gaileth

There are privacy laws regarding tax related, and other matters. They are mandatory, not optional, and they apply to every South Korean citizen... end of. 100% the person who leaked the information should be prosecuted and punished, as should the reporter who initially released the information... and every media outlet, social media platform, and keyboard warrior who also disseminated it. Human rights and privacy laws apply to everyone, no matter who they are. Celebrities don't lose their rights just because they live in the public eye. This information should never have been leaked in the first place. The rest of the civilised world works on the premise of being innocent until found guilty in a court of law. South Korea works on the basis of celebrities being automatically guilty... or because "I said so!", especially if that opinion is borne out of power, greed or envy. Unfortunately, the SK justice system also works on the premise that every single guilty person who is punished, including serial offenders, can definitely be rehabilitated, so punishments are often woefully inadequate. Good luck with that. At least we are starting to see some entities and even the general public, begin to stand up for those who cannot stand up for themself, simply because of their public status and the fact that they're damned if they say anything, and damned if they don't... often making the argument that the outcomes of these high profile cases, can and will affect how others - including businesses, etc., and even the general public may be affected in the future. is it too little to late?

I have to be honest, I don't like this pairing. I just don't think that they're a good fit.

The one thing I love about P'New's series, is that they tend to be longer than normal, however, I was disappointed because I understood, (and don't ask me where I read this), that the series was going to be 32 episodes long, giving each of the 4 main couples 8 episodes to tell their stories. When I found out that the series was only 17 episodes long, it was obvious that given the speed of the first 2 couples' stories, there was no way that the other 2 couples would get their time. If only they'd said that the series would be split over 2 seasons, I would have been happy, no matter how long it takes, but no, let's just cause unnecessary conflict. I know a lot of people have criticised the length of time given to HillTer, but honestly, I don't think it was an issue, though poor Earth yet again, is forced to um and ah for an almost endless amount of time before finally accepting Hill. I can never blame an actor for their acting - he doesn't get to choose how to play that character, but I do think that screenwriters are getting lazy and repetitive these days, and I hate that actors are criticised as bad actors, when what we see is totally up to the director, screenwriters, or acting coaches. I wonder why Earth's characters are usually so tame, often childish and innocent, and clueless, that he rarely even gets kissing scenes, let alone anything more intimate. It may of course, be his personal choice not to have them, but it's not like he's a kid anymore, although I imagine he will always look eternally youthful. Having said that, how can anyone beat SantaEarth's kissing scene in 7 Project? That scene will forever remain in my top 5 BL kisses, and given Santa's age at the time, he could definitely have shown his seniors how a real spontaneous kiss should be. Unfortunately, that Santa has now disappeared, and his cosmetic surgery seems to not only have affected his, (in my opinion) far superior previous features, but also his personality - the bold, confident, gentlemanly Santa, with a maturity that belied his real age, and who treated Earth so well during offscreen appearances, has now been usurped by someone the complete opposite. Anyway, this isn't about Santa. I do hope that one day Earth will get a more challenging role - I was really looking forward to seeing him in Red Peafowl.
Of the 2 couples, JohanNorth is, like many peoples', my favourite. I absolutely love jealous Johan - how can a son be so jealous of his own mother? :D I'm so glad that Bas has finally been given the opportunity to get a role in a series that hasn't been cancelled. I don't understand why an actor who's been in the industry for so long, keeps being overlooked. My only criticism is his hair. I know he's supposed to be cute, but that doesn't mean he has look so messy all the time. I've seen Bas with shorter hair, properly straightened, and he looks so good. He's in uni now, not high school - let him grow up.
I do hope that S2 gives as much attention to the other 2 couples' stories, and although we should still get scenes from HillTer and JohanNorth, I hope we also see a lot more of GerNao too.
The only character I did not like, and thought was superfluous to the storyline, was Sammy's. I know why they use her so often, but it's just the same old character played on repeat. And I'm so sorry to say this, but since her cosmetic surgery, she now looks too old to be playing these characters. Yet another actor who made a choice to fix what wasn't broken, and no longer is the youthful beauty she once was. I don't have any issue with actors choosing to have cosmetic treatments, but almost every second actor is doing it now, and very few look as good as they did before, and it really concerns me that they'd doing it at such a young age.

