I Cannot Count How Many Books, Movies And Tv Shows I Have Seen These Couples.

My top ten bl dramas (with kissing scenes but no sex scenes)

Not in any particular order.

Sometimes I want a romance but I don’t need the sex scenes. Sometimes I just like the kissing and the plot. So here are my top ten.

- 2G ether. Season 1&2.

A adorable fake dating story with entertaining side couples and a well written plot. It is an easy watch with a comedic story line. Any problems in season 1 and any questions left unanswered are covered in season 2. The main couple have great chemistry and the side couples seem to match it well.

It is one of my favourites because it is such a chill drama to watch and rewatch. It is one I tend to go for when I’m tired or needing serotonin.

Available with English subtitles on YouTube.

- Minato Shouji coin laundry. Season 1.

A romantic comedy with a strangers to lovers trope. The plot revolves around a 17 yr old in love with a 27 yr old man. That put me off at first but the age gap is really well covered. The whole plot revolves around the age gap and how it affects them. It is both light hearted while dealing with the honest dynamic of their relationship. Both characters go through a wholesome journey of development, with Shin growing more mature and Akira learning to let himself be loved.

There is hints of a side couple but those characters go through development rather than have their relationship end romantically, which I really enjoyed.

The dialogue is very well written and the actors have really good chemistry together. Despite the age gap, it became one of my favourites in a very short amount of time. It is all so well done and they handled the dynamic wonderfully.

Though I did not like season 2 cause the writing was terrible. Still acted well but bad plot writing.

Available on Bilibili or dramacool.

- We Best Love, N1 for you & Fighting Mr second.

Ignoring the two different titles, this is season 1 and 2 of the same drama.

It is a enemies to lover dynamic in season 1 with a enemies to lovers dynamic once again in season 2.

While the plot is overly dramatic at times and cliche, it is very well acted and the actors really work with their lines and make the cliche parts fit so well. They have amazing chemistry (especially in season 2) and I love their dynamics. The side couples don’t get much screen time but they fit very well with the plot and the dynamics of the main characters.

When it comes to pure chemistry, this couple is one of my all time favourites. They speak so much with their actions. It’s a drama that will entertain throughout. I didn’t get bored at all.

Available on Bilibili and Dramacool.

- Semantic Error.

Another Enemies to lovers trope between two opposing characters. Opposites attract between a digital media student and a computing student. The plot is well paced and the actors spark off each other very well. The character development is explored well and the filming style adds such a tension and uniqueness to the scenes. One of the reasons why it is a favourite is how the filming style works with the characters and highlights their personalities. Everything just flows.

There are no side couples in this drama however the side characters are well portrayed and fully dimensional. I enjoyed how each character’s dynamics worked with those around them.

Available on Viki or Bilibili.

- Sotus The series.

A real slow burn between a new student and his head hazer. Although the hazing put me off at first the show went to explain all viewpoints really well. It explained why the Hazers continued the tradition of hazing as well as the students who were experiencing it. The relationship is a real slow burn but it’s done so well and scenes had me laughing and crying.

It includes other lgbt side characters and a straight side couple who are cute and go through their own personal growth.

An old bl (2016) but a good one. It was one of my first ones and I will never get over it.

Available on KissKH, Bilibili and YouTube.

- Takara’s Treasure.

A more recently released drama, this show was so wholesome and cute. It dealt with a character’s journey as he joins a university in Tokyo after living in a small town his whole life. His slow burn relationship with his senior is very cute and green flag.

I sort of wish that there were more kiss scenes but I did enjoy the ones we go.

Available on KissKH and Bilibili.

- Love for Love’s sake.

Another more recent drama. This one had me sobbing and giggling. For what seemed to be an intriguing plot about a boy seemingly playing out a video game where the goal is to make another boy happy turned into a really deep portrayal of depression and the loneliness of being lgbt. The romance and the relationships as they develop in this drama was all well paced and wholesome. The main character is iconic and he fights for what he wants which is great to watch. The drama itself was very well filmed. The cinematography didn’t distract too much from the plot but also made itself known and memorable. The pace was good though it could have done with maybe another episode towards the end, but with the time they had the pacing was pretty good.

This drama leads itself towards theory and not all the questions are answered but that is a good thing as an ending is provided but there is still enough to make one curious.

Available on Viki and KissKH.

