#top school in 2023

[absolutebl]

Best & Worst BLs of 2023

My Top 15 BLs of 2023 are (in order)

1 Our Dating Sim

Korea Viki

Nerds in love, deadlines, gaming, teasing, pining tiny idiots, casual affection, linguistic oops, ADORABLE. If you haven't watched this, it's a must. A perfect short form KBL, an office set reunion romance featuring geeks that really suits 8 eps with no fluff and no chaff. Just comforting and yummy.

I adored every aspect from the casting to the pristinely simple premise to the quietly smooth execution. Sure it’s low stakes, but that makes it high domesticity and extremely warm and gentle. This is a fuzzy blanket of a story - a cozy BL. It lives in my rewatch pile and you know what’s best about it? Every single episode is in that pile. There’s no skipping with this one, it might be good natured and calmly sweet but it’s tight and the pacing is excellent.

Also recieves my 2023 award for best giggle.

2 I Cannot Reach You

AKA I Can't Reach You AKA Kimi ni wa Todokanai

Japan Netflix

This classic friends-to-lovers BL is everything Japan does best. Angsty. Emo. Aching. Driven by real thirst. Yamato is deeply in love with his childhood bestie, Kakeru, and has been for ages, unable to hide his ungainly damaging high school need. He wants Kakeru in every way possible and it oozes off of the screen.

Kakeru is silly and a little simple, but not frenetic or overly camp about it. He is earnest, and genuinely wants to keep Yamato in his life which means giving a romance (and gayness) a fair chance. We watch him realize his affection and what form it can take in a truly authentic way.

This show was impossibly kind to both of its lead characters and I felt almost honored that I got to watch something so lovely and rare play out on my screen.

Also wins the best thirst award.

These were the 2 BLs that got 10/10 from me in 2023. The rest of these got 9/10 from me.

3 My School President

Thailand YouTube

GMMTV gave us a classic high school set Thai BL with tropes like messy boys singing their feelings that made this one Love Sick for the modern age with all the gentle sweetness and pining ache, but none of the dated damaging tropes or issues. Who let my BL be this wholesome and funny? My favourite GMMTV BL offering to date. And yes, I've watched them ALL.

Received the Namgoong award for best wingman 2023.

4 I Feel You Linger in the Air

Thailand grey

IFYLITA is an exquisite BL, from filming techniques to narrative framework. Steeped in history and family drama this is an elegant and classy BL. The main couple (both as a pair and individuals) were excellent, particularly Bright (Yai) whose eye-work acting style is a personal favorite of mine. It's a marker of how great it was that it's so high on my list despite the ending which was very much not what I wanted.

Additional accolade, sexiest moment of 2023 - (the oil scene).

You could try to fight me, but you'll have no grip.

5 Kiseki: Dear to Me

Taiwan Gaga & Viki

The plot is totally ridiculous and slightly unhinged. There’s a gum-ball machine of cameos, elder gay rep, great chemistry from all pairs (everyone is queer), and a KILLER side couple. It involves all the tropes under a very offhand framework of gay mafia gangs + food = love. As a result Kiseki is a poster child for Taiwanese BL, and I happen to love Taiwanese BL. Bonus? They also managed to END IT WELL, which we cannot expect from Taiwan.

Best side couple 2023!

(thank goodness Taiwan made this list!)

6 Jun and Jun

Korea Viki

A delightful office romance about an ex-idol who joins cubical life only to find his new boss is his first love. With a snappy (sometimes even raunchy) script, enjoyable sides, a pretty as peaches cast, and descent chemistry this show made up for in style what it lacked in substance. I like fluff. I loved this. I smiled every moment I was watching.

Best flirting 2023.

AKA "the tongue knows" award

7 The Eighth Sense

Korea Viki

This one is a bit chewy and sticky and less perfect than most KBLs. It’s got a bit of an age gap, country boy/city boy, stellar acting, complex characters, and leads with great chemistry and tension. This isn’t in the KBL bubble, there’s sharp edges and lots of triggers. For a BL the darkness of the content left me feeling unsettled (which is the only reason it didn't get a perfect score) but it has a glorious ending and that counts for a lot.

2023's most likely to appeal to non-BL watchers.

8 Unintentional Love Story

Korea iQIYI

The lead, Gongchan (maknae of B1A4) is a fucking GIFT, who carried this show. He was luminous with extraordinarily expressive eyes, which he used to carry a killer plot and challenging role. Forced into a totally understandable betrayal, falling in love despite himself, put into a corner he can't get out of, the AGONY, the eyes EMOTING at us in PAIN. Driven by external conflict, social tension and pressure this story seems simple but it's actually refined and quite complex. I loved this show.

Best story structure 2023.

