i did love this episode simply for expanding the lore more and how the soul reapers work (the underworld has an HR department! lolll which i guess makes sense, otherwise, it’d be total anarchy with the soul reapers who were on vacation still on the clock and payroll…)
but i did not like all the whiplash the ep produced. first, prakan was adorable! wearing the hawaiian shirt of his own volition and going on totally-not-dates with tua! adorable! heart-stopping!
BUT THEN
then the show finally killed off prakan’s mother (she was battling cancer and the signs she was getting killed were right there from the start but still…the whole storyline felt repetitive considering prakan only has one mode whenever death happens around him…)
the broody angsty muffin who’s all like ‘i hate you and my life is so much simpler and happier without you in it, tuaphee!’ reappears. not that he was gone for long or that we like him that much…
LIKE PLEASE PICK A LANE AND STICK TO IT, U ANGST MUFFIN.
i’m trying to be understanding but the dude makes it tough.
i also realllly, reallly thought we were making some headway of the romantic variety. u just dont have an awkward reunion hug in a random hospital stairway unless u have feelings for the guy. i dunno, but i’m assuming u wouldnt…
this happened last ep–but u cant tell me this isnt a dude Going Through Feelings:
whenever someone tries to flirt with me:
but anyways, i find tua wayyy too handsome for his own good:
is nathee objectively handsome?? sure. but do i trust him?? def not, no siree.
I think Vegas really enjoys the way Pete reacts to him and his actions.
Vegas definitely likes that unlike Porsche, Pete sees through his masks and feels the danger emanating from him. Pete flinches at his touch, screams when he creeps up on him, trying to get away from his touch.
Also speaking of Porsche, he always talks to Vegas without showing fear, allows any neutral/friendly physical contact, and even after a forced kiss doesn’t reject he’s company. It wasn’t difficult for Vegas to drug him, and if he really wanted to, Porsche would’ve been his toy long ago, because he’s too easy prey for him. The thing is, Vegas doesn’t really want him, he’s only interested in him because of Kinn and their rivalry. Pete, on the other hand, intrigues Vegas and awakens his inner predator. Hopefully, his feelings for Pete eventually develop into a romantic one.
Hello everyone! I’m trying to manage my real life and my comeback on tumblr with new Merlin content (yes I want to finish all the Gif sets for every episode) so… while you wait you can come and say hi on my Insta page where I will post about my newfound obsession: Asian drama (most of which are BL but it’s not a surprise right?)
Anyway, if you want to come and say hi or simply share my profile with your friends I will be very happy and grateful
Adapted from a y-novel by HUNGRYBIRD of the same name, Wabi Sabi picked up this defunked project and brought it back for iQIYI (with Director New acting as producer) staring Grey Rainbow (trigger warnings & sad ending) couple Nut & Karn. They are pretty great together and certainly mature and capable leads. Also featured Yacht (Paint with Love) and Pat (My Ride) as side characters.
This is a romance between a doctor trying to save his patients and a reaper who is both his enemy and (eventually) lover. Basically it’s the genius premise of a gay Doom at Your Service. High concept looks good on you, Thailand. I enjoyed it more than it’s ending deserved, and the best I can say is that it’s not strictly HEA but if you’re okay with Life: Love on the Line, you’ll probubly be okay with this BL. It’s set up well, there’s no surprise unpleasantness like HIStory 3: The BL that shall not be named.
The reaper mythos was pleasingly bureaucratic in an almsot Terry Gilliam absurdist kind of way. I wish we’d got a bit more of it, and how the underworld worked. And I also wish it had just really leaned into the “mistakes are just the frustration of the DMV” style. But this is Thailand, and high concept + absurdist really isn’t their thing, so I’m disposed to be happy with the silliness we did get.
The slow burn romance and the laying out of the intertwined past was really well done. Not to mention all of the external tension with the doctors in competition and their various cases, and the conflict between the leads and their roles in life. It’s much better storytelling than we usually get from Thai B - a solid little show, especially at the start. Now the driving conflict of a doctor who will not accept death was a little too drawn out and one note (I was over it by ep 6), but no worse than we usually get from Thai BL.
