#now bl manga on the other hand...

[metalandmagi]

Romance Anime Starter List

I don’t know about you guys, but I’m sick and tired of seeing “Top ___ Best Anime of All Time” lists that are nothing but shounen. So, with "My Happy Marriage" getting a little attention from the anime community, I wanted to put together a list of some romance anime that I consider good “starters” for the genre. Because if I were just now becoming an anime fan, I’d think all there was to offer was shounen action series.

And by “starters” I mean basic stuff that’s not too…out there, and actually involves the characters getting together instead of just harems or using romance as a side plot (sorry Ouran High School Host Club and My Next Life as a Villainess). 

So if you’re new to anime and want stuff that’s not just guys beating the shit out of each other (which is also fun, don’t get me wrong), here are some basics.

Taisho Maiden Fairy Tale- When the pessimistic Tamahiko Shima loses all function in his right arm, his family sends him away to live in the mountains with the cheerful, hard working Yuzuki Tachibana…who was purchased by the Shima family to pay off her family’s debts and basically act as a caretaker/future bride for Tamahiko so they’d never have to deal with him again. It’s a more cheerful version of My Happy Marriage (without the supernatural stuff), except in this one, the guy is the one who has massive self-esteem issues and an abusive family. There are still very serious themes, but ultimately it’s not meant to make you cry every episode. I swear it’s so good, but nobody watched it!

Horimiya- A slice of life in which pretty and popular high school queen bee Hori, finds out her quiet, unassuming classmate Miyamura is hiding piercings and tattoos that could get him expelled. The two gradually find out more about each other and get together in the most realistic way I’ve seen depicted in an anime. It’s also fucking hysterical and genuinely emotional.

Recovery of an MMO Junkie- Another slice of life that focuses on two adults who meet in an MMO game without realizing they also know each other in real life. I don’t want to say much more than that. It’s adorable, and the main character is so relatable it hurts.

Love with Yamada-kun at Level 999- Speaking of MMOs, this is a newer series about Akane Kinoshita, a college first year who’s reeling from a bad break up. In an attempt to get back at her ex, she winds up meeting Akito Yamada, a popular gamer who happens to be in her guild in the MMO they both play at an IRL meetup. The two go from acquaintances to something more as they keep running into each other. Even more relatable main characters and just wholesome relationships all around.

Snow White With The Red Hair- A fantasy in which an apothecary named Shirayuki (meaning, you guessed it, “snow white”) runs away from her home in order to escape becoming the concubine of her town’s prince. While fleeing, she is rescued by Zen, the prince of a neighboring country, and she ends up becoming an herbalist to repay him. It's super cute with some genuinely swoon worthy moments and a couple that just works so well together. I have a habit of comparing this to Akatsuki no Yona, even though the two aren’t really that alike. This is more romance driven while Akatsuki no Yona is more of a serious historical fantasy with romance elements (Yona manga is amazing, but the anime barely scratches the surface, so that’s why I didn’t include it).

Sasaki to Miyano- When the shy, easily flustered Miyano meets Sasaki, a cool “delinquent” upperclassmen, the two end up bonding over manga…specifically BL manga. That’s right, Miyano is a fudanshi, but due to his small stature and somewhat feminine appearance, he’s constantly trying to convince others that he’s not interested in having his own love story where he’d be reduced to a stereotypical doe-eyed uke. But as Sasaki and Miyano spend more time together, they realize that what they have is more than friendship, and they have to come to terms with their own perception of gay relationships. This is my favorite romance of all time. It’s a slow burn, but boy is it worth it. Their relationship is so natural and realistic, just like Horimiya. Just two people hanging out and bonding over things the way people do in real life!

Given: The story of some boys in a band with trauma. Enough said. It's great. Go watch it.

Bloom Into You- Yuu Koito is a high school girl who’s been waiting her whole life for her own perfect romance to start…but when she receives a confession, she realizes she doesn’t know how to respond when she’s just not into the guy. And then she gets another confession…this time from the cool student council president Touko Nanami, who basically jumpstarts her lesbian awakening. Very cute story about how we perceive the concept of love vs actually feeling it. Also has a canonically aro/ace side character, so that’s a win for me. Another show like this is Adachi to Shimamura (but I honestly don’t remember much about it. It just didn’t stick with me as much).

Ore Monogatari- Takeo Gouda is a tall, bulky high school first year with a sensitive heart of gold. He wants nothing more than to find his own true love, but most girls are intimidated by his enormous stature, and they end up falling for his conventionally attractive friend instead. That is, until he meets the tiny, adorable Rinko Yamato. He falls in love instantly, but he’s sure she’s interested in his best friend like everyone else, so he vows to help get them together, even though his heart is breaking. Peak himbo behavior. Pure of heart, dumb of ass.

Yuri on Ice- Yes it’s the gay figure skating anime everyone knows. And yes it’s a fucking romance, okay? I will die on this hill. The romance between Viktor and Yuri is just as important as the plot!

Kaguya-sama Love Is War- Two insanely smart high school students both have a crush on the other, but since they’re…you know…high schoolers, neither of them wants to admit it first. So they come up with increasingly convoluted plans to get the other to confess first. This will go down as one of the best of all time. It’s a hilarious yet poignant modern classic.

Fruits Basket- I’ve talked about it before and I’ll talk about it again. A romance “comedy” that slowly morphs into a drama about a girl named Tohru who finds herself living with the mysterious Sohma family after her mother dies. Little does she know, the Sohmas are the victims of a  (somewhat silly, but ultimately tragic) curse that she must fight to break. Even though I’m more into it for the family drama, the romance is still top tier and plays an important role in the story. This is my second favorite anime of all time, and it’s a classic for a reason. If anyone hasn’t watched it yet, GO WATCH IT! IT WILL RIP YOU TO SHREDS!

And now for some honorable mentions that didn't quite fit into the regular list:

Ride Your Wave- A movie about a surfer who falls in love with a firefighter……and I’m not going to say any more than that. Go into it blind. If you like stuff like Your Name, this is a good one to watch.

Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun- A comedy about a high school girl who finds out the upperclassman she has a crush on is actually a shoujo manga artist, and no matter how she tries to confess to him, he just never gets it.

The Ice Guy and His Cool Female Colleague- A slow burn slice of life that focuses on a guy with ice powers who has a crush on his coworker. That’s it. That’s the show. When I say slow, I mean SLOW. It’s perfectly cute and fluffy, but my god does it take forever to get anywhere with these two.

Skip to Loafer- A high strung, small town girl decides to go to high school in Tokyo, where she meets a variety of classmates, including the laid back Sousuke Shima. The unlikely pair become friends, and soon enough, she starts to feel something more than friendship. The only reason I didn’t include it in the main list is because they don’t get together by the end of the first season, but it’s still really cute (also canonically trans character for the win!?)

So that’s my starter list. And no, I didn’t include Toradora, even though it’s a classic. I know it’s blasphemous, but I like it more as a comedy than a romance. It kinda lost me with the ending. But anyway, maybe someone will find something they like. Or maybe you'll just want to roast me and my picks 😅

[leatherbookmark]

picked up my given books, started reading vol5 then took a break to flick through the other volumes and man it is with the HEAVIEST heart that i must announce i kinda hate the style change

[amazinglyashy]

Hi , I love your LADs works it fits the would be characters reactions according to their personality and I look forward to your work. Can I request a LADs men reaction to reader reading smut manga or BL smut , only if your comfortable with it. Thank you and All the best for your future endeavours 🥰

I have a tab I'm going through right now of a bunch of josei manga and then I open tumblr to this ask LMAO I feel personally attacked, so of course anon! Thank you for the sweet words, and for the request!

Love and Deepspace Li’s reactions to discovering you being an avid smut reader

Sylus -

He is such an evil person.

If he manages to find a physical copy that you own, he's going to read it and he's going to do it in his own time when he knows you'll be coming over soon. He times it just right where he'll be near the ending by the time you get there.

You walk in to him looking absolutely exquisite in reading glasses, a small smile on his lips as he leans back in his chair to ask you how your day has been- book in hand.

The embarrassment is real, even if you claim to not care about 'cringey' things and consuming them. Your love is sitting there with a smutty book in his hand and a knowing grin, and you can't help how hot your face is getting.

"You know, if you like something, you should just tell me, kitten."

Maybe he's referring to the contents of the book, maybe he's referring to your general enjoyment of the genre, you can't tell. He does mean both, though. He would buy you a library worth of smutty books if it made you happy, and he would get all the needed supplies to commit the same acts the characters do for you the next time the two of you have a session.

"Did you really think I'd be upset by something like this, sweetie? You're cute. I'm glad you found something you enjoy. In the future though, don't keep secrets from me. I want to know about you. Everything, about you."

Rafayel -

He will come up behind you to ask you something, and realize that you can't hear him due to being engrossed or having headphones in. He doesn't mean to snoop, but your screen is on display for him, and you don't know he's there.

Oh, he's so happy he decided to try and ask you something.

By the time you realize he's behind you, it's too late, and attempting to shut off your phone proves unsuccessful because he's already giggling.

"How much did you see?!"

"Not much."

"Liar!"

And you're right, because after a moment of silence, he will proceed to recite the last page you had been reading, ducking out of the way as you jump up, your face reddening, as you chase him around the room.

He doesn't care in the slightest. In fact, he will absolutely surprise you with shipping merch from whatever it is you've been reading, and remind you when new chapters are about to drop in case you forget due to stress at work.

Rafayel will also ask you how certain characters are doing, or how certain relationships are coming along. If you enjoyed watching soap operas, he's absolutely the one to watch over your shoulder and ask you questions to catch up.

He still makes rude quips here and there, but you know he doesn't mean anything by it, and the involvement is strangely comforting.

Zayne -

He's known for a long time. Benefits of knowing you when the two of you were younger, he has a pretty good read on the things you might or might not enjoy without needing an explicit answer.

That, and you left a doujinshi on his coffee table once after you used his spare key to break into his home to clean and surprise him with dinner after you had gotten off of work surprisingly early.

No, he won't let you live it down.

He will find a way to calmly bring it up in the most absurd and unnecessary situations. It's his own little running joke that makes you so adorably frustrated, he can't help but continue it.

He'll find other ways to tease you about it, much like how you occasionally tease him over his sweet tooth despite you loving snacks just as much as he does.

Sometimes though, he likes to throw you through a little bit of a loop.

"But also, if there is any content in what you've been reading that you believe you would enjoy, please don't hesitate to let me know."

"I enjoy all of it, that's why I read it, Zayne."

"I assume you misunderstood me, so allow me to restructure my sentence. If there's anything in what you've been reading that you would like done to you, I would like to know. I would love to do those things to you, whatever they might be."

Xavier -

He has purchased you some of these books and ebooks.

Probably the Li that would know the soonest out of all four of them aside from Zayne, just because he kind of just... assumed, much to your own mortification when he told you this fact months ago.

He doesn't give a crap though, it's something you like. He doesn't see any difference between it and the claw machines, even though there is an extremely stark contrast between the two. He used to see no point to the claw machine games you'd love to play, but quickly saw the appeal when he got to play with you.

Maybe he can't share your enjoyment for this, but he does love sitting in the same room as you, reading together even if the two books being consumed are vastly different in content.

He just enjoys your company, it really doesn't matter to him what you both do, or in this case, enjoy during that time.

He thinks its really cute and endearing, especially if you reach a point in whatever you're reading that gets you squealing out loud. Because not only is it absolutely adorable to hear, it's also nice because he knows it means you're comfortable enough to react out loud to your reading, even if it's a rare occurrence.

It's nice to know you're relaxed around him, in every capacity.

[antsday]

in the palm of your hand

[i was re-reading @habken's incredible scammers to lovers au and wrote this short fic. I really love their work and couldn't help myself lmaoo. anyways i hope you all enjoy!!!]

-

“Hi! Can I help you with- oh,” says the angel from the IT department, spinny chair swiveling to a stop. “It’s you again.”

The first week Katsuki had come in, Deku had been relatively understanding and chipper- bright and sunny and shit. More personal than the strained smile and forced cheer that most customer service workers spoke with- of course I’ll fix your laptop, no problem, just leave it to me. 