9 My Personal Weatherman

AKA Taikan Yoho

Japan Gaga

This is classic yaoi of the kind that really only works from Japan. Basically: boys who fell in love in college end up living together but both are so repressed they actually don't realize they're in love. It's high heat is well done, but it leaned into the "why don't they just talk for fuck's sake?" which is exacerbated by the fact that they're already fucking. Sure is sexy tho.

Best use of props 2023 for the shower of sheets.

10 Our Dining Table

AKA Bokura no Shokutaku

Japan Gaga

Lonely salaryman and talented cook gets accidentally adopted by a college kid and his little brother. It’s a quiet & cozy little parable of found family alleviating loneliness. It's lovely & sweet with the romance beats used to build a family relationship, not just couple intimacy. Special.

First prize for domesticity.

11 Laws of Attraction

Thailand iQIYI

This is a great gay suspense thriller with several solid couples, fun plot, killer characters, queer rep, and a happy ending. It’s tons of fun and I had an absolute blast watching it.

Charn wins my favorite character of 2023.

12 La Pluie

Thailand Viki

This BL takes to task the fated mates trope and what it means to have love chained intimately to predestination. It’s about how faith in destiny before choice diminishes the authenticity of emotion, relationships, and connection. This is a high concept to examine through the lens of a BL. With good chemistry and decent acting all around, plus some excellent high heat and representation of consent and a few other rare tropes, this one has to (like it’s sibling show My Ride) earn high marks.

Most interesting concept 2023.

13 The New Employee

Korea Viki

So good, SO QUEER, so soft, a near pitch perfect office BL with conflict derived from that setting. Also found family and a lesbian bestie. This is what I wanted from this new crop of office set KBLs ALL ALONG. Rainbow rice cakes forever!

Best overall queer rep from Korea.

14 Step By Step

Thailand Gaga & YouTube & Viki

This was Thailand’s answer to The New Employee, and everything I loved about that show I loved about this one. This was an office romance between stern boss and sweet subordinate that felt more authentic to an office environment than previous Thai BLs of this ilk which added tension to the narrative and character development.

Chot wins best queer character 2023.

15 Love Tractor

Korea iQIYI

Most of this country-set BL had me feral for the beautiful broken city boy and his hot young farmer. Hyung romance, puppy/cat pairing, open frankness meets jaded reserve, language play, water hose frolicking, only one bed = all my favorite silly tropes.

Biggest "he so pretty" gasp of the year award.

10 Worst BLs of 2023 (that I watched)

My Blessing

My Universe: Casanova Begins

Boyband the series

Cafe In Love

Chains of Heart

Hit Bite Love

Only Friends

Senior Love Me

The Luminous Solution

The Promise

Yes, you read that right. I know I'm against the flow but I really did not like Only Friends. Everyone's taste is different.

However I DNFed faster and more BL's this year than ever before, so that means my 10 worst probably aren't quite reflective...

10 Probably Actually Worst BLs (I dropped 'em)

My Story

The Day I Loved You

Beyond the Star

Crazy Handsome Rich

Dinosaur Love

House of Stars

Mr Cinderella 2

Love Bill

Stormy Honeymoon

The Star Always Follow You

Codicils in General

I only carefully track/watch Thailand, Taiwan, Korea, and Japan. Other countries are not fully represented.

My Numbers

So my spreadsheet chronicled 138 BLs that finish airing in 2023.

101 = watched & reviewed

2 = still in the docket (WDYEY2 & Love Syndrome III)

15 = CNF (could not find)

20 = DNF (which also accounts for how few very low scores I handed out in 2023 as opposed to previous years, I just stopped watching). Speaking of which...

Ratings spread

(# of stars. #of BLs given that rating)

0 (see the DNFs instead)

2 - IT'S DEPRESSING they killed the gay, save yourself

7 - I DON'T KNOW WHAT I AM WATCHING AND NEITHER DOES IT

7 - FATALLY FLAWED but still basically BL, however… do we want to support this kind of behavior?

9 - WATCH IF YOU HAVE NOTHING BETTER TO DO but don’t expect much, it’s a total hot mess

17 - WORTH WATCHING BUT FLAWED probably around the ending or in narrative structure/cohesion or censorship

14 - RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS i.e. isn’t quite BL, convoluted, not strictly HEA, too short/long, or chemistry issues

30 - RECOMMENDED some concerns around tropes (like dub con) or story structure but still satisfies as BL

13 - ABSOLUTELY RECOMMENDED probably a few pacing issues or one flaw

2 - HIGHLY RECOMMENDED faithful to tropes, happy ending, good chemistry, few flaws, high rewatch potential

(source)

[why-the-heck-not]

22.03.23, wednesday

took the start of this week way too chill because “I have plenty of time for the end of the week deadlines” and then today realised that it is in fact the middle of the week and I gotta hurry tf up now

[bengiyo]

Top 5 boy moments

Bestie, you know me so well.

