#genuinely so happy for thailand

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - Lots of lovely kisses & an unwarranted upset in the standings

Organized, in each category, with ones I'm enjoying most at the top.

Oct 2024 Week 2

Ongoing Series - Thai

Fourever You (Thai Thurs YT) ep 2 of 16 - Yes yes J&J should be first but I am weak in the face of, well, frankly this man's face:

Pond = greatest piner in a dog’s age. The yearning in that boy’s eyes is obscene, it’s like the most explicit sex that only he can see and we’re just voyeurs.

Thus I continue to adore this stupid show and everything it stands for. No notes. May the fluff continue eternal.

Jack & Joker (Thai Mon IQIYI) ep 5 of 12 - Everyone is so skilled in this show, but War is truly glorious. Considering the pacing, I think we are probably in for some long periods of darkness, suffering, and pain soon. I’m not mad about that prospect, it’s earned and foreshadowed, I just thought I’d lay it out there.

Kidnap (Fri YT) ep 6 of 12 - More boys from GMMTV with good communication. Who knew? Min has SUCH a white knight complex. NO SINGING. Good demanding kiss, though. Well, Ohm can handle anything. 

Meanwhile, this really is a bodyguard romance under another name. And I kinda wanna rewatch Never Let Me Go as a result.

Love Sick 2024 (Thai Sun iQIYI) ep 4 of 15 - Earn remains best boy and my favorite character. Phun is v jelly, as he should be. AND I like Ohm & N'Mik better in this version. I still prefer the original leads, but I’m enjoying this enough. 

I had no idea how much I missed Gunsmile! It’s so nice to see him on my screen again.

Monster Next Door (Thai Thurs Gaga ) ep 12 fin - I hate Diew’s mom. Hate her. So much. She may be my least favorite mom ever in BL. That’s saying a lot. No I don’t think she was redeemed. 

Conclusion

Adapted from the novel Godzilla Next Door by Jiwinil about an introvert who lives mostly in his room, until a loud annoying extrovert moves in next door. This was one of my top picks for 2024 and I’m delighted to say it satisfied expectations. A charmingly serene story of opposites attract, that featured good communication, patience, and genuine affection used to build a solid relationship.(I’m particularly delighted that our musician is a drummer and I don’t have to listen to him sing.) Yes it’s a tad slow but it’s very earnest and leans into the kind of sweetness that Thai BL does best. Doesn’t hurt that this starred an actor (Big) that many of us have been hoping would get a lead for years. I was pleased and comforted. This is not a kind of BL that suits everybody, but it suited me admirably. 8/10 

Battle of the Writers (Sun YT) ep 10 of 12 - Ozone and the Ice Prince (name still unknown) did their little dance. What an earnest and romantic confession from our Icy man. I literally said “no no no just kiss, no foreheads.” And it was a great crying kiss, my favorite. Honestly, that amount of emotion hadn’t been earned by this pair, but I don’t mind. I could watch a whole show just about them. Also woah! Major nekid on YT?

Thailand......

Risking demonetization for arse…...

I guess we’ve all been there. 

Where was I?

I’m happy with this episode since it was mostly my side couple. But the distribution of main couple and side couple and the focus of each episode is wildly erratic with this show. It’s very odd. (And let's be clear we ordered errotic not erratic.)

Every You Every Me (Thai Mon Gaga) ep 1 of 10 - Jade and Chin have lived over a thousand lifetimes. In each one they somehow manage to fall in love with each other. (This pair, TopMick was piloted in a My Universe ep, that was one of the only ones I liked.) Soulmate premise is a mix of Color Rush and La Pluie. Frankly, this isn’t as good as either, but it’s enjoyable in a slow cheerful way. Especially if you like this particular set of tropes. It’s quietly lovely and I like the leads. Sunshine is very very sunshine and our tsundere is a grumpy mysterious nerd. Trigger for domestic abuse. It looks like each episode is gonna be a completely different meet cute with the same pairing. It’s more linked vignettes than any overarching story. So if you don’t like this pair, you won’t like this series.

Addicted Heroin (Thai Tues WeTV) ep 9 of 10 - More sports day. (Everybody’s doing sports days right now.) Random sides kissing. Where did the glasses person come from? Was he introduced and I forgot about it? Oh that’s the evil cousin! Okay… anygay. Sides randomly flip-flop who they like and I don’t know what the fuck is going on. This show. I swear. Ooo caught kissing. And… killed? What a mind fuck of a soap opera. Honestly, I’m fine if he’s dead, I don’t care at this point I just feel jerked around. 

For some reason no eng sub for me for the first half. So I watched with Spanish subs (which is about as good as my Thai, only for different words). What a wild experience.

Bad Guy My Boss (Thai Sun Gaga) ep 4 of 10 - Oh dear. I just can’t imagine ever rooting for this couple. Which means… Why am I watching this? 

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

My Damn Business (Korea Sat YT) eps 1-2 of 7 - Oh I love it. Casual flirty westernized-style boss. Reserved reluctant cutie (yes we’ve seen the actor before). Is it disgusting workplace harassment? Oh most certainly. Do I enjoy it anyway? Yep, I’m warped. No defense, but at least it’s something from Korea. 

Teenager Judge (Vietnam Sat YT) ep 3 of ? - I like the lead being bullied and pushed to his limit thus turning into a psychopath. It’s gonna be a fun ride if it really goes Devil Judge just teens and actually gay. I wonder if it has the strength of its convictions? 

Our Golden Times (Hong Kong YT) 5 fin? - I guess that is the reunion? What an odd little piece. I’m not entirely sure what I feel about it except that this feels more BL than anything Hong Kong has given us so far (which isn't much). The subs are truly terrible. Since I speak absolutely zero Cantonese I can’t really fix them in my brain. I thought this was the final ep but then a teaser for ep 6 dropped so I we have at least one more. 

First Note Of Love (Taiwan Mon Gaga) ep 10 of 12 - It was a nice, if entirely unearned reunion. And the leads do kiss beautifully. Trust Taiwan. I am so glad that Orca is back! There was even a little language play flip-flopping just for me. Very cute. Also GREAT kissing. How long have we been waiting for Thailand and Taiwan to kiss? 

Eccentric Romance (Korea Weds Viki) eps 1-2 of 12 - Silkwood’s 2nd Thai/Korean colab. This has been in production since 2022 which is a LONG time in the BL world (worrying). But I like the concept: friends of 10 years who’ve been hiding feelings for each other enter the same university. Plus MURDER. Stars Yoon Jun Won (The Man BLK) and Thai actor Save Saisawat (Ai Long Nhai). I begin to think every The Man BLK member will eventually lead out a BL at this point.

It’s enjoyable in a weird way. Grumpy (hottie with a crush) + sunshine (captain oblivious). I gotta say, since this is the second relationship dual lingo style in our BL rn that it’s ALWAYS weird if the other half doesn't occasionally code switch languages, especially for specific words. In other words, the Korean dude is supposed to at least understand Thai, occasionally he’s should use a Thai world to get a point across. And the Thai dude is there to STUDY KOREAN, he should be slipping in and out of Korean regularly. Bah. 

It's airing but...

Love is Like a Poison AKA Doku Koi: Doku mo Sugireba Koi to Naru (Japan Tues Netflix?) 5 of 10 eps - I never managed to get hold of ep 5. Frankly, it’s going to Netflix (I don’t subscribe) so I might not finish this out of sheer laziness. 

The Hidden Moon (Sat WeTV) ep 1 of 10 - This is a supernatural romance (my ghost boyfriend trope) by Violet Rain (I Feel You Linger). A man is hired to write an article about an old mansion in Chiang Mai being converted into a café. He sees the ghosts of people who died at the mansion, falls in love with one of them. Was substantially recast. I loved IFYLITA except the ending so I think I'll let this one run it's course you can tell me if it's work tracking down... if they managed to land it. I have my doubts.

Gangster and His Boyfriend (Korea ????) 8 eps? - was supposed to air 10/10 Kim Dong Bin (famous trainee & idol reality competitor, yeah that happens) stars as a fallen idol who unexpectedly becomes entangled in a gangster family. Discovers that his friend’s father is responsible for the murder of his entire family years ago. I don't know much about this one, neither does anyone else and I'm not sure where I got that release date so……

Next Week Looks Like This:

Upcoming BLs for 2024 are listed here. This list is not kept updated, so please leave a comment if you know something new or RP with additions.

Still Coming Oct 2024:

10/17 Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo (Korea Thurs Gaga) 8 eps - High school student Do Hoe lives with his violent and brutal father who runs a Taekwondo gym in a rural area. One day, cheerful Ju Young arrives, he dreams of going to college for Taekwondo. Joy begins to fill Do Hoe's dark life. An unexpected incident forces them apart, they reunite ten years later.

10/21 Love in the Big City (Korea ????) 8 eps - Okay, this is both a movie (already out) and a series. Neither one is likely BL and I can't imagine it will end happily. I'm giving both a pass but here's your synopsis.

Cynical fun loving student Young pinballs from home, to class, to on night stands. He and Jaehee, his female besie and roommate, frequent nearby bars where they push away their worries about life, love, and money with soju and hookups.

10/23 See Your Love (Taiwan Weds Gaga & Viki) 10 eps? - Zi Xiong, a third-generation heir, attempting to flee from taking over their family business, meets and falls in love with Shao Peng, who works as a hearing-impaired nurse. From the same production house as Kiseki Dear To Me in partnership with Shinehouse Theatre, funded by Taiwan’s BIGART + Japan's Rakuten (Viki). Show includes Lin Chia Yo (Be Loved in House: I Do). Director Chiang Ping Chen’s childhood experiences with his deaf uncle have inspired the drama.

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

Addicted Heroin

Incidentally he didn’t ask to “be with Ter” he asked if he could flirt/court him. jeeb doesn’t really have a direct translation, but it isn’t “be with.” 

Fourever You

The tag BLigade: @doorajar @solitaryandwandering @my-rose-tinted-glasses @babymbbatinygirl @babymbbatinygirl @isisanna-blog @mmastertheone @pickletrip @aliceisathome @urikawa-miyuki @tokillamonger @sunflower-positiiivity @rocketturtle4 @blglplus @anythinggoesintheshire @everlightly @renafire @mestizashinrin @bl-bam-beyond @small-dark-and-delicious @saezurumurmurs

Sigh, Tumblr in its infinite wisdom doesn't like too many at-ings.

[bengiyo]

Random QL Superlatives: 2024 Edition

It seems @lurkingshan has begun the end of year listicle game. Time to shout out our faves.

Presented (mostly) in the order I watched them.

Favorite Blorbo of the Year: Dynamite in Cooking Crush

I love when a show reveals that someone who has been upbeat or strong is actually carrying a ton of pain. Learning about how Dynamite suffered so much because of his family touched me to my core, and forever solidified the friendship he has with Samsee and Prem.

Favorite Use of Visual Comedy: I Became the Main Role of a BL Drama

This show really had everything, and more than anything it had some of the best visual gags of the year. There is so much humor in the framing of scenes in this show. It was a genuine delight, and I'm so happy I'll get to see Aoyanagi Hajime again next year.

Favorite Facial Hair: Gu Jing in VIP Only

This show ended up rather flat, but damn do I think about this man's face sometimes.

Favorite Disappointment: Last Twilight

This show really could have been great if it didn't fuck up so badly.

Favorite Existential Crisis: Love For Love's Sake

The way this show telegraphed that it would be heavy, and then still managed to gut the audience, is one of the most impressive things I got to witness this year. I love that this show left people with so many different interpretations that don't contradict each other.

Favorite Use of Omegaverse: Tadaima, Okaeri

Yes, there were two BL omegaverse shows this year. No, I did not enjoy the other one. I was instead overinvested in the success of my gay dads and their kids every week. HIKARU IS OUR HERO!

Favorite Use of Food: She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat 2

I love this show with my whole being. If the Japanese don't figure out a way to get this cast to crossover with What Did You Eat Yesterday? honestly what is even the point of putting queer people on TV?

Favorite Reunion Romance: Perfect Propose

I really loved that this show was about two childhood friends both at the end of their ropes. I also loved the way this show used a questionable sexual encounter to jumpstart the dynamic. I'm so glad Hirokuni quit that nasty job, because this was so difficult to watch after having left a very difficult workplace.

Favorite Cast Dynamics: Ossan's Love Returns

"We are family!" In their 3rd or 4th outing, depending on how you want to look at it, I continue to be obsessed with Haruta, Kurosawa, Maki, and their extended network. I loved seeing Haruta and Maki working on their relationship, and I loved seeing them all grapple with the changes in their lives. I hope I never have to fight my in-laws in my kitchen.

Favorite Version of Tay Tawan: Cherry Magic Thailand

Tay Tawan was at his most charming as Karan. I'm so glad that Tay and New are able to work together again.

