#TayNew rambles

[boozles]

One of my bucket list goals is to visit the Vatican and seeing Tay post pictures is KILLING me. The mans is out there with his fancy camera and he better be getting all the pictures to share.

[kristsingto]

While watching the latest episode of Cherry Magic, it dawned on me that the show does a wonderful job of using different love languages to make the audience feel the amount of love within the office, both romantic and platonic. The series highlights this part of itself through the way characters reflect on and outright bring up different ways of expressing love — but what I loved most is just how ever present it is. Cherry Magic, to me, is about all of the ways people express their love for each other.

A main one is obviously acts of service. Karan is the only one in the office who picks up on the amount of acts of service Achi is performing for the entire office. He keeps things running smoothly, unspoken and unnoticed, and he is always performing acts of service for people. Achi stays longer for people. He helps. He wants to do these things for people, out of kindness, and that is part of what Karan loves and cherishes about Achi.

Likewise, Karan expresses his love for Achi through acts of service, and it is the acts he performs which make Achi sorely feel his absence when he’s gone. The inclusion of the post-it note of times of the day Karan does things simply for Achi, like bringing down the blinds, further exemplifies this. Love is expressed through the small, consistent actions of care that our leads afford each other.

And it isn’t just our leads. What the greater series loves to highlight is the greater community within the main cast, and how they want to help each other. In this episode, for example, we see Pai talk about why she wants to help Achi in whatever way she can. Everyone in the office wants to help each other! To put in the effort to care.

Then there’s gift-giving, which is also used a ton. In this last episode, we see Jinta absolutely delighted over a small gift Min gives him. A book. This is framed as part of the dating how-to steps, and played comedically, but it also reveals how the series itself uses gifts very often.

Karan brings Achi small, considerate gifts with a lot of earnest feelings behind it. He brings him drinks, snacks, and whatever else he can think of, because he loves him. And gifts, little tokens of affection, mean a lot. The show makes great use of objects, like pens in a pen holder or a small origami keepsake of a boat ride to physically show the courtship between the main characters.

Words of affirmation is also highlighted by the story itself. It’s Achi’s words, understanding the effort Karan puts in, that makes him fall in love with him. And it’s through Karan’s words about Achi that he can feel good about himself. Being recognized by someone else, seen in all of your strengths, is important, not only for showing love, but for being affirmed as a person. The main cast all come to adore each other. We can see the way Rock admires Pai’s spirit, or the way all of the co-workers never fail to bring each other up. And we can see the important of words of affirmation in moments like Karan talking about just how great Achi is, even when he won’t see it himself.

Time is needed for connection. It’s always needed between people, and I see it as the currency that people deal in most of all. Everything needs time, and as such, we can see quality time through the ways the characters seek out each other’s time. This is probably the least noticeable, in a sense. But the series does make each opportunity to be together, every moment of joy through being with someone else, whether it’s one person or a group, feel special.

And of course, to top it off, touching people is highlighted perfectly because of the nature of the mind-reading powers. A slight brush of the shoulder. A hug. Touching hands when picking something up. Every small moment of romantic tension through physical touch, or every touch revealing greater community, is all significant to the story. By nature of the premise, touch is dramatized, made huge in each moment for the characters. A slight lean.

A hug. When Karan and Achi finally connect on their feelings, and Achi responds in realization of his own feelings, they hug, and it is all about the way they touch. The closeness. And that is a pure expression of love. The love they have for each other, and how sometimes, there is no need for thoughts. There’s just joy.

Cherry Magic is really skilled at utilizing different forms of love and care for people. Of course, most love stories have characters who use all of these, but I felt like highlighting this series because of how every small action contributes to it in a way that feels very special. Being giddy over being handed over a pen holder. The slight bump of shoulders. Heating up the water. Breathing in the presence of the people in your life. A kind word.

That’s a part of the joy I breathe in when I watch the show. It’s the joy of loving and being loved.

[jenyifer]

Okay ThaiBl fans we need to get the Green Creek series made into a Thai Bl series. Now I want this thing funded to the max.

Do we want gay werwolves that aren’t (abo)? Yes please??? Do we want an neurodivergent cast of representatives? Do we want found family so ingrained into your soul you miss them forever *coughing in not me feels*Childhood friends to lovers?Jealousy cause wolves mate for life?What does it mean to be human and loved?Want a break up au with Khaotung as a bad ass mechanic witch longing for his werewolf family and mate First?Want ace rep?

(And I assume other great stuff but I’ve only read up go to RavenSong)

YES YES YES.

It’s beautiful with twists and turns I think the fandom would thrive on the speculation. We already put the actors into “family’s” as parasocial as that is. Anyways idk if fan casting is really a thing with the gmmtv boy and girls but I had to.

