#close friend 3: soju bomb

[the-conversation-pod]

Summer 2024 Lagniappe (A Minisode)

AND WE'RE BACK!

Summer didn’t give us a lot to say, but we ALWAYS got something to say. Ben, NiNi and Shan talk a highlight of the season, Twig reports from the field, and we award summer’s Girl Who Tried.

Timestamps

The timestamps will now correspond with chapters on Spotify for easier navigation.

00:00:00 - Welcome 00:01:15 - Introduction 00:02:21 - Twig’s Dispatch 00:14:24 - Spotlight: Tadaima, Okaeri 00:20:34 - Girl, You Tried 00:27:08 - Celebrating 50 Episodes

The Conversation Transcripts!

Thanks to the continued efforts of @lurkingshan as an editor and proofreader, we are able to bring you transcripts of the episodes.

We will endeavor to make the transcripts available when the episodes launch, and it is our goal to make them available for past episodes (Coming soon thanks to @wen-kexing-apologist). When transcripts are available, we will attach them to the episode post (like this one) and put the transcript behind a Read More cut to cut down on scrolling.

Please send our volunteers your thanks!

00:00:00 - Welcome

NiNi

Welcome to The Conversation About BL, aka The Brown Liquor Podcast.

Ben

And there it is. I’m Ben.

NiNi

I’m NiNi.

Ben

And we’re you’re drunk Caribbean uncle and auntie here sitting on the porch in the rocking chairs.

NiNi

Four times a year we pop in to talk about what’s going on in the BL world.

Ben

We shoot the shit about stories and all the drama going into them. I review from a queer media lens.

NiNi

And I review from a romance and drama lens.

Ben

So if you like cracked-out takes and really intense emotional analysis…

NiNi

If you like talking about artistry, industry, and the discourse…

Ben

And if you generally just love simping…

NiNi

There is a lot of simping on this podcast…

Ben

We are the show for you!

00:01:15 Introduction and Summer Season Recap

Ben

And we're back. We have reached the end of the summer season. It is hot as hell and hurricane season is active, but we at least still have our shows to watch.

Shan

Wow, what a way to set the mood.

NiNi

That is [laughs] one way to start, for sure. [NiNi and Shan laugh]

Ben

Girl, I’m stressed! [laughs]

NiNi

I feel you. I feel you. I feel you. We are here. The summer has been… it's been a lot. 

Let's just dive right into what we came here to discuss. Shan is here. Say hi, Shan. 

Shan

Hi! 

NiNi

We're going to talk a few things that we didn't talk through this season. Twig’s gonna come in and leave us her dispatch, and then we're gonna round it up and award the Girl, You Tried. There are a lot of girls who tried this season. [laughs]

00:02:20 Twig’s Dispatch

DISPATCH! Thank you for having me back. [music]

While folks were lamenting having nothing to watch this quarter, I was as busy as ever!

In the skip section: Sadly, Korea really dominated this category last season, starting with Blossom Campus. Honestly, this was the biggest disappointment this season for me. This was my–the Korean independent team Strongberry, who I normally love—they released a full length Kdrama that, I don’t understand how it went so wrong. The story is about a university transfer student who works at the library and ends up in a few interactions with a taekwondo major and they fall for each other. It was boring, the story didn’t really flow, the chemistry was flat.The only good thing I can say for it is that when they do kiss, they kiss well. But it was not worth watching to get there.This was the least queer Strongberry has ever felt, and to add insult to injury it ends on a cliffhanger. This is a pass from me, friends. 

Love is Like a Cat. Mew of the newly public MewTul relationship stars in this hybrid Thai/Korean production that did not manage to retain the good qualities of either country. It is bad. And not even in a fun way. The premise is a famous Thai actor is blackmailed into doing a Korean reality series in which he has to work in a dog cafe, despite being afraid of dogs. That sounds like it would be cute and fun, and somehow it was neither. Poor acting, cinematography, chemistry, story, everything was mid. Also, content warning for animal death—way to alienate your target audience. 

Gray Shelter was a Korean short series that barely felt like BL? Honestly, it was trying to walk a trauma narrative and BL line and I don’t think it did that successfully. The romance felt rushed and the trauma part felt like it was being sad for the sake of sad rather than having anything to actually say about trauma. Also had another cliffhanger ending. Not my fav.

Moving away from Korea, Lady Boy Friends is a show that has a high barrier to enjoyment, so judge for yourself. It’s a remake from 2015 and the premise is an ensemble show in an all boys high school in which a good percentage of the cast are actually trans girls in an all boys school. There is a lot of infighting amongst the trans women, they are extremely catty and mean and clique-y to each other. That part I honestly found kind of fun, and I did enjoy them banding together against a common enemy. Unfortunately that common enemy is another trans girl who is looked down on for transitioning “late” which calls her authenticity into question. This show also has sexual assault played as comedy which is honestly the main reason why it’s in this section; there was also a gay couple who got the bulk of the focus in the last few episodes, and while that storyline will likely be the most appealing to this audience, I didn’t particularly like that the trans characters got short shrift in their own show, so. I didn’t fully love it.

Kiseki Chapter 2. This was a production by 9NAA. They have a history of not paying and exploiting their actors, and they’ve done it too many times, so I didn’t watch this one. Pay your actors and hire intimacy coaches and then I’ll talk about your shows. 

The last one in this section is actually a GL Thai channel that I wanted to shout out. It’s just not to my taste, but I don’t like gatekeeping GL ‘cause there’s so little of it and it’s so hard to find. So, if you’re a fan of the melodrama and older, toxic relationship type tropes, give these guys a try. Last quarter they put out “Friend with Benefits the series” and “Sea [as in S-E-A] you soon”, and my favorite of the three was “You Are My Star the series” which I enjoyed because it retread a lot of BL tropes so I watched it and played, sort of, spot the BL parallels. JPC Media Channel on YouTube.

Now onto the shows that you might actually want to consider. There were a few genre BLs this season that were varying degrees of hit or miss so I’ve grouped them together. I love genre stories, so I don’t want to be too harsh on shows that push the boundaries of the BL genre, but all of these had at least one fatal flaw that makes me not able to recommend them without caveats.

Memory in the Letter is a Thai BL sci-fi/fantasy in which a student falls in love with a stranger in the mirror. This is a short series that had real high highs and low lows for me, including some of the best chemistry across a pane of glass I’ve ever seen. But also, the ending was so poorly handled that I had to call poor Ben to watch with me just so that I’d have someone to share my psychic damage with. Without spoiling anything, this show involves an age gap with actors not age-appropriately cast to hide the fact that the age gap is so large? It also doesn’t treat the age gap seriously or engage with the very serious problems that it raises in its own plot, and I found that very frustrating. So. Make your own choices on that one. 

1000 Years Old the series. This show is a Thai vampire show that spends the first three quarters being an extremely low stakes series in which a vampire owns a pork blood soup stand and a glorious umbrella collection, and is in love with a man obsessed with searching for alien life. It is exactly as silly as it sounds. But then the last few episodes everything turns into intense melodrama, and I’m going to spoil this because I don’t know how not to: We find out that the vampire stays friendly with another vampire who murdered his human lover across multiple lifetimes. I was vibing and then I was really not. 

