#chracter analysis

[justaz]

thinking about klance.

keith who is always left behind and abandoned, either voluntarily or not. keith who has trouble trusting people and talking to people and getting along with people and-…keith having trouble with people in general. keith who is used to fending for himself and not relying on anyone bc the two (2) times he’s done that, his parents and shiro (died, left, disappeared), didn’t end well. keith who despite finding shiro again couldn’t help the gap forming between them as his brain and heart insist that something will happen again and shiro being here isn’t permanent. keith being proven right in season 2/3 and being left alone again.

lance who is SO trusting that he comes across as a bit naive. lance who worked hard to get where he is, who studied and practiced day and night to be at the top of the class. lance who always fell short and just missed the cut and ended up a cargo pilot. lance who only excelled once keith was gone but was stuck living in his shadow. despite the fact that iverson was mean to keith, keith was his favorite student and iverson always held a grudge for lance taking his place and was downright cruel to him at times. lance who started a rivalry w keith in his head bc he was determined to prove that he could be better than keith. lance who was moved from blue to red paladin, following after keith yet again. lance who worked hard to prove that he was worthy of being red paladin but always failing bc he was never keith, he was never good enough.

klance who found what they lacked in each other. lance who was there for keith when it seemed like the universe was crumbling down around him. lance who stood by keith’s side and told him what he needed to hear, supporting him being leader and helping lead the team together. keith seeing lance as an equal and relying on him the way lance relied on him. keith who was loved and supported by someone who never left, lance who was seen for who he was and who never doubted him or his place on the team. klance who turned on each other.

keith who turned into what he hated and leaving lance behind. lance who saw keith as weak and selfish for leaving him the team behind. keith who came back to a lance who was so angry and upset, but who never left his side bc lance was just Like That. lance who was so hurt and upset, who said cruel things in the vacuum of space, but keith never saw him as less for it, who never got angry enough to hurt lance back.

at the end of everything, lance searching for keith to sit at his side as they watched the sunset bc lance will always be at keith’s side. keith who told lance how relieved he was and hopeful bc he knows what lance is capable of and how much he needs him. klance being what the other needs, holding each other’s heart in their hands but never taking the opportunities to crush each other. lance who never left keith behind, keith who never saw lance as less despite the vitriol he spat at times.

[spidey-bie]

Now that I think more about the movie Miguel he wasn't scheming or trying to deceive anyone. He genuinely thinks that following the algorithm is the only way to keep the multiverse intact. Idk how people read into him as being a cult leader. (We know what was really going on there 😒)

[lunatic-fandom-space]

Ive been rewatching the 2000s JCS film bc I wanted to do screenshot redraws but its kinda just devolved into me watching very attentively and taking detailed notes on shit I havent noticed before and. idk how they did it but they simultaneously made Judas way more gay and way more homophobic

[belluzinhaa]

being a fanfic writer who's also aromantic is writing several full pages of theme and plot subtext and interactions between literally every random character then remembering you're supposed to be writing about the couple

[raz-b-rose]

It's me again. Regarding film studies, have you thought about doing one for Onward? I've seen you reblog posts related to the film from others, but I was curious to know what your personal thoughts on it are, regarding the themes and particularly the characters. I find your analysis posts to be very fascinating.

I would love to do one! However it would have to wait until the end of the month (because I am finishing my cosplays for a con, I between work and other responsibilities 😊)

So sometime this summer I will have a full analysis done for you, and any other interested parties, on Onward, our favorite urban fantasy.

I'm glad to hear you enjoy my analysis', and I'm excited to write down all my thoughts about this movie.

