#2023 in qls

[colourme-feral]

Hi there. So I read your tags on an other post and thought I would give you challenge.

What were your 10 (or really how many you want) favourite locations in 2023 QLs? Can be places or buildings, or both. Your choice. Rose💜

@nothingsbetterthancoffee thank you for enabling on the clown website!! Did you have any favourite locations in this year's QLs?

I referred to MDL and so I've only included shows that started in 2023 and to keep this under Tumblr's maximum of 30 images, so I didn't include all screenshots for shared locations!

Anyway, these are my favourite QL locations from 2023:

1. Chong Nonsi Canal Park (Bed Friend, Chains of Heart and The Promise) (location) Shout out to @winnythanawin (aka @aprilblossomgirl) for our discussions about parks lol

2. The timber mill (Chains of Heart) I love wide angle and maximalist shots, so this location has been stuck in my mind.

3. Thai Muslim Women Foundation School (My Dear Gangster Oppa, Y-Destiny, Return Man, 55:15 Never Too Late, Midnight Motel, Never Let Me Go and My Only 12%) (location) I love that the building has specific motifs that are seen in other Islamic architecture. But also, an excessive number of chandeliers is always fun to me. (There are also far too many shared locations, so I picked only a few screenshots).

4. Chakngeaw Chinese Market (Moonlight Chicken) (location) Maybe it's the lanterns and the colours in the scenes, but I loved this location!

5. Como Metropolian Bangkok (Step by Step and Middleman's Love) (location) I described this as a Pride & Prejudice moment once. LOOK AT THE HUGE WINDOWS. That is all, lol

6. 13 Coins Tower Ngamwongwan (Playboyy and 3 Will Be Free) (location) I cannot explain how the slightly dead and uninhabited vibes of this hotel appeal to me but here we are 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♂️🤷

7. The houses (I Feel You Linger in the Air) (location, location) These details are *everything*. I'm especially a fan of the windows and stained glass!

8. Factopia (Pit Babe) (location) One thing about me is that I am chaotic. Look at this studio that's being used as a home. I love it lol

9. These two temples (Cherry Magic Thailand) (locations) The boat is selling the whole idea for me, though I've been told that there isn't actually a boat operating in these canals anymore, but let me imagine it!

10. Chao Phraya Sky Park (Last Twilight and Low Frequency Pilot Trailer) (location to come) I have actually been waiting to see this bridge/park used and was so excited to see it in Low Frequency's pilot trailer, though it didn't make it to the show. THEN Last Twilight showed up for me. Thank you to the location manager of the show.

11. Tokyo Tower (Shigatsu no Tokyo wa... / Tokyo in April is...) Please ignore how bad Ren looks in the screenshot. I don't care that only the base of my favourite tower can be seen. I'm taking it!!!

12. Whatever this building is (Pit Babe) I mean, I AM CURIOUS about it but haven't found the location. Maybe that's why I'm obsessing a little. Just let me find the location and I will get over it. Probably.

+ BONUS 13. Ikea Sukhumvit (Cherry Magic Thailand) I'm just kidding about this one, but I did google to see where it was @callipigio

Tagging @blmpff, @callipigio, @dribs-and-drabbles, @telomeke because we discuss locations, or at least I make you listen to me talk about them. I'd love to know if you had any favourites/ones that I forgot to add to the list!

If anyone else has their favourite locations, I'd love to know!

Also including these collections of locations, because why not: Troye Sivan's Got Me Started and its shared locations in Thai queer media

If I were in Bangkok, I might want to... in response to @lurkingshan's ask about my favourite locations

#the ask game #irl locations #2023 in qls

[aprilblossomgirl]

my favorite QL 2023 recaps: part 2 - Mark Pakin

Mark Pakin Kunaanuwit and his co-stars in shows throughout 2023.

GIF 1. The Warp Effect (2022-2023) - as Jedi with Best Jira as Rose

GIF 2. Moonlight Chicken (2023) - as Saleng with View Benyapa as Praew

GIF 3. My School President (2022-2023) - as Thiuson with Ford Allan as Por

GIF 4. Only Friends (2023) - as Nick with Neo Trai as Boston

GIF 5. Last Twilight (2023-2024) - as Night with Namtan Tipnaree as Phojai

#mark pakin #drama 2023 recaps #ql 2023 recaps #my favorite ql 2023 #the warp effect #moonlight chicken #my school president #only friends #last twilight #*gifs #april.gif #all selected scenes for the clips were aired in 2023. #did i just make a random recaps set. no. i am truly impressed with mark pakin performance this year.

[liyazaki]

fandom tumblr year in review | last year (2022)

#tumblr year in review #2023 year in review #kinnporsche #khaofirst #first kanaphan #it's the most wonderful time of the year (when i get data- beautiful beautiful DATA) #khaotung thanawat #only friends #only friends the series #apo nattawin #jeff satur #my school president #moonlight chicken #bl dramas #ql dramas #userjap #userspicy #userpharawee #asiandramanet #asiandramaedit

[respectthepetty]

Reading the (Visual) Rainbow Awards

Now that 2023 is officially wrapped up, I'm delivering awards to the QLs that gave the best visual narratives in 2023. In order to be considered for these awards, the series 1) had to air during 2023, and 2) had to finish airing by December 31, so out of the 108 BLs I watched this year, 14 are still ongoing and cannot be considered for these awards. Out of the remaining 94 QLs, 67 had some degree of consistent color coding.