There was a particularly nice little twist on the heart knows trope, which is not one of my favorites… until this show. Also, most literal version of “my heart is with you“ ever?
I think so.
The side dishes were hit or miss for me, their drunken hook almost too relatable, but their insta-love tendencies felt conflictingly unrealistic. Also one of New’s OLD SCHOOL “around the back of head not at all a kiss” kisses. I haven’t seen that from Thailand since Make it Right! Retro “we not gay” camera action used because the actors aren’t comfortable with each other? Why here? Why now? Tut tut. I was mixed over them but the side couple was, in the end, cute enough (weird kisses notwithstanding).
The chemistry between the leads was MUCH more consistent than the side couple, and very well executed. KarnNut give GREAT KISS. Honestly, I can’t remember if their kissing in Grey Rainbow was this good, but in 2022 AKA the year of great gay kisses, this was one of the best I’ve seen - we are talking MewGulf or MaxTul level. Very impressive.
Are KarnNat the best Thai origin couple at domesticity? Seems like. And I LOVE domesticity in my BL. So they get extra points for this.
THE ENDING
This show had a very Korean style unnecessary-separation in the last ep. But I guess I’m used to that now? The show’s ending reminded me A LOT of Love: Life on the Line (Director’s Cut) so if you like that you’ll, like this one, but it’s not strictly HEA, there’s a lot more pathos. I thought it suited the narrative, so I’m not mad.
Want it spoiled? They get a lifetime together; the reaper goes back to being invisible to everyone but the doctor, so no one notices that he doesn’t age; he pulls the doctor’s card when the doctor is old; and then meets him again in his next reincarnation. So this is not exactly a happy ending, but it’s not really sad either. Just pathos.
Did I cry? Of course, I’m a sap. But for someone normally SET on HEA, I actually I liked it.
I’m not quite sure how to rate this show tho, as a result. And I’m not sure I’ll ever rewatch it either. Still, like Peach of Time, everything was set up for us, so the end wasn’t surprising and it managed to be substantially happier than Peach or, of course Grey Rainbow(shudder).
So maybe I rate it higher than I should because it could have been a lot worse? ARGH. Decisions. I went with 7/10
Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs. Organized by which ones (in each category) I’m enjoying the most.
Ongoing Series - Thai
Triage (AISplay Mon) Ep 7- This ep was mostly to give movement to the romance plot and since (oddly for me) that’s the bit I find the least engaging I wasn’t as wild about this installment. Next week looks VERY dramatic tho.
Check Out(IQIYI Sat) Ep 1 - This season’s messy gays be messy series! I gotta say I love the intro credits on this one: character + actor names. I need that in all my BL. Our leads are Nine (Chahub) and Daonuea (Best). (My boy Plustor is coming too!) So Daonuea is pining for the boy who ghosted him after a hot fling AND a boss/ex/cheater that wants to date him again. Of course boss & fling turn out to know each other. Best is GOOD. I like an office setting but I’m not wild about the execution here. But the messy exes drama is relatable and fun/different. Captions are quite poor.
KinnPorsche(iQIYI Sat) Ep 10 - Well KimChay moved fast. Meanwhile Kinn’s bodyguards are all pretty naff, letting Tawan get away. The traitor(s) = no particular surprise. Oo death! Also dumb crazy drama gay, but whatevs. I’m mad that everyone looked for Porsche but no one looks for Pete? I guess it’s good to be the boss’s f-toy. Oh, I’m salty abotu this show. Sigh. At least it was an exciting ep?
Sky in Your Heart(FriYouTube) Ep 2 - It’s perfectly serviceable. I’m not wowed by the chemistry but it’s fine.
My Secret Love(YouTube Sat) Ep 3 - Fake relationship is a go and watching them lampoon BL tropes is kind of fun. No screen caps because, you know, fakel but they covered (deep breath): head in lap, picnic, feeding,back hug, movie date, sharing earbuds, and library assignation. Just because I am having a really hard time keeping this straight (pun intended) here is the character breakdown (aside from the leads): campus star = P’Tim (he comes with portable adorable bestie); pair in the 7 year relationship = P’Park & Lee (who switched departments) - they use rao/ter with each other (cutesy). Everyone else = unimportant.