Just on an a random international note, I have to say that I am really p1553d off at Tencent. I paid for a subscription, yet it decided to geo-block me for the last 2 episodes. I do have a VPN for security reasons, but it wouldn't even allow me to access the series, with it, without it, and no matter which country I changed it to. If you pay for a subscription, especially a VIP subscription, you should be able to watch it regardless.

I'm so happy to see Mew so busy, especially after the last few years, and all the stress he's had to endure. I'm so pleased to see that he and Tul have an upcoming series together, and it's looks exciting. Gotta say that I'm surprised that Mew is actually older than Tul - I honestly thought that Tul was the elder. Maybe it's because Tul is older than Max, but I always got Phi vibes from Max during their series.
I'm glad that Mew seems to be doing really well, and I see that he's due to be ordained. I wonder if that means we might finally get to know who his faen is, seeing as ordination is often either to show gratitude to parents, or before their wedding. If it is for the latter reason, I truly wish Mew and his faen a wonderful future, and long lasting happiness.
I have to say that I'm very disappointed in all of the criticism that Mew got because of Love Is Like A Cat, with so many netizens saying he can't act, etc. People very quickly seem to forget that what is common place in one country, may not be in another. LILAC is definitely not one of my top BL series, but what we see is what the screenwriters, directors want us to see. I'm not particularly fond of his character, but that doesn't mean he didn't play the character well. And you can't expect the same sort of intimate scenes in a Korean BL, as you get in a Thai BL. Mew usually gets close to his onscreen partner from day one, in order to build that all important chemistry, but also to give us the most realistic performances possible, but his character in LILAC is not at all like that - he's tsundere, awkward and unapproachable. It was a totally different vibe, but he certainly didn't deserve the myriad comments about him not being able to act. Anyway, he's got plenty of projects in the pipeline and I'm so pleased for him. I can't wait to see him onscreen again.

I'm not going to post after every episode, obviously, but I finished episode 2, and I have to just post a couple of comments. I've realised that Nail reminds me a lot of Bookko who played Muay in Bed Friend, his face, at least. I must give Tor kudos too, because he pulls off the sassy minx perfectly, and it's a joy to watch a sexy, slightly feminine gay character, who is usually relegated to the sidelines, as at best, a comedic friend, in a lead couple. He and Dew seemed much more relaxed in this episode, with Nail orchestrating more of the action.
Finally, a bath scene where the couple aren't sitting in barely 6 inches of water! Okay, that's a bit of an exaggeration - there've been plenty of bath scenes with more water, but given the amount of action taking place, it definitely is one of the most realistic NSFW bath scenes I've seen, and I'd have to rank no 1. Usually the couple is just soaking together, having a deep and meaningful. You get to see just enough to at least make it look like they're not wearing underwear. I couldn't help but feel though, that given the amount of time that was spent on that particular scene, and some of the particular closeups, the actors must have spent hours filming it, with cameras barely inches away, and that really makes me feel quite uncomfortable for them, almost as if we're actually watching p*** - I'm just referring to the camera angles here. There's just something about this company that just doesn't sit right with me...
As for the storyline, it seems that we're starting to lose the plot already, with many things not quite adding up, missing info, or characters doing a complete 180. I will of course continue to watch till the end - the actors worked hard to make this series, but you can only do so much with what you're given, when it comes to script and direction. I will never, ever blame actors for these things. If things do start to downhill rapidly, as other commenters have indicated, then the blame rests solely on the shoulders of the scriptwriters, directors and acting coaches, as they are responsible for what the viewer ends up seeing.
I wonder if we'll ever see a female BL director? I feel that a serious female BL director would be less likely to make many of fundamental mistakes that male BL directors are making. After all, the BL genre was originally created by females, for females. Semantic Error is a case in point. She was able to give us arguably the best BL series on Korean TV. She gave us likeable leads with great chemistry, and a strong female support character, who despite having once confessed to having a thing for one of the leads, was never, ever, possessive, overbearing, or jealous. Unlike the female gang in this series - just what is the point? And why did they need a gang of 4, when 2 would have sufficed?