Favorite Version of Cherry Magic: The Cherry Magic Anime

Despite my opinion that Cherry Magic TH is the best version of Cherry Magic, I still think the anime is my favorite. The characters have an ugliness to them in this version that I really love.

Favorite Use of Yukata: Love is Better the Second Time Around

Despite my qualms with the final arc of this show, I still think about the way this show handled its second chance romance and especially the way it handled sex. Also, this show has a great visual gag in a woman who doesn't deserve this physically restraining a man from proposing to her.

Favorite Performances: The Cast of Unknown

I really think this is my favorite cast of the year. I really loved the way they all played together, and loved the handling of growing up in this show.

Favorite Use of a Mirror: Memory in the Letter

To be clear, I do not recommend this show. However, I was very impressed with all of the acting and technical work around the mirror in this show.

Favorite Show About Actors: At 25:00 in Akasaka

I really loved the way Niihara and Komagine played actors in this show. It's rare that a character withholding the truth of their feelings works out this well. This is one of the best things I watched this year.

Favorite Boy: Igarashi Daichi from Ossan no Pants ga Nandatte Ii Janai ka!

Not BL, but I love Daichi so much that he gets a shout out here. I love that he wasn't a manic pixie dream gay, that he was allowed to be angry, and that he was allowed to be imperfect. Daichi is now forever a part of my soul.

Favorite Rambutan Enjoyer: Venice in Marahuyo Project

Venice is so funny to me. I love that she's not the brightest one in the group, but she understands everything important. She protects Archie because she understands how hurt and scared he is. She accepts everyone who joins their group unquestioningly. She is eating in almost every scene. She is perfect.

Favorite Flirt: Vee in San's Dreams in Century of Love

I think we should let Offroad flirt with Daou more in future shows.

Favorite Narrative: Knock Knock, Boys!

This is favorite show from Thailand this year. I loved the use of every story in this show. The kindness pouring out of this show was really something special. I loved that this show never made fun of Almond for being a version, let Latte have positive relationships with his exes, let Thanwa dress like a normie, and treated Peak's closeted storyline with immense respect. I look forward to showing it to many more people.

Favorite Back: Mahasamut in Love Sea

I loved the way Fort played this man, and I love that we got another BL romantic lead that doesn't look dehydrated. More romantic leads should get to deck abusive fathers in BL.

Favorite Collector of Marbles: Takara in Takara no Vidro

A rare version of the Knowing blessed us this year in Takara. He was overwhelmed by Taishin's naivete, and I really loved seeing a character who absolutely knew who he was. I loved watching a character manage obsessive tendencies, and I loved how he spent much of the show holding back because he was afraid of himself. What a blessing these two were.

Favorite Use of a Workplace: The Trainee

I really loved that GMMTV used one of their best production houses to tell a story about interns in a production house. It was genuinely refreshing to see a workplace show from Thailand where everyone involved understood the work they were portraying. This was a really solid ensemble piece.

Favorite Homo: Shion in Twilight Out of Focus

I love this pink-haired boy. He was loud and competent. He was clear in what he wanted. He said plainly that he wanted a boyfriend, and HE WON. For everyone who got called slurs in their youth, Shion is for you.

Favorite Second Chance: Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo

Hwang Da Seul was determined to get it right this time, and boy did she! This show did a wonderful job establishing the teen romance, justifying its separation, and earning its reunion. Best BL of the year.

Favorite Adaptation: Love in the Big City

Also not BL technically, but there's no way we make a list of shows form this year without acknowledging Nam Yoon Su's incredible performance as Go Yeong and the efforts of literally everyone involved in this show. If there's one show you need to watch this year, it's this one.

Favorite Angry Outburst: Qi Lu in Blue Canvas of Youthful Days

I loved the way Qi Lu got mad about Qian Xiao holding back with him. It's the most I've enjoyed a character being wrong this year. It was the exact right response for a character like him. He knew who he was, what he was feeling, and that Qian Xiao was feeling it, too.

Favorite Cross-Cultural Exchange: Love in the Air: Koi no Yokon

We've had more than a few Thai adaptations of Japanese works. This is the first time MAME work crossed over to Japan, and it's been so cool seeing how much the Japanese team really loves Love in the Air. I feel no competition between the two adaptations of this novel, because it's clear that the Japanese show is a huge fan of the Thai show. It makes so many loving homages to the source work that it's clear this is a passion project for many people involved. It's so cool that we're now seeing Japan adapt Thai works, and I'm so excited to see where this takes us next.

Well, this was fun! Tag me with your list if you make one!

[theheightofdishonor]

GL Recs Masterlist

I've watched a couple hundred gls now and so I thought i'd put it to good use and help other people find some. There's not enough gl rec lists anyway

First things first, I'll like to direct you to https://mydramalist.com/list/1xrpwdW3 which is a gl rec list on mdl with more than 200+ titles + links. It's an EXCELLENT resource, kept up to date and even tracks upcoming titles.

Now for stuff that I've watched and thought are decent. I'll link all of these to their mdl page and the links to watch the show can usually be found in the comments. If you're new to gl, be warned that a lot of these are pretty short, ranging from 1-30 minutes.

1 in 10,000 (2018) Korea. This is a soulmates piece told in 3 parts following two girls through different parts of their lives. I think this got more confusing as it went on but I really liked Act I and I think it's worth watching. It's beautiful and angsty and a bit artsy. I'm pretty sure it has a happy ending but don't quote me on that.

Afraid of (2019) Korea. A short film about a girl struggling with her sexuality. Yeah, I know, there's a THOUSAND of these but I do like this one. It's beautifully shot and there's a lot of heart.

Am I the only one with butterflies? (2018) Korea. A girl blogs about falling in love with the manager at her new job. I like part ii better than part one but it's just cute and the pining is very similar to het kdramas.

Anonymous high school girl (2022) Korea. A low stakes love triangle. Good chemistry, low budget, awful kisses.

The Beauty of the Law (2023) China- If you're not familar with chinese gls, I think it's certainly something to get used to. This is like in the top 1% of the category. It's an ad for Adolph Shampoo and i'm going to let you know that they're going to appear often on this list because they make excellent gls. It's a historical about a female unlicensed lawyer trying to help a woman escape her abusive marriage. Makes great points about gender imbalances and women's historical lack of legal rights in China. (f you like this one, Sheng Wei, one of the actresses stars in 50%+ of all chinese gls, check her out)

Beguine (2018) Thailand - It's if the school dancing scene in My School President was a 30 minute sequence with two girls. No plot but adorable.

Cat in the eastern palace (2020) China - Watch this just to have the surreal experience of seeing like 3 whole cdrama arcs which normally take 20ish eps executed in a 7 minute timeframe. Also because it stars laoji who's in the other 50% of chinese gls. As for plot, it's about a cat spirit and a girl pretending to be the crown prince.

Clasper (2021) Thailand - And they were roommates! I liked the production, the dialogue and the acting was pretty decent.

Couple of Mirrors*** (2021) China- Wait to watch this because it will ruin you for everything else. This is like typical thai bl length, like 12 45~min episodes. It's a historical mystery about a wealthy woman who finds out about her husband's affair with her bff and the photographer she enlists to help her. If you watch one thing out of China, watch this.

Dear My Girlfriend (2021) Korea - A group project ft love triangle. It´s pretty classic. A girl starts dating someone who likes her only to realize she might instead be in love with her best friend. The editing is cute. It's a touch angsty as love triangles are and pretty well done.

Dear Uranus (2021) Taiwan. Another school love triangle. Does feature an adorkable female character, you know a bit awkward, a bit cutesy, if you hate this archetype, ignore this one. Personally I think the chemistry for the lead couple was lacking (genuinely shocking considering taiwan tends to be great at this) but both the love interests are hot and I am not immune to hot women

The Demonic lord and the virtuous cultivator (2021) China - Avoid this if you don't like toxic yuri. I personally love it so this is 10/10 for me. Orphan gets taken in by a benevolent benefactor who turns out to be her parents' killer and eventually....you know what go watch it.

Encore Martha (2021) Taiwan. One of the few gls about older women. A tomboy reunites with her first love. This one's only available on gagaoolala so you'll either need a subscription or sometimes they promote it for free. If you can find it though, it's worth a watch.

Family Plan (2016) Korea. This is a bit of an odd one to describe. The first half is two high school girls who are dating. And then the second half is their relationship as adults where they marry guys and use it to have a kid that they raise as theirs. I liked how this examined how two gay people would go about their relationship in in a world where they can't freely be with each other.

Favorite Girl (2022) Thailand. Very standard plot about a girl suffering from a breakup and her roommate but something about it stuck out to me.

Five steps to accept farewell (2016) Korea. Warning for unhappy ending. This is all pure angst, a 9 minute snapshot into a breakup. I like how it's done and the messiness of the situation.

Fragrance of the first flower (2021) Taiwan. A beautifully shot, beautifully acted, slightly too short show about two ex-lovers reuniting ft. all the angst about living in a homophobic society. It stayed in my head for weeks after I first watched it.

Girls Blood** (2014) Japan. A movie about 4 "girls" in an underground fight club. warnings for rape, trauma, domestic assault. One of the main characters is a trans man. There are sex scenes. It's very queer and I highly recommend.

Girls Love** (2016) China. Pre-censorship China had some very wonderful queer work and one of them was this movie It's about a girl who falls in love with her hot butch roommate ft all the tropes AND we get to see them function in a relationship instead of the movie ending when they get together. Warning for both characters being forcibly outed at the end. (nothing bad really happens to them after though). Also do NOT watch the sequel. If you go to mdl, everyone else will also tell you not to watch the sequel and I foolishly did not listen to those people because I liked these girls so much and I suffered for my mistake.

The Girls on Rela (2016) China. It's an anthology of short, I wouldn't say stories, more like moments, sponsored by a lesbian dating app. Each one's really short but the acting and scripts are all pretty good.

The Girls on Rela Season 2** (2016) China. This is sponsored by the same company but it's a totally different format. It's one long show about two girls cohabiting. Pretty well executed if a bit slow.

Graduation, Present + Propose (2021) Korea. A short about a high school girl giving a graduation present to her crush. What it does it does well. It's pretty.

The Handmaiden (2016) Korea. Historical set movie about a conman and thief girl who plot to steal a heiress’s fortune. I make it sound boring but that's only because it's a pretty popular movie and everything to be said about it has already been said.

Happy to have you here (2021) Thailand. Two friends have a sleepover and figure out their feelings. This is definitely in the top 20% for this trope, even though they rushed just a tad into the kiss.

Hello, spring is coming (2019) Korea. I'll let you read the synopsis for this one. What you need to know is that it's pretty, well acted, has good chemistry and is as brightly colored as a lollipop. It's a bit disorienting, parts of it doesn't make a lot of sense but it's a fun time.

I broke up because of you (2023) Korea- A bartender and their client catches feelings for each other. The dynamic is nice, the kiss less so but it can be forgiven.

I’m her weapon (2022) China- It's kinky, it's angsty, it's 3 minutes long and still fits in a separation arc. I would pay money for an extended version.

Kanojo no Kuchidzuke Kansensuru Libido (2022) Japan - two girls fall in love in a hospital. I like the tone of this one.

The L Bang** (2015) China- Another Rela production. It's a 4 episode comedy about a bunch of lesbians + (1) gay man who live in the same apartment complex. It's got queer friendship, queer acceptance and queer love. It's just wonderful. It feels like 2000s American sitcoms but queer and Chinese.

Led Astray by Love (2022) China- Fairly long for a cgl. A girl gets transported to a manhwa and falls in love with the ruler. Sunshine/grumpy. This baby is 52 minutes long and covers like the same amount of plot as word of honor does in 30 something episodes.

Legend of Yunze (2021) China - A human and a half demon vanquish demons from a village. It has a second season and a special that I haven't watched yet.

The Lost World** [Xia Ye Zhi Dao Feng De Tian] (2023) China - After watching as much cgl as I have, I was shocked to see Laoji in a modern piece. This is a college setting running-into-a-childhood-friend trope. The pacing and chemistry are both pretty good. It's one of my favorites from her.

Love in the Tinder Age** (2019) Korea- A black comedy about a bullied lesbian's failed suicide attempt ft psychics, ghosts and a teacher/student relationship. It's not really a gl because the main character doesn't get a romance BUT it's really fun so you should watch it anyway.

Love of Secret** (2022) Thailand- More of a slice of life than a love story but it's cute and fluffy and the main character very much is in a relationship. The actual plot is about a med student who's hiding both her relationship with her best friend and her dreams to be an idol. I found it positively charming.

Lover’s Concerto** (2002) Korea- Calling this a gl is a stretch. It's more just queer? The girls were most likely in love but they don't end up together and the movie itself doesn't really have a happy ending. I did find it beautiful though.

