#OH KHAOTUNG THE ACTOR THAT YOU ARE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[gunsatthaphan]

"look at us. how did it get to this?"

[khaoala]

this gifset was brought to you just because i wanted to gif the second one.

[dribs-and-drabbles]

ONLY FRIENDS IS SO GOOOOOOOOD

[firstkanaphans]

Hello! Sorry to jump on the train of asking you stuff about the couples😅 but i have to ask, you put earthmix and aouboom on the definitely dating list. Earthmix i have no questions about it😂, but i know next to nothing about aouboom, and id really like to know more of your thoughts on them, if that's ok with you😊💞

[Thank you to @doublel27 for helping me compile this list.]

The first thing you need to know is that AouBoom are like FK on steroids. Take the codependence of First and Khaotung, turn it up to 11, and you have AouBoom. They met on the set of Enchanté and have been inseparable ever since—so much so that they’ve talked about how some people at GMMTV don’t even know which of them is which. They just call them both AouBoom.

One of the main things I look for when trying to determine whether two actors are dating is whether they live together. I’m not sure if AouBoom have ever actually talked about their living arrangements, but if they aren’t living together, they’re certainly sleeping over at each other’s houses enough for it to be suspicious. 

Here’s a compilation video of them wishing each other happy birthday. The first is from 2022—way before they were ever paired. The second is from this year. Boom took the video at midnight as Aou was walking out of the bathroom in his pajamas, so clearly they were having a sleepover 😂

Aou also drives Boom to and from set every day and if you’ve been following Memoir of Rati at all, you'll know that they’ve had a bunch of late nights and early mornings. I'm talking filming until 3AM late. I just can't see any logical reason for him to do that unless they were living in the same place.

Another thing I look for when I'm trying to determine if two actors are dating is whether they take vacations alone together. AouBoom do. A lot. My favorite was their trip to the beach on Valentine's Day of this year when Boom posted this video which is still pinned at the top of his twitter page. 

They’re also just very attached to each other and frequently attend each other’s solo events even when they are hours away. In particular, LL showed me this video of Aou and his dad showing up to one of Boom's events several hours outside Bangkok.

Boom has also become Jasper’s de facto manager. He attends every single event they have and what I find most amusing is that no one teases him for it the way they do when Phuwin or Perth or Dunk show up. It's almost like it’s just a given that he's going to be there.

I don’t know, guys. There’s just something about them. It’s in the way GMMTV sent them to all of their marriage equality events even though they weren’t technically a branded pair at the time. It's in the way directors always give them the high heat roles in otherwise very tame shows. It's in the way Aou talks about being jealous of Boom's crush on "The Vet" as if it's a conversation they've actually had in real life and not just something they bust out for fan service.

Oh, and they have matching jewelry. Y'all know how much I love matching jewelry.

All in all, I'm less confident about them than I am about EarthMix, but I still think they're way more likely to actually be dating than any of the other CPs. I just think they're neat 🥹

I'm also going to tag @lazzarella, @elliebirdwrites, and @sherrymagic because they all know these two much better than me. Feel free to educate us if you have any additional lore you would like to share!

[theflagscene]

Your tags on the Gun post are amazing ❤

Now I am wondering though - what makes Khaotung so special?

Is he Gun's little pet project? His sith desciple? Is he trying to teach him his beautiful scary ways?

Oh I am so glad you asked! One of my favourite things about Gun is his relationship with Khaotung!

Khao has fully admitted that he was a fangirl of Gun since long before he got into the industry, which makes sense, a lot of these younger actors probably grew up watching Gun in movies and series, the dude has been acting since he was a small child. Khao joined GMMTV in 2018 where he did a couple small side roles before getting his first main role in 2020 alongside Pod in Tonhon Chonlatee. With that, he started to have to go on the various variety shows that GMMTV had, one of them just so happened to be OffGun Fun Night.