Un-fuck it! from La Pluie

This is the kind of thing that can only occur between siblings and the specific grouchy way Tien can be as a boy.

The Chinzilla Fight in My School President

Boys can have a knock-down drag out fight and then immediately hug it out right afterwards. These boys had suffered a major blow together and that needed to be vented. At the point at which they start swinging, Gun felt betrayed by his biggest bro in Win. Ah, men.

Jae Won Forgiving Tae Hyung in The Eighth Sense

Tae Hyung sucks so hard, but I totally get Jae Won forgiving him and accepting him as the reliably shitty. They're in their early-to-mid twenties. I had friends like this at the time.

Ye Chan Saving the Piano in Love Tractor

Every man has a box of wires that are totally useless. Saving things that might be important and meaningful later is a masculine expression of love.

Yang and Phumjai Fighting in the Lobby and Later Throwing Oranges At Each Other in Odo's Office in Love in Translation

Unhinged behavior. I love them so much.

Ask Me Top 5 BL 2023 Anything

[fleouriarts]

day in the life of Some Fuckin Guy

[lattexalmond]

Top 10 Bls for 2023

So I feel like this is going to be such a long post. First of all I struggled so much choosing what was going to make the top 10 and why. I feel like my opinions are a little different from the majority. For example, I did not incude Only Friends, Moonlight Chicken, Our Sky 2 or Our Dating Sim. It was interesting how my top 5 was easy and after that I was like ahhh what do I do?! So here is what occurred. Thank you bestie @gunsatthaphan as always for making the gifs. They are GORGEOUS and add so much to my words. Without further ado,

I have been anticipating this show since it was first announced in 2022. Let me just say, I LOVE JimmySea. I love their acting and chemistry. I also love these characters Day and Mohk. Jimmy and Sea are both doing a fantastic job at portraying them. This might be my favorite show of all time and I don't know how that is, but after each episode I just love it more and more. P'Aof always does such a good job directing each scene. I love his vision especially in this series. If you know me at all you know A Tale of A Thousand Stars has been my absolute favorite show for years now. Nothing has surpassed it. I think Last Twilight might do that. I had to give it to the top for these reasons alone. It's kind of funny that JimmySea are the top spot 2 years in a row. They just do something for me.

My precious little Korean BL. I was obsessed with this show. I think I watched it 3 times. This one just proves I prefer story over nc lol. This show had so much story which I enjoyed and the mains were so cute as Ji Won Young slowly found himself falling for Yoon Tae Joon. The second couple were also pretty fun and added to the show. This is why it is number 2. Go watch it if you enjoy story with a happy ending. I could probably watch this one 5 more times. The way it was acted was also fun it really kept me invested. So much character development. Okay I will stop now.

Did we think this would be this high on the list? I don't know. What I do know is watching this week to week was so fun and I still listen to a majority of the songs on spotify. This was high school, but also was so fun. Tinn was such a simp for Gun. FourthGemini did very well. As we can tell by the gif I ended up loving WinnySatang as SoundWin in this. They were just adorable! The umbrella scene, the singing scene, the scooter scene. They had so many. Also the fact this show did a music video for one of my favorite Thai songs was just...gah! I need to rewatch this one soon. I miss it.

Ah! my precious show that I waited forever and a decade to air. When the first trailer came out I was like YES. I am one of the few that have no qualms with Krist and then when it switched from Mike to Gawin I was like HUH?! It ended up working somehow. GawinKrist did very well and had pretty damn good chemistry. This story was so fun. The time traveling and the different stories. I loved watching Kawi become himself. Piasang never waivered and that was adorable. Aye as Pear was also so nice to see. All of the characters in this show were done so well. It had to get the number 4 spot. Unable was one of my most played song this fall most likely lol I love Gawin's voice.

I was surprised by how much I loved this show. It was so cute and done so well. It was one of the best surprises of the summer. There was so much story and characterization. It had such a good plot. I just loved them the whole way through. I don't usually like friends to lovers it depends how it is done and this was done perfectly. Love my little Bo Ram and Han Tae. Go watch this if you haven't. Cuties being cute.

ForceBook always take me over. I don't know why, but I just love them. GunCher were so cute and adorable and healthy. I throroughly enjoyed this show. They had to be in my top 10. Also we can't forget how adorable and sweet the second couple were. Koala hugs for the win okay?