Now, about three weeks later he looks at Katsuki like he’s just bitten into a lemon. As in, like Katsuki had come into the IT department, looked Deku in the eye, bit into a lemon, and then made a puckered up face and writhed in discomfort and then showed up with another lemon the next day, rinse and repeat for nearly a month. A complicated mix of intrigue and confusion and mild horror at this endless display of masochism.

Which is fair; there really is no other way to look at a top ten Pro Hero who repeatedly comes in to have his laptop fixed and won’t admit under penalty of death that it was because he clicked a pop-up in hopes of having a proper conversation with a dreamy IT guy. Not that Dreamy IT guy in question knows about all of that, but whatever. If Katsuki was in Deku’s position, he would also be worried about the fact that the safety and integrity of the public was left in the hands of guys who can’t stop getting scammed by obvious pop-up ads. 

“Your laptop’s broken again?” Deku says incredulously, as if reading Katsuki’s mind. His voice is really nice, even when he sounds confused as shit. Smooth and soft like- like a satin pillowcase. Or something. Whatever. It’s not like they pay him to be good with words. 

Then again, it’s not like they pay him to (unsuccessfully) flirt with the guy he’s normally supposed to see once a month max, but here he was. 

“Yeah,” says Katsuki, like he said two days ago, and then three days before that, and for the past month. It’s easier to say than I got a pop-up ad for a BL manga and I am ninety percent sure the twink on the cover was just a recolor of Sasuke Uchiha and I clicked it because I’m a fucking dumbass and I needed an excuse to keep coming in here and gazing into your dreamy-ass eyes. If you even care. 

He’s surprised Deku’s even asking. He’s been consistently coming in here for exactly the same reason: his laptop ‘mysteriously’ got a virus and now he needs it fixed. He’ll be back to pick it up soon, no, he’s not getting a new laptop, no, he’s not sure what happened, no, he’s not going to install some fancy-ass ad-blocker because he doesn’t want to (and it would get rid of his excuse), and Deku’s never asked this but yes, he would love to go get dinner sometime, he’s free today and tomorrow and the day after that and the rest of his life, forever, actually- 

“...Did you,” Deku begins, like he’s searching for the right words. “Uh. Do you have any idea what could have happened? Any idea at all?” 

I gazed into the dead-eyed stare of poorly-recolored Sasuke’s green eyes and thought of you because your eyes are also green, and less unnerving to look at, and the more I thought about that the more my mouse moved away from the ‘x’ button and the next thing I know, I have a virus and my desire to carnally hold your hand has overpowered any other logical thought. That’s what happened. 

“No,” Katsuki says belatedly. “Fuck. Look, can you fix it or not?” 

“Of course,” says Deku. He’s still got that little furrow in his brow. Katsuki wants to bite at it like taffy- which, is a weird fucking thing to think, scratch that- “Just- give it over, and I’ll be sure to have it ready for you in a little while.”

“Cool.” He holds out his laptop. It’s reminiscent of when he was four and showing off the cool rhinoceros beetle he caught to his mom. He’s internally beaming with pride at his success so far, and Deku’s got that same baffled, borderline horrified expression that his mom did. 

Although, that particular interaction ended with the thing flying out of his hands and into his mom’s cardigan and with him getting yelled at, so, maybe it’s not the ideal scenario to compare this to.

 But this encounter will end differently. He’s got a grip on the rhinoceros beetle, now. He just has to play his cards right. 

“So,” he says, shoving his hands into the pockets of his slacks so Deku won’t see how fucking sweaty they are. “You’ll have it ready by lunch tomorrow?” 

Deku takes the laptop and tilts his head. “Uh. Yeah, I will. In fact, I can get it to you earlier than that-”

“I’ll be busy for the rest of the day,” Katsuki lies. All his incident reports are done, and he’s got the night shift on patrol tomorrow. “You’re done by 2 tomorrow, right?”

“...Yes?”

“Great. Look, I have to stop at that fucking- crepe place, down the street, right,” he says, praying to every God there is that he looks cool and casual and not like a ‘Deranged Goblin Man’, as the Hero Times described him a few months ago. “So. When you get off work you should meet me there. At the crepe place. Tomorrow. At two pm.”

He doesn’t know what’s worse- the fact that he’s really doing this, being reduced to the same sort of emotional sap he would have made fun of only five years ago; or the fact that Present Mic’s lessons on subtlety and hidden meanings in text were actually good for something. 

Look at him, effortlessly weaving together words to create sentences with underlying motives. He’s like a modern-day Shakespeare. He’s golden. He’s killing it. Bakugou Katsuki, master of words. He’s on cloud-fucking-nine. He’s-

…aaaaand Deku isn’t responding. 

Deku blinks. He opens his mouth. Closes it. He sets the laptop down, staring up at Katsuki intently, and Katsuki starts to sweat. 

You are Bakugou Katsuki, he reminds himself. You might be down bad, but you’re not weak. It will not kill you if he rejects you. Well, it’ll kill you a little. But not that much. 

“At the crepe pla- to give you the laptop, right?” says Deku slowly. His face is turning bright red. Katsuki goes a little weak in the knees. 

“Sure, yeah,” Katsuki says half-heartedly. “Look, if you want, I could. I dunno. Fucking- buy you a crepe or something. As payment.” 

He’s so smooth. Eat your fucking heart out, Dunce Face. ‘Zero game’, his ass. 

“Sure,” Deku says, scratching the back of his neck, smile just a tad bit shy. His face is still mildly flushed. Katsuki swoons (and does his best to not let it show on his face). “I- uh. I’d like that. I guess.” 

“Cool,” says Katsuki. “Cool. Great. Okay, bye. Be there or else. Bye. See you.”

He turns on his heel and power walks out of the room, not once looking back, even when Pigtails nearly crashes into him or when Deku makes a noise suspiciously like he’s slamming his head against the desk. He walks out of the room, into the hallway, back to his own office.

The door slams shut behind him. He takes a deep breath. Squeezes his eyes shut. A breathlessly excited grin forces his way onto his face, and he pumps his fists, victorious. 

He's got a date.

part one/part two

[absolutebl]

We've had recent disappointments with the endings to series. For me, Last Twilight, Only Friends, and 23.5 stand out. While I loved the Sign to the end, there was that unexplained Tharn getting his freedom from Chalothorn, which made the very ending not quite perfect. And while I loved Century of Love all the way through, I know some folks were disappointed at the ending.

What are some QLs that you consider to have really strong endings?

OOOO what a great question!

10 BLs With the Strongest Endings

Some BLs had better endings than the rest of the show deserved, and some were saved by the ending, while still others built up to a good ending throughout. So I suspect it kinda depends on ones definition of strong. But here are mine (you'll never guess what's at the top? but...) it's in no particular order

Seven Days - no but ACTUALLY think about it. That ending is truly phenomenal. It ties everything together, gives hope for their relationship without being cheesy AND is crazy romantic, plus it brings the narrative full circle. That ending shot, the direction, the plot, the characters, and the story ALL tied in a neat little bow. It ends by indicating that something is starting for them, something familiar it's just now they are together. Fabulous.

Light On Me - on the beach, the whole friendship group, the kiss that mirrors their couple habit of cheek squiging? Peak YA BL. It reminded me of Make it Right, and that's no bad thing... for me.

Our Dating Sim - domestic boyfriends and then the pan over to all their couple photos. So exactly them.

To My Star - yeah, the sex scene, but remember this was when we finally realized that JiWoo not only liked him all along but actually desired him all along. The tsundere character breaking open for us to see the soft underbelly. Suddenly, all of his behavior made sense in retrospect. They used the final ultra romantic sex scene as a CHARACTER REVEAL. Fucking genius.

Semantic Error - the BOYFRIENDS of it all, the harken back to both the anime and the manga (with that spank bank file), the teasing and then the breaking of the forth wall. It was multiple cheeky punches out to the audience in a tiny stinger of a scene. Not to mention it had a kind of BL "ending fairy" thing that connected to them both being idols. Perfectly executed.

Love For Love's Sake - back in beach territory but wow. I mean this show starts with an ending. And it takes a lot for me to believe in the happiness of a parable about death and self worth. They managed it with this show. But that ending was killer.

My Beautiful Man - the ending made me reassess everything about the show, the story, and the characters. The ending made me love the show. It changed my mind. It BLEW my mind. I might have kinda lost my mind. In real time.

Unknown - there were struggles with this show and not everyone enjoyed the ending but I totally flipping loved it. FINALLY. You can't tell me that "you don't even know what I dream of" line doens't live in your head rent free.

Unintentional Love Story - not the ending scene so much as the whole final episode, it's so good. It brings the story together, we get multiple big realizations, sad baby, learning that baby was abused too, defending baby, baby defending himself. RINGS!

The Eighth Sense - so much peak boyfriend after so much angst. The casual language play and teasing, the stealing of the drink, just everything, and also how very very college it all is.

10 Others I just LOVE

Be Loved In House: I Do - ultra pasteurized cheese fest

Laws of Attraction - THE CAPED WEDDING OUTFITS

About Youth - rainbow kiss cheese fest

Long Time No See - BLOOD COVERED KISSES

Restart After Come Back Home - the pan around lens flare kiss and everything it MEANS

Bad Buddy - It was so CLEVER

DNA Says Love You - the claiming and then the tussle at the cafe? Gorgeous. Adorable. No notes.

Oh! Boarding House - a family gathering while the dads are holding hands behind the couch, adorable

Where Your Eyes Linger - that damn glow up

Tinted With You - perhaps... poly?

Wow... so few Thai BL. I guess this is Korea's strength in the BL sphere? Also more Japan than I expected and outsized rep for Taiwan. (I actually could have stuck a few more from Taiwan on here but they just get SO CHEESY.)

(source)

dated mid August 2024, not responsible for great endings after that date

[waitmyturtles]

Have you read any of the Thai academic papers regarding MAME's work? sometimes I feel like fandom at large has a very strong western bias towards her that borders on xenophobia in review of anything attached to her unless it's more low stakes gmmtv style stuff like wedding plan was which suits western sensibilities more.

Hi, Non! This is interesting framing you've put forth here. I want to note that I'm close with some folks, particularly @bengiyo and @lurkingshan, whose critical tastes I trust, and I can assure myself that they would not call Wedding Plan low stakes. During my Old GMMTV Challenge project, I promised myself that I would not watch another MAME show after Love By Chance and TharnType, and I've taken Ben's and Shan's urging to chuck that aside to add Wedding Plan to my OGMMTVC syllabus, which I'll get to after my summer travels. Let me take a second to sort this all out in a more sensible and chronological answer to touch upon what I know about MAME now that I'm much more read into Thai BLs and the history of the genre.

Regarding academia and MAME, I have not read Thai source material on her start and her legacy in Thai Y novel writing and Thai BL/Series Y television productions. What I am in the midst of reading at the moment is Dr. Thomas Baudinette's Boys Love Media in Thailand (Baudinette hailing from Australia), and he does get in depth with MAME's beginnings, which for me was the first primary source material that I have encountered about her background. To summarize quickly, MAME (along with individuals like INDRYTIMES/Kwang Latika, who wrote the original novel for Love Sick, and others) was part of the first crop of young middle-to-upper-class female college students who became enamored with Japanese BL/yaoi manga, as well as (in many cases) K-pop idols, and began writing fan fiction about and/or in the styles of these interests, which led to the development of the unique Thai Y novel genre.

It does seem to me, at least on Tumblr, that a good chunk of Western fandom here has written off MAME. I'm Asian-American, and I come to my hesitation about MAME from a particularly Asian perspective, so I really can't speak for the non-Asian fans about what they're rejecting. Let me at least explain what I'm rejecting, and how I've engaged in dialogue about it with critical friends here.

LBC did not have as much of what I will attempt to describe as I saw in TharnType, something that I might now call collectivist homophobia or collectivist bias. But LBC had a smattering of it, something that I smelled early on in that series. In both series, MAME seemed to approach her characters, to me, with a distanced hand of judgement that, to me, recalled the kinds of biases that my Asian parents tried to implant in me in my childhood, that I rejected throughout my young years. Queer material is so very often not good to its queer characters, and it seemed to me through LBC and TT that MAME intended to gild that lily to channel a populist homophobia that she seemed to know would resonate with a broader fanbase -- which it did, in part, because TharnType in particular was the first Thai BL with heat in every episode.