*If a show is mentioned with an asterisk, it means the show was not considered in the nominations for not meeting the required criteria.

But before I begin the award ceremony, I must stay on brand and deliver one award for my namesake.

Petty Award: Only Friends & I Feel You Linger in the Air

This award goes to a show or shows that had great visual narratives but I refuse to write about it because I'm petty. Cinematographers Rath and Jim never fail, and they both delivered beautiful visuals in their shows, but these series know what they did to me, so now we got beef. Cutie Pie and Bad Buddy finally broke out of Petty Prison this year, so Only Friends and I Feel You Linger in the Air now join I Told Sunset About You behind bars for making me want to fight them in the parking lot of a Texas Chicken.

Now for the ceremony to begin!

Stats Awards [These awards are based solely on numbers]

Most Popular: Blue Boy

This award goes to the color that was most popular in a pair, number-wise. The stats: A Blue Boy was part of a color-coded pair 26 times this year. The next color-coded boy was a Black Brooder who was a part of 15 pairs.

The Best Blue Boy was Bed Friend's King. He is actually bi-colored with blue and black, so he represents both of the most popular color-coded boys well. He was loyal, dependable, sensitive, and a little arrogant, but always sincere, which made him a King among men, and he truly deserves the title of "Best Color-Coded Boy of the Year."

Most Popular Pair: Light x Dark

This award goes to the color-coded pair who were used the most in the year, number-wise. The stats: The Black x White dynamic was consistently used for 9 couples, and the Happy Human (Multicolored Menace) x Brooding Boy dynamic was used 3 times. A Yellow/Orange Oddity x Blue Boy pair was used for 7 couples, a Green Guy x Blue Boy were used for 6 couples, and Red Rascal x Blue Boy were used for 6 couples as well.

The Best Light x Dark Couple: Tew x Guy from My Dear Gangster Oppa perfectly represent what makes this color dynamic work. Tew was an actual gangster who murdered people and only wore black, while Guy was an innocent college student who only wore white, yet they both ended up owning a bar on a beach and wearing stripes of the other's color to show that everyone needs to find a balance within himself and his relationship.

The Outlier: Star Struck

This award goes to a series that delivered a colored-coded pair that no other series did. Korean drama Star Struck gave us the ONLY Black Brooder x Red Rascal pair of the year. The leads were color coded as children into adulthood, and the show included color-coded accessories and a color exchange.

Visual Rhetoric Awards

Best Boundary/Barrier/Bars - My School President

This award goes to a series that best displayed an internal conflict with a physical barrier between the two leads. My School President did this several times and each time was different, but throughout the sixth episode, as the boys recreated the music video for Tilly Birds' "Just Being Friendly," the line between friends and boyfriends was clearly represented. Both boys struggled with their feelings and the physical barriers were there as a reminder that one of them would have to cross the line in order to move forward. However, when Blue Boy Tinn finally did, it was after confirmation that Red Rascal Gun felt the same, and it was a gentle move which was true to his character and the high school context.

Best Balance - Between Us

This award goes to a series that best used the scene to outline the balanced dynamic between the leads. My Beautiful Man 2 did a fantastic job of slowly showing Hira and Kiyoi's evolving power dynamic by Hira going from laying down to kneeling in front of a sitting Kiyoi, but Between Us showed that Win and Team were a balanced pair from the very first episode during their sexual encounter. That scene stated that neither boy was being taken advantage of, and this visual continued throughout the show. Both boys were afraid of their feelings, yet both boys loved each other, equally.

Best Background (Noise) - Our Dating Sim

This award goes to a series that best used the background details to strongly reinforce the ongoing plot. Our Dating Sim's plot revolved around a company creating an interactive game that would serve as a dating simulation, and that basis played directly into the former friends-to-lovers' conflict. The very first scene involved Eddy inputting code into his computer to "FindProblem; ResetTime; BackToStage; RestartGame" then the company Ian was applying to and the one Eddy worked at was called RE:TRY with a controller that had a heart as one of the buttons. However, every episode had some degree of background noise speaking directly about the plot including additional game simulation scenes where an unidentified player would have to select future moves based on the boys' previous experiences.

Best Use of Clothing - Never Let Me Go

This award goes to the series that made the best use of clothing to show the evolving dynamic between the leads. Never Let Me Go wins because Nueng began the series in dark solid colors while Palm was in colorful patterns. As their relationship progressed, Nueng's colors became lighter, and patterns were introduced. Yet in the end, both boys stayed true to themselves and each maintained their style while incorporating components from the other. Palm's color darkened but remained patterned, and Nueng opted for neutral colors with patterned ties.