This wasn’t technically the first time he had met Gun, obviously they worked at the same company, they’d interacted behind the scenes. But this was the first time he was ‘working’ with Gun, and it quickly became apparent that he had a big ole crush on Gun. Something that Khao has never denied, not once, he will pick Gun over First right to First’s face! In fact when Off asked when Khao had become such a Gun fan, Khao said that he’d liked him from the first moment he saw him at the GMMTV offices, he was so cute, but Khao was too shy to approach him.

Then when the first season of Safe House aired, PodKhao were on it, but there were a lot of Covid restrictions still in place and a lot actors were out sick/on leave/working weird hours. So they didn’t have enough branded couples to fill the house, which prompted GMMTV to bring in actors who weren’t working at the time, and were older than the rest of the ‘newbies’ to kind of show them the ropes. One of those actors was Gun, he was on it for the first eight episodes before he had to leave for work, which is when they swapped him out with Tay who stayed for the last of the episodes.

Point was, Gun did NOT want to be there. He is a very private person and this was the first time he had to literally live his off screen life, on screen. He also did not have Off or Tay there with him, and to top it all off Neo was there and was making it his job to try and prank Gun—specifically trying to get him into the swimming pool, because Gun refused to get wet—so it was fair to say Gun was cranky and did not hide it whatsoever.

The rest of the boys gave him space, gave him the only queen size bed in the house (they all had doubles that they shared) and just in general tried to not piss him off too much. But Khao sort of just followed him around like a puppy, standing off to the side and trying not to bug him but really really wanted to hang out. Finally Gun was like; oh just come here already!

Cue happy puppy Khao and Gun basically adopting him. He allowed Khao to move into his bed—Khao was supposed to be there selling his ship with Pod btw—and the pair were glued together for those first eight episodes. Where Gun went, Khao followed with his tiny cute constant calls of ‘P’Gun?’ every five minutes. From then on, Gun gave Khao special attention and privileges when it came to him, he gets away with calling Gun ‘Phi’, he gets away with choosing Gun for games at fan meets and during lives, even if both First and Off are there! Khao gets away with a lot of stuff when it comes to Gun.

Off has teased Khao for years about his crush on Gun, but Gun has always made sure that Off knew he would kick Off’s ass if he made baby Khaotung pout, which Khao absolutely uses to his advantage.

[befuddledcinnamonroll]

Episode 4! Let the unhingedness commence!

Aaaand this is why getting wasted before ropeplay is not the best idea.

Safety first, kiddos.

This house looks familiar - have we been in this interior for another series?

Love that the translators are familiar with American slang.

Fadel is just completely right, all the time. No wonder the poor dude is so tired and angry.

Poor Bison. He wants this to be real so badly.

The funny thing is, he's not actually in love yet. He just really really wants to be.

I do look forward to when all these idiots are insanely in love with each other, and acting accordingly.

Haha, one time and Style is totally hooked.

It's cute you can see he did get some of his personality from his dad.

Lol, Fadel, how's that whole "I'll fuck him once to get this over with" working out for you?

The costumer designers nailing it once again!

Lol, Style just lying back in the "take me!" pose. He wants another railing so badly.

Yeah, knew Fadel was just fucking with him. He's not ready to crack yet.

Fadel, change your gloves!!! This show and food safety, good grief.

I do like that Bison is more suspicious here. He's not stupid! Just wants love.

Oh no, is Babe getting beat up at school? Ooh, are we going to get Bison fucking up some bullies?

It feels like Bison has some first hand experience with this kind of thing at school. :(

Oh Style, you are already getting emotionally invested here.

Noooo, not the homophobic bullying. These poor babies.

The teacher? I'm not surprised, but damn. Oh please fuck this dude up.

I love them as a united front.

Before this show ends, I really need all four of them working together to take someone down.

Also still laughing about the janitor and PE teacher thing, cuz it does fit the outfits.

Ha, they brought it up again!

Beating up a pedophile with a toilet plunger, A+, no notes.

Yessss, love that Kant realizes this guy would be a repeat offender, and that beating him up isn't enough.

