#the trainee ep 6

[themundanedumpling]

I CAN'T BELIEVE HE SNATCHED AWAY A JAR OF COOKIES FROM A CHILD LMAOOOOO

[hughungrybear]

Oh, look. It's a 2-for-1 queer awakening/existential crisis work hour 😂😂😂

[jojotichakorn]

obsessed with how much more natural ba-mhee looks and sounds here in comparison to when she is with her boyfriend. her sweet voice sounds genuine rather than put-on and she is smiling so effortlessly.

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - The Summer Games BLgin.

Organized, in each category, with ones I'm enjoying most at the top. Those Greeks did have that reputation for naked dudes rolling around together so I'm declaring it...

BL OLYMPICS!

I'll be passing out metals in various sporting events, as part of the weekly updates through mid August, just for funzies.

July 2024 Week 4

Ongoing Series - Thai

The Rebound (Weds Gaga) eps 9-10 of 12 - I guess mass murder is nothing next to having to raise funds for your basketball club. There were a lot of water sports in these eps (no not that kind). I’m not complaining. The street BB playoffs were fun. Frank is GOOD. I didn’t know he played. They aren’t using doubles for this. Meanwhile, it’s a bummer this one can’t be a poly romance. 

Winner!

Gold in Handball

for that shower scene in ep 9 (also... ya know, DUNK TANKS)

Balls in hands of all types.

Briefly must chat about that intro/outro music. It's like Thai autotuned Stray Kids. Which means I kinda adore it.

Century of Love (Weds Gaga) eps 5-6 of 10 - I guess he’s had a long time to learn how to fight really really well. This is a fun show. It does occasionally feel like a bunch of gay boys playing dress up. I LIKE P’Third a lot. I hope he doesn’t turn out to be an actual baddie. I’m finding the music a little intrusive in these episodes. I love the deconstructed suits look, and the velvet blazer. Very 90s. The confessions scene was very cute. It’s a good thing Vee is so easy-going, because the last few months of his life have been truly insane. And now he’s queen of the castle? Still working his convenience store job?

I honestly thought we'd just get kisses halfway through not a full on sex scene. But it was very sweet and tender. Appreciated, boys, thanks. However it’s never a good sign when the sex scene is it at the halfway point, it just means there’s gonna be a lot of trauma to come.

(I gotta say every time Daou smiles he actually looks his age.) 

This Love Doesn't Have Long Beans (Fri iQIYI) ep 4 of 8 - I like them now. I mean as a pair of characters. I wasn’t really sold on the main couple until this episode, and now I’m interested (yes I am shallow). The boy with the glasses is definitely sus. I’m quite drunk, thus I have to say Sailub is the hottest thing on my screen right now. Metas's taste in interior design sucks. OK, that physical therapy session was sexy. I wasn’t sold at first, but now I love this side couple too.

Argh. SailubPon kiss so well. Also COUNTER LIFT!!!! 

Silver in Weightlifting

Sunset X Vibes (Sat iQIYI) ep 7 of 12 - I’m the one who always says this stuff, but this pair might be the best at relationship heat. Let me try to explain. They are good at putting on screen the kind of NRE, want to bone, just really into each other physically and also connected and loving. It’s the way their bodies always arch towards each other. They’re very comfortable in each other’s space in a way that’s really rare to see out of Any BL country but Taiwan. I think they might be my favorite couple currently active. I don’t know how to put it except that

it looks like they want each other,

it looks like they like each other,

it looks like they’re into each other,

and it looks like they GET each other.

It’s nice to see on screen. The plots/stories/narratives that they're given aren’t doing them any favors, but man they’re a good pair. Meanwhile, was I screaming the whole time don’t rip the sample of the custom piece? Yes I was. But it was still sexy.

Sam getting discovered was fun! Yo is gonna burn his arse good.

My Love Mix-Up Th (Fri YT) ep 8 of 12 - Okay! Officially boyfriends. I almost like the friendship btw Atom and Mudmee better than the romances. But they all so cute. 

The Trainee (Sun YouTube) ep 4 of 12 - I hate the gf intern so much. I think she is past redemption now - time for death. What is it they say about ADs? they do all the work, for none of the credit but all of the blame.

Knock Knock Boys (Thurs Gaga) ep 10 of 12 - I guess Peak’s dad really is that awful. Jane is the beard? Got it. The show got suddenly quite sweet and complex. Where did that come from? Meanwhile ,Almond + Latte + sex education is awesome. Great trope we rarely get in BL. 

Love Sea (Sun iQIYI) ep 7 of 10 - Look, what’s really annoying me is that I am neither upset nor pleased with the show. I like to be driven one way or the other by Meme. Trash watch here. (delayed this week, I can't face it)

I Saw You in My Dream (Weds Gaga) ep 1-2 of 12 - Out the gate I don’t like it. I don’t really like the teasing thing and the acting is poor. That said, neck kisses in the very first episode do make me happy. So I’m gonna keep watching. As for ep 2, I like the sides, and we have gay brothers trope activated. I also like the paranormal element, it adds some much-needed tension, but it is still a little slow (typical of a pulp).

