Taylor Nation posted today on the THIRD anniversary of the release of The Man music video. Guys we have to be getting Speak Now TV on Friday right??? 😭 Im still hoping she’ll do a double release of Speak Now and 1989 (like we all theorized last year with her talks about Shania Twain who famously released a double country/pop album). There’s been a bunch of threes but these are the main ones I can remember on top of todays TN post!
1. Obviously Speak Now is Taylor’s 3rd album.
2. She’s 33 years old! (3/3 = March 3rd)
3. In her birthday Instagram post she held up her fingers in two 3’s! 3/3 for March 3rd!
4. On her Lavender Haze music video post she made sure to point out that it was the first video she wrote out of the THREE that have been released.
5. Taylor Nations post today marking the THIRD anniversary of The Man music video release! Also saying Karma is real in reference to her taking back one (or two???) of her albums!
I read more good stuff, so I’m doing this again. Here’s my first rec list if you’re interested. I’m going in order from most lighthearted to most likely to have you writhing in pain, so here goes.
Cool Doji Danshi - ongoing
Or, Play It Cool, Guys
This one is not a romance, just a comedy, but it is still cute as hell.
Four guys with very different personalities have one thing in common. They're all total space cases. You know when you do something embarrassing like realizing you’re walking the wrong way and have to do an awkward 180 on the sidewalk? I try to unlock my house with my car remote on a fairly regular basis. Well that’s these guys’ entire lives. They all handle their clumsiness in different ways, and as they start to encounter each other by chance, they learn from each other’s actions, and it’s just fucking delightful.
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Zettai BL ni Naru Sekai Vs Zettai BL ni Naritakunai Otoko - ongoing
Or, A World Where Everything Definitely Becomes BL vs. The Man Who Definitely Doesn't Want To Be In A BL
This is not a BL (yet?), but it’s definitely for people who’ve read BL. A plain-looking man knows he lives in a BL universe, but believes himself to be a background character. Until his plain-looking younger brother gets a confession from his best friend, and our main character learns that nobody is safe. He spends his days avoiding BL tropes so he doesn’t get caught up in a BL romance.
If you like parody and meta humor, you should check this one out.
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Karasugaoka Don’t Be Shy!! - complete
Izuhara Sou and Shinba Tetsuji are the leaders of two rival crime prevention groups (good guy gangs!). Izuhara admires Shinba, who came to his rescue once when he was a kid and inspired him to help others. However, anytime he comes face to face with Shinba, Izuhara gets nervous and acts like an asshole.
This is a short one, so I can’t say much more about it, but it’s hella cute and you should go check it out.
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Three Men, One Chinchilla - ongoing
It’s complete in Korean (54 chapters), but only 13 chapters have been translated so far. I actually bought the raws. I paid actual money to read a comic in a language I don’t know. It was too weird for me to even guess what was going on, but it was worth it just for the facial expressions.
Ham Un comes home to find a chinchilla in front of his door, and it gets weirder from there. After finding the chinchilla, he meets the adorable Seung and the sketchy Namhae, and hilarity ensues. I don't want to spoil the experience of reading the first few chapters so I'm not gonna say anymore, but it does have supernatural elements.
Seung calls Un “Onion”, so their ship name is Seunion. No one else is talking about this comic here, so I get to make that call. This webcomic has everything you could want in a BL. Cute nicknames. Comedy. A chinchilla.
But.
It hasn’t updated in over a month. *update - This manhwa has been picked up by another group (and I’m in the group, not that that makes a difference)
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March Third - ongoing
I think this one is complete in Chinese, like 150+ chapters, but it’s only translated up to chapter 97, and hasn’t updated in a while. I still have hope that another translator will pick it up.*
A historical comedy that follows military officer Mr. Buddha as he tries to woo the stage actor Mr. Red.
This is one of the funniest comics I’ve read, for serious. Someone suggested this one when I asked for recs similar to 19 Days, and this one is it. Don’t ask me how a historical comic set during a war is like 19 Days, it just is.