Oh Style... coming to the support group again is such a shitty thing to do. In character, but shitty. The man is 100% wounded pride at the moment.

Omg, dying.

There is a very different version of this show where Fadel literally has to murder this man to be left alone.

I love how First is playing Kant, where every once in a while there is just a slight hint of fear as he remembers what Bison is.

Gah, the cuteness! It doesn't matter which characters, when First & Khao get flirty, I get all giggly.

Heart-giving via burger pin, that's a new one.

Y'know I'm so used to thinking of First and Khaotung as GMMTV's top actors, but Joong is fucking blowing me away in this role. I think this is such proof of how many actors are often limited by the material they are given, and when they get the right script and director, they just soar. Joong is feasting on this material.

I do feel for Fadel, both for the loss of control, and the realization that "loudmouth dumbass" is his type.

One, this scene is amazing,

and two, I have to laugh that this is the least sexy place to be getting it on - which is of course probably why Fadel picked it, and yet he broke anyway.

Aww, I love sweet sibling moments.

Gah, having Style talk about the car just makes me think about how much Fadel's heart is going to break.

How is it that we have two men who murder people on a regular basis, and I want the two non-murdering ones to be the ones who eat all the crow later. Jojo you devious bastard.

Truth

Ha, Style's argument - "you can still jerk off, just do it with me in the room!"

Oh, is Kant finally going to tell Style?

Oooh, twist - were Fadel and Bison's parents targeted so they could be acquired, or was the murder the main plan, and the boys were a secondary prize? I mean, it was definitely Mother who was behind it, right? This guy is just a patsy?

Poor Style, as much of an annoying jerk as he is, this is a hard recontextualization of everything that he's done up to this point.

Kant, you are being such a dick to your friend! First for not telling him, and now for pressuring him to keep dating an assassin. Of course he wouldn't be able to quit Fadel anyway, but you don't know that!

And again, First nailing the uncertainty when Kant doesn't have anyone looking at him.

Oh, I am not going to survive flirty Fadel.

Well, Fadel did say he prefers being the pursuer... he's gonna get his chance.

Everything is so heightened by having two killers in the mix, Kant's ex better be careful.

Lol, Bison being all "I will get my romantic love, or you will suffer".

Rating - still unhinged, still super fun

[respectthepetty]

The way Boeing just showed up in the last 3 episodes and started MASSIVE amounts of shit jfc, he's in everyone's business and I hate it that he's not in MY business 😭😭 anyways I love him and he's an unhinged god that's all I wanted to say thank you

Anon, let me honest here. I wanted Fluke Gawin to play Boeing. Half of Tumblr was rooting for Mix. Yet we got Mond, and everyone rejoiced.

And you wanna know why?

Because it's Mond.

I just don't love Boeing. I love Boeing because he is played by Mond.

When episode ten ended, I thought, "who could have played Boeing like this?" Yes, the character is written this way, but what actor would have made me *this* happy to watch Boeing do all he did in forty minutes?

Mond.

Because he is shipless. If Mix would have kissed Book's character, folks would have been in their feelings. If Fluke Gawin would have asked First's character to get back with him next week, people would have cheered for First to leave Khaotung because DANYOK! Mond ain't kissed no homies yet, so even those of us in our GramYok feels want them to kiss, but we aren't opposed to Mond stopping there.

Because we want him to kiss all the homies. Mond has always been *so* close to the homies who kiss (Waterboyy, Kiss Me Again, Not Me, P.S. I Hate You),

Yet is never really one of those homies, so there is an unreasonable amount of people invested in this man kissing a homie.

Or eight homies.

Oh, and Mond plays morally fucked up very well.

So well, in fact, that he has you feeling bad for his crazy ass.

And the reason you feel bad is because you were cheering for him knowing darn well he was choosing violence every single day, but he made you not care! *fun fact - his character's name is Badz here

So, yeah. It's Mond. Khaotung makes everyone cry around him. Gun makes everyone shippable with him. And Mond makes unhinged god work for him.

