#2022 bl round up

[absolutebl]

BL trope du jour 2022

Feeding The Boy 

Pictured above: My Only 12%, Love in the Air (x2), Big Dragon, Check Out, The Eclipse, Love Mechanics, Enchante. 

Funny 2gether call back from SIMM? 

Star in My Mind (the lap feed is their thing) 

You’re My Sky (SanAei my babies) 

Cupid’s Last Wish 

Meow Ears Up 

Possibly one of Thailand’s favorite tropes but it shows up in lost of other BL too. 

OUTSIDE THAILAND 

I told you My Esport Genius Brother was a lot gayer than we had a right to expect from China (this is from 2021) 

Poor Shin (Minato’s Laundromat) 

Plus & Minus

DNA Says Love You (x2) 

Blue of Winter

Kpop’s OnlyOneOf doing their thing. 

Kings of the Trope 2022? Vice Versa 

New variation “the share my spigot”. Sounds dirty. 

[halliescomut]

2022 BL opinions

Now...I suppose I'm decently new to BLs, not the general concept, but I've only been super actively engaged in watching eastern BLs for about a year...I think I started around February, but I can't be sure. I can be sure that I started with Gameboys, and I still adore that show. Anyway....someone here (if I can find the post I'll tag it in edits) shared a chart for you to put your opinions on...and I love to share my fully subjective opinions....so this is a scatter graph of all of the eastern BLs I watched in 2022. This is NOT limited to ones that came out in 2022. It includes anything I fully finished before posting this, so Remember Me is included even though it's last few eps were in 2023. So here you go...

I know everything is super tiny, sorry about that...so I've also included my excel sheet:

Now, for some caveats! When marking technical quality, 90 % of that grade is behind the camera, it's writing, it's sets/ production design, costumes, storyline/plot, all of that. Actor skill can improve quality...good actors can elevate a poor script, so it may add points, but 'poor acting' doesn't take them away for me. Anything that I found to be just mid as far as production value started at one, then points were added or deducted based on good plots, quality writing, costuming, etc.

I am honestly super easy to please as far as enjoyment, there's very few things I just flat out dislike, and if I did...I didn't finish the show, so it won't be here. I tried to be kind of harsh here, because if I wasn't then almost everything was going to be 7 or above. Mid for me is 0, if it's positive I liked it, if it went into the negatives that's something I don't necessarily regret watching, but I definitely won't be recommending. If it got above a 5, that's something that's going to get recommended, and it's also something likely to get a re-watch.

In terms of shows that are known to be problematic as far as themes...I'm generally not here to yuck someone's yum, these shows get made because there's an audience. If it had story elements that reduced my enjoyment that obviously does deduct points. But I'm also not going to find some things as disagreeable as someone else might. I also try my best to be cognizant that these shows have a long history in their respective cultures and there are tropes or common story points that either are problematic, or can be problematic. So when I'm watching I'm trying to take these shows as they are, not viewing them solely through a western lens. That being said there are some tropes that I have no issues with that many other BL fans absolutely despise.

[hotjaneaustenmenpoll]

Welcome to the HOT JANE AUSTEN MEN bracket! We have just finished voting on all the HOTTEST Jane Austen Gentlemen and Rakes from all the many TV and Film Jane Austen Adaptations.

After nearly two months of voting we have our Winner! Thank you everyone for taking part and all your propaganda I will be taking a little break for a while but look out for more polls in the future...

All polls—including ongoing polls, previous rounds,mini ask polls—can be found in the #hotjaneaustenmenpoll tag. Every poll in the Hot Jane Austen Men Tournament is tagged with the hot regency man and the year his adaptation was made if you need to search for a hot man in particular.

FAQs:

“Where is [my favorite Jane Austen man]?” Have you checked all the polls in the tag? Have you done a tag search for him? Only some of the actors are tagged but if you search for his adaptation and the year he was in it you should find him! If you still haven’t found him, he probably isn't in this poll.

“WHERE ARE THE HOT JANE AUSTEN MEN. I want to see all the hot men competing in one place! -

The Final

Third Place Poll

Semi-Finals Master List!

Quarter-Finals Master List!

Round Three Master List!

Round Two Master List!

Round One Master List!

“Who is included on this list?” We started with 64 opponents readied their duelling pistols to defend their own hotness but only 8 remain! I included men from Pride and Prejudice 1940/1995/2005, Sense and Sensibility 1971/1995/2008, Emma 1996/1996/2009/2020, Northanger Abbey 2007, Persuasion 1995/2007/2022 and Mansfield Park 1983/ 1999/2007 as well as a couple from Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, one from Sanditon and one from Love and Friendship/Lady Susan. Most are the main hero/anti-heroes but there are a few others scattered in too.

Have you included Spin Offs ?”  The only strictly none Jane Austen adaptation I've included men from is Pride and Prejudice and Zombies because it is set in the correct time period, the characters are basically the same in terms of personality and I thought the casting was great! In terms of Sandition, Sidney Parker is the only man I have entered as he is mentioned in the book as well as the TV so sadly as much as I love the other Sanditon Men they aren't included!

"Can I submit hot Jane Austen men?”  Submissions are now closed! But my ask is still open for propaganda...

“I have additional propaganda for the hot men!” Great! Send me an ask, tag me in gifsets, fancams etc or reblog the poll and add your propaganda to it. Also feel free to send in any book propaganda!! I'll try to boost as much propaganda as possible

WHy is the propaganda so uneven on this poll? To stay impartial I only add propaganda to the main poll that has been sent in before each round's polls open. If you submit any after then I will reblog or post and add to the winner's propaganda in the next poll. If it's uneven it's because you never sent any in, not because I'm being biased.

"How have you paired up the men ?" I did start to try and vaguely seed the men but I will be honest I did get a bit slap dash towards the end which means a couple of the match-ups are maybe a bit too even but fun I hope!

If you’re submitting propaganda for your hot man, I don’t accept propaganda that is of the actor outside of their Specific Jane Austen Adaptation but I do accept propaganda from them in their respective books. I would love to be tagged in gifsets and fancams, and I'd like to boost propaganda that tells us why your Jane Austen man is your favourite :)

I won’t post or boost negative propaganda. If you really hate that a certain hot man is winning, send me positive propaganda for their hot opponent. I may make exceptions if your propaganda is of another Austen character bad mouthing him though...

If I see repetitive, trolling, and/or bigoted remarks in the comments, I may block you from this bracket. If you want to point out a hot man’s flaws or misdemeanors, that’s fine, but if I see consistent bad-faith trolling, you will be blocked.

On that note—if you have an issue with a poll, offer a solution! I'll do my best to keep the poll happy and fun, and I'll block people being dicks. If you don’t like a poll photo or a description, offer one I can use instead.

“My FAQ isn’t on here :(” send me an ask! I'd love to hear from you guys—just please check these basics first.

Thank you for being here! Enjoy the tournament.

And Thank You @hotvintagepoll for the inspiration!

[twig-tea]

2023 BL/GL/QL Round-Up Post

I thought for posterity I'd post a reflection on everything I watched that completed in 2023. For me, that means anything that started in 2022 but the last episode was in 2023 is on this list, but anything that will still be airing after 31 December 2023 11:59 my time (EST) is not on this list, even if the bulk of the show did air in 2023.

A few stats:

110 discrete pieces of content (series/films)

clocking in at est. 600 hours of NEW BL/GL content only

from 9 different countries (Cambodia [1], Philippines [3], Hong Kong [1], Japan [18], Korea [19], Myanmar [1], Taiwan [6], Thailand [56], Vietnam [7])

~50% of the content I watched on this list is from Thailand

~85% of my content was on YouTube [40%], GaGaOoLaLa [23%] and iQIYI [21%].

[Note that this year a lot of older GMMTV shows moved off of YouTube and onto Viki so if you're looking at these stats to decide what to pay for, this won't account for that.]

This doesn't include re-watches or catching up on old shows [e.g. I re-watched Love Sick, My Ride the Series, Semantic Error, ITSAY/IPYTM, Our Dating Sim at least 3 times lol, and anything with a s2 I re-watched s1 to prep, among others, watched Fujoshi Ukkari Gei no Kokuru (2019) for the first time] or non-QL [e.g. Heartstopper s2, Our Flag Means Death s2, Taskmaster s. 15 & 16, Uncanny Counter s2, One Piece s1, etc.] but does include films as well as shows, though I don't count special episodes separately (so Wedding Plan counts once, though I watched both the show and the special).

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 20 Shows I'd Recommend From This Year:

Moonlight Chicken

Our Dating Sim

Bed Friend

The Eighth Sense

La Pluie

Sing My Crush

Tokyo in April Is...

