Feisty Gangsters & Prodigal Boyfriends
I love when Priest's pairs have these brief moments when they are casually talking and they suddenly start smiling/laughing in the most carefree way to show that they are in the same page or very comfortable around each other in that scene. I just love the simplicity of these affectionate gestures. I love their interactions.
Wound care - a good reason to get close to one another and express that you care (Part 5/?)
A Breeze Of Love
Dare You To Death
Dark Blue Kiss
Kiseki: Dear To me
Me And Thee
My Secret Vampire
Night Dream
See Your Love
The Heart Killers
Unknown The Series
Part of my favorite bl-tropes collection, in alphabetical order.
Unknown ep 11 nc scene edited in order without the flashback montages. I didn't want to change the sound because of the moans/kissing noises... I tried my best, enjoy!
Finding the Fake Short Kings - PART 3!
After my last two posts on the subject (Part 1 & Part 2), my BL brain refused to let it go. The hunt for more fake short kings continued… and once again, I discovered that this might be one of the biggest conspiracies in the entire BL industry.
I’ve now crunched the numbers on the height data of 66 BL actors. As a reminder, I’m still using 175cm (roughly 5'8") as the average male height in Asia. Out of those 66 actors, only twelve fall below that line. That’s 12 out of 66, or just 18%.
For this next crop of heights I tried to broaden the data set a bit more with including more actors from Taiwan, Korea and Japan. Please enjoy the results below.
(Please note: As always, finding accurate actor heights isn’t easy. Conflicting sources abound, and unless the actor is also an idol, it can be especially tricky outside of Thailand. I’ve done my best!)
And now...the MEGA Height list combining Parts 1, 2 & 3!
The black silhouette/line still marks the 175cm average. And once again, it confirms that very few of these men qualify as what I would actually consider “short.” (Also this height chart is getting quite unwieldy to manage let me tell you)
Before we get into the individual breakdowns… a very important update:
🚨 NEW BL HEIGHT DIFFERENCE RECORD!! 🚨 The previous record, held by Max (182cm) and Nat (165cm) with a 17cm difference, has finally been dethroned in 2025!
The new title holders are: Kim King Min (188cm) and Park Jin Woo (167cm) from My Bias Is Showing, with a full 21cm height gap!
I’ll probably do a Part 4 at some point (because clearly I can’t stop), and I’m thinking of diving into a comparison of BL/GL Actresses. Based on how tall these guys actually are, I know the women are not as tiny as they appear either.
So if you’ve got any more pairs you want added to the dataset, sound off below!
Now on to the breakdown!
Century of Love, Wicked Game, Love in Translation (Daou Pittaya Saechua - 183 / 6’ 0”) (Offroad Kantapon Jindataweephol - 177 / 5’ 10”)
Kiseki: Dear to Me (Taro Lin - 188 / 6’ 2”) (Hsu Kai - Hsu Kai - 178 / 5’ 10”) (Nat Chen - 186 / 6’ 1”) (Louis Chiang - 174 / 5’ 8”)
My Stubborn (Boat Yongyut Termtuo - 183 / 6’ 0”) (Oat Pasakorn Sanrattana - 170 / 5’ 7”)
My Bias is Showing (Kim King Min - 188 / 6’ 2”) (Park Jin Woo) - 167 / 5’ 5”) - NEW RECORD HOLDERS
Unknown (Kurt Huang - 183 / 6’ 0”) (Chris Chiu - 178 / 5’ 10”)
Secret Lover (Chance Ying - 187 / 6’ 2”) (Wang Jyun Hao - 173 - 5’ 8”)
Old Fashioned Cupcake (Tatsunari Kimura - 180 / 5’ 11”) (Kouhei Takeda - 175 / 5’ 8”)
Ball Boy Tactics (Choi Jae Hyeok - 184 / 6’ 0”) (Yeom Min Hyeok - 175 / 5’ 8”)
Love for Love’s Sake (Cha Joo Wan - 186 / 6’ 1”) (Lee Tae Vin - 177 / 5’ 10”)
Pit Babe, This Love Doesn't Have Long Beans (Sailub Hemmawich Kwanamphaiphan - 182 / 5’ 11”) (Pon hanapon Aiemkumchai - 175 / 5’ 8”)
Best 24 of BL 2024 - Quirky Awards
ONLY shows that ENDED their runs in 2024 are up for awards.
SHOCK & AWE AWARDS
1. Biggest BL surprise of 2024:
Cherry Magic Thailand. TayNew's version was truly a lovely experience and very much its own take on the original, an adaptation rather than a remake. I'm so relieved and grateful that GMMTV managed to pull it off, and sad it wasn't more widely available.
2. The “that country did WHAT?” award:
Meet You At the Blossom from China. From start to finish it is exactly as it claimed to be, wuxia BL, including more than the expected amount of sexual claiming (dubious consent to the point of rape) and actual kisses, wife language, floaty sleeves, you name it. FROM CHINA!!!
3. Biggest casting whoa! where did you come from? award:
Up & Poom in My Stand-In. I mean, WHERE did you two come from and how did this happen? Holy smokes. My goodness are we grateful!
4. That studio did WHAT now? award:
Youku putting Unknown out wide and easily avaiable on YouTube (for most of us). It's just really rare for a Taiwanese BL to get any kind of distribution. And to do that with arguably the best TaBL of the year and not some sad little mew mew? Amazing.
5. I’m sad you were ignored award:
Sugar Dog Life - such a charming JBL, so hard to find. I'm so sad it didn't get distribution. It's charming, one of my favorites of the year, worth tracking down if you can.
6. 2024 BL That Actually Made Me Lose My Mind Award?