PondPhuwin as Palm and Nungdiao. What a great show. I loved every second of this. All of the drama and excitement. All of the references to the Chinese story. I just really liked this one and I love PondPhuwin. Also the little snippet we got of PerthChimon. This was a good show. I don't care what the majority of you say. The ending scene with needing a charger is the cutest thing ever.

I don't know what it is about this show. I don't know why I love HiraKiyoyi so much. They are so strange and yet these two actors just captivate the characters and I can't stop watching. This scene is so funny because we have never seen Kiyoyi really get jealous of Hira. That is why my dumbass couple who can't communicate if their lives depended on it are in the number 8 spot.

I honestly have no idea if anyone else enjoyed this one as much as I did, but I really loved them. They were so cute. I am a sucker for we met before and cuteness. Lee Jun and Ha Ram were just cute. Ha Ram softened Lee Jun from his previous relationship. Also their chemistry was pretty dang good.

I really struggled in placing this in my top 10 for a multitude of reasons. The main one being the second couple took over the show and we got a rushed ending for the mains. That kind of irked me a lot. I just had to include it though because of one man BAI ZONG YI. He was the CUTEST character to ever exist. He never ever waivered. Him and Piaseng should compare notes LOL Anyway my babies are rounding out the tenth spot. I didn't dislike Ai Di and Chen Yi, but I was upset by how they took over. Both couples had chemistry chemistrying 🧪 which was nice.

So with this list I had to exclude a lot of shows that I did enjoy. I am going to list them here.

It pained me not to include Our Skyy 2 because I loved all of the couples but some of the episodes were just so cringe lol or bad. My precious PhuphaTian getting their happy ending was probably one of the best things though. That scene still brings me to 😭 . The episodes of Our Skyy 2 that were good were Never Let Me Go, A Boss and a Babe, 1000 Stars and it pains me to say this, but the Bad Buddy one was not that bad because it included 1000 Stars. Also Vice Versa's was weird, but it was enjoyable.

Minato Shouji Coin Laundry 2 didn't make the cut and that hurt so much because I think Minato and Shin are a comfort couple for me and they were adorable this season. It was just the plot. I don't want to spoil this if you haven't seen it, but yeah. I still love them though so they are getting mentioned.😍

Love Tractor was such a cute show and the character of Ye Chan was just so puppy coded and adorable. 🐶

Moonlight Chicken was a show I was so difficult about. I don't know why, but I did not enjoy it as much as I wanted to so it was not included. EarthMix still have my heart 🧡 and FourthGemini stole the show.

Only Friends was a show that everyone was waiting all year for. I think they did a very good job, It was entertaining and Mew is probably my favorite character of the year aside from Mohk of course lol I just couldn't include it in my top. I'm sorry :(

I am actually surprised that there were so many Korean shows on the list this year. They really showed up. If you read the whole thing. Thank you. This took me hours to think about and put together.

[inrainprose]

Top BL of 2023

2023 is over and I felt like doing my top picks for this year again! Looking back there were a lot of good ones that I enjoyed a lot this year, and so I did not restrict myself to 5. As my sister judging me from across the couch said, "there's no rule do what you want". Fair enough.

This is from the BLs that ended in 2023, though some started in 2022.

8. Kiseki dear to me

I didn't care all that much for the main couple in the end, but Ai Di and Chen Yi? Worthy of obsession. @leofiat-bunny made a cut, for your consideration.

7. Why r u? Korea

I'm an absolute fan of the original against my better judgment and I was looking forward to this one. It doesn't have much to do with the Thai version in the end but I still enjoyed it a lot, both stories.

6. My school president

This was just lovely from start to finish. I really appreciated how they portrayed teenage turmoil and how soft and gentle this was.

5. My Personal Weatherman/Taikan Yoho

Needed a Japanese title on that list and this one was the best of the year by far. Unhinged and horny from start to finish.

4. Wedding plan

This one probably wins the top spot for best surprise of the year. I watched it late after it was completed because I didn't hear much about it but it was lovely. Wrote a fic for them.

3. Be my favourite

Time travel is my weakness and those two were great together.

2. Bed friend

And this one gets the price for most rewatched. So hot, very angst, obsessed with them both. Wrote not one but two pieces for this fandom, one from Uea's POV and one from King's.

1. Moonlight chicken

Left me on the floor. That first ep when they walk around town lives rent free in my head. All the relationships got to me but none more than Jim and Li Ming's. And thus, another fic.

Honorable mention cause I couldn't list them all

The Wrap Effect, The Eighth Sense, Love in Translation, Laws of Attraction, Bokura no Shokutaku/Our Dining Table, Hidden Agenda

Ask away for top BL things. I like lists.