Colors Awards

Honorable Mention - Oh No! Here Comes Trouble

This award goes to a series that had a great visual narrative but could not be considered for these awards because it wasn't marketed as a QL (even though it's canon to me). If Oh No! Here Comes Trouble was marketed as QL, it would easily be nominated for the Best Overall Award. The use of the color red as a continuing reminder of the thin red thread of destiny, alone, would win it a spot on this list, but the show also included ample amounts of visual rhetoric, a "kiss of life," and color-coded matching outfits which deserve to be recognized.

Best Color Exchange - My Personal Weatherman

This award goes to a series where the leads were color coded and switching their colors demonstrated more than their love being mutual. My Personal Weatherman owned this category. The series was riddled with miscommunications between the leads regarding the love they felt for each other, but after Mizuki's possessiveness ramped up at the end of the seventh episode, the love was made clear, through bondage. Yoh, wearing Mizuki's blue, felt the love Mizuki had for him when he was tied up and being, essentially, held hostage by Mizuki. And yet by tying up Yoh, Mizuki could finally physically reinforce the way he felt for Yoh. He wanted Yoh. All of Yoh. To himself. And Yoh needed that to be made clear with a color-coded bonding moment (hehe).

Best Kiss - The Eighth Sense

This award goes to the series that best used a kiss to support the color narrative of the story. The Eighth Sense waited until the second-to-last episode to deliver this extraordinary color-coded kiss, but the wait was well worth it. Jae Won was color coded as a Brooding Boy (dark) and Ji Hyun was color coded as a Happy Human (light). After an accident involving the two, Jae Won was the darkest he had been, color-wise and mentally, so he isolated himself. But after several episodes apart, Jae Won walked out of the darkness, straight to Ji Hyun's, and kissed him on the street with all the colors of the rainbow pulsing around them perfectly showing that Ji Hyun was the color in his dark world, but that Jae Won also brought color to Ji Hyun's life and directly to his doorstep.

Best Pink - Be My Favorite

This award goes to the series that best used the color pink to demonstrate the love between the two leads. Normally, shows use pink lighting, pink clothing, or pink blankets to display this visual, but Be My Favorite used pink wisteria delicately hanging behind Pisaeng comforting Kawi. The flowering plant symbolizes friendship, love, and longevity and perfectly tied into the show's themes of valuing friendship and putting in the effort day-after-day to make any relationship last.

Best Heart - Love Tractor

This award goes to a series that best represented love by using a tangible item to symbolize a heart. Even before Yechan realized he loved Yol with the physical representation of Yechan's red gloves sprouting out from his left chest pocket in Love Tractor, Yechan let Yol know that he could be trusted with Yol's heart. During the third episode, Yechan taught Yol how to pick strawberries. He advised Yol to be gentle, to not use force, and to not put too much pressure on them or they would bruise or break. Yechan proceeded to use this method with Yol, and continued to give Yechan red fruits to enjoy as a means of encouraging Yol to experience things he had truly not before, like fresh strawberries, stolen fruit, and unconditional love.

Best Accessory - I Cannot Reach You

This award goes to a series that best used a color-coded accessory to support the ongoing plot. Usually, color-coded accessories are physical items such as a phone, a shirt, or a mug, but I Cannot Reach You instead color coded feelings via a bokeh effect. Blue Boy Yamato tried to deny his feelings for his best friend, Yellow/Orange Oddity Kakeru, but the colors don't lie, and the bokeh effect snitched on him each time. When Kakeru was tending Yamato's wound or when Yamato thought of kissing Kakeru, the bokeh effect would show both boys' colors to let the audience know that Kakeru was on Yamato's mind. But the biggest moment was when this phenomenon happened to Kakeru, which finally showed that he felt the same for Yamato. [GIF by @my-rose-tinted-glasses]

Best Blinding Light (of Love) - HIStory 5: Love in the Future

This award goes to the series that best used a blinding light to emphasize the overwhelming feeling of being in love. Taiwan and its long-standing HIStory series win this award because Taiwan showed everyone else why it's the expert. HIStory 5: Love in the Future waited until the last episode to use this with an established couple, which is why it deserves the win. Vincent had already quit his job and moved to the beach, where his boyfriend Wynn would visit, but in the last episode, Wynn quit his job as well and ran to the beach because he finally realized Vincent was the reason all his dreams came true. Vincent told Wynn he never planned to tell him because he didn't want Wynn to believe he owed Vincent, and Wynn told Vincent his love was genuine regardless of what Vincent had done for him. They kissed, and the blinding light hit as they solidified their love. Therefore, the light wasn't just for love, but for understanding what that love meant and where that love came from.

Best Lighting - Moonlight Chicken

This award goes to the series that best used lighting to support the story's narrative. Cinematographer Rath, who has regularly partnered with Director Jojo and Director Aof, never misses. Not once. And Moonlight Chicken is a flawless example of that. Warm and cool lighting were used to show the difference between neglect and care, isolation and warmth, and a house versus a home. The characters' development could be directly seen through the lighting surrounding them and projected on them. Heart's entire storyline is a beautiful progression through blues and oranges and reds, and we see that although Jim did not realize he was the heart of his community, the lighting made sure that the audience understood how important he was to each character he interacted with, even Alan.

