#but pat also needs pran at the end of the day

[kornswasianguyswag]

Thank you - Dido

a small patpran drawing

[lurkingshan]

Rose's Day of Asks

Top 5 QL couples that you think can truly have a HEA?

Have a great Day💜

Oh hi Rose! I would be honored to participate. This is a great question because there are not actually that many qls where I end the show convinced the couple will stay together for the long haul, either because the characters are very young, the relationship problems are not entirely addressed, I don't fully believe in their bond, or I picture the characters changing in a way that is not compatible. There are a handful that I have a hard time imagining ever breaking up, though.

Pat and Pran, Bad Buddy

After everything these two went through to be together and, crucially, stay together? Ain't no way. They've already survived being forced to compete with each other, feuding friends and families, years-long separation, long distance, and plenty of serious conflicts both with each other and with threats external to the relationship. They will survive the rest and live together through it all.

Kasuga and Nomoto, TsukuTabe

It took them so long to find each other, and now that they have you can bet they will be sticking together. These two are so well matched, and they each provide something the other needs, both where food and emotion are concerned. Nomoto is kind and curious and Kasuga is steady as a rock. They decided to move in together before they even kissed (the u-haul lesbian jokes write themselves). I can easily picture them still sitting at that table eating together in 40 years.

Payu and Rain, Love in the Air

These two are so young, but this is a situation of two perfectly suited people finding each other at an improbably early age. It's rare, but it happens! They are not only a perfect match for each other sexually, but their personalities are also very-well suited. Payu needs to direct his care taking energy to someone who wants it, and Rain needs someone to give him attention, motivation and focus. They give each other a lot of joy and you can feel how happy they are whenever they're together. They will have a long life together pushing each other to succeed and discovering new kinks.

Baram and Hantae, Sing My Crush

These two have been devoted to each other since the day they met. They love each other and they like each other and I can't imagine either of them wanting to be with anyone else. Even if Han Baram's music career takes off, he will be bringing Im Hantae along with him.

Achi and Karan, Cherry Magic Thailand

They are husbands! And even if they weren't, I would like to see you try to pry Karan away from Achi. This one is interesting because we have multiple adaptations of this particular story, but for me Karan and Achi are the pair I believe in the most. Achi really put in the work to learn how to communicate and reciprocate Karan's affections, and their bond with each other feels mutual and rock solid. They're going to have a long and happy life together and be that sickeningly sweet married couple everyone else rolls their eyes about (except for Pai, she will be in the background swooning).

[shortpplfedup]

Horrite time to get cancelled...

I loved Our Skyy x Bad Buddy x A Tale of Thousand Stars from start to finish. Yes, even the third episode. In fact, especially the third episode. And that's because Aof may have a flair for the dramatic, and he and his room might sometimes write themselves a little bit into a corner, but it's always in service of a point that he feels compelled to make. Aof doesn't go in for 'right' he goes in for 'real' and it can be hard to accept sometimes the ideas he treats with optimism vs the ones he treats with realism. Aof is very deliberate and specific in the stories he wants to tell, and they're not always satisfying. And nowhere has he leaned into that dissatisfaction more than in Bad Buddy. Pat and Pran are caught in a frustrating situation, and Aof has consistently refused to shy away from that for the sake of a traditional happy ending. Aof's major thesis with these two has always been 'love, despite everything'.

The big 'everything' in the Bad Buddy story refers to the parents, but things with the parents have offshoots and consequences for how Pat and Pran's relationship functions, both in the macro sense, in the continued need to hide, and in the micro sense, in the fact that really, truly, only one of them is hiding. Because Pat? Does not give a shit about Ming. Like TRULY. We see here that Ming is not one of his considerations, and even when asked to consider him, the distance that has grown in their relationship is such that where Ming previously was all up in Pat's business, now he doesn't even look because he doesn't want to know. In a way, Ming has accepted Pat and Pran's relationship by resolutely looking away from them. He has lost face entirely and the only solution to that is to pretend it isn't happening, which suits Pat just fine.

Dissaya though...well that's different isn't it. They are really in this closet, Pat is really in this closet for the sake of Pran's relationship with his mother. Pat and Pran's relationship is inherently unbalanced, because the compromise that Pat has made, the sacrifice he has made, is something Pran can never really make up to him. As I said to the clowns: Pran could give in to Pat every day, on everything, for the rest of their lives, and those scales would still never balance out. All Pran can do is accept Pat's sacrifice for the love it is, and love Pat back as hard as he can and hope they never regret it. And so, are they really going to fight about this? Is this really going to be an issue for them? Well...no. Are they going to get into their feelings about it from time to time? Absolutely. And then they're gonna fuck their way through that, because they're them, and they decided when they got into this that it was going to be for life, and there's really nothing else to be done in this situation but get over it.

