This review may contain spoilers
What were they even thinking?
I was reflecting whether I should write this review as many fans might find it insulting, but screw it!To summarise in two words: AWFUL SEASON. Now let me elaborate more.
Legit I do not understand how they decided to go on with this season. Numerous of people had to agree to the final approach for this season plot. I wanna know who in the world agreed to have 6 recap episodes for the first season in a 13 episodes series. Why? Are we, the fans, a joke to them? We did not watch the new season to remind us what happened in the first season. We can rewatch it if we want to remember what happened.
I do not understand how MAME agreed to this approach and the changes in the story. For example, in this season Pete already left from Bangkok and left Ae behind, but at the same time Tin and Can have not met each other. WHAT? I am trying to watch a bl series not to understand the end of Inception. I do realise that there were not able to work with Saint due to previous drama between them, but dude you can not defy the laws of time in the series. If you can not work with Saint, then we do not need scenes with Ae being shitty and drunk, in a series that focuses in TinCan. I feel that they just had Perth in the series for the fans!
Instead, of giving Perth that much of a screen time, they could focus more on KlaNo. LIKE DUDE IF YOU DO NOT KNOW HOW TO USE THIS COUPLE DO NOT MENTION IT FROM THE BEGINNING. I felt that this couple was used as an intermission and as a chance to change the mood from Ae's and TinCan's story. Moreover, the couple had approximately 20 minutes screen time in total, and for some reason No was getting softer for Kla in every episode. WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT THE LAWS OF TIME? YOU CANT DO WHATEVER YOU WANT WITH THEM. Tbh, I don't like how KlaNo's relationship began in the novel, but you have to show more of what Kla did to win No over. You can't show two scenes were Kla gives No snacks and expect us to believe that this shit is ok.
This leads to my next point. ENOUGH WITH THE PRODUCT PLACEMENTS! I know that you have to find sponsors to produce a series, but there were many scenes that only existed for product placement and had nothing to do with the plot. You could use them in a more discreet way rather than showing Kla giving No those snacks and him eating them. I do not know how the rest of the viewers feel about product placement, but when I see a product being placed in this straightforward way, I usually hate the product.
Now moving on with the acting. Was it bad? Yes! I really enjoyed Mean's acting in the first season, but thanks to the plot changes I felt that what I was watching was not Tin but someone else! You can not have an actor establish a role's character in the series and the next season make him change that. As for Plan, well he was cute in the first season but he was must softer in this season. I repeat: IF YOU WANTED TO USE THE SAME CHARACTERS YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE CHANGED THEIR BACKGROUND! Now as for Perth, I felt that in the first season he was amazing (taking into account his young age), but in this season he was acting bratty and as an asshole. I know that this is how Ae behaved in the novel, but at some point I grew tired of watching the same scene over and over again. So, for the last 4 episodes I always skipped Ae's scenes. You are sad about Pete leaving you. WE GET IT! NOW GET OVER IT AND TRY TO UNDERSTAND THAT THE WORLD HAS SERIOUS PROBLEMS! However, I feel that Gun's acting has improved. In LBC he was awkward and had no flow what so ever, while in this season he was still awkward but at least not that much. As for Mark's acting, I thought that he was the best actor in LBC, but I can not compare with this season as HE APPEARED ONLY 4 MINUTES IN TOTAL!
To summarise, I feel that MAME and the producers created this season just to make us shut up! They had 2 years to prepare for this series but in the end we got something awful. Tbh, after finishing this season I hoped that we did not get this season at all. For some reason, I believe that MAME and the rest of the team, bet everything in TharnType and in order to please us for TinCan, they just wrote the script in two days with no revision and gave it to the cast a day before filming.
I think that the wisest thing to do is to always ask a fan's opinion prior the decision of a script approach and production. I know that they might worry for any plot leak if they share their ideas with fans; however, they could find someone to trust from the fanbase and let the fan help them with continuous feedback. I feel that if that was done then we wouldnt get 6 recap episodes and the plot would be more fast paced!
P.S. STOP INTRODUCING TOO MANY NEW CHARACTERS IN NEW SEASONS!