Best Cinematographer: Nid Nidchaya - Dangerous Romance, Love in Translation, My Universe*

This award goes to the cinematographer who best supported the story through visuals without distracting from the ongoing plot. Thailand dominated this competition with Joy (The Promise, The Warp Effect*); Rath (Never Let Me Go, Moonlight Chicken, Our Skyy, Only Friends, Last Twilight*); Jim (Step by Step, Hidden Agenda, I Feel You Linger in the Air); and Suthipong (609 Bedtime Story, Our Skyy, Chains of Heart, My Dear Gangster Oppa), but only Nid deserves this win.

My Universe consists of twelve different stories, and each has had a slightly different visual presentation, but it's Nid's work in Dangerous Romance and Love in Translation that show off his true skill. When Red Rascal Sailom was drugged and attempted to call Blue Boy Kanghan, the bathroom was lit in blue as Sailom fell down from the purple, and when Kanghan cried while pinning down Sailom, they were surrounded by their colors. When Phumjai and Yan Feng kissed in their store, their colors enveloped them much like the colors would combine as they had sex in the same spot a few episodes later. The colors and the love were always present even if it was overlooked, which only reinforced the on-screen drama of failing to notice the ways love is always present, even when in conflict.

Best Rainbow - I Became the Lead in a BL Drama

This award goes to the series with the best use of a rainbow. There were many rainbows this year featured in opening credits and several more that were nominees of this award such as Our Dining Table's rainbow over the smiley face sucker, Dangerous Romance's rainbow over Kanghan's heart, Past-Senger's rainbow paper hearts in a jar, and Wen's office Pride flag in Moonlight Chicken, but I Became Lead in a BL Drama's rainbow in the opening credits of the first episode swooped in right before the clock struck midnight ending 2023. The reason it stole this award at the last minute is simple - it's queer. Regardless if a kiss happened or not, this series was still about two men falling in love, and that's pretty gay. But how the rainbow was used in the opening credits of the first episode with the Blinding Light of Love as the clapperboard hid the leads' kiss is what gave it the edge in this category. We only saw one practice kiss because the scripted one was never for us. That kiss was for the audience of the fictional BL drama, and the real kiss between the actors was just for them. It was gay. It was meta. It was Japanese BL.

Best Surprise - La Pluie

This award serves as a catch-all for a series that delivered a color-coded surprise while still incorporating it well within the plot. Several series offered color-coded surprises in 2023, but La Pluie, the show about soulmates, splendidly reinforced its plot through the two color-coded brothers at the center of the series. Tien was a Yellow/Orange Oddity who believed in the power of destiny, yet he ended up in blue with a person who wasn't his soulmate, and his brother, Blue Boy Tai, who never wanted a soulmate, ended up with his and embracing more yellow in his life. The story is more complicated, and so are the colors, but for a series about bucking fate, it resisted every common use of color-coding techniques in order to support that theme. Life is unpredictable, and so were the colors.

Best Group Effort - Destiny Seeker

This award goes to the series that best color coded a majority of its characters. Destiny Seeker had consistent color coding throughout the entire season, but it really excelled at color coding each of its three couples. The youngest couple color coordinated, the second pair were yellow x green, which is usually reserved for friends and not lovers and went well with their plot, and the main characters were the traditional Thai blue x red. The show gave three different color-coded pairs yet provided something new and fresh while still hitting each stop on the BL history tour, and no couple was wasted. Each one, and their colors, perfectly added to the story, and gave a nice depiction of the rainbow of colors that queer love can be.

Best Consistent Color Coding - Tie: What Did You Eat Yesterday? 2, My Beautiful Man 2, Naughty Babe

This award goes to the series that had the most consistent color coding throughout its run. However, this year we were blessed with sequels and additional outings from some of our favorite series and color-coded couples. Therefore, this award goes to THREE shows for not only having consistent color coding but for also openly using those colors as part of the plot:

Shiro x Kenji [What Did You Eat Yesterday?] - Shiro was always a Brooding Boy (dark colored) and Kenji brought color into his life, but the second season directly addressed this. Shiro wasn't ever going to be a colorful person, but he didn't need to be because the show repeatedly stated that relationships are about balance. Kenji loves Shiro because he is practical and saves for their future. Shiro loves Kenji because he is upbeat and optimistic. They have different colors, but they are the perfect match, just like their aprons.

Hira x Kiyoi [My Beautiful Man] - Hira was a loyal and reserved servant (blue) to his god Kiyoi (white). Yet the second season and movie continued to show that Kiyoi was not a god, but instead a man lacking love and color, and because of that, Hira had to learn to give his color to Kiyoi rather than mindless devotion. Both men shined the brightest when it was clear that Kiyoi loved Hira for his stalker tendencies, and Hira thrived knowing that the best way to show Kiyoi love was by being himself and doing exactly what he loved, which was taking care of Kiyoi with all his color.