Wedding Plan

Laws of Attraction

I Cannot Reach You

I Feel You Linger in the Air

What Did You Eat Yesterday S2

I Became the Lead in a BL Drama

If It's With You

Love in Translation

Our Dining Table

My Personal Weatherman

My Beautiful Man: Eternal

My School President

Be My Favorite

+10 I liked but I would only recommend with caveats:

Love Class 2

The New Employee [for the Rainbow Rice Cakes]

Let's Eat Together Aki and Haru

Never Let Me Go

Kiseki: Dear to Me

Unintentional Love Story

The Day I Loved You

End of the World with You

A Breeze of Love

Jack O'Frost

Bonus: Not a BL but worth calling out:

One Room Angel

Midnight Museum

Grand Guignol

The Warp Effect

Sadly, of the GLs that aired this year, I wouldn't recommend any of them. The best one was Show Me Love, which was not actually good but had very gorgeous women and a LOT of flirting.

The other huge thing that happened this year was that I stopped lurking! Thanks specifically to @lurkingshan and @bengiyo demanding everyone start talking about La Pluie, because they got me to post my first meta post. And because I started actually talking to people, I started making actual friends, and participated in organizing things like the Be My Favorite clown checkpoint for ep 11. I also disappeared a month because of life, and am still catching up on everything I intended to write this year. But it's been really rewarding finding this corner of tumblr with likeminded people who like good shows, like to think about these shows, and who are interested in talking about them in a way that's insightful and respectful.

It's been a long time since I felt comfortable enough participating actively in a fandom, and I just want to say to everyone I've interacted with this year: Thank you!

Full list under the cut for anyone curious! [Mostly in order it aired but may be slightly off].

Love Bill

Director Who Buys Me Dinner, The

Star Always Follow You, The

Cutie Pie 2 You

Between Us the Series (Hemp Rope)

Reason Why He Fell in Love with Me Special & S2 [international release]

New Employee, The

I Will Hit You/I Will Knock You

Individual Circumstances

609 Bedtime Story

GAPYuri / GAP the series

My School President

HitBiteLove the Series

Never Let Me Go

Moonlight Chicken

History 5: Love in the Future

Oh My God (ToDo) the Series

Warp Effect, The

End of the World, With You

My Blessing the Series

Our Winter (miniseries)

All the Liquors

Once in Memory: Let Me Be Yours

Shoulder to Cry On, A

Jack O'Frost

Our Dating Sim

Midnight Museum

Me, My Husband, and My Husband's Boyfriend

My Colleague at BL Shop might be My Meant-to-Be

Unintentional Love Story

Chains of Heart

Bed Friend the series

Bad Brother the Series

Stormy Honeymoon

Eighth Sense, the

Bad Brother the Series

Future Series

Tin Tam Jai the series

Crush on You

House of Stars the Series

Happy Merry Ending

Boss and a Babe, A

Pastsenger the Series

Love Mate

Love Syndrome the Series

Promise the Series, The

Day I Loved You, The

Our Dining Table (Bokura no Shokutaku)

Our Skyy 2

My Story the Series

Starstruck

Love Tractor

Naked Dining

Luminous Solution, The

Omai Series / Is My Roommate A Foreigner

Stupid Genius

Step By Step

La Pluie the series

Tie the Not

Sing My Crush / Follow the Wind

Tokyo in April Is .../ Shigatsu no Tokyo wa

Senior Love Me?

Be My Favorite

Show Me Love

Dinosaur Love

Low Frequency

Stay Still

Stay By My Side

Jun & Jun

Wedding Plan the Series

Laws of Attraction, the

Love Class s2

Minato's Laundromat S2

Hidden Agenda

Bon Appetit

Why RU the Series [Korean adaptation]

Be Mine Superstar

Star, The Season 2

Love In Translation

My Beautiful Man: Eternal

My Personal Weatherman

Bump Up Business

Naughty Babe Series

Only Friends

Grand Guignol

Dangerous Romance

If It's With You / Kimi to Nara Koi wo Shite Mite Mo

Y Journey: Stay Like a Local

I Feel You Linger in the Air

Venus in the Sky

Kiseki: Dear to Me

I Cannot Reach You

You Are Mine

Breeze of Love / Weather Forecast of Love

Mr. Cinderella 2

Let's Eat Together Aki and Haru

One Room Angel

Marry My Dead Body

Lucky My Love the Series

Pure Vanilla: Recipe for Romance

Absolute Zero

Memories, The

My Dear Gangster Oppa

Shadow

What Did You Eat Yesterday? S2

Middleman Love

Beyond the Star

Bake Me Please

You and My Stars

I Became the Lead in a BL Drama

[waitmyturtles]

SUNDAY SHOW ROUND-UP!

Goddamn -- there are so many shows! The holiday season and many life obligations are preventing me from writing meta about most of these shows except for the big priorities (my Old GMMTV Challenge project and Last Twilight). So here's a quick round-up of what I'm thinking, feeling, etc., about the dramas I have going on.

1) CHERRY MAGIC THAILAND IS DELIGHTFUL AND FULFILLING TO MY SOUL AND LIFE

I've mentioned before! I'm a HUUUUUGE Cherry Magic Japan girlie. I am a major defender of the movie, AMA. When I joined Tumblr last year, besides Old Fashion Cupcake, Cherry Magic was....I think it was the first gigantic rabbithole I fell in. I love, unabashedly, everything about this franchise, and I think TayNew are carrying it splendidly so far. (Also, the original mangaka of the whole Cherry Magic franchise, Toyota Yuu, is 100% on board with the adaptation and is regularly tweeting about it, and just! COULD THAT BE MORE CUTE AND REASSURING FOR US CM GIRLIES, NO I DON'T THINK SO, BIG HAPPY SIGHS.)

So the original manga exists in the Cherry Magic Thailand universe, huh? I'm gonna admit my unreasonable optimism to say that I am not-so-secretly hoping for a Machida Keita/Akaso Eiji/Kurosawa/Adachi cameo -- but the manga existing in this universe jags that up a bit.

BUT! Toyokawa still exists in the universe... so does that mean that Kurosawa/Adachi do, too? I'M NOT GOING THERE, BUT I AM.

ANYWAY! I noted last month that I really appreciated seeing a lot of Japan in the Cherry Magic trailer -- "Karan-san," Karan speaking Japanese, "san juu," the fact that Toyokawa is still the company that all these guys are working for. But I also love the very overt Thai visuals -- the Buddha in Achi's apartment foreground, the offering to the monk (which replaces the onigiri guy in Cherry Magic Japan, lmao) -- I'm just, covering my mouth in happiness at noting that these details are very well-placed, and very intentional.

That's it, I enjoyed every last second of this first episode in total joy of seeing this Thai remix. With X Nuttapong behind this show -- yes, oh yes, I loved seeing literally the phrase "theory of love" in the subtitles, and good on him for going there a bit.

2) An Old GMMTV Challenge update! So, I interrupted the OGMMTVC to catch up with La Pluie, because I know LP will be on a lot of best-of-2023 lists later this month.

By episode 4 or so, I knew La Pluie had to, HAD TO, go on the OGMMTVC syllabus, so on it went. And I'm going to pause on writing about it out of chronology. I'm watching Secret Crush on You (2022) now, I'll do my watchlist thing, and I'll rewatch LP.

La Pluie was a motherfucking important show.

The subversion of the romance genre in Thai BL. I mean. Give me a mallet to crack the gigantic egg on that on. @lurkingshan's La Pluie meta round-up post has been a walking stick for me as I've stumbled to get my thoughts together around this show, and honestly, I'm not ready to write about it yet. I need to finish 2022's shows on the watchlist and get through some important 2023 rewatches to fully write about La Pluie in its context, and to understand how such an important show came about this year by way of the straightforward honesty it took in dismantling and rebuilding some very key expectations that we may have carried about romance in Thai BL before its airing.

If you haven't watched La Pluie yet, do it before this year is over. DO IT. IT'S INCREDIBLE AND SO MUCH.

3) Playboyy, episode 4: I have a lot of thoughts, and no time to write about this show, but episode 4 was really different than the first three. It was CAMPY AF, way melodramatic (wtf Zooey/Soong), but it also had many more nuggets of a plot than I had expected to see by way of Nont finally revealing himself to WAY more people than I had expected. I'm sticking with it with the expectation that Cheewin will know how to get himself out of this mess, BUT, one huge criticism -- the intimacy is getting harder to watch, because it's being lazily acted and filmed (..... you had y'alls' shorts on, Prom/Nont, ahem), and it's just a lot, and can we just, like, get more to the story, I'm gonna put that in the show's request box.

