#affair the series ep 3

[thefriendoforatioisdead]

FINALLY WE'RE GETTING THE PRESENT TIMELINE IN THE NEXT EPISODE !

LET THE CHEATING BEGIN !

[gl-saveme]

jealously stewing and ignoring your feelings for your best friend in the lesbian bathtub 😤🛁

Grace Budsarin as Genlong in Mate Ep 3 Sonya Saranphat as Pleng in Affair Ep2

[letscf]

Affair The Series EP.5 [3/4]

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - Korea Is Back, Baby

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

March 2025 Week 4

Ongoing Series - Thai

Perfect 10 Liners (Sun YT) ep 22 of 24 - Faifa is a natural flirt. He just flirts with everybody. I think it’s an essential part of his personality. I hope Wine is okay with that. I wish we got a little bit more about Wine’s past and history and why he is the way he is.

Ohm is our super hot P’Tor? Glorious! GREAT spot casting. Also a nice sweet character - direct and honest. I liked everything about this cameo.

All in all a nice ep. Lovely execution of the rooftop assignation trope. (It's an OLD one, was in Takumi-kun)

Top Form (Thurs WeTV) ep 2 of 10 - ep 2 and we are already on dub con and a stolen kisses? Charming. Frankly, I found this second installment a little dull. But I’m still enjoying the show.

My Golden Blood (Weds iQIYI) Ep 3 of 12 - is that the same house as Win’s family home in Between Us? 

Sweet Tooth Good Dentist (Fri iQIYI) ep 2 of 12 - no ep this week.

Lost in the Woods (Weds Gaga) ep 2 of 7 - Meh. I’m DN-effing this one. Effing indeed.

Flirt Milk (Sat YT) ep 10 end - I just want the photography club pres to get a boy. Could he have his own BL please? 

Summary

An insipid story of a boy who likes another boy at a university photography club. One of them is dim and the other is a jerk and that's it. Side couples are BL and GL, with the back-up gays the only good thing about this whole show and there isn't much of them. 4/10

Ossan‘s Love Thailand (Mon YouTube) ep 12 END - finally it's over. I will say that the actress they got to play Mo’s sister does look like she really could be Mix’s sister.

Summary 

Was this punishment for how fantastic Cherry Magic Thailand was? WHY DID THIS HAPPEN?!! I never liked this IP. It's a terrible story based entirely on a love triangle, the viability of the whole show hinges on the boss character being likable, because the lead is an unsympathetic looser (and user of people), and the roommate/love interest has no personality. With better optics, better kisses, and better chemistry than the original this Thai version STILL managed to be worse with more workplace harassment. A true feat of, well, something that ended up the visual equivalent of smelling like feet. Save yourself from the pong. 4/10

Finally… where tf were my ladies? The female characters were the best thing about the original.

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Heesu in Class 2 (Korea Fri Viki) eps 1-2 of 10 - Adaption of the comic by Lily, about a shy unpopular boy with a secret crush on best friend who somehow also ends up his school's relationship counselor. This was my most anticipated BL of it's original year (2022) and I am so glad it's living up to expectations (I worried about how long it was in dev hell).

It is both painfully cute and painfully awkward and I love it. Giving Light on Me vibes. Sex Ed but a KBL is basically made for me.  I love all the characters. I love the friendship group. I love the poor lonely super studious actual love interest. Everything. Thank you Korea.

Secret Relationships (Korea iQIYI) ep 5 of 8 - episode five, and I’m starting to just feel so sorry for poor Da-on. Aw linguistic negotiation my love! I still enjoy it but things are getting dark for our hero.

Exclusive Love (Taiwan Fri Gaga) ep 8 of 12 - my love affair with our new blond boy continues. He is best boy.

Checkered Shirt (Korea YT) ep 7 of 8 - I’m enjoying this. In that cautious way I have with this particular production house, since they don’t always stick the landing.

Fight for You (Taiwan Fri Gaga) ep 1-2 of 12 - I liked premise of the show, but I’m not loving the execution. It’s the same company that does the robot stuff. And it’s got that same awkward tone and lackluster aura.  I absolutely hate the nosy grandmother character, and she may be a dealbreaker for me continuing to watch the show if she shows up regularly. This is the character (and personality type) I find the most intolerable in the world.

It's airing but......

Sashes and Hearts (Pinoy YT) 13 eps - Philippines is doing Drop Dead Gorgeous only all gay boys queening their asses off. Doesn't interest me, not sure if it's BL.

Last Meal Universe (Thai ????) 8 eps - An alien who has come to destroy earth instead falls in love with Thai food and then the Thai boy who cooks it - realistic, actually. I got a link to watch but it still wouldn't work for me, so I guess I'm waiting to see what happens.

In case you missed it (I did)

I never caught Marahuyo Project when it was airing but I recently binged it and it is charming. Not BL really (no trope et al), more a kind of 90's style Big Eden or Shelter early queer cinema thing. Made me very nostalgic for those bad old days. Definitely worth a watch if you like that kind of QL, it's 8 eps on ANIMA Studios YT channel.

Next Week Looks Like This:

COMING IN APRIL

4/3 Business as Usual AKA Eul's Love (Korea Thurs Viki/Gaga) 7 eps - trailer on Twitter Kim Min Jun, a 30-year-old office worker, is stuck in the repetitive cycle of his 9-to-5 job and can’t shake the feeling that something is missing from his life. Things take an unexpected turn when his ex-boyfriend Jin Hwan, whom he hasn’t seen in 8 years, suddenly reappears at his office as a new colleague.