(Two things to note about my review of TharnType that I penned last year. First item to note is that Boys Love Media in Thailand had not been published yet, and I had not read primary source material about MAME. I was enraged at the time about fan theories that MAME had been a victim of sexual assault, and had therefore written her queer characters with the biased vitriol that I perceived coming from her because of that theorized past. I still think these theories are equivocating and problematic. Second item is that I heavily recommend reading the reblogs of my TT review, tags and posts and all, to see literally the spectrum of commentary of the MAME fandom/anti-fandom across Tumblr. Writing that post and reading those reblogs was a hell of a great experience.)

Just to summarize this, then -- I choose to not engage with MAME because I see under- and overhanded bias in the work that I've watched, with my Asian eyes; and I just might assume that many Westerners see the same thing. But I don't really know, because I haven't talked to that many Western fans about the depth of this.

So what does this mean for this moment in time? I understand MAME's Love Sea is airing, which I'm not watching, and I missed the boat on Love In the Air -- so I think I'm missing some critical and/or catty chatter about those two shows from the fandom because I don't have context.

But I do know there are folks out there that either write MAME off wholly, likely for similar reasons that I've listed above, and/or hate-watch her shows and post about it. To each their own.

I would not have considered Wedding Plan if Ben and Shan weren't screaming about it. I'm happy to have fewer shows on my plate, I got no time. However.

Nothing in this world exists in a static vacuum. If MAME is experimenting with tone, approach, style, and even taste regarding her shows, then more power to her. @bengiyo's post linked above about Wedding Plan is important for me to see, because I see that he's noting that parts of the fandom may have actually demonstrated real homophobic dialogue about MAME's fictional characters, which, to me, I'm like, what? Really? You got time for that? But also:

If MAME, back in 2019 with TharnType, picked up that her Thai and global fanbases were more inclined to check in with collectivist homophobia, as I'm calling it.... and now, in 2023-2024, has noted that her fanbases might be far more inclined to support real queer equality and overtones in shows, and is including those themes in her work -- can we not welcome that change in? That's why I'll give Wedding Plan a shot.

Let's be sassy and ironic for a second. Could she be making this change for da money and the fame? Sure. But -- capitalism unfortunately rules this world. Car commercials in the States have interracial queer couples parenting children nowadays. If equality talks to money, then content makers will take note. I think I'd be a hypocrite to say that MAME shouldn't make her dollar, all while she's experimenting with more equitable stances.

Last note. There's been quite the dialogue simmering these past few weeks about GMMTV's We Are, and whether or not GMMTV is stepping away from a past where many (not all, but many) of its shows explored queerness in depth. He's Coming To Me, Bad Buddy, Dark Blue Kiss (yes... the first three shows I listed were Aof Noppharnach shows, fuck), Theory of Love, 3 Will Be Free. The major GMMTV BL/GL shows that have aired recently that have made huge waves on social media -- Only Friends, 23.5, Last Twilight, and now My Love Mix-Up -- were/are helmed by branded (capitalism, hello!) pairs, and three out of four of them were flops, with MLMU already treading that territory in EPISODE TWO, for heaven's sake. (Y'all, read the reblogs on this post. Wow.) I finished a rewatch of The Eclipse weeks ago, and I'm dragging my feet on my review, because of what I think that show represents for what branded pairs end up doing to otherwise original content.

I want to posit a theory, that I'll work more on when my OGMMTVC is over, that we have living, real-time proof that the branded pair system is failing good content -- because these shows have to produce engagement snippets of these pairs, instead of more broadly penetrating artistic content. GMMTV's one-off shows with non-branded pairs, like Be My Favorite and Wandee Goodday, are FAR MORE INTERESTING content-wise, varied and inquisitive in their artistic takes on queerness. Even Cherry Magic, featuring the long-awaited return of TayNew, felt fresh, because we literally hadn't seen TayNew in FIVE YEARS. Tay actually KISSED ANOTHER DUDE, shocker!, in 3 Will Be Free. I want to go back to those days, where the pairs could act well outside of their range and their business partners, instead of being limited to the same tone and style that their pairings and their fandoms demand.

I say ALL OF THIS, because isn't it interesting that GMMTV seems to be reverting on a scale of inquisitiveness about queerness -- and MAME seems to be going in the opposite direction?

I would not have expected it. But I have found, lately, some of GMMTV's "takes" on "queerness," as in Only Friends, to be outright offensive. This corporation has become far more gunshy to let their branded pairs just be fictionally gay. If MAME wants to take on a healthier stance of equity, and to play around with more realistic depictions of what it means to be queer in Thailand, then go for it, girl. I will admittedly be watching Wedding Plan with my Asian side-eye and my smell tests for bias, but I look forward to being proven wrong about my suspicions. I want to be a responsible fan here, open to MAME's changes.

This ended up being a lot, but thank you for provoking these thoughts, Non.

[cherryblossombombs]

There was a bkdk poll asking us how we thought bkdk's relationship would end. I typed a paragraph response, but tumblr won't let me reblog my response or that post in general, so I will make a separate post lol.

But to answer @ammy246's question, I would've answered the other option.

While I still feel like the ending is still anyone's game, I do believe that it's unlikely that hori will end it like naruto. It seems like an izch ending is unlikely due to how the ship has been treated for the few years. Yeah, hori may pull something like that, but I honestly believe he's not going to do it. It's been too long since izch has even gotten a moment and hori knows that. This is the same author that recommends romance manga and apparently is a fan of unrequited love. This is also the same author that drew that 2021 art of the two falling in the sky and said it's what could've happened IF he had decided to developed the two more (he apparently said to pay attention to what was happening in the drawing; falling = bad omen; also reference to spirited away where the two characters separated).

We are at the point where a bkdk implied ending is not far-fetched. It's not something that can only exist in fanon anymore. Bkdk's relationship has seriously developed to the point where dudebros and non-MHA fans who are caught up (whether anime or manga) can't deny that the relationship is close. Not to mention how the ship has been promoted for the last couple of weeks (Bakugou's JP VA promoting a BL that has BKDK undertones, the little promo panel of midoriya and bakugou talking about opening an agency together, how CD dramas and those games have been recently, the 2024 Spring GIGA cover, Shonen jump's tiktok promoting the GIGA cover, Hori telling Bones the ending and now suddenly Bones now cares about BKDK and is adding more scenes about them compared to how they were with izch). It really does feel like these people are doing a soft launch of the ship.

However, because I feel like (IMO), that I haven't seen enough in the manga, I still feel like we're going to get an open ending. No ships. But I do believe that we will get a hand hold soon in the manga, as well as a deep conversation that will bring katsuki and izuku even closer than before. The question is, will hori go even further and make it romantic. Atm, I don't think we will get a kiss or a love confession, but I do believe that we are at the point where we may be lucky and get a crepe date at the end. I also do believe that we may get the ending where the two open an agency together.

[k-s-morgan]

TGSTLTH related

Ok so I decided to do it here cuz I don't know will AO3 allow me to write essay hahahahah 😂😂😂

I don't even know how to start this. I've been reading fics for 13 years straight, like I don't remember the period of my life where I didn't read them cuz I always have some ship active and I'm crazy BL fan. Only a small number of them can make me crazy to the point I don't wanna sleep, eat, skipping my obligations, killing the pain and your sebaciel did everything. I haven't felt like this reading fic..,maybe ever? This is totally another level of me being fascinated by some writer.

I adore sebaciel, I'm in fandom since 2016 but the biggest problem I had with their fics is that - either people go too much OOC with them orr they rush up the things between them, going quickly with sex and feelings. It bothered me so much so I was crawling for good SC fics as crazy!!

After some break with SC, I came back to ao3 and saw your long fic. I started reading it but I dropped it after 3 chapters, I got bored cuz I thought you are gonna just re-type manga and do classic thing which another people do. Quickly, I got disappointed with another one and idk how but I decided to give your fic one more chance and dear lord......that was one of the best thing I have ever read. Maybe even the best.

Like, how smart are you? What's your IQ? Your manage to explain me some things about Kuro plot which I haven't udnerstand by myself. And the way you write Sebaciel relationship. That's everything I have ever wanted. Everything. They have normal conversation and that's it, that's all I need cuz there is everything. I feel electric every time when they talk, fight, do things together, goood the little touches svbjhsdjvbvbvbvbvbsdjvhbdf. I was tense whole fic. I read it for like 10 days, abandon everything until I finished it and now I feel sad ahahhaahha. But you are really something special, cuz I always used to say that manga itself is the best fiction cuz Yana knows the best how to create good Sebaciel energy. You, next to Yana, did the best job. You kept them as they are, never broke the character, and that's what I am most grateful. Slow burn, with drama and angst, love and attention, all misunderstanding, you put all necessary spices for 5 star meal. My fav part is when Ciel told Sebastian to add slamming doors to his most dramatic moments of his life ahahahahahahhaha 😂😂 I laughed like crazy, they are so precious♥ And I really wanted kiss to happen when Ciel lied Sebastian about another demon, that was sooo svbjhsvjhjhvbdf. But okay, you know the best, I trust you fully with this♥

The fact that they are ready to kill each other before they have normal conversation about their feeling is my fetish. I am in love with toxic things. Ciel ready to throw all game just to prove Sebastian that his value is not only his soul, right after he told himself for 1000 times he needs to stay on distance..... I LOVE ITTTT!!! I also need to say that you find PERFECT balance for good plot and romance. Your games and their cases...I just don't know, deep bow for you queen🔥💯After all, you didn't retype drama ahahaha but you manage to keep it canon without changing anything but still adding your spices so it's not ordinary Kuro plot we see every day....

I just have one question. From time to time, I was like a Bard ahahhaha, so sick of their games and my head hurting me, but on a good way. I am clear about Ciel but what about Sebastian and his disgust for Ciel's nicer, soft, emotional side? I know Ciel doesn't have it a lot, but would Sebastian still be grossed out about it as he was at the beginning of a contract or not? Keeping in mind that he is more and more obsessed with a boy?

So, that's all. I don't know how to use Patreon/PayPal, but for you I'll try cuz I only have credit card and that's all I know ahhahaha, I like to keep money in my hands😂 I'm sad about the situation in your country and all under - war countries. It's not bringing any good for anyone, specially for civilians. I hope you are okay and I wish you alll the best, the good karma must hit you really quickly cuz you made one person really, really happy here♥

Looking forward how will you finish this story, have a nice day❤

PS - this is the longest comment for fic I have ever left ahhaha, it's crazy how you got me sooo hyped up bjcvsdghvbds.

Hi! Ooh, thank you so much for your amazing, wonderful essay! I can't tell you how happy it made me! I think the electricity was already started being cut off when I got it, so I could see I have some really lengthy ask, but it wouldn't load. It was the torture of the most delicious kind :D

Like you, I've been reading fics for ages now, and the moments where I find some fantastic story that won't let me sleep or work or even blink are always the happiest and the brightest spots I remember. So it's extremely flattering to know that my story has become something similar to other people.

I love writing about smart characters, but most of them are definitely smarter than me! The benefit is that since I'm writing, I can think and plan everything in advance. In real life, I only wish I were as quick-witted and inventive. Alas, the best ideas and arguments come to me when they are no longer needed.

I love slow burns, and I love characters who abhor the idea of expressing their feelings, so Ciel and Sebastian have the most perfect dynamic in my eyes. I feel like I could spend the eternity just enjoying their Gothic world with their games, arguments, plots, and so on. Them antagonizing each other only to instantly team up against the common enemy is my most favorite thing in the world.

As for your question, right now, Sebastian would be thrilled if Ciel were to show a softer and more vulnerable side - at least in relation to him. Well, a part of him would feel the automatic need to mock him for it anyway, some habits don't die easily, but Sebastian's feelings have evolved a lot, plus Ciel is cold more often than he is not. So Sebastian treasures every word of praise, every hint of appreciation and need because they are so rare - he's come to crave them, and he has memorized all known cases of them by heart.

