Celebrity 
dora:
My mother-in-law passed away on Thursday. My spouse is overcome with both sadness and relief.
My sincere condolences to you both - and to all others in this group who've recently lost loved ones.
I've likewise had a surge of deaths among my family and friends over the past two years - and like you, @Dora, we've unexpectedly acquired my MIL's dog as a result. Our new member of the family is very appreciative of her new home, as I'm sure is yours, and even our beautiful but grouchy First Dog quickly came around to accepting her new sister.
I also watched Enchanté over the course of last week. It was cute, and I needed something light and good for filler time.
Thanks, the feedback from you and Art Girl is really helpful, especially given our high overlap in tastes. I've not yet watched this one and have always been torn between the mostly bad reviews and my fondness for Force & Book. I've now pushed it into my PTW queue (which has grown to hopelessly overwhelming proportions). I'm generally able to overlook a lot of flaws (including but not limited to bad accents) for a BL that I otherwise enjoy.
Indie Art Girl:
One of the very first members I "met"here was Mr. P! He doesn't know it but his presence here has been a comfort to me ever since. 🫰
Likewise, special friend!💕
stayforlife:
Long Time No See
I thought this was a pretty decent drama. I also liked Jun & Jun.
Ditto on both. "Long Time No See" is not only quite good but also has the virtue of being a quick watch.
I watched the first ep of Weirdo 101 and I think I'll like it.
I'm especially keen on this one, but it'll have to wait a few weeks. I'm overloaded right now!
My mother-in-law passed away on Thursday. My spouse is overcome with both sadness and relief. It was hard having a judgmental parent, and it was hard caring for someone slowly dying. It feels like way longer than two days since it happened.
Now I think my spouse will officially come out as nonbinary. I will try my best to switch to they/them pronouns, but it’ll take some practice after 15 years.
All changes take time, including accepting loss and redefining oneself for the world. We’ll see what they have energy for at this point in our lives.
Condolences about the loss and it's okay to take time for both of you as you are going trough the changes in your life. 🙏🏻❤️
p43425:
I watched the first ep of Weirdo 101 and I think I'll like it.
I'm especially keen on this one, but it'll have to wait a few weeks. I'm overloaded right now!
I'm such a hypocrite (or at least inconsistent):
After saying, "Oh, no, I can't wait this, I can't watch that, I'm already overloaded with too many series," I went ahead and watched the first episode of "LoveX3" (iQiyi). I couldn't resist because I was hoping it would follow closely in the footsteps of "Love Sick 2024" (also Tia51, quite a few of the same actors - although obviously not Progress & Almond, who moved to GMMTV).
So far, however, I'm a bit disappointed. My fault for setting my expectations too high. Hopefully my enthusiasm will kick in as the storylines develop.
But is the creepy stalker room romantic?! I mean, we all know Little Jane was willing to forgive anything at this point, but still!
I am bit behind with my watches from last week but here are my thoughts about Don't Be Too Emotional ep 8, may contain spoilers!
I called it in my last post about the show of Big Jane not having changed and I will rest my case with this episode. Despite that he is now a CEO he still doing shady dealings on the expense of other ppl and yeah the stalker room.... He at no point clearly attempted to let Jane go. I would have liked to say after watching this, that regarding Jane we are right where it started, but Big Jane actually went further. He managed to move him in with the disguise of pushing Jane to not only be his secretary but also a nanny for his younger brother... Talk about taking control of someones entire life piece by piece.
A side note: the same huge mansion they filmed in, was the same mansion used in Yesterday. I think we can officially call it the mansion of toxic BLs from here onward. :D
I think I finally clocked why despite the fact that this show really keeps me interested, but simultaneously what is bothering me about it. I am making a comparison with Yesterday, but bare with me. In Yesterday despite all the crap Kelvin did, Veir was quite equal to him. Veir was not an underdog, was able to adapt to the changing scheming around him and at some point you really questioned who was actually manipulating who.