- Why R U? (Korean version).

While I enjoyed the original Thai version, the Korean version out paced it for me. While the Thai one had many side couples and confusing plot lines the Korean one keeps it just to two main couples. It deletes the cheating element of the second couple and made it more wholesome rather than dramatic. The first couple actually starts as enemies to lovers and their dynamic is very funny. They fight all the time and swear at each other before slowly starting to admire and appreciate each other before falling for each other. The show was well paced and very lighthearted. The cinematography wasn’t bad but could have been more fun.

Though it’s from the same books as the Thai one, it feel almost like a completely different drama. This one had me laughing much more.

Available on KissKH and Bilibili.

- Stay With Me.

This is a Chinese drama based off a pervious BL drama called Addicted Heroin. Compared to the previous adaptation, the toxicity is taken out. Stay with me is mostly found family vibes between two step brothers, who don’t know that they’re stepbrothers for a long time, and how their relationship develops from friends to family. Whether this be family in a romantic sense between them or not, the show leaves that up to the viewer.

For a Chinese bl we do get kisses on the cheeks! Although I would like them to kiss properly. The show focuses on them growing as people and not just their relationship, which I enjoyed.

However, the show does end on a sob inducing cliffhanger and there has been no news about a season 2 yet. So watch at your peril. The show itself was well paced and very well acted.

Available on Viki and KissKH.

- Unintentional Love story.

This drama is of a young man who was wrongly fired from his job finding a reclusive ceramicist. He is told that if he can get the famous artist to sign with his old company, then he will get his job back. What follows is a slow burn romance with misunderstandings and great character development. Since the characters are all adults in their late twenties to early thirties, the show has a different feel compared to a lot of other shows where the characters are teenagers or young adults. These characters are running businesses and having to deal with issues such as money problems and loans. It’s nice to see such realistic things playing a big part in a character’s motivation. Yet they still have moments fuelled by their feelings and impulses. But they grow and learn and that’s what makes this drama really wholesome and lovely to watch.

The side couple in this is left unresolved but with a hopeful note. However there is a history between them that is not fully explained. There has been a movie based on their backstory that has come out recently, yet I do not know if it resolves their relationship in the show.

One of the things I love in this show is the costumes. As the sunshine character takes on more depth and grows as a person, his clothing colour palette gets darker. While for the grumpy character who learns to open himself up again, his palette gets lighter and by the end of the show their outfits have swapped colours. That is a detail which I loved when watching.

Available on Viki or Bilibili.

Here you go. These are my top ten dramas with no sex scenes. While some of them may have making out scenes that fade to black, they are not explicit and the drama plots focus more on the storylines or the character growth.

So for anyone who doesn’t like watching sex scenes, I recommend the dramas above.

Hope you enjoy.

Feel free to ask about anymore in the comments.

BEYOND EVIL INCORRECT QUOTES

Calling all BL academics! You should check out Intersections: Gender and Sexuality in Asia and the Pacific Issue 49, June 2023. It's devoted to Thai BL and it's Thai scholars, publishing in English, and available free. So basically everything I ever wanted.

Thai Boys Love (BL)/Y(aoi) in Literary and Media Industries: Political and Transnational Practices - This is the introductory article. One interesting takeaway is that there's a market for western M/M romance in Thailand and I'm dying to know what sort of titles have gotten Thai releases.

Chinese Historical BL by Thai Writers: The Thai BL Polysystem in the Age of Media Convergence - I didn't read this one. It's about the phenomenon of Thai writers writing danmei set in ancient China.

Authorial Revisions of Boys Love/Y Novels: The Dialogue between Activism and the Literary Industry in Thailand - This one was super intersting. It was about how the backlash to certain problematic tropes affected both revisions to Y novels and their tv adaptations. It uses Jittirain as a case study and includes passages from 2gether that were rewritten.

Boys Love (Yaoi) Fandom and Political Activism in Thailand - This article has a lot about Not Me, both about the backlash to the novle due to it being originally a GOT7 fanfic (allegedly) and the political context for the series. It also discusses a few other series related to the youth movement and marriage equality.

Heterosexual Reading vs. Queering Thai Boys' Love Dramas among Chinese and Filipino Audiences -This really only covers up to 2019 and as we all know everything is changing fast. I'll be interested in future scholarship that covers the current period. Basically expands on some of Baudinette's work.

