#Quaranthings

[haveyouseenthisseries-poll]

[ql-of-all-time-bracket]

QL of All Time - Round 1: Quaranthings (2020-2022) vs Love in the Air (2022)

[twig-tea]

Nothing has convinced me cacti are for the gays more than this piece of art in Quaranthings:

If you haven't seen this show, please just know this very gay man named Judah (right) has these ALL OVER his apartment, it's possibly my favourite thing about this show (other than the perfect friendship between him and his best friend, left).

So, also voting intentional!

Lets play Practical set design or intentional

The main difference being the fantasy books behind the plant, verses the sci-fi poster on the wall.

[dramalets]

Jen's ultimate rank list

For whatever reason the brain weevils have taken over and I decided I wanted to properly rank every Y series I've watched thus far. Why am I doing this? I really don't know. It just felt like a good use of a dreary Sunday. These will be split by region and I'm not including Western stuff because it doesn't, for me, fit what I think of when I think about a Y or BL series. I've not been analytical about a ranking system, it's mostly based on rewatch factors and how much it stuck with me after it ended. Some dramas I'll rewatch but they're not dramas I'd consider in my top list so just vibes also had to play a factor. (My MDL list isn't to be trusted. Girl, why did you give My Engineer a 9. What were you smoking?)

Thailand

Moonlight Chicken

Be My Favourite

Bad Buddy

Cherry Magic

We Are

Gelboys

Bed Friend

My Only 12%

Not Me

Vice Versa

SOTUS/SOTUS S

My Ride

Perfect 10 Liners

Dark Blue Kiss

My School President

Theory of Love

A Tale of a 1000 Stars

4Minutes

Sweet tooth good dentist

Laws of Attraction

Knock Knock, Boys!

Dangerous Romance

Naughty Babe

KinnPorsche

Pit Babe

Last Twilight

Only Friends

Wandee GoodDay

Monster Next Door

23.5

The Eclipse

Between Us

The Middleman's love

A Boss & A Babe

Two Worlds

The Heart Killers

Never Let Me Go

I Told Sunset About You

Together with me

Why R U

My Engineer

This love doesn’t have long beans

Cooking Crush

Jack & Joker

Love in the air

The Sign

Cupid's Last Wish

My Gear & Your Gown

Your Sky

Star & Sky: Sky in your heart

Only Boo!

The Rebound

Still 2 gether

Tharn Type

Love Sea

Dear Doctor I'm coming for your soul

Cutie Pie

2 Gether

Hidden Agenda

Love By Chance

My Golden Blood

Venus in the sky

Wedding Plan

Beyond the star

WaterBoyy

Phillipines (Consider any of these tbh)

Just Like in the movies

Marahuyo Project

Gameboys (1,2)

Pearl Next Door (This is a GL but shh)

Hello Stranger (Series & movie)

Meet me outside

Boys' Lockdown

The Day I loved you

Quaranthings

Your Home

Boyband love (Honestly this is terrible don't watch it.)

Taiwan

Unknown

The On1y One

The Nipple Talk

See Your Love

Kiseki Dear To Me

HIStory 3: Trapped

First Note of Love

You Are Mine

We Best Love (2)

We Best Love (1)

Plus & Minus

HIStory 4: Close to you

VIP Only

My Tooth your love

Japan (it must be said that none of these are truly bad. Even the bottom ranked.)

Our Dining Table

Pornographer Series

Old Fashioned Cupcake

Tokyo in April is

What did you eat yesterday (s1,2 & movie)

Ossan’s Love

Perfect Propose

Love is better the second time around

One room angel

My Beautiful Man (1,2 & movie)

Mr Mitsuma’s planned feeding

The Man who defies the world of BL (s1&2 &3)

If it’s with you

Although I love you, and you?

Living with him

I became the main role of a BL drama

Kabe Koji

Mr Unlucky has no choice but to kiss

Cosmetic Playlover

Takura-kun & Amagi-kun

My Personal Weatherman

Candy Colour Paradox

I cannot reach you

Senpai this can’t be love

Love in the air koi

Korea

Love in the big city

Semantic Error

Boys be Brave

Just friends?

FC Sold Out

Our Dating Sim

Jun & Jun

The Tasty Florida

Where your eyes linger (this put me off K BLs for 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴)

All countries top (no particular order just the tippy toppy faves.)

Moonlight Chicken

Just Like In The Movies

Pornographer series (Particularly Mood Indigo)

Bad Buddy

Be My Favourite

Our Dining Table

Unknown

Game Boys

Marahuyo project

We Are

The On1y One

Love in the big city

The Nipple Talk

Gelboys

We Are

If you actually read until this point thank you very much you're clearly amazing. Maybe give this a try for yourself? It was an interesting experiment.

