#my parents are like super supportive of me

[wanderlust-in-my-soul]

2024 BL Wrap Up

Welcome to my 2024 bl Wrap Up!

A quick look at my stats this year, so that we can get it over with: I watched 60 BLs, most of which are from 2024. 24 of them came from Thailand, 15 from Japan, 14 from South Korea, six from Taiwan and one from China. I created 209 gifsets and had to deal with several heartbreaks.

Somehow 2024 was an intense year for BLs, at least for me. Even though I watched significantly less than in 2023 and skipped many series to save them for later, many of the series I watched touched me, both positively and negatively.

But what did the year actually look like for me? What are my thoughts today, looking back on 2024?

China, Japan and South Korea fought it out to see who could bring the saddest characters to life and write the saddest stories. On the one hand, we have China's re-entry into the BL world with Blue Canvas Of Youthful Days.

A series whose characters have suffered so much, healed together, supported each other, only to end up with a double noble idiocy and and a time skip so they see each other again in the last two minutes of the series and we get a half-hearted happy ending. I would have loved this series much more without this giving up your own happiness in hopes the other one is happy. Just talk to each other and find a solution together. Please.

Secondly, there is Our Youth from Japan.

Both characters suffer at the hands of their parents. One with domestic violence, prejudices and hatred and the other with absent parents, disinterest in his own personality, prejudices and separating parents. In both cases, they are neglected and find the support and trust in each other that they miss in the world. They feel misunderstood and learn about their own desires and needs through their affection for each other. The series is not yet finished, but it is one of the bluest series this year.

But Japan is not entering the race with just one series. Happy To The End is also a contender for a top spot at the Hurt-Mountain.

The story of two maltreated souls who somehow manage to find a little love and trust in a life full of darkness and pain. The series had left me with strong feelings and a dear friend gifted me the Mangas for Christmas. I can't wait to dive into their story again! And don't forget our super-villain of the year! This series had it all!

South Korea entered the race with Let Free The Curse Of Taekwondo.

I don't know who suffered more in the end, us as viewers who watched the suffering of both protagonists without being able to give them a warming hug and to tell them everything is going to be fine or the protagonists themselves and their attempts to hold up their own walls and tear down the other one’s. Those two have come a long way to at least talk to each other again. Such a good storytelling!

Meanwhile, Thailand thought it would be nice to start a little competition to see which of their series could be the fluffiest of them all. ThamePo is not included in this calculation, because I'm too biased when it comes to this series. They could present me green slime dancing in the rain while Po is staring at it lovingly, and I would celebrate it.

At first, I thought Every You, Every Me was going to easily win the race, but suddenly, they bring in death and the series is elevated to a weird, way too complex and under-explained meta-level where actors are trying to end their relationship because reasons?

I would have liked to have seen more of the multiverses in which our soulmates fall in love with each other again and again. The first four episodes were so good and so different than our usual bls. I couldn't stop loving it. But I guess the trophy will go to Your Sky after all in this case.

God, I'm blushing and giggling to myself with every episode. Fah and Rak are just so cute together. The series is pure fluff so far and even though I don't know what to expect from the remaining episodes, I know that the two of them will surely be happy together in the end.

The award for best performance goes by far to War Wanarat from Jack & Joker.

His diversity and ability to immerse himself in the different personas and play them believably was great cinema this year. The series might have some plot-holes or characters who could have had more screen time together, but the series was interesting and Joke was the best!

And while we're on the subject of Jack & Joker and Your Sky, let's move on to the trophy for this year's best kiss. The crown would have gone to Jack & Joker, but then Your Sky came around the corner with this great first kiss and wow. I was in a bit of a quandary until I remembered that this is my recap. So I'll just make two categories.

The best and softest first kiss this year goes to Your Sky.

The best and hungriest first kiss this year goes to Jack & Joker.

Kidnap didn't necessarily have an exciting and well thought-out plot, but Ohm's Puppy Eyes were unbeatable.

And yet ThamePo clearly won the staring contest with only three episode aired. I mean, hello? Who wouldn't fall head over heels in love with one of them when they look at you like that?

And contrary to all assumptions, neither Kidnap nor ThamePo has the biggest baby girl of the year! No, this is what Taiwan brought to the screen with The On1y One and let's not kid ourselves, Tian loved making everything possible for his Wang and taking care of him.

And who would have thought that the most romantic scene of the year came just close before the year ends? ThamePo! What have you done you beautiful, beautiful series! And how could the remembering of a phone number be the most romantic shit of the year? And yet here I am loving everything about this scene and the series. Oh the wait was so worth it!

