I'm totally not learning Thai because of BL

I like BL, FIGHT ME

[verysinglepieceofbread]

you can tell that gmmtv truly aims only friends at adult target audience. not by porn, by both mew and ray groaning while sitting down on the couch

[lalalovesbl]

Sadhu

[lalalovesbl]

I stand corrected!

[kinnbig]

the Only Friends kiss circle is complete - Sand kissed Ray, Ray kissed Mew, Mew kissed Top, Top kissed Boston, Boston kissed Nick, and Nick kissed Sand 😵‍💫

- inspired by this post by @happylovelyarmy

[victorialovesstiles]

Why I think Ray suggests threesomes to get Sand to actively choose him over others, an unnecessary analysis:

Sand is actually the first one to mention threesomes when Ray interrupts his date with Amm. I actually don’t think Ray was suggesting anything sexual when he invited them over to swim and drink, he just didn’t want to be alone:

But Sand drags him to the side and questions his motives:

Sand isn’t interested in a threesome. Once Ray convinces Sand to hang out with him, we see Sand send Amm on her way. And we spot a very smug Ray on her way out:

Ray learned two things here - 1) Sand doesn’t want to share and 2) Sand was interested enough in Ray to want to be alone with him.

There was no reason at this point that Amm couldn’t have come with them just to hang out, Ray didn’t seem to mind. So that told Ray that Sand was at least somewhat attracted to him - and attracted enough for Ray to be chosen over a one night stand.

-

Moving on to Ray’s jealousy. The next time he suggests a threesome is with Mr. Freddie at the Halloween party:

This is a clear attempt to break any chance of a hookup taking place, clearly not a real proposition. He wants to make the two uncomfortable and probably hopes that Sand will behave the same way he did before - as in wanting nothing to do with a threesome and pushing the extra party away.

Here Mr. Freddie removes himself from the situation, but I think Ray’s intentions are clear. And we get another parallel with Ray’s smug look at Mr. Freddie as he leaves:

-

Lastly, we have the camper with Nick. This one is especially funny because of how uncalled for and out of the blue the suggestion is… it’s the middle of the night, Sand and Nick had been asleep, they’d also made it clear to Ray that they were NOT hooking up.

Yet, Ray still asks them for a threesome after pushing his way between the two:

The juxtaposition of suggesting a threesome and then immediately turning your back to and freezing out the third party cannot be ignored:

It was clear this was another attempt by Ray to get Sand to choose him. Even though it was unnecessary to do so in this moment.

-

In short, Ray is a big baby who doesn’t like to share but uses the fact that Sand doesn’t like to share to push the right buttons to get the outcome he wants:

[lalalovesbl]

Loved this! My friend and I keep saying "What is he going to do if one day Sand says yes?" but I think we both know deep down that Sand will never say yes. I think even if for some bizzaro reason Sand did say Yes, Ray would absolutely back peddle by saying "Are you serious? I was joking."

[namjoomwillz]

No no no. The problem with Boston is not that he sleeps around. Nothing wrong with promiscuity...do you dude. The problem is that he does shitty things without even giving two fucks about how it will affect others.

You can't have healthy and genuine relationships with others if you do not have empathy towards them. Otherwise their just a means to an end. That's not love. That's not friendship. That's not care.

[lalalovesbl]

I 100% agree with this. My issue has never been that Boston likes getting his dick wet, it's that he steps on others to get what he wants. In this way I see a parallel with him and Ray. Ray wants what he wants and he doesn't really see a problem with how his behavior affects people. He has more empathy than Boston but I don't consider him better.

I also want to point out that Boston is fairly honest with people about what he wants. He doesn't promise love or even another time. He lays his expectations out and it really is beyond his control how others act.

The situation with Atom is a prime example. Atom knows Boston. He knows his reputation. He knows Boston's expectations but has convinced himself that he can change him. Is Boston overly cold to him? Yes. Is it because he doesn't want to raise Atom's expectations? Yes. He sees the puppy dog in him and drops him cold turkey. The opposite end of the spectrum is Nick. Nick loves him but doesn't want to change him. He's never asked for Boston's love. He's just one-sidedly loved him and let Boston continue to be himself. Was he holding out hope that if he stayed with Boston long enough they would become exclusive and eventually a couple? Probably.