Lian x Yi Kuea [Cutie Pie, Naughty Babe] - All polycule jokes aside, Lian and Kuea had a complete color-coded story in Cutie Pie, so Cutie Pie 2 U felt like a repeat of the first season, but then came Naughty Babe. The boys wore more of the other's color which proved they were very much still in love as husbands, and at their best friends' wedding, these husbands stood in red and took a serious moment in a season full of hijinks and shenanigans to look directly at the audience and state that "Love Always Win." Domundi has been beating this Marriage Equality drum the hardest, and it continues to use its characters to emphasize the importance of QUEER family and rights. The Next Prince and Love Upon a Time when?

Best Overall - Kiseki: Dear to Me

This award goes to the series that did it like nobody else to claim the ultimate prize, and no other show can even compete with Kiseki: Dear to Me. The promo material, as shown above, outlined the light versus dark dynamic the two couples would have in the show. The main couple would be the lighter love and the second couple would be the darker version. It also showcased that the main couple would be the loyal blues, and the second couple would be the defiant reds. Before the show even started, it told us there would be balance. One couple with their baked treats would be sugar and sweet, while the other couple with their torture tactics of chili peppers would be spice and everything-not-nice. It would be a group effort.

And once the fun got started, we got several color-coded cameos from couples in other well-known Taiwanese BLs, the Blinding Light of Love for both couples, and the pink light of love.

But it didn't stop there! The series gave the traditional color exchange between Blue Boy Zong Yi and his devoid-of-color future-husband Rui, but true to his word and actions, Zong Yi never took his color back. He was serious about his love and gave it ALL to Rui, which was also depicted by Zong Yi opening a bakery that specialized in strawberry goods, because in case it wasn't clear, strawberry =💗= love.

Even with all that, the second couple still stole the show for most viewers. Perhaps it was Eddie's rainbow cardigans and sweaters. It's possible it was Eddie's cat collars combined with Chen Yi's dog tags or the body pillows of each other that watched the other's back as they slept. Maybe it was the graffiti behind Chen Yi that stated he was "no good at goodbye" when he was lying to Eddie about needing him to help with business issues or that they continued to wear each other's clothing which WERE COLOR COORDINATED THE ENTIRE TIME!

Regardless of the exact reason people preferred one couple over the other, Kiseki: Dear to Me continued to serve a visual narrative that underlined the plot and provided additional context for both couples and the overall story. Color-coded boys in love get happy endings, and this series proved that.

Before the show even began.

#Reading the (Visual) Rainbow Awards 2023 #the colors mean things #the color exchange #color coded boys in love #barriers and boundaries #long post #best of qls 2023 #Reading the (Visual) Rainbow

[wen-kexing-apologist]

Best QL of 2023: Favorite Lines

Okay so I am slightly over my one year mark in the BL Fandom, and have watched over the past like...12-14 months a little under 100 shows, so I am forcing myself to stick to the shows that aired in 2023 or else I would never be able to finish this. But I saw @abstractelysium do this so I had to climb aboard:

Top Five Lines that Lived Rent-Free In My Brain This Year:

"Have you been well? Without me?" - Shin Ki Tae, Our Dating Sim, Ep 4

Y'ALL THIS FUCKING LINE. KNIFE. CHEST. EVERY TIME! This line sits on the same level of absolute and total emotional devastation for me as the "I just want things to be nice for him" link in Big Eden.

"Are you tired, Uncle Jim?" - Li Ming, Moonlight Chicken, Ep 8

Jim and Li Ming's relationship just makes me absolutely so fucking emotional. I love them individually, I love them together, and I love how much Jim does for his community. But no one ever asks him this. And it is so striking to me that Li Ming is finally the one to demonstrate how much he understands and appreciates everything Jim does not only for him but for the entire community when he ass him that question.

"My family is old fashioned. I kept everything in my heart and didn't want to tell anyone until I was 15. My family went to Europe with Wa's family. We saw two women kissing on the street. I saw her and wanted to talk to her. I want to know how she did it. I want to release it like them. But Wa's mother and I...You can probably imagine. A pair of old-fashioned women who think same-sex love is wrong...That's when I realized I wasn't the only one feeling terrible. When we got back that night she broke down and cried. No one knew why. I asked her if it was about the afternoon incident. She asked me if a kiss between two women was wrong. I said no. It's just like two men kissing. It's not wrong. On that night a 15 year old boy and a 13 year old girl held each other and cried." -Sailom, Wedding Plan, Ep. 6

Okay this isn't a line, it's a monologue but holy fucking shit this was such a beautiful speech, and I will quote @bengiyo here and say "I CAN'T BELIEVE PEOPLE HATED THIS MAN." He has spent so much of his life in the closet protecting not only himself but especially Yiwa. Sailom was going to go through with the wedding just to ensure that Yiwa and Marine could be together without anyone prying.

