#bad buddy pa

[do-you-know-this-queer-character]

Do you know this queer character?

Pa is Pansexual and uses she/her pronouns!

[telomeke-bbs]

OUR SKYY 2 x BAD BUDDY x A TALE OF THOUSAND STARS – PA AMONG THE CALLBACKS

So how's everyone doing now that two of the four OS2 x BBS x ATOTS episodes have aired? 🥰 I'm treating this as a four-part miniseries because it's just easier for reference, although the fourth episode may possibly be solely an EarthMix vehicle (but I'm hoping it'll be crossover BBS x ATOTS all the way to the end 😍).

Ep.1 and much of Ep.2 were a really fun romp while Director Aof and his writers laid the groundwork for developments to come, and part of that fun was all the callbacks to the original series, lighting up the screen every time they made reference to scenes, plot points, themes and ideas in BBS and ATOTS.

These were loving gifts to loving fans, recreating some of the beloved originals' magic, while also distracting from the story-seeding going on. Some were visual callbacks, using similar onscreen vocabulary to recreate almost verbatim beloved tableaux from the original series, while others were more abstract, requiring you to think about the reference.

There are far too many to list in entirety (including some up at Pha Pun Dao after the crossover got fully going), but here's a sampling of callbacks to BBS from only OS2xBBSxATOTS Ep.1, that came in thick and fast one after another:

Kicking off the series with Wai, panning upwards from his shoes to his face – the same in both BBS and OS2xBBSxATOTS;

The Archi-Engine face-off at OS2xBBSxATOTS (that isn't quite what it seems) references a similar face-off at BBS Ep.1 [3I4] 7.38;

Louis crashing into Wai with news of Pran's (purported) fight with Pat (OS2xBBSxATOTS Ep.1 [1I4] 3.51) is an inverted replay of Safe crashing into Pran with news of Wai in a fight, that Pran at first thinks is Louis getting into trouble (BBS Ep.1 [1I4] 2.22);

PatPran's discussion behind the red backdrop at OS2xBBSxATOTS Ep.1 [1I4] 5.32 is of course a callback to their reconciliation backstage at the end of BBS Ep.8 (complete with red curtain drop);

Pat going "I signaled you to punch on the left, but you punched on the right" (OS2xBBSxATOTS Ep.1 [1I4] 8.46) of course echoes his "I offered you this cheek, but you punched me on this cheek" (BBS Ep.1 [4/4] 5.14);

Pa interrupting PatPran's kiss (OS2xBBSxATOTS Ep.1 [1I4] 9.45) calls out to BBS Ep.7 [2/4] 10.76 and Ep.7 [4/4] 7.50, and in turn gets called out and captioned by Pran at OS2xBBSxATOTS Ep.1 [1I4] 9.51; 😂

Pat, Pran, Ink and Pa's in-room sukiyaki (OS2xBBSxATOTS Ep.1 [1I4] 10.25) is callback to their hotpot in Tinidee (BBS Ep.9 [2/4] 0.17);

Ink peeling and feeding shrimp to Pa (OS2xBBSxATOTS Ep.1 [1I4] 10.28) is not only a Thai BL trope semi-subverted in its appropriation for GL 🥰, but is also a callback to their hotpot semi-date at BBS Ep.8 [2/4] 0.59.

But really Ink and Pa (especially Pa) turning up with the sukiyaki at OS2xBBSxATOTS Ep.1 [1I4] 9.47 was also a callout to Pa's own treatment as a character in Bad Buddy.

(above) Our Skyy 2 x Bad Buddy x A Tale of Thousand Stars Ep.1 [1I4] 10.04

It bears repeating that Ink as a character in BBS subverted the evil ex-girlfriend trope, turning out to be a supportive bestie instead of vengeance-bent villain. Pa's character also subverted another stereotype, but a lot more subtly.

Pa's line at OS2xBBSxATOTS Ep.1 [1I4] 9.47 especially ("Sukiyaki delivery!") brings us back to all the times she turned up to help her brother and the storyline along in Bad Buddy, usually by providing some help and/or delivering something. A list of examples:

Doing chores for Pat (highlighting his princeling status in the family), including delivering his laundry (Ep.1 [3I4] 2.40);

Driving Pat around in the earlier episodes (more spotlight on Princeling Pat), which then turned into a rescuer role when she and Pat saved Pran from Korn, Mo and Chang (Ep.1 [3I4] 1.49);

Delivering contact lenses (and the gift of clear vision) to Pat at Ink's photoshoot (Ep.4 [2/4] 4.02);

Delivering Pat's ranat ek mallets to him just in time for his audition as Riam (helping to clear the way on the road to PatPran's couplehood, Ep.7 [3I4] 1.38).