I gotta be honest, it was The Sign. I was such a chaotic mess of a show but never once was I bored. It was the only one that drove me into memes and captions and silliness.
I did go a bit feral for a while over Love for Loves Sake and Wandee Gooday not to mention The Only One (until it went tits-up).
NARRATIVE AWARDS
7. Best story 2024:
Cherry Magic (Thai remake). I know, but it worked just as well in another country, if not better. I always enjoy this kind of magical realism concept (after all Color Rush is one of my all time favorite BLs) and despite the increased length, the pacing was solid on this one... even from Thailand.
8. Best narrative structure 2024 award:
Love For Love's Sake. A KBL isekai about a man who must win a game by convincing a reserved teen outcast to fall in love with him. Of course, that teen represents himself and his own unhappiness. I drowned in this show and liked it that way.
9. Best 2024 dialogue (script) award:
We Are, it was just so much fun. And so FUNNY.
10. Favorite scene 2024:
Like anyone needed to ask. Unknown, of course.
11. The most rewatchable BL of 2024 award:
We Are
It's just all the couples are so cute and the core friendship group is so charming and endearing.
ACTORS & CHARACTERS AWARDS
12. Best performance of a queer actor in a leading role:
no award this year, yeah the whole damn industry should be thoroughly ashamed of itself
13. Best pining 2024:
The Time of Fever. That feeding him orange while lying on the floor scene ALONE.
14. Best wingman 2024 (The Namgoong Award)
Yai in The Sign.
15. Biggest OMG I LOVE you boys together, YAY!
SailubPon from Pit Babe & This Love Doesn't Have Longbeans, from the softness of one to the health code violations of the other. Sure their shows are bonkers, but man are these two good at bonkers (and bonking).
With a nod to BigPark from Monster Next Door.
16. Most unexpected return of a BL pair? award:
OffGun. There were rumors that Off was out at the beginning of 2023. And then they came back with 2 shows in 2024 (Cooking Crush and The Trainee)!
17. Well aren't you two just the prettiest? award:
I dithered a lot (Babe's damn waist and OMG The Sign's sex scenes hawt), but in the end it had to go to GreatInn. They were just so good at showing their characters having FUN together. There is a lot of beauty in enjoying sex and another person's company. It's so rare to see that portrayed in a BL (and it shouldn't be rare).
18. LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
I'm actually giving it to OffGun. Ya know, where others falter, these two just keep going. It's kinda amazing.
RANDOM PICKS
19. Favorite Linguistic Moment of 2024:
The general flirtatious banter from Last Twilight.
20. Biggest disappointment of 2024:
Addicted Heroin (Thai version). Some of the very best original material + one of my favorite Thai actors (who I've been waiting eons to see in a BL again) and THIS was the result? They could have fixed China's worst BL mistake, instead the made everything worse. I'm gonna be bitter for a really really long time.
I gotta sat The Only One comes a real close second tho. And I'm still mad about Last Twilight, too.
21. Best Wardrobe/Prop Use 2023
Meet You At The Blossom - I love a pretty boy pissing contest over who has the biggest sleeves. Twirl you beautiful bastards, TWIRL!
22. Best Queer Rep 2024
Again, not great this year. I loved the fun sex and play in Wandee, but there were precious few femme characters, and in general it felt like we took some steps back from queerness this year. So I'm gonna give it to Deep Night, because at least they gave us honest poly for the first time.
23. Best Meta Trope call out
Love for Love Sake - Korea taking to task the Dead Fish Kiss when they are often the worst offender was...... amusing.
But Deep Night having male sex workers having to act like they were in a BL for a couple chicks...... literally gay for pay depicting gay for pay and just, well, that's frankly a gut punch. There was some sarcastic clapping on my side of the screen.
24. Well aren't you getting all Live Action Yaoi retro with your bad self?
Dominant Yakuza and Wimpy Corporate Slave gets my vintage af award. I flipping LOVED it. Would I recommend it? Only if you, yourself, are a bit vintage.
Final question: which of the 24 was the hardest for me to pick?
20 Biggest disappointment of 2024. Look I had some pretty high expectations of some returning pairs, some great ideas, and some intriguing remakes. 2024 was full of disappointments.
2022's Version of the Quirkies
2023's Version of the Quirkies
Remember I only pull from shows that were completely finished by the end of 2024.
(source)
Their first morning after and the tenderest of snuggles and comfort.
My Top 10 BL Kisses of 2024💋
It’s the end of the year, so what better than to look at some of my favourite smooches that happened throughout it, my own stipulation is that the majority of the series had to have aired this year. Meaning -
Any series that aired in it’s entirety in 2024
Any series that started in 2023 and ended in 2024
Any series that has started in 2024 but will end in 2025
1) Phaya & Tharn’s fantasy kiss - The Sign
2) Alan & Jeff’s face smush kiss - Pit Babe
3) Mut & Rak’s first beach kiss - Love Sea
4) Jack & Joker’s first kiss - Jack & Joker U Steal My Heart
5) Fadel & Style’s ‘I Miss you’ kiss - The Heart Killers
6) Karan & Achi’s first kiss - Cherry Magic TH
7) Myungha & Yeowoon’s finale kiss - Love For Love’s Sake
8) Wei Qian & Zhu Yuan’s first time - Unknown
9) Johan & North’s café kiss - Fourever You
10) Oab & Plawan’s dubcon bathroom kiss - This Love Doesn’t Have Long Beans
seen from China
seen from United States
seen from Japan
seen from Estonia
seen from China
seen from Hong Kong SAR China
seen from Australia
seen from Germany
seen from Malaysia
seen from China
seen from China
seen from China
seen from China
seen from Azerbaijan
seen from United States
seen from China
seen from United States
seen from Malaysia
seen from United States
seen from Romania