I DONT HAVE THE TIME TO INVEST IN THEM AND KNOW THEM BETTER. I WOULD PROBABLY END UP HATING THEM!
That's it! A chance to love was shitty. Change my mind!
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EDIT: Since this series ended I have a strange feeling in my gut. For whatever reason I don't want to think about this series anymore (and I will not rewatch it). Hearing about questionable behavior of the cast towards the only gay character in the show (Earth) isn't helping either. This really was a train wreck.
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WHY???
Season one left a big TinCan cliffhanger, so on paper, it did make sense to push for a second season even without Saint. We were also led to believe that this is a season for the second couple who gained a lot of following.But then this mess happened: Ae and Pete's, and Techno and Keng's story continued, but Tin and Can's story was rebooted, and we as viewers are just supposed to accept that.
At first i was willing to give it a chance, after all, thats more screentime for Mean and Plan. But then what they delivered was 6 episodes of TinCan rehash which was so poorly executed and rushed to cover all their important events from the first season. Unfortunately, the chemistry just wasnt the same anymore.
Whats worse was that the episodes after their supposed breakup and makeup, upto the finale, didnt improve things.
Ae's story, and the constant crying and/or sulking was so annoying that you cant help but fast forward his scenes. Techno's stupidity and the pretend hard-to-get with Keng is also tiring. Tum, Tar, Pond, Bow and Keen were also all useless. None of the stories made sense and didnt contribute to the overall cohesion of the series.
What they could have done is to just continued with TinCan's story line and focused on developing their characters.
What was a good season 1 suddenly transformed into a season 2 that felt like a high school film project. It felt like there was a contractual obligation and expectation to deliver a 2nd season that the makers didnt care whether its good or bad. Then at the end, they had the audacity to put a cliffhanger, i think in the hopes of producing a 3rd season. Please i beg the producers not to, and just let this story rest.
If you have seen season 1 and not seen this yet and you want closure of TinCan, just watch episode 1, then skip to episode 6 or 7. Play it in fast forward mode too, you dont need the lines. Giving this a 5.5 just because of MeanPlan. Im sorry Perth, i like you but this kinda diminished your star.
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It's good, but if it was more faithful to Romance, it would have been much better
The second season was a bit painful to watch. For those who have not read the novel, it must be very confusing the line of reasoning of the events, in relation to the end of the relationship with AePete and the departure of Pete to Germany, but as I already know the story for having read the novel before, I liked it.I really like Plan and Mean's acting, they are good, especially Mean, but in the moments of interaction as a couple in the kissing scenes and intimate scenes, they seemed very awkward. The main couple TinCan have a very good interaction, but lacked chemistry in those moments.
Seeing AE's suffering in the series was heartbreaking. Perth's acting is so good that it made me agonize, I needed a lot of time to watch his scenes. I really love how he gets into character, so natural. I literally felt AE's suffering. According to the original Novel, AE really goes through this period of depression when Pete breaks up with him. This period of 3 years that Pete is out of the country and all the suffering of when they are separated, will contribute a lot to their maturing. Pete will be more confident, and AE will no longer be so jealous and possessive. Their relationship will be more mature.
The downside is that Pete's character has practically disappeared, with him being one of the main characters in the plot. In the novel AePete broke up, but he told both sides of the story during this period when they were away from each other. This fact, caused a negative impact on the plot, for not being faithful to the Romance. Anyway... what really hooked me into watching the second season was Perth's performance, even though it was painful, a good performance is worth seeing.
And regarding the couples KenglaTechno and TumTar, I found the story dragged. Considering, that they do not belong to the original story of LBC, they are just adapted characters.
Overall, the second season could have been much better, but there were many drawbacks, such as the departure of Saint (Pete) which had a negative impact, and Perth, I didn't want them to replace him with another actor. I think it would be much better if, the same way they replaced the actor who plays Tin's brother, they also replaced the actor who plays Pete, and made a storyline more faithful to Romance, the audience feedback would be much more positive, even if some fans would be upset, not replacing the actor Saint and not bringing Pete into the story, was a big mistake, but I still liked it. In my case, I already know the story, so I evaluate the positives and negatives and compare it to the original Romance story.
