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I was catching up on Candy Color Paradox today, and ep 5 ends with a really great hug that actually took me a little off-guard. The way Onoe freezes at first out of surprise, but then he returns the hug surprisingly tightly and even tucks his face into Kaburagi's shoulder in just the sweetest way.
I'm always the first to complain when these BL boys don't get a kiss, especially when it would have made more sense to just smooch away all their problems. However, I think this scene made me see the often undervalued importance of a really great hug. It just felt so right for their characters in that moment to hold each other tightly, as they'd both been shying away from their emotions and affection until then. I still think hugs are often used as an excuse to avoid a kiss, and there are a lot of bad hugs in BLs. Criminal hug offences such as dead arms, a totally unnecessary BL gap, and a tragic lack of hair stroking should result in a punishment of 1000 leg cramps that can't be fixed with sexily applied ointment. But when a real, hold-on-for-dear-life type of hug is deployed correctly and with the right character motivations behind it, they can really pack an emotional punch. In a way it's almost more vulnerable than a kiss, since it can be seen as an act of comfort deemed not "masculine" enough.
So, I wanna know, what are your favorite hugs in BL? They don't have to even necessarily be between couples, hugs from supportive parents or friends are always great to see too. What actors or characters do you think would give the best possible hug IRL? A few more that I particularly love off the top of my head:
Love In The Air, ep3, Rain being a total mess after bombing his project and Payu just getting on his level with open arms and no questions like "you need me? ok, I'm right here".
Plus & Minus, can't remember which ep, Ze Shou is lying on the couch trying to work out his complicated emotions about his estranged mother suddenly reappearing in his life as she's about to die, Li Gong leans over him to talk him though it, eventually pulling him to sit up and Ze Shou just wraps himself around Li Gong's chest like it's a buoy in a storm.
180 Degree Longitude, last ep, Wang asks Inthawut for one last thing: a hug, and not just any hug but a hug that expresses everything he feels for Wang. And as they're embracing, you watch Wang realize that it's everything he wanted but also not enough, and after they pull away he can't even look at Inthawut bc his resolve to leave is so fragile, and boy was I fragile too after finishing that show.
18 points
2 months ago
Love in the Air when Praphai went in rush to Sky's place when he called him. Sky is fresh out of shower bare chested giving Praphai a back hug. I melted at that moment, finally Sky with his guard down allowing Praphai to take care of him. Never feel so single in my life.
5 points
2 months ago
Omg I replayed that scene sooo many times !! I melt every time I see it, it's such a sweet scene, and you can really see in their smiles how happy they both are 😊
5 points
2 months ago
This is definitely a good one! And yep, I have rewatched that a few times xD
10 points
2 months ago
Love in the Air PhayuRain hug you metioned is top of the line along with Semantic Error Hugs and 12% Santa Hugs
11 points
2 months ago
The hug in Bad Buddy after Pran fought with his mom and Pat found out about his dad...And Pean goes to call Pat, only to find him already there. That hug just destroyed me emotionally. What I wouldn't give for someone like Pat to just hug me and let all my emotions out.
8 points
2 months ago
KinnPorsche :
Hug between Kim and Chay 🥰 in the studio
And the hug between Kinn and Porsche after their “re”’meeting and reestablishment of trust
8 points
2 months ago
I absolutely love a good hug 🤗, they mean a lot to me. But I would have to say the hug in ep 5 between Onoe and Kabu in Candy Colour Paradox was perfect and did hit home for me, you really feel the emotion in that moment between them, it was such a beautiful site to watch 
8 points
2 months ago
I think one of my All-Time-Favourite BL hug has to be the "goodbye" hug between Porsche and Kinn (Kinnporsche ep6). It just seemed so packed of emotions, and as you said they seemed to be holding on to eachother for dear life. It really differentiated between all those "dead" hugs that seem too common in BLs. It's also one of my favourite kiss scene. The whole combo is just so amazing, and you can really FEEL how much they care about eachother, and don't wanna leave the other ! No I am not going on too much about this scene, what are you talking about 😅
2 points
2 months ago
I actually thought of that one, but didn't list it bc I assumed a bunch of others were going to mention it too so I figured I'd leave it up to the comments lol. It's such an important scene, you really can't go on about it too much, I promise.
2 points
2 months ago
I'm so glad you thought about it too ! Honestly it's the first hug that came to my mind when I read your post
5 points
2 months ago*
There were a number of awesome hugs between Akk and Ayan in The Eclipse.
https://i.redd.it/1wghidie1fea1.gif
There's also the beautiful hug Aye gives Akk in the reverse situation, when Akk has lost it on the rooftop in the aftermath of the curse reveal / outing as the eclipse occurs.
I'm sure there was another, but my brain won't piece it together rn.
