#all the BLs I know of coming in 2023

[absolutebl]

2023 UPCOMING BL

Okay, these are all the BLs (I know of) that have been announced for 2023. Not counting stuff currently airing. All of this must be considered SPECULATIVE. Don’t you dare blame me if these don’t happen. You read this post knowing that. Agreed? Please remember:

7 Golden rules of BL!

Never trust:

a Thai trailer,

a Viki Category,

a Vietnamese sub,

an MDL description,

a Taiwanese title,

Japan,

or a BL made before 2014.

FAQ: How long does it usually take from an announcement to getting more info on a BL being made?

Because people have asked I have put the ones I am most excited about in bold. 

Vietnamese & Pinoy BL not chronicled, it's just too challenging. 

Supposedly Jan 2023 

01/29 The End Of The World, With You AKA Bokura no Micro na Shuumatsu - Japan for Gag Trailer. Stars Toshiki Seto (Senpai, This Can't Be Love). In 10 days, the world will be destroyed by a meteor. To spend his remaining time as comfortably as possible, bad-luck magnet Masumi decides to visit the library and read as much as he wants until the end comes. There he meets the one man from his past that he never wanted to see again, Ritsu. You should expect this to end badly.

The Luminous Solution - Thai, PTG Entertainment: Stars Gun Napat (Love By Chance/ Golden Blood), Bhu Bhudis (Manner Of Death)

Hit Bite Love - Thai Jinloe Media Works. BONKERS incomprehensible MDL description. 

Nilundon - Thai: Postponed from 2021 to recast one of the leads, never a good sign. Ensemble of 2 BLs + 1 GL, featuring adult characters, cafe, rich/poor. About a freelance photographer and heir to a famed Seoul hotel and restaurant business who, following a family death, returns to Thailand and meets a gregarious young barista. Side romances: producer is head-over-heels in love with her YouTubing bestie, and a veterinarian falls in love with the lead character’s impish cousin.

Time The Series - Thai (trailer), lakorn we think, not strictly BL 

Supposedly Feb 2023

02/10 Egoist - Japan This is about an openly gay but vein and superficial man (Hio) who falls in love with a personal trainer (Ryohei) who is stuck taking care of his sick mother. It’s not BL, it’s gay coming of age and we can’t expect it to end happily. Still, I’ll try to watch it. Japanese movies are notoriously difficult to get ahold of, tho. One of my absolute favorite Japanese actors Hio Miyazawa (from His the movie) has the lead in this movie adaptation of Makoto Takayama’s autobiographical novel Egoist. He’ll be opposite super famous actor Ryohei Suzuki.

02/14 Moments Of Love - Thai (Foremorfilm Production) Trailer Golf Tanwarin (609 Bedtime Story & The Eclipse) directs SmartJames (LeonPhob from Don't Say No).

02/18 Chains of Heart - Thai Trailer Suspense thriller about a forest ranger, smugglers, memory loss, and lost love. Stars Haii (Cirrus in TT2) and Poppy (Porpla in YYY). Adapted from a Y-novel of the same name by TJ Tommy.

02/27 Tin Tam Jai - Thai (MFlow Entertainment on iQIYI) Tin has always been secretly in love with P'Phak son of the neighborhood baker. Producers behind Ai Long Nhai and Coffee Melody so don't expect much.

Supposedly March 2023

03/09 Love Syndrome (characters from Unforgotten Night) - Thai trailer Day and It have been together for 2 years. An accident leaves Day seriously injured and It blames himself. Then Day wakes up with amnesia. (stars Frank of FrankDrake) based on a y-novel.

JAPAN 2023 

Our Dining Table AKA Bokura no Shokutaku - Mira Ori's BLOVED manga (especially be me) is getting an adaptation (HOPEFULLY THIS YEAR)! Lonely salaryman (talented cook) gets accidentally adopted by a college kid and his baby brother. They build a family together. This is a sweetly gentle and cozy manga and it will make a GREAT live action piece. I’ve recommended the manga in the past to anyone who likes BLs like Ingredients, To My Star, What Did You Eat Yesterday? and I think we are in for similar gay domesticity to Old Fashion Cupcake with this adaptation YAY!

My Beautiful Man Eternal AKA Utsukushii Kare 2 - trailer I’m very nervous, I think this series stands alone and is perfect as it already is. I’m worried Japan is over egging the pudding. More here.

Takumi-kun - No Japan, back away slowly. We do not need this. No one wants it. 

KOREA 2023

Bump Up Business (OnlyOneOf) - (Idol Romance) Announcement  More gossip. Depicts the tickling love story between a trainee who is about to debut and a celebrity from the same agency. Kpop boy group OnlyOneOf has collectively signed up to be in this idol-based BL. They’ve been auditioning for this since Libido IMHO. You can watch me chronicle their BL MV series in this post. Idol Romance will do sad but can do good kisses (Wish You, Nobleman Ryu, Once Again, Kissable Lips, Poongduck 304, Tasty Florida, Tinted With You). More info here. 

Blueming 2 - likely to air on iQIYI This was one of my favorites from 2022 year (9/10). I’m not thrilled about a 2nd season. It’s the same director as TMS2, and I didn’t like that one all that much. Still, I’m always intersted in where Korea goes when it’s given enough rope to hang itself.

Comfort the Boy - Premiere postponed indefinitely due to actor contract conflict, rated R15+ due to topic & vulgarity. Adaptation of Dongmul's manwha A Shoulder to Cry On, high school set, features a teasing confident gay, and a rich/poor pairing, about homophobia/gossip putting a scholarship in jeopardy. Was to stars idols Jaehan & Yechan BOTH from Kpop group OMEGA X. But given the crisis in management with that group, I think this is unlikely to happen, at least with this pair. 

First Love's User Manual - Korea (Silkwood) Thai BL pair TutorYim to star (?) in this KBL under A-Plan International’s Silkwood (Peach Of Time). No further info, no MDL listing. Could all be rumors. 

Heesu In Class 2 -  Korea's gay version of Sex Education. Heesu’s world revolves around Chanyoung, his best friend and secret crush. He doesn’t mind cheering Chanyoung from the sidelines or listening to all his girl problems. Then one day, Heesu starts hearing his name everywhere - on the bus, in the halls, during lunch. Turns out, there’s a rumor: Got a love problem? Find Heesu in Class 2 and he’ll tell you what to do! With that, Heesu suddenly finds himself the center of attention. But how could he give anyone advice? He doesn’t even know what to do about his own crush! Well known child actor Ahn Ji Ho (All of Us Are Dead) to lead.

Jump the series - Korea (SOL Entertainment probably for Gaga) Trailer From the producers of Cherry Blossoms and others. Coming-of-age drama that'jumps' to the next chapters of life: love, friendship, competition, mistakes, dreams and hopes.

Liquor - I got nothing but rumors. 

Star Struck AKA Starstruck - Korea (Terapin Studio) A boy has had a crush on his childhood friend for a long time. Stars Zuho (Kpop SF9 - noted good egg) opposite rookie actor Kim In Sung, based on a web novel of the same name.

Unintentional Love Story - Ceramic artist Yoon Tae Joon disappears from society, while Ji Won Young is an employee at a large company. Ji Won Young is intent on winning over the heart of Yoon Tae Joon as he's the company chairman's favorite artist. Stars actor Cha Seo Wo and idol Gongchan (maknae of B1A4, welcome to the fray Kpop Gen 2).

Why R U? Korean remake - filming sept 22 Apparently Korea is planning a remake of Why R U? which I find absolutely hilarious. I mean if Korea remakes it, we lose all the sexy and then would we have a story at all. No we would not. It’d be like one of those mesh shopping bags. MaxNat have a  cameo. 

TAIWAN 2023

Lapluie - Depicts the story of two young men: one who never believes in fate/destiny while the other one is waiting for his soulmate.

Marry My Dead Body - Taiwan Police officer forced to marry a ghost. Movie.

Miracle - High School student goes to jail because of his ganster lover. Or something. https://mydramalist.com/696341-miracle

THAILAND 2023

Are you ready? 

2 Worlds (Domundi MaxNat) - Parallel worlds love triangle story with MaxNat as the leads (finally!) PuPa & Kram are in love but PuPa is murdered and Kram is pulled into a parallel world. In that place, 12 years ago, Kram & Tai were in love but Kram was killed by Tai's dad. Now Tai encounters the Kram from another world, what will happen next? Is this a second chance or is Kram sill morning his dead lover, and does Tai need to help him get home or convince him to stay?

A Boss and a Babe GMMTV YouTube (ForceBook) - Chay is a gamer who wants to get big in the e-sports industry. However, his plans are dramatically altered when is made to intern at a company. There his boss Gun has him do some pretty weird errands, confusing Chay about his true intentions. 

Be Mine SuperStar (JaFirst) - Filming started Dec 2022 Third-year film student Punn (Ja) gets an internship on the set of a drama. He’s come there to learn from professionals, but what lights his passion even more than the work is leading man Achi, beloved of the nation. Adapted from the novel “The Superstar and the Puppy on Set” (พี่พระเอกกับเด็กหมาในกอง) by Orpheus, the show has an ensemble cast comprising Ben (2moons2), Bosston (UWMA, Between Us), Jo (War of Y, My Roommate, Make It Right 2), Kokliang and (TharnType, Even Sun).

Be My Favorite AKA You Are My Favorite (GMMTV) YouTube - Adapted from a JittiRain y-novel (2gether) one of those rewrite the past to change the future. Another timeslip? (That’s at least 5 from Thailand in 2022). Trailer features classic tropes: elevator, rooftop assignation, lie on ground. Stars Krist (SOTUS) + Mike Gawin. Who knew Krist would do a BL again? Like seriously? 

Bed Friend (Domundi probably for Viki) - Adapted from a Y-novel (same setting as Middleman’s Love) about Uea (reserved and shy and hates players) and King (a big time flirt) who work in the same office and share a best friend. Despite the fact that they don’t really like each other they end up in bed together. This pair was originally supposed to be just side dishes for Middle Love, but it seems they got their own series. Not sure if this is a lesson learned from Why R U?, a lockdown necessity, a shifting to an En of Love model, or if NetJames did so well in rehearsal they earned their own series. They are crazy beautiful together. I think Domundi will use these two to bring higher heat, just like they did with FighterTutor. This series could be good especially as it is based on a book so hopefully it has PLOT. James was Gui’s best friend in Oxygen and one of my top picks at the time to get his own BL. Net was an established actor prior to BL. I am VERY excited about this pair

Big Dragon 2 - whatever 

Boy Never Smiles (KimCop trailer) - Follows the story of a young man who travels to the future. To return, he must make that boy smile.

Buddy Line Y Animal (Ultimate Troop) From the Yearbook (ugh) people and based on 4 y-novels written by Scriper, I'll only binge this. Stars Man & Tile (Yearbook), Oat (Make it Right), and unknowns.

Cafe In Love - When his coffee shop close, he tries everything to get it to reopen and falls in love along the way. New Thai pulp, stars the actor who played Noh’s best friend Ohm in Love Sick 2.

Cherry Magic (Thai remake w/ TayNew) GMMTV YouTube - no one asked for this 

Cinderella Boys (Cloth Lab) - production house brought us Restated (which I never watched) and never got EngSub.

City of Stars AKA Fueangnakorn - An actor falls in love with a programmer and the narrative intends to “explore the ramifications of being public figure in the social network era who must endure critics, bullying, and defamation.” Looks like another Lovely Writer / Call It What You Want sort of thing.

Cooking Crush (OffGun) GMMTV YouTube - Prem, Dynamite, and Samsi run a not-so-popular restaurant. With heavy losses, the trio find out about a cooking competition with a huge reward that could help their business. However, preparations go awry, and Prem decides to back out when he meets Ten, a medical student under a heavy stress burden. Ten approaches prem to teach him cooking, and Prem uses this as a scam opportunity to make money. However, as the lessons go on, it isn’t the food that’s hot, but also their faces as they slowly fall for each other. Adapted from the novel “Love Course! เสื้อกาวน์รุกเสื้อกุ๊กรับ” by iJune4S,

Dangerous Romance GMMTV YouTube - Sailom, a poor yet studious student, has worked several odd jobs along with his elder brother to keep his affairs in order. One day, a misunderstanding causes him to hate the school’s bully, Kongkarn. However, fate plays in and Sailom is made Kongkarn’s tutor. As they spend time together, the two realize that the two have a lot in common and their hate could turn into something more beautiful in their hearts. (Wait, didn’t we just watch this?) 