4/25 My Sweetheart Jom (Thai Fri YouTube) - trailer Saint is back in a BL? Who knew that would ever happen? When he gets tangled up with a mafia boss's son's girlfriend and ends up in a scuffle, young Yothin needs to find a safe place. Instead of sending him overseas, his father decides to send him to the countryside. There, he stays in Bang Pho under the care of subdistrict headman, a close friend of his father. He's also under the watchful eye of the village headman who happens to be the subdistrict headman's grandson and is overseeing his probation. As Yothin spends more time with Jomkhwan, his perception of the village headman begins gradually to change.

4/26 The Bangkokboy AKA Bangkok Boys (Thai Sat ????) trailer - messy gays

2025 Line Up

BL Announced for 2025 - PART 1

BL Announced for 2025 - PART 2

20 BLs Announced for 2025 That I'm Really Excited About

GMMTV 2025 Line Up - My Totally Biased and Wildly Flawed Feels

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENT

Everyone loved the rooftop kiss but I adored that cuddle.

(last week)

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

[twig-tea]

GL odds and ends 6 October 2024

I haven't been as good at posting about shows as I wanted to be, so I'm trying a round-up format instead because it feels like a lot of GLs skirt under the radar. It's exciting that we're in a time when there's enough GL airing that it's worth doing a round-up! This was a great week for the lesbians to figure themselves out, so it feels like a good week to start. No idea how regularly I'll do this, need to figure out a cadence that makes sense.

Currently airing (with thoughts up to Oct 6):

Reverse 4 U 5/8 (Thai, Tuesdays 1:00 PM EDT, Netflix / YouTube) This week the girls finally sorted themselves and we got set up for the main plot to start next week. I was initially really stoked about this one and then a little bummed that it's not taking it's very cool premise and the stakes it establishes as seriously as it could be, but I'm still hoping it will start to have real stakes in the main plot stretch.

The Two of Us s2 ep 6/6 END (Thai, 29 Aug-3 Oct 2024, YouTube) It was so great seeing women in their 40s being romantic together but I did not love the plot of this one; I find their romantic conflicts too juvenile (lots of easily-triggered jealousy). The moments they're being sweet are great though.

Unlock Your Love ep 4/8 (Thai, Wednesdays, GagaOOLala / YouTube [cut version]) This is the first episode that this series felt a little more assured; I liked the series this production company produced with a short run time, it feels like this series has been worse off for its longer episodes. That being said, when these couples get to do their thing like in this episode, they have good chemistry.

Chaser Game W s2 ep 3/8 (Japanese, Thursdays 12:30 PM EDT, GagaOOLala) @lurkingshan is already doing a great summary of this week to week in her JQL weekly round-up!

Affair the series ep 6/8 (Thai, Fridays 11:15 AM EDT, iQIYI/ YouTube) Finally! I liked that it was Ek pointing out that Wan was unhappy the entire time she was gone that finally got Pleng to give in to her desire to be with Wan. This show is so melodramatic but the emotional threads follow and the character motivations are clear and consistent; I'm enjoying it in spite of not loving melodramatic storylines in general. It helps that the acting in this one is excellent.

The Loyal Pin ep 10/16 (Thai, Sundays 12:15 PM EDT, YouTube) Glad we finally got confirmation of Patt's history! And I'm relieved Anin knows she has an ally, though I feel like it's given her false confidence that worries me. These two are stressing me out by how bad they are at being careful but I do love how desperate they are for each other, as well as how beautiful this show is.

Red Whisper ep 2/8 (Korea, Wednesdays and Sundays, YouTube) Starting with cheating is not my fave but is par for the course with these SukFilm short series; my fave so far has been their first GL so if you haven't seen that yet I'd honestly recommend that instead.

Recent One-offs

Out of Breath (re-release in a bingeable version; Korean, YouTube) Highly recommended! Also the creator, Soo not Sue, announced she's working on another series to hopefully air before the end of the year, which I am super stoked about.

The Suffering of Xiqing Mountain (Chinese (censored), YouTube)

Sastra film app YouTube channel has several short Cambodian GL series that come out weekly Honestly they are not to my taste but I don't like gatekeeping GL especially from smaller markets. I check in on these time to time and if there are any that I think are great I'll give them a shout-out

Ditto above with JPC media YouTube channel for Thai GL shorts if there are any that stand out to me I'll say so

Recently ended that I haven't had the wherewithal to write about:

Hoshikuzu Telepath (fansub) Thank you to @yuiyuihan for your hard work making it possible to watch this series! I I haven't read the original manga but I do know they changed the kiss communication to a forehead rest; Unsurprised that this adaptation, starring idols in the same group, would be left ambiguous in terms of whether their feelings are friendly or romantic. I liked what this series was trying to say, but in all honestly didn't love the execution. It's too bad because I absolutely love the concept of an alien being helped by girls obsessed with building rockets.

