#like love

[the-daringstars]

Like Love 💞 Pt.3 6/6 (+bonus) At last, The Finale! And in conclusion, they're in love, your honor. 💖

[absolutebl]

Pride Month Tag Game 🌈 - Chinese BL

Tagged by @romanceismycallingcard

Rules are 'Pick something, whether it's the main colour of a scene or an item in a shot from a ql show or movie that you think of, which corresponds to a colour of the rainbow flag: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet' 🏳️‍🌈

(I have played this game since before it was a game, how fun. Imma do one per country throughout this month, because I CAN. )

Red - To My Shore

Orange - Like Love

Yellow - Revenged Love

Green - Advance Bravely

Blue - Meet You At The Blossom

Violet - Revenged Love (sides)

Tagging YOU if you want to play.

[cubon]

Bleed Black

"Nothing is wrong

Too late to change

You can't escape, can't help you now"

[negrowhat]

Tag Game: QL Firsts

tagged by @hughungrybear @thisonelikesaliens @mikuni14 and @romanceismycallingcard

Rules: So post the first 3-5 (or as many as you want) QL shows that got you into the genre. Feel free to explain or give propaganda

Shows are a bit difficult for me because I was for sure watching movies. Um but I'm going to try.

Japan. I was already deep into reading Manga and watching OVAs for them (Gravitation, Kizuna, and Haru Wo Daite Ita). And I was scarred by some fucked up ones (Kirepapa, Papa to Kiss in the Dark, and Maiden Rose. PLEASE do not read or watch ANY of these. TRUST ME!). As an adult I realize that a lot of Japanese mangas have weird interest in inappropriate, no doubt illegal relationships and romanticizing abuse.

But the first series I landed on that I truly enjoyed was

Takumi-kun (2005-2011). And even this movie series was pretty messed up for the main character Takumi. The series still incorporates trauma, rape, character deaths, harassment, bullying, and quite a few breakups but it was a step up from the other toxic Japanese stuff I had been consuming. I am learning now that this series was not meant to have remakes because the remakes have been BAD. It's plot is not something that evolves with time, it's something that needs to stay where it's at in the early 2000s.

Thailand. I feel like I was here at the dawn of time for Thai BLs because I vividly remember a period of time where Thai BLs weren't allowed to show kisses on screen. And now there is just like the lush offering of passion and nudity and plot in Thai BL.

Lovesick the Series (2014). Not the first Thai BL but one of them. But it was my first one. I was immediately taken with the plot and storylines. I loved the chemistry between the characters. And not just the main pairing, but like all the characters. Lovesick was a fully immersive experience with multiple storylines like a soap opera. It was just so fun to watch. But because of how things were, the MLM kisses were kept as extra scenes while the romance of two high school boys developed on screen. I'd rewatch the OG before the new one (I'm sorry). Also the amount of familiar faces passing through both seasons is insane.

SOTUS (2016). This series is always worth mentioning because it started a trend that's still ongoing. The engineering student trope was born here. And didn't we just have a bl (a bad one) centering around engineering students just last year? This has really been the only Thai BL that gives me that dives into the campus culture of engineering students (There's a GL like it too though right?)

South Korea. Korea came a little late to the game. I know a lot of KBLs are still viewed as like...idk less than (?) a straight KDrama. A lot of big names sign on to do bromances rather than KBLs. But I can see trajectories are starting to change which is good. My issue is that Korea seems to rely heavily on HS settings, because when they go outside that realm we really get some fire plots. But there are some HS KBLs that are really great.

Long Time No See (2017). I was absolutely obsessed with this mini series. This is when Strongberry was putting out BANGERS. The plot was new, the chemistry was fire, and I'd never seen any BLs from South Korea prior so I was gagged by this series. It's nice to see the quality of KBLs have gone up since then but nothing hits like this one. I need more action BLs from South Korea. THANKS!

