#i am faint of heart

[starry-bi-sky]

i have been unmedicated for the entirety of spring break and thus have had little interest in writing this down, but i have been thinking about this for the entire week (as well as a dpdc clone danny au that resulted in it becoming its entirely separate batman au that includes a teenage vigilante bruce wayne, an ocarina, and me entirely incapable of making a batman au without making bruce dirt poor but we're not talking about that) and so i've finally went 'fuck it' and forcibly grabbed my laptop. I will get this done in one sitting even if it kills me.

BUT. This is about neither clone^2 danny nor about who i am calling Ocarina Batman. This is about my Danyal Al Ghul Au and more SPECIFICALLY it's me thinking about his relationship with Sam and Tucker specifically.

Tucker and Sam? Adore this asshole (affectionate) with every fiber of their being. And it is very much a reciprocated feeling, but Danny's thoughts will not be delved into much other than he would kill for them.

Tucker? The only person currently capable of getting a deep, loud, belly laugh out of Danny. Sam can get him to smile and to laugh, but it's the kind that's a chuckle-under-the-breath. The quiet, looks-down-while-huffing laughter. Snorts once with laughter and then grins stupidly.

But Tucker? Tucker can crack a slew of stupid jokes and Danny will be incapacitated for the next five minutes because he's laughing so hard that he can't breath. He lands one well-timed pun or quip and Danny will be close to tears. His laughter is their favorite sound in the whole world.

Sam is lowkey jealous of this ability, and she's gotten a belly laugh out of Danny a few times. But alas, it is Tucker who wields this power and has gotten it the most times out of the two of them.

-

They're also both physically affectionate with Danny as much as possible. It started roughly around when they were 12-ish, a year since they befriended Danny, and they noticed that he sought after touch but never seemed to initiate (and was in some ways repulsed by it). They started slowly being more touchy with him. Hooking a finger around his to lead him somewhere, tapping his wrist, looping arms. Little touches, grabs, etc, to get him used to it, and once he started doing it back they started increasing it.

It's gotten to a point where he will now just. Lay on them. Like a lizard sunbathing on a rock. Leaning on their backs when they're sitting in class before the bell rings, his chin on their heads. He'll talk about anything with his arms looped around their shoulders.

If they're sitting on a couch at either of their houses, he'll lay his legs on theirs. Him and Tucker will press their feet against the other's and try and push against them (newsflash: Danny always wins, Tucker claims its the ghost strength but Danny's been winning since before his accident)

-

Naturally, both Sam and Tucker know where Danny keeps his weapons on his person, and are allowed to grab them off of him if they need it. His only requirement is that they don't lose his weapons if they take it and forget to return it immediately.

They both understand how big of a thing this is from Danny, and so they do their best to treat his weapons with a lot of respect and care because they know its his way of saying he trusts them.

-

Sam and Tucker are so fond of Danny it's insane. Like fr. That's their goddamn best friend, and they are so protective of him. Emotionally, physically, you name it. They will tear the head off a grown man if they need to, Danny's had scars since he arrived in Amity Park and Sam and Tucker both are going to find the person who put them there and make them pay for it.

One time, Tucker overheard a bunch of upperclass girls speaking nastily about Danny and about the rumors surrounding him, calling him names like 'freak', 'monster', etc. Danny was with him and heard it, and seemingly appeared unbothered by it, even telling Tucker that he was used to such rumors.

Tucker was so furious that hacked into the school system later that night and tanked those girls grades. They were kicked out of their clubs and had to go to mandatory tutoring for the rest of the year. He made sure to leave some way of letting them know it was him who did it.

And Sam doesn't like using her money for things, doesn't like abusing that wealth. So instead, whenever her parents talk bad about Danny, she causes a media incident that has her parents scrambling to deal with. She does something wild, outrageous by her parents' standards.

She heard some boys on the basketball team making fun of Danny once, similar to those girls had. She kicks up a fuss about something eco-unfriendly at school and forcibly holds a protest on the same day of the big home basketball game, forcing them to cancel the event and reschedule to a visiting school.

She anonymously donates money so that there's new uniforms for the team but oops! Looks like she "forgot" to donate enough money for them to get uniforms for all the team members, and strangely enough those boys in particular didn't get them! Looks like they'll have to wait until more money gets donated for the basketball team to get their new, nice uniforms. The old ones look so ratty in comparison, right?

And since the football team gets most of the sport money, that might just take awhile. And if (and when) they kick up a fuss? oops! Off the basketball team you go, :) such unsportsman-like behavior is unfit for the team.

(The only good thing about how corrupt the school system is is that she can use it to her advantage too.)

The both of them know that Danny suspects them for the sudden misfortune falling on these people, but he doesn't call them out on it. He's kinder than he used to be, but not kind enough to vouch for people who speak badly of him. Sometimes, he might just congratulate them on not getting caught.

Because Danny is their wonderful, hurt friend with a "slightly" Blue and Orange Moral code, and enough scars that people have been calling him a criminal (and worse) since he arrived in Amity Park when he was ten. And they'll be damned if he gets hurt anymore.

#dpxdc #dp x dc #danny fenton is not the ghost king #dp x dc crossover #dpxdc crossover #dpdc #danyal al ghul #its kinda hard to get my thoughts in order bc i am ✨unmedicated✨ rn BUT #this is the gist of it #i could wax poetic about how much sam and tucker adore danny as their friend but alas. the wax is not waxing. it is stuck to the paper #and i am chipping it off with my nail and its getting stuck under it. #ocarina batman has been in my head since friday someone come sedate me. him and pit fighter batman too. who is ALSO a piss poor teenage #bruce wayne who instead of a vigilante and villains is a PIT FIGHTER. he fights blindfolded thats why he's called the bat #ocarina batman's Look is if you combined punk + assassins creed aesthetic together and then gave it an ocarina #the ocarina is because i thought it'd be cool if its how he and robin communicated across long distances bc they didnt have comms #because they are ✨poor✨ and live in a one room apartment in crime alley. #and also the mental image of him sitting on. rooftop ledge in the rain playing 'song of storms' from LoZ was too fantastic to ignore #like bro imagine hearing that as a criminal. you're off doing shady shit with your gang and in the distance you hear the faint and #haunting melody of an ocarina. two of them in a call and response duet. and its getting closer. and you cannot find where #siren type shit fr fr #look he has the assassins creed hood and a long ass coat that has spikes on the end that when flared out looks like the silhouette of a bat #on fucking GOD i am this 👌 close to finding an artist doing commissions to make this for me. i am frothing at the mouth #he is 17-19 years old with his little brother-son Robin. Logically Robin is Dick but in my heart of hearts the first Robin is Jason #and he has perfected the art of getting his older brother to play songs on the pan flute for him. long pitchy whine on his own ocarina #the familiar childlike 'pleeeaaaaaaase?' and he knows he's won when there is a 10s silence on the other end before his brother plays #a lullaby. #look up 'sailor moon - pan flute (relaxing) on youtube' and when there's the thumbnail of two green skinned aliens with long blue and pink #hair. click on it. THAT is the song Bruce plays. #hhhhhhhhhhh frothing at the mouth over this au sooo fucking badly

[jeonjcngkook]

just ! one !! headlock !! comin !! right !! up !!!!..(:/@<]#]*.?,'x??'suahsoajfsjfs

#i am gasping for air #its hard to breathe out here #being a jk girl is not for the faint of hearts #im suffering in so many waysgdjsjsndk #pls .... just take me OUT

[jomeimei421]

GYAAHHH people are reblogging ANCIENT art of mine

#mei talks #😭💀✌️ we don’t speak of Roosterteeth here any longer but #I genuinely do miss being in the RvB community! the people there were so so kind to me #I was something like 13 or 14 and still finding my legs art wise! I grew up in the community surrounded by people who #really poured their hearts and souls into their stuff and were sooo so kind to me #the art and writing communities were super tight and I actually am still in touch with many of them #including the man the myth the legend jason weight o7 you could have saved RvB if they kept you on for s18 king #like I still remember the day saltsanford sent me like. a 4 ask long text wall screaming about my lyric comic while I was in line at ax #nearly fainted #ahh my lyric comic….I still have it up on ur channel. before my dad passed away he would always show me when it hit a new milestone in view #old art is always kind of embarsssing and tbh I think my interpretations of the characters made me well known much more than my art skill #but after high school my life kind of. fell apart in a lot of ways. dad dying was def a part of that 💀 and I think I found orv exactly at #the time I needed it. but looking back at my old RvB stuff is kind of like #a little time capsule ig. I was happier then but I’ve grown up a lot too

[crikey01]

RIGHT. A LITTLE LIFE

there's nowhere near enough people going feral about a little life right now

the book. the play. the acting !!!

Hanya Yanagihara is a genius. this book - the story, the characters - have a very special place in my heart. this book continually breaks you and terrorises you, yet leaves you wanting more. it has you so invested in the characters' lives. absolutely life changing.

Ivan Van Hove. also a genius. James Norton ! *chef's kiss* the entire cast, OUTSTANDING. people sobbing in the cinema. beautiful.

#no one i know has read or watched it #i am only here to rant #and maybe convince some people to read it in the process #it's not for the faint hearted #but MAN if you like a bit of angst then go for it #a little life #hanya yanagihara #ivan van hove #a little life book #a little life play #james norton

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

yk, its weird being Way Too Aware & In Control of yourself bc technically i believe im having a panic attack. but somehow i am Very Unbothered by this, bc i know whats happening and its illogical. my body's having an overreaction and i couldn't be fucked to join in

#im sitting here casually looking up symptoms to make sure this is a Panic attack and not a Heart attack #got those heart palpies got that chest pain got that sense of Derealization got that shortness of breath #i even feel a lil faint! ive even got a hot flash goin on! tightness in the throat! the whole enchilada #and yet! im somehow vibing... #my body's throwing a fit smh calm down bro its not that bad... #maybe you'll calm down if i drink some water and eat some fruit <3 #shoulda known this was coming... was lying awake at 4 am with really bad palpatations s. m. h. #honestly! this is very annoying! #my vision tried to tunnel exactly Once but i fought it off. idiot meatsuit.... #breathing exercises and internal mantras babeyyyyyy i got this shit on Lock #oh! and look at that! my heart is finally chilling out #still gonna eat water and drink fruit #yall should do that too. at least the water part #go drink water! go! shoo! #hydrate or diedrate! always pick hydrate! #absolutely unprompted #alright well that was fun. only lasted for about *checks nonexistent watch* over an hour #i dont think ive had one that bad before! it really tried to Get Me! #had to fight off the deep sense of dread and rising panic with a mental broom!! #finishing my rebels rewatch helped but still. damn. these demons have hands #my brain: OH WE'RE DYING WE'RE DYING ITS A HEART ATTACK WE'RE GONNA DIE AND ROT FOR DAYS BEFORE OUR BODY IS FOUND OH GOD ITS HAPPENING #hard cut to me vibing with a martini.... wii music on blast... hawaiian shirt On and Unbuttoned... #anyway. drink some water. get some fruit. Thrive!

[absolutebl]

2022 BL Wrap Up - All The Shows I Watched... rated

I’m not going to talk about everything BL that I watched in 2022, that would be the longest post ever. But still, this is a really long post. Sorry, not sorry. Everything I watched got a pithy little review. 

2022 BL - Watched & Rated

This includes any show that ended in 2022, including those that started in 2021. Alphabetical-ish order.

21 Days Theory (Thailand YT ) 6/10 

Tropes: high school, cheating, secret crush, high angst

Initially I REALLY loved this little show. It reminded me of Blueming + Make it Right (never forget I’m the world’s foremost Make It Right apologist, and the lead even looks a little like Fuse). Why did I like it? 1. GAY UNCLE character giving GREAT advice!. 2. Boys in blue shorts are back! 3. Seme is already pining, uke is tsundere but with reason and conflict is set up and executed well as a result. 4. lots of linguistic discussion and flirting (they made the linguistically fascinating couples post). Everything about this show is in my wheelhouse and this would have jumped high in my rating (even at this length) if they had bothered to finish it like the YA romance it clearly was. But the ending was disappointing. I’m not mad about it, but I’m not happy either.

WORTH WATCHING BUT FLAWED

The 8.2 Second Rule (Japan YouTube) 6/10

AKA 8.2 Byo no Hosoku

Tropes: secret admirer, food in love, soulmates

Very short BL about a schoolboy who makes magic candy for a series of handsome classmates, questing for a soulmate. Each ep is a new love interest and while the sweets help others, they keep failing to bring him love. Of course h's overlooking someone. The lead was very good and the theme, cooking, and eventually romance were charming, but it is a series of BL vignettes not really a cohesive story, no kisses or anything. Japan doesn’t give us sweet BL this short very often, so it was nice to see them try out the style.

WORTH WATCHING BUT FLAWED 

A Man Who Defies the World of BL 2 (Japan Viki) unrated

I consider this show a documockary, not really a BL. As with the first installment I loved it beyond reasons, I tagged the second season review onto the first. Review here.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

About Youth (Taiwan GaGa) 8/10

It’s truly lovely little coming of age high school BL with classic YA low drama but high angst, I didn’t even mind the singing, and that’s saying a lot. It featured Taiwan's modern take on AePete: popular but painfully lonely rich kid, Guang (complete with evil pressure-cooker tiger parents) meets and is basically adopted by poor nerdy (secret rockstar) Qizhang. HE EVEN HAS AE’S TOTE!!! Side dishes are Guang’s adorable bestie, Ray, and even more adorable (also a rockstar) Jian. Lots of BL tropes but also this is quite queer and very Taiwan with an earnestness depth I haven’t seen since My Ride an almost real world authenticity. Not that I normally like that in my BL, but I’ll forgive Taiwan (and the Philippines) for their sticky almost dirty style if it is this endearing and engaging (see also Gameboys). I wish it had been given a bit more room to breathe, but all in all a great edition to the Taiwanese BL lexicon which was in dire need of just this kind of content. Full review. 