Only at the start of episode 2 and I can already see where this is heading. Although I come here to comment, I try not to look at any info above until I've watched the whole series. I guessed as soon as the photo was knocked over that Nail looked like Him's ex, hence his obsession, and the fact that we didn't see Blue's face, was an obvious clue that he actually was a dead ringer for Nail. As it was Him that was getting birthday wishes for Blue, I'm guessing that he's dead, so please pardon the previous pun - not intended, but apparently appropriate.
I had high hopes for the series during episode one, however, I knew my expectations were dashed the moment I saw the flash of Nail's underwear, when he should have been naked. It's not that I need, or even want the actors to be naked, but if it's an intimate scene, at least have the 'decency' (pardon again), to at least give the actors flesh coloured underwear, and for crying out loud, check what you've filmed! Maybe it's just my Western eyes - we can spot an onscreen mistake miles away... or maybe it's just that Thailand seems to suck at continuity and details. Most people probably wouldn't even notice, but if it's not an actor's constantly changing hair colour, incorrect hand placement, or a glass half empty/half full, it's something else just as obvious - classic example is the closeup of Can's hand on Tin's shoulder when they were supposed to be kissing, but not close enough not to show us all that Mean and Plan weren't actually kissing - it was just Mean looking terribly bored . I've said it plenty of times before, if you're employing a continuity supervisor, for crying out loud, make sure they understand their job description, and if you're not, then you should!
The kissing in episode one, feels quite awkward, and very stiff, (these damn puns!). Kind of reminds me of Venus In The Sky - they tried their best, but I just didn't feel the love. Okay, so we should give them some leeway - straight guys, (a majority thereof), having to kiss other straight guys can't be easy, but some of them seem to be able to do it, and do it well. Maybe I was expecting too much from Dew, coming from Secret Crush On You. I guess it really doesn't matter whether your onscreen partner it gay or straight, it's just as awkward - thinking OhmFluke from UWMA, but having seen Fluke, who is gay, kissing other actors, and having just endured Ohm's latest series, it's definitely Ohm who has the issue. And you can't even blame a big age difference either. One of the best BL kisses I've seen, and definitely in my top 10 of all time, (if you excuse the continuity issue), is SantaEarth's kiss from Project 7. Despite the fact that Santa was only 17 at the time, he could definitely teach some of his seniors a thing or two about kissing a guy.
To a lot of the companies who release Y series, I have to say, please, either change your acting coaches, or have longer workshops.
Got that off my chest, so back to episode 2...

Yes, they are twins - Plai Chattrin Chotticomporn and Pan Jirachot Chotticomporn, and would you believe, they're 30 now!

Thank you. I know I rabbit on, but just as I love to give praise where it's deserved, if there is something I don't like, I'm not prepared to just bash a series, or whatever, without asking myself why. I want to be honest, and I really hope that even negative feedback can help improve the industry. The parts that are good, are very good, and I'm not prepared to totally write off this series just because of what I see as some bad behind the camera decisions. I always have to give a series a fair go - if I start it, I finish it, no matter how painful it may be.. and I'm definitely not prepared to spread the hate just for the sake of it. I don't want to make people feel bad, but we're all accountable in the workplace - that's life.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ollrKN8HLfU (interview) and
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClQH81N1ZRk (photo shoot)
I thought it was a recent interview/shoot, but it's actually 2 years old, which kinda makes it even more poignant. You can still the stills from the shoot if you Google Madan - JaFirst. Enjoy. :-D

Ja didn't renew his contract and has left the company, so he will no longer be paired with First. I'm so sad, they were a favourite couple of mine. The information was released before the series was released, indicating that it's their last series as a couple. I was devastated when I started the series and originally rated it only 2/10, with no re-watch value, not only for Ja's character, (not his acting), but that stupid lakorn they were filming, and that godawful manager. Anyway, I persevered, and by about episode 5 or 6, things seemed to improve, so I continued and by the end, I decided that I could re-watch it, but only from about halfway. If only the first half had been as decent as the second half, although it still wouldn't have been a great series, it definitely would not have been written off by most viewers. At least we still have Don't Say No. Did you see their interview for madan? The photo shoot kinda gives off dark/vampire vibes. There's a short video, also on YouTube, and under Related Articles, are all the photos. Shame they didn't do a vampire theme series.

Whiny leads have been the bane of my life this year, and have ruined what I had hoped would be some otherwise decent series. Who would have thought I could dislike Ja's final outing with First, to the point I almost stopped watching? I'm still trying to plough my way through all the BLs that have been released this year. Hope I can catch up before the end of the year. Here's to fewer, less-problematic series in 2024!