The Secret of Us 8 eps [complete] (24 Jun-15 Aug 2024, YouTube) I first included this in my recommendations from the summer and then retracted, but I ended up liking this series and then never updated again. So to set the record straight: Though it lost me in the middle, the ending on this series won be back over. I really appreciated the way this series handled filial piety and balancing that against personal happiness. I appreciated SO MUCH that the main characters decided together how to handle Lada's situation with her mother. I finally understood too late that Earn believed the lies Lada's mother told her in ep1, and that affected some of their decisions in the middle of the series. I still think the execution was wobbly, but the acting and chemistry between the two leads carries this series through. This has some of the best domestic fluff in any GL, as well as my favourite GL counter lift to date. And it's gorgeous. Tentatively recommended with the caveat that you do have to either enjoy or power through the melodrama in the middle.

Starting soon:

Apple My Love, Thai, 12 October, GagaOOLala

Pluto, Thai, 19 October, VIU

The Nipple Talk, Taiwanese, 1 November GagaOOLala

My Ex's Wedding [in theatres in Thailand 14 November]

Petrichor, Thai, 23 November, TBD

[lullabyes22-blog]

my supreme, what is your opinion on the first three episodes of arcane season 2?

hhfdgffd

<3

The only supreme is Fortiche - and a huge round of applause to them for the animation in S2. Every frame is like lickable visual cake icing and my eyeballs scream for more.

Also in keeping with food metaphors -

First 3 eps are good soup. Tasty soup. Well-presented soup.

However.

There are clumps in this soup that were absent in S1. The flow is not as seamless. Transitions feel jarring and the dialogue overall feels distinctly more flavorless. First time I watched S1, there were entire lines of dialogue I ended up memorizing, and that dialogue continues to pack a well-deserved punch 3 years later.

This time around, the scripts feel distinctly more... Marvel-esque?

High on quip calorie, low on substantive content.

I highly suspect there was a great deal of executive meddling behind the scenes, given corporate were not expecting Arcane to crunch the numbers it did + the scripts being incomplete. That, and the storyline kept getting passed between different writing departments, with different chefs trying to spice the broth. All of this might account for the relative lack of cohesion and its weird sense of hypercompression

I don't know if it'll improve or get worse. We're only at 3 eps, and the rest of the story's still waiting to be told, so I reserve any real criticism until then.

But overall, yeah.

It's still gourmet soup, but I feel as if the soup's been zapped in a microwave, ykwim?

Beyond that, the series is still a treat. Truly sumptuous soundtrack, and inspiring cinematography. The fight scenes legit made me catch my breath. You can feel the love poured into every frame.

Fuhrer Caitlyn gassing Zaun was not on my Bingo card, tho.

Nor was Jesus Viktor.

I am A-OK with the Arcane eating Heimerdinger. But gimme back Jayce and Ekko, pls. They got character arcs (and ship breakups) to suffer through </3

I also do not think the writers of the show were expecting world affairs to pivot quite the way they have - /gestures vaguely at RL - because leaving aside character motivations in a self-contained fictional setting, the critical literary lens and interpretive optics between Zaun and Piltover overall are gonna lead to some, hehehe, interesting fandom discourse.

On my part, I can't wait to see every single one of these beloved characters spiral to the depths, hit rock bottom, and hopefully climb back out as wiser human beings.

I also expect some of 'em to die.

:')

Overall: 8/10. Very yummy indeed.

[pamrak]

hello! hope youre having a great day! ive been following you since clexa days and i wanted to start watching gl tdramas because of the gifsets youve been making/reblogging recently but i have NO idea where to start, do you have any recs on what to start with? Thank you!

hiiiiii nonny! thank you, today's truly been a lovely day, can't complain. hope yours is going well too! and oh gosh, clexa days, that's so long ago 🥰

soooo i would definitely recommend starting with something that's finished so you're not going through the same torment the rest of us are, which is waiting a week between each episode 😂

However, if that doesn't bother you then my number 1 recommendation is to start with Us, which has become my favorite and most beloved Thai GL series.

Not gonna wax poetically about it (again) 'cause I actually did that in a different ask just yesterday (even though I totally could 😅), but in short - it's gorgeous, it's so well written, it has beautiful and complex characters, the love story is as intimate, domestic and wonderful as you can possibly imagine, the main pairing have the most amazing chemistry and I wholeheartedly recommend it.

It's currently airing and new episodes come out on saturdays, and you can find it on Youtube (and kisskh), and here's the trailer for it.

My highest recommendations for Thai GLs that are finished would probably be Pluto and The Secret of Us, and I suggest starting with either of the two.

Pluto is truly a drama in the full sense, with all the twists and turns and everything that comes with a drama series, the main pairing are played by Namtan Tipnaree and Film Rachanun, who have amazing chemistry and played their parts wonderfully.

The rest of the cast really works great alongside them and the story is about Ai-oon, the "disappointing" twin sister of Ob-oo, who ends up taking her sister's place (and her gf😅). Don't wanna spoil too much so i'm being really vague here, but expect to laugh, and possibly cry, a lot.

You can find Pluto 100% free here on youtube as well as here on kisskh.

The Secret of Us is a gorgeous drama that follows the love story of Dr. Fahlada and the ex that broke her heart, Earn. We see them reconnect and reignite an old flame that never really went out and the drama is full of silly, loveable, funny, sometimes heavy moments that are beautifully portrayed, and played by one of the industry's most popular and most successful gl pairing, Ling Ling Kwong and Orm Kornnaphat (they're also known as lingorm).

