#3 out of 4 and I’ll show the secret character

[wolfofansbach]

BEING A LIST OF THE THIRTEEN GREATEST RIVERDALE LINES, ON THE OCCASION OF THAT SHOW'S TERMINATION

As our much loved/hated show comes to an end, I feel compelled to record, for posterity, the greatest thirteen pieces of dialogue to spring from the pens of RAS and his henchmen. It was, of course, originally a top ten list, but I simply could not exclude a few of these treasures. Without further ado: 

13. 

“I dropped out in the 4th grade, to sell drugs, to support my nana.” 

“That means you haven't known the triumphs and defeats, the epic highs and lows of high school football.” 

Spoken by: an inmate of Leopold and Loeb Juvenile Detention Center, and Archie Andrews. 

In: 3 x 2 

Yeah, okay, this one had to be on the list. It’s funny, I’ll admit. It’s a great example of the overwrought semi-sincere melodrama that helped make this show so special. It’s low on the list largely because The Normies got their hands on it, so every time I hear someone make a reference I get all “do not cite the deep magic to me, witch.” 

12. 

“No! No! What are we supposed to do now? I’m horny as heck!”

Spoken by: Archie Andrews 

In: 7 x 16

Season 7 is undeniably dreadful, and yet there are diamonds in the rough. The occasion is the failure of a projector, just as Archie and Reggie prepare to watch a pornographic film. The utter desperation with which KJ Apa delivers this line is exquisite. One is made to feel they are witnessing a genuine tragedy. 

11. 

“Tonight, they’re making an exception and debuting a cover of the song my parents claim they were listening to the night Jason and I were conceived.” 

Spoken by: Cheryl Blossom. 

In: 1 x 1 

Really a fantastic line. A wonderful encapsulation of the casual absurdity of Cheryl’s character, and a foretaste of the lunacy we would plumb in later episodes and seasons. 

10. 

“In case you haven’t noticed, I’m weird. I’m a weirdo. I don’t fit in and I don’t want to fit in. Have you ever seen me without this stupid hat on? That’s weird.” 

Spoken by: Jughead Jones

In: 1 x 10

A genuine classic. “High school football” before “high school football.” One is never entirely sure just how sincere the line is meant to be, both on a meta-level and in-universe. A perfect illumination of Jughead’s pretentiousness. It is made all the better by the occasional cuts to Lili Reinhard’s agonized face. 

9. 

“At the last dance, multiple students were murdered.” 

Spoken by: Principal Holden Honey. 

In: 4 x 2

Delivered as an explanation to Toni and Cheryl, as to why there would be no school dance this year. Principal Honey is in fact supremely rational in the cancellation of this dance. This being Riverdale, he is of course treated as an unreasonable tyrant. 

8. 

“Bro, I know all the secrets of this universe.” 

Spoken by: Archie Andrews (evil version)

In: 6 x 5 

Spoken as evil Archie reveals his evil plan to keep the parallel universes apart. KJ Apa’s delivery once again makes this line. He is comically sinister. Strangely, he sells it. 

7. 

“A Vughead kiss, right now, in the present might be precisely what it takes to save a future Bughead from imploding.” 

Spoken by: Jughead Jones. 

In: 2 x 14

One of those lines that both makes me laugh and makes me genuinely angry. This was a fairly early season, and this may have actually been the first line to get me asking, ‘did they genuinely write and deliver that?’ Extra points for use of the atrocious ‘Vughead’ portmanteau ship name rather than ‘Jeronica.’ 

6. 

“I’m the ultimate wild card. I am the daughter of The Black Hood. The nightmare from next door. I’m training with the FBI and I’m coming for you, you psycho bitch.” 

Spoken by: Betty Cooper

In: 4 x 14 

Just delicious. Another one of those lines that leaves you somewhat unsure whether or not the writers understood how genuinely hysterical it was. “The Nightmare from Next Door” sounds like an announcer hyping up a wrestler. Spoken with a raw sincerity by Lili Reinhart. Also points for the heavy homoeroticism between Betty and Donna. 

5. 

“For I am Cheryl Blossom, Queen of the Bees.” 

Spoken by: Cheryl Blossom.

In: 5 x 16. 

This one really doesn’t require any elaboration. 

4. 

“Elijah ascended…and I will, too.” 

Spoken by: Edgar Evernever.

In: 4 x 5. 

Admittedly, this one is only spectacular with context. But in context—the context being that Chad Michael Murray delivers this line while dressed like Evel Knievel and standing in a cartoon rocket right out of a Warner Bros cartoon—it becomes utterly magnificent. 

3. 

“It’s not queer baiting, it’s saving the world.” 

Spoken by: Veronica Lodge. 

In: 6 x 22. 

It’s actually hard for me to decide whether this one is funnier with or without context. Without context it’s wonderful, but it possibly becomes even funnier when you know that the context is that Veronica needs to kiss Cheryl to transfer superpowers into her body so she can turn into a Scarlet Witch knock-off and stop a magic comet summoned by Sephiroth an English wizard who is also the Devil. 

2. 

“If there’s no wedding reception, it means the Gargoyle King has won.” 

Spoken by: Kevin Keller. 

In: 3 x 12.

One of my personal favorites. This is a perfect line because like #3, it requires no real elaboration. There is absolutely no context in which it isn’t hysterical. 

1 .

“Word of my exploits serving Nick his comeuppance has seeped into the demimonde of mobsters and molls my father used to associate with, so the five families are sending their youngest and brightest, their ‘princes,’ as it were to, well, come court the rare Mafia Princess who can belly up to the bar with the big boys.

Spoken by: Veronica Lodge. 

In: 2 x 20. 

This is, in my opinion, the all-timer. Every word is perfect. The rapid-fire alliteration. The use of the word ‘demimonde.’ The entirely unnecessary addition of ‘as it were.’ This is borderline Dr. Seuss. The fact that Camila Mendes delivered it without cracking a smile should have won her an Emmy. No. An Oscar. This line is Riverdale. 

[saintvainglorious]

10 Best Black Sails Fics I Read in 2023

In honor of Black Sails' 10th anniversary, here's a list of my top 10 favorite Black Sails fics I read in 2023, in order from shortest to longest. Most Black Sails fic rec posts I've seen are now around 2 or 3 years old (though not all, bless @jaynovz and your #jay's esoteric rec lists tag) so nearly half of the recs in this list spotlight newer fics. It's amazing to see fantastic fics still being written and updated years after the show ended - y'all are keeping this fandom alive!

I didn't read that much Black Sails fic this year, comparatively speaking, so I'm sure there's plenty of newer gems that I missed. All the fics in this rec list are Silverflint unless otherwise stated.

1 - Gone To Port Royal by Apetslife (G, 3k) - a delightful oneshot from Gates' POV where they all go to a pirate afterlife. every scene is perfect. endlessly re-readable and never fails to make me smile.

Definition of Valhalla 1: the great hall in Norse mythology where heroes slain in battle are received 2 : a place of honor, glory, or happiness: heaven

2 - i’ll be seeing you by youatemytailor/@annevbonny (NR, 19k) - this is THEE post-canon Silverflint reunion fic. the anguish, the rage, the quiet jokes, the tenderness, it's all devastatingly in-character. particularly the chapter 5 climactic unspooling leaves me in awe upon every reread.

Silver is out of his chair and across the room before he knows it. He has a grip on the barkeep’s shirt before he knows it, and he’s pulling him up, hauling him eye-level, only to head-butt him to the ground again. The barkeep’s mouth is thrown open in a wail, but there’s no sound, Silver thinks, no sound at all, save for the blood rushing in his ears as he looks at the other man on the ground, watches him roll to his side with a groan. Flint, Silver thinks, and nothing else. It beats around the knife in his gut like a drum. Flint. And then Flint is looking at him.

3 - The Dark Lord Proprietor by Amiril/@runawaymarbles (M, 19k, Silverflintham) - a fuckin hysterical supervillain AU. Thomas has amnesia, Flint is pining, Silver tries to get them back together. what could go wrong? could not stop cackling.

A year ago, James Flint was in a stable relationship and was within spitting distance of taking over London. Now he’s single, with a dubiously loyal henchman, a lairmate determined to learn his every weakness, and a Secret Past with the new supervillain on the scene. And thanks to a new government program, it’s all a race to the bottom.

4 - the cross dimensional nassau bar of getting izzy hands laid by FortinbrasFTW/@fortinbrasftw (E, 19k ~WIP~, Flint/OFMD Izzy Hands) - a Black Sails OFMD Flint/Izzy Hands crossover. the very best kind of smut-as-character study. funny, gripping, and endlessly re-readable.

The first thing Izzy realizes is he looks absolutely fucking furious — which yeah, alright, fair enough. He’s got shorter ginger hair. A beard like Izzy’s but kept neater. Earrings like Izzy’s but worn simpler. Bleeding like Izzy but, well, maybe a bit less. And he’s handsome. Izzy realizes it suddenly and slowly somehow all at once. Bit like a bloody painting even. The kind you saw up on walls in rich folk’s houses. Only, well, no painting had eyes like that, did it? You’d have to be mad to keep a painting with eyes like that in your home. They were bright and clear and looked — honest-to-fucking-Christ — ready to set the whole damned world on fire. Izzy's terrible, horrible, no good, very bad night takes an interesting turn thanks to a completely different sort of pirate captain.

5 - frail and fragile bars by Ajaxthegreat/@francisthegreat (E, 21k) - Silver realizes, post-shark date, that he's in love with Flint. an instant, iconic fave fic. SO many delicious scenes and quotes that live rent free in my head. just read it, you won't regret it.

“I think you fuck,” Silver says. By which he means, with great intent: I think you are human. I know you are human. I see you.

6 - the whole estate of mortal man by Amiril/@runawaymarbles (T, 43k) - Creature Silver AU where he'll grant wishes in exchange for souls. first read this fic in 2020 and cried. reread it this year and cried again. the nature of the AU intersects so cleverly with Black Sails' themes, and the end result is devastating.

Silver has a limited memory, an unlimited lifespan, and a need for human souls. He spends months trying to buy Flint’s.

7 - our feast is but beginning by x_etoile_x/@etoilesombre (E, 55k) - Flint teaches season 1 Silver how to cook. they're definitely not dating. no, really. this writer writes dialogue so in-character that it cuts like a knife. features sensual cooking, Flint being a queer mentor for Silver, fun genderfuckery, and Them Being Real Tender.

Flint should walk away. Silver can figure out how to feed the men, it isn’t his problem. But roasting a pig is so easy, and when was the last time he had a hand in creating something rather than destroying it? Anyway, what else is he doing, with Billy taking the crew in hand with such annoying competency? He absolutely does not think about why he is reluctant for this interaction with Silver to end. “Go get another pig,” he says before he can reconsider. “Do exactly as I say.”

8 - With Strange Aeons by Amiril/@runawaymarbles (M, 60k, Silverflint + Flinthamilton + Jackanne) - Came for the Silverflint, stayed for the Silverflint but also for holy fuck Jack and Anne are sent to Savannah and break out of there with Thomas to battle literal Cthulhu. How can you NOT read this. I don't typically read Flinthamilton, but by god Thomas is amazing in this.

After the disappearance and presumed death of Captain Flint and Long John Silver, Max smuggles Jack and Anne to Oglethorpe’s plantation. Thomas learns that not only do the three of them have a friend in common, but he is not the only one whose dreams are haunted by a strange city and a terrifying name. Meanwhile, Flint and Silver try to escape an island trapped in time, impossibly built and impossibly old. Along the way they’re forced question reality, each other, and themselves. And in his house in R’lyeh, dead Cthulhu waits dreaming.

9 - The Salt and the Sea by x_etoile_x/@etoilesombre (E, 60k) - a between season 2 and 3 recovery fic. i still remembered months after reading that chapter 4 in particular left me undone. a harrowing journey into the ruins of post-leg loss Silver's mind, plus exquisite hurt/comfort.

John Silver was always able to make the best of a situation. If this particular situation had started to feel complicated, well, a vast fortune ought to prove clarifying. Whatever he might have imagined he’d seen in Flint, the reality was they had used each other. And he had been set to walk away on top. Except now he couldn’t. Now he was trapped.

10 - the straight walk home by vowelinthug/@vowel-in-thug (E, 73k, Silverflint + Jackanne + Maxanne + Billy/Vane) - A western AU and one of the best long fics in the fandom. Excellent comedy, amazing AU twists on our favorite characters, found family vibes, nail-biting action, and a fucking fantastic climax. Also, I can't believe this fic got me invested in Billy/Vane.

Let me tell you a story, about a vaquero named Vasquez...

[honeybeefae]

For the First Time In Forever…

I feel like writing again! I’ve missed you all so much and am so thankful for all of your love and support and kind words and just your existence! You are all amazing!

To celebrate, and because I’m wanting to ease myself back into writing as I am afraid I’m severely out of practice, I’m posting some prompts below that I would love for you all to look over and choose! Any character you want, any scenario, and you can combine!

I don’t know if I will get to all of them and as a forewarning, most of them will probably somewhat short, but I will do my best! I also want to extend this offer to the Baldurs Gate 3 fandom as that game has been my saving grace for awhile! But ACOTAR is very much accepted as well!

I love you guys and can’t wait to write again for you! ❤️

Prompts

Angst:

1.) “Don’t lie to me. I know everything”

2.) “I don’t love you.”

3.) “Please don’t do this.”

4.) “I can’t believe I fell in love with you.”

5.) “Don’t make this harder than it has to be.”

6.) “Us? There never was such a thing.”

7.) “You think I would fall in love with someone like you?”

8.) “You don’t deserve me.”

9.) “You….you cheated on me?”

10.) “Don’t leave me, please, I still need you.”

11.) “What do you want me to say?”

12.) “You promised!”

13.) “Stop pretending this wasn’t your plan all along, to break me down until I’m nothing.”

14.) “You can’t do this.”

15.) “I hate you.”

Fluff:

1.) “Can I hug you?”

2.) “You’re everything to me.”

3.) “Surely you know how much I care about you?”

4.) “Come for a cuddle?”

5.) “You’re so oblivious, aren’t you?”

6.) “Stay with me tonight. Please.”

7.) “I love you.”

8.) “Can I keep you?.”

9.) “Come on, I wouldn’t forget your birthday!”

10.) “I’ve never seen someone so beautiful.”

11.) “I never thought I’d see you again…”

12.) “Come dance in the rain with me!”

13.) “May I have this dance?”

14.) “Will you marry me?”

15.) “I want to show you something.”

Tropes:

1.) Enemies to Lovers

2.) Friends to Lovers

3.) Strangers to Lovers

4.) Soulmates

5.) AU

6.) Amnesia

7.) Marriage of Convenience

8.) Lovers to Enemies

9.) Forbidden Love

10.) Fake Dating

11.) Second Chances

12.) Damsel in Distress

13.) Stuck Together

14.) Opposites Attract

15.) Love Triangle

Smut:

1.) “I want to fuck you so badly.”

2.) “You can take it, pretty girl, can’t you?”

3.) “Mine.”

4.) “On your knees.”

5.) “Submission looks good on you.”

6.) “You look so pretty with my cum painted on your face.”

7.) “Please let me cum inside you, please, I need to breed you.”

8.) “Beg.”

9.) “Someone’s been bad.”

10.) “Don’t you want an audience?”

11.) “Use your words.”

12.) “Such a fucking brat, you should know your place by now but it seems I’ll have to remind you.”

13.) “Do you know how much I’ve been wanting to do this to you?”

14.) “No more, I can’t take anymore.”

15.) “Swallow.”

Scenarios:

1.) One person is injured

2.) One person is sick

3.) One bed trope

4.) Pregnancy

5.) First Date

6.) Wedding/Reception

7.) First night together

8.) Truth or Dare

9.) Forced proximity

10.) One person discovers their secret

11.) Meet cute

12.) Accidentally hurting the other

13.) Hurt/Comfort

14.) Confessions

15.) Breakup

[romana-after-dark]

“Blessed be the fruit”

“May the lord open”

The Handmaids Tale AU

Commander!Joel Miller x Darkish!Handmaid!Reader

Summary: A few decades into Gilead’s conception, you head into your first posting as a handmaid after an affair with a guardian landed you in trouble. Determined to keep your head low in order to keep your son safe, you take on the moniker of OfJoel. Commander Miller has very little to do with you and mrs. Miller regards you with disgust, however you find solace in an unlikely friendship with Commander Miller’s daughter from a handmaid 14 years ago, Ellie who just got done with wives school. You and your friend, Ofthomas start teacher her and her friend Reilly under her mothers nose. Slowly, Commander Miller begins spending time with you and you begin to learn more about the man he was before and an affair begins outside the confines of the ceremony. Although initially you go along with it out if survival, you find yourself falling for the version of Joel you saw in these late night rendezvous.