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

I Hear the Sunspot AKA Hidamari ga Kikoeru (Japan Weds Gaga) ep 6 of 10 - I like our poor lost puppy slowly figuring out what’s going on. It’s so elegantly done. Also, the the boy begs his quiet seme to SAY something, you know he’s gonna DO something instead. 

I could have done wihtout the pan around the head kiss. We over that, 8 years ago.

Takara's Treasure AKA Takara No Vidro (Japan Mon Gaga) ep 4 of 10 - Why don’t I like this show? I had to think about it quite a bit. It’s the power differential. I never enjoy it when the character with less power is the one doing the pursuing, it comes off as too desperate or something. In this case he is: from the country, poor, and younger, It just makes Takara’s dismissive attitude and snobbery unpleasant to watch. Also, you know me, =/= obsessive stalker behavior. 

It's airing but...

Bad Guy (Korea YT) - yeah, erm, no thank you.

4 Minutes (Thai Netflix/Grey) ep... - Great, a rich boy studying business at uni, suddenly gains the supernatural power to see four minutes into the future. I try to catch up next week.

I have a source, but I simply didn’t have time to watch it. So sorry. Too much traveling too much BL to keep up with. A perfect conflation of conflicting priorities.

Meet You at the Blossom (China) - it's your funeral (or, more likely, one of the main characters'). You can argue but... statistics. You know my feelings on this matter. MY BLOG, remember?

64.media.tumblr.com

In case you missed it

The Time of Fever AKA Unintentional Love Story 2 (Korea movie) trailer IS COMING IN SEPTEMBER!!!!

Next Week Looks Like This:

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.

Coming Up Next!

7/29 Battle of the Writers (Thai ????) - trailer here, TutorYim return, and while I adore them, I really hope this is better than Middleman's Love. Won't be hard. However: the premise? Ugh. Something something authors fighting - save me. Why don't writers understand that nothing is more boring than writers?

8/4 Sugar Dog Life (Japan Sun ????) 10 eps - OMG a uni student who looks too young and a... COP. GAH. The subversion and kink of it all. Please Gaga pick this one up? They made it for US.

8/7 Cosmetic Playlover (Japan Weds ????) 8 eps - office romance around the makeup counter featuring a younger seme and sex by blackmail. I am intrigued. DFTUJ (don't fuck this up, Japan).

8/8 Monster Next Door (Thai Thurs WeTV ) 12 eps - I am so DAMN excited to see Big finally lead a BL. I can't even with this, one of my most anticipated of this year. He's a great kisser ya'll, he's kissed a lot of boys as second lead. I can't WAIT.

8/12 First Note Of Love (Taiwan Mon Gaga) 12 eps - About a singer with stage fright and his timid fan stars Charles (H4 the puppy one) and Michael Chang (the youngster in My Tooth Your Love), plus side couple featuring a Thai actor Jame (Koh in Gen Y) and Liu Min Ting (of Guardian fame). What a damn tean. I can't wait. With thier powers combined!

8/16 The Last Time (Thai Fri YT) ? eps - Convoluted story of loss and possible reincarnation or something.

8/22 The Paradise of Thorns (Thai movie) theater release - Jeff Satur is back but this does not look like a BL (the gay lover's death is the inciting event). More in Goodbye Mother vein. Looks dark and dramatic. He opposite and extremely well known actor Toey Pongsakorn who has never done gay before.

Addicted Heroin (Thailand adaptation) is also supposed to release this month. GIVE IT TOO MEEEEEE. I don't care about anything else but August back on my screen. It's been almost a decade since he did BL.

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

This week's adventures in caption "out of" and "off" are not the same thing. This is an uncomfortable thought.

I'm so tired I'm seeing double. This is all you get.

(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 a pain.

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

Sigh, Tumblr in it's infinite wisdom doesn't like too many tags.

Sports in Play (the jokes write themselves) )

Boxing

Breaking

(That's Not) Cricket

Diving (yes, for that)

Fencing (yes, with those)

Handball (exactly what it says, no, read the word.. again)

Rhythmic Gymnastics (obvs)

Squash (snicker)

Surfing

Swimming

Trampoline

Weightlifting

Wrestling

[thebvbbletea]

"I'd love to have a partner who's good at massaging though"

— Kapook Ploynira & Piploy Kanyarat as Judy & Ba-Mhee in The Trainee The Series ep. 6

[dribs-and-drabbles]

It was a big day on Sunday for the Thai Communal Wardrobe in ep 11 of The Trainee. As @pigglepiephi said, there was some strong Only Friends energy going on, with 6 of the 7 items of shared clothing having also appeared in that show.

First, I knew from the series trailer that Nick's sweater would show up

Then @respectthepetty paged me about Boston's 'Make Love Not War shirt

Before @pigglepiephi pointed out the first of Ray's shirts worn by Pie

Followed by @k-white who also spotted the second

But the two that were a bit harder to recognise were worn by Nine. First Boeing's cardigan

And then Mew's cardigan but in a different colour.

Incidentally, this cardigan was first worn by Uea in Bed Friend and has also been worn by six others in Cherry Magic Th, The Outing, To Be Continued, Wandee Goodday, This Love Doesn't Have Long Beans, and My Dear Gangster Oppa. Alongside the light and dark blue it also comes in brown, and in short-sleeves, and has also been used in the pilot trailers for two other series.