The first 3 episodes are on youtube, however you can find the complete series up on kisskh (free).

There's (can't believe I'm about to say this, what a glorious time to be alive) a bunch more finished Thai GL series that you can jump right into as well, here's a lil list for you (trailers and links included) mostly off the top of my head:

GAP trailer - office romance between the CEO and an employee (youtube ep1 'cause they have playlists for each ep 😩, kisskh) - the first gl i ever watched, the queen GL 😅- currently the most viewed gl series on youtube

Affair trailer - the title kinda says it 😂 but it's actually childhood friends to lovers with a lot of bumps along the way (youtube, kisskh)

Blank trailer - the love story of two women who have a sixteen year age gap between them that i actually really love a whole bunch (kisskh; not sharing the youtube link 'cause we're boycotting 9star studio)

Petrichor trailer - mystery/thriller/romance drama following the love story of office Tul and forensic doctor Cherran and it's awesome (kisskh)

Reverse 4 You - time manipulation powers meet lesbians! (it's awesome, i LOVE it) (youtube, kisskh) - trailer - there's also a currently airing GL that's set in the same universe, also with time manipulation powers, called Reverse With Me - trailer (kisskh)

23.5 trailer - highschool romance/secret admirer (youtube, kisskh)

The Loyal Pin trailer - a period drama following the love story of princess Anilaphat and Lady Pin (youtube, kisskh)

Apple my Love trailer - office romance/secret admirer (youtube, kisskh)

Mate trailer - childhood friends reunited and turned lovers (youtube, kisskh)

Love Senior trailer - college love story (with a lot of ups and downs) (youtube, kisskh)

Not a Thai drama but definitely a must-mention is a Taiwanese drama, Fragrance of the First Flower, which I've been going absolutely crazy over and highly recommend it as well! It's gorgeous, it's complex and nuanced, and currently has an amazing 2nd season airing. Trailer for S1 is here, S2 here, and you can watch it here.

Another must-mention is Friendly Rivalry, a korean GL drama (if i see another person say it's queer baiting i will go on a lil' murder spree 🔪) which I totally went insane over and will be a little feral about, for another couple of months at least. Trailer's here, and you can watch it here.

I'm missing a couple GLs here, I'd have to check my list of favorites, but I also suggest checking @girlsloveupdates pinned post for an extensive and great list of GL Series and all relevant updates.

This got extra long and I'm a little sorry about that (but not terribly so), hope it'll be helpful c: if you wanna come ask about anything or just shout your thoughts/impressions at me, I'd love that! Thank you for your ask and hope you have a wonderful time watching!

me, gently cradling every new gl series enjoyer:

[gallifreyinstituteforlearning]

What type of TV shows are popular on Gallifrey right now?

📺 What's popular on Gallifreyan TV right now?

We may not have exact viewer ratings (because, unsurprisingly, Gallifrey does not concern itself with audience engagement metrics that often), we do know what types of shows are likely being watched.

If you missed the previous rundown of Time Lord TV, you can catch up here:

But if you're wondering what's popular right now, here are a few speculative guesses:

📡 Live Broadcasts & Government Programming

🛑 The Presidential Address – Daily updates on Capitol politics. - Thrilling (mandatory) viewing where the Lord President reassures the public that everything is fine.

🌌 The Celestial Observatory Report – Real-time updates on stellar weather and cosmic anomalies. - Essential for predicting temporal storms and vortex disruptions for your commute.

🌀 Temporal Affairs Committee: Open Session – An exclusive look at Gallifreyan policy discussions that should have ended 500 years ago but didn't. - Popular among elderly Gallifreyans and those with nothing better to do.

🎙️ The Lord President Speaks… Again – The exact same speech you heard this morning, but now with a special commentary track explaining why it's even more brilliant than you originally thought.

🎭 Popular Dramatic Programming

📜 The House That Stands – A prestige drama chronicling the rise and fall of an ancient Gallifreyan House. - Expect scheming, betrayal, and a shocking number of regenerations. - Allegedly based on true events, though every major House denies involvement.

⌛ The Untold History of Time – A long-running docudrama that contradicts itself every season. - Covers historical events such as the Pythia's Curse, the Rassilon Era, and the Eternal Schism Debates (a six-part special). - No two experts agree on anything.

🚀 The Renegade Files – A sensationalist anthology profiling Gallifrey's most infamous outcasts. - Features the Master, the Monk, the Rani, and the Doctor—with wildly exaggerated re-enactments and lousy acting.

🌀 Schism: A Time Lord Story – A coming-of-age drama following young Gallifreyans as they prepare to look into the Untempered Schism. Episode guide: - Ep 1: I Don't Want to Be a Prydonian! - Ep 2: This Is Fine. (It Is Not Fine.) - Ep 3: Is It Supposed to Whisper Back?

🎩 The Patrexian Conundrum – A detective series starring a Time Lord investigator who solves paradox-related crimes. - Every episode features puzzling inconsistencies in the timeline that must be unravelled. - Special twist: Every episode starts with the detective already knowing the solution—but needing to work backward to prove it.

🧠 Game Shows & Mental Challenges

🧩 The Prydonian Trials – A high-stakes academic showdown where Junior Time Lords must solve paradoxes, predict quantum fluctuations, and recite ancient High Gallifreyan poetry.

🔍 Who's That Renegade? – Contestants must guess which Time Lord went rogue based on obscure historical clues.