Ongoing Series - Not Thai
To My Star (Korea Viki) Ep 1-2 - YES FINE I’m watching it. I said I was gonna wait but… I CAN’T. OMG I’m so scared. The doorway being used for transition shots between past| |present was very clever. Also my goodness I almost forgot what really good acting looked like in BL! The year separation after a break up is a classic Korean drama plot point that usually comes at the end of a show, not the beginning. It’s going to be interesting and bumpy to watch them deal with this reverse plotting. They better come up with a really good justification for Ji Woo leaving and being that cruel or heads will ROLL. Also, that better be his sister and not an ex girlfriend, I have it up the here with faen fatales. Please don’t betray our trust Hwang Da Seul.
Love in Spring(Koreagrey) Ep 5-8 - I love to see a brushing hair trope (in a way I don’t love the usual hair dry trope we get in BL). I have no idea why. Also we had an example of the boy protecting “the girl’s” reputation with fisticuffs. This story reminds me a little of those girl disguised as a boy host club shows we got from Japan for a while – same kind of comedy that is a little beyond my ken and slightly jarring. At ep 7 it finally got good as the leads develop a genuine friendship. The snake thing was odd though. To be fair there’s a lot of odd in the show. I’m enjoying the tension and liking it more each ep.
Plus & Minus(TaiwanViki *rec* & GaGa Fri) Ep 10 - The dreaded unnecessary break up. At least we understand the bar owner’s motivations. I don’t know where I am with this show now, but I do like that its general assumption is that everyone is at least a little bit bi, and since I too like to give everyone the benefit of the doubt, I’m not opposed to seeing it on screen.
Want to See You (Vietnam YouTube) Ep 1 - Boy likes his baths, that’s for certain. Standard psycho female character and a basic but uncommon servant/master set up. I’m getting Jane Eyre or something. Nice kisses already but this is no Mr. Cinderella. (The bar has been set, VBL, now I know what you can do.)
Getaway (Singapore Mon YouTube) Ep 2-3 - Look, I’m the first to admit that there’s a lot of bad and awkward acting in this genre, but for some reason… it feels a lot worse in English. I like how unabashedly gay this show is but (how do I put this nicely?) if I’m gonna watch English language gay-vacay shizz – I’d rather watch Fire Island. Still, as one might expect, the heat execution is good (Taiwan still holds the crown, tho).
BLs That Finished this week!
Dear Doctor, I’m Coming for Soul(iQIYI Weds) Ep 12fin - I was mixed over the sides, but in the end, they were a cute couple (weird kisses thing notwithstanding). This show had a very Korean style unnecessary-separation in the last ep. But I guess I’m used to that now. Are KarnNat the best Thai origin couple at domesticity? Seems like. The show’s ending reminded me A LOT of Love: Life on the Line (Director’s Cut) so if you like that you’ll like this one, but it’s not strictly HEA. I thought it suited the narrative so I’m not mad. But I’m not sure I’ll ever rewatch it either. Like Peach of Time, everything was set up for us, so the end wasn’t surprising and it managed to be substantially happier than Peachor Grey Rainbow (shudder). So maybe I rate it higher because it could have been a lot worse? ARGH. Decisions. 7/10 RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS Full review here.
Close Friend 2 (Viki Thur) Ep 6fin - I liked the dealing with celebrityhood and fandom storyline, although I thought it was too generous to those fans. But in the end this is, like the first installment, fine but forgettable. I did like the breaking the fourth wall and mentioning each other‘s projects at the end. That was fun insider trading. (I guess we get a season 3 featuring DunBas, not my favorite. Shrug.) Anygay, both pairs did well but in terms of content and story, I wasn’t wowed. 6/10 WORTH WATCHING BUT FLAWED
I still can’t believe they’re allowing it but it really does seem like Korea is bringing us A Shoulder To Cry On starring Jaehan (oldest) & Yechan (maknae) BOTH from Kpop group OMEGA X. Enemies to lovers, school set, 12 eps, due out in the fall.
Also in Korea announced adaptation of Lily’s comic Heesu in Class 2 . About a shy unpopular boy with a secret crush on best friend. Looks pretty pat but I’m always open to KBL school-set stuff.
