#Multi ql

[my-rose-tinted-glasses]

Rose Recaps QL 2024 - Favourite Kisses

Continuing my lists using @abstractelysium prompts. I skipped favourite scenes because they will be on my favourite shows by country recaps (posted Korea already), and favourite lines because my memory sucks. I might go back to that one later if I have the time.

I know I'm repeating myself but it's not like I could leave it out. So I'll start with THE KISS - The Time of Fever

No need to say anything else.

The rehearsal - At 25.00 in Akasaka

The editing and the acting in both of these scenes is amazing. I'm still unwell about it.

The Magical Kiss - Cherry Magic Thailand

They kiss so pretty. I screamed, I cheered, I died. The fact that Achi initiated it was perfection.

Stolen Kisses - Let Free The curse of Taekwondo

Domesticity my beloved. They are too cute. The matching pijamas.The food giving. The music player. And all the kisses. I love them.

The Under the Bed Kiss - Boys Be Brave

What a glorious first kiss.

The Proposal Kiss - Perfect Propose

"It feels like a proposal, doesn't it? It is." I need more of them. 6 episodes is not nearly enough.

The Truth or Dare kiss - Jack & Joker

We waited for so long and were well rewarded. This was an outstanding kiss. YinWar just have amazing chemistry.

The First and the Second Kiss - Love is Better the Second Time Around

I love a good editing moment. And although the kisses are different, there's a nervousness in both of them. I love how these scenes play out parallel to each other.

The long awaited and the softest of the kisses - She Loves to Cook, She Loves to Eat

I love them. This moment was perfection from beginning to end.

And... I wanna include two shows that are still airing but that kept coming back to me while I was making this list.

The Under the Covers Kiss - Caged Again

BEAUTIFUL.

Smiling Kisses - See Your Love

These two bring me so much joy. What a glorious moment this was.

I'd like to thank all the gifmakers, @pharawee @pothame @wanderlust-in-my-soul @jimmysea @itsallaboutbl @hantaebaram @chinzhilla @theside-b @forcebook, for all the beautiful gifs I used for this post. You are all so talented and you inspire me everyday with your beautiful work. As do so many others here. I invite you all to share your favourite kisses if you are so inclined. No pressure of course.💜💜💜

[negrowhat]

QUICK! Choose Your Fave from My Faves: Height Difference: Thai Edition!

Okay here is Part 2 of my Height Difference Poll Series! We're focusing on Thai ships. As always please don't yell at me about forgetting a ship! I could probably do a 2nd poll with Thai ships tho lol. Anyways!

[twig-tea]

2024 BL/GL/QL Round-Up Post

Since I did this last year, I thought for posterity I'd post another reflection on everything I watched that completed in 2024. For me, that means anything that started in 2023 but the last episode was in 2024 is on this list, but anything that was still be airing after 31 December 2024 11:59 my time (EST) is not on this list, even if the bulk of the show did air in 2024.

A few stats:

[The image is TL;DR for what follows lol]

I watched ~150 discrete pieces of new QL content in 2024 (series/films) that I tracked [It gets complicated with specials and split seasons but I did my best to be consistent]; plus 10 things that I would consider "adjacent". For contrast, I listed 110 pieces of discrete content in 2023; that's a 45% increase year over year!

This clocked in at an est. 900 hours of new BL/GL and adjacent content (up from ~600 in 2023--which also tells us that the content I tracked was a little longer overall because that's a full 50% increase in terms of hours spent).

The new content I watched came from 9 different countries [same as 2023]: (Cambodia [1], Philippines [2, down from 3], Hong Kong [1], Japan [32, up from 18 in 2023], Korea [20; was 19], Myanmar [2, up from 1], Taiwan [12, up from 6], Thailand [75; up from 56], Vietnam [4, down from 7]), China [5], and then 3 joint effort productions from Thailand/Korea [2] and Thailand/Taiwan [1]

This means just under ~47% of the content I watched on this list is from Thailand [close to the 50% in 2023]

So many more shows had multiple or varied distributions this year, but like last year ~85% of my content was on 3 platforms: YouTube [38%; down from 40%], GaGaOoLaLa [30%; up from 23%] and iQIYI [17%; down from 21%] Note: I'm in Canada and my access routes are sometimes affected by that.

As unbelievable as it sounds with all that, I did actually drop shows this year! I dropped 9 shows, which is I think more than I've dropped in my entire previous 20+ years watching queer asian media combined (that might be an exaggeration but I do really hate dropping shows); 4 Thai, 3 Filipino, 1 Taiwanese and 1 Japanese (listed at the very bottom of this post if you want to be messy). I didn't track any dropped shows in 2023.

And if you're wondering how many shows there are in the world in total, I am aware of an additional 11 shows I just did not have time to even start (2 from Cambodia, 4 from the Philippines, 3 from Thailand, and 1 each from Korea and Myanmar). That does not include the vertical short reels that I didn't track this year--see @ellsieee 's tracking post for these--as well as several GL shorts from JPC media YouTube channel and Sastra film app YouTube channel that I just have not had time to try or even keep track of, though I do peek in on them to see if there's anything that looks particularly good, and I do always link these folks in my GL round-ups.

All of this doesn't include re-watches or catching up on old shows, or non-QL queer media, or non-queer media (the hets sometimes do deserve rights); but does include films as well as shows.

