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absolutebl · 3 months

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Best & Worst BLs of 2023

My Top 15 BLs of 2023 are (in order)

1 Our Dating Sim

Korea Viki

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

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

Also recieves my 2023 award for best giggle.

2 I Cannot Reach You

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

Japan Netflix

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

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

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

Also wins the best thirst award.

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

3 My School President

Thailand YouTube

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

Received the Namgoong award for best wingman 2023.

4 I Feel You Linger in the Air

Thailand grey

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

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

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

5 Kiseki: Dear to Me

Taiwan Gaga & Viki

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

Best side couple 2023!

(thank goodness Taiwan made this list!)

6 Jun and Jun

Korea Viki

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

Best flirting 2023.

AKA "the tongue knows" award

7 The Eighth Sense

Korea Viki

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

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

8 Unintentional Love Story

Korea iQIYI

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

Best story structure 2023.

9 My Personal Weatherman

AKA Taikan Yoho

Japan Gaga

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

Best use of props 2023 for the shower of sheets.

10 Our Dining Table

AKA Bokura no Shokutaku

Japan Gaga

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

First prize for domesticity.

11 Laws of Attraction

Thailand iQIYI

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

Charn wins my favorite character of 2023.

12 La Pluie

Thailand Viki

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

Most interesting concept 2023.

13 The New Employee

Korea Viki

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

Best overall queer rep from Korea.

14 Step By Step

Thailand Gaga & YouTube & Viki

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

Chot wins best queer character 2023.

15 Love Tractor

Korea iQIYI

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

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

10 Worst BLs of 2023 (that I watched)

My Blessing

My Universe: Casanova Begins

Boyband the series

Cafe In Love

Chains of Heart

Hit Bite Love

Only Friends

Senior Love Me

The Luminous Solution

The Promise

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

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

10 Probably Actually Worst BLs (I dropped 'em)

My Story

The Day I Loved You

Beyond the Star

Crazy Handsome Rich

Dinosaur Love

House of Stars

Mr Cinderella 2

Love Bill

Stormy Honeymoon

The Star Always Follow You

Codicils in General

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

My Numbers

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

101 = watched & reviewed

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

15 = CNF (could not find)

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

Ratings spread

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

0 (see the DNFs instead)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(source)

#Best BLs of 2023 #Worst BLs of 2023 #Top 15 BLs #Our Dating Sim #Korean BL #I Cannot Reach You #Japanese BL #Kimi ni wa Todokanai #My School President #Thai BL #I Feel You Linger in the Air #Kiseki: Dear to Me #Taiwanese BL #Jun and Jun #The Eighth Sense #Unintentional Love Story #Our Dining Table #Bokura no Shokutaku

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matan4il · 1 year

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Buddie 617 meta

I’m gonna be honest here, this was one of the funniest 911 eps to me. I loved how this ep showed us both Buck and Eddie completely sucking at dating. It was very obvious in Buck’s case, what with each attempt to have quality time with Natalia being ruined by one of his past decisions, but then when he called out Eddie for also sucking at it, Buck wasn’t wrong. Eddie’s attempts seem half-hearted at best. First off, if he really wanted to date, then Tia Pepa’s help and dating apps are actually not that awful as options. Magic might happen there as well. The right person could even stand out more against a sea of not so great choices, turning the dreary experience into a colorful, magical one. But even when Eddie tries on his own, his attempts are LAME. Seriously, there are pastime activities that offer way more potential to start a conversation, and maybe a romance, than the ones Eddie chose. Not only that, these are not his actual hobbies, where he knows he’ll find someone who likes the same thing he does (the way he shares so much with one tall firefighter that we’re all thinking of right now. Eddie’s also being dumb about wanting it to “just happen” as if that’s not exactly what he got with buck. Also, just a friendly reminder that Buddie have been dating for almost 5 years, and they are GREAT at it when it’s with each other).

On top of that, we for real got a guy checking Eddie out (hi, hello, should I start a collection of him checking and being checked out by guys?) as well as him witnessing a woman he was looking at being embraced by another one. Why the hints at being surrounded by queer people? Your guess is as good as mine, but I’m here for it no matter what. ;D Now, I’ve talked before about the ongoing theme of Buddie’s dating life being intertwined in terms of when they start dating someone, or of why they break up, but now in addition to them dating at the same time, we also see them simultaneously sucking at it? Yeah, that takes the connectedness of their dating life up a notch. ~~

Which brings me to one line that grabbed my attention in this ep. THE line that offers the explicit resolution for the most important romantic plot here is the one from Gina, the insurance lady, to Chimney, about not regretting the attempt. Yes, even when the result is bad. That’s what Madney will embrace. One of the biggest obstacles to Buck and Eddie, besides their obliviousness, is the fear of ruining the good thing they have by attempting to take it to the next level. But here we have Chimney being reminded by Gina that it’s worth it, to try. Because the good thing you can have, if it works out? Is worth it. And you never have to live with the “what if” of it all. Now look at Buck and Eddie being once more adorable morons together on the job! Imagine the moment when they stop running around and let themselves try taking it to the next level, because they realize no matter what the result will be, they would never regret the attempt. ~~

Speaking of Buddie paralleling one of the canon couples on the show who were acting lovey dovey in this ep, the way Bobby described what made him and Athena happen reminded me of Buddie connecting. In both cases, there’s an intense and upsetting call, after which one of our first responders turns to find support (Buddie promising to have each other’s back) and comfort (Eddie wants to go grab something to eat together) in the other one. ~~

I did not miss Taylor Kelly, and true to form, she was back because she’s advancing her career by exploiting her personal connection to Buck and the exposure to the 118 it provided her. I’m pretty sure this basically buries any option of any showrunner ever trying to re-set these two as a romance, since it echoed and reinforced Buck’s decision to break up with her. It WAS funny to see her and Lucy cockblock Buck (I do think Lucy’s tone with which she spoke of their past also closes the door on anyone ever trying to set her and Buck up as a serious couple), but what I found to be funniest is that Buck tells Natalia he was trying to figure out the perfect place for their date, and then he took her to the bar where he kissed Lucy. A bar reminiscent of the one where he hooked up with Taylor. Possibly a spot where he hooked with other women during his Buck 1.0 stage based on how it’s THE hang out place for the 118 and we know Buck had no issues hooking up anywhere back then. Natalia, hon. This is not a good sign for your r/s with him. ~~

Speaking of which, there’s an ex who didn’t come back in this ep, but her spirit loomed large over Buck and Natalia IMO, and that is Ali. The reason why she and Buck broke up after 218 is because at the end of the day, she couldn’t accept the choices he had made in his professional life (hoping he would move on from firefighting). In the same way, Natalia revealed in this ep that she can’t accept Buck’s choices in his personal life. A small reminder the only partner we’ve ever witnessed truly seeing and accepting Buck, in every aspect of his life, has been Eddie. ~~

Another funny thing about this (911 is a comedy, y’all) is how Natalia flees the second she comes across Kameron. I mean, this is in addition to the hilarity of the death doula’s first name connecting her to birth and to all things natal, yet she flees the second that she sees a pregnant lady. Because if this is Natalia’s reaction when it comes to a bio kid that Buck explicitly said he is not going to raise, what would she do once she realizes he co-parents a fully grown kid? (and a very sassy one, too. LBR, Natalia doesn’t stand a chance in a show down with either Diaz boy) ~~

Much like Natalia doesn’t seem like the right fit for Buck based on this ep (or based on 616), neither does Marisol. Can I point out the fact that Eddie’s disapproval in the last ep of Buck dating Natalia applies here, too? They both met these women on calls. Second, Eddie wanted it to happen naturally, which is why it’s so lame he tried through all sorts of activities that he’s not ACTUALLY into and wouldn’t continue doing past the initial stage of meeting someone else. And that holds true for Marisol as well. We saw that her brother and her are very into DYI, which I guess was meant to lay the groundwork for Eddie running into her in a DYI shop. But the thing is, Eddie himself isn’t into this! Sure, he can do it, because as a single dad he’s had to, but it’s not something we’ve ever seen him being passionate about. He’s only at this store because of Christopher’s project. And then once more, just like he steps away from Pepa’s help, dating apps and chooses the wost places for a chance romantic connection, he walks away from Marisol even when the whole scene plays out as if she’s the climax of his search throughout this whole ep. This might all hint that despite initial appearances, just like the people he came across while golfing and hiking wouldn’t be the right fit, Marisol wouldn’t be either. Even more importantly, just like Ana at first appeared like she would be perfect for Eddie in 312, starting out in a “it just happened” sort of way and with supposedly being fated because she happened to guess correctly that Eddie stands for Edmundo, this thing with Marisol might look in the moment like it’s exactly what he was looking for, but it will fizzle out as well.