ThomasElizabeth = OffGun

OxJoe = PondPhuwin

MarkGordo = FirstKhaotung (tiny emo Khaotung going through a break up and First crying about how he has to choose his family over Khaotung DESVASATING Also bonus First as Off’s brother??? 10/10)

KellyRobbie = NanonMark (i just think mark would make the best Robbie some one else agrue over who can play the ace king but I think Nanon would kill it)

GavinCarter = TayNew

RicoBambi = LukeNamtan

ChrisTanner = EarthMix

Jessie = View

[clairedaring]

Okay, so the original post you wrote has been a while and I saw it by ghost-reading (this is when I read someone's blog without signing into Tumblr. I'm only signed in on a specific browser on my laptop to prevent mindless scrolling).

If I recall correctly, you mentioned being ready to protect a Thai actor because he's some BL actor but is married to a wife (or has a girlfriend). That reminded me of an incident my best friend told me while we were chatting.

She said there was this time when two pairs of BL actors (she coded them as Pair A + B, and Pai C +D since I don't know them and their names weren't the point) got massively flacked by fans because B kissed C on camera when the four friends were hanging out. Fans apparently saw it as a betrayal of the "BL pairing," even though all four of them were just vlogging their activities not as characters they play.

I wanna know more about this phenomenon out of curiosity!

Is it as common as my best friend put it? Or is she just unlucky enough to be caught in such a storm?

Why do fans think this way, when these are just actors and not the real characters? Is it similar to the issue of fans of Kpop, Jpop, or even Cpop artists who cannot accept their idols marrying or dating anyone?

What do the companies hiring or signing these actors do to mitigate such an issue/protect their actors?

Or... Do the companies cash in on this sort of fanatic fervor, such that they encourage fans to believe this illusion, or mandate their actors to uphold such an illusion even when they are being themselves outside of acting?

How does an incident like this usually get resolved?

What are the major stances of Thai BL fans on this issue? Not all of them support this sort of fervor, right?

Lastly: what do you think, personally, is central to this sort of incident?

Sorry if it sounds like some college assignment, but I really wanna know what you think! I'm so curious as an outsider to all of this...

Thanks!!!

Hiiiii Lyn \(￣︶￣*\))

You have no idea how happy I am to receive this ask because I've been wanting to talk about that couple incident that you're referring to since forever but I've never gotten the chance to properly collect my thoughts about it. Thank you for allowing this opportunity to ramble about this and for your very introspective questions.

So firstly to give some context to it, I think it's a bit more important to cover some background information of the two pairings that you're talking about.

OffGun and TayNew are some of the oldest pairings in GMMTV. They are known to all be good friends with each other (if not to say they're each other best friends). They've all done non-BL works with different actors but in terms of promotions, OffGun and TayNew have always been regarded to be the 'pillars' of GMMTV (their company) branded pairings.

Even though the four people are close with each other, Tay is particularly close with Gun (and this is public fact known by everyone who follows them), often teasingly calls each other pet/master and have some hangouts/vacations with just them two.

In the case of TayGun, I think their playful kiss being caught unexpectedly on livestream caused so much reactions was because it's a private moment between them. BL fans are too used with using private moments (re:clips of casual skinship between actors during work events and non-work livestream) to prove the existence of their closeness or togetherness -> so when New accidentally turned his camera to show Gun playfully kissing Tay during livestream, I think many (outraged) fans falsely equated that TayGun kissing in private like that means they're romantically involved to a certain degree.

Even though Tay has come out to explain that it isn't the case and that Gun was just playfully teasing him, there were still so much flacks thrown his way. Even with clarifications from both sides, you can basically see from the comments section of these Tiktoks (1, 2, 3, 4) that there is a considerable portion of OffGun and TayNew upset and disappointed (even though there is no reason to). I'll just translate some of the Vietnamese ones because those are the comments that show up first for me.

For those who follow [OffGun], you'll already know that Gun has been avoiding skinship from Off since 2022, fans used to think that he was shy but now we get it 🥲

10 years is just a number =)))))) (t/n: OP is insinuating that OffGun has been fooling their fans for 10 years)

What kind of 'friends' kiss each other on the lips?!

Now I can't watch OffGun series anymore 😇 Can they please give us a TayGun series 😌

Have I been blind all this time because how can everything has been so clear yet I still don't know it 🥲🥲🥲

Is it as common as my best friend put it? Or is she just unlucky enough to be caught in such a storm?

I think it's both common and not. So 'common' is in the sense that whenever one half of a branded pairing or 'koojin' is close and intimate with another person or displaying any possibilities of them being involved with said person in real life, it always trigger these reactions from shipper fans to immediately deny that possibilities or to attack the actors in the branded pairing as if they have 'deceived' their fans.