China. I know Chinese BLs have been in and out because of the laws and bans on production. I caught the first wave of Chinese BL and I'm glad we're on a second wave (even though I haven't watched much from China).

Like Love (2014) (Counterattack (2015), Addicted (2016)). I really, really enjoyed Like Love. It was just my cup of tea. Love that excellent display of opposites attract and the normally stoic character being soft for his boyfriend. It had a good amount of drama without it getting too crazy (okay it does get a bit wacky). I'm still sad it ended on a cliff hanger and I hope we see this movie series get remade like some others have. I'm including Counter Attack and Addicted because I did watch them too but they weren't my faves then or now but they were staples at the time.

Taiwan. I actually don't know when Taiwan jumped into the game because they slid on my radar randomly. I will say that collectively Taiwan has the best BLs overall. The plots are always different to the point where they feel random and Taiwan has culminated like this clutch of actors who feel like branded pairs because they always pop up in other series even. It's rare I watch a Taiwanese BL I don't gel with.

HIStory Series 1. Series 1 doesn't get talked about much when we talk about the franchise and I get why. One storyline was boring, one was crazy, and the other featured step-brothers. Of the 3 the step brother one was my favorite. But I did enjoy the series because we also got body swap, obsessive toxic love, and the step brothers DID NOT grow up together. It was fun and the series did open up the door for the better installments (2 and 3) before things started to plummet again (4 and 5). You just never know what to expect from HIStory and I do hope we get a HIStory 6.

Philippines. Pinoy BLs seemed to be born from the Pandemic. I'm sure there were some before but they didn't really gain traction until worldwide shut down. I can count like 5 BLs that dropped at that time. Unfortunately Pinoy BLs are still unpopular compared to other countries but I'm sure there's an obvious reason for that.

Gameboys (2020). Will I ever shut up about this gem of series? Hell no! I just did a rewatch of s1 and s2 and cried my ass off like it was my first time seeing them. The series really captured the essence of life during the pandemic for a lot of us and we were given a refreshing love story. I'll never shut up about how it was filmed on an iphone and most of these actors weren't even interacting with each other and every video called was filmed separately with these actors staring at nothing. The timing, emotion, chemistry, and connections were superior considering the actors had no one to play off of. Everything else is pieced together and most of the setup is digitally generated. Gameboys was phenomenal on all levels.

I don't know who has done this at this point so I'll leave it as an open tag. If you see it and want to do it just say I tagged you.

[the-seventh-sun]

Whats your opinion on WR! Kriselle? Its our personal favorite ship

I LV it. It's so cool it's basically the opposite of normal route kriselle since the confident one is Noelle this time.

[bladesingerlily]

The hour was thin, spun of silver mist and silence.

Lily lay still beneath the trembling canopy of stars, her breath shallow, afraid to disturb the fragile dream that memory was shaping around her.

She could feel him, almost—

The brush of air against her cheek, as if his hand hovered there once more, roughened slightly by ink, smelling faintly of candle smoke and the long patience of study. That scent—gathered from the years they had spun together like moonlight thread—rose around her now: the iron sweetness of ink, the weary sigh of burning wax, the clean parchment he never quite left behind. It folded over her, tender and cruel.

And she saw him—not whole, but in fragments—the shape of his mouth just before the smile he hated would bloom. That reluctant, unguarded smile that belonged to no one else; the one he wore only for her, when she had proved him wrong and he could no longer hide the wonder in his defeat. A smile like surrender, like homecoming.

She reached for it now, eyes half-closed, heart caught between waking and dream.

For one breathless instant, she could almost believe he would lean down and touch her cheek again, murmur something low and wry against her skin, the ink on his fingers smudging into the fine strands of her hair.

She whispered his name into the empty air, and the night seemed to hesitate—

But there was only the stillness, as if the stars themselves were listening, unsure whether to carry her plea across the quiet miles.

Only the ache.