👽 The Mind Probe! – A high-stakes game show where contestants must answer Gallifreyan history questions under extreme pressure. - Face the infamous question: "You will answer… the Mind Probe!" (There is no actual mind probe.)

🎤 Entertainment & Cultural Shows

🎭 The 4D Theatre Showcase – Broadcasts of avant-garde Gallifreyan theatre. - Features time-loop performances and non-linear tragedies.

😂 Temporal Standstill – Gallifreyan improv comedy, featuring jokes that unfold over multiple centuries. - Watch performers set up a joke in one incarnation and deliver the punchline three regenerations later.

👶 Kids' Programming

📚 Junior Academy Lectures – Children's programming on Gallifrey is just accelerated coursework. - Topics include "Basic Quantum Entanglement for Ages 6-8" and "Your First 500 Years of Political Philosophy."

🏫 So …

Of course, what's actually popular depends on who you ask. And if you can't find something to watch there are still 87,656,432 channels. You'll stumble onto something eventually.

Related:

💬|⏰🎶What is Gallifreyan music like?: Musical instruments and genres on Gallifrey.

💬|⏰🎾What sports and games are there on Gallifrey?: The (lack of) physical sports on Gallifrey and other games.

💬|⏰🎮Do Gallifreyans have video games?: Detailing the one solitary 'video game' on Gallifrey.

Hope that helped! 😃

Any orange text is educated guesswork or theoretical. More content ... →📫Got a question? | 📚Complete list of Q+A and factoids →📢Announcements |🩻Biology |🗨️Language |🕰️Throwbacks |🤓Facts → Features:⭐Guest Posts | 🍜Chomp Chomp with Myishu →🫀Gallifreyan Anatomy and Physiology Guide (pending) →⚕️Gallifreyan Emergency Medicine Guides →📝Source list (WIP) →📜Masterpost If you're finding your happy place in this part of the internet, feel free to buy a coffee to help keep our exhausted human conscious. She works full-time in medicine and is so very tired 😴

[bengiyo]

Love in the Big City Eps 5 & 6: That Apartment Was Too Small

I’m late this week to write this post. Despite everything going on in the world and in my life, I have struggled with how similar episodes 5 and 6 played like Part 3 of the book. When I read over my reaction post for Part 3, I felt like I could post it with a few edits as a reaction to these two episodes. I’ve also read so many great posts about this section, so I’ll throw some quick thoughts down on some of the things that stood out in this section.

The T-aras Continue to Be a Great Change

Presenting the drama in a more linear format required baton passes between the sections that the book didn’t require, and I really loved having the T-aras as pallbearers who also took care of Yeong when he wanted to go out the night of his mom’s funeral. I love how they also feel like they’ve matured as they’ve gotten older.

Making us love the T-aras so much makes their flippancy about being around someone they know, or suspect, is positive hit like a ton of bricks in the flashback. What’s so sad about this is it puts this wall up inside of Yeong that keeps him from ever telling them about his situation with Kylie. We know the T-aras love him dearly, and I think they would have adapted quickly to take care of their friend. I couldn’t help but think about the hospital scene from Part 2 and wonder how uncertainties Yeong felt about them complicated that moment for him.

I also love that they’re the ones who got to meet and approve of Gyu-ho, and that they suggested Yeong take him on a trip to help rekindle the romance. Yeong not being completely alone has been one of my favorite changes, because few of us are ever as alone as we think we are.

Gyu-ho Feels so Alive

We see so much of Gyu-ho from Young’s perspective in the book, and I loved seeing him come alive and share space with Yeong in the drama. I loved seeing the mundanity of their relationship. I loved seeing Yeong consolidate and clean up the room to make it livable for Gyu-ho just as much as I loved seeing them struggle with their living habits. I loved seeing them fight over little things, and then seeing Gyu-ho adapt to that and cover annoyances (especially with the water bottles).

Unfortunately, Kylie ruins so much of Yeong’s ability to commit to this relationship, and I think it’s why staying in Mi Ae’s apartment might be one of my favorite choices of the drama. When we read Part 3, I kept thinking about how small Young’s apartment was, and how it didn’t seem right for the two of them to stay there. Here in the drama, we see that Yeong’s mom made sure to take care of her affairs, and I wondered at how much Yeong had stashed away from that, but also figured he wouldn’t want to stay in the home his mom had.

I think, for Yeong, Gyu-ho is just so radiant and beautiful a person that Yeong is worried he’ll infect with HIV and make “dirty.” He brings that word up a lot, and it made me so, so sad. Kylie is everywhere in their relationship. It’s in Yeong’s need to fake a blood test to get a decent job he hates. It’s in his inability to pursue work opportunities in other countries. It’s in their inability to have unprotected sex without worries. All of this culminates to make Yeong feel like he’s ruined Gyu-ho’s future for just being with him.

Conversely, it’s so frustrating to watch Gyu-ho from this perspective doing everything he can to make Yeong feel loved and valued. I felt so much for Gyu-ho when he got a solid job as a nurse and wanted them to get a bigger place together. I also felt for Gyu-ho searching for potential new partners on the apps. It sucked in the book and it sucks here when Yeong tries to shove Gyu-ho to go have sex with someone else when that’s not what Gyu-ho wants at all; he’s a romantic.