I hope you all appreciate that with this much content, and with my general brand of being unable to make decisions, I really struggled to narrow down a top 10 list. What follows is the best I could do lol

Top 25 QLs I'd Recommend From This Year:

[Links are self-indulgently to what I thought was the most relevant post I'd made this year relevant to that series/media, mostly spoiler-free pitches]

She Loves to Cook and She Loves to Eat S2 (Tsukutabe) [GL]

Love in the Big City

Love For Love's Sake

Tadaima Okaeri [anime]

Ossan no pantsu ga nandatte ii janai ka (Oppan)

Marahuyo Project

Knock Knock Boys

Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo

Love is Like a Poison (Doku koi)

Ossan's Love Returns

Twilight out of Focus [anime]

At 25:00 in Akasaka

Cooking Crush

Cherry Magic [anime]

Cherry Magic Thailand

Takara no Vidro

Soul Sisters / Twin Rabbits [GL]

Perfect Propose

Unknown the series

Paradise of Thorns [film]

Blue Canvas of Youthful Days

The Secret of Us [GL]

Mr Mitsuya's Planned Feeding (Mitsuya-Sensei)

The Time of Fever

A Man Who Defies the World of BL S3

I tried to put these in some kind of order but honestly if you asked me to rank them the numbering would change all the time and I would combust. The ones I liked best are closer to the top of this list. I also debated back and forth on whether Paradise of Thorns counts as QL so many times. But in the end I decided the main character was queer and queer romance of a sort was at the heart of the drama, so I've left it in this list even though technically it should probably sit with the 'adjacent's.

Worth noting that though only ~20% of the content I watched was from Japan, ~45% of my favourites were from Japan.

+5 notable pulp offerings worth mentioning:

Bagan Beginning (Myanmar)

City of Stars (Thailand)

Gym Affairs (China)

To the Ex Who Hated Me (Korea, GL)

Under the Oak Tree (Vietnam)

I think I'll do a top 10 GL post separately since we had enough content to warrant a top 10 (yay!) but this is already long enough. I just want to take a second to acknowledge that this year was so much better than in 2023 when I didn't feel like I could recommend any of the new GL shows. Thank you content creators for better and more GL in 2024, please keep that energy for 2025!

Bonus: Not a QL but worth calling out:

How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies (Thai film)

I saw both this and Paradise of Thorns in theatres during the Toronto International Film Festival and they were both so powerful! Extremely different tones but they surprisingly hit on similar themes, and very beautifully filmed. HTMMBGD was a complicated film filled with very rounded and complex characters, and I still think about it all the time. Very excited for more folks to have access to both of these soon.

Sidenote: The fact that I watched 45% more shows in 2024 than I did in 2023 and still managed to keep my rec list to 30 (*cough1cough*) does seem to back up the general feeling that though we had more content, we didn't have a proportional rise in good content. I do want to crunch those numbers in another post.

Double Plus Bonus: Best Older QL Content I watched for the first time in 2024:

Life as a Girl / Joshi-teki Seikatsu (Japan, 2018; I'm so sad I missed out on this one for so long due to misinfo, it is fantastic! Thanks to @so-much-yet-to-learn for helping propel me to this one)

Iron Ladies (Thailand, 2000; thank you for the rec, @happypotato48)

Nacchan's Secret / Himitsu no Nacchan (Japan, 2023; thank you @furritsubs for making this watch possible)

Can I Buy Your Love From a Vending Machine / Sono Koi, Jihanki de Kaemasuka? (Japan, 2023; thanks to @nicks-den for making this watch possible)

I Fell In Love with the Villainness (Japan, 2023; watched because of a convo with @pilanthitasanilaphat)

Doi Boy (Thailand, 2023; this one I had on my list and just had to work up the energy to watch, but it was a beautiful film and I'm glad I did)

BL Metamorphosis (Japan, 2022; another thank you to @furritsubs)

Dear Dad (India, 2016; thanks to @neuroticbookworm for the rec!)

Salty Blue / Kakenuketara, Umi (Japan, 2023, thank you again @nicks-den!)

[I can't believe I forgot this at first] The Miracle of Teddy Bear (Thailand, 2022, thanks for going on that journey and writing great meta with me and for calling me out for forgetting @lurkingshan!)

There is so much good content in the world and despite my best efforts I haven't seen everything! So grateful to the fansubbers and people who write about past shows so that those of us who missed them the first time still get a chance to see them.

In terms of my output based on all this input, I continued not lurking this year, and have enjoyed it very much; see my Top 10 posts from 2024 here as well as the content I linked in my recommended shows above--going through the process of adding those links really highlighted to me how much more I've written this year, and how much more motivated I am to write about shows I love. It's no surprise I had dedicated posts for most of my top shows! To highlight a few specific projects this year that I'm proud of, I participated in the Love in the Big City Book Club read and watch-alongs organized by @lurkingshan, which was such a fun project that I am grateful for, and I started my GL Odds and Ends posts (tagged with #gl recs) that I am still feeling out but am really enjoying seeing the impact whenever someone watches a show because they found out about it through one of my posts. I also made an appearance on several episodes of @the-conversation-pod and had an incredible time trying out different things in a quarterly 'Dispatch' and having some really rich conversations with @bengiyo and @shortpplfedup. I love this corner of tumblr that we've carved out for ourselves as a QL watching community, and I just want to say to everyone I've interacted with in 2024: Thank you, and wish good things for you all in 2025!

Full list of 2024 shows under the cut for anyone curious! [Mostly in order it completed but may be slightly off--if a special aired immediately after the final episode I only list them as one thing and count the airing of the special as the end date, for example].