Mayfly angel (2024) Korea- Classic discovers-feelings-for-bestie-after-a-breakup plot. Warning that this is angsty and they don't end up together. But I found it realistic and I liked that they felt like two real people. Take that how you will.

Miss shen and the woman warlord (2023) China- a woman cross-dresses as another young woman's fiance and they fall in love. Despite how i describe it, there's a decent amount of plot and some political commentary.

More or less than 75 celsius (2019) Korea- A tea master and her supervisor fall in love. It's sparse and short but cute.

My Dear (2021) Thailand. A drunk girl confesses to her friend and luckily for her, it's mutual. It's 5 minutes long but it uses its time well and the acting is nice. It feels a bit like gmmtv's confessions. If you like it, the production company ShakeShoulder makes TONS of gl shorts and i'd recommend checking them out.

No distance left to run  (2022) Hong Kong. a 15 minute short film about how fame causes issues in a pop star's relationship. Unhappy ending. The song's a bop though and it's well done.

Nü er hong** (2023) China. I forgot to mention but this one, the legend of yunze and the lost world are all produced by the same studio. They do a lot of fairly long chinese gls. The story is about these two beings from an alien world who crash land on earth and are hunted. One is a healer and the other is a killer, they're in love, the killer goes insane so her lover kills her. Unbeknownst to them, they're immortal so the killer wakes up with no memories 200 years later. The pacing is better than some of their earlier stuff but it's not quite perfect here yet. It is one of my favorites from the studio though and it ends happily.

Our relationship ended before it began (2022) Korea. A barista falls in love with her manager at a coffee shop ft gender roles, miscommunication and the classic "cool one picks on the nice one to show affection" trope.

Pyramid Game** (2024) Korea. This is more gl adjacent like Devil Judge and Beyond Evil. There is a secondary gl couple that's more explicitly canon though. If you've watched other kdramas about school bullying, this is pretty similar except it's an all-girls school and everyone is so gay. It's got so much heart and is one of my favorite shows of the year.

Really, Lily? (2019) Korea. A 6 minute short about two girls who visit a cafe and beats up two men who were making homophobic remarks about them. It's surprisingly comedic and the coloring is bright to match. Features a pretty decent kiss. Watching it, I wished it was longer but what's there is still good.

Secret of us (2024) Thailand. The only longform thai gl that i've liked enough to finish. It's about an idol who comes back to win over her doctor ex. It falters from ep 6 onwards but until then, the show is really good at showing the emotional thought processes of the characters and the way they construct the story is compelling, even though I don't even like second chance romances.

Shackles (2023) China. Another one from the Chinese shampoo ad. The pairing itself is not my favorite but it's so cool that this is basically a warning against nuclear pollution AND features chinese mythology that's used in the brand's marketing. Like a 3 in 1. It's so interesting.

She Makes My heart flutter (2022) Korea. Baby lesbian finds out her aunt runs a lesbian bar and starts working there. It's so goddamn cute but it has this weird relationship with homophobia where everyone in the show is apparently 100% ok with queerness but a lot of the aunt's actions is so driven by her being a queer person in an unaccepting society. A bit like how Moonlight Chicken deals with Jin and Li Ming's different attitudes towards being queer except they don't dwell on why the aunt is the way she is or what she's been through. Anyways, it's worth a watch.

Sleep with me (2022) Philippines. A 6 episode series about two girls who are disabled in different ways fall in love. One of them can only sleep during the day and the other is in a wheelchair and the show does a pretty decent job at showing how these disabilities affect their lives and their relationship

Soshite, Yuriko wa Hitori ni Natta** (2020) Japan. If you follow me, you may have seen me talk about this show earlier this year because I found it and promptly fell in love. It's not quite gl but Mizuki's actions are all driven by the fact that she's in love with Yuriko. It's queerer than you would expect, less queer than you might want. It's a supernatural-adjacent school horror about a girl who's new school has a weird thing where every year, a girl named Yuriko becomes "Yuriko sama" and rules the school while everyone else in that year with the same name mysteriously dies. Yuriko's best friend Mizuki plots to make the sweet innocent Yuriko the newest Yuriko-sama to save her life. It's weird, there's plot holes everywhere by the end, it definitely vilifies it's gays and the ending is weak but it's such a compelling watch.

Stand-in love (2023) Philippines. 2 best friends have a ‘stand in’ relationship where the straight one helps the lesbian one learn how to court someone but they end up falling in love with each other. Like 20 min long and I love it.

Ti Shen** [The substitute] (2017) Taiwan. The mdl synopsis can describe the plot better than I can but it's a romance between an idol and a normal girl that's split into two parts. The first half is about them meeting in high school, the second is when they reunite later on a movie set where one of them is the other's stunt double. I think the first part could've been a bit longer but it's a great movie.

Transit Girls (2015) Japan. Stepsisters. Happy ending though and it's fairly long. I liked this mostly because I like Japan's moody stuff. I also liked how they handled the male love interest.

Truth or Dare (2022) Korea. A 10 minute short about two girls who like each other playing truth or dare. It does a great job at building tension and revealing things without saying it.

Tsukuritai Onna to Tabetai Onna** (2022) Japan. A woman who loves to cook comes to an arrangement with her neighbor who loves to eat. Japan does food-centered dramas better than everyone else and this is no exception. The romance itself is slow and you watch how their dynamic changes through this and the season two that came out this year.

The Twelve flower gods: Camelia (2020) China. A xianxia romance about a girl falling in love with a flower but it's a minute twenty so I promise you're not watching for the plot. You're watching to witness the ridiculous amount of innuendos that they manage to fit in under two minutes.

Twin souls of destiny (2023) China. Xianxia romance between two elves, one who is made from the memories of the other's past life. I want someone else to watch this so we can discuss whether or not this is selfcest. The color combination is interesting because I very rarely see lovers in red and purple. The time travel is confusing but it's a good time and laoji is in it.

Until Rainbow Dawn** (2018) Japan. Movie about two deaf girls falling in love ft homophobic parents. The director is a deaf lesbian herself so the movie does a wonderful job in how it depicts deafness and their relationship. It's really well done

When the light pours (2022) Korea. A girl's boyfriend wants her to sing him a song so she enrolls in guitar lessons and ends up falling in love with her teacher. The girls don't get together and I really wish they had! So if you watch this, don't watch the ending and pretend that they did end up together.

[fadelbison]

i don't really follow gmm couples closely but i thought firstkhao was one of gmm's biggest, what do you mean they're not that popular in thailand 😭😭

asdfghjkjhgf okay??? soo all this started because I was at my LAST straw when I saw a fan complaining that gmm prejudiced against first and he needs more work on twt (he already works *SO* much) and after having to see a series of gmm crits that were basically [insert false causalities/ metaphysically impossible demands] I lost my mind a little. [but actually its because im already pretty cuckoo bananas but I digress]

Then @fromthedepthsandbeyond brought to my attention this estimate (are you the op?) of events and brand sponsorships from last year where it shows that FirstKhao as a CP are in fact extremely popular but not at all popular as solo artists. And unfortunately I think this is just reality - they work really well together but I was actually both their 'solo' fans before they paired up. More khaotung than First and they are unfortunately just a little too kooky for mainstream popularity. I genuinely think Joong is trying to help Khaotung with roping him into TikTok dances and constantly promoting him on his own channel and IG broadcast because boy do First and Khaotung do nothing mainstream on IG. its only happy birthdays, promo work, promo cp, promo each other and khaotung's blurry artsy fuckboi photos. What can I say, that's what I like, that's what the people who like them like. I hope they don't change (but I know they're trying to). I would say, that actually they are quite popular given how far they veer from traditional masculinity...like they're pretty queer? Gun's numbers are exactly the same as them. Like I don't think GMM can do anything about that. I genuinely don't think GMM can do anything about the next bit either (at least in regards to FK they are very much fucking up other things)

What I was a little surprised by perhaps was this report by another fan who went to their building this summer (2024) and FK just had a mural on the second floor basement. I know that at some point they had some type of pillar on the ground level. Now, the events numbers are outdated and I follow them on socmed fairly close - they might not be getting sponsorships but they're not jobless. even at the times they're quiet or disappear when they resurface it turns out that they were series prepping or in workshops.

I don't know what to say, they're very queer coded, they take challenging jobs and are involved in projects and with creators that are invested in making some unique art which is rare at gmmtv something that everyone here loves to incessantly yell about (for good reason at times).

I don't know how to say this so that it doesn't sound totally insane but to be more popular they have to act straighter???? They actually have to look like they want to fuck a woman, like at least that they think about it instead of just each other. Like they tried so hard to make First's character straight in blacklist -A VALIANT attempt one would say and he still ended up having more chemistry with Drake and the 4 seconds he spent with khaotung on screen 😭 JoongDunk and PondPhuwin are just not like that??? I follow Joong and Pond on IG too and they are in fact able to breathe without their respective pair present. They are so so so so in love when together, bring each other up quite a bit when they're solo but they're not living inside the other's pocket if that makes sense? Sorry I ranted so long??? and for what?? but I guess what I'm trying to say is that I want Firstkhao to be popular but I also don't want them to change at the cost of mainstream popularity (though I understand why they're trying) - they are so worryingly codependent and wonderfully weird 🤧🤧🤧🤧

[projectjasper]

not to be all defensive over my blorbo, but phum genuinely did not plan on making peem wait that long at the mall. we literally see him trying to call peem, but he doesn't respond (because his phone ran out of battery), so phum assumes he left home already. and when he finds out peem waited for him for hours and feels bad about it, it is not a late realisation of what he has done - he is clearly horrified at the fact that it happened at all because again that was not what he was trying to do.

honestly, i can write a whole essay about how it becomes clear almost immediately that phum is enjoying peem's company and is aiming for some sort of a banter-ish friendship situation at the beginning, not entirely recognising the dynamics he himself established with the slave deal from peem's point of view. add to that phum's abandonment issues and this idea that he needs some sort of an excuse for people to stick around (his only friends are his brother and his childhood bestie, who almost kind of "have to" be there for him in a way), and you get him acting like a fish out of water trying to establish this new friendship the first couple of episodes.

in fact, the slave deal starts seeming like a "foot in the door" so quickly that when i was first watching the series live and we were just four episodes in, i thought that phum might have already had a crush on peem and it was all a weird elaborate plan to get close to him. in retrospective, that is, of course, not the case, but phum definitely imprints on peem very fast (which frankly makes complete sense for someone as lonely as he is) and is trying to imitate some sort of a friendship with all the joint cafe visits and paying for peem's drink and generally just trying to make peem hang out with him as much as possible (it is very clear that far from everything he does even at the very beginning is because he is trying to make peem "work off his debt").

and the reason why he is so bad at it and doesn't fully realise what the dynamic is actually like or what he is supposed to do with it is because he has canonically not been properly socialised and has literally never made a friend once in his life. his formative years were spent not knowing the language other kids around him spoke, crying and missing home, and he became completely closed off, relying solely on his pre-established relationships with his family and beer upon returning to thailand (and later meets tan through a bizarre set of circumstances connected to his brother and also being bullied at school + meets mick through beer and clearly never hangs out with him separately from his best friend).

and i know that the idea of a person literally never making friends until they were like 20 years of age might sound bizarre to some, but it is genuinely a thing that happens (especially when a person has cptsd and specifically finds it hard to socialise because of it).

phum's lonely, poorly socialised self sees some sort of a potential for a friendship in what he established with peem, and he slowly but surely tries to reframe their relationship into that. and to be fair to him, with further and further success, because the slave deal becomes more and more of an excuse until he actively refuses to mention it at all in later episodes, as they get closer, and peem is eventually more than happy to turn it into something completely unserious as well.

[lurkingshan]

(Different anon) I agree with and understand your points re: ~why you watch GMMTV if don't like??~ and why the question is/feels hostile.

But taking the question itself in good faith as "why do you (should I) keep watching shows I think/know I will not like based on how others have been handled?" in the genuine spirit of "explain like I'm 5 because I don't understand the lingo and background but want to understand the concept, how would you explain it to people not as into/knowledgeable/etc BL and the history of GMMTV?

Hi anon! This is an interesting question, because it depends so much on you as an individual and what makes you happy.

I think there is often a misconception that people who post critical meta are having a miserable time and torturing themselves with media they hate, but it's just not true. For folks like me who enjoy thinking critically, this is how we have fun. When I love something, I want to rip open its guts and see how it's all assembled. It's what stimulates my brain and gets me excited. And when I don't love something wholeheartedly, I am interested in figuring out why. I've often had the experience of watching something that I know should be working on me, and if it isn't, that creates an intellectual puzzle that I find very satisfying to solve. Why isn't it working, and what can that help me learn about storytelling? This is also fun for me.