Clown theory: I think Prom knows more than he's letting on and is using Nont in some bad ways to get back at those other dudes for leaving Playboyy. But I'm trying to not get invested-invested because a) still sooooo many names to remember, GOD, and b) soooo many shows airing, my brain can't take it.

4) The Sign: I'm putting this guy on pause. I heard yesterday's episode was 90 minutes, and I can't commit to a weekend show that needs that kind of time commitment. I'm following y'all in the gifs. This is no knock on BillyBabe. I REALLY LIKE THEM TOGETHER. GO SAINT, I LOVE YOU, I LOVE YOU. But I'll watch this when there's a lull in the midseasons.

5) What Did You Eat Yesterday?: WDYEY and Last Twilight are the best shows airing right now. When a show is so good, it doesn't need meta? That's WDYEY. Nishijima’s quiet “hai” to start the conversation with Kenji’s mom? Some of the best acting in all of BL.

The amazing @isaksbestpillow threw down some clutch background about this past Friday's episode that's WELL worth reading, about chosen family and what Kenji's family was offering to Shiro. Gorgeous, screaming, crying, etc.

That's all I got, happy Sunday, y'all! The OGMMTVC will come back with SCOY when I wrap it up, hopefully soon!

[lurkingteapot]

2023 post round-up/summary

Lovely @twig-tea tagged me here, so I'll try my hand.

I'd abandoned tumblr for about 4? 5? years 2016ish through 2020, had a short stint with it again in 2020, took peeks and vehemently disagreed with much of what I saw in 2021-2022, and grudgingly settled back in in 2023. I wasn't going to interact. I wasn't.

Jan-April: *crickets* I was being strong!

Then, I saw people moaning about how they'd learn Thai if only it was on Duolingo, and you know how spite can be funnelled into positivity? I did that! Result:

May

Popular: Free Thai Language Learning Resources, most popular by a landslide. This pleases me greatly, as I put a lot of work into it and always hope more people start picking up this language.

Favourite: maybe my thoughts on Ming, piggybacking off @kenmakaashi's post?

June

Popular: my musings on translation and how it relates to fannish reception of media, which was my most popular post of the year and 'broke containment', if only in a very small way. Some of the additions in the tags and reblogs are fantastic, do go have a look if you like!

Favourite: toss-up between my attempt at showing a parallel between a silly moment in Our Skyy 2 x BBS and a scrapped shot from BBS proper and this rant about Romanisations of Thai and why G**gle translate is the devil (that bit is in the conversation downthread), which let me meet @plantsarepeopletoo.

July

Popular: Summary of James Welker's 2006 essay "Beautiful, Borrowed, and Bent: “Boys’ Love” as Girls’ Love in Shōjo Manga"

Favourite: the offerings are slim here … let's go with the one in which I once more was salty about the way folks talk about BL

August

Popular: Only Friends' Ray isn't just The Drunkard, but also The One Who's basically Given Up On Himself, as per his title card (this one was so popular it got stolen and reposted – without credit or permission – to twitter 🙃)

Favourite: Thinking about Drama, the Romance genre, and tropes, and how those relate to our perception of BL (good additions from various folks in the notes; conversation with @visualtaehyun in reblogs and @twig-tea in the replies).

September

Popular: IFYLITA Ep 6 poem context notes

Favourite: toss-up between complaining about badly machine translated content in Love in Translation and musing on the name of Khun Yai's favourite bar

October

Popular: my long-winded answer to @zimmbzon's ask "Hi, how would a non-binary person (me) get around the binary gender rules and vocab in Thai?"

Favourite: uhhh … maybe my musings on honorific translations in kimi ni wa todokanai? (yes, technically a reblog from sideblog, shh)

November

Popular: most popular was this throwaway therapy vent containing food for thought and while I guess this meme is mostly fannish I'm linking it anyway because it's my blog and I'll cry if I want to (or something)

Favourite: when I called out the resemblance between the Last Twilight trailer and Intouchables (2011). Literally no one cared, but then @my-rose-tinted-glasses independently came in strong with receipts as soon as the actual first episode aired and made me feel validated af.

December

Popular: Why I'm pretty sure Last Twilight's "fried rice/false rice" joke was funnier in Thai

Favourite: the saga of the songs in Ep 4 of Last Twilight

I didn't do any round-up posts, but I'll include the other category @twig-tea added:

Five other posts that I want to highlight because I can:

BL Favourites Tag Game (July 2023)

Link to fujoshi.info with information on WHY you should check out that site if you're interested in having an informed opinion on BL and the genre's history.

contemporary issues in Thailand as mentioned in Only Friends ep 1

Thoughts on code-switching in Step by Step

Reply to @mynameisnotthepoint's comment-via-ask on my anti viki rant

I'm not going to tag anyone because I'm completely lost – I was mostly off tumblr for nearly three weeks; if you made a post like this you'd like me to see, please link me/tag me! <3

[gothicbarbie]

MY TOP 15 BL SERIES OF 2021

I did one of these for 2022, so figured I should do one for 2021, 2020 and then one for the shows before that. I started watching Bls seriously at the start of 2021, and its been such a fun journey. These lists are probably more so for me than anything else but maybe someone will find them helpful when trying to decide which ones to check out... let me know what your favs are!

1. We Best Love [Taiwan] - To date, my favorite BL series thus far. IMO it really has everything. Great premise and storyline, great acting and dialogue, and amazing chemistry between the main two, plus decent enough intimate scenes and kisses. It really ticks all the boxes for me. Plus, I love a good rivals to lovers storyline and samyu are pretty darn sweet.

2. Utsukushii Kare [Japan] - This one is a bit messy and there are definitely some problematic elements, but gosh, it's so entertaining. From start to finish I was hooked into the storyline and the relationship betwene the main two. And I think it was a well-rounded story with a good ending, so it left me pretty satisfied. For a Japan series too, it had a nice kising scene in the finale.

3. Light on Me [Korea] - Adore this series, and finally we get a longer Korean BL. The main characters were adorable, and the show was light enough and funny but had some good drama as well. Not the best kissing scenes ever but the main two's chemistry made up for it imo. Very sweet series.

4. To My Star [Korea] - This one took a few watches to grow on me but in hindsight its one of the better BL's out there (lets not talk about season 2)... the storyline was fun and it was one of the first Korean BL's that I watched, so it was a good one to start on! Korea goes unmatched for me with their BL's.

5. Kieta Hatsukoi [Japan] - Not a lot to say about this one tbh, I would have to rewatch to really give some better insight but I remember really enjoying this one. Japan BL's can tend to be a bit dramatic and sometimes a bit dark, but this one was so light and fluffy. It was a nice change of pace.

6. Don't Say No [Thai] - Okay, storyline wise, this BL kind of dragged for me. I didn't find the premise overly interesting. HOWEVER, Jafirst and their chemistry really made up for it. It's obvious how comfortable they are and their kissing scenes were one of the best scenes from this year. (We won't bring up THAT scene with FIAT in episode 2 (or was it 1?) because I lost my brain there.) But yeah, we'll just say this series was very enjoyable haha.

7. HiStory 4 [Taiwan] - This was a solid season. Not the best the series has ever done but I love that each season is different. The brothers storyline was a hot frickin mess but the main pairing was cute. Overall, I just found it very enjoyable.

8. Peach of Time [Korean] - Is this Korean or Thai? Not really sure, but it was a cute season that felt like a bit of both worlds. Not the most amazing chemstry or storyline of all time but it was sweet and interesting to watch. It had a certain charm to it.

9. You Make Me Dance [Korean] - It's hard to find a korean bl I dislike. And while this one is not that memorable compared to some others, it was still a nice watch.

10. Tale of a Thousand Stars [Thai] - People go crazy for earth+mix... they aren't really my cup of tea. Nothing against them, they are sweet, I just dont go crazy for them. The setting wasn't really my thing either but I did like the energy between the characters and all their cute moments and scenes, so it kept me entertained. Wished they had a better last kiss though.

11. Lovely Writer [Thai] - Found parts of this boring and the storyline didn't really hold my interest all that much but I did enjoy the scenes between the couples. I wish the side "pairing" had gotten more focus cuz that kiss on the street was great! But it was nice.

12. I Promised You the Moon/I Told Sunset About You part 2 [Thai] - Part 2 was nothing compared to season 1 at all. Season 1 imo was masterpeice and season 2 was just like a typical bl series imo. I hate cheating storylines so this series made me pretty mad haha but it wasn't UNWATCHABLE and I still liked the chemistry between the main 2.

13. Nobleman Ryu's Wedding [Korean] - The time setting wasn't really for me, but it was a cute and fun series. Not much else to say!

14. Fish Upon the Sky [Thai] - TBH I don't remember a WHOLE lot from this series and am planning to rewatch for pondphuwin, but I do remember enjoying it.

