#cutie pie episode 9

[cheshiretears]

Binging Cutie Pie after it was mentioned by a fandom friend in passing and I WASN'T EXPECTING THE SOFTCORE PORN OMG

[respectthepetty]

Reading the (Visual) Rainbow Awards

Now that 2023 is officially wrapped up, I'm delivering awards to the QLs that gave the best visual narratives in 2023. In order to be considered for these awards, the series 1) had to air during 2023, and 2) had to finish airing by December 31, so out of the 108 BLs I watched this year, 14 are still ongoing and cannot be considered for these awards. Out of the remaining 94 QLs, 67 had some degree of consistent color coding.

*If a show is mentioned with an asterisk, it means the show was not considered in the nominations for not meeting the required criteria.

But before I begin the award ceremony, I must stay on brand and deliver one award for my namesake.

Petty Award: Only Friends & I Feel You Linger in the Air

This award goes to a show or shows that had great visual narratives but I refuse to write about it because I'm petty. Cinematographers Rath and Jim never fail, and they both delivered beautiful visuals in their shows, but these series know what they did to me, so now we got beef. Cutie Pie and Bad Buddy finally broke out of Petty Prison this year, so Only Friends and I Feel You Linger in the Air now join I Told Sunset About You behind bars for making me want to fight them in the parking lot of a Texas Chicken.

Now for the ceremony to begin!

Stats Awards [These awards are based solely on numbers]

Most Popular: Blue Boy

This award goes to the color that was most popular in a pair, number-wise. The stats: A Blue Boy was part of a color-coded pair 26 times this year. The next color-coded boy was a Black Brooder who was a part of 15 pairs.

The Best Blue Boy was Bed Friend's King. He is actually bi-colored with blue and black, so he represents both of the most popular color-coded boys well. He was loyal, dependable, sensitive, and a little arrogant, but always sincere, which made him a King among men, and he truly deserves the title of "Best Color-Coded Boy of the Year."

Most Popular Pair: Light x Dark

This award goes to the color-coded pair who were used the most in the year, number-wise. The stats: The Black x White dynamic was consistently used for 9 couples, and the Happy Human (Multicolored Menace) x Brooding Boy dynamic was used 3 times. A Yellow/Orange Oddity x Blue Boy pair was used for 7 couples, a Green Guy x Blue Boy were used for 6 couples, and Red Rascal x Blue Boy were used for 6 couples as well.

The Best Light x Dark Couple: Tew x Guy from My Dear Gangster Oppa perfectly represent what makes this color dynamic work. Tew was an actual gangster who murdered people and only wore black, while Guy was an innocent college student who only wore white, yet they both ended up owning a bar on a beach and wearing stripes of the other's color to show that everyone needs to find a balance within himself and his relationship.

The Outlier: Star Struck

This award goes to a series that delivered a colored-coded pair that no other series did. Korean drama Star Struck gave us the ONLY Black Brooder x Red Rascal pair of the year. The leads were color coded as children into adulthood, and the show included color-coded accessories and a color exchange.

Visual Rhetoric Awards

Best Boundary/Barrier/Bars - My School President

This award goes to a series that best displayed an internal conflict with a physical barrier between the two leads. My School President did this several times and each time was different, but throughout the sixth episode, as the boys recreated the music video for Tilly Birds' "Just Being Friendly," the line between friends and boyfriends was clearly represented. Both boys struggled with their feelings and the physical barriers were there as a reminder that one of them would have to cross the line in order to move forward. However, when Blue Boy Tinn finally did, it was after confirmation that Red Rascal Gun felt the same, and it was a gentle move which was true to his character and the high school context.

Best Balance - Between Us

This award goes to a series that best used the scene to outline the balanced dynamic between the leads. My Beautiful Man 2 did a fantastic job of slowly showing Hira and Kiyoi's evolving power dynamic by Hira going from laying down to kneeling in front of a sitting Kiyoi, but Between Us showed that Win and Team were a balanced pair from the very first episode during their sexual encounter. That scene stated that neither boy was being taken advantage of, and this visual continued throughout the show. Both boys were afraid of their feelings, yet both boys loved each other, equally.

Best Background (Noise) - Our Dating Sim

This award goes to a series that best used the background details to strongly reinforce the ongoing plot. Our Dating Sim's plot revolved around a company creating an interactive game that would serve as a dating simulation, and that basis played directly into the former friends-to-lovers' conflict. The very first scene involved Eddy inputting code into his computer to "FindProblem; ResetTime; BackToStage; RestartGame" then the company Ian was applying to and the one Eddy worked at was called RE:TRY with a controller that had a heart as one of the buttons. However, every episode had some degree of background noise speaking directly about the plot including additional game simulation scenes where an unidentified player would have to select future moves based on the boys' previous experiences.

Best Use of Clothing - Never Let Me Go

This award goes to the series that made the best use of clothing to show the evolving dynamic between the leads. Never Let Me Go wins because Nueng began the series in dark solid colors while Palm was in colorful patterns. As their relationship progressed, Nueng's colors became lighter, and patterns were introduced. Yet in the end, both boys stayed true to themselves and each maintained their style while incorporating components from the other. Palm's color darkened but remained patterned, and Nueng opted for neutral colors with patterned ties.

Colors Awards

Honorable Mention - Oh No! Here Comes Trouble

This award goes to a series that had a great visual narrative but could not be considered for these awards because it wasn't marketed as a QL (even though it's canon to me). If Oh No! Here Comes Trouble was marketed as QL, it would easily be nominated for the Best Overall Award. The use of the color red as a continuing reminder of the thin red thread of destiny, alone, would win it a spot on this list, but the show also included ample amounts of visual rhetoric, a "kiss of life," and color-coded matching outfits which deserve to be recognized.

Best Color Exchange - My Personal Weatherman

This award goes to a series where the leads were color coded and switching their colors demonstrated more than their love being mutual. My Personal Weatherman owned this category. The series was riddled with miscommunications between the leads regarding the love they felt for each other, but after Mizuki's possessiveness ramped up at the end of the seventh episode, the love was made clear, through bondage. Yoh, wearing Mizuki's blue, felt the love Mizuki had for him when he was tied up and being, essentially, held hostage by Mizuki. And yet by tying up Yoh, Mizuki could finally physically reinforce the way he felt for Yoh. He wanted Yoh. All of Yoh. To himself. And Yoh needed that to be made clear with a color-coded bonding moment (hehe).

Best Kiss - The Eighth Sense

This award goes to the series that best used a kiss to support the color narrative of the story. The Eighth Sense waited until the second-to-last episode to deliver this extraordinary color-coded kiss, but the wait was well worth it. Jae Won was color coded as a Brooding Boy (dark) and Ji Hyun was color coded as a Happy Human (light). After an accident involving the two, Jae Won was the darkest he had been, color-wise and mentally, so he isolated himself. But after several episodes apart, Jae Won walked out of the darkness, straight to Ji Hyun's, and kissed him on the street with all the colors of the rainbow pulsing around them perfectly showing that Ji Hyun was the color in his dark world, but that Jae Won also brought color to Ji Hyun's life and directly to his doorstep.

Best Pink - Be My Favorite

This award goes to the series that best used the color pink to demonstrate the love between the two leads. Normally, shows use pink lighting, pink clothing, or pink blankets to display this visual, but Be My Favorite used pink wisteria delicately hanging behind Pisaeng comforting Kawi. The flowering plant symbolizes friendship, love, and longevity and perfectly tied into the show's themes of valuing friendship and putting in the effort day-after-day to make any relationship last.

Best Heart - Love Tractor

This award goes to a series that best represented love by using a tangible item to symbolize a heart. Even before Yechan realized he loved Yol with the physical representation of Yechan's red gloves sprouting out from his left chest pocket in Love Tractor, Yechan let Yol know that he could be trusted with Yol's heart. During the third episode, Yechan taught Yol how to pick strawberries. He advised Yol to be gentle, to not use force, and to not put too much pressure on them or they would bruise or break. Yechan proceeded to use this method with Yol, and continued to give Yechan red fruits to enjoy as a means of encouraging Yol to experience things he had truly not before, like fresh strawberries, stolen fruit, and unconditional love.

Best Accessory - I Cannot Reach You

This award goes to a series that best used a color-coded accessory to support the ongoing plot. Usually, color-coded accessories are physical items such as a phone, a shirt, or a mug, but I Cannot Reach You instead color coded feelings via a bokeh effect. Blue Boy Yamato tried to deny his feelings for his best friend, Yellow/Orange Oddity Kakeru, but the colors don't lie, and the bokeh effect snitched on him each time. When Kakeru was tending Yamato's wound or when Yamato thought of kissing Kakeru, the bokeh effect would show both boys' colors to let the audience know that Kakeru was on Yamato's mind. But the biggest moment was when this phenomenon happened to Kakeru, which finally showed that he felt the same for Yamato. [GIF by @my-rose-tinted-glasses]

Best Blinding Light (of Love) - HIStory 5: Love in the Future

This award goes to the series that best used a blinding light to emphasize the overwhelming feeling of being in love. Taiwan and its long-standing HIStory series win this award because Taiwan showed everyone else why it's the expert. HIStory 5: Love in the Future waited until the last episode to use this with an established couple, which is why it deserves the win. Vincent had already quit his job and moved to the beach, where his boyfriend Wynn would visit, but in the last episode, Wynn quit his job as well and ran to the beach because he finally realized Vincent was the reason all his dreams came true. Vincent told Wynn he never planned to tell him because he didn't want Wynn to believe he owed Vincent, and Wynn told Vincent his love was genuine regardless of what Vincent had done for him. They kissed, and the blinding light hit as they solidified their love. Therefore, the light wasn't just for love, but for understanding what that love meant and where that love came from.

Best Lighting - Moonlight Chicken

This award goes to the series that best used lighting to support the story's narrative. Cinematographer Rath, who has regularly partnered with Director Jojo and Director Aof, never misses. Not once. And Moonlight Chicken is a flawless example of that. Warm and cool lighting were used to show the difference between neglect and care, isolation and warmth, and a house versus a home. The characters' development could be directly seen through the lighting surrounding them and projected on them. Heart's entire storyline is a beautiful progression through blues and oranges and reds, and we see that although Jim did not realize he was the heart of his community, the lighting made sure that the audience understood how important he was to each character he interacted with, even Alan.

Best Cinematographer: Nid Nidchaya - Dangerous Romance, Love in Translation, My Universe*

This award goes to the cinematographer who best supported the story through visuals without distracting from the ongoing plot. Thailand dominated this competition with Joy (The Promise, The Warp Effect*); Rath (Never Let Me Go, Moonlight Chicken, Our Skyy, Only Friends, Last Twilight*); Jim (Step by Step, Hidden Agenda, I Feel You Linger in the Air); and Suthipong (609 Bedtime Story, Our Skyy, Chains of Heart, My Dear Gangster Oppa), but only Nid deserves this win.

My Universe consists of twelve different stories, and each has had a slightly different visual presentation, but it's Nid's work in Dangerous Romance and Love in Translation that show off his true skill. When Red Rascal Sailom was drugged and attempted to call Blue Boy Kanghan, the bathroom was lit in blue as Sailom fell down from the purple, and when Kanghan cried while pinning down Sailom, they were surrounded by their colors. When Phumjai and Yan Feng kissed in their store, their colors enveloped them much like the colors would combine as they had sex in the same spot a few episodes later. The colors and the love were always present even if it was overlooked, which only reinforced the on-screen drama of failing to notice the ways love is always present, even when in conflict.

Best Rainbow - I Became the Lead in a BL Drama

This award goes to the series with the best use of a rainbow. There were many rainbows this year featured in opening credits and several more that were nominees of this award such as Our Dining Table's rainbow over the smiley face sucker, Dangerous Romance's rainbow over Kanghan's heart, Past-Senger's rainbow paper hearts in a jar, and Wen's office Pride flag in Moonlight Chicken, but I Became Lead in a BL Drama's rainbow in the opening credits of the first episode swooped in right before the clock struck midnight ending 2023. The reason it stole this award at the last minute is simple - it's queer. Regardless if a kiss happened or not, this series was still about two men falling in love, and that's pretty gay. But how the rainbow was used in the opening credits of the first episode with the Blinding Light of Love as the clapperboard hid the leads' kiss is what gave it the edge in this category. We only saw one practice kiss because the scripted one was never for us. That kiss was for the audience of the fictional BL drama, and the real kiss between the actors was just for them. It was gay. It was meta. It was Japanese BL.

Best Surprise - La Pluie

This award serves as a catch-all for a series that delivered a color-coded surprise while still incorporating it well within the plot. Several series offered color-coded surprises in 2023, but La Pluie, the show about soulmates, splendidly reinforced its plot through the two color-coded brothers at the center of the series. Tien was a Yellow/Orange Oddity who believed in the power of destiny, yet he ended up in blue with a person who wasn't his soulmate, and his brother, Blue Boy Tai, who never wanted a soulmate, ended up with his and embracing more yellow in his life. The story is more complicated, and so are the colors, but for a series about bucking fate, it resisted every common use of color-coding techniques in order to support that theme. Life is unpredictable, and so were the colors.