Another misconception I often see in fandom is that if you like something, you can't have negative thoughts about it and you have to pretend it's perfect to be a good fan. Nonsense! Being a hater is fun, especially about things you truly love. I'll give you a really concrete example: Bad Buddy is one of my all time favorite shows. It first aired three years ago and I still think about it nearly every day. It's a show that stimulates my brain but also hits me straight in the heart. But I do not think it's perfect and I get a lot of joy from thinking about the parts that did not work (Wai's redemption, that stupid fake out in the finale, all of episode 9) and making fun of it (have you heard that PAT GOT SHOT??). This, too, is a form of love and source of joy.

So with those misconceptions addressed, why do I keep watching shows I suspect I won't like? First, because you truly never know until you try, and I like to be pleasantly surprised. Two of my favorite shows of this year, Cherry Magic Thailand and Knock Knock Boys, shocked the hell out of me. I went into CMT deeply skeptical only to be charmed against my will and so impressed by how they adapted it, and I went into KKB expecting it to be like 95% of weak Thai pulps only to realize its writing and themes were stronger than they had any right to be. If I stayed away from all media I thought I might not like, I would have never had the amazing experience of watching and discussing those two shows live with friends who also loved them.

Second, like I said above, I still have fun examining shows that are not quite working for me, and sometimes I am compelled by the ambition of shows even if I don't think the execution is serving. A great example of that is The Sign. I wanted to support that show because of who was making it, and it had so much early promise that when it fell apart halfway through, I stuck it out to try to make sense of what went wrong. In cases like that, I like to figure out what a show thinks it's doing, what it's actually doing, and where the disconnect is. It's a fun puzzle for me to sort through such an ambitious mess of a show. This is why, btw, I am never really moved by fanwanks to fill in gaps in story and characterization. I understand why others enjoy fixing shows in their brains and then pretending that's what they actually saw, but it's not what motivates me. My goal with shows like this is not to get myself to like it no matter what, it's to figure out why I don't like it and what could be changed to address that.

Third, I care about ql as a genre, and I like to be aware of how it's evolving and be part of the collective experience of watching it. QL fandom is tiny and I like to know what my friends are talking about! I can't watch everything because there is simply way too much content these days, but I like to watch or at least pay attention to most of the big buzzy shows to track trends and see what's getting the fandom frustrated or excited. I didn't watch We Are because I knew enough about what it was doing and who was involved to understand it was not for me, but I did pay attention to reactions to it. Watching Jack & Joker with Thai bl fandom right now is some of the most fun we've had since Only Friends killed our spirit. J&J is directed by my parasocial frenemy Tee Bundit, whose shows often frustrate the hell out of me and whom I have ripped to shreds on this platform many times over. But I'm not gonna let that stop me from having fun with this new show, because Joke is The Moment and we're all in this together.

So truly, anon: whether or not you should be like me and watch things you may not like or continue watching shows you don't think are very good depends on what motivates you. You should figure out what is most fun for you re: media consumption, and do that. You can seek out people who enjoy media the same way you do, and also befriend people who think differently if you want to learn from each other and don't mind a bit of productive discomfort from time to time. I have gotten better recently at recognizing when I'm just getting nothing out of a show and dropping it like a hot potato (because some shows are not bad in an interesting way, they are just bad), or realizing which shows I will like better on a binge (usually the ones with terrible pacing, that is not as tortuous for me when I can just watch it all in one go). You gotta do some testing to figure it out.

All of this has all been a really long-winded way to say you should do what makes you happy, and don't assume that just because someone else's happiness looks different from yours, that it's wrong.

[thequeenofsastiel]

It was honestly so hard to watch Kant dismissively say that once he and Style were done getting info on the brothers, they'd both go to jail. Especially given how horrific prison conditions in Thailand are(I do think you should look it up because it's important info to have, particularly if you ever plan on visiting Thailand, and also so you'll have context for what exactly it means for characters in these shows to be threatened with imprisonment, but be warned, it's not an easy thing to learn about). Just the fact that Bison has been nothing but very sweet with Kant, that they've had such fun times together, and Bison is giving Kant his heart, the way that Kant can just casually say that he's helping send Bison to jail, without any indication that he'd fight for him at all, is breaking my heart. I can understand him not caring about Fadel, but Bison? Truthfully, I have no idea how Kant actually feels about Bison, or the experiences they've had together, past enjoying sex with him. Was he actually into the BDSM play they did together? Does he like Bison at all yet? I mean, I know he eventually will, but it's unclear to me at this point if he truly likes Bison.

I think he does. I think he's genuinely enjoyed his times with Bison. But honestly, that just makes the whole thing worse. The fact that he can actually like this man, yet be willing to send him to prison? To Thai prison?

Then there's Fadel. Fadel, whom I expected to hold out longer. It was so hard to watch him finally give into his feelings and reach out to Style, only to get the cold shoulder. I'm also not sure if Style actually liked Fadel in the first place. I think there was attraction. But genuine like? I just don't know. I don't even know if Style truly wanted Fadel to be his boyfriend before he found out he was a hit man. He sure as shit doesn't want Fadel now. So we're going to have to watch him pretend even harder that he wants to be with Fadel, and I think Fadel will see through that.

I do think this'll have a happy ending. I think the brothers will avoid prison by helping take their "mom" down. But it's gonna be rough going.

If you want a quick rundown of Thai prisons:

[wen-kexing-apologist]

QL 2024: Favorite Pairs

Tagged by @abstractelysium in their QL 2024: Favorite Couples Tag Game, and while I have been breaking the Top Five rule (and all the other rules) with the other Favorites I’ve been tagged in, because they are the engineer of this whole thing I will be good and stick to my Top Five couples of 2024, again in no particular order:

Kasuga and Nomoto- She Loves to Cook and She Loves to Eat

I LOVE THEM! I mean, that will be a trend with every one of these pairs so I should maybe not start with that. BUT, they are such good compliments of each other, it’s literally in the name of the show. Nomoto and Kasuga are just the nicest, kindest people who do nothing but care for each other and the people they love. They are so bright and warm, and I know they will be together for a very long time. I want to be in their friend group so badly. 

Karan and Achi- Cherry Magic: Thailand

I love these boys in every universe. But I especially love these boys when they are actually allowed to engage in physical intimacy in the try to lose your virginity show. If you look up the definition of “simp” there would just be a photo of Karan sitting there waiting for you. I really enjoyed the take that Cherry Magic: Thailand had on Karan learning about Achi’s powers. Newwie did such an incredible job performing Achi’s awkward energy and obviously there is no better couple on earth than the one that whale screams the second his crush rests his head on his shoulder. 

Latte and Almond- Knock Knock, Boys!

Sex scene of the year if you ask me. I love how much these two love each other, and I love how much Latte tolerates Almond continuously trying to get a look at that dick for a birth mark. I know I’m really hung up on the sex scene between them, but I think it’s a really good manifestation of their relationship. Like truly I love the fact that Latte is sexually experienced and Almond is very much not and yet their first time is still incredibly awkward because of course it would be. In my mind, it is a sign of a good relationship when people challenge themselves for the sake of their partner. Latte being hesitant to go to the beach because of past experiences but knowing that it would make Almond happy and deciding to go and having a much better time than he expected was one of my favorite moments of the entire show. I look forward to Almond turning off the blaring alarm Latte will sleep through foe as long as they are together. 

Lee Do Hoe and Sin Ju Yeong- Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo

Okay I know compared to the others on this list Do Hoe and Ju Yeong’s relationship is a little bit of a harder sell because of what Do Hoe put Ju Yeong through for all those years. But. I do genuinely believe they are really good for each other and life and trauma got in the way. It is so important to me that the first real and genuine smile we see from Do Hoe is because of Ju Yeong. I am so glad they had each other, for however brief a time as kids, and I am thrilled they found each other again as adults, the Ju Yeong called Do Hoe on his bullshit, and that they both stood together to destroy the fucking dojo that caused both of them so much pain. I really love that we end this show with Do Hoe and Ju Yeong jobless, in a small apartment, with Do Hoe studying for the college entrance exam he’s failed multiple times. But they are together, and they are happy, and they are free. 

Shiba Ryoma and Haruto- Love is Like a Poison

THIS IS WHAT I WANT IN A BATTLE COUPLE!!! Ryo and Haruto love and support each other and it is not hard at all to find that in the evidence. Ryo has been enamored with Haruto from the moment they met, they will literally fight for each other both in court and in warehouses where they have been kidnapped by evil doers. I love that their love is so secure that there was no concern about Haruto pulling a noble idiocy. He immediately starts talking to Ryo’s plants, they can actually read each other’s minds, and most importantly to me, Haruto’s little group of homeless children immediately adopting Ryo into the fold as a person they can trust and go to when they and/or Haruto need help. I love how staunchly Ryo stands up for and trusts Haruto, and how uncompromising he is in making sure everyone knows where he stands when it comes to his job versus his lover. If you have not watched Love is Like Poison, please take this as a sign to do so.

tagging: @lurkingshan, @troubled-mind, @bengiyo, @avorbl

[iguessitsjustme]

I am very, very happy that the same reason I loved Kieta Hatsukoi is going to be the reason I love My Love Mix-Up Thailand. I mean, I knew it would be but it really seems to be keeping the heart of the show. The reason every single one of them falls for their respective crushes is because of how genuinely kind they all are. They are all so, so kind. And that is why they fall in love. They fall in love with the kindness that they show to each other. Atom is so kind, not just to Mudmee and Kongthap, but to everyone. Even those jerks that were teasing him about staring into Kongthap's eyes during the play. Atom stood his ground against them but also told Kongthap not to take them too seriously, clearly not holding any grudges.

And for the same reason that is why Mudmee is so comfortable in her friendship with Atom. Because he's so kind. He took her cupcake and complimented it. He learned her secret crush and told her he would keep her secret and even help her. He took over her role when stage fright paralyzed her. Their friendship is one of my favorite things from Kieta Hatsukoi and I'm so excited to see it play out again.

Because it doesn't matter what relationship is built in this show. Every single one of them is built on a foundation of kindness and that is why I love it so much.

[yinwaryuri]

Seeing a lot of upset posts about how the show ended with Boston and feeling like something really went over a few heads. Do I also believe Boston deserved better? Yes. But let's be realistic in the way Jojo and Ninew approached this.

Boston and his promiscuity have been the target of harsh judgements from episode one. And the writers have stated that he has a moral code, it's just very different from others. I was never expecting him to state it outright, that it would just be a thing worth paragraphs of speculative meta, but he does!

Boston stated his definition of boyfriend. If he wants to be exclusive, that's for all the emotional bonding that he desires with someone special, but does not deny him the ability to fulfill his physical desires with whomever he wishes. That's not just polyamory, it's a very specific kind!!! And it's entirely different from the traditional sort of relationship society has accepted. The thing is, he wouldn't have discovered that possibility without knowing Nick.

Boston did genuinely fall for Nick. But how could he have handled that properly when he has no experience being loved and has never learned how to love someone back? Moreover, how could he come to the conclusion that he likes being exclusive in one way but not another without absolutely fumbling the bag with someone who's on a different page? It's not exactly Nick's fault that he prefers physical affection to be exclusive as well, that's just how he is. There couldn't have been any discussion about this, it was a discovery in the making.

The truth is Boston would still have a hard time finding happiness in Thailand due to the political climate, especially with his father being a politician. He's gay and that alone makes achieving his dreams more difficult, but being as promiscuous as he is means even a majority of the queer community will shut him out. He's better off moving to the states where at least he has rights and better acceptance for who he is. And that's what happened.

Because having a sexual or romantic appetite outside of monogamy is still looked down on. I still see it in the BL fandom. I see it just in general. 3 Will Be Free is so often cited as a must-watch, but how many people stick to their comfort branded pairings?* How many people have made or heard jokes about the "Seattle polycule"? How many romantic aces and allosexual aros get othered and excluded and judged for their identity?

Jojo said there was no intended message, but that doesn't mean there isn't one to be found. Boston's arc is a prime example of how slutty queers get treated even by their own peers, even by people who care about them most. It's a cry from the cold and lonely dark that if we think these people deserve better, we need to change existing paradigms and find how we can give them that!

Nick wasn't prepared to do that because he is still hurting, and that's also okay. Not everyone has to change themselves to make the puzzle pieces fit. Boston and Nick's story centers around that so much. Nick being jealous and trying to copy Top, Boston trying to be what he thinks a boyfriend is - they only hurt each other because the parts that don't fit are digging in.

I hope we get a second season, but if not friends, remember Boston. He represents such a particular demographic that gets hated on and ignored constantly, and they deserve a chance. They're not easy, but that doesn't mean they're not worth it. Remember Nick too. We all have a Nick in some manner - someone that made us want to try, but no matter how much we cared for each other it just wasn't going to work. Family, friends, partners, whoever.