~~ (my weekly meta posts) (my Buddie gifs) (all of my content)

~~ My tag list will follow in the reblog, please let me know if you wanna be added/removed here.

~~ Thank you from the bottom of my heart to the incredible @whosoldherout, there are no words to describe how much I love your gifs and appreciate you!

~~ Thank you to anyone supporting these meta posts. I could never express enough how grateful I am and that they continue to exist thanks to you!

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telomeke · 4 months

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THE SIGN EPISODE 7 – NAGARUDA AND THE VISUALS OF SEX

The coming together of the naga and the garuda in The Sign was long foretold (since Tharn has the power of clairvoyance, and the series already showed us his sexually-charged premonition of Phaya and him coupling in the shower, in Episode 4).

(above) The Sign Ep.7 [5/5] 19.47

This post isn't about narrative analysis or the significance of any plot development though; I'm just noting down some of the visual details resounding rhetorically in the scene where Phaya and Tharn finally give in to the swelling sexual tension and get it on. 👀

The prelude (foreplay?) to their first sexual encounter (at least in this lifetime) was by the pool in Phaya's home. And the subtitles also tell us that the background music is echoing their fated bond through time:

(above) The Sign Ep.7 [5/5] 13.04

‌

By the pool of Phaya's house though, Tharn is already part-way in the water (his comfort zone) even as Phaya offers him liquid refreshment:

(above) The Sign Ep.7 [5/5] 13.21

While the pool may represent the naga (and his watery origins), the glowing lights on the trees and statuary in the background are symbolic of the garuda (given his alignment with the sun, flames and light). There is a respectful distance between these symbolic elements, even as there is still a respectful distance between garuda Phaya and naga Tharn.

But the lights are reflected in the water, and Phaya and Tharn have already exchanged colors (Phaya is in a murky sea-green top whose color reflects the naga's homeland, while Tharn is wearing a saffron t-shirt that calls to mind the warm glow of the fiery garuda). So we know that in this scene they are already inextricably in each other's business.

When they give in to their primal urges though, we start to see the various naga and garuda elements become more enmeshed and overlapping, even as the two breach their boundaries and unite physically.

They start things off in the shower, and the water is unmistakably a reference to the naga's overflowing passions.

(above) The Sign Ep.7 [5/5]

But all around them are candle flames, a sign of the fiery lust overpowering garuda Phaya for his fated lover Tharn:

(above) The Sign Ep.7 [5/5] 18.53

Even as water (symbolic of the naga) showers down upon them both, we see orbs of light (a reference to the garuda) flickering and overlapping the action. (I only recently found out that this out-of-focus effect with the lighting is called bokeh – a term of Japanese origin – from this super-excellent breakdown of the parallels between PhayaTharn's imagined and actual lovemaking by @wen-kexing-apologist, linked here; please do read it for more information on the lighting and its significance. 👍🤩)

Now a bit more about the lighting color though: many have noted that when Phaya and Tharn interact on a more elemental level, the lighting seems to turn very pink.

In my opinion, their previous encounters where more primal instincts held sway (e.g., at Ep.2 [4/4] 10.36 and Ep.4[3‌/4] 15.51) were actually lit with an interplay of blue light (calling out to the marine colors of the naga's homeland) and red light (a nod at the fiery garuda's alignment with the sun and flame). And the lighting was blue and red in the main, and only turned pinkish on occasion when the hues overlapped, just as moments of sporadic intimacy happened only randomly between the star-crossed but still separate Phaya and Tharn.

However, here in PhayaTharn's sex scene, we're not seeing separate blue and red lighting dancing around – the two colors have been blended, just as Phaya and Tharn's lovemaking has united them physically.

And technically the color is not pink. When blue and red light come together, we get magenta lighting, and that truly is the blended hue that bathes the conjoined PhayaTharn (nagaruda), as their bodies come together as one. The separate blues and reds are nowhere to be seen now:

(above) The Sign Ep.7 [5/5] 19.56

So The Sign then ends this sequence with an illuminated little flourish, at the climax of the scene (and presumably that of PhayaTharn's lovemaking too). As the naga writhes ecstatically on a bed of aquamarine, the garuda tenses and thrusts, and we see a brilliant flare of light, his elemental life-force, flash above the curve of his naked rear:

(top) The Sign Ep.7 [5/5] 20.04; (bottom) The Sign Ep.7 [5/5] 20.05

As always, the props, art direction and lighting have come together to tell a visual story in The Sign, and here they've strongly echoed the passionate and emotionally authentic coupling between Phaya and Tharn, fearlessly brought to life by Billy and Babe. 💖👍 I thoroughly enjoyed this scene, and not just for the reasons one might think. 🤩

‌

#the sign #the sign the series #naga and garuda #billy patchanon #babe tanatat #billybabe #phayatharn #nagaruda #nagaruda sex #tw: sex

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flowerflowerflo · 21 days

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bee's record player: march edition. 🎀𓂃 ࣪˖

──★ ˙ ̟🎀 !! notice !! ♡

surpriseee <3 wanted to try and add a little of my personal influence to my girlblog since music is literally my entire life & thought it might be funny to show u all what makes up the chaotic glittery mess that is my brain (and because there are almost 1000 of you beautiful people following me whatt?? thank you😭). i've allllways wanted to do smth like this too so, here u go !! 🩷💗

(+ this is a way for me to rant about my interests without being annoying to my friends / moots 😭. to anybody who has listened to me rant or cry or scream or whatever over music ily guys mwa)

──★ ˙ ̟🎀 NEW ARRIVALS

goddess, laufey

♡ released march 6th, 2024

♡ single

♡ running time: 4 minutes 28 seconds

eternal sunshine, ariana grande

♡ released march 8th, 2024

♡ full album / LP

♡ best songs: supernatural, the boy is mine, we can't be friends (wait for your love), intro (end of the world)

♡ running time: 35 minutes 33 seconds

unheard, hozier

♡ released march 22nd, 2024

♡ extended play / EP

♡ best songs: too sweet (i adore this song.)

♡ running time: 13 minutes 59 seconds

super real me, illit

♡ released march 25th, 2024

♡ extended play / EP, debut! ♡

♡ best songs: magnetic, midnight fiction

♡ running time: 9 minutes 36 seconds

──★ ˙ ̟🎀 BEE'S TRACKS: TOP 10

♡ 10. my world, illit

girly girl song!! i've been obsessed with illit's whole super real me album, their debut is soo good oh my gosh. its criminally short but i seem to have listened to it a lot !! 😭

♡ 9. we can't be friends (wait for your love), ariana grande

i have SO MUCH to say about this song but it resonates with me so much in so many different ways and i just. oh my god. ariana i love u so much

♡ 8. we got so much, le sserafim

k so i initially didn't really like this song but... it's grown on me. a lot. since it first came out. um. it's pretty simple honestly and it's just really girly girl it makes me feel like a school girl i love it

♡ 7. this is what makes us girls, lana del rey

girlblogger anthem!! okay confession i did not get into this song until LAST MONTH. i know. it's terrible and i am ashamed i am so sorry. but i have formed such a strong emotional attachment to this song its crazy i adore it

♡ 6. imperfect for you, ariana grande

exposing myself pt.3 i was in a really big depressive slump for like one half or more of this month actually and this song helped me so much i can't 😭 i love you ari

♡ 5. the boy is mine, ariana grande

(are you noticing a pattern here yet) um another ariana grande song no lol um idk what ur talking about haha 🥰 this song is so twerkable im sorry i wasnt a fan at first but im obsessed i need to stop

♡ 4. smart, le sserafim

no words. once again wasn't a huge fan originally but oh my god im obsessed w it now. afrobeat type of songs are, will, and always be top tier and i will die on this hill. (i've been SO OBSESSED with le sserafim lately but i think thats fairly obvious here😭)

♡ 3. eternal sunshine, ariana grande

i adore this song oh my god. its become one of my favs of all time since it came out. this was on loop for HOURS when i first heard it and its such a comfort song for me. it shows her growth so beautifully and there's so much about it i just absolutely adore like i could write a whole essay on this song and still wouldnt be able to express how much i love it

♡ 2. magnetic, illit

illit was bound to pop up here again this month tbh ok so me and my bsf were listening to this on loop the entire time at school a little after it came out like we were sitting in the front row of our class and were still watching the magnetic mv under the desk on her phone. so in love with this song it makes me so happy n feel so cute i ahh <3