While in most cases it was clear that the couples would get together at the end of the series and our little BL bubble would remain intact, Japan made it a little harder for us to predict a happy ending. 25 Ji, Akasaka de probably thought it was funny to play with our emotions like that. My Strawberry Film was probably lying in the corner, laughing at the fact that we believed its misdirections about being a bl. And in Hidamari ga Kikoeru, they remembered at the end that it is a bl and that the audience has been waiting for a long time to see the protagonists together in a scene again and conjured up an unspectacular happy ending with one of the most uncomfortable looking hugs in bl history.

Taiwan, on the other hand, didn't care whether their series had a happy ending or not and simply cut one of the best series of the year with strong acting and a great story in the middle without knowing whether there would be a second season.

And so The On1y One hangs somewhere in cliffhanger limbo and we viewers are desperate enough to search the internet for bad English translations of the story to at least find a little bit of closure. It's worth reading the bad translation though.

And while the world around me was already falling apart, Taiwan and South Korea were fighting over who could tear my heart into smaller pieces by the end of the series. While I was obsessed with Unknown and even bought the final episodes as early excess,

Love For Love's Sake managed to crush my heart into the finest powder. Never before have I been so heartbroken as after this series. I didn't know what to do with myself and my emotions for days. It was terrifying and yet so beautiful. One of the strongest heartbreaks I've ever felt. Clearly the best series this year for me.

Quietly and secretly, Thailand then surprised us with a pretty good adaptation of the much-loved Japanese classic Cherry Magic. And Tay and New surprised me with the fact that they can actually kiss each other without looking like they're in pain. The chemistry was on point and their love scene at the end... wow!

I also discovered a new format for myself in 2024. While I've always stayed away from watching shows on my phone because it's just too small, I came across Match Play on social media and just knew I had to watch it.

And that's how I slipped into the universe of vertical mini-series. My ADHD brain is happy about the short, entertaining nature of the episodes. And yet I was so hooked by the series that it's now my most rewatched show. And that's despite the fact that I don't really like doing that, i.e. repeating series. But I can watch it whenever, whereever.

I was able to watch with my best friend how two people fell in love with each other and are still together and happy.

The Boyfriend was an experience that I would never want to miss, not only do my friend and I now regularly watch shows together, but the show briefly gave me back my faith in love, not for me, but in general.

I finally found another show this year where I really liked OffGun.

The Trainee was a great show with good humor, great characters, honest problems, and an Off that I actually liked in his role. I don't often get that with him.

I had to learn once again that South Korea is not yet ready to introduce a queer couple in one of their big productions. The hints were there and so was the chemistry!

But unfortunately there was no happy ending for my poor heart and Sergeant Kim in Sweet Home 3. But he did make it onto my phone as a wallpaper. That's something too, isn't it?

But South Korea also surprised and sent a terrific adaptation of the novel Love In The Big City to the screen with a cast to be proud of and a story that was worthy of being filmed so well. The biggest plot twist for me came when it was revealed that No YeongSu was a toxic and utterly homophobic asshole. God, I loved the two of them together and would have loved to see No YeongSu come to terms with his own sexuality, but the show has just been too realistic for that. But their scenes together? Chef's kiss! The best lift of the year!

But not everything that tried to shine this year was gold.

On the dark side, Japan and Thailand both tried to piss me off this year by letting series that started so well and would have definitely been my favorites, had they kept it up, hit the wall in the middle or near the end. Seriously Thailand, what was that about Last Twilight? And Japan, I hear the sunspot was so good until you decided to put in a character that was so unlikable that many of us just got angry and until you decided that our protagonists just couldn't have any positive character development and just stopped communicating with each other. And that had been their strength all along!

Wandee Goodday wanted to be this cool show, with sex positivity and sex buddies, but quickly became a romantic sludge that was as predictable as every other GmmTV story. I'm not saying that's always a bad thing, just a little unnecessarily schmaltzy and sweet at times.

South Korea gave us a brief scare once when it thought it wanted to produce a series together with Thailand. I don't know, but I just can't take Mew seriously since then. Love Is Like A Cat was bad. The acting was really bad, the plot didn't know what it was supposed to do on set any more and it simply left midway through the series, never to be seen again.

Unfortunately, this didn't improve the acting and so it was more a case of just not giving up. Sometimes I also wonder what's wrong with me that I keep watching those series and why I'm doing this to myself (yes, I'm looking at you Dinosaur Love).