[bengiyo]

Hi Ben!

I've been listening to the conversation pod and in one of the eps you mentioned that if any country was to adapt ITSAY you would like to give it to a well-funded Pinoy crew and it got me intrigued. I have only ever watched Gaya Sa Pelikula but I was quite impressed with that one. Could you recommend a couple of shows from the Philippines that you enjoyed and that you think are a good representative of this country's "flavour" of BL?

Thank you!

I absolutely will recommend Pinoy BL! The caveat I will give about my desire to see a Pinoy take on ITSAY is because of some of their films I enjoyed, particularly Isa Pa With Feelings (2019) and Whether the Weather is Fine (2021). I have been extremely impressed with Filipino cinema and know they have it in them.

Onto the recommendations!

Gameboys 1 & 2

The studio that I would love to see take on ITSAY is The IdeaFirst Company. They made this production in quarantine to keep the lights on and keep people paid. This is probably the best quarantine show of all of them that released in 2020 and 2021. Elijah Canlas is a monster talent, and it was so impressive to see Kokoy de Santos and Adrianna So keep up with him in a show that manages to be funny and dramatic about the experience of finding love in quarantine while your loved ones are dying around you. Elijah gives a gripping performance in Kalel, 15 (2019). It's currently available on Netflix with English subs. Season 2 is available on GagaOOlala in specific regions.

Boys Lockdown

I remain forever sad that we won't finish this, but this is another one that tackled the quarantine experience well and captured the kind of chemistry that I find really compelling with Pinoy teams. I think at their best they compete or beat Taiwan. This one is available on YouTube.

Rainbow Prince

Filipino teams are ambitious, and that is always clear with Oxin Films. Is this show good? Not exactly. But it's exactly what it's trying to be and is so funny. It is the first BL musical and it delivers as such. It's this kind of gumption that makes me want to see a well-funded team tackle ITSAY, because this show is so much fun and I listen to the soundtrack regularly. This is available on YouTube.

Those are my best recommendations to get a sense of it, but I'll also shout out the Ride or Die team that did Quaranthings and Stuck On You, which both had compelling characerizations in lockdown.

[okiedokie2216]

ql/non-ql watchlist

highly recommended series/movies (completed-watched in 2024)

love for love's sake (korean bl)

unknown (taiwanese bl)

century of love (thai bl)

a frozen flower (korean movie)

double mints (japanese bl movie)

addicted heroin (chinese uncensored bl)

meet you at the blossom (chinese uncensored bl)

the time of fever (korean bl)

our golden times (hong kongese bl)

high school frenemy (thai bromance)

(2025)

our youth

currently watching (currently airing):

impression of youth*

to check/catch up (currently airing):

upcoming:

to binge-watch:

thai ql/non ql:

love in translation (bl)✅️

love sea (bl)

triage (bl)

the stranded (bl)

la pluie (bl)

monster next door (bl)

i feel you linger in the air (bl)

dark blue kiss (bl)

ghost host ghost house (bl)

ingredients (bl)

be my favorite (bl)

taiwanese ql/non ql:

first note of love (bl)

oh no! here comes trouble (drama/bromance)

dna says love you (bl)

your name engraved herein (bl movie)

the on1y one (bl)

fragrance of the first flower (gl)

who'll stop the rain (gl movie)

history (bl)

history 2 (bl)

history 3: trapped (bl)

chinese ql/censored/non ql:

stay with me (censored)

justice in the dark (censored?)

advance bravely (censored?)

the ambiguous focus (bl)

a round trip to love (bl movie)✅️

guardian (drama)

killer and healer (drama)

the spirealm (censored)

korean ql/non ql:

love in the big city (bl)

love class 2 (bl)

to the x who hated me (gl)

beyond evil (kdrama)

color rush (bl)✅️

where your eyes linger (bl)

tinted with you (bl)

blueming (bl)

light on me (bl)

20th century girl (kdrama(?) movie)

green night (gl movie)

love and leashes (kdrama movie)

lily fever (gl)

bittersweet hell

you make me dance

school 2013 (bromance)

bloodhounds (kdrama)

japanese ql/non ql:

double mints (bl movie)✅️

my beautiful man (1 & 2) (bl)

at 25 in akasaka (bl)

takara's treasure (bl)

happy of the end (bl)

i hear the sunspot (bl)

happy of the end (bl)

sing in love (bl movie)✅️

the shortest distance is round (bl movie)

eternal yesterday (bl movie?)

