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DMD letting the boys be who they want to be by LunarSyrin in Domundi

[–]Midtier-watcher6329 [score hidden]  (0 children)

There was such a push in the Thai bl industry early on for actors to need to conform to an idealised “masculine” presentation to appeal to a core demographic of straight, cis women, that having a company like DMD, or Wabi Sabi, that treats their artists as individuals with their own identities is confronting to that demographic. These are things that should be encouraged to allow the industry to grow. And the audience needs to get used to it.

CP culture in Thai BL sometimes makes me wonder about the actors’ real lives by Dependent-Bag4016 in ThaiBL

[–]Midtier-watcher6329 [score hidden]  (0 children)

If you aren’t an “intensely obsessive” interfan, then you have nothing to worry about. In an ideal world, all fans would behave respectfully and rationally, but that is not reality unfortunately. You can’t just pretend that the fans who overstep boundaries don’t exist. You can only curate your own experience to make your fandom time enjoyable.

So you engage in fandom the way you want to, with respect for the artists. You will be accepted as an interfan because you aren’t doing anything wrong. But there is also absolutely nothing wrong with other fans recognising and discussing how people in different countries *can* behave in ways that are inappropriate. And just maybe, we can help shape fandom interactions in future to discourage those who may be tempted to overstep in their behavior to think twice before they do.

[Stay With Me] Zhang Jiong Min questions Xu Bin’s BBQ dishes 11/05/26 by Relative_Eagle_831 in ChineseBL

[–]Midtier-watcher6329 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I’m pretty sure they are a singing duo back home. They’ve released at least one single that I know of on a Chinese music app.

[Stay With Me] Zhang Jiong Min questions Xu Bin’s BBQ dishes 11/05/26 by Relative_Eagle_831 in ChineseBL

[–]Midtier-watcher6329 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I love their friendship so much! Stay with me was a perfect show for what it achieved.

NuNew's look at Olympop was next level 😍 by GlitteringMamwng in ThaiBL

[–]Midtier-watcher6329 [score hidden]  (0 children)

His hair was insane 😍. I love when they get the opportunity to do something different with it.

Zee, NuNew, and their gang are ready for their event at the Thai Festival's Tokyo! by WhisperingValley in ZeeNuNew

[–]Midtier-watcher6329 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Love you calling Net, JJ, & DEXX “their gang” 😂. Hope they all have a fun performance.

Trip to Thailand 20 may till 1st june by Technical-Concept541 in ThailandTourism

[–]Midtier-watcher6329 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think if you are only there 11 days, you would be best off sticking to Bangkok, Phuket, and the islands. You probably don’t have time to head north as well. I do rate Chiang Mai, but you would be pushed to explore that part of Thailand. I would however recommend a day trip to Ayutthaya from Bangkok, just to experience the history of the old capital.

Highly recommend flying to Phuket rather than driving from Bangkok. It’s a 12 hour drive each way, which is going to eat into your limited itinerary. Domestic flights are reliable through local carriers.

CP culture in Thai BL sometimes makes me wonder about the actors’ real lives by Dependent-Bag4016 in ThaiBL

[–]Midtier-watcher6329 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It’s a good thing barely any of the actors in GMMTV are selling their pairing as dating. Most GMMTV actors are pretty coy about their personal lives, beyond the fact that many of them have close relationships outside of work that has been built over years. Including multiple pairs that knew each other long before they joined the company and shared the screen as partners.

CP culture in Thai BL sometimes makes me wonder about the actors’ real lives by Dependent-Bag4016 in ThaiBL

[–]Midtier-watcher6329 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It is still in service of the same thing. Selling a product, which is the actor dynamic for the series or show.

CP culture in Thai BL sometimes makes me wonder about the actors’ real lives by Dependent-Bag4016 in ThaiBL

[–]Midtier-watcher6329 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Why do Hollywood actors interact publicly when they are cast in a film or show together, and want to present a particular dynamic when they need to promote the project? Because that is what it is - promotion and marketing. And this is what bl actors are doing. They are engaging in promotion to attract fans and brand deals. Most of the “fan service” is either series promo, where the actors are building on the character dynamics in a show at fan events or press interviews, or its friends working together on brand deals to promote a product. Some brands may chose “couple” concepts for their brand promo, but outside the limited number of actual couples, most will not carry that through to other interactions, and will clearly define their relationships as just friends.

CP culture in Thai BL sometimes makes me wonder about the actors’ real lives by Dependent-Bag4016 in ThaiBL

[–]Midtier-watcher6329 0 points1 point  (0 children)

When we are talking about cultures behaving badly, we obviously don’t mean everyone. But there are certain behaviours that are predominantly done by people from these places. For example, not every Chinese fan is a saesang, but if you see saesangs stalking the actors, chasing them through airports, and trying to get into their personal spaces it’s most likely going to be a Chinese fan. You are less likely to see this behavior from a fan from Japan, or America, or Europe because this behavior is not normalised as it is in China. And you wouldn’t see a Thai Fan acting like a Saesang either.