Destiny Seeker - Engineering students in university dorms, Songkram the head of dorm 3, which is where the "strong and athletic" male students are sorted. Aye is the head of dorm 2, the "good looking" male students live. Aye used to be Songkram's tutor and friend, but they fell apart after both of them were chosen to be dorm heads. Aye is actually in love with Songkram, however, he thinks Sonkram has feelings for Mean. What Aye doesn't know, is that he's the one Songkram likes. So, Bad Buddy the second coming. But also v Japanese concept. 

Heart by Heart (Half Toast Production) Trailer 1 Trailer 2 - of the same name, the trailers are GOOD. I’m more excited for this one then I thought I'd be. Has a bit of Tasty Florida, bad boy/good boy, high drama going on. Stars all unknowns but they look like decent actors.

Hidden Agenda (JoongDunk) GMMTV YouTube - Zo, a college freshman whose never been in love, decides to change it by making the college’s popular girl Nita as his girlfriend. However, to woo her, he approaches Joke, Nita’s ex, for dating advice. What he fails to realize is that Joke has had his eyes on him for a long time and uses this opportunity to approach Zo. Will Joke succeed?

Hot Bamee and Yummy Gyogung (9Cats Studio) - stars Nutt Witsarut (Daisy from SCOY) as Gyogung & Boat Yongyut (Tim from My Secret Love) as Bamee.

House of Stars Trailer - an LGBTQ actor falls in love with an actor from another company at first sight.

I Feel You Linger in the Air (Dee Hup for WeTV) - This is a time travel historical romance (1920s) adaption of y-novel by Violet Rain . FROM THAILAND! H I S T O R I C A L ! ! ! Heartbroken architect is transported to the 1930s. Movie from the producers of Lovely Writer.

Last Twilight (JimmySea) GMMTV YouTube - Burdened with heavy debt, Mork, a mechanic, is forced to take a high paying job as a caretaker for Day, a rich heir who suffers from partial blindness after an accident. Day recruits Mork as he realizes the latter does not see him as a disabled person, but rather as co-equals. As they spend time together, the two begin developing feelings for the other. However with Day just having 180 days until he becomes permanently blind, how will the two weather the trials ahead?

Lost in the Woods - Fifa, a high school student preparing to enter university, is given the duty of taking care of his grandma in the province before the school year starts. There he meets Chief Hem, a forest ranger.

Love Upon a Time - (Domundi)  NetJames in a historical BL! Also feat Tonnam (Dr Sing from Triage).

Middleman’s Love AKA Middle Love (Domundi for Viki) - Production started. This used to be a JimmyTommy vehicle before the pair split (also prev title Middle Love). Adapted from a Y-novel. Jade works as a graphic designer and has always been stuck in the middle - average. His heart is hardened after a life spent being overlooked because he is not as charming or good looking as the rest of his family or friends. When his office gets a hot new intern, Mai, Jade assumes Mai couldn’t possibly be intersted in him. Instead he believes Mai is after his friend, Uea. Mai, of course, has other ideas. To be directed by Cheewin leads recast as TutorYim (crumbs from Cutie Pie) we likey, good choice.

Make a Wish (WaGa Creative) - Started filming 12/22, stars Fluke Natouch (OhmFluke UWMA etc...) & Judo (The Miracle Of Teddy Bear) in a medical-fantasy. It seems to be a light-hearted romance with a comedic flair. About a doctor who sees ghosts and a deity who resides in a Bodhi tree that earns merits whenever he fulfills a wish. He is shocked to find the doctor can actually see him and decides to help him find the reason for his ghostly ability. Thus begins a chaotic yet romantic journey. From Sammon y-novels (Manner of Death, Triage)

Mystique in the Mirror (gossip here) - Side couple is PitchBank from Golden Blood, authored by Dr. Dr.Patrick Rangsimat (My Ride) interview here 

Naughty Babe (Domundi MaxNat gossip here) - Cutie Pie spin off feat MaxNat. 

The Next Prince (Domundi ZeeNunew) - ZeeNew in a fantasy/historical set in a palace where Zee plays a knight and Nu a prince - FUCK YES PLEASE. I did not expect this pair to stick so I really hope this happens.

Only Friends GMMTV YouTube - Friend Zone but Gay AF. Mew, a final-year university student, has never encountered the pleasures of adult life. One day, his friend Boston takes him clubbing to give him a sight of the nightlife. There, he meets Top, who tries to seduce him. Yet reluctant at first, Mew gives in and falls for Top. However, he doesn’t realize that others want to break their relationship.

Our Skyy 2 GMMTV YouTube - An eight-part anthology that continues the stories of favorite GMMTV couples: Tian & Phupha (A Tale of Thousand Stars); Pran & Pat (Bad Buddy); Khabkluen & Daonuea (Star in My Mind); Nuengdiao & Palm (Never Let Me Go); Chay & Gun (A Boss and a Babe); Talay & Puen (Vice Versa); Akk & Ayan (The Eclipse); Tin & Gun (My School President)

Pit Babe - Based on alittlebixth's omegaverse novel #พิษเบ๊บ’ set in the world of car racing (author confirmed the series will not be omegaverse).

Punk Spy - (Domundi) - Tommy (formerly JimmyTommy) to star opposite Thomas Teetut (new talent) We gonna call them TomTom as I live and breathe! Please people. Please? Small town romance of two men who keep secrets. And they are searching for the truth. Poppy (everyone’s favorite comedic character actor) is in this one too.

SHADOW - It is a teenage-detective series that involves the supernatural, psychology, love, and friendship. Depicts Dan (Singto), the new student in an all-boys Catholic school who's suffering from sleep paralysis where he saw shadows in his dream, & Nine (Fluke), a student who's condemned by his seniors for being gay. Despite Dan being seen by the other students as a freak. Nine fully understood him because he's been dealing with seeing spirits since childhood. The two became close and gossip circulated between them. Dan chooses to be his friend even if Nine falls in love with him. An interesting combination for actors for sure. 

Step By Step (Dee Hup) - age gap office romance between stern boss and sweet subordinate (AKA my catnip) Thailand doesn't have a great track record with office set BL. Thailand’s record with office set BL is terrible. But I LOVE the concept.

Wish Me Luck (Be Brave Entertainment Hub) - About a boss and his temporary employee in an advertising company, based on Bittersweet's y-novel of the same name สุดที่รักษ์. Starring my boy Fiat (Grean Fictions, SOTUS S, My Gear and Your Gown, Triage) who I’ve been waiting to lead a BL for a decade (it feels like) and Na Naphat (KinnPorsche, UWMA). Again, office BL, but gah PLEASE be good. 

Wish You Luck (StudioCommuan) - Sci Fi dystopian BL about a luck-stealer and an optimistic innocent. Stars Tonnam (Dr Sing in Triage) and Title (our beloved baby Nut from the Yearbook) in a tsundere/sunsine survivor story.

This list is updated only at the beginning of 2023. Not responsible for keeping it updated. I make no promises on anything on these list. Check the comments for updates.

One final note? 

23.5 (GL feat MilkLove) GMMTV For YT 

Ongsa, a loner all her life, falls in love at first sight with the more popular Sun. However, with the fear of being rejected, she decides to approach her under the pseudonym “Earth”. As Sun gets more and more curious about who Earth is and starts to fall for her, will Ongsa reveal herself to Sun? BL side couple. 

(source)

This post will NOT be kept up to date. As new BLs are announced and come across my radar, I will repost about them in this blog. You have to follow me to get those. I also report on new and upcoming releases once they are confirmed in my weekly updates. 

[thatgirl4815]

Saw a post like this on Reddit so thought I’d ask it here: What pairing are you most excited for in OF? Whose storyline seems like it will be the messiest? The hottest?

[hana-no-seiiki]

REPLACED.

YANDERE! ROCKSTAR (FEROZE KHAN) x GN! MANAGER / PA ! READER x YANDERE! POP IDOL (JISOO HAN [EVE] )

FEROZE BELONGS TO MANAGER READER AND @moyazaika !! Just wanted to make a lil gift for my lovely moot 💋

[ Part 2 : REHEARSAL ]

You were absolutely terrified.

Lord knows how you were able to get the Feroze Khan to agree with collaborating, with a “goody two shoes” pop idol who flirted to hell and back with you, no less. But you just knew someone was going to get hurt by the end of this.

Eve used to be your client before you were dumped into the depths of hell. Aside from the flirtations and clinginess, he was a dream to work with as a manager. He never got into scandals, and he worked day and night to be the best in his craft. You never had to worry when it came to his career. You however, took that for granted and left him the moment you got a better deal. Getting to work with a junior idol vs a seasoned rockstar, the choice was obvious was it not?

Nope.

Eve making tons of songs about heartbreak only poured salt into the wound. You saw him as your little brother almost, it was hard seeing him grieve for your presence. You felt heartless. Guilt ate you up from the inside out. You were lucky he didn’t try contacting you after it all.

Until now.

heeeyyy there! beena while. you workin with Feroze at the moment right???

You squinted at the DM you received. As a manager you were used to dealing with all sorts of texts. Thirsty ones, death threats, collaboration requests. But none of them made your heart beat this quickly. Was it out of excitement, nervousness, or terror? You didn’t know.

I am.

short and straight to the point as always!! i’ve always loved that about you

∧,,,∧

(  ̳• · • ̳)

/    づ♡

take my love, wontchu?

You covered your mouth and squealed.

“The fuck?” Feroze looked up from his guitar at the noise you made. He had to admit it was cute but it did ruin a recording of his.

“Sorry, I’ll go outside.”

“No, stay. I need you here.”

You simply nodded, already used to his obsession with you at this point.

annyyyywaysss i just wanted to ask if you could secure a collab with me n mr. khan?

been tryin to get ahold of him but all i got back was radio silence 🥶

but i know if it’s you, the bestest manager ever, i’ll be able to collab with the bestest rockstar in the world!!

i’ll be a good boy i promise!! pretty please with a cherry and me on top?

Somehow you doubted that. But as your own self appointed protocol states, you must report the matter to your client.

“Feroze, you’ve got another collab request.”

“Was it the person that got you squealing?”

Oh no, you did not like his tone. Jealous Feroze was a monster to deal with. “. . . Yes ? “

“Go for it.”

“What? D-don’t you want to hear about their music style and what not before you—“

“I just have one condition. They have to come to me.”

And, you were doomed.

“Right. I’ll schedule a meeting.”

You stand corrected. They got along well. A bit too well for your liking. You didn’t have to stand awkwardly there while Feroze glared (as he usually does) at his collaborator. In fact they were even conversating! And it wasn’t small talk…

“Mr. Khan! You’re even dreamier up close.”

Your employer even seemed to be amused by Eve’s personality. “I could say the same for you, Eve right? Like the biblical Eve? And please, call me Feroze.”

“Yeah! They thought it’d be a nice call back to my more . . . type of music.“

“Type of music you say. . .”

“You thinking what I’m thinking?”

“Oh, you bet I am.”

Why do you have a feeling you were being replaced?

YOU RECEIVED A SPECIAL POSTER!

Check it out?

[ ✅ YES ]

[ PART 2: REHEARSAL ]

tempted to make a bl/mlm spin off of these two fr fr

©️ hana.no.seiiki - yun | moyazaika | 2023

[befuddledcinnamonroll]

Top 10 Things I Love About the QL Tumblr Community 2023

I'm loving everyone's end of year lists, and decided to make up one of my own.

I haven't been on Tumblr for very long and was originally just lurking. 2023 marks the year where I finally started posting, after I read a take that made me feel compelled to come to a fictional character's defense. (Saengtai, my poor little blorbo).

So in commemoration of my first proper year of active tumblring, I present what I love about this community (in no particular order).

(Side note - Technically I know this is still primarily a BL community, but I like to say QL because I am trying to manifest more lesbians for us.)

1) The Gifmakers

Y'all are a good 70% of the reason I joined Tumblr in the first place. There are so many show moments that I want to relive, but without having to search through videos. Sometimes I want to appreciate the aesthetics. Sometimes I want to remember adorable or goofy moments. Sometimes I just want to see cute boys eating each other's faces. Our gifmakers give all of that to us, with the addition of so much creativity and style.

There's too many amazing ones to mention everyone, but I have to shout out @sparklyeyedhimbo, because the way your brain works makes me so happy.