Two Worlds is another Thai series, and a MaxNat vehicle. The premise of this one is as it says on the tin: There are two parallel universes connected by a glowing body of water. Our protagonist loses his love interest and travels to the parallel universe accidentally while grieving, to realize he has the chance to save his boyfriend’s doppelganger in this new world. While he does that, he finds himself falling for someone else instead. This series is a relatively slow burn show. Whoever made this show, they did the most bewilderingly good job of undercutting every dramatic moment so that it had no stakes or impact that I’ve ever seen. This show was almost impressively boring considering how much was happening at any given moment. I liked that it seemed to be saying people weren’t interchangeable, but then in the end the show undermined its own message. Watching this show was informative for learning about pacing and how narrative tension works or doesn’t in shows. 

Last in this section is The Spirealm. This is a chinese danmei adaptation that we almost didn’t get because of censorship; it was heavily adapted so that rather than magic, the core of the unnatural happenings are a Virtual Reality video game in which our leads have to puzzle through dangerous mysteries to figure out the secrets of each level. It’s fun in an “oh this does feel like a video game” kinda way, and I enjoyed puzzling through the mysteries alongside the leads. But the mysteries drag on too long and they’re repetitive, and the ending of the book is actually really undermined from the adaptation choices. Also, if you’re watching for romance subtext, this is a VERY tame story even for censored cdrama. They barely touch, the shipping moments are few and far between in a long series. So, be forewarned.

Moving away from the supernatural and back to more standard QL fare, A Secretly Love. This felt like a very old-school Thai series, a feeling that was helped by the horrifically bad subtitles; about an engineering student who has been in love with this senior for years and watched him fail miserably at romance over and over. This heavily relies on the viewer enjoying the lead pining over someone who treats him badly for most of the series. So, in order to enjoy this, you have to find someone showing affection by being grumpy, rude, jealous, and demanding cute. No judgment, just giving you the information you need to no. Worth watching if you’re nostalgic for 2020s Thai BL. 

Please Teach Me This is a vertical-format microseries from Korea about an aspiring idol trying to attend college that you have to grind through ads in order to watch. Honestly the series was fine, very middle-of-the-road KBL, but the microseries format and the barriers to watching make it not worth sitting through, in my opinion. 

Blank the Series is a Thai GL is in the same universe as GAP, so if you miss Sam and Mon the characters, they do appear, though portrayed by different actresses. The main couple in this story have a 16-year age gap and the romance starts when the younger one is in high school, though due to plot reasons she’s of age. I know that’s a barrier for some, so I wanted to mention it off the jump, especially because she acts young. That’s the part that I actually struggled with most. This story is very lakorn-like in terms of it being very high melodrama; it also, especially in part two, gets quite sexy. The height difference is also really something. It’s in two parts and both are complete, it does have a happy ending with a cute timeskip. So, you know, manage yourselves on that one.

Jazz For Two. High school Korean music BL in which the main couple really fell flat for me and the side couple were a bully-turned-love-interest that I also really did not enjoy. This show tried to incorporate internalized homophobia as part of its main storyline but didn’t engage with characters overcoming it, so everyone feels kind of like they suddenly switch from being in a drama to a romance and it was both jarring and honestly, a little offensive. Trigger warnings are also important for this one, so take care of yourselves if you’re deciding to watch it.

Boys Be Brave. Another KBL in which a man who can’t say no tries to get the person with a crush on him to ask him out, to no avail. This felt like it was trying to be a manic pixie dream boy meets an autistic-coded grump, but they didn’t quite calibrate either of those characters right. The side couple also ended up landing kind of badly in terms of class politics. But it was pretty, and they were cute. I actually had fun with this one despite everything I just said. 

Deep Night is a Thai BL in which the son of a club owner is against the host/club business model until he falls for one of his mother’s hosts. He decides to start working there to get closer to him. You might imagine that a setup like that would involve class and power politics, but you would be wrong! That being said, this show has a lot to recommend it: The main couple has great chemistry and the side couple is a canonical throuple, and there is another side couple of older sapphics to enjoy, as well. It is also very prettily shot. 

Lastly, Close Friend 3: Soju Bomb is a beautifully shot and cute friendship drama, another Thai/Korean joint series this time about Thai boys in a Korean band who go on a bender in Korea after their contract is canceled. Honestly, my only caveat about this show is that it is absolutely not a BL. There isn’t a romance subplot at all in this show. I spent the entire time it aired so confused waiting for the romance to appear! It does not. If it hadn’t been advertised as Close Friend 3–a series which was previously all BL shorts–I would have enjoyed this for what it was. As it stands, I hold a grudge for being misled. Go in knowing what you’re getting and you’ll be fine. 

Finally, let’s get to the shows that you might have missed that I actually recommend. To Be Continued, a Thai second chance romance of a famous person and a doctor who were friends when they were in high school. This one tells a lot of the story in flashbacks that are poorly paced at the beginning, so the start of the show really drags. But the reveal for why they broke up was satisfying. The pacing is the barrier in this one–if you can power through the first few episodes it ends up being a good little show. They have great chemistry, the story holds together, and I had fun.

Gym Affairs is an absolutely bonkers but cute mainland China BL in which a guy gets a personal trainer and sparks fly. This show is a silly comedy that is also surprisingly earnest. It goes by extremely fast and I really enjoyed the ride. That one’s on YouTube.

Blue Boys/Lonely Girl. SUKFilm is a Korean YouTube channel putting out short series. Blue Boys was a little disappointing, the couple had too many issues that they cycled through so fast.  The GL though, Lonely Girl, was much more focused with a single main problem between the couple and so it worked much better. And both are really beautifully shot and have some great kisses. 

Fake Buddies is another YouTube miniseries. It’s a 7 episode Korean series about a girl and guy who are dating, ostensibly, but really both using the other as a beard because they’re both in a gay relationship. The first few episodes are very funny comedy as the two of them try to make the other realize what’s happening; and then we get prequel episodes for how the gay couple and the lesbian couple both came to be. It’s a fun use of 45 minutes on the guynextdoor YouTube channel if you’re bored. 

To the X Who Hated Me is a Korean GL produced by Red Q. It’s a series of microseries, there’s two out so far with 2-3 episodes each. They’re both GL and solid short second chance romances that are very fun. 

City of Stars is the last one I’ll be talking about. It’s, in my opinion, the best hidden gem QL from this quarter. A charming celebrity/regular guy romance that tackles shipping, toxic fans, and the unreasonable expectations on people in the spotlight. Acting is a little rough, and it’s not  perfect, but it had some really good things to say and it very smartly sandwiches those things among some pretty good sex scenes. The two leads are my communication kings. And there’s some decent trans side rep as well. This show really uses BL as a vehicle for having something to say and I appreciate it. And the story really holds together in a way that’s a little refreshing in Thai BL, too, so I really liked it.

And that’s the dispatch for this quarter! Thanks again for having me. 