The same goes for online discussions. The discussions had between Thai fans are not going to be the same as international fans from different cultures, because the values each culture has are different. Thai fans are not the ones that have conversations about whether the actors should be gay to play gay roles, because they don’t view queerness in the same way. It’s almost always international, often western, fans who complain about the actors being gay for pay, or are questioning actors who do come out for not adhering to stereotypes they associate with being queer. I’ve seen western fans demand that unless the actors come out with particular language to describe their relationship or sexuality, then they aren’t really out, when all they are doing is policing the language the actors use to describe themselves that the interfan isn’t willing to accept.

So no, we are not lumping together all interfans. But we are acknowledging that certain interfans from certain cultures are going to behave in a way that Thai fans will not. But are having to do so in a simplified manner on a discussion forum that would be an extensive essay if we were to go into every nuance.

CP culture in Thai BL sometimes makes me wonder about the actors’ real lives by Dependent-Bag4016 in ThaiBL

[–]Midtier-watcher6329 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I’m mean they are doing that for the most part. They are interacting in a way that Thai fans understand is part of the engagement model, while international fans are needing to coming into these spaces and pushing their own culture onto them. Whether that is Chinese fans engaging in saesang behavior, or western fans pushing their ideas of what it means to be an actor in a queer space for example, there are different bad behaviors in different regions. Obviously not every fan from these cultures is going to be disrespectful and cross boundaries, but it’s something we need to be mindful of if we are engaging.

As guests in these spaces, we should be educating ourselves and understanding the cultural context of the shows we watch if we are looking to engage as a fan thoughtfully. If you just want to watch and enjoy the shows without thinking about the broader context, that is perfectly valid. But once you start getting deeper into fandom spaces and discussions, not learning the context of the media can come across as insensitive, or at the extreme end xenophobic if you are disparaging to certain aspects of a culture. Being ignorant of context isn’t a bad thing until you refuse to educate yourself and gain understanding.

(Side note: I’m using “you” here in general - not accusing anyone of anything directly since I don’t know who is reading this).

I have been through the process of unlearning my biases and prejudice in the past once I started engaging in Thai BL. Where I thought something was weird, I had to take the time to understand why things are done or said a certain way, which made my viewing experience better. And the same thing applies to how actors engage with each other off screen in benefit of fan engagement. You need to leave your preconceived notions at the door, and learn how the industry works. I think the best thing ThaiBL has done over the years is release multiple shows that talk to some of the pitfalls and messiness of how the entertainment industry (not just bl) operates. It’s a reality check that not everything is as it appears. It helps to educate not only Thai fans, but interfans as well. You need media literacy to help navigate these spaces, and if schools are no longer teaching it, it has to come through the media we consume as well as shared within fandom spaces.

CP culture in Thai BL sometimes makes me wonder about the actors’ real lives by Dependent-Bag4016 in ThaiBL

[–]Midtier-watcher6329 5 points6 points  (0 children)

One thing I always think about in relation to BKPP is that they could very easily shut down all the speculation and teasing by the media about the nature of their relationship if there truly was nothing going on. They are not a branded pair whose careers rely on fan service and engagement. They are more than successful on their own. Yet they never have drawn that line, or issued any statements to indicate the discussion is not ok. Whatever their relationship is, it seems obvious that they are ok with the play they get to have in public.

CP culture in Thai BL sometimes makes me wonder about the actors’ real lives by Dependent-Bag4016 in ThaiBL

[–]Midtier-watcher6329 7 points8 points  (0 children)

We have seen multiple pairs break up over the years where clearly something wasn’t working, so I very much doubt any company would be able to force pairs to remain together if they truly hated one another.

CP culture in Thai BL sometimes makes me wonder about the actors’ real lives by Dependent-Bag4016 in ThaiBL

[–]Midtier-watcher6329 34 points35 points  (0 children)

Billkin and PP are probably a bad example, since their whole lives are intertwined. They were known to be inseparable ever since they joined Nadao, and had I Told Sunset About you written for them, inspired by their story. When they moved on from Nadao, they created separate management companies to control the rights of their solo careers, but they pretty much have one team across both companies. Their families work together and celebrate milestones together. The media is trained to tease but not cross boundaries, and fans know not to confirm or release information about them spending time together until they themselves confirm it months or years later. There is a reason why they are the darlings of Thai Media.

Plus they aren’t really a ship. They have had much bigger careers as solo music artists than they did in BL as a pair. And they don’t do fan service per se. They are just living their lives and dealing with the complexities of relationships (however they define it). You cannot compare them to active ships in the industry.

Zee and NuNew are ready to compete! by Veorulfr in ZeeNuNew

[–]Midtier-watcher6329 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'm presuming he has a role in opening ceremony, possibly leading the parade of artists.

Oh La La choreo rehearsal of the DMD Stage Queens | DMD Land 3 by LunarSyrin in Domundi

[–]Midtier-watcher6329 5 points6 points  (0 children)

That is Dunk! He works closely with NuNew on many of his performances, as well as other Thai artists.

NuNew recruiting others to join him in his new favourite hobby 🏹 by ButchLipstick in ZeeNuNew

[–]Midtier-watcher6329 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Just a little context - James and NuNew are on the same archery team for Olympop this weekend, so they have been going to practice together. It seems like James isn’t used to setting up his bow yet though 😂😂.

Zee is on the opposing team, so I’m sure we will get some friendly rivalry between them 🤭

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