Instead of being outraged with the show, be outraged with society. Do something about it. Be kinder. Community is important, now more than ever. I cannot possibly overstate how much we need community, especially among minorities.

*this isn't meant to be judgmental toward fans who prefer branded pairings or aren't interested in that particular show. I know watching anything requires time and energy and scratching a certain itch at the right moment. It is, however, a concern that so many fans complained about numerous aspects of OF to the point where the creators went to the effort of explaining themselves on a weekly basis and editing certain parts to avoid backlash. I mentioned 3 Will Be Free because it's another example of Jojo's work. Many BL fans have heard of it, but only a small portion seem to have watched, and that can be an indicator of certain biases. This is not to imply anyone who hasn't seen it has said biases and is only intended to encourage reflection if needed.

[daughterofcain-67]

𝙾𝚞𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝙾𝚞𝚛 𝚃𝚒𝚖𝚎 : 𝙴𝚙𝚒𝚕𝚘𝚐𝚞𝚎

(Soldier Boy x Female Reader)

(masterlist)

𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: just a conclusion of this story where Y/N finally get their happy ending and Ben gets the life he’s always wanted 🩷

𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: Ben being self conscious of future parental abilities, Y/N being reassuring, the smallest amount of angst if you squint, but mostly just pure fluff 🥰

One Year Later

You hadn’t dreamed of returning to the states. You and Ben have had such a blast exploring the world together, seeing places you had only wished you could have seen before. You had no idea how beautiful other countries were.

You and Ben had visited France, Italy, Greece, Scotland, Ireland, Switzerland, Costa Rica, Peru, Thailand, and New Zealand. The two of you had seen so much over the past year and it had been the best experience you’ve shared in your life, and the best part that you were able to share it with Ben with no one chasing either of you. Neither of you had to be on constant guard for Vought or The Boys, neither of you were on any watch lists because both of you were presumed dead in America. So that gave you and Ben the freedom to roam wherever you wished.

It genuinely seemed to help Ben too. He didn’t have as many flare ups and there weren’t any other explosions. The nightmares he had seemed to subside at least a little. You truly thought that this adventure was helping Ben, that retirement looked good on Ben.

For the past couple of days, you and Ben had gone to Canada after hitching a ride on some cargo plane - your main form of transportation at this point. The two of you were staying in some cabin in the mountains. It must’ve been some sort of guest home to someone because there was still furniture in the cabin despite there. Not being any sign of anyone staying in the building for a while.

Ben was asleep and you were currently laying in bed beside him, staring at the ceiling. You knew it I would only be a matter of time before you and Ben would be on the move again. Maybe a different part of Canada, maybe a small area so the two of you could finally have that fresh start. Maybe the two of you could end up having a cabin like this of your own. After all, you still had some money left - before you and Ben left the country you went back to your bunker where you had a safe full of savings. You were glad you never touched it because well, it would now give you and Ben a start for wherever you both decided to permanently retire.

Suddenly, you could feel movement from beside you and when you looked down you saw Ben’s eyes shut tight. You could tell he was grinding his teeth and when you looked down, you noticed he was clutching down on the bedsheets tight, so tight that his knuckles looked white.

Another nightmare.

You moved to where you were laying on your side and you placed your hand on Ben’s chest as you tried to shake him awake.

“Ben? Ben wake up! Come back to me, Babe.” You urged and you shook him a little harder and his eyes finally shot open.

You let out a breath of relief before you lifted a hand and gently caressed his cheek, causing him to look at you and his gaze softened.

“I woke you up, didn’t I?” He said before he looked away from you but you shook your head and kissed his cheek.

“I’ve been up for a while. You didn’t wake me.” You promised sweetly as you wrapped your arms around his torso as best as you could as you laid down again.

“Want to talk about it?”

“It’s just the same stuff… Little less intense than before. Not by much.” He told you and you frowned softly, knowing he was dreaming about his time in Russia then his time with Mallory.

You snuggled closer to him and rested your head on his shoulder, only to feel him move and he kissed the crown of your head.

“Less intense is a good thing… right?” You asked softly and you felt him take a hold of one of your hands before he flipped it upward.

“It is. And they getting fewer and further between.” He reminded you and pressed his lips against your palm, causing you to smile a little.

“Well… why don’t we find something to do to get your mind off of it?” You asked and he shifted his head so he could look at you.

“What do you have in mind?”

“Well I was thinking…” You trailed off, a little hesitant to bring it up because you weren’t sure how he was going to take the suggestion.

“Y/N, you know I’m not good at these guessing games. I’m not a mind reader.” He told you and you bit your lip a little. Then you moved your hands away to sit up while you formulated your thoughts.

“I was just thinking that… well, we’re close enough to the states without crossing the border again. Vought, Homelander, they all think we’re dead so they aren’t a threat and they haven’t been one for the past twelve months. Do you think it would be possible to finally… I don’t know… settle down maybe?”

Ben heard the delicate tone in your voice and he could tell that this must’ve been on your mind for a while. It was comforting to know that you were beginning to think the same thing that he was. The former hero slowly sat up with a little groan before he wrapped his arms around you, pulling you into his lap before he rested his chin on your shoulder.

“How long have you been thinking about it?” He asked gently.

“Not long honestly… right before we cane to Canada actually. Middle of the flight on that cargo plane.” He heard you confess and he smiled a little, wondering what got you started on thinking about it on a flight of all places.

“So… where is you’re thinking of settling down?”

“I dont know.. I like this cabin, maybe we can build one a little bit bigger though. Just incase.” He heard you say and Ben lifted a brow.

“Just incase of..?”

“Oh you never know. Maybe we can make some friends here in time and maybe we could have little gatherings and what not.” You said a little too quickly, making Ben a little skeptical. But he decided to shrug it off for now.

“You really think people are going to want to he friends with former American supes turned fugitives?” Ben asked and you smiled.

“No, but I’m sure they’ll want to be friends with Ben and Y/N who are just a couple that moved into the community.” He heard you say and he grinned a little before he looked down at your hand, admiring the band on your finger.

He recalled how happy the two of you were when you both had your simple wedding. Nothing too extravagant but you both ended up getting your rings a little later but it was perfect. You had the little ceremony in New Zealand, bought the rings in France, and had your honeymoon everywhere else. All of this was definitely a unique experience for him but he wouldn’t change it for the world.

“So we won’t be telling them about… well everything.” He said and you nodded.

“The point of a fresh start is to leave everything behind, remember? A clean slate, one where we aren’t heroes and we can just enjoy retirement.” You reminded and he nodded a little.

“Well… I suppose I like the idea of a cabin here. It’s peaceful and quiet.” He said as he thought about it.

“Why don’t we go into town today and see if we can find somebody to talk to about the cabin and everything?” He suggested and he watched as your eyes lit up with the idea.

“Okay! I’ll go get ready.”

Ben felt you start to move away from his touch and he smiled at how happy you seemed to be. Although for the past week or so you had seemed happier than usual. He couldn’t help but wonder why but he was assuming that it was simply because you were thinking of staying here in Canada. It must’ve been something simple.

As he watched you scramble around the room to get dressed, you turned around and looked at him and you smiled beautifully at him.

“Are you gonna get dressed or am I gonna have to drag you out of bed?” You asked him, causing Ben to chuckle to himself before he finally sat up and tossed his legs over the side of the bed before he started to stand up.

“I’m coming, I’m coming. You’re much too energetic for me this morning.”

“I told you, I was already awake before you woke up.” You reminded him before you finished getting dressed.

“Yeah I guess that’s true.” Ben agreed before you spoke again.

“By the way, we should go to the grocery store while we’re going to town. I need to pick up a couple of things.”

You and Ben had been in town for the past couple of hours and you’ve already looked into a couple of people to discuss buying property. Price checking never hurt anyone after all.

But when you and Ben both found a price you could work with the both of you made the arrangements. They gave you an estimate of when the cabin would be done so you and Ben would have some sort of time frame. You just had to hope the owners of the cabin you and Ben had been crashing in wouldn’t be making an appearance anytime soon while your new home was being built. So you two were on the way to the store.

While you were at the store, you and Ben grabbed some groceries. Naturally Ben grabbed a liquor of his choosing, not much to your surprise.but as the two of you roamed around the store you noticed a couple with the woman carrying a stroller. You happened to glance and you saw the most beautiful little girl sleeping with a stuffed blue dog from some cartoon. It warmed your heart and filled you with serotonin, but you tore your gaze away and started to think.

“Do you think you and Homelander would have had a good bond if you were there to raise him?” You asked as you started to step towards the baby clothes.

Ben glanced toward you and realized you were looking at some of those onesies, the tiniest clothes he had ever seen really but he wondered why you were bringing all of this up. Then he started to grow suspicious and wondered if he should wait about asking about his suspicions.

“I’d hope so. I didn’t have any kind of bond with my old man, so I’d hope that I’d do something different and be better for Homelander. But obviously Vought had other plans.” He said.

“What about Ryan?” You asked and you gazed up at him.

“What do you mean?”

“Well if you had the chance, if you chose not to listen to Butcher… would you have stayed with Vought and helped raise Ryan?” You questioned.

“I really don’t know. I don’t think that option would have been open anyway even if I wanted it to be. Vought got rid of me once because they didn’t want me to know about Homelander. I doubt they would have let me stay just because I’m the runt’s grandfather.” Ben said and put his hands in the pockets of the jeans he wore.

“I think it would have gone well. If you had the chance anyway. I’m sure that you could have raised Homelander well and had that father-son sort of bond.” You insisted but you could tell Ben wasn’t really convinced.

“Look at the way things turned out with my team. No wonder they left me to rot with the Ivans without a second thought. If that’s how I am as a leader of a team then what the hell kind of a father would I be?”

Your heart sank at his words and you reached out before you took one of his hands. Ben intertwined your fingers out of habit and you spoke again while giving his hand a soft squeeze, “You’d be the kind of father that learned from the mistakes of his past. The kind of father that would be able to help your child get past similar issues if the time ever came up.”

He didn’t exactly respond but he looked at some of the clothes you were looking at. Then you placed a hand on his arm.

“Ben, the fact that you’re think about all of this now and the fact that you don’t want to end up like your father only proves that you’re stepping in the right direction.” You encouraged. He nodded hut you could tell that he wasn’t fully convinced. There were times when Ben was sort of a hard man to persuade. You figured this would be one of those things that just needed some time for him to adjust to.

“On a different note… what do you think we should have for dinner tonight?” You changed the topic, to which Ben let out a hum.

“Well… what about burgers or something? That seems like it would be pretty simple.” Ben suggested, though you couldn’t help but feel nauseated by the amount of grease that came with eating a burger. Ben must’ve taken notice.

“Why the cringe? I thought you liked burgers.” He said.

“I do, normally. Lately I think the grease from certain things has been messing with me.” You admitted, causing Ben to tilt his head a little. You noticed the concerned expression on his face.

“Is it something you need to go to a doctor for? Maybe we should find one while we’re in town.” You shook your head.

“No, I don’t think it’s bad enough to need a doctor. I think it’s one of those things that will be resolving itself soon.”

“How can you be so sure about that? What if it’s something serious?”

“Ben? Trust me, I’ll be okay. It takes a lot more than a little sickness from grease to kill me.” You promised.

Ben grunted with skepticism and reluctance but he wouldn’t fight you on this. Not unless it would get worse and he needed to drag you to a doctor himself. But he couldn’t help but wonder when things changed. He cleared his throat as he tried to think of some other suggestion.

“Well there’s always spaghetti, something easy. Maybe we could grill some chicken or something.” Ben said.

“That could work. Why don’t you pick up the ingredients for that? I have something I have to look into.” You told Ben before you leaned up and kissed his cheek. Before Ben could say anything, you were already gone.

Ben watched you leave, checking you out before he shifted his attention and went to get the groceries.

He thought about the pieces of the conversation where you started asking him about Homelander. He wasn’t sure how he should feel about his son anymore, even in your little hypothetical world where Vought as out of the equation. Would he be well equipped? He knew you were trying to be encouraging about his parental abilities, but he still felt like he wouldn’t be a good father, even if he wanted to be.

However, what Ben was wondering the most was what brought that conversation on in the first place? Sure he supposed neither of you had talked about Homelander within the past year so he supposed you had the right to be curious about it. But he wondered why you wondered about it now. Maybe he’d ask you about it on the way home.

Or rather the place you would be calling home until your cabin was built.

He couldn’t wait until the both of you had a cabin though. He was ready to finally have a permanent little spot to call home. Ready to have a special place where you both could reside for the rest of your days, a fortress of solitude, a place where you could finally be alone and unbothered by anyone. It most of everything he wanted.

You found yourself at the vitamin section and you picked up what you needed. You definitely had some news to share with Ben, but you weren’t exactly sure how to tell him. You knew that Ben was growing suspicious of you though, and you were glad he didn’t exactly question you further about the problems you had with grease. It wasn’t your fault the smell of it made you queasy now that you were pregnant!