Which Joel is really him, and how will he react when his own daughters secrets are revealed?

Content and Warnings: DARK JOEL! DUB CON!

Although no violent rape happens like in TWW, reader is under systemic misogyny and a society of ritualized sex abuse. Everything other than the violent rape scenes, everything that happen in either The Handmaids Tale book or show are liable to happen here including but not limited to discussion of rape, child abuse, child marriage, ritualized sexual abuse, sexual abuse in general, acts of violence, major character deaths, mentions of miscarriage but never shown and never pregnancies we know of. Big ole homophobia warning, specifically in regards to lesbophobia. As for Joel, PIV sex, breeding kink, degrading (slut, whore etc but thing like Raider!joel) forced breeding and breeding kink, power dynamics, Joel is not the good guy but he’s also not the worst, slightly rough sex but not violent. Cucking, reader cucks joel's wife, is dark, participates in non con.

Warnings are liable to be added as the story goes but I’ll always update. As always if I miss something please tell me, but i extensively label my warnings and in the end media consumption is your own choice. If you would like to know if this is a happy ending or not you can message me and I’ll tell you that way I don’t spoil for everyone but you can decide if this is for you.

Immersability: Reader has long hair, can conceive children theoretically. At one point, she has to pose as Ellie's mother and I know this can be loaded in terms of skin tone. I am no genetics expert but I know dark skinned parents can have white passing children, like Lional Richie and Nicle Richie. It's up to you to see if this is going to take you out of the story or not.

Undecided amount of chapters

Chapter 1: You meet your first commander, his family, and your new walking partner

Chapter 2: Your first ceremony, and you see something you aren’t supposed to.

Chapter 3: Everything is not as it seems in either Miller household.

Chapter 4: it’s smut.

Flashback Bonus Chapter: Insight into Tommy, Angela, and Joel's relationship.

Chapter 5: Joel takes you somewhere special. Tommy is involved.

Bonus Chapter: Tommy and Angela

Chapter 6: Gina gets what’s coming.

Chapter 7: Tommy, Joel, OfJoel and Angela explore

Finale (part 1): Ellie gets caught.

If you are interested, please comment or say so in a Reblog! Rebloging a masterlist is super helpful to get a series off the ground well!

Thank you so much for your support!

[squigglebottom]

*This is inspired by a very real fantasy and experience I had this morning (I actually did squirt 4 times thinking about Joe) and as intimate as it sounds…I had to write about it. I have never out of all my celeb crushes known someone to have this much power over me. I’ve watched almost all his shows, fallen for every one of his characters, listened to AI ASMR, read fan fiction, and write my own. It’s amazing (and I’ll admit frightening) how captivated I am by this brilliant and talented man. Hope you enjoy.*

18+ Minors don’t even think about it!!

Look At Me

3 am. You wake from a deep slumber for no particular reason. Turning your head to the left, you see Joe, trying to work out how he can be so gorgeous even while asleep. Adjusting your pillow, he starts to slowly open his eyes.

“Everything alright, darling?”

“Yes, I just woke up from a dream.”

“What were you dreaming about? Was it perhaps me?”

You smirk at him, truthfully you could not remember what the dream was about but figured you could have fun teasing him.

“Hmm…perhaps you were? I do not recall. It could have been another strapping fellow.”

“Is that so?” Joe raises one eyebrow. “Well, who might this other man be that your dreaming about that isn’t me?”

“I remember him being tall with an incredible physique….perhaps a Henry Cavill type…oh yes…then Superman whisked me away in his arms…flying us out to a secret location to ravage each other.”

Joe realises what you’re doing and shakes his head.

“You’re having a go at me aren’t you? I bet you don’t even remember what you dreamt about.”

“Ok…you got me…I’m not even sure I was dreaming…I just like to make you mad and jealous.”

Joe’s eyes widened as he bit his lip.

“You are such a damned brat aren’t you? You really like getting me riled up. Perhaps I need to teach you a lesson that it’s not polite to tease, baby girl.”

“Oooo…I’m so scared.” You smirked back as Joe grabbed both of your wrists and pinned them down above your head.

“You should be.”

He positioned himself on top of you, holding your wrists with one hand as the other lifted up your shirt. Lowering his head down to your breast, placing his plump lips right above your nipple before taking it into his mouth. You moaned softly as he began suckling, his hand moving down to your swollen clit.

You always found when a man fed on your breast to be utterly erotic, often coming from that stimulation alone. Joe knew this and took full advantage of it. He could feel you getting more and more wet as he put two long fingers inside of you. They reached deep enough that he was able to rub your most delicate spot.

Joe lifted his head so he could gaze at your face in complete ecstasy. You glanced down to see that he had a mischievous expression.

“What’s that look for?”

“Oh, I just thought of a brilliant idea.”

He reaches for the bedside drawer and retrieves your vibrator. It was the strongest one you had and he put it on full blast. He brought the vibrator at first to your clit. You gasped at the strong tremors that radiated your core. Eyes shut tight as your chest heaved rapidly.

“Oh that’s just not going to do, love. Open your eyes, look at me.”

You looked upon Joe as he stared at you with such an intense glare. You often found it difficult to keep your eyes opened during sex especially when it felt so incredible. However, you did not want to disobey Joe any longer.

The sensation of your toy was becoming unbearable and you knew you wouldn’t be able to hold on much longer…you needed to find release.

“Keep looking at me love, don’t stop. I want you to look into my eyes as you come.”

With that sentence, your insides clenched making you come all over Joe’s hands. He began to slide your vibrator inside you. You yelped at the intrusion since you still were throbbing from your intense orgasm only moments ago. His momentum increasing as he stuffed his fingers inside your mouth.

“Suck on them. Suck hard. Show me what a little slut you are for me.”

You sucked hard on his fingers imagining it was his juicy cock. His fingers started to go deeper reaching down your throat.

“Such a naughty girl…keep those eyes on mine.”

You felt another wave of pleasure ripping through you as you squirted once more.

“My my baby girl…again? You’re soaking right through these panties. I think you can give me a few more.”

Joe removed his fingers, smearing your spit all over your face. He continued to fuck you with the vibrator, your legs twitching about. Without any control, you closed your eyes.

A smack across your cheek startles you as Joe grabs your throat.

“What did I say?? Keep your eyes on me! I will not tell you again.”

He continued to work your vibrator resulting in your coming two more times. You laid there absolutely spent, your panties now completely soaked. You could feel your come running down your hips and back side. Joe looked you up and down admiring his work with a cheeky grin.

“Best be getting this dirty girl cleaned up I think.”

[heyclickadee]

Saw another “why would Tech even be interested in Phee” take out in the wild, so here’s a partial list of Phee’s many attractive qualities, because the double standard of every other character vs Phee is exhausting:

(Quick disclaimer—this isn’t me saying anyone has to like the ship. You don’t. It’s fine. Don’t ship things you don’t want to ship. Dislike the way it’s been written in the show if you want. Ship these two with other people or with no one if you want. I don’t care. This is just me being tired of people being weird about Phee):

1. She’s smart. She can improv her way through dealing with death traps and she’s got an area (areas) of expertise that Tech knows relatively little about. That makes her interesting. Also hot.

2. She’s gorgeous. Look at her. She’s ridiculously pretty.

3. She’s a great storyteller. Yeah, she changes her stories every time, but that’s at least part of why Tech is paying attention, because he notices that.

4. She’s a stone cold badass. And she’s a FUN stone cold badass. Disarmingly charming stone cold badass.

5. She’s a remarkably good person. She steals artifacts so that refugees can hang on to a bit of their culture in diaspora. This seems to be what pushes Tech from, “Oh, she’s interesting,” to, “OH. SHE’S BRILLIANT AND I MIGHT BE IN LOVE.”

6. She’s not nice, but she is kind, and that’s honestly a quality that she and Tech share. Phee isn’t soft, she’s not going to talk in therapy speak, she’ll push a little hard sometimes, but gosh darnit if she isn’t the person who would always stop to help someone with a flat tire (or respond to finding out some friends are broke, jobless, and on the run by immediately taking them back to her secret refuge so they can rest and recoup).

7. She’s incredibly direct and unafraid to speak her mind and…okay. This is going to get long. And I know some people will disagree with this, and that’s fine because everyone is different, and wants different things. But. Speaking personally from my point of view. The fact that Phee gives as good as she gets would be a really reassuring quality to have in a partner. I see a lot of myself reflected in Tech, but one of the many, many ways in which we’re very different is that I’m a consummate people pleaser, and Tech is very much not. At all. I don’t think he has a people-pleasing bone in his body.

But, here’s the thing—about half of my people pleasing comes from being terrified that I’ll say or do something that inadvertently hurts someone, and that person won’t just tell me or give me the chance to explain or make things right. And for how that relates to dating, I had people—friends and family—keep trying to set me up with incredibly shy men through most of my early twenties, no matter how many times I objected, because they had this perception that I was soft, wishy-washy, and needed to be treated with kid gloves. And…no. I’m opinionated as hell. I’m relatively confident about certain things. I just shut down my ability to project any of that because I was terrified of running roughshod over people without meaning to. But when I’m around someone who I know is willing to disagree with me, who I know will explain why, and who I know will push back if I take something too far? About 90% percent of my people pleasing and social anxiety evaporates. I know I don’t have to walk on eggshells around them—and that they aren’t going to walk on eggshells around me, either. They’re going to be direct about their issues and treat me like a freaking adult.

And, honestly, the fact that Phee doesn’t walk on eggshells around Tech (who also gives as good as he gets—Tech isn’t soft, nice, or shy and retiring; he’s confident as hell and he should be, because hot damn)—is. I don’t know. I like that she’s direct, and that she will recognize and pull back if she’s gone too far. This is projecting a bit, but, speaking personally, I would rather be with someone who treats me like an adult and tells me what’s up even if it’s uncomfortable than someone who never, ever tells me when they’re upset because they’re afraid of hurting my feelings and just lets me stew in social confusion all the time.

8. She can more than hold her own in a fight and she carries a sword around. That’s hot, I’m sorry.

9. Phee’s fantastic with Omega. She talks to her like she’s a person, she doesn’t ever shut Omega down, she’ll tell her stories, she’ll joke around with her, and she’s generally very respectful while also not holding her to the same standard she would if Omega were an adult. She’s even a little protective of Omega, even though Omega isn’t at all her responsibility. I think the moment that took Phee from ‘cool’ to ‘fantastic’ for me was towards the end of ‘Entombed’ while the Deadly Giraffe of Death was collapsing; Phee’s right there trying to shield Omega alongside Hunter. And. Like. Omega is Tech’s baby sister, he’s probably going to notice that how Phee treats her. Massive points in her favor for this.

[burst-of-iridescent]

atla live action thoughts: episodes 3 & 4

SPOILERS AHEAD

tw: opinions

things i liked:

jet, you beautiful, beautiful man. had me twirling my hair and kicking my feet fr i NEED this show to get a season 2 just so i can see more of him in the ba sing se arc please netflix

but looks aside, sebastian amoruso DELIVERED on the performance. the softness, the vulnerability, the charm, the intelligence, yet also the ruthlessness beneath it all? KILLED IT.

the moment between him and katara where he tells her to remember her mother as she was alive and not just her death was absolutely lovely. “remember the sunrise” made me very emotional

on that note, can’t believe jetara fake marriage is canon now lmao

i am SO here for desi omashu. i love the vibe and aesthetic of the city and again the visuals are STUNNING. live action repping the south asians better than the original ever did i’ll be honest

shameless fan service but “MY CABBAGES” being so fucking dramatic had me dying

of all the things i expected from the atla live action, secret tunnel and omashu being lesbians wasn’t even on the list but i’m not mad. hilarious that they turned the cave of two lovers into the cave of two platonic siblings though

jet, omashu and northern air temple arcs actually meshed together better than i thought. the NAT episode never sat well with me in the original so i’m glad they moved them to omashu instead.

the freedom fighters were RIGHT OUT OF THE ANIMATION. casting directors absolutely killed

love that they showed resistance movements within the fire nation and azula being part of rooting them out. it’s a nice nod to the deserter, since i’m guessing they’re not including that episode

really glad to see that the atla live action is following the tradition of having weirdly unnecessary zutara crumbs in every iteration of the story because what in the om shanti om was that zutara scarf moment. 10/10 no notes

having one of the earthbenders transporting iroh be angry over losing a loved one because of iroh’s siege of ba sing se was a really great change. i’ve always thought the original glossed over the true extent of the damage iroh did, so having him come face to face with what he’d done in the past was a great way to add some complexity

“how dare you beat up that child!” everyone go home seeing zuko being beat up by a random old lady is the highlight of this series. really love that they were just running around throwing things at each other that was major book 1 zuko/aang fight energy lmao

SECRET TUNNELLLLLLLL

leaves from the vine instrumental was 100% to inflict emotional damage and it fucking worked. the scene between zuko and iroh at lu ten’s funeral was so beautiful & then to have it flipped around at the end when iroh says “everything i need is on this boat”… fuck you for this netflix i didn’t need these tears today

things i disliked/am conflicted about:

not a fan of what they’re doing with katara’s character. they’re toning down a lot of her rage and fierceness, and boiling her down to “trauma over mother’s death.” in the original katara didn’t freeze jet and splash water at him because he tried to fight her, she did it because she was hurt and pissed off! there’s no way animated katara would’ve just run away from jet without sending a water whip at his face first. i’m concerned for how the pakku fight is gonna go tbh

bumi my guy, what did they do to you 💀 this series seems hellbent on having everyone remind aang that he ran away which doesn’t work when a) you already changed aang actively running away to him just going off for a break and b) you’ve made that point! the original omashu episode was about bumi teaching aang to look at the world differently, here it just weirdly feels as though he’s punishing aang by venting all his anger and despair on him?? that’s NOT what animated bumi was like & they didn’t even have the two of them go sliding down the delivery system in the flashbacks so adding it in at the end felt very out of nowhere. they didn’t even genuinely seem to be FRIENDS

having aang immediately figure out it was bumi was… sigh. can we please not do the thing where characters already know everything it’s giving me trauma flashbacks to the percy jackson show

jet’s plan feels more reasonable here than it did in the original. i get they’re trying to show that he didn’t care about the collateral damage to innocent people and that’s bad, but idk him wiping out an entire town unilaterally felt more extreme than a few bombings.

heavily dislike what they’ve done with zhao. i know they��re trying to show him clawing his way to power but that’s more of a long feng move than a ZHAO move. it’s important that zhao always holds more power than zuko and that he has an overinflated sense of ego from the start for him to fulfil his narrative purpose of serving as a warning to zuko of what he might become.

i like seeing mailee but why are they in this show? it feels as though they’re cardboard cutouts there for fan service instead of being actual characters

overall i liked these episodes better than the previous two & i do enjoy how action-packed and visually pleasing the show has been so far.

overall rating: 8/10 for episode 3, 7/10 for episode 4

[coffeebeanwriting]

10 Ways to Start your Novel

Here is a collective list of 10 ways to consider starting your story. Merge a couple, use none or just take inspiration:

1) Start in media res or in the middle of an action. This doesn’t have to be an epic battle scene, but instead just means to start with your protagonist in the midst of doing something.

2) Use your unique setting as a hook. If you have a lush fantasy world, a dark dystopian, or even a beautiful contemporary setting, consider opening with some unique descriptions of the location.

3) Begin with a secret or question that your readers want to solve. “Tomorrow, the Serving occurs for the first time in twenty years. I’ll be lucky to survive.” What’s the Serving? Why does it occur once every twenty years? How come the protagonist will barely survive it?

4) Have your antagonist affect the protagonist/plot from the very start. This doesn’t have to be directly, but can be. Think: a step-daughter being excluded at a ball by her evil step-mother. A detective is misled by false clues from the infamous crime lord. A warrior fighting off the henchmen of the main villain.

5) Internal conflict. Readers get to hear your protagonist's inner thoughts and struggles at the start of the book. Your protagonist might be unsatisfied with life and makes choices that change the story based on their internal struggles. 

6) External conflict. Your protagonist is forced to act because of a physical conflict. Whether they cause it, or it’s caused to them.

7) Start with an interesting point of view. If your story has multiple viewpoints, consider starting with a perspective that will really intrigue your audience. Maybe an unreliable, sinister, crazy, or overly anxious character.