This has infinitely lessened in recent years with actors actively taking a stance against their fans harrassing their colleagues over ships but in general we still see it now and then with popular/rising/active ships or inactive ships but with astronomically huge fandoms (see: reactions of brightwin fans to bright's dating news).

I'm also saying it's uncommon for 'two halfs of two different popular BL pairings to get rumored to be together' but in 2024, it has already happened twice so who knows what's real really 😅 Aside from the case of TayNew/OffGun, there's also the case of actors Mew and Tul (who were both parts of ships with HUGE fandoms MaxTul and MewGulf) confirming their in real life relationship but their news was more well received internationally as neither of their old ships have been active in having series together for a while (i still see flacks for both of them here and there but that's because i'm vietnamese and vietnamese negative reactions are always the ones i see first to any dating news of one half of a BL pairing).

Why do fans think this way, when these are just actors and not the real characters? Is it similar to the issue of fans of Kpop, Jpop, or even Cpop artists who cannot accept their idols marrying or dating anyone?

I think there are several reasons like actors and companies contributing to the delusions of shipper fans and fans not being able to separate real life actors from the characters they play on screen, which have been extensively discussed in these Reddit threads (1, 2) so I won't delve into them. I'll just focus on a common reason i've seen from vietnamese fans being the combination of emotional and financial investment in these ships.

Similar to Kpop, Jpop or even Cpop idols as you've mentioned, there's a large degree of parasocial relationship involved between a CP/idol and their fans. Rather than the Kpop idol feeding fans the delusion of them being an attractive yet attainable, relatable, single person, these 'koojins' offer CP fans the image of a beautiful friendship/'will they/won't they'/'ambiguous more than friends, less than lovers' relationship -> so once there is a strong emotional attachment to the actors who are part of a pairing, fans will inevitably have strong feelings about their romantic life aka whether the CP is really together or not.

Even though branded pairings or 'love teams' have been an age old phenomenon since the dawn of television (not just in Southeast Asia but in Hollywood as well), I think this phenomenon has flourished particularly in Southeast Asia with many successful stories of actors having on-screen to off-screen real life romances (see: KathNiel in the Philippines, NadechYaya in Thailand...)

What do the companies hiring or signing these actors do to mitigate such an issue/protect their actors? and How does an incident like this usually get resolved?

I think one of the most interesting things about Thailand entertainment industry is that it's so easy for celebrities to sue people for online defamation. So rather than making any statements to 'save' their branded pairings or to resolve any confusion, the company doesn't do anything (which I understand because the artists are already clarifying themselves to the nosy press about any 'possible scandals that happened'). In the case that online commenters are getting too toxic, the artists can just screenshot the toxic tweets/posts, send them to the company's legal department and those defamation cases get resolved by the police.

But even then, that hasn't really stopped fandoms that are too large in size, too delusional in mind to do the crazy things they do even after a branded pairing has stopped working together, such as showing up at the fanmeeting of one actor, wearing masks of the other actor in that inactive ship. In this case, the company can't do anything since... well those people paid to attend the fanmeeting and get a photo with their idol. The most a company could do is probably to 'officially announce the ending of the ship' but... their comments section are still full of obsessed fans til this day so i doubt that announcement made any difference to the fully obsessed and delusional cp fans.

Or... Do the companies cash in on this sort of fanatic fervor, such that they encourage fans to believe this illusion, or mandate their actors to uphold such an illusion even when they are being themselves outside of acting?

Companies have always generated as much revenue from brand endorsement, brand promotions fanmeetings, concerts, selling merchs of these pairisings as they do from producing and airing these series if not more, so I've also felt a sense of these companies capitalizing upon their branded pairings and the volatileness of delusional fans.

If you're interested here and here are two interviews with P'Tha, the CEO of GMMTV company which TayNew and OffGun are under, I think his sharings in these interviews are very insightful into how the companies view these branded pairings (the main source of income for these companies basically).

I wouldn't say that the companies mandate or force their actors to act a certain to create an illusion of an ambiguous/are they aren't they ship for any branded pairings, but i DO think that being in an environment where two people (who are part of a branded pairing) are constantly being shipped or teased by co-workers and sometimes even the ceo himself... that does make shipper fans more delusional than they normally would. it's like as if you were in a class and everyone around you start shipping two people or pushing two people to be together, you'd be questioning what the others know about those two that you don't... it's 'sus' as the cp fans will say 😂

What are the major stances of Thai BL fans on this issue? Not all of them support this sort of fervor, right?