00:14:25 Spotlight: Tadaima Okaeri

Ben

It's time to talk about my favorite show of the season that no one else watched except for Twig. [NiNi laughs] We're going to talk about an animated BL from Japan called Tadaima, Okaeri. It is the best show of the season and I'm begging you, please, to go watch this show. 

Tadaima, Okaeri is a 12 episode BL from Studio Deen that aired on Crunchyroll. Studio Deen is actually fairly important in the BL space. Pretty much all of the BL anime that we're probably going to recommend to you offhand was produced by the studio. In this particular one, they're adapting a manga series about a gay couple in the omegaverse that is trying to raise their kid in the suburbs. Our protagonist's name Fujiyoshi Masaki, that is actually his name, and his husband, Hiromu. Masaki is an omega, his husband is an alpha, and they have a son named Hikari together. He is a little baby and they are living in the burbs away from everybody else because they had a very difficult time getting together. 

The show was not so much about the difficulties these two had getting together, it's about them building a life that they love and are happy with after going through what they did. So, like, this is your favorite leads, married and trying to raise their family now and working on healing some of the relationships that were damaged over the course of them getting together. There's a great deal of healing and growth in this. There's healing between Hiromu and his dad, who was not keen on their romance in the first place. There's the fact that these two guys love each other and love being parents. I am very often amused by how much my dad is still obsessed with my mom. And I really liked seeing that in a gay couple here. It was really restorative in a lot of ways, ‘cause we don't ever really see dads in BL. 

This show was so healing. This was such a peaceful experience of a show to watch. What I like the most out of fluffy shows like this is for there to be a nice arc about what life we’re building for our family and a strong thematic thrust of, we're not trying to get back at anybody who hurt us. We just want our kid to grow up in a world where he—and eventually their daughter too—are loved by the people around them. Each episode was about a specific sort of challenge that the family was facing, and some of them were really huge. Like, how are we going to reconcile with the kids’ grandfather who wants to be part of his grandson's life? Even if it's something as small as, Hikaru is getting older and he wants to run an errand. Okay, we're going to let him deliver a letter to his grandfather to the mailbox, and getting a two year old to deliver something [laughs] successfully to a mailbox was a production unto itself, because he kept getting distracted. 

It was genuinely one of the most delightful and wholesome experiences I have ever had in the genre. I have said for a long time that I've wanted a married gay dads show. I was not expecting it to come from the omegaverse of all places, but this was everything I ever hoped it could be and honestly, so much more. If you can handle omegaverse nonsense, including mpreg and the alpha omega pheromone shit, and rutting behavior. This is one of the best shows I have ever seen.

Shan

Oof. [Ben laughs] You just said so many words that upset me.

Ben

I know. I know!

[all laugh]

NiNi

I was like, “if you can handle” I can handle none of those things. I'm sorry.

Ben

If you're gonna be in genre, you gotta take your shit seriously, and I think that's why it worked. This show was not embarrassed about being an omegaverse show. It's not like [funny voice] we're going to do this in omegaverse because we know the girls will fucking show up for it. It took the conceits of its own genre seriously and incorporated it into the emotional context of their characters. 

And so like I totally get it, mpreg is not easy for a lot of people. The rutting behavior stuff, it's not easy for some people. The way that omegaverse is used to perpetuate some of the heteronormative kinds of misogyny that women face is not for everyone, truly and sincerely. When I say that these are caveats to watching this, I am not being funny. These are real things that are being dealt with in this show, but they're not half-assing it. These are not normally things I enjoy. Tell a good story and take your shit seriously and we can show up for it. And that's what happened for me here. 

So, I wholeheartedly recommend this show, but I do think it's important to not downplay that this is very legitimately an omegaverse story.

Shan

I appreciate that.

Ben

It's a 10, baby! Perfect execution of its own premise, and genuinely, it's the kinda show that was so fun to watch with other people.

Shan

I have been so intrigued by the conversation around this show and I really regret that it has so many of my hard lines in it [laughs[ because I would like to see it. I don't think I'll be able to, but I have heard nothing but praise and love from the people who've watched it.

Ben

I love the show with my whole heart. I do not recommend it at all. [Ben and NiNi laugh] This show had really strong ideas and it wore its whole heart on its sleeves the whole time. Mm mm mm. What an experience. Great show.

00:20:32 Girl, You Tried

Ben

Let's hand out our favorite award on the show: Girl, You Tried.

NiNi

Our nominees this season for a Girl, You Tried are Unknown the series from Taiwan, Love is Better the Second Time Around from Japan, and Living With Him from Japan. Does anybody wanna do propaganda here?

Ben

Ooh…

Shan

Let's start with reminding folks how we think about Girl, You Tried.

Ben

The Girl, You Tried for me is meant to reflect on a production that missed the mark, but we felt like the core work and the intent was there to actually do something good, and for whatever reason stumbled.

Shan

There's different ways that shows can stumble. There are shows that can be very well told and very confident up to a point, and then a mistake is made that is hard to recover from. There are shows that never quite nailed what they were trying to do, but did clearly have aspirations. There are shows that have a solid idea of at least the beginning and endpoints and something in the middle just got messy. So, those are different categories of ways that shows can go sideways. And all of these different ways came up in this season. 

For me, a show like Unknown is not a Girl, You Tried because they actually did succeed at what they were doing for the vast majority of their run. So I wouldn't call that a Girl, You Tried. They made a mistake right at the end—and it was a big mistake—but their level of execution was so good through most of the show that I can't really consider that a Girl, You Tried. 

For our two Japanese BLs here, Love is Better was really solid through about the first four episodes, and then it kind of veered off in a very strange direction that I still don't really understand why that happened. Versus Living With Him had a solid start, had a pretty decent end point that it was trying to get towards, and then got kind of messed up along the way trying to stretch out the story. 

So for me I think I would want to give the Girl, You Tried to Living With Him out of these three, because I do think they had the bones of a good story. They executed parts of it really well. But in their effort to stretch it out into a longer format than the story really supported, they kind of lost track of some of their threads and got a little confused in the way that they landed at the end. So for me that one makes more sense as a Girl, You Tried because I see what they were trying to do. And I think that they just made some execution errors that got in the way.

Ben

An interesting analysis; one I will be pondering. It feels mean to say that Unknown is a Girl, You Tried because they rushed to their sex scene. It ignores how good the family story was around all of that, but I am also torn now if I'm going to choose between Love is Better and Living With Him because I feel like my angst for Living With Him is it doesn't release the implied sexual tension that really irritated me more than anything else, which Love is Better absolutely did. 

Man, this is hard.

Shan

Have we ever had a Girl, You Tried tie?

Ben

We have not.

NiNi

There's usually a fairly clear cut winner once we talk about it, but I think part of the problem is that Love is Better and Living With Him sort of failed in similar ways, so it's hard to choose.

Ben

If I have to choose between the two of them, Love is Better the Second Time Around knew exactly what it was doing and it made very bad choices, and there's a difference between making stupid choices and struggling against something you couldn't do, in my opinion. I will give it to Living With Him because there's so much hang time, it's overly reliant on actor charm to hold itself together, and I do like how well the cast was able to hold this flimsy project together.