I love this novel, I am always rereading the story.
For people who haven't watched it yet and haven't read Romance, I advise them to read it first, before watching Drama. Many people criticize it because they don't know the story, but if you read the Novel first, you will have a better understanding of the Drama, what is going on with each character, and about the logic of the events.
The plot of the Drama is inferior compared to the Romance, but it is worth a chance!
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The only reason this doesn't have a 0 is because of Perth
HEAR ME OUT!Also, don't get me wrong. I only watched it for the Perth scenes. I was also mad saint wasn't in it since I'm a hard Saint stan, but that is beside the point. Anyway, I love the actors and I loved LBC, I would also like to mention I love the director p'New, and I loved his works from LBC to UWMA. but this one was just overall sloppy like during the time I was watching it I was like "did the director get hit in the head with a bottle of wine and drunk the remains?" (lol not trying to offend anyone) I also think that the TinCan ship was rushed and repeated. I was like wtf even happened. -so Pete and Ae already broke up and TinCan just met? HOW, like there is no need for this many recap episodes. Aside from them I also hated the KlengkaTechno ship. It was overall messed up and Kleng is just an EVIL CHILD, but not gonna lie I loved hating him, and I also like Mark as an actor himself.
Like I had mentioned, I love Perth and Saint. Not as a ship, but as actors in general, I feel like Saint just stands out so don't even get me started on that topic. OK. Aside from me loving Perth. I think he got a little too much screen time like he should have given the main characters (TinCan) a little bit more scenes - not saying that I loved watching their scenes. Also not saying that I hated watching Perth scenes, cause I LEGIT lived for his senses. I always skip side couple scenes and TinCan scenes, to the point where I only watched Perth scenes. BUT come-on! give the TinCan fans a little more action.
Now when it comes to Kleng x Techno, don't even let me talk about how STUPID I thought It was! Techno is a straight-up idiot and not in a good way. I mean straight-up IDIOT. Kleng just played him dirty and at the end of the day he was like "at least I got them snacks"
LIKE are you STUPID or DUMB? and the advertisement was just too obvious like whenever that drink popped up I was like "here we go again like bob drink your GO GO juice and GET IT OVER WITH!!.
ANYWAYS... I still like the actors and I just don't recommend it to anyone who wants to keep their image of LBC pure and beautiful cause this crap just scared me. also, I would like to mention that the PeteAe story was rushed, then dragged then rushed again then dragged till the point I felt confused. I still ship AePete. May your ship rest in peace cause clearly ACTL killed you.
In the end... WATCH LBC and FORGET that ACTL was ever released.
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Flawed, but LBC2 does offer closure
Viewers are justifiably upset after watching the first episode, but I think this series doesn't deserve to be hated so much.Admittedly, there are a few undeniable weaknesses, amongst which are:
1. Many fans are expecting a continuation of the Tin/Can story from LBC1. Unfortunately, it is rebooted and the story of Tin/Can is shifted to later in the timeline. Originally, they meet about the time Ae and Pete become a couple, but in the reboot, they meet after the largely unexplained breakup of Ae and Pete. This can be rather disorienting and we have to wait for about have the series before we get the equivalent of the part of the Tin/Can story that LBC1 left us with. (We have to remember that a lot of the issues are directly or indirectly because of the fact that it is now virtually impossible to get both Perth and Saint to star in the same series.)
2. The Tin/Can story is cute but it is not as moving as the Ae/Pete story. It has the potential to at least come close, but there is significant missed potential. We can see why Tin falls in love with the innocent and uninhibited Can, but there isn't enough focus on how much Can really means to Tin. We do see it, but not in a way that really leaves a deep impression. In some ways, Season 1 does this better (although I would like the Season 2 version of Tin a little better if he were a real person). In the end, the depth of Ae's love for Pete (especially because of Perth's good performance) threatens to overshadow the story of Tin and Can that LBC2 is supposed to focus on.
[Ae/Pete's breakup isn't explained in the series except through the reference that Pete has broken up with Ae for Ae's sake. According to the accounts of the novels I have seen, Pete's wealthy father objects to their relationship and does pretty nasty things to Ae's family, and in the end Pete breaks up with him so that he doesn't have to suffer more.]
