#business as usual

[usertoxicyaoi]

bro the behind the scenes cut of jinhwan and minjun's first kiss is somehow even BETTER than the kiss shown in the ep??? like okay suengha GO BOY GO!

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - I guess Korea is supporting us now?

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

April 2025 Week 3

Ongoing Series - Thai

Top Form (Thurs WeTV) ep 5 of 10 - I know (but also I keep forgetting until the credits roll) that this show is based on a yaoi. The Japanese feel of all of the characters and their interactions that keeps hitting me broadside. For example the whole smoking sequence in this episode. Then I’m reminded that this is Japanese IP at the end, and then I retroactively forgive it startling behavior in each episode. I think I would enjoy this more if I reminded myself as it starts that this is Japanese sensibilities Thai style. This is an authentic adaptation, more so than anything GMMTV has ever given us. (Much as I loved Cherry Magic it was a very VERY GMMTV Thai BL take.)

Sweet Tooth Good Dentist (Fri iQIYI) ep 4 of 12 - It was fine. They are cute enough. But I’m over the moon that Jimmy comes in next episode. That’s all I really care about right now. Honestly I wish I liked this show more, I want to like it. It should be me cup of tea teeth.

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Heesu in Class 2 (Korea Fri Viki) eps 7-8 of 10 - I am so glad and relieved that Heesu’s bestie crush has finally ended. Thank you. Could we please get on with the BL portion of this narrative now? Honestly, I adore Heesu because he is both honest and earnest (I think that's why the people around him do too). What an utterly charming main character to get to spend time with. I cant wait until next week. I honesly don't mind that the crush swung so swiftly and easily because frankly, that's high school for you, and also we get VO of Heesu's thoughts, so we are kind with him... at least I am.

PS On a complete aside. I cant believe how long this BL is... from Korea! 

PPS I have to confess that I too love carrot juice.

Business as Usual (Korea Thurs Viki) Ep 3 of 7 - ep 3 and we got a confrontation already! And a reverse pov? Excellent. i’m not wild about the reason for the split being miscommunication and fear and running away, I feel like it would be nice we got something different from Korea this time. But I’m still enjoying the show = good kisses, heart-beak et al.

Secret Relationships (Korea iQIYI) ep 8 end - very exciting final episode. Quite thrilling, actually. If you're into, ya know, soap operas and melodrama. Which I absolutely am. As is customary with these kinds of BLs, I spent a good portion of it saying "this boy needs a therapist not a boyfriend!" But they did make a cute couple, with good kisses, even with the ubiquitous year gap at the end.

Summary 

An entirely unhinged story about a very troubled office worker and the three men who are passionately in love with him. Two of whom are very warped and unhinged about it. This is an unadulterated melodrama, and extreme in always including domestic violence, kidnapping for love, and some light stabbing. As ya do. It’s a wild ride, but enjoyable. The visuals are excellent, the acting is fun if chewy, and the chemistry is good all round. However this kind of BL has a low rewatch potential and too much violence for me personally. 8/10

Something Is Not Right (Korea Weds Viki) ep 1 of 8 - Interesting start. Unusual and I kind of like it. They are so cute and so in love and so teen crush. Tsundere is VERY tsundere. It's a very manwha piece, much more so than Blueming ever felt. I'm not in love with it, but I'm not upset with it either.

Fight for You (Taiwan Fri Gaga) ep 5 of 12 - Aw he has such sad eyes. The conceits of this show are increasingly ridiculous and yet I’m enjoying it immensely. Especially when they’re kissing. Thank you Taiwan. Also, how could he not fall in love with the sunshine, when the sunshine is essentially being the perfect boyfriend? That said, I never high rank a show where one of them is lying to the other one essentially the whole time - so that is tempering my enjoyment. But I am still enjoying it despite that one big worry. 

Exclusive Love (Taiwan Fri Gaga) ep 11 of 12 - pocky game with your quasi-ex-bestie when he's getting married the next day? That’s a wild idea honeychild. I do like that we got a lot of the sides this time around. And kidnapping and some self sacrifice stabbing. The usual.

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.

Lost in the Woods (Weds Gaga) 7 eps - Not my thing, dropped at ep 2.

Secret Ghost (Thai Sat Viu) ?? eps - The trailer dropped and it looks so bad.

My Golden Blood (Weds iQIYI) 12 eps - dropped at ep 5. I just can't. It's too awful. I did try. 

Next Week Looks Like This:

COMING IN APRIL

4/20 Boys in Love (Thai Sun iQIYI ) 12 eps - Our only true high school BL from GMMTV this year and it's fresh faces for the youths and old favs for the teachers. It's milk teeth Make it Right and fine with me! I like lotte milk. Also DIMPLES! Yay! I suspect they are using this one to test some fresh pairs for future seasons. Like a Project 101 Thai BL. (Honestly I just invented an amazing reality TV for you GMMTV, you're welcome.) Like My School President in 2023, this could be a major sleeper hit for me.

4/20 My Stubborn (Thai Sun iQIYI) 10 eps - trailer Mflow's next high heat office romance involving best friend's younger brother, boss meets intern, bit of a love triangle, GL crumbs, and few other tropes.

