FoxSpirit

"Is BL really queer media? " lets say it's evolving and kind of depends on the country and who produced it imo. Like some japanese BLs feel more queer than most Thai BLs. But the lack of affection / sexual content could be explained by the prudish media laws of the countries (which get harder for same sex couples). Like even Bad Buddy gets censored / cut on Thai TV just for the kiss scene which is ridiculous.... not to mention korean BLs who didn't even had proper kisses for a while. But that might have set a certain standard for a certain part of the younger audience...
And I highly agree on the "softcore" comment! lol.... have seen that way too often here on MDL and then left me very underwhelmed when I gave the drama a shot and checked it out. And then you have people watch "Shortest Distance is Round" and don't even get that THIS is indeed softcore porn and not just acting.

Gay-boy vs. Straight-boy behavior: is there really such a big difference when we ignore the very obvious heteronormative very sappy girl-fantasy BLs? I would coin it more under the general idealized romance / relationship that also happens in straight dramas. I mean LGBTq people come in all kinds of shapes and colors.

But yep, the main point is: a part of the BL fandom (some of the cis het girls) is patronizing and purifying gay / bi guys which is annoying. And the whole argument, that if you want more actual couple affection and sex scenes in gay / lesbian dramas, that you are fetishizing them is kinda backwards homophobia and asuming shit about individual viewers.

Yes exactly!! But I also have the feeling korean idols get judged way harder than japanese or thai idols who play in dramas. And that's really sad. Like the case of Hyunjun Hur from Color Rush (he was a member of The Boyz). He got many negative comments for his acting (tho he wasn't bad at all?) and on top of that for playing a gay character. Not sure if this was the reason but probably a factor, the end of the story is, that he dropped out of the drama and season 2 is without him now... Which sucks hard for a soulmate plot.

But I see that with other dramas and here as well. I saw the critic and low rating and just knew one of the actors must be an idol and I was right. People go in and judge idol actors so unnecessarily hard, even if it's their first attempt of acting. Maybe it's because they don't like the idol or just don't want them in certain roles. But sometimes it's even their fans who do that...

Yep, I love 3 Will Be Free ! Might count My Mate Match into this but that ending was too open. The only other shows outside of asia who did it are Sense8 and Siren (Freeform).

lol, why are people always so shocked to see a bit of graphic sex scenes in queer media... that's nothing new, it's almost the norm? If you just watch BLs then yes, this might be a shocker for you. There are a lot of shows and movies out there like this, queer and hetero, who still air uncensored on TV in a few countries. Like Game of Thrones, Queer as Folk, Shameless US...

I once again ask for polyamory but I doubt they will go there :(

I don't think K is offended (he even lowkey flirts with / teases Suyeol in this scene), he's just a super hyper character in general and was annoyed that his name was misheard. It probably wouldn't matter what the misheard word was, his reaction would be the same. I am a LGBTq person and don't find it offensive.

My guess on why they even went there is that they try to push the "bromance" vibe, which is also present in the promos. Some might call it queerbaiting but let's not go there for a country that has still a lot of homophobic reactions to actual gay stuff on main TV.

(for the context K is an alter from Suyeol who has Dissociative Identity disorder)

Yo, why the f are historical south korean BLs (or SK BLs in general) always harder and lower rated than any other BL from other countries?

“Nobleman Ryu’s Wedding” and now “Tinted With You” have good quality, humor, nice story, good acting, yet the rating is super low on MyDramaList with lots of critic in the comments about the actors / idols.... Can people watch and simply enjoy simple things without being biased and over critical from the start? Just be glad we finally get historical BLs that are good to watch?

Sure they are no masterpieces but they aren’t trash either. I’ve seen thai dramas with worse quality but with higher ratings.

They would type rants about those shows 24/7 and would never get sleep if they knew what's going down in those stories lol I mean the amount of hate "What the Duck" got and that's close to "Queer as Folk" from the vibe not the quality tho.

Yes! I want this as well, all 3 equally in love with nobody leaving :(

Well, they realized that they miss him and took the first opportunity to get him back in their life. Nobody of them wanted to leave for real they were just forced due to the contract. Ryu also said he loves them both. Wish they would give us a second season but I am afraid the drama is too unpopular :(

Ever heard of Polyamory? ;)

to add on the topic of 'only fluff for BL' vs actual 'grey' LGBTq content made by and / or for LGBTq: sometimes I wonder if all those fluff defender and fetishizing screamer ever watched actual queer media outside of the asia BL world. Like Queer as Folk, Shameless, Cucumber Banana Tofu, In the Flesh, Free Fall, etc (and don't get me started with the pr0n industry) they all have rough, flawed characters and stories with not always the perfect relationships...

Irrelevant to this drama, but I even read recently that if you want a polyamory ship to be canon (like the three guys from My Mate Match) you are fetishizing gay men... like wtf.... I literally just want polyromance representation since I only have 3 THREE !!! canon poly relationships (that are all f/f/m or m/m/f) in the whole worldwide movie industry. But sure, I am fetishizing when I want it to be three guys.... not because I am poly myself.

I really need a second season about InkPa & KornWai to happen. P'Aof said he would be interested in an InkPa spin-off, so maybe if we are loud enough GMMTV will grant it :o

It is actually like that. The "gross" is directed towards Hiras creepy behavior aka his obsession, worshiping and stalking nothing else.

Like the others said Manner of Death, 3 Will Be Free and Not Me are good thriller quality with less 'fluff' but obviously still contain a bit relationship development.

a lot of thai dramas are officially free on youtube (especially GMMTV series)

SAME! I was kinda confused why he didn't mention anything about that at all. Literally his 'King' in his clothes. That must have had some effect on him. I also wondered why the clothes were so big for Kiyoi. I first though they might have been from Hiras father before I realized it's Hiras hoodie from the beginning.
But I guess Hira just wears bigger sizes in general... for the cozy factor? Or to hide in? Wondering if that gets mentioned in the novel.

As I mentioned before a few weeks ago. I have very bad experience with bullying and even had a similar person like Kiyoi helping me once (except the romance and obsession) while he still stayed buddies with the bullies. YET I STILL LOVE THIS SHOW. This is literally the secret little fix-it fantasy a lot of people who got bullied have. To get someone (maybe even from the bully gang) to secretly protect you and fall in love with you.

Maybe some people get triggered by this content, then srsly stop watching it. And yes, I also agree on that YOU are responsible for your trigger avoidance NOT everyone else in this world. YOU. And I say that as well as someone who has a few triggers I stay away from. That's what trigger warnings, story synopsis, reviews etc can be used for. Saying shows with content that triggers you have to be censored is like saying peanuts have to be forbidden worldwide just because you have an allergy, while everyone else would be fine eating them....

not yet, haven't seen anything except the CD's

The hair style is just one thing but most of those who don't like japanese BL is because it's not cutesy enough and often mature, bit more realistic and sometimes a touch darker. Like the whole "Pornographer" series is a masterpiece but just has a very small fandom. But probably has the same critics with the same reasons why they hate it... I personally love japanese BL for exactly what it is.

( now I want merchandise 👀 )