2) The expertise

The other part of why I joined Tumblr was to learn more about what BLs were out there and what I might be missing. And holy hell. Y'all are putting in the work. Not only lists and resources for finding all kinds of QLs, like these fabulous monthly breakdowns by @gunsatthaphan, but also amazing posts that add additional context, like @absolutebl's incredibly helpful breakdown of Asian honorifics. There is so much research people do, for fun! And then they share it!

3) The meta analysis

I frickin love reading people's takes and analyses on series. I love learning, I love seeing perspectives from people with different cultural backgrounds to my own, it's all so fascinating! There's so much context we can miss due to our own privileges, or lack of knowing about various cultures, or due to whatever bubbles we've been living in. People here are just so smart, and nuanced, and willing to reflect and think about things, and also push back at each other, but generally with respect (except when you call out the dumb shit you see, usually on Twitter or TikTok, where people are being reductive and dumb about gender and sexuality).

And I've seen a few takes where people complain about analyses, and say that the director/production doesn't do everything deliberately, and we're all reading too much into it. To which I say, eh, lighten up. How people connect to and relate to media has relevance beyond what was intended. The point is we get to think and discuss and learn and grow. That doesn't happen if we don't analyze.

Special shout out here to @respectthepetty because colors mean things!

4) The wild theories

The other side of the analysis coin, the clown cars y'all drive around in with the wildest of theories. I have happily climbed into an occasional clown car, and usually I am utterly wrong (*cough* Saifah *cough*). But it's a super fun ride. I love seeing how people's brains work. I love it when y'all are wrong. I love it when y'all are right. It's beautiful.

5) Immediate acceptance

I am one of those people who knows that I have a lot of good qualities, and also, always kind of expect rejection. Blame the childhood bullies, I guess. Anyway, whenever I delve into a new space, I still feel like a total dork that no one will want to talk to. It's kind of a fraught way to move through the world, but I manage.

Anyway, I started posting my thoughts as they came up, and people are just totally cool with it. People even follow me sometimes. Even my silliest thoughts and dumbest jokes get at least a couple likes. It's so validating.

And my very silly joke about gay mafia in Kiseki has over 800 likes. I feel very seen.

6) Mutuals

I still kind of can't believe I have any. This ties in to the dork feeling above, but seriously - they are soooo cooooool. They're smart and awesome and funny, and they somehow find me worth following back, which is baffling yet wonderful. I want to squish their faces and give them many kisses (if they're into that kind of thing).

7) The self-exploration

I really appreciate how it's become more talked about how a lot of people are discovering queerness through BL, because that is so the case for me. I think it's both that I was in a bit of a hetero bubble before, and also that I'm evolving a bit as I age. I had figured out I was demi, and maybe a little bit gay, before getting in to BL, but being in this community, and seeing so many of you share so openly and freely, has made me realize it might be more than a little bit.

Either it was a new realization, or being around y'all has made me more gay. Win win, either way.

8) The weirdness

I'm weird. Y'all are weird. I love it.

9) The thirst

So many in this community are thirsty as fuck, and as someone who is in that same condition, I love that it's not just me. There are not many places where I can freely admit how horny I am as a part of my general existence.

Here? I could post about wanting to lick some random BL actor's face, and it would get a bunch of likes and some tags like #lickable, and it's just not remotely a big deal.

Also the gifmakers understand this, and give us beautiful cuts of our spicy scenes. They are genuinely too good for us.

10) The communal watching experience

There is absolutely nothing like watching along with people in the community. It is so worth the torture of having to wait week to week for new episodes. Seeing the show trend, watching the theories fly fast and furious, or the way everyone collectively loses their minds over particular moments. In a world that can feel very isolating, it's a very warm experience.

So there you go. Thank you all for being you. Here's to another year of QL shenanigans and losing our collective minds!

[clairedaring]

Compilation post of my favorite Nadao actors (Nonkul Chanon, JJ Krissanapoom, Tor Thanapob) & Bright Rapheephong giving some interview answers on why they decided to star in queer/LGBTQ+ coded series/roles, some of their takes on being in BL (Y)/Queer series.

note: if you find this post familiar, it's because i've posted this on Reddit before. reposting here for archival purposes

TOR THANAPOB

Tor Thanapob interview in April 2023 when being asked about starring in Midnight Museum (a queer-coded GMMTV series) - (translation by infinitygraph_)

Tor: I think nowadays we should stop talking about gender. It doesn't mean that I have to act with women all the time or I can't act with men at all. I feel that I have proved to everyone that, work is work, and everything is about art. Even my team who are staying with me all the time has all kind of sexualities. It's not strange if someday we want to try telling story of other sexualities that we feel that we might be able to help them telling. If you ask me if today I am like that, today I might not, but I have a chance to understand them more, so I want to do it. Q: Is it because of the spoiler that [Midnight Museum] might be a series Y (BL)? Tor: Nothing to do with it. I tell you, sincerely, it has nothing to do with the spoiler. I just want to say that you don't have to overthink about it because nothing is fixed. Actors are actors. These days there are some award shows don't divide genders into categories anymore. I think this is a great step. Actresses also don't have to act with men all the time, they can act with women. And they both being the main characters Right. Because not all the main characters from every project have to come with the word 'love'. Even if there's 'love', there're many kinds of love. It's up to the audience what kind of feeling they have. Do they feel the same as me or they even feel more than I do? Q: So that means these days you can accept the work without any limit about what you are, which genders... Everything is about the story/script-writing? Tor: Right. I admit that I was afraid before. I wasn't afraid about my image, I was afraid that I would tell the story without understanding it, because I didn't have any experience at all. But at some point I found the chance to be more open-minded, brave to act it out all the way, such as Midnight Museum...

Tor's Vogue Interview in February 2024 on Spare Me Your Mercy as another important milestone as an actor (all translation by saltymarbles on twitter)

Tor: As for Euthanasia, I’ve been interested in it just from its name. If we were to go back in time to the period of the Prime Ministerial elections last year, there was some talk regarding the laws about euthanasia. As such, I know the meaning of it but if I had to explain it, I wouldn’t dare to because I don’t know that deeply about it. Tor: Up to the day that this drama happens, the owner of this project told me he wanted to set this question before anything changed in society: ‘Actually, are humans capable of choosing their death?’. Tor: This question shot through the core of my brain and immediately, i was like: ‘I need to tell this story’. And the role that he hoped to give me also served that function too. It’s a character which sets up the question of ‘what is right?’.(t/n: "this question" likely refers to a more philosophical kind of question regarding morality which asks what does being ‘correct’ mean — what is ‘objective morality’ (if it exists)) Tor: Do the people who are really suffering have the right to ask to leave? (t/n: "leave" is just a polite way of saying die (Thai people usually don’t use directly use the word die when talking about humans, usually use a more polite way like how we say ‘passed away’ or ‘xyz has left us’) Tor: Thus I decided to play along with knowing that the timeline of Euthanasia will remain with one in a hundred (people), so I like shades of the polar opposite. If the first story is navy blue, the other will be red — not close at all.

NONKUL CHANON

Nonkul's response to the question “If you have a chance, would you consider playing in a BL series? If accepted, who do you to co-act with?” in a Facebook Q&A video in 2021

Nonkul: If that series is an interesting storyline for me, I am always open to any kind of genre. I never categorized BL series as an BL series, I just think of it as a series with another plot as part of my work. It is a normal series that can have any of the plots which I will categorize as Romantic Comedy, Drama or whatever. Thus, when I choose the BL series I want to work with, the love preference of the character does not affect my decision. If the plot of the series is interesting, of course I’m gonna do it for sure. Every work that I chose, I personally think it at least enjoyable for me. Of course, if in the future, there are BL series with plots that I find interesting, that I enjoyed the script. “Like, wow, that’s my type!”, I will definitely selected it to be my future project. A good written series is a good series. This is what I believe as an actor. For BL Series, I think I can work with everyone. I don’t think I have anyone in particular. One thing! I desire the character of that person/actor? to be close to the character in the series. At that point I will be satisfied. Sometimes, I as an actor have a chance to work with people who don't have a lot of acting experience. I will still discover something new from him as well. And there is a BL novel which I really like! [Nonkul explains the plot of his favorite BL Novel ‘Peremo’] I would prefer to choose the “heroine” role because it will be a new experience for me as an actor because it will be a new experience for me as an actor. Because basically I only play as a hero role for the main character or support character in my work, but a “heroine” role in a BL series is the only chance for me to play a character more feminine. So it is a new experience for me. [Nonkul continues raving about 'Peremo’]. But if you think that you can make [an adaptation of Peremo], please do not forget me, Nonkul! Pleaseeeeeeee, I will do my best, I promise!!! However, I’m not only fixated on this novel. I’m also open for many more BL series if there is an interesting plot.

Nonkul's response to being ask if he's worried about filming NC scenes in IFYLITA (translation by saltymarbles)

Nonkul: I have to say when I had finished reading [the novel] and it’s made me want to act (in this series). I am probably worried more about the CG because if it’s a fantasy story with time travel, if the CG isn’t good, people will feel that it’s ‘off’. Because CG is something we don’t know anything about until we see the final product. One of the reasons that I accepted this role is because for some series, when I’ve read (the script/novel) for homework, I don’t accept them because there are some scenes that are forced in just for the sake of fan service. And I’m not really into that. If it’s a natural NC scene, then I’m not bothered. I’m a person who places a lot of importance on the story in series making sense. So to me, if an NC scene is reasonable, I won’t be bothered by it. But if it seems forced, I’m not into it. It’s important to show human-ness.

Two clips of Nonkul being asked what he thinks about doing NC scenes in IFYLITA (Clip 1 and Clip 2). Nonkul said that he places great importance on the character's actions. If an NC scene is reasonable he wouldn't mind but would if it's not reasonable. For Nonkul, understanding character is very important, especially for himself as an actor. Nonkul also said previously he had rejected some BL series offers because he can feel when NC scenes are put in just for fan service, which is also a reason why Nonkul accepted to play Jom in IFYLITA is because the love scenes are natural and make sense.

JJ KRISSANAPOOM aka JAYLERR

JJ's interview in February 2024 on Spare Me Your Mercy and his chemistry with Tor (translation by saltymarbles)

JJ: The pilot of ‘Euthanasia’ has been received well since the novel has many fans already who are excited about it. JJ & Tor are similarly excited and are committed to doing their best. The chemistry between Tor & JJ need not be questioned according to JJ since they are already close with each other. The series is in the phase of pre-production currently.

One of my favorite fictional characters of ALL TIME (not just in Thai or BL series) has got to be Tangmo from Great Men Academy (2019) (the series that a lot of BL audience refused to admit it's a queer series). The character Tangmo (played by Jaylerr) was questioned by the press about his gay crush on the protagonist: "Do you think being gay affect your chance of winning the competition?" to which his reply was a stellar "Well then let me ask you something, Does being gay make my good deeds meaningless?"

This isn't the first time JJ has played a queer role, JJ has played a gay character in TWO seasons of the LGBTQ+ series Diary of Tootsies (2016 and 2017). JJ plays Gus, the love interest of the main character.

So even though many BL fans consider Spare Me Your Mercy to be JJ's "first" BL series (which I don't agree with this strict interpretation of BL series), it is definitely not his first QL (Queer Love) series nor queer-adjacent roles as shown through out his filmography.

It is also noteworthy that even during the airing of these series, JJ was already in a public relationship with his fellow actress girlfriend Thanaerng (who has also played sapphic roles). You can see that the real life relationship of JJ or Thanaerng do not influence how/what projects they take on because work is just work :D

BRIGHT RAPHEEPHONG (all translation by saltymarbles on twitter)

Bright at Mono29 Lineup event

Bright: I think that, as I’ve previously said, BL series are just like other ordinary series or movies. Like IFYLITA can be changed to be said to be more like a period drama. I feel that BL is just about two people loving each other, not about whether it’s about male-male or female-male. This series is a period drama and it’s a romantic comedy and the other series is an action drama.

Bright's Interview with LIPS Magazine

Q: What if one day, we’re sucked in by the ship? Bright: I think fans in this day and age don’t need actors to do fan service to that extent. For myself, I’ve never intended for it to be the foundation (of his work). I think it’s a matter of being partners and working together. As such, it’s somewhat good in every aspect because it’s not forcing it. But in some moments, there may some actions that may just be the result of being friends. So even if fans ship, it’s cute to me. (smiles) Q: Do you feel a sense of “newness” stepping into a full-fledged BL? Bright: I feel that BL series are another branch of acting. I don’t think of it as being a specific form of male to male communication. It’s just another type of series just like action dramas, comedy etc, it’s just another kind of role that we can play.