[dr3amofagame]

like im someone that does tend to believe that fandom is usually "wrong" abt the source material (as in fanon often oversimplifies canon, as in fandom often misunderstands or misinterprets the source) and often has gripes bc of that but when it comes to fanwork (such as art, writing, AUs) being "wrong" abt canon licherally does not matter. fanwork =/= analysis and shouldn't be a 1 for 1 replica of canon and while i do have gripes and preferences ... at the end of the day having an opinion on how people talk abt a character in meta and how people talk about a chracter in a fic . tend to be very different

[greycappedjester]

How did u decide to put which chracters in which house for ur hq@hw? Like Mad Dog in Hufflepuff

In general, I thought a lot about their arcs and what they "needed" or represented

For characters like Asahi, Yamaguchi, and Yachi, they're characters who in the manga/anime are characterized a lot by their fears and insecurities and their arcs are about the bravery of facing those fears anyway and standing up for what they want. To me, that's some ultimate bravery so they went to Gryffindor. Ones like Noya, Iwaizumi, and Daichi, on the other hand, already have those Gryffindor characteristics and are pretty confident in themselves. They less need Gryffindor as they represent it.

Characters that seemed more interested in the analysis properties of the game--Kenma, Akaashi, and Shimizu--seemed better for Ravenclaw. They thrive in environments of thought and reflection.

Ones like Kageyama and Mad Dog, their arcs are so heavily about learning to rely on teams/others/friendship, I felt they HAD to go to Hufflepuff. They needed the House of loyalty and I feel flourish within that support where another House would increase their isolation tendencies. Date Tech characters also leaned toward Hufflepuff since their whole thing is strength in unity making the wall (Aone and Futakuchi especially seemed to be shown caring heavily about the team and graduating seniors). Ones like Bokuto and Hinata, meanwhile, are exeptionly friendly and inspiring characters that represent the House. Tbh, Hinata would also make a good Slytherin but Hufflepuff made more sense plotwise so that tipped the balance; really, I feel like Kageyama needed Hinata in Hufflepuff. Their early relationship would be too strained otherwise. For that and other plot reasons, Hinata's a Hufflepuff.

For Slytherin, characters that more focused on personal ambition went to that house. Lev, for example, had an arc (in manga/anime) where it was clear his goal was he really wanted to be Ace. His ambition guided his actions, much like Daishou. Matsu, Makki, and Suga meanwhile are characters that seem to take joy on reading the people around them and lightly manipulating them to their advantage. Maki and Matsu in a teasing way, Suga in a encourage and help the team way. They're very strategic in their communication which fit Slytherin to me. Oikawa is a mix of all that.

Hope this answers your question. Thanks for the ask.

[rezonan]

Red Hood, other Anti-Heroes/Villians and the issue with killing in comics.

First here's the thing before you read this, I just wanna say this isn't a post complaining about if killing is good or not, far from it so don't worry.

I also wanna say really like Jason Todd. One of my favorite Robins though I like him more as Red Hood. My only issue with him is that DC is stuck with his direction as a character(Not as much as Tim at least). For a lot of reasons

One of those things is that anti-Heroes don't work in main superhero universes at least in DC, in Marvel killing isn't looked down on much unless you do it like the Punisher(Consistently, no exceptions and extreme)

When I'm talking about Anti-Heroes I mean who don't hesitate to kill, because the definition of Anti-Heroes even include guys like Batman, Spider-Man, Iron man and Daredevil (Classical Anti-Heroes,Disney Anti Hero,) talking about the types like Huntress and Red Hood(Unscrupulous Hero) and Punisher (Nominal Hero).

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Analysis/AntiHero if you wanna know what I'm talking about.

An issue they have is that they kill criminals consistently, and those criminals include supervillains but in comic books, villians in comics are kinda a commodity. Villians are what makes the heroes. So DC obviously will never let Jason kill the Joker or Riddler or Poison Ivy or Bane, or let Frank Castle kill Green Goblin or Kingpin. That's getting rid of a commodity that writers need for stories.

It's why I laugh when people say why doesn't Batman kill the Joker or something, they won't let him guys. Joker is too popular to kill same with the rest of his rouges, the writers need the villians to continue writing more stories and if time has taught us anything is that new villians don't even catch on most of the time to replenish the old popular ones.