I think there's all sorts of opinions that pops up whenever there's news of someone dating surfaces, there are no consensus on it because the feelings of the fans rely largely on how emotionally invested they are in the actors/real people. There are fans who will take the news harder (feeling tricked, deceived, all that jazz) and there are also fans who will feel like 'oh that's normal' or they would rejoice in the happiness of their favorite actor having an in real life parner. Also it's probably important to note that the stance of Thai BL fans do not necessarily align with the stance of general Thai audience, for example when Thai actor Bright revealed his girlfriend Nene, basically the entire Thai netizen is supportive of him whereas his previous branded pairing fans are divided between supporting him and feeling 'betrayed' by this reveal.

Lastly: what do you think, personally, is central to this sort of incident?

Personally, I think it's fans' expectations. Similar to what Monk Dol told Dear about not holding on to things too tightly, I think fans often hold on to the romantic stories portrayed on screen more strongly than they do with non-romantic stories. Therefore, the reality of an actor having a real life partner often dispels this illusion of a 'screen-to-life' romance stories that fans may have concocted in their mind for any pairings not limited to whether they are in queer love or straight love stories.

I feel like it's just much easier for fans of straight pairings to move on since they don't get paired repeatedly as leads together every 1-2 years and they often don't have couples' work (like promoting brands togethers...) long after the ending of their series together, contrasting with branded pairings in BL/GL series who still get brands work together after the ending of their series -> allowing their "ship" fanbase to grow and the fans to have even larger expectations of the actors to have future works together.

Again it might be a lot of me to ask that these dedicated fans not to have expectations (which may eventually lead to their own suffering) because logically these fans do pour in not just emotional investment but also like HUGE financial investment so having expectations are really inevitable ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ perhaps they should watch สาธุ and learn to let go of having any expectations for a ship or an idol which will benefit all parties involved 😅

Anyhow before I end this, please let me ramble and promote my beloved actor, JJ Krissanapoom whom you've mentioned first in your ask.

JJ Krissanapoom is a prolific Thai actor whose works I've followed really early on in my journey of Thai media consumation. He's starred in works of different genres and he's had queer love-adjacent projects before like Diary of Tootsies (with Paopetch aka Monk Ekkachai in สาธุ) and Great Men Academy (with James Teeradon aka Win in สาธุ).

But JJ has been in a highly publicized long term relationship with his girlfriend Thanaerng for seven years now, so I have no fears/worries about the reception of Thai fans to his upcoming queer love work Spare Me Your Mercy.

That being said, I'm still very worried about any negative reactions from delusional shippers because even if the actors have nothing to insinuate that they're together or even if they're both actors with in real life partners, the delusional fans always have the following comment templates to bash the drama/actors

I can't see the chemistry between the actors, probably because they both have girlfriends.

Why is the actor posting pictures with his girlfriend instead of promoting his own series?!!?

Why does the actor have an event with his girlfriend rather than an event with his co-star??!?!?!?

things like these... i'm already expecting.... and praying they won't happen... also if they do... i wouldn't be very surprised... and i'm actually very parasocially attached to jj and thanaerng's irl relationship so i feel like i'm even extra protective of their relationship than i already do.

and i'm definitely going off track here... but yes i'm very much looking forward to having jj krissanapoom on my screen again, in this BL series about a cop solving a series of murders of dying patients, to which his doctor boyfriend is the no.1 suspect of.

and here's a cute recent clip of all three people jaylerr, gun and tay to end my lengthy incoherent ramble

[bl-recs-and-reviews]

GMMtv 2024 Part 1: Snow Rambles

I am late to the party cause I woke up recently buuuutttt here we go!

My watchlist (in order of appearance):

We Are: I do not think I'm gonna watch this one, but since it's and ensemble cast there might be something worth it somewhere in it so I will keep my eye on it

The Trainee: OffGun are just never gonna leave now xD Slightly intrigued, depending on how the actual trailer is I might get excited but so far it will depend on how busy I am, and if I have time for it

Pluto: It's a GL. It's got Namtan. Count me in. We gotta support it!

Peaceful Property On Sale: The first one I got geniuinly got excited for. TayNew in completly new roles, with ghost busting and good comedy. I'm all for it!

Ossan's Love: ...... why? Idk if they can pull this off. I really hope they do. But I don't trust it (I'm still gonna give it a chance for now)

My Golden Blood: SIGN ME THE FUCK UP! It feels like a fever dream but I am really excited. JossGawin? Vampires? Mond and Neo being evil? Heck yeah, this is my highlight of part 1

Wadee goodday: I am intrigued. Idk if it's totally my thing but clor me interested.

My Love Mix Up Thailand is a very big maybe. Fourth is really good with drama, not so much with slapstick comedy. Idk if they can pull this one off

Enigma 2: I liked the first part of it. So I'm looking forward for this one.

Everything else, I won't be watching probably (I might change my mind but we'll see). Hopefully GMMtv 2024 Part 2 has all the gems and surprising stuff. I can't wait for December!