Best Group Effort - Destiny Seeker

This award goes to the series that best color coded a majority of its characters. Destiny Seeker had consistent color coding throughout the entire season, but it really excelled at color coding each of its three couples. The youngest couple color coordinated, the second pair were yellow x green, which is usually reserved for friends and not lovers and went well with their plot, and the main characters were the traditional Thai blue x red. The show gave three different color-coded pairs yet provided something new and fresh while still hitting each stop on the BL history tour, and no couple was wasted. Each one, and their colors, perfectly added to the story, and gave a nice depiction of the rainbow of colors that queer love can be.

Best Consistent Color Coding - Tie: What Did You Eat Yesterday? 2, My Beautiful Man 2, Naughty Babe

This award goes to the series that had the most consistent color coding throughout its run. However, this year we were blessed with sequels and additional outings from some of our favorite series and color-coded couples. Therefore, this award goes to THREE shows for not only having consistent color coding but for also openly using those colors as part of the plot:

Shiro x Kenji [What Did You Eat Yesterday?] - Shiro was always a Brooding Boy (dark colored) and Kenji brought color into his life, but the second season directly addressed this. Shiro wasn't ever going to be a colorful person, but he didn't need to be because the show repeatedly stated that relationships are about balance. Kenji loves Shiro because he is practical and saves for their future. Shiro loves Kenji because he is upbeat and optimistic. They have different colors, but they are the perfect match, just like their aprons.

Hira x Kiyoi [My Beautiful Man] - Hira was a loyal and reserved servant (blue) to his god Kiyoi (white). Yet the second season and movie continued to show that Kiyoi was not a god, but instead a man lacking love and color, and because of that, Hira had to learn to give his color to Kiyoi rather than mindless devotion. Both men shined the brightest when it was clear that Kiyoi loved Hira for his stalker tendencies, and Hira thrived knowing that the best way to show Kiyoi love was by being himself and doing exactly what he loved, which was taking care of Kiyoi with all his color.

Lian x Yi Kuea [Cutie Pie, Naughty Babe] - All polycule jokes aside, Lian and Kuea had a complete color-coded story in Cutie Pie, so Cutie Pie 2 U felt like a repeat of the first season, but then came Naughty Babe. The boys wore more of the other's color which proved they were very much still in love as husbands, and at their best friends' wedding, these husbands stood in red and took a serious moment in a season full of hijinks and shenanigans to look directly at the audience and state that "Love Always Win." Domundi has been beating this Marriage Equality drum the hardest, and it continues to use its characters to emphasize the importance of QUEER family and rights. The Next Prince and Love Upon a Time when?

Best Overall - Kiseki: Dear to Me

This award goes to the series that did it like nobody else to claim the ultimate prize, and no other show can even compete with Kiseki: Dear to Me. The promo material, as shown above, outlined the light versus dark dynamic the two couples would have in the show. The main couple would be the lighter love and the second couple would be the darker version. It also showcased that the main couple would be the loyal blues, and the second couple would be the defiant reds. Before the show even started, it told us there would be balance. One couple with their baked treats would be sugar and sweet, while the other couple with their torture tactics of chili peppers would be spice and everything-not-nice. It would be a group effort.

And once the fun got started, we got several color-coded cameos from couples in other well-known Taiwanese BLs, the Blinding Light of Love for both couples, and the pink light of love.

But it didn't stop there! The series gave the traditional color exchange between Blue Boy Zong Yi and his devoid-of-color future-husband Rui, but true to his word and actions, Zong Yi never took his color back. He was serious about his love and gave it ALL to Rui, which was also depicted by Zong Yi opening a bakery that specialized in strawberry goods, because in case it wasn't clear, strawberry =💗= love.

Even with all that, the second couple still stole the show for most viewers. Perhaps it was Eddie's rainbow cardigans and sweaters. It's possible it was Eddie's cat collars combined with Chen Yi's dog tags or the body pillows of each other that watched the other's back as they slept. Maybe it was the graffiti behind Chen Yi that stated he was "no good at goodbye" when he was lying to Eddie about needing him to help with business issues or that they continued to wear each other's clothing which WERE COLOR COORDINATED THE ENTIRE TIME!

Regardless of the exact reason people preferred one couple over the other, Kiseki: Dear to Me continued to serve a visual narrative that underlined the plot and provided additional context for both couples and the overall story. Color-coded boys in love get happy endings, and this series proved that.

Before the show even began.

[cowboylikericky]

i know everyone in the fandom obsesses over 10 and some people do it and forget about the other doctors. 10 is the best doctor but not by much, im rewatching 11 rn and this man is fucking hilarious and cool and then theres 9 whos an icon, and 12 who does not take anyones shit and 13 whos a cutie pie but also badass and then 15. omds he ks such an icon qnd i know i am going to LOVE his episodes. and the war doctor oh my days. his lore is mental. so david tennant is the best but that doesnt mean everyone else isnt amazing and if someone doesn't like david tennant thays valid because his episodes arent for everyone. each doctor has a different vibe

[happypotato48]

List of Thai BL dramas i've watched with short opinions about them i guess :P

Thai BLs that i finished:

A Boss and a Babe. It's cute for what it is, i loved the gaming friendships and i'm a sucker for forcebook. 7/10 need more unhinged energy from book.

A Tale of Thousand Stars/Our Skyy 2 : Bad Buddy x A Tale Of Thousand stars. this show reminds me a lot of early to mid 2000s lakorns. it's a beautiful by the book love story, i appreciated that a bl got to take a spin on this kind of quiet thai story. 8/10 loved it but still too vanilla for my taste.

Bake Me Please. Guide Kantapon is the cutest man alive and CAKES! that it, that all i have for this show. 6/10 it's a show that exist.

Be My Favorite. damn fluke gawin is so pretty what was this show about again? :P i'm kidding, i actually really liked this show. i watched it when i had zero knowledge about bl industry, i was oblivious about krist's controversy and i find krist acting to be charming and think kawee is very relatable as a cringe fail human myself. 8.5/10 this show made me want to collected weird thingies.

Cherry Magic (Thailand). oh boy this show. it's was everything to me also the only show so far that i've written extensively on this site. here is my personal feeling about this show. 9.5/10 would kill for taynew.

Cooking Crush. what! the fuc$! look look, i just learned that both offgun are older than me. when i first saw the show i thought they were some rookie actors with how young they looks. watching cute bl is gonna be the death of me. anywho this show is supercute don't have a lot of thought about it though. 7.5/10 cutting half a point cause of no samsee x metha.

Cutie Pie/Naughty Babe. what a fuckin legend of a series. all the characters have zero braincells and somehow all the rich pretty boys are engaged to each other and by arranged marriages nonetheless. wtf is this fanfic version of thailand and where can i get hit by a truck and get isekai to it. 7.5/10 still haven't watch Cutie Pie 2 U, i hope it get dumber.

Enchanté. this show is so dummmb it should've go full camp reverse harem yaoi nonsense but it didn't and ended up being kinda boring. 6.5/10. meh, i'm still a sucker for forcebook.

Last Twilight. UGHHH!! i'm still so mad. this show was going to be THE SHOW for me then ep 11-12 happened i legit mentally check out halfway through ep 12 and i basically blocked the ending from my mind. this show came out at the right place and the right time for me, the first 9 episodes helped me through a very tough time in my life. the story of two people helping each other finding their way out of the dark was very compelling to me. ughh. 5.5/10 (9/10 for ep 1-9) P'Aof why are you like this!!

Laws Of Attraction. yassssssss this show slay(literally :P) the show is a breath of fresh air for me despite how very lakorn of it is. i'm glad that there is a bl that feel this soapy and campy cause like i do love my angsty and innocent school bls but the industry really need show like laws of attraction. jamfilm also were very great in their roles espically film, charn is the most babygirl corrupted cute evil lawyer of all time. 9/10 no note headempty only charn's evil smirks in my mind

La Pluie. now, this is a romance. this show is one of the most romanctic media that i personally have experience. i loved that the show took the cheesy premise of soulmates and work it so well to do both deconstruction and exploration of the trope. i think using rain, thing that isolated people as a narrative tool for love connection is absolutely brilliant. last but not least pat is just the perfect bl love interest, he's an very idealized character but he do feels like an actual person. i want to give a shout out to Pee Peerawich the way he said "มันหนาวอ่ะ" in ep 8 sent me, the raspy voice, the eye twich and combo those with a back cuddle, sir! you just commited a mass murders with that move. 9/10 plz i need season two with my baby boy tien.

Love in Translation. the unhingendness of that first meeting is probably my favorite bl meet cute. look if you don't get into a fistfight with the guy you destined to be with then what is the point of life. this show fake date is very well done it's doesn't feel forced like in a lot of other bls and it make the growing attraction feels very genuine and it pay off in one of the best sex scenes in all of bl, yang is such a freak and i loved him for it. 8/10 the last two episodes did got slightly off the rail for me but i still enjoyed the show.

Moonlight Chicken. one of the most beautiful shows i ever watched. when watching this show i can feels, smells and tastes everything it depicted. from the comfort khao man gai to jim's loneliness, from alan's heartbreak to liming and heart's midnight motorcycle ride. this show gave me all the feels and i still can't completely shake it off. 9.9/10 this show is a healing.

My School President. These boys!!!! i can't, i loved these boys so much, all the boys, YES ALL OF THEM! this show is on the opposite spectrum of Moonlight Chicken for me. while MC give me the good heartaches this show give me unbridled joy it's like heartstopper on cracks. i absolutely adored tinn and gun and the show relentless optimism about thier first love. love is awesome no matter the romantic, familial or platonic kind and i think this show hit the marks with all three. 10/10(i'm super bias but fuck it idc i even liked the singing) this show made me started watching thai bl and it always will have a place in my heart.

My Ride. this show is lacking in intimacy but making up by being all heart. could this show be better if they fleshed out and explore more of tawan and his cheating bf's relationship, maybe but i'm happy for what we got. 8/10 mork and tawan were very cutie patootie, i don't remember much about the het and the side couple were just st ok.

Step by Step. man trisanu is exactly the same height at me and i want everyone to know that is the only reason i started this show🤣 . i feels like this show have a lot to say about stuff but i kinda got lost staring at man trisanu while watching. one thing i really loved is the very fem *ตุ๊ด coworker who got to be a real character not just a jokey sidekick and having a loving relationship with a hottie. 7.5/10 can i get more man trisanu in bl plz.

Triage. asshole doctor stuck in a timeloop for him to find the meaning of life, yes plz give it to me. i loved stories about assholes who need to better themself for love and other junk. tinn and tol are both grumpy bitches and i just loved that the show use the timeloop to soften these nerds. at the end i just want to wrap them in blanket and let's them cuddle each other forever. 8.5/10 the last ep is bit convoluted but i forgave the show for that cute clocktower kiss.

You're My Sky. i started this show for my boy suar and he did not disappointed. the pining and the longing for an older boy who been there for you most you life, chef kiss. this show also very beautiful to look at. 8/10 i'm kinda meh about the side couples, i do think they all got the "good ending" for their stories.

Thai BLs that i didn't finish or gave up and skipped to the ending:

Bad Buddy. Oh boy, am i gonna get murder for this??? sorry but idk why i didn't wholeheartedly love and give this show my undivided attention. i watched this show very weird and out of order, i started with the last ep than just watch other episodes in bit and peice. i think i've seen 70% of this show. plz forgive me this is the first thai bl i tried to get into but can't. maybe i need to give this show another chance and watch it properly. or idk maybe cause the way i watched it, it's ruined for me forever. 6.5/10 i loved the rooftop kiss plz don't kill me.

Dangerous Romance. this show is trash and not the good kind, how this show depicted relationship between a rich asshole and a poor boy feels very gross to me. i fast forward a bunch and gave up after the not just dumb but very cruel breakup. 4/10 it's watchable if you ignore the plot and the chatacters.

Hidden Agenda. wow this is the most nothing show that ever nothing for me. it's a perfected white noise while playing chill video games. i stopped watching after ep 8 cause look like there going to be a dumb break up, i have no desire to revisit this show. 5/10 joongdunk were kinda cutes.

The Miracle of Teddy Bear. this show is too god damn long with too many side plots the one and a half hour per episode killed the momentum for me. i liked the show and do think i want to revisit and finish it one day. 6/10 for now.

Vice Versa. why are they giving jimmysea this show. this show is so boring for me, i gave up in episode 6. 4/10 gmmtv give my babies better shows!!

Thai BLs that i've watched all the sex scenes and have no intention of watching the actual show:

Kinnporsche: heheehehhehehe everyone were so hot, too bad i don't like rich mafia story. mile being a nepobaby also significantly killed the mood for me. 55555/dead bodyguards (idk how many there are but i don't care) the ost are bangers though.

Venus in the Sky and Love in the Air. cringe gay sex for the wins. 69/420.

ok, whoo that was a lot. gonna pin this cause i don't think anyone want to read all that in one sitting. i think i'm gonna make another post for non thai BLs in the near future. thanks for reading my unhinged opinions hope i'm not gonna get moider for it 55555555.