Also I consider that this particular spat that Pat and Pran are having is only notionally about their relationship, but largely about Pran coming to a resolution about how large he wants to let Dissaya loom in his life, and thus will only scratch the surface because it's the beginning of a story we won't really see that ends up with Pran in Singapore. Pran is deeply contemplating Pat's oddly piercing words about his ability to stand on his own. Because one of the reasons that Pat has to make this compromise and stay in the closet is that Pran depends, in so many ways, on his mom. Dissaya is at the centre of his life. And I think this trip, and this fight, gets Pran to start the process of moving Pat into that spot instead. In the fourth episode, him saying that Dissaya is ok with the play because she knows it's just a play... I highly doubt that, but really, what is she going to do about it at this point? What can she do? Pran's too grown to send him away, and she knows what happened last time she tried to intervene, she nearly lost her kid. She'll tell herself what she needs to, and Pran will continue to shift the balance of his priorities from her needs to Pat's. It's that thing about leaving your parents and cleaving to your partner. If Pran can get to a place where he is independent, then he can give Pat back the openness that makes him happy, and maybe that can finally bring some balance. But we know that day is far off for them, beyond even what we've seen. All Pran can give Pat now is the promise that 'I can't live without you either'.

When it comes to these two, Aof is never going to give us the ease in the heart that we crave, because they don't have that ease either. Instead, we will get snatched moments, because that's what they get. We will get uncomfortable compromises, because that's what they get. We will get occasionally hurt feelings, because that's what they get. And we will get love, despite everything, because that's what they do. Yes it's unsatisfying. But I'd argue it's meant to be. The thing is here again: are you here for a ship or a story? And if you're here for a story, are you prepared for it to be an inherently sad and frustrating one, but that still has joy threaded throughout?

Man that leads me to so many thoughts about why juxtaposing this story with Tian and Phupha's works gangbusters, but I think that's a separate post.

[pokomumee]

Here’s a PatPran brain vomit no one asked for:

*******

**Pat**

Pat doesn’t think he knows exactly when or how he fell for Pran. Even now, years and years later, he wouldn’t be able to tell you what it was that made him realize that the boy he’d been told to hate all his life is the one for him.

Pa would still make fun of him about how it was her ‘guide-to-know-if-someone-is-into-you-in-4-steps’, which was in fact meant for Ink, that led Pat to realize his feeling for Pran. She even told Pran about it, the little shit. He’d almost kill her, but then Pat really does love his little sister, so. Pran made the most incredulous face and laughed it off, though he would still bring it up sometimes when he wants to drive home the point that Pat is the clueless idiot in their relationship. Which, there’s actually never really any need to drive home that point, Pat already knows, okay?

In his defense, Pran also has not told him in so many words about how and when he fell for Pat either. However, because they have been together for almost a decade now, he has an inkling that Pran realized his feelings for Pat way earlier than him. Like, way, way earlier, maybe even before he was shipped away to boarding school (the dark age of Pat’s life, now that he looks back on it). Pran never confirms nor denies this hypothesis of his, but. Like he said, he has an inkling.

The fact that Pat never noticed anything until that fateful night on the rooftop when Pran asked him if he wants them to be ‘friends’, that single tear rolling down his cheek, the most beautiful thing Pat’d ever seen in his 18 years on the Planet…well, he knows, okay? He’s the clueless idiot, he knows. Every time Pat thinks about how much his cluelessness must have hurt Pran, his heart would clench up with so much guilt he wants to introduce his head to the nearest brick wall, multiple brick walls if they were readily available, one wall would never be enough.

So, yes, Pat tries not to think about when or how Pran fell for him, which might be the reason he finds himself wondering instead about when and how he fell for Pran. He thinks it might also be because their 10-year-anniversary is coming up, although to be completely honest with you, as a couple they still cannot agree on when the start of their relationship actually was. Pran says it should be the day Pat showed up unannounced to surprise him as Riam at the architecture play practice when everything became official. Pat thinks it should actually be when the bet started because, really, who were they even trying to kid? Anyhow, he guesses there’s the first clue as to how he may never find out when the actual moment of his falling for Pran was.

*******

Pat’s life had always revolved around Pran from the very beginning, arguably even before his life started, if their mothers fighting over which of their sons would have the prettier girlfriend while they were still fetuses count. How the sons in question end up with each other instead of a pretty girl is most certainly the Universe’s middle finger to both their families for being so petty, but he digresses. Pat maybe clueless but he is aware that he’d always held a myriad of strong, no, vicious feelings towards the boy next door. Pat has never claimed to be an analytical type (that’s all Pran) and has always gone with his instincts, so obviously, he wouldn’t have any idea if one of those feelings were attraction, infatuation, love or just…some other visceral emotions. There were too many candidates, okay? Go look up the Emotion Wheel, go on, Pat will wait.

For some time, Pat was convinced the moment he fell for Pran was the moment in the music shop after the fiasco that was his and Pa’s attempt at testing out her 4-step-rule on Ink. In hindsight, though, that was possibly just the moment his feelings toward Pran became apparent to himself. And by apparent, Pat means too uncomfortable not to notice. He even thought at first that what he was feeling that day was frustration he felt towards not getting through to Ink. But then he realized that his eyes never really fallowed Ink, and his heart was definitely never with her after they’d reconnected in university. He really did crush on her in high school, sure, he wouldn’t deny that. However, the second time around, Ink was somehow a welcomed distraction from the real sight his eyes were wont to follow, the topic his brain kept switching to, and the person who made his heart feel that little bit off kilter on the daily.

It should have been pretty straight forward what those feelings were if it wasn’t Pran who was at the center of all the muddled pool of events and emotions. Pran who’d always been at the center of most, if not all, of Pat’s life-defining events and the object of Pat’s obsession for the entirety of his life. How was Pat supposed to distinguish attraction from the sea of everything he held inside of himself for that boy. Even Pran’s dimples were confusing to him, for crying out loud. Pran’s door hanger made it a little easier to gauge his mood, but not by much.