Bagan Beginning

Love Senior the Series

After SunDown

VIP Only

Twins the Series

Last Twilight

Night Dream the Series

My Universe

Bake Me Please special episode

Sahara Sensei to Tori Kun / Mr Sahara and Toki-kun

Love for Love's Sake

7 Days Before Valentine

Happy Ending

PitBabe the series

For Him the series

Cooking Crush

The Sign

Chaser Game W

Playboyy the series

Perfect Propose

Ossan's Love Returns

Tsukuritai Onna to Tabetai Onna S2 / She Loves to Cook and She Loves to Eat

Cherry Magic Th

Dead Friend Forever

Sukidoya / Although I Love You and You / Sukiyaken kedo dou yaroka?

Healing Thingyan

Love You in Every Multiverse

Cherry Magic (anime)

Please Teach Me

Anti Reset

Jazz for Two

Blank the Series

A Secretly Love

To Be Continued the series

Love is Better the Second time around / Koi wo Surunara Nidome ga Joto

City of Stars

Sea You Soon

Human Too

Man Who Defies the World of BL s3

Gray Shelter / Gray Currents / Grey Current

Gym Affairs

1000 Years Old the Series

Love is Like a Cat

To the Ex Who Hated Me

Lady Boy Friends the series

Deep Night the series + Special Episode

Unknown the series

Memory in the Letter

You are My Star

Lonely Girls

Boys Be Brave / Roommates / I Can't Confess

Blossom Campus

Two Worlds

VIP Only special episode

Pray In Love

I Fell In Love with My Male Best Friend

Friend With Benefit

Stay By My Side special episode

23.5

You Made My Day

Living With Him

City Boy Log pt3

Anti-Reset special episode

The Time of Huan Nan

Xiao Xiang Yi Jiu

Inverse Identity

At 25:00 in Akasaka

Only Boo!

Tadaima Okaeri

Love Bully (Club Friday)

Blank the Series S2

Marahuyo Project

The Two of Us

Blue Boys

OMG Vampire!

My Stand-In

We Are the series

Ossan no pantsu ga nandatte ii janai ka / Oppan

Wandee Goodday

Under the Oak Tree

The Rebound

Love Enemy

Love in the Apocalypse

Bad Guy

My Marvellous Dream is You/ Dream the Series

Century of Love

Knock Knock Boys

Be Your Star

Meet You at the Blossom

BOYTOY

The Secret of Us

Ayaka is in love with Hiroko / Ayaka-chan wa Hiroko-sempai ni koi shiteru

My Love Mix-Up!

This Love Doesn't Have Long Beans

Love Sea the series

Cosmetic Playlover

City Boy Log s4

Sunset Vibes

Mr Mitsuya's Planned Feeding

Takara no Vidro / Takara's Treasure

Paradise of Thorns

I Hear the Sunspot

The Time of Fever / when your temperature reaches my fingertips

4 Minutes The Trainee

Twilight out of Focus

Happy of the End

The On1y One

Live in Love

Heaven'sxCandy

The Two of Us s2

Addicted Heroin

I Saw You In My Dream

Monster Next Door

Our Golden Times

Affair

First Note of Love

Battle of the Writers

Reverse 4 U

Unlock Your Love

Chaser Game W s2

Let free the Curse of Taekwondo

Uncle Unknown

The Hidden Moon the series

Love in the Big City [the series]

Smells Like Green Spirit

Red Whisper

Eccentric Romance/PT is Love

My Damn Business

Apple My Love

Dominant Yakuza and Wimpy Corporate Slave

The Nipple Talk

Kidnap the series

Every You Every Me

Jack & Joker

People Come Later

Blue Canvas of Youthful Days

The Loyal Pin

Let's Eat Together Aki and Haru 2

Love is Like a Poison / doku koi: doku mo sugireba koi to naru

Bad Guy My Boss

Haunted Hearts

Seoul Blues

The Renovation

Love Sick 2024

Love in the Big City [the film]

Spare Me Your Mercy / Euthanasia

Soul Sisters / Twin Rabbits

My Hot Butch Roommate

Whisper Me a Love Song / Sasayaku you ni koi wo utau

Boys' Christmas

Bonus: FuFuKnows bi-weekly shorts [every other week they post a short film, almost always a QL storyline; there were 23 in 2024]

And those QL-adjacent shows I mentioned [these are all adapted from QL media or starred QL actors or were part of a QL franchise but did not have a canon queer romance at the core of its storytelling]:

The Spirealm

Close Friend 3 - Soju Bomb

How to Make a Million Before Grandma Dies

Man Suang

High School Return Of A Gangster / I, a Gangster, Became a High Schooler

Kimi to Yukite Saku: Shinsengumi Seishunroku

Hoshikuzu Telepath

A Balloon's Landing

Peaceful Property

My Strawberry Film

The shows I dropped:

Time the series

Beside You

Sugar Dog Life

The Whisperer

Kiseki in Tokyo

Q18

Sky Valley

The Fate Trap

Dear Miss Becky

And as a shout-out in penance, the shows I had on my list to get to but haven't yet watched:

A Blue Sky (Cambodia)

Ending Friend (Cambodia)

Pretty Boys (Philippines - requires an access fee on VivaMax+)

Oh My Boo (Philippines)

The Perfect Heartbreak (Philippines)

Where I found You (Philippines)

My_ the series (Myanmar)

What's In My Bag (Korean GL - requires an access fee on Vimeo)

Complicated (Thai)

Club Friday: Hot Love Issue (Thai)

2nd Chance (Thai; not to be confused with Second Chance, this was a smaller 3-episode short series from this year)

Thank you for reading!