[annoyingenthusiastperfection]

Summary : headcanon version¡ Miles (42! & 1610!) Hobie brown , Pavtir Prabhakar , and gwen stacy. Finding out your Mlp collection.

Miles Morales

●It all started with u beeing good at drawing horses. Miles was impressed and asked how you draw so good.

"LIKE HOW??? ARE YOU SO GOOD AT DRAWING HORSES???

"Its cause I drew them alot"

●Miles was amazed on how knowledgeable about real facts on horses and the mythologyical one too. Unicorns? Alicorns? Pegasus? Please you can draw them blinded.

●But no matter what your explanation may be Miles just has a little suspicion that its not just cause your born to draw horses. He caught u doodling a purple oddly familiar alicorn.

"Hey what's that?" Miles pointed at your doodles as you closed your sketch book in emberassment. "nothing!"

●It was a normal day you and Miles on your dorm room studying suddenly beeing called by your roomates outside for some help. Miles was left in your dorm he was kicking his foot til he hit a box to hard making it fall down to reveal....

Ponies???

●You walked in to your dorm Miles brushing celestia's hair. You froze. Your soul leaving your body. Miles turned to you in a innocent smile.

"So you like my little pony? I still remember you drawing the purple one! What's her name? Sprakle Sprinkle?"

"IT'S TWILIGHT SPARKLE"

●It was funny when Miles deliberately or unintentionally mistakes the ponies name and you always corrected him. He once called chrysalis the alien pony. He called Cozy glow a crazy bitch when you forced him to watch all 9 seasons of the show including movies and mlpstopmotion videos.

●Loves the apple family and pinkie pie.

"I cant believe you watched this as a kid. I can understand how your so good at drawing horses now"

Gwen Stacy

●Gwen and you werent too close in the beginning .It was just you two were seatmates so she notice on your "subtle" referance to the show. Be it the elements of harmony colored gems sticker on your notebook. Your twilight sparkle cutiemark earings. Or just you doodling the treehouse of harmony.

"I like your earings"

"T-thank you"

●It was kind of normal of your friends picking or joking on your mlp obsession. It sometimes makes you left out since you couldnt for the life of God relate to alot of they're series of the month. It was hard for you to not cringe at Live action. You were used to animation. The live action just felt stiff compared to animation. Gwen never understood your friends she thought it was cool how you memorize ponies name cutie marks even backround ones.

●It was lunch time and Gwen went to her classroom early and theyre she saw you watching the wedding of shinning armor and cadence. Face full of food as you watch intently.

●Gwen smiled sitting next to you. "Mind if I sit next to you?" You jolted and fell of your chair luckily Gwen caught you. Eversince that day you watched mlp episodes with Gwen everylunch.

●She loved doing theories. Like why theyre never been a baby alicorn born till flurry heart. The connections of equestria magic and the human worls. Loves the idea of Discord beeing the last draconequus and finding solice in invading worlds to feel not alone.

●Loves the seaponies.

"God I love applejack love her honestyand loyalty to her family! And the cutie mark crusaders are adorable! Sweetie Pie is the cutest!"

Hobie Brown

●He didnt meet you as Hobie brown but as spider-punk. It was an accident when beating up some corrupt cops near by he saw you full pinkie pie cosplay. You wearing a pink wig with a blue , pink , and yellow cupcake dress. It caught him off guard of your ballon accecories. He got kicked in the face becuase he was distracted watching you.

●Eversince he saw you he tried seeing you again but god hates him. He couldnt find for the life of himself. He tried going to cons wandering around finding any familar cosplay. He called it a night at 3rd day going till.

"I am sorry-"

●It was you with the same pink wig , ballon clips , pink , blue and yellow cupcake dress.

"You look dench in that."

"Thank you! I worked really hard on the dress"

●Eversince that day Hobie offered to ask you about the cosplay finding out your suppose to cosplay pinkie pie from mlp. He was a little confuse at first but after watching 4 seasons he gets it. It took him a while to catch up but he thinks the show is enjoyable at the least.

●You convinced him to cosplay twilight as you cosplayed spike. Imagine him with purple glitter extensions , a pony ears and horn with wings. It was funny but he didnt mind. He was Qreally into you wearing loads of spikes on your outfit since you were cosplaying a dragon.

●When he showed up like that on a meeting with Miguel he didnt give a single crap only reapeting.

"I look awesome and you aint doing nothing about it"

●He loves discord and pinkie pie but has a soft spot for thorax.

"The changelings look cool before and after. You can't CHANGE my mind"

Pavtir Prabhakar

●200% already knew about the show. Was actually obsessed as a kid but nobody like to talk about it with him well except for you.

●You two rant about the better element and pony almost every week.

"RAINBOW DASH ISNT A SELF CENTERED FASHINISTA!"

"How dare you ..."

"I am sorry-"

"You say that to Rarity" *caressing Rarity plushie backpack*

●He honestly jsut took potery just to make mlp statues why? To flex on you thats why.

●Will and have bought every single main six plushies but you have the cards of the mainsix and princesses. Even his favourite. Big Mac. This man has begged and pleqded for that card but he held it ONCE.

●How can you hate him so much? It was all for the tease and who got the best merch.

●Loves loves spike and starlight.

"C'mon trade with meeeeee"

Miles G.

●You hid your mlp intrest from him to the point he never even visited your apartment. Not once.

"Hey can we hang out your place?"

"Sorry I have a rat infestation"

●He didnt push it any further and so everytime he asked theyre was a new excuse. The bathroom sink broke. My AC isnt working well. The place is a Mess. A fire recently happend. I almost got robbed so its unsafe. Excuses and Excuses.

●But this time you can't escape. It was you having you having a fever so he had to go your apartment. Nothing out of the ordinary it wasn't to big or to small but when he entered your room.

●Your bed was surrounded with mlp plushies from the main six , to the princesses , to the ponies of pony vill and more. Rapped in a twilight cutie mark pattern blabket sick out of your mind you stood up looking at Miles in you fluttershy pajamas.

"So this is why you dont want me to come here?"

"Ughhhh ... Shut up your lucky I am sick"

●Since you getting sick it became a habit of Miles just watching an Mlp episode or two to cool off. One time Uncle Aaron walked pass him watching the mlp movie and he was flabergasted to the brim.

"The hell are you watching?"

"Something good got a problem?"

●He likes to see your collection of mlp castles his favorite the crysatl empire the little flurry heart jusg warms his heart.

●He loves fluttershy but relates to applejack about family and uses Raindbow dashed motto.

"I GIVE AM 120% AWESOME STFU"

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - just RELAX BL, you're stressing me out

Organized, in each category, by ones I'm enjoying most at the top. However, I've put quite a few on hold for travel reasons.

Oct 2023 Wk 3

Ongoing Series - Thai

Dangerous Romance (Fri YT) ep 10 of 12 - Boyfriends are cute boyfriends. Reconciliation with daddy and then major brother drama. How exciting. Gah but that closing scene, these two are such great actors! 

Naughty Babe (Sat YT) ep 8 fin - A perfectly serviceable final episode. I did love the red Chinese-style wedding to go with the “hia.” Also, just a little Thai 'poke poke poke' at China. 

Final thoughts?

This is a nice addendum to Cutie Pie, but it’s relatively incomprehensible even if you’ve watched that previous installment. I can’t imagine it will make any sense at all if you haven’t. Frankly, the most impressive thing about this show was the makeup team. MaxNat give excellent chemistry, all the high heat is well done, and the friendships are adorable, even if the story is nonsensical. It’s fine, I’m relieved it was only 8 eps. I enjoyed it for the pair but I will probably never rewatch. A weak 8/10

My Universe (Sun iQIYI) Lucky Love ep 9 of 24 -Heartbroken (drunk) gay boy meets (fights) sister’s new chef. I love the femme bestie. Adorbs. This one seems pretty good actually. I like all the shots of Bangkok’s actual traffic. POV is a bit of a sad sack tho. 

Absolute Zero (Thai Weds iQIYI) ep 4 of 12 - There is something clever about this narrative in the way that they are each each other’s first and second loves, but also age gap kinda creepy (Thailand maybe leave this one for Japan?)

Venus in the Sky (Tues iQIYI) 8 of 10 eps - So much whiny gay drama babies. However, it also manages to be painfully slow, through the simple act of having 90% of the show be boys sitting around staring at their phones. Then it suddenly got way higher heat than I expected. Honestly, this could’ve ended at 8 sps. I don’t see how extending the show is going to improve it in any way.

Only Friends (Sat YT) ep 11 of 12 (not a BL but I'm watching it anyway) - I don’t have faith in any couple. One of my favorite things about this show is watching how many boys Mark can kiss. I know everyone is focusing on Neo, but seriously baby boy got game. Meanwhile Boston’s dick must be made of self-lubing steal pipe; I remain entirely uninterested is TopMew; Mew’s fam demonstrate why a gay boy should never take advice from straight women; and the slut-shaming agenda continues. NO SINGING. No character in this show is happy when Boeing turns up, but the rest of us trash-loving muckrakers are thrilled.

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

If It’s With You AKA Even If I Fall In Love With You AKA Kimi to nara Koi wo Shite Mite mo’ (Japan Gaga) ep 3 of 5 - Oh it is so cute and so sweet and so aching. I really did not want the confession to happen, even though I knew it had to. There is an element of torture to this one that only Japan can execute with such precise softness.

You Are Mine (Taiwan Fri Viki) eps 7 of 10 - I remain charmed. But while the me of 2018 would have thought this one of the best BLs ever, the me of now is finding it a bit dated and nostalgic.

Bon Appetit (Korea Weds iQIYI) 7-8fin - Romance between an office worker and the man from his past next door who cooks well. It was a very sweet and cute tale of food as love in the All the Liquors family of KBL. I’m not wild about it, I did enjoy it, I was happy to have it show up on my dash, but ultimately it will simply become one of the KBL crowd. 8/10 

Kiseki: Dear to Me (Taiwan Tues Viki & iQIYI) ep 10 of 13(?) - another one where they are separated for most of the show. Although the sides are giving win. 

Bump Up Business (Korea Gaga) 1-2 of 8 - from Idol Romance staring OnlyOneOf's Nine & Mill, this released as a movie in July in SK but is now being recut/reissued as a series. Love story between a trainee who is about to debut and a celebrity plagued by scandal. After that OmegaX Shoulder bullshizz business I am very wary of this show, but this pair is already better cast.

Out of the mouths of OnlyOneOf (!!!) babes...

As to the show? I don’t know. I mean I love the idea, am nervous about Korea (with that bubble) doing a meta critique of the BL industry, with K-pop idols, using an existing group. It just seems like there’s a lot of mines in this small field, and it could go horribly horribly wrong. I am enjoying it, but also anxious the whole time I’m watching it for culture/market reasons. That said, I did pretty much ask for this exact show. So I can't complain, now can I?  

Mr Cinderella 2 (Vietnam Sat YT) ep 5 of ? - I honestly don’t entirely understand what is going on. But it all seems to be the Psychotic Pretty Kitty’s fault. Oo caught in the act of drug-induced cheating - DRAMA. Dung should cut his losses and leave - cute doctor husband or not. Lovely kiss from the sides. I gotta say, this cast is hella pretty. I’m not mad that this team is kind of turning into GMMTV Vietnam.

It's Airing But...

I Feel You Linger in the Air (Fri grey) ep 8 of 12 - I will try to watch 8-12 and do a series review when I get back in November but... not sure I will be able to. Fingers crossed.

Love in Translation (Sat iQIYI) ep 8fin - completed, my final thoughts in Nov.

What Did You Eat Yesterday Season 2 AKA Kinou Nani Tabeta? Season 2 (Japan Fri Gaga) ep 1 of 10 - I find this series more fun to binge, so I'm waiting until it completes its run.

I Cannot Reach You AKA I Can't Reach You AKA Kimi ni wa Todokanai (Japan Tues Netflix-Japan & ????) - in classic JBL fashion, I Cannot Reach You could not be reached. 

Can I Buy Your Love From A Vending Machine? AKA Sono Koi, Jihanki de Kaemasu ka? (Japan cinema release in-country only) - This one is a movie from Japan so in customary fashion who tf knows when (or if) it will get international distribution. Salaryman Ayumu Koiwai just can't tear his eyes away from the strong, muscular man as he checks on the stocks of the vending machine in his office.

One Room Angel (Japan Gaga) - Yukinori, a convenience store clerk was accidentally stabbed by a thug and nearly died. He returns home to find an angel waiting for him. The drama is an adaptation based on Harada’s manga of the same name (which I did not like). With only five episodes and a good chance this won’t end happily, I am going to wait and let you tell me how it goes. Binge it when it is complete if it's safe.

In Case You Missed It

GMMTV posted their initial 2024 line up, here's my round up of the BLs. It includes 2 JBL adaptations, 2 KBL adaptations (that they aren't admitting to) and vampires. If you want to know how I did on the predictions that's here and the answer is: very badly indeed.