I think weaker actors would have made this a more irritating experience than it was, as opposed to just being kind of disappointing. So if I'm backed into a corner and have to choose [Shan laughs], it's going to be Living With Him.

Shan

[laughs] You do. Good job.

NiNi

Oh no, I'm about to throw a spanner in the works because I'm going to go for Love Is Better. [laughs]

Shan

This is very exciting! This is Conversation pod history!

Ben

Go ahead, give us your reasoning. 

NiNi

For me, the original premise of Girl, You Tried was always ‘a strong idea that failed in the execution,’ and I feel like the ideas from Love is Better were stronger to me than the ideas in Living With Him, just in terms of, A, what I was interested in seeing and, B, what they wanted to do. I feel like those ideas were stronger in Love is Better. So the failure of the execution part is not the part that I'm looking at in terms of comparing the two, but the strength of the premise part.

Ben

Because both of these shows had really strong gay themes in them that I was really compelled by, I am going to allow them to tie and both get a Girl, You Tried, because I think both these shows were trying to do something really cool. I think by episode 3 and 4 both of these shows, I was like, “This show's got something in it. This is a real contender!” And then it was like, “Oh no, what happened, girl? Come on.” [laughs]

NiNi

So our first ever Girl, You Tried tie! Girls, you both tried.

Ben

Congratulations to Japan for getting your first Girl, You Tried awards. 

NiNi

Is it?

Shan

And the double at that! Japan, always overachieving.

[Ben and NiNi laugh]

00:27:02 Celebrating 50 Episodes

NiNi

I think we have exorcized the demon of the summer, so let's wrap this up. We are wrapping our summer lagniappe and wrapping our summer season. See you in dot-dot-dot weeks for our fall season beginning as soon as I can get my shit together and edit.

Shan

NiNi, should we shout out that this is the 50th episode of the podcast?

Ben

Oh shit!

NiNi

[gasp] Oh my God, we didn't even talk about that! Yes, congratulate us, guys. This is episode number 50 for The Conversation! 

Ben

Oh my God. [air horn sound]

Shan

There ya go.

Ben

If you are one of our listeners who has listened to us talk for all 50 episodes, please—

Shan

Wow.

Ben

—shout us out on Tumblr. I would love to talk to you and see how you're feeling about what we're doing after all this time.

Shan

You're a trooper if you actually did that.

NiNi

[laughs] Please, please, please. If you love us and you're hearing this, we are 50 episodes old today. Send us a note. Either send us a note on Tumblr if you know how to do that, or send us something in the Spotify down below—whatever…answer the thing thing.

Ben

[laughs] In the doobly-doo.

NiNi

Listen, okay? Auntie's old, okay? She don't remember what things are called. 

We out! Say bye to the people, Shan.

Shan

Bye, people!

NiNi

Ben, say bye to the people.

Ben

Peace.

[twig-tea]

Close Friend 3: Soju Bomb Lied to Me

Angry rant time!

I do not like to trash shows for being "not gay enough"; I think there's room in the BL sphere for all kinds of stories and I'm really interested in shows that would not typically 'count as BL' getting money and eyes, so I'm pretty forgiving of something being advertised as a BL and not meeting the criteria of a BL. I was not mad at Tunku Drama Shower for One Room Angel, for example, because that show was good and queerness was at the core of the story, and even though it didn't really work as a romance narrative, I'm glad they experimented with it.

However.

HOWEVER.

Close Friend 3 went too far and I'm mad about it. Let me break it down for you: Close Friend is a franchise that started in 2021; VIU hired a bunch of established pairs from other shows and got them to each do a microseries to see what stuck. The tagline was "six different pairs of men, six different forms of love". Then in Close Friend 2 the two most popular couples (Ohm & Fluke from Until We Meet Again, and Kimmon and Copter from 2 Moons and Gen Y) got a sequel series, in which their characters were put into the same universe, and we had essentially two BL couples co-heading the miniseries. And while Close Friend 1 and 2 aired on Viki, Close Friend 3 was picked up by the queer content distributor GagaOOLala.

All that's to say Close Friend 3: Soju Bomb is the third entry into a franchise that to date has been romance narratives featuring exclusively m/m couples, and is airing on a queer platform, has only the guys in the series on the poster, and has a heart in the logo of the show. And so I do not think I am crossing any lines to say it is a betrayal for this show to not be a BL romance, which it decidedly is NOT.

[Just to underscore that it makes no sense why this is "Close Friend 3": While all 6 of the microseries in S1 were unrelated, the stories that were in S2 were related and were sequels to S1. So it's REALLY strange that S3 had not a single callback to S1 or 2--especially since in those earlier seasons, Ohm played a music producer, so it would have been really easy to even just mention his character in a show about aspiring music artists. They didn't even try.]

Not only is this show not a BL in the more standard ways--it isn't about romance at it's core--but it also is not about androsexual men (men who are attracted to men). Even more egregiously, there is a kiss that it teases for several episodes, but that kiss turns out to be a drunken "I love my buddies" kiss that everyone agrees is no big deal once it's revealed.

At my most generous, one of these characters could be said to have maybe had some kind of questioning/queer awakening occur as a result of the kisses. He was ruminating on his flashes of memory, and clearly has a reaction to hearing about how difficult life was for the lesbian couple that felt personal. But it's not a central core of the narrative, and as soon as he remembers what happened and the band members have the conversation in which they agree they're just friends (and they joke that one day having a cush on him is possible), that thread drops. If he does remain questioning his sexuality (which, by the way, it was never clear he was doing in the first place--he says in the show that he was concerned about the fact that he kissed them and their reception of him afterwards. The actor definitely played it like he was queer, but the show does nothing to make that explicit), it does not remain a concern of the show and is never brought up again, not even in non-romantic context e.g. concerns about his future if he were to try to debut as a (closeted or out) KPop idol.

Meanwhile there are two heterosexual romances as subplots of this story (one of which is with their manager, and as trainees that is potentially exploitative but never treated as a problem by the show). There is also an older lesbian couple which would be extremely cute except one of them is dead (side-eyeing you, My Strawberry Film, for contributing to this becoming a pattern I hate).

There is also a "shippable" couple in the show that the show makes clear is not a couple because one of them is in one of the heterosexual couples I mentioned above. Seeing these two sometimes hit BL beats while knowing they're not going anywhere was frustrating and felt like salt in the wound.

By setting up audience expectations that this would be a BL story and then betraying those expectations (and in fact laughing at them), this show has done itself a serious disservice. If they had billed this as a general Thai/Korean crossover about Thai Kpop trainees who are filmed in some pretty iconic spots in Korea (e.g. most KPop listeners and kdrama watchers will recognize Yongma Land) where they explore their friendship, their reasons for wanting to debut, and their feelings around the restrictions that the company has placed them under for years just to abandon them, I'd have been on board, and said they did a decent job. The ending was a little pat (particularly the idea that anything at these companies would change), it didn't take things that it set up as serious very seriously, and the character arcs were not very strong, but I was entertained at some of the twists and the reveal of what happened during their blackout drunk night (Gaga in their listing compares this show to The Hangover and it's a similar premise), the friendships were solid, and it was very pretty; in other circumstances I'd happily say watch if you're bored or something specific in the show appeals to you (if you like The Hangover; if you like good cinematography and unusual locations; if you like boyband stories, as examples).