We're being blessed with new and different themes in BL, going forward, with such productions as The Sign, Red Peafowl, and many more, including Vampire Project. Yes, we've had some new themes this year, but unfortunately, for the most part, they've been very lacking in some areas - mostly script, direction, and sadly, an often obvious lack of chemistry between the leads, and whilst watchable once, the negatives far outweigh the positives, making most of them forgettable. Some series looked good, but were spoiled by this year's overwhelming trend of having a whingy, whiny, lead, often a uni student or businessman, who, despite being a grown man, acts like a 2 year old, often having tantrums all the time, or being totally clueless for most of the series, paired with an overly possessive and/or aggressive, and often much older man. I think I counted at least 6 or 7 series with a childish character, of which only one, for me, is worth re-watching, and even then, it's only the second half of the series. I find absolutely nothing cute or attractive about such characters, so I do hope that we've seen the last of those.
I love anything mafia/gangster related, anything with supernatural themes, or thrillers, so it's looks like I'm in for a fun 2024, where BL is concerned. I am hands down, a real sucker, (pun definitely intended), however, for a vampire theme, so I can't wait for The Vampire Project. To me, there is nothing sexier than a dark, brooding, male vampire, with glowing red eyes, and what could be sexier than Boun, Boss and Santa as vampires?
I'm so glad that Santa has returned to us, and I'm pleased he gets to show us his amazing acting once again. I fully supported his bid for idol stardom, but it was obvious that they only used him for clout. I'm sad he didn't get to live his dream, but I'm not sad that he's away from that awful show. Santa's still very young, so there's plenty of time for him to achieve those unfulfilled dreams. In the meantime, we get him all to ourselves.

:-D ;-P XD

Last reply, I promise!... and I don't expect one back.
For all the years I've been watching BL, I finally found my preferred style about 7 or 8 years ago - Asian BL. I suspect I've always preferred it, since I saw a photo of my Chinese best friend's cousin dressed as Frank N Furter at a costume party. My God he was so hot! Not over the top like in Rocky Horror, but he was positively beautiful... but still totally masculine. Anyway, that's neither here nor there. I adore Asian BL, though I've gone a bit cool on Filipino BL for some reason, but I absolutely do not like Western BL anymore - it's all aggressive and 'Wham! Bam! Thank You Ma'am!', so I refuse to watch it. Asian BL truly does put the love in boy love... for the most part. It's definitely more about dreamy eyes and lots of kissing and being respectful, unlike Western B, where even in their most romantic scenes, it always 'let's get to it' almost immediately... Boring! If I wanted that, I'd just watch p***. See I told you I could rabbit for Britain - all I wanted to actually say is that suddenly, we're being hit with some many BLs, I can't actually keep up! So I watch maybe 2 or 3 ongoing series and try to leave the rest so I can binge watch them once they're finished, which is definitely a far satisfying way to watch. Bed Friends is definitely my go to series at the moment... it's alright I won't say anymore about it, or I'll be here for months...
One final embarrassing comment... I Promise!
So I caught up to ep 4 - 5 doesn't have Eng subs yet... and how bl***y stupid do I feel? It finally clicked that this series is part of the Unforgotten Night story line. Dumb or what? 4 eps to finally realise that they're the same characters! If there's anything I hate, it's when they change actors and characters personas. It didn't work for the 2 Moons franchise and it definitely doesn't work with LS3. I will continue to watch because I like Lee Long Shi and most of the other inner circle actors, regardless of some of the content, because they will have worked hard, despite everything.
Anyway. That's definitely my final word. The End. :-D

You just reminded me that I haven't finished OMSN yet - watching for the side couples. Yes Fluke can cry, but I just don't get the feels between him and Ohm - his chemistry in his new series looks much better... I wonder if it's because Fluke is gay and he's either being restrained himself, or that's how he's being directed? I really liked him in Red Wine In The Dark Night though. Def looking forward to OS2, but I'm just enjoying Bed Friends at the moment. Those Domundi boys sure know how to make us squeal! Yeah. Thanks for the chat. Have a great BL year. Cheers. :-P :-D

I just don't understand why everything has to be so toxic online. People obviously have nothing better to do.
I've only watched eps 1 and 2, so it'll be interesting to see just how far I get. I do try to remember that even the best actors can get stuck with the worst scripts and directors, so I do try to finish watching the whole series. At least if I don't like it, I don't have to watch it again.
Check Out was a real struggle for me, and I felt quite bad for Best and Chahub, because the special episode looked really promising. Not even the sex scene at the end could save the series. I'm currently struggling through Future, because I actually liked the other shows in the series, but I'm not feeling any chemistry between the leads, and the script is atrocious. Oh well, I will persevere. Thanks again, it's been fun. :-)