♡ 1. supernatural, ariana grande

SUPERNATURAL IS THE SONG EVER. first day it came out i listened to the album and this was on loop constantly for the next week or more. it's made it up to my top 10 fav songs of all time ever and i listen to A LOT of music. this song is my life<333

──★ ˙ ̟🎀 ALBUMS

♡ 1. eternal sunshine, ariana grande

fairly self explanatory. i love u ari. there was soo much ari this month bc ive been a diehard ari stan since i was 8 and have never looked back. since yes and released in january i have been ecstatic about ag7 releasing in march after 4 YEARS of no ari so this was MONUMENTAL for me 😭😭 THE DROUGHT IS OVER ARIANATORS RISE 🩷🩷🩷

♡ 2. super real me, illit

so basically the day this album came out my best friend was spamming me about them and i only listened to them like 2 days after cuz she was annoying me about it and OH MY GOD. i listened to them and then proceeded to loop the whole album for the next 72 hours 💗 and for a debut as well is amazing ily illit girlies

♡ 3. with you-th, twice

so i wasn't much of a fan at first bc they just sounded really similar and bland to me but its grown on me a lot since it came out and i've been listening to it so much throughout the entirety of march. its just so oddly comforting in a way and feels like a hug in music form (+ rush and bloom are the best songs argue with the wall)

♡ 4. easy, le sserafim

self explanatory. i'm obsessed with le sserafim at the moment and this album is everything to me. ass shaking album 10/10

♡ 5. k-12, melanie martinez

i have been revisiting one of my fav albums of all time this month and its as amazing as always. this has been my favourite album of all time since it came out and i will never ever get over k12 🩷 10000/10!!!! <3

──★ ˙ ̟🎀 ARTISTS

♡ TOMORROW X TOGETHER

♡ TWICE

♡ LANA DEL REY

♡ LE SSERAFIM

♡ ARIANA GRANDE

──★ ˙ ̟🎀 SPECIAL MENTIONS

♡ happy 1 year to portals by melanie martinez! oh my god this album helped me through all of 2023 and i went to see her on tour in london for my birthday last november and it was surreal. she's amazing. i adore her and this album (i have it on vinyl hehe) and love it SOO MUCH 💖

♡ expect ordinary things by ariana grande to be high high on my top 10 next month its been on loop for days now im obsessed

♡ there's going to be a LOT in next month's issue seeing as 2 of my all time favs are coming back next month, so prepare for that! so excited ahh <3 (one has already released at the time of writing this. prepare urselves.)

──★ ˙ ̟🎀 EDITOR'S NOTE

this was SO FUN oh my gosh. i am 100% making this a regular thing~ lmk if it was entertaining, improvements needed, artists / albums you'd like me to keep up with etc, or just general comments, ideas, reviews and so on. thank you so much for reading, this was so fun! look forward to next month 💗🫶💖

lots of love 💘

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morkofday · 4 months

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not technically just bl, but top 5 gmmtv couples of the year 👯‍♂️

i know you said this was not restricted to BLs but that's what i went with anyway :'D also, i decided to pick CPs instead of on-screen couples bc i wasn't sure which one you meant here. i hope you're not disappointed!

My Top 5 GMMTV Couples of 2023

I. JimmySea (Jimmy Jitaraphol & Sea Tawinan)

ppl would probably be concerned if i didn't answer jimmy and sea. i've been here with them for over 1,5 years now and my love for them hasn't diminished at all. there's just something so comforting and genuine about them. their presence and their performances (on stage and on-screen) feel like a hug to me. i loved puentalay to bits, i am currently head over heels in love with morkday, and i keep hoping this isn't the end. gmmtv2024 part 2 will give us a new series with them bc they cannot just throw aside the depths these two have found for their relationship ♥

II. ForceBook (Force Jiratchapong & Book Kasidet)

witnessing their glorious comeback this year made me so happy. after an unjustified onslaught of hate and a long stay in gmm's basement, their chance to shine again was well overdue. enchanté and akktheo convinced me of their extraordinary chemistry, and this year forcebook truly outdid themselves in both of their series. guncher in a boss and a babe became very dear to me, and topmew showed sides of them i didn't know even existed. they've grown so much, and i hope the upcoming year only brings them more opportunities that let them shine even brighter ♥

III. OffGun (Off Jumpol & Gun Atthaphan)

probably my oldest bl actor cp. i first got to know them after theory of love where i absolutely adored khaithird. i know the majority (?) hated that show but i loved it to bits. i watched puppy honey soon after to see more of them, but never really felt too strongly about pickrome. i went around the internet to learn a bit about them as actors and people for a while but they never really stuck with me then. and then not me and seanwhite happened. offgun took over my heart again and i was truly sad when i thought not me would be their last bl. but then they announced cooking crush! and now we get the trainee too! and i just think my love for them will never end; they've been here with me through it all, in one way or another ♥

IV. PondPhuwin (Pond Naravit & Phuwin Tangsakyuen)

during the surge of bl in my life that begun with bad buddy (and maybe not me too), i binged a ton of other/older gmmtv (bl) series. fish upon the sky was one of them, and even if i never quite liked that series, i loved the chemistry between pond and phuwin. i've actually known phuwin since his acting debut under gmm (when he was a true baby) and was curious to see him with a new face. i was even more excited when i realized they would be getting a new chance with never let me go as palmnueng would introduce a very different type of setting for them. now they're very dear to me as i also came to know pond and especially phuwin as people ♥

V. MarcPawin (Marc Natarit & Pawin Thanik)

the black sheep of my 2023 that i never saw coming. honestly, i wasn't a big fan of my gear and your gown, and so i thought i was not hooked on these two. then they got their glorious comeback during the nlmg our skyy 2 eps and a whole ass tsunami were put in motion in my brain. the wave hit shore when they started getting side couple vibes in dangerous romance and finally got to kiss again. and now we have we are where these two are about to be one of the couples (still not sure if they're main or not). am obsessed. i love this comeback for them. i hope this carries them further than ittpai ever did ♥

Bonus: Mark Pakin + Everyone

i think my school president and his role as tiw started the rise of one mark pakin. after that, the year 2023 has truly been His Year. he's gone from tiw and being paired with ford to appearing as saleng in moonlight chicken where he was paired with view to then appearing again as tiw who was even more prominently with por (ford) to getting paired with neo in only friends as nick and now ending his year as night in last twilight where we've seen the first hints of him being paired with namtan. boy keeps changing partners like socks and it's absolutely brilliant bc he has chemistry with everybody. he's even teased new upcoming projects with a new partner (ohm thi?) and keeps saying he's truly fine with any partner and anyone we'd like to ship him with. an icon. a legend. i love him a lot.

thank you for sending this question to me jess! i hope this was anything like what you wanted to see ^^ i made some tough decisions here bc i also had several other couples/ppl i would've liked to point out after this year.

#jimmysea #forcebook #offgun #pondphuwin #marcpawin #mark pakin #gmmtv actors #does anything here even make sense #i feel like my brain is half fried after the past week or so #this was a lot of fun tho!!#thank you so much for enabling me ♥

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kannagms · 4 days

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As someone who has been a fan of the boys since the beginning of Buzzfeed Unsolved when Ryan was doing his little PowerPoint presentations and reading from a single sheet of printer paper, this entire Watcher fiasco is insane and was definitely not on my 2024 bingo card.

Back when Ryan and Shane announced that they were leaving Buzzfeed to start their own entertainment company with Steven, I was excited! I wanted to see what new, fun, interesting, and creative content they would put out without Buzzfeed holding them back. I'm a huge fan of Mystery and Ghost Files, Puppet History, Are You Scared?, Too Many Spirits, Top 5 Beatdown. Loved Spooky Small Talk before it was scrapped. I watched every new ep that came out, even the ones I didn't like that much like Steven's food ones, and liked and commented because I wanted to support them as much as possible. I rewatch all my favorite episodes. I have a dedicated playlist of Ryan and Shane content because it helps me fall asleep at night. When I didn't have much I at least had Watcher to keep my smile on my face and continuous laughter going when I didn't feel much like going on.

I got the notification 3 days ago about a new Watcher video and was stunned at what I saw. Sure I can watch episode 1 of new shows and watch some trailers, but I'm gonna have to sub to yet another streaming service to watch anything more. A streaming service that doesn't even have an app, so if I want to add anything to my sleep playlist, I'm gonna have to leave my phone on all night.

Anyways, I immediately went and checked the boys' socials and see what they posted for any additional info. Thousands upon thousands of negative comments all saying basically the same thing:

I can't afford $6/month/not everyone has $6 laying around, and it can really make or break someone financially.