What 2024 really had a few of, however, were stories with a very unique plot. There's Love For Love's Sake, where someone gets a second chance through a computer game. Or Century Of Love, in which a centenarian in a young body waits for the love of his life and is surprised when they are reborn as a man.

Or Caged Again. I'll wait until I can binge it myself, but the story of a penguin and a panther who fall in love as humans sounds great! Or 4 Minutes, in which time was so confusing that I lost track at one point. Or who could forget our first Omegaverse series Pit Babe?

Which was somehow a little lacking in Omegas and made people questioning everything after finding out that Pavel wouldn’t be on top. Or Playboyy, a series that I think is underrated and which style is so artistically pleasing. Yes, the story was messy af, but the manner in which this series was shot and filmed was exquisite. And Love In The Big City and The Nipple Talk, two very good, very adult series that I wish could get more attention.

All in all, 2024 was a great year with interesting stories and fascinating characters that I will certainly be returning to from time to time.

And with you, my dear friends and followers, creators and viewers. Your presence in 2024 has sweetened my year and made my feed happy! Thank you to all of you out there!

May 2025 treat you well and delight us all with great new stories!

[your-unfriendlyghost]

Mason McCormick for the character thingy pls and thank you 🙏🙏🙏

Sweet, Mace! (Idk what my current design for him is but it looks like this rn lol)

How I feel about this character

  I like him! He’s a lot like Darry, but I find him more relatable because of the sarcasm lol. He’s had to grow up too fast, and he needs to get outta Oklahoma poor guy. I wanna give him…not a hug, but a pat on the back maybe. And a parental figure who’s significantly better than his father. I like Mason.   He’s like Darry if Darry got out. If Darry didn’t have Ponyboy, only Soda. If Darry didn’t have to stay so strong, I guess. Not that Mace isn’t strong, he’s hella strong. But idk, he did it. He got free and I’m sorta proud of him for that.

All the people I ship romantically with this character

No one really, but there’s no one his age he can really bounce off of in canon other than his buddy Robert Collins and I guess Lem. But he told Lem that he’d kill him if he ever saw him again, so…yeah, no, don’t think that’s gonna happen. If someone were to make a Mason x OC fic tho I’d probably read it even tho I don’t usually go for that kind of thing- idk I think I just wanna see Mason getting support and being happier lol

My non-romantic OTP for this character

Well, Tex, I guess. It feels like kind of an obvious answer, since their conflict is the story more or less, but idk. They’re brothers. They hate each other. They love each other. Mason needs independence, and Tex needs Mason. There’s no easy way out, and either way it’s gonna end sorta sadly. Not tragically like the Outsiders, but sadly. Bittersweetly. 

  “He’s my brother even if he ain’t your son.” ough. This line kills me in the best way.

My unpopular opinion about this character

  He ain’t super well known so all the opinions I have are unpopular kinda lol. I think he’s shy, though. Not around Tex, obviously (who’s shy around their little siblings?), but at school. He’s popular, even though he’s apparently not as good-looking as some less popular guys, and he’s cold towards people or at least cool. I think he seems stuck up, when really he’s shy. (Like how Bryon saw Ponyboy in TWTTIN)   He also seems kinda non-confrontational, maybe not outta shyness as much as…laziness? That’s not the right word exactly but I can’t think of a better one. But like how he didn’t warn Tex about having to sell Negrito, how he never once mentioned to Pop that he knew Tex wasn’t Pop’s son, how he wouldn’t tell Tex about why he was going to the hospital, and how he just lied about not wanting to go to the fair. (Ok that’s purely headcanon there. I think he wanted to go tho, or maybe he was lying to himself about not wanting to go.) I don’t think he likes delving into his thoughts about things if it takes too much effort, ig. 

  I also think he resents the fact that he’s from Bixby/Garyville (In the movie it’s Bixby, in the book it’s Garyville. Idk why.) and not Tulsa. There’s more opportunities in the city. I mean, Tex resents being seen as a country hick- I feel like Mason resents it just as much if not more. He likes being taken seriously.

Oh and idk if this counts as an unpopular opinion but I’m not that fond of the guy who played him in the movie. He did good, but he was not 18 istg. He was 31 and looked 31, which made it real hard to buy him as a stressed 18 year old. Not my Mason smh

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

Idk, it woulda been nice to see him interact with his peers a bit more, like how we got to see Soda and Steve being friends in the bg of Outsiders…Then again, maybe he doesn’t have any friendships like that. I dunno if I do, so someone cold like Mason may not. He’s friends with Robert Collins tho, so that counts for something? 