Does that power lie in his big brown eyes? His beautiful plump lips? His earth shattering abs? I have no clue, but as six people wrote in the tags for my last post - #I NEED (HIS CHARACTERS) IN A WAY THAT IS CONCERNING TO FEMINISM

This man got me all the way fucked up.

And I like it.

[scrumptiousstuffs]

First and Khao actually has same number of roles. I don't know how to measure popularity in rookie years cause First came late to the bl world and I don't know if those playing straight roles were popular at the time. Though interestingly firstnamtan was really popular as a pair from what I have seen from comments of their series. "Shipper" is not considered as a bl because of the body swap so technically his first bl role is yok. And I agree firstgawin was popular and that's why there is still fight over it while there is not much fight over poddkhao break up, but honestly they are being silly cause fk are really good together.They complement each other so well and having an honest friendship on top of that is a bonus. Anyone not liking them for petty reasons are missing out

Well anon, you probably will know more about how many acting roles they had during their rookies year than I do (as I have only been an avid follower post-TE), although I’m constantly trying to dig up all infos about them 😂 pre-TE with varying success.

Either way, I just get the impression the shows/series First was in had more coverage/success than KT. Maybe that’s why previous asked mentioned First’s fanbase during his rookie year was massive (esp when compared to KT). I think First also had roles in reality shows while KT didn’t? (During his rookie year?)

Anyhow, I’m with you here - FirstKhaotung as a CP are just dynamite.

Even when they are acting individually (cause didn’t First had supporting roles in Astrophile, F4 Thai in 2022) plus the memorable cameo by Khaotung as Zero in Home School - they remain exquisite as actors 👌

So yeah, boo for the petty fans but oh well, more FK for us!!! 🤍🧡

[kevin-the-bruyne]

https://x.com/fktstay/status/1844487446001746380?s=46

Is this the famous FK clip you’re always referencing? the one that got you into them if so I sooo get it

asdjasfldlaskfdjf i have genuinely never taken any of the asks into *my* origin story seriously because I'm sure everyone would prefer I focus my waning attention span onto the boys but this is...the third one LOL and I've been cornered into revealing what The Scene was that one shot KO'd me into this life - two years and counting 😭 And while that BTS you linked is excellent, my friend when I talk about Khaotung pinned underneath First on that judo mat, I am literally talking about the scene in the show

On August 19th, 2022 I watched The Eclipse Episode 2 Part 4/4 as it was being released because I was playing hooky from work for unrelated reasons. I saw Khaotung say "What's wrong Bigfoot. You're tense" and then that mind numbing little "Hmm?" I called my then best friend like "Oh no, I'm in trouble." Proceeded to talk about this for an hour; of which the way Khaotung said "Hmm?" took up at least 15 minutes of that convo (/one sided monologue). You have to understand that all I knew about them at the time was TonChon, Not Me, that one Poddkhao cooking with mommy Offgun episode where Khaotung's mother calls podd her son in law and the EM group episode where Mix calls First Khaotung's best friend.

But I felt it? Whatever it was. The cosmic expanse that their feelings for each other occupies - I felt it, I felt it in this poorly lit scene of First and Khaotung jostling. Every thing I didn't know about them but would go on to find out over the next two years?

I felt it.

I don't know how to explain it. I knew - even before I found out that Khaotung has an immersive approach to acting, that they feel goosebumps and heightened emotions when they act together - that the depth of the connection between the characters that I could see on screen wasn't just the characters' own.

Everything I found out about them came after, including the clip you sent where Khaotung does look like he's falling in love. I mean, I felt something that was clearly there. I spent the first six months of stanning them totally unable to decide whether I thought they were great actors or terrible ones, because every Akk and Alan and Ayan and Gaipa came with a little edge that never stopped feeling like First and Khaotung.

tagging @infinitelyprecious @pandasmagorica and @kattyangel from memory of having interactions that seemed like you'd be interested in seeing this answer

[29daffodils]

wtf is this about again #3 : what's wrong with ghost-shipping?

this floated into my timeline and all i could think was, “good lord, not again.”

disclaimer : OP is a som, so don't come at me saying I'm not.