So Frank and Jason and left to keep offing mooks, looking stupid and incompetent for not taking out the actual threats or just offing D-listers, it then brings up the question of why doesn't JASON kill the Joker since he's always talking about how willing to kill he is. yeah sure they'll write Batman like the biggest dick to fight him not too but there has been times when nothing has been stopping Jason to do it, see what I mean?

There's also another thing that DC and Marvel just won't let chracters less popular than the big no kill rule big heroes be more effective (and this is coming from a guy whofor the most part is anti killing). You really think Marvel is gonna let Red Hood have the moral high ground with Batman or Punisher with Spider-Man or Captain America?

But yeah I don't wanna get into the whole 'should heroes kill debate' here just making a point.

This is why they honestly work in outside comic universes like the games or movies. See the 'Superhero Movie Villains Die' trope

Basically they just don't mesh well with the status quo nature of comics.

So now we have heroes/villians(yes I consider frank a borderline villian) who are known for killing but can't kill anyone significant for multiple reasons, like how Red Hood by the New 52 had like 83 kills but no one in there was anyone actually important.

This is why Punishers best run was in an entire different universe where heroes didn't exist so he could kill Kingpin without issues. With Punisher they can always stick with that or just do what they usually do and make him take out mooks and barely developed rouges. They recently made him the head of the hand and gave him superpowers, it's actually interesting in my opinion.

With Jason it's more complicated. There's two sides, he drops guns and killing and joins up with the bat family as a kind of character development or he unrepentantly leaves the bat family behind and starts killing people and using guns then runs into all the issues I mentioned above. The latter side believes that hum dropping killing and guns removes everything that makes him interesting while the former believes it's good character progression for him to drop it. I think both have good points.

Personally I think they should lean into the supernatural side of him, like go all in and make him the dude in the Batfamily that handles supernatural threats, his the only one in the family that has straight up superpowers (Edit: forgot Duke, forgive me but he got them before him so point stands I guess) with his All blades so take those and have him to team up with Zatanna or Constantine, fighting vampires and zombies. (Happy to see they are doing this with Cass kinda I haven't read Spirit World)

Or they lean into the Task Force Z/Outlaws/DCeased aspect of him leading other Mistfits, Anti-Heroes and Villians into becoming better people like with the thunderbolts from Marvel. Maybe hook him up with some kinda of government connection so people he kills aren't illegal during this redemption quests or something.

Well I've got nothing else to ramble about.

[vasfasan]

at ppl who say “the show had enough characters in season 1, we didn’t need to introduce more (like hook, zelena, robin, neal, etc) into the main cast” so.... you wanted the show to become even more incestious than it already was? and i’m not even talking about it being this thing of everyone being somehow related(cuz oh god that never stopped no matter how many characters they brought on), i just mean, do you really not see that if there were LESS chracters they WOULD have to plot even more of these insane connections like (hypothetical example of shit that happens on this show incoming) “this character know this character because they met like three times two of which they had been wiped of memory about, but then turns out they also share an adoptive parent” of which there was already plenty i ADORE season 1 cast and wouldn’t take away or add anything or anyone to it (idk i might be contradicting myself idk i dont always remember the analysis i make) but if the show were to go on PAST that, it wouldn’t be sustainable with only main peeps of season 1 and purely background secondary dudes IMO

[abbyofthefirenation]

the gaang and the golden trio

so its just hit me how similar aang, katara and sokkas characters are to harry, hermione and ron respectively. when it comes to aang and harry, they both end up facing a world thats completely new to them. harry just finds out that hes a wizard while aang comes out of an iceberg to find that the world as he knew it has completely changed. theyre both faced with monumental pressure to defeat the great evil and go through a journey of defeating their respective villains, harry destroying the horcruxes and aang learning elements while having a fair few failures along the way. they both resent the positions that theyre in and just want to be normal people without having the pressure of the world on their shoulders. as for katara and hermione, theyre both the mother figures of their groups and are really strong and empowering women. harry and ron most likely wouldnt survive without hermione while aang and sokka would be the same without katara. they both lack the ability to loosen up with hermione being such a know-it-all while katara always has to be in charge. they might seem like perfect characters on the surface but they both have their own flaws that you still cant help but love. with sokka and ron, they both feel inferior to their counterparts because ron has always felt inadequate to harry and his brothers while sokka felt like he was inferior to the other members of the gaang because they could bend while he couldnt. as they go on their respective journeys, sokka and ron become integral parts of their groups since ron was needed to keep hermione and harry together while the gaang wouldve fallen apart without sokkas plans. they grow in confidence and abilities to become strong characters in their own merits. they both have their bad moments and character traits that make them who they are. i guess this kind of thinking is what happens when you have too much time on your hands but i love this comparison.