Japan announced BL adaptation of Minamoto Kazuki’s comic: Kabesaa Doujin Sakka no Neko Yashiki-kun wa Shounin Yokkyuu wo Kojirasete iru starring Matsuoka Koudai (I know him from Five) and Nakao Masaki (Kakafukaka,Bow Then Kiss - he’s a BIG DEAL ya’ll) slated to be released in October. (source) The description from Crunchyroll is up on MDL but it’s incomprehensible.
Cambodia released a trailer of upcoming Khmer BL មើលបានហាមសម្លឹង AKA Eye Contact. We are in “don’t bet on it happening (or finishing)” territory.
New Thai drama My Coach seems to have a BL side plot.
Art Adore En got a trailer. Country boy studying at a university in Bangkok catches the eye of his senior.
Korean BL Blueming is getting a movie version. Since this aired on iQIYI not Viki, not sure if inter fans will get to see it.
iQIYI has picked up SantaEarth’s friends-to-lovers (possibly sad) BL My Only 12% from Wabi Sabi, coming late summer.
Japan is airing a BL comedy-drama adaptation of Naruko's Fudanshi Bartender no Tashinami AKA Accomplishment of Fudanshi Bartenderstreaming on FOD. About a fancy pants bartender who is secretly a nerdy BL fan.
3 BLs have been submitted for consideration to the Seoul International Drama Awards 2022: Semantic Error(Korea), I Promised You The Moon (Thailand), and My Beautiful Man(Japan).
The boys from Kissable Lips are pair branding. (They are rumored to have a new series The Circumstances Of Pungdeok Villa Room 304.) I mention this because it’s my first time seeing a Korean pair consciously use Thai techniques on their social media.
Next Week Looks Like This:
We’re hitting the Thai summer slow down season, thank heavens. There was too much for even me to keep up with for a while there. I could used some down time, except Japan won’t let me!
Monday: Japanese BL Old Fashion Cupcake adapted from the manga of the same name by by Sagan Sagan (trailer on FB). Seems to be a hyung romance: office set, employee/boss, age gap. About a subordinate with a crush on his boss - seems a bit Cherry Magic light? Only 5 episodes, coming to Viki!
Thursday: Kimi no Koto Dake Mite ItaiAKAI Only Want To See You only 4 eps, starts June 16, Hulu JP. Not sure on inter.
Adapted from the y-novel Mafia’s Bad Love. The novel features a gay poly triad and a GL sub plot. Stars Yoon (YYY, Paint With Love) as the mafia Dom and Ton (Y-Destiny, he was opposite the boy who time-slipped) as the sub.
Plot: Office grunt Kim has been pining after his senior for a long time. To forget about him, he decides to have one night stand with a random stranger. That stranger becomes obsessed with him. Mafia man Kamol is kinky and (I’m assuming a Dom) and no one is able to satisfy him until Kim.
In other words..is this particular hand gesture in BL giving the same message as the image of a train going into a tunnel from Old Hollywood films under the Hays Code? (We can’t show you actual on-screen penetrative sex, so we’ll give you an image that clearly communicates what is happening…)
Obviously current BL is less censored than old Hollywood films, but I had the thought when I saw this gesture yet again in Cutie Pie. It used to be used more generally during make-out scenes, but recently it seems to be code for something more specific.
Hewooo i tried a new artstyle and a new brush hehe
I usually feel intimidated/overwhelmed when I try a new artstyle and new brush(stepping out of comfort zone and all) but I’m already comfy with this one and quickly getting the hang of it (〃°ω°〃)♡
First subject on this approach was Dr. Mork Sutthaya(Pond Naravit), at your service
The way Ram goes to check on Lukchup and then ends up hugging him and holding him and bringing the sunshine back out on his face with his kindness and his love. And the way Ram is struggling to stay cold in front of crying Namning because of how much he loves Lukchup? Ugh. I love them so much.
And only Lukchup could be gentler than Ram, only Lukchup could get Ram to back down in that moment.
I also love all the friends laughing at her shenanigans. The entire group is just rolling their eyes are her theatrics but Ram and Lukchup both hurting because they’re just so sweet.
