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Got my copy of Old Fashion Cupcake. I'm literally so excited. I love the live version and can't wait to see the manga.

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Just bought my first hard copy of a BL. old Fashion Cupcake was out of stock so we’re starting with Seven Days. We shall see how it goes.

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I guess I'm in the minority, but I'm actually tentatively excited about a japanese version of Love in the Air?????? (Or at least the PhayuRain section). I feel like JBL thrives when they get to play with power dynamics, and I think a darker more serious version of their story could be really fun. Of course, they can still fork it up, so I will be very interested in seeing the trailer. I think the last time we saw a Thai remake was Why R U, but I don't think that's a great comparison since Korea chose a BL that doesn't play to their strengths.

I also have so many questions about how the logistics of this works. Mame has been pretty protective of her series - she owns her own production studio, and therefore I assume has full control over the copyright. So, I do kind of wonder how much control she's going to have over the japanese version of the show. I feel like if she gets paired with a good director/screenwriter who gets to tweak the storyline, it could be a bop. But if we're just getting a beat for beat of the Thai version, I'll still watch, but I will worry.

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Have you seen the Japanese reality show The Boyfriend? because compared to this season of his man it is much better!! I recommend it

Yes! I have been tangentially keeping up with it online and watching what I can. I'm very excite for the reunion tomorrow! Fingers crossed that at least one of the couples on the show decided to pursue stuff in the real world, but regardless of whether they did, all the contestants were so lovely. I think the concept is really fun and I hope they manage to extend it on. I don't think they could do the coffee truck again without fans noticing, but maybe some other work stuff. Would I kill to see them on a farm...Maybe?

I agree it was much better than His Man 3 this season. Earlier in the season, I just felt that the two shows had different vibes and people were being too harsh on HM3 because we were all so attached to S2. However, I hate to be the one that says EP14 ruined the show for me, but it honestly did in so many ways. So the Boyfriend won the dating show round for me this year.

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The last thing I will add before I leave this whole thing alone (because I am not going to be a hate blog for weeks) is that - at any point in those two weeks, HM could have texted producers and been like "listen guys, this isn't going to work out. I know you are planning a follow up but there's not going to be a date. Sorry"

It was an intentional choice to let YJ be totally blindsided in front of multiple cameras and producers. At bare minimum, HM has no respect for YJ's feelings or emotions. Worst case scenario he thought YJ deserved to be humiliated for TV

Edit: I also wanted to add that I cannot express how emotionally traumatizing this would have been for me and I hope YJ is ok. He was so excited in EP13, and I hope that this didn’t ruin his entire experience on the show or make him feel awful.

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I would also like to disclose that a large part of my anger comes from the fact I have been HM. When I was young, I ended up on a date with a someone who was very nice, but who was WAY more into me than I was into them. They knew that, and I requested we go turtle pace because I just can't develop feels that fast. I went out with them for less than a month, but I should have called it off sooner because my feelings were never going to reach theirs.

To this day, I regret not being more upfront at the start and letting it go on without telling them. I always felt horrible that my own inability to process my feelings gave them false hope.

However, when I ended it, I told them that they were a great person and that I enjoyed our time together, but that I was not at a point in my life where I could date someone.

So, I frankly don't have that much sympathy for HM because I know what it's like to be him. I know the pressure he feels, and I know how stomach turning it was to feel like this person was moving so much faster than me. But I also know what it doesn't cause you to do - act like a total d*ck. I was so uneasy about the relationship, but never at any point did it occur to me to go on a rant about how much I disliked them or try to return the one gift the person gave me.

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Me too

youngjoon and hanmin are so cute i hope it works out for them

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I would like to be clear here this is not what I meant. I joke that I am a drama hungry monster but I do not want actual contestants to be hurt the way YJ was hurt.

EP 14

Why are you so short? And what was so important that it needed a whole 20 minutes post people picking each other?

God, I hope I'm about to watch something insane unfold.

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Well who looks like a f*cking idiot now? It's me, guys. If only Ep13 me knew what was about to come.

Okayyyy. I haven't felt strong feelings from anyone in this season except Hwi, but it was actually really heartwarming to see YJ in tears when Hanmin finally arrived. He was clearly so stressed. This is the most realistic final encounter the show has had. I would be in tears from stress (the entire show, but also in the finale).

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HM Pt. 3

I am trying really hard not to let what happened in EP 14 completely re-contextualize HM in the show for me, but it's hard not to. I would like to be clear that someone can still be kind, empathetic, and mature while also not behaving that way in every interaction. We all have flaws, we act out of character, and we should not hold people to impossible standards of perfection.