Pran was an enigma, the ultimate differential equation Pat had to solve. He just couldn’t figure out for the life of him why. Pat did ask himself whether it’d always been this way even before. And it wasn’t. He can’t say for sure, but for now, at least, he doesn’t think so. He thinks back on it and resolves that it was most likely because before Pran was pulled out of their high school and Pat’s life, Pran’d always been a constant. Pat’d never consider the possibility that Pran would one day disappear in the same vein that he thought Pa would always be in his life. So, in his defense, it’s only logical that Pat’d feel differently about Pran after, even though he did not understand why, alright?

So, yes, Pat doesn’t know and probably will never know for sure so he'd just have to make a decision, and he decides that the moment he fell for Pran was going to be when Pran kicked him in the chest, right over his beating heart. It’s totally and aptly poetic, really. Because that’s when Pran walked back into his life and everything changed.

Like he said, Pat’s well aware he’d always felt strong emotions towards Pran. But that’s just how he was raised, how they were raised. Pat was made to be in tune with Pran, the boy whose bedroom was across from his but he was forbidden to talk to, but then climbed over to sneak inside uninvited more times than he can count anyway. Pran’s every achievements were also the milestones of Pat’s very own life. From the first time his baby self uttered the word ‘Ma’ to that moment Pran was whisked away right before his eyes, in the middle of their song, from their very first stage together. Talk about being dramatic.

His high school years thereafter were not miserable by any means, if he were to be honest. But something fundamentally changed within him when Pran went away. Pat was expectedly and obviously clueless to that change inside of him, it’s the running theme of his life, he supposes. But then everything started to feel dull, like he was looking at the world through a tinted glass; the sceneries became monotonous, boring. He did not realize this until the moment the words came out of his own mouth that night on the rooftop, but yeah, he felt depressingly lonely without Pran. His grades, and even sports performances, started suffering for a while, just because he stopped trying or even caring. It wasn’t fun anymore to excel in everything if Pran wasn’t there for him to compete with. But of course, his Dad wouldn’t let him slack off, so Pat got back on track to becoming the golden boy that he was, but. Nothing was ever the same.

There’d also been this simmering rage inside of him since Pran went away. Pat thought it was normal back then. After all, he was just another hot headed teenager, hormones and all. And he was never violent or anything like that. It was just…he felt on edge all the time. There was always an urge to lash out at something. A little pit of smoldering coal inside his chest, black and ugly, not erupting into flames yet refused to ever be put out. He didn’t know what it was, but looking back he was probably angry at…at what?…his and Pran’s parents? the Universe? for taking Pran away, maybe. Now that Pat thinks about it, though, he was probably mostly angry at himself for not being able to do anything about it. So yeah, he got himself into more and more fights, usually for valid causes, albeit sometimes only vaguely. He’d never actually got himself into serious trouble; he was clueless, not stupid. However, Pat was on a trajectory…and it wasn’t a pleasant one. He isn’t sure where or what he was heading towards, luckily he didn’t have to find out.

Pran walked back into his life, and by walk, Pat means running in with a flying kick to his chest, shocking his heart into beating properly again. The simmering rage gradually dissipated, and Pat stopped feeling like he wanted to punch someone or something for no reason all the time. Except for Wai, yes, but that was totally reasonable.  Even Wai would agree.  Maybe not. But you get the picture

Pat still remembers the moment he got up from the ground, clutching at his chest and saw Pran standing there. Suddenly memories of his life with Pran came pouring back. You know how people who’s gone through near-death experiences say their lives flash before their eyes? It was like that, only Pat felt the opposite of dying. His senses were at once on high alert. Alive. Pran was back. He was here. And no one has ever been able to keep Pat on his toes like Pran did. Ever. So Pat isn’t dramatizing the event of that day or anything. But even if he did, this was the moment he fell for the love of his life, he can be as dramatic as he likes, okay?

[dribs-and-drabbles]

Colours in Our Skyy 2 Bad Buddy ep 1

I was nervous in the run up to the Our Skyy 2 eps, not least to see what Aof and the team were going to do with our beloved characters and their stories, but also to see if the colours I had interpreted during the series stayed consistent.

And after two out of three (four?) episodes, I think they are.

In ep 1, right off the bat Pat's Blue and Pran's Red make an appearance...but the faculty jackets lend themselves to offering consistency here (the photo makes the blue look black but they are a dark blue).

But as soon as the action shifts to the auditorium, we can see Pat and Pran's world is full of blue and red. The red curtain is a big part of this but look at the array of random blue and red objects in the room...some of which also move into a different spot later.

Pat and Pran quite rightly (and as others have already pointed out) exchange their colours in the early part of the ep. I thought it was interesting that they didn't feel like they needed to hide their...friendship...to Ajan Pichai - the senior who Ming could quite easily hear about them from - not reacting at all to him seeing Pat's arm around Pran.