[feuqueerfire]

What should someone be doing when they're drowning in end-of-semester schoolwork?

Watch random GMMTV actors in variety shows, of course.

Conclusion at the beginning: Boy, I sure do hope there are OffTayGun fics on AO3 and it's not just tumbleweeds.

รักหลับกับออฟกัน Special | ล้วงลับ 10 คำถามเดาใจ กับ “โอม-นนน” || OffGun Fun Night with OhmNanon

This was fun and cute, they were dressed like sea creatures. This is where the Ohm being a BL veteran screenshots came from.

กระหายเล่า EP.21 | จะเกิดอะไรขึ้น! เมื่อ 2 ตัวเอ้สายแฟชั่นมาเจอกัน || Tay's Show with guests PP and Gun

Ngl, I didn't watch much of this. I just wanted to see some interactions between the 3 of them but I don't care about the actual topic. The three of them are cute together though.

อะไรจะเกิด ! เมื่อ กัน เต เจนนี่ มาอยู่บ้านเดียวกัน 24 ชั่วโมง | Let’s play Lay’s 24 Hrs. EP.1 || Gun, Jennie, and Tay stay in a house for 24 hours

This was released just 4 days ago and it was so fun! I liked GunTay's dynamic from the few clips I've seen and that's what I was most looking forward to in this one but Jennie being there made it even better, she's great.

Also, watching Tay's pretty smile after a long while reminded me I quite like his face lol. I wanna watch something else with him soon maybe. 3WBF? Jennie's in that too, right?

Apparently, this is just part 1 but idk if I'll watch Part 2 when it comes out lol I'll probably have forgotten, no?

เฟรนด์ขับ presented by Nissan Almera [EP.8] | ออฟ&เต ชวนกัน-อรรถพันธ์ กิน เ��ี่ยวและทำบรา... || Off, Tay, and Gun explore the area where OffTay went to high school + they bake brownies

Tay whining to Gun all "Please, can I get that?" and grabbing his hand about getting some sprinkles to put on the brownies... psychic damage fr. Not to get all RPF but to get all RPF, GunTay is so good.

Actually, as a lover of polyam RPF, OffTayGun is so good. Off being like "I don't know what my role is here, I'm just carrying all the ingredients while the other two carry nothing" umm good ass dynamic if you think about it. + Off just saying puns and Tay laughing his ass off.

I wonder if these 3 have more videos together.

Also, they bough roti but it's interesting because it's not like roti we eat at home. I guess it's like a Thai version of roti?

Watching them bake together is giving me severe brain damage, is there fic I can read?

[petekaos]

the way pete & kao love one another: hands edition

during the process of making this post and talking with my dear friend madeline @earthfluuke​ for a bit after it, i realised something that, through all of my watches and re-watches of dark blue kiss, i have never realised. 

welcome to me analysing certain petekao hand shots, their little public displays of affections in the show, who initiates it and what it means for their characters and character development, what they deliver to the entire petekao storyline as a whole and how they enrich dark blue kiss. you can find my other petekao metas/analyses here.

see this shot? this is from episode two of dark blue kiss. it takes place during an incredibly volatile moment, where pete’s relatives are talking about how well their children are doing and pressuring pete about his future, his internships, his plans for after school. kao is an outsider here, as he always is when it comes to these moments, because he and pete come from different worlds -- as much as they love each other, pete will never know the hardships of being in kao’s world as well as his financial struggles, just as kao will not know this constant pressure pete feels from his family about his grades and academic efforts. but. isn’t that that what love is? maybe you don’t know what it’s like to be the other person completely, but you support them, you love them.

and that’s what kao does. remember -- this is episode two of dark blue kiss. kao is not out at this time. he is not ready to be out. still, he takes his hand under the table, somewhere where it’s hidden, somewhere where nobody can see, as a sign of comfort. kao takes pete’s hand. this is because kao knows that pete’s love language is physical touch. we see this reflected again and again in dark blue kiss, where pete wants to hold and kiss kao, and of course kao knows this. they’ve been together for three years. so kao takes pete’s hand to comfort him, and he’s so pleased with himself afterwards because it took so much strength and bravery out of him to be able to even take his hand in public... but he still did it, because he wants to comfort pete. he wants to be brave for pete.

this shot is from episode ten, and ultimately one of the most painful shots in dark blue kiss. here, pete and kao are fighting because of multiple reasons, ones they don’t even know themselves fully and ones that i won’t get into here, but... like in the first one, you see kao reach out. again, in public, where they’re not out and where kao is not out but his friends know.