After you grabbed the prenatal vitamins, you walked over to the register and bought them yourself separately and double bagged the bottles before you started looking for Ben again somewhere in the grocery section.

You wished he believed in himself a little more. Sure he had some issues with his leadership, but you hoped that once he would find out about his kid he would start becoming a little more confident in his abilities.

You found Ben looking at different pasta sauces as if he couldn’t decide on which one he wanted to pick. You smiled to yourself before walking over and you slipped your hand into his. He looked down at you and your heart still seemed to flutter at the sight of his smile but then he looked at the shelves once more.

“Can’t decide if we should get normal spaghetti sauce or if we should get Alfredo.” He admitted.

“Well, why don’t we get both? Whatever we decide to use tonight we can use the other one sometime during the week.” You suggested.

“I think that’ll be fine.” Ben agreed and he grabbed both and put them in the basket but then he noticed the bag in your hand.

“You went and bought something already?” He asked.

“I did. But it’s just some personal stuff that I didn’t want you to wait on me for.” You said, hoping he’d buy the excuse. Luckily for you, he didn’t pry.

“If you say so.” He seemed a little short and you could tell he wasn’t sure if he should necessarily trust your behavior. You didn’t blame him for the skepticism but you still wanted to figure out the right way to tell him the news, you wanted to make sure he would take things well which was why you brought up Homelander.

By the time you both got back to the cabin, you decided you’d go and take a shower before you’d get a head start on dinner for you and your husband. Ben stayed in the kitchen to put the other groceries away.

As Ben was putting groceries away, however, he noticed one of the bags were double-bagged. Growing curious, Ben decided to peek inside and when he did he found something he hadn’t expected to find.

“What the hell?” He muttered to himself as he picked up a bottle of vitamins and when the label, he was shocked.

“Prenatal vitamins?” He read the label out loud and he looked at what else was in the bag you bought.

Inside the bag, he found a some pens and some stickers that looked like they belonged in some sort of scrap book. There was a book that was sort of a week by week guide of what to expect when you had a baby on the way. Ben heard the bathroom door upstairs and he knew you were coming. He ran a hand through his hair before he put everything down on the table.

Ben turned around when the footsteps stopped and he found you there, clutching the towel you must’ve been drying your hair with and you were dressed in one of his shirts and some leggings. The look on your face was nearly unreadable. From it looked like, Ben thought it was some sort of fear, but what did you have to be afraid of?

“So… I guess I forgot to bring the bag upstairs with me.” You finally said and he watched you walk over, draping the towel over one of the chairs as you started picking up the items Ben put on the table.

“How long have you known and decided not to tell me?” Ben asked.

“Ben, I didn’t decide not to tell you. I’m not shitty enough of a person to do that to you.” You began, feeling kind of offended that he would phrase it like that.

“I know this is something you’ve always wanted and we’ve talked about it before. I wanted to figure out just how to tell you, wanted it to be, you know, at least special. But I wanted to know if you still even wanted kids after you found out about Homelander and Ryan.” You explained.

“Which was why you were asking about it at the store…” Ben finally realized.

“Yeah… that about sums it up.” You sighed and you sat down in one of the chairs in the dining room and you looked back up at him, “Are you upset with me?”

“Upset?” Ben questioned, unsure why you’d ask a silly question.

“No, Sweetheart. I’m not.” He finally answered and he reached out and moved the chair you were sitting in before he knelt down in front of you, “I’m honestly thrilled. I’m still not quite sure about how my parenting skills will be but I think I’ll have some time to figure it out.”

You smiled when Ben took one of your hands and gave it a comforting squeeze, “I’m kind of disappointed that you didn’t get to tell me in the way you wanted to.”

You laughed a little, “Well, it’s not like you can forget about it now for me to find a way to tell you. So I guess this kind of saves me some brain work.”

Then it was Ben’s turn to let out a little chuckle. Afterwards he stood up and you snickered when you heard the way his knees popped. You looked at him and he pulled you up by the hand before he wrapped your arms around you in a sweet embrace. You smiled as you let your head rest on his chest. You heard the way his heart seemed to beat faster than normal, making you wonder if it was excitement, nerves, or some other emotion he was feeling.

“You still haven’t told me how long you’ve known.” He commented before he planted a kiss on the top of your head, you hummed softly.

“I don’t know… maybe a week and a half now?” You said in more of a questioning tone since you couldn’t remember exactly.

“You mean before we hitched a ride on the cargo plane?!” Ben said and he pulled away from you, looking at you as if you’d gone mad, “Are you crazy? We could have stayed in the last country we were in before we came here. Isn’t that dangerous for you to be flying in the condition you’re in?”

Somehow you knew Ben would get protective the moment he found out you were expecting. Although you couldn’t complain about it too much. It was sweet in its own way.

“It would have been dangerous if I were further along. I know I’m less than a month in, at lest I think so. So it couldn’t have been that bad.” You tried to reassure and you watched Ben’s jaw tighten, displeased with the response.

“We need to find a doctor and they’ll tell us how far along you are. It’s a good thing you suggested we settle here this morning.” He said and you rubbed the back of your neck.

“Well I wasn’t exactly going to suggest we go somewhere else anytime soon.” You admitted with a slight chuckle trying to lighten the mood. Ben exhaled a little before he leaned down and tried to kiss you on the forehead, but you pulled away.

“Nope. I want one on the mouth.” You pointed your finger to your lips.

When Ben leaned down to grant your little request, you ducked down and got out of his grasp. Ben gave you a look of confusion and you had a mischievous look on your face. “Gonna have to catch me first, Soldier Boy.”

Ben watched you turn on your heel and you scurried out of the front door into the cabin. He wasn’t sure where the sudden playfulness came from but he thought it was cute that you thought you could slip away and get away with it. He gave you a few seconds of a head start before he ran after you.

He continued to run until he caught sight of you running through the trees. He smiled to himself and he picked up the pace a bit and he watched as you stopped at a creek. You looked to either side as if you were trying to figure out which way to turn but by the time you stepped foot in one direction, Ben turned you around to face him and he had a smirk on his face.

“Caught you.” He smirked and you giggled before you cupped his cheek just as he leaned down and captured your lips with his.

You smiled against his mouth and you felt one of his hands roam down just to settle at the small of your back as he pulled you closer, as if he didn’t want you to run off again. When you pulled away, his forehead was on top of yours and your thumb caressed the top of his cheek.

“Why don’t we stay here for a while? It’s a pretty day and we’ve never sat here at the creek since we’ve been here.” You suggested softly and Ben smiled and rolled his eyes.

“You’re something else, aren’t you?” He said.

“What?”

“Nothing, Sweetheart. Just quit running off like that. Especially right now. Or there may be consequences.” He said, making one of your brows arch upward.

“What kind of consequences?” You smirked.

“The kind of consequences where I make sure you won’t be able to run anywhere.” Ben said with a smirk, causing your cheeks to turn a deep shade of red. Ben chuckled deeply at your embarrassment but then he held your hand and he walked with you a little closer to the creek.

You were right. It was a beautiful day and Ben sort of wished the two of you had come out here sooner. He sat down in one spot of grass before he pulled you down into his lap. You sat between his legs and Ben had his arms wrapped around your smaller figure. One of his hands were on your lower abdominal area while his chin rested on your shoulder.

His mind started swirling again as he kept you in his arms. He couldn’t believe this was real. What if he wasn’t good enough to be a father? What if all of his worries he talked with you about earlier would come true? He knew he would never lay a hand on his kid like he did his teammates, you would definitely find a way to kill him if he ever did that. But Ben knew his father never his him but he was still an abusive fuck. He didn’t want to turn into a monster like that.

He’d never forgive himself if he did.

You could feel the way Ben was starting to tense up and you placed your hand on the one he had over your stomach. You knew he was worried about what would happen, you knew he had so many doubts in his mind, but you hoped that the further along you would get, the more confident he would be in himself.

“For the record, Ben…”

“Hmm?”

“You won’t turn into your father…”

Ben lifted his chin off your shoulder before he turned and looked at you. You turned your upper body to face him and you saw the look on his face, knowing he had so much self doubt in his mind.

“You’re going to be an amazing father without any of his influence. Our baby won’t end up anything like Homelander because they’ll have two parents who love them dearly. They won’t ever need for anything, and they’ll love you and admire you for everything you are just as I admire you for everything you are.”

Ben’s gaze softened, as did his demeanor, and he lifted a hand to caress your face, “And they’ll love you and admire you for the amazing woman you’ve always been. They’ll be lucky to have you as a mother.”

You hummed softly before you leaned in and placed a soft kiss on his lips once more.

When you pulled away, you leaned against his chest before you looked outward into the sky, admiring the sunset and the way it seemed to bounce off the water from the creek. You and Ben had a new journey ahead of you and while you and Ben may be from an older era, you knew this journey came just at the right time.

Tag List:

@deans-spinster-witch @roseblue373 @nancymcl @jackles010378 @hobby27 @chriszgirl92 @lyarr24 @wirdbeimaufhebengebunden @prettyinplaid94 @globetrotter28 @suckitands33 @capricxnt @k-slla @david-tennant-obsessed-blog @deangirl96 @mimaria420 @ashdoctor @muhahaha303 @angelbabyyy99

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - Everything Went a Bit Weird Allasudden

Organized, in each category, with ones I'm enjoying most at the top.

BL OLYMPICS! Week 2

I'll be passing out metals in various sporting events, as part of the weekly updates (through mid August) just for funzies.

Aug 2024 Week 1

Ongoing Series - Thai

The Rebound (Weds Gaga) eps 11-12fin - THE STAIRS ARE BACK and now they’re evil! Frank is truly great. He's out acting everyone else, but I'm just happy to see him pine. OK yes, the ending wasn’t awesome but I still really enjoyed this show. 

In conclusion: (deep breath)

This was a sports romance Thai BL pulp with everything I could have asked for given this sub genre. More, actually, since MeenPing are both great basketball players and the team component really did form part of the connective tissue of the show (vital in a sports romance). Meen has his shirt off within the first two minutes which is all I needed but he's still pretty great as the sullen secret keeper against Ping's cheerful survivor - childhood sweethearts torn asunder and now reunited. Then Frank sweeps in to give everyone a bad case of second lead syndrome. I always try to judge BL for what it is AS BL, and what it’s trying to do within its own territory and purview. This did exactly what it claimed on the tin: gay boys play b-ball and fall in love. That was all I wanted from it. Sure there was random kidnapping and a light bought of mass murder, but what’s a BL in 2024 without a touch of the mafia? You do you little pulp, I’m disposed to be pleased.

Thank you, Rebound, for being exactly what I wanted. Is this gonna be anybody else’s favorite BL of 2024? Probably not. But there is a real good chance it’ll be mine. Is it perfect? No. But for me, it got as close as a pulp can get, so I’m giving it 9/10.

My Love Mix-Up Th (Fri YT) ep 9 of 12 - Them being boyfriends is so damn adorable. Like PondPhuwin I think I could watch G4 just be boyfriends for 16 eps and not fuss about anything in life. They're my emotional support pair brand. Back to the show:

My goodness Atom is such a frenetic high strung babygirl. He is a near constant emotional pingpong.

Gold in Table Tennis

K is a teenage saint. The lights thing, and the hands to head (reminiscent of certain previous characters from this pair), all made me coo and laugh. 

However, this ep was mostly about the hets. It’s always funny to me when the gays have their shit figured out in a show but the hets are in chaos.

Also they're touted as "a teacher and a baker" but they're playing the gay dads of this narrative and I LOVE THEM SO MUCH. More gay dads in BL!

This Love Doesn't Have Long Beans (Fri iQIYI) ep 5 of 8 - I’m just gonna say it, because no one else is, this pair kisses like they’re in a Taiwanese BL. There’s no other way to put it except there’s a whole body genuine interest and enthusiasm to the way they do physicality that’s comparatively rare in Thai BL. This kind of on-screen sexual maturity is my favorite, especially in grown-up characters like these. The side couple = awesomesause. JJ is a very appealing character. He hates Methas, he likes him, he loathes him, and also... he definitely wants to see him naked. 

All praise aside? I have questions about why half the hair in this show is so absolutely ghastly. Like bad enough for Japan. Enough of that now, Thailand. Tut tut. Cut cut. Style style. Please & thank you?

Then again who cares when we get...

They already won silver last week, but I guess they're going for

Gold in Weightlifting

Century of Love (Weds Gaga) eps 7-8 of 10 - Well THAT is an interesting take on a Faen Fetale. As expected, a somewhat doomy ep 7. I did enjoy the doctor punching San tho.