More blue and red pairings are seen in Pran's shirt and the ice pack (which I pointed out in my addition to @grapejuicegay's post that Pran is 'icing' the same shoulder that he hurt in BBS ep 1 when Pat had the bruised cheek even though Pran didn't get hurt this time round), in Ink and Pa's outfits (the pic is a bit blurry but I wanted to show Pa's red handbag - I really wish I could see what was written on her top), and in the Hightem meeting room. (Note also that Pa carries a tote bag which has orange and lime green - their colours).

Pops of blue and red also inhabit Ajan Pichai's office (the plaque, book, flowers, even the pens!) but I want to draw your attention to Pichai's shirt - a dark/olive green - a colour for 'bad' things (conflict, an obstacle to Pat and Pran's happiness etc) - and we see Pichai pit them against each other rather than choose between them to end the argument, thus causing them further problems.

Later, Pichai wears a lighter shirt...which could be labelled as light blue, grey, or a light mint...but regardless, he accepts the end to the auditorium dispute and unknowingly sets up an opportunity for Pat and Pran to have some couple-time alone up north. This is also when he sees Pat with his arm around Pran, so perhaps it also shows his silent support of their...friendship.

Back to the dark green and it's also on the tent in Pat and Pran's apartment, so it's no surprise that things go wrong for Pat when he comes back and thinks Wai is Pran. (Note also the orange...but I'll talk about that in ep 2's post 😏)

But on to yellow - the colour that seems to symbolise Pat and Pran's love and happiness - and I thought it was a nice touch to have Korn pick out the broom with the yellow handle and then be thankful for Pat and Pran and tell Wai he loved him. Yellow was also in the cushions that Pat and Pran (and Wai in the morning) laid on when they had their Soft™ lovely-dovey moment, and it was heartbreaking to see Pran had changed into a yellow t-shirt to go and find Pat before their second 'honeymoon' trip only for him to hear Pat exaggeratedly badmouthing him.

And finally brown - a colour that seems to represent sacrifice, submission, or yielding - and we see it first on Korn as he tricks Pat into drinking with them. Pat then yields to peer pressure and ends up staying longer and drinking much more than he originally planned. That choice ultimately meant he sacrificed his opportunity to go to Pha Pun Dao with Pran the next day. Pat, also already having to sacrifice an open relationship with Pran because of their family situation, is somewhat forced to speak bad of Pran to hide their relationship causing a conflict between him and Pran who overhears him from outside.

The next day, Pran sets off for Pha Pun Dao alone, wearing a brown jacket (and an orange t-shirt which I will also talk about in ep 2's post). He sacrifices the companionship of Pat in order to show he can do things without him (and is ultimately glad when Pat turns up even if he doesn't show it well) but also has to sacrifice his dignity in the process when he has to walk to the village after the jeep breaks down. And if it weren't for the fact that it was another expected and delicious parallel, the olive-green of the jeep was a clear give-away that Pran was about to suffer in this.

Lastly, I'll just mention Pat and Pran's backpacks - teal and mint green respectively - the colours which seemed to symbolise Pat and Pran's union as a couple (I couldn't think of a better way to put it 🤭). They were supposed to go on this trip together, to have a second 'honeymoon' where they could be together freely...but despite being apart, they're still carrying/keeping their unity with them. Note also that Pat is shrouded in yellow (on his socks as well!) when he's trying to show his love for Pran and return them to a happier place, albeit unsuccessfully.

[ep 1] [ep 2] [ep 3] [ep 4] (<- I'm being hopeful)

[respectthepetty]

Hi!!!

I haven’t even fully watched Last Twilight (I think I’m on episode 2 lol) but I’ve kept up with all the gifs and metas and let me say I am ANGRY at Day after the snippets I’ve gotten on tumblr about breaking up with Mhork. I hope they don’t get back together in episode 12 because let’s be real, that boy deserves better!!! I hope Day realizes his mistake but it’s too late because he hurt Mhork so deeply. Mhork literally gave Day his heart and soul and explained all of his raw trauma and then Day threw it on the ground and stomped on it just because of his own insecurities!!! I’m so angry I don’t think I’m going to enjoy actually watching the show because I’m just going to be glaring at Day the whole time. I hope Mhork goes to Hawaii and finds happiness and Day reflects on his life 😤

-MA

MA, I can't encourage you to finish it or not. That's not my style. But I know Aof deserves my watch. He has given me great show after great show and all have featured excellent queer stories. Not only has he written some of these shows, he has directed them as well as produced even more!

I respect Aof.

Which is why even though Only Friends is in Petty Prison and I hated it unlike others who greatly enjoyed it, I finished it because Jojo, much like Aof, has given me so many other great watching experiences like The Warp Effect and 3 Will Be Free. Because what is one bad moment in the grand scheme of Jojo's career or Aof's outstanding career?

And here is the other thing:

I hated Bad Buddy.

Which was also from Aof. I hated it while watching it when Pat was shot on Christmas Eve. I hated when it was done because of that "breakup" at the end of episode 11 and the continued ruse in episode 12 even though the audience had been in on all their shenanigans up until that point. I hated that it was paired with Aof's masterpiece A Tale of Thousand Stars in the Our Skyy installments just so I would have to see Pat and Pran keep pretending they weren't in a relationship even they were actively watching a queer couple breaking up. And I'll always hate it.

But the crowd loved it.

So . . . I believe the crowd is going to love the ending of Last Twilight too while I'm still chilling here six years from now mad about the ending of episode 11 since I'm petty.