[d-cockroach-blog]

The last post is the reason why I’m certain that Lotor’s not getting redeemed in season 5. Because this dude just came back from slashing one of his loyal friends and leaving her for dead. Yeah, his abusive dad chased him all over the universe, but that doesn’t negate the fact that he did a real shitty thing. And from the looks of it, I don’t think Lotor really learned from what he did to Narti.

[jonathan-cranes-mistress-of-fear]

Scarecrow being poor gives me serotonin because it’s SO relatable. Many kids grew up in his shoes, not always knowing when their neat meal would be, or if they could afford to go on the school field trip (they couldn’t) or if they’d be able to buy a cheap snack at the gas station from nickles and dimes they found on the ground.

And you can guarantee Scarecrow went though those types of things, even if it was never stated in comic. After all, his original incarnation was a literal symbol of poverty (and fear) and it never goes understated. 

Let him be poor, and let him spend what little money he has on books, because hey...we’ve been there and know the value of something worth a smile.  After all, one mans trash is another man’s treasure.

[a-luyarus]

normally characters that turn out to be time travelers all along kinda bother me since it causes a lot of retconning issues

however, karl jacobs is the massive exception, as his time travel reveal in fact solves some plot inconsistencies and is also incredibly intriguing without muddying up the current timeline

[caramellody]

My last two braincells as I try to go to bed

[cremdotexe]

3L!Impulse: The Analysis

I can’t stop over thinking about 3rd life smp for my own enjoyment.

Soooo Finally a post from me that doesn’t have much to do with the sand duo, but rather someone more in the middle ground. Of course, I’m talking about Impulse. Now this post will be talking in the context of the story, or c!Impulse rather than the cc (obviously). I shall be talking about his beginning, his end, and everything in between.

Under the cut we go! This is very long...

Kill them with kindness.

Impulse as a character within the context of the story could only be described as ambitious, cautious, and sly. From the beginning, Impulse strived to be strong and more importantly, trusted. He grinded until he was actually one of the best-equipped people, and he made alliances left and right until he was friends with pretty much everyone at one point, until us as the viewers didn’t even know where his loyalty lies. How did he manage this?

Ironically enough, kindness.

Impulse was always known to be kind, caring, basically the mom friend. However, it was because of that exact reason that he was able to weaponized his kind nature so easily. He gave away incredibly generous gifts to both the OG Crastle and Dogwarts, he was willing to make deals with the Sand duo, and helped Skizz, Etho, and Tango when asked. While he was giving away gifts like it was nothing, he was stating to himself that “This was going to pay off.” And well-- It did.

Friends close, Enemies closer.

Impulse was asked to join dogwarts, and at that moment, his options became much more limited. If he joined, he would be going against his original plans of playing both sides. If he didn’t and stuck with his original plans, he would’ve been discovered anyways. So Impulse went with the 3rd option, and that was be a mole for the Crastle, while claiming to be the mole for dogwarts.

However, it was also at this point that everyone started to become suspicious as he struggles to remain under the radar. Both Cleo questioned his loyalty, The sand-hobbits alliance were wary, and Ren was becoming suspicious. The only people who had faith that he was absolutely loyal were Skizzle “He’s a good man”, Etho “He’s lawful good.”, and Bdubs “I’m willing to listen.”...which brings us to the next topic.

Skizzle and Etho.

Those two chracters emphasized the turning points in Impulse’s arc. Let me explain.