I am watching the Y Journey: Stay Like a Local series. But they are essentially tourist board long-form advertisements. I enjoy the promo aspect with regards to the food. And seeing some of my favorite pairs do interesting other things is kinda fun. But the whole thing feels disingenuous when gay marriage is still not legal and it’s essentially the Thai government (making these ads) who is stopping that from happening. I have a similar feeling to iQIYI as a content provider. It’s not queerbaiting in the original sense of the term, but it’s pretty gross to use gay for advertising with a nationalistic propaganda agenda, when being gay is still not legal in your country. Yes I struggle to reconcile myself with this on the regular, and it’s an ongoing hypocritical struggle for my tiny withered tired old heart.

All that said, this week's installment, He’s Not Happy, did make me want to rewatch Make a Wish. There’s no kissing in this series but JudoFluke kiss beautifully, so If you haven’t seen Make a Wish, it’s very good and I recommend tracking it down.

Next Week Looks Like This

Upcoming October BL

10/26 My Dear Gangster Oppa (Thai iQIYI) 8 eps - nerd retreats from the world into an online game and makes friends with a little group, they meat in real life, one of them is hot, they fall in love, hottie turns out to be a gangster. Trailer

10/31 SHADOW (Thai Gaga) - this is a horror BL featuring ghosts and other paranormal elements in a high school setting. I'm not wild about Thai horror (or horror at all). It features Singto (who did paranormal BL He's Coming to Me) opposite Fluke N (who's done a couple horror's before). Also Fiat. Dan suffers from sleep paralysis, and in his dreams he sees a shadow that suffocates him. It gets worse when he transfers schools.

2023 forthcoming BL master post (see comments, some are inaccurate, NOT KEPT UPDATED).

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

We stan consent and talking about sex during sex. Thank you Venus in the Sky.

I guess Ray's getting his 3some? Only Friends

Dangerous Romance hitting up some old school tropes.

Naughty Babe giving us our beloved domesticity and tiny gay families. @heretherebedork you happy?

(Last week)

[twig-tea]

2023 BL/GL/QL Round-Up Post

I thought for posterity I'd post a reflection on everything I watched that completed in 2023. For me, that means anything that started in 2022 but the last episode was in 2023 is on this list, but anything that will still be airing after 31 December 2023 11:59 my time (EST) is not on this list, even if the bulk of the show did air in 2023.

A few stats:

110 discrete pieces of content (series/films)

clocking in at est. 600 hours of NEW BL/GL content only

from 9 different countries (Cambodia [1], Philippines [3], Hong Kong [1], Japan [18], Korea [19], Myanmar [1], Taiwan [6], Thailand [56], Vietnam [7])

~50% of the content I watched on this list is from Thailand

~85% of my content was on YouTube [40%], GaGaOoLaLa [23%] and iQIYI [21%].

[Note that this year a lot of older GMMTV shows moved off of YouTube and onto Viki so if you're looking at these stats to decide what to pay for, this won't account for that.]

This doesn't include re-watches or catching up on old shows [e.g. I re-watched Love Sick, My Ride the Series, Semantic Error, ITSAY/IPYTM, Our Dating Sim at least 3 times lol, and anything with a s2 I re-watched s1 to prep, among others, watched Fujoshi Ukkari Gei no Kokuru (2019) for the first time] or non-QL [e.g. Heartstopper s2, Our Flag Means Death s2, Taskmaster s. 15 & 16, Uncanny Counter s2, One Piece s1, etc.] but does include films as well as shows, though I don't count special episodes separately (so Wedding Plan counts once, though I watched both the show and the special).

I hope you all appreciate that with this much content, and with my general brand of being unable to make decisions, I really struggled to narrow down a top 10 list. What follows is the best I could do lol

Top 20 Shows I'd Recommend From This Year:

Moonlight Chicken

Our Dating Sim

Bed Friend

The Eighth Sense

La Pluie

Sing My Crush

Tokyo in April Is...

Wedding Plan

Laws of Attraction

I Cannot Reach You

I Feel You Linger in the Air

What Did You Eat Yesterday S2

I Became the Lead in a BL Drama

If It's With You

Love in Translation

Our Dining Table

My Personal Weatherman

My Beautiful Man: Eternal

My School President

Be My Favorite

+10 I liked but I would only recommend with caveats:

Love Class 2

The New Employee [for the Rainbow Rice Cakes]

Let's Eat Together Aki and Haru

Never Let Me Go

Kiseki: Dear to Me

Unintentional Love Story

The Day I Loved You

End of the World with You

A Breeze of Love

Jack O'Frost

Bonus: Not a BL but worth calling out:

One Room Angel

Midnight Museum

Grand Guignol

The Warp Effect

Sadly, of the GLs that aired this year, I wouldn't recommend any of them. The best one was Show Me Love, which was not actually good but had very gorgeous women and a LOT of flirting.

The other huge thing that happened this year was that I stopped lurking! Thanks specifically to @lurkingshan and @bengiyo demanding everyone start talking about La Pluie, because they got me to post my first meta post. And because I started actually talking to people, I started making actual friends, and participated in organizing things like the Be My Favorite clown checkpoint for ep 11. I also disappeared a month because of life, and am still catching up on everything I intended to write this year. But it's been really rewarding finding this corner of tumblr with likeminded people who like good shows, like to think about these shows, and who are interested in talking about them in a way that's insightful and respectful.

It's been a long time since I felt comfortable enough participating actively in a fandom, and I just want to say to everyone I've interacted with this year: Thank you!

Full list under the cut for anyone curious! [Mostly in order it aired but may be slightly off].

Love Bill

Director Who Buys Me Dinner, The

Star Always Follow You, The

Cutie Pie 2 You

Between Us the Series (Hemp Rope)

Reason Why He Fell in Love with Me Special & S2 [international release]

New Employee, The

I Will Hit You/I Will Knock You

Individual Circumstances

609 Bedtime Story

GAPYuri / GAP the series

My School President

HitBiteLove the Series

Never Let Me Go

Moonlight Chicken

History 5: Love in the Future

Oh My God (ToDo) the Series

Warp Effect, The

End of the World, With You

My Blessing the Series

Our Winter (miniseries)

All the Liquors

Once in Memory: Let Me Be Yours

Shoulder to Cry On, A

Jack O'Frost

Our Dating Sim

Midnight Museum

Me, My Husband, and My Husband's Boyfriend

My Colleague at BL Shop might be My Meant-to-Be

Unintentional Love Story

Chains of Heart

Bed Friend the series

Bad Brother the Series

Stormy Honeymoon

Eighth Sense, the

Bad Brother the Series

Future Series

Tin Tam Jai the series

Crush on You

House of Stars the Series

Happy Merry Ending

Boss and a Babe, A

Pastsenger the Series

Love Mate

Love Syndrome the Series

Promise the Series, The

Day I Loved You, The

Our Dining Table (Bokura no Shokutaku)

Our Skyy 2

My Story the Series

Starstruck

Love Tractor

Naked Dining

Luminous Solution, The

Omai Series / Is My Roommate A Foreigner

Stupid Genius

Step By Step

La Pluie the series

Tie the Not

Sing My Crush / Follow the Wind

Tokyo in April Is .../ Shigatsu no Tokyo wa

Senior Love Me?

Be My Favorite

Show Me Love

Dinosaur Love

Low Frequency

Stay Still

Stay By My Side

Jun & Jun

Wedding Plan the Series

Laws of Attraction, the

Love Class s2

Minato's Laundromat S2

Hidden Agenda

Bon Appetit

Why RU the Series [Korean adaptation]

Be Mine Superstar

Star, The Season 2

Love In Translation

My Beautiful Man: Eternal

My Personal Weatherman

Bump Up Business

Naughty Babe Series

Only Friends

Grand Guignol

Dangerous Romance

If It's With You / Kimi to Nara Koi wo Shite Mite Mo

Y Journey: Stay Like a Local

I Feel You Linger in the Air

Venus in the Sky

Kiseki: Dear to Me

I Cannot Reach You

You Are Mine

Breeze of Love / Weather Forecast of Love

Mr. Cinderella 2

Let's Eat Together Aki and Haru

One Room Angel

Marry My Dead Body

Lucky My Love the Series

Pure Vanilla: Recipe for Romance

Absolute Zero

Memories, The

My Dear Gangster Oppa

Shadow

What Did You Eat Yesterday? S2

Middleman Love

Beyond the Star

Bake Me Please

You and My Stars

I Became the Lead in a BL Drama

[profiterole-reads]

2023 Favourites

In no particular order. This is content I've read and watched in 2023, not necessarily content released in 2023.

Books

1. Notorious Sorcerer by Davinia Evans: fantasy with some m/m. The protagonist travels to other planes for alchemical ingredients and ends up having to learn greater workings. I love the Byzantine vibe of the worldbuilding.

2. The Daughters of Izdihar by Hadeer Elsbai: fantasy with some f/f. Two women, a waterweaver and an earthweaver, join a women's rights movement. I love the Egyptian-inspired worldbuilding.

3. Reforged by Seth Haddon: m/m fantasy. This King/Paladin novel has a surprising plot. The magic system is very original as well, I especially like the music part of it.

4. The Buried and the Bound by Rochelle Hassan: urban fantasy with some m/m (YA). The hedgewitch protecting the town teams up with a boy cursed to forget his true love and another one trapped as a bondservant.

5. [Spanish] Lazos de Sangre by LR Jeffers: m/m urban fantasy (erotica). This is a series about werewolves and big cat shifters, usually angsty and hot.

6. [French] Meute by Karine Rennberg: urban fantasy with some m/m + another protagonist is aroace and uses sign language. This is a novel about building your own werewolf pack. I think this is my first time encountering 2nd-person narration in French and it works surprisingly well.

7. Cascade by Rachel A. Rosen: science fantasy with mlm and wlw protagonists + no romance. An ecological disaster has freed magic. In Canada, the Party works with a wizard in order to try and save humanity. I love the intricacies of the plot, which skilfully mixes politics, science and magic.

8. Ocean's Echo by Everina Maxwell: m/m science fiction. Telepathy, my favourite trope, done by one of my fave authors! It was even better than I expected.

9. The Deep Sky by Yume Kitasei: science fiction/murder mystery with several non-binary major characters. 80 people from all around the world embark on a one-way interstellar voyage. As they're all required to get pregnant, they're obviously afab, but several are non-binary, with mentions of a trans man.

10. Forget Me Not by Alyson Derrick: f/f romance (YA). This is a very romantic novel about two girls dating in secret until one gets amnesia. I enjoy this trope a lot.

TV shows

1. Good Omens: fantasy with queer protagonists + some f/f. I love the book and I love the adaptation. Season 2 is original content, but it's faithful to the spirit of the novel.

2. Shadow and Bone: fantasy with some m/m (YA). This successfully mixes the Shadow and Bone trilogy (that I haven't read) and the Six of Crows duology (that I have read and enjoyed).

3. Warrior Nun: fantasy with some f/f. Nuns literally fight against demons.

4. The Power: superpower fiction with some f/f + a trans woman and an intersex man. Teenage girls start developing an electrical superpower, which makes them safer from men.

5. Nü Er Hong: GL wuxia. This c-drama is a quick watch, with 27 episodes of 2 minutes. I love that these short webdramas always have more or less the same actresses.

6. The Devil Judge: dystopia/thriller with BL vibes. This k-drama has a tight plot and fascinating characters. There's a girl in a wheelchair and the rep is well done.

7. Naughty Babe: BL romance/murder (attempt) mystery. This Thai drama is the sequel to Cutie Pie, except that they switched up the main pairing and the secondary pairing. I think it's possible to watch it on its own.

8. Wedding Plan: BL + GL romcom. This Thai drama has mlm-wlw solidarity, which I hope to see more of in the future. There are also cameos from the BL couples from Love in the Air.

9. Oh! My Assistant: BL romcom. This hilarious k-drama is about a het porn webtoon creator and his assistant. Despite this topic, the drama is not explicit.

10. Welcome to the Lesbian Bar: GL contemporary fiction. This k-drama is a quick watch, with 5 episodes of 6 minutes. In each episode, 2 customers come have a drink and chat with the owner.

Movies

1. Barbie: fantasy that is so gender! This was such a big surprise coming from Hollywood.

2. Nimona: fantasy with a protagonist who is a trans/enby allegory + some m/m (YA). I haven't read the graphic novel, so this was more depressing than I expected (it deals a lot with discrimination), but still an excellent movie.

3. Wingwomen (Voleuses in the original French): action movie with a sapphic protagonist + f/f vibes between the other two. I love heist movies all about women.

4. Kill Bok-soon: action movie with some f/f. This Korean movie has interesting cinematography. Note that it's very violent, though.

5. Red, White & Royal Blue: m/m romcom. I love the book and I love the adaptation.

6. Anything's Possible: m/f romance with a trans female protagonist (YA). This is a very positive movie, about love, art and nature.

7. Fanfic: m/m romance with a trans male protagonist (YA). This Polish movie is sometimes dark, sometimes fun.

[wanderlust-in-my-soul]

Currently watching - January

Because I love a good little list - with an alphabetical order this time! 😊

Regularly updated during the month, latest update 31.01.2023

This may contain spoilers!