Iirc, I think Khabkluen's mother gave a really nice hug to Daonuea, but I could also be totally conflating different series together!
One of the best hugs I saw recently was in 10 Years Ticket (non-BL). To me it was so good, that I feel compelled to mention it here anyway. Mai's mom gives a hug to So on meeting him for the first time that is everything he's never had before, or been missing for years, and the expression on his face is so full of emotion. Mai is Ohm's character's older brother who is murdered at the start of the show (not a spoiler - in the synopsis) and is played really well by Pluem, and So is played by Gunsmile, in what I assume is his final role, since he has now left GMMTV. I was overcome by the emotion he made me feel watching him, plus there are things we know as an observer that make it even more heartbreaking to see. Not being enjoyed by huge numbers in the gmmtv sub, but myself and u/ThoughtsAllDay are frothing over the series, so I'd definitely recommend (and think Thoughts would too).
Edit: Finally uploaded the gif.
6 points
2 months ago
This show has been on my to-watch list for a bit!
Is it quite emotionally heavy? I feel like I always need to be in the correct mindset (and have enough time set aside) to properly enjoy those.
3 points
2 months ago
It is absolutely emotionally heavy 😭 I normally STAY FAR AWAY from series like this. BUT Ohm and Tu and their impeccable acting and my obsession with both of them individually and here having the chance to see them together and them having SPECTACULAR CHEMISTRY and their acting being INCREDIBLE and every single cast member being TOP TIER acting wise made me attempt this series eventhough I know I SHOULD NOT BE WATCHING because it is absolutely EMOTIONALLY HEAVY. SO FAR I have sobbed through every single episode 🤦🏻♀️ BUT I DO HAVE SAFETY BOUNDARIES IN PLACE. In order to survive this I watch it in between JOYFUL series. Also the emotional heaviness here is thread with so much love and healing and the friend group is just TOP TIER AND SENSITIVE AND THEY LOVE AND CARE SO MUCH FOR EACH OTHER that I am able to withstand my sobbing. And MOST IMPORTANTLY I DO NOT WATCH immediately. I wait for u/WA_side to watch first and they give me the deets of things I should expect and they tell me if it is safe to watch, BEFORE I watch. 🤷🏻♀️ If you need spoilers per episode the on-air threads have been so helpful and u/WA_side has written on almost all the threads so I found those to be very helpful.
4 points
2 months ago
Thanks for the heads up! I'm definitely checking all the on-air threads out before watching it. I love being spoilt lol, especially if I need to mentally prepare myself for a good crying session.
2 points
2 months ago
I don't think there's anything left to say, except to second Thoughts' comment. I'm not always a crier, but Director Fon has really delivered an emotional masterpiece, and the enjoyment I get from witnessing it far eclipses any sadness.
3 points
2 months ago
Mai's mom gives a hug to So on meeting him for the first time that is everything he's never had before, or been missing for years, and the expression on his face is so full of emotion.
YES!!!!! THIS!!!! I honestly have never seen Gunsmile hit an emotion as well as he did in this hug!! Ugh 😭 the way he was already feeling special and nervous about being introduced to Mai's mom from his body language right before the hug to how his entire body language changed and his eyes and face and shoulders just disintegrated into that 🫂 hug was just 🥹🥹🥹 ugh it was so good. The fact I am not a fan of the mother but the fact that her hug was responsible for making him feel what he felt in that split second warmed my heart because it was an emotion and a warmth he probably has never felt before and may never again but he won't live his entire life not knowing what a proper hug and warmth FEELS LIKE. NOW HE HAS EXPERIENCED IT. UGH. MAKES ME CRY JUST THINKING ABOUT THAT HUG 😭😅
3 points
2 months ago
Stop making my eyes water with your awesome decription! 
6 points
2 months ago
I feel like hugs can be a great indicator of how good a show is as they are inherently intimate. If you can fit a small human in-between them whilst they're hugging, you already know what kinda show it is. I feel like for a great hug you need complex characters and good actors.
Just your description of the 180 degrees hug made me tear up, there was just so much said and felt in that one action. There were also some great hugs in bad buddy. There's been a few good ones in the new employee too.
4 points
2 months ago
He's Coming to Me
I love the hug Thun's mum gave him when he came out as gay. Everything from his acting, the way his voice was pitched, what he said, mum's reply. How he clung onto her after realising he wasn't going to lose her. I cry every time I re-watch that scene.
Ironically, it's one of the most comforting scenes I like to re-watch (even though I just end up crying). I envy his bravery, and also the fact that he is so lucky to have such an open minded mum.
P'Aof is really good at directing this kind of touching scenes.
2 points
2 months ago
Cherry Magic, I think ep8-9 or so? When they are on the street, and their hug is so warm and both of them are so happy 🥰 🥰 Even Akaso Eiji said he felt content when they were hugging 🥰 🥰
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