As such, they could not make this relationship work. Gyu-ho is probably the one person in the series we’ve seen Yeong trust to the most. The T-aras prickled his shame. Mi Ae outed him. Yeong Su turned out to be gross. Nam Gyu died.  I believe Yeong when he said he was writing as hard as he could to build a future where he was independently wealthy enough to take care of himself and Gyu-ho, and it was so sad to see him completely lose the love he found in the present for that.

Onto the Finale

That’s all I’ve got this week. I find myself looking forward to this section because I’m so excited to see what Habibi turns into with this version. I’ve meditated on the fallout of the Gyu-ho breakup, and I’m excited to see what the drama does with that.  

[vegaseatsass]

Hi. I am adamant that I don't end 2024 without returning to this place. So I'm making a POST!! Unfortunately I no longer watch very many series at once (basically in my 3-4 month absence I watched... Affair, Jack & Joker, and currently Spare Me Your Mercy (on ep 7), one at a time at a time, and... dat's it) and I may end up needing to heavily filter things I'm not into to figure out how to use Tumblr in a more chilllll way. I wll probably sadly be even less of a reliable message responder. BUT. I WILL MAKE IT WORK. I've missed it here so muhuhuhuch and I simply cannot believe after telling myself adjusting to my new job would be easier than last year (and it was, at first!! until my second job started and I forgot I am a total wreck at the 6-day work week), so I wouldn't have to disappear off the internet, I went and disappeared off the internet. Boo, hiss. If I may whine for a bit: Life has been very hard lately :( At the end of October my beloved bird got sick - they are better now but it was a scary horrible handful of weeks - then my close friend got sick, then I got sick, then my close friend got much sicker, then I got much sicker (shit tier COVID for the past two weeks straight), so you see, I haven't been out having an exciting life, I've been pining sadly for the internet while life has been cruel and unusual to me and my favorite people and creatures.

But I'm ringing the new year in by tumbling!!! Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[randomnessofthehighestorder]

Arcane season 2…

Act 2 was incredible! I have never cried so much for this show before the new eps came out…

(Spoilers below the cut)

Viktor’s fully embraced the Machine Herald title, but I never thought he’d create a commune/cult… also, he said it! He said “glorious evolution!” That’s all I wanted from him!

Warwick is Vander! We were right! I cried when he hugged the girls, the family is back together!

Flashbacks galore for Vander, our first look at Jinx and Vi’s mom and the return of Silco (younger him technically), they were so happy before the bridge assault… it’s so cute that Vander gave Vi her name.

Jayce must’ve gotten real messed up while in the Anomaly, how could he kill Viktor?! RIP Machine Herald… Jayce fucked up big time. Hopefully, he doesn’t mess things up further…

Vi took the breakup hard… alcohol and violence don’t really help… but on the bright side, the Emo look is working for her!

Isha and Jinx were so cute together! They must’ve really bonded between Act 1 and 2. I cried when she did her big hero sacrifice for Warwick/Vander. RIP Isha, you will be avenged…

I had no idea that Singed’s real name was Dr Reveck, I knew he lost his daughter, but the extent he went to save her? I’m conflicted…

Still no Ekko and Heimerdinger? Are they still lost in the Anomaly? Hopefully they come back in Act 3…

Caitlyn is really embracing her Commander role. I’m glad she defected and helped take down Ambessa. But also she hooked up with Maddie? We need another CaitVi kiss to heal the heartbreak…

We now know where Mel went when she was taken by the Black Rose. She also had a brief reunion with Kino, who apparently isn’t dead… but then that turned out to be not real (man…). Whoever took her is apparently Mel’s half sister, Ambessa had an affair and this is the repercussions that came of it. But what was that glow? Was that her gold plating? Is it magic? Is that the reason she survived Jinx’s missile in the season 1 finale?

Vision, might, guile, (and to Ambessa) sacrifice. Those are the principles that define strength according to Noxus. Ambessa had a vision of martial law, she had the might to enforce it, the guile to make it seem like it’s for the good of Piltover. All I need to see now is the sacrifice…

The music never fails to disappoint, it got me hyped, it got me crying, and dropped my jaw to the floor!

Overall, shit is getting real, I can’t tell what’s gonna happen next. All I know is that there’s gonna be a battle to end all battles in Act 3 and the Arcane will change the world forever. See you in a week…

[thefriendoforatioisdead]

Wan definitely went to the Anin's school of jaw-dropping love declaration and flirting skills because WOW

[gl-saveme]

Pleng and Aoey: no issues, surprisingly quick with it

Meanwhile, Tul: needed a little assistance, but got there in the end

GL Bra Removal Masterclass (sorta)

WanPleng | Affair Ep 3 GenAoey | Mate Ep 5 TulRan | Petrichor Ep 5

[mikuni14]

Hee Su in Class 2 - Ep 1-3

I have mixed feelings about this series, as of now. I really liked episode 1, it seemed so sweet, light and youthfully silly, such a nice school romance. But unfortunately after the next episodes I like Hee Su less and less, who turned out to be a mix of the most annoying traits a character can have: he is extremely dense (which, let's be honest, is almost never cute), he is manipulative and selfish.