3. LBC2 focuses on Tin and Can, but Can's character lacks development. Apart from the moment when he acts carefree despite being miserable after losing the football match, he is too much of a one-dimensional character. This is possibly due to the series' tendency to feature too much couples, leaving little time for any proper development of Can's character.
Nevertheless, I find that unfavorable comparisons with Season 1 may also go a little overboard. and there are some things that are likable about Season 2:
1. The focus on too many couples and characters is a problem in Season 1 too, though many of us may just remember the essence of the Ae/Pete story, which is really well done. Unfortunately, for Season 2, the shifts from one character/couple to another may worsen the sense of disorientation viewers have in the first few episodes.
2. Once we realize how the story has been rebooted, the story does get better. The second half of the series (essentially the continuation of the Tin/Can story after what Season 1 covers) is considerably better and closer to the quality of Season 1.
3. there is no reason for Pete to be totally missing from Season 2, but I think the production team has coped quite reasonably well with the problem of not having Saint to act as Pete in Season 2. There is obviously the possibility of replacing Saint with another actor, but the Perth/Saint pairing is too iconic for either of them to be replaced. While Saint (disappointingly) does not even make a cameo appearance in Season 2, there is still a happy ending for Ae/Pete: Ae slowly gets over his misery and starts a social media page in which he posts a picture of himself every day to show Pete that he is well and that he misses him. In the last episode, it is revealed that Pete has been viewing Ae's page all this while--there is even the clever use of an actor for Saint's character: we only see the bottom of Pete's face, but we see tears flowing down. And in the end, Ae receives a message from Pete saying that he is back.
This is probably the last season of LBC and the ending is about as good as it can possibly get given the limited number of episodes and the difficulty of getting all the original actors together.,
[From what I have found out, Pete does return to Ae in the novel version even though it happens after Ae has graduated and become an engineer. Pete's father is dying and can no longer try to separate them.]
4. Ultimately, the series gives us closure for a lot of the characters. Tin and Can have a happy ending. Ae and Pete face problems but the happy ending is more than just suggested. Techno and Kla also end up together (though the issue of how Kla has raped Techno in Season 1 is going to leave many feeling upset). We see Tar (the same character in TharnType who is raped because of Lhong) becoming a happier person, and we see something developing between Tum and Keen (a new character). The conflict between Tin and his brother, Tul, is also largely resolved and Tul also has his happy ending with the man he has always loved, Hin.
Eventually, those of us who have been craving for the happy ending for Tin/Can since Season 1 do get what we want. Although the delivery isn't perfect, we do get closure. At times, the closure seems to come too easily (such as the resolution of the conflict between Tin and his brother who, in a rather labored twist, turns out to be a much less villainous person. However, I'm personally happy that there is Season 2 for closure rather than just Season 1. It's like getting the present I have been wanting although it comes with some defects.
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So Uhhh
I gotta say...wow. It's not a good wow either. S1 was by far the best and for a VARIETY of reasons. If you're looking for something that follows the first season well and makes sense you are in the wrong place lol If you're familiar with S1, you'll already know Saint and that he isn't in S2. For the love of God I'd rather them have not made a S2 if the story was gonna be changed so much it became an inside out upside down hot mess like this. Everything worked out well for the most part but honestly I stuck it out as long as I did only for KlaTechno. The story would've been just fine(even without my baby Saint) had they just kept the storyline of TinCan in S1. Seems there's a S3 so let's just pray nothing else falls flat.Was this review helpful to you?
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TinCan!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have been TinCan trash from season one. Going into this show I was nervous they would do something to ruin them, but honestly all this season did was make me love them more. While the reboot idea did not initially sit well with me, I think it proved to be a good decision. Sure, we did not get as much of the enemies aspect that we did in season one, but we got to see them being friends before they got together and I loved to see that. You could see in this season (that wasn't apparent in season one) that they really complement each other and enjoy each other's company and genuinely like being in the presence of the other.Tin's motivations also seemed so much clearer to me than in season one. I loved seeing his character development, and how Can called him out whenever he overstepped his boundaries. Honestly their argument scenes were some of my favourites because they felt so real. Both Mean and Plan, I thought, acted really well. I especially love Plan's acting. He adds these microexpressions to the character that are just... so freaking good. I feel like a lesser actor would not have been able to capture the nuances of Can's character even half as well. He manages to go from sweet baby to feisty to shy to confident in the blink of an eye and makes it seem so natural. Also considering the writing was not the best, the actors did a great job with the delivery.