Been a fan since Unsolved, guess I'm not a watcher anymore.

This is a bad move.

From what I've seen across reddit, Twitter, tiktok, Instagram, and Tumblr, the negative far outweigh the positive. The only "positive" comments I've seen haven't really been "oh this is a great idea! I'm gonna go sub right now!!" It's really been more, "well it's their business, they can do what they want with it." Or simply bashing other people because they cannot afford $6 a month or $60 a year, which really comes off as boomer ideology. You know, the old "if millennials would stop eating avocado toast or buying Starbucks maybe they can afford a house!" While completely ignoring the global economic crisis we are all facing. It's completely out of check with the fact that there's so many of us not just in America, but in the world who are barely living paycheck to paycheck. That there are so many people who WISH they could get a Starbucks coffee in the morning but often times have to skip meals because they cannot afford food if they want to keep a roof over their heads, you know the ridiculous amount of money that we spend to rent a small space. Never gonna forget the one apartment I looked at that was $800 a month, no utilities included, no parking, no pets allowed, and I could lay flat on the ground and have my 5'4" length reach comfortably in every single room. Wasn't even a kitchen or room for a single size bed (mild tangent rant, I now pay $1300 for a 2 bedroom apartment, most utilities included, but bad parking)

And for Steven to say that anyone can afford $6 is just so factually wrong. Has anyone checked the foreign exchange rate for $6? Some threads I've seen on Reddit are insane. For some people 6 USD translates to someone's entire rent or a week's worth of food. If I recall the comment correctly, one person said that in their country, Netflix comes out to $2 USD, and is considered a luxury item that only the upper class/wealthy have.

Maybe I'm just being bitter. Maybe I'm just overreacting to a piece of content I loved and cherished being pushed behind a paywall. It just feels like a slap in the face to fans who have spent countless hours soaking in their content, recommending them to friends, making new friends over a shared interest, and now feeling like they didn't matter at all. That we were just dollar signs. To hear them going from thanking dedicated fans for helping them get to where they are to but now you gotta give us more money if you want to keep being fans and now we are going to ignore your backlash just feels disingenuous and heartbreaking.

#watcher #i dont know #not to be parasocial on main #but this month has just been so difficult #and to get hit with this just really broke me.#made me think what if all the people i watch on yt make this same move #i want them to succeed but at the same i dont want them to be an example to others yk?

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gayshrug · 3 months

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ooooooooh boy ep 5

- i was incredibly anxious throughout the entire episode and, embarrassing, but i had to skip through some of the bullying scenes

- jj is so fucking hot but UHM. sir. i don't think he's just a caring teacher wanting to comfort the quiet kid. i can feel the teacher/student power imbalance coming

- i need top DEAD. i need him gone. i need him to be violently staked. por's behavior was bad enough but top deserves that fate x1000

- tee........... tee. his backstory is compelling and it did make me feel for him and i guess empathise with his manipulative behavior to a certain extent but uhm. no excuses. i wonder how white is gonna play into this because, in "current time", it doesn't seem like he knows what's going on with his partner at all.

- don't know what to say about fluke at this point.

- jin confuses me. he genuinely seems sweet and like the only isle of comfort for non in this abhorrent environment. however, he is doing the bare minimum standing up against his "friends" atp. why is he even involved with them in the first place? they don't seem like interesting people outside of their twisted definition of a fun time. plus, the previews/teasers for the show make me wary because jin was portrayed as being Involved and Twisted, too.

- non. this kid. the addition of stress and the bullying at school to his mental health issues, the debt pressure when his family is already struggling...... he's bound to snap. tee getting him involved in his uncle's shady business is sooo fucked. so so fucked. it's only gonna get worse from here.

- i need my babies white, phi and tan back. being stuck with these assholes for an entire episode was a struggle.

- i'm sooooo intrigued by this show. i wish i could binge it in one sitting 😩👌🏼

#dff the series #dead friend forever

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aroceu · 9 months

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patpran's matching outfits

this was originally part of a thread on twitter but i figured i should stick it here too!

over the course of bbs patpran wear some...interesting outfits, but as they get together their wardrobe is a lot more coordinated and matchy 🥰 in particular, i think brown/orange seems to be associated with their happiness and comfort; red/blue symbolizes them together; and black/white i think is a little bit more of a pat motif but in the same way that stripes are pran's—black and white stripes show up quite often for both of them.

episode 2

blue is pat's color and red is pran's; however, as soon as episode 2 we see that their night clothes have swapped this:

episode 4 & episode 7 & episode 12

their most iconic redgreen moments—without a doubt i know this was intentional. (and also with pran's stripe motif weaved in all of them too!):

yes, in the last pic pat is wearing matching socks to pran's sweater. can you believe it. UGH.

episode 5

i'm sure everyone and their (baseball) mom has pointed it out, but their color swap at the top of the roof—pran in pat's blue, pat in pran's red—remains to be iconic of them. chef's kiss:

episode 6

patpran in blue and orange, which incidentally are ohm/nanon's colors (except ohm is orange and nanon is blue) in reverse! idk if this counts as matching but i wanted to point it out:

episode 7

this is when we start to see both of them mingle the red and blues together equally/in the same scenes, which of course indicates that their feelings are starting to become knowingly mutual 🥰 also special note that pat's shirt does covertly make it look like it reads "your man," while he's talking to pran

episode 7 & our skyy

this one is less matchy but instead evidence that they share clothes—because yes, the sweater pat wears at the end of ep 7 is the same one pran wears at the end of our skyy 2, which is only fitting as the scenes are parallel (patpran (almost) kissing over food and getting interrupted by pa):

episode 8 & episode 12

the black/white/orange-brown motifs my beloveds!! it's so basic at first in episode 8—indicating the start and novelty of their relationship—but is very, very obvious in the episode 12 scenes if you look for it:

episode 8

and of course we can't forget their iconic matching orange shirts in episode 8 too—this is what made me feel like orange in particular is supposed to indicate their comfort with each other:

episode 10

we start really early on with patpran both in red and blue together—really symbolic in how easily they've adapted into their relationship and each other:

i also found this really interesting—pat's shirt says "SUN SUN SUN" while pran's shirt has a rainbow on it (with "radiate positivity," lol) both of which definitely go together, however subtle this matching is!

and then of course when they go to the high school. this is definitely one of the most visually standing out matching outfits between pat and pran, the red and blue and pran's tote bag and the necklace bag all blending beautifully together. pran carrying his necklace bag, a gift from pat, while pat carries pran's tote. pat in the blue and light red, and while pran is mostly wearing his red and white stripes, you can really notice in this shot how many things he has are shades of blue—shades of pat:

not sure if i can draw a matching set from these two outfits but i still love them so i'm putting them here anyway:

episode 12

we see pran in pink a lot even when pat is donning pink/red himself—so of course it makes sense for pran, in the last scene, to don some blue. also, together comes the return of the black/white/orange-brown color palette! and of course pat wearing the smiley face shirt we saw from a brief pan over in episode 1, which we know makes pat think of pran (that shot led right into the pond flashback)—it's also the same type of smiley face that was on pran's bag when he was in high school, and fits in with the rest of the smiley faces in pran's room, symbolizing that this is where pat has always belonged: with pran.

special mention to:

pat at the beginning of episode 8! we can agree this is pran's shirt, right? pran's the one with the striped shirts with collars—pat definitely decided to wear his boyfriend's shirt after a very long night:

#an aroceu original #bbs #can you believe i've become a bad buddy wardrobe enthusiast #because. well. i can.

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moreofthatdrowse · 8 months

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JO Survey: What's a favorite JO moment of yours? Could be very small or something big

There were too many good answers in the questions with open answers in my Joker Out Survey, so below the cut are the answers to Question no. 14: What's a favorite JO moment of yours? Could be very small or something big

When bojan exists but also when they sung the boys are back from HSM in an interview in all the languages

Nace & Bojan completing my heart hands thing at a concert :) (& Nace showing the heart on his bass in my direction )

sparklative, the turtle interview, every interaction between jan and nace (it's hard to pick a favourite)

It's so hard to choose! Aside from repeating what I said before, I'll say I love them doing stuff with pride flags during concerts, and them hanging out together during Novi Val. Also them just wearing each others clothes. And the whole thing with Because of You during Eurovision. And Bojan singing Cha Cha Cha. And Tavastia. And Kris during the Katrina video whirling around his jacket. Ok I can't choose and I can go on forever.

