#cupid's last wish the series

[lazzarella]

Me: I'm going to start posting reviews of BLs as I watch/re-watch them!

Also me: forgets after posting a grand total of one

Anyway, here's one that was in my drafts since I re-watched Cupid's Last Wish, despite having only first watched it a couple of months before XD While it's easily the weakest of EarthMix's series for me, I enjoyed the heck out of it both times regardless! Shout out to the hair and costume departments btw

The cons first: The weakest part is probably the subplot with Win's aunt and uncle, which fizzles out into nothing and feels like it was only there to pad out time, and I may have skipped some of it this time around. It also felt a little sexist with how they kept making a point of how weak Lin's body is and so on. I think it's meant to show how she's more of a princess/mama's girl, but it felt more like women are inherently weaker at times. But it wasn't as egregious as the sexism in some things I've seen and I'm a sucker for both road trips and body swap and this did both of those really well imho. Plus, I loved the romance! (We’re onto the pros now) Before watching, I saw a few comments saying body swap is overdone (though I can't seem to find many other BLs with body swap?? Maybe it's just dramas in general?), but I'll never get enough body swap and, like I said, I think it was particularly well done here. Mix and Jan did an incredible job of portraying the same character and I thought the transitions between showing Mix and Jan as Win were very smooth and edited nicely.

I liked that for all the tender moments between Win and Korn we see Mix, and that, while it's clear that Korn only ever 'sees' Win, too, it's fairly believable that Win would think Korn was being sweet because he's in Lin's body. 

Of course, he's also a little bit of an idiot because we see in all the flashbacks it's clearly Win he has feelings for, but I don't entirely blame Win. Plus, it makes for all the things I love: misunderstandings, miscommunication and angst! (Sidenote: some days, I feel like I'm the only person who still loves misunderstandings and miscommunication. Ah well!)

Korn is the biggest sweetheart. Like, he is just so lovely! The scene where he's trying to distract Win when he has cramps is the cutest.

Win is also largely a fun character (and his constant need to be eating is a mood). Of course, he IS a major dickhead at the start, and borderline (or just plain old) abusive with his sister, which is another sour point—I think they could've set him up as impetuous and stubborn without that, or I would have preferred it, anyway. So, I can definitely understand why it was a deal breaker for a lot of people! But I pushed through and I'm glad I did, because it had so many things I loved

And the chemistry between Earth and Mix is as palpable as always: they really have something special onscreen (and, as I've said before, I love their offscreen interactions, too) and there are so many gorgeous moments in this show!

The hand holding while falling asleep, Korn trying to distract and cheer Win up, covering his eyes because he's afraid of ghosts (and then covering the hole in the tent in that one flashback), the confession, the kissing... The romance is really lovely and that's what I'm here for.

Oh, and the cowboy hats don’t hurt either lol (they sadly only made a brief appearance)

So, yeah, just some more rambling thoughts from a relative BL newbie XD I gave this an 8.5 on MDL, which didn't change after re-watching. I can easily see myself returning to this again too

(Oh and I also enjoyed the little follow up Zero Supporter, which was basically an extended ad for that iced tea! It was really fun seeing Earth and Mix play each other’s roles, particularly Earth.)

[gmmtv-bl-tournament]

GMMTV BL Tournament - Round 1

[maybe-boys-do-love]

Mix Sahaphap gets to perform (and has the performance chops to perform) in a style that I’ve never seen any other male actor get to embody. Mix gets to unironically play the #strongfemalecharacter. The Beatrice, the Elizabeth Bennett, the Jo March. Strong-willed, emotional, kind-hearted.

Not only do the plot points line up, but Mix, more than any BL actor I’ve seen, fully leans into the embodiment of this archetype. In his roles, he rolls his eyes, pouts, banters flirtatiously, softens his posture and expression at small details. He doesn’t over-exaggerate and imposition other characters but his face also doesn’t hold back his character’s thoughts and judgments. And when the moments arrive, he lets all the hurt and anguish pour out in shatters of tears and visible heartbreak—the star-counting scene, anyone????—in a way that harkens to the operatic emotionality of well-done melodramas, soap-operas, and their contemporary Thai equivalent of Lakorn. It’s only that these have never been men’s roles in those.