After Cleo died, Impulse had to finally make a stand with the Crastle, or more specifically, Bdubs and Tango. His betrayal was emphasized by Skizz’s death as he just stood and watch, even pointing the bow at his own best friend who he betrayed. It was at this moment where he became one of the most untrustworthy people on the server.

Etho was a similar tale to Skizz sadly. Etho trusted Impulse, his own roommate, so much that even after Tango pointed out how Impulse wasn’t the person who could be trusted, Etho still believed him up until the betrayal. The next time they directly face eachother was during the battle at dogwarts in which Impulse shot Etho with a flame bow, slowly burning him to death. Etho died thinking he was safe, just like how he was betrayed by someone he believed to be trustworthy, someone he thought he was safe with.

Bdubs.

Much like the previous one, Bdubs represents the ending of Impulse’s arc that ties his story together quite nicely.

Bdubs trusted Impulse more than anyone in the Crastle alliance, but during the last session we can clearly see his trust dwindle as everyone around him starts to doubt Impulse’s loyalty. Scar “I told you he was a betrayer!” and Tango “You went out with them and they both died.” especially distrusting him, as shown by how they vocal they are with their distrust, with the general response from others agreeing with them.

This is why I think Scar played the last session incredibly competently whether he realized it or not. Because of what he and Tango had been saying, they effectively planted doubt in Bdubs mind. Literally 80 percent of the conversations with Tango, Scar, and Bdubs in it are ‘Where are we at with Impulse.’ So when it came down to the final 5, when Impulse was going back to help the one person he trusted, Bdubs turned on him with just a clock. Of course Bdubs was going to accept Scar’s offer of an alliance, Impulse has been nothing but shady up until that point while Scar was presenting himself as very trustworthy during that last session, like giving Impulse enderpearls and Bdubs blazepowder.

The reality.

When Impulse was running up to Bdubs, there was intense music. When Bdubs landed the first hit, the music cuts off abruptly. Because at that moment, there was no moment of heroic glory, there was no epic battle, only the cold, harsh reality.

And the reality was that Impulse died at the hands of his most trusted friend, when he was the most loyal, when he was at his weakest, and it was because of all the betrayals he did to everyone else.

Pretty poetic, isn’t it?

[absolutebl]

BL FAQ

When did you start watching Asian BL dramas?

I saw my first BL drama in 2017, but I didn’t start blogging about BL until 2020. I come to BL with a background of reading yaoi (in translation) in the early 2000s. I’m (intentionally) not familiar with anime. I’ve watched and critiqued queer cinema and literature as part of my professional life since about 2010. One of my (MANY) academic tangents was into narrative analysis. My profession is now tangential to Hollywood and centers around data analysis (which should tell you the reasons I don’t talk about what I do is 1. NDAs and 2. it’s boring). 

I’m pretty sure first BL drama was SOTUS on YouTube, then the HIStory & HIStory2 series, then Love Sick, then Love By Chance. I had seen some Japanese live action yaoi before that (Takumi), but by accident and not really registering what it was. After discovering Thai BL on YouTube, I jumped like ALL in ALL at once, so I don’t remember the order at all. 

2gether and TharnType were the hardest for me to get into. 

Since I travel a ton for work, outside of 2020-2022 I’m usually a binge watcher. Normally, I do not tune in weekly. I don’t care about spoilers. 

What are your favorite BL dramas? (right now) 

Until We Meet Again is my favorite Thai BL. 

Semantic Error is my favorite Korean BL. 

We Best Love is my favorite Taiwanese BL. 

Seven Days is my favorite Japanese live action yaoi. 

Mr Cinderella is my favorite from Vietnam.

My Day is my favorite Pinoy BL (although I don’t follow these closely). 

Here’s my currently running 15 best and 15 worst list. 

I do not consider mature queer cinema (like Your Name Engraved Herein or His) strictly BL. Since I come from 2000s yaoi and tropes are my passion, I expect my BL to display certain defining narrative elements. Similarly, because of my background, I do not expect BL to be all sweetness and light and happy ever afters, although that is the kind of BL I prefer to watch. 