[romchat]

Three Tropes Tag Game!

The Prompt: Choose three of your favorite QL tropes, and show us three of your favorite examples of each. Doesn't have to be your favorite show, your favorite pair, or your favorite moment - it just has to be a trope you love to see and three great versions of it.

Tagged by @lurkingshan --thank you! This reminded me of gems I haven't thought of in a hot minute.

1. Nothing says love like drying each other's hair

I love the intimacy of this trope. It's equal parts domestic and sensual.

And as someone with long curly hair that takes over 1.5 hours to style properly, I appreciate the fantasy element of having someone else do all the work lol

2. Precocious children causing emotional havoc and moving the plot along

Sometimes us adults are too in our heads and we need a child to drop some much needed wisdom and emotional intelligence. Whether it's trying to get their two dads to do a sleepover or teaching them how to boop, the children will save us.

3. Caretaker is reminded they deserve to be taken care of too

Now, I love me a depressed/insecure/lost main character who learns to see and love themselves as others do, but there's something really satisfying about witnessing that same person turning around and caring for those who had supported them along the way. Even if their partners are strong, the load is still heavy, so it's a beautiful moment when they remind these characters that they don't always have to be perfect or struggle alone.

-----------

Tagging anyone who hasn't done this one yet :)

[lurkingshan]

Random QL Grievances: 2024 Edition

For every superlative there must be an equal and opposite grievance. It's just science, the universe demands balance! So let's get into the Festivus spirit and begin the airing of grievances.

Most Infuriating Implosion of a Good Show: Last Twilight

When I think about how much I loved this show for the first 3/4 and how I felt as Mhok and Day watched the sunset on the cliff at the end of episode 9... we really coulda had it all. Justice for Mhok!

Worst Failure to Set Off the Chekhov’s Gun: Dead Friend Forever

Not only did they show me a dropped axe in the penultimate episode that never got picked up and used in the finale, they also didn't let me see Non's biggest betrayers die a bloody death. I had to watch Phee kill New and then get an ambiguously happy ending. Unforgivable!

Most Egregious Blue Balling of the Audience: The On1y One

How dare they build such a beautiful, careful relationship narrative and then just... not finish it. Not only did we not get an end to the story, we didn't even get to see Tian and Wang express their feelings. I will never forgive the creators of this show for playing these games.

Side Pair that Deserved Better: Arun and Tattoo, Jack & Joker

Where is their actual romance, show? WHERE IS IT?! You have a chance to make it right in the coming special and I pray you take it.

Messiest Show Built Around a Great Character: 23.5

The show was an unholy mess, but Ongsa (as performed by Milk) was the nerdy cringefail lesbian of our dreams. She deserved better!

The WHY?! Award for Blowing a Great Show on the Dismount: Unknown

I make this exact face when I think about how close this show came to perfection, and how needless the ending stumbles were when the book version was right there as a guide. What was the reason?!

The Everyone Involved Needs a Timeout Award: Jazz for Two

How did this show get made? I need a detailed explanation of exactly what they thought they were doing with this horrific depiction of a series of abusive relationships framed as romantic.

Worst Letdown for Me Personally: Wandee Goodday 

Will anyone ever make the fuck buddies to lovers BL of my dreams? It definitely hasn't happened yet. I am Plakao just making frustrated faces at everyone throughout this show.

Worst End of an Era: My Strawberry Film

What was the point of this show? What was it trying to say? I watched every single minute and I still have no clue. It gets bonus hate for ending the Drama Shower project on such a bum note.

Silliest Use of Lore: Sunset x Vibes

They teased us with past life dreams and gorgeous seascapes and Naga fantasies and all we got in the end was some ugly ass jewelry.

Noble Idiocy Hall of Shame: Blue Canvas of Youthful Days

I loved this show a lot, so you can imagine my dismay when they did a double noble idiocy + time skip ending. I am still so disappointed.

Petition to Free Ohm Pawat: Kidnap

To go from roles like Pat in Bad Buddy and Phukao in 10 Years Ticket to this... oh how the mighty hath fallen. I know my guy had some scandals but surely this was enough penance to set him free from terrible script purgatory. Right??

[neuroticbookworm]

Random QL Superlatives: 2024 Edition

This list is gonna contain qls (and a few kdramas) I’ve watched this year, rather than the qls that were released this year.

Best Hosaka: Namgoong Shiwoon, Light On Me

ICYMI, I am obsessed with Hosaka from I Cannot Reach You, for his complete disdain for miscommunication, his incredible radar for bullshittery, and his otherworldly ability to not-so-gentle-parent bl boys into talking to each other. Every BL should have a Hoska. A Hosaka is a crucial part of a healthy BL ecosystem imo. So this year’s Best Hosaka Award goes to.. Namgoong Shiwoon!

Namgoong is kind yet firm in his opinions (and boyyy does he have them in a bushel and a peck), goofy in physicality yet measured with his words, and an all-around stellar friend. He would figure out the exact ways you’re ruining your life before you’ve even had a chance to emerge from the mental rubble, and will meet you with a detailed presentation on how to fix everything. Get a Namgoong for your life and listen to them for the best results!

Favorite Signature Move, Kiyoi tackling Hira, Utsukushii Kare 2 and Utsukushii Kare: Eternal

Kiyoi losing his patience with Hira and tackling him to the ground so he can get in his face and scream to get information out of him was simultaneously hilarious and sad.