(ngl i've heard the term ghostship too many times over the past month, these people are like a toddler with a new cuss word or something).

context : for those unaware, somsoms are grumbling on twitter again because someone decided to say “oh khaomix are so cute together” or something along those lines (I'm not entirely sure) but essentially, they were shipping khaomix because they were seen hanging out together during songkran '25.

now as most fandom oldies know, this is exactly how most RPF shipping happens. you see two people together and your fujo heart flutters and you start shipping them. simple.

problem here is somsoms are always taking it upon themselves to “protect” the boys (firstkhao) from “malicious fans” who like to ship them with everyone else they interact with, eg : first/tay, khao/mix, joong/first, etc.

all these people believe that you're disrespecting khaotung and first by shipping them with others, when khao has himself said he doesn't like being shipped with others (i can neither confirm nor deny this claim since i've only heard this from soms themselves, so if anybody would like to enlighten me with a video or something, feel free, inbox is open).

moreover, ever since the ohmkhao banner incident happened (more on this later), they've been doubling down against people who prefer either khaotung or first with other partners, with the explanation that fans shove their ghostships onto the actors when they've repeatedly said they don't like being shipped outside of the official CP.

(now about the ohmkhao banner thing : my first thought upon seeing that thing was not “why are they shipping khao with someone else?” but “why the fuck does ohm's b'day banner have another person who is not ohm on it?”

so no, do not go putting on a ghostship banner on someone's birthday. i wouldn't even want the official ship's banner on an actors's b'day. it's disrespectful to the person. it doesn't matter in what faith you do it, a person should be defined by their own individuality first. in this case, yes stop shoving your ships where they don't belong. )

anyway, coming back to the ohmkhao incident : during ohm's (nanon's ex, leng's ohm (now ex) — for those like me who get confused which ohm it is) b'day event, some fans put up a banner with khaotung and ohm on it because they ship them and wanted ohm to see the potential of working with khaotung (which, valid, because they are both great actors but. but. i'll come to that). anyway, soms jumped them (for their own agenda) and they got grilled to hell and back.

anyway. my point is :

RPF shipping has always been a slippery slope and considering how the thai BL industry uses RPF ships to keep pairs relevant, i will go out on a limb and assume most actors know how shipping and fandom spaces work. it may be a personal opinion for some actors to not like being shipped with people other than their official CP partner for obvious reasons like : 1) they just don't like it, 2) they are concerned there will be unnecessary infighting between fandoms which will ultimately take a toll on their own lives, and 3) they are actually in love with their CP partner and want to be linked with no one else, the probability of which is a 0.2% at best.

i know this is gonna fall on deaf ears but ships are fictional (until otherwise confirmed) and the actors CANNOT do anything about it. most fan spaces are separate from the actors themselves but certain sections of the BL fandoms like to merge it together to the extent that they start behaving like caretakers. no! your favourite actor has a mind of his own and by that virtue i believe he knows how fandom spaces work and will do his best to keep himself away from ghostships if he so wishes. as far as i know, most actors do not read fanfictions of their own ships nor do they interact with fan content as much. as far as respecting opinions goes, i think as decent fans the most we can and should do is not spam the actors' posts with mentions of the ghostship and always use a tag so it can be filtered out if they wish to do so.

now i may sound like an absolute unfeeling asshole but the onus shouldn't be on fans to look after the actors' well being! every time i see a take like this (so and so has said they don't like this thing) it blows my mind because all it does is sow discontent among fans while the company and managers take a back seat watching it all unfold (eg : the whole situation with ohmnanon). not only does this harbour unhealthy para social attachment between fans and their respective biases, but it literally fucks up fan spaces as a whole.

besides all this, the same way you can think the official ship is dating irl, other fans can do with their ships too. i dunno how this is so hard to understand.

shipping is inherently fictional. there is no truth to it beyond the shipper's own imagination.

so let fandom spaces be civil and fun and stop bothering with what the actors think!

peace out!!