And lastly, the one item not from Only Friends was Ryan's Daddy shirt, also worn by August in Last Twilight

[sanvees]

I just don't understand how you like S*l? He is actually right up there with T**g for being the worst. There is nothing good about him, sorry.

i don't understand the wild and weird hate against sol (or even remotely comparing him to tong) but here we are, anon. like if joe out right saying sol is a good person can't convince ya'll... idk why you're asking me?

anyway... you asked for my thoughts and opinions, so you shall receive.

sol is just a really interesting dude to me. he's just some guy that i think is really neat. he's a thai kpop idol and FAMOUS famous but he isn't like tong about it. he's kind and just a really good-hearted person. he's the sunny type, cheerful, caring, and loyal to his friends. like joe, sol is a sunflower in the toxic showbiz world msi is set in.

(tbh i see him and ming, who is also a fascinating character, as kind of two sides of the same "rich and famous" coin. ming is cold, aloof, calculating with walls as high as elon crust's ego is inflated. and then there is sol, open and kind-hearted. which is exactly why he and joe hit it off. funny though, ming and sol are petty but like on completely opposite ends of the petty spectrum.)

after lovingly bugging @zhouxiangs for novel spoilers i really wished the series had touched more on sol and joe's history instead of just a few throwaway lines here and there because sol's story ;3; my smol bean of a son. (and this is where media literacy and nuance comes in :D but y'all barely have any of that.)

joe and sol were very close . they ate, trained, and slept (sleeping type of slept lol) together. they did everything together. and then sol found out joe was gay (in the novel sol was also struggling with his sexuality) and then joe confessed to sol. joe liked sol first (not this weird warped reality y'all are living in where sol has been obsessing over joe). but anyway, sol was young and scared and dumb. he was afraid of being taken advantage of and also of his own feelings for joe and he ran away. joe got over it and never held it against him.

while in korea, it seemed that sol struggled to connect with people and went through some tough times as a trainee (i'm quoting from porsche's interview) and he realized his true feelings for joe so when he had the chance to return to thailand he took it and he sought out joe to reconnect. as a friend, as more.

was he supposed to have some sort of psychic link with joe that he was already seeing someone? obviously not. but when joe made it clear he liked ming, sol backed off romantically. he didn't back off as a friend though. (idk about y'all friendless gremlins but if one of my close friends was in the situationship from hell that joe was in... i'd also try and make them see reason, open their eyes. like sol once having feelings for joe does not diminish his friendship with joe. at all. (yes the scene of joe and sol in the van in ep 6 means everything to me. joe and sol were friends, brothers even. and that scene showed it.)

fyi, novel sol recognized joe too :D

ANYWAY, it was interesting to see the change in sol after joe's death. he isn't his usual cheerful self, but he's still kind and polite if a bit more reserved. and i for one love the cattiness with ming he has going on? LEAVE MING ALONE i see y'all shouting but me I WANT HIM TO PUNCH MING IN THE NUTS ONCE (if y'all can project, so can i) like ming deserves to catch a bit of shit from sol (his 'khun chai ming' sent meeee), since his and tong's bullshit directly contributed to the death of his best friend.

is sol perfect? no. (the fight with ming where joe got hurt. or the phone call scene that resulted in joe effectively being cut out of sol's life. again.) but are any of these characters perfect? absolutely not.

sol though is strangely villainized and for what? because he's trying to help and protect his friend (and is maybe being snotty with ming but... deserved tbh lol)? because he might be feeling a little righteous and fafo with the guy who took his friend away from him? because he once had feelings for joe but then redirected them into being a decent human and a good friend?

sponsored by: @zhouxiangs and porsche/lotte interview with iqiyi.

[daevastanner]

P R E L U D E

This is the love story of an orphaned priestess and a heartbroken spymaster. It is not for the poets or the scribes, but rather, for the dreamers. For those who look at the stars from the bars of a cell or the stained glass of a temple, and wish.

P A R T I

“You should be with someone who’s crazy about you, Jess.”

“That’d be really nice if it was coming from someone who hadn’t just punched me in the face.”

– Nick and Jess in Elizabeth Meriwether’s “New Girl” ep. 6 s. 2, directed by Jesse Peretz

“You’re not staying?” Nesta asked.

Azriel averted his gaze, straightening his bracers. For whatever reason, answering her question felt like he was confessing a secret. “No, I promised Berdara I’d give her a private lesson in dagger handling.”

To his relief, both Nesta and Cassian were both too preoccupied with the decrepit mortal village he’d winnowed them to to notice his unease. Why admitting such an arbitrary detail felt so disconcerting was beyond Azriel. He was Gwyn’s trainer after all. Trainers met with trainees one on one to help them further their skills all the time.

“I’ll be back in an hour,” Azriel said mildly.

He didn’t linger, allowing his shadows to swathe him in darkness and winnow him away.

Between one blink and the next, the shadows dissipated and Azriel found himself in open air outside the House of Wind. He spread his wings and banked forward, allowing the wind to carry him towards the opening that led to the training ring. Swooping downward, preparing to land, he saw Gwyneth Berdara already within.

As soon as his boots made contact with the ground, Azriel snapped his wings in, jogging to a stop when he realized the priestess was leisurely twirling a blade far too long and far too heavy for her.

His brows pulled together as he started across the ring towards her.