As it stands, I am now upset, will never recommend this to anyone, and these creators are on notice (the cinematographer, Job, was also involved in The Shipper and Our Days, so he is on my List. How dare this man continue to use his talents for shows that don't deserve them. The Trainee better be stunning, that's all I'll say about him. The screenwriter Rose is new so she gets a warning, and the director is Yoo who also directed 55:15 Never Too Late, which was ok so he also gets a warning).

TL;DR This show should never have been marketed as a BL. I do not enjoy being set up for disappointment or for queer stories to be sidelined in ostensibly queer content (same complaint I have about My Strawberry Film). This approach did this show no favours at all, and it means I cannot recommend it.

[becauseimanicequeen]

WHAT I’M CURRENTLY WATCHING

ONGOING:

TO BE CONTINUED (Thailand): I’m having the time of my life with this one due to the main characters’ lack of communication, fear of fessing up to their feelings toward each other, the drama of the past, and Poppy (I always love Poppy!).

LOVE IS BETTER THE SECOND TIME AROUND (Japan): I love mature QLs (mature as in adult characters that are complex, flawed, and feel real, and that deal with real-life problems). This is no exception. I also love stories with the possibility of getting a second chance (because everyone makes mistakes).

1000 YEARS OLD (Thailand): This one is way too cute for me (I have a hard time vibing with too much cuteness). You would think this is a series about vampires and aliens, but it’s actually about soup and umbrellas. The only reason I’m still watching this is because of said umbrellas. The umbrellas got me hooked! (Welcome to the real struggles of a visual artist.)

CLOSE FRIEND SEASON 3: SOJU BOMB! (Thailand): There are too few episodes for me to say something substantial about this one. The neon lights in the first episode got me good, though (and I’m a slut for neon lights). Also, I love drunken shenanigans (in fiction, btw) and it’s delivering on that front.

TWO WORLDS (Thailand): This is another series with too few episodes for me to say something substantial. I like the vibe so far, though. Also, I always have a sweet spot for artists so Khram has a special place in my heart.

DEEP NIGHT (Thailand): I love the club setting (again, neon lights are my thing) and the chemistry between the characters (especially between Seiji and Pan). There’s also the possibility of a poly relationship (which I and so many others are hoping for).

(I hope I don’t get as clowned about this poly relationship as I got clowned about Non showing up alive in DFF.) (Either way, I’m staying in this clown car because I need poly! Hope is said to be the last thing leaving a person...)

CITY OF STARS (Thailand): This is really sweet. The characters are sincere and have great communication skills. Fueang and Krom maturely solve every issue that shows up. It’s nice to see a great relationship like this for a change (even though I do love watching miscommunicating characters as well).

ANTI RESET (Taiwan): I’ve recently started watching this and easily got into it since I could binge several episodes. It has an interesting story (falling in love with a robot that seems very real and human). The chemistry between the main characters is great and the visuals are gorgeous (Yi Ping’s house is beautiful, even though the front door never seems to be properly closed, like, ever).

A SECRETLY LOVE (Thailand): Right now, the only reasons I’m watching this is because of Kimmon (the actor who plays Pluem), Kut (who plays Khonprot, since I haven’t moved on from his role as Din in Chains of Heart), the sapphic side-couple (even though it’s a fake relationship right now) with rhyming names (Soi and Froi), and the neon lights. Mostly because of the neon lights! (I’m such a slut for neon lights!)

UNKNOWN (Taiwan): When I say that I’m obsessed with this series, it’s because I am. These characters live in my mind rent-free 24/7. The chemistry, the palpable yearning, the dialogue, the emotions expressed through the acting when there is no dialogue, etc., etc., etc. It’s just soooo great.

(Unknown does cover a topic that’s generally seen as taboo (“adoptive” brothers falling in love), so, be aware of that. I don’t have any issues watching series with taboo topics because there’s very little stuff I get uncomfortable with when it comes to fiction. So, I’m in love with this series with my whole stone-cold heart.)

[save-the-data]

Close Friend Season 3: Soju Bomb! | S03E02

Thai Drama - 2024, 6 episodes

Episodes | GAGA | Viki | YouTube | iQIYI | WeTV | Tencent | Youku | Catalogue

[mysterygrl20]

THAILAND | VIU Original CloseFriend3: SojuBomb starring Best Cholsawas, Dunk Teerathuth, Win Suphawit, Earth Nanthawat, and Au Patrapon, premieres March 13 on Gagaoolala!

The story revolves around the journey of five trainees—Best, Earth, Dung, Win, and Au—with aspirations to become K-Pop idols. "Best" is the serious-looking leader of the group. "Earth" charms with his mischievous demeanor and bright smile. "Dung" holds a belief in good karma. "Win" is a quietly charismatic man who showcases his artistic talent. And lastly, Au, the youngest member, exudes optimism about their endeavors. Despite their rigorous training, their project in Seoul faces rejection from a music entertainment agency, and they did not make their debut. Before departing for Thailand, they gather to "get drunk" together. However, an unexpected incident on that fateful night shakes their lives, reigniting their pursuit of their dreams!

[lgbtally4ever]

BL SERIES I’M CURRENTLY WATCHING

APRIL

PART 2

CLOSE friend Season 3: SOJU BOMB

KISEKI IN TOKYO

Already watched all of:

JAZZ FOR TWO

[bellarkeandclintashaandsuch]

Close Friend 3

I’m kinda digging Close Friend 3 so far! I’m not sure how BL it’ll be, but it’s fun. Of the 5 trainees, two kissed in a flashback that only one seems to remember (longer rainbow hair Win and green hair Dunk, I think. Still working on names). But I’m really hoping red haired leader Best and shorter rainbow hair (handcuffed to a random older lady) Earth are going to be a thing. Because they were definitely red and blue coded in episode 1. And apparently there has been High KEy Drama between them since Best became the leader of their group and Earth starting “acting out.” I’m unclear on what the acting out was. But he does keep suggesting they do illegal things like dine and dash and illegally board a train, instead of asking for help like the others go with. So I’m Interested! And they all, as far as I can tell, dyed each other’s hair after drunkenly breaking into a hair salon. So that's cute. Because their company wouldn’t allow them to dye their hair. So gotta do that now that they’re fired. Also couldn’t get tattoos and at least one now has a back tattoo. Or have social media, but at least a couple do now. Or date anyone, so we’ll see 👀

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - The Industry is Having Issues But the Spice Spicy Must Flow

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

March 2024 Wk 4

Ongoing Series - Thai

Two Worlds (Thurs IQIYI) eps 1-2 of 10 - One of those "he's dead Jim so time travel" thingames starring MaxNat. I'm over this concept but I do enjoy MaxNat. Phupha (Gun) and Khram (Nat) love each other but Phupha is murdered. Then Khram is pulled to a parallel world where, years ago, Khram and Tai (Max) were in love. However, Khram was killed by Tai’s dad. Now Tai finds alter-Khram. But then there is ALSO an alter-Phupha to deal with. (Phupha is played by Gun Thanawat who was Khom, the repressed butler bodyguard from Unforgotten Night. We like this, but we scared of the love triangle aspect.) Did that make sense? Yeah, okay, see what I mean?