[functionalasfuck]

I can’t believe Sand has seen this man at literal rock bottom. A fucking burden man child attempt to drive home piss drunk, try to throw up on his floor, fight him and accuse him every 5 seconds when all he’s been trying to do is help, fucking STALK him like the creep he is, break his shit, throw money at him to just hang out because he’s a loser with no friends and no self worth, all acted by Khaotung who is a phenomenal actor so none of this is cute, despite Khao being adorable, it is all just pathetic to the max.

Sand saw ALL of this. With zero redeeming qualities. And yet when Ray propositioned him, he only hesitated for 3 seconds where you can see his existential crisis of realizing, “holy fuck are you actually into this pathetic dishrag?” “Oh fuck, you are.”

[c0smicdaisy]

Thank you so much @scrumptiousstuffs for tagging me in this! 🧡

Last Song: Dandelion by OOHYO - i found that song again a few days ago and immediately put it into my current playlist again. i still love it so much 😍

Last Book: i have the habit of reading multiple books at the same time so my last two books are "Heaven Officials Blessing" which was absolutely incredible and "The Myth of Normal" by Gabor Mate which is quite a long read about trauma, health and healing but it's so so worth it. Fascinating and mind blowing book!

Last Movie: i actually don't remember 😂 maybe the Barbie movie when it played in cinemas? I don't watch a lot of movies 😂

Last Series: Well currently I'm watching The Heart Killers, obviously! (highlight of my week srsly)

Sweet/spicy/savoury: Definitely sweet ☺️ The sweeter the better.

Last Search: Uhm, my last search was work related 😂 I had to find the composition of a drug formulation that doesn't get produced anymore (and found it online in the german pharmacopoeia thankfully 🥳).

Current Obsession: All my main fandoms decided to come back from the dead this year so, I'm back and active in the phandom again. I'm still not over the fact that they're back after a 5 year hiatus 🥹🥹 MCR is active again too (not that I ever left that fandom lmao). And of course First/Khaotung are an ongoing obsession that I don't think will end anytime soon 😂

Looking forward to: Christmas (aka my birthday lol). Oh and the fanmeeting in Rome next year! I'm going to attend with my besties and I can't wait to see them again 🥹 They live in different countries so this is one of our rare chances of meeting up in person (and seeing gorgeous thai actors up close, of course).

tagging: @frankieslaboratory @crispywizardtale @theoneandonlylostsock @lunabug2004 @tbhimnoteasyonmyself @cantofamelico

(feel free to ignore if you don't wanna do it 🩷)

[essentiallykpopandbl]

Gmmtv part 2 thoughts (since I like to scream into the void)

- ossan’s love: I’m more on board after how well they did cherry magic. I still think EarthMix was a good choice. Also I was trying to focus on the actors talking but I was so distracted by how pretty Mix is

-I don’t watch the straight stuff but I do like Gun and Pond a whole lot so I might get on board with Leap Day

-the heart killers: khaofirst, Joongdunk, Jojo. I will watch, no explanation needed. I would also watch anything First is in because I am a nothing if not a First simp. Add in my slight dunk obsession and khaotung and Joong and I am excited.

-friendshit forever? Interesting name. Oh hi Boun. I’m starting to wonder if New knows how buttons work. No complaints, just an observation

-perfect 10 liners: sure, fine, whatever. Oh hi Sood Yacht. Happy to see you here.

- Us: Lesbians! And Sing! On a different note, does Sing not want to lead a BL or does GMMTV not want him to? Because I know I want it.