[bonniehooper]

Top Picks of 2023

My Top 14 New Favorite Actresses - #10: Seol In-ah

Introduction to Her: Business Proposal

[teddybearsims]

oc questionnaire !!

tagged by @raiiny-bay ♡

NAME: August Milan NICKNAME: nothing, other than being called sweetheart or honey or some other sickly sweet thing by Bear :3 (I haven't figured out his streamer @ yet which could be considered a nickname too!) GENDER: male, he/him STAR SIGN: scorpio HEIGHT: 6’0 ORIENTATION: bisexual NATIONALITY/ETHNICITY: san myshuno native, idk what this would make his ethnicity in sims logic, but ig he's some sort of European mix? FAVORITE FRUIT: honeydew FAVORITE SEASON: summer FAVORITE FLOWER: roses!! Bear bought him a (small) bouquet of roses on their first date and it's been his fave since. FAVORITE SCENT: Bear. Straight up. Anytime. After a shower, after a run, ANYTHING. He wants to bottle and inhale Bear at all hours.  COFFEE, TEA, OR HOT CHOCOLATE: iced coffee! AVERAGE HOURS OF SLEEP: around 8-12. Depends if he was out at a club late. Mostly wakes up on time to do his livestreams, and falls back into bed when he can, but he can't fall asleep ALONE so his hours revolve around Bear a lot too! DOGS OR CATS: cats ig.. but he doesn’t really ever want a pet. DREAM TRIP: Simply spending months in Sulani just relaxing in the sun with Bear at his side <3 He'd also love to take Bear around with him during Fashion Week but Bear does not have the energy for it :p NUMBER OF BLANKETS: one big fluffy duvet RANDOM FACT: he was an oopsie baby.. his parents never planned for him, & he has no siblings!

I tag: @machinegrl @dandylion240 @yuauaua @bubblepopsims @mobwhim & anyone else who would like to do this!! ♡♡

[murderousthighs]

My Top BL Series Watched in 2023

*I only watched 12 BL Series in 2023 these are my favourites

My School President

The Eighth Sense

Our Dating Sim

[averbaldumpingground]

“How come I always end up calling you when I can’t fall asleep?”

Maybe he wouldn't pick up this time, she tries to tell herself. Maybe it would just go to voicemail. And then they could pretend that she never called.

Except he wouldn't, probably. Pretend that is. But she'd hold on to her dignity, maybe enough that the next time she saw him, saw that horrible smile on his face, she could meet his eyes for long enough to get through the lecture. Get through the three hours of supervising the undergraduate lab section. Get through the door.

She doesn't want him to pick up. Not when it's two a.m. Again. Not when she's still half drunk, and she can't see the stars beyond the storm clouds on the roof that Darcy left her on somewhere between her second and fourth wine cooler.

She didn't even want to go with Darcy anyway. She's not sure why she did, but the music that she can still somewhat hear from across the quad is starting to give her a headache.

Or maybe it's the long, drawn out seconds between the first ring and the third, or now the fourth. She could just hang up. She could.

But she's not going to. Not until she gets his voicemail.

Because...

Because it's been a crappy night. Because her piece of junk computer crashed while she was mid-compiling.

Because doing her postdoc when she's barely older than most of the seniors has never endeared her to anyone, her weirdly outgoing roommate excepted.

The call connects.

"It's 2:37, Foster."

So much for the small mercies of his voicemail.

The comically put-upon sigh helps dampen the nauseous feeling in her stomach though. She's mostly pretty sure she shouldn't call him.

"The weather forecast lied."

A click. What sounds like blankets shifting.

Oh. He's never been in bed before.

"I could be on a date," he'd said, the last time that she'd called him.

"At four in the morning?"

"It could be a very good date."

She'd hung up on his obnoxious laughter.

But maybe--

Maybe--

"Foster, it's a Tuesday. Why are you drunk on a Tuesday?"

Is it? She probably knows that, but the frustration and the article edits and the lack of sleep are finally starting to catch up with her. The crappy alcohol still working its way through her system is probably not helping things either.

"Were you asleep?"

More blankets shuffling. An over-dramatic sigh.

"Some of us are covering a 9 a.m. lecture this morning, Foster." A beat. "Do you need me to get you?"

He's probably not on a date then. Not that she cares. Not that--

"--Foster? Jane?"

Oh. Had he been saying something? "Huh? What?"

"You're usually a lot more sober when you call me in the middle of the night."

"I don't call you in the middle of the night."

A laugh. The slide of a drawer being opened.

"Of course not, Foster. Where are you?"

She doesn't though. Not really. He's just an assistant professor whose lab sections she's usually stuck babysitting. And maybe she stops by his lectures sometimes. But only because the theoretical framework--

"--Jane?"

"Why are you calling me that?"

"Because it's your name, Foster. You do still remember your name?"

He sounds less asleep now, less soft. She's not sure that she likes it very much.

