#bl tropes

[wanderlust-in-my-soul]

There is something feral in the air. (Part 1/?)

Revenged Love

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The Wicked Game

KinnPorsche

Fourever You

My Golden Blood

Thundercloud Rainstorm

Secret Crush On You

Revenged Love

Part of my favorite bl-tropes collection in no particular order.

[heretherebedork]

I really appreciate Japan's love of the 'popular guy falls in love with unpopular guy who is totally oblivious to it' trope. Their dedication has only made my life better. I hope for a million more variations.

[mewsthumbring]

Official steps of a BL relationship

Has someone caught your attention recently? Do you find yourself wanting to pursue a romantic relationship with them but are unsure how to proceed? Fear not—below is a clear, step-by-step guide to a successful BL relationship.

1. The fall

Before you can fall in love, you must first fall in his arms. This is how all great love stories start.

2. The indirect compliment

Test his interest: look at something together. If he suddenly exclaims that it’s beautiful/cute, but he’s looking at you rather than the thing you’re looking at? Congratulations: that man is head over heels in love and he’s ready to court you.

3. The piggyback ride

You are now ready to start dating. To signal your romantic interest, request a piggyback ride.

4. The sponge bath

Ready to deepen your relationship? This is the natural next step. What reason would you have to give them a sponge bath, you ask? Literally anything. Get to it.

5. The shrimp

Are you looking for a way to say, “I’m all in”? Baby, get peeling. That shrimp might as well be a ring, because you are now engaged.

6. The promise (“Ku sayya”)

Listen to me. These words are extremely important. The second you hear them, know that you are listening to your wedding vows. “Ku sayya”? That’s BL for “I do.”

Now you know everything. Go get ‘em, champ.

[outofthemouthsof]

**EDITED to add two new trends that had 3 occurrences so far in 2026, making them honest to god tropes in my book!**

————

I’ve got a running list of random things that happened in two different series in 2026. Hoping a few happen a third time so I can call them tropes, but so far I’m only seeing notable pairs of things.

Last year I noted handjobs/masturbation as an emerging trend but now I think that’s become common. I see more jerking off than cheek kisses or head pats these days, lol

Anyway, I don’t have clever terms for them yet but these are the pairs I’ve noticed. Lmk if you think of other occurrences (or other notable things I should be tracking).

Falling in love with mascots (Payback, Be My Player Two)

Record players (Deep In, The Lie We Lived In)

Being the cause and solution to overwhelming arousal (Blue Lips, Knot)

Teasing their moaner BFs by wanting to get it on somewhere they’d have to keep it down (Prosecutor's Proposal, Bittersweet Love)

Lollipop sneak attack (Payback, Never Forget Your Enemy)

Overly tired tops (Your Dear Daddy, Payback, A Dog and a Plane)

Long-time top, first-time bottom (To My Shore, Unexpectedly Naughty Fukami, Payback)

[nabi-unveiled]

How I think we're supposed to react when they pull out a guitar and start singing in a BL...

How I actually react...

Can we just not and say we did?

[dramalove247]

Are we obsessing over "kisses after a long period of yearning/pining" thanks to @my-rose-tinted-glasses epic post? Yes we sure are!

Post by @my-rose-tinted-glasses · 11 images

💬 9  🔁 29  ❤️ 77 · could you do like a ranking of best kisses after a long period of yearning/pining? i'm talking jack and joker's first kis

Rose's list had us kicking and screaming with delight! SO MANY GREAT KISSES!!! We were going to respond with a couple of our own additions, but then the list got long and demanded a separate post. So in addition to all the amazing kissing Rose mentioned above, here's some more kisses after delicious pining!

I Told Sunset About You

Not sure 100% when the pining started... so an argument could be made that this doesn't qualify as being long enough. But the pining in this series was so hard and felt eternal!!! So it is instantly what popped into our heads. Plus there was the most intense "not kissing" buildup for ages before they finally gave in and let their lips touch. No one has ever not kissed so hard!!! It was 👀🔥🥵 The actual kiss was a hidden moment where they test the waters of crossing that line.