I hold grudges and water them daily like plants in a garden. Be My Favorite forgave Knot even though he was awful every second of his screen time. *points hose in its direction* Teh stayed messing up in I Told Sunset About You then had the audacity to cheat in I Promised You the Moon. *blasts some water in its direction* Team needed therapy in Between Us not sex. *turns sprinkler on* HIStory 3: Make Our Days Count exists. *dumps a bucket of water on the ground*

Perhaps wait until the last episode has aired and check the tags. I assure you there will be plenty of people who love it. They will be singing the shows praises and how amazing the narrative was. People will be laughing about how we even questioned the genius of the show after this episode instead of trusting the process.

But as for me, hopefully Night and Phojai are getting married and the simple fact that I am rooting harder for the hets in a BL finale should tell y'all all you need to know about my petty ass.

Now excuse me as I need to go start digging a little hole for the newest addition in my Grudge Garden.

[spicyvampire]

Hi, since GMM has many Thai BL series, just wondering, do you have favorites from them? If you do, do you have 10 you like most so far?

I do not have the best relationship with GeeMeeMee but over the years they have provided some tasty bls here and there, I'll try to give you a little top 10

1.Not Me (2021)

To me that's like the best GeeMeeMee show ever made, great activism story, all the storylines are compelling, it gets accidentally funny with the twins stuff and the fact that Yok the resident arsonist is tryna fuck that cop so bad, but with Yok's help Dan finished realizing that he was part of a system that was beyond fixing and it was better to get himself free of it than staying, honestly has one of the best storyline and character development ever written in a bl

2. 3 Will Be Free (2019)

A gay mafia son, a stripper and a gogo bar manager walk into a bar, shenanigans ensue. To this day, the only GeeMeeMee show to have given me an endgame throuple and frankly one of the only cannon throuples we have in bl

3. Moonlight Chicken (2023)

By god Wen fucked that old man in the chicken shop, but in all seriousness this bl probably has the best breakup storyline I've ever seen in any media ever, it's a truly masterpiece; also we saw the story of a deaf character who uses sign language and that's not something you see often in bl tbh, wish we had more Gaipa and Alan but you take what u can get

4. Cherry Magic Thailand (2023)

Honestly this one took me by surprise, I'm not a fan of remakes but they did a really good job adapting those japanese characters to a Thailand setting while keeping some of the japanese background there, and go a bit further and deeper than the original did with some of the characters

5. Wandee Goodday (2024)

This one was my obsession for the last few weeks, unfortunately I think the show lost some momentum around the middle of it, and it needed more balance on some stuff, like one of Dee's big trauma wasn't even resolved even if they showed it affecting him pretty severely at least twice, while we spend like almost the whole 2nd half of the show on Yak's, overall very silly and enjoyable and also nice asexuality representation which is not something you see often in bl

6. The Eclipse (2022)

I'm not really a high school boy bl type of person and I usually avoid them but they got me with this one, I think Akk's storyline ressemble Dan's a lot in the sense that he had to realize he was part of a system that is bad and is using him to maintain a bad status quo and then had to free himself from it even if that's all he's ever known, Ayan is of course of a great help with his flirtiness, shenanigans and overall fuck the rules attitude

7. Bad Buddy (2021)

Thai bl's Romeo and Juliet, what I loved the most about this one was the attention put on the dynamics of Pran and Pat and their respective families, and how even if they didn't succeed in changing their fighting parents minds, they stayed together and continued to love each other because at the end of the day, the love was between them and it had nothing to do with their parents

8. He's coming to me (2019)

I love me a ghost story like any other guy, so this was right up my lane, I gotta admit it's been like 4 years since I've seen this so I don't remember the storyline clearly, but it left a good impression on me, so much that years later I still think of it as good

9. Only Friends (2023)

Top 10 messiest friend group ever created, this could have been higher on the list if they didn't do Boston dirty in the very last goddamn episode of the show

10. Dark Blue Kiss (2019)

I honest to god remember nothing about the mains but this show has the best coffee shop au in the ql universe and it's from 2019, SunMork chemistry is just firing all over the place, definitely my favorite Gawin ost too

[dudeyuri]

I'm having thoughts and feelings about bad buddy must be a day that ends in y. But like, last episode tomorrow, kind of verklempt, need to word vomit

My first watch of Bad Buddy kind of smacked me upside the head. I know this is not a unique experience. I was left reeling for a bit. Watching Bad Buddy was the first thing I did in 2023 and I watched all 12 episodes in one sitting like a glutton and I stayed up til 1am even though I had to get up at 4am the next day (I haven't done stupid shit like that since college). Then I started my rewatch the next day. Then I put it aside for months because it was actually a physical ache in my chest when I thought about it. I just...never?? encountered such a fulfilling narrative that followed through on all its promises. Even with its deliberate deceptions and twists and uncertainties - I put my trust in Bad Buddy's narrative and was rewarded for doing so like never before.

It got me from the first episode - the first episode did what I think almost every first episode should do: tell you exactly what the story is going to be, without telling you exactly what the story is going to be. Fantastic writing, deliberate pacing, satisfying character development, pitch-perfect acting, all top-notch. It kept the energy up all throughout even as it got heavier, and stuck the landing in such a profound and bittersweet way. This was the first Thai BL I've ever watched, and probably the third BL I've ever watched period. One of my first impressions after finishing it even for the first time was that it was, maybe above all else, self aware.