Initial thoughts?

The subs are troubling but I’m enjoying this show a lot. It’s nice to see MaxNat get something meaty to sink their teeth into - that’s not just each other. Also it’s so smart of them to give us a fully fleshed out entire episode developing the alter romance rather than just a separation + death. It makes Khram’s grief and motivation that much more believable. Also it’s really nice to see Nat have good chemistry with other actors. 

Deep Night (Thurs iQiyi) ep 3 of 8 (10?) - I'm still enjoying it. But Two Worlds is objectively better. So this one has lost ranking. Also, unexpectedly chili (the name of my heavy metal Thai cover band).

Lovey switchy and verse main couple too.

This is all quite pleasing.

The bit where the hosts pretend to be a BL couple actor ship was epic on so many levels.

Also unsettling.

All sex work is performative, and in a way there is something more honest about this depiction, in this setting, than what BL actors are made to do on the promo circuit. Which then begs the question, how different is BL from sex work? That's the unsettling bit, for me anyway. Not to slam on sex work AT ALL, we pro-the-true-pros on this damn blog, but actors have been shaded by association with True Professionals for a very long time and BL has already had one epic shut down in this regard. (See the PerthSaint scandal around Love By Chance, no I will not explain.) Where was I? Oh yes, so anyway, see the Gossip section for the part where they better be paid either way!

Also, since I'm a warped fucker, I found this scene funny.

And then hilarious when all of those BL tropes were just trotted out. Like a greatest hits reel.

Truly beyond meta. (How Absolute BL of them.)

Note he’s even standing in yaoi's patented "hands in pocket with the shoulders back"? 

Meanwhile, the gayest bridge in Thailand made its quarterly appearance:

And lip serviced was paid to the most touristy romantic things you can do in Bangkok.

And I mean lip service literally. 

To Be Continued (Thai C3 Thailand grey) ep 5 of 8 - I’m still enjoying it but getting more and more nervous. We getting too close to Promise territory for comfort. EXPLAIN Ji’s reticence well and do it now or risk audience mistrust. We have to be given a GOOD reason for Ji's behavior, or he'll be irredeemable.

City of Stars (Fri iQIYI) ep 8 of 12 - NO SINGING. Yes smiley kisses and good communication and a nice healthy relationship. But no singing!

1000 Years Old ep 6 of 12 - Dropping in the ranks. I’m sorry it’s just gotten boring. It has, however, inspired me to invest in my own ridiculous cream fuzzy sweater. Which I plan to wear with leather trousers and huge stumpy boots, like the Kpop queer I truly am. Or do I mean vampire? 

Kiseki Chapter 2 (Sun iQIYI) ep 1 of 6 - Seems to be an excuse for a small posse of Thai actors to wander around Tokyo playing tourist and sing in public . Someone stop them?

“Most people think this kind of thing is bad manners .”

Anyway, it’s v boring. I’ll give it one more ep but I suspect I’ll DNF.

Close Friend Season 3: Soju Bomb! (Weds iQIYI) eps 1-2 of 6 - Meh. This is also looking suspiciously DNF-a-licious.  

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Unknown (Taiwan Tues Youku YouTube & Viki) ep 5 of 11 - It's brilliant. I love it. I'm ready to hurt. Let’s do this thing. 

Distribution note: This one has been picked up and is also airing on Viki now, so it may lose YT distribution in soem territories. I like Youku's hard subs better than Viki's subs, but that's a matter of preference not information since I don't speak Mandarin.

Love is Better the Second Time Around AKA Koi wo Suru nara Nidome ga Joto (Japan Weds Gaga) ep 3 of 6 - It is good. Every week I like this show a little more. I'm enjoying a reunion romance explored in Japan's quintessentially contemplative yet slightly surreal way. The juxtaposition of the tenderness of the sex scene with this Japanese brand of authenticity was oddly elegant - for lack of a better way of putting it. All in all, this is a good show. Thought provoking. Stylish.

AntiReset (Taiwan Fri Viki/Gaga) ep 9 of 10 - It remains lovely but they sure are reusing a lot of footage. Also, this was a classic penultimate doom episode. I do wonder how they are going to resolve this show ethically.

My Strawberry Film (Japan Thurs Gaga) ep 6 of 8 - It is what it is, and it isn’t my style of show no matter what country of origin. Oddly that's one of the reasons I don't like it. Anyone could have made this, it's not as Japanese as I want it to be, it's just indie film club high school angst. Yawn.

I watched it, finally

The Servant and the Young Master (Vietnam YouTube) 7 eps - I dislike vertical filming, but I kind of enjoyed this show as a BL. I like class conflict romances. For me the rich kid is a bit too dictatorial (edges into bulling), but it’s kinda works. It’s sparse and underdeveloped and a bit plotless, but mildly entertaining. If you're missing Vietnamese BL you might give it a try. 6/10 

Began Beginning (Myanmar YouTube) 8eps - A Burmese BL that I had thoughts about but actually ended up recommending. Read the saga here:

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...

Graduation Countdown (Taiwan YouTube) ep 1 of ? - on one hand it's micro-installment vertical, on the other it's adorable and from Taiwan. I blame @heretherebedork entirely for my conundrum. As indeed, I did for My Type back in the day. (That was Nat Chen's first BL, yes of Kiseki: Dear To Me fame.) So I think I will also simply lean on Here to let me know when it's done and binge all at once. It's just too much to ask me to keep up with 2 minute pieces, I don't have that kind of endurance training, not even for BL.

Time the series (Tue Gaga/YT) 10 eps - it's finished now, I dropped it at ep 4. Should I bother?

A Secretly Love (Thai Sat WeTV grey) 10 eps - I watched the first ep but grey is too much work for this inferior of a show. I may pick up and binge if it gets distribution but for now, it gets a DNF from me. KimCop might have held this crap together but Kim without Cop? No thank you.

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 for some reason.

Man Suang that MileApo vehicle from last year is coming to Netflix in the USA. I haven't heard much about it and since the KP stans would have lost their tiny minds if it was any good at all, I'm assuming it's not good at all.

Gossip

Thai BL actor Yoon breaks with his former company and talks about some very very VERY shady goings on in the Thai BL industry. Including not being paid.

And whacha know, same thing happening in Korean BL.

Have I mentioned recently how much I hate the film industry?

Next Week Looks Like This:

Starting Soon

3/31 Only Boo! (Thai GMMTV YouTube) 12 eps - New main couple for GMMTV in an idol romance about a boy who dances good and a food stand vendor. Other side of the tracks grumpy/sunshine pair who fall deeply in love but, of course, baby boy idol can't date. Boyband but from GMMTV? Control your singing and I'm game.