[dramaticallytotal]

Simp-ly Love At First Sight

A very crack-y idea where Alejandro basically falls head over heels for Noah right away. And I am such a big fan of pathetic when in love Alejandro, so there will be plenty.

Alejandro: "His biting wit and lack of fashion sense has captivated me."

It does have elements from the plot twist idea like Alejandro orchestrating eliminations for Noah/Noah's benefit. Noah's kind of oblivious about it all. He genuinely thinks Alejandro is just a naturally flirty person, and yeah, he is, but he is trying so hard to get Noah to notice he is really flirting with him. I mean, he literally always gives Noah a kiss on the hand as a greeting or when the opportunity strikes.

Noah: "My new friend is really flirty with me....it must be his thing like Izzy being crazy."

Alejandro drawing hearts in his plotting notebook: "And once we're dating, we'll be the best power couple and dominate this game."

Alejandro is still a scheming and manipulative dude, but he uses it for Noah and himself. He still doesn't like Owen for his general Owenness but also because he's super jealous of how close he and Noah are.

London never happened like it did in Canon because Alejandro doesn't flirt as obviously as he does in canon. Noah knows he's manipulative, but he's pretty apathetic about it. I mean, if it helps to benefit the team, he won't complain, but he will if it means throwing a challenge like in Germany. He confronted Alejandro in the cargo hold. Got up in his face and everything, even pointed his finger harshly into his chiseled chest.

Alejandro: "His face is close to mine, and he's touching me! Best day ever!"

After that, he no longer tries to lose challenges because that's what his love wants. Everyone knows how whipped he is for Noah, except Noah, and they think it's hilarious. (Unless they are one of the people that got eliminated because of Alejandro.)

Heather gets out earlier in this mainly because Noah made a comment about Alejandro having an obvious crush on her, and he absolutely cannot have his darling think his eyes would ever be swayed from him.

The first time Alejandro heard and saw Noah take charge and scheme, he nearly dropped to a knee and proposed right then. He did actually propose during the wedding challenge since Chris thought Alejandro being pathetic was ratings gold and made sure he and Noah were paired together for the challenge. Complete with Noah being in a weirdly fitting wedding dress that Chef definitely did not help pick out because he thought it would fit Noah and help make Alejandro more pathetic. That was actually when Noah realized Alejandro liked him, and well, maybe he had a small crush on him in return.

Them winning immunity was the cherry on top for Alejandro. It was basically a honeymoon since he confessed, and Noah confessed in return they had shared a kiss or two....or more. They ate their cake, and Alejandro even managed to feed Noah a bit, which had made him giddy. Much to Alejandro's delight, they do become a really good power couple. Dominating challenges, making alliances, and voting out those who stand in their way, and all the while being disgustingly cute the entire way.

Everyone is so done with them, but Chris and Chef are basically that one HTTYD meme of Hiccup giving Toothless a supportive thumbs up.

Not so surprisingly, it ends up with them as the final two, and everyone expected them to be all cute and hardly compete, but are surprised when they are vicious yet flirting. Noah likes being challenged, and when he's challenged, he's like a whole different person. He becomes determined and competitive, and Alejandro is swooning. Alejandro ends up losing, but that's okay because his darling won and was happy.

Though he was scared that his parents would be disappointed in him but surprise surprise, when José went to tease Alejandro about being so pathetic, their mother just hugged Alejandro and laughed. Apparently, their father had been the same way with their mother when they first met, and she thought it was positively adorable that Alejandro took after his father in this. It was the closest Alejandro had ever felt to his dad, and his dad had even laughed with him about how deep Burromuerto men fell for their loved ones. Somehow, meeting and dating Noah helped his father see past his shortcomings in comparison to José.

Alejandro proposed once more.

José was more than shocked when Noah basically became the favorite son, Carlos just laughed. Alejandro's parents absolutely adored his boyfriend. His mother loved how family oriented he was, and his father appreciated how smart Noah was. Plus, being a millionaire was a big plus, too.

[ilistentogirlinred]

everyone in my house is shit at communicating cause we're all autistic and both of my parents were raised in homes where no one talked to each other ever so that's fun.