She was smiling at him, blissfully unaware that she was one wrong movement from seriously injuring herself.

Closing the distance between them, Azriel held out his palm, “Give me that.”

At the flat tone in his voice, Gwyn surrendered the dagger with a bemused expression. “My apologies, Shadowsinger.”

Azriel sent the weapon floating back to the weapon’s rack on a tendril of shadow, then reached into the bin of wooden sparring daggers, removing two. He handed one to Gwyn with a serious look. “Not only was that entirely the wrong size, but you could’ve put out your eye.”

Just saying the words gave him heart palpitations. Gwyneth Berdara had been through enough without carelessly blinding herself, or gods forbid, giving herself a nasty scar.

Gwyn’s expression was playfully grave. “Well, thank you for saving my best feature. I’d hate to lose it.”

While Azriel agreed that Gwyn’s eyes were certainly beautiful, he didn’t believe them to be her best feature. Her best feature, in his opinion at least, were her freckles. They dotted her skin like constellations in the night sky, reminding him vaguely of the stars he used to glimpse between the bars of his cell. They’d always given him hope during the dark days of his childhood. Much like Gwyneth Berdara. Because if Azriel had ruthlessly slaughtered four of Hybern’s soldiers and it had saved the life of someone so good, maybe there was hope for his soul after all.

Read the rest on ao3

@almosttenaciousmoon @vikingmagic33 @mystical-blaise @hlizr50 @headcanonheadcase @beaumaismortel

[ateez-himari]

'HIMARI' PROFILE

... BASICS

Stage Name: Himari (히마리) Birth Name: Min Himari (민 히마리) Korean Name: Min Ha-Yun (민 하윤) Nicknames: Sunshine, KQ's Princess, The Siren, Korea's Angel, White Swan, Hima/Hime, The Holy Maknae, God's Touch, Hand of Midas (w/ Yoongi)

Representative Animal: Tiger 🐯 MBTI Type: INFP Position(s): Lead vocalist, Sub-rapper, Producer, Maknae

Date of Birth: November 23, 2001 Birth Place: Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture, Japan Association: Yeoheung Min Clan & Fujiwara Clan (Hokke) Family: Min Won-Shik (father, 1965-2012), Konoe Asuka (mother, 1970-2012), Min Hanzo (older brother), Adoptive Mother, Adoptive Father, Min Geum-Jae (adoptive older brother), Min Yoongi (adoptive older brother)

Blood Type: O Height: 157cm (5'2")

... CAREER

・As of September 2024, Himari has 199 KOMCA credits

・Was the first 4th generation artist promoted to a full Korea Music Copyright Association (KOMCA) membership in 2022

・Established as an official producer for SHINee member, Taemin, following the release of 'Never Gonna Dance Again : Act 1'.

・Joined JYPE in late 2014 to be part of girl group Twice but was deemed too young to debut after 10 months of training

・Was the first trainee to join Hongjoong at KQ Entertainment and the last to join ATEEZ - following survival show 'Last Qing'

・Became a producer during 'TREASURE EP.1: All to Zero' with credits on 'Stay', 'Twilight', 'Treasure' and 'My Way'

・Officially a part of ATEEZ's 'Demon Line' alongside Hongjoong, Seonghwa and San

・Made a special appearance on the 6th episode of MNet's show 'Good Girl', aired June 18 2020, to perform a cover of Dreamcatcher's 'Red Sun' against the cast.

・Made her acting debut in the K-Drama 'Hellbound' where she played the role of Jin Hee-Jeong. She then obtained the lead role in 'Where We Fall' alongside Yunho in September of 2023.

・She sang the OST 'Suzume' for the animated movie 'Suzume no Tojimari', 'Long Black Night' for K-Drama 'The Glory', 'Rewrite Me' for 'Where We Fall' and 'Blue' for 'The Killing Vote'

・Her fans are called 'Hirangies' which is a play on her representative animal called '호랑이' in Korean as well as her own name and '사랑' which means love.

... INTERESTS

・Her hobbies are traditional ink painting as well as photography and she enjoys leaning how to reform clothes from Hongjoong.

・Loves Studio Ghibli movies, her favorite being Grave of the Fireflies, and K-Dramas, her favorites being Death's Game, The Glory & My Name.

・Aside from the many groups whose fandoms she is a part of, there are quite a few soloists she tends to fangirl over, those being: Gemini, Penomeco, DPR Live, Han Seung Woo, Woodz, pH-1 and Zico. During her room tour in a recent live several albums of B.A.P could be seen resting on a shelf and she admitted to being a BABY whose bias is rapper/leader & soloist Bang Yongguk, whose albums were also spotted in her room. She calls herself a lucky fangirl as she has filmed the 'Bouncy' challenge with him as well as Woodz and Penomeco.

... HEALTH

・Was diagnosed with anxiety around 6 months following the group's debut, then a major depressive episode in the beginning of 2021.

・Suffers from hearing loss on her right side following a car collision costing the life of her biological parents - subsequently leaving scars on that side of her body.

・Has stress induced nightmares, though not as frequent as earlier in her career.

・Fractured her left ribs during a rehearsal for the first stage of 'Kingdom: Legendary War' in February of 2021, then again during the shooting of the 'Guerilla' music video in 2022. She received surgery in April 2024 following Coachella due to the risk of irreparable damage following several health complications.