And Lily, alone, cradling the phantom of his touch against her face, longing for the impossible—

To slip back into the dream where he was still beside her, still laughing that reluctant laugh,

still brushing her skin with hands that smelled of magic and midnight and love

Found a draft of an old render by @EmySans and fooled with it in Lightroom over lunch

[outofthemouthsof]

Tag Game: 10 Fave QL Leads

(tagged by @peachyseen & @befuddledcinnamonroll thank you! 😊)

OK, I have to join now or I'll keep getting lost in indecision.

I saw everyone making their own rules (and breaking a few along the way) so I decided to structure mine as my fave QL lead of each year for the past 10 years (including 2025) and also add loads of runners-up because otherwise I couldn't move on. (More notes on my methodology at the end...)

2014: Zi Yan/Like Love: I Love You as a Man

2016: Luo Yin/Addicted Heroin

(runners-up: Noh/Love Sick 2, Shu Nian/Irresistible Love: Secret of the Valet)

2018: Ae/Love by Chance

(gif from @earthfluuke )

(runner-up: Dong Soo/Some More)

2019: Dean/Until We Meet Again

(gif from @nick-nellson )

(runners-up: XiGu/MODC, Thun/He's Coming to Me, Type/TharnType)

2020: Tutor/Why R U?

(gif from @inkorns )

(runners-up: Kao/Dark Blue Kiss, Bar/En of Love: Tossara, Oh-aew/ITSAY, Kyoichi/The Cornered Mouse Dreams of Cheese)

2021: Shin Woo/Light on Me

(gif from @seatawinan )

(runners-up: Ida/My Love Mix-Up, Sean/Not Me, Shi De/We Best Love: No. 1 for You, Pat/Bad Buddy)

THINGS GOT REALLY ROUGH FROM HERE ON OUT! My choices pain me...

2022: Palm/Never Let Me Go

(gif from @gabrielokun )

(runners-up: Phayu/Love in the Air, Amber/DNA Says Love You, Vegas/KinnPorsche, Ho Jun/Roommates of Poongduck 304, Jae Yeong/Semantic Error, Akk/The Eclipse, Haebom/Cherry Blossoms After Winter, Tinn/My School President, Amagi/Takara-kun to Amagi-kun)

2023: Joke/Jack & Joker

(gif from @anpanman95 )

(runners-up: Karan/Cherry Magic TH, Phaya/The Sign, Jom/IFYLITA, Ai Di/KDTM, Segasaki/My Personal Weatherman, Sand/Only Friends, Babe/Pit Babe, Jae Won/The Eighth Sense, Mohk/Last Twilight)

2024: Shao Peng/See Your Love

(gif from @tokkistuff )

(runners-up: Tyme/4Minutes, Ever 9/AntiReset, San/Century of Love, Sian & Namping/Every You Every Me, , Xiaobao/MYATB, God/Monster Next Door, Joe/My Stand-In, Thame/ThamePo, Sheng Wang/The On1y One, Yoryak/Wandee Goodday, Peem/We Are)

2025: Akin/Top Form

(gif from @ellsieee )

(runners-up: Jun/My Stubborn, Paytai/The Next Prince, Hua Yong/Desire, Keen/Knock Out, Chi Cheng/Revenged Love, Fou4Mod/GelBoys, Yo/My Sweetheart Jom, Sun/The Bangkok Boy, Peem/Khemjira)

Notes: I included 2014 and skipped 2017 because I had a bigger '14 fave than '17. If there was a heavily featured 2nd couple I counted them as co-leads. Also I only picked one lead per series; please know some of these are a tossup between two or more faves (Revenged Love my GOD that was hard to pick). Also I might be inconsistent as to whether it started or ended the year listed. (Another reason to add all my runners-up because they're my fave QL leads regardless of year!)

Losing track of who’s already played but no pressure invites to @maybe-boys-do-love @negrowhat @pinkkop @dramalove247 @delesaria-blog @gotmehookedonthekpop @thisautistic !)