When Nace started talking about his turtles

kris being a hater 🫶

how dare you make me pick one smh i guess the performance of novi val in Glasgow with the pride flag i dotn get emotional about artists raising pride flags in general even tho im queer but that specific moment in a CHURCH with THAT song made me sob

I can't choose so I've got 3: 1. WHY THIS HAS BEEN SO HAS BIVEN SPARKLY?! SPARKLING?! SPARKLATIVE?!?!?! 2. the interview where they talk about Nace's turtles ("shiiiit, they don't like to be pet!") 3. every time Bojan and Kris banter with each other 😭 and I saw this irl too when I was at their concert in London and Kris wouldn't stop playing his guitar whilst Bojan was trying to tune his

I've really enjoyed watching the behind the scenes video series' from Eurovision and the tour.

It's a tie between (i) pretty much any interview they've ever done and (ii) the Cvetličarna concert (didn't attend but have watched the footage)

Them comforting Käärijä together after his loss

Bojan's thighs lol

I really like drunk Kris at Barcelona preparty screaming "OH, SSF!" and dancing like the tall tree he is 🤣❤️‍🔥

Their joy in eurovision

"Sparklative"

The moment that Jan signed my jacket

Jan and Nace interacting on stage

Idk i love all the behind the scenes videos?

Them all singing together (see carpe diem series ep 7 amsterdam :D)

The backstage series

The Electric Ballroom gig in London & their reaction when Slovenia entered the grand final at ESC

Jan and Nace playing kazoos in the UK tour ep 2

You expect me to chose?? /j

Every Novi val performance.

anything Jan and Nace get up to tbh

Every moment in that "joker out being bros for 5 min straight" video or wtv or was called. Need friendships like that fr

don't know if it's my favorite moment per se but i do love how they all immeadiately fell in love with jere (käärijä), especially bojan ofc <3

Why has been so sparkling? ✨

Bojan draped in a pride flag in an old church while singing novi val. Top 3 moments to cry about at 3am tbh

The performance of Novi Val in Križanke. Also, this is not a JO moment as such, but a clip where Bojan imitates a german kid telling his mom he wants to jump on the trampoline(?) I'm sorry, but man's funny as fuck, I think about that clip often.

I haven't seen them live yet, so all the best moments are yet to come :)

All of them cuddles

I don’t knoww Maček in a box

kris tilting his head back, eurovision in my city, SEEING THEIR TOUR BUS IN LIVERPOOL WJEN ME AND MY FRIEND WERE OUT IN THE CITY CENTER THE DAY AFTER WE SAW THEM @ MANCHESTER

I don't know yet - there's so many moments! So many smiles and like laying their heads on each others shoulders during concerts and looking out for each other. <3

I liked how promptly they got rid of gregor on a serious level and also on a happy level when they qualified to the Eurovision final

cvetličarna

Bojan and Kaarija’s bromance

I don't know to many options

Love how often TURTOL is brought up. Nace would be proud <3

QUESTIONS 1-11 I QUESTION 12 I QUESTION 13 I QUESTION 14

#joker out #bojan cvjetićanin #kris guštin #jure maček #nace jordan #jan peteh #martin jurkovič #matic kovačič

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negrowhat · 1 year

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Hi! I’m not sure if you’ve been asked this before but, what are your top 5 BL’s that you watched this year?

I have been asked but my list has changed quite a bit. Only 5??? So what 5 series have I been most obsessed about from 2022.

Love in the Air. Literally wasn't even planning to watch the series because I thought I was going HATE Payu! CAN YOU BELIEVE I THOUGHT I WOULD DISLIKE THAT MAN? I'm more partial to PayuRain's storyline but I did really enjoy PaiSky too. It will be a forever fave.

KinnPorsche the Series. 10/10. Loved everything about the series. I loved the action, the lies, the deceit, the mystery. It was super exciting and thrilling and a ride. 2022 has been a great year for rookie actors. Practically the entire cast is brand new and everyone fucking ATE UP their roles

Between Us the Series. I don't care that it's only halfway finished. I've been waiting for this series for THREE YEARS and the first 6 eps have delivered every single time. BounPrem have really mastered their characters, they embody WinTeam and have brought them to life. I've been waiting for this emotional story filled with love, trauma, comfort, and hurt to come to life and it has been perfection so far.

Blueming. My fave KBL of the year (next to Poongduck). The series was just so lowkey and refreshing. It did a lot without the series being over the top. I loved the story and the characters. It was one of the few university dramas that actually showed uni students being students. It was a down to Earth love story and I just felt the series was beautiful.

Old Fashion Cupcake. My fave Japanese BL of the year (next to Takara-kun to Amagi-kun). I just enjoyed this short ass office romance to bits. Loved their lil food dates and I love that Togawa was completely enamored with Nozue. Love that they were both office hotties and I loved the way Nozue was such a huge flirt but also so shy. I love that Togawa helped Nozue learn to live life and get the man of his dreams in the process.

thanks for this ask!

#love in the air #love in the air the series #kinnporsche #kinnporsche the series #blueming #between us #between us the series #old fashion cupcake

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absolutebl · 1 month

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This Week in BL - The Industry is Having Issues But the Spice Spicy Must Flow

Organized, in each category, with ones I'm enjoying most at the top.

March 2024 Wk 4

Ongoing Series - Thai

Two Worlds (Thurs IQIYI) eps 1-2 of 10 - One of those "he's dead Jim so time travel" thingames starring MaxNat. I'm over this concept but I do enjoy MaxNat. Phupha (Gun) and Khram (Nat) love each other but Phupha is murdered. Then Khram is pulled to a parallel world where, years ago, Khram and Tai (Max) were in love. However, Khram was killed by Tai’s dad. Now Tai finds alter-Khram. But then there is ALSO an alter-Phupha to deal with. (Phupha is played by Gun Thanawat who was Khom, the repressed butler bodyguard from Unforgotten Night. We like this, but we scared of the love triangle aspect.) Did that make sense? Yeah, okay, see what I mean?

Initial thoughts?

The subs are troubling but I’m enjoying this show a lot. It’s nice to see MaxNat get something meaty to sink their teeth into - that’s not just each other. Also it’s so smart of them to give us a fully fleshed out entire episode developing the alter romance rather than just a separation + death. It makes Khram’s grief and motivation that much more believable. Also it’s really nice to see Nat have good chemistry with other actors.

Deep Night (Thurs iQiyi) ep 3 of 8 (10?) - I'm still enjoying it. But Two Worlds is objectively better. So this one has lost ranking. Also, unexpectedly chili (the name of my heavy metal Thai cover band).

Lovey switchy and verse main couple too.

This is all quite pleasing.

The bit where the hosts pretend to be a BL couple actor ship was epic on so many levels.

Also unsettling.

All sex work is performative, and in a way there is something more honest about this depiction, in this setting, than what BL actors are made to do on the promo circuit. Which then begs the question, how different is BL from sex work? That's the unsettling bit, for me anyway. Not to slam on sex work AT ALL, we pro-the-true-pros on this damn blog, but actors have been shaded by association with True Professionals for a very long time and BL has already had one epic shut down in this regard. (See the PerthSaint scandal around Love By Chance, no I will not explain.) Where was I? Oh yes, so anyway, see the Gossip section for the part where they better be paid either way!

Also, since I'm a warped fucker, I found this scene funny.

And then hilarious when all of those BL tropes were just trotted out. Like a greatest hits reel.

Truly beyond meta. (How Absolute BL of them.)

Note he’s even standing in yaoi's patented "hands in pocket with the shoulders back"?

Meanwhile, the gayest bridge in Thailand made its quarterly appearance:

And lip serviced was paid to the most touristy romantic things you can do in Bangkok.

And I mean lip service literally.

To Be Continued (Thai C3 Thailand grey) ep 5 of 8 - I’m still enjoying it but getting more and more nervous. We getting too close to Promise territory for comfort. EXPLAIN Ji’s reticence well and do it now or risk audience mistrust. We have to be given a GOOD reason for Ji's behavior, or he'll be irredeemable.

City of Stars (Fri iQIYI) ep 8 of 12 - NO SINGING. Yes smiley kisses and good communication and a nice healthy relationship. But no singing!

1000 Years Old ep 6 of 12 - Dropping in the ranks. I’m sorry it’s just gotten boring. It has, however, inspired me to invest in my own ridiculous cream fuzzy sweater. Which I plan to wear with leather trousers and huge stumpy boots, like the Kpop queer I truly am. Or do I mean vampire?

Kiseki Chapter 2 (Sun iQIYI) ep 1 of 6 - Seems to be an excuse for a small posse of Thai actors to wander around Tokyo playing tourist and sing in public . Someone stop them?

