#bl season 2 episode 2

[fan-of-chaos]

When CGI is so horrendously bad it stops bothering you and starts being funny XD

[gus-dix]

normal show about normal dudes who have absolutely nothing wrong going on with them <3

watched it alone then screamed about it to a friend to force them to watch it with me so we could scream together. this is love <3

do not erase the caption, use or rePOST my art (reblog ok)

[gunsatthaphan]

#get the (Only) Friends boxset.

[huachengdaddy]

To be honest I feel a little for Qi Rong.

Like, imagine: you're minding your own evil business in your own evil lair and then two people you absolutely despise break into your house, steal your dinner and THEN they take turns beating the shit out of you as means of bonding romantically.

I would be mad too.

[one-of-tankhuns-neurons]

Great, we're getting a SOTUS speed run

[kissablelips-desireslure-vol2]

OZ: THE SERIES SEASON 3 EPISODE 8 (1999)

Directed By: Barbara Kopple

Written By: Tom Fontana

CHRISTOPHER MELONI (as Chris)

&

LEE TERGESEN (as Tobias)

[animeshon-anime-by-blbambeyond]

TADAIMA, OKAERI (2024, JAPAN)

S1 E2 FRIEND

Hikari latches onto the reluctant and gloomy neighbor boy, Yuki. Later, when Masaki falls ill and needs to isolate himself. Hiromi and Company try their best to distract Hikari from "Ma-cha's" absence.

@pose4photoml @bengiyo

[hopezzy]

in absolute SHAMBLES i tell you

[bl-bam-beyond]

MINATO SHOUJI COIN LAUNDRY SEASON 2 (2023, JAPAN)

Episode 3 Wednesday July 19, 2023

Two steps forward and one back for Minato (KUSAKAWA TAKUYA) he seemingly proudly holds his boyfriends hand. And Shin (NISHIGAKI SHO) is so happy for the show of affection. But Minato let's go of Shin's hand when a group of people appear. Something that doesn't go unnoticed by Shin.

@pose4photoml @lutawolf @coconuts-mafia @bengiyo @kingofthereblog-boysloveed @thewayofsubtext

[pickletrip]

Today was the day 2 two absolutely wonderful shows ended. First was If it's with you, a Japanese BL and the other is IFYLITA, a Thai BL. Watching I Feel you Linger in the Air these past 12 weeks has rewired my brain, literally.

It was such a beautiful heart wrenching show right from the start to the finish. I knew what was going to happen, the inevitable fate of someone who has come from the future. I couldn't stop crying knowing the pain of separation that would span across dimensions and time. I could feel Khun Yai's and Jim's despair, sorrow, longing and their love for one another as they spent those last moments together.

Oh, what a way to end the show. Of course, the very last bit made no sense to me and I'm momentarily ignoring that because I'm so overwhelmed by Bright and Nonkul and the wonderful characters they brought to life.

I cried throughout the episode, non stop, unable to pull myself out of the story. This is a true sign of good storytelling, when you can immerse yourself wholly into the story and become part of it. I feel as though I lived with Khun and Yai and Jom, and watched them fall in love with each other. I feel like I was part of their extended family. That's how much the story touched me.

I'm waiting for season 2 which I heard will happen. So, that should definitely answer all my questions about the last 5 minutes of the episode. Or even the special episode could answer my confusion. I'll just have to wait and see.

[madeinjapan-thailand-blbambeyond]

MAN CRUSH FANDOM ▪︎ MADE IN JAPAN

YAGI YUSEI

HAGIWARA RIKU

[fantasticallyfanatic]

I don't know why people don't talk about this bl that much. i just finished it and i'm really surprised to say that this might probably be the best korean bl i've seen!

[twig-tea]

The conclusion to the above, and the comments on it, is where I'm at with this series too (yes I said I'd catch up on Love in Translation next but I lied, I wanted to know if the amnesia plot was getting any better). I went through a period where I resented any show for penultimate episode drama/breakup, because it happened so often, and worked to get past it for shows like My Ride which earned the plot device and used it to drive the characters forward. And before wading into BL, I had a period of Shoujo obsession and similarly got so burned by the amnesia plot that I knee-jerk get angry whenever it comes up and have to breathe through to take it in context and decide if it's actually working or not. So I've been really, really trying to meet Minato's Laundromat S2 where it is and not jump to judgment. But everyone (@lurkingshan , @bengiyo, and op @jemmo) are right that while there are good moments in the episode when taken in isolation, and while this is common and makes sense from a story beats or trope perspective, the problem is what this plot device means for the character development to date, and how it ends up functioning within the story of season 2. In this particular usage, it shortchanges the character struggles and development we've had to date, and seems to run counter to the point the show has been making (and was slowly, achingly, finally seeing payoff from in ep 9). I was hoping maybe they were going to show Minato that a Shin without him is less driven, less happy, less open. But instead Minato has come to the correct conclusion as OP said, that under the circumstances Minato should back off for Shin's sake.