I assume that the series wanted to make a comedy of errors, full of unrequited crushes and misunderstandings (which, I admit, also rarely works and is usually just annoying if it lasts longer than 3 episodes - for example, Kieta Hatsukoi solved this problem immediately which was great), but because of what Hee Su does, he comes off as a self-centered asshole. By trying to forcefully connect his rival with Kim Seung Won, he is only doing it for himself. Besides, everyone around him has some kind of problems, including his crush, while Hee Su is completely absorbed in ensuring a free, undisturbed access to his crush and eliminating his most dangerous rival without asking for his opinion. Such meddling in other people's affairs is simply not cool. Combined with moments when Hee Su is simply rude, bordering on cruelty, he is not a main character who is easy to like and, as was often the case in such situations, I wonder how anyone could have a crush on him. And 3 episodes have already passed, according to the laws of romance 😉 he should have already started to notice his "future boyfriend", and as a viewer, I should have already started rooting for them. Unfortunately, nothing of the sort is happening. But there are still 7 episodes left, so maybe I am just asking too much.

Apart from that, the series is easy to watch, the other characters are nice, there are funny moments. I hope the main character will get his shit together and stop being so oblivious and irritating. It's just.. I prefer my slow burn romances more like My Ride than this 😛

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - Taiwan has one show, but that's all they need

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

April 2024 Wk 1

Ongoing Series - Thai

Two Worlds (Thurs IQIYI) ep 4 of 10 - I don’t say this often but I LOVE this love triangle. The longing gazes = chef's kiss. I like that we are finally getting flashbacks to Tai’s side of the love affaire. This show remains highly engaging. So pleased for MaxNat.  

Deep Night (Thurs iQiyi) ep 5 of 8 - More lesbians! Yay! Meanwhile, when our leads make up they make out! (Yes I’m proud of myself.) I think this might be BLs first rooftop sex scene. We’ve reached new heights, BLabies. (Yes I’m proud of that too.) Anygay, basically a soap opera at this point, I'm not thrilled but I don’t mind.

"Do you apologize for being straight?"

City of Stars (Fri iQIYI) ep 10 of 12 - It was lovely. Very well done celebrity leaving the closet ep. Nice ensemble work too. Next week is doom! As expected. 

Only Boo! (Sun YouTube) ep 1 of 12 - New main couple for GMMTV in an idol romance about a boy who dances good and a food stand vendor. It’s fine but overly very pulp feeling for something from GMMTV. I'm a little concerned.

1000 Years Old (Thurs iQIYI) ep 8 of 12 - meh.

To Be Continued (Sat C3 Thailand grey) ep 7 of 8 - Never turned up on my usual sites. So will have to wait until next week. 

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Unknown (Taiwan Tues YouTube & Viki) ep 7 of 11 - Qian was, indeed, the one who couldn’t let go. This show is fucking fantastic. It's the best thing I'm watching right now by a mile.

Jazz for Two (Korea Gaga/grey) eps 3-8fin - The bully and the blue-haired drummer side pairing were great. I hated the father. Hated him so much. Our main tsundere seme was a bit too tsundere for me. I was v annoyed by the time he finally softened. I'm amused by all the ways they finagled boys kissin-but-not-kissing in the first half of this show. 2024's "pan around the back of the head" has now become a "dipping of the brolly." We did, however, eventually get an okay kiss.

Honestly?

This was basically what I wanted from Given and didn’t get. So I’m pleased. The music still wasn't great, but you can skip those bits. A solid enemies to lovers BL, where the sins of brothers' past haunts the present. Great optics, decent chemistry, and a tidy script even if tsundere characterization went a bit extreme in some cases. 8/10 RECOMMENDED trigger for suicide

Love is Better the Second Time Around AKA Koi wo Suru nara Nidome ga Joto (Japan Weds Gaga) ep 5 of 6 - We got the past betrayal in detail and it was decently bad. Bitterness understood. Too soon to live together! The BL U-Haul strikes again. I do like their weird curry passive aggressive argument. This is an interesting show. Do I LOVE it? No. But I think I like it.

On a not-really-related note: adoption, including adult adoption, is actually pretty common in Japan (comparatively). It's often tied to business scionism.

My Strawberry Film (Japan Thurs Gaga) ep 8fin - It all turned out to be a tragic GL in the end. Not BL = not my problem. No rating. I will forget its existence right about… now. 

Love is like a Cat (Korea Mon Viki) eps 1-2 of 12 - Okay, weirdly kinky with the head scratching. Not much has happened and I’m not wild about what has. 

It's done, ready to binge, but I suck

What Did You Eat Yesterday Season 2 AKA Kinou Nani Tabeta? Season 2 (Japan Gaga) 10 eps

It's airing but...

We Are (Weds GMMTV iQIYI) ep 1 of 16 - University ensemble BL featuring PondPhuwin, WinnySatang, AouBoom, MarcPawinPoon - basically the good kind of messy gay friendship group (so more My Engineer and less Only Friends). Looks a bit like the Kiss series but everyone is queer. I'm IN but I need my other computer and I'm traveling as usual. So I'll get caught up next week and probably won't regularly be able to watch this one.

Graduation Countdown (Taiwan YouTube) - It's too much for me to keep up with 2 minute verticals, I don't have that kind of TikTok endurance training.

A Secretly Love (Thai Sat WeTV grey) 10 eps - Completed. Worth watching?

Lady Boy Friends (Thai WeTV grey) 16 eps - reminds me a bit too much of Diary of Tootsies only high school. Not my thing. DNF unless it turns a corner and is truly amazing.