"Now, Jane, are you going to tell me where you are?"

Why would he--

"The roof," she tells him, almost despite herself.

"The roof. Alright. Which roof?"

She didn't bother checking when she and Darcy climbed up here. One of the residence halls. She'll figure out which one when she sobers up enough to climb down though.

"Jane?"

“How come I always end up calling you when I can’t fall asleep?”

She isn't sure she really meant to say that.

A pause.

"I do hope you aren't trying to sleep on the roof, Jane."

"You're not very good at conversation and you're pretty much always a jerk."

"...I see." She thinks there's something off about the way he says it. She doesn't think she likes the way it sounds. "Should I call campus security instead?"

"No."

"Will you at least tell me where you are, Foster? I've got 300 freshma--"

"--I like that you pick up."

She really doesn't mean to say that either.

"I--Okay?"

"Um. Yeah."

Maybe the wine coolers were an even worse idea than she'd thought. She--

"Okay."

At least he doesn't sound upset anymore. It shouldn't-- the feeling in her gut is probably from the questionable guacamole she'd had. Or those tasteless little cocktail sausage things.

"Do you want me to come get you, Jane?"

It's 3:14 a.m. He'd said he has a class.

"Why would you?"

She hears his car keys. She knows he lives a decent drive off campus.

"The same reason you called."

Edit: I wrote a follow up.

[absolutebl]

Also, as they keep us very well fed,

Top 10 favourite side dishes if you please Phi?

Top 10 BL Secondary Pairs of 2023

Honor the side dishes!

(in order, favorite at the top)

1 Kiseki: Dear to Me

2 Moonlight Chicken

3 Laws of Attraction

4 Love Class 2

5 Destiny Seeker

6 Unintentional Love Story

7 La Pluie

8 609 Bedtime Story

9 Between Us

10 My School President

GLs to Beat

Laws of Attraction

(source)

[vonpharma]

“handwaving genuine, good-hearted concrit, to refusing to even engage in the conversation at all, to constant changes that make the event less fun for a huge chunk of us”

Do you mind if I ask more about this? I’ve also participated in sicktember (casually) and I haven’t really noticed anything that fit this, so I just wanted to ask more about your experiences if you were comfortable elaborating. I’m mostly curious what changes were made that made the event less fun (other than delay in prompts released I heard about that)

yeah sure! right off the bat i wanna say that this is not something i was like. PISSED OFF or intending to start any drama about, just some stuff that made the event less enjoyable for me.

i also wanna say that you haven't noticed it because sicktember is very very careful to not publish anything that makes them look bad. they do not engage with any of their replies or asks unless they can spin it in a very sanitized, pr-friendly manner. try creeping through the tags and replies on some of their posts, and while a lot of shit is deleted or lost, you can still see traces of it, some of which i will link to here.

the prompts becoming more delayed. i wasn't here in 2021 (when they dropped in early march), but in 2022 they dropped in mid may. that was awesome because it gave us all lots of time to prep--my favourite thing about sicktember is how accessible of a prompt event it is! the prompts don't all drop like a week before the event starts, you have all summer to write so if you have a full time job or responsibilities you can still participate. this year they made it very clear the prompts were ready to go in may but didn't drop them until mid-june.

when people started sending asks about this, they responded thusly. they maintain this weird kinda... pr-friendly, stepford smiley vibe whenever anyone tries to open a dialogue with them? and it just comes across as so dismissive of anyone trying to make genuine points.

here they say that "many things go into planning prompts" but don't elaborate on that at all. for context, the night before this ask, they had made it clear that the prompts were all ready to go. the hand-waving comes in the form of all the "suggestions" they offer here--"well, you don't have to do every prompt!" (but i want to. it's fun. it feels good. and that's what i've done in the past) "you can write after september!" (i did that last year. it was kind of miserable. i like posting with everyone, it feels like a big celebration!) "we give you like 100 days!" (that's cool. but you could give us more at no detriment to yourself. a lot of us didn't make the deadline last year.)

check the notes on this post and you'll see several disappointed contributors/fans who are trying to open a dialogue with the event runners, all of whom were ignored. several people have reached out to me saying that their asks about this were ignored.