And no worries about supporting me! I really appreciate you taking your time to leave such a fantastic review, it made my day!

[katerinaaqu]

Have you heard of the korean bl manga Ennead that takes the actual Egyptian mythology and twists it so much it's not even a joke?

Especially about Seth, for some reason in the manga he gets assaulted more times than any dark romance on booktok and then have him and Horus his niece be a thing.

Now some will say "Greek myths did the same with relationships" and i am like are they aware that these ancient myths with this modern adaptation isn't the same thing???

Especially Egyptian deities who were religious figures and now if you search online well be prepared 😭

I am aware of its existence but never read it. I have to confess some of the arts looked nice but just by looking at that I was like "nope! Another modern 'adaptation'!

Not gonna lie, first time I saw it I was like "oh finally we have some egyptian mythology mention!" but then I saw some clips here and there and I was like "Nope!". Then I must confess (if you see my profile and my takes on the ATROCIOUS adaptations of my culture's mythology -Greek-) I was like... "oh...someone else's mythology is butchered for a change!" So yeah basically a twist of the actual myth behind Seth and Horus where Seth pretended wishing to bed Horus, Horus deflects him and gathers his seed in his hands. His mother spreads then Horus's seed to some lettuse that is Seth's favorite so basically when Seth eats it and "takes in Horus's seed" without knowing, he brags to the council of the gods that he has managed to seduce and conquer Horus so others would mock him but then the gods call upon each of their seed from the gods and of course Horus's seed appears as a halow around Seth's head so Seth is humiliated instead I am not even surprised anymore that they do this at this point! They just take a mythical and symbolic scene and they turn it into some twisted SL whatever version to get others to get excited!

But man yeah I know it is terrible! I keep struggling with it every day especially with mainstream stuff that basically RUIN the myths for the world in my opinion especially with the changes (see for example PJO, Miller's books or Epic the Musical's plot) that basically make the world SOOOOOO revolved around these modern "adaptations" that is not even a joke, they literally use them almost as sources or as substitute for them! And it is infuriating to me. And yeah not only do they speak on them as if they are the substitute of sources but also they speak to those who point out that they are NOT as if they just bring up the usual "the myths have versions. This is one of them" like noooooo? If I create an SNL version of Star Wars does it make me an official creator? If I make Lord of the Rings Characters fuck with each other does that make me equal to Tolkien?! And yeah that is of course not even the same level as people who use ancient cultures' "modern adaptations" to not only substitute the actual sources but also to speak as if they are equivalent! Or even worse as if these "modern adaptations" are somehow "correcting" the ancient sources! That is what infuriates me the most when it happens!

[ineffable-opinions]

Love In the Air is getting a Japanese adaptation.

Things have come a full circle for MeMindY in a way. It was while traveling through Japan in November 2018 that MAME decided to start a production house to film series based on her novel in her own way.

Looks like it is a fan project of sorts based on what creators has to say on the project website, so it makes sense that it is MeMindY’s project that gets Japanese adaptation. (If not, it would have been GMMTV, BOC or some other government-supported production company that engaged in Thai government’s Commerce Ministry department facilitated “BL as soft power” negotiations with their Japanese counterparts.

more on this here)

This adaptation is not surprising considering the crowd that showed up at MAME’s Japanese fan-meet consisted of older folk too. It reminds me of Chen Hao producing Stay with Me. While I would be happy to have more bottom-up, demand-driven productions rather than top-down, supply-driven ones, it makes me worried too. I had previously expressed my wish for popular BL manga and novels to get live action adaptation. Now, we have a handful of live action based on works that have won Chil-chil awards but those adaptations have been disappointing to say the least.

source

I am a little worried about production quality. Hopefully, they’ll manage to balance cost and quality since this project’s return on investment would be a signal to future initiatives. I am excited for Shoma who gave an excellent performance in the unfortunately gelded adaptation of the super-popular manga 25 Ji, Akasaka de. I am eager to know who will play Saifah (hopefully they'll retain that character) and Chai.

My Insane Wishlist: Non-Thai adaptation of MAME’s BL

Breath – Japanese live action adaptation TulHin was one of the side couples in Love by Chance 2 but I want an adaptation that stays true to the spirit of their story. In addition, it will be really nice to see Hin in violet rope shibari in the hotel getaway scene. All the shibari scenes we got so far in live action BL has been fleeting and of very little consequence. Japan should attempt adapting this into period piece set in Taisho or early Showa era. The novel is well suited for an adaptation set in that period with rapidly changing position of the aristocracy in the society, conflict between old and new orders, nouveau riche industrialists, feudal households with retainers performing multiple functions, specific forms of xenophobia, grand balls, arranged marriages, intergenerational power struggle, familism and ample space for intrigue. Also, Japan has a good track record of being sincere in their depiction of complexities of androphilic male x androphilic female interactions – they can make Tul's struggle heart-wrenching to watch.  

OatShin from Test Love and OatShin Diary – Tamil-Marathi bilingual movie adaptation with Harshvardhan Rane as Shin, Arjun Das as Oat and Suriya as Akira (Shin's cousin brother). In the novel Love Storm from which Love in the Air is adapted, it is Oat and not Prapai who is the best street racer in their circuit. Saifah, Oat and Saifah's girlfriend are in fact friends and classmates from college - depicted in Test Love. Oat's boyfriend Shinji was his junior in college. Shin is friends with characters from Love By Chance. Their relationship starts at the end of Test Love and in OatShin Diaries we get to see them navigate long distance relationship, familial acceptance and work-life balance as salarymen. OatShin has a very cute dynamic - they are a riba CP (reversible couple) with a lot of push and pull. Shin is super sly and sensitive and I can see Harshvardhan teasing the hell out of whoever he is paired with. Arjun Das probably can't do racer very well - so just get him that ATV from Por for added illegality. He would be perfect as Oat and very adorable too.

Try Me: Chai Win – Japanese manga adaptation with minimal censor bars – Chai’s pearlings needs to exist in 2D version.

Try Me: Chai Win – Turkish live action adaptation – I think Pawit-bey has a nice ring to it and I would pay to listen to it for 40 episodes of 2-hour length each. Maybe some over the top honorifics would be more suitable coming from Chai’s mouth like efendi. Mert Yazicioglu or Ali Yagci as Win and Can Yaman as Chai.

Chai appeared in Love in the Air as a crucial minor character who comes to Phayu's rescue. He has a love story of his own with Pakin's civilian* cousin brother, Pawit aka Win, that is complicated by duty and obligations and extortive meddling by Pakin's dad (the kingpin).

[* not in the mafia]

[numbbface]

A whole lotta Creek...

(just as the title suggests... its an art dump/repost of my stuff from twt with more words lol) 🤷

i know this isn't that much of a creek art but our man Craig is there so it counts... 🙈

Also Baker Tweek!!!☝️☝️☝️

Just drew this bceause i just really wanted to go to the beach and there was a power outtage and had nothing else to do...

also i guess this was also a bit of a supposed idea or scene for my Creek Karaoke AU but decided to just separate it midway.

this one has long been my idea to draw... i just keep forgetting to get to it and now i've already did it.

So this one is definitely part of the Creek Karaoke AU since the name of the Baked Goods are their pet names for each other or at least what Craig came up with and calls Tweek fer time to time.

Yes, i headcanon Craig as a Big Eater, or at least someone who's not very picky with food, thought it would be cute since in my AU, Tweek likes to cook and bake and his taste tester is Craig who either ends up Happy for being able to eat really good food or a round trip to the toilet.🤷

Also as much as Tweek likes to bake or make sweets he's not very fond of'm but Craig on the other hand🧍...

thought i'd add a side by side of the sketch and the finished one...

was originally going to do all this one MsPaint but idk... changed my mind halfway. Not much thoughts on this one, just fluff :3

oooh golly been meaning to draw them in this style for a really long time😭😭😭

just been having a hard time replicating or at least adjusting their features to the art style that it honestly doesn't even look like the one i was aiming for, all you need to know that this art style came from a pretty old BL manga. Art is really good, Story... not so good, no happy ending😔

genuinely just thought of drawing them more anime or manga shounen-ai style without it looking like parody or come off as ironic

lmao this was just for funsies and i was so pissed and tired that day that i just wanted to draw something to take me out of it. Inspo idea for this one was from those one Shoujo manga's of Good Girl x Delinquent/Bad boy/indifferent guy troupes

damn.. its been so long since i've actually read manga or watched anime lmao🧍

[devilmen-collector]

Yaoi

NSFW

Pairing: Belial x Male MC

Warning: uh...yaoi/BL

The owner of the small manga store in Gehenna was stretching himself after a long time sitting on the chair when someone opened the door and stepped inside the store.

"Son of Solomon-

"Shhh..." You shushed the store owner. You are literally a celebrity in all of Hell so the moment you are recognized, you will be swamped by your demon fans, unless you are accompanied by a devil king or a devil from the 72, so you always try to be as subtle as possible when you go out, especially to do things that are not so innocent.

The store owner nodded, indicating that he understood what he must do. You nodded back at him before going to browse the manga in the store. It took you a couple of minutes to find the yaoi/BL section - your favorite genre.

You browsed through the titles in the section and began to read what interested you.

. . .

The more you read, the more you are turned on by the yaoi depicted inside those manga, even the thing between your legs are getting hard. You wish you could just buy these manga, but since the war was still going on, there was no safe place to put them, and you didn't want to see that irritating teasing smirk of Satan when he found out your masturbation materials.

"MC"

The sudden sound of a familiar hoarse voice made you jump and drop the manga volume in your hands.

"B-belial, y-you scared me!" You said, nearly to the point of shouting. But the devil before you only smiled, like he was enjoying experiencing a scene he usually sees from the anime.

Then Belial noticed the manga volume under the floor. You also noticed his gaze too, but you were much slower than a seasoned soldier like Belial and the devil was able to grab the manga before you.

"Wait, don't read it." You shouted but it was too late, Belial was already looking through the manga while you could only scream inside.

"Do you want to try it with me?" Belial said after finishing skimming through the manga.

"What?"

"The thing depicted in this." Belial said as calmly as possible, but there was red hue on his cheeks and his breathe had become a bit heavier than usual.

"W-what about Jj-?" It was only then that you noticed Jjyu hadn't been voicing Belial at all. You looked at Belial's horn and noticed Jjyu wasn't there.

"Don't worry, Jjyu got into an argument with the owner and they are still arguing at the counter as of now. All the other readers were attracted to the argument so no one would notice us."

It was then that you realized you had been too absorbed in the book to notice anything around.

You looked around and when you were sure no one was looking, you nodded.

"Alright, let's find some place where I can conjure up my space."

"No, you should conjure the space here." Belial said.

You were shocked at Belial's proposal but it made you excited at the same time. Your breathe began to feel heavy just thinking about it.

. . .

Belial pushed you onto the bed and his tongue began to travel on your body, the devil made sure to make you moan whenever his tongue licked through your sensitive spots.

"Your penis is leaking pre-cum." You heard Belial said just before you felt his tongue wrap around your manhood.

"Ah~" you began to moan as Belial was giving you a blowjob, while his right hand began to write on your body and his left hand found its way to your anus. One finger began to enter your butthole. He was preparing you for his huge dick. Soon a second finger followed as Belial stopped sucking your penis because he was afraid you would cum from too much stimulation, ruining the fun if you became exhausted.

"Belial, I want your cock...inside me." You said while panting.

Belial smiled with his tongue sticking out and he shoved his monster cock inside your hole.

As you were moaning and losing your mind with each thrust of Belial's cock, the demon commander grabbed both of your wrists and raised them up high so that he could see your armpits. His tongue then made a long lick from your armpit to your elbow.

"Beli-chan!" You called as his tongue was making your armpit wet "You are a hentai baka!" You teased him.

It was like he was turned on by your words, his cock inside you grow bigger and his thrust became rougher. You felt like his cock had reached a milestone inside you that it had never reached before.

"MC... everything about you is... delicious..." Belial then kissed you on the lips as one of his hands began to play with your penis.

"Beli-chan, I'm coming." You said, breathing heavily.

Belial did not reply with spoken words but with written language he wrote on your body. You could make out the words "Me too!"