Most Ineffective Defense: Sangwoo and His Lil Desk Divider, Semantic Error

I am still laughing at how Sangwoo believed with his entire precious heart that putting up a foot tall, easily removable physical barrier is gonna deter my man Jaeyoung, menace extraordinaire and dedicated Sangwoo-annoyer. Boy, did you even wanna try?

Saddest Sex Scene: At 25:00, In Akasaka

I was already heartbroken when Hayama and Shirasaki tried, failed, and emotionally devastated each other by attempting to “rehearse” for their intimate scene the previous night, but the filming of the actual scene took the pieces of my shattered heart, stomped on it, and then set it on fire. The aborted pinkie touch should be made illegal due to the amount of pain it inflicts on the masses.

Favorite Wholly Unrealistic Teenage Boy, Hasegawa, Oppan

I love this boy with all my heart and soul. What a mature little teenage noodle. The writers must’ve conceived his character by pouring all the good stuff they want to see in a baseball-jock teenage boy into a beaker, and out he emerged, Powerpuff Girls style.

Best Use of Strong-Independent-Women Money: Lee Mi Na’s Collection, Hit The Spot

I adore this woman for many things. Her friendship with Hee Jae. Her standards for men.

But most of all, I adore her for the things she spends her money on.

What an icon.

Best Righteous Anger: Ryunosuke, Tokyo In April Is…

I am always a big fan of characters who are mad for the right reasons and are not afraid to show it. Ryunosuke watched his friend carry this unbearable guilt around for years, and was rightfully mad at Kazuma who he assumed knew what had happened to Ren. And when he realized that Kazuma did not know, Ryunosuke sets his anger aside and tells Kazuma. I am part of the Ren Protection Squad and Ryunosuke is our leader.

The Cameo That Inspired The Loudest Scream: Madea Kentaro in Utsukushii Kare: Eternal

My earnest, precious son Yamato from I Cannot Reach You showing up in the middle of Hira and Kiyoi’s patented messiness? The scream I scrumpt, y’all.

Bestest Best Friend: Joon Pyo, The Eighth Sense

Joon Pyo! He got the fuck out of his own room for the night so his childhood best friend can get some. Ji Hyun better protect and cherish him at all costs.

Most Precious Gift To The World: Fujita-san and Kasuga’s conversation, Tsukuritai Onna to Tabetai Onna Season 2

Asian daughters fighting the intergenerational trauma demon everyday just.. get to have this? To watch whenever we want and draw strength from it? And feel the shoulders of the other daughters (and mothers) also fighting their fight, standing right beside us, fighting, and living, and thriving? What a blessing.

Wisest Wisdom: Pie’s Post-Breakup Advice, The Trainee

Heartbreak is temporary. French Fries are eternal.

The Swooniest Gwenchana: Ji Hyun, Happiness

Did I make up a whole category just because I needed to put his face on this post? Yes.

This year has been, amongst many things, undeniably fun. Tag me in your superlatives lists, and I will see y’all in the next one!

Tagging the peeps: @lurkingshan, @bengiyo, @happypotato48, @wen-kexing-apologist, @starryalpacasstuff

[thisonelikesaliens]

Three Tropes Tag Game!

The Prompt: Choose three of your favorite QL tropes, and show us three of your favorite examples of each.

tagged by @abstractelysium (thank you friend!)

when i think of QL tropes they're mostly romance-related, but i don't actually watch QL for the romance? i just need to see queer joy in any and every form, and these are the "tropes" that hit the hardest:

(a) actually being able to come out to a parent (b) who ends up being supportive (you need at least a solid relationship where you feel safe enough to even consider (a) and even with that (b) is still no guarantee. honestly my no.1 fantasy)

He's Coming to Me

Be Loved in House: I do

My School President

2. @my-rose-tinted-glasses had this and food is how we asians express love, so. food as love:

TsukuTabe

Our Dining Table

See Your Love

3. Chosen Family

Secret Crush on You

Knock Knock Boys

Koisenu Futari

no pressure tagging: @nabi-unveiled @avorbl @easterndelights @pickletrip @ellsieee @soypim @watchthisqqq @lurkingshan

[impala124]

Random QL Superlatives: 2024 (Mostly) Horny edition

My viewing list isn't as comprehensive as I'd like it to be, so please refer to the lists from @lurkingshan , @bengiyo and @happypotato48 for some good show recs and hilarious superlatives.

Line that would have me folding like a lawn chair: Min's from Kidnap

Definitely not the most original of lines, but having Min look at me with his big, beautiful and expressive eyes would make all the difference.

Favorite kiss that made me believe that they wanted each other carnally: Jack & Joker takes the cake for this one.

This was a highly anticipated one and came after the midway point, but they still managed to exceed my expectations.

Favorite character I'd be willing to go to law school for to defend their crimes (if any) in court: Reese from First note of love.

This is probably a cop out because the man wouldn't get in trouble with the law. But, if he did, I'd be ready to defend him.

Favorite character for whom I would be willing to unalive someone: Gyu-ho from Love in the big city

My baby boy has never done anything wrong in his life and put his heart into everything he did.

Favorite character with the most diabolical line: Dohoe from Let free the curse of Taekwondo. His 'Did you dress up for me?' to Juyeong in this scene still makes me scream into my pillow.

Ep 6 sexpot Dohoe, you'll always be famous for trying to fuck away your problems, no matter how unsuccessful you've been.