In Don't be too emotional, Jane is all the time the vulnerable victim, who struggles to fend for himself and have ppl respecting his limits (this doesn't only apply to Big Jane, but also other ppl in the show). There is no equality in the manipulation game. For me it feels that for one reason or another Jane doesn't have a basic idea of what a normal dating relationship should be like. This combined with the very strong chemistry he has with Big Jane only gives Big Jane all the control and leaves Jane vulnerable for his manipulation. I am not saying Big Jane doesn't love Jane, he does, but it's exactly what we saw in this ep: obsessive need to control someone else's life.
Laalaa17930228:
A side note: the same huge mansion they filmed in, was the same mansion used in Yesterday. I think we can officially call it the mansion of toxic BLs from here onward. :D
oohh so another one to add in my toxic bl watchlist
Hi everyone, I'm back ! I hope everyone is doing well. I missed talking to everyone.
Last week was hard. It was a mix of misery, sadness, exhaustion and stress because of some things that happened between friends. The stress was mainly because of the preparations for my grandma's 90th birthday, which happened on Saturday. But everything has mostly passed now, so I'm in a much better place and decided to come back.
It was the first time since I joined this forum that I didn't post every day. I have 6 days to catch up, but it's only 6 pages, so I guess everyone got really busy too. 😆
Sorry in advance, I'm going to spam !
I love almost every song on the album! They keep getting hotter every cb!! 😍
I finally listened to/watched This & That. I love it ! I need to check out the whole album ! 🎶And I agree, they got even hotter. 😆
For a long time I've said Sea, in irl, is soooo much more than his roles. Why they keep him acting like that I don't know. Maybe cuz Jimmy comes across as more macho and they want Sea to be softer? Who knows, but I'd love to watch Sea in more adult-like roles, but not like the current toxic trend kind of adult. I'm not even watching those dramas and I've had enough already. 😆😂💀
That's why I really enjoyed him in his cameo in Wu.
jazme:
they can switch roles, like jimmy can be an openly gay seme and sea could be the badass macho uke. many love power-bottoms, me included lol. if only we have the money, we can produce and choose the actors who can play in them =D
I agree, good idea ! I'm in. 😆
Usa Takuma has had a number of other BL roles. It's striking to me that I'm seeing more and more Japanese actors take on multiple BL roles, hopefully a sign of increasing acceptance - both within the Japanese industry and among the public-at-large - and thus that being associated with BL is not harmful to actors' careers.
Hopefully ! 🤞🤞
someone mentioned that junior and mark cried at their concert (sorry, i have the memory of a goldfish lol) and i saw this
I hope he's feeling a bit better now and can take a break. 😢
If these were Thai BLs with huge casts, hour-long episodes and similar tropes, they might well blur together, but one of the things I like about JBLs is that they tend to be more unique and original. They also tend to have small casts, short episodes and relatively clean storylines that focus on the protagonists. Although some of these nine share certain tropes (especially loner/unpopular/nerd boy + ultra-popular boy), they're all pretty different in my mind.
I think those are really the strong points of JBLs ! And I also love this trope, so if there are more than one, I'm not complaining. 😁
ZhouYanRan:
Knot ep 7
Same opinion ! I particularly love the second couple, and I still need to be convinced by the main couple. I would like to see some scenes with the third couple, but if the goal is to leave me wanting more so I get obsessed with their next project, Love Scandal, that's a good strategy, and it's working. 😆
Since things are slow on the forum, I'll take this chance to overshare. I'm currently preparing my seminar on BL dramas and I might use some information gathered from this forum. Thank you for participating in my poll on page 3043; that provided me some useful data. Thank you also for sharing how you got into BL dramas. I find it super interesting to read other people's stories. There was a question about how you got into BLs before, asked by Unique_rain, and since I haven't answered it before, I'll just answer it now:
You're welcome ! I also enjoy reading everyone's stories about how they got into BL, and thank you for sharing yours. I think it was in Hormones that I first saw an M/M couple in a drama, and Love Sick was my first BL.