I especially loved to see how TinCan were such a healthy, communicative couple without losing their individual chaotic energies. I personally could not care less about the kiss scenes. For me it was their dynamic that I loved in season one, and I loved their dynamic here just as much, if not more (considering Tin wasn't forcing Can to interact with him). They're funny and cute and chaotic and communicative. I especially loved that after they got together, the conflicts were all external instead of the writers forcing some dumb miscommunication issues between the characters. They genuinely felt so real to me. None of their conversations were some romantic poetry that felt stilted and fake... they spoke like real people would and I loved to see it. I'm not generally a sappy romantic, but every scene between them made me melt. Plus they are so funny?? I love couples that make me laugh.
I gave this show an 8.5 partly cause of the writing/some aspects of the production quality, but also cause of the side-couples. I didn't like Klano in season one, and I didn't like them here. It's not the fault of the actors - they played them well - I just don't like the storyline. Never did. TumTar always bored me, so I was excited to see the budding relationship between Tum and Keen but we didn't get enough of them. TulHin... again... I didn't care about them?? I didn't like either of the characters much and so it was hard for me to care about them as a pairing. Ae was sad throughout, which after a while got really dull to watch.
That said, TinCan made up for it all. Would definitely watch it again for them specifically.
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On Point!
I was not disappointed. I mainly watched for Can and Tin and it gave me everything I wanted. The other side couples were an added bonus especially the brother and his “secretary”. I will definitely watch it again. The music was nice. I love the video featuring the final song and all the couples plus Ae. I even like how it handled the AE situation at the very end. I love resolution so I was satisfied. The acting was solid. I like that Can’s naïveté and personality was kept intact. To me that is his charm. I think all the actors played their roles well. This is the kind of bl I personally enjoy.Was this review helpful to you?
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LBC 2: Be Careful What You Wish For
I'm writing this only to clean my palate, dont expect any constructive criticism.If i thought this drama started on a bad foot, i certainly didnt expect it to go even more downhill. Literally everything was just bad. The re-telling of the whole first season was a questionable choice at first, but you know it was downright idiotic when they tried to re-tell some iconic scenes and they did much worse job than when they did it in the s1. Episodes 7 to 9 or whatever were okay. Episodes 10-13 were gradually getting worse and worse. What was the point of adding side-stories to a side characters we never cared for? Did Ae do anything except being emo? It certainly wasnt just a phase for him, huh??? I think i puked in my mouth a little every time KlaNo duo appeared on the screen. And why exactly are we supposed to be invested in any way in TulHin storyline? I see they casted quite young actors to these roles - did the producers think they might give them another season or what? what a joke.
The advertisement scenes were extra annoying. Now i know what i'm not buying if i ever visit thailand.
Every little decision the production decided to make while shooting this drama made me roll my eyes so much i feel like my head turned into a slot machine.
Every character in this show had like one braincell which projected them into having only one character trait that defines their entire miserable existence.
The dialogues were awful - robotic, unnatural and idiotic.I have one tip for the scriptwriter of this shit cause this person obviously never attended any writing courses: show dont tell – instead of making a character say "ya know, tin, tul is actually an okay person" show tul as an okay person. instead of can having conversation with himself saying "omg turns out i love tin" show him show some affection????
Acting was just terrible on all levels. I am usually very forgiving towards kid actors but like... the child in this was just annoying. You really couldnt find anyone better if you were to give so much screentime to the kid? Plan makes me want to punch my computer screen.
This is probably the worst drama i've watched and i've seen 2Moons, The Heirs and TonhonChonlatee. This is it. It wasnt even the good type of bad.