4/1 Love is like a Cat (Korea ????) 12 eps - This completed filming Aug 2022(!) which means there have been serious problems with post-production. This is another of Silkwood's Korean+Thai colab projects. Mew Suppasit plays a rookie film star, called the Cat Prince (for his cold arrogance) who goes up against a charismatic puppyish animal daycare director (JM of JUST B). There is also a side romance (love triangle?) with a veterinarian. Geonu of JUST B is also in the cast.

I wonder if this was part of the hold up, with Geonu on Build Up right now, they might have tried to muffle this one. Or maybe it's just that bad...

4/3 We Are (Thai GMMTV YouTube) 12 eps - 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!

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), Best and frest face, 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

Without ghost girl.

With ghost girl.

I think she may be my favorite part of 1000 Years.

CLASSIC tsundere seme description of a sunshine uke. Like classic'est of classic. (Two Worlds)

Is there such a thing as a tired trope in a BL? Since it is a genre that is made up entirely of tropes quilted together? Your philosophical question for today brought to you by Deep Night's kabedon (Japanese trope) + punishment threat (Thai trope).

Love me a lap sit moment. (City of Stars)

(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

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

[gunsatthaphan]

~ Monthly BL Breakdown: March 2024 ~ 

🌦️ Happy April!!! 🐝

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

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

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

🌟 Love is Better the Second Time Around - March 5th (Japan) 

🌟 Deep Night - March 7th (Thailand) 

🌟 Your Tie is Crooked - March 11th (Japan/Thailand)

🌟 Close Friend 3: Soju Bomb! - March 13th (Thailand)

🌟 Kiseki Chapter 2 - March 17th (Thailand)

🌟 Two Worlds - March 21st (Thailand) ✅

🌟 High Demand - March 23rd (Thailand) 

🌟 Be Your Star - March 23rd (Thailand)

🌟 Jazz For Two - March 26th (South Korea)

🌟 The Star - March 28th (Thailand) 

🌟 Please Teach Me - March 29th (South Korea)

🌟 Only Boo! - March 31st (Thailand) ✅

Monthly likes/dislikes

❣️ ø

👎🏻 ø

New series & movie announcements

🎥 Babanbabanban Vampire (manga adaption) - Coming 2025 (Japan)

🎥 My Lovely Enemy - Date TBA (Thailand)

🎥 My Dear Daddy (starring Fluke Pusit) - Date TBA (Thailand)

🎥 Battle of the Writers (starring TutorYim) - Date TBA (Thailand)

🎥 Meet You at the Blossom - Date TBA (Taiwan/Thailand)

🎥 Silent House - Date TBA (China)

🎥 This Love Doesn't Have Long Beans - Coming July 5th (Thailand)

🎥 What the Nong - Date TBA (Thailand)

🎥 Night Owl - Date TBA (China)

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

🎥 GG Precinct - Date TBA (Taiwan)

🎥 Sangmin & Dinneaw (Thai/Korean collaboration) - Date TBA (Thailand/South Korea)

🎥 Let's Eat Together 2 (sequel movie) - Coming June 2024 (Japan)

🎥 Global Examination - Date TBA (Taiwan)

🎥 Yaoi Academy - Date TBA (Thailand)

Other news from the BL world

❗️ Actor Jes Jespipat was announced as the replacement for Build Jakapan in the upcoming Be On Cloud BL 4 Minutes. B. previously withdrew from the project after a defamation lawsuit involving him and his ex girlfriend in 2023. The project is now in production and will likely air towards the end of the year.

❗️ Actor Maiake Kandis announced his withdrawal from the upcoming BL Red Peafowl. He was originally cast as one of the leads, being paired with Dollar Patchara. He later came forward saying his statement was fake news and that he is in fact not withdrawing. He also said he does not know if or when the production will start.

❗️ Former GMMTV actor Fluke Pusit (The Shipper, The Warp Effect) was announced as the lead actor in the upcoming BL Your Dear Daddy. He will star alongside Poonpun Jitaboon, an air date is unknown.

❗️ Domundi actors TutorYim (Cutie Pie, Middlemans Love) were announced as the leads in the upcoming BL Battle of the Writers. The show will be produced by Hydroindus Entertainment and is based on the Chinese novel "The Great Battle of Games". The full cast was announced on March 9th; an airdate as well as further information on the show is unknown.

❗️ Lay Talay and Perth Nakhun (My Engineer) reunited for a mini series called Your Tie is Crooked, consisting of 3 episodes à 2 minutes. It was released on the Japanese streaming platform TVer on March 11th.

❗️ The premiere of the upcoming BL Wuju Bakery has been postponed to September. It was originally scheduled to air in March, though due to an increase of the episode length and general production upscaling, the original air date is no longer realizable, according to the production.

❗️ Change 2561 (Pit Babe) announced an upcoming original BL called This Love Doesn't Have Long Beans. Sailub and Pon (AlanJeff in PB) will star as the lead couple, alongside GarfieldBenz and others. A first trailer was released on March 20th.

❗️ Actor Yoon Phusanu revealed that he has left his management under Y Entertainment, following a dispute about his appearance in the 2023 Thai BL For Him. In a press conference he stated that the production cut his part completely and refused to pay him in the process. Main actors Dew N. and Tor A. later disclosed that they also encountered the issue of not receiving payment for their work from the company, along with accusations of se*ual assault from members of the production team. In an official statement Y Entertainment clarified they would transfer the actor's salaries as soon as possible.

❗️ The GMMTV BL Cherry Magic reached more than 1.7 million tweets for the final episode and a total of over 9 Million tweets for all 12 episodes, making it the gmmtv show with the most Twitter interaction in the history of the company.

❗️ The upcoming Korean remake of the Norwegian teen web series SKAM is officially in production. A short teaser was released on March 28th, revealing the title of the project: Fragile. An airdate, as well as a cast and further information is unknown.

Upcoming series & movies for April

👉🏻 Love is Like a Cat - April 1st (South Korea / Thailand)

👉🏻 We Are - April 3rd (Thailand)

👉🏻 Memory in the Letter - April 6th (Thailand)

👉🏻 Living With Him - April 11th (Japan)

👉🏻 Gray Shelter - April 11th (South Korea)

👉🏻 At 25:00 in Akasaka - April 18th (Japan)

👉🏻 Boys Be Brave - April 19th (South Korea)

👉🏻 With You I Bloom - April 24th (Japan)

👉🏻 My Stand-In - April 26th (Thailand)

👉🏻 Knock Knock Boys - April TBA (Thailand)

👉🏻 GMMTV2024 Part 2 (lineup event) - April TBA (Thailand)

[pharawee]

🖇️BL WATCHLIST MARCH

🎬To Be Continued - 3PLUS | NETFLIX - I won't be able to watch this as it airs which doesn't stop me from making heart eyes at Fluke Pongsapat. 🥰

🎬Close Friend 3: Soju Bomb - GAGAOOLALA - I really like this one so far actually.

🎬1000 Years Old - GAGAOOLALA - New favourite show detected.