"L-let's come together." You said as you reached out your hand, now released from the demon on top of you's grip, and grabbed his horn.

Your dick started to burst with the white liquid, which came all over your stomach, some of which got on Belial's sweaty chest. Belial thrust deep inside you at the same time and you could feel hot liquid from his cock filling your inside, which made you feel so good that you were sure that your dick cummed some more.

Though, soon enough, you could feel Belial's tongue on your stomach again.

"Your seeds...so delicious."

.

.

.

You, Belial and Jjyu who was now holding on to his superior's horn walked out of the manga store together. You could barely walked and had to lean on Belial to move.

"Are you alright, you shit-eating bastard?" You heard Jjyu asked.

"Thanks for your concern, Jjyu. It's just some minor hip pain." You replied, trying to smile while your hand wrote behind Belial's back "You are a beast", which made Belial smile.

.

.

.

The next day, when the customers walked in the manga shop, they saw new rules announcement at the counter.

Whatever you saw in the manga, please don't do it in my shop >:(

. . .

First time writing a smut >3<

I hope you guys like it :3

[basu-shokikita]

Dethentines 2024 Day 5

In the style of a romance novel

So, uh, because I'm not a reader of romantic novels @mirrorshards suggested I use a manga for today which I thought was better for me because I'm infinitely more knowledgeable in that field. That said, she still ended up helping me choose a title...

And like that, have a Skwistok version of the BL Therapy Game. This entry is a little more suggestive than the others, so take that as a warning. It was definitely challenging to adapt this story to these two for a handful of reasons but I think I managed! So, here we go~

Skwisgaar was used to messing around. 

With women, with men, it was all the same to him. None of them really meant anything to him besides temporary fun and a good distraction.

And so, he didn’t think of anything different when this guy Toki walked around, weeping about his girlfriend who dumped him for somebody else. He was drinking his heart away for different reasons, anyway. His best friend and companion, the guitar, didn’t want to hang out with him these days. 

Not that this guy would understand. 

“Ahhh!!” Toki cried into his hands. “Linda, whys…you ams- hic- you ams the love of my lives…”

“T’ere, t’ere…” Pickles patted his back sympathetically while giving his friends a look.

Toki tried to reach for a half-empty bottle of Red Label, but Nathan grabbed it before he did. “I think you’ve drunk enough, buddy.” 

“No ways!” Toki exclaimed, barely able to keep his body straight. “I wants to…I wants to drinks untils I die!”

“He’sch way over the line.” Murderface said with crossed arms and disdain on his face. 

“Ja…” Skwisgaar agreed. “He shouldks probables gets goings.”

His three friends stared at him while Toki kept rambling like a drunkard.

“Whats?” Skwisgaar was confused.

“Well…” Pickles glanced to the side.

“You brought him over to us.” Nathan said, eyelids heavy but still stoic.

“Whats?!”

“Yeah!” Murderface pointed accusingly. “Thisch isch your fault!”

“Are you fuckings-”

“Whats ams you alls talkings abouts?!” Toki cried. “Nothings- hic- matters! Nothings matters but Lindas!” He threw his hands into the air. “Oh, Lindas, why!”

“God damns it…” Skwisgaar pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Lindaaaaaa…”

“‘S okey, Toki.” Pickles rubbed his back. “Skwisgaar will teik you home, right, Skwisgaar?”

“Fucks you.” Skwisgaar whispered to his friend. “Fines!” He slung Toki’s arm around his shoulder and picked him up. “Let’s goes home, cries babies.”

“Have fahn! But not too much fahn!” 

“Yeah, definitely not too much fun.”

“Eschpeschially not too much fun.”

Skwisgaar rolled his eyes as he carried the babbling Toki away. Why did he have to take care of the idiot?!

–

At the end, Toki was so incoherent that Skwisgaar had to drop him at a hotel, because he didn’t remember his address. He was feeling a little sorry for him, though, so he watched over him until he stopped weeping against the pillow. This wasn’t the first time he had looked after a drunk person, anyway. 

“Dids you calms down alreadies?” He asked, when Toki was staring at the ceiling silently. “I wants to goes home, you knows?”

Toki glanced at him, blinking. “Ams you?”

“Heugh?”

“You saids you was sads about de guitars…”

Skwisgaar was surprised Toki had remembered it in his state, but he shrugged it off. “Pfft, dat ams a differents kinds of lonelies nest.”

A grin spread across Toki’s face as he dragged Skwisgaar closer with his legs.

“W-Whats?” Skwisgaar asked in confusion, only now realizing how strong Toki was.

“Lonelies nest ams still lonelies.” He said before wrapping his arms around Skwisgaar. “Soes you gets a hugs.” His hand patted the back of Skwisgaar’s head.

“Eugh, lets goes…” Skwisgaar grumbled though he didn’t actually move away. “We amsn’t even friends…”

“We ams friends nows…” Toki squeezed him by the waist, his lips brushing with Skwisgaar’s ear dangerously. “Rights?” He whispered.

Surprised, Skwisgaar pulled away. Toki’s expression had abruptly changed, from friendly and innocent to dark and suggestive.

“Heys…” He cupped Skwisgaar’s face sweetly. “It ams fines to wants to be spoileds, you knows?”

What…?

In slow motion, Toki’s eyelids fell shut and his face began to grow closer. It’s not like Skwisgaar wasn’t used to being hit on by strangers constantly…

Wasn’t he straight though?

“You ams too drunks…” He tried to resist but Toki’s grip on him didn’t relent. Reluctantly, Skwisgaar let their lips meet and it was like a surgeon of electricity spread inside his entire body, shocking him.

Bewitched, Skwisgaar wrapped his arms around Toki’s neck, giving into it. He had never experienced such enticing tenderness before and he was swiftly growing addicted to it. Toki’s hands, lips, eyes on him…

Even if he had wanted to pull away, he wouldn’t have been able to. 

He never wanted Toki to let him go now.

–

“Sorries…” Toki apologized the morning after. “I acts stupids sometimes when Is drunks…I don’ts remembers anythings…”

Skwisgaar was baffled. Seriously? The one time sex felt meaningful for him, the other party didn’t even remember it? 

What kind of sick joke was that?

He cleared his throat. “I sees…” He said, unclasping his black leather choker from his neck. “You was pretties wasteds last nights soes…”

“Ja…” Toki seemed genuinely apologetic. “I never learns…”

“It amsnt your faults.” Skwisgaar gently grabbed him by the wrists and Toki looked up. “You gots brokeneds hearts.”

Toki’s eyes had a glimmer of hope. “Soes your forgives-”

“Hows ever.” Skwisgaar interrupted him, blue eyes piercing into blue. “Ams not letting last nights turns into nothingks.” With one smooth movement, he straddled Toki’s naked torso. 

“W-Whats?” Toki’s eyes widened.

“You don’ts remembers?” Skwisgaar leaned towards him. “Dat ams fine. Alls makes you remembers…” He began undoing the button of Toki’s pants. 

“Waits a minutes-”

“Nice and slows…” Skwisgaar continued, his fingers trailing along the zipper.

“I-I don’t wants to!” The panic was beginning to show in Toki’s face.

Skwisgaar smirked. “So you gets to takes advantages of someones and then refuse to acks knowledge? Dat amsn’t nice.”

“Dat’s not-” When Skwisgaar was about to shove a hand inside, he yelled. “Stops!”

It took a few seconds for Skwisgaar to figure he had fallen out of the bed and that the flashing pain on his stomach was from being kicked by Toki’s feet. 

“Eugh…what ams you a monsters…” He groaned, doubling over.

Toki rolled to his side and stood up, a look of disappointment in his face. “Ams you always likes dis?” His breathing was visibly hitched. “Always being doings whats you wants? Beings spoileds?”

Skwisgaar squinted. “Whats?”

With barely any effort, Toki untied the choker from his wrists and threw it on the bed. “I thoughts we coulds be pals, but you ams a jerks.” He grabbed his clothes and walked towards the door before turning back. “And you ams gonna be all alones your holes lives!” The door was slammed behind him.

Stunned, Skwisgaar sat up. Did that crybaby runt just walk out on him?

–

“Fuckings dildos! Who ams he? What ams he- What de fucks!” Skwisgaar slammed his glass against the counter. “I hates him!”

“Dood, Skwisgaar, he was a guy mournin’ his girlfriend. Why did you even lay your hands on him?” Pickles took a sip of his bottle. “We told ya naht to have too much fahn with him.”

“I didn’ts-”

“Yeah, Skwisgaar, he was obviously straight.” Nathan added. “You gotta raise your standards, dude.”

“I wasn’ts-”

“Not everyone isch gay, Schkwisgaar.” Murderface said. “You schould remember that, I mean, you’re friensch with me and I’m not gay. I love ladiesch and titsch.” 

They all went silent.

“Anyways, I didn’t starts anythingks, okeis?” Skwisgaar said. “He ams de ones whats jumps at my arms and has his ways wif mes. Ams innocents dis times.”

“This time…” Pickles rolled his eyes. “How many times have ye been tha one on tha other side of this cahnundrum, huh?”

“Yeah, why are you suddenly mad about this? You’re always breaking people’s hearts.”

“Eugh…”

“You’re a fucking schlut isch what you are!”

Skwisgaar buried his head in his arms. This was the opposite from being encouraging, they were just dogpiling on him. 

“Just forget about tha dood. You’ll find someone new in no tahm. In fact, by tonight, even.” After a moment, Pickles added. “Guess there’s really people even Skwisgaar can’t seduce, huh.”

“He went too far.” Nathan agreed.

“Too smug.” Pickles continued.

“Too arrogant!” Murderface finished.

“Alrights, you know whats?” Skwisgaar sat straight, suddenly determined. “Dats it, alls does it!”

The other three stared at him like he was insane. “Do whet?” Pickles asked.

“Ams gonna makes dat stupid straights guys falls for me.” He raised his glass, smirking. “And dens alls breaks his hearts. Dat will teaches hims, nobody messes with Skwisgaar.”

While Nathan and Murderface shook his head in disapproval, Pickles snuck a hand inside his packet. “Well, I wasn’t gonna tell ye but if ye’re so hellbent on acting stoopid…” When he pulled out his hand, there was some sort of card on it. “He dropped this yesterday, mind givin’ it beck?”

Skwisgaar grabbed the card and inspected it closely, smiling when he recognized the item. It was Toki’s ID. 

Perfect.

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - I'm DELIGHTED by so much goodness, also I lust after a boy's robot's pants

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

Feb 2024 Wk 1

Ongoing Series - Thai

The Sign (Sat YT) ep 11 of 12 - I support the fact that the producers seem to have decided that even in uniform Yai never needs to wear sleeves. Hear hear.

No sleeves for Yai ever again!

On the other hand, why doesn’t anyone ever wear gloves? Going around touching evidence all willy nilly like that.

No to sleeves. Yes to gloves.

People. Sheesh. Get with the program.

Anygay, this is such a fun show. I could watch 50 episodes of this abject nonsense. I’m sad it’s gonna be ending. And I don’t say that often about Thai BL. 

Pit Babe (Fri iQIYI) ep 12 of 14 - Oh has Jeff been kidnapped again? Here, let's throw fruit at Babe and think about it for a bit. Tra la la. Trash watch happening here.

Cooking Crush (Sun YT) ep 9 of 12 - They are such very good boyfriends. Also, this is a ton of kissing for OffGun. I’m at a loss as to how they are going to turn this into a decent 12 ep show. Unfortunately, I’ve foresee it going off the rails - pacing seems off. 

For Him (Thurs iQIYI) ep 10 of 12 - We have our little No Comebacks twist. The sides are growing on me, but now the mains are boring me. The sudden gun-toting new characters are just weird. It’s like they took the script and just threw it down a staircase, gathered it back up again, then filmed that. 

City of Stars (Fri iQIYI) ep 1 of 12 - Fueang is an actor in the midst of crisis and scandal. Normally I don’t like Thai BL when it’s tackles celebrity and this is... yep, the same. Our actor is pitted against an older worried nerdy app developer, Krom. And I feel that dynamic - hyung romance, jock/nerd? Very nice. But it’s also very Star Hunter. Never met a trope they didn’t wanna do a million times over - in the very first episode. Also I think I’m not a fan of the actor playing the lead. 