The only 7 BLs that I have rated 10/10 are: 

Seven Days (Japan) 

Color Rush (Korea) 

Light On Me (Korea) 

To My Star (Korea) 

Semantic Error (Korea) 

We Best Love (Taiwan) 

Until We Meet Again (Thailand) 

This is out of 500+ watched as of beginning 2023. 

Who are your favorite BL actors? 

I like actors who show good chemistry with different partners. In other words, I like it when they can act outside of a prescribed pairing. So Fluke Natouch, Lay Talay, First Kanaphan, & Ohm Pawat are some of my favorites. I also admire and try to support out actors like Fluke, Earth, Newyear, Holland. 

What are your favorite tropes? 

Romance tropes in general: 

(love) Rivals to lovers is my #1 fav trope since by its nature it’s queer, (example: Hey Rival, I LOVE YOU!). 

Grumpy/sunshine is my favorite pairing (To My Star). 

I gravitate to found family, journeys of self worth, unrequited pining, and well integrated paranormal elements (Cherry Magic, Color Rush, He’s Coming To Me). 

I like slightly higher heat levels and palpable chemistry (We Best Love). 

Although, I will forgive almost anything for good allegory and great plot (Color Rush). 

I love soft pairings where it’s all about equality and mutual care and domesticity (Ingredients). 

I prefer low angst when outside forces act to keep the couple apart (i consider miscommunication lazy writing). 

Tropes germane to BL in particular: 

Food is my love language is a big favorite (anything from boys feeding boys, to gifts of snacks, to eating and cooking together). 

I enjoy a high school setting and I will cut these stories more slack than those featuring older characters.

If there must be a uke/seme (heterosexual imposition out of yaoi) then I prefer if it is established by some kind of world building concept (Color Rush), character personality (AePete in Love By Chance), or is clearly D/s. Otherwise, I am a big fan of Taiwanese BL and Korean BL because couples tend to have a weak seme/uke dynamic.

And that the uke chracter has agency (physical, vocal, active, autonomy - e.g. TeaKyung in Light on Me). 

I prefer a soft pining aching seme + a tough stroppy agro uke (We Best Love). 

I only really enjoy a happy ending - HEA.

I have a weakness for some systemic but problematic tropes like overprotectiveness, stepbrothers, age gaps, and whipping boy 

Who are your OTPs? 

My comfort babies are: 

SoloGui (Oxygen) 

AePete (Love By Chance) 

ShiDe + ShuYi (We Best Love) 

JiWoo + SeoJoon (To My Star)

JaeYoung + SangWoo (Semantic Error)

Togawa + Nozue (Old Fashion Cupcake) 

Takara & Amagi 

What non-bl dramas do you recommend?

I mostly don’t. Occasionally I will lose my tiny mind over a bromance (glares at The Devil Judge). 

I will suggest non-BL queer cinema sometimes. Some of my favorite BL-friendly English language movies include: 

Shelter ~ Closeted poor kid who’s an amazing artist falls in love with out rich kid who is also his best friend’s older brother. Themes of familial responsibility, hope, and duty. Southern California setting comes across really well. 

Latter Days ~ Repressed mormon meets LA party boy who’s made a bet to seduce him. Includes lots of dramatic indy songs, Tara from Buffy, and an achingly romantic ending. LA struggling actor versus the mormon agenda is extremely well done. 

Boy Meets Girl ~ a near perfect execution of the friends to lovers trope plus finding self worth and acceptance in a very atmospheric, beautifully romantic, and gorgeously queer journey. 

Maurice ~ British upper crust university college kids in the 1920s meet and start a plutonic love affair spanning many years. Based on the life of E.M. Forster, it’s not a typical romance but it does have a happy ending.

I do like noona romances.  

What BL do you recommend the most to non-BL watchers?

AKA gateway drugs? 

He’s Coming to Me on YouTube. I consider this the most palatable BL for a Western mind-set English-speaking mainstream audience. 