RECOMMENDED 

Ai Long Nhai (Thailand iQIYI) 6/10

Tropes: messy gay, trial relationship, friends to lovers

Look this show was just a typical Thai BL university pulp about a confident gay and a clueless manic pixie dream boy, that had potential, chemistry, and earnestness going for it, but no plot and not enough side dishes. In the end it was boring and you know I always rate boring lower than hot messes. Still it’s better than your average Thai BL, nothing happens but at least the nothing mostly shirtless, the gay dads are the BEST, and that’s about all I can say for it.

WORTH WATCHING BUT FLAWED 

Bad Buddy (Thailand YouTube) 9/10

Tropes: secret lovers, Romeo & Romeo, sunshine/tsundere, enemies-to-friends-to-lovers, GL side plot

GMMTV’s flagship BL started 2022 on a BANG (okay no actual banging but you know what I mean), starring heavy hitters Ohm & Nanon in a pitch perfect university Romeo & Juliet masterpiece that will give you domesticity meets pain whiplash throughout and jet lag at the end. Great production values, killer acting, and some conscious effort to correct for half a decade of Thai BL’s anti-queer mistakes. GMMTV, we forgive you. More. Live blog of this one is here. Full review here.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Behind Cut (Korea, Jan Viki) 8/10

Tropes: grown up problems, finding your dreams, friends to lovers

Better than average chemistry (for KBL) and a unique setting almost pulled this show into the realm of something quite special but it never quite managed to get away from the pacing and story structure issues endemic to KBL’s limited time frame and scope. Still It gets the job done. Full review here.

RECOMMENDED

Big Dragon (Thailand Gaga) 7/10 

Tropes: player love-rivals/enemies to lovers, rich/poor

This is a decent execution of true enemies to lovers, these two spy on and bully each other, exploring darker themes. The way the leads transition between anger, resentment, titillation, and flirting (and the way, with kinksters, this can all be the same thing) is really well done. This BL pairing proved itself to be a lot more sophisticated than I expected with nods at kink in a more respectful way than Mame could ever dream, plus excellent chemistry, but something was askew around plot, directing, and ending. 

RECOMMENDED FOR THE LEAD PAIR, BUT NOT MUCH ELSE 

Blue of Winter AKA Judo Boys (Korea YouTube) 3/10

Tropes: Bad boy/good boy, mad crush, reunion romance

OMG, is that..? Did Korea give us… a pulp? I do believe they did! The sound quality was poor, lighting sub par, even the filming and staging wasn’t on point (for Korea). Sadly none of that was the problem, this could have actually been good, the cast was excellent, but instead it was just really... odd. Focused on the wrong couple in the triangle and spent too much time on some elements and not enough on... ya know PLOT. Not terrible but not good either. in the end I didn’t know what I watched and neither did it.

NOT RECOMMENDED

Bleuming (Korea iQIYI) 9/10

Tropes: enemies to lovers (sort of), coming of age, self worth and self acceptance, lonely prince, sunshine/tsundere

It’s a tiny bit dark and a tiny bit bittersweet, almost too honest to a university experience and first love for BL. I wasn’t into it at first, but both leads turn in solid performances and by ep 5 it got good, becoming a narrative about self discovery, as well as understanding and accepting others people’s flaws without hurting them. Ultimately, we witnessed two characters maturing because of each other and their mutual affection while that affection was never itself the conflict point. Instead, tension was built around other aspects of identity, popularity, and self-worth. While production values were a touch lower than usual, Blueming included decent kisses and other forms of intimacy and a satisfying ending (all rare for Korea) plus there’s judicious and very elegant use of tropes, (which is expected). Full review here.

ABSOLUTELY RECOMMENDED

Check Out (Thailand iQIYI) 4/10 

Tropes: office, second chance, high heat

Special episode 0 (prequel) filmed in 2021 was the only good thing about this show. Characters lacked motivation, there was no story, the leads were a fine pair but the sex scenes managed to be both good and boring. I nearly DNFed. Ugh. 

FATALLY FLAWED

Choco Milk Shake (Korea Strongberry YT) 8/10 

Tropes: reincarnation, fated mates, paranormal elements

Choco Milk Shake (Korea YouTube) Stongberry gave us a full length BL on YouTube! It’s a BL miracle and an endless delight. It was wonderfully cute, unexpectedly hilarious but expectedly silly, a little too poignant, occasionally gut wrenching and with a somewhat expected weird (but happy-ish) ending. The actors playing the two pets must have had the best time. As, indeed, did I watching it. Jealous Milk made me cackle so hard it scared the actual cat on my lap, Choco was perfectly cast, and the chemistry was ultimately decent. In Strongberry I still trust. Thank you thank you, may we have another, sirs?

RECOMMENDED 

Cherry Blossoms After Winter (Korea Viki) 9/10

Tropes: High school to college, cohabitation, stepbrothers, popular boy/nerd (shy, loner, bullied), orphan protag

Korea took on early Japanese sweet yaoi but gave it their signature softness and precise production style with a STUNNING color palette (beautiful pastels, sun-saturated over-exposure), manga framing style, some traditional BL character archetypes, that tiny edge of bullying roughness and out-of-control seme, plus FINALLY a palatable take on the stepbrothers trope and it was, in a word, classic. Sophisticated and understated CBAW is not slow, it’s just subtle. It's dream-like and atmospheric, as if the whole thing took place under cold water on a warm spring day. Is there plot or peril? Not really. Do we care? Also, not really. Look, I can’t help it, I’m old school and so is this show. I grew up reading sweet yaoi, and this was THAT YAOI just on my screen. There’s no objectivity with me and CBAW. It’s a beautiful pastiche and I loved it for how it made me feel and what it reminded me of. It’s not flawless, but it is a wonderful experience. Full review here.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Cherry Magic the movie (Japan grey) 8/10 

AKA Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?!: The Movie AKA 30-sai made Dotei Da to Mahotsukai ni Nareru rashii 

Tropes: LTR, cohabitation, self acceptance, coming out

I liked it, not as much as the original, it lacked the humor. Again no kissing, these actors must be expensive, but some nice domesticity. Still with Thailand bringing the higher heat with such consummate casualness these days (licking ass and taking names) there really isn’t much of an excuse anymore for no kisses, it felt a little phoned in. Even Korea has buckled, come on Japan, grow up. 

RECOMMENDED 

Close Friend 2 (Thailand Viki) 6/10

Tropes: LTR, adult problems, the closet, coming out

It’s basically dealing with two kinds of closet: the one imposed on us, and the one we impose on ourselves. Honestly Pierce and Phoon are very mature characters for a BL couple - the kind of relationship that only OhmFluke could really portray, and they do it very well. That’s almost the problem - it is too well done and thus discomforting. if you don’t like realism in your BL avoid this show. I liked the celebrityhood vs fandom storyline, although I thought it was too generous to those fans. Both pairs did well but I wasn’t wowed by story or content, over all a bit dull.

WORTH WATCHING BUT FLAWED

Coffee Melody (Thailand Viki) 5/10 

Tropes: cafe setting, food is love, sing your feelings

Stars Pavel (my love) as a cafe owner (Forth in 2moons2) and Benz as a composer (Call it What You Want). This should have been my kind of BL - on the fluffy end of the spectrum plus honestly queer. Unfortunately, the slow pacing, manufactured angst, odd secondary story arcs, and a selfishly immature unlikeable wet dishcloth main character, Yi, meant its flaws outweighed its charm. Jean (flame on snark fairy) is MINE, I love him so much but in the end neither he nor Pavel in an apron could save it for me. It’s not bad. It’s not good either, tho. Ultimately so forgettable I’ve probably already forgotten it. 

JUST DULL

Color Rush 2 (Korea Viki) 7/10

Tropes: crush, friends to (almost) lovers, paranormal, suspense, murder investigation

In this second installment the plot revolves around Yeon Woo searching for his mother (and, sort of, his probe) joined by Se Hyun, whose sister is involved. We’re right back in gay allegory territory only this time the question is: Can you miss something you never had? Especially when it has to do with your own identity? Also, has Sehyun switched his (supposedly) natural inclination towards obsession onto Yeonwoo? I liked it. I liked Hyuk a lot more than I was expecting too. Like the prior installment, Color Rush 2 was stylish and clever (although not quite as clever). Honestly, in the end, I don’t know what to say about Color Rush 2. Does it work as the second installment of a trilogy? Absolutely. Does it work as the final installment of a duology. Absolutely NOT. Full review here.

RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS

Cupid’s Last Wish (Thailand YouTube) 6/10

Tropes: pining/tsundere, bodyswap, quest, road trip

Win is such an incredibly unlikeable character I really struggled with this show, no skin off Mix’s acting, but holy fucking irredeemable tsundere. Also I really do not like body-swap. The final ep tried (and for some it may have been successful) but combine this with bodyswap (my least favorite trope) and even EarthMix’s chemistry (which has improved since Thousand Stars) didn’t save it.

WORTH WATCHING FOR SOME, BUT FLAWED

Cutie Pie (Thailand YouTube) 8/10

Tropes: arranged marriage, age gap, secret identity, cohabitation, rich kid problems, he’s in engineering

Very high production and a lot of visual references to live action yaoi gave this show a whiff of Japan but ultimately it stayed firmly in Thailand’s BL camp veering from absurd to appealing to annoying and then back to absurd again. If you can roll with the arranged marriage conceit and very lifestyle D/s relationships, the chemistry is spot on even if the plot is naff and sappy and driven by miscommunication. Watch this one for the pretty, give it a pass on depth. Full review here.

RECOMMENDED

Dear Doctor, I'm Coming For Soul (Thailand YouTube) 7/10

Tropes: PNR, grim reaper, enemies to lovers

This is a romance between a doctor trying to save his patients and a reaper who is both his enemy and (eventually) lover. Basically it’s the genius premise of a gay Doom at Your Service. High concept looks good on you, Thailand. I enjoyed it more than it’s ending deserved, and the best I can say is that it’s not strictly HEA but if you’re okay with Life: Love on the Line, you’ll probubly be okay with this BL.

RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS

DNA Says Love You (Taiwan GaGa) 8/10

Tropes: secret identity, reunion romance, queer family, bisexual awakening, sunshine/broken, healing, quest

While this is one of those series (ostensibly) carried by the sunshine seme character (Taiwan is always weak in seme/uke) and he does a stand-up job, Erek Lin, who plays the love interest, Amber, is luminous. I found the twist entirely predictable, but knowing what would happen didn't spoil this show for me, in fact I think I sympathized more with Amber and understood his behavior better, because I knew. The exact way it’s handled (medically speaking) is a little disingenuous to a queer narrative (AKA they could have just GONE there) but I didn’t mind, because all the characters around Amber act with such integrity. Since this is a queer story arc that other shows have systemically mishandled and made depressing, DNA deserves extra marks for its uniquely upbeat approach. It’s full of queer found family representation and an unexpected amount of domesticity, plus it’s Taiwan, so the kisses are great. The last few eps really are special and life/love affirming - and the ending is big-grin charming. Full review here.

VERY MUCH RECOMMENDED

Gen Y 2 (Thailand grey) 5/10  

Tropes: this is an insane soap opera

Exactly as chaotically messy as expected, possibly worse, as the four main couples apparently each decided they were acting in a different kind of BL. While I do believe that the world demands the excess Star Hunter provides, it is utterly exhausting to watch. No full review because I live blogged this one here.

WATCH IT ONLY IF YOU NOTHING BETTER TO DO

Ghost Host, Ghost House (Thailand YouTube) 7/10 

Tropes: my ghost boyfriend, PNR, domesticity

This is a light horror plus family drama built around a well executed BL trough-line that felt honestly queer with fantastic chemistry from the lead pair. (I hope that we see more of them.) Pluem delivers the softest most seductive krap ever and watching them flirt over noodles is an unalloyed pleasure. Use of I/you pronouns is super interesting and cute. For me personally the surrounding cast, premise, and story didn’t resonate but if you like a touch of gothic in your BL this might appeal.

RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS 

The Eclipse (Thailand YouTube) 8/10 

Tropes: sinister boarding school, haze the one you love, suspense, high school setting, coming of age  

GMMTV does gay Blacklist with a good boy/bad boy pairing. Starred First & Khaotung plus the side dish pair from FUTS NeoLouis. This is a good show but the cast was excellent and the leads were absolutely flawless. They gave us a nuanced and multifaceted burgeoning relationship: philosophical (and socio-political) conflict contrasted to moments of empathy; flirtation contrasted to moments of genuine affection. This narrative is less about love than it is about courage and tenderness. However, near the end the pacing was off and the plot frustrating. Still, this is an enjoyable watch, with an ending that features verbal consent and a funny blooper reel. 

RECOMMENDED 

Enchanté (Thailand YouTube) 7/10

Tropes: childhood sweethearts, sunshine/tsundere, secret admirer with a touch of Cyrano de Bergerac and dose of Boys Over Flowers.

Theo returns from France and starts a written flirtation inside a library book (!) at his new uni with the mysterious Enchante. When he and his best friend Akk hunt for Enchante’s real identity, 4 senior boys step forward - all intersted in dating Theo, all with ulterior motives. Can’t fault the chemistry or the classic old school Thai uni BL and Akk (Force) was particularly sympathetic. But the twist over Enchantie’s identity felt disingenuous, manipulative, and unnecessary and the whole narrative was flawed as a result, Theo became unlikeable and irredeemable. GMMTV seems to specialize in squandering great chemistry on shoddy scripts. Honestly it probubly should get an 8/10 by my rating system but I was so disappointed I’m giving it a 7/10 and not bothering to write a full review. Live blog ep-by-ep recap here.

RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS

Eternal Yesterday AKA Eien no Kino (Japan Gaga) 2/10

Tropes: my ghost boyfriend, paranormal, kill the gay, dark 

Smart boy in love with zombie incubus, keeps him alive with sex. This prevailing wistfulness between our leads about the future that they know they will never get to have. The way Michan is constantly listening and feeling for his Koichi’s heartbeat for a reassurance that is never going to come.Japan, king of thirst, gives us both that and PAIN: these 2 are drowning in yearning and loss. Careful with this one - you break it, you bought it, and it'll break you... wide open just to see what color your guts are. After watching, you too might be walking around alone, forgotten, and wondering why no one understands your loss. Not only does it not end happily, it ends hopelessly. 

NOT RECOMMENDED (for newer BL fans) 

Even Sun (Thailand iQIYI) 5/10

Tropes: vacation romance, enemies to lovers, sunshine/tsundere

The language is fun in this one (they also use chan/nai so I’m guessing it’s and organized crime thing), the cast is excellent, the boxers mildly interesting and BounPrem’s chemistry is unmatched, but... I still disliked it. It was unequivocally boring.

WATCH ONLY IF YOU’VE NOTHING BETTER TO DO

First Love Again (Korea Viki) 7/10

Tropes: fated mates, bodyswap

A popular novelist who remembers his past lives meets his soulmate who has been reincarnated in the body of a man. This one started out a touch mean spirited, but it pulled itself together and we even got a good kiss (for a KBL). Then they went from like to love to boyfriends in a red hot minute. The confession/rejection scene was justified and the reconciliation and ending was... fine. All in all the pacing felt rushed, and the romantic arc was underdeveloped, but that’s par for the course with Korea’s short form. If you don’t mind a heavy does of melodrama in your BL this one has a solid story with a strong concept that’s well acted and produced, making it a classic KBL with better than average chemistry but ultimately a touch forgettable. (Full review here.)

RECOMMENDED WITH A FEW RESERVATIONS

Fukou-kun wa Kiss Suru Shikanai! (Japan Viki & GaGa) 8/10

AKA Mr. Unlucky Has No Choice but to Kiss! AKA Mr Unlucky Can Only kiss

Tropes: opposites attract, accidental relationship, cohabitation  

Mr Chronically Unlucky (another adorable chaos muffin) and Mr Always Lucky end up dating after they meet at uni orientation. It’s JAPAN yet they kissed in the first episode. What freaky alt-reality did I enter into? That’s all they kiss tho, over which I was a touch disappointed (I know). Still I spent far too much of my time with this show biting my knuckles and squealing “THEY’RE SO CUTE!” Amusing story: I paused mid the most tooth-achingly adorable first date in the entire universe and Viki was like “something missing?” and I was like “MY HEART YOU BASTARDS” It is very slapstick Japanese style comedic (light) BL reminds me a bit of Kieta Hatsukoi or Cherry Magic. So if you like that style of BL you’ll adore this show.

RECOMMENDED

Happy Ending Romance (Korea Gaga) 8/10

Tropes: office romance, identity theft, cohabitation 

As a BL it kinda isn’t (sorry to say). There’s no tropes dropped and no real romance narrative beats. This is about dishonesty and pride and there is an elegance to the theme. Which is essentially the idea that possession is not love, and therefore, those who love the Writer have to prove their love by letting him go. Honestly, I’m not sure how to rate this show as a result. This is a blog about BL and this wasn’t that. Full review. 

RECOMMENDED (but not if romance is what you’re primarily after) 

Hard Love Mission (Thailand WeTV) 3/10

Tropes: office romance, spoiled celebrity, 

Phenomenally dull Thai pulp about a journalist sent to interview a celebrity who ends up his manager, only 4 episodes and it still could’ve been shorter. It’s a bummer, the concept wasn’t bad. ALSO Chinese censorship got its gross mitts all over it (thank you, Tencent). Do not waste your time.

I DON'T KNOW WHAT I’M WATCHING AND NEITHER DOES IT 

In Your Heart (Mainland China GaGa) 2/10

Tropes: friends to lovers, codependency, amorphous ending

It’s very mainland China BL, which makes me feel a bit like we are back in 2016 being tormented by nostalgia. It hasn’t a single modern sensibility in it (to be fair neither does China’s het stuff). Which I don’t mind, but it felt off? Messy? Sideways? I was surprised that there was some high heat, but I wasn’t surprised that the couple ended up separated. And yet... If you expect to be disappointed, can you still be disappointed?

NOT RECOMMENDED

Kabe Koji (Japan Viki) 7/10 

Tropes: celebrity romance, sunshine/tsundere 

Basically this is A Man Who Defies the World of BL + Senpai This Can’t be Love (as @heretherebedork said) and equally painfully EXTRA. Nakao Masaki playing a sunshine bouncy himbo character is a fucking revelation, I didn’t think he had it in him. This should’ve been my favorite BL of all time (IT’S AN IDOL LOVE INTEREST!), but the tsundere is too tsundere for me, I really hate the stalker photograph thing it’s apparently a trigger I didn’t know I had until BL tried to romanticize it. I kept feeling like there were the bones of good story in this drama, and I got glimpses of it, but then it’s covered again - like tasty steak smothered in Kewpie mayo. 

RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS 

Kimi no Koto Dake Mite Itai (Japan grey) 7/10 

AKA I Only Want to Keep Looking at You

Tropes: friends to lovers, coming of age, high school setting, introvert/extrovert

This is a beautiful piece of cinema well acted, about two boys who are opposite personalities and grew up together. Gifted and serious Sakura (Kura Yuki from His the series) and outgoing eccentric manic pixie dream boy, Yuma. It is very pretty and this is the kind of atmospheric elegantly performed BL that only really comes from Japan (complete with dead fish kisses - what you though Korea invented them? oh no). I felt like I was “supposed to like it” more than I did, ultimately I was left feeling like I had seen it all before. So for me it was lovely but slightly unmemorable.

RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS

Kiss X Kiss X Kiss - Perfect Scandal (Japan Billibi) 7/10

SHORT 5-8 minutes sample pack micro-romances: 2 featured BL-ish setups. One with idols in a group together and a secret relationship (Idol Kiss) and another featuring a reluctant boss and flirty subordinate (A Sweet Kiss). Both were cute but mostly just, ya know, kissing. (Reminds me a bit of Korea’s early Triple Do You Want). The interesting thing about the idol one, is one of the leads is ALSO in a het installment. He gives great chemistry with both his partners. And I think he’s a good example of an actor being just, ya know, an actor about the physical part of a romance. Which I take about in terms of never assuming queerness based on performance, here.

RECOMMENDED (for what it is)

KinnPorsche (Thailand iQiYi) 7/10

Tropes: bodyguard, mafia, cohabitation, BDSM, he’s a monster but he’s my monster

VegasPete were in one drama; KimChay were in another; KinnPorsche were in each of those randomly but then sometimes in their own extremely slapstick cheese-fest alt-reality + Tankhun. There were clearly 2 directors with 2 distinct and conflicting points of view, who apparently never had a single conversation with each other. Was this show good? Nope. Was it absorbing as fuck? Sure. Was it well acted, absolutely. Were the sex scenes great? Yes. We the fight scenes awesome? Actually yeah (special props to Jeff for the hand-to-hand stuff). Did I enjoy the kinky bits? Certainly. But all that said: the VegasPete universe of KP was the only universe I really enjoyed and would like to revisit, and I only got that 1/5 of the time. Mathematics is working against this one, for me personally. So I guess I, at least, am still waiting for the perfect mafia BL. I think it might be up to Japan at this juncture. As a result of fan fervor meets my own hearty indifference, I don’t really know how to judge this show but I have to go with my heart, and KP didn’t win it. No full review here on tumbr but I did post on to MDL.

RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS

Kissable Lips (Korea Viki) 2/10

Tropes: fated mates, paranormal, vampire, codified chase/stalker/ seme

Vampire has to decide between killing the boy he loves or living longer himself. Perfectly cast with a sexy, deadly, tortured vampire and the sweet uke prey who managed to be soft and appealing without being weak or inactive (props to the actor). Better kisses than your average KBL did not mitigate the fact that they killed 1/2 of the couple. Ultimately, one of my most disappointing BLs of 2022. Full review here.

NOT RECOMMENDED

La Cuisine (Thailand GaGa) 7/10

Tropes: crush, campus star, bully trigger, best boys, soft & sweet,

A sweet and kind of pure show, and like Thai desserts perhaps requires too much patience for a layperson. Because of the pacing and the focus on the bad girl character, I did dock it. But if you like stuff in the Oxygen vein, then this show is for you, and far better than most Thai BL pulps. That said, I suspect that I enjoyed it more than many would. Full review here.

RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS

Love Area 2 (Thailand GaGa) 3/10

Tropes: I don’t know and neither does it

Look, it wasn't as bas as Bite Me, but it wasn’t actually good, either. This started out as Thailand tackles love triangles pulp style, but by season two lockdown had changed everything. Valen & Kaitoon dropped some great kisses but traded off crazy hair and makeup in a scene-by-scene whiplash that was clearly pickups done months after initial filming, and the second lead just... vanished. It was surreal. Side dishes jumped up screen time but tackled mental health... badly. A fantastic new queer side character was randomly introduced, June, who was the best thing to happen to BL linguistics in 2022 but had nothing to do with the rest of the cast, show, or plot. What a mess. Yes tehre was some very good chemistry and June is a GREAT queer character... BUT...  In the end, I was just confused af. Full review here.

NOT RECOMMENDED

Love Class (Korea GaGa) 8/10

Tropes: university BL, forced proximity, unrequited love, crush, slight love triangle, triggers (outing, bashing, stalking)

This was a fast-moving, bloated, complicated little show with stronger than usual story structure, well-acted if lacking in chemistry, that managed to be very appealing and engaging despite itself. What it lacked in content it more than made up for in pacing. Both bingable and rewatchable.

RECOMMENDED

Love in Spring (Korea grey) 3/10

AKA Spring of Crush

Tropes: historical, soap opera, fake identity, hidden secrets, cross dressing

This drama was all over the place with uneven acting, narrative, and focus (sometimes it wanted to be a slapstick comedy, sometimes a depressing drama) which meant no one, actors or viewers, took anyone or anything seriously.... AND it’s a bromance. I was left wondering is SalHyung is now code for “they were roommates” in Kdrama historicals but otherwise largely apathetic and unimpressed. Korea, we now know you can do better. Watch Tinted With You or Nobleman Ryu’s Wedding instead. Full review here.

NOT RECOMMENDED, NOT BL

Love in the Air (Thai iQIYI) 7/10

Tropes: enemies to lovers, too stupid to live, stalker/obsession, university setting, grumpy/tsundere, sunshine/tsundere, abuse triggers

What’s it like? Two stories of aggressive player dudes pursuing innocent younger boys. Terrible. Also entertaining and engaging and kinda hot. Like all good dumpster fires. Recommended only if you know you like this kind of thing. Look, you remember in high school drama class where they make you “envision a basket, and put all of your worry, bad mood, and anxiety into that basket, and leave it outside the door”? Well, in order to enjoy this show, you have to do that, only with your morals. Some people have bigger baskets than others. Mame’s creature whipped me into a verbal frenzy, resulting in yet another trash watch. 

RECOMMENDED WITH A LARGE BASKET OF RESERVATIONS 

Love Mechanics (Thailand WeTV) 6/10 

Tropes: messy disaster bi, out gay boy, cheating, drama llamas

My favorite messy cheeky drama-llama boys were back in spades. And initially I enjoyed it more than I should and more than it deserved. This whole series is basically a diatribe against cheating, with the sweet out gay boy reaping all the punishment a disaster bi can enact. YinWar are geniuses at chemistry and good actors, and their new high heat stuff is excellent, but the story was not improved by being given more time to hang itself. Full review on MDL. 

WORTH WATCHING FOR THE ACTING BUT SERIOUSLY FLAWED

Love Stage (Thailand Feb-March YouTube) 8/10

Tropes: childhood crush, sunshine/tsundere, unrequited love, secret identity

This BL surprised me with its charm. The acting was good, the leads were appealing, support cast on point, and the production values high. It followed the original manga story arc relatively closely: boy falls in love with girl as a child, grows up to discover girl is actually a very pretty boy. Although there are some quintessentially Thai changes that mellowed, softened, and extended the romance arc. One of the things I’ve always appreciated about this story is that the climax is about coming out as a celebrity couple as well as gay. I like the examination of the nature of celebrity versus privacy, and the contrasting kinds of closets. And I love that they depicted two couples with two different versions of this choice. A solid and enjoyable show. Full review here.

RECOMMENDED

Meow Ears Up (Thailand GaGa) 4/10

Tropes: PNR, catboy, broken characters, hurt/comfort

Adapted from the Korean manhwa Hey, Your Ears Popped Out. This is interesting, Thailand doesn’t adapt from outside their own y-novel tradition very often. This is a pretty classic version of catboy trope: a lonely orphan comic artist adopts a stray cat who suddenly turns into a human teaches him about love, chaos, and family. SO CUTE it hurts and I got very “indulgent daddy” vibes from Mr. DD, which I’m not mad about it. There’s surprising depth to this very weird little show. It’s touching and relatable, but I guess it was trying to be too Japanese/Korean about it while the set up was all sweetness and Thai style, because they fudged the ending. For me, that’s a fatal flaw. Full review here.

NOT RECOMMENDED

Minato’s Laundromat (Japan GaGa) 9/10

AKA Minato’s Coin Laundry AKA Minato Shoji Koinrandori AKA Minato Shoji Coin Laundry AKA Wash My Heart

Tropes: age gap, pining since childhood, 

A high school student pursues the man of his dreams who happens to run a laundromat in this classic age gap BL. Minato’s Laundromat is so steeped in yaoi tropes and archetypes, not to mention a typical romance arc, that it will be and overload for some fans, but those of who follow this genre for its DNA will adore it. It made me very happy because it did everything I want a BL to do, and there’s not much more I ask of a show than this. It’s the closest Japan has come to perfect live action yaoi since Seven Days. Squee watch along (in lieu of a full review).