Bright's Interview with Praew Magazine

Q: How is it working with Nonkul? Bright: Nonkul is a person who already does a good job at his work. He does his homework and he is also good at delivering and receiving emotions when on set. It isn’t just Nonkul who is great but the other characters in this series too, this includes P’Tee, the director. We can always talk about ideas which made the work even better. If asked whether entering the scenes with Nonkul made me shy, I would say that BL series are just another branch (of acting), it is just another role. I don't think that when acting with another man, that there’s a need to feel anything. I feel that it’s just another form of work. Another thing is that our workshops were very complete. When we work together I know what level and extent I can go to, what I should do and also trying my best in how I should feel. Thus, I felt at ease working together.

Bright’s Interview with NineEntertain

Q: Are you happy to do “ship” activities like this? Bright: I feel that if there’s an opportunity with regards to being an actor, I don’t want to be stuck in ships like this. I accepted this role with the status of an actor and I want to accept various roles too. It doesn’t always need to be BL or a specific kind of series. I will have another series next year which is ordinary boy-girl relationship and not a BL series. I feel that BL series are just another category of series — not like BL series are just BL series. It’s another category like action, romcom, or drama. It’s just another category. Q: There is still the possibility of coming to act as per usual. (unclear of what the interviewer said) Bright: I feel that with every work opportunity, it’s more about the script and storyline of the work that I were to accept. For example, I accepted the role of Khun Yai in IFYLITA as i felt that it was a script that was suitable for me. I didn’t think of it as “oh it’s a BL series, I need to accept it” because to be honest, I have been contacted for various BL series but because [IFYLITA] storyline is really good, I wanted to try acting in it. Q: What is the difficulty of acting in BL as an actor? Bright: I feel like there isn’t any difference compared to regular series. I feel that when two men love each other or kiss, I don’t think of it as (me and) a man, I think of it more as each of the characters or persons. Q: Does that affect the trend of being a ship? Bright: Hmm… Actually I am not able to answer that because I feel like it depends on people’s perspectives. Because some people may prefer that (an actor) has a (onscreen) gf/bf but some people may be upset about it. I feel like the trend depends on the people’s perspectives as people have different ways of thinking (about it). I think that I am open to listening to all different opinions on this. I feel that working (in this industry), you should be able to explore different things and you should not be fixed in one thing. We need to continue moving onto the next thing. I feel that Non has his own work and I also have my own work, and other actors too have their own upcoming work. It doesn’t mean that coming to act in IFYLITA means that you stay in IFYLITA forever. Q: Some may feel that it’s sad their their ship is coming to an end and that they are gonna work with different people. Bright: Actually, there are still some upcoming pair events but as I’ve said earlier, everyone needs to continue to do their own duties as an actor. Q: What if people change their minds about shipping your ship in the future? Bright: I think it’s a normal thing. I feel that when someone (likes us), they also like our work. I feel like our fanclub likes both Yai and Jom, and they also like Bright and Non. They like the characters and that Bright and Non play these characters and they so they like us at this point. I feel like people who came to like us are also fans of other people. I feel that they are a source of encouragement for me when they like me but I am also glad if they meet someone new or support another person. I feel happy when they come to meet me and if they’re happy when they meet other (celebs), it’s a good thing for them. If there’s a new person, an older person, a regular person or a person they just met that they are happy to meet, I feel that it’s nothing to be stressed about. Let’s say a fan comes and likes me and is following my work and there’s someone new who enters and they like their work, I am glad for them to go support that other person because that person can bring happiness to the fan.

Wow, I really got carried away with this compilation but as a fan who's followed Nonkul, JJ and Tor since their Nadao days, watching them star in queer-coded series/roles like Bangrak Soi 9/1, Hormones, Diary of Tootsies, Great Men Academy... (or in Bright's case a gay character in lakorn Rivalry), I'm just so proud that they have been able to receive "BL" series script offers that they would like to take on.

I've never sat well with the difference in the treatment of the press to "BL actors" and "non-BL actors". I wish there weren't such a distinction because it feels like the notion itself holds a lot of prejudices baggage with it, to both "BL" and "non-BL" actors. To quote a friend on Reddit, "I believe most actors would feel more fulfilled if they knew their fans loved/respected them as individual artists, instead of only seeing them as one part of a unit whose value is lower when 'separated' from their official partner."

[respectthepetty]

Rose's Day of Asks

Top 5 "it's cannon to me" couples.

Have a great Day💜

No. NO! NOOOOOO!!!!!! I will not pick between my beloveds! No. I can't! I won't! I shan't! No! I have too many and all of them are special to me. NO! But I will give you something because this is a good ask!

Top 5 "It's Canon to Me" Couples of 2023

and as usual, I will finesse my way into more!

Let me begin with the couples who cannot be considered for various reasons:

ToddBlack - Not Me

The reason they are being excluded isn't because they weren't in 2023. No! The reason they cannot be included is because THEY ARE CANON! Not just to me, but in the show. They. Are. Canon. They love each other in their warped way. They have fucked and will continue to fuck. And even on this day of marriage equality in Thailand, they still wouldn't get married because Black doesn't believe in the institution of marriage since the government is too involved in it and it's a capitalist tool used to push a heteronormative agenda, and Todd has a team of lawyers there to make sure Black gets everything he wants from Todd including the right to pull the plug on him, which he won't do BECAUSE THEY CAN'T KILL THE OTHER!

Guang Yan x Yi Yong - Oh No! Here Comes Trouble!

It's canon. Once again, it's not just canon to me. It's canon in the show and if people don't want to believe it, they can argue with the ghosts, but the ghosts also know it's canon because they witnessed these two fall in love with each other, so those negative people will still lose! When Yi Yong fell, Guang Yan ran to Yi Yong like his entire world was being destroyed right in front of him, and as a future doctor, he was losing his shit trying to keep Yi Yong alive. Then he stood in front of Yi Yong's mom, god, and ghost grandpa and stated directly into the microphone without any hesitation that Yi Yong was his heart and he needed him to come back to him. And if I ever get a second season, I know they'll still be sleeping in that bed, together. They. Are. Canon.

Peach x Home - Peaceful Property

This show hasn't been released yet, and the word on the streets is that it won't be a BL, but . . . it's canon to me. It's Tay and New. They are always down to kiss a homie. The pilot trailer was color coded, and although color coded boys don't have to be in love, they ARE in love. Therefore, they are canon. I don't make the rules.

Now for the actual list:

#5 - Saifah x Name - Dangerous Romance

They knew each other in high school, and when they met again as adults, there was chemistry. Name should've shot Saifah. Name should've been harsher to Saifah, yet he was granting leniency to Saifah. Then Saifah wanted Name out of the business. He wanted him to be safer and happier. Even though that didn't happen, Saifah still showed up in that jail to let Name know he would be waiting for him, no matter how long it took.

They are canon.

#4 - Oab x Guy - Bake Me Please

They were best friends. They started a business together with their other (bitchass) friend who Oab was in love with. They hired another baker to help their (bitchass) friend and Guy developed feelings for him. But . . . they actually loved each other! This isn't me being delusional either! When the dust settled, Guy and Oab sat down at a bar in the final episode, and Guy made it clear that not only was he far removed from his previous crush on someone else, but that he was there for Oab to help him get over his broken heart, in any way Oab needed him *wink*

They are canon.

#3 - Hyun Jae x Simeon - Jun & Jun

Simeon is an experienced idol. Hyun Jae was his manager, but Hyun Jae quit with no notice to go take care of the main character. The conversation when Simeon confronted Hyun Jae after he found out was thick with tension, and I do mean the physical kind. Simeon schemed his way into seeing the main character years later, but I truly believe it was a guise so he could see Hyun Jae because everything he did was to draw more attention from Hyun Jae. After that first encounter, they argued in cars, on rooftops, in dressing rooms, and standing on city streets, and I fully believed they fucked in all those places too!

They are canon.

#2 - Dome and Khatha - Midnight Museum

Dome is a god. Khatha is immortal. And they traveled through time and space to be together. The show labeled them as "brothers" but I don't know if it's because Gun and Tor could have chemistry with a broomstick, but THEY WERE IN LOVE! What convinces me even more is that Dome wasn't actually Khatha's "brother" Chan but looked like him. Khatha even confronted Chan AND KILLED HIM so he could be with Dome. Khatha made a decision to kill what we had been told was the most important part of him just so Dome could be safe. Then he ran through time to find Dome in the middle of a war with bullets flying and bombs dropping all so he could save him again just like he had the first time they met, and if I ever get that second season (MIDNIGHT MUSEUM 2 WHEN?!), GMMTV better let Gun kiss another man who isn't Off.

They are canon.

#1 - Yui x Soichiro - I Cannot Reach You

These two were just chilling in the background of every scene. TOGETHER! On a school trip? Together. At a festival? Together. Looking at books in the library? TOGETHER! Even though we never saw them kiss, their taiyaki kissed, so that's good enough for me! They were color coded (pink x green), which I think is one of the best color-coded pairs to ever exist, and Yui was giving advice to the main couple to get their shit together, probably because he was already in a loving and long-term relationship with his boyfriend!

They. Are. Canon.

[waterlilyvioletfog]

10 CDramas I Enjoyed Enough To Recommend!

1. Nirvana in Fire (2015) — 5/5 ⭐️ 54 Episodes. This is genuinely as good as its reputation. It is a political palace drama and it is insanely compelling. My mom agrees that this is good. You can watch it on YouTube, but I recommend watching on Viki (which you can sign up with for free) bc cdramas on YT can have weird issues with audio + I’m pretty sure the versions available on YT are heavily edited to cut out Zhang Zhehan.

2. The Untamed (2019) — 4/5 ⭐️ 50 Episodes 🏳️‍🌈 Owns me. Censored BL low-xianxia setting. None of my family believe me about how good it is because they keep seeing out of context episodes and scenes. The Untamed is something you have to just sit through. It is a boiling frog situation. Beats out #3 despite being of lower quality (look. Those special effects…) because this is my best friend my silly rabbit my blorbo my love. My stinky cheese, even. Netflix, YouTube, and Viki.

3. A Journey to Love (2023) — 4.5/5 ⭐️ 40 Episodes. A mixture of court drama, wuxia adventure, and romance. So so so many dramas WANT to be this show, to balance court politics and wuxia shenanigans and epic romance but, frankly, only AJTL manages to perfectly balance all of its genres, plots, and characters. I cried watching the end. I watched this on YouTube, but it’s also on iQIYI.

4. Love Between Fairy And Devil (2022) — 4/5 ⭐️ 36 Episodes. Xianxia romance. Despite outward appearances of trite banality and overdone tropes, this show is gorgeous, insanely compelling, and will sit with you. My mom calls this “the fairy show :D”. Suffers in pacing towards the end, but sticks the landing. Netflix, Viki, iQIYI.

5. Word of Honor (2021) — 4/5 ⭐️ 36 Episodes 🏳️‍🌈 Wuxia adventure censored BL. Lead actor Zhang Zhehan is… a bit of a touchy subject, but I still consider this one of the best cdramas I’ve watched and I do still recommend it. Like LBFAD, pacing suffers in last quarter, but sticks the landing. Netflix, YouTube, Viki.

6. Lost You Forever S1 (2023) — 4/5 ⭐️ 39 Episodes. Xianxia reverse harem romance. Now that description may not sound compelling. But. Idk how to tell you this but I’m insane about this drama. Is it ~good~? I honestly can’t say. I’m insane about it. S2 is probably gonna be a flop and kill my love for it but for now? We’re riding high, baby!! YouTube, Viki, probably iQIYI.

7. The Rise of Phoenixes (2018) — 4/5 ⭐️ 70 Episodes. Court drama/romance. Actually you know what I DON’T recommend this. But like I DO need people to watch it so I have people to talk to about it with 🥺 Watching this is an exercise in masochism. It is gorgeous. It is insanely compelling. Watch like. The first 50 episodes because pretty much the rest of it is just [muffled screams]. Apparently it’s coming soon to Viki which is good bc it’s not on Netflix anymore 🙃

8. Couple of Mirrors (2021) — 3.5/5 ⭐️ 12 Episodes 🏳️‍🌈 1930s Shanghai censored GL romance. Hardly the highest quality, but it’s really fun, and you know what. Does a thing have to be good, historically coherent, and have two full seasons? Is it not enough for a show to be about lesbians??? Who are wanted for murders they may or may not have committed??? YouTube and Viki.