15. The Tasty Florida [Korean] - Again, can't go wrong with SK for me. But, compared to the other Korean series, this one wasn't AS good. Still enjoyable.

Honorable mentions: (Won't go into detail on these, but overall I found all of them nice and pleasant to watch, but they didn't grab me in the same way as some other series.

BxJ Series - (still have yet to see it but I did enjoy season 1), Bad Buddy - (watched a reactor watch this so technically couldn't add it to my list, but will try to watch it eventually), Be Loved in House I Do, Tinted With You, My Sweet Dear, The Man Who Defies the World of BL, The Novelist, Behind Cut, Stuck on You

Also check out my lists from other years! https://gothicbarbie.tumblr.com/post/705678223200174080/my-top-bls-of-2019-and-earlier https://gothicbarbie.tumblr.com/post/705674738528354304/my-top-15-bls-of-2020 https://gothicbarbie.tumblr.com/post/705139242020618240/my-top-20-bl-series-of-2022

[mel0000]

My top BL-Series Of 2022

Hello my fellow Bl-fans. The girls/ gays and theys obviously won this year, so let’s look back on our blessings 😃

I’m not spoiling anything or I’m trying not to, let’s go 🚶🏻‍♀️

1. KinnPorsche

This doesn‘t come surprising, does it? I remember how I lived week to week back then and the mafia topic was still kind of new and oh so exciting. Enough sexyness, earnestness and humour gave this series a well rounded outcome. There were still holes in the plot here and there but where weren‘t any this year? Let‘s move on. (Waiting for season 2)

2. Semantic Error

My god, these two held me by my throat in the beginning of this year, you couldn‘t help but immediately fall in love with them. It was a successful series and I hope Jaechan and Seoham will do another project in the future, but I don’t think so as of now.

3. Young Royals 2

Another Wilmon gold piece produced, which plot went smooth and showed progress over the episodes. It’s still very short for such an amazing piece and I miss Wilmon almost all of the time, but I‘ll gladly wait for season 3.

4. The Eclipse

The portraying of strong queers went WILD with this one. How Akk got weak in the knees because of Ayan had me gushing over them every week. The plot is lacking a little tho since some points weren’t finished/ worked on properly and Thua..no, just no. Neo looked so dann handsome in his role though and did such a good job with Louis!

5. Between Us

It‘s not finished yet and the plot seems to move too slow atm, but boy, Win is the consent king of this year and is doing the work for every bl character this year that couldn’t do the bare minimum. *COUGH*LITA*COUGH*

We also got a P‘Deeaan~ and the UWMA throwback is nice and so well done from this perspective.

6. Cutie Pie

Nunew and Zee feeding the sub bottom/ dom top fetish/ height difference fetish well 😂 I didn’t like the bff side couple that much and sometimes the corny plot was too much, but the acting was well done.

7. My School President

I can’t believe either that this is in my list already BUT IT IS MAKING ME FEEL THINGS THAT COME CLOSE TO THE THINGS I FELT WHILE WATCHING BAD BUDDY. It is super cute now, not like you think at the beginning and I can’t wait for a new episode. The fandom posts here on Tumblr are also 😘👌🏻

8. Never Let Me Go

This one is also here already. Can’t say much except for the acting that has improved for both Pond and especially Phuwin, my little guy grew up.

9. Blueming

One of the best k-bls this year, hands down. Story, aesthetics, just everything.

10. 180 Degrees Longitude Passes Through Us

"You ask me what I‘m thinking about, I tell you that I’m thinking about whatever you’re thinking about“ it’s DADDY ISSUES, everyone! We all needed a series like this. It was slow-paced and kind of clickbait, but the aesthetic shots made up for that. Nothing made up for the one of a hell annoying mother tho. I also didn’t know any of the actors before even though they seem quite famous.

Very honorable mentions:

Plus And Minus (best Taiwanese bl, still not over the cameo)

Star In My Mind (the Joong-flavour)

My Only 12% (good worked out plot, good acting, angsty season)

Enchanté (the end omg 🤦🏻‍♀️, Force is one handsome dude)

Old Fashion Cupcake & Mr. Unlucky Has No Choice (best of Japan this year)

My Secret Love (preferred the second couple)

Cherry Magic The Movie (😍 I missed them and WEDDIIIIING)

Big Dragon (…they could improve the plot for season 2)

Love Mechanics (the kinda non-con at the end turned me off and it wasn’t my favourite story to begin with)

Eternal Yesterday (I should‘ve watched the trailer, I didn’t expect THAT 😂 but it was still good)

To My Star 2 (at first I thought we didn’t need the angst, but we kind of did)

Vice Versa (good story, mediocre acting, not my favorite couple except for the lesbians 😏)

Cupid’s Last Wish (…we didn’t need that, but EarthMix we did)

Kissable lips (I’m happy that the actors still work together, but it was mediocre)

About Youth (can’t remember anything, but it was good 😶)

My Tooth Your Love (cute and the couples slayed)

Magic Of Zero (🥹 EarthMix and MilkLove)

Secret Crush On You (super corny and mediocre acting, but the topics they handled and how they handled them!! Rare occasion)

The Tuxedo (pretty actors and an okay plot)

The Miracle Of Teddy Bear (not my cup of tea, but I’m happy it was kinda famous in Thailand)

Not so honorable mentions:

Minato’s Laundromat (did turn me off and also non-con)

A Man Who Defies The World Of BL 2 (it was probably decent, but I can’t remember one second of it 😫, I’m getting old)

Ocean Likes Me (cute and HOLLAND💓💓💓💓💗 but we didn’t need that)

Cherry Blossoms After Winter (the non-con destroyed it)

Our Days (I don’t know what the person ate that made the plot go this way)

Check Out (we all know why this is here, I can watch porn instead, thanks)

Close Friend 2 (oh we didn’t need that as well)

Love In The Air (kinda non-con and Mame can’t live without rape in a plot, sorry not sorry)

Oh!My Sunshine Night ( I started this series and stopped after two episodes since it was boring, sorry OhmFluke)

War Of Y (started off good, but went downhill pretty fast. Been skipping the last few weeks through the episodes)

Love Victor 3 (not sure where to put this honestly. I loved 1&2, but this was a back and forth, which is normal for teenagers, but I think this wasn’t it for me)

Mr. Cinderella (finally a Vietnamese bl, but not my cup of tea)

Heartstopper (kinda overhyped, plot didn’t get me, boring 😶)

Note at the end: Look how far we’ve come! It’s sad bl’s with lots of sex scenes get the most attention, I recommend everyone to just watch porn if you’re thinking a series/ movie is bad/ not enough because there is not enough bed sports displayed. If you’re an adult, you must know there are relationships that aren’t only in for the sex. (Since I’ve seen enough people saying you’re not a couple when you’re not having sex, BULLSHIT YOU F***ING CHILDREN)

Thanks for coming to my rant. Let’s hope for a better 2023!

[lollipopsub]

~ getting to know your BL mutuals ~ 

I was tagged by @leonpob so lessgo

I’ve been stressed about this for days cause I need to make the RIGHT choices?????!

rules: answer the questions and @ some people. include the tag 'g2ky BL mutuals 2022' on your post so we can find everyone's answer.

what have been the BLs that took you by surprise this year?

I think I was the most surprised by Eternal Yesterday. I went into it expecting something more along the lines of Senpai, This Can't Be Love or Kabe Koji, which is kind of slapstick, lighthearted and not too intellectually challenging, but boy was I proven wrong. The show manages to take a ridiculous premise and turn it into a well-written, well acted story that is probably going to break my heart (at the moment the final episode is yet to air...)

what have been the BLs that you felt a bit a lot disappointed with this year?

Sing In Love.

I was excited about a grittier plot and a new Japanese production, but it just made me uncomfortable and I did not want to finish it.

Cherry Magic The Movie also felt like a letdown. It just bored me, honestly.

what has been your favorite BL this year?

omg i looked up a list to see which ones were from this year, and it was like 5 Japanese, 5 Korean, 5 Taiwanese and then 60 billion Thai😂

I think my favorites are Old Fashion Cupcake and Eternal Yesterday.

Old Fashion Cupcake is everything I wanted in a good drama; good pacing, relationships between characters that make sense, believable character behavior and good acting and also really hot actors.

Eternal Yesterday has just absolutely overwhelmed me. I am a sucker for melancholic stories (to the surprise of literally no one), and the way Japanese dramas manage to wrap up some quite profound thoughts about the world and what it means to be a human is something I really adore.

In Episode 6 when Koichi asks if it's impossible for the people you love to be tied in the same place; for two people to be equally important to and loved by you. Or Episode one, where Mitsuru says it's not that Koichi broke down his wall, but he opened a door through it.