1. Ameiro Paradox (6/8 on Viki and Gaga)

An enemies to lovers story with journalists and cute smiles. I am a little bit confused by Kaburagi, just like Onoe is. It is not bad, the acting is quite nice.

2. Bokura no Micro na Shuumatsu aka The End Of the World With You (1/8 on Gaga or Viki)

This feels depressing and heartbreaking and I love it! Done right this can become a little sad gem.

3. Cutie Pie 2 You (1/4 on Youtube)

Well, I haven't been waiting for this and the first season left without a deeper impact on me. So right now I am very much unimpressed with this one.

4. HIStory 5: Love in the future (5/20 on Viki)

It is starting to grow on me. Both storylines. Seeing Hai Yi being nice, caring and less arrogant is kind of sweet. And all the flirting between Liang and Wynn is very much entertaining. Besides that, the main story is kind of confusing and I can't stop myself from asking, why doesn't He Bo Wei search himself in the internet?

5. Individual Circumstances (4/8 on Viki)

After years spending their lives apart from each other an almost worn out movie director and a famous writer meet again. The past has to be processed and the writer deals with their history and present in one of his stories. I like this one a lot. Can it be please next week, so I know what they were talking about in the preview?

6. My School President (8/12 on Youtube)

I loooove this one so much!!!! It is my favorite watch of the week! Set in highschool we meet Tinn (the school president) and Gun (head of the music club). Tinn has a huge crush on Gun and Gun sees in Tinn the enemy who is standing between the success of his music club and the win of the Hot Wave Music Contest. Sometimes you just need a good old high school bl to be happy. I enjoyed this series so much. And the music is so good!!!

7. Never Let Me Go (7/12 on Youtube)

The tension and chemistry between the two mains is definitely there and noticeable. I am hooked with the story and at this point really anxious about what's to come. There are so many layers to unfold and I love reading all those metas here on tumblr! So well written analyses.

8. Physical: 100 (2/10 on Netflix)

Okay, listen...my best friend told me, I should watch this and after 15 minutes we were on the phone with each other and for the next 1,5 hours we had the time of our lifes! This show is insane and so much fun to watch!

9. The New Employee (6/8 on Viki)

I love the manhwa and I really enjoy this adaptation. It is funny and cute and not so far from the original material. The two mains have a wonderful chemistry.

Finished in January

Series

1. 2 Moons the Ambassador (12/12 on Youtube)

It was just bad. The acting was not good. The plot was...lame and there was too much going on with the amount of couples to deal witj. And there was just too much dull drama without reason and so many plotholes and logical errors... 2 out of 10 for the sweetness sometimes

2. Till the world ends (10/10 on Youtube)

This one was such a pleasant surprise for me. A story about the end of the world with explicit and brutal scenes, decent acting and a kind of good story! The chemistry was there and with episode eight they said, well lets show world what we can do. I won't talk about physics nor the ending. Well the latter would explain the first issues, but I don't care. I liked it! 8,5 out of 10 dystopian ideas

3. Remember Me (14/14 on Gaga)

Okay, this one is so complicated for me. First I found it boring. With episode three I was hooked and totally into it. Around episode 10/11 I just got bored again and the story became...difficult to like anymore and the last one was just meh...I really liked the storytelling, but some parts could have been cut short and others needed more story time. I felt like they have forgotten that there were like four other stories beside Champ's in the last episode so everything felt rushed. And yes, the big problem with Name's decision to speak. Like as it is just so easy to overcome your fear and barrier and mental health problem and just speak. One day, after you notice it would be better for others if you speak, you just do it...well, that is not how it works. And yes, thinking about it, this is a really big problem of the show in general. Just presenting mental health problems as something you can overcome with enough selfcontrol and some words of encouragement...or the sight of others who feel unwell in your depressed presence...damn...It could have been such a nice 7, but thinking about those flaws really hurts...there is no real working with the problems. Champ just decides to forgive his family and his depression is healed...Name speaks because he just decided to do so...Gun and Golf broke up and just a few days later Golf says sorry and pulls out a ring and everything is fine again...Well no...that is not how life works. 4 out of 10 stories to tell

4. Zettai BL ni Naru Sekai VS Zettai BL ni Naritakunai Otoko Season 1 (4/4 on Gaga)

A man who tries to avoid the world of BL, by reading Yaoi mangas to get to know all the tropes he has to avoid in order to not get involved with the world as a main character. It is hilarious. I had a really good time watching it. 8 out of 10 tropes to avoid

5. Love Bill (10/10 on Youtube)

A vietnamese drama about a young man falling in love with a screenwriter. Well, of course there are some other things happening in between, but this is the heart of the story. Our boy Nguyễn Bá Vinh is doing a great job! I really enjoyed this drama. And the ending is so perfectly fitting for this drama. Thien is a screenwriter and known as the king od sad endings. So yeah, the ending is sad, but at the same time perfect and bittersweet. 7 out of 10 rainwater barrel showers

6. The director who buys me dinner (10/10 on iQiyi)

Okay, I read the Webseries, so I do know what Dennis was up to and what his story was. I liked the story between Yudam and Dongbaek. The ending? I wish they would have stick more to the original, but I am not mad about it. They had a fresh start and it is not that open of an ending for me. Yudam agreed to have dinner with Dongbaek and I believe that those two will be happy in the end. 7,5 out of 10 pills to swallow

7. Island (6/6 non bl)

I have never thought I would say I like a horror series, but here I am. I hate horror besides Vampires, Aliens and Witches, so this was a surprise, especially when I think about my despise and horror for The Exorcist. But this one is really good! And now I can't wait for season 2!! There is so much to unpack and I am hooked! 9,5 out of 10 lust demons

8. War of Y (20/20 on Gaga)

I finally watched it. I don't know. It was good imo, without a doubt. But it is a little bit paradox. The series tries to go against the industry and the fanservice and the working conditions, but in the end it is just another bl. Most of the stories have their happy ending and are kind of unrealistic. I enjoyed my time watching it, even though it was tough at some times. 7 out of 10 two-faced media

9. Gaya Sa Pelikula aka Like in the Movies (8/8 on Youtube)

What a perfect little series! I loved every second of this and I wish it had more episodes. But they managed to tell the story in the time they had without cutting something short or anything. It is a deep story with a light storytelling that fits the tone perfectly. The story is about Karl and Vlad who become fake boyfriends to help each other and who happen to fall in love with each other for real. But nothing is that easy in this world and the process of coming out and coming to terms with who you are needs time. Absolutely love this one! 10 out of 10 dishes to wash

10. Ingredients (21/21 on Gaga)

This was the perfect thing to watch while laying down with a cold. It warms your heart and makes you smile. It is such a cute and wholesome story and I believe they will manage to overcome all obstacles in their relationship. I am very grateful for this recommendation! 9,5 out of 10 desserts

11. My Engineer (14/14 on Youtube)

Well this one was a ride. I liked the beginning, but my patience died at some point. So Bohn and Duen became a couple, but they didn't touch each other, no hand holding, no kind of showing affection and the only one who does shows them through words is Bohn, but he becomes so jealous I wanted to slap his face. He is sulking the whole second part of this series! That was so annoying. The only bright spot were RamKing. I get it, they are cute and the only ones with at least two brain cells! 5,5 out of 10 sulking faces...

12. The Tuxedo (8/8 on Gaga)

This was not good. I think it is cringy and there was no chemistry between the mains or a plot I could really follow. I mean there are short films out there, which can transport a better story with a better feeling for time and substance than this series. The amount of times I cried noooo...Not good... 3,5 out 10 what the hell was this blue tuxedo?!?!

13. History 4: Close to you (10/10 on Viki)

Yeah, close to you...what a perfect titel. Best friends to lovers, stepbrothers to lovers. And I liked it. I don't know what else to say. I know there are some scenes that are just bad. There is no excuse for that, but you know what? I watched KinnPorsche, I watched Dangerous Drugs Of Sex...And besides those scenes I really enjoyed the stories. Yes, also the stepbrothers. 8 out of 10 Cardigans

14. Between Us (12/12 on Youtube)

Well, in the end it was boring and I couldn't care less about WinTeams relationship or their traumas, which is really sad, because it plays such a big role in the series. I liked them in UWMA, but here, in their own series, they were blank and boring. 4,5 out of 10 swimming pools

15. The Devil Judge (16/16 on Viki)

Why so good? I couldn't stop watching in the end. You know the feeling when you are so tense, you just want to spoiler yourself the ending, but you don't want to, but you want to and in the end you are sitting there in tears, because the drama is so sad and you're so tense. And still, since the beginnen of the show, you question yourself if you want to hate Jung Sun Ah, feel pity for her, fuck her or let her fuck you. In the end I let her fuck me out of pity while I hate her with all my guts. But the drama is just so fucking good. So thrilling and with some really good (and some not so good) plot twists. And in the end, every meme is true, gay sex would be less gay than what ever was going on between Kang Yo Han and Kim Ga On and I respect them for that. 10 out of 10 intense eye contacts

16. Zettai BL ni Naru Sekai VS Zettai BL ni Naritakunai Otoko 2 (3/3 on Gaga)

A man who tries to avoid the world of BL, by reading Yaoi mangas to get to know all the tropes he has to avoid in order to not get involved with the world as a main character - Part II (yes, I copy paste this one...). It is hilarious. I had a really good time watching it. 7,5 out of 10 tropes to still avoid

New Category: Dropped/On Hold

1. I will knock you (1/12 on Gaga)

Well, I don't like it. It brings me no joy so far. So for now it is on hold until I have nothing more to watch...

2. To Sir, with love (2/17 on Youtube)

I know that it is good, but I don't know. I just can't find the energy to watch it. Perhaps some day in the future.

3. Something in my room (3/10 on Youtube)

I saw people talking about this one and how good it is. Well, it is quite okay. I guess it will get a little bit deeper with more episodes, but I haven’t had the time to watch more or the motivation to watch it...so for now it is on hold

4. Hit Bite Love (on Youtube)

I couldn't get over the first half of the first epsiode. It just made me uncomfortable. So this was a dropped for me...

Short films

1. Invitation (on Gaga)

A short film about a jobless person who finds binoculars and breaks in a stranger's home. There is a good twist in the end. The acting was okay, the story was okay...the ending was good. 6,5 out of 10 binoculars

2. Fragile Souls (on Gaga)

I like this one a lot. It has depth and a really deep story for a movie under 10 minutes. The acting is good, too. It is a story about opening your heart to someone and not keeping you inner demons all to yourself. You are allowed to be vulnerable and it gets better. 8,5 out of 10 grainy metaphores

3. Jay (on Gaga)

Jay is a 13 years old boy who is fascinated by his older brother's physique what somewho change into attraction. He is discovering his own sexual orientation while his brother doesn't keep his own a secret from the younger brother (he has sex with his girlfriend while the door to his room was open). It is a complicated film which ewokes complicated emotions. Jay is in an early stage of puberty and his hormones and emotions are going crazy. He can't bring himself to like the girl who has a crush on him. Instead he fantasises about his brother, or his brother's body, a male body to whom he has easy access. The acting is not bad, the subject difficult, but all in all not a bad short film. 7 out of 10 pants

4. Going South (on Gaga)

What a ride. This movie was tense and uncomfortable to watch. I guess you can start a discourse about the question wether the sexual encounter is consensual, dub con or just simply r*pe...With all I have seen it is r*pe for me. There was so much aggression between those two and I understand both sides, which doesn't mean that ones actions were justified. 5,5 out of 10 chasing scenes

5. Suddenly Last Summer (on Gaga)

It is the story about a student, who stalks his teacher after he discovered the latter is gay. The student goes so far that he blackmails the teacher to do everything he wants for a day in return he would keep his secret safe. Well it was a slow and quiet movie. The acting was good. The story itself was okay. I liked it. Did I liek the student? Nope...But his behavior fits his character and his role in the movie. 8 out of 10 headphones

6. Kiss Of The Rabbit God (on Gaga)

This is such a beautiful and good short film! I loved every second of it and I was hooked to the very last scene. The following is all you need to know. Oh I love some good stories! A long time ago in the Qing Dynasty a young soldier fell in love with a handsome official and was sentenced to death for confessing his longing. When his spirit travelled to the Underworld the soldier’s crime was forgiven as one of passion and he was ordained The Rabbit God, the god of secret lovers. The god now travels through eternity answering prayers of forbidden love. 10 out of 10 crimson-hair

7. Langit Budak Biru (on Gaga)

It is not easy to watch, it is not easy to think about, but it is important to think about, to talk about. A movie about two boarding school students in a very religious and very homophobic country trying to understand why they are here and how to survive. My highest resprect for this movie. 10 out of 10 !

Movies

1. Gameboys: The Movie (on Gaga)

Well I haven't seen the first season, but you can indeed watch this without knowledge of the things that happen before (imo). I thought it was a decent movie. The acting was good, the stroy was there and I liked it. But I can't with "Baby" as a term of endearment. At some point all I could hear and concentrate on was this term and I am honest, I hated it. 7 out of 10 ... baby ...

