#but we've them be black for all of 1.5 episode now so

[rearranging-deck-chairs]

the doctor isnt neurodivergent or autistic or adhd or nonbinary or genderqueer or asexual. what the doctor is, is Not From Here

[mihotose]

im like totally done for. started listening to mirapa radio. (havent listened to a love live radio since uraraji in 2017!!!)

*the title of episode 1 was "we've been waiting for 1.5 years!" which is true. they were cast in early 2022 and were training for a year before debut

the first time kankan and konachi met in person they had a dance lesson and konachi was just So ☆ Tired she Had to have a nap on kankan's lap ♡

however the actual first time hasu all met konachi did it remotely and she remembers kankan as a strange person with a loud voice and big body language w ("eh shes my partner...?")

if they mess up dododo in practice they have to do it again ten times on the spot, and since kanchan says shes a bad dancer shes had to do the intro choreo a lot

they listened to ep 1 of the radio while getting their makeup done for the bloom the dream live

kankan then came to record ep 2 of the radio wearing the bloom the dream live tshirt (meant as a surprise for konachi)

the beginning of bloom the dream where they entered the stage matching the video of their member was hard for kankan as well w since she has to match ruri's doyagao (ten rep system applied here too)

since the dododo outfits are sleeveless and kankan doesnt wear sleeveless clothes she was worried about her upper arms and was asking their dance teacher how she could lose weight there who was like eh... idk...

konachi likes how even though dollche's AWOKE outfits are black they glitter when the light shines on them

konachi thinks nonsuke is so cute and keeps trying to make her do cute things lol (kankan: uichan will get mad!)

kankan: its like i dont want bad things to happen to her... like if an evil organisation comes ill get rid of them for her

when they first performed hakuchuu a la mode everyone cheered so loud they were worried they would drown out the "1,2,3!" at the beginning but then everyone quietened down really quickly

kankan: megu-chan's voice is like gentle and sweet while ruri-chan is like spice

about ameagari street kozue: kankan "what are you thinking about when you look at tsuzuri-senpai, kozue-senpai?"

they gushed about kozue with her hair down in episode 8 and kankan said she wants to see kozue with megu's twin tails. they are looking forward to seeing kozue with her hair down in the future please!!!

favourite dollche song: konachi - tragic drops; kankan - sparkly spot

favourite ceribou song: konachi - mix shake (she likes the towel waving and the choreo)

they love how kozue and kaho's voices blend together and the suisai sekai outfit obi and pompom rings and hair accessories

konachi said she doesnt really like formal language so asks everyone to write casually in the letters from now on ☆

kankan was about to eat her favourite dashimaki tamago from her bentou when konachi came up to her and said あ～ん so kankan was like i have to give this to her now!

and then again, kankan was drinking ramune and konachi did the same thing, so kankan brought it to her mouth and konachi bit her finger

"she was out of control earlier but it seems shes calmed down now for the broadcast"

they make that "sorry... i love you" / "every day is a holiday 😊🎵" joke

hasu is mostly neko-ha but kanchan is inu-ha. she likes chow chows like ruri

they read an example letter for a future corner about someone who can have conversations with cats on the street. cats dont like kankan but they say kocchan is the type of person like in the letter. she has been getting closer to kocchan's cat recently though!

konachi likes tsuzuri and kozue in ameagari street tsuzuri ♡ and how in ameagari street sayaka sayaka is smiling but kaho has a doyagao

kankan thinks deepness kozue takes place in the first half of the story, and they think its amazing how the number of kozue+tsuzuri cards are increasing

kankan also likes how kaho has her face in her hands in deepness sayaka lol

kankan wants a second years song while konachi wants a first years song. they think eien no euphoria suits the second years but not the first years

kankan nonsuke uichan and nassu went out the other day and kankan sang dododo with uichan and nassu. afterwards uichan said only mirapa can sing that song since its so different to what ceribou has lol

they say kocchan actually suits mirapa songs and want her to sing dododo or hakuchuu a la mode

(they also want shuffle units!!)