My initial impression was also not a unique one: so far this is funny, charming, an exciting premise. And by episode 4 I was starting to get hit with it: this story is all those things and a knife in your gut, a lump in your throat. And it's queer, and it's tragic. Like, from the jump we see the two households both alike in dignity, we know what this is: it's Romeo and Juliet (or Kwan and Riam). We know how it ends. Pran knows how it ends. They teased us the whole show with Pran's decor, his doorknob hanger, like this show's version of a comedy and tragedy mask - what's it going to be? How's it going to end? Everyone watching knows how romcoms typically end. But everyone also knows how Romeo and Juliet ends.

In a move that can really only be described as revolutionary, Bad Buddy decided that queering the Romeo and Juliet narrative meant a happy ending. With caveats, but happy and alive and together. It was as simple as two characters finding their agency in a world trying to deprive them of it, seeing every path around them that led to tragedy, and instead trailblazing a new one that led to happiness. (everything that could be said about this has already been said; I look to this essay by @chickenstrangers often!! helped me make sense of pat gets shot lol. MK I hope you're not sick of people linking this left and right). It's a narrative choice that resounds.

I was personally struck by that specific pain Pat and Pran experience, the pain of having to lie to your parents and keep love a secret from them - is there a queer person out there who doesn't relate to that in a bone-achingly deep way? Regardless of your relationship with your family. Having to partition yourself like this is part of the queer experience. And it's exhausting because you just have to live like this. It's exhausting because the people who are supposed to love you have made a liar of you instead. You can be surviving and thriving and happy, but your parents will still ask your siblings about their love lives and ask you about the weather (too real??? oops). There's a hint at a possible thawing in the final episode that gives hope, but Bad Buddy does not magically make the parents realize they were wrong and accept their sons' love - I mean, that just doesn't happen. It would have made for a disingenuous ending, it would have been a disservice to the narrative and to the viewers and to the metaphor. If you're lucky enough to have parents who would, you're lucky. It's a sad truth. "We can't change the world...but the world can't change us either."

At first glance, Bad Buddy plays in the "BL bubble". Upon a slightly closer examination Bad Buddy says there can never really be a bubble--stories aren't crafted in a vacuum, the dominant ideology that is homophobia traumatizes and endangers and oppresses all who do not align with it, still there are happy endings for us here. We find each other and carve them out ourselves. To say all this, and to not veer into heavy-handed "yeah okay we get it" territory is a feat honestly! Seldom accomplished in such a riveting and sexy way! How refreshing! Bad Buddy reminded me of reading a good poem - upon first read, a good poem is about "a thing," and it's evocative as is and you don't even have to read it again to enjoy it. But you can also consider it carefully and unearth "the other thing," a deeper meaning, the answer to "why was this written?". Bad Buddy trusts its viewers to get there. I mean I know it's really not much of a hidden message, but again, they are subtle with it, iykyk etc. BB doesn't hold our hand, but it takes our trust and respects it and doesn't break it (though it shakes the jar, like quite a bit, lol. All good stories should tbh).

I think a lot about the form, too. In a less capable storyteller's hands 12 one-hour-long episodes can drag (I'm thinking of some recent gmmtv BLs lol), or even not be enough (I feel like I personally see that in a lot of western shows whose fanbases are out here begging for second seasons to tie up loose ends). P'Aof (and co.) knew exactly what to do with 12 episodes. Has anyone in the entire history of TeleVision ever known what to do with 12 one-hour-long episodes as undeniably as P'Aof and co in making Bad Buddy??

I know I'm being a little dramatic, excessively lauding good writing like this. Like yeah stories should be good and thoughtful and make sense, of fucking course. But I just have to appreciate it in a genre, in a capitalist reality, where a story does not have to be profound or clever or full of love to be marketable. They truly did not have to go this hard. (Though the writer in me who now considers Aof a personal idol also thinks: yes of course they absolutely did have to go this hard in fact It Is The Only Way). I'm so so grateful for it for so many reasons!! And I didn't even breach the topic of how fun and sexy I think Pat and Pran are together. Didn't even mention the fingersucking, the scent kink, the kissies - all genuinely just as important to me as everything else. It's all in the making of a good story! I am taking notes through my tears and I am so thankful

[waitmyturtles]

Last Twilight, episode 7: reflections

I don't have much time for real meta. Here's just a bunch of moments I loved.

Couldn't help but think about ALL the lines that were crossed in Bad Buddy. Can't help but think that while Pat's and Pran's fate was sealed for them for the near-term future by way of not being able to be open with their relationship -- that Day and Mhok, in today's Thailand, may be at a precipice where same-sex marriage could be legalized in their near future.

This show *almost* showed a level of optimism that I haven't seen yet in Aof Noppharnach's shows, but of course, that ending. That being said:

This show gave Day some really empathic space to work out what he was dealing with re: August. We know Day had been sussing out Mhok a bit with his questions about Mhok's status to Porjai earlier in the series. But homeboy was checking out the scene -- and it was clear, at the start of this episode, that he wasn't entirely ready to jump into anything with Mhok, and he needed time, and this episode gave him that time. It was lovely. Yes, a flirty episode 7? We have seen that before, but Day also needed this time, just like Pran needed time to process shit, too. August leaving for the States (BYE BOI) is yet another HUGE THING that's happening in Day's life, and that this show gave him the time to process this, all while we enjoyed Mhok's flirting (and Day did, too, pillow over head), was lovely to see by way of the time that Day got for himself.