I really thought about adding More Than Words to the list, but I feel like it shouldn't really be grouped into the BL-genre. I still feel like the frames of the genre are limiting many aspects of film-making and storytelling, and that it's more an LGBT+ story than a BL drama.

favorite BL couples (not just of 2022)?

BounPrem and YinWar I think. Now that Prem has gone independent, I just want him to drag Boun with him to Yin and War to create a Supreme Company for Hot People™ and to actually make the YinWar Concert Trailers into a really hot show.

Especially War is an absolutely incredible actor, so I just really hope the two of them will get some interesting projects in the coming year!

what's your non-BL favorite this year?

Silent.

No doubt, no question. It's so good. Everyone and their grandmother should watch it pls.

.... Oh wow I am really biased, huh? 😬😬

I didn't intend for every show on here to be Japanese, I just think the Japanese shows I'm mentioning are a lot more well-rounded than the Korean and Thai and Taiwanese counterparts that I've seen this year. I am intrigued by how Korea seems to be branching out more and embracing the genre not as adaptations of fictional stories, but as stories about people. I just feel like the genre is so old in Japanese medias that they're a step ahead and I like how the Japanese shows are carried by the stories of the characters and their little lives rather than some large, daunting outer factor.

I want to tag a lot of people but I am an awkward turtle so I don't have a lot of people to tag. I hope it's ok to tag @storge and @chaeunwoo 🥺

[absolutebl]

BL trope du jour 

lying with his head in his lap 2022 

Pictured above: To My Star 2, Choco Milk Shake, Cherry Blossoms After Winter, DNA Says Love You (2x), Plus and Minus, Want to See You, The Eclipse, KinnPorsche.

This is one that is increasingly popular even outside of Thailand. The source BL for this one is Takumi-Kun, one of the first to put it on screen in a highly iconic moment of yaoi genius. 

I’m a fan it’s very sweet and domestic

Here’s more!

Cupid’s Last Wish 

La Cuisine 

Triage

Vice Versa (switches!) 

Coffee Melody 

Enchante 

Meow Ears Up

Secret Crush On You

Star in My Mind

Unforgotten Night

Work From Heart 

And the Kpop edition

OnlyOneOfCourse 

NCT Dream 

[lovelynim]

TickleTober 2022/Day 05 - Punishment

Sasaki to Miyano - Hirano & Sasaki

Sasaki flinched just by hearing his classmate sighing. He could feel Hirano’s anger without even looking up to him. However, he didn’t have a pinch of regret for his ‘crime’. In fact, he would do it as many times as possible if given the chance.

He and Miyano were talking about a BL manga that was going on around the younger’s head for a while and that a new volume had just been released. In the whole rant about how good and charming the story was, Miyano started describing a scene that made his heartbeat rise.

“So, the protagonist was starting to break up a fight with his friend because of the game they lost, right?”

“Mhm, I remembered reading that,” Sasaki answered, more amused with how cute Miyano looked talking about it than the topic itself, “but what happened next?”

“He was really mad about it! Shouting things like ‘it’s your fault!’ and ‘I will never play with you again’ while threatening to leave. But! When he pushed the door open, his friend grabbed him by his wrist and pulled him into the wall,” Miyano cheered as if he was some fanatic fan at the last round of a competition.

“Oh, didn’t that hurt though?” Sasaki giggled, tilting his head.

“Ah, I mean, he looked a bit stunned at first, but before he could react, bam, his friend trapped him against the wall!”

“Hmm…”

“What is it, Sasaki-senpai?”

“I’m trying to visualize the scene, but it’s a bit hard without the actual panels.”

“Oh, well, I could len-” He stopped talking the moment he saw Sasaki walking up to him, using his arm to support himself as he towered over Miyano, “s-senpai?”

“So, he did like this, Miya-chan?” He whispered in a lower voice tone, gazing down to the boy under him. 

“A-ahm… I thin-”

“Get off him, you idiot!” Hirato barked, interrupting the scene as he grabbed Sasaki by his shirt collar.

And after a very flustering round of messy explanations, Miyano could finally go back home. Sasaki, however, was kept together with a very upset Hirano in the student council room.

The ginger was leaning at the window, watching as Miyano walked out of school while Hirano nagged at him. At some point, the blonde realized he was talking to the walls and gave a weak hit on top of Sasaki’s head.

“Did you listen to what I just said?”

“W-well…”

“I should really beat you up, you know,” Hirano sighed, crossing his arms in front of his chest.  “Aren’t you going to at least try to defend yourself?”

“Would I stand a chance if I did?”

“No.”

“Ehe…” He laughed nervously, scratching his cheek.

“Do you think this is funny?!” Hirano hissed, poking Sasaki’s side to call the boy’s attention, but earning a huge flinch instead. “What was that?”

“W-what was what?”

“That. What you just did when I poked yo-” and before he could repeat the action, Sasaki’s shaky hand grabbed his wrist. “Oh. I get it.”

Something on his face must have given it away, because the first thing the little ‘troublemaker’ tried to do was run away, but Hirano caught up to him with ease, tackling him to the ground before straddling his back.

“Hirano, w-wait, let’s tahahalk- ahah, p-plehehease!”

“I didn’t remember you were ticklish, Sasaki,” the blonde muttered as he mercilessly clawed at his friend’s sides, “have you ever told me?”

“I-I guehehess! H-Hirahanoo, nohohot this,” Sasaki whined, trying to either squirm away or pry the other’s hands from his body. Obviously, he failed at both.

“Let’s say this is a punishment for throwing yourself at Miyano like that,” Hirano continued, moving his fingers up Sasaki’s torso inch by inch, starting to tickle his ribs.

“AHAHah, I-I ahaham sohohorry, o-ok? Now stahahap!”

“No can do, Sasaki… I’m not quite done with you yet.”

A/N: Yay, 5th day! Now, come on, who better than Hirano himself to dish out punishments like this? and lee!sasaki is just- agh, so cute… so this pretty much sums the backstory of the decision behind this prompt, hehe ~ Hope you enjoyed your reading!

[gillianthecat]

Fahlanruk episode 12

my mostly negative thoughts while watching the final episode

Sher really took off his shoe to throw at Fah. 

This ending is making me appreciate Big Dragon's finale even more. 

The problem with Fah and Sher is that their story keeps reminding me of other shows that do whatever trope or plot better. Tending a cut on the bottom of the uke's foot -> Between Us made it more interesting. "Don't let me chase you away" -> I cared much more when Ji-woo said this to Seon-joon in To My Star 2.  The shoe throwing I haven't seen before though. 

I feel like Fah and Sher aren't actually going to do anything to solve their problems. Like have a conversation about... whatever their problems are, I don't even know at this point. Not trusting each other I think is at the base of it, and that's not going away just because you're being cute and calling each other faen. 

Tap and Ping have such good pajama game. They're so cute in their coordinated old man jammies. I've seen very few repeats, and I've loved every one. Do you think Ping has been buying them for them both all along? Excited about getting into bed next to his crush in the couples pajamas he got for them? 🥺

Ok, this scene in the kitchen where Fah is about to feed Sher porridge and asks Sher to be his boyfriend is pretty cute, I will give them that. 

Ping and Tap tagging tagging each other in their relationship status on Facebook is adorable. I love the way they're looking at each other here. (But do university students in Thailand even use Facebook anymore? I thought it was passé for that entire generation.)

I'm annoyed that even in late 2022 even sexually voracious uke characters still turn reluctant about sex once the relationship is established. It makes no damn sense! First Big Dragon and now this. I mean, it does sort of fit both their characters and dynamics (and Yai better than Sher), but I'm so annoyed by the trend overall. 

But at least even the sweetest most innocent of the three couples get to have sex. Good for them. And interestingly, these actors seem most comfortable with the physicality of it, out of all three pairs. Well done, Gear and Prince.

There is no way that Sher's cut was that serious. This is ridiculous. 

Are these music people cameos by actual famous music people? Otherwise there is no reason to listen to their extremely boring conversation. 

JESUS FUCKING CHRIST. Will anyone in this fucking show just let Sher live his own fucking life the way that HE wants to? Now that they're all done pressuring him to give in and date Fah they can't be content that they won that round and have to start pressuring him to reveal himself as a singer songwriter. There are a lot of good reasons for someone to want to remain anonymous and not be a pop star! Just because it doesn't fit your idea of how he should be living his life it doesn't mean he's not "embracing his own uniqueness" or whatever the fuck. I am getting much angrier than I should about this on behalf of a character I don't even care about. But it really is pissing me off. 

Wait, this play is about how toxic social media is and how gossip can fuck up relationships? Didn't Pink write this play? I... I don't even...