9. New Life Begins (2022) — 3.5/5 ⭐️ 40 Episodes. Fluffy court romance. Is this actually good idek I haven’t re-watched at all. What it is is a solid, serviceable, fluffy little het court romance with Feminism 101 undergirding it all. I liked it perfectly fine. There are many kinds of women and they should all be happy and free to pursue their passions!! Women who are friends!! And you know what? So true, cute little cdrama. So true. YouTube, Viki, iQIYI.

10. The Starry Love (2023) — 3/5 ⭐️ 40 Episodes. Xianxia romance. For the most part, a lighthearted comedic romance drama. It’s cute. It’s fun. It is sometimes comically low-quality, but it’s mostly charming and I like the visuals in general. The main pairing, while fun, doesn’t interest me as much as the secondary pairing or the friendship/sisterhood aspects of it. YMMV with this one. Viki and YouTube.

Honorable mention— The Blood of Youth (2022) Probably better overall than at least a few of these entries, but I’m just still so sad abt my favorite character dying :( Could be gayer.

[mondstalgia]

BL ships that I will never forget:

In a few weeks it's gonna be 14 years of obsessing over queer media, especially BL, so here are the ships always on my mind in no particular order.

Arata & Shingyouji (Takumi-kun Series 4: Pure, 2010): Listen the Takumi-kun Series from 2007 to like 2011 was my life as a (pre-)teen. In hindsight really sketchy but anyway haha. Those two really caught my eye back then though (especially their racy kisses) and I was happy they got their own bigger part in one of the movies.

Evan & Isak (Skam Season 3, 2016): Was there a queer European teen that wasn't obsessed with this season of Skam? I remember re-watching it so many times I could recite their text without speaking Norwegian. Plenty of beautiful Skam universe parallel couples out there but these two will remain the iconic blueprint.

ChenAi (Kiseki: Dear to me, 2023): Almost unfair to put them on here but seeing how I haven't been able to think about any other ship every single day for the last 3 months, I feel like it's justified. They just have everything I want and need to get hyperfixated on.

Seiryo & Yuzuru (Seven Days, 2015): Oh my, the way I loved this silly concept and how funny it was yet they managed to get me all emotionally involved in the span of two movies? Insane chemistry and just..everything I needed back then. Especially since it was then one of the very few BL's I saw without a sad ending.

KornKnock (Bad Romance 2016, Together With Me 2017 - 2018): Listen, plot wise Manner of Death is the absolute height to me but when it comes to MaxTul I will never forget them as Korn and Knock in these series. Forever grateful to all the fanvids that led me to finding my BL fathers. Chemistry forever out of this world. Also shout out to Yiwha, best female character in any BL and my wife.

WinTeam (Until We Meet Again 2019, Between Us 2023): The couple that made me aware of what second lead syndrome was because I waited so long for more of them, it felt eternal. I don't think I will ever get tired of these two.

VegasPete (KinnPorsche, 2022): Who said I couldn't like a toxic ship? These two took me by surprise, I didnt even know they were going to be a ship in the series. Definitely acknowledging how fucked up they are yet at the same time it's the forst toxic ship that really got me. I love them, in my own weird way.

HaoGu (HIStory 3: Make Our Days Count, 2019): I mourned them like I have mourned no other couple. I should have known from the title but they really lead me astray. My beautiful boys, the star crossed lovers. They still get me emotional now, I might go cry now.

Hira & Kiyoi (Utsukushii Kare, 2021 - 2023): Before ChenAi there were Hira and Kiyoi who absolutely owned my heart. I love how misunderstood by BL fans they were who claimed their toxicity. Meanwhile I simply love how weird their relationship is and getting to see a real Tsundere in action. I'm obsessed with them.

Honourable Mention: Kim Jae Wook as Min Sun Woo in Antique Bakery, 2008. The very first gay character I saw in Korean media. Forever iconic, forever in my heart.

[twig-tea]

Lately I’ve been feeling like Thai bl is truly all over the place with so many shows airing at once and some of the best ones flying under the radar while discourse is focused on a couple of the big messy ones. I think you’re the only person I know who is actually watching ALL of them and has been here for the whole evolution of the genre, so I’m curious what stands out to you about this current moment. Do the shows feel different to you? Is the way fandom is interacting with them changing? And what are your current favs?

I ended up writing a thesis, sorry friend lol To be fair to me there are 3 questions in there, all of them meaty! I've done my best to give a sense of where I'm at with Thai BL and how it feels like it's changed over time.

Caveating all of this: I am just one fan who I'm sure has had specific experiences that will colour my opinion, also a lot of this is just vibes so I'm open to being told I've forgotten something major or misremembered what it was like! If you are reading this and your opinion or experience is different please share, with stuff like this I'm always interested in hearing about differing opinions because the fandom experience will depend at least partly on where you hang out. For years, my main fandom space for BL was the YouTube comments section (RIP me).

Overall feel

Honestly, things overall don't feel all that different to me in Thai BL in particular, even though I'm about to talk about a lot of changes and ways it actuallyd does feel very different below lol And after reflecting about it, I think it's because these things still feel very much in flux, in a way that they've felt in flux this entire time. Producers are still figuring out the best funding and distribution models and merch models to make money; creators are still calibrating how queer these shows can be and still be popular; actors are still figuring out how to do BGP (business gay performances) without having fans interfere in their private lives off the clock. Writers are still trying to figure out how to write 12-episode arcs that don't drag in the middle or fumble the ending (which is also not new). The tension between established ships, fan expectations, and genre requirements has honestly been there almost the whole time, though the reverberations of missteps is louder now because of the larger fanbase that is (comparatively) more plugged in to live viewing. The core question in BL has always been 'how do we make this marketable', and that unsurprisingly hasn't changed, though the answer to that question has over time, if that makes sense?

Shows

Do the shows feel different? As a whole, I'd say yes. The biggest differences are of course total quantity and overall quality, but the actual distribution of % of shows that have high(er) production values (i.e. quality) feels close to the same--it was close to 50/50 in the late 2010s and now is maybe more like 40/60 with a higher percentage coming from more smaller production companies. But the numbers we're talking about are something like 15 shows in e.g. 2018 and something more like 50 shows in 2023 (being vague because there are shows that people could argue over whether they should count). The quality overall has increased, even the pulps look better, sound better, and tend to feel a little bit more put together than the pulps of even 2020 (please note that these are all relative qualifiers, most of these shows are still not objectively good). 2020 in particular was a watershed moment for high production value BLs; we get colorists and special effects artists, and sometimes decent sound production now!

There has also been an improvement in terms of what is depicted and how certain subject matter is treated very generally, though I think that's still in flux. Things like evil ex girlfriends are less common than they were and the women in BL are more likely (in general, still not always) to be treated as realized characters. We've gotten more and better femme representation in ensemble shows, and the "gay for you" trope is much less common. Consent is now considered sexy and is much more common than it was; non-consent as "sexy" has eroded and is much less common. Things that used to happen in almost every BL now happen in a much lower percentage. I also feel a little bit less worried about some of the actors on pulp sets because there is more general scrutiny about things like minor actors, intimacy coordination, BGP (business gay performance) expectations, and sexual exploitation. Overall, show recommendations these days come with fewer caveats.

The assumption that if you worked with someone on a BL once you would stay with them as an established pairing was surprisingly early in BL; I don't know if it's just because there were a few shows that had side pairings then get main shows, so the actors did work together on a few shows in a row, which made them feel established, or whether it's because the BGP started early to build hype both before and after shows aired, or whether audiences just made homophobic assumptions about how if two actors had chemistry they had to be gay for each other, and otherwise nobody would want to "play gay" more than once, or would want to have to kiss too many other men....in any case, there were huge scandals and blow-ups around this in BL on even the earliest shows, and some early shows were snubbed because of the pairing alone. Similarly, it was established very early in BL (i.e. 2016-17) that an unhappy ending for a pair would result in your show being panned; cheating was also a guaranteed flop in BL circles (though some ensemble shows that had gay relationships in them such as Friend Zone did fine with cheating plots and unhappy endings). Overall it feels like some things were only depicted in early Thai BL and creators have avoided them since due to the audience reception at the time. I will say, generally, that there have now been enough examples of people in a "branded pair" moving on to a new pair or multiple shows, that it feels less like a death knell to a BL career if one of the actors says they no longer wanted to make BLs, or if they switched companies.

I pay a lot of attention to queerness in BL, and that has changed a little bit too, though not in the way I expected. I had been expecting a more clear and steady trajectory in BL, but we've instead had real swings, and I've realized there will just always be shows that feel more or less actually gay or queer than others, and that's ok. Early Thai shows really spoiled us for good queer content, GayOK Bangkok and Diary of Tootsies are still shows by which i measure what we get now, and both of those are from 2016. I would say that more "mainstream" BL (i.e. by one of the major production companies) hit what turned out to be queer saturation around 2020 and that's where I was most surprised not see a more clear trajectory; rather than things getting more queer from there, I'd say a greater percentage of shows overall feel more queer, but we haven't (and I now suspect won't) reach the queerness we had in Thai tv in 2016. That being said, my secret running list of things I want to see in BL gets shorter every year as entries get crossed off, so I would say the range of queer experience is slowly getting captured as more content continues to be made by a wider range of production houses (PrEP being mentioned in a mainstream show is my white whale).

I know some people assume that shows are higher heat now overall, but I don't think that's true. I do think Thai television producers and directors have overalll gotten better at capturing sensuality, and acting workshops have improved chemistry-building overall too. But from what I can tell the ratio of high head and low heat content is still pretty similar to what it's always been, maybe slightly higher (e.g. at a quick glance I'd guesstimate 30% of shows had a sex scene in 2018 vs 40% in 2023).

Fandom

The main differences in fandom from the really early days and now are the ways we, as international fans, are able to engage with each other, with thai audiences at the same time, and with content creators, and the entitlement that comes with that. In the 2010s we were almost always watching after Thai airing, with either fansubs or, later, official subs, trailing online releases by days or weeks, which themselves may have trailed the Thailand airing date by days or weeks or sometimes even months. That became less true around 2019ish, and especially in 2020 when I think Thai producers were desperate to reach audiences during the start of the pandemic (and when audiences were desperate for something to distract us from what was happening in real life).

As a fan in the mid-late 2010s, watching something was either unofficial via a fansubber, or you were wading through hundreds of Thai comments to find anyone else writing about the shows in English. Now, it's actually rare we don't have immediate international distribution, though it may be paid. If the subs are not up at the same time as the official upload, even on free sites, fans get furious. It's a bit surreal to see people complain about waiting a few hours for subtitles, especially on YouTube, when we sometimes waited months for a series to finish being subbed (not to say people didn't complain back then too, because they sure did! But there were fewer international fans overall, and it wasn't an expectation that there would be subs, so fewer people complained when it happened). This meant that a lot of people only watched shows when they were complete, and people were not watching with any kind of synchronicity.

With international fans moving into simultaneous watching with Thai audiences, we suddenly had the chance to talk about shows as they were airing and affect the conversations about them and even, sometimes, the decisions. Folks seem to have differing opinions about what makes a BL, and what makes a BL good, and they are vocal about when a show doesn't meet their standard. This has always been true, but the strong opinions have more of an effect on the discourse when they're expressed in real-time to the show being aired. Also, when we have literally 3x the number of Thai shows being aired (nevermind other countries which have also increased), it seems so much more egregious to me to complain if a single show doesn't meet your particular taste. Just go watch something else! That was less possible in 2016, but now nobody has any excuse lol Please note here that I'm not saying shows should not be criticized. But when you have one loud faction saying shows should have nothing but innocent kisses if any skinship at all and showing more is distasteful and possibly homophobic, and another faction saying a show should be panned if they don't have at least one sex scene and if there is no good kiss it's homophobic, I don't know where that leaves content creators but I see the tension and how it sometimes results in my least favourite tropes like "blushing maiden" even after a couple has canonically had sex. These factions have always existed in BL fandom, this is not new, they just both seem particularly silly now with so much content to choose from.