Provincialising Thai Boys Love: Queer Desire and the Aesthetics of Rural Cosmopolitanism -I just skimmed this since I'm not familiar with either series mentioned or the rural culture of Isan.

^ food takes priority.

trapped appreciation week || day 04     ↳ funniest scene

When you can’t concentrate on the storyline because you keep getting distracted by all the GORGEOUS and detailed costumes in 陈情令

Reading soft fluffy LGBTQ one shots whilst listening to Joji is a whole experience.

If Ateez are the pirates. TXT are the fairies. SKZ are the lost boys. And Enhypen are the vampires.

It’s just a giant neverland au.

10 People I’d Like To Know Better

Tagged by @gosiksmallspace and I thought why not.

- Last Song: Take Me Back To Eden by Sleep Token. (I absolutely love this band).

- Last Book: Not going to lie, I haven’t read a novel in ages. If you want last physical book, then it was #DRCL manga. Last story I read was fanfiction.

- Last movie: Monkey Man by Dev Patel. Bit surrealist for a revenge action but beautiful cinematography and it really explores the city life in India very well. I enjoyed it.

- Last Tv Show: Castlevania Nocturne Season 2. It was amazing. The graphics went hard. Big fan of both Castlevania shows.

- Last Thing Googled: A Ramen and Tteokbokki recipe. It was delicious.

- Favourite Colour: Viridian Green.

- Sweet/Savoury/Spicy: Either Sweet or Spicy depending on my mood. If it’s a snack, then I prefer Sweet. If it’s a meal, then I love spice.

- Relationship status: Single and far too busy sorting my life out to try dating. (Also I have far too high standard due to all the media I consume).

- Current Obsession: I have a revolving wheel of obsession in my brain and I have about two or three on the go at any given moment. Right this second I’d say Castlevania, BNHA, and probably Beyond Evil. I don’t know how I juggle them.

- Looking forward to: The Ateez Concert I’m seeing next week. I’m far too excited.

Tagging: anyone who sees this and wants to continue it. I don’t have many mutuals to tag here. 😅

Apropos of nothing let me say that while I absolutely agree that Joe and Nicky’s “Depends on the century/We fight for what we think is right” answer to Nile’s question about whether they’re the good guys is partially a reference to their murder-related meet-cute situation, when it comes to who might be feeling guilty about the decisions that led them there…one (1) person in that relationship signed up to travel to a foreign land and conquer a city full of people (which, famously, ended in a massacre) on the grounds of My Religion Says We Should Be In Charge Here, and his name is not Yusuf ibn Ibrahim ibn Muhammad al-Kaysani. 

Things I’ve learned from the MDZS fandom, Part 2.

1. Half of the shit in this book could have been avoided if people communicated better. (Namely Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji).

2. Sizhui deserves a medal for dealing with the mess that is his parents and coming out of it alive, not drowned in rabbits or stuck half buried in the ground.

3. Lan Jingyi is the bravest person ever. He is scared of ghosts and corpses but still became a cultivator. Credits people!

4. Who the fuck let Wei Wuxian develop such a need to scarifice himself? This baby deserves the world and need to know he’s loved. Honestly! He needs more hugs.

5. Bloody hell Jiang Cheng is hot with a whip. Both the art, the anime and the drama agree. Like damn Boi.

6. Lan Wangji smiling gives everyone a heart attack.

7. Lan Xichen and Meng Yao were so freaking bromantic (cough cough pretty gay, even tho LXC is supposed to be straight). If it wasn’t for Meng Yao’s need for power, they could have ridden into the sunset as sworn brothers. Meng yao’s death in the drama actually made me cry. Poor Lan Xichen.

8. Lan Qiren goes into Qi deprivation every time Wei Wuxian is in cloud recess.

9. I want one of Nie huaisang’s fans.

10. Wen Ning is and always will be the softest cinnamon roll ever. (Despite the fact that he looks like and could kill you).

11. Jin Zixuan had the best character and romantic development. From pompous git to awkward tsundere then to loving devoted family man. It’s such a shame he died.

12. Once again, I repeat, don’t leave Wei Wuxian unattended!

13. Lan Wangji is the pure definition of whipped. The happy guy.

14. The junior trio are the most relatable group ever. Jingyi is basically the voice of the fandom at this point.

15. I’m never leaving this fandom.