But it is very difficult to see what happened in EP 14 and not think that HM was at least partly...I do not want to use the words "acting" because I don't want to be one of those comments I see where it's like "omg I just personally feel XYZ is totally fake and acting". I cannot abandon my morals entirely when I've already made a 3 part hate post about a real person. However, his brief moments about wanting to branch out with other people come off a lot more sinister now, and I am having trouble viewing his connection with YJ as genuinely as I did. It now feels like he didn't really like him that much, and I can only imagine YJ had to spend the next few days wondering the same thing.

As I stated, part of the reason I'm putting so much weight on this is because this is post-show. This is not in front of the cameras and is (in theory of course) a greater reflection on someone's real personality.

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youngjoon and hanmin are so cute i hope it works out for them

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HM is the Worst Pt 2

Yes, I'm continuing my hate post because I still have so much to say.

Hanmin had this whole horrible monologue about how the couple's rings basically were the bane of his existence and led him to feel so much pressure he needed to publicly humiliate YJ and let him know how much he disliked him.

Just in case anyone is wondering, I think that is just an excuse and is totally unreasonable. Is making couple's rings on your first date kind of awkward? Sure. Look, it's a little odd. But, tbh, a normal person would accept that this is part of being on a crazy reality TV show and realize it's not that deep.

YJ seemed very aware of HM feeling pressure and wanted to be kind to him. I believe he would have backed off if HM let him know. HM is acting like this date condemned him to a lifetime of suffering on the show when he CHOSE TO DO EVERYTHING.

These rings did not cause the problems. YOU CAUSED THE PROBLEMS.

There rings were clearly causing HM stress - I remember him trying to subtly tell YJ they could be friendship rings too. However, the normal way to handle that is to wait until YJ and him are alone and say:

"Hey, I had fun today. This was a super cute activity. I just want you to know that these feel like a lot of pressure to me, and I'd rather not wear it all the time. I'm still interested in you, but I really need to move slower than this."

The end. HM does not get to blame a random date for what is the worst behavior we have ever seen on the show. YJ is a better man than me because I would have needed so much therapy after that break-up.

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HM is the Worst Pt 1.

I would like to believe that I am, in general, someone who behaves responsibly while watching these TV shows. I hope that when reading my blog, people don't feel like I'm attacking contestants personally and am taking into account these are real people under high stress situations who are trying their best. I believe that most people we meet are not assholes, and that we are all the bad guy in someone else's story. We are allowed to make mistakes because we learn from them and grow into better people.

However, guys, I f*cking hate Hanmin. Like, I now genuinely believe he is a bad person. Last season, when HJin had that horrible discussion with Dabit, at least I understood what he was trying to do. And I promise I am trying to do my best to give Hanmin the benefit of the doubt and remember that this whole thing is crazy.

However, I do not feel the same way about Hanmin. At all. This filming took place 2 weeks after the show. Hanmin had 2 WEEKS without cameras to think about how to end this relationship.

I think it's pretty clear that during those two weeks he was basically dodging YJ or something similar. And I get it must be awkward to just go through this intense experience and then realize it moved too quickly. However, every word out of his mouth was so horrible and hurtful. He knew how much YJ liked him, he knew YJ's personality. I don't care to see your surprised Pikachu face when YJ turns out to be the person he openly was.

It was totally unnecessary to say how every one of YJ's actions pressures him, how he wants to be with someone who he likes more (what does that even mean? Basically, I don't really like you that much), and then oh.my.god. the f***** flowers. Like refusing to even keep the rings was bad enough, but this man was sweet enough to bring you flowers probably knowing you haven't been treating him well.

Jaw on the floor. I am giving him such little benefit of the doubt because there was a huge gap that wasn't being filmed. That is your real personality in play right there. He knew he didn't like YJ and could have met up or texted him beforehand. I would never let someone who I claimed to like walk into a trap like this.

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I can safely say this was actually the worst finale I've ever seen. Production knows how the show ends - they specifically asked JS and SH to let them know if they were going to break up before the last few episodes so that they could edit them out if needed.

Why are you not spotlighting JS and Sm more? THEY ARE STILL DATING!!!!!!!!! WHY WAS THIS NOT A 22 MINUTE FOLLOW UP ABOUT THEM A YEAR LATER. WHAT DID I JUST WITNESS

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Ummmm. So apparently, JS and SM are still dating. And yet you subjected me to 10 minutes of watching HM basically treat YJ like cramp??????????????????? WTF

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It feels so aggressively mean spirited to show YJ being brutally dumped and then jump to "tee hee, aren't MS and MK soooooo cute."

WHY DIDN"T YOU JUST SHOW MS AND MK AND LEAVE THE REST TO THE IMAGINATION

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So, did JS and SM just like escape this travesty of an episode? Where is their date from hell?