4/25 My Sweetheart Jom (Thai Fri YouTube) 12 eps - trailer Saint is back in a BL, but this is what he chose? When he gets int rouble, Yothin needs to find a safe place. Instead of sending him overseas, his father sends him to the countryside. There, he is under the watchful eye of the village headman Jomkhwan.

4/26 The BangkokBoy AKA Bangkok Boys AKA The Bangkok Boy (Thai Sat ????) ?? eps trailer - Action, crime and revenge meets gangs, mafia, and more. Oh my.

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

Not a great week actually, no pulls.

(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

[taeminie]

We can start fresh.

Business as Usual (2025) dir. Min Chae Yeon

[wanderlust-in-my-soul]

Do you like it?

[babybison]

I'm just not exciting and I don't speak well either. Why are you suddenly saying stuff like that?

[vonspe]

what mischief might the wisps be up to on emmrook’s wedding day?

Idk but rook cried at least 6 times so they probably follow him around all day

[perplexi]

and there was no more open door policy after that...🤦‍♀️😂🔥

[scarefox]

idk why but this just took me out 😂 but yea same

[sookja]

blueming 블루밍 (2022) dir. hwang da seul

business as usual 을의 연애 (2025) dir. min chae yeon

[notafanbut]

Not on the same page? These two currently aren't even in the same novel.....

[heretherebedork]

This poor man, this poor man has no idea what's going on and no idea what happened and I would very much like to save him.

Ugh, seriously, JinHwan is my tiniest little mess and I love him so much.

Seriously. MinJoon has a pile of undeserved abandonment issues for literally abandoning JinHwan.

I am dying, I am deceased, I am destroyed. I love them so much. I adore these boys and I look forward to the realization hitting MinJoon like a sack of bricks. @absolutebl The sheer Our Dating Sim vibes of it all!

A sack of bricks.

My beloved boy who did nothing wrong but be shy and not the world's best communicator who got completely ghosted over a misunderstanding without a single attempt at communication.

AND THEN HE RUNS AWAY AGAIN. And he runs away with the understanding and the realization that it wasn't JinHwan who tore them apart but that it was him, it was MinJoon, who broke his own heart and hurt the man he loved.

[respectthepetty]

Korean BL, Business as Usual, will arrive next week on April 3. It should be on Viki or Gaga depending on location. The trailer was kindly subbed by a user on Twitter.

From the MDL page:

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. As he grows older, he feels increasing pressure to accomplish more, but everything feels stagnant. 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. Jin Hwan is still as attractive and confident as ever, while Min Jun feels like he hasn’t progressed since their breakup. Determined not to let the past affect his professional life, Min Jun tries to stay focused on work. However, Jin Hwan seems to have other intentions . . .

[hughungrybear]

Kids, this is what happens when you don't use your words 😓

From what I remember in our general psychology class, humans do not look at things from the exact same perspective (e.g., Looking at an apple, you might focus on its colour while another person looking at it may focus on the shape). Different folks, different thought processes.

That's why you should never assume that the other person will understand you, no matter how close your relationship is. USE THEM WORDS.

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - Happy Songkran!

Not sure, but a few of the Thai shows may be impacted by New Year this next week.

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

April 2025 Week 2

Ongoing Series - Thai

Perfect 10 Liners (Sun YT) ep 24 end - Can you believe we made it through 24 episodes (like this is 2014 or something)? Anygay...

The single brain cell committee trying to put together The Proposal was kind of funny. I do think that of all the couples to get married this is the one that shouldn’t. They are the least healthy, but what can we do? 

I knew from the get-go that I was going to struggle to figure out how to rate this show. Twice as long as most other BL’s and with 3 fully represented main couples, played by pairs that I have mixed feelings for. Thus I have to go straight down the middle. I would’ve given our first story a 7/10, our second one an 8/10, and our final a 9/10, which brings us in at a solid 8/10. Frankly, that feels like that’s what this show was, about 80% of a good BL.

Conclusion

This was workmanlike Thai BL in a university setting in which nothing happened to some very nice boys in fun friendship groups. The most noted thing about the show was its source, GMMTV punched down and phoned it in with this one. The kissing was good, the pairs were decent, and the directing was... well it was there. Each of the three main couples turned in solid performances to the best of their respective comedic abilities. Your enjoyment will wholly depend on which pair/story is most to your taste and how much you managed to tolerate the others (and the sides) as a result. I highly doubt this will ever be anyone's favorite BL. 8/10 is a fine rating for something this mediocre. Puts the B in BL.

Top Form (Thurs WeTV) ep 4 of 10 - Drunken shenanigans and their consequences. Especially when the boy is obsessed with you. (Meanwhile, the hair in the eyes is driving me batshit.) I'm still enjoying this. It’s sort of old-school BL in a very odd way. I like that. Especially with nothing out of Japan right now. The 21 day courting was cute. And of course I loved the linguistic negotiation. But he’s definitely gonna catch that cold.

Oh the HONEY.

I forgot this part was coming. ARGH NO too sticky!!! The carnage. The clean up. Twas sexy tho.