My Universe (Sun iQIYI) ep 24fin - The blond who comes to get his hair shaved looks just like Fluke T (SOTUS et al). And even more like him after the shaving (My Bromance et al). Is that him? MDL doesn't say.

Anygay... something something: Orphan. Cancer. Kisses. Dream. Death. 'Bout what I expected. 2/10 even with a decent kiss I don’t do dream sequences and I don’t like death in my BL 

All in all, I’m relieved that that’s over. The series is a slog. And in general I don’t recommend it. I plan to promptly forget its entire existence. 

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Love For Love's Sake (Korea Weds iQIYI) eps 3-4 of 8 - There is so much to adore about this show. The two younger guys who are suddenly in competition for the one older one. You know hyung romances are my favs. A hyung love triangle? COME ON. Also, I got to say this one’s giving me second lead syndrome. I do love me a brat. Add in all this on honorific play and linguistic flirting (as their should be in age gap). This is just THE BEST show. 

Look I gotta say this: the "Who did this to you?" trope (AKA who hurt you?) is the single most popular romance trope right now, remarkable to see it turn up in a BL. And pleasing. Trust Korea to be ON TREND. It's their national agenda. *respect*

Perfect Propose (Japan Fri Gaga) eps 1-2 of 6 - From Fuji TV (who brought us the Pornographer series) adapted from Mayo Tsurakame’s manga, production team includes Tadaaki Horai (My Love Mix-Up!) and Takeshi Miyamoto (scriptwriter for Old Fashion Cupcake). Hiro’s so stressed at work he barely has time to eat so he passes out on the sidewalk. An unfamiliar face saves him and insists that they once promised to marry each other.

Ready?

Oh I fucking love it. Sullen, out gay, younger seme with serious grumpy overprotective tendencies and beautiful possessive cat eyes? Well, it’s not dimples, but it’s still my catnip. Also they are moving very quickly. Hand jobs already? + dub con seasoning? Say it with me everyone:

Oh Japan, must you? 

Apparently, you must. And I must enjoy it. Carry on.

Please reread those producer creds and understand what we are in for. Okay? I would urge you to avoid this one if you get squeamish when JBL does what... JBL does.

AntiReset (Taiwan Fri Viki/Gaga) eps 1-2 of 10 - I really enjoy the character of an OCD intellectual automaton professor, contrasted to a warm and sunshine actual robot. Out the gate, this is oozing Taiwanese domesticity, we can only hope they juice it with their usual standard of heat too. 

All puns aside: It’s charming and I’m charmed. Does Taiwan finally have another winner on its hands?

I do adore Taiwan's aesthetics: The house designs, the suit designs, the human designs. I wouldn't say no to the robot’s pants either. Very cool. Can I order them in black?

Although I Love You and You AKA Sukiyanen Kedo Do Yaro ka (Japan Thurs Gaga) ep 4 of 10 - The birthday confession was a bit much. But I love how mature the reactions were. It reminded me a little bit of I Cannot Reach You. Always a good thing. 

Girl: I like you. 

Sakae: sorry, not intersted 

Girl: what am I lacking? 

Sakae: a dick 

What you mean it didn’t go that way?

Happy Ending (Korea Tues YT) 2 of 3 - Oh it’s lovely, exactly as I expect from Strongberry.

I gotta say all of the above are pretty neck & neck for top spots for entirely different reasons. BL is seriously giving right now!

Sahara-sensei to Toki-kun (Japan Fri Gaga) ep 8fin - In the end this is mostly a piece about courage, and the rewards and disappointments that being courageous entails. Sadly, I personally didn’t have the courage to enjoy it. Featuring a chaos nugget bad boy student who falls madly in love with his teacher, this should’ve been My Thing. But Japan failed me. It happens sometimes. The leads had no chemistry, and the age gap rather than being a narrative driver and source of conflict, was just ignored. 7/10 

It's Done

What Did You Eat Yesterday Season 2 AKA Kinou Nani Tabeta? Season 2 (Japan Gaga) 10 eps - will binge when I have any spare time. 2024 is crazy busy for me so far.

The Servant and the Young Master - from Vietnam so I assume it's on YouTube. I never even noticed. Anyone got a link?

Began Beginning (Myanmar YouTube) - Is TRUST Entertainment bringing us the first ever Burmese BL? I don't know if it's really the first, but @heretherebedork vouched for it, so I will give it a watch through.

The Whisperer (Thai Horror) - @all-you-had-to-do-was-neigh commented with the following: "MASSIVE content warning for extreme ableism, homophobia, and rape plots done for shock value. I don't recommend it, and if any of your followers decide to watch it proceed with caution."

So... yeah, I won't be watching it.

It's Airing But...

[NO INTERNATIONAL] Cherry Magic (Sat YouTube) ep 3 of 12 - yeah Japan put the smack down on our boys. Sadness. You can use a VPN if you like. Read all about it here.

Ossans Love Season 2 (Japan Gaga) - 5 years later, will anything have changed? This is Japan so… probubly not. I won't be watching this. I disliked Season one and actively hated the follow ups. No thank you.

Playboyy (Thurs Gaga) 14 eps - Dear Playboyy, it's not you, it’s me… I hate you. You’re about as deep (and as palatable) as a shot glass of cum. While I'm sure you’re someone’s kink, you're my weakest link. Goodbye. I DNFed this at ep 5. Frankly I'm impressed with myself for getting that far.

7 Days Before Valentine (Weds WeTV) 12 eps - Giving me Luminous Solution vibes. I'm waiting to binge if safe.

Dead Friend Forever (Thai Sat iQIYI) 12 eps - horror, meh, tell me if it's worth my time?

Time the series (Tue Gaga/YT) 10 eps - dropped it at ep 4.

Next Week Looks Like This:

Still Coming in Feb

2/17 A Secretly Love (Thai WeTV) - Khonprot, a third-year head hazer of the engineering faculty, has a secret crush on Pluem, a tsundere fourth-year head hazer. Over the years, he's seen Pluem cycle through many girlfriends. Recently, after a public breakup, however, Khonprot thinks maybe a boy has a chance.

2/24 Unknown (Taiwan Youku) 12 eps - Older brother tough guy criminal breadwinner looks after his sister and defacto adopted little brother. Little bother falls in love with him and is sent away after a stolen kiss. But when he comes back…

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.

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

GMMTV is officially stalking me.

I do love OffGun's particular brand of domesticity. It's fun that they and TayNew are both getting to be so soft on our screens. It's very comforting, like a family favorite warm toddy. (Cooking Crush)

Korea, what's gotten into you? Are you feeling okay? Such bold weaponized gayness isn't like you at all. (Love for Love's Sake)

The Sign, forcing me to ask the eternal question.

I LOVES THEM YOUR HONOR. (Pit Babe)

(Last week)

[cowboy-robooty]

good evening. instead of writing 1000 words of futanari on male smut tonight to settle in, i shall add "homophobic gay man" to my laundry list of allegations (gaslighter, manipulator, thumb rhythm game player, the stealing candy from babies incident, etc).

guys imma be so ngl rn i #won because they took the bl tag off the summer hikaru died 😄

MY LEGAL NAME IS FUDANSHI SUPREME BUT THE SUMMER HIKARU DIED IS MILES BETTER WITHOUT THE BL TAG BECAUSE WELL..... ITS NOT REALLY ABOUT BOYS LOVE LIKE OBVIOUSLY ITS SO INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT HOW YOSHIKI WAS IN LOVE WITH HIKARU BUT LIKE JUST BECAUSE ANNA BEING MADLY IN LOVE WITH TANUKICHI IN SHIMONETA IS A MAJOR PLOT POINT THAT DONT MEAN SHIMONETA IS A ROMANCE ANIME.

look the summer hikaru died is absolutely fucking fantastic it is incredible the story is gripping the characters are wunderbar the art is gorgeous i think that the yokai elements are wonderfully mixed in and you feel a genuine sense of fear and unease at times imagining yourself living in this town thats slowly unravelling at the seams. theres no debate about how fucking amazing the summer hikaru died is okay genuinely it rises above the rest but also i think that taking off the BL tag was such a win because yoshikis ongoing mourning of hikaru is literally the main plot focus and its so much more interesting when you can see it as more than just "doomed yaoi". yoshiki obviously regrets never being able to tell hikaru his romantic feelings and definately mourns the boy he loved but its so much more than that because more than missing his crush he misses his best friend. hikaru was yoshikis best buddy they were for real best friends and people tend to always act as though romantic feelings are superior in depth to platonic ones when thats not true at all. if anything i think yoshiki misses "hikaru my best friend" more than "hikaru my crush" because he had two sided best friendship and they were eachothers player one and two. Sometimes your crush will move away and its heart breaking but when its one sided you can endure, but a best friend? Your best friend is the shoulder you cry on. the guy you give the other half of your popsicle to. the guy who remembers you prefer extra ice in your drinks and dislike cola for the weird feeling it leaves on your teeth. Hikaru was yoshikis right hand man and now hes been replaced by someone who looks and walk and talks and has all the same facets of hikaru except his soul. In fact I think the only reason Yoshiki can't accept Hikaru *IS* because he was his best friend. Because despite the fact that this "Hikaru" is exactly the sams to Hikaru in practically every single way; yoshiki still can't accept him because his best friend can't be replaced. This manga has put Yoshiki is such an interesting and complex deliemma. Because yoshiki is stuck in this strange mix of convoluted feelings where he begins to love "Hikaru" as a seperate entity from Hikaru, but it feels as though this love is being pried out from a sticky sludge that is his original love for the real Hikaru. Yoshiki initially could only go through all of this out of his internal desire to cling to Hikaru, despite the fact he bears the knowledge everyday that he's just spending time with something that just reminds him of his best friend. And his care + empathy for the "Hikaru" next to him is something that originally was only a by product from his love for the original goods, but by now in the story he literally has admitted that he has grown to love "hikaru" seperately. When I started writing this post it was April lol and then this sat in my drafts forever, so now this got said out loud, but before it got said out loud you really could feel the jumbled and confused emotions Yoshiki was enduring regarding "Hikaru". It's something I don't even think I can put into words, but it was communicated so well through the author's story telling abilities. All these feelings can't be summed up in just Yoshiki having a crush on Hikaru. He feels so much more than that. To me at least, I think that this story is elevated by Yoshiki having a crush on Hikaru, but could still have happened if he didn't. While the vice versa could not be true. It makes me upset when this story gets boiled down to toxic yaoi and everyone ignores the fact that their best friendship is so deepy important (if not MORE important than the romantic intentions) when it comes to Yoshiki's emotional strife regarding the original Hikaru.

[keepyourpantsongohan]

Ayesha Liveblogs Sasaki and Miyano S1

I am watching this entirely because I was recommended a YouTube compilation on this show and I watched a few seconds of it before I decided to see for myself what's up. The little I saw gave me Haruhi and Tamaki energy

"As that senpai strode forward, I admired him in secret." Alright, I'll bite, where is this going?

"Dial it back several notches. Or I'll have this made into slash art." INSANE threat, Miyano, please continue

What's with all these little manga fans calling other people normies?