Great episode, especially leading into the holidays, and what timing by way of that proposal scene. Aof could not have timed this airing better.

P.S. I wasn't a fan of Namtan leading into this, but clearly I have not watched her right shows. SHE'S GREAT. Her timing is SO GOOD! Now I see why her and Film are paired -- they're clearly two of the best actresses at GMMTV.

[sharingfandoms]

So like in your tags under the bb vs msp poll I saw you mentioning that msp was bad written and tingun aren't as healthy as people claim they are.....and I was like YEAH!! EXACTLY!! But I wasn't able to pinpoint it. Would you mind elaborating on those tags??

ohhh wowwwww my first ask!!!!! of course i will. i am also really happy that someone agrees since i kind of always found myself pretty alone in this lmaooo. thank you for your question!!! much appreciated! ♥

First claim: MSP is bad written

Yes, it is. For many reasons. I will elaborate on the main two.

It kind of presents itself as some sort of heir of Bad Buddy, but the comparison is pale to say the least. The main characters don't really have any reasons not to date. They could date in secret from the very start, as soon as they realize they both have feelings for each other, and then come out as an actual couple as soon as the whole music contest is over, or something like that (even waiting for another year until they graduate could be a valid choice tbh). No particular drama needed. They could still go to each other's houses and make out all day in bed while Gun's mom is working, or go out somewhere public without their classmates present and have a real date.

The actual conflict that makes them star-crossed lovers is ridiculous at best. The mere idea that a school club in high school (well, Mattayom actually, but whatever) would have a rule like that is genuinely stupid - like, it's not even 'club members can't date', but 'those who are in this club and going for Hot Wave can't have a faen'. Like, hello? What if I've had a faen before joining this damn club? I'm supposed to break up with them because some idiot thinks that'll make me more focused on singing and playing music? Are you fucking kidding me? I'm only accepting this as something not entirely crazy and fucked up if there's some cultural reference I'm missing behind it (if things really work like that anywhere in Thailand, then apologies, pretend you never read this last complain; but I did look it up on the internet and didn't find anything about it). It'd still sound stupid, but at least it'd make sense. It was something so out of the blue that just felt like the opposite of plot armor: something made entirely just to create an obstacle to the love story of the main guys once their path was clear and they were both sure about their feelings (if that's such an important rule, why didn't it come up sooner? It felt like watching a kids show, where threats gradually become scarier the more our protagonist becomes stronger). Regardless, like I said, it was not that bad for them.

Pat and Pran are star-crossed lovers because the parents they love and admire - and are economically dependent on - hate each other and actively tried to keep them apart, causing trauma and pain on both ends. They can't get rid of them. It's not highschool, it's not a damn music club you'll eventually get out of (soon enough!!!). It's their whole life. It's the people they love the most who are trying to oppose their relationship (not to mention their friends as well, while Tinn and Gun have full support on that regard). They feel guilty, they feel sad, they don't want to have to say goodbye to their fucking families in order to keep their relationship going. This is serious, and complicated - and practical, as money does buy happiness after all. This will last, probably forever, until their parents will finally come around and accept things are the way they are - we see a glint of it happening in the last episode, at least. Compared to this, Gun and Tinn are fine, really. Even a teenager should be able to see that. The writers didn't have to go out of their ways to make comparisons that martyr PatPran's symbols, like having them use the word 'friend' instead of 'boyfriend' as an 'inside joke', or their colors, or anything at all really, only for them to be related to a fucking school club rule.

The secondary couples are bad handled, which is a shame because I was genuinely interested in Sound and Win at first. I even dared to hope - fully aware I was fooling myself, but at least hoping it was going to be a fun road to something interesting and original! - that they would have actually written an aromantic/demiromantic character in this drama, based on what Win says to Sound in episode 10. But then everything that episode was supposed to be a build-up for in terms of their bond just suddenly disappears in the next, when they're somehow in an established relationship already. Great? Would have been nice to see that happening on screen, I guess. I suppose that's what happens when you WASTE so many episodes around only two characters (TinnGun), relegating focus on your secondary couple (I won't even mention the third couple, since there isn't much to say about them tbh) in the last ones, making it rushed and kind of pointless (this also happened with the feud between Tinn and Sound, which never got explained to the viewers for some reason; okay). And they even get an explicit PatPran reference at some point towards the end of the drama, which makes me cry and not in a good way - poor babies, don't worry, we'll all just collectively forget your outfits and cans were even brought up in MPS in the first place.

Second claim: TinnGun are not as healthy as people say they are

I want to be brief with this one, because people are going to hate on me anyway, and I don't feel like writing a whole ass essay on those two. All I have to say is: if this couple had been heterosexual, people would have probably hated it. With how much double standards affect the way people perceive female characters and straight relationships, all those traits that make them state Tinn is a green-flag and a lovable simp would instead have them assert that he's a succubus, that he's not indipendent enough, that he's only obsessed with the guy and doesn't actually love him, and that he doesn't do much in the show other than being the love interest. Usually, when people say these things related to female characters, they're wrong - and just being mysogynistic, hating on any girl who dares to have a cute crush on a guy. Ironically enough, in Tinn's case, they wouldn't even be all that wrong.