Kiseki Chapter 2 (Sun iQIYI) 6 eps - It’s so boring DNFed at 2.

Close Friend Season 3: Soju Bomb! (Weds iQIYI) 6 - The problem with situational comedy BL is it must be situational, comedic and a BL. This show gets 1 of 3 claims correct. 33% is not a passing grade. Dropped at 3.

In the news

Takumi-kun Series 6: Nagai Nagai Monogatari is getting the undeserved honor of Furritsubs. Follow them for details. Tip 'em if you like 'em. (Will I watch it? Oh, probably. Damn it.)

Then Next Prince turned out to be a trailer only. Word on the webs is we will be lucky if we get it this year. It’s BL Princess Diaries. Jimmy has a new pairing (that boy from Night Dream) which is... interesting. All in all, this show does not look good. Pretty but not good.

Next Week Looks Like This:

4/11 Gray Shelter AKA Gray Currents (Korea ????) 4 eps - SooHyuk is only just surviving and reunites with YoonDae, an old friend. They end up living together. One of the leads is played by Choco of Choco Milk Shake.

4/12 Living With Him AKA Kare no Iru Seikatsu (Japan Gaga) 10 eps - Kindly Ryota goes off to uni only to find his new roommate is his childhood bestie, Kazuhito. Kazuhito doesn’t have a girlfriend and Ryota tries to help him figure out why, they fall in love along the way. Same director as Old Fashion Cupcake.

Still to Come in April

4/18 At 25:00, in Alaska AKA 25 Ji, Akasaka de (Japan Gaga) 10 eps - Yuki lands his first starring role in a BL drama alongside superstar Asami (previously his senior at uni). Said superstar suggests they form a sham relationship until filming concludes. As they actually begin to fall in love, the spotlight begins to burn. I think I've seen this before (joke) and also the trailer doesn't inspire confidence.

4/26 My Stand-In (Thai iQIYI) 12 eps - adaptation of Chinese novel "Professional Body Double" by Shui Qiang Cheng. Stars Up (Lovely Writer) and Poom (Bake Me Please) directed by the same team as KP (not a recommendation IMHO - my biggest criticism of that show was the clashing directing styles). This one looks well complicated, lemme try: Joe is a stuntman for famous actor Tong. Joe falls in love with Ming but Ming sees Joe as nothing more than a Tong-replacement. After learning this horrible truth, Joe dies. Joe then wakes up in the body of another man also named Joe. He manages to rebuild the same life as before—with the same people eventually re-meeting Ming. Ming wants Joe back but Joe doesn't understand why. But Ming seems to know what's going on and wants to give him some kind of explanation.

I'm exhausted just trying to describe the plot.

Knock-Knock Boys (Thai WeTV) - 4 college friends conspire to help their friend lose his virginity. Familiar faces like Seng (yes, Billy's previous partner) and Best, news here.

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.

NOTE: It looks like one of my personal favorites of last year Unintentional Love Story is getting a spin off!

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

See City of Stars & Unknown.

(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 too much work.

The tag BLigade: @doorajar @solitaryandwandering @my-rose-tinted-glasses @babymbbatinygirl @babymbbatinygirl @isisanna-blog @mmastertheone @pickletrip @aliceisathome @urikawa-miyuki @tokillamonger @rocketturtle4 @blglplus @anythinggoesintheshire

If ya wanna be tagged each week leave a comment and I will add you to the template. Easy peesy.

[khaoala]

Well. Affair sure was...something. I mean i definitely love LMSY and i hope they get another series together because this one was just...mhm 🫤🫤🫤

I don't understand why ek STILL continued to get so much screen time. Wan saved your fucking life so sign those damn papers already and let’s be done with him.

Marriage changed Wan like what the fuck was all that for??? And why didn't Pleng just invite Wan to the party to celebrate the album, wouldn't you think that's the type of event that you bring your wife to?

((also i don’t know where in the timeline this show falls but I don’t feel like the Nuengs of Gap or Blank would’ve been so eager to help Wan like that imo))

-🤫

well, anon, good news are, lmsy apparently will have another project together! so at least we have that to look forward to (and here i am hoping they actually mean it when they say they want to make something different).

and here's the thing, this is a thai ql problem. they do very well for 2/3 of the series, but few of them manage to stick the landing. affair and the secret of us were like that for me, so i'm excited to see them acting together again, of course, but i'm also sad bc they could be so much better.

they really needed to make eek of all people look like the hero after being the biggest pain in the ass since ep 1 i'm pissed af. this man deserves no pat on the back after the whole trauma he inflicted and sense of entitlement he had over wan AND HE DOES NOT DESERVE A CUTE DOCTOR FREE THAT MAN FROM EEK'S CLAWS.

wan has 0 trust on pleng, it's not just a jealous thing. they are one month married and are in dire need of a couple counselor (as well as separate therapists, but we've talked about that). that whole jealous fit was stupid. i hate pointless jealous plots that appear in the last half of the last episode like pls show some respect.

and to end it all, if i had a cent every time mother um apasiri had a change of heart in the last episode of a gl, i'd have two cents, which isn't much, but it's tragic that it happened two times in less than 6 months. this woman kissed other woman in the past, LET HER BE A GOOD MOM TO HER LESBIAN DAUGHTERS!!!