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED 

Mr Cinderella (Vietnam YouTube) 8/10

Tropes: forced proximity, cohabitation, childhood sweethearts, opposites attract, good boy/bad boy, domesticity

Higher than normal production values plus experienced BL actors plus two charismatic smoldering leads with good kissing and comfortable body language make this Vietnam’s objectively best BL to date. Plus we got a fabulously (and quintessentially Vietnamese) domestic ending. Full review here.

RECOMMENDED

My Only 12% (Thailand iQIYI) 8/10  

Tropes: friends to lovers, childhood crush, out gay character, jock/nerd, cancer mom, side noona romance 

Neighbors and codependent childhood friends, Cake & Seeiw, have opposite personalities but may be falling in love. Familiar faces include Prem (Between Us) and Peak (Make it Right). This is a complex, nuanced, and well done little BL romance (tailor made for SantaEarth) about holding onto first love and childhood, but it’s buried under waffling family drama and formless side characters so that it took a lot of digging to get at. 

RECOMMENDED 

My Ride (Thailand GaGa) 9/10

Tropes: sunshine/softie, friends-to-lovers, crush, bisexual identity, out gay, rich/poor

BL grew up with this pulp - a truly lovely and special little show featuring the extremely rare pairing of sunshine/sunshine AKA the cinnamon roll couple. Mature explorations of relationships using one of the softest, sweetest and most innocent friends to lovers vehicles. Kindly overworked doctor meets broken hearted dimpled motorcycle taxi driver in an “other side of the tracks” slow burn romance. With great friendship groups and family dynamics the support cast is excellent. With honest queer rep that adds to, but doesn’t impede the story, good friendship groups and genuine conversation about the nature of class, wealth, and classism, not to mention communication, honesty, and respect for boundaries, you can’t go wrong with this show. In other news, I am a sucker for a single dimple. 

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

My Secret Love the series (Thailand YouTube) 6/10 

Tropes: jock/nerd, enemies to lovers, friends to lovers, reunion romance, secret romance, LTR 

Lead couple had a tom/jerry vibe with the uke too stiff and serious and the seme a prankster immature arse - one of my least favorite dynamics (it always seems mean-spirited). They reminded me of My Boy (which I DNFd) X BonDuen from My Engineer (who I dislike). Other pairs include BearBomb, TimMai and ParkLee (LTR whom use ter with each other). The domesticity with the side couples was somewhat engaging, and the sex scenes were descent, but that’s it. The worst thing about this show (aside from leads chemistry) was that the chemistry of the friendship groups felt off too. Normally, Thailand can handle friendship groups fine. But these two different groups? I didn’t believe they were friends at all. Full review on MDL. 

NOT REALLY RECOMMENDED 

My Tooth Your Love (Taiwan Gaga & Viki) 8.5/10

Tropes: childhood trauma, phobias, doctor/patient, age gap

It’s not love in Taiwan if one of them doesn’t stumble into the other.

From the producers of We Best Love, earnest dentist hottie with sad eyes who worries too much is smitten with an adorable sunshine neurotic bar owner with serious anxiety issues, they fall in love while courting each other with food, plushies, and naps. Then, shocker, talk about their feelings and try to actually sort out their problems so they can have an adult relationship. Bonus 18 year old poor little rich kid in mad crush with a much older man. I really enjoyed this show, it had a fun premise, killer dialogue, there was a solis lead pair with charming chemistry, soft flirtation, and delightful smiling kisses and stinkingly cute domesticity. All that said, I wasn’t wild about some of the darker themes it explored (abuse, panic attacks, abandonment issues), even though it did a good job with them. And while the crumbs and sides were v adorable they were chronically underused. In the land of May/December, baby boy kabedon is my kryptonite! Why so little of them? Kabedon is My Krytonite = also the name of my indie band’s first single.) 

In other news: I identify WAY too much with the bartender daddy. He pretty much opens his mouth and says what I’m thinking 90% of the time. 

MUCH RECOMMENDED

Not Me (Thailand YouTube) 9/10  

Tropes: enemies to lovers, secret identity, identical twins, goodboy/bad boy

GMMTV gave us a dark disestablishment narrative (in a time of civil unrest) with established queer award-winning director Anucha and starring OffGun. THIS IS AN AMAZING THING to get to experience in the BL world - nerve racking but remarkable. But was it ACTUALLY BL? Not Me had a lot of BL elements, but in the end that’s not what the show was about, or even what it was genuinely trying to be. Still an amazing piece of Thai cinema certainly worth your time. Don’t worry, it all ends happily. Full review here. OffGun Eulogy here.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Ocean Likes Me (Korea Viki) 8/10  

Tropes: opposites attract, grumpy/sunshine, impossible dreams

This is a solid little KBL, with a good premise and cast. Manic pixie dream boy can get old fast but when contrasted with awkward grumpy chef? Tasty combo that elevates both ingredients. Holland is a charming screen presence, baby boy is HYPNotiC. And while I wasn’t entirely sold on the chemistry with these two they gave us some very good kisses. I grinned through most episodes and I even didn’t mind the standard KBL 1 year separation at the end because it felt very true to the characters. Don’t worry they end up back together.

RECOMMENDED

Oh! Boarding House (Korea Viki) 8/10

Tropes: forced proximity, cohabitation, crush, love triangle

Spoiled rich kid in financial straights has to manage a boarding house full of quirky characters including: bratty cousin, wacko writer, adorable bestie with a crush, and the new hot jock (love interest). All in all, this show ended up being A LOT better than I expected. It was uneven in its attempt to reconcile early sitcom (slightly Thai) style with a serious love triangle and genuine romance but the quality of the performances and the kind and honest treatment of the characters make it definitely worth watching. (Full review here.)  

DEFINITELY RECOMMENDED, a lost gem esp for Kdrama fans 

Oh! My Assistant (Korea Viki) 7/1O

Tropes: grumpy/sunshine, himbo chaos bi, out gay 

This is a very silly show that acts like it comes from a very silly yaoi. Reserved out gay younger assistant (we stan) pretending to be tsundere but is actually just v shy and smitten by his cheerful (seemingly straight) chaos bi himbo artist boss. I think the cross cutting in of old footage with the replacement actor after the re-cast did affect the chemistry with this pair. There was no way around it. Even KBL isn't usually this awkward and repressed. Although this show had the best bisexual awakening sequence ever put in a BL, and I really wanted to love it, I just didn't. 

RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS

Oh My Sunshine Night (Thailand grey) 7/10

Tropes: university, sickness, fated mates, whipping boy, poor little rich boy, soap opera

Kim, a tsundere musician meets Sun, a transfer student with a weak heart. Also there’s his hot older brother + their household servant, and a couple of fencers for good measure. Initially this pretends to be a normal university, then it slips on wet tiles and falls right on trough multiple shower scenes into ludicrous soap opera territory leaving one with a sensation rather like trying to hold onto soap in a communal shower. Ultimately, everyone seems pretty happy they bent over, but no one actually got clean. 

RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS 

Old Fashion Cupcake (Japan Viki) 9/10

Tropes: office romance, age gap, employee/boss, food is the love language, coming of age late in life

This show had me from the moment they broke the egg yolk with the chopsticks in the opening credits for episode one. It’s about a younger man with a long cherished crush on his boss (ten years older and going through a mid life crisis) who decides to save and seduce said man with pancakes. It’s wholesome, comforting, sexy, and a very necessary narrative about still having hope, interests, and openness to affection at any age. It’s coming of age/queerness packaged in a subtle critique of expectations around masculinity and love and loneliness... and it’s beautiful. Full review here.

ABSOLUTELY RECOMMENDED

Once Again (Korea GaGa) 2/10

Tropes: age gap, childhood trauma, tragedy, time travel, inevitable fate 

JaeWoo lives with childhood trauma and gets a chance to travel to the past to fix it by saving JiHoon. But you can’t change fate. From Moving Picture (studio behind equally tragic Kissable Lips)) this one stars actors (not idols) including Moon Ji Young (also in The New Employee) and is very well performed with a great, but sad, actual PLOT. It was a little bit more creepy than romantic, kind of Gothic and tense, but also strangely amusing (this odd kid just keeps hugging JiHoon - that’s like 1000x weirder in Korea than most places) and more enjoyable than it had a right to be with a really interesting take on the childhood crush trope. Ultimately, however, it kills the gay and is very sad. 

NOT RECOMMENDED 

Our Days the series (Thailand GaGa) 4/10

Tropes: sports romance, messy gays be messy, cohabitation, crush, love triangle, tsundere

Enemies to lovers meets forced proximity (boarding house) in which I couldn’t decide if the unlikable main character was stupid or depressed (story of my life, see also Physical Therapy) but I can’t take yet another emo POV. There was no chemistry from the leads and great chemistry from the ex-friend/second lead. Saint’s dad punishing him, when he doesn’t realize it’s because Saint is gay and heartbroken, really had meat to it as part of a basketball story. But it was such a tiny part of the overall show it felt like eating a meal when all I liked was one ingredient. I’d like to see the actor who played Saint (Offroad) in other stuff but otherwise this one can fade and be forgotten. It was a mess, and not a hot one. Fatally flawed.

NOT RECOMMENDED

Paint with Love (Thailand Gaga) 6/10

Tropes: opposites attract, office romance, sunshine/tsundere, enemies to lovers, wierdo/rulebound

For me the mains were unlikeable and the actors had poor chemistry. So while this offered a lot of what I thought I wanted from a Thai BL - mature characters, office setting, adult themes - I’m wasn’t wild about the execution. I suspect Thai pulps are better when they stick to university/high school. This one felt like a better version of Loveless Society (but that’s not saying much). The side dishes (Yoon & Yacht) gave us more chemistry and a better kiss but had little screen time. It was interesting to see them portray BL actors being shipped and then confessing to actually dating each others I’m not sure how I feel about the handling of it but it was different from Lovely Writer. In the end, this show was nicely grown up but boring and became a matter of endurance for me. I can’t ever see myself rewatching it.

WORTH WATCHING FOR SOME BUT SERIOUSLY FLAWED

Papa & Daddy 2 (Taiwan GaGa) 6/10  

I don’t have a good history with 2nd seasons, and Taiwan really likes to make a soap opera out of their queers. Witness that this one starts with a secret baby trope. There’s a lot of lying to each other and evil parents and, of course, 2nd lead syndrome strikes again. The domesticity was, of course, excellent (I love the gay siblings sharing tips on how to parent) and it was actually kind of beautiful to watch them explore ideas around infidelity, affection, lost love, and rediscovery. However, it lost me at episode 3 and never quite got me back, not even with the delightfully cheesy wedding. All in all, this was a serviceable follow up to the first installment, if riddled by unbearable parents, lack of story, and sappiness.  

WORTH WATCHING BUT FLAWED

Plus & Minus (Taiwan Viki) 8/10

AKA Plus and Minus AKA PlusMinus

Tropes: friends to lovers, LTR, office romance, (himbo) sunshine/tsundere, found family, himbo

This is a solid safe little BL about codependent besties of 20 years finding their way into a romantic relationship. A bit cheesy, with lots of domesticity and occasional dumb drama. (But gay boys and chaos bis? What can ya do?) It’s not groundbreaking but it is a solid sweet unassuming little show of a style that is perhaps a bit more Thai than it is Taiwanese but I’m okay with that. Full review here.

RECOMMENDED

Rainbow Prince (The Philippines YouTube) 6/10

Tropes: disney princess, opposites attract, sunshine/tsundere

This long form MUSICAL BL is fucking LEGEND. Also it’s profoundly not good. The acting is absolutely terrible but that’s not the point, the point is that it’s a cheesy af fairy story. Possibly the gayest BL to ever BL and certainly the most camp and very Disney. Watch it of that’s your thing, otherwise hard pass. (Full review here.)

RECOMMENDED ONLY IF YOU ALSO LIKE DISNEY SHIT

Roommates of Poongduck 304 (Korea Viki) 8/10

Tropes: rich/poor, boss/employee, enemies to lovers, office setting, cohabitation  

This is a solid little office set KBL about a rich kid who ends up both the boss and tenant of a total sweetheart cutie, and falls madly in love with him. Although the show suffered from KBL’s shorter length, I love the kissable lips pair - they deliver solid all round chemistry despite limited screen time, which is rare from Korea. So I hope they stay branded and we get even more from them in the future. Special extra extended kissing scene.

RECOMMENDED

Secret Crush on You (Thailand YouTube) 7/10

Tropes: stalking, obsession, hottest guy on campus, multiple couples, queer affirming

Previously known as Stalker the series, and you can TELL. Co-produced by and featuring (but NOT staring) Saint and directed by Cheewin (sigh) with all fresh faces it was pure pulp and... I hated the plot. In fact I was ALL OVER THE PLACE with this show. SCOY drove me nuts and made me bush but had flashes of unparalleled genius. It had a ton of things I really did not like (e.g. the humor was crass and awkward, and the whole stalker thing was extremely CRINGE). It also had things that really worked: (e.g. representation of multiple different kinds of queerness, about which it very Taiwanese - in that there was no doubt that the characters really did want to bone). It was the opposite of sanitized gay. Honestly, if you can make it through the first half, and survive the never ending cringe-factor that IS this show, the second half is entirely unique - content we’ve never seen before in BL.

RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS, but not the usual ones.

Semantic Error (Korea Viki) 10/10

Tropes: opposites attract, enemies to lovers, bully romance, sunshine/tsundere, teasing & pranks

This is my favorite BL of 2022 won a Blue Dragon award. Korea hits it entirely out of both Parks (pun on the actors’ last names intended) by doing a university set BL with everything we might expect done exactly right, their signature quality executed perfectly, and added bonus good story, great pacing, yaoi style filming, and fantastic chemistry. You cannot ask for more from a BL, let alone a KBL. Full review here.