But I have to say, Boston's actions with Nick gave him that false sense of hope. He didn't let him escape and even weaponized Nick's feelings against him. Using the love he knew Nick had for him to keep him around. Was it because he had feelings for him too and didn't know how to deal with it or, because he liked the comfort of having a reliable partner without the hassle of dating someone? Only time will tell.

GOD I LOVE THIS SHOW

[lalalovesbl]

Why I don’t think Boeing is Sand’s ex: AKA An insane plot to convince myself that Mix is still Sand’s ex.

In before I’m proven wrong but I just want to put this out there.

Part of this is Delulu but, I don’t think Boeing is Sand’s ex.

Point 1: Style/Type

Now unless Boeing has pulled a Nick and is dressing like Top in an effort to somehow seduce Top, From what we know about Sand, he doesn’t seem like his type. That’s not to say that Boeing wasn’t his type at one point and he didn’t want to be with anyone like that anymore but, Boeing seems like Top 2.0 and perhaps they have remained friends after breaking up because they are a lot alike. Sand coming from his somewhat rough background doesn’t seem to rub shoulders with the upper class that much. Granted we don’t know anything about Boeing yet but he seems to be well off enough given his clothing. In contrast, Sand is a rough around the edges intense guy. He also speaks his mind. If Ray and Boeing had any similarities given their financial background, I feel like Sand would have brought it up. Saying something along the lines of “Your kind blah blah blah” he does call him out for being a rich boy that throws around money but he doesn’t draw any parallels between the two.

Again, this part of the theory hangs on the fact that Boeing is in the upper class like Top and hasn’t changed himself for Top.

Point 2: Contact

In episode 6, when Sand and Top meet at the hospital, he attempts to “bury the hatchet” with Sand and tells him he no longer is in contact with Sand’s ex

While Top isn’t above lying, volunteering this information seems weird unless he’s trying to hide it from Mew. At this point he doesn’t see Mew and Sand interacting much (truthfully they don’t interact). So stating he doesn’t keep contact with Sand’s ex is a weird flex. However, it seems he has kept in contact with Boeing. He states that Boeing has a key to the condo, and seemingly calls him on nights when he can’t sleep and doesn’t want to take pills. I assume so he can sleep next to someone.

To play the devil’s advocate for my own theory. This isn’t to say that he isn’t lying to Sand in an effort to keep the peace or even that he has recently reached out to Boeing after a long period of Non-contact. The two seem to be on friendly terms.

Point 3: Relationship

While we don’t know the nature of Boeing and Top’s relationship other than he’s his ex, the question remains. “Why did they break up and why are they still friends?” Top stole Sand’s ex for what? Was it just a one night stand? Did they have a relationship? Given Top’s nonchalant attitude about Sand’s ex, I’m lead to believe that Sand’s ex was a conquest that once he won, cast them aside. If Sand’s ex and Boeing are the same person, he has too much attachment to Boeing to have been a person he dumped after winning over. Whatever their relationship is, he willing to lie about it to Mew. Also, if Top had stolen Boeing away just to dump him either his relationship with Sand was bad and he was looking for a way out, he realized he couldn’t go back to Sand and just let it be, or he still pines for Top.

Again to play my own devil’s advocate, Sand doesn’t seem all that bothered by cheating. He’s with Ray who is basically cheating on Mew with him. Be it that he knows Ray is going through figuring out his feelings or because he’s in too deep with Ray, he doesn’t push him away because of the cheating, but rather because he doesn’t want to be Ray’s back up. So I feel that his anger at Top over his ex is because Top made a concerted effort to steal him away knowing he had a boyfriend. Which seems like a lot of effort if you’re just gonna turn around and dump them but remain friends. But, it’s possible they couldn’t work it out after the novelty of the situation wore off.

In conclusion. I feel like there isn’t enough evidence pointing to the fact that Boeing is Sand’s ex. I could be wrong and have Delulu blinders on but, Not enough adds up to me. We don’t know where Boeing and Sand met if they are indeed exes. It could be school, it could be the club, it could even be through his work as a moonshiner. I guess we’ll know this coming Saturday.