It’s no surprise that one of Mix’s roles—Cupid’s Last Wish—is explicitly a gender body-swap, and Tian in A Tale of Thousand Stars is (albeit explicitly denied within the show) heavily connected to gender body-swapping. What Mix specializes in as an actor, and does exceptionally well, has been defined as feminine. To depict a kind of queer expression in this style is novel because it’s not camp, it’s not okama, it’s not a soft or femboy, it’s not a BL twink (Mix has been mostly excluded from the schoolyards and quads of the BL universe except for a role as a senior crush in Fish Upon the Sky). It’s too sincere and too adult for any of that.

In Moonlight Chicken we get to see, without the pretense of gendered mysticism, this performance style’s seduction, warmth, wit, and explosiveness within the framework of a general gay form of expression. It says that this kind of femininity might just be a gay thing. Not all gay men exhibit it, obviously—queer men aren’t a monolith. Still, it gives us something to consider about how we observe performance of queerness on screen, especially in front of an audience that puts so much more emphasis on ships, heat, and pairing chemistry to assess how well they perform a BL role. Could we look for other features to judge performance of queerness instead of how well they kiss?

Seme and uke roles would be the major performance style categories loyal BL fans assess actors with, yet even within the archetype his character’s fill within BL narratives, Mix’s performances differ from the typical uke depiction in BL because he really doesn’t perform them as passive. Rather, Mix’s characters and his portrayal of them are dynamic and demanding. It certainly fits certain stereotypes of ukes (Gilbert!) and their gay stereotype equivalent of bottoms as pillow princesses and brats. Mix’s characters, though, have more drive, agency, and compassion than that, and he plays them with all of those currents running underneath.

We certainly have openly gay writer/director Aof Noppharnach to thank for writing this kind of queer character for Mix to play in Tian and Wen. But for Mix’s specific commitment to the performance starting off with his (debut!?) role in ATOTS, we first have Earth to thank for believing in Mix’s ability and recommending him to portray the role of Tian, and then Aof’s acceptance despite his differing initial expectations for the character. Mix, Earth, and Aof have all been open about how Mix in his personal life and nature holds a lot of similarities to both his role as Tian in ATOTS and Wen in Moonlight Chicken. Some people might knock points off his performances because he’s like them. But his relationship to the characters, rather than dampening my enthusiasm for Mix’s performances, helps me appreciate his willingness to give an authentic performance in a style that hasn’t been encouraged on screens previously. It’s made more impactful that he chose to risk vulnerability to bring something personal that had previously been excluded from screens because of its gender deviance (and in broader society explicitly condemned). This doesn’t make a claim on Mix’s actual identity, but simply shows his willingness to understand and perform the expressions of his queer characters with an effort at empathy that many other actors would feel challenged to bring.

Some actors are chameleons, but some actors have a gift of a type within which they can explore depths and range that no one else can best. For me, that’s what Mix does in his work when directors and casting understands his talent. There’s a BTS video of Mix actually fainting during a scene while in Earth/Phupa’s embrace on the mountain that immediately brought to mind the wildly famous final scene in the film Camille where Greta Garbo as Marguerite dies in her lover’s arms.

For Mix, it was a serious incident due to regrettably extreme conditions and requiring the on-set paramedics, but these levels of theatrics, for me, are emblematic of what Mix is capable of as a performer, as well. After all, he had to faint in Phupa’s arms multiple times on purpose. It’s the kinds of Old Hollywood and heightened sentimental romance realms Mix takes his performances to! Then he can turn around and make it look easy to take that same character into grounded quips or dedicated everyday tasks. It only takes writers, directors, and audiences willing to see that men can feel this way and act this way. Mix has paved the way.

[wanderlust-in-my-soul]

The Kiss Of Life

KinnPorsche

Dark Blue Kiss

The Eclipse

Cupid's Last Wish

Why R U

Niyamruk So Much In Love

I Told Sunset About You

We Best Love: No. 1 For You

The underwater kiss (Part 1/?) as part of my favorite bl-tropes collection, as always in no particular order.

[theflagscene]

15 Day BL Challenge (part 4)

59. What's a hill you're willing to die on when it comes to BL?

Omg, yes, someone asked me!!!!!

I will die on this hill, fite me.

*ahem*

Cupid’s Last Wish is a good series!