Bronze in Boxing

Meanwhile, that camel jacket is a sin against all things, especially Daou. But I eventually got a crying kiss. I love a crying kiss best in the world. Next week looks good! But I miss my nine tailed fox nod. Will we get back to that or was it just a brief weird thing?

The Trainee (Sun YouTube) ep 5 of 12 - It’s kinda great actually. The romance is the only bit that isn’t really hitting for me. Gun’s smile at the "oppa" is so adorable. His little dimples.

Sunset X Vibes (Sat iQIYI) ep 8 of 12 - I really do not like the pet name in this one. Khun Dad is too weird for me. But I do think their relationship is ridiculously cheesy and endearing in a terrible way. These two are the equivalent of that couple that always speaks in baby talk. It’s a good thing they’re pretty because they’re not so bright. Wait! No Christmas music in my BL! That's far too weird. 

Bronze in Diving

I Saw You in My Dream (Weds Gaga) ep 3 of 12 - I’m liking this a lot better now. It’s still a little slow for me but since the bullying has stopped relatively quickly I’m not as upset as I was. Also, look at those eyes, our P'Seme is IN LURV. That said, I’m not wild about the sudden suicide plot line. That feels... weird.

Battle of the Writers (Sun YT) - TutorYim are back and so far this is better than Middleman's Love - but that's not saying much. For a second there I thought they were going to open on the REAL blindfold scene from Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation. But then I remembered that that’s more Mame than anyone else. On a completely different note, I do like this pair. And I’m willing to give them ever more chances. That said this is very, I don’t know, weird? I’m not sure what is happening, and I’m confident that’s not my fault. I hope it makes sense eventually.

Knock Knock Boys (Thurs Gaga) ep 11 of 12 - Peak's dad is so completely frustrating and kind of psychotic. It’s annoying to watch. So I spent most of this episode upset. I'm glad he came around in the end but it was a lot, mostly unforgivable, from this side of the screen.

Love Sea (Sun iQIYI) ep 8 of 10 - It's committing the greatest sin of all (in the realm of entertainment). It's mind numbingly dull. I'd sooner be offended than bored. Trash watch

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

I Hear the Sunspot AKA Hidamari ga Kikoeru (Japan Weds Gaga) ep 7 of 10 - I don’t remember the camping trip from the manga, but I really enjoyed it in this series.

Takara's Treasure AKA Takara No Vidro (Japan Mon Gaga) ep 5 of 10 - The bit with the kid was cute but I’m still finding this rather slow and the central relationship unappealing. I think the balance of power has to shift for me to engage, and I don’t see that happening anytime soon.

It's airing but...

Bad Guy (Korea YT) - yeah, erm, no thank you.

Sugar Dog Life (Japan Sun ????) 10 eps - OMG a uni student who looks too young and a... COP. GAH. The subversion and kink of it all. Please SOMEONE pick this one up?

4 Minutes (Thai Netflix/Grey) - A rich boy at uni suddenly gains the supernatural power to see four minutes into the future. I have a source, but I've decided to hold off and binge if it ends okay, since it's only 8 eps. I depend upon y'all to tell me how it goes.

Meet You at the Blossom (China) - it's your funeral (or, more likely, one of the main characters'). You can argue but... statistics. You know my feelings on this matter. MY BLOG, remember?

In case you missed it

The Time of Fever AKA Unintentional Love Story 2 (Korea movie) trailer IS COMING IN SEPTEMBER!!!!

Next Week Looks Like This:

Upcoming BLs for 2024 are listed here. This list is not kept updated, so please leave a comment if you know something new or RP with additions.

Coming Up This Month!

8/6 Cosmetic Playlover (Japan Tues Gaga) 8 eps - office romance around the makeup counter featuring a younger seme and sexual blackmail. I'm intrigued. DFTUJ (don't fuck this up, Japan).

8/8 Monster Next Door (Thai Thurs Gaga ) 12 eps - I am so DAMN excited to see Big finally lead a BL. I can't even with this, one of my most anticipated of this year. He's a great kisser ya'll, he's kissed a lot of boys as second lead. I can't WAIT.

8/12 First Note Of Love (Taiwan Mon Gaga) 12 eps - About a singer with stage fright and his timid fan stars Charles (H4 the puppy one) and Michael Chang (the youngster in My Tooth Your Love), plus side couple featuring a Thai actor Jame (Koh in Gen Y) and Liu Min Ting (of Guardian fame). What a damn tean. I can't wait. With thier powers combined!

8/13 Addicted Heroin (Thai Tues YT) - supposedly Jinlo with air this on their YT channel. Stars August (Love Sick) so I'm excited despite Jinlo's poor reputation. From the trailer it looks like it's following the original pretty closely just Thai style.

8/16 The Last Time (Thai Fri YT) ? eps - Convoluted story of loss and possible reincarnation or something.

8/22 The Paradise of Thorns (Thai movie) theater release - Jeff Satur is back but this does not look like a BL (the gay lover's death is the inciting event). More in Goodbye Mother vein. Looks dark and dramatic. He opposite and extremely well known actor Toey Pongsakorn who has never done gay before.

Addicted Heroin (Thailand adaptation) is also supposed to release this month. GIVE IT TOO MEEEEEE. I don't care about anything else but August back on my screen. It's been almost a decade since he did BL.

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

This is the kind of jealousy I like to see. Boys getting pissed about the stupid stuff.

Also, more counter making out. I'm not complaining, but babies the bed is way more comfortable.

All from Long Beans.

(Last week)

Streaming services are listed by how I (usually) watch, which is with a USA based IP, and often offset by a day because time zones are a pain.

The tag BLigade: @doorajar @solitaryandwandering @my-rose-tinted-glasses @babymbbatinygirl @babymbbatinygirl @isisanna-blog @mmastertheone @pickletrip @aliceisathome @urikawa-miyuki @tokillamonger @sunflower-positiiivity @rocketturtle4 @blglplus @anythinggoesintheshire @everlightly @renafire @mestizashinrin @bl-bam-beyond @small-dark-and-delicious @saezurumurmurs

Sigh, Tumblr in its infinite wisdom doesn't like too many tags.

Sports in Play (the jokes write themselves)

Boxing

Breaking

(That's Not) Cricket

Diving (yes, for that)

Fencing (yes, with those)

Handball (exactly what it says, no, read the word.. again)

Rhythmic Gymnastics (obvs)

Squash (snicker)

Surfing

Swimming

Trampoline

Table Tennis

Weightlifting

Wrestling

[blorbingqls]

Karan and Achi beyond the mask

okay, so i am not okay from the last episode of Cherry Magic Thailand. i personally relate to Karan and Achi a lot, and i felt like writing something on this.

so, in ep 1, we saw Karan to be this perfect guy in the office: winning the awards, getting better oppurtunities and being a great cheerleader for everyone. but, we saw the "mask" shatter when Achi heard his thoughts.

our thoughts, which are so personal in real life and usually are so restricted to ourselves - its hard to imagine what they might get out of it. and, the fact that Karan, while being so perfect, is so mysterious and private of his feelings, really hits hard when you see him internally squealing over being so close to his crush. And, that is why, his crush made us go:

(but in a relatable sort of way...)

As we moved on from episode to episode, we are seeing the said mask get shatter every moment or as shrek goes:

and we first see that reflect once we understand how Karan feels about having those feelings for Achi. which he thinks is beyond shameful. but isn't love something we are told to cherish so fiercely? and thats where i related it with my initial feelings of being queer. societally, we have been told us much on not being gay that when you actually do feel it, it feels guilty. it feels wrong to have these feelings; its a shame to have them because its only just you who has it. (but it is not like that)

Karan, in his whole life, has only been perceived as a mask. a mask of good looks who somewhat can do the job. he's perfect, mysterious and flawless. but, unknowingly, he's very sad and tired of it. so much so that he was scared for Achi to discover that he reads manga. his life, beyond his office is comparatively lonelier.

then the incident happened. his first year of working with the company: in a meeting with his seniors to learn all about the trade. he has prepared everything, he did the research and practiced what to speak in front of the client, only for his boss to reduce him to "the junior who has good looks."

Achi noticed that and later, was the only one who saw beyond the mask at his lowest. Achi said things which made sense to him, because he understands how bad it is be reduced to that mask because Achi goes through that low self esteem every day. however his kindness doesn't let him get it to others around him. for him, he is okay to be behind the scenes, as along it makes him feel happy.

cheering up Karan wasn't something Achi did in order to get something out of Karan. he only did it because he wanted Karan to feel better. and Karan saw that.

to like someone who sees you beyond what anyone is willing to show to the outside world and doesn't demean for it, means a lot to someone like Karan. and that's why, Karan's small acts of care for Achi made sense. because Achi's small acts of kindness towards the office is so similar to what Karan does for Achi. that's why, even though Achi doesn't believe it yet, but, Karan and Achi are similar in a lot more ways than he thinks.

so when Karan gets so close to Achi, he starts feeling so so special. initially, he was so happy with this small acts, it would make his day when he could just interact with Achi. but as Karan and Achi got to know each other more, with Karan's feelings out there for Achi to know, Karan also started feeling so special to Achi, even though the uncomfort lingered around.

with Achi's mask of being the ordinary, clumsy guy as the world sees him, his esteem made him fear the love Karan gave him, as he got closer to him. but he didn't understand how his ideas of buffers actually left Karan feeling so unacknowledged of his place in Achi's life all of a sudden.

so even if Achi knew Karan's feelings way before than Karan expressed it to him, he still didn't know what to say 'cause his heart couldn't reassure him of the genuinity of the feelings he felt for Karan or Karan's feelings for him.

with that post it note, Achi figured out the sincerity of Karan's love.

and for me, that is both of them reaching out beyond their masks and come out of their comfort zones to embrace the said love.

[gunsatthaphan]

~ Monthly BL Breakdown: November 2023 ~ 

🎅🏻 Happy December!!! 🎄

Disclaimer: ALL shows can be streamed here or here, as well as on Youtube and other platforms. For more info on where to watch what, check out this post! 

New breakdowns are coming at the end of every month - feel free to add stuff! -> previous breakdowns

What came out this month? (green = seen/currently watching)

🌟 Twins - November 3rd (Thailand) 

🌟 Last Twilight -  November 10th (Thailand) ✅

🌟 Middleman's Love - November 10th (Thailand) ✅

🌟 A Breeze of Love - November 10th (South Korea)

🌟 Beyond the Star - November 11th (Thailand) 

🌟 Playboyy - November 16th (Thailand) 

🌟 Pit Babe - November 17th (Thailand) ✅

🌟 Wheels and Axle - November 17th (Thailand)

🌟 Bake Me Please (starring Ohm Thitiwat) - November 19th (Thailand)

🌟 7 Days Before Valentine - November 22nd (Thailand) 

🌟 My Biker - November 24th (Thailand)

🌟 VIP Only - November 24th (Taiwan)

🌟 The Sign - November 25th (Thailand) 

🌟 Every You, Every Me - November 25th (Thailand)

🌟 Cooking Crush - November 26th (Thailand) ✅

🌟 The Whisperer - November 26th (Thailand)

🌟 My Biker - November 27th (Thailand)

🌟 For Him - November 30th (Thailand)

🌟 Sahara Sensei to Toki-kun - November 30th (Japan) 

Monthly likes/dislikes

👎🏻 Love Senior - This isn't a BL but I had to include it anyway because it's horrific lmao. I peeked in bc I was interested in what Starhunter could bring to the GL genre but I should've known better lmao. It's the girl version of Sotus but so much worse. Anyone who watches this and genuinely enjoys it, please unfollow me sdhfkd.

New series & movie announcements

🎥 Your Dear Daddy - Date TBA (Thailand)

🎥 My Stand In (starring Up Poompat) - Date TBA (Thailand)

🎥 My Boyfriend is a Captain - Date TBA (Thailand)

🎥 Teach Me Touch Me - Date TBA (Thailand)

🎥 To Be Continued - Date TBA (Thailand)

🎥 I Love/Kill You - Date TBA (Thailand)

🎥 Gray Currents - Date TBA (South Korea)

🎥 Lost on the River (adapted by Sammon's novel) - Date TBA (Thailand)

🎥 Shadow Confession - Date TBA (South Korea)

🎥 Mr. Doctor (BMS spinoff) - Date TBA (Thailand)

🎥 I Became the Lead Role of a BL Drama - Coming January 1st (Japan)

🎥 The Hidden Moon - Date TBA (Thailand)

🎥 Universe of Love - Date TBA (Thailand)

🎥 Battle of the Writers - Date TBA (Taiwan)

🎥 YZilla - Date TBA (Thailand)

🎥 You and My Stars - Date TBA (Thailand)

🎥 Monster Next Door - Date TBA (Thailand)

🎥 Love For Love's Sake - Date TBA (Thailand)

🎥 Jack & Joker (starring YinWar) - Date TBA (Thailand)

Other news from the BL world

❗️ At the streaming event of the final episode of I Feel You Linger in the Air, the cast announced a second season of the show. Details are unknown.