they found it funny that kozue called kaho and sayaka かすがい and the thumbnail that was used for ep 8 on the twitter lol

kankan falls asleep to videos of people having barbecues. konachi falls asleep to asmr videos of turtles eating watermelons

konachi doesnt think hasu could go camping together; it doesnt suit the second years. uichan can cook but shes very particular about her spices and such. but the first years could camp together

in ep 7, the one released just after ruri's first appearance in the main story, konachi starts it by herself by reading a letter from kankan which transitions into kankan reading it herself. konachi finishes it and says "alright! ill do my best on my own this time!" before kankan cuts in like "im actually here!!!!" and the radio background image changes to the usual mirapa one

the sehasu cooking episode surprised kankan because shes always heard konachi burns things shes frying and konachi said she got scolded for burning fried rice one time and has never tried it since but as they made a dessert it turned out fine ☆

kankan said everyone was laughing at how she peeled the dragon fruit but she doesnt understand because she doesnt know how youre meant to do it!!!

[probably being told by a producer] kankan: eh it seems youre meant to cut it with a knife konachi: ehh.. oh well!

even though dollche's cooking was such a mess they said it actually tasted good. konachi has been looking for the sweet potato butter they used

kankan's mom tried to make ceribou's dish but it was bad .

they received a letter in kansai-ben and talked about how you wouldnt expect uichan's from kansai. she seems to try her best not to let her kansai-ben slip out. nassu is from kyuushuu but doesnt seem to speak hakata-ben. konachi said she got interested in dialects once and tried to learn how to speak in some

they think the girls look good in light blue like the penguin ice outfits and their summer uniforms

"the number of tsuzukozu illustrations has increased"

konachi: there isnt a moment where fujishima megumi is not cute

"itd be nice if we streamed games someday"

ceribou = run, dollche = can, mirapa = fun

kankan would get ruri a pink bat from the batting centre

"what would you get megu-chan?" "permission to leave the [waiting] room"

kankan wants to join a circle for the grand prix but since her username is kankan its obvious its her lol

konachi realised on your mark (6 members) doesnt have any english but deepness (4 members) has a lot so maybe mirapa is holding them back...?

on haunted houses: kankan and konachi - dont like them; nonsuke - afraid of the dark; uichan - trustworthy!!; nassu - the type to not freak out; kocchan - probably not a big reaction even if she was scared

kankan made fun of nassu during the nama but she also hasnt gotten a LOVELIVE... shes also bad at turning off auto

the day before the exercise measurement sehasu kocchan practised all the tests

the genyou yakou/mirage voyage cards - sayaka's is the best of course. kankan also likes how kozue is looking at the sales even though shes an ojou-sama lol "its her commoner side"

besides staying together when they went to kanazawa hasu have never had a sleepover so they want to have a training camp! (kankan: beach; konachi: mountains)

"i want us to have a barbecue!" "we already had one?" "oh yeah"

they filmed all three sehasu vlogs on the same day! mirapa in the morning dollche in the afternoon ceribou on the evening. after they finished filming mirapa had mcdonalds

they made fun of nassu putting the camera on the floor during dollche's though since it made it look less like a vlog lol

"if tsuzuri played basketball everyone would fall in love with her" (about tsuzuri playing basketball in the sports festival)

cast at sports festival: nassu - team leader; nonsuke - cheerleader (like kaho) doing a soranbushi. they dont see the second years doing it -> afternoon tea festival (kozue would win)

the hasu audition was on the same day as konachi's third year either cultural festival or sports festival and so she skipped it to go to the audition

they like dollche's songs but theyre so hard they cant sing them at karaoke

"was there anything a cast member said to you that made you happy?" "when you said its easier to sing when im with you"

kankan likes when kocchan praises her during afureco or when uichan says her singing is stable. konachi just saying good morning to her makes her happy. she had a deep conversation with nonsuke on the train the other day and that made her happy