I know there is a shit ton of hate for this series and I have absolutely no idea why. It is a masterclass in physical acting, seriously, it is phenomenal! The story is very basic, because the focus of the series is the character’s journey and self discovery. Korn and Win already knows they’re in love, the story begins with them already knowing that they love one another, they just haven’t acted on those feelings nor have they admitted their feelings to one another. But never once does the narrative act like we the viewers are supposed to wonder if they love one another, that’s not the point of the plot. It’s how miscommunication and grief can blind someone so much that they lose themselves within those feelings.

In the case of the series, Win literally loses himself thanks to his anger. He nearly kills his body and damns his sister’s soul, so he must go on a pilgrimage with Korn to heal his own soul whilst his body is wavering between life and death which could very well take his sister’s soul with it. Korn, his best friend of 22 years and soulmate is the only person who can see him whilst trapped in his sister Lin’s body, because Korn always sees Win for who he really is. And of course we have the conniving mother, a well meaning family friend and a mysterious monk.

This is some of Mix’s best acting, not just as Win since Mix doesn’t usually play such a toxic character. But because for most of the runtime he is playing a male character trapped inside a female’s body, trying to trick everyone expect for three people that he is in fact a woman. Jan is fantastic in the role as well, because when she’s onscreen she must act as if she is a male stuck in an woman’s body with a male’s mind, trying to convince people she’s a woman.

It’s a complete mind fuck! Mix and Jan are fantastic as Win, the way they carry themselves, walk the same, stand the same, take up the same space, speak the same way. But don’t think Earth has it easy in this series either, because he had to make sure he held, touched and spoke to Mix and Jan exactly the same way. So when they edited the scenes to overlap, seeing Jan’s body instead of Mix’s, Earth is in the exact same position with both of them.

Seriously, if you dropped this series, try it again. Watch it just for the acting, because it’s phenomenal.

Also it has what might be the best onscreen reaction to menstruation from a male’s point of view without it being misogynistic, gross or rude. They make some jokes, like Korn not knowing what kind of pads to get for Win when he starts his period, and of course how Win feels having to care for and clean his sister’s body in a respectful manner. How he experiences her emotions, her hormonal shift, the pain of cramps, the way his whole body aches and how sick he feels. Korn is also so caring, trying to help Win through something he’d never experienced before without crossing a line with Lin’s body because whilst it’s Win, his best friend and love of his life, and when he looks at Lin he sees Win in his mind, it is still Lin’s body physically there. And as much as he loved Win, wanted Win, Lin was a baby sister to him and he could not, would not, touch Lin’s body in a sexual manner.

At the end of the series when he admits to Win and Lin’s mother that ‘something happened’ between him and Lin (it was Win, but in Lin’s body) all he meant was that Win had kissed him. Yes, he had kissed Win, shared a bed with Win, but he knew how that looked to people who didn’t know it was Win in Lin’s body. So to keep Lin from being shamed he agreed to marry her, instead of trying to explain to their mother that the assumption she was making about Korn taking Lin’s virginity was wrong.

There are fantastic villain characters in the form of the scheming aunt and uncle. Not to mention the family secret, Win and Lin’s mother facing her homophobia concerning her son, Lin being in love with someone else and of course Korn being forced into a mess that he did not want to be a part of but considering he had been friends with Win for 22 years and loved him more than life, how could he say no?

It’s a beautiful story, it’s funny, well acted and has Mix working with animals!

[onlyrainbowshipstbh]

Jan via her Insta!

[blunaggregator]

BLA Top 20 Thai BL Series of 2022

KINNPORSCHE

MY SCHOOL PRESIDENT

LOVE MECHANICS

MY ONLY 12%

LOVE IN THE AIR

VICE VERSA

TRIAGE

TO SIR, WITH LOVE

THE ECLIPSE

180 DEGREE LONGITUDE PASSES THROUGH US

THE MIRACLE OF TEDDY BEAR

BETWEEN US

NEVER LET ME GO

CUTIE PIE

AI LONG NHAI

REMEMBER ME

21 DAYS THEORY

CUPID'S LAST WISH

STAR & SKY : STAR IN MY MIND

DEAR DOCTOR, I'M COMING FOR SOUL

[dribs-and-drabbles]

The Thai Communal Wardrobe item #2

The Mustard Sneakers

I Told Sunset About You ep 2 (Teh) and ep 3 (Oh-Aew):

Bad Buddy ep 1 (Pran), ep 2 (Pat), & ep 7 (Pa):