HIGHLY ETERNALLY OMG SO MUCH RECOMMENDED

Senpai, Danjite Koidewa! (Japan Viki) 6/10

AKA Senpai, This Can’t be Love!

Tropes: office romance, object of my affection, boss/employee

Adapted from a manga for the same name, it has a similar creepy worship stalking vibe Secret Crush On You. Look, I admit it, this dynamic (super awkward pining uke, rockstar seme) is one of my least favorites - high cringe factor meets navel gazing obsessive. Japan’s weird hang-up around physical expressions of affection in BL which I expect in their slapstick high school stuff, feels cowardly here. They don't leave out end kisses in their het office romances, time to stop desexualizing the gays, too. For a plot about courage, it’s a bummer that the narrative itself didn’t have any. I can’t imagine ever watching this show again or remembering its existence. When Japan drops the balls they drop all the way to the bottom of the well. 

NOT REALLY RECOMMENDED 

Something in My Room (Thailand YouTube) 2/10

Tropes: paranormal, cohabitation, my ghost boyfriend, sunshine/tsundere

Horror BL starring Nut (Oxygen) who was a revelation, still a little stiff but he handled a totally different character from Solo with aplomb. Essentially, this was a well done pulp lockdown project version of He’s Coming to Me (with hints of So Much in Love and Peach of Time) but it was its own creature at the last gasp. I enjoyed it when it got a bit creepy but it was so slow it never had a chance to maintain tension. The two leads were ultimately cute together, but, like Peach of Time, we all knew how this one was gonna end. The narrative never left us in any doubt and I don’t like unhappy endings in my BL. So even though the sad was predictable, I won’t give this drama anymore than 2/10. Don’t kill my gays, Thailand, even when they’re already dead.

NOT RECOMMENDED

Star & Sky: Star in My Mind (Thailand YouTube) 8/10

Tropes: university set, high school crush, jock/nerd, long term pining, secret crush, reunion

This is (sort of) a lost love reunion arc + freshy hotness contest giving it 2 Moons vibes. Look, this is one of those shows that I shouldn’t really like after 400 BLs. It’s not at all unique, just some classic Thai uni folderol driven by miscommunication (or just non-communication) and yet... I COULD NOT STOP WATCHING. Sure it felt like everyone involved with this show was mostly phoning it in, but it was a REALLY nice phone call. It’s basic BL. But honestly, don’t we all need that plain white t-shirt to wear under our engineering smock... in the end? Full review here.

RECOMMENDED

Star & Sky: Sky in Your Heart (Thailand YouTube) 5/10

Tropes: rural setting, country mouse/city mouse, rich/pour, enemies to lovers

A cheap 1000 Stars knock off about a doctor who goes rural and falls in love with a volunteer teacher. This show managed to be boring, corny, AND cheesy? I don’t know exactly how to write a review of this, as “dull” isn’t in my rating system but, it is a BIG SIN for me. I guess this should be added to my short list of BL‘s that are told from the seme’s perspective? Linguistically: these two are formal with each other using pom/khun. Also If you want to hear frozen register spoken, that’s what Prince’s maa speaks to tease Fah. Full review here.

WATCH ONLY IF YOU HAVE NOTHING BETTER TO DO

Takara-kun and Amagi-kun (Japan GaGa & Viki) 9/10  

Tropes: high school crush, chaos baby, high angst, classic seme/uke, secret relationship 

I gnawed on my knuckles and squealed a lot with this show. Reserved cool kid who must lean to communicate to keep the tiny disaster nugget he’s madly in love with. It is beyond charming: soft and gentle, packed with cuteness and high school angst. Did anything actually happen? No. Was it emotionally tense and paced well enough for me not to notice? Absolutely. Was there plot? Not really. Did I enjoy the hell out of it, anyway? Oh yes. Full review. 

TOTALLY RECOMMENDED 

That’s My Candy (Korea Viki) 3/10

Tropes: magical realism, LTR, breakup, amnesia, reunion

KimCop vehicle from Star Hunter, about an LTR between a student Jing (Cop) + nurse Guy (Kim) who have been together for 3 years. Guy is busy all the time so Jing is starting to feel neglected and look elsewhere. KimCop are excellent (no surprise there) but I was not into the story, premise, or concept. Side couple Viking & TamTam stole this one for me but the final ep activates the amnesia trope so even they could save it. Honestly I was left, ultimately with a sensation of: What did I just watch? It was terrible. Full review here.

NOT RECOMMENDED

Tinted With You (Korea Viki) 8/10

Tropes: historical, portal fantasy, time travel

Fun stylish time travel portal fantasy with a likable cast, historical setting, and two actual kisses that mitigate a rough plot and issues around anachronisms. Full review here.

RECOMMENDED

To My Star 2: Our Untold Stories (Korea Viki) 7/10

Tropes: grumpy/sunshine, hurt/comfort, opposites attract, forced proximity, breakup/reunion

If you like angst, wallowing, and realistic relationship struggles in your BL, watch this. If you prefer fluffy comforting BL, avoid like the plague. For me the pay out was not sufficient to the pain. I enjoyed the performances, directing, and chemistry - the leads’ comfort with each other is unprecedented in Korean BL, but that’s not enough for me to rise above the pain of the narrative. This show is a home wrecking hussy, but like super classy about it. Full review here.

RECOMMENDED WITH SERIOUS RESERVATIONS

Triage (Thailand grey) 7/10  

Tropes: time loop, age gap, medical drama, fated mates

I thought the plot was good if a little redundant and occasionally exhausting. The pairs were all well done, low heat but with decent chemistry and the support characters were likable (or unlikable as required). I feel much as a did with Manner of Death, which is to say: this feels less BL than it does gay time-slip suspense. If anything, the romance arc detracted and distracted from the main plot. But I’m in BL for the romance, and the rewatchability, and this had very little of either. Full review here.

RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS

The Tuxedo (Thailand GaGa) 3/10

Tropes: tsundere seme, enemies to lovers, rich/poor

GMMTV be like, “see us squander glorious chemistry on terrible scripts.” The Tuxedo be like, “oh yeah? Hold my beer.” Watching this was like eating a meal of just spices. the spice profile was great, but it wasn’t ON actual food. The show itself had no plot or story and MADE NO SENSE, but I really hope we see these boys again in something more worthy of them.

NOT RECOMMENDED

Unforgotten Night (Thailand GaGa) 5/10 

Tropes: mafia, BDSM, not much of either 

Adapted from the y-novel Mafia's Bad Love, (originally featured both a gay poly triad and a GL sub plot). Stared Yoon (YYY, Paint With Love, My Ride) as a mafia Dom and Ton (Y-Destiny) as the accountant sub. Kim has a one night stand with a random stranger who becomes obsessed with him. Pretty soon into this I began to think this show should be called Forgotten Kink rather than Unforgotten Night. There isn't any. Mostly there's faucets left on and shower heads used for tie points (don't DO that). But honestly this was just bad. There is a moral to this show but I’m not sure what it is. Don’t combine your BDSM-but-not-really BL pulp with plumbing? In the end, this dumpster fire was extinguished by a garden hose and all we were left with was leaky pipes and the smell of damp trash. The only kinks were in the hose. No full review but I did to a trash watch. 

WATCH IT IF YOU HAVE NOTHING BETTER TO DO, BUT I WARNED YOU

Vice Versa (Thailand YouTube) 8/10 

Tropes: alt reality, bodyswap, soulmates AKA fated mates, portal fantasy

Jimmy (Puen the super flirt confident king) is insanely charismatic and takes up all the air in (the proverbial cinematic) room, but I warmed up to Sea (Talay the timid acerbic sweetheart) eventually. As a couple they read as more teasing and brotherly than sexy, but that’s GMMTV’s brand. I enjoyed the concept of this show (I’m big into magical realism and skewed reality - see my adoration for Color Rush) but JittiRain’s plot was contrived and weak (normal for them). I find the “writing on each other” habit quite cute. Look, here’s the thing, flaws and all I pretty much spent this entire show smiling. I didn’t even mind being so obviously manipulated. That said, this is never going to be one of my top rewatch rotations, so I’m calling it for an 8/10. 

RECOMMENDED

Want to See You (Vietnam YouTube) 5/10

AKA Muốn Nhìn Thấy Em

Tropes: whipping boy, disability, secret love

Everyone’s favorite Vietnamese hottie Ba Vinh (O2 Productions: Mr Cinderella etc...) played an arsehole blind man (Jane Eyre feels) who hires a live in nurse and both get taken advantage of by a series of psycho femme fatales characters. The chemistry was okay but not Vinh’s best. Did they serve up prime domesticity? Of course. This is Vietnam, you get what you pay for. But tonally, this show was all over the place, hugely inconsistent in characterization and motivation. No clean narrative through line. Nothing anyone did actually ever made sense, it was mostly just frustrating. 

WATCH ONLY IF YOU HAVE NOTHING BETTER TO DO 

What If (Thailand WeTV) 4/10

Had promised but was ultimately a complete letdown, not really BL either. It was, in the end, primarily about singing, so you know I didn’t like anything about this. 

NOT RECOMMENDED 

What Zabb Man! (Thailand YouTube) 8/10

Tropes: enemies to lovers, tsundere seme, rich/poor

WZM was better than we have any right to expect with decent pacing and a foodie theme threaded through the narrative as both love language and plot driver. Basically CEO falls in love with a street vendor’s food, recruits him to work in his hotel, falls in love with him, and that’s the beginning. Class struggles! Kitchen drama! Papaya pounding (not a euphemism)! Chef poaching (not literally)! Spicy scenes (yes literally)! It’s all so delicious. Full review here.

RECOMMENDED, especially if you like Thai food

You’re My Sky (Thailand Viki) 6/10

Tropes: sports romance, friends to lovers, jock/nerd meets sunshine/tsundere, cheating

A serviceable college-set pulp that focused on 3 sports romances with high angst, but was ultimately too slow moving for me, and with only one couple I liked (SaenAei). Main couple, FahThorn = basketball jocks, boring. DomeVee = track & field with a disaster bi cheating with your sister’s boyfriend storyline (by FAR the best sexual chemistry). SaenAei = jock/nerd with a younger puppy sunshine seme, best boys. Saen was my favorite character; relentlessly flirty but always clear about with his interest and steady in his regard, but who wants this many eps for one side character?

WORTH WATCHING BUT FLAWED AND YOU NEED PATIENCE  

Work from Heart (Thailand YouTube) 4/10

Tropes: Romeo & Romeo, office romance

Pulp office drama featuring tons of couples starring Gameplay as rich kid terrible dresser Dee who forms an unfathomable and poorly depicted romance with his internship supervisor. Some nifty linguistic stuff and great lead pair chemistry, doesn’t compensate for one of the worst wardrobes and an ultimately unfathomable plot. 

FATALLY FLAWED

THE DNF/DNW LIST

Shows I dropped, lost track of, never got around to or otherwise failed to complete.

2 Moons: The Ambassador AKA 2 Moons 3 (Thailand grey) 

I hear that it’s pretty banal and I’m just waiting to collect them all and binge. I doubt it will get a high rating from me or monkey with the standings much so I’m not fussed. 

7 Days 7 Boys (Thailand grey) 

No subs and it is also profoundly not good. Do not bother.

180 Degree Longitude Passes Through Us (Thailand GaGa) 

8 eps - This is a queer drama not a BL. It’s fine, reminded me oddly of early Taiwanese stuff, a bit slow moving and oddly paced. But I intensely disliked the lead character. He's a brat in the wrong way. Especially as a 20 year old. 

Country Boy 2 (Thailand who cares?)

I barely managed the first installment. No thank you. 

Fahlanruk (Thailand GaGa) 

I found all the characters profoundly unlikeable. I don’t like any of the couples and the fujoshi framing is repulsive under the context of a narrative trying to be this authentically gay. I lost all patience and cut my losses at ep 5. @heretherebedork said it was BohnDuen 2.0 only worse and that’s my least favorite dynamic of all time, so yeah, not gonna bother. 

Fudanshi Bartender no Tashinami (AKA Accomplishment of Fudanshi Bartender) (Japan Gaga) 

BL Express posted a review and it sounds A LOT like another kind of Absolute BL thing from Japan, but focused on the fudanshi side of the equation and I could not be less intersted so I did not watch. 

Gameboys 2

I have no idea what happened - to me or it. But I remember watching a bit, and then just got distracted or something. 

Getaway (Singapore YouTube)

Based on an original story from a gay creator featuring an openly gay cast this vacation romance from Singapore set in Bangkok did nto work for me. The lead was fine but the muscle boy love interest's acting was just bad. Look, I’m the first to admit that there’s a lot of bad and awkward acting in this genre, but for some reason… it feels a lot worse in English. I like how unabashedly gay the show is but (how do I put this nicely, I guess...) if I’m gonna watch English language gay vacay shit – I’d rather watch Fire Island. Still, as one might expect, the heat execution is good (Taiwan still holds the crown, tho). But I eventually just gave up.

In a Relationship (Thailand YouTube)

Thailand’s answer to Gameboys (a bit late, kids). I’m generally not a fan of lockdown romances and this didn’t grab me.

My Roommate (Thailand YouTube)

32 eps of 2 minutes each with such terrible production values I couldn’t be bothered. Def not my thing.

My Tempo (Thailand grey) 

A Thai BL movie about the Thai music industry. Yeah, no thank you.

On Cloud Nine (Thailand YouTube) 

A country-set atmospheric series from MindTrio about afterlife and awaiting loved ones. Def not my thing. 