why? why does he do this and why doesn’t pete? because a) pete is more stubborn than kao, more likely to spiral in thoughts of self-destruction and b) kao, again, knows how to comfort pete. he’s trying here... he is genuinely trying to reach out and let him know he loves him, let him know he cares, let him know that he wants him back. yes, it’s heartbreaking that pete pulls away (in order to drink, as well, which is just a double sucker punch in the gut), but the fact that it’s kao who reaches out in public in front of all of their friends -- whom he was scared of coming out to before -- speaks testament to how much kao loves pete and how well he knows him. he reaches out, he tries to hook a shy and comforting finger around his, to prove his love to him. because he knows that this is what pete needs the most. kao, as a character, is the least selfish person you will come across on the show. he knows as of this moment that pete needs this love and this comfort and he tries to give it to him, regardless of his own fears, just how it was shown in the first shot.

but oh no! do not fret! pete loves kao just as much. because you see here, during the last minutes of the finale of dark blue kiss, how pete offers his hand to kao in public. this is a direct contrast to the first two shots, where kao tries to or takes pete’s hand fully, always a bit hidden, but still in public because he wants to comfort pete. 

but the difference here is the fact that pete is the one who takes the initiative and he’s the one who offers -- because he knows that kao isn’t out. that’s why you rarely see him initiate physical affection in complete public. yes, you will see him say sweet words, and you will see him want to kiss or hold or touch kao, but he will rarely act it out fully, always giving kao to opportunity to hold off. that’s because that although physical affection is his main love language, he doesn’t want to pressure kao into something he doesn’t want to do. he understands kao’s fear, the fact that he isn’t out yet, and he supports him by letting him take the initiative when he wants to or feels the need to. 

that really is the pivotal meaning of this handhold that is the final shot of dark blue kiss and simultaneously the (till now) end shot of petekao’s storyline. 

through the entire series, we see kao initiate physical affection in public even during the times he’s not out because he wants to be brave, because he wants to support and comfort pete in his love language and the way that would make pete feel most loved. through the entire series, we see pete, albeit sometimes a bit whiny about it, respect the fact that kao is not out and be patient with him. even though his main love language is physical affection, he never pressures kao to be affectionate with him in public. all of the pda until this point has even been hidden (see the first two shots, the underwater kiss in ep one, etc), except this. and that is because pete respects kao.

what is the point of these three shots? well. intentional or non-intentional, they convey a very important message, one that flows through all of dark blue kiss. no matter how different you are in a relationship, no matter how much you can’t know what it’s like to be the other person, no matter the difficulties that come with all of it... it’s possible. pete and kao are so different. one is financially set for life, one isn’t. one is academically flourishing, one isn’t. one is out, the other isn’t. one spirals into thoughts of self-destruction and abandonment issues because he believes he isn’t good enough, the other puts everything and everyone before himself because he feels the need to make up for his sexuality. 

and still... and still they love one another. they understand each other, they know what makes the other person tick, they worry about each other, they love each other. through that, through seeing the journey of kao come out and be okay with himself while pete is understanding and learns to value himself as a person, too. and having the last shot be them holding hands in public after so much of their relationship was hidden with bursts of bravery within it all? that’s mastery. 

dark blue kiss goes so, so underrated with moments like these. it really is all about the love, isn’t it?

[gunsatthaphan]

thai dramas - favorite quotes 9/?:

พ่อพีท: พีทจะคบใคร เพศอะไร ถ้าคบแล้วดีขึ้น พ่อก็ไม่ติดหรอกลูก

Pete’s dad: whoever Pete is dating, no matter what gender, if that person makes him a better person, I’m happy. 

- Dark Blue Kiss Ep 5

[ctl-yuejie]

girl you replied so fast i'm just. thank you so so much. i lurked your tags a bit love your gifs tho so keep up the good work. i love love your "confident introvert x chaotic extrovert" that you used to describe taynew 'ticking off all BL tropes' LMAOOO THEY ARE SO INTERESTING wtf. would you pls navigate me to blogs that write taynew and offgun fics? i'd like to read a lot before writing one myself; those social media twitter AUs are good but i'm a narrative kinda guy ehe.

ahahaha, i’m procrastinating right now so that’s why you get the fastest replies ^^(side-eyes my unpacked suitcase) 

i love to ramble in my tags so congratulations on getting through that 😂

@weilongfu writes my favourite PeteKao even though I think he doesn’t stan the show but I pester him with fic requests (you can find everything under the same name on ao3 as well), not TayNew though

i wrote a cat!newwiee au & a HP au for TayNew and a Titanic au for PeteKao

ahjusshi has a fun office au with TayNew and other GMMTV boys and other fluffy fics that are modeled after reality (check out their account for more)

heyits_ashers has a funny au wherein TayNew and PeteKao get spilt up and transported in each others’ universes. i adore the characterization and so far it’s lots of fun.