“Most people think this kind of thing is bad manners .”

Anyway, it’s v boring. I’ll give it one more ep but I suspect I’ll DNF.

Close Friend Season 3: Soju Bomb! (Weds iQIYI) eps 1-2 of 6 - Meh. This is also looking suspiciously DNF-a-licious.

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Unknown (Taiwan Tues Youku YouTube & Viki) ep 5 of 11 - It's brilliant. I love it. I'm ready to hurt. Let’s do this thing.

Distribution note: This one has been picked up and is also airing on Viki now, so it may lose YT distribution in soem territories. I like Youku's hard subs better than Viki's subs, but that's a matter of preference not information since I don't speak Mandarin.

Love is Better the Second Time Around AKA Koi wo Suru nara Nidome ga Joto (Japan Weds Gaga) ep 3 of 6 - It is good. Every week I like this show a little more. I'm enjoying a reunion romance explored in Japan's quintessentially contemplative yet slightly surreal way. The juxtaposition of the tenderness of the sex scene with this Japanese brand of authenticity was oddly elegant - for lack of a better way of putting it. All in all, this is a good show. Thought provoking. Stylish.

AntiReset (Taiwan Fri Viki/Gaga) ep 9 of 10 - It remains lovely but they sure are reusing a lot of footage. Also, this was a classic penultimate doom episode. I do wonder how they are going to resolve this show ethically.

My Strawberry Film (Japan Thurs Gaga) ep 6 of 8 - It is what it is, and it isn’t my style of show no matter what country of origin. Oddly that's one of the reasons I don't like it. Anyone could have made this, it's not as Japanese as I want it to be, it's just indie film club high school angst. Yawn.

I watched it, finally

The Servant and the Young Master (Vietnam YouTube) 7 eps - I dislike vertical filming, but I kind of enjoyed this show as a BL. I like class conflict romances. For me the rich kid is a bit too dictatorial (edges into bulling), but it’s kinda works. It’s sparse and underdeveloped and a bit plotless, but mildly entertaining. If you're missing Vietnamese BL you might give it a try. 6/10

Began Beginning (Myanmar YouTube) 8eps - A Burmese BL that I had thoughts about but actually ended up recommending. Read the saga here:

It's done, ready to binge, but I suck

What Did You Eat Yesterday Season 2 AKA Kinou Nani Tabeta? Season 2 (Japan Gaga) 10 eps

It's airing but...

Graduation Countdown (Taiwan YouTube) ep 1 of ? - on one hand it's micro-installment vertical, on the other it's adorable and from Taiwan. I blame @heretherebedork entirely for my conundrum. As indeed, I did for My Type back in the day. (That was Nat Chen's first BL, yes of Kiseki: Dear To Me fame.) So I think I will also simply lean on Here to let me know when it's done and binge all at once. It's just too much to ask me to keep up with 2 minute pieces, I don't have that kind of endurance training, not even for BL.

Time the series (Tue Gaga/YT) 10 eps - it's finished now, I dropped it at ep 4. Should I bother?

A Secretly Love (Thai Sat WeTV grey) 10 eps - I watched the first ep but grey is too much work for this inferior of a show. I may pick up and binge if it gets distribution but for now, it gets a DNF from me. KimCop might have held this crap together but Kim without Cop? No thank you.

Lady Boy Friends (Thai WeTV grey) 16 eps - reminds me a bit too much of Diary of Tootsies only high school. Not my thing. DNF unless it turns a corner and is truly amazing for some reason.

Man Suang that MileApo vehicle from last year is coming to Netflix in the USA. I haven't heard much about it and since the KP stans would have lost their tiny minds if it was any good at all, I'm assuming it's not good at all.

Gossip

Thai BL actor Yoon breaks with his former company and talks about some very very VERY shady goings on in the Thai BL industry. Including not being paid.

And whacha know, same thing happening in Korean BL.

Have I mentioned recently how much I hate the film industry?

Next Week Looks Like This:

Starting Soon

3/31 Only Boo! (Thai GMMTV YouTube) 12 eps - New main couple for GMMTV in an idol romance about a boy who dances good and a food stand vendor. Other side of the tracks grumpy/sunshine pair who fall deeply in love but, of course, baby boy idol can't date. Boyband but from GMMTV? Control your singing and I'm game.

4/1 Love is like a Cat (Korea ????) 12 eps - This completed filming Aug 2022(!) which means there have been serious problems with post-production. This is another of Silkwood's Korean+Thai colab projects. Mew Suppasit plays a rookie film star, called the Cat Prince (for his cold arrogance) who goes up against a charismatic puppyish animal daycare director (JM of JUST B). There is also a side romance (love triangle?) with a veterinarian. Geonu of JUST B is also in the cast.

I wonder if this was part of the hold up, with Geonu on Build Up right now, they might have tried to muffle this one. Or maybe it's just that bad...

4/3 We Are (Thai GMMTV YouTube) 12 eps - University ensemble BL featuring PondPhuwin, WinnySatang, AouBoom, MarcPawinPoon - basically the good kind of messy gay friendship group (so more My Engineer and less Only Friends). Looks a bit like the Kiss series but everyone is queer. I'm IN!

Knock-Knock Boys (Thai WeTV?) - 4 college friends conspire to help their friend lose his virginity. Familiar faces like Seng (yes, Billy's previous partner), Best and frest face, news here.

Upcoming BLs for 2024 are listed here. This list is not kept updated, so please leave a comment if you know something new or RP with additions.

NOTE: It looks like one of my personal favorites of last year Unintentional Love Story is getting a spin off!

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

Without ghost girl.

With ghost girl.

I think she may be my favorite part of 1000 Years.

CLASSIC tsundere seme description of a sunshine uke. Like classic'est of classic. (Two Worlds)

Is there such a thing as a tired trope in a BL? Since it is a genre that is made up entirely of tropes quilted together? Your philosophical question for today brought to you by Deep Night's kabedon (Japanese trope) + punishment threat (Thai trope).

Love me a lap sit moment. (City of Stars)

(Last week)

Streaming services are listed by how I (usually) watch, which is with a USA based IP, and often offset by a day because time zones are too much work.

The tag BLigade: @doorajar @solitaryandwandering @my-rose-tinted-glasses @babymbbatinygirl @babymbbatinygirl @isisanna-blog @mmastertheone

If ya wanna be tagged each week leave a comment and I will add you to the template. Easy peesy.

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attn-all-pickpockets · 11 months

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top 5 txf episodes

I loved this prompt but also it was very hardddd, I mostly chose ones that I never shut up about lmao

"Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose"

This is my girl, this is my ride or die. I was in the Northeast when the first category 1 hurricane hit in like 50 years and I had to drive through the outer bands in a rental car with a spare tire on it and when we got home I made everyone watch this because it's my comfort episode that accompanies me through moments of triumph as well as crisis. Scully befriending the depressed old man psychic is such a great storyline for Scully and this whole ep really lets her shine. Scully has such a kindness and playfulness that she typically only shows with Mulder, but her fondness for the deadpan comedy stylings of Bruckman made her fond of him and her heartbreak when he dies is such a perfect scene. Also I just think of her smile and "there are hits and there are misses, and then there are misses :)" a lot.

2. "Leonard Betts"

If someone asked me what is the episode of The X Files that feels like the quintessential episode, I would say "Leonard Betts", which I think some would think as a weird choice. But this episode is what this show was at the height of its popularity to me. It aired after the Superbowl and the cold open is one of its best with a beheading, followed by the corpse waltzing right out of the morgue. The banter between Mulder and Scully is top notch and full of perfect Mulder quips ("blinked or winked?") and incredulous Scully deliveries ("Mulder, they're worms") and even if the scientific explanation of "evolutionary cancer" is deeply ludicrous from a scientific perspective, it is a great x-file. And the ENDING of finding out Scully has cancer is such a gut punch, just a phenomenal hour of tv.

3. "Paper Clip"

This is on here because I love the Anasazi/The Blessing Way/Paper Clip trilogy so much and I have to shout it out. I will always cape for early mythology because I think the fact that became a muddled mess makes people forget how damn good it was to begin with. So much of the early character work was done in these episodes and they're so compelling. Bringing in real history with Operation Paper Clip and connecting Mulder's father to the people Mulder is trying to investigate was a great move (that they didn't totally deliver on imo, but "sins of the father" is a great idea at the very least) and expanding the scope and complicity in the conspiracy really put what Mulder and Scully were up against in perspective. Mulder relenting and choosing to go out of hiding for Scully so she could see her sister and their conversation in the hospital room after Melissa died are some of my favorite moments of the show.