Physical Therapy (Thailand GaGa)

Milk is basically a Mainland China-style super useless heroine type. He’s, ugh, so totally not cute. I just don’t think emo is sexy (sorry Japan). I don’t understand why anyone likes him: friends, crushes, lovers. And I couldn’t tell if the doctor was faking it or just a terrible actor.

Rak Dao (Thailand grey)

A real sit com that was just too much for me to take. I didn’t even survive the first 2 episodes. And I usually give a drama 3 eps.

Restart(ed) (Thailand grey)

Looked like Top Secret Together meets Y-Destiny but ended up being more like Club Friday. Glimmers of good chemistry and hella queer but even that did not save this from terrible sound and an incomprehensible plot full of completely random characters. An absolute mess.

Scent of Love (Thailand no idea)

Just couldn’t find it. Also it’s the lead pair from My Secret Love so could not be bothered to even try. 

SELF (Thailand YT) 

Is it sad? Worth watching? I don’t know, no one said a peep about this show but I got a bad feeling about the end so I never bothered. 

The Promise (Vietnam YouTube)

Stepbrothers trope, enemies to lovers, high school, reunion romance, grumpy/tsundere. Narrative has a “memoir” framework. Sort of Cherry Blossoms After Winter if they were enemies.

The Miracle of Teddy Bear (Thailand grey)

Surreal drama series with dark elements. Nat's giant teddy bear, Taohu, miraculously turns into a young man but can't remember anything about himself. I found out this has what I COUNT as a sad ending and with it being hard to find i didn’t bother.

The Next Door Crush (Vietnam YouTube) 

Reunion romance or something, I couldn’t be arsed. 

To Sir, With Love AKA Khun Chai (Thailand grey) 

I’m waiting on grey subs for this Thai historical gay soap opera that came outta nowhere. It’s more lakorn than it is BL (soapy) and word is it ends happily. It’s just taking me time to track down. 

War of Y (Thailand Gaga) 

Tropes: industry self criticism, messy gay, general chaos

COPY A BANGKOK brings us 20 episode of Cheewin’s nonsense starring the boys from Y-Destiny and SCOY. My initial thoughts? It was better than any of us have a right to expect but I hated it. I disliked it for the same reason I don’t like rockstar romances... celebrities (and their people) are assholes. This show features a bunch of actors behaving like actors, managers behaving like managers, all of them predators and victims and both. I’ve dropped before for less (Call It What You Want) and I’ll drop again. Then again I loved Lovely Writer - but I think that’s because Sib is meant to be a sinister dick who’s only an actor because it gets him closer to Gene, and i like that approach. War of Y is just a collection of fragile egos easily traumatized by their own desires (and the needs of others) - it’s brutal to watch. BillySeng are killing it, but.... it hurts, and not in a good way. I’m going to save it and binge all at once when I am feeling bored and resilient. Will I watch it eventually? Maybe? Probably not. I think we have an ITSAY situation going on here. Also BL Express was not best pleased, and I while we rarely share taste, in this instance I trust their reporting.

Ones I Could Not Track Down - Japan of course 

Both Me and Him are the Grooms AKA Boku mo Aitsu mo Shinrodesu - Aired March 2022 on KTV & Tver, some see it on Gaga, but not me. This is a coming out drama rama. Ryosuke and Mizuki are getting married but on the wedding day Mizuki finds out that his partner didn't tell his parents, relatives, or friends that he's gay. Catastrophe results: furious outbursts, fighting between the two families, and then Mizuki's ex boyfriend shows up. 

Grand Guignol - a horror, paranormal, high shcool movie that released in Japanese theaters middle of the year. Starred Rio Komiya (Eternal Yesterday) and Ryosuke Sota (Mr Unlucky) among others.

Kamisama no Ekohiiki - body swap, paranormal, country set. Amano Yashiro has a crush on his best friend, Nanahara Kenta. Yashiro died in a car accident after being rejected by Kenta. However, due to God's favoritism, Yashiro was reborn as a female student called Tendo Kagura, and lives a new life. Yashiro decides to make use of his girly look to have Kenta fall for him. While Yashiro and Kenta become closer, they were interrupted by Kenta's ex-girlfriend, Torii Rin, who told "Kagura" to stay away from Kenta. Furthermore, it was discovered that Yashiro's body is still alive. What is actually happening?

Melting Night: Secret Kiss - microfilm part of the Kiss X Kiss X Kiss series, featuring the stepbrothers trope that aired on Tiver. A and B are friends who are secretly in love with each other. They became stepbrothers after their parents' remarry. Even though they acted like family, their feelings overflow and when their parents were gone...

Yes I REALLY want to see this one. 

Sing In Love AKA Miso's Koi Kogare Utae - movie adaptation of a PNR manga released in theaters, but no word on international distribution. About a teacher who encounters a mysterious man from his past, who is strangely obsessed with him. 

2022 BL Announced but Never Aired or Otherwise Confusing 

Eye Contact AKA មើលបានហាមសម្លឹង - Cambodia

Tie The Not AKA Under the Same Sky - The Philippines 

Ghost and I Becoming Family - Taiwan 

God's Military Officer - Taiwan 

Melody In Me - Vietnam 

The Lost Ring AKA The Ring Goes Missing reboot - Vietnam

KOREAN BL ANNOUNCED FOR 2022 BUT NEVER AIRED 

Bon Appetit

Comfort the Boy AKA A Shoulder to Cry On - premiere postponed indefinitely due to actor contract conflict, rated R15+ due to topic & vulgarity

Eccentric Romance - was supposedly in production July 2022. Silkwood’s 2nd Thai/Korean colab but not their last.

Eul's Love

Follow The Wind - supposed to have released in the first half of 2022

Happy Merry Ending

Heesu in Class 2

Individual Circumstances

Jun and Jun - filming Dec 2022

Love Class 2 AKA Love Class Season 2 - filming was to start Nov 2022

Love is like a Cat - supposedly completed filming aug 2022 so I guess stuck in post? stars Mew. 

Love Tractor

Secret Relationship -  was to be adapted by Cradle Studio (a subsidiary of Kakao).

Space Bakery

Two Game Over 

Why R U? Korean remake - supposedly filming Sept 2022 

I am assuming most of these can be transferred to 2023 expectations but am not sure. 

THAI BL ANNOUNCED FOR 2022 BUT NEVER AIRED 

Art Adore En

Bitter Sweet

Boxer In Heart

Buddy Line Y Animal AKA Buddy Line Y(aoi) Animal

Call My Name

Cinderella Boys

City of Stars AKA Fueangnakorn

Destiny Seeker

Future the series

Heart by Heart

Imado Jinja

Intern In My Heart

Love at First Sight

Make a Wish

Mr. Bad Guy

My Broccoli

My Engineer 2

My Last Love

My Lucky Cat

Nilundon

Past Love In The Future

Past-senger AKA Pastsenger

The Sweet Robot

The Theory series

Trouble Maker

Does not include those announced for 2022 but which have since been officially moved to 2023. Those will appear on the 2023 forthcoming lists. 

(source)

#all the bl that aired in 2022 #no really pretty much all of it #this is MONSTER post #BL post not for the faint of heart #I should probably NOT be using tumlr for this #but I love tumblr #so like BL I am here until the bitter end #Thai BL #Korean BL #Japanese BL #Pinoy BL #Taiwanese BL #KBL #JBL #BL reviews #BL review #best of bl 2022 #worst of bl 2022 #bl 2022 #bl summation #do i do another one of these next year?

[manawari]

Grim Reaper

            "Where are we heading? Did the team finally found the drug lord?"

            "Yeah, but not in a way you would think. Because you see, the drug lord was found in a garbage bin next to his apartment with no clothes, except for boxers, and had a duct tape on his mouth."

            "Lim said his body was covered in multiple cuts that he had to call the forensics to confirm the body's true identity. And indeed, it is the drug lord."

            "Are you saying that he was murdered?"

            Yoon-ho shrugged. "Well, we got no other options to consider."

            Shivers ran down Eun-seok's spine. It was his first case in the field, so he expected that he would be encountering simple crimes such as thievery, but after hearing those words from Yoon-ho and Dong-wook, it made his stomach churn a little.

            The three detectives arrived in the scene where the police, detectives, and some forensic scientists lingered in the area. Yellow tapes surrounded the scene as to prevent civilians from stepping into the place that was held for investigation. Eun-seok lifted the tape as he continued to follow his seniors inside of the vicinity where the garbage bin was located; Lim Tae-gyu stood with Woo Jin-chul, the deputy chief, next to a corpse that laid on the ground. It made the rookie's stomach twist even more.

            The body was light grey, inert like a stone, and scars littered throughout his skin. The criminal's eyes were open and on the chest part had two long cuts in the form of a 'V' and another one at the center.

            "This isn't just a serious case of a murder." Eun-seok spoke.

            Yoon-ho turned to him. "You were saying, rookie?"

            "I'm saying is that— this is not just a murder, rather it looks like he was assassinated." Eun-seok elaborated.

"Murders and assassinations are the same. But unlike murders, it is more difficult to determine the face behind assassinations since assassins move like shadows and are easy to blend in." Tae-gyu said. He sighed. "I may be glad that we found this guy after a month, but we can't just simply let the assassin on the loose."

"Detective Lim is right. Now you see why this job is not easy no matter how good you think you are in the field, Mr. Geun?" Jin-chul said to the new recruit. "Situations like this frequently happen. We can never control it."

Eun-seok nodded.

"Deputy Woo!" A new voice chimed in. It was Cha Hae-in, another one of the long-time detectives in the department. "We have recovered the drugs packed in plastic and tapes."

"Good work, Detective Cha," Jin-chul praised her. "At least the assassin didn't touch them."

"It seems the killer is only after his life," said Yoon-ho.

Jin-chul nodded. "Yes. And once this corpse is taken away, we can—" the radio on his harness began to vibrate. The deputy picked it up and held it close to his mouth to answer it. "What is it?"

The five other detectives became silent and listened intently at the conversation. After a few seconds, Jin-chul's eyes stretched wide.

"What?! Are you even certain that your words are true?!" The detectives flinched at the deputy's outburst.

"What happened, deputy?" Dong-wook asked.

"Four businessmen were found dead in a bedroom by a housemaid." Jin-chul growled. His grip on his radio clenched. "Lim, call for back-up. The rest, including you, go with me!"

The detectives quickly followed Jin-chul to the van. Tae-gyu did what he was told and explained the situation. Yoon-ho twisted the key to start the engine and pulled the vehicle out of the parking spot. Eun-seok moved his hand to the upper left of his chest, feeling his increased heartbeat whilst his hands turned cold.

. . . What was more dangerous: a criminal who did notorious crimes or a killer who was never seen?

Nobody was certain when was the first time it happened, the police department just started to receive calls from horrified citizens urging them to investigate a crime scene. They anticipated that it was a murder case, but it turned out to be beyond that. At first, they speculated that it was a serial killer case until the detectives began to notice obscure patterns in the corpses.

Usually, serial killers would leave no trace. But in this case, the killer had a signature.

Two long cuts with a single cut in the center of the chest were engraved in a body. If two or more were dead in the same place, at least one of them bore the insignia of the assassin.

Since then, the police department became one of the most stressful places, as well as one of the hardest jobs.

Regardless of the assassin killed a criminal or not, he or she would be still against the law. And with the assassin not being caught, the authorities arrested the suspects instead, believing those people had hired an assassin to make the kill, and unfortunately, the suspects hadn't uttered an appearance or name of the assassin.

A grim reaper was living amongst the society.

Yoon-ho plopped on the stool and dragged his arms over the counter. He loosened his tie a little and undid the two buttons of his uniform to let himself breathe properly. It felt as if there was a tremendous weight on his shoulders.

On the other hand, his teammates — Jin-chul had to go back to the office for an important discussion with Go Gun-hee — were as exhausted as he was. They hadn't taken a single break since they worked nonstop and concentrated on the investigations. Eun-seok, who had just entered the world of solving crimes, looked like his soul was no longer attached to his body. Yoon-ho felt bad for the newbie.

"What can I do for you, sir?"

Yoon-ho turned his head to the bartender. He was about to open his mouth when he realized the face was unfamiliar. "Wait a second. . . "

"Yes?" The bartender said. He was tall, quite young, and had jet black hair that was parted in the middle and a pair of dark grey eyes; the man flashed the detective a cordial expression. "Oh, are you expecting someone you know? I'm actually new here."

"Well—"

"Hyung! You're here!" Min Byung-gyu entered Yoon-ho's vision. He was wiping his hands with a clean white cloth and had a red apron tied around his waist. His grin broke upon seeing the sight of the newly arrived customers. "Woah, you guys look so exhausted."

"Save the questions for later or tomorrow. I want to cleanse off this stress!" Tae-gyu groaned. He shot Byung-gyu a stern look. "Give us the usual, Min."

"Aw, geez. I wish I can, but I have other customers to tend to. But—" Byung-gyu said. He placed his hand on his co-worker. "Jin-woo here can make the drinks instead. Don't worry, he already knows everything."

The corner of Yoon-ho's mouth twitched. "I'll be counting on that."

Jin-woo let out a smile.

Whenever Yoon-ho and his group went to the bar, they always ordered the same flavor of drink. But the drink was not in the menu, so only Byung-gyu and Jong-in knew how to make it, especially when it came to the level of sourness , which was the key to regain one's strength. And apparently, Yoon-ho was too tired to be skeptical at the new bartender, so he decided to put some trust in him.

Jin-woo brought out three different bottles and uncapped each of them swiftly. He grabbed a jigger and started pouring one bottle at a time, making sure he got the right about before transferring the liquid into the shaker. He also took one lemon, but instead of slicing it normally, Jin-woo tossed the citrus in the air and tore his knife right in the middle.

He caught the two pieces with only one hand.

The bartender squeezed one half tightly until all of its juice was in the steel bottle and placed the other on a saucer. Jin-woo closed the lid and began jiggling the shaker. After a few moments, Jin-woo tossed the container to the other side and used his elbow to balance it. He flipped it to his hand and continued mixing its contents together.