The shows that get attention and the shows that get snubbed feel the same too, in all honesty. You can ask yourself the following questions:

Is the show a little slower paced?

Are the story beats less melodramatic?

Do its characters feel more human?

Do they feel more queer?

Is it a comedy?

Is there any risk of an unhappy ending?

Do people not think one of the lead actors is hot?

Do people ship one of the lead actors with someone who isn't his costar?

Do people have to do anything other than go to YouTube to watch it?

If the answer is yes to any of those questions, and especially to the last one, fewer people will be watching, even if the show is good. That's always been true. [Shows I'm thinking about when I say that: Make it Right, He's Coming to Me, My Ride, You're My Sky, Oxygen (though the sides in this one are also at fault), YYY, Something in my Room, Ghost Host Ghost House, Dear Doctor I'm Coming for Soul, Cooking Crush.] All this is to say, there have always been shows that have been ignored, though I agree with you OP that with more shows airing, more are being ignored at any given time.

The other thing is that when a show is good, it doesn't necessarily invite discourse. The messes are often what encourage people to dig in, fill in gaps, linger in the adrenaline. The part that does feel different is also related to the increase in genre BLs; genre stuff in general tends to get more attention in fandom spaces, and the way people are functioning as fans feels different in that they're bringing the way they interact with genre content to BL as BL has started having larger and better funded genre content. I'm thinking about those early genre BLs like He She It, My Dream, Love Poison, Golden Blood, So Much In Love, Why R U....we started getting genre shows in BL in I think 2017 and basically had 1-2 a year until 2020ish and then it increased from there; and the ones that had funding and decent distribution got engagement until they started going off the rails, and then they had even more engagement and then fell off. I don't think it's a coincidence that the shows last year that got people to write meta were La Pluie, Be My Favorite, and I Feel You Linger in the Air. When a show is building a world, there's more to say and interrogate about it, and when a genre show fails, it can fail more spectacularly than a regular romance story. The most popular BL shows used to all be straight-up BL bubble romances, but I think genre shows really started to take over a greater percentage of the popular spots in 2022 and 2023. Again, the main difference here is that there used to be 1-2 stand-out shows per year, and now there are closer to 6+ per year, and as we got more stand-out shows the variety of what type of show stood out as popular has expanded. I do think the overall percentage of shows that are more standard romance plots has reduced, partly because Thai production companies are running out of popular y-novels to adapt. So I'm anticipating we'll continue to get more genre content going forward, and maybe a higher percentage of original works too.

Shows I'm Enjoying Right Now

Right now, the Thai shows airing that I'm watching are:

Cooking Crush

Dead Friend Forever

Cherry Magic Thailand

City of Stars

The Sign

Playboyy

PitBabe

7 Days before Valentine

For Him

Of those, I'd currently most recommend Cooking Crush as a generic BL recommendation. Dead Friend Forever is very good, but is not a romance and is difficult for some to watch (there are a lot of dark themes in addition to the gore and scary bits).

Cooking Crush is doing so many things I love. I've written about the way it's set up its major conflict to be amongst the friend group here, and way the show is depicting communication between the two main characters and how they improve their communication with one another as they get closer here. Two of my biggest BL pet peeves are a conflict for the sake of a dramatic penultimate episode that ignores or retcons a character's growth or the building of trust that a couple has already gone through in the series, so the fact that this show is working so hard to establish strong communication between its leads and then setting up the significant drama to actually about friendship rather than romance is something I cannot overstate my excitement about. To tie this back into what I wrote above, this reminds me of Diary of Tootsies and I mean that in the best possible way.

Dead Friend Foreever is, like I mentioned above, not a romance; it's a slasher horror melodrama with a very well established mystery, an ensemble cast of mostly hateable characters (which I admit isn't usually my thing, but since they're likely all going to die as a result of the genre they're in I'm finding that more tolerable than usual, and there is at least one character I like). DFF did a great job of structuring the story for the ultimate payoff of information reveals. There are a lot of shows that have been messing with non-linear storytelling recently, Cooking Crush being one of the ones that actually does this poorly in my opinion, but Dead Friend Forever effectively uses non-linear storytelling so that we find out important pieces of information about particular characters at a time when that information will have the most emotional impact on what is happening in the "present" of the storyline. Every time there is a reveal, it informs what we've already seen, recontextualizes it, and means we understand some of the character motivations and actions differently from when we saw them the first time. I mentioned above that there are dark themes in this show; one of the things that I really like about this show is that the impact of class is not glossed over, and that the consequences of these events feel very real for the characters; people do terrible things in this show, but these actions are not treated lightly by the show itself.

You'd think these two shows would have nothing in common, but there are things that they share that put them both in my top category. Generally, in both of these shows, the character arcs are clear and logical; when a character does something, even if I don't like the action itself, I can understand exactly why they that and can see how it matches where they are in their arc at the time. The shows show change in characters as a result of what they experience, and the relationships in this show really matter. When characters start acting in ways that feel out of character or against their own arc because they have to in order to drive the plot forward, I struggle to remain invested; that's not happening with either of these shows. Both of these shows also treat serious topics with seriousness, and consequences for actions are real and felt by the characters in the show (and if someone gets away with something, the show is clear that this is not just). Nothing has happened that hasn't been signalled or implied earlier. Both shows also have clear class consciousness and represent the disparity caused by classism in a critical/harsh light.

Whew! I think I got to everything you asked. Thanks again for the extremely interesting question!

[shijiujun]

KISEKI Dear to Me: 3.5 CPs + GANGSTER/MOB + SALT DEATH PTSD

Alright guys, temporarily bursting out of hiatus to talk about this show because DAMN if there's anything we know works in BL-land, it's like underworld AU (hello History3: Trapped and KP lmao), and even better if this underworld AU has like DILFs and two familiar actors who WERE FORCED APART in their previous roles and who knows if that'll happen again BUT!

Without further ado...

Title: Kiseki Dear to Me, based on novel Dear to Me by Lin Peiyu Beginning: Aug. 22, 2023, 7PM (GTM+8) Episodes: 13 Total No. of CPs: THREE CONFIRMED + "childhood friends" DILFs

-----------

CP 1: BAD BOY + GOOD STUDENT

Fan Zherui x Bai Zongyi: Fan Zherui, 25 years old, is a gang member who turned to the gangs due to family problems, and one day when he's injured, Bai Zongyi saves him, he falls in love with him and decides to leave the gang, but things go awry when his enemy Zhang Teng (played by Wayne, see CP 3) comes after for revenge. Bai Zongyi is a good student, your cutest boy next door, who is independent and has some PTSD from when he was beaten up in the rain - meets Fan Zherui and for once realises what it means to be loved, to have someone to care for him and more. TWO MEOW MEOWS?! Anyway, Bai Zongyi, according to MDL, will take the rap for some fight for Zherui, and then end up in jail, but then very weirdly the official description says that CP 2's Eddie ends up in jail for Bai Zongyi, I'm a tad confused but WHATEVER we will find out when we watch the damn show.

----

CP 2: ADOPTED SON OF GANG BOSS + CHILDHOOD "YOUNGER BROTHER" PUPPY

Chen Yi x Eddie (Ai Di): They both grew up together with Eddie as the younger 'brother', with Chen Yi being 'adopted' by gang boss Chen Dongyang after his parents, also gang members die to protect the boss. Eddie has been chasing after him for the longest time, and has a sad family background as his parents are druggies and he was only able to grow up well under the protection of Chen Dongyang, and he only listens to Chen Yi. UNREQUITED-REQUITED love, but Eddie sees how Chen Yi feels deeply about Chen Dongyang (I don't know what that means from the description LMAO like??) and decides to leave Chen Yi, and somehow get embroiled in something and ends up in jail for Bai Zongyi. Chen Yi is only just understanding his own feelings for Eddie when Eddie literally goes to jail DOGBLOOD MUCH?! Anyway they will reunite 4 years later.

----

CP 3: MY BAOBEIS?!?!?! MY LOVELIES WHO MADE US GET PTSD OVER SALT?! WILL THESE TWO GANG MEMBERS GET THEIR HAPPILY EVER AFTERS THEY BETTER FUCKING DO

Zhang Teng x A-Jun: BOTH GANG MEMBERS if you couldn't tell from their loud af shirts and thick ass accessories LMAO omg I cannot believe how happy I am to see these two again. A-Jun is Zhang Teng's like follower??? Has been following him since he joined the gang and both fears and reveres him, and Zhang Teng is just angry ball of angst and revenge and vengeance, if you couldn't tell from Wayne's face. I cannot believe they're in a setting! WHERE THEY MIGHT NOT GET GOOD ENDINGS WAS SALT SEPARATION NOT ENOUGH TELL ME YALL

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CP 3.5: DILFS? "CHILDHOOD FRIENDS" DADS???

Friends yall do not understand how I feel about these two uncles. IF you've ever watched Taiwan family dramas, these two, especially the one on the left Xie Chengjun, is a fucking LEGEND, he's in EVERY SINGLE FAMILY DRAMA all hundreds of episodes of them, he's literally like THE dude to idolise he's been paired up with EVERY SINGLE POPULAR GODDESS ACTRESS in Taiwan - I KID YOU NOT I GREW UP WATCHING HIM on OUR CHANNELS EVERY SINGLE DAY ACROSS 5-7 POPULAR FAM DRAMAS it's been like 20 years ISTG.

Anyway I'm NOT SURE if they are actually going to be a CP at all BUT (1) at press conference this week, these two made kissy faces at each other sooooo...?

Zhou Minglei grew up with Chen Dongyang protecting him as he was a weak and sickly child, so they're childhood friends, and he becomes super unhappy and upset that Chen Dongyang begins to protect and pays attention to Chen Yi ;-; LIKE WHAT IS THIS DESCRIPTION? Okay we could think of this professionally as like two bosses of a gang with their interests at stake BUT THE DESCRIPTION?! And ok Chen Dongyang on the right, he's obviously gang boss, and he relies on Zhou Minglei a lot to fix his problems for him. EXCUSE ME?!

----

The main CPs (1 & 2) are torn apart in a particular fight, and they will reunite 4 years later LET'S SEE HOW THAT GOES THANK YOU.

500% I'll be watching this you bet your damn ass because they better give me happy ending Wayne and Junzhi THIS TIME otherwise they're seriously cursed?!?!?!? No more salt accidents fuck you writer for that ;-; AND IF THE DILF PAIRING COMES TRUE even if just bromance and meaningful side eyes, this bitch will take it.

[absolutebl]

Best 23 of BL 2023 - Quirky Awards

SHOCK & AWE AWARDS

1. Biggest BL surprise of 2023:

The last 3 months of 2023 in general got my biggest WTF award.

GMMTV fielding OffGun AND TayNew in the same quarter while also airing Last Twilight (arguably one of their best BLs ever)

That they ALSO optioned 3 JBLs

That there's a high heat omegaverse BL staring Pavel

That there were 20 BLs airing and none of them Korean.

With 5 VAMPIRE BLs announced for next year

But my prize in this category goes to My Dear Gangster Oppa.

It's just crazy:

Thai talent, Korean money + IP (this is adapted from a manwha) airing on a Chinese channel (iQIYI). Plus it was GOOD and made smart reuse of a pair who richly deserved it. I'm delighted by the eclectic insanity of this production. And wonder if any other film genre could even do anything like this.

2. The “that country did WHAT?” award:

The 8th Sense from Korea?!

I mean, seriously?! Dealing with metal health, suicide, darkness, therapy, age gap, & first time love BUT FROM KOREA? And then openness and casual boyfriend physical affection? What's next? An actual hard fought coming out narrative with an HEA? Gay domesticity and families?

Careful Korea, you'll strain something. Possibly your own culture and film industry.

I should stop having expectations of Korea, they keep surprising me.

Runners up: Korea letting OnlyOneOf do Bump Up Business not to mention that OmegaX thing. AND Korea adapting Why R U? What are you up to, Korea? Qua? Is this a coded message? Should we send help? Do you need snacks?

3. Biggest casting whoa! where did you come from? award:

GeminiFourth in My School President.

Seriously? Babies what? How did GMMTV find you? How do you exist? How is BL this lucky?

4. That studio did WHAT now? award:

GMMTV putting EarthMix into Moonlight Chicken.

And then doubling down with G4 as the damn sides.

Fucking genius.

5. I’m sad you were ignored award:

Destiny Seeker.