4. "Folie a Deux"

It's hard to pick a Vince episode and this could just as easily be "Pusher" (which was the episode that got me to seriously ship msr) or "Bad Blood" or almost any other episode he wrote, but "Folie a Deux" is special to me. Mulder's mental wellness and people's belief that he's crazy has been an angle that has always been present and Vince framing this as a joint delusion on Mulder and Scully's part is so fascinating and a fantastic bit or writing to me. Mulder is so discredited and dismissed in this episode and the only person who listens to him is Scully and that's a perfect distillation of their dynamic and the show itself. Also the episode is Marxist to me.

5. "Jose Chung's From Outer Space"

I thought to myself "well I can't have two Darin episodes on here" but…of course I can! This is one of the greatest episodes of TV of all time. Not just of sci-fi or network or pre-00s TV, of all TV ever made. This is one of the episodes that sets The X Files apart from its clones or other cop procedural shows and it's that it can switch genres and tones and bring this post-modern, storyline hopping masterpiece out and no one thinks twice about its place in the show or season. A lot gets said about how funny it is and the melancholic tone Darin brings to his writing, but I find myself so impressed by they way the writing and directing work to make the timeline jumping work and not end up confusing the viewer. I'll eventually talk about this more, but the shot construction to create anchor points between a re-enactment and the scene of the narrator telling this story to Mulder and Scully is so great.

#the x files #ask

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ezrisdax-archive · 6 months

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Top 5 Stargate eps, comfort movies, and Canadian foods

stargate eps

Episode 200- ha bet you thought I'd say the time loop episode first but no, even this episode won out ahead. the in jokes, the jokes at other sci fis, the whole set up, the love of it all, when I have really bad days it is my comfort episode out of all comfort episodes honestly, I can't even begin to count how many times I've watched it and every time I cry when quote Issac Asimov at the end, I am a weak person lexi you know this

Window of Opportunity - okay yeah time loop was next, let's be real I am completely predictable but this was the time loop episode that really showed me how fun they could be. like I already loved the concept cause of TNGs one but this one? it's so funny, I've had people who don't even watch stargate watch that one with no context of the characters and still find it funny. and the ending is heart wrenching, what more do you want from a time loop (pst, lexi watch it with me again, now I miss it)

Abyss - I admit I loved Ba'al as a bad guy, he was so much fun for me and the episode introducing him was so weird with Jack haunted by memories not his (what do you mean I'm obsessed with that because of star trek and ezri-) and eternally whenever I chuck a shoe too far accidentally while taking them off I just think of "I just threw my shoe through you" when Jack is talking to Daniel, like c'mon that was so funny

The Fifth Race - I loooooove the introduction of the Asgard so much, not to mention Jack getting the language in his head. once again sometimes my brain just goes "there is nothing cruvus with me!" for no reason because of that episode.

Fragile Balance - I'm just a sucker for a good cloning episode okay, and Jack and the Asgard just don't miss for me! I'm a weak person lexi!!!!!

comfort movies

Star Trek: The Voyage Home - yes it's the one with the whales and time travel, two things I love specifically because of this movie probably. no lie this movie did have me really into whale conservation as a kid though, something that's stuck with me well into later years. but like it's got everything, Spock being sassy to McCoy, McCoy and Scotty off on their own adventure, chase scenes in a hospital with Chekov on the cart like it's fucking looney tunes, time travel, whales, the crew being the crew together! mcfucking love this movie

Star Wars: Return of the Jedi - be honest, you knew I'd have this here because we've talked so many times and I've said it's my fave but like...I watched this movie every day for a year as a kid. I made my dad buy back up tapes because I wore it out on VHS. to this day I still have five copies. I want you to know I don't just love this one because Wedge appears the most here. Though that doesn't hurt. It's just about the conclusion of it for me, it does something for me where it gives me hope.

Canadian Bacon - this movie isn't gonna be known to like...anyone. but me and my best friend as a kid watched this movie like every week while we were up at my cottage and it's another movie I can quote by heart. the premise is the americans decide to fake a war on canada to boost the economy though canada doesn't know and this group infiltrate canada and I'm in tears laughing every time at the line "Aboot? it's about! about! we have ways of making you pronounce the letter 'o'" also Alan Alda is there.

Robin Hood Men in Tights - this was a movie I used to watch constantly with my siblings, we loved Mel Brooks movies but this one was the top tier for us for comedy sake and occasionally in the sibling chat we'll still send in jokes about it

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse: I know you didn't love it and me having a spider related thing on here is weird but I just shut my eyes during those points and watch the rest in peace. like this movie was just magical to me, the way it handled the multi-verse and Miles' story and the art and music, it's so good and I have no words to really describe how good it is for me, I just love it.

canadian foods lmao that's so specific but is this because I'm sending you stuff soon?

All Dressed Chips, I cannot believe americans don't have this, you guys love your weird flavours on everything else and you don't have this??? it's like the everything bagel of chips, what is wrong with you guys

Ketchup Chips, I know I know that sounds like it tastes bad but no it doesn't and if you think that get taste

Beaver Tails - tragically the place that used to make them near my place closed down ages ago but I got to have a good one when I was visiting @trillscienceofficer in Alberta this year and that pastry is so good

Smarties - once again not your kind of smarties but chocolate which is NOT like m&ms we use better chocolate

Caramilk bars - while looking things up when I messaged you I found out you guys don't have those and hey??? what the fuck???

#replies in thirty minutes or they're free #counterspelling

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sanaserena · 7 months

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Okay, schedule aside, here are the screenshots from Episode 5 of the One Piece Live Action. One of my favourite episodes. Actually, by now I've watched the series a fewwww too many times, and a handful of my favourite scenes on top of that. This episode had several of my favourite scenes. Some of these have made the rounds as gifs online, which is awesome, but I love being able to catch that split second of the expressions each character wears.

Seriously, I think I need to do posts that focus on individual characters, because I loveeee how expressive they all are. Like Helmeppo has a thousand expressions. Zoro too despite being stoic most of the time. And the list goes on.

So my highlights for Ep 5:

Music, of course.

Zeff and Sanji in all their interactions. Perfect casting there.

Sanji's entrance is wonderful.

We get to see Mihawk and Steven Ward is perfect at him!

Remember how I keep going on about the chemistry between the Strawhats? It's because every episodes gives me new scenes that really build these individuals into a cohesive unit in a way suitable for live action. In manga, the process of writing is different. I love the talk between Luffy and Zoro because it shows who these characters are and how they approach things and what they're comfortable with talking about or not/if they don't want to or not. It's even more impactful when we see the parallel scene in Episode 7, and it gives us a sense of progress in their trust for each other.

The battle is great too, it's so chaotic. Zoro losing his way...on the ship. Usopp's lies contrasting his abilities. And Garp throwing cannonballs. Or ball actually. Since he only threw one.

At first I thought Garp was too serious, but when he laughs - I just couldn't say that wasn't Garp. And when we see the flashback, again, I couldn't say it wasn't Garp, because those are things he would say and do. And the more I thought about it, the more this live action version still makes sense. Garp is a vice admiral, and he does have serious duties associated with it. It's just in the manga and anime, we're not focussed on his story, and as such we don't see every part of his character there.

This is another thing I love about live action, it's that we're being shown scenes we haven't seen in canon. Things that fill out the world further, gives us different insights to some of our beloved characters. For example, Garp. Yes. But also pirates knowing each other. The world is big...but not that big. Pirates would cross paths with each other at some point, and the manga and anime don't always have the space to show us these little details (if so, this manga will never be finished...). Oda also is focussed on telling a story, and therefore will only ever show us the details most relevant to the main story, with his answers in SBS and extra materials supporting it. So I love that the live action shows us Kaya's mansion (confirming electricity does exist!), shows us what some of our favourite villains and side characters in canon are doing outside of the main plot, shows us that the marines aren't just a decorated institution that is often villanised in canon, and so on.

And as usual, I can't fit all the screenshots here 😅. See Part 2 here: Link; and Part 3: Link

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tanenigiri · 11 months

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Episodes 6 and 7 of Our Dining Table have my favorite ever scenes in the manga (and that's not even considering that scene) so my opinion of the whole show was pretty much contingent on these two episodes.

And they knocked them out of the park.

(Stray thoughts and ramblings on Our Dining Table eps 6 and 7. Some light manga spoilers but nothing too revealing.)

Our Dining Table was one of the first manga I read, and by then I was very new to the concept of Christmas in Japan being a primarily romantic thing. So that whole scene about Minoru struggling to ask Yutaka about his Christmas plans flew over my head during my initial reading, but after re-reading it it made a lot more sense why Minoru was so on edge about it. I thought the show did this really well, and that added scene with Minoru and his manager in the ramen shop was a great way to contextualize it too.