Once done, Jin-woo placed five shot glasses on the counter and filled it with the golden brown liquid, which was also sparkling just like when Byung-gyu or Jong-in made it. He poured the rest of the drink on a glass pitcher and distributed it to the detectives.

Tae-gyu was the first one to drink in one gulp. The taste made his eyes widen. "Damn! You got the sour part right!"

"Wait, really?" Hae-in was suddenly awakened and grabbed her glass. She stared at her drink for a few seconds before finally stealing a sip. "Oh my God. . . "

Yoon-ho nudged Eun-seok awake with his elbow. "Hey, rookie! Try this!"

It took a while for Eun-seok to give in and drank the cocktail. Since it was his first time, his face winced terribly and began to cough while poking his tongue out. Dong-wook laughed at the younger detective and encouraged him to finish it.

"Great job, Jin-woo! Looks like you have been trained well." Tae-gyu grinned.

"Thank you." The bartender dipped his head.

The detectives were relieved from stress at last. Even though it was part of their job to be exhausted, they wished they were dealing with crimes that did not involve a mystery that could never be solved.

After all, the wolf was difficult to distinguish among a herd of sheeps.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

A thin grey mist wafted in the air. Sung Jin-woo breathed the smoke which was the byproduct of the cigar between his fingers. He was leaning against one of the tables he had just cleaned once all of the customers left the bar. The other bartenders and waiters had already left, thus only three workers, including him, remained to clean up the place.

"Christ! Did you even wonder if you are allowed to smoke?"

Jin-woo turned up and saw Byung-gyu, who had his hand on his hips. "Oh, sorry," he cleared his throat. "The boss didn't mention anything about the no smoking policy in workers."

Byung-gyu sighed.

"Quit it, Byung-gyu. Nobody else is here anyway." Jong-in scoffed. He too held a cigarette that was in the corner of his lips. "Ignore him, Jin-woo. He hates it when people smoke."

"Because it's unhealthy!" Byung-gyu protested. "Do you know how many get sick and eventually die because of smoking?"

"Who cares about dying? I'm the one who's alive here, not them." Jong-in retorted. "Ain't that right, Sung?"

Byung-gyu rolled his eyes. "I can't believe I'm surrounded with smokers. I'm out of here."

"Hey! You can't tell your own friend that!" Jong-in exclaimed.

Byung-gyu flipped the bird at the red-haired and headed to the back to retrieve his things. Jin-woo chuckled. Of all workers in the bar, Jong-in and Byung-gyu were the only ones he had gotten close with — they taught him how to make "The Usual" whenever the detectives had arrived and Jin-woo, being a quick learner, got the process right.

Jong-in clasped the door locked and removed the key to place it on his pocket. He turned to Jin-woo. "Do you wanna take a cab with us, Jin-woo?"

"No thanks. I live five blocks away from here." Jin-woo twitched his head to his back.

"Alright. Be safe, hyung. You know how dangerous the streets get night, especially when you're all alone." Byung-gyu said.

"Please, it's not like I've done anything to be a target of death," shrugged Jin-woo.

Jong-in snickered. "You surely fear nothing at all, eh?"

Jin-woo waved at his acquaintances before parting from them. Now in his casual clothes, he walked in the silent sidewalk, with a dim light from the lampposts. People used to still walk around the streets in this time of the night, but now, there were almost nary — particularly due to the fear of falling into the victim list of the unknown killer.

He never understood those kind of people. If they knew they hadn't done anything, they didn't have to be afraid since the killer wouldn't even target every person at once.

They would often tell him how amazing he was to not entirely afraid of the assassin. Why would I be afraid of myself? And other times, he was rebuked for not giving a damn about the topic.

Little did they know, the person they feared was the person they interact with, the person who had the most charming smile, the person who had been lingering in the streets every day. . . The person who had the face of a kind, innocent young man.

He was the messenger of death. He was claimed as the "Grim Reaper" because of his skill at taking people's lives and leaving no trace except for the insignia in his victims' chests.

Blood red had become his favorite color besides black.

He was always unscathed even when his targets fought back, it was as if he had calculated everything and predicted their movements. Once finished, he'd leave the corpse and let them rot.

When he was a kid, Jin-woo used to flinch at the sound of screaming. But now, screams were music to his ears. He liked seeing the faces his victims made, they looked at him like they were killing him in their mind, they would be swimming in their fantasies before their soul leaves reality.

"What's with the face? Aren't you happy that you are finally going to die after a few attempts?" The assassin smirked darkly. The middle-aged man was panting on his office chair, he had his teeth gritting amidst the blood oozing from the corners of his mouth. Grim Reaper walked closer and propped his hand on his knee to bend down a little. "Smile even for a bit. You'll look peaceful once they see you."

            "Psychopath!"

            "Nice choice of last words." Grim Reaper nodded. He brought something out of his pocket. It was a cloth, bathed in a certain chemical. He shoved it right against the man's mouth and it made him squirm. The assassin unsheathed his knife and pierced it into the area of the neck where the pulse was located, the rugged breathing pounded against his hand as the blade sank deeper on the flesh, and the arms became useless on the sides since the grim reaper had already paralyzed them on his first attack.

            Once he could no longer feel the breathing, he removed the cloth and saw the lifeless face of his target. The mouth was parted due to the screaming that was not heard. And the eyes were half-lidded. Grim Reaper retracted his knife from the neck and his eyes fell on the chest.

            He made three cuts to form his signature.

            The target hadn't fought against him a lot, so Jin-woo didn't exert a lot of his willpower. The room remained the way it was even. The only difference was that there were puddles of ichor staining the carpet and the malodorous scent would contaminate the place soon.

            Grim Reaper could only grin once someone found out that the assassin had made his masterpiece. Jin-woo slid his bloodied knife into its sheath and kept it on the compartment inside of his jacket, he made his way to the window where he dragged his legs over the edge and silently climbed down. He had already hacked into the security cameras before making his move, so he wouldn't have to think about his figure being caught.

            Intelligent. Quiet. Cold. Unforeseeable. Those were the known qualities of the Grim Reaper.

            "The traffic last night was so hectic!"

"Can you even blame the police?"

"No, I'm not blaming them. I'm blaming that darned assassin for causing mess!"

"You could've just walked instead," Byung-gyu shrugged. "Better get used to it, Jong-in. We live in a town where there is an assassin on the loose and is targeting heavens know who."

Jong-in groaned. He grabbed his apron and tied it around his waist. "We should've closed the bar fifteen minutes early. What time did you come home, Jin-woo?"

"Hm?" Jin-woo paused midway from taking off his jacket to look over his shoulder. "Oh, I came home in just about. . . 10:20 PM. No traffic."

"Didn't you just say that you live five blocks away? We left at 10:07."

"I ran." Jin-woo said.

Jong-in blinked. " . . . Okay."

However, Jin-woo did tell the truth — it was just that the time was made up since he hadn't gotten to check his clock when entering his home. Even though he preferred finishing his targets in one night, it was difficult when his shift in the bar was early instead of half of the day, especially if he was going to assassinate someone in the first kiss of daylight would now be canceled.

After he was done changing into his uniform, he headed out of the room where some of the waiters were already setting the tables up. Jin-woo looked over and saw a box filled with canned beers, he walked toward it and started taking each of them out to place them on the shelves, arranging them based on the brand.

*sigh*

Jin-woo whirled around and saw a slacked Hee-jin, who was also carrying a circular tray to her chest. Her eyes seemed rather downcasted.

"Are you okay?" He asked the waitress.

"Oh— hey!" Hee-jin first greeted him. "Nothing big at all. It's just that there's a an old man who is already asking for a drink. I told him that the bartenders hadn't arrived yet, but he started demanding, so I was left with no choice."

"Where is he?"

"Over there." Hee-jin gestured to the corner of the room.

Jin-woo placed the two beers in his hands on the shelf and walked past the noirette. "Feel free to take it from here, Hee-jin."

"Uh. . . Sure thing."

He grabbed a piece of bread wrapped in a plastic covering from the bowl as he made his way toward the grey-haired man, who was downing on his beer while resting his forehead on his hand. It appeared that the geezer was in a tough situation. So, Jin-woo put up his kind smile and pulled out the chair in front the customer for him to sit.

"Rough time, sir?" He said, moving the bread across the table.

The old man looked up. "Leave me alone, please."

"I'm afraid I am unable to do that. You see, I believe that sadness is contagious, so if one customer is upset, the rest of the day in this bar will be affected." Jin-woo said. "So, care to tell? I'm all ears."

"I have a debt. Unfortunately, it has increased past five thousand, and now, my debtors are after me." He muttered. "I don't know where will I get such money. . . "

"May I know your name, sir?"

"Kim Sang-shik."

Jin-woo's smile grew. "Kim Sang-shik, I think I know a way to help you."

Sang-shik's head jerk up. He looked at the bartender in bewilderment. "N— no! You don't have to! This is just a personal issue of mine, you shouldn't involve yourself with a geezer like me, young man."

"Then what am I supposed to do? I'm willing to help anytime I can, whether it's a stranger or someone familiar."

"I. . . I appreciate your kindness, young man," Sang-shik muttered. "But I feel like this will be a burden to me."

"My break is around 12:00. If you ever changed your mind, meet me at the restroom." Jin-woo said. With that, he got up and returned to the counter.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Jin-woo stood in the corner of a cubicle. He glanced at his watch, six minutes since his break began, then he peered through the crease of the door and spotted a waiter leaving the comfort room, only then to be shortly followed by the appearance of Kim Sang-shik, who made his way to the sink to wash his hands.

A grin formed across his mouth. He came.

Jin-woo unclasped the door and got out of the cubicle. He scrutinized the room and once he was sure that nobody else was around, he reached up to lock the restroom's door.

"I knew you would come, Mr. Kim."

Sang-shik let out a flinch. He turned around and faced the bartender. "Y— yes. . . What kind of help are you offering? Are you going to lend me some money?"

"More than that," Jin-woo slid his hand to the pocket of his jeans to pull out a piece of paper. He unfolded it to reveal a sheet of what appeared to be a contract. "Here."

Sang-shik accepted the paper and read its contents. And after a moment, his eyes widened. "This. . . This is—"

"Keep it down, ahjussi. I can shut your mouth if you let out the slightest scream." Jin-woo grinned, albeit darkly. "Think about it. You wouldn't have to worry about your debt now."

Sang-shik gritted his teeth. "No! I can't accept this!"

"And then what? Wait for those debtors torment you? If you put this problem on me, you'd be at peace." Jin-woo explained. "If you read the third bullet, it says there is no compensation."

"What if you get caught? I'll also be involved!"

"Since when I've been caught? So many people have been reported dead and the police hadn't gone past the mystery of those marks." Jin-woo stepped closer. "If this isn't enough to convince you, how about this— I won't kill those people."

" . . . " Sang-shik eyed him dubiously. "How can you be sure? If you did, I won't hesitate to hand you over to the police!"

"I swear on my grave," Jin-woo said. "Are you convinced enough? You know who I am. There is no way for you to refuse now."

Sang-shik's hands clenched into fists against the paper. He squeezed his eyes shut and shoved the contract to the assassin's chest. "Fine! Do whatever you want. Just— just please. . . Don't harm me or kill anybody. A simple threat will suffice for this problem."

"I keep my words sincerely, Mr. Kim."

A lie.

A big, flat out lie.

What kind of assassin who wouldn't kill people?

Black leather gloves, a black facemask, and dark clothing, Jin-woo was prepared to shed some blood. He inserted bullets into his gun and polished his knives to easily cut through clothes if he had to. He stored his weapons on the compartments of his clothes and headed out of his apartment to begin his hunt beneath the starless night.

After receiving the address of his newest targets, Jin-woo opened his phone and tracked down the location. He decided to take a bus on the way, unbeknownst to the rest of the passengers about the weapons he kept underneath his jacket. He held on the pole and stared through the clear window, watching the outside run blur.

As an assassin, blending himself into a group of people was a walk in the park. Not once Jin-woo had felt shivers around people or when he was near the policemen. He knew how to keep his composure throughout every situation.

When the bus pulled over the right street, Jin-woo stepped out of the vehicle and stared at the alley where the debtors resided. He looked at his phone and saw the pathway he must take. The assassin grabbed his mask from his pocket and made his move.

*knock* *knock*

The man opened the door and saw an unlikely visitor, whose face was half-covered by a black facemask and had a hood on top of his head. He blinked and said. "May I know who you are?"

"Is Cho Kyuh-wan here?"

"Uh. . . Yes." He turned over his shoulder. "Boss! Someone is looking for you!"

"Oh?"

They let the visitor in and Jin-woo walked further into the place. There were several men around as well. They watched every step he took, and every breath he took, but the guest was unnerved. Cho Kyuh-wan eyed him with a crooked grin on his face.

"What can I do for you, pretty boy?" Kyuh-wan asked. "Are you gonna loan some money?"

Jin-woo was silent. He first glanced at the watchful eyes of the workers around him. All of them meant one thing — one wrong move, he was dead.

"So? You're starting to look like some creepy loser. How much are you gonna borrow?"

"Well. . . " Jin-woo reached his hand to the inside of his jacket to take something out. It was a sheathed butterfly knife. He carefully brought it down on the table and pressed his hand over it; Kyuh-wan's eyes grew dark at the sight of the small weapon. "What is the total of money you have?" He asked.

"Come again?" Kyuh-wan said. "Hold on— what's your deal?"

"Let's just say a certain geezer sent me." He smiled coyly.

"What?! Which old man?" The landshark growled. "And what are you anyways? Are you some kind of assassin?"

"You ask too many questions. . . "

Realization finally kicked in after a moment. "G— Grim Reaper?!" Kyuh-wan exclaimed.

The atmosphere suddenly changed.