Recommending things to people with fifteen disclaimers is so relatable. Me about Bridgerton LMAO

"Despite all the hard stuff the protagonist went through, he resolved himself in a really cool way and moved through his burdens. I really liked that story." I've only had Sasaki for 4 minutes but I love him already for his review of this Gay Detective Manga

On one hand, I do appreciate how obvious Sasaki is about his feelings (the nickname, the physical affection, the dropping off cookies to class), but I'm right with you Miyano, in your position (being gay in high school) I would probably refuse to interrogate it any further on the off chance I am incorrect

"I saw you, you know. Chatting away happily with the boy on the basketball team from class 1-A, with the refreshing, lovely smile." So caught was I in the fact this show is called Sasaki and Miyano that I didn't consider for a second Miyano might like some other guy (Hirano)

I do love the interesting little dynamic they're setting up between Sasaki, Miyano and Hirano

"But he's a guy. He has such a cute face though. I feel kinda anxious." Oh Sasaki, you're in it now

The chronology of these scenes is a little confusing, it only becomes clear midway through the scene if it's the past or the present

"Everything is too much." JKGKJHG the implication that Sasaki is like, ready to die aftering getting beat up (moderately inconvenienced). The Sasuke of it all. Also, me too, baby

"You're so cute, Mya-chan. Wanna go out?" Oh, so he's been OBVIOUS obvious

"You try standing in front of a BL shelf with another guy! You'll just end up fodder for everyone's conversations!" "You sure about that?" "Yes, I am." "Then I'll stand at a different shelf." There's something so sweet about this. Something something understanding and boundary-respecting

"If there's someone I like, I want to know them." Giggling and kicking my feet over everything Sasaki says

"He's gonna be misinterpreted." Oh, I think he's gonna be correctly interpreted, Miyano

HAHAHAHA background conversation of "When [Miyano] blushes, could you mistake him for a girl?" "What? No way! He's a dude." "Yeah, I wouldn't either." Implying one of Miyano's classmates also thinks he's cute LOL he is a menace to heterosexuality

Not Sasaki challenging Miyano to Gay Chicken via Pocky and immediately forfeiting cause he was embarrassed hahahaha

Why is it MEN's Pocky?? Which I've just googled and is a real thing??? For what lmao!!

Why do they keep cutting away to the cat, is it a metaphor for something

I appreciate the homie straight up just being like "Are you dating?" without any teasing, just wondering about their situation

"Sasaki-senpai is a good person. Remember when I got beat-up before summer break?" OHHHHH I see how it loops back into the friend group

"Those two have gotten pretty close. I guess I should take that as a good thing." I thiiink Hirano likes Miyano but his vibes are a little hard to read so it could easily be Sasaki or neither. In any case, I do like his Minato hair

"Thirty-six. Who the hell went first?" Awwww poor Sasaki, experiencing his first bout of jealousy after hearing about all the chocolates Miyano got from his classmates.

"In that case, Mya-chan, ya wanna find out [whether I'm a clumsy kisser]?" Sasaki said: I will not pass up an opportunity to ask Miyano to kiss

Miyano said: I will simply not read into this, I pretend it was a joke

Miyano also said: So caught was I in how Sasaki embarrasses me in public every two seconds with the sincerity of his feelings that I forgot for a second he's also cool

Of the two girlfriends that have been mentioned so far, both Sasaki's friend and Miyano's friend have girlfriends who seem to be fujosh*s and let me tell you, I don't think this show is ever in danger of passing the Bechdel test

Awwwww, Miyano broke Sasaki by giving him a White Day present

"What do I do? My heart won't stop." "Good. You'd be dead if it did." "It's pounding." "You out of shape or something?" Hirano's patent refusal to romanticize life makes me happy

I also like Hirano's hair being black, what can I say, I love a switch-up. Also I just like black hair

"Do you let your roommate touch [your hair]?" "Yeah, he's the one who told me it's damaged." Miyano said: Oh my god they were roommates

"He might be treating you as BL material like my girlfriend, you know." [Turns to Miyano] "Are you?" "Huh? Come to think of it, I've never done that with you." "That's news to me. Give him the same treatment." Not Hirano complaining that Sasaki ISN'T being objectified for BL purposes LMAOOOOO

Also Sasaki extremely willing to abandon his friend Ogasawara in his hour of need for his crush jkjhgkjhg. Not the best move, but understandable

Every time there is a line of uncaptioned, silent dialogue, I always assume it's that they're saying "I love you" (shout-out that one JJK scene LOL):

"If senpai only saw me as a kohai, would he, in that quiet tone, here on the train, (when I wasn't even awake!) say that?" "I like you." Oh I love the immediate reveal, we appreciate a romance that doesn't beat around the bush

KJHKJGHKJH none of their classmates overhearing or caring about how they're discussing if Hirano would top or bottom. My god, this school

Also also also. I've been thinking this for a while, in part because I truly think too many people are TOO possessed of topping and bottoming as personality traits, does no one in these shows believe in versing LMAO?

Setting all that aside, it is very sweet how flustered they keep getting whenever they're close

"I like girls, not guys." I've been wondering about this as well. In Miyano's little brain, these things (liking gay manga and projecting BL onto his classmates) are two things that have nothing to do with his orientation. And while that can be true. YOU GAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY*

*As a general term, I'm not saying he can't like women LOL

You know, I'm so glad I knew I was bi before I started watching so many gay shows because that could cause some confusion for sure

Miyano imagining himself literally on top of Sasaki: Which could mean nothing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Did I just miss it earlier or did they wait until ep 4 to give Tashiro (blond friend who asked if Sasaki and Miyano were dating) and Kuresawa (nice but stoic friend who got beat up and loves his girlfriend) names

"I read every manga she's got. But I found one about a... slime? And a delinquent. And now I have no idea what to do anymore. I can't understand what she wants." I love Ogasawara actually. The act of reading every BL manga to understand his girlfriend is a love language for sure

"You don't do that because he's your boyfriend?" "You're mistaken! We're not in a relationship." Everyone at this school thinks has Miyano and Sasaki clocked but Miyano LOL

"I thought you also liked guys." Ogasawara no. 1 wingman for Sasaki:

"Not that it matters anyway. And it ain't my business." Also very true. I love everything about this interaction, Ogasawara

"In middle school, I had a crush on a girl. So I know I don't." I see your confusion, Miyano. Google bisexuality and circle back. If that doesn't work, try comphet

"I like you, Miyano. What I said in the summer, I'm not taking that back." "Um, I, uh..." I can wait... You don't have to answer right away. I'd be happy if you gave it some thought." This is slowly becoming my favourite trope

I don't know what the hell kind of cheerleading uniform Hirano's outfit is supposed to be, but I dig it:

"What if a Committee Member is violating the dress code?" "Like who?" "A certain blond individual." "Oh, me." I think Hirano might actually be my favourite character. I love the contradiction of him being a delinquent on the Discipline Committee

This show has been so delightful so far, I beg of you not to make it weird with this school nap

It was borderline, but it seems like we narrowly escaped

"Wait 'confessed?' Should you be telling me?" said Hirano, before immediately tossing his phone at Sasaki with Miyano pre-dialed and proving why he was a good person to tell

Also. Also. WHAT YEAR IS IT LMAO. The flip phone kjhgkjhg

"I like you a lot. for more than your face. That's all. See ya. And take care." "Sasaki, go let Miyano punch you. Actually, can I just punch you?" Hirano ACTUAL NO. 1 Wingman for Miyano

"Is it serious?" "Yeah." "You know what? Nope. Forget all of this. This is creeping me out!" ["Just don't do anything careless.] "Same." ["I won't.] The serious discussion of feelings followed by the disgruntled dialogue and sincere exchange in the subtext.... WAH 😭😭😭 I love Hirano and Sasaki

"Some scenes can make you feel embarassed." This conversation about BL anime feels a little self-referential, but okay

Do we think the sucker worked for Sasaki because he probably has them while studying and had that whole sense memory thing going on? Or was it just the encouragement of his crush giving him a birthday present? Or was it, in fact, Hirano's study cards? Probably the last one

"Take Miyano. Even with his cute face, he's a guy." Tashiro has to tell Miyano he's cute like once a day, at least

"I just mean people are more than their looks." "So you were saying my girlfriend likes me for my looks and for who I am. Thanks, Tashiro." "That's some self-confidence you've got, Kuresawa." I also do appreciate Kuresawa's level of delusional self-confidence

You truly have to wonder what Miyano's friends think is going on if not an intricate flirting ritual. Do they just patently ignore Miyano's claims?

"Do you happen to like guys?" "I don't think so. Why?" We'll unpack this conversation and trope at another time Sasaki, but let's focus on the 'WHY?' WHY DO YOU THINK HE'S ASKING? YOU CONFESSED TO HIM, A GUY!

"Thinking about all of this, BL gets more and more confusing.... And when you said you liked my face... Though my face is feminine, I'm a guy so.... And I might be taller than you in the future!" Sasaki trying not to giggle as Miyano stream of consciousness processes his feelings aloud <3

"And when I'm 50, I may look totally different than I do now..." I love that Miyano, after one (1) confession, in high school, is like WILL YOU STILL LOVE ME WHEN I'M 50?

"Senpai, I want to consider it a little longer!" Awww, he got there!

"You might grow taller than me one day, and your face might change completely. But I think I'll still like you, Mya-chan. So take as long as you need to answer." They are SOOOOO SWEET

"Our cultural day festival will have a cross-dressing competition." I feel like we're moving past this too quickly. Admittedly, I've seen this trope several times before, but usually it's a play where they're cast in a cross-dressing role. It's not the sole purpose. Is cross-dressing a standard cultural activity for high school festivals? If not, why did you just say that like it's supposed to be?

"The Cultural Festival Committee revealed their tastes when they wrested permission to hold it from the Student Council." Ahh, so it was not standard, it is a preference of this school LOL

"I'm down. I bet my girlfriend would love [me cross-dressing]." Kuresawa unmatched security and affection. We love

Wjkhkjh the Chairman seems like a total menace to his Committee members, I do enjoy that

"I wanna see the person I like." [Miyano runs into the staff room yelling about the room key] [Sasaki laughing in the background] Sasaki said: New flirting dynamic unlocked

Gjkhkjhk Makimura not seeing Miyano for two full years and immedately objectifying him for art reasons. At least he gets some romantic closure about her

"It's not about gender. I don't want to be rough with someone I like." Ohhhh Sasaki

New Sasaki lore unlocked: He is the son of bakers

I really am curious about the girlfriend in the hospital storyline with Kuresawa. Is it leading anywhere

The way I thought for a second Miyano might be worried about Sasaki buying the manga because it would disrupt the borrowing dynamic they've created but he was actually so excited that Sasaki shared his interest and was outwardly engaging with it!!

"Hirano, aren't they a little too close?" "I-I don't know. Don't ask me," said Hirano, though he did know, in fact, and was actively involved

"Well, fudanshi, is it?" JKHKJGHG the way Ogasawara (Jiro) just calls Miyano fudanshi while seeking advice and he responds to it

[Jiro, seriously] "I don't move on a woman I have no intention of marrying." "I think that's the kind of thing she likes about you." [Jiro, upset] "That I'll let her wear the pants?" PLS he is so silly

"I cross-dressed and Tashiro mistook me for a girl. But our love story failed to take off." HAHAHAHA this is the funniest way to phrase what happened

Sasaki asking Miyano to put his bangs down bc it makes him nervous. Sweet boy

I actually do appreciate that they followed through on giving Miyano a less overtly feminine outfit to begin with

"Chairman, what do you think it means to like someone?" Oh, Miyano, you are SO in it

"You looked like a girl, but the difference wasn't as big as with Kuresawa." "Thanks. Complicated thanks." Adding 'Complicated Thanks' to my vocab immediately

"I wouldn't like it if a guy took pics of my girlfriend, so scratch that." Lmaooooo so that settles it, they are patently ignoring Miyano's claims this is platonic (also this is truly the most drastic their height difference has ever looked):

"You'll just let your classmates pressure you?" I can't tell where exactly Sasaki's upset is coming from, and perhaps neither can he

"I'm gonna say something inconsiderate. If I asked you not to compete, would you drop out?" Because he's hot, or because he's reluctant, or because of a third secret thing like Sasaki having to re-evaluate the circumstances of his attraction?

I appreciate how even when Miyano has said nothing about his situation, Kuresawa is still trying to help him via manga store visit

"I made the decision to compete myself. So I want to follow through with it." "Okay. Good luck. I'm happy you told me how you feel." Ohhhhh this

"If possible, would you like to see the festival together?" Hee hee, good for Miyano

"Arranging a date?" "We're not going out, but I guess it's a date." Not Hirano politely eavesdropping on this whole exchange

I fucking love the concept of a Hooligan Cafe, and Hirano as Chief Hooligan, 10 bajillion/10zo

I am going to ignore Chairman Hanzawa's self-fortune and focus instead on his helpful advice to Miyano about building confidence

"He had ten more minutes though." "It's just ten minutes." Hirano letting Sasaki off early for his lunch date <3 That's my hooligan, no. 1 wingman

"Can you support Miyano appearing in a cross-dressing competition like this?" "How much do you know?" "He hasn't told me anything. I got a distinct impression, though." HAHAHA I love this exchange. Sasaki said: Who told you we're almost dating? To which Kuresawa said: I have eyes

"Well, that makes sense. I never did hide it." LOL Sasaki, u right

The 'what about when I'm 50' belatedly hitting Sasaki HEE HEE

Colour me cliche, I do fucking love a fireworks trope

"Could you... wait just a little longer for my answer? It feels irresponsible to give it right now." Believe it or not, Miyano, this is also kind of an answer

"I wanted him to hug me then. I wanted to take care of him. Do I like him the same way he likes me?" Yeah Miyano, you do, catch up!