・Since contracting COVID during the quarantine period she has had breathing problems which have permanently weakened her cardio and cause frequent needs for an oxygen mask especially when fatigued. The condition still remains unknown.

... MISCELLANEOUS

・Her favorite color is white because she feels like it is elegant, which is why she chose it as her microphone color.

・Her birth name means 'Sun' and her Korean name means 'Beautiful Summer' , chosen because the sun symbolizes hope

・The youngest of her brothers, Hanzo, is the National South Korean Soccer Team's captain and currently contracted with the PSG after leaving the Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors at the end of 2023

・When speaking quickly or passionately about something she tends to slip back into satoori (Daegu dialect)

・A palm reader stated that it was both her and Seonghwa's first life, which is why they approach things with such excitement.

・She can play the Koto (Japanese stringed instrument).

・The members tend to refer to her as '우리 Hime' which means 'Our Princess' using the Japanese word for the title and is also a play on words with Himari's shortened name.

・While other members claim that Halazia has one of the easiest choreographies, she finds it to be one of the hardest songs to perform as she has to sing background vocals through nearly the entire song while keeping up with the steps.

・Loves to cook but often tends to be careless when it comes to the amount of spice she puts in. In addition to this, she loves beef and hates any seafood that has a shell.

・Her ideal type is someone warm hearted with a sense of humor and who can accept her care when they need it.

[jenyifer]

The trainee ep 7 initial reaction

Okay so didn’t do an ep 6 cause idk I watched it but I was so worried about the GL plot I didn’t want to talk about it. However this week I have enough to NEVER watch that part of the ep again as girl who loves girls computer programmer. So I’m only gonna talk about it once.

LETS DO THE FUN PART OF THE PHOTO REVIEW NOW

Awww the butterfly walk lol nothing can go wrong today!!! Ryan fully in his fantasy after last ep and who can blame him. Go on Cinderella take your twirl on the cat walk.

Actually I think Jane has some insight about his reincarnated lover from previous lives hehe Ryan has some split personality thing going on again when hungry. I mean I buy it. We all know no one else can play multiple boys in the same body as Gun. Also I’ll note here for later Jane realizes something is wrong with Ryan right away. 🥹 he wants Ryan to be his good assistant and friend. Just good developments there.

Okay so I get what Jane is saying here. The bottle exploding is hella dangerous. Also Jane knows Ryan has been spaced out lately and is frustrated cause he doesn’t know why. I’d assume that’s why he’s so emotional about this mistake. It’s possible Jane sees himself in Ryan trying not to rely on anyone else? But Jane knows Ryan could have called Pie at the very least. Mistakes happen but this one was a big one.

I also think this is a good point too if Ryan isn’t needed don’t come and mope or make more mistakes. Something has obvs been wrong with him. Now Jane doesn’t phrase this right but he does apologize so good good

Precious Gunnie Tear. I really like this some cause it’s like Ryan is trying to resist at all costs but it boils over and he can’t keep his most inner thoughts in. He heard Jane’s words as a rejection from the team from his usefulness Ryan desperately wants to find his place

One sentence too far but 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻 good relationship movement. I don’t know how Jane can interpret this in any other way after their week.

🚩���🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩

Okay it’s hating time so move on people who want me to kiss ass instead of sharing my actual opinion. I’m only going to do this once hopefully.

🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩

I’ve made the mistake of dating a 20 year old when I was 26. You’d think that wouldn’t be too crazy of an age gap. However I was just at a totally different place in my life than her. My thing is 30 years old you think it’s okay to hit on and kiss back a 21 year old you know is in a relationship? You know their brain is still developing? Also do you really think that’s going to be fulfilling. No. She’s a piece of shit. Especially since she is her mentor has been taking the girl out of the office on the company’s dime. Of course she thinks Judy is super woman. Just irresponsible. Judy definitely understands what’s going on with Bah-me and her boyfriend and still decides to do this?! Really…. Okay.

Onto Bah-mee complaining her boyfriend doesn’t talk to her. Nowwwww I’m a computer programmer I have worked with guys who take their work home with them to finish it up at 3am or slept in the office SIMPLY BECAUSE THEY LIKE THEIR JOB. Couldn’t be me but it happens. Idk why Tae is doing all the work in the production room as an intern. I’d be worried he would fuck up put under pressure and that HR might murder me for over working the intern. Set that aside. Guys like Tae work fucking hard. But you know what? Most of them adore their loved ones. Work hard and rent a hot air balloon guys. Work hard take their girl on a 2 week long trip. So does tae not talk? Or is because she has long ago given up. He’s been working she’s seen him working FOR HER TO PLAY HARD. Idk it’s just ugh disgusting. I just think of my coworkers who could never think of cheating yeah they might purposely miss out on their kids stuff but their wives? Oh man I know all their names and where they like to go to dinner etc. EVEN THOUGH sometimes they work like idiots.

I think it’s the best they break up Bah-Meee and Judy can go be evil lesbians and Tae can be a computer guy making lots of money to spoil his future girl with it.