Based on the preview (which I admit is always in danger of being intentionally misleading and might mean this entire post gets jossed next week), it seems like the trigger for Shin is going to be the letter we saw Minato write but not give Shin (the one in which he fully expresses his real feelings in writing, and which Shin saw Minato hide). I can see how the show would go there, and how it may be trying to make the point that Minato has been holding back even during this penultimate episode when he was ostensibly desperate to get Shin to remember, and how it is only Minato's full expression of his real feelings that will allow their relationship to progress (idk if that's what's going to bring Shin's memory back but I would not be surprised). But if that's what they do it will take away the critical piece of Minato's agency to decide to expose that part of himself to Shin. I really hope I'm wrong and the decision to show Shin that letter is Minato's choice. He's talked (muttered) explicitly about being frustrated with himself for not being able to give Shin the letter. If they take that choice away, it will feel extra cruel to Minato and all of the work he's done this season. If he makes that choice, even in the face of Shin's uncertain feelings, that might help me appreciate what they're doing with this memory plot. But as is and based on what we've seen as the preview for the last ep, I am braced for disappointment.

TL;DR I am a card-carrying member of the frustrated-with-this-plot club!

i… really don’t know what to come on here and say about minato shoji coin laundry for this second to last ep. bc i was all prepared after watching the ep to come on and praise it, but after what reading what other people have said (and no, it’s not me just following the crowds or being easily influenced), i feel like i can’t just praise it. bc it made me cry, it made me bawl, it made me feel a lot, all the scenes revisiting their old moments and minato getting the courage to tell shin they were dating and all the times shin called minato cute, it made me sob and also kick my feet bc it was cute and like… that’s the show, cuteness with that underlying emotional weight. and what i was going to say was that i like that the amnesia storyline requires minato to have some more emotional maturity and, and this was even more blatantly shown with the parallel with the letter at the end of the ep, that it essentially puts minato in shin’s place, except there’s some very important differences, those being that shin isn’t just some blushing, insecure man who can’t face his feelings, he’s literally forgotten them, and while all of minato’s behaviour was his own decision and responsibility to make, shin is working from nothing and still being more willing than minato was. and also being that minato doesn’t just have to push away someone in denial of their feelings and stay determined like shin did, there’s actual hard decisions to be made here, bc if shin has forgotten those feelings, he can’t just push him to get them back, or just push him into a relationship anyway without him remembering their past, and while yes there’s nuance to whether shin’s persistence was right despite rejection, there’s a lot more nuance here, and a lot more reason to back away when he’s putting shin in a much more difficult position that shin ever put him in. i see why they wanted the parallel to work, and while i love it for seeing how far minato has come to fight for shin, I just don’t think it does work, bc ultimately it plays into minato’s long standing belief that shin is better off without him, bc now trying to fight for their relationship just makes things hard for shin, and he can believe that stepping away is amicable bc it’s the right thing to do. and that’s the thing, it is, and that’s why it doesn’t work bc the story should be telling minato that it’s right to fight for him.