I'm still kind of rooting for Pie in all his campy villain glory. At least he's not pretending to be anything other than a selfish asshole and not trying to justify his interfering behavior as anything other than self-interest. 

Does no one teach the children basic internet safety anymore? Sher, why are you talking to this rando who messaged you out of the blue instead of blocking him. Maybe everyone SHOULD be making all of Sher's decisions for him after all. 

I know 80% of BLblr is relieved not to hear singing in their BLs, but it weirds me out when the characters are singers but we never or rarely hear them singing. Or, even worse, they play other music over footage of the character singing or playing. At that point, why even bother. 

See. These idiots never actually dealt with the fact that they don't trust each other! Shit like this is going to keep happening. Unless they somehow manage to have a real conversation in the last ten minutes of this show, but i I highly doubt that. 

Ok, I guess they did manage to sidestep the jealousy and work together. Whatever. I still don’t buy that they figured it out.

This episode is taking me forever to watch because I keep getting bored and/or irritated and going off to do something else. I could just not watch it of course, but I keep telling myself, just 30 minutes left, just 20 minutes left, just 5 minutes left of the whole fucking series, just get it over with so you never have to watch it again. So I am determined to watch it and be miserable. I am starting to actually hate the show now though, perhaps because of it.

They even did the thing with the play that I hate, where the dialogue is a barely veiled metaphor for the main characters relationship. And who is this woman in the white dress that they thanked? She was also the music... producer? that Sher met, I think? I feel like she must be a cameo because otherwise the focus on her makes no sense. Maybe the novel author? (She's certainly not an actress; she's even stiffer than all the other terrible acting in this show.)

Since I'm already being mean about it, I will take this opportunity to get it off my chest: the acting in this show is, with few exceptions, pretty awful. Sher and Fah feel like the worst offenders, but that's probably because they're awful characters that have no other redeeming features to save them. It's part of what's making this last episode such a slog. Them being "cute" together is not actually cute because I keep noticing how awkward and fake the acting is. 

And even Ping and Tap, as much as I adore them, are not doing very good acting most of the time, I hate to say. Ping is the best by far, and has moments of brilliance, but also a lot of awkward fake moments. I do blame the director for a lot of it, because it's so universal, and it often just feel like he's been given bad direction, and odd instructions regard timing/pacing. I would love to see him in something else with a better director because he's still pretty young and I think he has a lot of potential. As for Tap, I think he's the prettiest out of all the actors, and better than most of them, but he's still not that good unfortunately. But again, perhaps with a better script/director...

I do not understand (well 80% of this show to be honest, but specifically) why Sher and Fah are friends with Pink. Why they tolerate her sobbing and screaming "my ship has reached its destination." That is CREEPY. She is a fucking CREEP.  If I was them I would take out a restraining order. 

Speaking of things I don't understand, why is Fah doing an instagram live for the general public? He's not an influencer or anything like that as far as a can tell. Just a random popular kid on campus. Is this a real thing in the real world? Anywhere? Or in Thailand specifically? Do college kids these days treat the popular students like minor celebrities and follow their every move? It could well be, I am old™️ and don't understand how the youths are using social media. 

I do find it hilarious that for whatever reason they decided Fah and Sher needed a last minute separation. But only were willing to do it for a week(?). I couldn't actually tell you why or for how long because I'm seriously struggling to pay attention at this point. 

Yay! It's fucking over. I made it. Now I can let everything about this show slip from my memory, as it’s already trying to do. (Except for Ping and Tap, them I’ll keep.)

I will say that this final episode is making me appreciate Big Dragon's more. That one I did love, because the show has my heart and they did do many things very well, but I was also aware of several things I wished they'd done differently. But any flaws it had paled in comparison to the nonsense mess that was Fahlanruk ep 12. 

[mousieta]

Review: My Tooth Your Love

Year: 2022 Country: Taiwan Platform: Viki My Tooth Your Love had no business - No Business - being as good as it is. I went in sceptically because… I mean just look at the title, it’s so silly. But this show isn’t. Which isn’t to say it is dark and serious, because it isn’t. But what it is is delightfully well written and thoroughly charming and enjoyable.

I honestly don’t think I have a single criticism of it and I don’t think I’ve enjoyed so wholly a BL since Tale of A Thousand Stars last year. This was a complete delight to curl up with each week and waiting for new episodes was the best kind of torture.

The writing was solid and had moments of good insight, especially on the topic of mental illness and dealing with/ recovering from trauma. It was also refreshing to watch adults have a sweet love story.

The actors were absolutely amazing. Andy and Yu Jin are so effortlessly into one another, seemingly completely smitten and so casual in their affection and intimacy. Serious fan service kings, I cannot get enough of it.

Andy plays Bai Lang a restaurant/bar owner with a toothache and fear of getting dental work done, and Yu Jin is Jin Xun An, a sometimes aloof dentist. So, of course, they are meant for each other. They’re rounded out with an adorable cast of side characters and pairings.

Really, its hard to review a show like this because it knows exactly what it is and nailed it so perfectly that all I can do is recommend that if you’re in the mood for a sweet romcom, you give it a go, you will not be disappointed.

2022 Drama Reviews Masterlist

[whysojiminimnida]

What do we know about this show? Do we have any more details about this show?! Maybe SK is gradually coming into a new era of LGBTQI+ acceptance (at least in media)??? 🌈🌈🌈 https://www.allkpop.com/article/2022/05/south-korean-ott-platform-wavve-under-discussion-for-a-new-gay-dating-entertainment-program

I WAS JUST TALKING TO KEVIN ABOUT THIS OMG. Your link (which, allkpop is trash but I'll allow it because there's not much else about this out there):

And here's the text so you ain't even gotta click if you don't wanna.

Oh look boys kissing! No? Identifiable boys close to each other! Definitely gay boys! Still... no?

No seriously I stole that pic straight off of KBIZoom talking about the EXACT SAME SHOW POSSIBILITY - but they had to censor the shots in case anyone thought the models might be ... kinda GAY. I believe we see closer stuff than that on your average Memories DVD:

BUT ANYWAY Kevin and I were discussing it - he brought it up. And I was like "uh BL (boy love) is a huge market, it'd be stupid not to make some bank on it" and he goes, "This is Korea. Boy love as a genre is acceptable here because it's fiction. A reality show with actual people willing to be out on television is going to be a hard sell for both the audience and the potential cast." So I go well what about the fact that they're even considering it then, and he goes,

"Considering, curious about, beginning market research on, all words that mean this is not something that is ready to happen here yet. Maybe in the next administration, but not now. They probably started round-table-ing this idea a year ago, but with Yoon in office? It's not happening. Give it a few years to let the idea simmer and see what the next President does." But my trash white American girl opinion is that of course it would be a great idea -- in theory, it could open some eyes. Except that the conservatives wouldn't watch it. Much like Drag Race here and in Europe, it would be a niche market for the first few years. WATCH ME JUST DIGRESS HERE I DO THAT SOMETIMES

Kim Chi competed on and nearly won Season 8 of RuPaul's Drag Race, and is a Korean man with Korean parents. He is 34 years old and at the time he competed, his mother knew only that he was a gay makeup artist. His father and his brother didn't even know he was gay. And I'm not sure they know now. And this dude lives in Los Angeles by way of Chicago. I can't imagine what his life would be like in Seoul, or Daegu, or Busan. And while Kev agreed that yeah, okay, drag is a step farther, he also said, interestingly, that drag might have been MORE acceptable to his own Korean mother (rest her soul) than having a gay son would have been. Because he could have argued that he was into it for the theater - a bit of Japanese kabuki styling - versus "oh hey eomma I do sexy time with men, woke up gay today, bit fruity."

So the upshot is that gay fiction is one thing, but gay reality is entirely another. We're back to the "we don't talk about those things here, it isn't polite." Enjoying the romantic drama of two young (they're always young, Kevin noted, not being particularly young himself) pretty men is not the same thing as seeing Jungshin from accounting on a dating show.... for GAY PEOPLE. And Kevin pointed out that honestly, even BTS are seen as fictional characters in Korea (and likely elsewhere). The idea that they are real human men with real romantic interests and real sex drives doesn't really fly, there. Not yet, anyway. So the "boy love" aspect is fine, as long as they're young, famous, pretty, and they don't admit to TOO much.

This is okay. ETA: and the above shot is edited, in case anyone didn’t know. See my fictional character point?