- Thame Po: EST!!!! Ahhhhhhhh!!!!! Idols!!! Count me in. The white suits for the group on stage was a good choice. Putting EST in black was also a good choice. Oh hi Sammy

- revamp: oh hi bounprem. Hi Santa. Luke is the cutest nugget. You can tell bounprem have been doing this a while with how comfortable they are together

- sweet tooth, good dentist: our favorite supporting man is leading a BL! No complaints. Ohm is so cute. I will be watching for Mark and Ohm.

- Gemini is so sweet, he could charm the pants off of anyone.

- The Ex-Morning: oh they are getting all the OGs back. Oh my and they are kissing. Good to see Singto again.

- scarlet heart: they are clearly hand picking a lot of strong actors for this. Im happy to see fourth’s smiling face today

Definitely more excited about this round than part 1. Ready for the second half of the year!

[absolutebl]

Hello, let me begin by saying that I love your posts and I love your opinions, analysis, and point of view, I think you have a rare mind and I'm glad you're covering BL as I think it's a very complex and dynamic genre in today's industry.

I work as a middle management business consultant, related to management of PR and marketing although not for film industry, but i've had experience in handling products as a brand manager so i imagine the case with GMMTV and other TV productions are smiliar if we can replace 'product' with 'artists' in this case.

I have some questions relating to the branding of First and Khaotung as a CP by GMMTV, for the life of mine I just could not understand the business reasoning behind it for several reasons:

1. They are both versatile actor with good experiences on their belt and so far has chemistry every other actor they played with. it might be a bit of a waste for GMM to lock them both in a pair.

2. At the time it seems Gawin and First was more popular than FK, it should be easier and less risky to market and sail this pair, this pair also have the advantage of being in a more well known series (Not Me).

3. Both First and Khaotung relationship dynamic seems to not fit any existing mould that current BL pairs have (e.g. there's no clearly defined S/U between them), this seems risky and might not be well received by typical BL fans (esp. Thai Fans).

4. GMM has been trying to replicate OffGun formula a lot, all of GMM other CP seems to follow OG formula to an extent, which is not the case at all with FK.

5. All of the series that both acted as a pair in (Eclipse, Moonlight Chicken, and OnlyFans), are series that i think contain mature themes and not generally something that caters to the taste of Thai BL fans.

This question has been bugging me for awhile. The funny thing is: I am personally a SomSom, an FK stan :D I love them both very much and I absolutely love them together, but the decision to pair them together just doesn't make sense to me, I don't understand what GMM is trying to do here with both of them.

Sorry it's a bit long and thankyou so much if you decided to answer this :)

Hi! Thank you!

(As usual I did this and then Tumblr ate it. I am so tired of this bullshit, why can't they fist the undo bug in the new editor? OR stop forcing us toe USE the damn thing.)

1. They are both versatile actor with good experiences on their belt and so far has chemistry every other actor they played with. it might be a bit of a waste for GMM to lock them both in a pair.

I don't think they will in the long run, I think they are just co-branding at the moment, probably because of all the sponsorship offers. And because they've been recast a few times as a pair since The Eclipse.

They seem to be having a good time with it.

I could be wrong. I picked K a while back as one of the GMMTV stable who was too versatile for them (and valuable to them because of that), and they'd never co-brand him in a big way (after the failure of Tonhon Chonlatee). Then The Eclipse happened.

But to be frank? From the actor career perspective? If they can co-brand into consistent leading roles... F & K are probubly gonna - it's better money than character work and solo or side couple gigs.

2. At the time it seems Gawin and First was more popular than FK, it should be easier and less risky to market and sail this pair, this pair also have the advantage of being in a more well known series (Not Me).

Gawin doesn't co-brand. Never has. Seems like he never will. He clearly doesn't like shipping culture or anything about it. (Doesn't like reality TV shows or variety or anything like that, either.) Which I get. Oh boy do I. I wouldn't be surprised if it's in his rider that he won't cater to performative ships. I've always suspected this is because he's half American. (And East Coast to boot.) He's... tough.... reads as a little grumpy and reserved. Won't soften his IRL image to cater to the public. It's a very individualistic attitude.