8) Create mystery around your characters. Introduce the protagonist, antagonist, or side characters with the intrigue surrounding them. Why does he walk with a limp? Why is her nickname “The Last Resort.”? Harry Potter is the “boy who lived” and Voldemort is “he who must not be named.” These phrases and nicknames create anticipation for the reader to figure out more.

9) Begin with interesting dialogue. In my opinion, opening with typical conversations can be lackluster. Consider starting with the character conversing about a secret, problem, or something unique to your world. Katniss and Gale discuss the Reaping and the Capitol. 

10) Create an immersive mood. For example, if you’re writing a dark novel, plunge your reader into an eerie and spine-chilling atmosphere. This tells them exactly what they're getting into and should expect for the rest of the novel.

Extra Tip) Start with a compelling voice. Show the narrator or protagonist's unique attitude towards things. Is your narration sassy, dark, romantic, comedic, or something else?

Instagram: coffeebeanwriting  

📖 ☕ Official Blog: www.byzoemay.com  

[natural-idiot3]

Do you imagine in Genshin Sagau that depending on what you’ve completed in the game changes Sagau?

1- The story: haven’t done inazuma? Then good luck trying to find a boat there! Haven’t done Sumeru? Nahida is still trapped.

2-How much of the map have you done (%)? People might see you as a creator who values to uncover secrets if you have 100% anywhere. Also depending on where you have explored the most, it will make the vessels think their land is the most favourable if it’s 100%.

3-Friendship levels- will affect how much you can communicate with the characters or people will see you as someone who values trust.

4-What characters you have and how much you have levelled them up. If you have the character then they will be a vessel and if they are levelled up then they can be seen as a protector or something.

5-Reputation level- this could be the amount of influence you have over one nation? Like as the traveler is helping out the more the word spreads of who you are sort of thing. You got level 1 everywhere? Nobody knows who you are. You got full levels? Everyone knows.

The vessels will know who you are already but the reputation level helps with normal people within the nations. If you don’t have much reputation then people will just see the traveler as the hero but if you have lots of reputation then people see the traveller as your messenger.

Edit:

6- With the characters depending on what constellation you have the on will show how devoted they are to you. It could be like this: when you get the character, they will be able to feel your presence but as you get more constellations they will be able to hear what you say while your on the game, they could even get visions in their sleep when your not on the game. They will just get more devoted to you as they feel more of you so you got a C6 character? They could go full on yandere.

Can you think of anymore? I’ll add it and make sure your name is on it. There is achievements and the tea pot but I can’t think of an idea from them, got any?

[musclesandhammering]

Unpopular Phase 4 & 5 Opinions

Quantumania is the worst Phase 4/5 movie. And it wasn’t even because “kang got beat by ants.” (I liked kang in this movie). It’s just that the Spy Kids aesthetic & bad acting & overall weird vibes just weren’t for me.

Love and Thunder is no worse than Ragnarok. I would argue that it’s better in a lot of ways, actually. I really liked it.

Taika Waititi ruined thor with bad humour all the way back in Ragnarok tbh, but y’all weren’t complaining about it then 😒.

BuckySarah is better than sambucky every day of the week.

The Marvels was a good ass movie & they’re one of my favorite teams in the mcu. I’ll never forgive cbm sites & online dudebros for killing the hype from the moment the film was announced.

I adore America Chavez & Kamala Kahn and I want to see them in everything. They must be protected at all costs.

Multiverse of Madness had shitty characterisation & basically just copy-pasted the ‘grief made me go off the deep end & hurt people, then I realised and stopped myself’ storyline from Wandavision… but Wanda was extremely selfish & apathetic to other people’s suffering from the time she was introduced in the mcu. MoM didn’t make her like that.

Wanda should’ve been looking for Vision (her actual real life boyfriend whom she spent years with irl) in MoM instead of the kids that weren’t even real that she spent like a week using as characters in her sitcom.

Making everyone forget Peter Parker wasn’t profound or poetic in any way- it was just frustrating and needlessly cruel.

I’m begging marvel to understand that heroes don’t have to be in constant suffering to be heroic & villains don’t have to sacrifice themselves to achieve redemption. Let characters heal and atone, you absolute weirdos.

What If…? is the most boring show ever. I’d rather watch Secret Invasion or She-Hulk.

Season 2 of Loki is, in a cinematic & artistic sense, the best marvel project period.

Loki season 1 was meh- more of a fun au than anything because his characterisation kinda sucked. Season 2 fixed it, though, and made it way easier for me to incorporate this version of Loki back into the larger mcu.

Having Steve stay in the past with Peggy was stupid af.

I don’t hate Peggy (or Captain Carter), though. I actually think she’s pretty cool.

I don’t really love Steve. He’s arrogant & they never really let him have flaws & something about him being a perfect metaphor for the American military industrial complex (and marvel painting that as a good thing) doesn’t sit right with me.

The Illuminati got done dirty and the only reason they went down so fast was because Wanda had all that plot armor.

I thought the retcon of having Wanda be “destined” to become the Scarlet Witch since birth was an annoying cop-out. Her powers originating from being experimented on with an infinity stone was way more interesting.

Loki & Wanda have almost the exact same powers.

Nebula deserved a bigger rule in killing Thanos & everything else moving forward.

I love Kathryn Newton but her acting as Cassie Lang was the worst acting I’ve ever seen in the mcu, like it was outrageously bad.

I’m glad Sam is the new Captain America and not Bucky.

The fact that Bucky probably isn’t gonna be one of Thee lead characters in the upcoming avengers movies feels sick and twisted.

Secret Invasion was actually passable until the G’iah scene at the end. That ruined it. And Nick Fury deserved way better for his solo series.

Kang is so much more interesting than Doctor Doom. I really hope they just recast him.

Carol Danvers does NOT deserve the hate she gets.

I actually disliked Carol until The Marvels. That movie made me a stan.

The way people treat Monica as Wanda’s little inferior pet creation or smth & then brag about it is uhh very sus.

I don’t like sylvie (bc she’s an amalgamation of 3 different comic characters- which killed any hopes of them appearing individually in the mcu, the creators used her existence to butcher Loki’s genderfluid rep, & she was written poorly) & I HATE sylki (bc it’s weird & unnecessary).

Marvel isn’t dead. I actually love where they’re taking things. But that’s just me.

[rayisemo]

Webtoon comics I think are underrated.

Now, I just want to make it clear that when I say “underrated” I don’t mean as if it isn’t heard of or been read, just that it’s underrated in the sense that nobody talks about it, makes posts about it, fanfics, fan arts, etc.

…and if you haven’t read these then I highly recommend you do!!! It’s so worth it, trust! I’ll add in a little review too!

1. DEATH: Rescheduled (Thriller)

The story in short is about a world where you have the Kill Law, a law where you are legally allowed to kill one person a year, no consequences. However the “Penny” Kreyul and his friends disagree with the Kill Law and are going to put an end to it no matter what.

Death: rescheduled had me so captivated that I refused to sleep before I finished reading. I even spent money on this shit because it was so entrancing! My favourite episode was by far 66, it was so funny and it builds up ships and just pure wholesomeness of the group.

The characters all have great personalities, the story is amazing and omg the art is so beautiful. You’ll love it.

2. Sable Curse (Fantasy)

This story follows a young girl named Tarron, a girl who is cursed and will die in 6 months. Her (honestly abusive) parents decide to take her and her sister to a holiday retreat. There she ends up finding new friends, herself, potential love, and maybe even a cure for her curse. But as it turns out, she’s not the only one cursed either.

This story is amazing! The art is wonderful, the characters are perfect, some we hate, some we love. We learn throughout the story more about this curse, and even about this special holiday retreat. There is so much mystery to uncover and it is one of my favourite webcomics.

Now, I’ve heard that most people have actually read it, but I encourage that we make a proper fandom for this series!

3. Marionetta (Fantasy)

Two best friends decide to go out and visit the travelling circus. However after a while Julia’s best friend Kamille disappears. Julia is determined to find her again and hunts down the circus, where her best friend is now living. Julia is still going to bring her home and end up losing something very valuable. Her life. For this circus is for the dead. Now Julia has to uncover the true secrets behind the circus whilst still trying to bring her and Kamille home. Will she manage? Or will she have to kill Anthonn Gremminger to save her life?

When I tell you this webcomic is a roller coaster of emotions. There are plenty of ships to chase, characters to stan, and many theories to explore. I love this webcomic so bloody much and I was actually surprised that there wasn’t a lot posted about it.

This is such a cool and dark story, with lovely and cute art. I could talk about it for hours.

4. After School Activities For Unripe Apples (Drama)

A wholesome slow burn between Mi-ae and an old childhood friend, Cheol. When another year starts and Mi-ae needs to take school more seriously the son of the family friends shows up in her class, but now seen as Lucifer, a hostile boy who ends fights - but is that the boy Mi-ae remembers? Who she know knows and loves?

This is a cute, funny and entertaining webcomic. You would think that things would be so simple, however due to school, parents, and other issues the characters face of themselves and others, it is difficult to understand and accept your own feelings. This is exactly why I love this series so much, it’s relatable and adorable. We especially love Mi-ae.

There are a few fanfics out there, but honestly where is the love it deserves??

5. My universe (Romance)

Apart from the normal college life Hayeon lives, she has this special gift.. she can communicate with the universe. She ends up communicating with an alien, who she gives the name Ujun. They want to be able to actually meet each other, but alas that is nearly impossible. But imagine the surprise when Ujun ends up taking over the body of one of Hayeons classmates, and crush, Hyeonsu. Now they must figure out a way to send him back whilst still spending some time together. However the peacefulness and secrets can’t be kept as the aliens are taking over. What will Hayeon do now? And can she even trust Ujun anymore?

Now this story deserves its own universe fr. The art is super cute as is the story, however things get more complicated as the story progresses. When I was still reading this the first thing I would do in the morning is read the next episode as soon as I got the daily pass because it was so good! Obviously I’m not going to spoil the ending, however the waves of emotions this series brings you is inhuman.

All in all it’s a fantastic webcomic that deserves so much love and attention!

6. Stray Souls (Fantasy)

In a world of magic and string weaving, some are fortunate and some are not. Eylin isn’t particularly good at string weaving, however that doesn’t stop her and her friends from stopping the wicked and doomed Amethyst King. Follow along the difficulty journey with friendship, love, and a whole lot of mystery. But what is it all worth in the end?

Holy moly this story is AMAZING. The plot is genius and the art is fantastic, the characters are so original and all have such amazing personalities!! Although, it’s a bit hard to keep track of them all😭 still love them all.

All in all it’s so amazing and has so much potential to be incredibly popular, yet there is no fandom!? Give it attention!!

Now! So far this are all the webcomics that come to mind! I think all of these are great and I just know that so many more will enjoy these if they gave them a chance.

I’d love to talk about these with other people, and I’d even love it if others would like to share some webcomics they believe are underrated too.

All of these comics are from Webtoon, and are so worth your time! Please let me know if there was anything I missed.

(I might add more in the future 😉)

Edit: sadly the pictures are now a little awkward and too big for my liking… but I hit the limit of 10 pictures 😔🙏

💗- Anyways lots of love!

[sleepy-wyvern]

Billy Hargrove x Female!Reader (SMUT CHAPTER 4)

Image 1, Image 2

Chapter: 4/4 (THE SMUT IS HEREEE) Part 1, Part 2, Part 3. AO3 link here

Summary: Billy pursues an uninterested reader trying to gain her adoration. When reader finds her crush kissing someone else that's when she realizes her feelings are towards the wrong guy.

THE SMUT IS HEREEEEEEEEEEE

TW/CW: persistent flirting, cigarettes, marijuana, violent threat (not towards reader), unprotected sex

This fic only contains characters that are 18+ and will contain smut, as such 18+ readers only, minors absolutely DNI

For the lovely @strangelysupernatural ! Thanks so much dolly for challenging me to write this fic about Billy! It was super intimidating but I'm so glad I did it.

Tip toeing across the hardwood floor made it feel like you were hiding from someone, even though there was no one home. Your heart pounded in your chest as he led you to his room, your eyes grazing over his weights as you passed by.

Your eyes peer around his bedroom as you fold your arms nervously. 

“This is it,” Billy smiled, holding his arms out in display. He wore a smirk as he gestured, discarding his jean jacket.

He moved to his dresser that had a bottle of alcohol, you weren’t sure what. He had mentioned it but the words were already lost to you. He already had taken two glasses with ice from the kitchen when you arrived, placing them down. 

“It’s nice,” You comment while looking around.

You moved to his bed, sitting down at the edge trying to calm your nerves as you watched him pour the drinks. You smoothed your skirt nervously.

He smiled gently when he turned, noticing your unease. He handed you the drink you gladly accepted. The taste was strong and sour, sending fire down to your stomach. Somehow it helped make being in the same room as this gorgeous man a little easier.

“So, come here often?,” he says, stepping back and leaning against his dresser. 

You couldn’t help but chuckle, “is that how you get all the ladies?”

He shook his head, “not you, clearly."

"Well," you bit your lip looking down at your legs before continuing. "I thought you were different."

He nodded tapping his finger against his glass, "and how did you know I was different? Different from your different." He grinned playfully.

"Well," you tapped a finger on your chin, "When you caught up to me in the hall. I realize all this," you gestured to him making him chuckle. "It's just a show to get all the ladies."

"Well, clearly that didn't work. You definitely didn’t make it easy for me.”

“Why would I do that?” You smiled back playfully, “then you’d stop chasing.”

“I’ll chase you until the end of time,” his voice was lower and silkier now as he looked deep into your eyes, “if you’ll let me.”

“Depends,” your breath caught in your throat as you laid your drink on his night stand. “What are you going to do when you finally catch me?”

He looked at you, the corner of his lip turning upward ever so slightly as if he was keeping a secret. He had that look in his eyes, the look that he was completely obsessed with you. He tapped his fingers against the wooden surface of the dresser, clearly delaying the answer for your anticipation.

“I’ll bring you the best pleasure you’ve ever felt, darling, if you let me.” His bright blue eyes were darting between yours trying to read your expression.

You were excited but a small part of you was afraid. You had never been with someone like Billy before. Not this confident, not this sexy. Perhaps he sensed your fear as he stepped forward, expression soft.

“I’ll never do anything you don’t want me to. Tell me to stop and I will.” He reassured you.

His eyes somehow seemed larger with his gentle expression. He was so different than you expected, since that day you met in the cafeteria. Looking into his blue eyes you could tell it was real, really him standing in front of you.

“I want to. I just…” You trail off breaking eye contact nervously. “I’m not exactly… experienced. I don’t want to disappoint you.”

He brought a hand to your face, very gently giving you the opportunity to step back if you were uncomfortable. Instead you leaned your face into his rough, strong hand. After a moment you reluctantly looked back at him, your faces inches away.

“You can never disappoint me, no matter what so long as I’m with you. We can call it a night here and I’d be perfectly happy.” His voice was thick with concern as he looked into your eyes.

“No-“ you say rather too quickly, “I want to. Please.”

He smiled softly at your eagerness, glancing down at your lips.

Suddenly you closed the gap that was between your lips. You let yourself fall to the taste of sweet tobacco and mint, the smell of spicy musk and expensive cologne.

“Whatever my queen desires,” he chuckled slightly as he pulled back for air, making you blush. You were thankful he kept his hand on your cheek, otherwise you didn’t know how you could keep steady.

“I desire you,” you found yourself whispering into him.

“Are you sure?” He asked, running his warm thumb along your cheek.

“Yes,” the word never sounded so sweet.

Your body whimpered as he rescinded his touch. As he stepped back you watched him curiously, wondering what he was doing.

Billy stood looking at you, deep in your eyes undoing the clasp of his belt with one hand. The other held his drink and somehow avoided spilling while doing the maneuver. The belt dropped to the floor with the metal hitting the floorboards with a slight clang. Your attention was drawn to his peach coloured lips that were parted ever so slightly while your heart pounded. 

He placed the glass onto his nightstand before dipping his fingers into his drink and you wondered what he was doing until he brought an ice cube to his mouth.

“Lay down for me,” he rolled the ice cube over his tongue as he spoke, looking into your eyes with his softer yet demanding ones. 

You obliged, spreading your legs as you watched him lift his white shirt over his head, heart pounding so loud you wondered if he could hear it too. You couldn’t help but admire his chest while he leaned over you and you weren’t sure whether to be relieved or disappointed he didn’t stop at your hips, instead he approached your face. He hovered over you with muscles flexed and toned. Hesitantly you reached your hands up and touched the warm skin of his biceps. 