hell dogs - in the house of bamboo (jdrama)

takumi kun 1, 2, 3, & 4 (bl movie)

love is like a poison (bl)

smells like green spirit

pinoy ql/non ql:

marahuyo project

gameboys (1 & 2)

gaya sa pelikula

quaranthings

other:

looking forward to:

the general's son (cbl)

my golden blood (tbl)

pit babe 2 (tbl)

wu (tdrama?)

us (tgl)

only you (tgl)

happy ending (?)

vamp (?)

goddess bless you from death (bl)

the last case (tgl)

i'm the most beautiful count (tbl)

revamp (tbl)

was also looking forward to (series i'm not entirely sure if they're still going to air):

wuju bakery

wish me luck

be mine

red peafowl

boyy of god

love puzzle

***list to be changed/updated on a weekly basis***

[misreadinkblots]

Cute Shit: Vol. 2 👬

[seatawinan]

Boys in the Kitchen

Bonus: Banned forever from the kitchen:

[glennethph]

Has Pinoy BL come and gone? Did the onslaught of poorly written and produced shows that tried to ride the wave contribute to its decline? Was 2020 the start and the peak of Pinoy BL?

Ben x Jim

Boys Lockdown

Gameboys

Gaya sa Pelikula

Hello Stranger

In Between

Quaranthings

[heretherebedork]

Quaranthings 2 is coming and it's about what happens when a relationship that's been in a bubble has to open up to their friends and their family and what happens when two worlds meet.

[usertoxicyaoi]

what happened? nothing ... nothing.

[mlmenclave]

We’re in the middle of a pandemic and the Philippines just decided to give us the best bl content of the year for some reason

[somekindofablog]

Day 6 of hotel living. Because, covid. 😷

Also, huge earthquake early this morning.

Grateful to be alive 😌

[yandemonai]

i dyed my hair on my 20th birthday cause there was nothing to do other than play genshin, lol. :)

[bengiyo]

Hello hello ~~

Through wen-kexing-apologist's recent post about The Birdcage (which seems to come from your syllabus for baby gays) I got to the original series of reblogs which resulted in said syllabus. I read most of it (not everything because Real Life has my time hostage), and as someone who has seen her fare share of queer media I have now a pretty long to watch list.

As you wrote about how you enjoyed the romance of queer media I have a question.

Recently I have come across a Netflix movie trailer called Love at First Sight. With such a basic trope as a name I checked it out hoping the title to be misleading and to see something surprising in the plot. The disappointment I felt when by the end of it I realized it was exactly what the title sold: the most basic boy meets girl and they have to look for each other throughout the whole movie.

One of the things I really appeciate about queer media (and mainly BL probably) is the possibility to explore different kinds of romances and emotions. Both positive and negative. From Not Me to Heartsopper to Double Mints. I feel that being "out of the norm" they explore such emotions and situations in a more interesting and relatable way (and add to that that I, as a woman, cannot stand women characters making a 360º personality change once they fall in love)

So here's my question: what unusal or out of the ordinary romances would you like to see more of in BLs/queer shows/etc?

I personally would like romances with disabled characters to be more explored (I'm really looking forward to Last Twilight) or polyamory. Also more GL.

I admit this might be a very biased ask, it comes 100% from my subjective view, and I have yet to watch most of the movies in your syllabus for Baby Gays.

Anyway, I hope you have a great day and that this long ask won't bother you ❤

Well look at this ask! Let me get into this!

The Syllabus is on a Google Doc

First, I sincerely appreciate you watching me and @shortpplfedup go back and forth about stuff. For yours and others' convenience, I did put the Queer Cinema Syllabus in a Google Doc for @wen-kexing-apologist

Some Recommendations

If you're looking for a film with a disabled protagonist and also a bit about women, I would recommend checking out Margarita With a Straw (2014), Sleep With Me (2022) (I watched on Gaga), or if you're willing to tolerate hets Isa Pa With Feelings (2019) (currently on Netflix) or Silent (2022) (Viki)

If you're interested in more polyamory, I genuinely think that Quaranthings Season 2 (2021) does some really fascinating stuff worth checking out. We had complicated feelings about Me, My Husband, and My Husband's Boyfriend (2023), but I liked it.

What do I want though?

I think this is a harder question for me to answer than I was expecting. I see myself as a guest when I'm watching a lot of content from Southeast Asia. I will voice my opinion on what I like and don't like, what I'm taking from these shows, and how they're affecting me. However, I don't really consider myself the target audience. I watch the shows as legally as possible and help generate engagement, but the "interfans" they care about are the English-speaking Asians in their region, not really me I feel like.

So when I think about what I want, I don't feel a yearning for any of the BL-producing Asian countries' film industries to make it for me.

I want to see the shit I like in the West get made. I want to see Black queer people presented complexly (Here is my regular plug for For The Boys). I'm a fat black gay nerd. The last time I saw a fat black gay nerd that I liked in an American production was Fire Island (2022).