The extraneous character, who exists only for exposition and in service of the main couple's storyline, plagues many a BL drama (and this is a fate that falls particularly to any female supporting characters in the cast list, since they're mostly unnecessary to the romantic narrative of a BL, which is romance-driven). Director Aof certainly started off Pa's portrayal looking like she would be destined for a very similar trajectory. But as BBS unfolded, this set-up (like so many others) got rapidly turned on its head, and Pa, just like Ink, got to tell her own story too.

There's more in there than they had time to recount (e.g., Pa's refusal to help Ming in the family business, despite his recognition of her talent there) but most importantly Pa got to play Ink's love interest, iconoclastically breaking so much new ground. In 2023 GL drama is now a thing, and we have InkPa (and Director Aof) to thank for a lot of this.

Ink and Pa also saved Bad Buddy from failing the Bechdel Test, which (it must be said) isn't the best measure for how successful a show is at representing women – it's a rather low bar for that, but shamefully so many shows (especially BL ones) fail it regardless (KinnPorsche comes to mind). But I think BBS passes with flying colors, not least because Ink and Pa's characters were treated with such respect when they could so easily – especially Pa's character – have been given perfunctory template treatment, and turned into cardboard dispensables instead of the believably-rounded characters we got in the final product.

BBS draws a line under this within itself at Ep.5 [2/4] 4.42 when Pa cheekily says "Use a delivery service" with reference to Pat's new drumsticks, because she was not much more than a delivery service herself in the first five episodes, supplying information to aid the unfolding story of PatPran's relationship.

Thus, Pa calling out "Sukiyaki delivery!" in OS2xBBSxATOTS is a reminder of how she was lifted from the usual purgatory of flatly-rendered supporting characters, and given a story arc of her own. Symbolized by her glow-up at the start of BBS Ep.7, Pa was eventually unveiled to us as more than just a colorless wheel in the works, and given her own bit of spotlight as a character worthy of attention in her own right.

Just another example of Director Aof doing something quietly revolutionary within the 12 episodes of BBS! 😍

[girlunionize]

getting a queer vibe from Ink and Pa

[badbuddyingifs]

[blatantprinterpropaganda]

famous last words from the guy who will spend the rest of the series at no point ever playing it cool <3

[zhoufeis]

I have always had my eyes on you. I just wasn't sure how you felt about me. You are... someone with the smiles I only want to keep for myself. | requested by @baifengxis |

BAD BUDDY (2021) แค่เพื่อนครับเพื่อน

[thebvbbletea]

#inkpa (mainly pa) as the most relatable audience + #1 patpran shipper

— Ink & Pa in Our Skyy 2 x ATOTS

[itwoodbeprefect]

meow. meowmeowmeowmeow. meow! 😾

[dimplesandfierceeyes]

BBS Creatober

I know a lot of folks here aren't on Twitter so I thought I'd bring this over for the tumblr Bad Buddy fandom. JosDivine came up with a fun October Bad Buddy prompt fest:

Things are being posted to Twitter and AO3 everyday! If you want to join in or just enjoy the spoils, definitely check it out

[trilliastra]

this screenshot giving

[jimmysea]

#sibling energy at its peak

[pranpats]

pa "man-hater" jindapat

[aylinaliens]

pa: stop looking at me with those eyes...😳 ink: what eyes???🥺☺️

[girlsloveupdates]

[ultfreakme]

Pa throughout the first half of Bad Buddy: Hey Pat, do you like Ink? She's so pretty and talented, she's actually perfect! You should date her. What do you mean you're not sure about your feelings for her she's fucking gorgeous what's wrong with you? You should want to date her. Everyone should.

Pa in the second half of Bad Buddy: .....oh.......OH

[gingermintpepper]

"Man Ginger, why don't you like doing lineart for things?"

BECAUSE IT TAKES TOO LONG AAA

Art for me is usually more about getting the broad strokes of an idea out so I can more easily visualise it when writing/planning. This, unfortunately, does tend to clash with my innate need to be good at the things that are important to me but I think I've gotten better about embracing the 'messiness' of my style over the years.

That said, LOOK AT THIS HYAPOLLO WIP I'M WORKING ON?? POLLIE'S COMING OUT SO GOOD LIKE??

I usually describe Apollo-as-Agreus (Agreus is the name he takes on while he's mingling with the mortalfolk) as having gold-brown hair both because he born a brunet in my story and because the word 'xanthos' in and of itself implies something that encompasses an entire spectrum from true-blond to auburn? My visual shorthand for this has been to just have Agreus' hair be a duller blond than the sunstreaked cloud colour of Apollo's more divine hair but MAN I was NOT expecting to love properly attempting to represent Agreus' hair this much! Ugh, I'm so excited to finish colouring this set of images!!!