Don't miss your stop! :-D

Thank you for your reply. I'll have to check out A Maid's Revenge.
I'm not triggered by a lot of subjects that may trigger others, so the subject matter I mentioned doesn't really bother me, even if I personally wouldn't indulge in it - I know it's usually fiction or fantasy. I wouldn't murder anyone for example, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't watch a movie about a serial killer and what they do, however, if it's badly acted, etc, I would have no hesitation in saying so... but at least I would have reached that opinion myself. Unfortunately, certain cultures do seem to use certain regular tropes in their entertainment - the typical awful Asian matriarch who thinks she can control everyone, and take and do anything she likes, without consequence, springs to mind, as does, unfortunately, the abused, beaten and downtrodden poor female. I'm used to these things, plus there's always the hope that the female will get her revenge in the end. Just binge-watched The Glory, which I will admit, I'd actually put off watching because of the anticipated torture, which, apart from one or two scenes, was not as graphic as I thought it was going to be - I expected several episodes in the beginning to cover her experience, but that was not the case. I'm not fond of scenes of torture, and as I knew of the true story that seems to have inspired the series beforehand, I just set it aside for awhile, but I just love me a good revenge plot, so I would never have not watched the series, nor would I have commented badly about the content, other than to say there were one or 2 scenes that were graphic. Had the scenes been too bad, I could have simply closed my eyes. It was a great series and the revenge was very satisfying, however, I would consider and comment on the true story differently. I just don't understand how people can treat others in that way, especially children. The difference here is that one is fiction and the other fact. I probably never notice these comments because I don't read them unless I take issue with something. I was probably more referring to Western movies/series, where females are not respected, or are abused, etc, and where comments are more 'supportive' of the act - 'she deserved it',' she should have expected it wearing that', or where the commenter might agree with the act - 'yeah, I'd give her one too.' People in the West are very quick to criticise and be derogatory towards the victim, and dismissive of the violence perpetrated against her.
My bewilderment over the comments these types of series like Unforgotten Love, Hit Bite Love, My Dream and KinnPorsche,garner, is how hypocritical many people are. Yes they're all fiction, but I just don't understand how people can be triggered by one, but not another. I remember how up in arms everyone was because there was a gay r*** in My Dream, as it shed such a 'bad light' on the LGTBQIA+ community because of how it wasn't handled properly, but gushed over Build being horrendously tortured, getting Stockholm Syndrome and he and his vicious torturer having their happy ever after.
If people consent to anything, as long as they''re not hurting anyone else, and it's behind closed doors, that's their business, but if there's no consent it's simply abuse or torture. You like one and not the other simply because you ship the couple? If you don't like the subject matter, don't watch. If the acting, production, etc is not up to scratch, don't watch. If you can distinguish between fact and fiction, and/or the production/acting is good, give it a go. And if it's not for you, then stop watching. At least it was your opinion and your decision - lemmings miss out on so much!
I didn't mean to write another long post. I don't do Facebook or Instagram anymore because I'd end up getting into discussions that could last a week, back and forth. I'll still post comments on YouTube, but I came to to conclusion that once I'd said my piece, it wasn't important anymore, so now I tend to write my often long-winded posts and then after about 3/4 days, I'll delete them. If it evoked a conversation then great, otherwise it was simply a way to vent. Sorry, I could rabbit for England! Thanks for replying. Loved your point of view. :-)

Unfortunately, I do tend to rabbit on when the subject matter is interesting to me. My posts are only my opinion, and I never expect anyone to agree with me, but I do want people to think about forming their own opinions and not just go along with whatever comment is trending. The one thing I really hate about social media, is that so many commenters leave toxic comments, especially regarding the entertainment industry, BL or not, without having done more than read a negative comment. If someone dislikes something, that's great, I respect that and their reasons for doing so - sometimes people raise things that I've never even considered, and I learn something. I totally agree with everything you said and I totally respect it. I agree that it is more complicated than just liking/not liking something, but honestly, I'd still be writing that post if I discussed anything else! :-p
It'd be an awful world if we all thought exactly the same way. Thanks for taking your time to reply. :-)

Thank you. I just wish more people would make their opinions and not just follow negative comments because they're popular. :-)