Holding hands with him during the fireworks while blushing and leaning into him is ALSO also kind of an answer, but I do appreciate your sense of romantic responsibility, Miyano

"Even though I don't know, I want to tell him I like him... Why is that?" Welcome to your first love, Miyano

[Text overlay] 'Delinquent, motherly, blond, Discipline Committee, handsome, Vice-chairman, strong fighter, trusted by teachers, etc.' "He packs together a lot of tropes." HAHAHAH that's also part of why I like Hirano, Miyano

I like that Sasaki makes Miyano forget his anxieties about other people perceiving their date

"If these feelings aren't the real deal, what is?" It took Miyano two full dates and ten full episodes, but he got there!

Oh thank GOD Hanzawa has a gay brother with whom he has a complicated relationship, when he started whispering "niisan" I got nervous about the direction it was taking

"I thought he was finally dating Sasaki-senpai." Tashiro said: I refuse to engage in allusions, when is the hard launch?

I love that Hanzawa's older brother came out and his little brother was immediately like ditto. I will not lie though, in my life I do appreciate my brother for repping the future grandkid issue

STOOOP MIYANO HAS BEEN CHANGING HIS BAG OVER FOR ALL THESE EPISODES BECAUSE OF SASAKI? AHHHH I love them!!!!

Also the way that Sasaki was just about to kiss Miyano in the hallway after school and Miyano's immediate reaction was 'Well, alright!' They have no sense of self-control LOL:

"You still don't have each other's number?" Hirano said, ENOUGH, HOMOSEXUALS

"And people will ask things they'd never ask an opposite-sex couple. I guess they can't help but focus on it, even if it's irrelevant to the discussion." THANK YOU MASATO HANZAWA

"Sasaki, you forgot stuff at school. Get your butt back here." [...] "What did he leave here?" "I lied. this way, he'll run into Miyano." Hirano for World's Least Enthusiastic Matchmaker HAHAHA

Sasaki weaving a tale about how he is a horror to society for trying to kiss his almost-boyfriend while Miyano is thinking about how much he loves Sasaki

"I like you, Sasaki-senpai!" GOOD FOR THEM!!!!!!!!

[Sasaki, immediately crying] "Sorry. No, I mean, you can think about it some more. No rush." BABY

"I feel like words aren't enough to get this across. But he won't know if I don't tell him." YEAHHHHHHH MIYANOOOO

I get so distracted by enjoying the show that liveblogging becomes an afterthought, but just now, Miyano had a very good and clear confession

I do, as always, love a park bench romance:

"Sasaki-senpai, I like you! Be my boyfriend." Miyano said: There will be no ambiguity in this return confession!!!

The little callback to 'Wanna go out' and the crouched kiss and the exchange of numbers!! <3 Worth the wait

"We're dating." "Oh... That's great... Dammit. Look I'm not great that at this." "I know." Hehe it is only right that No. 1 Wingman Hirano is looped in right away

"Um, well... We started going out." "What? Really. So I was right." "Yeah, yeah." HAHAHA lmao @ Kuresawa deciding Tashiro gets to know

Double LMAO @ Ogasawara being the only one unaware of what they are all pleased about

"You're not going out with Miyano, right?" Again the chronology of this OVA is a little confusing. I know the ep title is A Tiny Episode Before He Realized His Feelings, but they talked about this at the festival. So this is post-festival but pre-confession?

This keychain search has me wondering beyond the romantic, how much Miyano lets manga run his thought processes

[Jiro, ominously] "Did ya lose something?" [Miyano, startled] "You scared me." [Sasaki, even more ominously] "Ogasawara. Don't scare Mya-chan." This is what happens when you date a delinquent LOL

"Animals love him. I knew Ogasawara-senpai was a good person." HAHAHAHA the kittens getting interested in Ogasawara's bell in his bag and Miyano reading this as a Disney Princess-like affinity for wildlife. Romanticize your friends:

Are we finally about to meet Hirano's little background boyfriend? I can't wait

"I bet he remembered something he had to do. I'm sure he'll text us." Oh, I take Sasaki's sweatdrop as confirmation this is situationship-related

OHHHHHHHHH it's Kagi, the guy who Hirano offered to get a drink on festival day

"But I saw you and I couldn't help but grab you." "Are you a dog chasing a ball or something?" "Want me to be your pet?" GOOD LORD, I NO LONGER BLAME MIYANO FOR THINKING SOMETHING IS GOING ON BETWEEN HIRANO AND KAGI, IT IS ENITRELY MERITED

"I want to stay here with you a little longer." Kagi said: I gotta take up the mantle of Obviously Pining Guy since Sasaki's feelings are now requited

They waited until the very last episode to start putting Hirano in romantic situations. Also worth the wait:

"You see, the Student Council President sometimes secretly feeds the cats. Thanks to that, several cats have settled here at the school." I didn't expect for them to actually have an explanation for the cat cutaways, but there you go

I love this episode dedicated to getting to know the Discipline Committee more

Bonus: Sasaki and Miyano (Graduation Film)

I will not lie I did like skim-read the whole Hirano to Kagiura manga before this film so I am not as surprised by the roommate dynamic as I was one (1) episode ago

"Earrings... I can't get up if you don't put them in." Still, stroking your roommate's ear IS a bold choice first thing in the morning

I won't lie, I would ALSO fall in love with Hirano if he woke me up every morning and ate the veggies I didn't like and helped me in school and gave me cookies he'd personally made

"The walls have fundashi ears." Bold way to bring Miyano back into this story, but okay

"If I get married, I hope it's to someone frank like you, Kagi-kun." What a thing to say to your roommate, Hirano!

I won't lie, I am 100% sold on the roommate romance, I both love the trope and I can't believe they described their ideal partners as each other:

Gjgkjgljglj @ Miyano giving his boyfriend a Good Luck Gay Manga for his college entrance exams

HAHAHAHAH Tashiro looking for Miyano and Kuresawa to give him relationship guidance and them just both responding that they do with their boyfriend/girlfriend, "The Normal Stuff."

"Hirano keeps saying, 'Passing isn't the finish line.' He's kept up his studies the whole time. It's really cool." I love Sasaki and Hirano's dynamic as always

"If it's long, I can run my fingers through it, which is fun... But if it's short, I can see your face better, which makes me happy." Miyano is still shocked when Sasaki flirts even though they are literally dating

"Until I pass my exams, I won't touch him more than this." [Tiktok audio voice] It's like a reward

Sasaki having a smart phone while Miyano has a flip phone truly does make me confused about the era. Is it now, where we've circled back to some flip phones being popular? Or is it 2010, when some people had smart phones, and some had flip phones, and both were normal?

Take a shot every time someone in this anime gets sick from overstudying LMAO

"Do you want some... affection?" [Both pause and blush] "Yeah." Awwww Miyano asking but both them immediately getting embarrassed. Also are they doing a mask kiss? That's sweet!

Oh, they did do a masked kiss! We love a follow-through

"I've heard that some boys give girls chocolates [for Valentine's Day] these days. How nice! Make some for me sometime too, okay?" "A-Actually, the person I want to give them to is a guy." Are we coming out to mum right now, Miyano?

"Mom, I really like being around this senpai, and I want to keep being with him. I-I like-like him." "Lovely. It's wonderful to like someone. I know, 'cause I like your dad." AWWWW this is a really lovely response, good job Mama Miyano

"I'll get good enough to make your sweets by myself next year." [Sasaki, internally] "Next year?" The way Miyano is always thinking about his future with Sasaki, without even being aware of it

The way that Miyano is smiling and thinking about the people in his life not caring that he's dating a man <3 We love shows devoid of homophobia

Now that we're about halfway through the ep, it is funny that they dedicated the first ten minutes to Hirano and Kagiura and then the next twenty to Miyano and Sasaki because you'd think if they were going to involve both it would be more alternating scenes

"Are you dating him for real?" "That's none of your business, Ogasawara." HAHAHA Sasaki said: We're not THAT close, Jiro

"Which role are you? Nope! Never mind, I don't actually want to hear stuff like that about a friend." "And I don't want to tell you." Hanzawa foreshadowed Sasaki being asked this question, though I did not anticipate it coming from Ogasawara

They really are making some bold choices, both anatomically and in the kissing in the third year classroom

"I'm fine with either. Whatever Miyano wants." Realistic discussion of sexual interests? In anime? Shocking!!

"How could I do that at school?" That was also my question, Miyano!

"You've got it wrong. We're dating." You know, I like that they're establishing this, but the translations in this show are so indirect. What Sasaki says is "kōhai ja nai," which is specifically the strong refusal of the term kōhai, which I feel like they could subtitle as, "He's not my kōhai." But they translate it back without using that word, instead as, "You've got it wrong," I guess to avoid repetition? I don't know that much Japanese, but I've noticed a lot of translations like that with this show, how they drop a number of nouns in the subtitles to interpet more broadly. I talk about captioning in every show ever, but this is the first time there was a noticeable difference in subtitles from Japanese for me. Weird!

Also, I made the no homophobia call too early I guess LOL

"The thing is, I can't be too pushy with my sister. In middle school, I injured her." "Did you two fight?" "Not really... but I pushed her over and she got hurt. It left a scar. That's when I understood that I was bigger than other kids." Having a sibling much bigger than you really do be that way, eventually it becomes dangerous

"Senpai, your sister is important to you, huh?" "Eh... medium-important." HAHAH this is such a brother answer to give

"For me to respond with 'why?'... It's because you like each other. I'm very sorry." "It's all right. People change how they think about things over time." Sasaki's sister said: I went for a walk, I can accept gay couples now

"You're a cool guy, Miyano-kun. I think I might get why Shumei fell for you." Both Sasaki and Big Sister's Boyfriend coming to interrupt because of this compliment is very funny:

"Shumei-san." "Why is that the part you remember?" "Maybe I'll call you Yoshikazu." "You could." I will never tire of the first name to last name transition in media, it is my favourite

Hirano grabbing Sasaki by the back of the neck like he's a misbehaving cat when he looks at his boyfriend during the graduation rehearsal is so cute

"Would you be the jealous type, Miyano?" Everything Hanzawa says is foreshadowing

"Drop it! It's got nothing to do with you." Hirano said: DO NOT gossip about why Sasaki would sprint after his favourite second-year to explain the (fake) lipstick mark on his cheek, and the other Third Years said: That's fair, not my business!

"How can my heart be so small?" said Miyano, as if jealousy were not a normal human emotion to feel, especially at 17

"If you're going to gush to me about him, be careful what you say. My girlfriend will find out." "Have a long and happy relationship." HAHA the friend group designating them as Relationship Status Official

Hirano said: I know we haven't talked about my situationship with my roommate for forty minutes, but I promise, it's still going on

Hkjhkhkjh Sasaki offering Miyano his school blazer for "when he gets taller." I don't think he will, but the faith is nice!

Awwwwwww Miyano copying Sasaki's embarrassed gesture of laying his face down!! <3 <3 <3

The flashbacks to their different moments across the school are getting me. I am just a sentimental bitch at heart

HAHAHA THE DUCK AND COVER KISS WHILE KURESAWA LOOKS ON FROM BELOW LIKE: 👁👄👁

This was a lovely show, highly recommend, very sweet and likeable cast, relatively unembarrassing given the initial premise, friends to lovers, mutual pining, not a single person at their all-boys school giving them a hard time for their relationship, good friendships, beautiful animation, no real complaints on my part