Cupid's Last Wish ep 1 (Korn):

Cupid's Last Wish ep 3 & 8 (Lin/Win):

My School President ep 6 (Gun & Tinn):

Our Skyy 2 x My School President ep 10 (Gun & Tinn):

Step by Step ep 8 (Jeng):

Hidden Agenda ep 3 & 11 (Zo):

Cooking Crush ep 12 (Paeng):

Wandee Goodday ep 1 (Dee and Yak):

My Love Mix-Up Thailand ep 5 (Atom, two different pairs):

I Saw You In My Dream ep 4 (Ing, Yo, and Ai in three different pairs):

+ bonus, Joke in Hidden Agenda ep 7 continuing the show's theme, and Yo in I Saw You In My Dream ep 4 doing the same, in the same Pull & Bear blue-soled shoes:

[artsyjedi]

i can't explain but winny is like prem and mix had a son together

[allovelyhappily]

EarthMix & FirstKhaotung (x)(x)

[thepancakelady]

love who you want to ; bl multicouples [happy pride month!]

[gemistar-888]

Cupid's Last Wish (2022) Earth Pirapat Mix Sahaphap

[bl-bracket]

Most Babygirl in a BL Bracket

Round 1

Bai Lang (My Tooth Your Love) vs Dan (Not Me: The Series)

Twi (My School President) vs See Eiw (My Only 12%)

Chen Nhai (Ai Long Nhai) vs Pran (Bad Buddy)

Shinwoo (Light on Me) vs Sound (My School President)

Kang Seojoon (To My Star) vs Talay (Vice Versa)

Li Ming (Moonlight Chicken) vs Win (Cupid's Last Wish)

Intouch (Until We Meet Again) vs Porsche (Kinnporsche: The Series)

Thi (I Will Knock You) vs Kit (2 Moons 2)

Nuengdiao (Never Let Me Go) vs Aii (You're My Sky)

Black (Not Me: The Series) vs Daon (Light on Me)

Jaewon (The Eighth Sense) vs Akk (The Eclipse)

Arthit (SOTUS: The Series) vs Team (Between Us)

Jiang Cheng (The Untamed) vs Pa (Bad Buddy)

Wen Ke Xing (Word of Honor) vs Kiyoi Sou (Utsukushii Kare)

Tol (Triage) vs Mork (My Ride)

Wei Wuxian (The Untamed) vs Yutaka (Our Dining Table)

Type (Tharntype: The Series) vs Tine (2gether: The Series)

Cao Weining (Word of Honor) vs Prapai (Love in the Air)

Taekyung (Light on Me) vs Jin Guangyao (The Untamed)

Manow (Until We Meet Again/Between Us) vs Vegas (Kinnporsche: The Series)

Palm (Never Let Me Go) vs Jang Jaeyoung (Semantic Error)

Meen (Fish Upon The Sky) vs Yok (Not Me: The Series)

Pat (Bad Buddy) vs Tul (Between Us)

Sean (Not Me: The Series) vs Pete (Kinnporsche: The Series)

Kim (Kinnporsche: The Series) vs Jihyun (The Eighth Sense)

Heart (Moonlight Chicken) vs Yi (Cutie Pie: The Series)

Seunghyun (The New Employee) vs Wen (Moonlight Chicken)

Rain (Love in the Air) vs Amagi (Takara-kun to Amagi-kun)

Todd (Not Me: The Series) vs Haoting (HIStory 3: Make Our Days Count)

Adachi (Cherry Magic) vs Jack (A Boss and a Babe)

Por (My School President) vs Khai (Theory of Love)

Tinn (My School President) vs Natee (Enchante)

[haveyouseenthisseries-poll]

[yumemiartist]

This seems strangely familiar...

I was wondering why this scene seems strangely familiar 🤣

[absolutebl]

Happy Valentines Day!

Have some of my favorite kisses from the Kings:

Until We Meet Again (OhmFluke) 

TharnType (MewGulf) 

Not Me (OffGun... FINALLY) 

Don’t Say No (JaFirst) 

Dear Doctor, I’m Coming for Your Soul (KarnNut) 

Dark Blue Kiss (TayNew) 

Cutie Pie (ZeeNunew) 

Cupid’s Last Wish (EarthMix) 

Between Us (BounPrem) 

Bad Buddy (Ohm & Nanon) 

And, under how could I possible forget... MaxTul