I'm a 33-year Star Trek fan who still thinks we need more GAYS IN SPACE. I'd like to see more productions like Sort Of (2021- ) where complex queer friend and social groups navigate just existing in the world and finding love and meaning. I'd like to see less of reboots of classic shows like Queer as Folk be about a horrifying mass death event in the city I live in and the spaces I frequent (I refuse to link to it).

I want to see TJ Klune's, Ginn Hale's, or Lynn Flewelling's works adapted to series. I would like to see more wide release queer shit in the West not be overwhelmingly about fit, attractive, young white guys.

I want distribution for queer stories to not always have to go through four years of distribution hell because of the film festival circuit.

I want the West to try to make BL! I don't care if it feels cheap on the front end. I just wish more of us would be willing to throw support behind web shows. We did it for Awkward Black Girl! We can do it again!

This is turning into rambling, so I'll say that I don't necessarily have strong feelings about what I absolutely need to see. I like connecting with the specific humanity of stories, especially if they're about queer people. I didn't know I needed Moonlight (2016) until I saw it. I didn't know I needed Make the Yuletide Gay (2009) or Black Sails (2014-2017) until I watched them.

I just want more people with ideas to get a chance to turn them into something cool for us.

What about the rest of you? Please tag me if you have things you're hoping for.

[somucherry]

Show Recommendations Non-Thai BL:

A list of shows I’ve watched or am currently watching (Aka not including things I haven’t started yet) for @zouisalmightie 

China- The Untamed (50 Episodes, Netflix, Viki, WeTv):The series follows the adventures of two soulmate cultivators who travel to solve a series of mysteries that link to a tragic event in the past.  Plot heavy story, Lots of characters, due to Chinese censorship lots of homoerotic symbolism and subtext. The leads of the show sing the OST and it's beautiful, Wang Yibo and Xiao Zhan are both members of Idol groups. Korea- Where Your Eyes Linger (9 Episodes, Youtube, VikiPass): The series follows a chaebol and his friend/unofficial bodyguard. This is one of Korea's first forays into BL series. It's short, but has decent pacing and plot.  Mr. Heart (9 Episode, Youtube, VikiPass): The series follows two boys, one that is training/running a marathon, and the other who is his pacemaker (helps him stay in the same pace). It's short, sweet and to the point. I'm really fond of one of the boys because he was on Produce X 101. Philippines- Gameboys (13 Episodes, Youtube): First Bl Drama to come from the Philippines. Follows a live-stream gamer and his fan—who found each other online during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic and the Luzon Island community quarantine. This one is a bit cheesy at first but does get better, it is however a little bit sad (TW. a death due the pandemic, not the leads.) A season 2 is in the works. Hello Stranger (8 Episodes, Youtube): Amidst the lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic, two college boys cross paths for a school project. Jock/Nerd Trope/Hate to Love. I actually enjoyed this one more than Gameboys, but I'm in the minority I think. The leads have amazing chemistry (or kilig in Tagalog). A movie is in the works. 

In Between (14 Episodes, Youtube): The most important part in a relationship is not the hello or the goodbye but the In Between.  This is about the boys' love (BL) story of Taurus and Otep. Friends to Lovers Trope. While the show is mean’t to be about Taurus/Otep I actually fell in love with the sidestory of Ronin and Makisig more. And I was disappointed that in the end we didn’t get really much of anything for them (unless there’s a planned season 2 that I somehow missed knowing about.) 

My Day (11/14 Episodes, (Airing Currently), Youtube): A romantic comedy series about a young determined culinary intern named Sky making his way into a multi-billion-dollar food company and his boss Ace. Some of this show didn't really hit the mark ie. the writing was very lacking amongst other issues for me but I'm sticking it out because the leads have amazing chemistry and I'm glad I did because it has one of the best intimate scenes that has come from a show this year. (I'm still very much not over it) Quaranthings (7/8 Episodes, (Airing Currently), Youtube): follows the friendship of two boys, and the love that will blossom between them while on community quarantine. Roommates to Lovers Trope. I'm really enjoying this drama even though it makes me want to bang my head on the wall, Judah's character irritates me (also in the minority here). GAYA SA PELIKULA aka Like in the Movies (5/8 Episodes, (Airing Currently), Youtube):  tells us about Karl, a 19-year-old recluse architecture student in the middle of an identity crisis and his new roommate. This just started so I don't have much thoughts about this one so far, but it's been decent.

I have other BL’s I would include but I wasn’t sure if you’ve already seen them (Skam, Yuri on Ice, american BL’s Etc.) I also plan on doing a post about Thai BL’s but there’s to many to include on this post.