The Boy Next World

Cir was secretly in love with Phu for years before a complete break with reality lead to convincing both himself and Phu that he was his lover from another world. Committed to his one sided love, Cir hadn't even considered pursuing Phu until his delusions took over and he still tried so hard to hold back.... right up until Phu destroyed his resolve.

Fourever You

This series revolves around yearning! Easter and Hill. Typhoon for Tonfah. But the crown goes to Johan and his long pining over North. We don't even know about his secret one sided love when they first get together! But no matter how many kisses Johan gets, the yearning never ends.

Countdown to Yes

Oh the pining! Even a bravely honest best boy wasn't enough to keep this friends to lovers from hurting! Mutual feelings don't matter when one is too scared to face them.

Secret Lover

This guy pined for so long that he had ZERO chill when he finally got his chance! He's just teaching his friend how to kiss... that's what friends are for! That was one hell of a way to start a series!!!

Tokyo in April Is…

By the end, it feels like these two must have been living without oxygen during the 10 years they spent apart. Even when they kiss, it feels like they are both holding their breath believing it could slip through their fingers again. This story has some big heavy and some should proceed with caution, but we love them!

Secrets Happened On The Litchi Island

For such a short series, it somehow made us live every single minute of their years of pining. “It took me three years to face you.” We know, bro. We felt all 1,095 days in this 90-minute runtime. And when they finally kissed, they did not ease into it. They devoured each other. As they should. As we deserved.

ABO Desire

Hua Yong takes long pining to an entirely new level! He played the long game, every action chosen to ensure his unrequited love doesn't stay that way. Hua Yong successfully manipulated his crush into pining for him!

Cutie Pie

😭 Oh boy did Kuea's one sided love hurt us!!!! Look, reality doesn't matter, that was Kuea's experience. This series gets two kisses because we refuse to chose. There was the tearful drunk kiss in the car, sparked by Kuea's begging for Hia Lian to love him back and fueled by Lian's true feelings. But the second kiss they shared was overflowing with all the emotions and need of their very mutual pining. That kiss was off the charts with yearning!

Yearning for your Ex

This section is dedicated to the special flavor of pining that replaces the idea of what could be with the memories of a relationship that was and has been lost.

Let Free The Curse of Taekwondo

Twelve years of distance powered by self-hatred and bad assumptions. When Ju Yeong says he never blamed Do Hoe and still chooses him, happiness is suddenly back on the table. Do Hoe hopes. We do too. There is a soft, hopeful kiss and plans to return to Seoul together. Then the show remembers it still has episodes left and chooses violence.

The Ex-Morning

Tamtawan was an idiot, he messed up, and now he is hoping to repair what he broke. By the time we get to this kiss, you can feel how desperate they both are to reclaim what they have lost.

Business As Usual

Min Jun's first love ended in a broken heart and he wants nothing to do with his ex, but Jin Hwan hasn't moved on and won't give up. There is no shortage of yearning kisses in this series, but the mirrored shots between past and present are unforgettable!

My Stand In

When you pine so hard you rewrite your entire life to resurrect your dead ex. Ming does not believe in moderation. Same name, same industry, same vibe, and a deeply questionable situationship later, he decides his ex came back in a new body. The fact that he is right is beside the point. The pining timeline isn't particularly long, so perhaps this should be an honorable mention. But Kat firmly believes the unhinged level of pining makes up for it. Besides, we do what we want.

To My Shore and To My Star 2 get honorable mentions, but they didn't pine long enough to make the cut.

"Bonus"? When it went wrong...

Always Meet Again

Long pining without the reunion kiss! We were robbed!

Theory of Love

This was NOT the kiss he was yearning for!!!!

Secret Relationships

When the pining turns bitter and leads to toxic kisses.

THANK YOU ROSE! 💜

We had way too much fun with this. Drop your favorites pining kisses below. We are trying to catch them all.

[bluesandfilms]

ear play

[froma2zee]

i'd like to nominate

"tongue licking kiss"

for @outofthemouthsof's 2026 tropes*

GIF by froma2zee

*3 occurrences = official trope