"This is as tender as I can be. Someone like me." -Mhok, Last Twilight, Ep. 4

Honestly you could replace the first sentence with whatever you want, the part that sticks in my brain the most is "someone like me" because I know that Mhok must have heard shit like that his entire life, and Day is here saying it in a way that I don't think Mhok takes as an actual insult or passing of judgement. I like that the line is used whenever Mhok does show who he truly is and how much tenderness or warmth he is actually capable of in a subversion of the expectations placed upon him.

"But you know, I already knew your preferences so well. When I go shopping with Kakei-san, he talks about you all the time...He says it with a smile" -Kayoko, What Did You Eat Yesterday?, Season 2 Episode 11

THE WEEP I WEPT WHEN KAYOKO TOLD KENJI HOW MUCH SHIRO TALKS ABOUT HIM. This entire second season of WDYEY Shiro has just continuously shown so much beautiful beautiful growth and my heart twists with pride every single time I see him looking more relaxed and smiley. WDYEY is the most perfect show to ever exist.

#our dating sim #moonlight chicken #last twilight the series #wedding plan the series #what did you eat yesterday? #best ql 2023

[dribs-and-drabbles]

Okay, hear me out... When I wrote that I'd wished GMMTV had given us an older queer romance with the actor who plays Pran's dad in Bad Buddy, A Passin, I couldn't think of anyone else who he could be paired with. But then it hit me today. The actor who plays Aye's uncle in The Eclipse!

Look, with the success of Old Fashion Cupcake, I'm sure there'd be an audience for this. Just look at them! I mean L👀K (at their extensive acting experience, of course)

tagging some people who might share my sentiment (just ignore me if not 🤷🏽‍♀️ I will float this ship alone if I have to): @binary5tar @respectthepetty @shortpplfedup @liyazaki @jemmo @miscellar @absolutebl @heretherebedork @ablazenqueen

#give me my older ql please #just...can you imagine!? #but it's probably going to be several more years before we get something like this #I mean. gmmtv have only /just/ braved ONE gl this season #so it takes a while for them to venture outside of their comfort zone #but a girl can wish #gmmtv 2023 #bad buddy #the eclipse #a passin reungwoot #ron patarapon to-oun #old fashion cupcake

[heretherebedork]

I just realized that next week I will have a GMMTV show after work every single day of the week.

Monday: The Warp Effect Tuesday: Never Let Me Go Wednesday: Moonlight Chicken Thursday: Moonlight Chicken Friday: My School President

Wild.

#gmmtv #the warp effect #never let me go #moonlight chicken #my school president #thai drama #thai series #thai bl #thai bl series #bl series #thaibl #bl drama #ql drama #ql series #gmmtv 2023 #so wild

[justafriend-ql]

QL Series Wrapped 2023

Thank you @tenprem for tagging me and @loveable-sea-lemon for creating the template for this! (template here). I've adapted the template somewhat to fit my personal style.

This prompted me to finally create a MyDramaList account (see my WatchList here) so I could do an inventory of all the ql series I've watched so far. The first I ever watched was Bad Buddy in 2022, so I still consider myself somewhat of a newcomer to the ql scene. These stats include a few series I watched in 2022, but I probably watched 95% of them in 2023.

you watched 64 qls this year. that's about 446.4 hours!

you primarily watched qls from Thailand.

you spent way too much time thInking about these characters: Palm/Nueng, Heart/Li Ming, and Tinn/Gun (the gmmtv lineup at the beginning of the year was unparalleled)

your favorite show was Never Let Me Go. you kept thinking about it all year. (i cannot, in fact, let go of this series)

your overall ql mood was "would you like a side of beautiful cinematography to go with your angst?" (branching out to kbls and jbls was the best decision i ever made for this reason)

you read the most fanfiction about PalmNueng. like way too much. (i highly recommend fics by @distant-screaming!!)

another of your favorites from this year was Jaewon/Jihyun from the Eighth Sense. they captivated your gay little heart.

the soundtracks you listened to the most were the My School President and A Shoulder to Cry On soundtracks. it made you feel really normal.

your favorite acting pair was Pond Naravit/Phuwin Tangsakyuen. there was just something so mesmerizing about them... (they really reached new heights with Never Let Me Go; the darker concept suited them surprisingly well and I hope to see them in similar roles going forward) Honorable mention for Higuchi Kouhei/Mashiko Atsuki from My Personal Weatherman (their incredible chemistry carried the series)

here's to another year!! (with more gls, please!!!)

invite friends to share theirs: @pondphuwin @petrichoraline @first-kanaphan @loserlesbianongsa @celestial-sapphicss (if you haven't done it already!)

#ql wrapped 2023 #ask game #while never let me go took over my life for the first part of the year #i'm now having a great time catching up on kbls and jbls from the past couple of years #the aesthetic and darker themes of many of these series are SO up my alley

[iguessitsjustme]

2023 End of Year QL Ask Game

I created an End of Year QL Ask Game last year and thought I’d update it for this year. Some of the questions are the same, but some are changed. Have fun and enjoy our last few days of QL this year!