I just hope MAME has her nasty sticky little hands full of cash now and i wont have to see any of her shit promoted in any piece of media EVER.
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It should have stayed in draft
Is their story original? No. It was a basic rich arrogant guy falls for the naive poor guy kinda story. For what it lacked in originality it made up for by... not being bland. That’s it. There wasn’t anything outstanding or special about this couple that set them aside from others. I may not have been on this pairings bandwagon even in the first season, but I found them entertaining enough and can admit to their appeal. Besides I love Techno so there was also something to be excited about for me.I know fans of this couple have waited two years to get this sequel and it should have been an overall success.
Right out the gate, this series turns off most viewers by deciding to restart the TinCan story afresh. Afresh wouldn’t be bad if it was an overall new storyline, rather they pretty much retold what took place in LBC1 in a long winded lackluster way. It took 6 episodes to reach the point of the story that wasn’t already told in LBC1. Its lack of continuity led to a lot of confusion and frustration as it also showed changes in character personality.
Plan’s character seems to have digressed in personality, Mean looked like he didn’t want to be there. I’m not even going to touch Techno and Kengkla’s plot nor Ae’s for that matter. The awkward and bad acting that hasn’t improved in these two years becomes even more evident, by the abysmal script, unimaginative plot, poor choice in OST, overall low quality production. Rather than a highly expected series, this comes off as one of those unknown small company production with first timer production.
The fact that Plan doesn’t even know how to command the muscles around his lips to part for a kiss scene while the script makes him sound like a horny teenager has managed to raise the cringe factor to high level. The only slightly interesting plot in this drama came around the end of the series between Tin’s brother Tul and Gonhin.
I had initially started taking notes so I can write an objective review but by the 3rd ep I chucked the list away since it wasn’t worth the effort. It was bad all over and if I kept making lists than it would be miles long and I can’t do that to myself. I’ll say this much though, This series owes Gun and Mark a huge apology for taking their characters plot from crap in season 1 to still crap here. Thailand owes Mark a better drama! Another apology to Perth, since I have no idea why both he and viewers had to suffer while he was mopping around for an entire season. And another one to Yacht for making him go through this when he had played such a lovable, fun Pond in S1. The only credit this series deserves is it washed off that incest-adjacent relationship between Tum and Tar.
For a series with a highly successful prequel, everything about this series showed the lack of preparation, commitment, and care for quality. If the purpose of making this series was to make the fans wish they could wipe out everything they have watched, I can say this drama has succeeded. If the intention was to give the fans the drama they have patiently waited for, to give the actors who have chosen this as their last project and their fans a chance to bid farewell to these characters, then it was a miserable failure.
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Watching for TinCan Only...
I was so excited to watch this sequel as I LOVED TinCan's relationship from Love By Chance. Unfortunately, along with many other fans, I was massively disappointed watching the first episode of Love By Chance 2. Why did the writer choose to retell Tin and Can's story? That made absolutely no sense at all! Not only does it make it confusing, but it also lets down the fans who have waiting for the continuation of Tin and Can's relationship after the upsetting rejection at the end of Love By Chance. Not only is the story a mess, but the characters of Tin and Can were flat. Tin was boring (instead of smoldering) and Can was whiney (instead of cute). The cinematography and editing was also quite lacking. It's as if this sequel series has a lower budget than the predecessor, which doesn't make any sense. Should the sequel have a better budget because of the success of the first series? So far, I am not impressed at all. I don't think that this series will get better unfortunately. I can only see it getting worse. Hopefully, my prediction rings false though...Second episode is better though Ae being all moppy and sad is starting to get on my nerves. TinCan's chemistry is improving though and I'm starting to get a semblance of what they had in LBC so that's a good sign.
TinCan's dynamic isn't as electric as it was in the first season, but it's still quite good. I could care less for the other couples though. It's still to see TinCan's relationship actually progress from the heart-breaking finale of season 1 in Episode 7 of this season. Still don't understand the reasoning why the writer decided to tell their story from the start again (unless she didn't have enough material for an entire season focused on TinCan). Anyways, this has become one of my favourite BL's that I'm watching at the moment! Cannot wait to see the next episodes!
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