It's just a really fun little Thai pulp, the pairs were good, silly dialogue, plus consent and other good rep. I enjoyed it. No one talked about it AT ALL.

6. 2023 BL That Actually Made Me Lose My Mind Award?

Laws of Attraction. -The casting, the crazy story, the soapy drama! But specifically: Film playing Charn - the range of his smiles alone. GLORIOUS

I mean I Feel You Linger in the Air also sparked something in me, but LoA drove me actually nuts.

NARRATIVE AWARDS

7. Best story 2023:

La Pluie

I know, you're surprised, right? At the time I didn't chat much about it but I really enjoyed the discourse others were having. I love anything that really examines the fated mates (soulmates) trope and the idea of "the one". What a clever way to do that. (This is one reason UWMA is my favorite Thai BL.)

This one reminded me of the way Color Rush approached allegory and that's no bad thing. Such an impressive little piece.

8. Best narrative structure 2023 award:

Unintentional Love Story.

I know this may seem a simplistic pick. But I love the tidiness of this no frills contemporary romance, how the culture of work and personal ethics and corruption fight against the main character's affection and integrity. Poor baby boy is driven into a corner and then punished for it. But it is punishment he feels he deserves, and so it is up to his (now) ex to figure out what went wrong and why.

It's just great. I love it when no one is stupid or wrong, it's just impossible circumstances and unintentional love deeply felt.

9. Best 2023 dialogue (script) award:

Jun & Jun

Never before has Korea laced a BL with that much perfectly executed innuendo. It was a master class. I didn't know you could be that lascivious in Korean, quite frankly. Plus the way the 2 Juns constantly seamlessly transition between formal register (work, public - where they are boss/employee) to informal register (when they are alone and age mates + childhood sweethearts).

Beautiful to hear and watch.

10. Favorite scene 2023:

The dub con scene in I Cannot Reach You because I AM TRASH for an out of control seme. I'm sorry I just AM.

I have said it before, I will say it again, NO ONE DOES THIRST like Japan. And when that thirst bubbles over, it is heart-clenching and very hot.

11. The most rewatchable BL of 2023 award:

Our Dating Sim

That scene where they lie on the floor + the stolen kiss + giggle? Come on, it should be on comfort repeat in war rooms. It could bring world peace.

ACTORS & CHARACTERS AWARDS

12. Best performance of a queer actor in a leading role, 2023:

Fluke in Make a Wish.

It was fun to see him as an irreverent immortal and while I love OhmFluke I also really enjoyed this new pairing. It was a genuine pleasure to watch.

13. Best pining 2023:

The moot pining in Tokyo in April is...

Boys, seriously? Japan must you destroy us like this? Hurts so good.

14. Best wingman 2023 (The Namgoong Award)

Tiw from My School President

I mean, come on, of course it's him!

(Also can you believe Mark went on from this to do fricking Only Friends!? To Last Twilight! Come on GMMTV GIVE HIM A LEAD!)

15. Biggest OMG I LOVE you boys together, YAY!

Dimpled McMafia & Feral Bunny Foo Foo from Kiseki Dear to Me.

They were feral for each other.

We were feral for them

It was a whole delightful THING.

16. Most unexpected return of a BL pair? award:

The Private Lessons pair showing up in Love Class 2.

I know it was only a cameo, but SERIOUSLY? Thank you SO MUCH Korea! A big studio picking up a Strongberry pairing? I love you.

Seriously tho between them, Taiwan & Korea tried for ALL THE CAMEOS this year.

17. Well aren't you two just the prettiest? award:

NetJames in Bed Friend.

Need I say more?

18. LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Bah Vinh in Vian & Mr Cinderella 2. I did like either show but I loved him in them. Especially the make outs.

Yes you have chemistry with all the boys in Vietnam and you kiss beautifully. But it's okay now honey, you have the crown. Relax, you're stressing us out.

RANDOM PICKS

19. Favorite Linguistic Moment of 2023:

Our Dating Sim

Caught in the act by the elevator scene. OMG it's so funny. They're being such boyfriend shits to each other, and to be caught in the act by THAT character, and try to manifest formal language whole cloth? Hilarious.

Honorable mention to War Peanuts in Destiny Seeker.

20. Biggest disappointment of 2023:

You Are Mine

Seriously Taiwan, AGAIN you disappoint me with an Office BL? You're Taiwan, land of offices and suits. This should be YOUR SETTING TO WIN. And yet... argh. I mean it wasn't bad. But it wasn't good either. Stop it Taiwan, do better.

Runners up? Between Us, Chains of Heart, Dangerous Romance - this was a HOTLY contested category.

+ 2 Winners in the sub-category of FUCK YOU FOR THAT ENDING award:

The Director who Buys Me Dinner - I mean this nicely but: you have your lane now Korea, stop hurting us, that's Japan's responsibility and they do it better.

I Feel You Linger In the Air - I'm just hugely disappointed. Thailand ALMOST got its second 10/10 from me, but that damn ending.

Argh.

21. Best Wardrobe/Prop Use 2023

The shower of packaged bedsheets in My Personal Weatherman

Amazing. Brilliant. No notes.

22. Best Queer Rep 2023

Chot in Step By Step

In fact, all the queer characters in this show were treated with great integrity.

AND props to this cast for refusing to do fan service. GOOD FOR YOU! Fuck those sasang wankers.

Runners up? The found family cast of Love in Translation and the Rainbow Rice Cakes in The New Employee.

23. Best Meta Trope call out

Tin Tem Jai

Come on, what a zinger, but at themselves (and Taiwan)

Final question: which of the 23 was the hardest for me to pick?

Honestly? Question #1 this year. But also question #20.

(Last year: 2022's Version) 

Remember I only pull from shows that were completely finished by the end of 2023. Or The Sign probably would have taken multiple categories. But it will fall into 2024 offerings.

(source)

[my-rose-tinted-glasses]

Rose Recaps 2023 - Japan

So, because I have a hard time making big lists and choosing favourites, this my version of a superlative post, by country.

The one that had me at the first frame

If It’s With You | Kimi to Nara Koi wo Shite Mite mo

As soon as Amane appeared on screen I was gone. This damaged but confident boy had my heart from the beginning. But it was Ryuji that ended up with a bigger piece by the end. The way he saw Amane’s mask from the beginning and just went – “you don’t need to do that with me”. And the way he considered Amane’s feelings even when he wasn’t sure what to do or how to respond, or how he was feeling about all of it, was just beautiful to witness and at certain points kinda reminded of Ida.

Favourite Moment: Amane confessing and running away. Because visually it's so striking. The way he's running from the light that is Ryuji.

The one that was perfect and I never saw coming.

I Cannot Reach You | Kimi ni wa Todokanai

I think that by now at least some people know how I feel about Japanese BL. I love it so much. And for me it’s always about the characters. Whether they are the embodiment of chaos, like Aoki or they are just incredible complex and empathic humans like Ida. - Yes, I’m using Kieta Hatsukoi every chance I get- I just love the way all these characters are written and portrait.

I loved these 2 boys in equal measure all throughout the show. I might have a soft spot for Yamato, but that’s only because pining boys are my weakness.

Yamato’s back and forth in his own head about what to do would be annoying to me in any other show, but it was so well done, and we were privy to his thought process throughout that it just made me feel for him deeply. And Kakeru learning about Yamato’s feelings right away in the first episode was a great choice, because he gave the show time to make the reciprocity more believable.

Favourite Moment - The exchange of gifts at the door. I love the nervousness that the two of them are feeling in this moment.

The one where I gave in.

My Beautiful Man S2 & Eternal

Confession time. This was not love at first season for me. I don’t argue quality overall and much less the acting of the show, but it just didn’t click for me.

There were some truly great moments in the first season but there was a disconnect between my heart and my brain. This happens to me sometimes. Like I watch something that is objectively good but it doesn’t reach me.

That all changed with the second season and the film. I finally connect with Hira. Don't ask me why, I don't fully understand myself, but it happened right at the beginning of the season. I think perhaps it was because I started seeing more from Kiyoi pov, because before I was absolutely clueless about what he saw in Hira in the first place. Sorry if that sounds harsh.

I don't blame the show for this, as I said, I think all the elements are there, it just didn't connect for me.

Also, the film was gorgeous to watch. Several moments (specially the sequence where the gif is from) were so well shot and edited that I'm happy I went in already with a positive mindset.

Favourite Moment: The one from the gif. I'm a sucker for a drastic visual change when the moment calls for it.

The one that had me question if watching it was good for my mental health.

Tokyo in April is | Shigatsu no Tokyo wa

Ok. I love this show. I love Ren. But this was a hard watch for me. Every week I had a struggle between two sides of me.

- Don’t watch it. It will be sad and you will be sad because of it. - But the last one was sad so I need to watch it to see if there’s happy. - Why not just wait? - Because I started already, so now I can’t wait. - But in this case binging is best. Cause for sure the ending is happy so you won’t be sad for long. - Yeah, but I need to see more now. And there’s a new episode waiting for me. - Fine. Just press play. After the episode. - I really shouldn’t watch this one live. (all this repeats the following week)

It was beautifully acted, there were some outstanding moments, the past was as tastefully done as it could be given the subject matter, and in the end my heart of full, but slightly damaged with the process.

Favourite Moment: Ren finding out Kazuma had been looking for him.

The one with all the magic.

What Did You Eat Yesterday? | Kinou Nani Tabeta? S2

I already wrote how this show made me feel in another post. So I’ll just say this.

EVERYONE NEEDS TO WATCH THIS SHOW. NOW. If you haven’t, stop reading this and go. GO. NOW. Start.

There is magic here and you don’t even know.

Favourite Moment: ALL OF THEM. But really this one.

Shiro. Just Shiro.

Well, I'll try to write the next one in these next couple of days. Wish me luck.

Thanks for reading💜

[lurkingshan]

Favorite BL Tumblr Shticks: 2023 Edition

Whenever I start thinking about end of year round ups, I get overwhelmed with how many awesome people are on here making my days so delightful, and how I could never capture them all in one solitary list. So I thought this year, instead of listing all my favorite blogs/people (which would be a ridiculously long list that would almost certainly break tumblr), I would instead share some of my favorite shticks that I came to rely on from fandom besties. 

Some of us (me) just post kind of randomly and inconsistently about shows. Will you get a pithy one liner, a photo essay, or a thesis from me on any given week of a show’s discourse? Who can say (certainly not me). But some of y’all decided you were going to claim the mantle for a specific type of analysis or creativity on here and delivered consistently, and I just think that’s really fucking cool.

And so, the time has come to pay respect to some of my favorite bl fandom blogs who commit to the bit (with our patron saint of finding your niche, Tankhun, looking on approvingly). Note: if you are reading this and NOT following any of the fine folks listed below, you really should correct that. Onto the squad!

@bengiyo stray thoughts

@blmpff favorite shots

@colourme-feral location spotting 

@dribs-and-drabbles Thai communal wardrobe

@gabrielokun throwback gifs

@my-rose-tinted-glasses mission posts

@ranchthoughts kissing multiverse

@respectthepetty color analysis

@sparklyeyedhimbo live blogs

@troubled-mind manga comparison sets

@waitmyturtles OGGMMTVC

@wanderlust-in-my-soul bl tropes collection

@wen-kexing-apologist long ass gay analysis

Special category shoutout also to the squad, in addition to a few folks above, keeping Bad Buddy meta alive and well nearly two years after the show aired: @chickenstrangers @dimplesandfierceeyes @dudeyuri @grapejuicegay @miscellar @starryalpacasstuff @telomeke-bbs. Watching Our Skyy 2 with y'all was some of the most fun I had on here this year. And to @chicademartinica and @negrowhat whose crack combination of comedy and lust make me laugh on this website just about every day.

And I must end with an extra special shoutout to my La Pluie meta squad. I created the meta round up for La Pluie specifically because its brilliance was being overlooked and/or misunderstood, and I really wanted to encourage the folks who got what the show was doing to write more about it in the hopes of bringing more of the bl audience along. A very successful Shan Scheme, if I do say so myself. I'm so glad @bengiyo and I decided to give ourselves brain rot over that show and got to know you all better as a result @ginnymoonbeam @neuroticbookworm @slayerkitty @solitaryandwandering @sunshinechay @syrena-del-mar @wen-kexing-apologist.