1. What are your top 10 QL this year?

2. What show surprised you the most?

3. What show did you have high expectations for, but ended up disappointing you?

4. Who are your top 5 favorite characters this year?

5. Who are your top 5 favorite pairings this year?

6. What show had the best opening song?

7. Best soundtrack in a show?

8. Best single song in a show?

9. Did you create anything for the fandom this year (gifs, fics, etc)? What’s one of your favorite things that you created? Link to it if you can.

10. What’s a show that didn’t air this year, but you watched this year that you enjoyed?

11. If you had to recommend just one QL from this year to someone, what would you recommend?

12. Best kiss of the year?

13. What are your 5 least favorite tropes used this year?

14. What are your top 5 favorite tropes used this year?

15. What is your favorite scene from a QL this year?

16.. What show do you wish had been longer?

17. What show should have been shorter?

18. Did you drop any shows this year?

19. What character had the best fashion sense? What character had the worst?

20. What show from this year do you love that wasn’t popular?

21. Who was the softest character/pairing in QL this year? Which pairing had the best communication?

22. Who was your favorite side couple this year?

23. Who was the best side character not involved in a couple?

24. Which character deserved better than what they got?

25. Did you have any fun fandom experiences this year?

#ask game #2023 ql ask game #I only have one more day at work before the holiday and I am absolutely vibrating with excitement #but I wanted to post this today since we’re coming up on the end of the year #I will do my best to ask something to everyone who reblogs this but I will be busy so I make no promises #also I will be playing this ask game from now until the end of the year and I’ll reblog it myself a few times #I’m off to work now have fun everyone!

[theflagscene]

GMMtv really be saying; 2023 we’re not letting you go a single week without something gay hitting your screen. MSP, NLMG and MLC just ended but then A Boss and a Babe started today, there will be no gap in our GMMtv gay content apparently, not this year lol.

#I’m not very interested in a boss and a babe #but it’s nice that it started the day after MLC ended #keep us QL fans fed #we are their bread and butter #a boss and a babe #gmmtv 2023 #thai bl #thai ql

[colourme-feral]

7 10 BL Boys That I Want Carnally (only from 2023 because I have a bad memory. Please forgive me)

Tagged by @neuroticbookworm!

King from Bed Friend

Nawin from Laws of Attraction

Boeing from Only Friends

Karan from Cherry Magic

Babe from Pit Babe

Prom from Playboyy

Chen Yi from Kiseki: Dear to Me

At this point, I think most people have already been tagged, but if you're interested, I'd love to see your list!

#@neuroticbookworm this was so hard for me 😂😂😂😂 #it's clear to me that i like them a little pathetic. unhinged. or both. i'm sure i've forgotten at least 1 😬 #the tag game #2023 in qls

[aprilblossomgirl]

my favorite QL 2023 recaps: part 3 - say it with flower

GIF 1. Double Decker Hibiscus in Laws of Attraction (2023) -- Thank you to @embraceyourfandom for mentioning about the flower in a reblog of my gifset.

GIF 2. Sunflower in Last Twilight (2023-2024)

GIF 3. Chrysanthemum in Hidden Agenda (2023)

GIF 4. Plumeria in I Feel You Linger in the Air (2023)

GIF 5. Unidentified flower in Laws of Attraction (2023)

#drama 2023 recaps #ql 2023 recaps #my favorite ql 2023 #laws of attraction #i feel you linger in the air #hidden agenda #last twilight #*gifs #april.gif #all selected scenes for the clips were aired in 2023 (in the order of gradient of colors) #loa got two spots because why not.

[quantumgifs]

All this sacrifice, it's gonna be worth it.

𝐐𝐔𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐔𝐌 𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐏 𝐒𝟐𝐄𝟏𝟑 - 𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐓 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄

#ql. #quantum leap #quantum leap 2022 #quantum leap 2023 #quantum leap 2024 #ian wright #addison augustine #ben song #magic #jenn chu #janis calavicci #beth calavicci #herbert williams #quantum leap spoilers #quantum leap gifs #mason alexander park #caitlin bassett #raymond lee #nanrisa lee

[sometimesraven]

Quantum Leap (reboot)         Dr. Ian Wright x text posts

BONUS::

#quantum leap #quantum leap 2022 #quantum leap 2023 #quantum leap reboot #text posts #dr ian wright #ian wright #ian wright ql #ian wright my beloved #jenn chou #addison augustine #that bonus one made me tearful ngl #i'm still not ok about that episode #qledit #quantum leap edit #mason alexander park

[wen-kexing-apologist]

Best of QL 2023: Favorite Lines

Okay well, I was going to spare everyone (and myself) from having to choose between all the pre-2023 shows I binged this year, but @twig-tea wanted more pain and suffering so here it goes:

Top Five Pre-2023 Lines that Lived Rent-Free In My Brain This Year:

"I don't want to see him sad." -Oh'Aew, I Told Sunset About You, Ep. 5

Okay so you see, my real problem here is that my favorite parts of ITSAY, the things that stay in my head rent free. No. The things I pay to stay in my head because I love them so much are the things that happen in the silence. Beginning of Ep 3, end of Ep 3, the kiss in Ep 4, the wrestling at the end of Ep 2. Those aspects, those moments are what absolutely destroyed me with this show. But I am gonna be real with you all, when Bas let Oh go like that? I wept. And I do love what it says about Oh that despite how much he has been hurt by Teh, he loves Teh enough to know how utterly devasted Teh is right now, and he cannot bear the pain of seeing someone he loves so hurt. Especially when he and Teh haven't spoken since Teh gave up his seat.