Favorite love confession: Ryoma and Haruto from Doku koi

My favorite legal couple. What more can I say about them? A con-man who fell for his own con and a lawyer who used to believe that love is a poison (and a distraction). The earnestness of this confession and the vulnerability they express in this scene catapults them to the top of my list.

Favorite horny moment I'd like to observe from a distance: Mahasamut licking Tongrak's palm in Love Sea.

I knew FortPeat could bring the heat because I watched Love in the air, but man, watching it play out was definitely an experience.

Favorite sex scene: Great and Tyme banging in the real timeline in 4 minutes.

Say what you will about the show, but their chemistry was fire.

Favorite naked back: This category was made just so that I could mention Arashi from Love in the air koi.

Blame it on recency bias, but his sweaty arched back has been on my mind a lot.

Favorite couple my eternally single ass would probably kill: Muenfah and Teerak from Your Sky. It's an ongoing series, but I feel fairly confident as to where they are going to end up.

Don't get me wrong, I love them, but being near them while single would be a nightmare. I feel very represented by Lee just being so over their extremely real fake-dating.

[theflagscene]

Random QL Superlatives - 2024 Edition

Listen, if there’s a trend that involves lists, imma jump on that! So here I am, giving random niche awards to my faves ☺️

Best use of a deity’s name - God / Monster Next Door

His nickname being Godzilla made sense in the webcomic, they carried the whole fire breathing monster motif over into very cutesy cartoons but I was not expecting them to shorten his nickname even further. Giving a nickname a… nickname?? 🤔 But you know what, it freaking worked! God was a gift sent down from the heavens. He was the perfect giant puppy and the greenest green flag, really perfectly named imo.

Best jerk off scene - Fadel / The Heart Killers

Not only was this jerk off scene the most realistic one I’ve ever seen on network television—boy was done in sixty seconds!—but it was also the most realistic male orgasm I’ve ever seen. The scrunched up face, the weird grunting and huffing noises, kicking his leg, Joong came (heh) to prove a point and he did!

Best allegory for life and death - Love For Love’s Sake

From the constant water noises, to the video game visuals, the loss and gaining of points, the borrowed time, the crumbling world, the memory loss, the messages from the people left behind. When Myungha is caught between the life he lost and the second chance he was being given as he stands surrounded by darkness and water, dripping wet from his death but wearing the high school uniform from his second chance… just ugh! Perfect, absolutely beautiful.

Best fucked up family dynamic - Unknown

I love a messy family, but I love a messy found family even more. This was the perfect blend of both, with Wei Qian and Li Li being biologically related, Zhi Yuan the one they took in from the streets and Tan Yu the lifelong friend and only reason Wei Qian was able to keep a roof over their heads for so many years, it was bound to become insane. And insane it was, but in such a fantastic way. Messy forbidden love all around, arguments and fights and so much drama. But they all came out of it the other side better people, and a stronger family.

Best horniest bastards - MutRak / Love Sea

FortPeat will always deliver when it comes to high heat, and while I might have issues with the screenwriter’s… idiosyncrasies, shall we call them? Love Sea was one of her lesser offensive offerings, focusing mostly on the lust driven horn balls that were Mahasumut and Rak. Were there other plot points? Yes. Didn’t any of them matter? Not really. We all knew Mut would get his man in the end, boy put Rak under a dick spell from the first moment they met. I think this was the first QL with a canonical facefucking scene, kudos boys.

Best speedrun of feels - KanThiu / Spare Me Your Mercy

Where did the emotions come from? When did they start? Did Kan have a crush on Thiu from the stories that Thiu’s mother had told him? Neither are in the closet or into one night stands… yet they’re not dating. They have a full blown emotional relationship, before even sharing a kiss. KanThiu might secretly actually be useless lesbians and we’re all just being tricked!

Best health code violations - OabPlawan / This Love Doesn’t Have Long Beans

No amount of Purell will ever make any of those kitchens food safe, two public kitchens and one private one, those pots and pans saw some shit!

Best sudden pairing replacement - MarcPoon

When the little DV dickhead was yanked from the We Are lineup, even though half of the filming was done, I was very concerned about the series getting shelved. But instead we got MarcPoon and omg, they are quickly becoming everything to me! Why are they so perfect? The chemistry, the cuteness, I just adore them.

Most unexpected second season announcement - Pit Babe Season 2

The scream I scrumpt, okay, that’s a lie, I didn’t scream. I laughed out loud and shouted: omg they fucking did it! Which prompted the infamous ‘butt babies’ conversation with my mother, so yeah, completely unexpected but very much excited for.

Best return to the QL world - Saint Suppapong

I have never been so happy to be wrong in my life! The morning I posted my answer for one of the ‘15 Day BL Challenge’ questions where I mentioned that I wished Saint would return to BLs but I highly doubted he ever would, that same morning Idol Factory dropped the teaser the rocked the fandom. Saint is returning to QLs! My flabbers were gasted.

[italianpersonwithashippersheart]

More cast changes for shows at gmmtv. Of these I am probably only going to watch Revamp.

Sad about Santa but we finally get Barcode again!!

@benkaben @mysterygrl20 @my-rose-tinted-glasses @absolutebl @respectthepetty

[my-rose-tinted-glasses]

[negrowhat]

Three Tropes Tag Game!

Tagged by @yannig and @obsessedferalgremlin and @watchthisqqq RIGHT AS I POSTED MINE!

(I'M VERY EXCITED FOR THIS SO THANK YOU!)

The Prompt: Choose three of your favorite QL tropes, and show us three of your favorite examples of each.