[themundanedumpling]

'cause i'm falling slowly in love with you

[hughungrybear]

I think Jane actually accommodating and soothing Ryan's (almost) toddler-like behaviour is the biggest tell that the feeling of fondness is definitely mutual 🤭🤭🤭

[jojotichakorn]

[hands ba-mhee tissues] there, i think you're drooling a little bit

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - So Many GREAT Kisses!

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

(Please notice I am now using 6 dots in all ellipses because according to Taiwanese BL that's how we queers roll. Who am I to argue?)

Sept 2024 Week 3

Ongoing Series - Thai

Jack & Joker (Thai Mon IQIYI) ep 2 of 12 - A most excellent glow up. And it’s still a great show. And I cannot wait to see the many different faces of War. Bring on the Leverage of One action-packed mess. I'm waiting.  

Monster Next Door (Thai Thurs Gaga ) ep 9 of 12 - I’m gonna say this because it drives me crazy. Why are boys in BL, when out and about the countryside, always dressed inappropriately for Thailand? If it’s hot, takeoff your damn jacket. I don’t mean to be crass or crazy or whatever. But don’t wear a jacket when it’s 90° with 90% humidity. In Thailand, jackets are for malls. Meanwhile, I’m an extrovert and that still seemed like an exhausting trip. Although, I suppose they didn’t show all the drive time in the van, when everyone is asleep.

Meanwhile, why are the sides so frustrating in this show? Authentic friends-to-lovers is always a slog. Finally a kiss! And a decent one.

New character? Aw! Hi Yu!!!! Gosh Putter is so cute.

Where were we? Oh yes, Beer is now heartbroken. Always the great fear in F2L that the friendship will be destroyed as a result. And it’s a decent fear. 

On a completely different note, I cannot help but wonder when somebody’s chue len is Beer, if that is because beer was involved in their conception. Like, it’s the name you give your "oops baby" from that drunken night at the club. Don’t mind me. I’m just over here in the corner being crass.

Battle of the Writers (Sun YT) ep 8 of 12 - That was one of the cutest wake up sequences ever depicted. Utterly adorable. And now he’s blind again? Oh my God this is such a soap opera, I can’t even. Meanwhile, wicked ice prince finally made his move. Gah! Why aren’t we getting more of this couple? I always love the sides best with this production house.

I Saw You in My Dream (Weds Gaga) ep 10 of 12 - I love a hard fraught game of badminton. Even though we actually didn’t see play. YoIng claiming was so cute!!! And their shower kiss was v hot. Yay little show! Also cute use of the punishment trope!

Kidnap (Fri YT) ep 3 of 12 - The weight upon the shoulders of our idiot good guy kidnapper continues to pile up. So does the affection. The dude playing Q has sanpaku eyes. Cool. He’s not a particularly good actor though. Rough because everyone around him is giving their very best.

The problem is. I'm noticing. I shouldn't be noticing all the talent trying so hard. That usually means there is something wrong with the story, or there was something wrong on the set.

I don't know what to say at this juncture except I have the sinking suspicion this might not actually be a good show. (Covers head and cowers. Don't hate me.) I'd loved to be proved wrong, but my faith is GMMTV is only about 50% these days. And it probably should be lower.

Addicted Heroin (Thai Tues WeTV) ep 6 of 10 - I was so confused by how we suddenly got on a trip together, that I went back and re-watched the previous installment. And it still isn’t explained. So I have no idea why our leads are on a trip but apparently that’s the next trope to hit. I also have no idea how they're suddenly boyfriends. I’m just generally confused by this episode. It’s like an alt reality. We skipped over all of the stuff where they actually got into a relationship. In general I wasn’t wild about this episode.

The Trainee (Sun YT) ep 12fin - The most realistic thing about this show is that everybody is everybody else’s ex on any given set. I feel that in my bones. Or do I mean boner?

Frankly, both actors look better after a glow up and I guess pretending to be more their actual ages suits them? Considering what was actually done to invoke youth (a lot of the shine and gloss) aging them was an anti-glow up. A great mattification? Well...... this was a somewhat lackluster finale. (Thank you, thank you, the pun was unplanned. It's a gift.)

I don’t know. I guess I wanted to see Jane suffer? Work HARD to get the kid he abandoned back? I would’ve liked to have seen Ryan a little bit more competent and capable and his job. Maybe dating someone else. But I also do not want any more episodes. This was more than enough. So instead no separation, just boyfriends and a montage of their lives together, getting new and better jobs, moving in together, being supportive and sweet, etc... LOOK: It’s never a good sign when I immediately want to rewrite the show that I just saw.

In conclusion:

A story about a group of interns at a commercial video production company. While I genuinely love OffGun, I’m not convinced this was a good vehicle for them. Is it terrible for me to say, I miss their PickRome days? I don’t think they’ve ever had rolls that suited them better. Still, theirs was the best storyline in this ensemble piece masquerading as a BL, although they still fumbled the ending. Thus, I enjoyed about a 1/3 of it as much as possible, and 2/3 of it less than conceivable. 7/10 and I seriously considered dropping it to a 6/10 so don't push me.

Love Sick 2024 (Thai Sun iQIYI) ep 1 of 15 - Not gonna lie I was very skeptical. But I like it fine. Better than I expected because it’s been changed just enough. But it does need to stay changed. I don’t know what I’m trying to articulate here but…... I guess we’ll see.

