I can't live a lie
I feel so empty and broken
But I am hoping
I'm hoping that music will save me
When I have fading memories
The memories that sustained my love
Love that I wanted to last eternally
Eternally found beneath what seems in this world to be meaningless dreams
If they mattered then why won't they come true
My best dreams unraveling hope in the places I lost it
Never giving up has made me lose and gain it again
Over and over again
I'm different I guess
Because I believe in us
Lust would've expired where love has only grown
I'm fine with the endings of my dream with you if your dreams were different and they are coming true instead
Your happiness means everything to me
I have my own world I need to keep its wheel running
The love I have, from you
The obstacles I face, alone
now I know how to stand on my own feet.
The wisdom and strength I learned from you is exceptional...
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BLs to Recommend to Your Queer Friend
I put these in each bracket in levels of accessibility, as in “how easy I think they are for a non-BLer to enter into” without explanations of genre needed.
Bleeding Heart Romantics
Semantic Error
Bad Buddy
A Tale of Thousand Stars
Earnest Queer
The New Employee
My Ride
Drama Llama Indoor Kids
Our Dating Sim
Cherry Magic
My Love Mix Up
Repressed Arthouse Aesthetic
Old Fashion Cupcake
Love Life On The Line
Restart After Come Back Home
Hot Mess Gay Babies
The Eighth Sense
Moonlight Chicken
Hawt Mess Kinky Fuckers
Bed Friend
KinnPorsche
My Beautiful Man
Bonus Round:
Adventure bois with a side of queer
Manner of Death
Not Me
Long Time No See
3 Will Be Free
He’s Coming To Me
From @mestizashinrin who asked me:
“recommend a queer person to first start in BL”
(source)
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Top 10 Best BLs on YouTube
These BLs are gonna be easiest to get hold of, but also dominated by Thailand.
Until We Meet Again
Thai 2019
UWMA is, without question, a work of narrative genius with a powerful and cohesive romantic backbone and stellar performances. It is (to date) the only Thai BL (of c.300 watched) that I’ve rated 10/10 predominantly on the basis of its story structure. That said it is also very well cast (and it’s a BIG cast), with solid production values, beautiful food, powerful themes, and enduring pair branding.
He's Coming to Me
Thai 2019
Boy and ghost boy fall in love, must solve ghost’s murder. Peak pining but also pretty tame, features my favorite sweet but important coming out sequence.
A Tale of Thousand Stars
Thai 2021
With great casting and cinematography this drama nods at BL tropes but manages to elevate them (and itself) with a strong mature story concept about a spoiled rich kid who gets a heart transplant and becomes a teacher it order to pay out survivor’s guilt. On the way he falls in love with a local park ranger and contends with his own classism and escapist tendencies. Everyone seemed to perfectly suit their roles and GMMTV made the most out of its stable. Combined with excellent production (and post production) values, 1000 Stars is without question GMMTV’s most mature, charming, and smart BL series. I think it should go down as one of the top BLs of all time. I feel safe recommending this one to friends and non BL watchers.
My School President
Thai 2023
GMMTV gave us a classic high school set Thai BL with tropes like messy boys singing their feelings that made this one Love Sick for the modern age with all the gentle sweetness and pining ache, but none of the dated damaging tropes or issues. Yes, we’ve seen it all before, but I still ADORED this. And there is a lot to be said for the classics being re-executed perfectly. Who let my BL be this wholesome and funny? This show was fantastic, it’s only flaw was the singing (and that’s my baggage). My favourite GMMTV BL offering to date. And yes, I've watched them ALL.