Manipulative Piners. You know the ones who are madly in love and manipulate their way into that other person's life. The ones who resort to trickery or lying to get close to their loved one.

Nubsib changed his last name and became an actor just to win the lead role in a drama that was being adapted from a novel written by his long-time crush Gene. Why didn't he tell Gene who he was? Because he didn't want to be bro-zoned. And not only did he lie about who he was, he also lied about having no car and no place to stay so he could live with Gene while he was filming...and let's not forget him secretly moving in next door to Gene when he got kicked out.

Gao Shi De is also a person who fell in love at a young age, with a very sweet boy who showed him compassion, Zhou Shu Yi. Determined to be a fixture in Shu Yi's life, Shi De resorted to one-upping the boy in every single category he could: sports, academics, and popularity. He figured the best way to be relevant is to be his crush's direct competition. And not only did he purposely beat him at every thing he also made Shu Yi work as his do-boy after fake blackmailing him.

Theo from Enchante. He's the king of this trope. That boy wrote himself a love note in a book and signed it 'Enchante' to make his long time crush jealous and therefore make him want to confess. And then when it got out of hand and people around campus started lying about being Enchante he just went along with it.

Gifting Cherished Items. I'm a huge fan of couple jewelry, but there's something about a person giving their special person an item that they hold dear to them. A possession that holds value and importance given as a gift to a person they feel is worthy enough to keep it for them. It's a beautiful thing and I find it incredibly romantic and sweet.

Yoryak giving Wandee the 'YY' necklace his mother gave him. Wandee knew it's importance and he wore the necklace with pride. It became a part of him and it was just as important to him as it was to Yoryak. And the ONE time he was forced to take it off truly broke his heart and when he earned that necklace back he made sure to threaten Yoryak to never take it from him again because he loved that necklace and he loved that it came from Yoryak.

Kexing giving Zishu his Glazed Armor hairpiece. Literally one of my favorite parts of the series is when Kexing places the piece into Zishu's hair. He doesn't speak of it's importance because of the monumental secret it holds but once we learn what it is and who it's from it makes the exchange that much more mind blowing. He entrusted that item to Zishu.

Charn giving his mother's necklace to Tinn. The necklace was one of the last possessions his mother had when things went horribly wrong for him and his community. It's something we see him wear throughout the series and for him to give Tinn such a cherished item was deep. It's not like Charn trusted many people or showed his true intentions often so him giving Tinn that necklace meant that Tinn truly meant something to him. I loved seeing it dangle around Tinn's neck for the rest of the series.

Sharing clothes. Personally I don't think we get this trope enough. It's one of my favorite things ever. I love seeing my faves wearing each other's clothes whether it's accidental or intentional, it just breathes an air of unspeakable intimacy.

PhayaTharn gave us the trope twice and presented a problem that goes along with swapping clothes. I loved seeing Tharn swimming in Phaya's clothes and it absolutely sent me to see Phaya struggle through the day in Tharn's tiny clothes.

Jin giving Akin his clothes to wear after having his long time crush spend the night was a fave. The clothes were properly too large for him and Jin created a solid fashionable look for his boo thang to wear. LIKE TELL ME THAT'S NOT A LOOK!

Wei Wuxian waking up in Lan Wangji's under robe awakened something in me. I know Wangji dressed Wuxian himself and the reactions we see from his brother and uncle when they notice will forever tickle me.

I'll tag @ommited-miscellaneously @lurkingshan @cirphu @babyangelsky @djeterg19 @mysterygrl20 @prapaiwife @simpcir @itsallaboutbl @slonekaru @khaotungthanawat @thisautistic and @khaotungthanawat

[paulinamakes]

What's your QL Personality

Rule: Post 5 different characters from BL/GL/QL that reflect you best but… don’t explain what aspects or at what point in their narrative arc you relate to them so your followers can just judge you in the comments.

Jinta, Cherry Magic Thailand

Liming, Moonlight Chicken

Aoki, My Love Mix Up

Nomoto Yuki, Tsukuritai Onna to Tabetai Onna

Jun, ThamePo

no-pressure tagging @soypim @lolacouldnotcareless @tootiredtoosadtooangry @benkaben @yaoishida @callipigio @bitsandpiecesofwhoiam @baseballmomlesbiandad @gay-wrongs-activist and anyone who else wants to play!

[romchat]

Old QL Game

Rules: Think about the oldest QLs you've ever watched. They have to have been released prior to 2020. Now name 5 - 10 iconic scenes that you cannot forget.

Tagged by the lovely @thisonelikesaliens. I haven’t been watching QLs as long as queer films so most of these I didn't watch live. I will say though I miss the angst and twistedness of that era.

1. Life is Beautiful (2010)

Technically not a QL because the show was a family drama but their romance was one of the main storylines so I'm including it. Using this gif to represent all of Lee Sang-woo's iconic deep V-necks.

2. Addicted (2016)

I mean this scene got LGBTQ+ content officially banned in China so if that isn't iconic I don't know what is.

3. Advance Bravely (2017)

Mind you this came out after the ban.

4. Guardian (2018)

And so did this.

5. Ossan's Love (2018)

"I know you love big breasts, but how about a big dick?”

The cackle of delight that came out of me when I first heard this shower confession. Peak romance.

6. The Novelist (2018) / 7. Mood Indigo (2019)

Now, I love me some Izuka Kenta, but as someone who salivates over mutually toxic relationships, I might be one of the rare few who prefers Mood Indigo over The Novelist. Takezai Terunosuke and Yoshida Munehiro just had too good chemistry.