Live in Love (Sun Gaga) ep 3 of 5 - It’s cute in a weird disjointed way. I’m enjoying it enough, I guess. I do like how forthright and direct Kla is. 

Bad Guy My Boss (Thai Sun Gaga) ep 1 of 10 - Ah. Bully romance. My old frenemy. Of course making this office based means +10 for workplace harassment. Well well well. This will be red flag party town I see. How VERY old school yaoi. It’s all very Cdrama CEO = dudes in suits walking on parquet (minus all the gay sex of course.) The jumping around between times and unfinished scenes is very strange. Is this Starhunter chaos only applied to a timeline?

Imma say this so they hear it at the back. YOU HAVE TO CHANGE THE HAIR. If you do time jumps: change. the. hair. It's the easiest and best clue if you aren't going to apply a filter or other cinematography tricks. JUST CHANGE THE DAMN HAIR STYLE.

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

The On1y One (Taiwan Thurs Gaga) eps 9-10 of 12 - And now we all start using six dots in our……? A new coded way to indicate that one is into BL? I did think we were in a slight mire with ep 9, too much teacher filler. Not enough time spent with our boys. Meanwhile, sports day. Pouty Baby utilizing the power of Ge, in front of all of the classmates who do not realize how hard he is flirting and activating babygirl = one of the greatest things ever to happen on my screen. Essentially this was a version of the claiming trope, only nobody knew it but the two of them. Fucking genius. Yes, I watched it multiple times. Then babygirl is injured, the carrying and the flirting!!!! Gah!

I don’t mean to trivialize the show, but this is me and I can trivialize everything even something as brilliant as this. But that conversation about history at the beginning of ep 10...... Was that about topping and bottoming? Because it sure seemed that way.

And then...... Possibly the best only one bed trope twist ever?

This show is so fucking amazing.

And I am so worried about the end.

Sugar Dog Life (Japan Sun grey) ep 7 of 10 - I love the kinkyness of our baby boy’s fantasy. Where he is the gift and his boyfriend is in uniform. Very nice. Thank you Japan. Never one to let kinky dogs lie. Also, the premise continues: one half thinks that they are already boyfriends and acts like it, and the other half is still trying to become a boyfriend. It’s absurd in that way that only Japanese miscommunication extraordinaire can be absurd. Also could Kyosuke be any more under his boy’s thumb? 

Love is Like a Poison AKA Doku Koi: Doku mo Sugireba Koi to Naru (Japan Tues Netflix?) 1-2 of 10 eps - Shiba is a top lawyer, angular aggressive bespectacled workaholic cat-type (Kitten? Babygirl? Tsundere? Some unholy combination of all 3?) I am reminded I should be more considerate of my potted plants. OMG the teasing and the little tongue sticking out. Haruto is such a flirt. I love this dynamic. What fun! Manic pixie dream boy but MAKE HIM EVIL! Or very high? Or a grifter? I have absolutely no idea what’s going on. But I’m enjoying it. It’s very...... very

First Note Of Love (Taiwan Mon Gaga) ep 7 of 12 - Oh! Good kiss. Smart to have the younger character initiate. I also like that he put a stop to it and then went and had a long conversation with a friend about it. Cautious boy. Also shows how in control of the situation Sea is becoming. It works for this BL since he has the stronger personality. I don't care what the characters say, this is about Sea becoming a rock for Neil.

But the secondary couple is actually winning this show. I want so much more of them. 

Seoul Blues (Korea Fri? YouTube) ep 8fin - I’m not sure that blackmailing and entrapment, especially of your ex, necessarily justifies cheating. Plus I never like it when it’s gays against gays. But what did I expect from this show? This whole series was basically Korea’s version of messy gay. If you liked Only Friends you’ll probably enjoy this bullshit. And they were quite pretty. I, however, am monumentally displeased. 4/10 FATALLY FLAWED but still, basically, BL, however…... do we want to support this kind of behavior?

KOREA PLEASE GIVE US A NEW PROPER BL!! WHERE ARE YOU? WE ARE SAD AND LOST WITHOUT YOU.

It's like now they discovered boys can kiss they can't be happy.

It's airing but...

The Hidden Moon (Sat WeTV) ep 1 of 10 - This is a supernatural romance (my ghost boyfriend trope) by Violet Rain (I Feel You Linger). A man is hired to write an article about an old mansion in Chiang Mai being converted into a café. He sees the ghosts of people who died at the mansion, falls in love with one of them. Was substantially recast. I loved IFYLITA except the ending so I think I'll let this one run it's course you can tell me if it's work tracking down... if they managed to land it. I have my doubts.