I just continue to adore Ram. He’s the sweetest boy who’s just trying to do right by the boy he loves now that he’s realized who was trying to hurt him. And I love that Lukchup is just as eager to defend people as Ram is. They were truly made for each other these two sweet as sugar boys.
When your coping skills are mostly making light of everything, turning everything into a joke and smiling your way through the pains of life… it’s very hard to participate in the serious conversations you need to in order to heal from trauma.
So, anyway, Porsche spent of the episode smiling, laughing, goading Kinn on and only really stopped when Kinn mentioned the rape and then kept freezing up for a long moment before quickly just bringing up forgiveness and then quickly going to back to joking around.
Porsche talking about how he forgot the car accident with his parents and how that lack of memory directly relates to how he’s coping with being handcuffed to Kinn and Kinn, frankly, understanding that better than Porsche himself because Porsche is so busy trying to forget the bad things and Kinn is still so focused on the knowledge of what he did… it’s a juxtaposition of someone trying to cope with trauma and someone trying to reconcile his own moral code.
Porsche pushes back the memories and emerges with a smile and a fist bump and nonchalance because that’s all he has if he wants to survive but Kinn has all the energy in the world to focus on what he did because he’s the one who did it, he doesn’t need to forget and he cannot forget.
And then, when Kinn sends Porsche away, it’s a final acceptance on his part that no matter how much Porsche forgives him in that moment and in that place, he cannot forgive himself. Because he knows Porsche is forgiving him the same way he forgot his parents.
That’s not what Kinn wants. That’s not what Kinn needs. He needs Porsche to be happy. And when he sends him away he knows he’s giving him a chance that he’d never have otherwise.
There is so much beauty in Kinn sending Porsche away even after Porsche says he forgives him because Kinn knows that forgiveness is born of the woods, just as his smiles and his laughter are born of this place they have been. Kinn knows that forgiveness cannot survive the return to his home, the return to his world. That Porsche cannot hold onto what he has forgotten in the woods because Kinn cannot forget either.
Kinns sends Porsche away because the forgiveness in the woods is part of the woods and not part of their world.
Porsche’s response to life or death situations is to try to cling the good things and pretend the bad things never happened and it’s wild to see him just… shed trauma overnight and smile instead and decide that all was forgiven because if it wasn’t forgiven than he couldn’t explain the choices he’s made in the forest and so he chooses to forget, chooses to forgive, choose to give up on his own pain and follow the path that he had to follow to survive sane.
Porsche is trapped with Kinn but he’s trapped with a Kinn acting unlike himself, acting like a different person and the only way for Porsche to survive is for him to accept that this is someone different. Because otherwise he’d be overwhelmed, he’d lose himself to pain that he’d just managed to crawl out of with his brother the night before, the agony he’d barely escaped.
Porsche chose to forgive Kinn because otherwise he couldn’t help him live and he had to help him live to live himself. He had to find something in himself to turn off the pain and the agony and so he did what he does… he laughed. He laughed and he smiled and he lost himself in the moments as they happened because any thoughts were too much.
Porsche chose the wilderness just as Kinn did and when Kinn brought up those moments Porsche pushed them away because if he thought about them, he couldn’t keep going and so he stopped. He stopped thinking and he just existed as he often did, existed in the same way he did before he ever joined the mafia… floating.
Porsche made a choice because the other choice was to be back in that bathroom with a lighter to his lips and his arms around himself, seeing the same moments again and again. He couldn’t hold those moments and still function alongside Kinn and he isn’t ready to die.
Kinn knows. Kinn knows that Porsche is still there, he knows that for all Porsche speaks of forgiveness that it is not what he truly needs. Kinn knows and Kinn cannot let Porsche continue.
Kinn sends Porsche away because he knows that Porsche is not okay, that Porsche’s forgiveness and Porsche’s affection are from the woods, from this place, just as his own smiles and his own honesty have come from the same place.
Everything that they have started to build has been created in this void, this place disconnected from reality. And while Porsche would rather take the void with him, keep the void in his soul because it’s easier than the pain he was carrying before. But Kinn cannot accept the void. He cannot accept something out of nothing.
And so he sends Porsche away. Kinn is the one still holding onto the pain because he doesn’t want to be like Porsche’s parents, only remembered for the good parts because that’s not who he is.