[lumityfication]

one thing about season 2 that i loved was imogen’s unintentional ignorance abt queerness bc she wasn’t vilified for not fully being able to understand what her friends were going through. personally, in my life i’m surrounded by people who are super accepting of queerness but not all of them are queer themselves, and i felt like it was a simultaneously funny and heartwarming representation of those friends and family members. like, you don’t necessarily have to always say the right thing for people to feel supported by you, as long as they know you’re trying and wanting to relate.

i.e. the scene w nick, charlie, and imogen after she yells at ben, when she’s like “everything would be so much easier if i was just into girls!” and they’re like “umm… not exactly but i get what you mean!”, and when she just assumes sahar is straight when she’s actually bi!! very funny but i feel like it also clearly comes from a place of love and support for her queer friends and wanting to relate to them which i thought was sweet. also when she hugs nick after he comes out to her and she says “i don’t really know how i’m supposed to react”… i just loved that moment and her admitting that felt so sweet and honest and realistic.

idk i’m just rambling and i also know that they hinted at her having a crush on sahar at the end but for most of the season she did function as the token straight friend and i really loved how they wrote her character in that way!!

[mulders-too-large-shirt]

the x files au where everything is exactly the same except mulder takes home the child neanderthal from the jersey devil episode and raises them as his own

[lightblueminecraftorchid]

the 14 year old edgelord in me keeps trying to compose deep poetry about coming to after dissociating. calm down babes. we’re all good here.

[shot-by-cupid]

My issues are on full swing tonight I am going thru the motions so can I just say how much this scene BREAKS MY HEARTTTT. I am going to put my head through a wall.

LIKE. Literally all he wants is for his stupid fucking dad to hear him out to have his back to take him seriously. All he wants is his approval. You can even see him like. Hesitate a bit before asking

Like he had to THINK about it. I am so. So certain he knew what the answer was going to be and he still went for it because he NEEDED IT. Like you don’t understand.

AND WATCHING HIS EXPRESSION FALL.

Like. You can literally SEE YOU CAN *SEE* how HARD “you’re bringing your brother down with you” HIT HIM YOU CAN SEE IT. YOU CAN FUCKING SEE IT. He internalized that shit I can TELL. And that quiet little ‘thanks for your support’ before he goes to his room CRYING SCREAMING THROWING UP CLAWING AT MY SKIN I AM SICKKKKKK I am sick. Poor baby :(

[stabbingandorbeingstabbed]

someone walked into me having what i thought was a private but very loud breakdown at work about the family cruise my parents are requiring me to go on for my dads retirement next may bc i have never ever wanted to go on a cruise in my life and the cheapest solo room for the one they picked is fucking $1600 for a 100sq ft closet and that's not even including airfare to get to miami OR wifi YOU HAVE TO BUY A WIFI PACKAGE to have reliable internet access what if i just fucking kill myself instead <3

[yaristari]

Part 2 in my series of rewatching my favorite 90s/early 00’s shows. (click here to see Daria’s sketch)

Home Movies is such a delight. The dialogue is fantastic, and the vibe of making your own little cinematic masterpieces out of cardboard and dreams as a kid is spot on.

It’s made by Loren Bouchard and Brendon Small. Loren Bouchard then did Bob’s Burgers, which shares the voice actor of H. Jon Benjamin as Coach McGuirk here and Bob Belcher in Bob’s Burgers. Brendon Small (who is also the main character in this show, also named Brendon Small) went on to make Metaloclypse.

[lilliemadoka]

wip where im just fuckin around with a new brush lol. won’t finish because I low-key hate it. anyway this is technically oc posting

her name is callie meteno and she’s a pokemon oc!

[mar64ds]

i think the way sans wholeheartedly supports papyrus through everything is really sweet but also very interesting for both of the characters, because i don't think sans is trying to humor him or is 'afraid to hurt his feelings' like many might think, i think sans fully trusts papyrus's own decisions and if he's ever wrong he can figure it out himself and grow from it, if anything sans really respects papyrus's choices, he doesn't think papyrus is making a bad decision by trying to be a royal guard, his brother knows himself best. papyrus also... doesn't have that much support from anyone else, sans is his only family and he barely has friends at all, i think for sans it's more important that papyrus feels supported than anything else, like i said, if papyrus is wrong about something? that's alright, he'll be okay, he'll learn from the experience, and his brother will be there for him. but for this situation, it's more important for papyrus that his brother believes in him when nobody else does than being told he's being 'naive'

[merriclo]

i feel like we, as a fandom, don’t utilize A Link Between Worlds (outside of the existence of Ravio) enough. we should talk about Gulley and the blacksmiths and irene and the fact that Legend would likely say stuff like “blew his stack” and “thataway.” albw is a great game and offers lots of interesting avenues to go w Legend’s characterization.

[toxicity-2003]

I'm gonna start saying no to things that physically hurt to do because "pushing through the pain" does not give me pride or mark my place in society

[ladyseidr]

and what if i finally decided on a fc for anna / mrs. em.ily. what then. ( do you love her )

[opens-up-4-nobody]

...