Anyways, Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.

[shuyis]

only friends + incorrect quotes

[lalalovesbl]

The fact that I knew where the skit was from made me proud also WHY DOES IT FIT SO WELL?

[djeterg19]

I want to know how Ray knows about sex in the dark room

[lalalovesbl]

THIS THIS THIS

I was internally screaming when he started talking about the dark room. He does mention that Boston often tells him in detail about his exploits but, something about the way he says it, it’s personal.

[absolutebl]

Genuine Question: Given how much people hate problematic topics in BL eg: kp, mame, love syndrome, etc. why is everyone so damn excited about Only Friends? Like we know nothing about the show. It's GMMTV so how sexy is it going to get? you know, like it's GMMTV. I like the cast as much as anyone and particularly FirstKhao but I don't see this 'sexiness' everyone is going so crazy over? Is it some bts thing like I know the director is jojo and he's gay. Is that why everyone so excited? Is it because we just haven't gotten anything really brilliant this year that gets the whole BL fandom together and that's why people are hoping this will, is that what's going on? I like everyone involved well enough but 'sexy', 'crazy', 'problematic', 'high heat'... I don't get it.

Only Friends & Jojo

Genuine answer.

Okay so this question got me invested enough to get off the phone, over to the laptop, and onto hotel wifi, which means typos rather than dictation homophones, but there it is.

I guess what I am saying it...

mistakes will be made

From the tenor of your question methinks you have not watched Friend Zone? It's a 2 part series. Mostly messy hets but...

Also a TON of broad spectrum queer rep (lesbian, bi, ace, demi). Real queers, not sanitized for straight consumption.

Because yeah, GMMTV will get messy and go into higher heat levels in a late night way (not in a KP way).

But actually what has most people excited about Only Friends is it being sourced in this man:

Jojo Tichakorn Phukhaotong

Jojo is a screenwriter (originals) and director, openly gay, multifaceted and a little experimental, naturally talented (on the job trained - he's an archaeologist originally), and he is behind:

The Warp Effect, Friend Zone and MOST importantly (IMHO)...

3 Will Be Free

There are others too, but for the purposes of this post, those are the 3 that count. I think of him a little as the GMMTV director version of Ohm's acting.

Jojo specializes in:

ensemble pieces,

good chemistry (NOT necessarily high heat, so by this I mean actor chemistry with each other all around - couples, cast, team, production)

working with and finding actors within GMMTV's stable who work well together (even if that means busting up a pair),

a queer lens,

queer rep,

and often very messy story (as in he is not invested in the traditional beats of a romance, let alone a BL).

AND he can shoot action (this is a specific skill set for directors and it's NOT easy),

thus he will shoot his sex/intimacy & COMEDY scenes as if they WERE action sequences.

This makes his stuff particularly exciting to watch. It's dynamic, there's a lot of movement, the eye is caught and dragged places. He doesn't use dirty/peekaboo framing or central aperture or manga style (not with INTENT the way trained directors do). In fact he does none of those things I harp on about because I like the romance stuff.

He's not being clever with us. He's being honest, but still applying skill. His stuff not quite raw, but also not really directed. You can tell he gives his actors a script, throws them together and then instructs them to just BE THOSE CHARACTERS. He has a light touch, he trusts them. He's not fussy or nit-picky. He's not doing a million takes to get that sene exactly how he envisions it. His ensemble pieces are just that, group projects.

His eye is wide, even for intimacy, by which I mean: he controls and watches for multiple actors at once when there are a lot of them on screen together, without them feeling stiff.

His style is quite organic but not too gritty.

Struggling to understand what I mean?

For example, watch a Jojo "group of friends chatting" scene where everyone is just standing around then watch the same thing in, say, SCOY. You'll see what I mean. SCOY is also a very queer ensemble piece, but it will feel quite stiff, unnatural, and "planned" (staged) by comparison.

For the giffers out there you might notice that Jojo's stuff is particularly difficult to gif cleanly? This is why.

I find him an exciting director. I didn't cover him in my directors overview because at the time he hadn't done much BL (and frankly, he still hasn't). It's not his focus.