Happy of the End (Japan Tues Gaga) - A boy is disowned for being gay, dumped by his boyfriend, and ends up in a dysfunctional co-dependant relationship with his would-be kidnapper. We were due for another messy JBL and it's exactly as expected. I do not like it at all. And ya know what? There is plenty airing. DNF 

In case you missed it

I FINISHED Meet You at the Blossom (China). I ate crow, binged the fucker, and live blogged the experience. I enjoyed it a lot and got quite witty (I think) there are also puns (warning). But if you don't wanna slog though it, here are my final thoughts:

This was undeniably a wuxia and most definitely a BL. Evil stunning princely Cheekbones meets and falls in love with the bisexual disaster Dimples of his dreams. There’s a lot of floaty fighting, tangled plot, and overworked emotions. From start to finish it is exactly as it claims to be, including more than the expected amount of sexual claiming (dubious conscent to the point of rape). I’m not wild about the wuxia genre, but I will tell you what I do like: Very pretty men in flowing robes + eye makeup + hair ribbons wafting about stabbing and kissing each other plus ridiculous soap opera machinations. I also like cheekbones and dimples. AND I love a stupid gay sleeve, okay? There was also truly epic levels of stink-eye, and that too is to be lauded. This show left me grinning like crazy. Was it great? Not really, but it was a great experience and I enjoyed it immensely. 8/10

4 Minutes (Gaga) Ended - Spies reported in to say the ending was not-exactly-unhappy and mostly lackluster. I'm torn over whether to watch. My natural disinclination to binge, meets my dissatisfaction with wishy-washy, is going up against my love of high heat and pretty men. Oh the age old struggle between art and lust.

Mitsuya-sensei no keimakutekina ezuke finished and it’s reported to be solid. Age gap treated with respect. I'm curious, so I'll check it out if I can get hold of non-G-drive subs.

Next Week Looks Like This:

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.

Still Coming Sept 2024:

9/28 Teenager Judge (Vietnam Sat YouTube) ?? eps - oh I don't know just Ba Vinh doing his thing with pretty boys again.

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

I love love love this execution of the punishment trope. What's Ai going to do to you, Yu? Ride you to death?

I Saw You in My Dream indeed.

Sigh. This show. (Addicted Heroin)

All praise one of BL's best-in-show glow-ups. Nicely done, Jack.

James, on the other hand. Never needs a glow-up. Still the prettiest. Has been since Oxygen. (Battle of the Writers)

He's playing the role of Saint in this show, thank you very much. Speaking of which, wouldn’t that be just the most gorgeous pairing in the entire universe? Saint and James? I’ll be in my bunk. 

Taiwan giving us a boop! Reminds me of Be Loved In House I Do, right up there with TharnType as chronic boopers.

Why is he SO GOOD in this show?

All Frist Note.

(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 a pain.

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

Sigh, Tumblr in its infinite wisdom doesn't like too many at-ings.

[atzupdates]

[230628] Consequence Article: 10 Dynamic Pop Albums ATEEZ Think Every Music Fan Should Own

1. SZA - SOS

HONGJOONG: I’ve been so into this album lately. SOS itself is so organic, and with SZA’s voice, it’s music that you wouldn’t get tired of even if you listened to the entire album on repeat all day long. I can honestly say that it’s an album that awakened a new taste in music that I never realized I had.

2. DPR IAN - Moodswings in to Order

SEONGHWA: The videos and concept are so fascinating and extremely cool. And the music, of course, is to my taste and preference. I’ve actually been largely influenced by the style from this album.

3. Christopher - Under the Surface

YUNHO: Every single track on this album, even the B-side tracks, are my style! I can honestly say that every song on this album is my type of song.

4. ATEEZ - SPIN OFF : FROM THE WITNESS

YEOSANG: This is an ATEEZ album, but I wanted to bring it up because I personally really like the style and mood of the album. I loved performing the title track off the EP a lot, too.

5. EXO - DON'T MESS UP MY TEMPO

SAN: This would definitely be my personal pick for a top album because it’s one that largely inspired me as an artist on stage. I grew my own dreams of being an artist while listening to their songs and watching their performances.

6. Calvin Harris - Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 2

MINGI: I’ve always been a huge fan of Calvin Harris, but I really like the overall vibe of this album, so it’s my favorite. It’s got so many songs that are great for easy listening, so it’s an album that I’m really fond of.

7. Shawn Mendes - Illuminate

WOOYOUNG: There’s a lot of memories tied to this album, and Shawn Mendes is an artist whose vocals have really inspired me as an artist. I remember when we used to listen to this album a lot as trainees, and even do vocal practices using his music. Each and every single song on this album is a masterpiece! I’d love to collaborate with him one day.

8. Bruno Mars - XXIVK Magic

JONGHO: Every single song on this album is amazing. It’s an understatement to say that his music has given me so much inspiration vocally. This album in particular really makes you think, because it’s simply enthralling how one person’s vocals can express so many different genres! After listening to all the songs on this album, it made me want to work even harder to broaden my spectrum and range.

9. Charlie Puth - Voicenotes

ATEEZ: We listened to this album a lot in the car on our way to and from different work schedules during promotions, so it brings back a lot of memories. Definitely one for the road that brings back a lot of memories we’ve had together as a group.

10. EDEN - RYU : 川

ATEEZ: This is an album that we listened to a lot as trainees that gave us comfort. We learned and gained inspiration from this album during our early days as a group. And though we work with him frequently now as our producer, it wasn’t as easy to see EDEN back then. We would listen to his songs, study them, and receive comfort from them.

[girlsloveupdates]

Kapook talked about both The Trainee and Pluto on GMMTV Live House.

The Trainee - In EP.6, we will see the relationship between Judy and Bamhee more, see them get closer and feelings may develop.

Pluto - There will be lots of investigations. She plays Pim, who is a police officer, so she could be the one investigating May’s accident.