2. last year, they said they would only be accepting fills on the sicktember blog through submissions, and only posting 10 random ones a day. in the past, sicktember has reblogged every single fill directly from the writers.

here's why this is shitty:

when you submit something to a blog, the blog owner then becomes the one who effectively "owns" its engagement. that means any notes, reblogs, comments, follows, etc. all go to sicktember. they do not go to the person who MADE THE STORY. if you, the author, want to see what people are saying about your work, you have to pull up the sicktember window and obsessively check it. if you want to respond to any comments, you give sicktember more notes.

this is just more work, especially if you still want those notes. you would then have to make TWO posts, one on your personal blog and one on sicktember's. and people are probably disinclined to reblog a story twice. it is not exposure or engagement to do this, it actively robs authors of engagement.

sicktember might not even post your fill. they pick ten random ones a day. this is because...

they literally admitted that they lose followers when they reblog every fill. they said aloud that it is all about engagement for them. maintaining followers means more to them than highlighting the contributions of all the people who are making their event what it is. they are quite literally trying to maximize followers and stealing engagement from their contributors. it's kind of fucking insidious.

the only valid point here is the thing about reducing mod workload. still, they could've just... opened apps for another mod? inquired for some extra help? lord knows i would've jumped at the opportunity to curate! i'm sure others would've too.

contrast this to whumptober, who religiously reblog every single fill despite being a much longer running event than sicktember.

this is why i started @sicktemberfeed. with permission, but the mods were even weird about THAT... i asked if it would be ok to make, and they said "well, it's not like we could stop you." weird fucking answer. it's fine to say no.

3. i didn't speak out about point 2, but did speak out a little bit on this blog about point 1. @yes-i-am-happyaspie's husband (@spaceninjas42) dug through my blog, somehow found my untagged critique (it was not vitriolic or cruel, just a plea for an open discussion) and started getting on my case for talking about it on my personal blog. there was a second, much more vitriolic reply that he left but i was a dingus and blocked him as soon as i saw it, which means it's now marked deleted and i have no way of getting it back or proving it. that's kind of a "just trust me bro" situation.

4. the prompts this year were not very good. that is a purely subjective opinion i have, but a lot of us agree that they really stray from the concept of sickfic. we have a lot of heavier whump events floating around and the appeal of sicktember is that it is for fluffier, more low stakes stuff. seeing "cardiac arrest" and "anaphylaxis" and "medieval treatment" on there had me and a lot of others scratching our heads. their response to this is always "just sub it out!" but when we start running out of alt prompts because so many of the main ones are not what the audience is vibing with... there is room for critique there. there is room for a discussion.

i can't stress enough that the problem isn't necessarily these changes--they are not dealbreakers! the problem was sicktember's attitude. every single time anyone in the community tried to say 'hey, i think this idea could use work/tweaking' the response was basically just, again, the happy-go-lucky stepford smiler pr voice "we'd like to remind you that blah blah blah! happy writing, authors!" and absolute refusal to talk to their community at all. as i've said many times, this is not a dichotomy--where one side is "we fold to any criticism! our fans control us!" and the other side is "you're not entitled to anything! we run this event for free despite our busy lives!" like you can very much find a happy medium there but they just. do not.

none of that is a deal breaker, genuinely. i was still planning on participating up until the very end, and i obviously am now.

what was a deal breaker was them posting harry potter shit.

[boozles]

Boozle's 2023 Top Ten Dramas

I've been really enjoying reading everyone's top lists of the year, and I've actually been thinking about my own for a few weeks now, because I knew how hard it would be for me to put my lists together! Basically, in terms of Asian drama series, I watched a lot this year. According to my MDL, I have completed 99 dramas for the whole year. (Disclaimer: not all of these were BL, and a handful were short films. Regardless, I still think that's a ridiculous amount and I understand why people think I have no life x_x) So, I think you all can understand why these lists are going to be a little difficult for me!

Note: Everything I say here is my own personal thoughts and opinions. I'm not trying to attack anyone for liking something I don't, or disliking something I loved. We're all pals here, okay? <3

Top Ten Dramas (Note: not all dramas were released in 2023.)

(i) He's Coming to Me (2019) After watching Something in my Room last year, I swore to never watch another 'ghost boyfriend' series because gosh, even if ghosts are my favourite spooky thing, my heart cannot handle the pain of a sad ending. However, Ohm and Singto sucked me in, and this was just lovely and even gave me a happier ending than I'd expected. I'm a little sad that I was so late to this series, but it has definitely found it's place in my heart.

(ii) My School President (2022/23) I still can't believe that I originally thought this was gonna suck and only started it because I wanted to see what everyone was fussing over. I became so invested in these lads and gosh, I fell in love with the cast (minus Prom, who still irks me). Fourth, Gemini and Mark were absolute standouts in this, and I honestly cannot wait for My Love Mix-Up! because they will be fantastic.

(iii) Moonlight Chicken (2023) This is a surprise to no one, because it seems like it's on everyone's favourites list. Again, though, this was a surprising hit for me; I originally only planned on watching for First and Khaotung because I didn't really know Earth and Mix very well (I only started watching BL at the tail end of 2022, so I feel like I was still a little bit of a newbie at the time) and I just fell in love with EarthMix. They have chemistry that is just so mesmerising and belongs to them. The writing of this series was also just perfect, and the cast was wonderful. It deserves all the accolades it's been getting, and I honestly think this will always be a favourite of mine.