The Sign
Thai 2024
This show is literally everything (except straight) all at once. It's BL, queer, band of brothers, romcom, erotica, PNR, fated mates, police procedural, fantasy, mystery, suspense, and slasher. It’s the king of genre mash-up chaos. Sure, it's madness but there is genius in it. Was it a crazy unhinged mess +1 roll for damage? Yes. Yes it was. Did it manage to hold all those tangled threads together? No it did not. Was it also a charming, sexy, engaging, non-stop piece of entertainment? Sure thing. I think this show is basically my KinnPorsche, and frankly I’ve been chasing that dragon naga since KP aired. Is it perfect? No. But it was balls to the wall FUN.
Bad Buddy
Thai 2022
This was GMMTV’s flagship BL and it 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 & Romeo masterpiece that will give you domesticity meets pain whiplash throughout and jet lag at the end. Some of the friendship and family dynamics are overworked, but it has great production values, killer acting, and some conscious effort to correct for half a decade of Thai BL’s anti-queer mistakes. I did a watch along for this one.
Oxygen
Thai 2020
Softest seme in the universe sings his affection to the older boy at the cafe. Let the slow burn courting commence. Oxygen uses every BL trope in the playbook for one of the gentlest lowest angst BLs ever made. It’s a hyung romance (younger boy courts older boy) but very very earnest about it. Am I biased? Sure. This is probably one of my biggest comfort watches.
Lovely Writer
Thai 2021
Thailand criticizes itself and the BL industry while simultaneously giving us classic seme/uke with great chemistry in a one-two punch of “we love it, but are we supposed to? and must we think this hard, yet enjoy it SO MUCH?” This show won’t appeal or make sense to those who don’t already have at least some Thai BL watching experience. What Lovely Writer does, at heart, is reexamine Thai BL has done to queerness, but in a very gentle way that has more to do with Thai BL growing up than any actual queer authenticity. It’s not parody or pastiche, but it is self reflective and trying to correct for some chronic mistakes. Whether it is ultimately successful in this matter is going to depend on the watcher’s relationship to BL and queer identity. But that’s what makes this show beautiful, interesting, and thought provoking. And I, for one, applaud the effort even if I didn’t personally connect to the characters.
Not Me
Thai 2022
How do you say antidisestablishmentarianism in Thai? + hot boys kissing who probably shouldn't be and convoluted soap opera identical twins plot... someone at GMMTV thought it made sense, we just here for the tattoos and the the Pride scene. Okay so, GMMTV gave us a dark disestablishment narrative (in a time of civil unrest) with established queer award-winning director Anucha and starring the biggest guns of BL, OffGun and THIS WAS AN AMAZING THING to get to experience at the time - nerve racking but remarkable. But was it ACTUALLY BL? It certainly has a lot of BL elements, but in the end romance was not what this show was about, or even what it was genuinely trying to be as a performance piece. Still a remarkable moment in Thai cinema, certainly worth your time. Don’t worry, it all ends happily.
My Day
Pinoy 2020
The set up on this one is enemies (also boss/employee) and they don’t like each other to start. But that gets resolved pretty quickly. And then they are some of the cutest, hottest, and best boyfriends ever. This is an under-appreciated BL, IMHO.
Honorable Mention
A First Love Story
Korea 2021
Strongberry are true masters of their craft and yet A First Love Story is still one of the best things they have ever produced. It’s the only microfilm every to make one of my year end top ten list. It’s two episodes of about 8 minutes each that manage to perfectly portray the sweetest friends-to-lovers confession ever. It’s joyful, and gentle with its characters, and a little hot. How on earth do they manage to leave us yearning for more yet completely satisfied at the same time? It’s like the perfect amuse-bouche, that one finger food at that one cocktail party that you will never forget. You are a ridiculous human if you haven’t spent 16 minutes with these two boys. Go watch it now. Or go watch it again. It’s time VERY well spent.
(source)
This list updated Spring 2023, not responsible for cool stuff that aired on YouTube (or was taken off the platform) after that date.
Others in this series:
GMMTV seems to have cut a deal to move some of there prestige content from YT to Viki. I respect this choice from a profit margin perspective. But the show can be suddenly available nowhere for several months as a result. FYI
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