We only see her for a single scene so let me just say: Ohata you will always be famous. (And her outfit looked so good??? We should've had a scene where Yutaka asked her for advice on which scarf to get.)

The whole "taking care of your sick loved one" trope is 50/50 for me as those scenes seem to be quite predictable, but I really like how Our Dining Table uses it as a catalyst for both Yutaka and Minoru to start truly opening up to each other. Sure, they've gotten very close over the past few months and I think both of them recognize by this point that their "friendship" is something special, but I found it very interesting that it's only by this scene - both in the manga and in the show - where they start digging deep into their issues and expressing why that friendship means a lot to them.

I've already said it in my previous two posts but it bears repeating: how they're handling Minoru's past in the show is such a step up from how it was in the manga. Minoru deciding to open up first so that Yutaka can be comfortable sharing his own past is so in-character and honestly makes that Christmas scene even more of a gut-punch than it already is.

And THEN we get that absolutely devastating scene with Tane and his dad, with the latter worrying about Yutaka dying. I feel like this scene was given a lot more weight in the show - mainly because I felt it gave the scene the space and time to play out - and I am still recovering from it. Very much a top 3 scene of the series for me.

(Also, shout out to the dad for getting the memo not once, but twice and letting Minoru get his much-deserved alone time with Yutaka. I'm sure he's making up for interrupting them in Episode 5.)

Cannot stress enough how fantastic the show's little plot additions have been, and the matching scarves as gifts is probably at the top of my list. I could go on and on about how it represents warmth and comfort and all that, but really I'm already screaming at the fact that they had the same idea on what to give each other.

I also want to point out how much I love that the very first shot of Episode 7 (after the opening credits) is Yutaka's dish rack with the washed bowl and utensils as it takes the viewer a second to realize that this was Minoru's doing. It's up there with the shoes in Episode 2 for me.

While I fell in love with the manga by like the first chapter, I think what cemented its grip on me was how they decided to gives us Yutaka's backstory in the style of Tane's drawings. That was definitely the scene I was most looking forward to in this entire series, and when I saw the Episode 7 preview at the end of Episode 6 with Yutaka just tearfully recounting his story to Minoru, I was worried that they were gonna do away with it. So you can imagine my reaction to not only seeing that Tane's drawings were kept, but that they also decided to animate a significant part of that backstory with the drawings. (All I'm gonna say is that I had to pause the video to calm down.)

Tane clinging to Yutaka like a koala was the best shot of the episode. It was a nice break from all the heavy emotions. And then Tane said sike and gave us that head patting scene and he really got us while our guard was down huh.

I really have nothing to say about the kiss as I'm not really a fan of dwelling on these kinds of scenes, but I will say that how understated it was fit with the tone of the show. If anything my only complaint was how I felt that scene was a bit dark (as in it lacked lighting haha not that it was grim).

Next episode is gonna be a rough and frustrating one I'm pretty sure, but I am curious on where they're gonna end it. There's one more scene I'm really looking forward to seeing but I think that's gonna come at like the finale.

I love this series so much. It's nothing flashy or groundbreaking but it takes pride in its simplicity and makes the most out of it. And I'm so glad more people are discovering it thanks to this show.

#our dining table #bokura no shokutaku

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chuuuvi · 3 months

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Chuang Asia Thailand Episode 1!

It’s been too long since I got into a survival show lol. I mean my last one was Girls Planet 999 and that was 2 years ago! So anyway I’ll be taking you all with me on this journey by posting the notes I took while watching the episode plus my current top 9. Spoilers ahead!!

•First off before you ask where I’m watching: it’s on the Tencent Video app and it’s free. Ooh and if you’re also watching pls let me know so we can talk about it together!

•I’m happy to see Nene as a mentor! I loved her when I watched Chuang 2020

•This is produced by Jackson Wang? They’ve got TEN??? Okay Chuang Asia I’m interested.

•Looking at the contestant list and of course there are 14 year olds. Don’t vote for the 14 year olds you guys. My personal age minimum for voting is gonna be 17 so I won’t consider anyone younger than that. Contestants that are over 18 get my preference though. The idol industry is bad enough for adults, I’d prefer if we didn’t debut minors as well. I know ironic coming from someone who ults Yeseo lol. (She was the youngest active kpop idol when she debuted in Busters.)

•Also they're really going hard with this being international. This makes Mnet look pathetic for what they did in Girls Planet lol.

•Oh the flirting part with Jasmine was so akwarrrrrrd. 100% secondhand embarrassment.

•I felt bad for Elyn when she was crying and said “No Filming!” But they proceeded to just zoom in on her crying face :( TURN THE CAMERA AWAY FROM HER!

•The trip.com ads are so funny to me because these survival show ads where they pretend to use a product are usually for stuff like snacks or beverages or makeup. But they’ve got these girls pretending to casually book a flight lmao

•The barbie group having only one member thats older than 16 and then proceeding to perform Barbie World where they say stuff like “that pussy so cold” and “he spank me when I get bad” -_- Someone should have made them pick another song.

•OOOH the Avex group’s performance of Left Right was great. Maybe the best of the episode although Mindy was really impressive too.

•Ilene’s little fan moment with Jackson was adorable!

•They announced the first top 9 but I feel like we’re still missing some performances?? Is that an editing thing to get that ranking in the first episode and we ares still going to get more next episode or did they just skip some people? Like I don’t think we saw Ruan and I was waiting for her. I could have sworn there were some CSR members too and I haven’t seen them perform either. I guess we’ll see.

• I watched the theme song on YouTube and it’s so cute!! Weird that it’s all about summer when this is airing in winter though. Is it summer in Thailand?? I thought they were above the equator. Okay yeah they are so idk why they’re singing a song about it being summer. Also I got spoiled for Ruan center! Now I know they wouldn’t just skip her. There’s got to be more intro round performances next episode.

•Okay so my Top 9 picks will be based on who performed in this first episode only so I’m sure it’ll change a lot after ep. 2.

1. R-Jing - She blew me away in the extra performance. Her singing was so pretty! She’s so cute too and apparently trained at SM?? I always latch onto a girl first episode and this is my girl!

2. Akina - Maybe it’s bc of her experience in her past group but she seems really comfortable on stage. I like her vibe and she’s clearly very talented. She seems really nice and down to earth.

3. Rinka - I looked back at her gp999 performances and I can see why I didn’t remember her. She seems to have improved so much though! Her voice stood out positively and she’s got some star power I didn’t see in her old performances. I’m excited to see more of this new Rinka!

4. Lissa - I don’t know how to feel about her strange vibe but I liked her performance. Lots of energy and a nice voice. I’m very intrigued by her at this point.

5. MingMing- such a clear and pretty voice!!! Her and Pangjang together were both the vocal highlights of their team’s performance but MingMing is the only one of the two thats over my voting age limit.

6. Mamcú - Really interesting and beautiful voice. Apparently she competed on the Voice?? We’ll need to wait and see how she does with dancing but she seems really earnest about her desire to he an idol not just a singer so I’ll put my faith in her!

7. Shye - We barely got to see her performance but I was intrigued by what we saw. I don’t know if she can dance yet but I’ll find out soon enough. And lets be real, I have a lil crush on her and thats enough to get you in the top 9 at this point in the game. I mean look at her in her leather jacket!

8. Emma - Her dancing was great and she choreographs her own stuff too! I was really impressed by her dance skills both in her extra performance and the dance battle!

9. Tegan - gorgeous gorgeous deep voice! She’s so pretty too! I really liked her but I have no idea if she can dance. I feel like if she could she would have shown it since she got two performances so I’m hesitant.

Honorable Mentions:

Krista Shim - I’m not voting for Krista because she’s under the age I decided on being my voting limit but honestly I’d put money on her making it to the final group. You can just tell with these shows. It's in the way they edit it.

Mao Xiu Ling & Mao Xiu Ting - Of course we have a pair of twins! I’ve always loved this survival show gimmick. I love their look and their dance together was really cool!

Kaylen - The other half of the Hawaiian Duo! Kaylen pulling Jackson Wang up to the stage with her was such a power move. I didn’t like her solo performance as much as her partner Tegan’s though

Praew- I liked her energy when she introduced herself and then her dancing was insane! I will not be voting for her because she’s 15. She's just a baby.

#cyn talking #tpop #survival show #Chuang asia #chuang asia thailand #watch along #long post #someone talk about this show with me!#come on nct mutuals Ten is a mentor!!

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