❗️ The Taiwanese historical BL My Stand In is getting a Thai adaption. Up Poompat and Poom Phuripan have been confirmed as the leads, Porsche Tanathorn, Mek Jirakit and Inntouch Naphat have been confirmed as part of the cast as well, along with others. The series is currently in pre-production and has not disclosed any further information. 

❗️ LINE TV and TAICCA announce “Be Love, Go Love”, a project that will include 6 Taiwanese BLs/GLs, produced & realized by multiple cross-country BL producers, screenwriters and directors from shows like the HIStory franchise, To My Star, Bad Buddy, ATOTS, 2Gether, Semantic Error and more. The project will launch in the 2nd half of 2024.

❗️ MeenPing (Ai Lhong Nai) were announced as the leads for AllThis Entertainment's upcoming BL The Rebound. Further details are unknown.

❗️ After Manner of Death and Triage, another one of Sammon's novels will be adapted into a series titled Lost on the River. Further details are unknown. Regarding the adaption of her novel Euthanasia, Tor Thanapob and JJ Krissanapoom were announced as the leads. The show will be called Spare Me Your Mercy. The production stated the reason they delayed the filming for more than a year is that they wanted to make sure to get Tor and JJ as the leads.

❗️The Korean broadcasting network KBS announced the period BL Shadow Confession. This is the network's very first BL production, giving it a huge relevancy as KBS is Korea's leading television- and broadcasting system.

❗️ MaxNat's upcoming BL Two Worlds has begun filming. The show will air in early 2024.

❗️BrightNonkul (I Feel You Linger in the Air) won "Most Charming Y-Series Actors of the Year" at this year's Starlight Awards.

❗️ Studio WabiSabi held their 2024 lineup event "Next Page" on November 23rd. The following BL productions were announced:

Sunshine in the Wind (BL/GL)

Star Scope

Fourever You

The Vampire Project (formerly known as "My Broccoli", starring BounPrem)

❗️ The Thai BL Be Mine Superstar is getting a spinoff revolving around Mueng and Ning, played by Boston and Kavin. The drama is titled Mr. Doctor and will air in 2024.

❗️ Actors Yin Anan and War Wanarat announced a new upcoming project titled Jack & Joker; a BL series of a still unknown genre. The sidecast includes Prom Ratchapat, Mark Siwat and others. Yin and War said the show is an original by their agency and they will act as producers as well. The pilot trailer will be released on December 2nd. Further details are unknown.

Upcoming series & movies for December

👉🏻 Chains of Heart: The Movie - December 7th (Thailand)

👉🏻 Cherry Magic Thailand - December 9th (Thailand)

👉🏻 It's Complicated - December 14th (Thailand)

👉🏻 Dear Kitakyushu - December 14th (Thailand)

👉🏻 Colorful Melody - December 16th (Thailand)

👉🏻 Dead Friend Forever - December 23rd (Thailand)

👉🏻 Wuju Bakery - December TBA (Thailand) 

👉🏻 Intern in My Heart - December TBA (Thailand) 

👉🏻 Night Dream - December TBA (Thailand)

[dozing-marshmallow]

I looooooooove the chris x wife! reader fic that you wrote!! It got me kicking my feet and blushing 😊 By any chance, could you write a chris x wife! reader going on their honeymoon?

Awww this is such a cute idea, thank you so much, I’m so happy to hear that you loved the last one! ⋆˙⟡♡  I had to get something out on the man’s birthday as soon as I could and this request was the one I was fixated on finishing the most, so do enjoy reading and McLean’s bday ~💗!

CHRIS MCLEAN X WIFE! READER ON HONEYMOON HEADCANONS

Most newly wed couples go to just one location for their honeymoon.

Yet it was very poor of you to think that standard would apply to Chris.

You didn’t realise until he informed you that you were gonna go to two countries per continent(apart from Antartica, cuz what the hell): Barbados and Costa Rica for North America, Brazil and Colombia for South America, France and Italy for Europe, Thailand and (The) Philippines for Asia, Morocco and Tunisia for Africa, French Polynesia and Australia for Oceania.

The only reason why Chris cut it to two instead of four was because he suspected you would get sick of travelling, and didn’t want you to be complaining on holiday.

“Chriiis, we don’t need to, you know!” you’re verbal about your humble take on the honeymoon as Chris made his long list based on the notes he wrote from his and your opinions,“This is all so costly! We could really go to two continents instead!”

“Huh?” he looks at you, confusion scratching into the space between his eyebrows,“(Y/N), this is literally nothing. You seriously wanna spend our whole two months of celebrating marriage in one place like working class people?”

Harsh, but it’s fine because it’s Chris.

Before you left, he took you on a massive shopping spree where it had not even been the beginning of him pampering you with all the jewellery, the swimsuits and the candies.

This guy doesn’t need to book reservations: the best hotels, air BNBs, holiday homes, you name the one you want to stay at the country and baam. Availability opens a door and charm hands over the keys.

He also hired a chaperone for each country, but most of the time, only for the arrival and departure; he wanted more alone time with you.

At this rate, you wondered if he needed to pay to enter the countries asides from paying the fuel and landing runway.

That’s right. You were getting there by his jet -he ended up upgrading- to each location.

Since it wasn’t meant to carry fifteen contestants this time, Chris abolished the loser and first class section in the new version of his plane to be furnished completely into his headquarters.

During each jet ride, you and Chris would review helpful phrases and attractions that would enhance the experience.

“So in France, we will have to remember to say “bonsoir” from 6 PM onwards.” you reiterate.

“That’s doable.” Chris comments, leaning back in his chair.

“And they don’t like smiling a lot.” you add, doing it yourself.

His relaxation ended,“Bummer. D’you think they can make an exception for me? My resting face is a smile.”

They did- in every place.

The honeymoon was an epoch for Chris to meet his fans from all over the world. If you had a dollar for every autograph he signed the entire getaway, you would have enough money to have your own jet.

Weirdly enough, Chris lost genuine pleasure to greet his global admirers and increasingly rushed the interactions.

“It’s okay to be more attentive to your fans, Chris.” you insist, with your head on his bare body, laying around somewhere on the warm Tunisian beach.

“Nah.” he differs with his hand scrubbing sand on your back,“I came on holiday with you, not them. I couldn’t leave you by yourself.”

Aw. You love your husband,“You’re right. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”

He bought you anything that caught your eye. Clothes, hats, rings, ice cream, souvenirs.

Chris had also bought five cameras. He wasn’t letting a single moment of a scenery or pose go to waste.

Be prepared for the day when he eventually gets them all printed out and stuck in fresh albums and wants to reminisce with you.

He took you to the best restaurants, never settling for one less than five stars (maybe four if you persuaded him enough).

“To another exceptional night of our honeymoon!” he raises his glass of happiness.

You copy, both clinking and declaring cheers.

Going back to your accommodation, Chris would have you carried until the first descent onto the fine duvets.

Let’s just say that, by the time you do get back to Canada, both husband and wife’s necks have never been more wine red.

[thebroccolination]

KRIST CAN’T LIE AND IS RIDICULOUS ABOUT SENPAI: VOLUME #39,573

In 2019, Singto starred in He’s Coming to Me opposite Ohm Pawat. It’s really underappreciated, and I highly recommend it. Singto is the cutest ghost in the whole afterlife.

Now, for additional context:

In early 2019, Singto was twenty-four, Krist was twenty-three, and the World of BL was Different. Branded pairs were a thing, but not like they are now.

SOTUS in 2016 saved GMMTV from bankruptcy and changed the industry. As I understand it from interviews with Krist and Singto as well as accounts from fans who were there at the time, although KristSingto were staggeringly popular, GMMTV saw SOTUS, Krist, and Singto as individual cash cows. BL wasn’t a money-printing hashtag-focused influencer lifestyle yet, so GMMTV seemed to hedge their bets. They made a thousand SOTUS events, pressed Krist into Leading Lakorn Man where the stable, dependable money was at the time, and kind of let Singto do whatever. Plus, Krist and Singto had different managers (Yui for Krist and Jane for Singto) and different interests and goals as far as their careers: Krist loves music, Singto loves photography, Krist wanted to be a musician, Singto wanted to be a director, Krist wanted to branch out into new areas of entertainment, and Singto wanted to study directing in California. They were able to be KristSingto: Kings of Couples, while exploring their talents and aspirations outside the growing expectations of a branded pair.

In an interview with Attitude in 2018 to promote their episode of Our Skyy as Kongphob and Arthit from SOTUS, Krist and Singto said they’d follow GMMTV’s direction as far as their series went from then on.

But Krist didn’t have to be happy about some of those directions.

One of the first things I learned about Krist as a person is that he was very, very vocally possessive of Singto when he was younger.

Go search “KristSingto jealous” on YouTube and enjoy the feast. They were both possessive, but where Krist utilized pouting and looking generally miserable, Singto would just calmly and physically remove people from Krist’s vicinity.

When Friendzone aired in 2018, Krist famously told interviewers with a maybe, possibly, half-joking sulking smile that he didn’t want to watch the series because he didn’t want to see Singto with other men.

(And then interfans disingenuously edited and recontextualized the clip so it would seem like he said he didn’t want to watch men kissing men…y’know, the thing he’s famous for. And proud of. And won’t stop telling people about. For years. Mr. “Please Let Me Play the Top” Mr. “Please Tell GMMTV You Want to See KristSingto in Another Series Together” Mr. “This Man’s Lap Is My Pillow and So Is This Man’s and This Man’s” Mr. “Please Ship Me and Gun” Mr. “I Asked Off for Permission to Sexy-Dance with His Husband”—mmmm.)

Now, before I show this clip, I just want to say that this was years ago and Krist has always loved Ohm—he’s just ridiculous about Singto. You thought I was exaggerating the “sulking and looking generally miserable” thing, didn’t you?

Seriously, go watch some things on YouTube. With popcorn.

[And before you think this was just a Krist issue, Singto one thousand percent encouraged it by openly thinking it was cute.]

[Prachaya, stop tormenting the turtle.]

Like, this isn’t a shipping thing, and he’s (mostly) grown out of it now. Krist is just very, very affectionate with his friends and seems to be sincerely afraid of being left behind. Famously, to make himself cry for the scene between Kongphob and Arthit in the Our Skyy episode, Krist imagined how he’d feel when Singto inevitably left Thailand to study abroad. (He ended up crying early and way harder than the script called for, and Kongphob’s surprise is at least a little bit Singto’s genuine reaction.)

Plus, y’know, Krist is and always has been a fiery babygirl of impulse, Singto is Senpai, and just. Even though their relationship is platonic, there’s a reason everyone thought they were dating in 2017, and there’s a reason that even as recent as 2021, Singto and Krist were both complaining that no one took them seriously as dating prospects because everyone still thought they were dating. In fairness, they’ve both been single since SOTUS, and they’re both ridiculous about each other, so there you go. Blame the victims. Wheeeee~ #SelectiveVictimBlaming2024

Anyway! In 2018, at what I think was GMMTV’s showcase for their 2019 lineup, Krist and Singto were together onstage, unmic’d, just standing there representing their respective, separate series.

For some reason (probably) lost to time, Krist turned to Singto and said, “I hate Qingming,” the shortened title for He’s Coming to Me.

Smiling, Singto said, “Not now. We’re working.”

Krist doubled down and said, “I don’t like it.”

In the longer clip, Krist kept sulking and Singto smiled at him with open amusement. Like I said: he fully thought it was cute and did the bare minimum to discourage it, because he’s ridiculous too.

Later, at the fan greeting, Krist was doing the typical, “Please support me and P’Sing in our projects this year,” and a giddy fan called out, “BUT YOU HATE QINGMING THOUGH HUH.”

This is where someone more adept at lying would say, “Of course not, kind fan, for I am always supportive of Senpai’s other series. I am a mature paragon of self-esteem and in no way extremely possessive of My Senpai Who Is Mine.”

Instead, this happened:

“HOW DID YOU KNOW ABOUT THAT.”

WKDLSJDKSJ

K R I S T

So yes, Krist can’t lie. He’s never been able to lie. He’s pure honesty and deep sincerity and high emotion all the time.

Now, once again, he was twenty-three, he was just being a brat for brat’s sake, and he never had an issue with Ohm. He was probably just afraid he wouldn’t get to work with Singto anymore since Singto was always very open about his intentions to study abroad and then transition to behind-the-scenes work as a director, so the longer GMMTV went without giving KristSingto a series, I imagine the less likely it probably seemed to Krist, who really wanted to act with Singto again and did not shut up about it for years.

This has been Krist Can’t Lie and Is Ridiculous About Senpai: Volume #39,573.

[This is a whole other story. Have a great day.]