Also A Tale of 1000 Stars is a solid classic romance. 

Wish You on Netflix for Korean BL & K-pop fans (with a standard K-drama stalker trigger warning). 

I will crow about Color Rush and Cherry Magic to anyone who will sit still long enough.

Semantic Error - come on, just LOOK at it. 

Where can I find Korean BL? 

Korean & Taiwanese dramas usually show up on Viki. Korea’s premier queer arthouse production company Strongberry sells exclusive to vimeo and GagaOOLala, which also has most of Japan’s back catalogue. 

Ones I’m asked about the most: 

Color Rush (2020) on Viki. The movie is better.

To My Star (2021) on Viki. Either the series or the movie. 

Where can I find Taiwanese BL?

Taiwanese BLs are the hardest to find. But most of them are on Viki or GaGa at this point, except my favorite, We Best Love (on WeTV). 

Like Korean BL, many Taiwanese BLs (including most of the HIStory series) are on Viki (some of them behind the paywall but not all).

Some are also on YouTube. They get taken down then pop back up again. So you’ll need to search. 

If I can’t find it anywhere else I check the discussion thread for the drama in question on My Drama List. 

Where can I find Japanese BL? 

Japanese dramas are sometimes posted by professional level subbers independently. Two of my favorites are irozuku and ichihachi but they both sub non-BL as well. Older live action yaoi (AKA the first BLs) from 2016 and earlier are notoriously difficult to find. If you find a source, tell me, okay? Sometimes they are on YouTube and quite a few are now on Gaga but mostly the darker stuff. 

Ones I’m asked about the most: 

Cherry Magic (2020) - Irosuku subbed it but technically I think it’s on Crunchyroll 

Restart After Come Back Home (2020) - Gaga 

Seven Days (2015) - possibly my all time favorite BL, yeah good luck with that, but it is SO worth the hunt 

Where can I find Vietnamese BL? 

Vietnamese shows are mainly posted to YouTube from their many different production houses. I subscribe to the channel of the ones that I like.

Ones I’m asked about the most:

You Are Ma Boy (2021) from DGTV 

Hey Rival, I LOVE YOU! (2020) on Come Out LGBT Việt Nam (also has Follow My Sunshine) 

Where can I find Pinoy BL?

Pinoy shows are mainly posted to YouTube from the many different production houses. The houses are usually pretty good about making series playlists and the subs are always excellent. 

Ones I’m asked about the most:

My Day (2020) from Oxin Films has been down for a while, sadly

Gameboys (2020) on Netflix 

Like in the Movies (2020) from Globe Studios on YT 

Where can I find Thai BL?

Where can you not find it? 

GMMTV YouTube Channel: Major heavy hitting Thai shows like 2gether & Dark Blue Kiss, 1000 Stars, Bad Buddy are on YouTube. I just subscribe to that channel and/or look at its playlists or use YouTube search function.  

Studio Wabi Sabi YouTube Channel: second biggest Thai BL producers offers The En of Love | Love By Chance | Until We Meet Again 

Smaller production house Thai shows like Oxygen | My Engineer | Ingredients | 2 Moons 2 are on YouTube from their production or distribution houses. 

Thai shows that have been sold for international distribution: SOTUS, Lovesick, Puppy Honey are sometimes on Netflix (but often still also on YouTube) although a select few are going to VIki & iQIYI 

Thai shows that have faded or never got international distribution are sometimes on YouTube uploaded by fans: just search the title of the show + “Eng Sub” for example Make it Right & 2 Moons original 

Thai shows that aren’t on YouTube can usually be found on Viki or Gaga or iQIYI (behind a paywall), just use a search function + name of platform.

Still Totally Lost? 

If I can’t find it anywhere else I check the discussion thread for the drama in question on My Drama List or whatever grey site is currently popular (bad & illegal rips and terrible subs but sometimes it’s all we get). And I set up an occasional vanity hit search alert for YouTube. These include: 

Addicted (Heroin) web series (the world’s best BL from Mainland China) the full uncut version (trust me, you want that one) is on Viki.