luemeldane has another cute fic

i don’t read any OffGun fanfiction so i can’t recommend you anything on that front… ^^ 

[boozles]

I think it’s terribly romantic that Tay and New are staying in a lovely hotel and sleeping together and eating together and no I don’t care that they are with others and it’s for work, leave me alone it’s the weekend and I’m allowed to be delusional

[dangerliesbeforeyou]

a recommendation list of my fav thai lgbtq series that literally no one asked for (as of 04/19)

no one asked for this but here it is lol (it’s v rambly and confusing lol soz)

6) lovesick (& second series)/2moons

these 2 make me go ‘meh’ tbh lol... but like i appreciate what they were TRYING to do u know?? & like at least they’re not what the duck or make it right lol (sorry to people who like those series.... they’re just objectively bad imo soz... maybe i’ll do a ‘list of the worst thai lgbtq series cos i feel like that’d be even more fun lol...) but yeah i feel like since these were some of the first i watched i have like nostalgic attachment lol... plus some of the characters & scenes are kinda good? idk lol... i’m including them cos i feel like they’re alright, but like i wouldnt go out of my way to watch them u know? (i hope u know cos i have no clue what i’m talking about lol)

5) project s: spike

it’s not really lgbt... but like... this is my list and i can include what i want lol (u could describe it as like a bromance/coming of age/friendship kinda drama ...).. it’s just really good lol (i’m not just recommending this cos oab (puen) is the most beautiful man in the world, even with that god awful hair btw... ) this is just a really heartfelt drama about boys & volleyball... like i have -100 interest in volleyball but this series made me wanna watch it lol... that is the power it has! plus like the cinematography is gORGEOUS and the soundtrack is really good!

4) kiss me again (& dark blue kiss (not even aired yet but i can bet it’ll be on my list because i’m trash lol (& minor kiss the series))

this is a terrible series.... but i love it lol! basically skip past all the straight couples, mainly just cos they’re story lines are reallllly dull & badly written, and just focus on the petekao storyline (which is also kinda badly written but... it’s bad writing, but now with taynew! lol) there are some genuinely funny moments, and some really sweet moments, but this series def suffers from the ‘too-many-characters-and-not-enough-time-given-to-any-of-the-couples-to-develop-them’ syndrome (bit like waterboyy... except waterboyy has 0 redeeming qualities (don’t @ me)... but yeh, watch it, but like... also don’t...

3) sotus (& sotus s.. but not really)

i feel like i see more and more people not liking this series, and like... yeah...  i get it lol but like it was one of the first thai series i watched & i feel it’s actually a pretty good series to start with if ur new to them! it’s kinda just a sweet story, with actually a really interesting commentary of modern thai culture (in terms of like the whole ‘respect thy senior’ kinda thing) which i found really interesting... and overall the acting is really good (i mean singto’s in it, what did u expect lol??)... overall i get why this is still one of the most well known and popular series (i’m speaking from an international perspective btw), even if sotus s was...... a mess ... (i’d still say to watch it but like keep in mind that it mayyyy not be as good as the first...)

2) love by chance

okkk so u have definitely heard of this series since it came out the end of last year and got realllly popular really quickly lol... i gotta say that i really loved this series from the start, but there are definitely some severe issues with this series lol... the writers & actors did an incredible job with the main couple (aepete) &there’s even some really good side character scenes... the problems come with the additional 3 side “couples” (specifically 2 of them) which, frankly, the series could have done without lol... idk i’d say watch it, and make up your own mind... it’s still worth a watch (it’s literally in my top 5 lol that’s gotta count for something) but i really can’t deny the problematic side to it lol...

1) he’s coming to me 

this one has only just finished airing so i haven’t had the chance to really rewatch, but it’s genuinely such a heartfelt and sweet series! Plus the acting performances from everyone (& esp Ohm and Singto (main actors)) was realllly good, and the cinematography was really pretty a lot of the time (u could tell they genuinely thought about a lot of the shots)! It is also one of the few series that handles self identity and the struggle young people go through when they feel ‘different’ (whether that’s being lgbt, or whether it’s the fact u can see and talk to ghosts... u know... normal teenage issues lol) 10/10 would recommend, especially since there’s only 8 episodes.

[boozles]

QL Superlatives 2024 Part One: The Good Stuff

I don't even know if I'm doing this right, but not only do I love a good list, but a few people have tagged me to take part <3 I'm planning on doing a Part Two of stuff I wasn't too happy about, but for now let me ramble about my favourites!

Best Use Of Super Powers: Cherry Magic (Thai)

Oh, not Achi using his powers, but Karan taking full advantage of them. He didn't run away or get worried about his privacy being invaded, he just straight up loved that the love of his life could now have full 24/7 access to his thoughts.