He brought his mouth down to yours and you gasped at his cold lips. Suddenly you realised what the ice was for as your lips parted and your tongue met his. The sweet cold sensation of his tongue was so new and filled you with ecstasy mixed with sparks. 

While you were kissing his rough fingertips starting sneaking up your thighs, making you shiver as your entrance started to soak.

He pulled back sooner than you’d like but he had other plans unbeknownst to you. Keeping his blue eyes locked onto yours, he moved down to your skirt, pulling your panties down over your legs. He was slow and gentle with the maneuver, sure to drag out every step as a way to make you want it even more. 

Everywhere his fingers went filled you with sparks so intense you felt dizzy. His hands ran down your legs until finally he balled your panties in his fist, throwing them to the floor. Your wetness sent a chill through your body, one filled with lust.

He moved to your cunt as your body tensed anticipating the first contact. His lips were cool against your entrance as he kissed you, his hands moved to hold your thighs knowing you were about to squirm. Sure enough his strong grip held you down to the ecstasy of the cold ice and his tongue. 

It didn’t take him long to find your clit as he explored your body, your soft moan and nearly bucking legs was a dead giveaway. His arm muscles tensed in a delicious way you admired, just making the experience even more pleasurable.

The soft dirty blonde curls of his mullet brushed against your thighs as he eagerly devoured you. His face was rough and scruffy but it added to the mixture of wonderful sensations that made you grip the bed sheets. 

You wanted to drink all of him in as you moaned his name, running your fingers greedily through his hair. The cold feeling of his tongue brought on a new delicacy you never knew existed.

His muscles flexed as he held your legs down, his grip on your thighs kept you under his spell of pleasure. Slowly you started climbing that hill of orgasm. 

“Please,” you beg, wanting more “Billy, please.”

Hearing his name roll off your tongue thick with lust encouraged him more. The repetitive motion with his tongue made your internal cup of pleasure overflow. Your heart pounded in your ear drums as you moaned from the height of orgasm. You leaned your head back against the mattress with a gasp, limbs feeling numb. 

You didn’t even feel the bed move as Billy climbed over you, a delicious smirk on his lips. He brushed a loose strand of hair behind your ear, placing a quick kiss above your eyebrow as feeling slowly returned to you.

He laid down on the bed next to you, watching you carefully with a content expression. That’s when you realised he was slowly running his fingers up and down your thighs in a living, soothing motion.

“How was that?” He asked, heavy breath against your neck.

“That was wonderful,” you whispered looking into his eyes.

“You wanna do it again?” He asked, pulling back to look into your eyes with a playful grin.

Your eyes widened, feeling your cunt throbbing again already.

“Yes,” you whispered, pulling him into a kiss.

He hungrily kissed you back, tongues meeting in a heated embrace. You pulled back sooner than he’d like but waited to see what you had to say.

“This time I want all of you.”

Before he had time to speak you moved your hand over his bare chest, sliding down to the waistband of his jeans. His breath was heavy against your face, catching in anticipation. Your hands fumbled with the button on his jeans, undoing them sloppily. He was already bulging for you, clearly from watching you squirm in pleasure earlier.

You felt a little more confident as you unzipped his fly, quickly moving your hand to feel the hard bulge of his cock through his boxers. You felt his unsteady breath against your neck as he planted sweet kisses. 

He let you push his shoulder down, laying his back against the mattress, popping himself up against the pillow with an expression of interest and excitement. He let you take the lead, and you loved every second of it. 

Eagerly you moved your fingers underneath his boxers and the moment your gentle fingers touched his cock he let out a gasp. You pulled him free from the confines of his boxers as you lowered your body down. 

His hands moved to your head, running through your hair as you hovered his tip. You started with gentle quick licks and kisses that turned deeper while he let out gasps, leaning against the pillow.

You could tell it took all of his strength to not plush your head down onto his cock. You figured you had teased him enough though, and with the next kiss you pushed him slowly into your mouth. His hands froze as he savoured the feeling of sliding over your tongue. You gripped his thigh as he slid further into you, close to the gagging point. 

“Fuck, y/n,” he whispered. 

You slide him in and out over your tongue as he grips onto you until it was too much.

“Y/n,” He warned with a growl, “I’m getting closer.”

You took that as your cue to lift your lips off of him with a smile.

“Oh but that’s the best part,” you teased, “I’m saving that for somewhere else.”

He took the hint eagerly as he sat up, “lay down for me.”

You laid back against the soft pillow, letting yourself take in the remaining warmth that his body left along with the scent of his cologne. You savoured the comforting feeling while he was discarding his jeans and boxers to the floor.

The butterflies inside you fluttered wildly at the sight of him now on top of you, looking down at you filled with desire. 

He moved one hand to the rim of your shirt, “may I?” He asked politely. 

You giggled a little at his politeness but respected it “you may.”

Deftly he moved his fingers of one hand to your back, undoing the clasp of your bra. To say you were impressed was an understatement. You shimmied out of your bra and blouse, before you knew it the cold room air was against your skin giving you goosebumps.

“Wow,” he said looking down at you with a smirk “you’re the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever seen.”

You blushed, stuttering flustered “you don’t mean that.”

“I do,” He smiled, moving to kiss your lips sweetly. 

You felt his soft curls against your chin as he trailed kisses down your collar bone, slowly moving to your breasts. Your body shuddered as he reached your nipple. Meanwhile his free hand was sliding underneath the elastic band of your skirt. 

“Are you ready?” He whispered. 

“Yes,” the word came out as a whimper you hadn’t meant it to. He seemed to like it as you watched goosebumps rise over his skin. 

You trailed your index finger over his shoulder, exploring every inch of his muscles. Heat rose from his skin as you wrapped your arms around him, feeling a nervous excitement while he lined his tip up with your entrance. 

Your body shivered as he slowly pressed between your folds, your lower lips throbbing against him. His breath was shaken and unsteady as he looked up at you to read your face. The way his curls danced and facial hair moved with his expression sent waves of electricity through you. 

You nodded breathlessly to him and wondered if he could feel the shudders. That’s when he slowly started to push into you further, your body tensing against the mattress. He stopped and let out a gasp as you adjusted to the new pressure. 

“You okay?” He asked intently, looking down at you with concern.

“Yeah, keep going,” you assured moving a hand through his hair. 

He pushed in further ever so slowly, letting your body adjust once again. A pleasurable smile was plastered on your lips that you couldn’t shake, you wanted him so bad. You let out a soft moan that made him shiver as he was finally fully inside. You savoured the moment letting your body relax again as you ran your hand along the muscles of his chest. 

“Keep going,” you urge again. 

Wordlessly he obliges, pulling out ever so slightly before slowly pushing back in. This time he was a bit faster making your lip quiver at the heated pressure. Still, you wanted more. 

“Faster,” you demanded, making him chuckle slightly at the urgency in your voice. You didn’t care, you needed more friction. 

Slowly he started to speed up, thrusting faster and faster until he was pounding against your throbbing cunt. You wrapped your legs and arms around him, wanting him closer and closer, feeling the ripple in his muscles as he fucked you.

When he slowed to a stop you were disappointed as you watched him gasp for air. He stayed inside you while he grabbed a free pillow, lifting your ass up he placed it beneath you. You raised an eyebrow at him curiously. 

“Trust me,” he smirked, rolling his tongue over his lips as his body returned to yours. 

This time when he started thrusting it felt different, deeper and better. When he sped up that’s when you felt him hit that wonderful g-spot. Your loud moan gave you away as he chuckled. 

“There we go,” he whispered before continuing, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. 

His thick cock was quickly taking you up the trail of your second orgasm. 

“Oh Billy,” you moaned, “please don’t stop.”

His body tensed above you at your pleading and his rhythm didn’t waiver. His thrusts bring you closer and closer to that peak you were searching for until his cock pushed you over the edge, your toes curling into the soft bed sheets.

“Good girl,” he purred sweetly between laboured breaths.

He stopped himself from holding back as he continued thrusting, your body still numb with euphoria. 

“Inside,” you demanded, looking up at him with a sweet expression he couldn’t deny.

It didn’t take long for you to feel his body shudder as released his cum into you. His hot breath tickled your neck as he nuzzled into you sweetly with your arms wrapped around his back. Trailing your fingers over his goose prickled skin you took comfort in the heat that rose from his body above you.

He laid on his side next to you, snaking his arm underneath your neck. Slowly your body relaxed as you melted into him.

He held you tightly with his strong arms and that’s when you knew he’d never let you go. He had won the chase and frankly, you couldn’t have been happier.

===

tag list: @alienthings my lovely loons 💙 & my new followers @littlestarfighter03 @chiimiki thanks so much for all of your support! annnnnnd my lovely muse @taintedcigs this was the fic I was telling you about!!

Thanks so much everyone for reading I hope you enjoyed this little Billy challenge! Reminder my requests are OPEN!

-Wyv

💙💙💙💙

[princess-of-the-corner]

I think what bothers me the most about Marinette’s behaviour, is the way I see myself portrayed in her.

I am on the spectrum for Ausbergers, ADD and anxiety disorders, and I do, or did, many of the things Marinette does. I have abysmal impulse control, and I used to take things without thinking about the consequences of taking the thing. I also had the schedule of every single one of my friends in high school on my calendar, and to this day, every member of my family is on there, even if I don’t particularly talk to or like them. I would buy or bring people things because I saw a thing and thought of them, but I would also hold in thoughts and emotions that were detrimental to me because I thought I couldn’t tell people. Many of the things I see Marinette doing, I either do, or remember doing.

And what annoys and hurts me most is how they are shown as “good” or “harmless” characteristics. 

I got caught shoplifting and had to go through a lot of therapy to stop from just taking things. It was a compulsion I had to fight against, and though I mostly succeeded, sometimes I still feel it. Bringing people stuff became such a compulsion that when I didn’t, I felt like I had failed somehow. To this day, I have difficulty communicating my feelings, even to myself, because it was so ingrained in me to keep them secret and not cause trouble.

Having the schedule for all of my friends was weird. Like, no justifications, I didn’t need to know when Lesley had a dentist appointment, or when Jake was going to visit his grandparents. These are things that did not affect me, I did not need to know or write down. It was, and still is, a coping mechanism that makes me feel more secure, knowing what’s happening to the people around me. Like, they all thought it was weird. They let me do it, but none of us were under the impression it wasn’t weird. But there’s the important bit, THEY ALL KNEW ABOUT IT. I did not, ever, violate their privacy to find out information, I just asked. Heck, sometimes they didn’t even tell me exactly what they were doing! Just “Hey, between 3 and 5pm on Saturday I’m doing something, don’t try to call me then, I’ll be busy”. That was usually enough.

I could keep going, but my point is, I have a lot of compulsions and habits that I have to either fight or work around on a daily basis. Things that I know can be taken out of context and misconstrued if I’m not careful. Things that I could, and was, judged pretty harshly for. And to see a show take those traits and normalize them in such an ugly, toxic way is … honestly really painful.

-

Yeah it’s.

I think it was one thing back in Season 1-4 when these behaviors were portrayed as something over the top that only happens in fiction, especially cartoons. I think it went a little far at times and should have had a little more ‘this is wrong to do (instead of having a fireman help Mari peep into Adrien’s windows), but things like ‘character steals a phone/commits mail crimes/breaks and enters to keep someone else from receiving a message they didn’t intend to send’ is a very common trope and I’m not going to dig into it /that/ much. 

But when Season 5 came and gave us things like Derision where it went from ‘brush it off as cartoony behavior’ to ‘oh no this is stuff we are supposed to take 100% seriously as a trauma response but it’s totally okay because Marinette only had ‘good’ reasons for doing this so that cancels out the fact that it was bad’.

/That/ is when it becomes a problem/

[braceletofteeth]

top 5 mjjw moments, or top 5 mjjw fics!! or both! (it’s a throwback but no harm going back to our roots as moots <3)

TOP 5 MOONJO/JONGWOO MOMENTS

NOTE: For reasons of making it easier for me, I’ll only include moments where they are both physically present and are both aware of each other’s presence. Meaning: no dreaming of each other, no hallucinating each other (what we know FOR SURE are hallucinations, at least), no discussing each other with other people, no reading one of each other’s books, no looking at each other’s photography with another lover and sulking alone in a room, no stalking/staring at each other unnoticedly from a distance, no peeping at each other through a hole in the wall, no calling them then hanging up when the other picks up, no silently resenting the residents for mocking the other, no showing off their bracelet-slash-murder-evidence in front of a freaking police officer, and, the most unfortunate for me, NO killing for each other in secret. This would be a very different list if I could include all that, and there's no way in hell I’d be able to stop at five (I'm only human! Show mercy 😩)

—

N°5: AT THE RAINBOW STAIRS

They share a contrived conversation at the bottom of the rainbow stairs. Because they have an audience (a newcomer/outsider), they have to keep up a civilized, polite act.

But, ironically, trying to act normal at the sight of each other just makes their actual feelings even more obvious.

Jongwoo is clearly tired and fed up with Moonjo's figure following him everywhere; to him, Moonjo is creepy (the creepiest!) and annoying.

On the other hand, Moonjo is jealous miffed that the newcomer is already latching onto Jongwoo, and Jongwoo is letting him, even though he never gives Moonjo the time of the day except for when he really can't avoid it.

They can't say any of that, though, so it's quite entertaining to watch.

N°4: MOONJO BREAKS COVER

Jongwoo and Seokyoon are having a conversation at the rooftop, and Moonjo is listening in from a hidden spot, until he can't take it anymore and interrupts them.

Anything could have triggered him, really. Jongwoo saying he needs to leave the residence. Jongwoo asking Seokyoon to go with him. Jongwoo wishing everyone in the residence would die in an accident (which takes the decision out of his hands and is just as effective as praying to God for a miracle). Jongwoo spitting hate about Moonjo behind his back (it's not the hate that is the problem; it'd be ok if he said all that to his face instead). Jongwoo confiding in Seokyoon instead of Moonjo. Jongwoo still clinging to the pretense of being different from Moonjo. Or maybe something else entirely.

It's not the reason that matters, but the reaction.

The way he walks directly to Jongwoo, practically caging him in, challenging him to do something. If you hate me so much, do something about it! Come at me! Kill me!

He's so pissed he doesn't even seem to remember (or care) that they have an audience. Let Seokyoon take whatever conclusions he got from that.

(And the whole time, Jongwoo, cruel as only he can be, barely granted him a glance.)

N°3: FIRST MEETING

Jongwoo is talking about the main character of his novel, the pianist (who sounds uncannily like Moonjo), and they reach the part about his method of killing. Jongwoo gets excited, very excited, and in that moment Moonjo can see right through him. You can see in his eyes that he found something that caught his attention.

This. The spellbound look from Moonjo, and Jongwoo's complete obliviousness to it.

N°2: THE AFTERMATH

This is the moment Jongwoo has to face himself. He's a killer now. He lost himself in his rage and hatred. He did to them what he thought they deserved, and the worst part of it is that he doesn't regret doing it. What does it says about him? What kind of person is capable of doing what he did? “A human being, no matter how wicked they are, wouldn't do that.”

For the first time, he opens his eyes to the darkness he walked into, wide awake. Aware he reached a point of no return.

He should be completely alone in the darkness, everyone should have left his side by now, but guess who he finds there, waiting for him?

You guessed it.

Moonjo is there, and he grounds Jongwoo with his touch. He makes Jongwoo face him, look at him straight on, nowhere to escape, on the same level ground at last.

As equals, at last.

(More importantly, in the end, Moonjo lets Jongwoo know he's neither broken nor alone. He's a masterpiece, and he's his.)

N°1: CONFESSION

The two of them are at the restaurant, and Jongwoo takes Moonjo outside. All by himself. He draws a line between Moonjo and Jieun/Jaeho, perhaps to protect them; perhaps to protect himself and the image they have of him, because Moonjo can't seem to shut the f*** up.

Jongwoo confronts Moonjo, asks why he follows him around, but quickly retreats, not wanting to hear the answer. There couldn't be a good answer to that. Better not to know. Instead, he asks Moonjo to leave him (and his people) alone. He had already asked, begged, for the same thing on the night before, but Moonjo never answered. Perhaps now he will agree, though. It's, after all, a reasonable request, isn't it? Any reasonable person-

But Moonjo isn't a reasonable person. Not when it comes to Jongwoo. He tells him no. No, he can't leave Jongwoo alone. He can't let go of him.

Ever since he collected the beaten (but victorious) Jongwoo from the streets the previous night, Moonjo has been more and more straightforward on his approach. He told Jongwoo what he wants to do to him in the clinic, he demanded Jongwoo not hide (anything) from him on the way to Eden, and now he's admitting to his obsessive behavior, unashamed of it.