What I’m looking forward to in January:

Beautiful Scars (2nd)

Stoma (4th)

Cutie Pie 2 You (6th)

Utsukushii Kare: Special Edit Version (16th)

Individual Circumstances (19th)

Hit Bite Love (21st)

Kare ga Boku ni Koishita Wake (23rd)

Bokura no Micro na Shuumatsu (30th)

Langit Budak Biru (30th)

Future

The Luminous Solution

[karebear923]

9 Fandom Peeps to Get to Know Better

Tagged by @befuddledcinnamonroll! Thank you so much for the tag!! 🥰 I really liked your post too!

I’m going to over explain everything 😅 sorry not sorry

3 Ships You Like:

1. Gao Shi De & Zhou Shu Yi are currently on my mind again! I remember We Best Love was one of the first BL shows I watched and the angst was intense! Plus the songs were really good too!

2. Lian & Kuea from Cutie Pie are one of my top pairs! The romance is on point! The Next Prince when??

3. Hira & Kiyoi from My Beautiful Man are so perfect together! Literally the definition of made for each other! Could never be with anyone else!

First Ship Ever:

I’ve always been into romance, I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t 😅 but my first huge obsession/OTP was Edward and Bella from Twilight 🙈

I know, I know, I’m sorry to disappoint. I acknowledge that they’re problematic, and I in no way endorse any crazy behavior irl. But just like Kristen Stewart I look back on that time fondly and no one can ruin it for me.

Last Song You Heard:

I have way too many songs on my Spotify, so if I’m not in the mood for anything in particular I’ll just listen to my music in alphabetical order so I know I’ve heard them all. Right now I’m finishing up the letter U.

Favorite Childhood Book:

I read a lot as a child, but I don’t think I had a favorite. I remember Junie B. Jones and Geronimo Stilton the most but those were series so I read multiple of those. Twilight doesn’t count cause I was a teen by then.

Currently Reading:

I still read a lot, but I don’t read books anymore. I read fanfics on AO3 cause it’s easier access, they’re shorter stories, and I already know the characters. Sometimes when I finish a show I love the characters so much that I don’t want to let them go yet! Right now I’m eagerly awaiting every new chapter of “a glitch in the universe” by VishCount 😊

Currently watching:

- Unknown (everyone keeps saying it’s gonna hurt but I’m in denial lol there’s a happy ending though, right???)

- 1000 Years Old (I wasn’t planning on watching this, I just clicked on it on a whim but I’m really enjoying it)

- 23.5° (GMMTV’s first GL! Gotta show support! And it’s cute so far)

- Pit Babe (first time watching but I know some plot points)

- Vice Versa (#vvrewatch2024)

- Beauty Newbie (I didn’t watch True Beauty but I’m watching this remake cause Win Metawin is in it and it’s good so far but also I’m 4 episodes behind 🙈 they post 2 a week! That’s a lot for me!)

Currently consuming:

Water lol. I had Pollo Campero for lunch about 3 hours ago tho 👍🏽

Currently craving:

My bed! 😩 I have to get ready for work now and I don’t want to!

No pressure tags

I don’t know 9 people on here like that 😅😬 @stormyoceans @buckystilinski @katemagic @poetry-protest-pornography @absolutebl

[moodooivy]

So far I've only really done Undertale stuff. I've made Equustale and FnaFtale yeah, but that's not enough for me. I'm into other fandoms. So today, I present to eeryone... My MLP redesigns! (I haven't watched an MLP episode in a year so hopefully these are ok and don't contradict anything)

(I know I'm not the best at drawing, hopefully these designs aren't awful. Also I know I forgot the cutie marks. I'll design them in the future. I also plan to make some anthro designs and of course ship kiddies)

First there is Fluttershy. She is 2' 0'' (Petite to a whole 'nother level) to the top of her head. She is a Pudu Deer pegasus (Mom is a deer, dad is a pony). She is 27 years old. Fluttersy is very small and tiny. She can't fly well because of her thin tiny wings. She was held back in flight school as a filly.

Rainbow Dash next. Rainbow Dash is a thoroughbred pegasus, 5' 4'' to the top of her head, age 26. She has big ol' wings and is very light on her feet. She wears goggles because it helps her fly without the wind blowing in her eyes. Also because it looks cool.

Then Applejack. Applejack is a big and hefty Clydesdale horse, standing at a nice 5' 0''. She is 29. Applejack is weightier in her hooves and has some fluff.

Pinkie Pie! (I had the most fun designing her) Pinkie is the youngest at 25. She likes to paint her hooves, wear bows, and cover her mane in sprinkles and confetti. She parties in her spare time. She is nice and plumpy. A 3' 6'' Shetland Earth Pony.

Rarity is next. She is 29, slightly older than Applejack. She is very elegant and pretty and generally small for a unicorn, and is an Arabian breed. She is 4' 2''. I didn't give her a leonine tail or ancient unicorn horn I know. I just like this tail better.

Twilight Sparky now. She is not an alicorn. She is an Appaloosa Unicorn at 5' 2''. She is 28 years old. She has a feathery leonine tail. Twilight doesn't have really good eyesight and wears glasses. She has white spots all over her body to resemble stars.

Thought I was done? Nah. I also did the male mane six! Rather then make them the same but just boys I tried to make them their own characters somewhat.

First is Butterscotch. He is visually the opposite of Flutters. Tall, at a nice 5' 8''. I wanted to go for a gentle giant effect.. He is a Red Deer pegasus (Father is a deer, mother is a pony). He is 28, maybe a little younger than Twilight Sparkle. While Fluttershy is more in tune with animals and small critters, Butterscotch is better with plants. He knows how to take care of any type of flower, plant, or tree.

Rainbow Blitz next. He is a thoroughbred pegasus. He is 5' 9'' and 28, a little older than Twilight and Butterscotch. He is very feathery and so totaly manly. You can tell by the rainbow hoofpaint. Rainbow Blitz isn't as fast in the air because his wings are small, but he can run quite fast. He can run at a powerful 140 to 170 MPH. That isn't to say he's not a fast flier. He's just not as fast as Rainbow Dash.

Male Applejack. I refer to male Applejack as Applejax, so that's what I'm going to call him so that there's less confusion. Applejax is the biggest at a wopping 6 feet tall. He is a Shire horse and is 29, older than Rarity.

Bubble Berry next. Bubble Berry is an Irish Donkey (Mother is a pony, father is a pony. She gets the donkey from another relative). I saw somebody make Pinkie a donkey and I fell in love with the idea so I had to make someone a donkey. So Bubble Berry is the man. Bubble Berry is 4' 4'' and is 27, slightly older than Fluttershy. He has a super furry body. Bubble Berry likes to make smoothies, parfeits, milkshakes, and other drinks and fancy fruity foods.

Next is Elusive. Elusive is an Arabian unicorn. He is 5' 6'' and 30. He is the oldest out of everyone. Elusive is a fashion designer like Rarity, but while Rarity is primarily a feminine fashion designer who designs dresses and gowns, Elusive designs suits and tuxedos. He primarily designs fashion for the bulkier figures of stallions.

And finally there's Dusk Shine. Dusk Shine is a 27 year old Arabian unicorn, only slightly older than Fluttershy. He is 5' 4''. Dusk Shine is a librarian. He works very hard and puts off other things such as hygene (Hense the messy mane and tail) and eating, 'cause who needs to eat, so he can keep working on his studies in his spare time instead.

Here's a height comparison chart by their withers/backs.

I want to start making more art for other fandoms like My Little Pony and Pokemon, but I'm not sure. Should I just stick to Undertale? Would you guys be interested in other fandoms? Let me know.

MLP: Hasbro/Lauren Faust

[ittlebitz]

10 QL People That I Want Carnally

I was tagged by @sunshinesanctuary

Thank you, bebe, this was fun! I know the original call is for 10, but I never saw a limit I didn't want to challenge. Whatever, whatever, I do what I want. So, in no particular order:

1. Inspector M - Manner of Death (Great Sapol)

Look at him. LOOK. AT. HIM. Absolutely adorable and also hot as hell. He can slap those cuffs on me any time he pleases. If he stands still long enough I will most definitely climb him like a tree (and that goes double for Great himself tbh).

2. Jang Jaeyoung - Semantic Error (Park Seoham)

Yeah, yeah, he's cocky and a bit of a slacker, but he is also smart, talented, and let's be real, a grade A simp. Don't get me started on that lip piercing...

3. Choi Jun - Jun & Jun (Ki Hyun Woo)

Like, they gave me this man's bare back within the first 30 seconds of the first episode, was I not supposed to get thirsty?

4. Yi Phayak Chatdecha Chen - Naughty Babe (Max Kornthas)

Ah, Hia Yi. Wealthy, handsome, super overprotective of his beloved. Bit of a control freak but not ashamed of giving up control in the bedroom. Love that for him (me).

5. Phaya - The Sign (Billy Patchanon)

Look, I am a simple woman. I just want him to put his hand around my throat, pin me, and call me a good girl. I don't think that's asking for too much.

6. Patts - La Pluie (Pee Peerawich)

My beloved. He was just so good, you know? He has a good job and loves animals. He dresses nicely and charms the parents. And then a total lover in between the sheets. Let the rain come down.

7. Payu - Love In The Air (Boss Chaikamon)

I'm pretty sure this man was singularly responsible for the meltdown of several of my brain cells. His looks, his demeanor, his dominance, his *gestures vaguely* everything, you know?

8. Jeng Kittiphong - Step By Step (Man Trisanu)

I know for a fact that I was not the only one who had their brain short circuit during this scene. I am willing to hold a towel for him and even help him wipe down after working out. I am also willing to work him out (wink wonk).

9. Fighter - Why R U (Zee Pruk)

Oh my god but he was so cute. The hot guy everybody wanted who had no idea how to act when he had a crush on a pretty boy. You just KNOW he kisses like an absolute dream. Also, when he was crying during the breakup scene I was ready to fly to Thailand and start throwing hands, I don't even care.

10. Bai Zongyi - Kiseki: Dear To Me (Taro Lin)

My guilty pleasure entry. Yes, I know he's a young'un and I should be ashamed but he has those giant yaoi paws (that scene where he is holding both of Zherui's hands with just one of his absolutely makes my teeth sweat) and obviously likes manhandling his crush/lover at any given opportunity. Plus he is a professional baker? Sign me UP.

11. Pisaeng- Be My Favorite (Gawin Caskey)

This is a guy who will cherish you with everything he has and will be a romantic sap about it. (I knew Gawin would be on this list, I just had to determine which role I chose...honestly he could have been on here multiple times)

12. Maya - Laws of Attraction (Silvy Pavida)

She can sing, she can dance, she can be a double agent performing espionage, and she is sooooooo hot it almost hurts to look at her. All I am saying is she can step on me and I will thank her profusely.

13. Neur - Cutie Pie (Tutor Koraphat)

This man showed up fully intending to Cause Problems On Purpose and ended up simping for the quiet, shy, devout member of the friend group he inserted himself into, and we were all of us better for it. Satu. 🙏

14. Babe - Pit Babe (Pavel Phoom)

He's the top (ha!) racer, an alpha, and also 100% babygirl. One smirk from him and I am on my knees. Don't worry about me, though, I'm doing just fine. (I will say that I never thought I would see omegaverse on my screen and yet here we are in this year of our lord)

15. Vegas Theerapanyakul - KinnPorsche (Bible Wichapas)

My problematic meow meow. He's a gangster. He's a killer. He's a sadist into whips, chains, and torture, not necessarily in that order. He's got a bit of a case of little brother syndrome. And I adore him, faults and all.

Aaaaannnddd okay! So, I could likely absolutely keep going, but I think I am going to tap out while I still have at least some dignity left after exposing myself as the thirsty bitch that I am. I've lost track of who all has already done this, so I am not tagging anyone in particular. If you decide to do this, tag me and let me know so we can thirst together!

[sushisweetie]

S: นิ่งเฮียก็หาว่าซื่อ | Cutie Pie The Series

“A person like Syn always goes to bed at 9 p.m.”

