inspiring Krist's theme for his solo "Elements" concerts in Bangkok), they went to Japan together for MUSICON, Aye had them sing on her channel, and they had a live session for RISER. Those were all the major ones, I think. Not nothing, but there were a ton of missed opportunities for more.

And for a company whose CEO recently touted their actors as influencers and obsesses over Twitter hashtag trends and viewing numbers, the lack of opportunities they gave GK is a little unusual to me.

Unless GMMTV knew they had a vampire series starring Gawin and another actor that they'd postponed. And it'd be announced at their showcase for 2024 programming in October shortly after Be My Favorite ended in August.

It might also explain why, when pretty much every other series had a song performed at the showcase medley, Be My Favorite wasn't included. Even though Krist and Gawin are both known singers who had four songs in Be My Favorite between them.

In the immediate aftermath of the showcase, a lot of GawinKrist fans were unhappy with the news of Gawin's new series, myself included. I'm not a big vampire fan in general, and I'm not impressed with the teaser, the director, or the screenwriter, so I probably won't be watching it. (BounPrem's vampire series is starring BounPrem, so that's why that one's my exception.) I am, however, very happy for Gawin for getting more main character money and remaining in a lead role. He's an absolute sweetheart, and I hope he has more music in 2024 that I can support.

As days passed after the showcase, the more I thought about Golden Blood and where it came from. GMMTV is incompetent, sure, and GawinKrist didn't make the same waves as other pairs, but they definitely have a committed fanbase, and Be My Favorite got overwhelmingly positive reviews, particularly for GawinKrist's chemistry. They trended consistently whenever they did anything, and most intriguingly, Japanese fans really love them thanks to MUSICON and FanFest. Japanese magazines are still releasing interviews and photoshoots with GawinKrist to this day (with plans for more!).

The only thing that makes sense to me is that Golden Blood was meant to happen first, and GMMTV didn't want to waste resources pushing GawinKrist over the summer when they knew Gawin would have to start from scratch with Joss in October.

It's kind of wild to think about, but if Mike hadn't left Be My Favorite, it would have gone ahead as planned, and Golden Blood would have aired this year at some point. And that would mean there's a timeline out there where Gawin and Krist were never cast together, and this beautiful friendship they created never happened. They never got to experience that safe zone they found in each other, and they never would have known what they were missing.

I'm still sad that their professional time together was so short, but this theory makes me feel better about it because rather than being something we were robbed of, they were a gift we never expected.

And just like KristSingto before them, GawinKrist are still close, still friends, and can enjoy their time together without the added pressure of selling and promoting their closeness. They can be friends without scrutiny. They can count their series as a point of pride. This unexpected masterpiece that brought them together.

And maybe someday, when their schedules line up again, they can make the beautiful fucking album that I deserve. [fire emoji]