It's a moment of no pretense, no half-truths. Moonjo is presenting his role in the game. He's a force that can't stop itself—therefore, if Jongwoo wants him to stop, Jongwoo will have to stop him. He will have to meet Moonjo in the middle, and win.

[bulkhummus]

Welcome to OCtober! The chance to draw your OC’s! Do you have an OC? Do you want to create an OC? Do you think they deserve more attention? Do you want an excuse to draw them more? Well, your good friend Bulk is here to tell you a secret— the ‘OC’ in October stands for Original Character!

I created this because I’d like to get into habit of interacting with my own original characters more often! The prompts were chosen to develop less fleshed out characters, but were kept vague enough to still be creative with more focused ones. Here is the run down:

1. The point is that it’s an original character! I suppose this can be an OC created within the context of a preexisting show, but I’d truly love to see your original material. I care about it, a lot actually! It deserves attention!

2. It is not a challenge. Pick one day, pick a week, do every other, do them all, do none— it’s whatever you’d like!

3. There are no material restrictions! You can create work digitally, traditionally, or you can even write! Write a blurb, write a description, create a diagram, do sketches, etc. etc.

4. Tag art/writing you make with these prompts as #bulktober22 so I’ll be sure to see it! I hope to reblog/like as many as I can.

5. Have fun! I’ll be doing them along with you with my own OC’s!

thanks <33

[absolutebl]

2022 BL Wrap Up - All The Shows I Watched... rated

I’m not going to talk about everything BL that I watched in 2022, that would be the longest post ever. But still, this is a really long post. Sorry, not sorry. Everything I watched got a pithy little review. 

2022 BL - Watched & Rated

This includes any show that ended in 2022, including those that started in 2021. Alphabetical-ish order.

21 Days Theory (Thailand YT ) 6/10 

Tropes: high school, cheating, secret crush, high angst

Initially I REALLY loved this little show. It reminded me of Blueming + Make it Right (never forget I’m the world’s foremost Make It Right apologist, and the lead even looks a little like Fuse). Why did I like it? 1. GAY UNCLE character giving GREAT advice!. 2. Boys in blue shorts are back! 3. Seme is already pining, uke is tsundere but with reason and conflict is set up and executed well as a result. 4. lots of linguistic discussion and flirting (they made the linguistically fascinating couples post). Everything about this show is in my wheelhouse and this would have jumped high in my rating (even at this length) if they had bothered to finish it like the YA romance it clearly was. But the ending was disappointing. I’m not mad about it, but I’m not happy either.

WORTH WATCHING BUT FLAWED

The 8.2 Second Rule (Japan YouTube) 6/10

AKA 8.2 Byo no Hosoku

Tropes: secret admirer, food in love, soulmates

Very short BL about a schoolboy who makes magic candy for a series of handsome classmates, questing for a soulmate. Each ep is a new love interest and while the sweets help others, they keep failing to bring him love. Of course h's overlooking someone. The lead was very good and the theme, cooking, and eventually romance were charming, but it is a series of BL vignettes not really a cohesive story, no kisses or anything. Japan doesn’t give us sweet BL this short very often, so it was nice to see them try out the style.

WORTH WATCHING BUT FLAWED 

A Man Who Defies the World of BL 2 (Japan Viki) unrated

I consider this show a documockary, not really a BL. As with the first installment I loved it beyond reasons, I tagged the second season review onto the first. Review here.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

About Youth (Taiwan GaGa) 8/10

It’s truly lovely little coming of age high school BL with classic YA low drama but high angst, I didn’t even mind the singing, and that’s saying a lot. It featured Taiwan's modern take on AePete: popular but painfully lonely rich kid, Guang (complete with evil pressure-cooker tiger parents) meets and is basically adopted by poor nerdy (secret rockstar) Qizhang. HE EVEN HAS AE’S TOTE!!! Side dishes are Guang’s adorable bestie, Ray, and even more adorable (also a rockstar) Jian. Lots of BL tropes but also this is quite queer and very Taiwan with an earnestness depth I haven’t seen since My Ride an almost real world authenticity. Not that I normally like that in my BL, but I’ll forgive Taiwan (and the Philippines) for their sticky almost dirty style if it is this endearing and engaging (see also Gameboys). I wish it had been given a bit more room to breathe, but all in all a great edition to the Taiwanese BL lexicon which was in dire need of just this kind of content. Full review. 

RECOMMENDED 

Ai Long Nhai (Thailand iQIYI) 6/10

Tropes: messy gay, trial relationship, friends to lovers

Look this show was just a typical Thai BL university pulp about a confident gay and a clueless manic pixie dream boy, that had potential, chemistry, and earnestness going for it, but no plot and not enough side dishes. In the end it was boring and you know I always rate boring lower than hot messes. Still it’s better than your average Thai BL, nothing happens but at least the nothing mostly shirtless, the gay dads are the BEST, and that’s about all I can say for it.

WORTH WATCHING BUT FLAWED 

Bad Buddy (Thailand YouTube) 9/10

Tropes: secret lovers, Romeo & Romeo, sunshine/tsundere, enemies-to-friends-to-lovers, GL side plot

GMMTV’s flagship BL started 2022 on a BANG (okay no actual banging but you know what I mean), starring heavy hitters Ohm & Nanon in a pitch perfect university Romeo & Juliet masterpiece that will give you domesticity meets pain whiplash throughout and jet lag at the end. Great production values, killer acting, and some conscious effort to correct for half a decade of Thai BL’s anti-queer mistakes. GMMTV, we forgive you. More. Live blog of this one is here. Full review here.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Behind Cut (Korea, Jan Viki) 8/10

Tropes: grown up problems, finding your dreams, friends to lovers

Better than average chemistry (for KBL) and a unique setting almost pulled this show into the realm of something quite special but it never quite managed to get away from the pacing and story structure issues endemic to KBL’s limited time frame and scope. Still It gets the job done. Full review here.

RECOMMENDED

Big Dragon (Thailand Gaga) 7/10 

Tropes: player love-rivals/enemies to lovers, rich/poor

This is a decent execution of true enemies to lovers, these two spy on and bully each other, exploring darker themes. The way the leads transition between anger, resentment, titillation, and flirting (and the way, with kinksters, this can all be the same thing) is really well done. This BL pairing proved itself to be a lot more sophisticated than I expected with nods at kink in a more respectful way than Mame could ever dream, plus excellent chemistry, but something was askew around plot, directing, and ending. 

RECOMMENDED FOR THE LEAD PAIR, BUT NOT MUCH ELSE 

Blue of Winter AKA Judo Boys (Korea YouTube) 3/10

Tropes: Bad boy/good boy, mad crush, reunion romance

OMG, is that..? Did Korea give us… a pulp? I do believe they did! The sound quality was poor, lighting sub par, even the filming and staging wasn’t on point (for Korea). Sadly none of that was the problem, this could have actually been good, the cast was excellent, but instead it was just really... odd. Focused on the wrong couple in the triangle and spent too much time on some elements and not enough on... ya know PLOT. Not terrible but not good either. in the end I didn’t know what I watched and neither did it.

NOT RECOMMENDED

Bleuming (Korea iQIYI) 9/10

Tropes: enemies to lovers (sort of), coming of age, self worth and self acceptance, lonely prince, sunshine/tsundere

It’s a tiny bit dark and a tiny bit bittersweet, almost too honest to a university experience and first love for BL. I wasn’t into it at first, but both leads turn in solid performances and by ep 5 it got good, becoming a narrative about self discovery, as well as understanding and accepting others people’s flaws without hurting them. Ultimately, we witnessed two characters maturing because of each other and their mutual affection while that affection was never itself the conflict point. Instead, tension was built around other aspects of identity, popularity, and self-worth. While production values were a touch lower than usual, Blueming included decent kisses and other forms of intimacy and a satisfying ending (all rare for Korea) plus there’s judicious and very elegant use of tropes, (which is expected). Full review here.

ABSOLUTELY RECOMMENDED

Check Out (Thailand iQIYI) 4/10 

Tropes: office, second chance, high heat

Special episode 0 (prequel) filmed in 2021 was the only good thing about this show. Characters lacked motivation, there was no story, the leads were a fine pair but the sex scenes managed to be both good and boring. I nearly DNFed. Ugh. 

FATALLY FLAWED

Choco Milk Shake (Korea Strongberry YT) 8/10 

Tropes: reincarnation, fated mates, paranormal elements

Choco Milk Shake (Korea YouTube) Stongberry gave us a full length BL on YouTube! It’s a BL miracle and an endless delight. It was wonderfully cute, unexpectedly hilarious but expectedly silly, a little too poignant, occasionally gut wrenching and with a somewhat expected weird (but happy-ish) ending. The actors playing the two pets must have had the best time. As, indeed, did I watching it. Jealous Milk made me cackle so hard it scared the actual cat on my lap, Choco was perfectly cast, and the chemistry was ultimately decent. In Strongberry I still trust. Thank you thank you, may we have another, sirs?

RECOMMENDED 

Cherry Blossoms After Winter (Korea Viki) 9/10

Tropes: High school to college, cohabitation, stepbrothers, popular boy/nerd (shy, loner, bullied), orphan protag

Korea took on early Japanese sweet yaoi but gave it their signature softness and precise production style with a STUNNING color palette (beautiful pastels, sun-saturated over-exposure), manga framing style, some traditional BL character archetypes, that tiny edge of bullying roughness and out-of-control seme, plus FINALLY a palatable take on the stepbrothers trope and it was, in a word, classic. Sophisticated and understated CBAW is not slow, it’s just subtle. It's dream-like and atmospheric, as if the whole thing took place under cold water on a warm spring day. Is there plot or peril? Not really. Do we care? Also, not really. Look, I can’t help it, I’m old school and so is this show. I grew up reading sweet yaoi, and this was THAT YAOI just on my screen. There’s no objectivity with me and CBAW. It’s a beautiful pastiche and I loved it for how it made me feel and what it reminded me of. It’s not flawless, but it is a wonderful experience. Full review here.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Cherry Magic the movie (Japan grey) 8/10 

AKA Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?!: The Movie AKA 30-sai made Dotei Da to Mahotsukai ni Nareru rashii 

Tropes: LTR, cohabitation, self acceptance, coming out

I liked it, not as much as the original, it lacked the humor. Again no kissing, these actors must be expensive, but some nice domesticity. Still with Thailand bringing the higher heat with such consummate casualness these days (licking ass and taking names) there really isn’t much of an excuse anymore for no kisses, it felt a little phoned in. Even Korea has buckled, come on Japan, grow up. 

RECOMMENDED 

Close Friend 2 (Thailand Viki) 6/10

Tropes: LTR, adult problems, the closet, coming out

It’s basically dealing with two kinds of closet: the one imposed on us, and the one we impose on ourselves. Honestly Pierce and Phoon are very mature characters for a BL couple - the kind of relationship that only OhmFluke could really portray, and they do it very well. That’s almost the problem - it is too well done and thus discomforting. if you don’t like realism in your BL avoid this show. I liked the celebrityhood vs fandom storyline, although I thought it was too generous to those fans. Both pairs did well but I wasn’t wowed by story or content, over all a bit dull.

WORTH WATCHING BUT FLAWED

Coffee Melody (Thailand Viki) 5/10 

Tropes: cafe setting, food is love, sing your feelings

Stars Pavel (my love) as a cafe owner (Forth in 2moons2) and Benz as a composer (Call it What You Want). This should have been my kind of BL - on the fluffy end of the spectrum plus honestly queer. Unfortunately, the slow pacing, manufactured angst, odd secondary story arcs, and a selfishly immature unlikeable wet dishcloth main character, Yi, meant its flaws outweighed its charm. Jean (flame on snark fairy) is MINE, I love him so much but in the end neither he nor Pavel in an apron could save it for me. It’s not bad. It’s not good either, tho. Ultimately so forgettable I’ve probably already forgotten it. 

JUST DULL

Color Rush 2 (Korea Viki) 7/10

Tropes: crush, friends to (almost) lovers, paranormal, suspense, murder investigation

In this second installment the plot revolves around Yeon Woo searching for his mother (and, sort of, his probe) joined by Se Hyun, whose sister is involved. We’re right back in gay allegory territory only this time the question is: Can you miss something you never had? Especially when it has to do with your own identity? Also, has Sehyun switched his (supposedly) natural inclination towards obsession onto Yeonwoo? I liked it. I liked Hyuk a lot more than I was expecting too. Like the prior installment, Color Rush 2 was stylish and clever (although not quite as clever). Honestly, in the end, I don’t know what to say about Color Rush 2. Does it work as the second installment of a trilogy? Absolutely. Does it work as the final installment of a duology. Absolutely NOT. Full review here.

RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS

Cupid’s Last Wish (Thailand YouTube) 6/10

Tropes: pining/tsundere, bodyswap, quest, road trip

Win is such an incredibly unlikeable character I really struggled with this show, no skin off Mix’s acting, but holy fucking irredeemable tsundere. Also I really do not like body-swap. The final ep tried (and for some it may have been successful) but combine this with bodyswap (my least favorite trope) and even EarthMix’s chemistry (which has improved since Thousand Stars) didn’t save it.

WORTH WATCHING FOR SOME, BUT FLAWED

Cutie Pie (Thailand YouTube) 8/10

Tropes: arranged marriage, age gap, secret identity, cohabitation, rich kid problems, he’s in engineering

Very high production and a lot of visual references to live action yaoi gave this show a whiff of Japan but ultimately it stayed firmly in Thailand’s BL camp veering from absurd to appealing to annoying and then back to absurd again. If you can roll with the arranged marriage conceit and very lifestyle D/s relationships, the chemistry is spot on even if the plot is naff and sappy and driven by miscommunication. Watch this one for the pretty, give it a pass on depth. Full review here.

RECOMMENDED

Dear Doctor, I'm Coming For Soul (Thailand YouTube) 7/10

Tropes: PNR, grim reaper, enemies to lovers

This is a romance between a doctor trying to save his patients and a reaper who is both his enemy and (eventually) lover. Basically it’s the genius premise of a gay Doom at Your Service. High concept looks good on you, Thailand. I enjoyed it more than it’s ending deserved, and the best I can say is that it’s not strictly HEA but if you’re okay with Life: Love on the Line, you’ll probubly be okay with this BL.

RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS

DNA Says Love You (Taiwan GaGa) 8/10

Tropes: secret identity, reunion romance, queer family, bisexual awakening, sunshine/broken, healing, quest

While this is one of those series (ostensibly) carried by the sunshine seme character (Taiwan is always weak in seme/uke) and he does a stand-up job, Erek Lin, who plays the love interest, Amber, is luminous. I found the twist entirely predictable, but knowing what would happen didn't spoil this show for me, in fact I think I sympathized more with Amber and understood his behavior better, because I knew. The exact way it’s handled (medically speaking) is a little disingenuous to a queer narrative (AKA they could have just GONE there) but I didn’t mind, because all the characters around Amber act with such integrity. Since this is a queer story arc that other shows have systemically mishandled and made depressing, DNA deserves extra marks for its uniquely upbeat approach. It’s full of queer found family representation and an unexpected amount of domesticity, plus it’s Taiwan, so the kisses are great. The last few eps really are special and life/love affirming - and the ending is big-grin charming. Full review here.

VERY MUCH RECOMMENDED

Gen Y 2 (Thailand grey) 5/10  

Tropes: this is an insane soap opera

Exactly as chaotically messy as expected, possibly worse, as the four main couples apparently each decided they were acting in a different kind of BL. While I do believe that the world demands the excess Star Hunter provides, it is utterly exhausting to watch. No full review because I live blogged this one here.

WATCH IT ONLY IF YOU NOTHING BETTER TO DO

Ghost Host, Ghost House (Thailand YouTube) 7/10 

Tropes: my ghost boyfriend, PNR, domesticity

This is a light horror plus family drama built around a well executed BL trough-line that felt honestly queer with fantastic chemistry from the lead pair. (I hope that we see more of them.) Pluem delivers the softest most seductive krap ever and watching them flirt over noodles is an unalloyed pleasure. Use of I/you pronouns is super interesting and cute. For me personally the surrounding cast, premise, and story didn’t resonate but if you like a touch of gothic in your BL this might appeal.

RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS 

The Eclipse (Thailand YouTube) 8/10 

Tropes: sinister boarding school, haze the one you love, suspense, high school setting, coming of age  

GMMTV does gay Blacklist with a good boy/bad boy pairing. Starred First & Khaotung plus the side dish pair from FUTS NeoLouis. This is a good show but the cast was excellent and the leads were absolutely flawless. They gave us a nuanced and multifaceted burgeoning relationship: philosophical (and socio-political) conflict contrasted to moments of empathy; flirtation contrasted to moments of genuine affection. This narrative is less about love than it is about courage and tenderness. However, near the end the pacing was off and the plot frustrating. Still, this is an enjoyable watch, with an ending that features verbal consent and a funny blooper reel. 

RECOMMENDED 

Enchanté (Thailand YouTube) 7/10

Tropes: childhood sweethearts, sunshine/tsundere, secret admirer with a touch of Cyrano de Bergerac and dose of Boys Over Flowers.

Theo returns from France and starts a written flirtation inside a library book (!) at his new uni with the mysterious Enchante. When he and his best friend Akk hunt for Enchante’s real identity, 4 senior boys step forward - all intersted in dating Theo, all with ulterior motives. Can’t fault the chemistry or the classic old school Thai uni BL and Akk (Force) was particularly sympathetic. But the twist over Enchantie’s identity felt disingenuous, manipulative, and unnecessary and the whole narrative was flawed as a result, Theo became unlikeable and irredeemable. GMMTV seems to specialize in squandering great chemistry on shoddy scripts. Honestly it probubly should get an 8/10 by my rating system but I was so disappointed I’m giving it a 7/10 and not bothering to write a full review. Live blog ep-by-ep recap here.

RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS

Eternal Yesterday AKA Eien no Kino (Japan Gaga) 2/10

Tropes: my ghost boyfriend, paranormal, kill the gay, dark 

Smart boy in love with zombie incubus, keeps him alive with sex. This prevailing wistfulness between our leads about the future that they know they will never get to have. The way Michan is constantly listening and feeling for his Koichi’s heartbeat for a reassurance that is never going to come.Japan, king of thirst, gives us both that and PAIN: these 2 are drowning in yearning and loss. Careful with this one - you break it, you bought it, and it'll break you... wide open just to see what color your guts are. After watching, you too might be walking around alone, forgotten, and wondering why no one understands your loss. Not only does it not end happily, it ends hopelessly. 

NOT RECOMMENDED (for newer BL fans) 

Even Sun (Thailand iQIYI) 5/10

Tropes: vacation romance, enemies to lovers, sunshine/tsundere

The language is fun in this one (they also use chan/nai so I’m guessing it’s and organized crime thing), the cast is excellent, the boxers mildly interesting and BounPrem’s chemistry is unmatched, but... I still disliked it. It was unequivocally boring.

WATCH ONLY IF YOU’VE NOTHING BETTER TO DO

First Love Again (Korea Viki) 7/10

Tropes: fated mates, bodyswap

A popular novelist who remembers his past lives meets his soulmate who has been reincarnated in the body of a man. This one started out a touch mean spirited, but it pulled itself together and we even got a good kiss (for a KBL). Then they went from like to love to boyfriends in a red hot minute. The confession/rejection scene was justified and the reconciliation and ending was... fine. All in all the pacing felt rushed, and the romantic arc was underdeveloped, but that’s par for the course with Korea’s short form. If you don’t mind a heavy does of melodrama in your BL this one has a solid story with a strong concept that’s well acted and produced, making it a classic KBL with better than average chemistry but ultimately a touch forgettable. (Full review here.)

RECOMMENDED WITH A FEW RESERVATIONS

Fukou-kun wa Kiss Suru Shikanai! (Japan Viki & GaGa) 8/10

AKA Mr. Unlucky Has No Choice but to Kiss! AKA Mr Unlucky Can Only kiss

Tropes: opposites attract, accidental relationship, cohabitation  

Mr Chronically Unlucky (another adorable chaos muffin) and Mr Always Lucky end up dating after they meet at uni orientation. It’s JAPAN yet they kissed in the first episode. What freaky alt-reality did I enter into? That’s all they kiss tho, over which I was a touch disappointed (I know). Still I spent far too much of my time with this show biting my knuckles and squealing “THEY’RE SO CUTE!” Amusing story: I paused mid the most tooth-achingly adorable first date in the entire universe and Viki was like “something missing?” and I was like “MY HEART YOU BASTARDS” It is very slapstick Japanese style comedic (light) BL reminds me a bit of Kieta Hatsukoi or Cherry Magic. So if you like that style of BL you’ll adore this show.

RECOMMENDED

Happy Ending Romance (Korea Gaga) 8/10

Tropes: office romance, identity theft, cohabitation 

As a BL it kinda isn’t (sorry to say). There’s no tropes dropped and no real romance narrative beats. This is about dishonesty and pride and there is an elegance to the theme. Which is essentially the idea that possession is not love, and therefore, those who love the Writer have to prove their love by letting him go. Honestly, I’m not sure how to rate this show as a result. This is a blog about BL and this wasn’t that. Full review. 

RECOMMENDED (but not if romance is what you’re primarily after) 

Hard Love Mission (Thailand WeTV) 3/10

Tropes: office romance, spoiled celebrity, 

Phenomenally dull Thai pulp about a journalist sent to interview a celebrity who ends up his manager, only 4 episodes and it still could’ve been shorter. It’s a bummer, the concept wasn’t bad. ALSO Chinese censorship got its gross mitts all over it (thank you, Tencent). Do not waste your time.

I DON'T KNOW WHAT I’M WATCHING AND NEITHER DOES IT 

In Your Heart (Mainland China GaGa) 2/10

Tropes: friends to lovers, codependency, amorphous ending

It’s very mainland China BL, which makes me feel a bit like we are back in 2016 being tormented by nostalgia. It hasn’t a single modern sensibility in it (to be fair neither does China’s het stuff). Which I don’t mind, but it felt off? Messy? Sideways? I was surprised that there was some high heat, but I wasn’t surprised that the couple ended up separated. And yet... If you expect to be disappointed, can you still be disappointed?

NOT RECOMMENDED

Kabe Koji (Japan Viki) 7/10 

Tropes: celebrity romance, sunshine/tsundere 

Basically this is A Man Who Defies the World of BL + Senpai This Can’t be Love (as @heretherebedork said) and equally painfully EXTRA. Nakao Masaki playing a sunshine bouncy himbo character is a fucking revelation, I didn’t think he had it in him. This should’ve been my favorite BL of all time (IT’S AN IDOL LOVE INTEREST!), but the tsundere is too tsundere for me, I really hate the stalker photograph thing it’s apparently a trigger I didn’t know I had until BL tried to romanticize it. I kept feeling like there were the bones of good story in this drama, and I got glimpses of it, but then it’s covered again - like tasty steak smothered in Kewpie mayo. 

RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS 

Kimi no Koto Dake Mite Itai (Japan grey) 7/10 

AKA I Only Want to Keep Looking at You

Tropes: friends to lovers, coming of age, high school setting, introvert/extrovert

This is a beautiful piece of cinema well acted, about two boys who are opposite personalities and grew up together. Gifted and serious Sakura (Kura Yuki from His the series) and outgoing eccentric manic pixie dream boy, Yuma. It is very pretty and this is the kind of atmospheric elegantly performed BL that only really comes from Japan (complete with dead fish kisses - what you though Korea invented them? oh no). I felt like I was “supposed to like it” more than I did, ultimately I was left feeling like I had seen it all before. So for me it was lovely but slightly unmemorable.

RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS

Kiss X Kiss X Kiss - Perfect Scandal (Japan Billibi) 7/10

SHORT 5-8 minutes sample pack micro-romances: 2 featured BL-ish setups. One with idols in a group together and a secret relationship (Idol Kiss) and another featuring a reluctant boss and flirty subordinate (A Sweet Kiss). Both were cute but mostly just, ya know, kissing. (Reminds me a bit of Korea’s early Triple Do You Want). The interesting thing about the idol one, is one of the leads is ALSO in a het installment. He gives great chemistry with both his partners. And I think he’s a good example of an actor being just, ya know, an actor about the physical part of a romance. Which I take about in terms of never assuming queerness based on performance, here.

RECOMMENDED (for what it is)

KinnPorsche (Thailand iQiYi) 7/10

Tropes: bodyguard, mafia, cohabitation, BDSM, he’s a monster but he’s my monster

VegasPete were in one drama; KimChay were in another; KinnPorsche were in each of those randomly but then sometimes in their own extremely slapstick cheese-fest alt-reality + Tankhun. There were clearly 2 directors with 2 distinct and conflicting points of view, who apparently never had a single conversation with each other. Was this show good? Nope. Was it absorbing as fuck? Sure. Was it well acted, absolutely. Were the sex scenes great? Yes. We the fight scenes awesome? Actually yeah (special props to Jeff for the hand-to-hand stuff). Did I enjoy the kinky bits? Certainly. But all that said: the VegasPete universe of KP was the only universe I really enjoyed and would like to revisit, and I only got that 1/5 of the time. Mathematics is working against this one, for me personally. So I guess I, at least, am still waiting for the perfect mafia BL. I think it might be up to Japan at this juncture. As a result of fan fervor meets my own hearty indifference, I don’t really know how to judge this show but I have to go with my heart, and KP didn’t win it. No full review here on tumbr but I did post on to MDL.

RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS

Kissable Lips (Korea Viki) 2/10

Tropes: fated mates, paranormal, vampire, codified chase/stalker/ seme

Vampire has to decide between killing the boy he loves or living longer himself. Perfectly cast with a sexy, deadly, tortured vampire and the sweet uke prey who managed to be soft and appealing without being weak or inactive (props to the actor). Better kisses than your average KBL did not mitigate the fact that they killed 1/2 of the couple. Ultimately, one of my most disappointing BLs of 2022. Full review here.

NOT RECOMMENDED

La Cuisine (Thailand GaGa) 7/10

Tropes: crush, campus star, bully trigger, best boys, soft & sweet,

A sweet and kind of pure show, and like Thai desserts perhaps requires too much patience for a layperson. Because of the pacing and the focus on the bad girl character, I did dock it. But if you like stuff in the Oxygen vein, then this show is for you, and far better than most Thai BL pulps. That said, I suspect that I enjoyed it more than many would. Full review here.

RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS

Love Area 2 (Thailand GaGa) 3/10

Tropes: I don’t know and neither does it

Look, it wasn't as bas as Bite Me, but it wasn’t actually good, either. This started out as Thailand tackles love triangles pulp style, but by season two lockdown had changed everything. Valen & Kaitoon dropped some great kisses but traded off crazy hair and makeup in a scene-by-scene whiplash that was clearly pickups done months after initial filming, and the second lead just... vanished. It was surreal. Side dishes jumped up screen time but tackled mental health... badly. A fantastic new queer side character was randomly introduced, June, who was the best thing to happen to BL linguistics in 2022 but had nothing to do with the rest of the cast, show, or plot. What a mess. Yes tehre was some very good chemistry and June is a GREAT queer character... BUT...  In the end, I was just confused af. Full review here.

NOT RECOMMENDED

Love Class (Korea GaGa) 8/10

Tropes: university BL, forced proximity, unrequited love, crush, slight love triangle, triggers (outing, bashing, stalking)

This was a fast-moving, bloated, complicated little show with stronger than usual story structure, well-acted if lacking in chemistry, that managed to be very appealing and engaging despite itself. What it lacked in content it more than made up for in pacing. Both bingable and rewatchable.

RECOMMENDED

Love in Spring (Korea grey) 3/10

AKA Spring of Crush

Tropes: historical, soap opera, fake identity, hidden secrets, cross dressing

This drama was all over the place with uneven acting, narrative, and focus (sometimes it wanted to be a slapstick comedy, sometimes a depressing drama) which meant no one, actors or viewers, took anyone or anything seriously.... AND it’s a bromance. I was left wondering is SalHyung is now code for “they were roommates” in Kdrama historicals but otherwise largely apathetic and unimpressed. Korea, we now know you can do better. Watch Tinted With You or Nobleman Ryu’s Wedding instead. Full review here.

NOT RECOMMENDED, NOT BL

Love in the Air (Thai iQIYI) 7/10

Tropes: enemies to lovers, too stupid to live, stalker/obsession, university setting, grumpy/tsundere, sunshine/tsundere, abuse triggers

What’s it like? Two stories of aggressive player dudes pursuing innocent younger boys. Terrible. Also entertaining and engaging and kinda hot. Like all good dumpster fires. Recommended only if you know you like this kind of thing. Look, you remember in high school drama class where they make you “envision a basket, and put all of your worry, bad mood, and anxiety into that basket, and leave it outside the door”? Well, in order to enjoy this show, you have to do that, only with your morals. Some people have bigger baskets than others. Mame’s creature whipped me into a verbal frenzy, resulting in yet another trash watch. 

RECOMMENDED WITH A LARGE BASKET OF RESERVATIONS 

Love Mechanics (Thailand WeTV) 6/10 

Tropes: messy disaster bi, out gay boy, cheating, drama llamas

My favorite messy cheeky drama-llama boys were back in spades. And initially I enjoyed it more than I should and more than it deserved. This whole series is basically a diatribe against cheating, with the sweet out gay boy reaping all the punishment a disaster bi can enact. YinWar are geniuses at chemistry and good actors, and their new high heat stuff is excellent, but the story was not improved by being given more time to hang itself. Full review on MDL. 

WORTH WATCHING FOR THE ACTING BUT SERIOUSLY FLAWED

Love Stage (Thailand Feb-March YouTube) 8/10

Tropes: childhood crush, sunshine/tsundere, unrequited love, secret identity

This BL surprised me with its charm. The acting was good, the leads were appealing, support cast on point, and the production values high. It followed the original manga story arc relatively closely: boy falls in love with girl as a child, grows up to discover girl is actually a very pretty boy. Although there are some quintessentially Thai changes that mellowed, softened, and extended the romance arc. One of the things I’ve always appreciated about this story is that the climax is about coming out as a celebrity couple as well as gay. I like the examination of the nature of celebrity versus privacy, and the contrasting kinds of closets. And I love that they depicted two couples with two different versions of this choice. A solid and enjoyable show. Full review here.

RECOMMENDED

Meow Ears Up (Thailand GaGa) 4/10

Tropes: PNR, catboy, broken characters, hurt/comfort

Adapted from the Korean manhwa Hey, Your Ears Popped Out. This is interesting, Thailand doesn’t adapt from outside their own y-novel tradition very often. This is a pretty classic version of catboy trope: a lonely orphan comic artist adopts a stray cat who suddenly turns into a human teaches him about love, chaos, and family. SO CUTE it hurts and I got very “indulgent daddy” vibes from Mr. DD, which I’m not mad about it. There’s surprising depth to this very weird little show. It’s touching and relatable, but I guess it was trying to be too Japanese/Korean about it while the set up was all sweetness and Thai style, because they fudged the ending. For me, that’s a fatal flaw. Full review here.

NOT RECOMMENDED

Minato’s Laundromat (Japan GaGa) 9/10

AKA Minato’s Coin Laundry AKA Minato Shoji Koinrandori AKA Minato Shoji Coin Laundry AKA Wash My Heart

Tropes: age gap, pining since childhood, 

A high school student pursues the man of his dreams who happens to run a laundromat in this classic age gap BL. Minato’s Laundromat is so steeped in yaoi tropes and archetypes, not to mention a typical romance arc, that it will be and overload for some fans, but those of who follow this genre for its DNA will adore it. It made me very happy because it did everything I want a BL to do, and there’s not much more I ask of a show than this. It’s the closest Japan has come to perfect live action yaoi since Seven Days. Squee watch along (in lieu of a full review).

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED 

Mr Cinderella (Vietnam YouTube) 8/10

Tropes: forced proximity, cohabitation, childhood sweethearts, opposites attract, good boy/bad boy, domesticity

Higher than normal production values plus experienced BL actors plus two charismatic smoldering leads with good kissing and comfortable body language make this Vietnam’s objectively best BL to date. Plus we got a fabulously (and quintessentially Vietnamese) domestic ending. Full review here.

RECOMMENDED

My Only 12% (Thailand iQIYI) 8/10  

Tropes: friends to lovers, childhood crush, out gay character, jock/nerd, cancer mom, side noona romance 

Neighbors and codependent childhood friends, Cake & Seeiw, have opposite personalities but may be falling in love. Familiar faces include Prem (Between Us) and Peak (Make it Right). This is a complex, nuanced, and well done little BL romance (tailor made for SantaEarth) about holding onto first love and childhood, but it’s buried under waffling family drama and formless side characters so that it took a lot of digging to get at. 