Which OTT platform are worth subscribing to for BL? (The Stats)

My infamous BL spreadsheet currently has 383 entries, and a column for “source”, I type this in April of 2022. 

YouTube - 165 BLs

Has the most pieces of content. That’s because bootlegs show up there a lot, especially the early Chinese and Japanese stuff that you can’t find anywhere else. They will often get taken down and you have to hunt for it again. YT takedowns come in waves, every 6 months or so.

However, GMMTV, some Star Hunter, some Studio Wabi Sabi, all the Vietnamese & Pinoy stuff (until now), and a few choice bits of Strongberry are YT content.

I use YT for work A LOT, so the fee for Premium ($11.99) and lack of ads + downloads is worth it for me, but I think it probubly isn’t if you’re on a budget. Sub quality is all over the place but generally worse than on “real” OTTs. The app is fine, but the web based YT at Premium level doesn’t work with Firefox.

I travel a lot and like to take my YT downloads to watch on the plane. HOWEVER, you should know YT doesn’t download CC subs properly, so this doesn’t work for BL unless the ENG SUB are hard coded to the image (as is often the case with bootlegs).

GagaOOLala - 105 BLs

Of the pay to play platforms, GaGa actually has the most BLs by numbers. However, these are mostly shorts. If you’re intersted in darker BL, GL and other queer content, very high heat, the history of the genre, or Japanese stuff - most of that will be on GaGa. Also all of Strongberry and some of the newer more queer series (like My Ride).

I got a subscription to GaGa at the beginning of the year and have NEVER regretted it, at $6.99 a month it’s also the cheapest option. It’s also openly and very aggressively queer and based in Taipei, so if you can afford them, you probubly should support them. Their app is pretty terrible, but their web-based interface is good.

GaGa is the only one that (so long as Taiwan is autonomous) will always have more BL, guaranteed. Ironically, you can follow their YT channel for previews and teasers to their latest series and acquisitions. Because they are Taiwan-based their subs, especially for Chinese and Japanese stuff, are quite good.

Rakutan Viki - 52 BLs

(probubly more, some of those ones I watched originally on YT are now on Viki)

Has the most BL content (apart from YT) by watchable hours. It specializes in longer series, mostly Thai, Taiwanese, and a few of the Chinese bromances. But mostly only more recent stuff.

At $11.99 with another pay point for Plus (you don’t need it for BL) it’s pretty average cost. But most of my favorite new shows tend to go to Viki, and I like Rakutan as a parent company, so I don’t mind supporting them. They don’t have a speed-up option though, which is annoying, and their web-interface is super buggy. But they DO have categories you can name and control, which I really love.

It is amusing to me that GaGa (Taiwan) and Viki (Japan) each have the most of the other’s content. The subs on Viki tend to be a little worse than other platforms because they sub by committee, and for various reasons Korean stuff is better subbed than anything else. That said the Thai stuff is not done by Viki (so far as I can tell). They seem to buy those with subs, so they’re okay.

Other Platforms

iQIYI - has recently entered the field, it’s Mainland China based - so the platform getting BL for its international audience is… how do I put this… kinda shitty? The interface is okay, but it’s heavy hitters are really only Blueming (seriously Korea, respect yourself more), KinnPorsche and few others. It clearly wants to get into the market, but… do we want it in the market? For now they seem to be rolling things out with ads. Or pay to binge. Which is an interesting tactic - smart, actually. Up to you on this one. But I would say right now it’s only worth it if you really also like Chinese dramas. And even so, Viki has A LOT of those.

Netflix - here in the states it almost never has new BL content. Sometimes some old stuff. They tested the waters with SOTUS and Love Sick. I have a feeling they aren’t particularly intersted. So if BL is what you watch, don’t bother.

WeTV - acts like LineTV used to, has Manner of Death and We Best Love. You need to subscribe for WBL2 + no ads. 

I find leads for these well… here. If someone is giffing and talking about a show and I don’t know how they are getting hold of it, I just ask. 

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