It's certainly clear he's turned down sponsorship gigs (as a co-brand), and if he took one in the future it'd have to have a dump truck of money attached. I was legitimately shocked he took on Be My Favorite.

So far as Not Me is concerned? Now it's too late, that ship has sailed. So to speak.

3. Both First and Khaotung relationship dynamic seems to not fit any existing mould that current BL pairs have (e.g. there's no clearly defined S/U between them), this seems risky and might not be well received by typical BL fans (esp. Thai Fans).

Yep, they are more like Nanon & Ohm. I'm actually pleased that GMMTV is letting them do this and not trying to force seme/uke on the brand.

It's a model set up somewhat by TayNew. I mean GMMTV tried to force that one, but as Tay said, "Just look at him, he's huge."

They always managed a very brotherly casual fun ship.

4. GMM has been trying to replicate OffGun formula a lot, all of GMM other CP seems to follow OG formula to an extent, which is not the case at all with FK.

Yes, because it's the most profitable formula. Especially in country. I would put EarthMix in as their clearest successors.

Parent houses always lack imagination.

Find a money-making formula. Repeat it until the audience gets tired or supersaturated or both. It's how market capitalization works.

To change is to impact the bottom line and that is dangerous. Generally speaking, it takes small upstart companies to truly effect change in this regard.

OffGun is an interesting case because Off was so resistant to the brand at first. He's come around, but it took a while.

5. All of the series that both acted as a pair in (Eclipse, Moonlight Chicken, and OnlyFans), are series that i think contain mature themes and not generally something that caters to the taste of Thai BL fans.

Yes, it would be interesting to chart their sponsorship gigs. My guess is it's more global brands or those with an eye to the global market that use them.

I'm thinking it's a lot more like KARD in Kpop (performing better outside of country than in-country). Or the way Ukiss was for Japan. (An expansion intended group tailored to that market).

A country with an active and intentional soft power usually has subdivisions of effectiveness in the ranks of that power's product (in Korea's case Kpop, in Thailand's case BL). Stars that do better overseas - individuals, couples, groups. Ones that do better in specific countries.

A clever product manufacturer looking to contract with one of these branding elements, tracts this (popularity figures and market reach) and picks their representatives accordingly, and in accordance with their expansion interests.

[firstkanaphans]

Since when and why is Khaotung such a huge Gun fanboy?? In today's event, it's so obvious! Do you think First was genuinely sulky or jealous because of it? 😅😅

Oh, my friend, Khaotung has had a crush on his P’Gun since before he was even an actor. He was in Gun’s fan club. Gun is his bias. When asked who he wanted to work with most at GMMTV—with First sitting right next to him—his answer was P’Gun. When asked who his favorite actor in Not Me was—with First standing right next to him—his answer was P’Gun. Whenever he and Gun end up on the same variety show, Gun will inevitably use Khaotung’s crush on him to his advantage by convincing him to cheat in his favor. When FirstKhao and OffGun filmed that one Oishi live, First totally called Khaotung out in front of everyone by admitting Khaotung had told him in the car that he didn’t care what they did that day as long as he got to be on a Team with Gun.

I always see people trying to neutralize Khaotung’s affection for Gun by saying that he just admires him, but no. That boy is in love. He would ditch First as his partner in a second if it meant he got to kiss Gun on the lips. Gun is First’s only true competition and First knows it well 😂

[theflagscene]

15 Day BL Challenge (part 3)

37: Heartbreak and tears! Criers that get you every time.

Oh man, I love me some good criers. I spent most of my formative years in arts school, learning how to act to Shakespeare and be completely melodramatic lol. So I always enjoy seeing actors who are really good at getting emotional, they aren’t there to look pretty, they’re about tears and snot and sobbing like their heart has been ripped out. The type of criers that need to go detox after a take, those are my favourite types.

Earth ‘Cooheart’ Katsamonnat

Khaotung Thanawat

First Kanaphan

Lee Taevin

Pon Thanapon

Pavel Naret