Episode 11: Part. 01, 02, 03 & 04 (GIFs List: #)

[jojotichakorn]

archer's DRAMAtic list

releasing a new list of dramas that i have seen with six different categories in terms of recommendation. the series are placed in order from most to least liked in each category. each series is linked to its mydramalist page.

must-watch

1. my school president

2. the eighth sense

3. never let me go

4. semantic error

5. only friends

6. light on me

7. enchanté

8. manner of death

9. cherry magic

10. like in the movies

recommend

11. pit babe

12. dangerous romance

13. a boss and a babe

14. vice versa

15. kieta hatsukoi

16. our dating sim

17. to my star 1 & 2

18. a breeze of love

19. love for love's sake

20. dark blue kiss (+ petekao cut)

21. 2moons2

22. gameboys

23. color rush

24. a tale of thousand stars

25. long time no see

26. my engineer

27. we best love: no 1 for you (JUST season 1)

28. love tractor

29. you make me dance

30. cutie pie

31. our skyy (+ our skyy 2)

recommend but dislike something about it (in brackets: what i dislike)

32. guardian (the last 10-ish episodes / the ending)

33. kinnporsche (basically everything connected to the minor family)

34. bad buddy (the parents arc / the ending)

35. the eclipse (political metaphor)

36. not me (political conclusion)

37. lovely writer (explained in this post)

38. he’s coming to me (thun’s backstory)

39. history 3: trapped (cops)

40. 2gether (+ still2gether) (the last two episodes of 2gether / the central separation plot of still2gether)

don’t feel strongly about it either way

41. until we meet again

42. i told sunset about you

43. my pistachio

44. ingredients

45. hidden agenda

46. where your eyes linger

47. step by step

48. YYY

49. hello stranger

50. red balloon

51. en of love: tossara

52. gen y

53. oxygen

do NOT recommend but like something about it (in brackets: what i like)

54. moonlight chicken (heart and li ming)

55. love by chance (ae and pete)

56. why r u? (saifah and zon)

57. 2moons (ming and kit)

58. star and sky: star in my mind (khluen)

59. great men academy (tangmo)

60. together with me (+ preq. bad romance, seq. together with me the next chapter) (max and tul origins)

61. en of love: love mechanics (+ alt. version: love mechanics) (some parts of the romance)

62. bed friend (some parts of the romance)

63. history 2: crossing the line (qui zi xuan and hsia yu hao)

do NOT recommend AT ALL

64. my gear and your gown

65. theory of love

66. the best story

67. advance bravely

68. sotus (+ sotus s)

69. tonhon chonlatee

70. we best love: fighting mr. 2nd

71. history 1: stay away from me

72. history 3: make our days count

73. water boyy

74. tharntype

[chicademartinica]

I am grateful for two more episodes of Bed Friend but I don’t want to suffer more ??!! The only acceptable additions are

Episode 9 : Backdoor pilot to Middleman’s love. We want to meet Jade’s boo.

Episode 10 : King repairs his mistake and takes Uea to a fancy hotel for their romantic escapade. Why r u and Cutie Pie (and ITSAY) had great hotels but may I suggest :

The best of the best aka this bad boy from Secret Crush on You

[boysplanetrecaps]

Boys Planet Eps 9-10 Recap: Say My Name

Hello, beautiful people! As you may know, I already wrote a recap/master post for episode 9, and another one for episode 10. This recap focuses just on the stuff that’s relevant to team “Say My Name” -- so their rehearsal period and their additional focus/footage in episode 9, as well as their rehearsal footage and performance in episode 10. Just say “read more” and all will be revealed.

The Trainees

Here’s a list of the trainees in this group, and their ages, along with their rank as of episode 8 and their two previous missions:

Sung Hanbin - 21 1 / Love Me Right/ Tomboy

Han Yu Jin  - 16 3/ Back Door / Law

Seok Matthew - 20 4/ Kill this Love / Love Killa

Kim Ji Woong -24 5 / Back Door / Love Killa

Yoo Seung Eon - 19 17 / Very Nice / Home

The First Rehearsal Segment

At 23:20, we endure the gut-churningly uncomfortable atmosphere at team Say My Name for a solid eight minutes.

The editing is really pushing the drama, by beginning in medias res, with Matthew saying “Really? If only I knew, I would’ve been better off to join team Switch. I feel like you guys are ditching me a bit.” Then, crying, he gets up and leaves the room. No one follows him. Sung Hanbin’s perfect face is hard to read -- a mixture of sadness and determination.

WHAT COULD HAVE HAPPENED? 

We jump back in time to find out. The team is having their first rehearsal after T h e G r e a t R e s h u f f l i n g, and they need to redistribute parts. 

The team agrees that Yujin should keep the Killing Part -- Kim JiWoong says that Yujin would look yeppo (pretty) in the part. 

(Side note: They mention that Ollie was the other one with the Killing Part -- I’m sure the team never had the plan to let him keep it. Poor Ollie. He would have done great with it, for what it’s worth.)

The bigger battle is, who will be main vocal? Yoo Seung Eon, the titanium voiced cutie pie, says: “The main vocalist of this song should lead the choreography rather than showing off vocal skills. I think it’s about getting the feel right. I think Hanbin should be the main vocalist.”

Let’s take some time to let that sink in. Seung Eon, the lowest ranked on the team, whose major claim to fame, really his only claim to fame, is his voice, is giving up the main vocal part. And not just any main vocal part -- a main vocal part that is practically the killing part or center or whatever you want to call it. Why? For the good of the team. He interviews, “Of course I wanted the part. But I thought things would go smoothly if I just switch my position.” Aww! What a sweetheart.

So. Now, what part will he get? Does he want Sub-Vocal 1, with its 41 seconds of singing time?

That’s been Matthew’s position, and after a pause, Seung Eon says, “I think Matthew fits in that part well,” and agrees to take Sub Vocal 2. No one wants to have any more drama today, so the team decides to just go with it rather than have auditions or even discuss it further. 

In an interview, Matthew says, “I was thinking of asking [Seung Eon] if he wants to give [sub vocal 1 ] a try. But Sub-Vocal 1 is the part I wanted the most. I thought it’d be weird to tell him to go for it too.” Production asks, “Were you afraid he’d just take it?”  Matthew replies, “I was a bit scared because he’s so good.”

The comparison is so obvious and in our face that I barely need to point it out -- but I’ll point it out anyway. Seung Eon gave Hanbin an extremely desirable part because he thought that Hanbin would be better at it. Matthew was scared that Seung Eon would steal “his” part because Seung Eon would be better at it. Their motivations seem diametrically opposed.  

Later, the team is practicing singing the song. It’s becoming obvious that Matthew’s part is a bit too high pitched for him, and Seung Eon’s part is a bit too low pitched for him. 

Leader Hanbin takes time out of his schedule of taking care of baby bunnies to give an interview, in which he says that the parts were distributed wrong because the team was in a hurry, and he’s “not used to negotiating things.” Then a thousand daisies spring up at his feet, so he picks them and finds some lonely elderly ladies to give them to.

The next day, Hanbin is still trying to think of a non-confrontational solution to the problem (confrontation would startle the flock of white doves that flutter around his head!) when Kim Ji Woong suggests the solution -- that Matthew and Seungeon switch parts. I mean, it’s obviously the solution, if Matthew’s part is too high and Seungeon’s part is too low.  Hanbin asks them to try each other’s part, and it sounds so much better. 

Hanbin tries to sell it to Matthew, saying that Sub-Vocal 2 has more character than the “basic” main vocal and sub-vocal 1 parts, and Ji Woong points out that Matthew will shine more in a part that suits him better, which will be better for the team, too. Matthew isn’t buying it. In fact, he thinks the whole thing is a hidden camera prank. Everyone says it isn’t, but he doesn’t believe them. 

Oh boy. On the one hand, I can understand why Matthew would maybe think it was a hidden camera prank. After all, En Garde did that to Park Gunwook, and maybe Matthew heard about it and they do that kind of thing all the time on the show. Also, he wanted this part so much, it’s almost as if he’s going through the stages of grief -- denial and bargaining and all that. I can understand that. But it’s really hard to watch. 

As Matthew begins to think that maybe this is real, he says that he’d be "doomed" if he lost Sub-Vocal 1. He interviews that Seung Eon can do high pitched adlibs, and he himself cannot. He says, “If I become sub-vocalist 2, I’d just be gone! There’s nothing! I can’t do it! I’m just someone passing by. I’d just be like, ‘Hello.’” 

Here, Matthew is hampered at least a little by his comparative lack of ability to speak Korean -- he’s explaining himself as best he can, though, and I think his point is clear. He feels like if Seung Eon is on sub-1, and he himself is on Sub-2, no one will notice him. 

Matthew is again motivated by anxiety, which is completely in keeping with what we’ve seen of him so far on the show. While I can’t fault him, as this must be the most awful environment for an anxious person --- like, I want to reach for a bottle of diazepam just thinking about what it would be like to be on this show  -- it’s also absurd for him to be threatened by Seung Eon. Matthew is ranked in 4th place currently, and yes, that is a drop from where he was in episode 5. But oh my God, Matthew. At the second elimination, you had almost three times the voting points that Seung Eon had. And it’s not as if you’re going to win the audience vote in this song. You’ve got to know that Hanbin is going to win, right? He’s going to smile at the audience, and everyone in the theater will pass out in bliss and wake up cured of all disease, and that’ll be that. So why stress about it? 

Also, Matthew, sweetie, what on earth makes you think that the Star Creators at home vote based on how you do in the performances? If that were the case, wouldn’t Takuto have been eliminated in Episode 5? Wouldn’t Lee Yedam still be on the show? Listen to BPR-Noona, ok? You’re doing all this so the audience will like you, but in doing it, you are making the audience not like you. You’re creating this hell for yourself. 

Nothing Matthew does is unforgivable or anything. But I’m not going to pretend that this is anything other than what it is. I’m bummed for him, because if he had just switched parts right away, and been sweet about it, it would have worked out so much better for him. As it is, a lot of people in the audience are probably getting really frustrated with him for being unable to accept reality (“I STILL think that this is a hidden camera!” gets pretty irritating after a bit) and for being so selfish in comparison to the saintly Seung Eon. 

Second Rehearsal Segment

Ok, so let’s skip to 1:58:42, still in episode 9. 

It’s performance day, and Key introduces the Say My Name team. We pan the audience and see signs for Han Yujin, Kim JiWoong, and others, along with many signs for Matthew. 

Because it’s kind of fun to be able to spot the signs, you might want to be on the lookout for certain Korean letters/symbols. Seok Matthew’s name written in Korean looks like this: 속매튜 Or you might see it just Matthew, 매튜. The square in the first symbol of Matthew is the M, and the thing that looks like a skinny H is an “ae” sound, and the thing that looks like a capital letter E is the “t” sound. So compare that to Kim Tae Rae 김태래 -- you can see the M in the bottom of the first symbol, the T at the front of the second symbol, and the “ae” at the end of the second two symbols. And that’s your Korean reading lesson of the day! 

The point, though, is that the audience is losing its shit over Matthew, which serves to remind us that his anxiety is kind of unfounded.

The team is backstage, ready to perform (they won’t actually perform until episode 10, of course). They look anxious. 

We cut to more rehearsal. The team is sitting around uncomfortably. Matthew is saying that he wishes he had gone to the “Switch” team if he was going to have to do Sub-vocal 2. He’s saying it with a big smile on his face, which is something he tends to do -- say something like it’s a joke when it’s serious. No one else is smiling. Hey Matthew, I bet someone on Supercharger would still switch places. Go ask Woongki. He’d be delighted to be sub-vocal 2 on Say My Name. 

Thing is, smile or no smile,  Matthew is angry. You can tell. And saying this, when it’s no longer possible to switch, is clearly just an attempt to make everyone else feel bad. 

That’s an angry face, my friends. It’s not a felony. I’d be angry too. But he IS angry.

And then, Kim JiWoong, with his superior emotional intelligence says, “But Matthew, you need to consider the teammates you’re working with. I don’t think now is the time for you to do only what you want. I think someone who fits the part should do the part.” Oh my god, JiWoong, thank you. It had to be said. 

Matthew interviews that what JiWoong said hurt him, and I was thinking, “oh, because you realize that you’re being kind of immature and entitled and you feel bad about it…?” but no. He is sad because he wonders if they all “didn’t believe in [his] ability.” 

JiWoong says they have to think of the team. Matthew says that him keeping the part he wants is for the good of the team. Hanbin tells Matthew again, that this isn’t all about Matthew. And Matthew can’t believe that his friend has turned against him, because again, this IS all about Matthew, for Matthew. 

It’s hard for Matthew because he feels like he has no choice in the matter, but like, that’s how this always works. When you try out for the Killing Part or Main Vocal and the team votes for someone else, you can’t just decide “well guess I’ll take the part anyway.” And yeah, you had the part, but now you’re losing it. That happens. 

I am not being mean on purpose, you guys. I don’t want to pointlessly bash Matthew when he’s making kind of an ass of himself on an international stage. I’m going to take this moment to be profoundly grateful that no one was recording me at those moments in my life that I made a complete ass of myself. Let’s all be profoundly grateful for that, right?

Yoo Seung Eon speaks up, apologizing for not speaking up earlier about wanting the part (not your fault, Seung Eon) and just being sorry in general. Seung Eon’s complete sweetness gets through to Matthew, who is now crying. He says, “Seung Eon, you have no reason to feel sorry. This happened because you’re good.” 

The thing is that that’s not totally the case -- Seung Eon is good, of course, but the bigger issue is the pitches, and I wish Matthew understood that. Seung Eon doesn’t sound great as subvocal 2 any more than Matthew sounds great as subvocal 1. Keeping them in their current parts would be like choosing the super tall person to be on your baseball team, and choosing the person who can throw 100 mph to be on your basketball team. You want to put the right person in the right position.

Matthew goes out into the hall to kind of deal with his feelings, which is a good idea. And then he interviews that the reason he wanted to sing Subvocal 1 is that the lyrics were mostly in English, and he wanted his mom to enjoy listening to him sing in English. 

