Hi Petty!
I had a (hopefully) fun question for you? Since you've published your 2025 stats, could you share who was your favorite character for each color? And favorite pairing for the different color dynamics if you haven't done that yet?
Just for 2025, to make it slightly more manageable, hopefully?
No! How could I pick my favorite color-coded characters from all the great characters I got in 2025?! I love all of them so much! I can't possibly pi----
Favorite Color-Coded Characters of 2025
Black Brooder - Fadel, The Heart Killers
Joong(Dunk) is my BL bae, but Fadel is my emo bae. Depressed and tortured Black Brooders were popping out of every surface in 2025, but only one of them dug his own grave AND took his love interest to see it because he truly believed love was going to kill him. Read that again: While all these other Black Brooders wanted love to save them, my man thought if he opened his heart again, he was going to die either from Mother or by suicide. That's dark. Like his color. 🖤I love him the most.
Heavenly Human - Sei, When It Rains, It Pours
Heavenly Humans are thought of as angels and gods, and they are seen as happy and nice, so I love when a show depicts them when they have been neglected because they turn heartless. So each time Sei hid behind casual cruelty, it was a pleasure to witness: Telling Hagiwara he looked like shit when he was breaking his heart, asking Hagiwara if he wanted to know how he compared sexually with the other Hagiwara, ridiculing Hagiwara for possibly being bad at sex, calling Hagiwara crazy for wanting to be together. Hell, I'd worship this asshole too if I was Hagiwara. pun intended
Red Rascal - Thee, Me and Thee
Is there any other option for this group of characters? NO! Thee is the epitome of a Red Rascal: he's impulsive, he's passionate, he's confident, and he's aggressive. Yet none of that was a negative when it came to his love for Peach. In fact, no other color could have been Peach's bisexual awakening. That Blue Boy needed Thee's persistence and brazen behavior to realize that bodies don't matter when it comes to love as long as he found the somebody for him. (And what a body it was!)
Yellow/Orange Oddity - Jued, Break Up Service
Odd choice, but it fits perfectly here! I watched a handful of love stories where nobody had to come out to their parents (<- aka basic hetero), and Break Up Service delivered me a great representation of what one golden egg looks like in a room full of darkness. Jued was the worker with a heart of gold because although her job was to break up couples, she never accomplished it through nefarious means. She used her unique ways to lead the couples to realize why they were better apart and ended up stealing my heart and a Black Brooder's in the process.
Green Guy - Suhyeon, Secret Relationships
In a perfect world, Suhyeon would have gotten ALL the men. I know most of us wanted to see him with Jaemin or Daon, but he even had potential with Seonghyeon because as a Green Guy, Suhyeon is the personification of "maybe fucking him will calm him down" since fucking him will calm him down. And that should be the tragedy of his character; he would've been a chill nice guy if given love. But I don't see his possessive behavior as a flaw. That's an essential part of a Green Guy, yet we normally only see it in tiny doses in other Green Guys. He is what it looks like when it goes uncheck and unreciprocated, and somehow I love this tall monster more because of that.
Blue Boy - Than, Knock Out
This is such a hard category because there are too many amazing Blue Boys to choose from, so this pick really depends on the time of day, my mood, and the temperature outside, and right now, it says Than is my favorite, but ask me tomorrow and it could change. Perhaps he is my favorite today because he is loyal to the point that he is willing to die for everyone he loves or maybe because, although he is an excellent fighter, it's not his default reaction. He is very level-headed and is the peace during the storm. As much as I like the negative qualities of colors, I will always appreciate when the positives are done well, and this boy is one of the best.
Pink Person - Print, Queendom
As the breadwinner of her entire family, Print had no reason to be so bright and caring, yet even when her dream AND BODY were stolen from her, she kept on bringing her playful energy to face every obstacle. Pink People get a bad rap for being immature and childish, but she is a reminder that optimism is a great asset to have in the toughest of times, and even on the darkest days, a little whimsy goes a long way. Resilience doesn't always have to be depressing, especially in queer love stories. Sometimes it can just be a smile from someone who is right next to you during the rough times, and that's my ride-or-die Print.
Black x White - Desire (but not what you think)
Black x white pairs are the most popular pairs, and nobody does the black x white dynamic quite like China, but Shen Wenlang and Hua Yong's fucked up little friendship upped the game by giving them public persona colors opposite of their true colors. They weren't a couple, but they were coding that way in public, and the first few times Gao Tu and Sheng Shaoyou saw these two together (in the office, at Hua's apartment, at the party), Hua presented himself as a fragile and pure Heavenly Human while Shen was set up as the dark and powerful Black Brooder. BUT IT WAS ALL LIES FOR TOP-TIER MANIPULATION! God, what a gift these gremlins were.
Blue x Red - Secrets Happened on the litchi Island
China does black and white pairs so well that I forgot the country even knew what other colors were; then, this little gem appeared to remind me that not only does China know the color wheel, it also knows how to serve sweetness instead of just toxicity. Two boys fell in love over a summer, but while Xiao Zhi was drunkenly crying to his brother and throwing punches in his dorm, Chen Li was isolating himself and throwing himself into his work. Two very different approaches to handling their emotions, yet very much aligned with their colors, which is why I believed I was not getting a happy ending. Yet the show wasn't as black and white as I thought it would be, and in the end, these two very different hearts realized that love doesn't have to look the same to be real.
Blue x Green - School Trip: Joined a Group I’m Not Close To
School uniforms are my enemy, so I had to quietly watch the color coding unfold for four episodes before I felt confident that the characters were actually color-coded boys in love, and it happened because their school trip was coming to an end and Watarai could no longer hide his feelings or his true color. Green Guys are usually a stadium of green flags, but I think if Watarai had to spend one more day on that trip with his Blue Boy crush hiding his feelings, he would have ventured into Suhyeon territory of possessiveness. Good thing he had the kindest Blue Boy willing to take his feelings and the situation seriously, so I could appreciate how loud two boys in love can be when they finally show their true colors.
Blue x Yellow/Orange Oddity - Fourever You
Most people were showing up for Johan and North in the first season, but Hill and Ter is where it was at for me. Even in the second season, I get so excited when I get a glimpse of them. Not only are they played by Pond and Cooheart, who I think are two of the greatest actors, but the story of Ter having a homophobic dad yet still being the beacon of light for his friends warms my heart. Then, Hill continues to be the voice of reason among his friends as they navigate Big Feels and love. North connects everyone, but these two are the dads of the group providing support, advice, and mild judgement. In a sea of chaos, they are reliable and steady like two anchors in the midst of their crazy ass friends.
Blue x Black - FC Soldout
Surprise! Did you think I forgot about my soccer BL? NEVER! In fact, I've rewatched this BL-that-dropped-out-of-nowhere-and-brought-me-immense-joy multiple times. Black Brooders and Blue Boys are the most popular color-coded characters, so when they end up in relationship with each other, I know it's going to be good. Then, this show gave me an intimidating and arrogant Black Brooder actor mixed with a dedicated and kind Blue Boy athlete, and the black didn't scare away blue; it made him brighter. That's probably why I keep coming back. Well, that and Yoo Gangjae screaming ROSÉ's "APT." at the top of his lung into a blow dryer. Oh, and the fan-tastic behavior.
. . . and a bonus character who I couldn't pinpoint his color, but he still reigned supreme over every other character.
Favorite Character of 2025 - Style
I LOVE THIS DUMB BITCH SO FUCKING MUCH!!!