I think Only Friends is actually not likely to be very BL. Queer = yes, BL = NO. He won't hit the tropes and there is no reason to assume it will end happily for all couples (if any). That's not Jojo's point of view.

He doesn't play our game. As a result, some of those excited by the idea of this show (or excited the general enthusiasm & anticipation around it), may be doomed to disappointment.

It's one of the reasons you don't see me getting excited about it.

I'm a fan of specifically the fluffy side of BL, this will NOT be that. And I can appreciate a director without necessarily liking the stories he tells.

I am industry enough to acknowledge Jojo's skill (and I LOVE 3 Will Be Free - just not as a BL), but I don't always like his narratives. No matter how good he is, his stuff is not why I personally watch Thai BL.

It's GMMTV, so how sexy is it going to get?

Again, see Friend Zone. GMMTV has a late night pantheon, mostly for het, but they will get salacious. Lots of cheating and terrible decisions. There will be no archetypes. Characters will exist in grey areas, even the "good" characters. There will be no paladins in this show. No seme/uke.

To answer this frankly?

Only Friends will get soap opera or telenovella sexy but no more. So we will be in Midnight Chicken territory, not Bed Friends.

I think the words being bandied about:

'sexy', 'crazy', 'problematic', 'high heat'

are used here on tumblr (and in fandom) as an attempt to articulate expectations set up by Jojo's style.

Most viewers only react emotionally to the tenor of a director with this set of skills. That's fine, that's what the production company wants: A visceral emotional reaction.

But I hope I've managed to clarify from a film-critic perspective what's bringing this sensation about?

But ALSO seeing a bunch of, essentially, lower heat pure BL pairs, have to push themselves into messy queer spaces? (Notice GMMTV only let the more established actors into this one? No JoongDunk, no GeminiFourth)

This is probably really what everyone is excited about.

They are gonna see their favorites cheat, sleep around, be gay (not BL gay, but actual gay). Some are legitimately excited about this, some are shipper excited, and the BL-stans who don't know Jojo are doomed to disappointment.

I'm mostly excited by how messy this is gonna make the fandom.

Su su na.

(source)

[lalalovesbl]

I loved all of this. I want to add that Jojo is telling stories about individuals, not couples. These people are going to be in couples but we are learning about them as individuals. In only 2 episodes we’ve already established some important aspects of each character.

Sand can be manipulated, Boston isn’t above cheating in all senses of the word, Mew isn’t as naive as everyone assumes, Top has PTSD, Ray is trying to drink his problems away, Nick is the kind of person that lets others control him. All of these are real characteristics of people. These characters lives are shaped by these aspects but they aren’t all laid out to bare, instead they all bubble under the surface. Because that’s how people are.

It’s not “raw” it’s not “pessimistic” it’s people living their lives with hurdles. Its relationships that are complex because people are complex. It’s what I liked about Moonlight Chicken. Love isn’t always happy. It can be suffering. That’s what I feel Jojo is trying to bring to the table. It’s something people that “skipped the Jim and Wen story because it was depressing” are not going to understand.

I also find it refreshing that it’s a spectrum of LGBTQ+. No one is the “model” gay here. No weird “reluctant to accept he likes dudes- bottom” or “seems straight but is comfortably gay for this one guy-top” tropes that make me roll my eyes. In general I feel like the industry is moving away from these tropes but not fast enough for my tastes. Instead we have a mixed cast. We got lesbians, we got at least one bisexual, a switch, and in the expanded cast we have Jenny and her BF giving trans representation.

I talk up OF and we only have two episodes but, already it’s crammed with so much going on that I am excited for what’s next. It still has a lot of room to fail. But I feel like there is a lot of lovely mess I can’t wait to get through.

[gunsatthaphan]

"thank you for coming into my life."

[lalalovesbl]

The fwapping Joke is gonna do when he gets back to his room…

[thasorns-moved]

I was prepared for everything but not for this, not for him!!!

[lalalovesbl]

I screamed so hard. I too was not prepared for Drake and his eyebrows to make an appearance. Bless this day.

[kit-teung]

since drake's cameo character on only friends didn't get a name i'm choosing to believe that was korn

[lalalovesbl]

*WHEEZE*