Sweet Tooth Good Dentist (Fri iQIYI) ep 3 of 12 - Whipping boy trope is a go. But also this dentist is so gone on this broken sunshine with self worth issues. The dorky earnest friend is good too. Enjoying.

My Golden Blood (Weds iQIYI) Ep 5 of 12 - I just can't. It's too awful. I did try. DNF.

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Heesu in Class 2 (Korea Fri Viki) eps 5-6 of 10 - I love this show. Love. It. The catastrophic trip. Heesu being an utter frenetic basket case. The PINING from Seungwon and the fact that we all know he isn't ever gonna do anything (unless some one forces his hand lips). It's fantastically maddening.

Secret Relationships (Korea iQIYI) ep 7 of 8 - Ooo truly unhinged. Excellent. Honestly, I just feel sorry for Da-on with all these boys obsessed, even our puppy. And now the "kidnapping for love" trope. Very old-school. China used to adore this one. It's nto my favorite but it suits this show.

Business as Usual (Korea Thurs Viki) Ep 2 of 7 - Mostly back story not a whole lot happened. Looks like we are in for a meaty confrontation next week tho. Good.

Fight for You (Taiwan Fri Gaga) ep 4 of 12 - I don't mind a fake dating trope, even if I'm not sure how we got here. Actually, this has gotten oddly cute. I like them more as they fall in love and flirt and drink than I do as solo characters. 

Exclusive Love (Taiwan Fri Gaga) ep 10 of 12 - more death. Not enough of blondie. And none of my beloved sides? Bah. 

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.

Lost in the Woods (Weds Gaga) 7 eps - Not my thing, dropped at ep 2.

Boy Next World special - only available paid, so I didn’t bother.

Your Sky of Us - Normally, I don’t really report on the specials or the extras or even the spinoffs or season twos, but I gotta say in episode 2 Lee’s claiming sendoff was one of my favorite things to happen in BL this year. That silent "back off" was so perfectly executed. Most of the rest of this special has been just fluff, but it might be worth watching the whole thing just for that 30 seconds. (Sorry couldn't find a gif of it, but TRUST ME. Chef's kiss!)

In case you missed it

Secrets Happened on the Litchi Island (China YouTube) - This one unexpectedly dropped and there are still a few follow up snippets/adverts continuing with this couple.

Summary

This was an interesting, beautifully atmospheric but plotless BL about a boy who falls in love with his older brother‘s best friend in an idyllic countryside jungle setting. The boy is quite femme and open about his identity but his lover is... not. This dynamic ads an element of queer authenticity that's often missing from all BL, let alone something from China! I don’t know what it actually wanted to be, but it felt like a BL had a love child with one of those weird Chinese relaxation farm propaganda channels. The kisses are great, the chemistry is lovely, and the setting stunning. It’s odd but charming in a very weird, very queer, way. I have to say, I quite enjoyed it.

As a BL it gets an 8/10 from me, but as a piece of queer cinema I actually think it's worth more than that. You should all watch it. Who knows how long it will be allowed to stay up on YT.

Next Week Looks Like This:

COMING IN APRIL

4/16 Something Is Not Right (Korea Weds Viki) - trailer Blueming spin off. Ba U and Hun have been friends since they were kids – but Ba U has harbored unrequited feelings for Hun for years. Eventually, Ba U tries to cut off his entire relationship with Hun, much to Hun's confusion. In a last-ditch attempt to get over his feelings, Ba U takes his friend's advice and asks Hun to date for a single week. Hun accepts.

4/19 Secret Ghost (Thai Sat Viu) ?? eps - The trailer dropped and it looks particularly awful.

4/20 Boys in Love (Thai Sun YouTube? ) 10 eps - Our only true high school BL from GMMTV this year and it's fresh faces for the youths and old favs for the teachers. It's milk teeth Make it Right and fine with me. I like lotte milk. Also DIMPLES! Yay! I suspect they are using this one to test pairs for future shows. Like a Project 101 Thai BL. (Honestly I just invented an amazing reality TV for you GMMTV, you're welcome.) Like My School President in 2023, this could be a major sleeper hit for me.

4/20 My Stubborn (Thai Sun ????) ?? eps - trailer Mflow's next high heat office romance involving best friend's younger brother, boss meets intern, bit of a love triangle, GL crumbs, and few other tropes.

4/25 My Sweetheart Jom (Thai Fri YouTube) 12 eps - trailer Saint is back in a BL, but this is what he chose? When he gets int rouble, Yothin needs to find a safe place. Instead of sending him overseas, his father sends him to the countryside. There, he is under the watchful eye of the village headman Jomkhwan.

4/26 The BangkokBoy AKA Bangkok Boys AKA The Bangkok Boy (Thai Sat ????) ?? eps trailer - Action, crime and revenge meets gangs, mafia, and more. Oh my.

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

Well that bit from Your Sky of Us with Lee's nonverbal MINE of course.

Yes I liked it more than the honey, honey.

(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

[wanderlust-in-my-soul]

I want to learn more. I...

[babybison]

🖋️👀