Best Use of Sports Equipment: 4 Minutes

Well, what else are you going to do on a pool table?

Best Adaption Of A Manga That Already Has A Live Action Series But In A Different Language: My Love Mix-Up!

I loved this series! I thought Fourth and Gemini really pulled off their own interpretations of the characters, and it was so funny and cute. Fourth was hillarious, and I will not be standing for any slander, okay?!

Best Older Brother: Wei Qian, Unknown

They had a weird family dynamic but not only was Unknown a fantastic series, but Wei Qian's protectiveness was wonderful, if a little too much.

Best Mindfuck of a Series: Love for Love's Sake

For most of this series I was like OMG IT'S A GAME and the gamer in me was delighted then it was like WAIT A MINUTE THIS IS A GAME OF LIFE...IN DEATH! It's such a fantastic series, albeit bittersweet.

Best Tribute To 90s Movies: The Heart Killers

I wasn't going to include shows that are still airing in this list, but fuck it. When this scene happened I flipped because not only are we seeing a gay af version of 10 Things I Hate About You, but Jojo is throwing in other classic movies - you cannot tell me that Bison's religious shirts are not a reference to Baz Lurhmann's Romeo & Juliet. The Pulp Fiction dance tribute was perfect.

Best Surprise New Pairing: MarcPoon

I know we were all happy when this was announced because we didn't want to lose We Are, but I don't think anyone was expecting just how fantastic these two are together. Like, seriously.

Best BL That Isn't Actually An Official BL: Peaceful Property

Okay, I admit that High School Frenemy was a strong contender, but as P'Dome even said, it wasn't meant to be a BL but TayNew just have such chemistry that you can't help but believe it's more than friendship between Home and Peach. This show was gay af, and I loved it so much. Also, the bonus heartbreaking ForceBook was beautiful.

Best Character Redemption: Night, Last Twilight

Alright, I don't know if it's really 'redemption' because it seems like as soon as the accident happened Night really got his act together, but I feel like he worked so hard throughout the whole series to try and...not make up for his mistake, but to at least help. And THEN he falls in love with a girl and before she even gives birth he's already decided he's the daddy. Favourite character in the whole show.

Best Tofu Bodied Man: Achi, Cherry Magic (Thai)

They really tried to make New look smaller in this series, and it was so funny. He has such wide and muscly shoulders/arms and he is really the wrong person to put in a suit if you don't wanna show that off. The 'tofu' comment was hillarious - you could hear the collective guffaw from the audience world wide.

And that's it from me for now! I'll no doubt do a round up of my favourite shows for the year, but if I continue this list it's literally just going to be me going on about how Cherry Magic is the superior series XD I think it's probably been my favourite (yes, I know it started in 2023, but leave me be). I didn't watch a lot this year, I feel? Like, apparently I've only watched like 20 BLs this year, which isn't like me at all, but I've done a lot of rewatching? it's been an odd year, okay?

[petekaos]

omg you watched the taynew meal date series? how'd you like it?

hi hi nonnie!! i’ve watched a couple eps and i enjoy it a lot, sometimes the editing is absolutely wild and bit too much (like romantic music and the heart filter whenever they do something that could be slightly taken as romantic) but i really do love tay and new’s friendship. it’s entertaining to watch tay ramble on about specific food knowledge he’s garnered while new happily chomps on something in the background and hmms and asks him questions, they’ve got a lovely dynamic! 

[ctl-yuejie]

Hey! Are Tay and Newwie a real couple? O.o That would be great!!! :D (Have a nice day, you amazing thing, you!

Hey there!!! ^^

I don’t know 〜  Both Tay and New always say that they’re just best-friends and I roll with that. Both weren’t that much into kissing each other in KMA but we’re also talking about Tay who (regardless of his sexuality) already has come a long way from finding hugging people weird to basically cuddling everyone (yeay to the downfall of toxic masculinity). Things change and there might be something more and I wouldn’t assume that they’re straight just by them denying that they are dating.

Regardless of labels, I just really enjoy the relationship they have with each other and they surely are relationship goals in all kinds of ways:

Despite being very different in character they click so well and seem to be really happy and relaxed in each other’s company. They’re also really silly and there’s always some flirting and gay panic going on so watching them is really entertaining. 

I support them just as they are, I’d support them even more if they belong to the community (regardless of whether they dating each other or not) but I don’t see a need for them to share that with us. Celebrities coming out always has an encouraging effect on people in the queer community but just like for everyone else it can be a frightening step to take. 

I don’t want to pressure queer actors into coming out but I’d love more BL actors to step up in support of the community and just be good allies first and try to combat stereotyping.

Thanks so much for the ask, I started rambling again but I love talking about TayNew, they are personified sunshine. Have a nice day as well anon, you are the sweetest! 💕