*Update: It’s been picked up! It’s translated up to 107.
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A Strange Joke - *complete
Or, Just Kidding. I started reading under the title A Strange Joke, but I’m now reading the official English translation, and they call it Just Kidding.
Min is an unremarkable college student who is firmly in the closet. Jun is a heartthrob who, for some reason, has taken an interest in Min. Sehun is Jun’s friend who is also on all of the cover art. I’m sure he plays a major role later on. It’s only translated up to chapter 18 right now. But it’s so funny, I had to give it a mention. Min and his friends are a bunch of drunken dumbass college students in the best way, and Min is the dumbest of them all.
The official translation is on Pocket Comics, and you get a bunch of free points just for creating an account and daily gifts for logging on.
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Fools - complete
After overhearing a fight that new student Jeongwoo had with his boyfriend, college senior Eungi finds himself becoming increasingly confused about his feelings toward Jeongwoo. Jeongwoo, meanwhile, fresh out of a long and rocky relationship, isn’t ready to act on his feelings toward Eungi. Commence awkward not-dates.
This is the most relatable depiction of the uncomfortable early stages of a romance that I’ve ever seen. It also shows how trauma from past toxic relationships can affect new, healthy ones. But it’s never too heavy-handed about it. It’s really funny at times, but also has its fair share of angst. It’s also my favorite on this list, and I adore all of these comics.
In the official English translation, their names are Edward and Justin, but I think it's weird when they do that.
Update: Fools is being remastered in full color with an updated art style, but I still recommend the original.
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Unintentional Love Story - *complete
I’m pretty sure this one is complete in Korean, and has something like 55 chapters.
Wonyoung is fired from his job after being falsely incriminated in a corruption scandal. By sheer luck, he happens to run into the company chairman’s favorite ceramic artist, Yoon Taejun, who has been living under an alias. He’s told he will likely get his job back if he could get Taejun to partner with the company, so he tries to get close to Taejun without revealing that he knows his true identity. What he doesn’t plan on, though, is falling in love with Taejun.
This one is where the DRAMA is at. The story doesn’t ignore the fact that the relationship was built on a lie. It addresses it, and then addresses it, and as of chapter 35, is still addressing it. It hurts so good.
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How to Hate Mate - complete
Or, Hate Mate
Two years ago, Subin drunkenly confessed his feelings to his straight roommate, Hyunwoo. After that, Hyunwoo left for his mandatory military service, and Subin hasn’t heard from him since. Just when Subin is finally ready to move on, Hyunwoo reappears and things get complicated.
Listen. Hate Mate hurt me in a big way. Don’t read this if you’re looking for the warm fuzzies, because you will not find them here. I loved this story for its realism. All the characters are seriously flawed, and even though it ended the way I hoped it would, nothing feels fully resolved. This comic will hurt you and skip the aftercare. Anyways, have fun.
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A Shoulder to Cry On - complete
Or, Cheer Up Boy. Or, Comfort the Boy. There are too many alternate titles, but I like A Shoulder to Cry On best.
When Dayeol is framed for assault by Taehyun, he nearly loses his archery scholarship. But instead of feeling the least bit remorseful for nearly ruining Dayeol’s life, Taehyun starts to torment Dayeol even further.
So a LOT of fiction will do this thing where a character will just be truly horrible, but when their tragic backstory is revealed, they’re supposed to be absolved of all guilt. I HATE that. I hate it to the point where just introducing a tragic backstory actually makes me hate the character more, because I anticipate that happening.
That being said, Taehyun is one of the biggest assholes I’ve ever seen as a main love interest, and his backstory got to me. It made me like him, and I’m ashamed for not standing by my principals. It helps that he’s not immediately forgiven for bullying Dayeol just because he had a bad childhood, but still.
What I’m saying is that this is fucking sad and you should read it. But I’m recommending this with a big fat trigger warning for self harm.