[waitmyturtles]

I haven't written an Old GMMTV Challenge update in SOOOOOO long, and I was just about to write a short screed compelling folks to think about taking up The Miracle of Teddy Bear, which I'm watching now for the project. I've also made some changes to the list, which I'll report below:

1) I paused Miracle for a couple of weeks to catch up on 2022's Triage, the second in a trilogy of shows by the Y novel writer, Sammon (most recently known for 4 Minutes, and better known for premiering with 2019's Manner of Death). I wanted to catch up on Triage before Spare Me Your Mercy airs, the third show in the MoD/Triage series trilogy. (Sammon has been posting on Twitter recently in anticipation for SMYM, thus my urgency in watching Triage.)

I wasn't intending on including Triage on the OGMMTVC syllabus, but I am, not even indulgently, but because I think if someone's going to situate themselves as a student of Thai BL, then this show should be watched as simply a TOTALLY REMARKABLE queer drama that plays not just with some BL tropes, but with a ton of other television tropes as well (as so wonderfully listed by @dragonsareawesome123!) TRIAGE IS SO FUCKING, FUCKING, FUCKING AWESOME, and I screamed in my liveblogs about it, so fuck yeah, I'm gonna review it soon (after I finish and review Miracle for the sake of chronology).

2) After I get reviews of Miracle and Triage out, I'll finally review GAP, which I watched this summer, and I'm glad I've given myself a lot of breathing room to think about GAP and its longterm impact, because I was gently unhappy with the show as it ended and how its script worked. I know some Idol Factory shows, like The Sign, are known for being bloooated, and I don't think GAP was bloated per se, but it was messy enough for me to think about it more critically than I expected in regards to celebrating Thailand's first GL. (It seems like The Loyal Pin is faring better by way of being a better script? But I haven't conversed with anyone about this yet.)

In any case, this breathing room, along with watching more shows from 2022, allows me to take the full step back I need to to celebrate GAP in its historical glory, notwithstanding the weak script, so that I'll do after I write up on Miracle and Triage.

(By the way. 2022 was a HELL OF A YEAR for Thai BLs. Bad Buddy ends, we got KinnPorsche, Triage, The Miracle of Teddy Bear as Thailand's first queer primetime drama, Secret Crush On You, The Eclipse, Moonlight Chicken is filmed but not aired, My School President premieres. 2023 and 2024 can only weep in jealousy, unfortunately.)

3) Finally, the real reason why I was going to put pen to paper today is that I am not done with The Miracle of Teddy Bear, and it's truly a HEFTY COMMITMENT to watch it, 16 hour-and-a-half-long episodes (meaning, 32 normal episodes) (New Siwaj drools in envy) but part of my thinking, as I start episode 12 tonight, is that I might need to compel my fellow Bad Buddy girlies to give Miracle a try.

If Bad Buddy was remarkable for existing in the no-homophobia-bubble, and using family rivalry and intergenerational trauma as sophisticated stand-ins for homophobia --

Miracle follows in BBS's footsteps as

1) not at all a BL, but a queer drama, Thailand's first major primetime queer drama,

2) a show that absolutely grabs all kinds of homophobia -- internal, external, social, familial homophobia -- by the neck, and reckons and analyzes each kind of homophobia through brilliant writing and character development,

3) a show that STILL, like BBS, grapples with intergenerational trauma, the trauma of adults coming from broken families and committing future harm on their children; as well as reckoning with the impacts of misogyny; as well as reckoning with the impacts of individuals standing up AGAINST social biases, including social homophobia, corporate demands against the environment, interactions with the police, so so much, and

4) a show that STILL commits to realistic development of romantic bonds among multiple couples, using flashbacks intelligently and sensibly, and leveraging romance often to sensibly lighten heavy moments.

I'll let y'all know how I fare as I get to the show's end, but let me just say at this point in time, before I dive into the show's last five episodes, that at least contemplating a watch of Miracle will be utterly satisfying for folks looking for incredible watches as we plod through a few mediocre shows at the present moment. I didn't think it would happen in the course of this syllabus, but I think Miracle is going into my top three of all Thai queer dramas I've ever watched, with Bad Buddy and He's Coming To Me at the top of that list.

[bengiyo]

Top 5 BL parent-child relationships?

I actually don't think we had a ton of parents this year, but some of them were good!

Gim and Gun in My School President

When I tell you I ugly cried when they were singing Let Me Tell You at Hot Wave and I thought that might be the last thing she ever saw of her son: was him being brave on stage and doing what he loved even as he worried about her. I'm literally tearing up right now just thinking about it. She showed up as soon as her son and his friends were in trouble and intimidated people into letting them go. The last lesson she tried to teach her son was to cherish the people who love you. I love her so much.

Photjanee and Tinn's Father in My School President

It takes a lot to recognize that you may have messed up with your kid, and even more to not interfere in their affairs when you're worried. She recognized that something she had done made her loving son not trust her with something important about himself, and she turned to her husband to figure that out. Then, when the crisis moment came and someone came for her son, she put herself right in front of the opposition and said "No, don't you ever touch my son ever again." She stood in the crowd and said, "Scream louder," for his first love. This dad always has his son's back, and will do the dad thing of nudging the stern mom to relent and let them have a little fun because he trusts his son.

Jim and Li Ming in Moonlight Chicken

The hardest part about being an uncle who becomes a father is it's not something you planned. In Jim's case, he also lost his partner. Despite his poverty and his grief, Jim still gave Li Ming all of his best qualities. Li Ming is kind and thoughtful. He is righteous and stubborn. He values community. Nowhere else in this genre have we ever seen a father and son expressed like them. They are one of the most important things Aof has ever given us, and it doesn't surprise me that this is what we got out of his original work.

Shiro and His Parents in What Did You Eat Yesterday? 2

When Shiro told his father that his friend borrowed the character from his name and so the child is named Goro like him. He went on to say that he always regretted that he couldn't give them grandkids, but feels like he's done right by them by passing on what he learned from them, you could see something finally click between all of them and give them peace. Shiro's parents have not handled his queerness gracefully, and I've loved the slow work between all of them to do better by each other. Coming out of the painful barrier they put between them and Kenji in the movie, I like how much of this season was Shiro's parents undoing that.

Ueda Koji in Our Dining Table

This man lost his wife and now caring for a very young son with the help of his depressed adult son. No matter the grief he's carrying, he's continued to maintain his profession and provide for his sons. When he sees a kind stranger reignite his own son, he does everything he can to support that relationship, including physically throwing his own son out of the house to go reconcile. He gave Yutaka the kindest advice I've ever seen about going into love with your heart open and your mind clear, knowing that you will probably lose that love at some point. Incredible father figure of the year.

Ask Me Top 5 BL 2023 Anything

Wow, congratulations, anon. You are the first person to make me cry as I answered all of these questions.

[airenyah]

joongdunk vampire bl when??

maybe you've already seen my post "reasons why i need a sexy joongdunk bl". and if you have, then maybe you remember the bonus vampire section at the end

well, i've decided to start collecting vampire mentions here in this own separate post. here i will collect instances where either joong or dunk actually utters the word "vampire" but i will also include things somewhat adjacent to vampires (looking at you, lol fanfast 2023 dum dum neck biting action 👀)

i'll keep updating this post with every future vampire mention that i happen to come across. if you happen to find a vampire mention that is not yet in this post but you think it should be on the list, then do feel free to send me a link to it and i might just add it!! some of them, esp the vampire-adjacent things will be added based on vibes (my vibes, that is. it's my post so i get to put in it whatever the fuck i want)

like this one for example:

[hidden agenda ep12 pt4 (3:25); (24.09.2023)]

like yeah i know this one doesn't really count bc those are just some lines in a series from one fictional character to another fictional character that just happens to be played by dunk but like!! is it not true!! being a vampire (on tv) is dunk's dream job, is it not!!!

1. they WANNA play vampires

no but seriously tho, dunk wants to play a vampire, he explicitly said so:

[dunk x tops; (30.09.2023)]

Which role do you want to try playing the most? Up until now I've only gotten roles that speak a lot. Sometimes the lines are 3-4 pages long. If I get the opportunity, I want to try switching to a role that speaks little, that is calm and serious and where the emphasis is on using eyes and gestures to convey emotions. A fantasy or sci-fi role like a vampire might be worth a try.

[dunk for elle men; (13.11.2024)]

and so did joong, for that matter:

[l'officiel hommes thailand: "the act of being myself" | translation; (08.12.23)]

[joong's 23rd birthday event; (17.03.2024)] (extended gifset here)

2. dum dum

now, the dum dum performance deserves it's own little section lbr. bc seriously wtf was all that:

[LOL fanfest D1; (24.06.2023) | LOL fanfest D2; (25.06.2023)]

[arm share ep131; (02.08.2023)]

oh and make no mistake, it's not me who's making the dum dum performance about vampires, no, dunk is:

[let's talk bl s4 ep07; (16.08.2023)]

no seriously, let 👏 them 👏 play 👏 vampires!! they've already got experience in biting each other's necks!!!!

3. collection

ok from here on out i think i'll stop with the babbling and just have a collection of gifs with random vampire mentions that i'll just continue to add to this post whenever i come across more bc why the fuck not

[joong's tweet; (30.06.2023)]

[instagram live; (09.10.2023)]

[hidden hangout ep2; (14.11.2023)]

[original twitter thread | translation 1 | translation 2; (18.12.2023)]

context: joong asked what kind of plots fans would like to see him and dunk play

Translation/Summary:

Fan🗣️: In their past lives, Joong and Dunk were enemies who hated each other deeply. One day, a situation arose where one of them had to kill the other. However, the one who was killed (Joong) didn’t die permanently—it was more like his soul was temporarily sealed. He's been there ever since, even up to the present time. Joong☀️: Oh~ Is he still resentful? Fan🗣️: Yes, he is. He’s been sealed in the same spot for a very long time. Joong☀️: So, it’s like the vibe of an old Thai drama, right? starts singing an old Thai series opening theme Fan🗣️: Right, that kind of vibe. But this one is a fantasy genre. His soul is sealed, and we can say he became a vampire. He’s still alive but trapped—he can’t go anywhere, so he keeps living until he can earn a wealthy life. Joong☀️: How does a vampire live his life in Thailand? Fan🗣️: He has to stay in the same place. He can’t leave the restricted zone, and he can’t be exposed to sunlight. Joong☀️: If he lives in Thailand, where would he stay? Thonglor? (a road in Bangkok known for nightlife) Fan🗣️: More like Sukhumvit. (known for luxury malls) Joong☀️: Sukhumvit Vampire? Fan🗣️: Yes~ Joong☀️: Alright, we’ve got the name of the story, everyone. Sukhumvit Vampire 😆 Fan🗣️: So, one day in the present, Dunk comes into the zone controlled by Joong, the same place where Joong’s soul has been sealed. Joong☀️: You mean Sukhumvit? Fan🗣️: Yes. And when Joong sees Dunk, he thinks, "Isn’t this the person who killed me?" Joong☀️: Oh~ So Dunk has been reborn, and Joong’s like, "The person who killed me gets to be reborn, but I’m stuck here." Fan🗣️: Exactly! It’s like, "I’ve been stuck here for so long, while the country has advanced so much, and I’m still trapped." Joong☀️: So I’m the vampire, right? Fan🗣️: Yes, and Dunk killed you. But you can switch roles if you want, I’m not strict about it. I just want this kind of plot. Joong☀️: So, the story is that when they meet, Joong wants to kill Dunk for revenge. But then suddenly, he realizes, after Dunk's rebirth, that Dunk is actually pretty handsome! HAHAHAHA 🤣🤣 Fan🗣️: He believes that killing the person who killed him will break the curse and free him from the place where he’s sealed. Joong☀️: Will monks come at the end and tell us not to seek revenge anymore? 😆 Fan🗣️: No, at the end, they just stab each other to death. Joong☀️: Huh? Really? Do they actually kill each other, or do they hesitate because they’ve fallen in love? Fan🗣️: Actually, I was planning for them to kill each other, but then they realize there was a reason why they have to kill each other in the first place (since their past life). So, the reason is… Joong☀️: Fighting over bubble tea. Fan🗣️: Okay, Joong. Delicious 😂

[joong twitter space (back-up link); (22.09.2024) | translation 1 | translation 2]

[joong's tweet; (20.10.2024) | translation pt1 | translation pt2]

[joong's broadcast channel on instagram; (20.10.2024)]