8. What Did You Eat Yesterday? (2019)

As a lazy bisexual, "are you half-assing the homosexual lifestyle?" is something I ask myself everyday.

9. The Untamed (2019)

This show has too many iconic moments to count. "I want to bring someone back to Gusu with me. Bring them back and hide them away" and "You were right. Walking a single log bridge until dark isn’t so bad" practically made me have a meltdown. But this line? This line permanently altered my brain chemistry.

Thanks, Cdramas, for making me think stabbing is a perfectly sane love language.

10. Bonus: Coffe Prince (2006)

"Just this once. I'm going to say this just this once so listen carefully...I like you. I don't care whether you're a man or an alien anymore. It's too damn hard to get over you so let's just go through with this."

They just don't write Kdramas the way they used to 😭

____________

No pressure tagging @wei-ying-kexing-apologist @ginnymoonbeam @fiftysevenacademics and anyone else who'd like to join!

[lurkingshan]

Favorite QL Characters 2024

Tagged by @my-rose-tinted-glasses to share my favorite QL characters from this year. In no particular order:

Young, Love in the Big City

Dohoe, Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo

Hirukawa, Our Youth

Yako, TsukuTabe

Jane, The Trainee

Dynamite, Cooking Crush

Taishin, Takara's Treasure

Yuan, Unknown

Latte, Knock Knock Boys

Venice, Marahuyo Project

Mahasamut, Love Sea

Junior, Caged Again

I will tag @bengiyo @neuroticbookworm @incandescentflower @littleragondin @shinjiikar1 and @wanderlust-in-my-soul to join in if you want!

[bluesandfilms]

Tag Game: Scenes I will never forget

Rules: Share 5-10 scenes you can't forget. Not your favorites, the ones that got stuck in your brain for any reason.

thank you @ellsieee for tagging me. as someone who has watched 600+ dramas, i wanted to stick to only sharing scenes from queer media in order to be able to chose 10 scenes. these are the ones that came to mind my instantly so they must be the most memorable ones for me.

Not Me (2021)

needlessly to say, this is hands down the most impactful scene to any lgbtqia+ person. the marriage equality scene wherein they used the same pride flag which was also used in an actual pride protest in thailand. goosebumps every time i see this scene on my tl.

Blueming (2023)

it was just beautiful. what can i say. daun dreaming about siwon. he was desperately seeking for affirmation. i still remember this moment so vividly when siwon whispered "i like you too". followed by the most tender yet passionate kiss.

Our Dating Sim (2023)

when kitae thought wan had left him again. you can feel his desperation while hopelessly looking for wan. and when he finally found him, he broke down in tears. you can truly feel his fear of being abandoned again. i also believe it was a pivotal moment in their relationship where wan, maybe for the first time, truly understood that he wasn't he only one hurt the past 8 years. the person left behind was hurting as much as the person who had left.

I Feel You Linger in the Air (2023)

intently intimate, heartbreakingly devastating. yai and jom making love for the last time. they were both crying as they were doing it. the rawness and the beauty of this scene will forever be ingrained in heart. beautifully filmed and acted.

Love for Love's Sake (2024)

without going into much details... it was a scene i could relate to. it was gut-wrenching. it was the moment we learn that myungha had chosen to end his own life in the real world after a series of hardships. it was painful to watch yet at the same time i envied his bravery for making such choice.

Unknown (2024)

"aren't we moving too fast?" "this isn't fast at all. you don't even know what i dream of at night". must have been the most orgasmic, most realistic dialog in any bl i've watched. qian finally surrenders to yuan, and yuan is so desperate to feel one with him. "i've been waiting my whole life for this."

The On1y One (2024)

another painfully relatable scene. tian finally unpacking his suitcase. the symbolism of an empty suitcase is just everything to me. all his things in the wardrobe. a myriad of emotions shared with wang in that moment he was finally able to sense the feeling of belongingness. "you're home... welcome home."

See Your Love (2024)

the moment we understood the meaning of the title, and also why they had chosen this moment in the official poster. it was such a heartbreakingly beautiful moment. when shaopeng put his hand on zixiang's vocal cord to feel (hear) him say his name over and over again. it was heart-wrenching because shaopeng can only "hear" his love's voice by feeling the vibrations of his voice.

Secrets Happened on the Litchi Island (2025)

how can i chose just one scene from my darling show. when every moment in this little gem of a show is memorable to me, i had to go with the most pivotal moment. when chen li choses his existence. there's so much symbolism throughout the whole series. but i think we can all agree that the show uses colors to tell a story. blue is water. blue is the deep sea where you can hide your truth. red is passion. red is going against the labels therefore red rebels. while blue is the calm water, red is the passionate fire. he doesn't want to live in the deep sea anymore in fear of what society thinks of him. he wants the burning passion even if it means stepping into the fire. he wants love. the love he cannot deny anymore. it's this moment he choses to simply exist. "existence is existence."

Oh No! Here Comes Trouble (2023)

okay technically not a queer show. but for many of us they were soulmates. platonically or romantically. this moment right here lives rent-free in my mind. i vividly remember the first time i watched this scene. i was in awe of the raw emotions, the full-body acting of cianyou. the intensity in this scene actually took my breath away, i had to remind myself to breathe the moment guangyan let out a sigh of relief when he heard/felt yiyong breathing. the air that filled the room in that moment was so heavy yet so alleviating. the bts of this scene is even more riveting. standing ovation to all actors.