(iv) Choco Milk Shake (2022) In all honesty, I expected this to be weird because it's literally about a guy's pets coming back as humans and his dog falls in love with him and his cat falls in love with his uncle. It sounds like it should be creepy, but it really isn't. I sobbed like an absolute baby during this, and whilst I found the ending a little confusing, I loved it. I really hope we get that rumoured second season.

(v) The Gifted (2018) & The Gifted: Graduation (2020) Okay, I'm including both seasons of The Gifted because I loved them both for their own reasons. However, one of the main things I loved about this series was that it made me appreciate actors I'd never cared much for before. I didn't get all the fuss about Gun Attaphan until I watched this (and yes, I'd already seen Not Me), but I thought he was spectacular in this. Chimon and Nanon were fantastic, and I really loved Mek and Victor, even if they weren't as porminent and I'd have liked.

(vi) A Boss and Babe (2023) Ah, my first experience of ForceBook. I would die for these men. This was a bloody brilliant series, and if you want my honest opinion, it really showed how fantastic Book is at acting, because Cher is nothing like any other character he has portrayed. I loved the backstories and the little nuances, and the supporting cast was fantastic, too. This series deserves more credit and respect (but can we pretend the Our Skyy 2 episodes never happened? Because they were so weird.)

(vii) Beyond Evil (2021) This is probably the best Kdrama I watched all year. It had everything I need - murder, mystery, tortured men with tragic backstories, plus twists and turns in every damn episodes. The acting and writing was superb and I'm honestly depressed there isn't going to be a season 2 (as far as I know?).

(viii) Only Friends (2023) Okay, I know we all have our complaints about things that went wrong with OF, but you know what? I still loved it. Yes, I still think the creators made mistakes with allowing fan opinions to influence the editing and I'm bitted about the treatment of Boston in the end, but I loved these characters and their stories. The cast put their heart and soul into their performances (especially Khaotung and Force) and I really hope we get to see them in future series' together again, as they all work so well together.

(ix) I Feel You Linger in the Air (2023) This was another series I didn't expect to enjoy as much as I did, yet I was there with the rest of you, bawling my eyes out when it ended. Despite the fact my dream career is a historian, I often don't enjoy historical dramas, so I put this off for the first few weeks of it airing until all the gif sets finally forced me to check it out. The cast was fantastic, and the writing was brilliant. I will be broken hearted if they don't get a second season, because they deserve it.

(x) I told Sunset About You (2020) & I Promised You the Moon (2021) I'm including both series as one since technically it's just season 1 and season 2. I loved these shows. They were the most realistic portrayals of young teenage queer love that I have seen in so long. I know a lot of people get angry with Teh in IPYTM but by gosh, my heart just hurt for that confused boy; Billkin's crying is so tragically realistic and as much as I too hated that he was hurting Oh-Aew, I also could understand the confusing feelings that come with growing up. Oh-Aew was just...perfect. PP Krit really just cut my chest open, crawled inside and made a little home for himself with this performance. My only issue is that these two haven't been in anything else together since, and I really hope 2024 fixes that, because as much as I support their music careers, I need them on my screen again.

Honorary Mentions: (i) Kiseki: Dear to Me (2023) (ii) The Warp Effect (2022) (iii) Home School (2023) (iv) Our Dating Sim (2023) (v) La Pluie (2023)

[cerealbishh]

"But I do

What I can

Inch by inch,

Step by step,

Mile by mile,

Man by man!"

[aces-to-apples]

Yeah. Nice work, buddy. Now I know you're a yank. Yank, man, too. Late teens to early twenties. All full of rage and directionless anger and the victim of a school system designed to leave them half people who cannot use words to articulate. Not fully human and guided only by spite. I'd feel bad for them if they didn't continually reinforce that all they have is hate and violence in their heart, the only way they can feel anything is to hurt people and would gladly murder everyone slightly different from them if daddy told them too.

Lol. Lmao, even. This is by far and away my favorite genre of weird stalkery nonsense anon: complete word-salad, prompted by nothing and including zero particulars, which could be sent to literally anyone and make about as much sense. Hats off to you, sir, you sure strung together a bunch of sentences that equate to nothing. In the words of the estimable FriendlySpaceNinja: do you need a Kit-Kat?

Edit: omg wait did Andy Ngo find my tumblr and is trying to dox me again? Andrew baby is that you??

[merkerlerspeaks]

99 for your Wrapped pls Merk?

:D Number 99-

"Monster" by Starset