#but akk is the protagonist and we got nothing to him

[neversee]

Dramas I watched March & April 2023

Post for the first 2 months of the year here

I think march and april I watched a lot of new dramas, but I rewatched some too. Let’s start:

1) Moonlight Chiken

The story is about the owner and workers of the restaurant ‘Moonligh Chiken’, mainly the owner, uncle Jim, and his nephew Li Ming. It starts when a guy got drunk and slept in the pub and Uncle Jim ends up babysitting him. Basically they have a "one night stand" and end up starting a relationship, initially just as "friends" but not so much. We also follow the story of Li Ming, who, after a "misunderstanding", ends up going to work at Heart's house, a deaf young man.

I really liked the story, it's much more serious than all the ones I've watched so far, and it's also very cinematic. I marathoned the drama as I always do, but I think watching it little by little ends up being the best option, because it gives  time to absorb everything that happens in the story. I loved the caracthers, I found really funny the way Wen just fell in love with Uncle Jim so fast, and how he was desperate to be with him. And the couple Li Ming and Heart that were really adorable.

Where to watch it: Youtube.

2) All the Liquors

It's a light-hearted drama about a marketing employee for a beverage company who has to work with a chef who hates alcohol. It’s very nice to watch, nothing really surprising happens here. The episodes are like 15 min long.

Where to watch it: Viki.

3) Our Dating Sim

This one was a surprise, I didn't think I was going to enjoy it as much as I did. It’s a web drama, very short, and korean. And we know that korean BL aren’t as good as the thailand ones, but I don’t know what happened in Korea, because the ones that are released in 2023 are AMAZING.

I LOVED this one, very cute. School friends who get separated and meet again 7 years later working at the same company. It's a second chance romance, and it's amazing. It’s almost a comfort drama, I can rewatch it and never gets boring.

Where to watch it: Viki.

4) Light on Me

I finally watched this drama, in general I found it adorable, cute, day to day school drama, friendships being made, first loves and so on. My favorite character is Noh Shinwoo(?), the dorkiest ice prince ever. I loved that the theme of the story was "courage" - courage to make friends, courage to declare your love, courage to be with the person you love. I loved. What I didn't like was that the story is completely centered on a love triangle, and it’s so focused on it that if I hadn't caught some spoilers, I wouldn't know who the protagonist would end up with, I think that until the penultimate episode it's not clear who he would choose. I understand, but I prefer it when we have already defined the couple and see their evolution. It didn't become my favorite Korean bl, but I loved it.

Where to watch it: Viki.

5) The Eclipse

I didn't even expect to watch this one. I had already tried to watch it before, but the vibe didn't get me, I thought it was too "serious" and I just wanted something light. So a few months went by and I gave it another chance, and guess what? I liked very much. The story is interesting, the actors are good, the characters are excellent. I got hooked. I loved the Akk-Aye couple, they have great chemistry and their scenes are 10/10. Anyone who likes something more dystopian will love this drama.

Where to watch it: Youtube.

6) Unintentional Love Story

Another korean BL that is amazing. It’s the most “korean standard” drama of a korean bl drama. It means that we have a story that has a lot of cliches of korean dramas, the non-BLs ones. I don’t know if other people have the same opinion as me, it’s just what I felt. The episodes are 36-40 min long, wich is very uncommon for a BL.

What the drama is about: a company employee is unfairly fired, goes on vacation in the countryside and comes across a famous craftsman who has been missing from the spotlight for 2 years, he sees this meeting as an opportunity to be rehired, and decides to approach of the guy, only obviously it turns into a romance. I loved this one, It’s a cute romance, very comfort drama.

7) Bed Friend

This one I watched 100% influenced by Tumblr, you have no idea how many  posts I saw about this drama...

The story's about two co-workers who decide to have a friends with benefits relationship. From the plot and gifs I saw, I thought it would be a fun and light story, but it's not. Our protagonist suffered a lot of abuse during his life, including sexual abuse, so the story develops around these issues. If you have any sort of triggers with that, it might be hard to watch. The romance itself is pretty cool, King and Uea as a couple are excellent, and their scenes are so hot, I found it even funny that they were exploring various facets of their sexual relationship. I watched the show on Mandee's youtube channel, but I found out on the 3rd episode that the censored versions are posted on youtube, so basically there are no sex scenes there, only the streaming version, so if you have IQiYi or alternative ways to watch, maybe it's better to watch it there.

After I finished the drama, I got an IQiYi subscription, and watch some episodes to see what was cut it out. And It’s incredible that they cut scenes that were completely normal scenes, mainly in the episode 8. Some episodes they cut like 10 minutes out of it.