"You're tired, aren't you?" -Mork, My Ride, Ep. 5

If you saw my Favorite Lines 2023 post you would notice that this line is very very similar to my favorite line in Moonlight Chicken. And that is because loving and caring for people is super fucking exhausting. Meeting the world with kindness and grace and radical empathy in the face of horrible things, in the face of people who think you are weak for your kindness, or who seek to take advantage of it is fucking exhausting. And it is honestly quite rare that I see kind characters being asked this question, so I always go feral when they do because it is such a testament to love to say 'i see you' but to grant people enough space and autonomy to decide how honest and vulnerable they are going to let themselves be. I was talking with @ginnymoonbeam about this line a little so I am going to steal a line from her: "have you eaten" = I love and care for you

"are you tired" = I see how much you love and care for me/others

Of course the fact that Tawan absolutely just melts in to a puddle of tears because yes, yes he is tired, so so fucking tired does absolutely nothing to help me stop thinking about this scene. I love my boys!

"Because you raised me this way, that's why I'm not like other kids" || "I had to hate Pran, to compete against him, because of you? That's the reason? -Pran || Pat, Bad Buddy, Ep. 10

I cheated here. I do not care. These lines come almost one right after another and are just the same level of one-two gut punch that makes Bad Buddy so fucking incredible. Pat and Pran have been through so much because their parents were trying to save face. All the pain they have suffered, the lies they've had to tell, the caution, the fear, the secrecy in their relationship. How long Pran has had to keep his feelings for Pat at bay, how much Pat is sacrificing to let Pran maintain a good relationship with his mother, is all because their parents have decades old beef. There are so many good lines in this show, if I were to pick another one it would be "do you want to be friends?" "no" from Episode 5, but I feel like no lines sum up the conflict of Bad Buddy better than Pran and Pat confronting their parents.

"You must be disappointed in me." -Wang, 180 Degree Longitude Passes Through Us, Ep 7

Ok so I lied about this one, the line that absolutely stays in my head rent free is the line "Mom." Wang sobs after his fight with In in Episode 8 but I had a legitimate 30 minute melt-down over that singular line and moment so I am picking one of the next most painful lines for me. And if it wasn't this it would be the entirety of the 52 Hertz Whale monologue that In gives in Episode 3 because that is the saddest gayest monologue for the saddest gayest man. And if it wasn't those it would be the boy in boarding school monologue Wang gives in Episode 5. Honestly this entire script, and this entire show is with me always.

BUT what absolutely kills me about this line in particular is that Swasimol tries to shake her head no, and can't bring herself to lie, and Wang watches his mother nod in confirmation that she is disappointed in him when he tells her he is in love with In. And that's the part that is truly crushing.

"I know you're hurting," -Shiro, What Did You Eat Yesterday?

GOD. THEY MAKE ME SO. AGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH. Honestly a huge fuck you to @bengiyo for introducing this show to me, this brain rot is 1000% his fault.

There is something just so fascinating to me about Kenji and Shiro's dynamic especially around how they handle and navigate their queerness. Kenji is loud and out and proud and while we don't know if there was time his mother had to work up to it, we know that Kenji's mother is pretty accepting of Kenji being gay. But Shiro didn't have that same experience, and he is quiet, and struggling with internalized homophobia, and decently rooted in the closet. And I think when you have a character like Kenji who rarely seems to take the insults and the jabs to heart, who is just the human embodiment of sunshine you can forget that Kenji is human, and Kenji uses his sunshine as armor the way that Shiro uses his silence.

Shiro never says I love you to Kenji, in the first season he rarely engaged in any level of physical affection, and kept a distance from Kenji if they were walking together in public. But Shiro loves Kenji so goddamn much, so so fucking much, and while he can't bring himself to say the words it is in moments like this one, where Shiro knows despite the fact that Kenji hasn't given any indication, that Kenji is hurt by the fact that Shiro's mother rescinded his New Year's invitation.

Shiro and Kenji mean everything to me.

If anyone is curious about any other favorites (shows, cinematography, pain, etc) from this year, feel free to drop an ask!

#i told sunset about you #bad buddy #bad buddy series #180 degree #180 degree longitude passes through us #what did you eat yesterday? #kinou nani tabeta? #my ride the series #best of ql 2023

[trytojudgemeseeitdoesntwork]

I love watching Mark lose his mind about TinnGun's almost kiss in the MSP MV reaction like he's the most innocent little baby who totally hasn't signed up to be in gmmtv's horniest bl of the year.

#rip mark I don't think he can handle this #mark pakin #my school president #only friends #only friends the series #my school president the series #gmmtv 2023 #thai bl #thai ql #bl series #ql series