"we actually dont watch the story we watch it the same time as everyone else. so when its released we all watch it at once and get excited on LINE"

megu as an appliance would be a mic/camera -> laptop

splash!!!! kozue looks like a mom lol

nassu and sayaka both suit ponytails

"i want to dedicate my year as a twenty year old to megu-chan"

seishun no rinkaku is konachi's new favourite dollche song

kankan: since we became five or six we usually dont have a tsukkomi in the cast konachi: everyone's a boke right kankan: wait it was probably the same when there were four members

when it was four members sometimes kocchan would tsukkomi but now konachi (megu) has joined properly kankan was really happy since she loves konachi's tsukkomi

they didnt know that the qr code at the end of ep 10 was there until they saw people talking about it and hadnt actually scanned it for themselves. kankan didnt know how to read it so konachi told her how to do it and when she figured it out she Gasped

theyve both watched ep 10 multiple times and konachi cried

that day they ate sweets and konachi gave her the wrappers and when kankan took them to throw away everyone around them was like "kan-chan what are you doing?" and when kankan is in a room konachi will wait outside the door <- konachi's strange behaviour

dododo was recorded before the story so kankan didnt think it would be an emotional song but as the story came out and it made nonsuke cry she realises it is after all

when recording it they were told to sing it in a bright and a bit silly way instead of putting emotions into it (like ceribou) but konachi likes it like that. megu-chan would rather sing it in a cheerful way

the first time she recorded it kankan used up so much energy she had to lie down on the sofa lol

they loved tsuzuri's training camp radio. since there was no video you have to imagine whats happening

konachi sent kankan a sound file on LINE and kankan thought konachi had written a song since mirapa radio was ending (since kankan likes writing songs) but it was just a cut of kankan speaking in dialects from past radio episodes Lmao

after megumi sings 後押ししてくる in natsumeki pain sayaka gives ruri a little push towards megu, and after that when ruri sings 砂浜に書いた メッセージ 届け she writes LOVE

kankan didnt realise until konachi told her just now that during the line 早く気付いて #Love you! each of the girls (sayaka->kaho->ruri->megu->kozue->tsuzuri) writes one of the characters in "#Love♡"

since ruri was given the o kankan just thought she was drawing a circle lol

they received a letter about tongue twisters and kankan struggled in rehearsals with kokon touzai

natsumeki pain ruri has a chow chow strap on her waistband so kankan says she wants it to be released as goods

[absolutebl]

Hello! So im fairly new to the BL world and I was wondering if you could explain to me why Korean BLs are so short? As in why each episode is only 10-15 min each when other korean dramas I've watched are usually 60-90 minutes. Thank you!!!!

Ah ha. Oh look, I got me an essay prompt. Yay! 

Why Are KBLs So Short Compared to Regular Kdramas?

So for those who aren't familiar, most Kdrama romances are 16 eps 45 min fresh content, for an average total run time of about 6-8 hours. (Some of their suspenses and such go longer, and occasionally - though not often - there will 2nd seasons).

Most Kdrama BLs are 8 eps 15 minutes each for a total run time of 2 hours, which actually works out to about 1.5 hours of fresh content (and there have been, until this year, no 2nd seasons.) Which is why so many are then cut into movies, because they're naturally movie length. This length for KBL started in late 2019 when Korea really started ramping up modern style BL production. (They have BL before this but it’s...different.) 

The longest BL we've gotten out of Korea is Light On Me at 4 hours. And that's seriously unique. That production house, WATCHA, is about to produce its next BL Semantic Error, and that will be... 8 eps of 15 mins. So, yeah. 

Why? 

Okay, so there's a few things going on here.

1. Queer Liminality

Never discount the fact that a marginalized community gets marginalized media (when its catered to at all). There's always going to be less of it and shorter of poorer quality because it's queer. Now BL might not be made with a queer lens especially from Korea (with noted exceptions of course) but it is still queer. Boys kiss boys, it qualifies. For the greater culture and population of Korea this makes the art form itself: 

subversive

liminal

taboo

Here's a few side examples of what I mean: 

Queer content has its own shelf in most bookstores in the USA (if we’re lucky). Queer romances aren't shelved with other romances, for example. (That's when romance gets a shelf at all, but that’s another -feminist- issue.) We can talk about how bookstores themselves are fading away, but frankly digital algorithms act similarly. Now, those of us who prefer to read primarily queer content are fine with this on the surface, 'cause we know where to look, but the act of othering means that queer content doesn't have access to a general audience who might ALSO enjoy it, because it is never even put in front of them.

It doesn’t even have a chance. 

This is a normalization problem. (I talk about pro normalization and my own stance on this kind of queer advocacy with regards to BL, and not calling out het fans of the genre, here.)

