Lovely Writer: The Series (BL) (T)

 

This series is just so hard to put into the words that I want to. It was an absolutely transcendental BL series. The story was a strong commentary on the world of BL, all while delivering one the THE BEST BL partnerships I have ever seen portrayed. Honestly, standing ovation for the writer, the entire production, and Up and Kao for bring Gene and Sib to life in such a beautiful and moving (and lovely) way.

I LOVE THIS SHOW SO MUCH.

Okay, so the basic premise: 

Gene (Poompat Iam-samang (aka Up)) is a writer, who would rather be writing fantasy/horror, but his editor has roped him into writing BL stories, due to their massive popularity. Gene writes a super popular series, Bad Engineer, which is being made into a TV series. Enter the actor Nubsib (Noppakao Dechaphatthanak). Nubsib is PRIME BL actor content. He's tall and handsome and sweeps Gene a little off his feet. Due to some circumstances, Sib ends up living with Gene in his apartment. While there, he provides some much needed inspiration to break Gene's writer's block. Soon enough, Gene can't stop thinking about Sib, and Sib is only more than happy to help him with his writing ideas. 

They fall in love, but their relationship is threatened by the very industry you would think would be all about it! Sib's on-screen love interest (who cries so much omg) is secretly in love with Gene, so he tries to sabotage the two of them. The producers demand that Sib appear to be in a real relationship with the other actor, NOT Gene, even though fans have already started a shipping war. 

You find out as time goes on that Sib is actually Gene's childhood friend, who he hasn't seen in about a decade, but who never forgot him. Sib has been biding his time and working to become Gene's BL dreamboat and the perfect character for him. They tell their parents about their relationship (their parents are still friends and neighbors btw) and it goes better than expected. Gene's father is the most hesitant about them, and has been on alert since they were little, but you find out its because he also loved a man deeply once, and felt a lot of pain from it. He doesn't want his son to suffer the same way he did. Once Gene understands where his father is coming from, and his father understands how much he really loves and is loved by Sib, he becomes a huge support to them.

Things come crashing down when the other actor posts a weepy instagram live about everyone being nice to Gene and Nubsib and shit hits the fan. Nubsib is willing to throw away his whole career for his man, but Gene takes the painful road of distancing himself for the sake of his work. As soon as Sib's contract is over, you bet his ass is right back with Gene. 

This series was incredible, because it really chose to tackle a lot of the issues deeply ingrained in the BL universe. There is a dark and ugly side, full of homophobia and fans controlling the lives of the actors, who are not the characters they play. They are really people with real feelings and relationships of their own. The series even takes it a step further when you find out at the end that Gene and Sib are characters within the story itself, further separating them from the real life people who play them. 

Not only was this a heart-warming and wonderful story, but their relationship was probably the healthiest I have ever seen in BL. They weren't perfect, but Sib was always gentle and caring with Gene. Gene could be a bit of a brat, but he cared very much for Sib as well. Sib always made sure that they moved at a pace that Gene was very comfortable with, even breaking many of the popular BL tropes. For example, there was a scene early on into their relationship where Gene was trying to figure out his feelings still, and he got really drunk and tried to make a move on Sib. Sib took care of him but also didn't let Gene kiss him or do anything he might regret later. He tells Gene that he wants to wait until they are both really ready before they do anything. He never pressures Gene into anything, and Gene makes sure that they still keep their own personal space and lives even after they start dating. They had really healthy boundaries and it was lovely to see. 

The actors were both delightful to watch (and very nice to look at). They carried the show so well and had excellent chemistry. This is definitely a show that I am going to watch again!