This is okay. But if they kissed or came out, that would NOT BE OKAY. And Taekook is not real, but the Jeon Parks are about as loud as they can get what with dropping honorifics like that, so as long as they're riding the line of fiction vs reality they're still okay. Full on reality or even depicting reality, though, is still not okay - at least, not on the Seoul Broadcasting Network (SBS), who censored out the kisses in "Bohemian Rhapsody", the Freddie Mercury biopic as recently as 2021. And that caused some backlash on the internet:

But it hasn't changed a thing on the networks. YET. Maybe someday. Hope springs eternal.

[waitmyturtles]

Turtles Catches Up With Old GMMTV: My Bromance and Yaoi Influences Edition

[What’s going on here? After joining Tumblr and discovering Thai BLs through KinnPorsche in 2022, I began watching GMMTV’s new offerings -- and realized that I had a lot of history to catch up on, to appreciate the more recent works that I was delving into. From tropes to BL frameworks, what we’re watching now hails from somewhere, and I’m learning about Thai BL's history through what I’m calling the Old GMMTV Challenge (OGMMTVC). Starting with recommendations from @absolutebl on their post regarding how GMMTV is correcting for its mistakes with its shows today, I’ve made an expansive list to get me through a condensed history of essential/classic/significant Thai BLs produced by GMMTV and many other BL studios. My watchlist, pasted below, lists what I’ve watched and what’s upcoming, along with the reviews I’ve written so far. Today, I cover My Bromance, a 2014 stepbrothers movie rooted in yaoi tropes and structures.]

Okie-dokie, my yaoi smokies! Earlier this week, I reviewed likely the most seminal film to have influenced the Thai television BL genre, 2007's Love of Siam. I took on one more pre-BL movie to round out the early Old GMMTV Challenge list in My Bromance (2014), and I did so for a few reasons.

First, a little time period context: before the launch of proto-Thai television BL in Love Sick (2014) -- an ensemble drama that did not center, but rather included, a queer romance in Phun x Noh -- Thai cinema was where queer relationships were mostly explored. In discussion with @bengiyo, Thai, pan-Asian, and international queer cinema was also where the majority of stereotypes about the presumed endings of queer relationships were mostly held, as I discussed at length in my Love of Siam review.

My Bromance aired in February 2014, and Love Sick aired in July 2014. I don't *think* the two properties spoke to each other by way of art or influence -- in part, simply because My Bromance is rooted in some STRONG Thai yaoi tropes that almost pre-determined the ending of the film (spoiler alert, I'll get into this later). (And I want to note and appreciate the differences in the term "yaoi" as interpreted in Japan vs. Thailand.) Love Sick, while utterly and fabulously chaotic, ended in happiness, with Phun and Noh confirming their relationship.

The second reason why I added My Bromance to this list is because history tells us that Thailand's past and present fascination with Japanese yaoi manga and anime, in part, primed wider Thai audiences for television dramas featuring queer love and relationships. As we know now, Thai filmmakers have made Thai television BL a genre of its own, complete with tropes and built-in assumptions about how the dramas are structured and how the stories are told. The most overt Thai yaoi-influenced drama on the OGMMTVC list is TharnType, and I wanted to add at least one pre-BL yaoi piece to get a sense for how yaoi would then play out on television (and I know there are PLENTY more very early television BLs that were touched by yaoi, but TharnType is the most influential one on the future of the BL genre).

The third reason for this addition is that the two leads of My Bromance -- Fluke Teerapat and Fluke Natouch -- both have long and notable careers in Thai television BL, with Fluke Natouch also having starred in a number of other pre-BL queer Thai films. Fluke Natouch, for me, reached legend-ish status by just existing in Until We Meet Again, which became a fast favorite of mine when I watched it for the OGMMTVC. But separately, I was particularly curious about seeing Fluke Teerapat in a pre-television Thai BL piece. As many of us know, likely his most famous role is that of Wad in SOTUS, GMMTV's first BL from 2016, in which Wad may or may not have been presumed to be paired with the older character, Prem. More importantly, since then, Fluke Teerapat has had a long career in Thai BL screenwriting, penning (with his partner, Tanachot Prapasri) two of the most notable non-GMMTV BLs of the past few years, My Ride and La Pluie. Both of these shows have reached a touch of cult status, and if they were both penned by a guy who's been around the BL way for a second, then -- I wondered if Fluke Teerapat's early acting career could give me insight in any lessons he learned about, maybe, what NOT to do in Thai BLs today.

Welp, I think My Bromance helps with those lessons, lol. @lurkingshan hipped me to the central trope that structures My Bromance -- the yaoi stepbrother trope in which, yes, oh yes, stepbrothers, ya know.

Maybe the first and most overall general assessment I can give of My Bromance is that it could perhaps get a little insane in its storyline by way of how it needed to be centralized around the taboo yaoi stepbrother trope in the first place. I've talked with @so-much-yet-to-learn and @absolutebl in the past about how in some shows rooted in yaoi, or at least a taboo trope or two -- how oftentimes, that show may include two or three or more taboo influences, since the show already decided to go to a different place than a socially acceptable moral or ethical center-norm.

I think I was watching that in My Bromance. Besides the stepbrothers realizing that they were attracted to each other, probably the most remarkable infrastructural inclusion of this movie was the utter cluelessness by Golf, the stepbrother played by Fluke Teerapat, that trying to continue a relationship in the face of everything against them might have been an effort not worth pursuing. That love of this sort might lead to more pain than pleasure.

Golf was a character set up as essentially abandoned by his father and stepmother for the sake of work, as both parents left Golf alone to travel for work constantly -- which left Golf alone in a house with Bank (Fluke Natouch) for lengthy periods of time that allowed them to find out their love for each other. Now, if you and your lover are alone for an inordinate amount of time, then yes -- you are going to think that in that environment, in that particular moment, your love can flourish. But when reality hit, and Golf and Bank were found out, and attempts were made to split them up, man, did Golf ever put the pressure on Bank to just... suck it up.

It was a tough framework to watch. Golf, through Fluke Teerapat's acting, was the living version of denial personified. He would NOT accept, immaturely, that Bank and himself could NOT be together. EVEN WHILE Golf and Bank were ultimately separated, physically and emotionally, Golf expected Bank's love to remain true. (I mean, imagine, this Bank is played by an 18-year-old Fluke Natouch. Bank was taking hit after hit!) And this is even after Golf returns from a years-long overseas stint.... with a girlfriend. Golf still scolds Bank for giving up on their love...

...to the point that they get into a physical altercation with deeply impactful results involving a car accident, surgeries, organ transplants, everything. Apologies for spoiling the ending, but it was so wild for me that I just need to process it for a second and consider its impact on television BLs.

I mentioned before that Bank was taking hit after hit. Before the car accident, his own mother seemed to begin to accept his sexual orientation (!!!) -- even trying to set Bank up with a new boyfriend. Thundering right back to another yaoi framework, Bank replies that while he might be gay, he doesn't need to love another man (what was this movie DOING to poor Bank?!). Then, later on, Bank even reluctantly agrees to try seeing a new guy himself at school. Bank himself wasn't necessarily an innocent blushing maiden -- at one point, he called Golf a coward for not being 100% committed to their love, which I think was an accurate call-out for what Golf was expecting Bank to accept by way of Golf's outward performance as a straight man. The poor kid was just trying to figure himself the hell out in the face of confusion and repeated abandonment.

Then the car accident happens, and Bank is gravely injured, to which Golf responds with a kidney (at least Golf showed up in one way!). And Golf disappears after that.

We learn, after Bank leaves the hospital, that Golf has died. (Here's where we get into the we've-come-to-expect-horrible-endings-for-queer-characters paradigm that I discussed in my Love of Siam review.) Man, Bank was taking a lot. He was under the impression at one point that Golf was going to get engaged. And then he learns that Golf, instead, was gone!

It was a lot -- a lot for a movie that clearly was not going to treat its queer characters well, inconsistently at best, and a lot for a movie that kept piling on the yaoi-ness of the genre it was playing in. These guys stood no chance of happiness, especially with Golf insisting that Bank still love him, despite everything Golf himself was doing in trying to live a straight life with a girlfriend/fiancée before he departs the film.

Now, with the benefit of watching this 2014 film with 2023 hindsight, I knew that Golf would "come back" in a My Bromance television series from 2020. But in 2014, at the end of the first movie -- I am sure audiences were just like, what.... was all that for. Bank had been through the ringer, for a relationship that was going to be difficult to maintain anyway, in a society that isn't easy on gay men in the first place in mid-2010s Thailand. (And the WONDERFUL @twig-tea filled me in on the context of the long wait to get to 2020's My Bromance sequel in the first place -- only for fans to be disappointed again in the quality of that series.)