I've never felt that I am able to fully or viscerally grasp the appeal to the women, often very young, who are the vast majority of BL fandom.
I am/was one of them, and I can't even fully explain it myself. 😆At first, I think I had watched a lot of Korean and Japanese dramas with a lot of cliché stories, and I wanted to try something new, both in terms of language and love stories. So I tried something Thai with Hormones and came across an M/M couple.
i wish they had made mr kill a bl instead of a bromance lol
My thoughts on every bromance I've watched. I will binge watch this one !
Some prefer cute and sweet stories, some prefer those dark and toxic ones. For some the spicier the better and some avoid any NC scene.
I really enjoy both !
Mr. Fanboy AND You, Maniac on Saturdays starting the 29th! Saturdays are about to be lit all over again!
Ah, I need to make a choice ! I don't want to watch both while they're airing. I'm slightly leaning towards You, Maniac as my weekly watch.
Tiffany:
Sorry in advance, I'm going to spam !
dont be sorry, we missed you and love reading your messages as well
That's why I really enjoyed him in his cameo in Wu.
i still have to watch this. when, i dont know lol
I agree, good idea ! I'm in. 😆
if only we're rich enouhh to produce shows lol
Be my player two ep 5
I love it ! It's cute, sometimes funny, easy on the mind, and such a breath of fresh air.
And me not knowing if I should start them real time or wait to watch all at once later... 🙃
ETA: I've been busy with new projects and a new art session coming up. Also, I spent a few days away from sm to observe the first anniversary of the passing of a couple of loved ones.
I hope you had a peaceful time remembering them. 💜
I can already see that I'm going to love it.
I think I will too.
i super enjoyed deep in! it's like watching 2 series in 1
It was so good ! 10/10 for me
@Tiffany, I'm afraid I have to go back on my word: We said we would watch "Connecting To You" (starting today with 4 eps., then 2 eps. on each following Friday), but I'm juggling too many BLs right now, plus I'm not here next weekend - so I think I'll wait 2-3 weeks, then do a catch-up. Sorry!
Don't worry, no big deal ! I just watched the first episode today. It feels fresh and new, I like it, and it could be interesting. But I won't watch 4 episodes in one sitting. 😆
K-Dramafan21:
I don't know if anyone has said this already but ohms new partner was announced. It is jjay. I don't know him so I will research a little what his previous work is because how can I have never heard of him (maybe I am in the other bubbles)
I loved him with Fuaiz, so maybe it'll feel a bit weird when I see them together for the first time, but I think they suit each other and JJay's acting is good, so I'm not worried. I hope Fuaiz gets a new partner too. I loved him in his previous works, and more recently in Payback.
The wait is over!!
Police in Love coming Sept 12 to WeTV. Yay!!!
YinWar ! I'm so happy !
OMG! As of September 12th, Saturdays will have Mr Fanboy, Police in Love, AND You Maniac!!
As I said before, Saturdays this fall are gonna be freaking LIT!!
Can we say that Saturday is the new Friday ? 😆
OK, since Unique Rain started this discussion, let's do it scientifically ...
Generally speaking, what's your favourite country for BLs?
(listed alphabetically)
China 19%
Japan 31%
Korea 6%
Taiwan 0%
Thailand 44%
16 votes · Closes in 1 hour
I had such good timing, seeing it just one hour before it closed. 😆 It was hard to choose because China has really good-quality BLs, especially when it comes to toxic ones. But I feel like I'm more obsessed with Thai BLs because of the diversity, the many titles I want to rewatch, and the fixed-pairing system works well for me. In the end, I voted for Thailand.
Gabster:
I just came back home from my first week in the army, and I can't wait to catch up on what I've missed!
I hope everything went well for your first week !
He was great in 4Minutes but it was a serious role. I have trouble thinking of him playing a comedic or light part. I don’t remember him in Shine. Maybe I’ll watch DFF before Magic Lover comes out.
Oh, I didn't think about it from that perspective. You're right, maybe it will feel weird at first.