Argh, I am trying so hard not to be mean about all this but I mean, I can’t not know that this is a lie. He’s lying. 

Consider the following: 

Matthew’s first reaction on hearing he was going to lose the song wasn’t, “oh no, my mom…” but “I’m doomed.” In what world does missing out on a special thing you wanted to do for your mom equate to being doomed? 

Matthew said in an interview, “If I become sub-vocalist 2, I’d just be gone! There’s nothing! I can’t do it! I’m just someone passing by. I’d just be like, ‘Hello.’” That’s all unequivocally about wanting center time. There is no second interpretation of this comment.

Matthew is very close to Hanbin and fairly close to JiWoong at this point -- if this mom thing was true, he would have felt comfortable talking to them about it. 

Now, the “doomed” comment -- I can see one interpretation of this that isn’t just about wanting center time to avoid elimination. It might have been a reference to Matthew’s difficulty in learning Korean lyrics -- he may have been worried about having to learn the lyrics to a whole new part. But if so, say so! That’s a valid concern -- why lie? What is that? 

Another issue is that Matthew’s characterization of Sub-Vocal 1 as being “half English” is a massive exaggeration. SV-1 has one line fully in English (“can I be your boy? Can I love you more?”) but otherwise is mostly in Korean.

Here’s the complete lyrics that SV-1 sings (not including parts where they all sing or where SV1 and SV2 sing together).

Eeny, Meeny 이제서야 Your turn Let me let me know 말해줘 Baby 매일 아침마다 / 이미 우정엔 금 갔지 더 고민해 봤자 시간만 / 떨림이 말해주네 대답은 그걸로 충분해 Can I be your boy? Can I love you more? 네 주위 아무것도 아닌/ 애들도 난 거슬리지 Just say my name 늘 부르던 부르던 세 글자 Say my name 또다시 두근거려 시간이 멈춘 것 같아 / 떨림이 말해주네 대답은 그걸로 충분해 / 친구 말고 Love oh baby

Here’s the complete lyrics that SV-2 sings (again not including parts where they all sing or sing together). 

Just say my name, Just say my name 네 옆에서 언제까지 Yeah 해야 할지 남사친 그거  초코우유 나야 / 재고 또 재는 손 크기 그냥 확 잡으면 어떨지 / 어제 이름과 좀 다르게 설탕 한 스푼 더 추가해  / 네 모든 걸 다 기억 자신 있어 Come here 어제 이름과 좀 다르게 (Changer!) 설탕 한 스푼 더 추가해 (Special!) 이 순간 흐르는 잠깐의 정적 어제 이름과 좀 다르게 (Changer!) 설탕 한 스푼 더 추가해 (Special!)

They’re both mostly Korean. Even that line at the beginning of SV-1, “Eeny, Meeny 이제서야 Your turn/ Let me let me know 말해줘 Baby” -- Eeny meeny isn’t real English and having that be mixed in with so much Korean, your ear stops distinguishing English lyrics and sort of just hears sounds, with the “baby” at the end, you know? It’s not this overwhelming English sound that you hear. 

So yeah, the mom excuse is just a lie, and for me, that’s the part that really bums me out, because I want to like Matthew. I kind of naturally root for the North Americans, because I am one, you know? And if he had just said, “I’m so sorry and embarrassed I made this uncomfortable for everyone. I should have been more understanding about why we had to change parts. I don’t have any excuse, I was just so anxious about everything” -- if he said something like that, I’d forgive him immediately because again, the pressure they’re under is absurd. It’s natural to feel that way. Just own it. But instead, he lied. 

And one reason that I say that Matthew is not being evil edited is that the show seems to be presenting this obviously false explanation as true. 

Look at the screenshot above. He’s talking about how Sub-Vocal 1 has so many words in English, and the on-screen images are backing him up. What they’re NOT showing is the lyrics in SV-1 that are in Korean, which is a lot of lyrics, nor are they showing the lyrics from SV-2 that are in English. They show him crying while talking about his mom and they play stirring violin music the whole time. The show is sympathizing with him. 

I’m still not saying that he’s a bad person or that any of this is unforgivable. He’s a human being and it’s natural to be defensive and anxious and all these things. It’s cool if you forgive him. Just face reality, is all I’m saying. 

Anyway. 

Ok, so we see the five trainees doing their intro bit on stage, and as I expected, they’re clearly doing a high teen concept, complete with a school setting on stage and all that. But we’re not really going to see the performance yet -- we’ll have to wait for episode 10.

Final Segment

We’ll skip to episode 10, at 49:30. Key introduces the team again, and the boys come up to introduce themselves. 

We see Lee Hwanhee in the audience for a picosecond, holding up this sign:

I think it says “Ji Woong-ee hyung”. 

The team says they want to be your first love -- they’re team Say Yes!  Then Key makes  Han Yujin say “noona I love you” over and over and I want to call Child Protective Services. 

Then they ask Matthew about his rehearsal experience, and we go into flashback mode. This isn’t just a flashback, this is a flashback to what we’ve already seen -- the team explaining that he’s not a solo artist, and him going to sit down in a lobby area. The on screen captioning is again defending him, saying “he understands his teammates, but he can’t calm down.” 

Then the on screen captioning says “one hour earlier”, but I’m almost certain that they really mean one hour later, or else nothing makes sense. MNET, can you just tell the story in order and not jump around so much for no reason?

Hanbin gives his team a plate of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies (baked goods spontaneously generate whenever he laughs) and tells them to take a 10 minute break while he checks in on Matthew, who is hanging back.

It says Soek Matthew on the left, and Sung Hanbin on the right. (By the way, the little symbol that looks kind of like a ^ symbol, that’s the S in Korean, so on the left that’s the S for Soek and on the right it’s the S in Sung. As a reminder, the square is an M and the E is a T and the H is an “ae” sound.)  

Anyway, Hanbin is checking in on Matthew, who he senses is having a hard time. Matthew denies that anything is wrong, but he’s obviously kind of sulking. They try to rehearse together as a team, but Matthew is still not feeling it.

JiWoong interviews that he feels bad for doing what he had to do, that he’s not sure how to treat Matthew from now on, and that this has been hard on him too. JiWoong has the necessary emotional intelligence to do the hard work between friends, but that doesn’t mean he likes it. Look, I’m happily partnered and am not looking to date anyone else, but my friends, that is some boyfriend material right there. Being too passive to the point that you can’t even communicate about what’s on your mind just allows things to fester. Nothing against Hanbin, who is truly trying his best and doing a decent job, but JiWoong is the hero of this story. Find yourself a person who can communicate like that. 

We cut to dance rehearsal with the psycho dance teachers, who ask Hanbin and Matt about their bromance. Turns out they never actually performed together on the show. Leader Hanbin shoos away a herd of passing unicorns, then explains that the group has been training for a week, but that they just changed some parts today. 

The dancing doesn’t go well -- the judge yells at them because the mood "isn’t cute" -- especially Matthew, who isn’t “managing” his facial expression. They try again, and Matthew continues to sulk. The dance teacher reminds them that they have to not let any conflict between them show on stage. They try a third time and it still doesn’t quite work. 

Matthew’s interview comes in like a voice over, narrating over the scene, saying that he feels bad that he made the mood like this and got his teammates in trouble. He says, “I realized that I can’t keep being like this. At this rate, I might screw up our performance.” Good, Matthew, good start. You’re on your way! Keep it up.  

The fourth time through, they manage to pull it together. 

Later at the dorms, JiWoong goes to visit Matthew. JiWoong is wearing what appears to be pinstriped pajamas. Of course he is. JiWoong asks if Matthew is ok, then adds, of course you’re not. Matthew is still held back a little bit by not being 100% fluent in Korean, so it’s hard for him to explain his exact feelings, but it’s something similar to betrayal. You know, that feeling that Woongki and Seo Won and Ollie and Takuto probably felt when you voted them out of the team? I mean, just sayin’, there’s plenty of betrayal going around, and it’s probably better to count your blessings.

JiWoong says, “I considered all day whether or not I should talk to you. In any case, I should apologize to you since the parts were changed [so late].”  Matthew says he understands why JiWoong did what he did and that his (Matthew’s) reasons for wanting SV-1 were selfish. (We don’t see any further mention of the Mom/English lyrics story.) 

JiWoong says he needs to be a good hyung (older brother figure) to Matthew, but it really goes beyond that -- he’s the embodiment of forgiveness and patience. He said what he needed to say and now he doesn’t hold a grudge. Next time someone pisses you off, think, WWJWD? And unless that thing is showing your nipples, do that thing. I mean, unless it’s a good time to show your nipples. I don’t know your life. 

Matthew commits to Sub-vocal 2 and begins working on the lyrics. They’re tricky for him, which backs up my theory that part of his issue was fear at having to learn a new set of lyrics. 

We see the team rehearsing and they all seem to be getting along much better. At dress rehearsal they do a great job, and Matthew is all smiles. The judges cheer. Matthew interviews that he has finally realized that the team is the most important thing. Good! 

Honestly, I really can forgive Matthew for all of this, but the whole Mom/English lyrics bit was really… icky. Just come out and say it, guy -- say, “I wanted the big part because I’m anxious because my rank fell a lot from 2nd to 4th and I’m worried that I won’t debut after all and it’s all I can think about.” That’s fine, that’s a normal way to feel. Sigh. But I guess he thought that the audience at home wouldn’t forgive him for that so he made up the Mom lie? 

Anyway, it’s finally time! 

The performance begins.

My take: Well, the thing is, I’m not really into this kind of song -- new jack swing lite, I guess you could call it -- but I try to critique songs within their genre, and for a song of this genre, it’s ok. It’s cute. It doesn’t grate or irritate. 

What’s more relevant is that the boys do a really good job with it. Their dancing is lively, their singing sounds great, their on-stage chemistry is convincing, and while I know they had an MR, I think a lot of their vocals were live and really, it was good. The staging didn’t compete with the performance, and their outfits made them all look cute. It all came together really well. The part where they all say their own names at the end is really cute, too.

I think that Matthew and Seung Eon did the best job in terms of stage presence. Weirdly, Sung Hanbin’s smile didn’t really convince me -- I saw stress on his perfect face, rather than cute happiness. He's still preternaturally charming. Han Yujin seemed to be holding back, but I’ve always thought that about him. And Kim JiWoong seemed a little uncomfortable. That’s just how they seemed to me and maybe I’m the only one who thinks that. I still think all five of these guys are super talented and I can see why someone would like them and vote for them. 

After I wrote all that, I showed the performance to my fella and asked him what he thought, and he said that he thought the “chaotic teenager” energy they gave off suited the song. He picked out Matthew as the best one, picked out JiWoong as not fitting in (he said that the rest looked like they were confessing a crush, while JiWoong looked like he was promising a good lay), and said that Hanbin looked really exhausted. I swear that I didn’t tell him about the tension in the group, or that  JiWoong was known for doing sexy concepts! He just picked up on that anyway. He’s not really into vocals or dance specifically so he was mostly judging based off of vibe. 

I *am* into vocals, and I just want to say again how good of a job I think Yoo Seung Eon did. In other performances, I found his voice to be a tiny bit too thin and screechy for my taste, but he sounded much better here. I think he’s quite a talent and I’d love to see how his singing continues to improve as he matures and gets even more training. I actually think he’s ready to debut now but I also don’t think he’ll make top 9, so we’ll have to wait for the Yuehua boy group coming in, IDK, 2024. Seriously, I’m so looking forward to it! 

Am I sad that TaeRae wasn’t the main vocal of this song? Yes. Yes I am. But I don’t hold it against them. Hanbin sang well, especially since he considers himself a dancer first. 

Congratution on your gradution! 

The Edit I think the edits on these five mission stages will all be kind -- we’re at the point when the show wants us to like every performance. Mostly they just show the performance, without a ton of instant replays or reactions, but they did have to interrupt a few times to see the audience losing their shit for Matthew. They even threw in a shot of Key smiling. When the song is over, they really dwell on the audience reaction. The audience is LOSING THEIR SHIT.

Afterwards  Backstage, the boys are really happy and proud. Then Key walks by and says “you remind me of me when I was younger,” which is probably a moment that they’ll take out of the memory bank and stroke like a soft blanket on sad days. 

We don’t find out who came in last, which was also the case for En Garde -- MNET jiggery fuckery again.

And who do you think wins the audience vote? Come on, take a wild guess! Was it... maybe... Sung Hanbin? Yes, indeed, it was -- with 826 points (so Haruto still has the highest individual score). It’s this Hanbin's first time coming in first -- he lost to Hui in Love Me Right and lost to Zhang Hao in Tomboy. 

Am I crazy, or does there still seem to be a bit of awkwardness between Hanbin and Matthew? JiWoong talked it out with Matthew and cleared the air, but I think Matthew and Hanbin need to have a similar conversation at some point soon, or there will be awkwardness in their friendship for a while to go.

And that’s about it for this recap. Thanks as always for reading, and I’ll see you in the next one!