When I think about this film in the context of 2019's TharnType, and even to a smaller extent, 2018's Love By Chance (both MAME pieces that feature yaoi overtones), it just seems that a common framework of early Thai yaoi BLs was that many of the dudes just didn't deserve empathy in their creation and longevity. That being queer AUTOMATICALLY meant that one was subject to pain. It's interesting for me to ponder this as this expectation was flirted with on television screens, as opposed to the movies. Again, while I discussed this previously in the context of how cinematically-driven queer and/or BL art plays out -- in regards to art that's structured specifically around yaoi frameworks, it seems like a rule that the dudes are supposed to take hit after hit, without the responsibility of the content checking in on the characters and offering them alternate trajectories of emotional discovery.

We didn't see that in TharnType -- TharnType featured a deeply complicated resolution that involved the intentional hurting of feelings over lengthy periods of time, and a redemption for an INCREDIBLY problematic character in Lhong. And TharnType was made not that long ago -- just four years ago from now.

I talked at length in my Love of Siam review about how brilliantly today's BL filmmakers have taken other expectations of Asian media, such as the concept of open-ended endings, to fascinating and artistically challenging results (to me, resulting in beautiful pieces). But when a piece is structured around yaoi rules and tropes, then it seems like many characters don't stand a chance at happiness. I know that's not a hard and fast rule, but it does create an expectation that something might happen.

I haven't seen My Ride and La Pluie yet, but at least with my dear drama clown friends, I followed the La Pluie journey through meta, and it looks about as opposite from My Bromance as anything -- a tight story about an emotional journey that featured a little magical realism and a lot of emotional development. I want to think that Fluke Teerapat saw the early work that he himself was getting involved in, and said to himself -- man, I know how I can make this MUCH, MUCH better, especially to represent queer happiness and queer love. I think he was beginning to address these conflicts in 2020's YYY, which features a wildly fabulous character in Porpla DEMANDING that the men of their life perform exactly to their yaoi standards. By the time Fluke Teerapat gets to My Ride and La Pluie -- it makes me think he had learned ENOUGH about what could go bad to make excellent standalone art.

Because of my respective fascination and appreciation for both Flukes, I'm glad I watched My Bromance, and separately, it does very much deserve a spot on the OGMMTVC syllabus to just show us what was out there on the eve of Love Sick's premiere. We hear so often that yaoi was an important influence to early Thai canon novel BLs and the television genre, so this sets up folks nicely to understand why shows later on like TharnType existed and were so popular. The expectation had been born and bred, and with TharnType's heat included, it drove the masses crazy. For my totally personal tastes, My Bromance wasn't my speed. But I do think and hope that it set up the two EXCELLENT Flukes for developing their standards around good, even GREAT, BLs in their writing and acting futures.

[Allllllllllright! My previously unscheduled detour into early Thai queer cinema is done for the moment, and I am back to the chronology of a few weeks ago, when I left off with Manner of Death watched and unreviewed. That review will drop early next week. My LOVING homage to my first P'Aof Noppharnach BL in my rewatch review of A Tale of Thousand Stars will drop after that. And then, my surprised take on Lovely Writer -- surprised because I did not expect, at all, to fall so much in love with it!

I'm getting through Nadao Bangkok's Last Twilight in Phuket and I Promised You The Moon at the moment, and soon on the horizon, I've got Not Me and 55:15 Never Too Late on deck -- 55:15 on the list because of its integrated BL storyline and commentary. And then a moment that *I* know I've been waiting for -- my long-awaited Bad Buddy and Our Skyy 2 rewatch. Oh, my heart. Can't wait.

The latest list is below -- I welcome your thoughts! (Tumblr's new web editor is jacking with this list below and not letting me strikethrough those shows that I've watched. For the most updated list, check this link right here.)

1) The Love of Siam (2007) (movie) (review here) 2) My Bromance (2014) (movie) 3) Love Sick and Love Sick 2 (2014 and 2015) (review here) 4) Gay OK Bangkok Season 1 (2016) (a non-BL queer series directed by Jojo Tichakorn and written by Aof Noppharnach) (review here) 5) Make It Right (2016) (review here) 6) SOTUS (2016-2017) (review here) 7) Gay OK Bangkok Season 2 (2017) (a non-BL queer series directed by Jojo Tichakorn and written by Aof Noppharnach) (review here) 8) Make It Right 2 (2017) (review here) 9) Together With Me (2017) (review here) 10) SOTUS S/Our Skyy x SOTUS (2017-2018) (review here) 11) Love By Chance (2018) (review here) 12) Kiss Me Again: PeteKao cuts (2018) (no review) 13) He’s Coming To Me (2019) (review here) 14) Dark Blue Kiss (2019) and Our Skyy x Kiss Me Again (2018) (review here) 15) TharnType (2019-2020) (review here) 16) Senior Secret Love: Puppy Honey (OffGun BL cuts) (2016 and 2017) (no review) 17) Theory of Love (2019) (review here) 18) 3 Will Be Free (2019) (a non-BL and an important harbinger of things to come in 2019 and beyond re: Jojo Tichakorn pushing queer content in non-BLs) (review here) 19) Dew the Movie (2019) (review here) 20) Until We Meet Again (2019-2020) (review here) 21) 2gether (2020) and Still 2gether (2020) (review here) 22) I Told Sunset About You (2020) (review here) 23) YYY (2020, out of chronological order) (review here) 24) Manner of Death (2020-2021) (not a true BL, but a MaxTul queer/gay romance set within a genre-based show that likely influenced Not Me and KinnPorsche) (review coming) 25) A Tale of Thousand Stars (2021) (review here) 26) A Tale of Thousand Stars (2021) OGMMTVC Fastest Rewatch Known To Humankind For The Sake Of Rewatching Our Skyy 2 x BBS x ATOTS (review coming) 27) Lovely Writer (2021) (review coming) 28) Last Twilight in Phuket (2021) (the mini-special before IPYTM) 29) I Promised You the Moon (2021) 30) Not Me (2021-2022) 31) Bad Buddy (2021-2022) (thesis here) 32) 55:15 Never Too Late (2021-2022) (not a BL, but a GMMTV drama that features a macro BL storyline about shipper culture and the BL industry) 33) Bad Buddy (2021-2022) and Our Skyy 2 x BBS x ATOTS (2023) OGMMTVC Rewatch 34) Secret Crush On You (2022) [watching for Cheewin’s trajectory of studying queer joy from Make It Right (high school), to SCOY (college), to Bed Friend (working adults)] 35) KinnPorsche (2022) (tag here) 36) KinnPorsche (2022) OGMMTVC Fastest Rewatch Known To Humankind For The Sake of Re-Analyzing the KP Cultural Zeitgeist 37) The Eclipse (2022) (tag here) 38) GAP (2022-2023) (Thailand’s first GL) 39) My School President (2022-2023) and Our Skyy 2 x My School President (2023) 40) Moonlight Chicken (2023) (tag here) 41) Bed Friend (2023) (tag here) (Cheewin’s latest show, depicting a queer joy journey among working adults) 42) Be My Favorite (2023) (tag here) (I’m including this for BMF’s sophisticated commentary on Krist’s career past as a BL icon) 43) Only Friends (2023)]

[littleragondin]

For the ask game: 🏳️‍🌈, 💎, 🧸

Thank you for asking! („• ᴗ •„)

🏳️‍🌈 something you wish wasn’t so common in BLs

I'll go with he shipping characters/obsessive BL enthusiast. Sometimes it feels like we are getting away from it and then one makes a surprise appearance (yes i just watched Marry Go Round and while I ended up mostly ok with her, Emmy took me by surprise) and I'm back to

ヾ(`ヘ´)ﾉﾞ w h y ? ? ?

Even the mildest examples (I'm thinking like Tomoyo and Sakura (...the wasted potential of not giving us a crumb about them being a couple i swear) from Senpai, danjite koidewa who were very respectful and low key about it) make me roll my eyes and sigh now. It's okay, I think we can find other ways to make "audience relatable" characters if that was the point of them.

(but I also have to agree with everyone I saw mention the sleeping kisses, that can go for good)

💎 show you wish people talked about more:

I will have to say The Miracle of Teddy Bear again yeah. I know it's a 2022 release, that it's on the longer side (17 ep of 1+ hour) and it has a polarized reputation, but I feel like it had so much to say, I was completely taken it by it, I think it had a lot of heart, and while a bit heavier than the soap opera/cheesy cheap aspects might initially suggest, it left me with a lot of hope and I haven't stopped thinking about it since I saw it in April.

🧸 friends to lovers or enemies to lovers?

That one's a no brainer for me, I'm a friends to lovers addict every day of the week. I enjoy a good enemies to lovers, I do. But there is something with a long lasting friendship that wants to turn into something else, the knowing the other, the familiarity and already loving them so much, the fear of losing what you have... yeah I am team friends to lovers all the way.