and then i read @bengiyo and @lurkingshan ‘s posts and i just thought… sigh. you’re right. as much as i don’t want to admit it bc i adore the show so much, and can even see what they’re trying to do, ultimately i shouldn’t go soft on them. and yes i can praise them for what they are doing that’s good, but i can also be endlessly mad and annoyed that this is the ending we got. that we had to show how far minato has come but actually hasn’t come and he was right all along like this, when we didn’t need amnesia and separation and a rehash of their best bits to do that. it’s like nostalgia bait almost, that they have to call back to s1 so directly, even in all the things they did this ep, it’s so telling that none of it was from s2, to elicit an emotional response from me when i could have been bawling my eyes out bc im watching a minato and shin from the end of s2 that have come so far, still having to overcome some really difficult situations. and it’s maddening that this season, after making so much progress, felt like it had to ultimately go all the way back to square one just to milk drama and get its ending, when we should’ve just kept going forward. we could’ve dealt with parents, or coming out to people in the neighbourhood, or an issue at university or at the laundromat. we could have, and this is asking a lot, had a frank look at their approach to intimacy now that they’re living together, and it’s not about seeing them be intimate for the sake of it, it’s the fact that this is a part of their relationship that needs addressing, and they could come to a point where minato says I’m not ready or i don’t want that kind of stuff and I would’ve been so happy bc it would’ve been an actual adult conversation. and while yes im glad they’re not taking this amnesia thing so seriously and making it at least a little fun before it’s just crushing, i kinda resent the idea that you need this big drama for an ending. like sometimes we can just keep having story beats and end on that. the season had been so good for creating these small bits of drama that address the issues in their relationship and help them grow so just keep doing that. we just don’t need it.

so yes, i can still watch it for what it is, but man am I gonna be wistful for what it could’ve been

[respectthepetty]

Upcoming Taiwanese BLs

We are over halfway through 2024, and as usual, I've only had two Taiwanese BLs (Unknown, Anti Reset), so even though I'm sitting on a stack of BLs to watch every single week from other countries, call me Smaug because I need MORE!

Honorary Korean BL: Uncovering the Curse of Taekwondo (2024)

Former friends (and possibly lovers) reunite at a funeral after going their separate ways for over a decade, but, honestly, I don't care about the plot because this comes from Hwang Da Seul who was behind Blueming, To My Star, and Where Your Eyes Linger, so I know it's going to be amazing. There is a movie and a series version, and the movie already premiered at the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival in South Korea at the beginning of July. The runtime was 154 minutes, but the series is eight episodes around thirty minutes each and is currently seeking distribution.

First Note of Love (August 2024)

My most beloved, Charles Tu, from my favorite BL HIStory 4: Close to You is finally returning to me in the form of a washed-up singer who stepped away from the spotlight due to a tragic event only to be dragged back in by an up-and-coming composer who is also a longtime fan. It is a joint production with Thailand's Star Hunter Entertainment (the company behind Big Dragon, Love Senior, City of Stars, and Sunset x Vibes) and features a side couple of a Thai singer and a Taiwanese agent. It will involve singing, but I'm already too comfortable in my seat with my snacks to care.

Fragrance of the First Flower Season 2 (2024)

The lone GL holding down this list finished filming late last year and Gagaoolala has been releasing BTS images since filming began, so it'll likely land there once it is released. The series is a continuation of the 2021 first season, which people were not thrilled about because of the ending, so this season should solve some of the angst we were left with by exploring the two women actually coming together to navigate life as a couple.

The Only One (August 2024)

Directed by Liu Kuang Hui, who directed Your Name Engraved Herein, written by the same folks behind The Untamed, and based on Mu Su Li's novel A Certain Someone which is about two boys whose parents are dating and move in together, so the mains go from enemies-to-??? and the only reason for the question marks on a Taiwanese BL is because the word on these BL streets (and his MDL page) is one of the actors works heavily in China, so this might be the reason this one has been was in limbo even though filming finished earlier this year, but the socials are still posting it's coming this year.

See Your Love (Filming Complete)

This co-production with Japan is about a rich man who falls in love with his hearing-impaired caregiver. It finished filming at the end of May and will have those sweet sweet Taiwanese BL cameos from some Be Loved in House: I Do and Plus and Minus folks PLUS it will be the first cameos for the Kiseki: Dear to Me guys since the company that produced their show is the same one for this show.

Impression of Youth (Filming Complete)

Very little is known about the plot of this teacher-student romance, but it comes from the same folks who produced DNA Says Love You and one of the mains, Muji Hsu, was also the lead in 2020's Because of You. Filming finished at the end of May, and the company stated it would be out before the end of the year.

Islanders (late 2024/early 2025)

This is based on a novel, Islands, by Lolita Hu, features some well known Taiwanese actors, and for a bit was under the name Sea of Intimacy. It's being presented as an 'older BL' but the MDL summary is sparse of the BL-plot: Hung, a successful entrepreneur, has three intimate relationships: his wife, his mistress, and his girlfriend. The lives of these individuals in their 20s, 30s, 40s, and 50s are intertwined because of romance, but their story extends beyond that. When Hung faces criticism on social media and loses everything, the way they react tells us how they see the world.