Here in the states, Black centered cable TV channels deal with the same issue. Back in the 70s and 80s the "feminist storefront" is another example. 

(Frankly, even colors even get marginalized... Americans nurse cultural associations with wearing purple and pink, for example. People are WEIRD.)

2. Underfunding

See point 1. When you deal with art or media that challenges the status quo in any way, it's going to struggle to meet funding demands. Even if there is an audience, and even if that audience is big, you're not going to be able to reach it because it's not just talent (and Korea doesn't seem to have any issues there) it's marketing and distribution. (Right up to things like airtimes on mainstream channels).

Think about how much queer content Hollywood produces as compared to het? Think about how many of those get nominated for awards? Lack of funding = lack of content = lack of recognition = lack of funding.

Vicious circle. 

Also, many Asian dramas rely on sponsorship deals which means the brand and company has to be okay with being associated with queerness. Even lean into it.

(Think about Subaru and the lesbian bias. L-Word capitalized hard on an existing stereotype. But it worked for Subaru and this show because the audience was happy to embrace both. Subaru knew their brand and the watcher base for this show, but also that discoloration was unlikely. Discoloration is the projected negative impact of any given sponsorship deal. Would they have sponsored a show like L-Word in Asia? Probubly not.)

A lot of Korean brands do not want to sponsor queer content, even pretty sanitized KBL because they are scared of the repercussions. 

Marginalized groups get marginalized in all ways. 

3. Cost of That Pretty Pretty High Production

Following on from the above and realizing that there is already a funding issue, Korean BL is more expensive to produce than most because they go for a strong aesthetic and high production values (Japanese BL as well). Cost of living and cost of talent aside, I would still guess that something like To My Star costs at least double what, say a Thai pulp like You're My Sky costs (at 3x the cast, and 6x the length) to produce, maybe 3x.

One way to cut cost and not sacrifice quality is simply to film over much much shorter times. Some of these KBLs could theoretically have been filmed in a week. I'm thinking My Sweet Dear had an incredibly short filming window. (Actual filming, for anything with low CGI, will always be the most expensive part of the process.)

4. History with the Genre

This is an interesting one. Korea has, without question the strongest record for producing queer content in microfilm length of any country in Asia - by an order of magnitude. And for almost as long as Japan has been producing live action yaoi. (Now ask me why this is the case? I HAVE NO IDEA.) 

Now Korea's history with this short form is NOT BL. It's queer lens and very gay. But I believe it must have established a precedent for shortness. (It certainly birthed Strongberry for which we are eternally grateful.) 

So I think Korea just associates queer content with short form in general.

This might also have something to do with Japan. Historically Japanese live action yaoi were all movie length, and the early Korean film industry (pre 2010) is heavily influenced by Japan. I also think their BL traditions are pretty strongly linked. Because Korean look to manwah much like Japan looks to manga, for inspiration. 

Conclusion

So all this combines to make short form BL easier for Korea to produce, and I actually don’t see that changing anytime soon. (Oh boy would I love to be proved wrong. I am DIEING for a gay Decedents of the Sun. DIEING.) 

Interestingly enough, our best bet for something long from Korea would be if they did a co-funded project (like Peach of Time) only set in Thailand and using Thai talent (AKA Korean production + money with Thai production costs.)* But the Hallyu agenda renders that idea verboten at this point. Korea is not going to spend money on a drama that's not located in Korea and advocating for Korean culture. Not even a BL, and certainly not a long form BL.

* I don't count 2017's Tropical Night because OMG reasons (technically it takes both Korea and Thailand to task as a culture commentary). I honestly don't think Korea 2022 would allow this movie to be made at all.

I should add for the record that I actually enjoy Korean BL as it stands. I don’t mind its shortness. And they occupy more of my top BL’s of all time list than any other country. This is meant as an honest window into the film industry and production, not as a criticism of Korea or KBL. There’s a difference between critique and criticism, mm’kay? 

Righto, I’m done now.

Turns out, not tho. Literally the day I wrote this Strongberry’s exo talked openly on their YouTube channel all about the BL industry and queer production in Korea. He’s remarkably honest (and totally adorable). 

(source)