Where to watch it: IQiYi, Youtube (censored version).

Dramas I started watching but didn’t finish YET:

1) Till the end of the Moon

I’m loving this one, it’s a enemys to lovers story (really enemies, the ones that try to murder each other), I watched it until episode 19, and I’m trying to watch it slowly. You can watch it on Viki or Youtube.

2) The Love You Give Me

I started this one a couple days ago, it’s in the begining yet, but I’m enjoying, it’s about a couple that got separated 5 years ago, the guy hates the girl, and the girl has a 4 years old son that we “don’t” know who is the father. It’s very light and easy watch drama. I’m watching it on Viki, but it’s on WeTv too.

Drama I REWATCHED:

1) You are my glory: I watched it in 2021, and really enjoyed. I decided to rewatch it, but I’m still  only 13 episodes in (it’s the first part of the drama), and it’s still good, there’s a lot chinese government propaganda, but I don’t really care about it.

2) My School President: I loved this drama soooo much, I can’t help rewatching. It’s still good, the songs are great, I’m probably gonna rewatch more times this year.

3) Between Us: I kinda watch it because I wanted to see how the time line BU and Until We Meet Again worked, but I can tell you that it’s like Team and Win are completly different characters on both dramas. It’s like a multiverse situation. It’s still really good, and I read the novel too, the novel is like a less dramatic version of the drama.

That’s it guys, see you in 2 months!

[srabaskerville]

"haven't you watch too much drama, Akk?" The most true ever said

Revenge against the teacher that was actually a secret boyfriend?? Akk??? WTF my boy

[motherflecker]

theo is such a refreshing bl protagonist for me. i’m very used to the classic oblivious/shy protagonists in bl (and there’s nothing wrong that! many of my faves fit that description i adore them) but seeing theo who knows what he wants from the very beginning, who doesn’t really shy away and is assertive (also unbelievably Horny)? delightful. his character is so fascinating!!! it’s about the layers!! it’s about assuming he’s a certain type of character at the start and then slowly discovering that he’s very different from first impressions!! And i’ve consumed so much one-sided pining that akktheo’s mutual pining grabbed me by the throat and has not let go 😭 i’m in love with the way they’re equally insane over each other. sorry for the long rant!! i love your blog and reading your tags about theo made me happy :))

oh, anon!!! this is so sweet!! don't apologize for the length, this was wonderful to read and made my morning completely

i super agree with you on all of this! theo is SUCH a great bl protag and refreshing is a great word to use for him bc he is. it's so clear to us as the audience that, from day one, theo likes akk. we see him in his interactions with akk. we see him in his interactions with others. we know that this is a boy who is very specific about what he allows others to see from him and that's pretty much established in the first two episodes.

i think about the circles of intimacy, right? just who is allowed near a person within the certain degrees they're given. theo is so specifically careful about the people he allows within his circles and just how much they're allowed before their permissions are revoked, clearly and concisely. i've never seen a bl protag be THIS direct about how boundaries and what he will accept and not accept.

it's crazy to me! bc sometimes this sort of behavior only comes from the more... cold and distant characters? not so much the protagonists usually bc like you said, they're usually oblivious and shy and imo, adorably dopey. but the love interests who are like "this is who is allowed near me / this is who is not allowed near me" and that starts a conflict with the protag who is like "well clearly I'M not allowed in that space" and that's a big chunk of the conflict of the show. not a bad thing! i love it, usually! (heck, one of my favorite dudes, sarawat, is this type completely.)

but theo is so different bc he is BOTH the protagonist AND allowed to set really firm boundaries. AND on top of that, he is not cold or distant either. he is a sweet boy who is actually quite friendly and sensitive and optimistic, even if he's a little guarded bc of his wealth/background.

in fact, i would argue that akk is closer to the traditional bl protag. here we have an insecure guy, from a poor background, who is in love with his rich childhood friend. who doesn't think he deserves to be in love with him because of it. who would rather place himself in a sidekick type role out of insecurity in order to help his friend find people who are "worthy" of him (bc clearly he is not). how many times have we seen that from a bl protag?

i would also argue that's why people misread theo so much in the finale and got defensive over akk bc we are used to the scenario where the insecure poor character is swept away by the more assertive rich character. when really, the only way for akk to find his agency in his love for theo was to do it himself.

so yeah, this got a bit away from me but tl;dr i love theo so much too bc he really does break a lot of the conventions of your typical bl protag and what you expect out of them. we are in full agreement there.