The visitor's presence released a new aura. Several of the workers paled at the sight of the town's notorious devil. Grim Reaper's mouth curved into a smirk beneath his mask.

Eventually, Kyuh-wan recovered from his shock. "Get— get him!"

Despite the thick tension of fear, the men still charged at him. So, Jin-woo unsheathed the knife and cut Kyuh-wan's wrist and ducked at the first punch then drew his knife to slice at the attacker's torso. A small amount of blood splattered to the floor. The place fell into a disruption of furnitures and bodies that were clashing with the blades brought by the assassin.

One man against a dozen was no stranger to him. As said, Jin-woo could predict his enemies' movements like the back of his hand, including the one who was trying to get through the door. He took his gun out and shot the guy in the back of his skull.

The night was alive, therefore so did the bloodlust that the assassin was craving for. The splattering blood, the littering bodies, the agonizing screams, the kiss of death. . . The Grim Reaper was here.

The metallic stench clung to his clothes like souls reaching out for the God of Death in the River Styx. He removed his cigar from his lips to release the smoke clogged in his mouth, he turned over to the pile of bodies coated in deep red, like useless objects that had been thrown to the dumpster. Cho Kyuh-wan, who was in the center of his slaughtered subordinates, and had his jaw wide open and two bullet holes were in his eyes; the signature was also carved in his forehead.

Grim Reaper left the headquarters and quietly closed the door behind him.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

In a small and nice cafe, there was a woman who was coughing up blood.

The staffs surrounded her and a kind person had contacted the paramedics. But it was too late. The acid had already kicked in and the woman's throat was sizzling from the inside. She couldn't scream, only a silent one that told her misery. Eventually, she collapsed from her chair and the staff continued to panic, trying to check if she still had her pulse.

Amidst the growing chaos, the perpetrator stood across the street. He was smoking as he leaned against the bricked wall and watched the commotion with blunt eyes. Then, a black car pulled over in front of him; and someone from the backseat opened the window down, unfolding the sight of a woman with raven black hair in waves and pale skin. She wore a tight dress with a low neckline and a white necklace that glistened beneath the sunlight, showing her elegance and inferiority.

"I see you have done it," she spoke in a thick accent. She took off her sunglasses and raised a brown envelope, containing the payment. "Shall this suffice, young man?"

Jin-woo nodded and accepted the envelope. "Merci, Madame Querehsha."

"You don't have to try hard to speak French in front of me, darling," Querehsha's purple coated lips tugged into a grin. "But anyways, have you ever considered working for me? I have some list of people that I want to disappear."

"I'll have to refuse, ma'am," Jin-woo said. "I am satisfied with having no ties to anyone."

Querehsha chuckled. "Fine then. If you changed your mind, my card is in the inside of the envelope."

"Okay."

The window was closed and the driver moved away from the spot. Jin-woo stared at the envelope where it contained the remuneration for killing one of the businesswoman's rivals. It was not often that he got targets to kill for rich people, though Jin-woo liked what he got in return.

He placed the envelope inside of his jacket and was about to walk away when he heard someone call for his attention.

"Can I ask you a few things, sir?"

He turned around and saw a man clad in a civilian clothing, yet had a badge on his left chest which had insinuated his profession.

"I am Detective Woo Jin-chul of the police department," the man introduced himself. "Someone told me that you were in this place for quite some time during the incident. Do you have any ideas on what the assassin looked like? But, if you have any other suspects in mind—"

"I didn't see the assassin." He said. "And plus, I haven't been paying attention to my surroundings as I am too occupied with my own business."

"You mean, you didn't witness how the woman got poisoned in her coffee?"

"The woman got poisoned?" Jin-woo raised an eyebrow. "I thought she was choking on her snack or something."

Jin-chul sighed. "Nevermind. Thank you for your cooperation, sir."

"Glad to be of help, officer!" Jin-woo grinned.

"Fine. I'll just have to check the security cameras around this area."

Jin-woo nodded. "I wish you the best."

Even if he might be seen in the cameras, nobody would still determine what his true face looked like. Jin-woo had done a lot of daytime assassinations before and he had to admit, it was tougher than his nighttime assassinations. It required more tactic and estimated time. Putting that acidic pill on the woman's drink was made from a plan Jin-woo had created while watching his watch and waiting for the right time.

He'd surround himself with authorities, none of them would still be able to figure it out.

"Hey, you!"

Before Jin-woo could turn his head, someone grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. It was Kim Sang-shik. . . And his face did not look friendly at all.

"You demon!" Sang-shik seethed.

Jin-woo stared at the geezer bluntly. "You know that there are some officers around this street, right? They might see this as an old man harassing a younger person like me." Then he let out a dark smirk. "And keep your voice down, would you? Don't make me do something that will end you regret approaching me this way."

The old man growled and spoke in a low voice. "We. . . Had a deal. You said you wouldn't lay a hand on them."

"You know what I am. You know what my profession is. And yet, you came to see me to get rid of those people." Jin-woo said. "Should you not be thankful? You no longer have to worry about debts."

"This is wrong."

"I've lost my morals a long time ago. I don't care if what I do is right or wrong." Jin-woo said. "And let's not play 'good guy, bad guy here' — you're the one who started all of this. Maybe if you hadn't borrowed money—"

Sang-shik launched his fist. Unfortunately, Jin-woo caught it before the knuckles could touch his jaw. "Too slow."

"Bastard." Sang-shik retracted his fist off the assassin's hand. His eyes pierced daggers at Jin-woo. "I hope you rot in hell."

With that, the geezer stalked off. Jin-woo could only do was chuckle. He always find it cute when people threatened him with words, it was like they were poking him using plastic knives.

Most people could say the meanest threats that they would never dare to do in real life. Jin-woo saw those people as cowards. Whereas he, who chose to express those words through actions as it was easier and not time consuming. He was no longer affected by such words when he had grown to be fond of killing people and still getting away with the law.

A while later, his phone rang against his pocket. Jin-woo answered it and brought the screen to his ear. "Yes, Byung-gyu?"

"Hyung, your shift is starting in six minutes! Where are you?"

Jin-woo turned his head over his shoulder where he spotted the paramedics loading the corpse of his target into a stretcher and covered her body with a thick blanket. The detectives had huddled together and began to discuss about the incident.

"I'm already on my way. I just finished something important." He said to the other line.

"Alright."

The call ended and Jin-woo continued his journey.

Dozens of unsolved murder mysteries in the town. It might have been one of the most beautiful places in the country, but it was also dangerous as there was a killer who was forever on the loose no matter how hard the police tried to track him down. It was just a wild goose chase.

. . . A wild, and dangerous goose who went by the alias of Grim Reaper, the name people had given him to refer to his grotesque presence every time someone died out of the blue.

No matter how rich the person was, how inferior they could be. . . Once Grim Reaper found his target, nobody would be able to escape from death.

#after conversing with nyashykyun i realized i haven't written assassin!jin-woo and i am disappointed at myself #beware: not for the faint of heart and no eating while reading #jin-woo be breaking the laws and still getting away with it 💃🏻 #solo leveling #sung jin woo #sl fics by rei

[smoothpeanut]

Coloring with Cleo as an attempted distraction during Real Anxiety Hours ™

#i got blood results today and my hemoglobin (how much blood i have) is half the normal levels #literally every 2-3 weeks my hemoglobin crashes i am super tired and fainting #i stay in the hospital they give me blood transfusion #repeat for the past FUCKING YEAR #because they won't stop the intestinal bleeding due to my crohn's #just wait for the new drug to start working :3 give it 8 more weeks. 8 more weeks. 8 more weeks 8 more.... #it's too dangerous to give you anti-inflammatory steroids because what if you get an infection? #giving you a dozen units of blood though is fine #putting strain on your heart beating out of your chest if you even think about climbing stairs is fine #monster high #monster high g3 #dollblr

[mischefous]

👆this is me when i see ur art

HJKAKFKEKKAKEHFJK this lowkey jumpscared me XD, just me scrolling through my asks and BOO! SKELETON WITH BULGING EYES

on the other hand, this is me seeing all the lovely kind words about my art, it brings happy tears to my eyes. THANK YOU EVERYONE!!! I LOVE YOU ⋆⭒˚.⋆💙

#also guys ive already got a ton of awesome requests #keep em coming! #i ofc wont be able to get them all done #but i am tryna get most done. im very slow with each one because im taking my time and enjoying drawing these #if i rush then i wont be enjoying it as much and ill burn out quicker #and if i dont get to yours at this point in time #i will come back to them later #but thank you to everyone who has sent me a request! #ALSO ALMOST FORGOR #some requests i just dont get a clear picture in my head for. but dont take it to heart if i never get around to your request #i usually have a faint image in my head that i try to replicate #i still really appreciate the time you took to put in a request💙 #yall should see my pen XD its literally being held together with tape #might go grab a new one on the weekend. ive been putting it off bc its really expensive to replace #its been taped up since last year XD

[thegreenleavesofspring]

I have successfully finished the first grade school year for my eldest!! 🥳🥳🥳 Second grade (and kindergarten for the next one) here we come!

#I went ahead and ordered the Good school books for next year #Almost fainted at the price but I am taking heart from the fact that they ARE going to last through three children #...I also only ordered the science books 😅 Will keep cobbling the curriculum together for everything else for now #And mostly lean into their interests

[xariarte]

top five bball jerseys. can be nba or any league!

This one was a hard one to think about...which is why I took so long to answer!! 😅💖

Toronto Raptor Kyle Lowry

Toronto Raptor Pascal Siakam

Toronto Raptor Scottie Barnes

Team Canada 2023 Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Toronto Raptor RJ Barrett

To nobody's surprise, my list is mostly filled with Toronto Raptor jerseys. 😂

Like obviously I have to include Lowry, Siakam, and Barnes. RJ Barrett is a new one, but he was already my favourite from the moment the trade happened, and now I adore him on the team, so he has to be there. 🥺

I did sneak in SGA's Team Canada jersey. It looks like he'll be one of the greats in Canadian basketball history, similar to Steve Nash so I have to put him there. 🇨🇦💖

Honorable Mentions (not in order): Toronto Raptor OG Anunoby, Toronto Raptor Serge Ibaka, Kia Nurse Olympic Team Canada, Dillon Brooks Team Canada 2023

P.S. I actually have never bought or owned a jersey...yet. It's on my list though - one day.

#this list shows my age and how recent of a fan i am 😭😭😭 #now would i wear brooks' jersey..........no #but i would wear it...in my heart...where nobody could see it #terrible as a sauga native to say i know!!!! but ajksldjals he is not for the faint of heart ok 😭🤚 #the rest i would absolutely wear if i owned them! #thanks for the ask!! 😌💖 #ask #ask game

[itspileofgoodthings]

.

#struggling big time with questions of likability and popularity and school environments and social environments in general #and what it means and just feeling faint and sick at heart about it all right now #in many ways this 5th year has kind of …. idk solidified things at school for me? and also solidified my reputation #but with not flying under the radar anymore and not being someone that people can write off anymore #comes a whole host of new problems #and weights and difficulties #and I don’t know. there’s a wrestling I always feel internally between my (very great) desire to be liked #and my desire to be a good and fair teacher apart from that #and the ways that I fail #and then there’s other people’s insecurities opinions and jealousies #to contend with. such as they are. and then there’s just the way that I feel on the inside most of the time #which is actually not loved or liked at all! there is a deep loneliness in my soul #kind of always. but especially lately #but it’s contradictory to what it seems #I also just LIKE flying under the radar while also being someone who is drawn to occupying a space to speak #and be heard from #and it’s just all a lot and I am so very tired #idk just having some Friday night venting. it was a very tough week. I am tired and I am sad #I also for real just need to cry

[lizzy-innet]

I seem to have fallen down silverwing15 rabithole. I could give a lost if dark sbi writers on ao3 if anyone wants

#ao3fic #sbi fanfic #i am hyperfixating #tommyinnit #technoblade #it will be dark #be warned #not for the faint of heart

[regina-cordium]

IT’S!!! A!!!!! WHEEL!!!!!!!!!!!

#ohh babes i am CRYING #watching the story of winnie foster is not for the faint of heart i swear to god #i thought i could get thru it bc i've been listening to the album so much lately and i like Knew What Happened #i was wrong! i was very wrong! #alex lbs tuck

[apsarareads]

The person you made so many promises with, is now nowhere to be seen. While they're ‘fixing’ their life to perfection you're falling apart. They don't know and they cannot see it either or maybe they just chose to ignore, while you felt guilty for not caring for them enough, they probably never cared enough!! Move on, this is childish, is what you tell yourself. But is it really childish? They left you when you were at your lowest point even though they were supposed to be the special someone. They took you for granted and still it's not them but you, paying the price for trusting someone again, for opening up again, the only childish thing was for you to believe that they're gonna stay forever with you. People aren't like books, they're like maze. The person who made promises with me is now out there making the same promises with someone else. I wish I hadn't opened up to her but at least now I have more experience at the expense of my mental health and almost losing the ability to feel anything at all.

#desi tumblr #desi blr #it's probably a year old. #tags stresses me out #not the best shots :( #whatever #desi blog #mental health #mentally fucked #ex best friend #not for the faint of heart #trust issues #Why am i like this?

[mo-ok]

My Favourite Episode Of:

Juken Sentai Gekiranger Lesson 20 ~ Gicho-Gicho! Triangle Opposing Fight

#juken sentai gekiranger #gekiranger #sentai #super sentai #they beat the absolute shit out of retsu in this one (fuck you pyon biao) #i have so many feelings about geki and its so hard to not just ramble on forever about how strong the first arc of this season is #everything that happens in this episode feels EARNED they all worked SO HARD and i am SO PROUD OF THEM #i also really love how it sets up the faint-hearted layer to jan's character and foreshadows his reactions to later adversity #geki ot3 the realest there is #gif post tag #best of the best