Wishing Upon the Shooting Star & The Young Gangster (2025)

These two deal with completely different plots but are together because of one reason: Ray Jiang. He is the director for these two and was the director for Unknown, My Tooth Your Love, and We Best Love. The companies behind them have stated the series are coming next year, but the guess is Ray's busy schedule is part of the hold up since he has a Netflix series in the works and apparently a film featuring Sam Lin (We Best Love) on the way. The Young Gangster is based on a novel and deals with a research assistant gathering information on the mafia (and we know how the mafia works in BLs), while Shooting Star deals with a man wishing that nobody notices him once he returns to his hometown after being fired. The wish backfires and nobody recognizes him, not even his dad or the boy he confessed to in high school! BL Mafia, Sideways Wishes, and Ray Ray are my favorite types of snacks!

Pray in Love (2025?)

A police officer falls in love with a man only to realize that man is the son of a prominent leader on the day of his arranged wedding in which he was hired as security for the event. The series already released a short film of the basic premise for fundraising efforts and festival rounds. Apparently, filming has started on the series, but there is no concrete confirmation from the production company.

Eternal Butler (2025)

Edited to add thanks to @cankersoregirl! This is a sequel to VBL's Anti Reset and began filming in early July. It focuses on Ever 4 who is sent to be a bodyguard for a young rich man only to encounter a rebellious man.

That Year, 162 Rainfalls (In Production?)

Is this a movie? Is it a series? Is it happening?! Who knows, but last year, it finally got funding and a director attached to it, but the real kicker is Lin Pei Yu is the screenwriter, and she is the writer behind all of my favorite Taiwanese BLs: We Best Love, HIStory 3: Trapped, My Tooth Your Love, Kiseki: Dear to Me, and so much more. Basically, the company struck gold getting her for this story about two archers and best friends. One gets confessed to but admits he actually is in love with his best friend, but before love can happen, the best friend has an accident and falls into a coma. It is based on a novel of the same name, and the plot is way more hefty than this, but I know Lin Pei Yu will make it work!

Four Seasons (Pre, Pre, PRE-Production?)

This is supposed to be four different stories focusing on different seasons, and is rumored to be VBL's next group of shows since the company has stated it wants to continue its formula from last year of releasing slightly connected shows. VBL/Vidol was behind Stay by My Side, VIP Only, You Are Mine, and Anti Reset. Winter is about a scrooge CEO and a florist who is hired to decorate for the CEO's Christmas event. Spring is about two boys meeting on a bus and falling in love over music. Summer is about a market owner and a chef falling in love over food. Autumn is about two former best friends seeing each other ten years after graduating and exploring their hometown together.

Connecting to You (Pre-Production?)

It seems to have gotten funding, but it's been quiet since which isn't surprising because when it comes to Taiwanese BLs, nothing is really heard until filming begins or even after it ends. I still have my hopes high because this is *THE* BL for me as it deals with a man who can see colored threads connecting people and one day runs into a policeman whose thread connects to him. The thread between them begins to change color, from silver-grey to yellow, representing friendship, and even to red, representing love. If I have to sell an organ or two to fund this myself, I. Will. Do. It. I NEED THIS!

And this wouldn't be a Petty Post if I didn't include this final one:

HIStory 15: Freed (GIVE IT TO ME!)

I don't care if this a long shot. I don't care if I seem crazy always asking for this. I. Deserve. It. HIStory 3: Trapped ended with our best mafia boy in prison, and it's time he got out! The HIStory franchise has not had a series since 2022's HIStory 5: Love in the Future, and although there have been rumors that a HERstory story might be next, I think bringing back a popular story would be just as good. I will ask for this every chance I can until I get it, and I plan on living a long life, so I got time!

[kissablelips-desireslure-vol2]

EYEWITNESS S1 E1 (2016, USA NETWORK)

Created By: Adi Hasak

TYLER YOUNG (as Philip)

&

JAMES PAXTON (as Lukas)

[poetry-protest-pornography]

So I didn't hallucinate the animal shifter BL...

I'm not going to pretend that I'm not going to watch at least the first episode -- I watched all of Pit Babe and am ridiculously excited about season 2 -- but I am already covering my whole face with my hands and whining "I caaaan't" lmao

But they look so cute in this poster? I know they're gonna get me. I know it.