RECOMMENDED 

My Ride (Thailand GaGa) 9/10

Tropes: sunshine/softie, friends-to-lovers, crush, bisexual identity, out gay, rich/poor

BL grew up with this pulp - a truly lovely and special little show featuring the extremely rare pairing of sunshine/sunshine AKA the cinnamon roll couple. Mature explorations of relationships using one of the softest, sweetest and most innocent friends to lovers vehicles. Kindly overworked doctor meets broken hearted dimpled motorcycle taxi driver in an “other side of the tracks” slow burn romance. With great friendship groups and family dynamics the support cast is excellent. With honest queer rep that adds to, but doesn’t impede the story, good friendship groups and genuine conversation about the nature of class, wealth, and classism, not to mention communication, honesty, and respect for boundaries, you can’t go wrong with this show. In other news, I am a sucker for a single dimple. 

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

My Secret Love the series (Thailand YouTube) 6/10 

Tropes: jock/nerd, enemies to lovers, friends to lovers, reunion romance, secret romance, LTR 

Lead couple had a tom/jerry vibe with the uke too stiff and serious and the seme a prankster immature arse - one of my least favorite dynamics (it always seems mean-spirited). They reminded me of My Boy (which I DNFd) X BonDuen from My Engineer (who I dislike). Other pairs include BearBomb, TimMai and ParkLee (LTR whom use ter with each other). The domesticity with the side couples was somewhat engaging, and the sex scenes were descent, but that’s it. The worst thing about this show (aside from leads chemistry) was that the chemistry of the friendship groups felt off too. Normally, Thailand can handle friendship groups fine. But these two different groups? I didn’t believe they were friends at all. Full review on MDL. 

NOT REALLY RECOMMENDED 

My Tooth Your Love (Taiwan Gaga & Viki) 8.5/10

Tropes: childhood trauma, phobias, doctor/patient, age gap

It’s not love in Taiwan if one of them doesn’t stumble into the other.

From the producers of We Best Love, earnest dentist hottie with sad eyes who worries too much is smitten with an adorable sunshine neurotic bar owner with serious anxiety issues, they fall in love while courting each other with food, plushies, and naps. Then, shocker, talk about their feelings and try to actually sort out their problems so they can have an adult relationship. Bonus 18 year old poor little rich kid in mad crush with a much older man. I really enjoyed this show, it had a fun premise, killer dialogue, there was a solis lead pair with charming chemistry, soft flirtation, and delightful smiling kisses and stinkingly cute domesticity. All that said, I wasn’t wild about some of the darker themes it explored (abuse, panic attacks, abandonment issues), even though it did a good job with them. And while the crumbs and sides were v adorable they were chronically underused. In the land of May/December, baby boy kabedon is my kryptonite! Why so little of them? Kabedon is My Krytonite = also the name of my indie band’s first single.) 

In other news: I identify WAY too much with the bartender daddy. He pretty much opens his mouth and says what I’m thinking 90% of the time. 

MUCH RECOMMENDED

Not Me (Thailand YouTube) 9/10  

Tropes: enemies to lovers, secret identity, identical twins, goodboy/bad boy

GMMTV gave us a dark disestablishment narrative (in a time of civil unrest) with established queer award-winning director Anucha and starring OffGun. THIS IS AN AMAZING THING to get to experience in the BL world - nerve racking but remarkable. But was it ACTUALLY BL? Not Me had a lot of BL elements, but in the end that’s not what the show was about, or even what it was genuinely trying to be. Still an amazing piece of Thai cinema certainly worth your time. Don’t worry, it all ends happily. Full review here. OffGun Eulogy here.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Ocean Likes Me (Korea Viki) 8/10  

Tropes: opposites attract, grumpy/sunshine, impossible dreams

This is a solid little KBL, with a good premise and cast. Manic pixie dream boy can get old fast but when contrasted with awkward grumpy chef? Tasty combo that elevates both ingredients. Holland is a charming screen presence, baby boy is HYPNotiC. And while I wasn’t entirely sold on the chemistry with these two they gave us some very good kisses. I grinned through most episodes and I even didn’t mind the standard KBL 1 year separation at the end because it felt very true to the characters. Don’t worry they end up back together.

RECOMMENDED

Oh! Boarding House (Korea Viki) 8/10

Tropes: forced proximity, cohabitation, crush, love triangle

Spoiled rich kid in financial straights has to manage a boarding house full of quirky characters including: bratty cousin, wacko writer, adorable bestie with a crush, and the new hot jock (love interest). All in all, this show ended up being A LOT better than I expected. It was uneven in its attempt to reconcile early sitcom (slightly Thai) style with a serious love triangle and genuine romance but the quality of the performances and the kind and honest treatment of the characters make it definitely worth watching. (Full review here.)  

DEFINITELY RECOMMENDED, a lost gem esp for Kdrama fans 

Oh! My Assistant (Korea Viki) 7/1O

Tropes: grumpy/sunshine, himbo chaos bi, out gay 

This is a very silly show that acts like it comes from a very silly yaoi. Reserved out gay younger assistant (we stan) pretending to be tsundere but is actually just v shy and smitten by his cheerful (seemingly straight) chaos bi himbo artist boss. I think the cross cutting in of old footage with the replacement actor after the re-cast did affect the chemistry with this pair. There was no way around it. Even KBL isn't usually this awkward and repressed. Although this show had the best bisexual awakening sequence ever put in a BL, and I really wanted to love it, I just didn't. 

RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS

Oh My Sunshine Night (Thailand grey) 7/10

Tropes: university, sickness, fated mates, whipping boy, poor little rich boy, soap opera

Kim, a tsundere musician meets Sun, a transfer student with a weak heart. Also there’s his hot older brother + their household servant, and a couple of fencers for good measure. Initially this pretends to be a normal university, then it slips on wet tiles and falls right on trough multiple shower scenes into ludicrous soap opera territory leaving one with a sensation rather like trying to hold onto soap in a communal shower. Ultimately, everyone seems pretty happy they bent over, but no one actually got clean. 

RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS 

Old Fashion Cupcake (Japan Viki) 9/10

Tropes: office romance, age gap, employee/boss, food is the love language, coming of age late in life

This show had me from the moment they broke the egg yolk with the chopsticks in the opening credits for episode one. It’s about a younger man with a long cherished crush on his boss (ten years older and going through a mid life crisis) who decides to save and seduce said man with pancakes. It’s wholesome, comforting, sexy, and a very necessary narrative about still having hope, interests, and openness to affection at any age. It’s coming of age/queerness packaged in a subtle critique of expectations around masculinity and love and loneliness... and it’s beautiful. Full review here.

ABSOLUTELY RECOMMENDED

Once Again (Korea GaGa) 2/10

Tropes: age gap, childhood trauma, tragedy, time travel, inevitable fate 

JaeWoo lives with childhood trauma and gets a chance to travel to the past to fix it by saving JiHoon. But you can’t change fate. From Moving Picture (studio behind equally tragic Kissable Lips)) this one stars actors (not idols) including Moon Ji Young (also in The New Employee) and is very well performed with a great, but sad, actual PLOT. It was a little bit more creepy than romantic, kind of Gothic and tense, but also strangely amusing (this odd kid just keeps hugging JiHoon - that’s like 1000x weirder in Korea than most places) and more enjoyable than it had a right to be with a really interesting take on the childhood crush trope. Ultimately, however, it kills the gay and is very sad. 

NOT RECOMMENDED 

Our Days the series (Thailand GaGa) 4/10

Tropes: sports romance, messy gays be messy, cohabitation, crush, love triangle, tsundere

Enemies to lovers meets forced proximity (boarding house) in which I couldn’t decide if the unlikable main character was stupid or depressed (story of my life, see also Physical Therapy) but I can’t take yet another emo POV. There was no chemistry from the leads and great chemistry from the ex-friend/second lead. Saint’s dad punishing him, when he doesn’t realize it’s because Saint is gay and heartbroken, really had meat to it as part of a basketball story. But it was such a tiny part of the overall show it felt like eating a meal when all I liked was one ingredient. I’d like to see the actor who played Saint (Offroad) in other stuff but otherwise this one can fade and be forgotten. It was a mess, and not a hot one. Fatally flawed.

NOT RECOMMENDED

Paint with Love (Thailand Gaga) 6/10

Tropes: opposites attract, office romance, sunshine/tsundere, enemies to lovers, wierdo/rulebound

For me the mains were unlikeable and the actors had poor chemistry. So while this offered a lot of what I thought I wanted from a Thai BL - mature characters, office setting, adult themes - I’m wasn’t wild about the execution. I suspect Thai pulps are better when they stick to university/high school. This one felt like a better version of Loveless Society (but that’s not saying much). The side dishes (Yoon & Yacht) gave us more chemistry and a better kiss but had little screen time. It was interesting to see them portray BL actors being shipped and then confessing to actually dating each others I’m not sure how I feel about the handling of it but it was different from Lovely Writer. In the end, this show was nicely grown up but boring and became a matter of endurance for me. I can’t ever see myself rewatching it.

WORTH WATCHING FOR SOME BUT SERIOUSLY FLAWED

Papa & Daddy 2 (Taiwan GaGa) 6/10  

I don’t have a good history with 2nd seasons, and Taiwan really likes to make a soap opera out of their queers. Witness that this one starts with a secret baby trope. There’s a lot of lying to each other and evil parents and, of course, 2nd lead syndrome strikes again. The domesticity was, of course, excellent (I love the gay siblings sharing tips on how to parent) and it was actually kind of beautiful to watch them explore ideas around infidelity, affection, lost love, and rediscovery. However, it lost me at episode 3 and never quite got me back, not even with the delightfully cheesy wedding. All in all, this was a serviceable follow up to the first installment, if riddled by unbearable parents, lack of story, and sappiness.  

WORTH WATCHING BUT FLAWED

Plus & Minus (Taiwan Viki) 8/10

AKA Plus and Minus AKA PlusMinus

Tropes: friends to lovers, LTR, office romance, (himbo) sunshine/tsundere, found family, himbo

This is a solid safe little BL about codependent besties of 20 years finding their way into a romantic relationship. A bit cheesy, with lots of domesticity and occasional dumb drama. (But gay boys and chaos bis? What can ya do?) It’s not groundbreaking but it is a solid sweet unassuming little show of a style that is perhaps a bit more Thai than it is Taiwanese but I’m okay with that. Full review here.

RECOMMENDED

Rainbow Prince (The Philippines YouTube) 6/10

Tropes: disney princess, opposites attract, sunshine/tsundere

This long form MUSICAL BL is fucking LEGEND. Also it’s profoundly not good. The acting is absolutely terrible but that’s not the point, the point is that it’s a cheesy af fairy story. Possibly the gayest BL to ever BL and certainly the most camp and very Disney. Watch it of that’s your thing, otherwise hard pass. (Full review here.)

RECOMMENDED ONLY IF YOU ALSO LIKE DISNEY SHIT

Roommates of Poongduck 304 (Korea Viki) 8/10

Tropes: rich/poor, boss/employee, enemies to lovers, office setting, cohabitation  

This is a solid little office set KBL about a rich kid who ends up both the boss and tenant of a total sweetheart cutie, and falls madly in love with him. Although the show suffered from KBL’s shorter length, I love the kissable lips pair - they deliver solid all round chemistry despite limited screen time, which is rare from Korea. So I hope they stay branded and we get even more from them in the future. Special extra extended kissing scene.

RECOMMENDED

Secret Crush on You (Thailand YouTube) 7/10

Tropes: stalking, obsession, hottest guy on campus, multiple couples, queer affirming

Previously known as Stalker the series, and you can TELL. Co-produced by and featuring (but NOT staring) Saint and directed by Cheewin (sigh) with all fresh faces it was pure pulp and... I hated the plot. In fact I was ALL OVER THE PLACE with this show. SCOY drove me nuts and made me bush but had flashes of unparalleled genius. It had a ton of things I really did not like (e.g. the humor was crass and awkward, and the whole stalker thing was extremely CRINGE). It also had things that really worked: (e.g. representation of multiple different kinds of queerness, about which it very Taiwanese - in that there was no doubt that the characters really did want to bone). It was the opposite of sanitized gay. Honestly, if you can make it through the first half, and survive the never ending cringe-factor that IS this show, the second half is entirely unique - content we’ve never seen before in BL.

RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS, but not the usual ones.

Semantic Error (Korea Viki) 10/10

Tropes: opposites attract, enemies to lovers, bully romance, sunshine/tsundere, teasing & pranks

This is my favorite BL of 2022 won a Blue Dragon award. Korea hits it entirely out of both Parks (pun on the actors’ last names intended) by doing a university set BL with everything we might expect done exactly right, their signature quality executed perfectly, and added bonus good story, great pacing, yaoi style filming, and fantastic chemistry. You cannot ask for more from a BL, let alone a KBL. Full review here.

HIGHLY ETERNALLY OMG SO MUCH RECOMMENDED

Senpai, Danjite Koidewa! (Japan Viki) 6/10

AKA Senpai, This Can’t be Love!

Tropes: office romance, object of my affection, boss/employee

Adapted from a manga for the same name, it has a similar creepy worship stalking vibe Secret Crush On You. Look, I admit it, this dynamic (super awkward pining uke, rockstar seme) is one of my least favorites - high cringe factor meets navel gazing obsessive. Japan’s weird hang-up around physical expressions of affection in BL which I expect in their slapstick high school stuff, feels cowardly here. They don't leave out end kisses in their het office romances, time to stop desexualizing the gays, too. For a plot about courage, it’s a bummer that the narrative itself didn’t have any. I can’t imagine ever watching this show again or remembering its existence. When Japan drops the balls they drop all the way to the bottom of the well. 

NOT REALLY RECOMMENDED 

Something in My Room (Thailand YouTube) 2/10

Tropes: paranormal, cohabitation, my ghost boyfriend, sunshine/tsundere

Horror BL starring Nut (Oxygen) who was a revelation, still a little stiff but he handled a totally different character from Solo with aplomb. Essentially, this was a well done pulp lockdown project version of He’s Coming to Me (with hints of So Much in Love and Peach of Time) but it was its own creature at the last gasp. I enjoyed it when it got a bit creepy but it was so slow it never had a chance to maintain tension. The two leads were ultimately cute together, but, like Peach of Time, we all knew how this one was gonna end. The narrative never left us in any doubt and I don’t like unhappy endings in my BL. So even though the sad was predictable, I won’t give this drama anymore than 2/10. Don’t kill my gays, Thailand, even when they’re already dead.

NOT RECOMMENDED

Star & Sky: Star in My Mind (Thailand YouTube) 8/10

Tropes: university set, high school crush, jock/nerd, long term pining, secret crush, reunion

This is (sort of) a lost love reunion arc + freshy hotness contest giving it 2 Moons vibes. Look, this is one of those shows that I shouldn’t really like after 400 BLs. It’s not at all unique, just some classic Thai uni folderol driven by miscommunication (or just non-communication) and yet... I COULD NOT STOP WATCHING. Sure it felt like everyone involved with this show was mostly phoning it in, but it was a REALLY nice phone call. It’s basic BL. But honestly, don’t we all need that plain white t-shirt to wear under our engineering smock... in the end? Full review here.

RECOMMENDED

Star & Sky: Sky in Your Heart (Thailand YouTube) 5/10

Tropes: rural setting, country mouse/city mouse, rich/pour, enemies to lovers

A cheap 1000 Stars knock off about a doctor who goes rural and falls in love with a volunteer teacher. This show managed to be boring, corny, AND cheesy? I don’t know exactly how to write a review of this, as “dull” isn’t in my rating system but, it is a BIG SIN for me. I guess this should be added to my short list of BL‘s that are told from the seme’s perspective? Linguistically: these two are formal with each other using pom/khun. Also If you want to hear frozen register spoken, that’s what Prince’s maa speaks to tease Fah. Full review here.

WATCH ONLY IF YOU HAVE NOTHING BETTER TO DO

Takara-kun and Amagi-kun (Japan GaGa & Viki) 9/10  

Tropes: high school crush, chaos baby, high angst, classic seme/uke, secret relationship 

I gnawed on my knuckles and squealed a lot with this show. Reserved cool kid who must lean to communicate to keep the tiny disaster nugget he’s madly in love with. It is beyond charming: soft and gentle, packed with cuteness and high school angst. Did anything actually happen? No. Was it emotionally tense and paced well enough for me not to notice? Absolutely. Was there plot? Not really. Did I enjoy the hell out of it, anyway? Oh yes. Full review. 