🎬Two Worlds - IQIYI - Here for my cheesy mystical fantasy lakorn with Gun and Pak.

🎬Deep Night - IQIYI - This show is taking over from Playboyy (same slot, different company) and that hopefully means we won't go thirsty on spicy Thursday.

🎬City of Stars - IQIYI - This is going to be my new low-stakes comfort BL - in best Star Hunter tradition.

🎬A Secretly Love - WeTV - My long awaited oldschool uni BL with Kut and Kimmon is finally coming. If this doesn't have an inter release I'll cry.

🖇️COMING UP

⭐High Demand - YOUTUBE - I have no recollection of wanting to watch this. Apparently it's a movie (?) by Jinloe. Yikes.

⭐The Star - YOUTUBE - Another wayufilm indie production. If you like realism and grounded stories then be sure to give this a try.

🖇️FINISHED

🎬Dead Friend Forever | DFF - IQIYI - And maybe they're still trapped in that house to this day. The End.

🎬Time - GAGAOOLALA - I still don't understand what this series even was.

➕ MDL | ABOUT | ALL WATCHLISTS | COMMENTARY TAG | THAI BL NOVELS

[jmdbjk]

Mid-year recalibration

It's been a year since Festa Dinner 2022. A LOT HAS HAPPENED SINCE THEN.

And on January 1, 2023, I posted my "predictions" for the year. "Predictions" in quotes because most everything I write is sort of slightly unserious, not to be taken TOO seriously, begs for you to please use your common sense... also I haz a little sarcasm dripping here and there when I express my thoughts. Drip, drip.

So let's see the status of my "predictions":

Solo albums... wellll, I sort of got that right, Jimin's FACE was released before Yoongi's D-Day. We're still waiting for Tae and Jungkook. RM keeps putting off enlistment to work on new music. I'm gonna have to drag him by the ear to training camp... get yer ass in there so you can come back sooner than later!! But we did get to see him for Festa and I'm thankful for that.

New prediction: Jungkook comes through with a chart topper that doesn't involve a collab.

Speaking of Tae, I said he'd do more acting before music and though it's not really acting, he's been in a few reality TV shows: "In the Soop: Friendcation" and "Jinny's Kitchen." There are rumors he was spotted on the set of a K-drama and now possibly he was in Spain for a movie...or was that for an upcoming solo MV? Surely he'll have at least a little bit of music before he enlists? Honestly, I wouldn't mind seeing him actually acting in a drama... we wait.

New prediction: Piano bar listening party for his solo release.

Military enlistment... wow so far I've struck out. Joon is still hanging around. Yoongi has extended his world tour (which I'm happy to say I've been to a concert). And HOBI IS ALREADY ENLISTED....

😭

So 3 strikes I'm out because obviously their enlistment timing is unpredictable. Right now I'm just hoping that by May 2024 (yes almost a year from now) they'll all be in so we can have a New Year group reunion on Dec. 31, 2025. Of course, I hope they go much sooner though it kills me to know we have to watch them enlist again and again.

My other predictions were hit and miss:

Yoongi did cut his hair so I was wrong about that. Also sad. I loved his long hair. And this NBA ambassadorship came outta left field. The D-Day world tour was the bomb he dropped on us, his big project. Oh well, guess there won't be any tangerine soju coming from his non-existent citrus orchards. Ha!

Hobi DID release more music, On the Street, and it WAS a collab with J. Cole. AND he became fashion ambassador for his fave: Louis Vuitton. God I miss him so much. Instagram is so quiet without him. Everything is so quiet without him.

We finally got PJM1 and it has a name now, FACE and Like Crazy has broken records. Jimin as an artist has broken records as we knew he would and he is still making music. And he's travelling the world being a Dior and Tiffany ambassador and snatching everyone's wig, eating everyone alive and just being Jimin. His constant happy smile has been the most meaningful thing to me this year. I'm so thrilled he is happy.

Jungkook... the Bunkoo has stumped me. The Calvin Klein contract is amazing. His spontaneous lives have been wonderful. Cooking for us has been awesome. None of that could have been predicted. He's the sweetest king of spoilers and support for Jimin's stuff. I also did not predict I would love him even more this year. But here we are.

NOT ON THE PREDICTION RADAR WHATSOEVER:

Jimin on a Fast & Furious franchise soundtrack collab. I NEED MORE JIMIN!

Tae and Jennie "soft" revealing their relationship publicly. Like WHAT? But they did that.

Also blonde Tae... I never thought we'd see a blonde Tannie again.

Attending a Suga/Agust D concert and meeting up with Army friends I met on the internet. HIGHLIGHT OF THE YEAR!

[I can't believe I saw Yoongi in real life. This close.]

2023 is already half way over. I have no idea what will happen this second half of 2023. It's a mystery.

As much as I am reveling in having so much to look forward to every day and every week, and as much as I wish this didn't have to happen...I (selfishly) really want them to get enlisted so they can be back together as soon as possible in 2025 (at any point in 2025). The first time I see them together in 2025, I am going to cry with relief. However I am always the first to say BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR so I know I shouldn't even been saying any of that...

Anyway...

I guess at the end of December, I will be looking back and saying "well, who would have thought THAT would happen?" More of "not on the prediction radar." By December, Jin will only have six months left. Time is flying faster than I thought it would when back on June 13, 2022. After that heartbreaking Festa dinner, we were staring down a bleak two and a half years of being Bangtan-less....well that didn't happen did it?

[heretherebedork]

In ongoing news, they forgot to put the gay in the show they advertised as a BL and that's just a crime.

Anyway, Close Friends 3 continues to be pointless and very not-gay.

[becauseimanicequeen]

So, Win is the real (and only) winner in Close Friend Season 3 Soju Bomb! so far considering he seems to have kissed two of the other boys.

[save-the-data]

Close Friend Season 3: Soju Bomb! | S03E05

Thai Drama - 2024, 6 episodes

Episodes | GAGA | Viki | YouTube | iQIYI | WeTV | Tencent | Youku | Catalogue

Told you, Win kissed everyone. But that was also sweet with Auntie and her love story.

[blnewsforum-by-blbambeyond]

March 2024 NEW UPCOMING BL SERIES..LETS GO...This is what March has in store...so far.

Title: LOVE IS BETTER THE 2ND TIME AROUND.

From: JAPAN

Available on: Gagaoolala

On: Wednesday March 6

Title: BORN TO BE Y

From: Thailand

Available on:

On: Wednesday March 6....possibly

Title: DEEP NIGHT

From: Thailand

Available on: IQIYI

On: Thursday March 7

Title: CLOSE FRIEND 3: SOJU BOMB

From: Thailand

Available: Gagaoolala and Viu

On: Wednesday March 13

Title: TWO WORLDS

From: Thailand

Available on: IQIYI

On: Thursday March 21

Title: WUJU BAKERY

From: Thailand-Korea

Available on: NO INFORMATION

On: TBA

Title: BLOSSOM CAMPUS

From: South Korea (Strongberry)

Available on: Strongberry YouTube Channel

On: TBA

@pose4photoml