TOTALLY RECOMMENDED 

That’s My Candy (Korea Viki) 3/10

Tropes: magical realism, LTR, breakup, amnesia, reunion

KimCop vehicle from Star Hunter, about an LTR between a student Jing (Cop) + nurse Guy (Kim) who have been together for 3 years. Guy is busy all the time so Jing is starting to feel neglected and look elsewhere. KimCop are excellent (no surprise there) but I was not into the story, premise, or concept. Side couple Viking & TamTam stole this one for me but the final ep activates the amnesia trope so even they could save it. Honestly I was left, ultimately with a sensation of: What did I just watch? It was terrible. Full review here.

NOT RECOMMENDED

Tinted With You (Korea Viki) 8/10

Tropes: historical, portal fantasy, time travel

Fun stylish time travel portal fantasy with a likable cast, historical setting, and two actual kisses that mitigate a rough plot and issues around anachronisms. Full review here.

RECOMMENDED

To My Star 2: Our Untold Stories (Korea Viki) 7/10

Tropes: grumpy/sunshine, hurt/comfort, opposites attract, forced proximity, breakup/reunion

If you like angst, wallowing, and realistic relationship struggles in your BL, watch this. If you prefer fluffy comforting BL, avoid like the plague. For me the pay out was not sufficient to the pain. I enjoyed the performances, directing, and chemistry - the leads’ comfort with each other is unprecedented in Korean BL, but that’s not enough for me to rise above the pain of the narrative. This show is a home wrecking hussy, but like super classy about it. Full review here.

RECOMMENDED WITH SERIOUS RESERVATIONS

Triage (Thailand grey) 7/10  

Tropes: time loop, age gap, medical drama, fated mates

I thought the plot was good if a little redundant and occasionally exhausting. The pairs were all well done, low heat but with decent chemistry and the support characters were likable (or unlikable as required). I feel much as a did with Manner of Death, which is to say: this feels less BL than it does gay time-slip suspense. If anything, the romance arc detracted and distracted from the main plot. But I’m in BL for the romance, and the rewatchability, and this had very little of either. Full review here.

RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS

The Tuxedo (Thailand GaGa) 3/10

Tropes: tsundere seme, enemies to lovers, rich/poor

GMMTV be like, “see us squander glorious chemistry on terrible scripts.” The Tuxedo be like, “oh yeah? Hold my beer.” Watching this was like eating a meal of just spices. the spice profile was great, but it wasn’t ON actual food. The show itself had no plot or story and MADE NO SENSE, but I really hope we see these boys again in something more worthy of them.

NOT RECOMMENDED

Unforgotten Night (Thailand GaGa) 5/10 

Tropes: mafia, BDSM, not much of either 

Adapted from the y-novel Mafia's Bad Love, (originally featured both a gay poly triad and a GL sub plot). Stared Yoon (YYY, Paint With Love, My Ride) as a mafia Dom and Ton (Y-Destiny) as the accountant sub. Kim has a one night stand with a random stranger who becomes obsessed with him. Pretty soon into this I began to think this show should be called Forgotten Kink rather than Unforgotten Night. There isn't any. Mostly there's faucets left on and shower heads used for tie points (don't DO that). But honestly this was just bad. There is a moral to this show but I’m not sure what it is. Don’t combine your BDSM-but-not-really BL pulp with plumbing? In the end, this dumpster fire was extinguished by a garden hose and all we were left with was leaky pipes and the smell of damp trash. The only kinks were in the hose. No full review but I did to a trash watch. 

WATCH IT IF YOU HAVE NOTHING BETTER TO DO, BUT I WARNED YOU

Vice Versa (Thailand YouTube) 8/10 

Tropes: alt reality, bodyswap, soulmates AKA fated mates, portal fantasy

Jimmy (Puen the super flirt confident king) is insanely charismatic and takes up all the air in (the proverbial cinematic) room, but I warmed up to Sea (Talay the timid acerbic sweetheart) eventually. As a couple they read as more teasing and brotherly than sexy, but that’s GMMTV’s brand. I enjoyed the concept of this show (I’m big into magical realism and skewed reality - see my adoration for Color Rush) but JittiRain’s plot was contrived and weak (normal for them). I find the “writing on each other” habit quite cute. Look, here’s the thing, flaws and all I pretty much spent this entire show smiling. I didn’t even mind being so obviously manipulated. That said, this is never going to be one of my top rewatch rotations, so I’m calling it for an 8/10. 

RECOMMENDED

Want to See You (Vietnam YouTube) 5/10

AKA Muốn Nhìn Thấy Em

Tropes: whipping boy, disability, secret love

Everyone’s favorite Vietnamese hottie Ba Vinh (O2 Productions: Mr Cinderella etc...) played an arsehole blind man (Jane Eyre feels) who hires a live in nurse and both get taken advantage of by a series of psycho femme fatales characters. The chemistry was okay but not Vinh’s best. Did they serve up prime domesticity? Of course. This is Vietnam, you get what you pay for. But tonally, this show was all over the place, hugely inconsistent in characterization and motivation. No clean narrative through line. Nothing anyone did actually ever made sense, it was mostly just frustrating. 

WATCH ONLY IF YOU HAVE NOTHING BETTER TO DO 

What If (Thailand WeTV) 4/10

Had promised but was ultimately a complete letdown, not really BL either. It was, in the end, primarily about singing, so you know I didn’t like anything about this. 

NOT RECOMMENDED 

What Zabb Man! (Thailand YouTube) 8/10

Tropes: enemies to lovers, tsundere seme, rich/poor

WZM was better than we have any right to expect with decent pacing and a foodie theme threaded through the narrative as both love language and plot driver. Basically CEO falls in love with a street vendor’s food, recruits him to work in his hotel, falls in love with him, and that’s the beginning. Class struggles! Kitchen drama! Papaya pounding (not a euphemism)! Chef poaching (not literally)! Spicy scenes (yes literally)! It’s all so delicious. Full review here.

RECOMMENDED, especially if you like Thai food

You’re My Sky (Thailand Viki) 6/10

Tropes: sports romance, friends to lovers, jock/nerd meets sunshine/tsundere, cheating

A serviceable college-set pulp that focused on 3 sports romances with high angst, but was ultimately too slow moving for me, and with only one couple I liked (SaenAei). Main couple, FahThorn = basketball jocks, boring. DomeVee = track & field with a disaster bi cheating with your sister’s boyfriend storyline (by FAR the best sexual chemistry). SaenAei = jock/nerd with a younger puppy sunshine seme, best boys. Saen was my favorite character; relentlessly flirty but always clear about with his interest and steady in his regard, but who wants this many eps for one side character?

WORTH WATCHING BUT FLAWED AND YOU NEED PATIENCE  

Work from Heart (Thailand YouTube) 4/10

Tropes: Romeo & Romeo, office romance

Pulp office drama featuring tons of couples starring Gameplay as rich kid terrible dresser Dee who forms an unfathomable and poorly depicted romance with his internship supervisor. Some nifty linguistic stuff and great lead pair chemistry, doesn’t compensate for one of the worst wardrobes and an ultimately unfathomable plot. 

FATALLY FLAWED

THE DNF/DNW LIST

Shows I dropped, lost track of, never got around to or otherwise failed to complete.

2 Moons: The Ambassador AKA 2 Moons 3 (Thailand grey) 

I hear that it’s pretty banal and I’m just waiting to collect them all and binge. I doubt it will get a high rating from me or monkey with the standings much so I’m not fussed. 

7 Days 7 Boys (Thailand grey) 

No subs and it is also profoundly not good. Do not bother.

180 Degree Longitude Passes Through Us (Thailand GaGa) 

8 eps - This is a queer drama not a BL. It’s fine, reminded me oddly of early Taiwanese stuff, a bit slow moving and oddly paced. But I intensely disliked the lead character. He's a brat in the wrong way. Especially as a 20 year old. 

Country Boy 2 (Thailand who cares?)

I barely managed the first installment. No thank you. 

Fahlanruk (Thailand GaGa) 

I found all the characters profoundly unlikeable. I don’t like any of the couples and the fujoshi framing is repulsive under the context of a narrative trying to be this authentically gay. I lost all patience and cut my losses at ep 5. @heretherebedork said it was BohnDuen 2.0 only worse and that’s my least favorite dynamic of all time, so yeah, not gonna bother. 

Fudanshi Bartender no Tashinami (AKA Accomplishment of Fudanshi Bartender) (Japan Gaga) 

BL Express posted a review and it sounds A LOT like another kind of Absolute BL thing from Japan, but focused on the fudanshi side of the equation and I could not be less intersted so I did not watch. 

Gameboys 2

I have no idea what happened - to me or it. But I remember watching a bit, and then just got distracted or something. 

Getaway (Singapore YouTube)

Based on an original story from a gay creator featuring an openly gay cast this vacation romance from Singapore set in Bangkok did nto work for me. The lead was fine but the muscle boy love interest's acting was just bad. Look, I’m the first to admit that there’s a lot of bad and awkward acting in this genre, but for some reason… it feels a lot worse in English. I like how unabashedly gay the show is but (how do I put this nicely, I guess...) if I’m gonna watch English language gay vacay shit – I’d rather watch Fire Island. Still, as one might expect, the heat execution is good (Taiwan still holds the crown, tho). But I eventually just gave up.

In a Relationship (Thailand YouTube)

Thailand’s answer to Gameboys (a bit late, kids). I’m generally not a fan of lockdown romances and this didn’t grab me.

My Roommate (Thailand YouTube)

32 eps of 2 minutes each with such terrible production values I couldn’t be bothered. Def not my thing.

My Tempo (Thailand grey) 

A Thai BL movie about the Thai music industry. Yeah, no thank you.

On Cloud Nine (Thailand YouTube) 

A country-set atmospheric series from MindTrio about afterlife and awaiting loved ones. Def not my thing. 

Physical Therapy (Thailand GaGa)

Milk is basically a Mainland China-style super useless heroine type. He’s, ugh, so totally not cute. I just don’t think emo is sexy (sorry Japan). I don’t understand why anyone likes him: friends, crushes, lovers. And I couldn’t tell if the doctor was faking it or just a terrible actor.

Rak Dao (Thailand grey)

A real sit com that was just too much for me to take. I didn’t even survive the first 2 episodes. And I usually give a drama 3 eps.

Restart(ed) (Thailand grey)

Looked like Top Secret Together meets Y-Destiny but ended up being more like Club Friday. Glimmers of good chemistry and hella queer but even that did not save this from terrible sound and an incomprehensible plot full of completely random characters. An absolute mess.

Scent of Love (Thailand no idea)

Just couldn’t find it. Also it’s the lead pair from My Secret Love so could not be bothered to even try. 

SELF (Thailand YT) 

Is it sad? Worth watching? I don’t know, no one said a peep about this show but I got a bad feeling about the end so I never bothered. 

The Promise (Vietnam YouTube)

Stepbrothers trope, enemies to lovers, high school, reunion romance, grumpy/tsundere. Narrative has a “memoir” framework. Sort of Cherry Blossoms After Winter if they were enemies.

The Miracle of Teddy Bear (Thailand grey)

Surreal drama series with dark elements. Nat's giant teddy bear, Taohu, miraculously turns into a young man but can't remember anything about himself. I found out this has what I COUNT as a sad ending and with it being hard to find i didn’t bother.

The Next Door Crush (Vietnam YouTube) 

Reunion romance or something, I couldn’t be arsed. 

To Sir, With Love AKA Khun Chai (Thailand grey) 

I’m waiting on grey subs for this Thai historical gay soap opera that came outta nowhere. It’s more lakorn than it is BL (soapy) and word is it ends happily. It’s just taking me time to track down. 

War of Y (Thailand Gaga) 

Tropes: industry self criticism, messy gay, general chaos

COPY A BANGKOK brings us 20 episode of Cheewin’s nonsense starring the boys from Y-Destiny and SCOY. My initial thoughts? It was better than any of us have a right to expect but I hated it. I disliked it for the same reason I don’t like rockstar romances... celebrities (and their people) are assholes. This show features a bunch of actors behaving like actors, managers behaving like managers, all of them predators and victims and both. I’ve dropped before for less (Call It What You Want) and I’ll drop again. Then again I loved Lovely Writer - but I think that’s because Sib is meant to be a sinister dick who’s only an actor because it gets him closer to Gene, and i like that approach. War of Y is just a collection of fragile egos easily traumatized by their own desires (and the needs of others) - it’s brutal to watch. BillySeng are killing it, but.... it hurts, and not in a good way. I’m going to save it and binge all at once when I am feeling bored and resilient. Will I watch it eventually? Maybe? Probably not. I think we have an ITSAY situation going on here. Also BL Express was not best pleased, and I while we rarely share taste, in this instance I trust their reporting.

Ones I Could Not Track Down - Japan of course 

Both Me and Him are the Grooms AKA Boku mo Aitsu mo Shinrodesu - Aired March 2022 on KTV & Tver, some see it on Gaga, but not me. This is a coming out drama rama. Ryosuke and Mizuki are getting married but on the wedding day Mizuki finds out that his partner didn't tell his parents, relatives, or friends that he's gay. Catastrophe results: furious outbursts, fighting between the two families, and then Mizuki's ex boyfriend shows up. 

Grand Guignol - a horror, paranormal, high shcool movie that released in Japanese theaters middle of the year. Starred Rio Komiya (Eternal Yesterday) and Ryosuke Sota (Mr Unlucky) among others.

Kamisama no Ekohiiki - body swap, paranormal, country set. Amano Yashiro has a crush on his best friend, Nanahara Kenta. Yashiro died in a car accident after being rejected by Kenta. However, due to God's favoritism, Yashiro was reborn as a female student called Tendo Kagura, and lives a new life. Yashiro decides to make use of his girly look to have Kenta fall for him. While Yashiro and Kenta become closer, they were interrupted by Kenta's ex-girlfriend, Torii Rin, who told "Kagura" to stay away from Kenta. Furthermore, it was discovered that Yashiro's body is still alive. What is actually happening?

Melting Night: Secret Kiss - microfilm part of the Kiss X Kiss X Kiss series, featuring the stepbrothers trope that aired on Tiver. A and B are friends who are secretly in love with each other. They became stepbrothers after their parents' remarry. Even though they acted like family, their feelings overflow and when their parents were gone...

Yes I REALLY want to see this one. 

Sing In Love AKA Miso's Koi Kogare Utae - movie adaptation of a PNR manga released in theaters, but no word on international distribution. About a teacher who encounters a mysterious man from his past, who is strangely obsessed with him. 

2022 BL Announced but Never Aired or Otherwise Confusing 

Eye Contact AKA មើលបានហាមសម្លឹង - Cambodia

Tie The Not AKA Under the Same Sky - The Philippines 

Ghost and I Becoming Family - Taiwan 

God's Military Officer - Taiwan 

Melody In Me - Vietnam 

The Lost Ring AKA The Ring Goes Missing reboot - Vietnam

KOREAN BL ANNOUNCED FOR 2022 BUT NEVER AIRED 

Bon Appetit

Comfort the Boy AKA A Shoulder to Cry On - premiere postponed indefinitely due to actor contract conflict, rated R15+ due to topic & vulgarity

Eccentric Romance - was supposedly in production July 2022. Silkwood’s 2nd Thai/Korean colab but not their last.

Eul's Love

Follow The Wind - supposed to have released in the first half of 2022

Happy Merry Ending

Heesu in Class 2

Individual Circumstances

Jun and Jun - filming Dec 2022

Love Class 2 AKA Love Class Season 2 - filming was to start Nov 2022

Love is like a Cat - supposedly completed filming aug 2022 so I guess stuck in post? stars Mew. 

Love Tractor

Secret Relationship -  was to be adapted by Cradle Studio (a subsidiary of Kakao).

Space Bakery

Two Game Over 

Why R U? Korean remake - supposedly filming Sept 2022 

I am assuming most of these can be transferred to 2023 expectations but am not sure. 

THAI BL ANNOUNCED FOR 2022 BUT NEVER AIRED 

Art Adore En

Bitter Sweet

Boxer In Heart

Buddy Line Y Animal AKA Buddy Line Y(aoi) Animal

Call My Name

Cinderella Boys

City of Stars AKA Fueangnakorn

Destiny Seeker

Future the series

Heart by Heart

Imado Jinja

Intern In My Heart

Love at First Sight

Make a Wish

Mr. Bad Guy

My Broccoli

My Engineer 2

My Last Love

My Lucky Cat

Nilundon

Past Love In The Future

Past-senger AKA Pastsenger

The Sweet Robot

The Theory series

Trouble Maker

Does not include those announced for 2022 but which have since been officially moved to 2023. Those will appear on the 2023 forthcoming lists. 

(source)