Like I said, I don't feel like elaborating much on this issue, unless anon really wants me to - then I'll dive into it in detail in another post. But, like, genuinely, Gun really pissed me off at times, he often takes Tinn for granted (I'm thinking about that one moment where Tinn tells him he's not going to make it to one of their rehearsals and he gets mad about it, as if Tinn hasn't been at his disposal the entire fucking time; that scene really made me feel uncomfortable, because if I were the one who had been so helpful to anyone at all, just for them to treat me like that as soon as I have a problem of my own and can't attend to theirs, I'd be genuinely disappointed; and yes, I know that Gun will later change his attitude, but I feel like there was no weight placed on this matter, as if him finally acknowledging Tinn's struggles and effort wasn't a turning point in their story but more like something optional that just kind of happened), and I feel like their relationship is often unbalanced on many aspects.

I won't elaborate on all the other claims - "he's obsessed with the guy", "he doesn't do much in the show other than being the love interest" -, but I do genuinely believe there should be more dialogue about them in the fandom. I never once read anyone complain about these issues, and I know for a fact they'd have come up immediately had it been a female character in Tinn's place.

[weilongfu]

Ai Pat! I don’t care how fit our workouts have made us! You’re not wearing *that* kind of speedo to the beach!!!

(Pat tries to convince Pran to let him wear a thong speedo on their vacation because the squats and deadlifts gave him a fat ass.~)

Pran knew that healthy habits and healthy means of stress relief were important to a long and healthy life, especially since the largest bulk of his stress was Pat himself. But there was only so much cutting down on condensed milk and drawing on his days off could do. There was also the need to mitigate Pat's preference for heavy drinking on the weekends.

The compromise was going to the gym together.

By and large, it worked. Pat exhausted himself on weights most of the time and Pran put on podcasts and ran for miles on end. They were fitter, slept better, found themselves with more energy, and Pran found his blood pressure was much lower when Pat was whining about muscle soreness instead of getting up to something troublesome.

There were other bonuses. Pat built up more muscle as he liked and Pran built up his stamina and speed as he liked. Gym days were also a day spent together, and even though Pat constantly egged Pran on one way or another, Pran got his revenge by increasing the weight (safely!) when Pat wasn't looking.

The real downside was that Pat was insufferable on the best of days and at his worst, Pran risked a stroke due to high blood pressure. These days, the amount of peacocking Pat was prone to brought Pran just to the edge, and not in any of the pleasurable ways. (Usually.) Pat spent as much time as possible shirtless or in short track shorts and boxers, displaying the way he'd filled out. But no amount of muscle on his frame could change Pat's insulted expression when Pran breezed by under his extended arm or by jabbing him just under his lats and into his ribs, causing Pat to jolt from pain and ticklishness.

So when Pran asked if Pat had finished packing for their upcoming vacation, he knew Pat would take advantage of the opportunity.

Pran failed to realize the extent to which Pat would attempt to take advantage of the opportunity.

"What do you think of my new swimwear?" Pat said as he strut into the living room in the barest piece of cloth that just kept his genitals in check with a thin waistband and an even thinner string that disappeared between his glutes. "Do you think people will stare too much?" Pran felt his eye twitch. "I mean, you're staring plenty already?"

"Ai Pat! I don’t care how fit our workouts have made us! You’re not wearing that kind of speedo to the beach!!"

"Are you sure?" Pat turned around and gave his own ass a cheeky slap. Pat had hardly been lacking in shape or curves prior, but Pran noticed a distinct difference in the way the slap sounded now that Pat had added several pounds of muscle to his ass. Pat's ass certainly didn't bounce the same way any more either. "It'd be a shame to let all this hard work go to waste, don't you think?" Pat stalked over to lean over Pran, evidence of his arousal was difficult to hide in the thong. "I'm also open to persuading you in other ways..."

Pran glared at Pat before tumbling them over and pressing Pat's chest into the couch with a hand on his back. Pat, stayed still, clearly enjoying the effect he had and getting exactly what he wanted. Pran gave Pat's ass several spanks of his own, noting the firm texture of built up muscle before pulling on the strings of the thong to move them aside and rub Pat's hole which was already slick with lube.

"You brat, why can't you ask for sex like a normal person?" Pran asked before sticking two fingers immediately inside. Pat groaned and thrust back on Pran's fingers. "And since when are you into underwear and swimwear kink?"

"Nnn... Just thought it made my ass look good," Pat said as Pran curled his fingers. "Doesn't it?"

"Well..." Pran paused as he pulled out his erection without pulling down his pants and thrust in. "Since you like it so much..." Pran reached around and squeezed Pat's erection painfully tight which meant it was almost enough for his obnoxious boyfriend. "You shouldn't cum or you'll stain it before vacation, and then where will we be?"

"Fuck! Ai Pran you-"

"Now be a good boy," Pran said as he pulled out and pulled Pat back onto his dick by the thong strings. "And make me cum instead."

"Ack! Pran, wait- Fuck!" Pat hissed as Pran slapped his balls after feeling the wetness leaking through Pat's swim thong. "You can't decide I'm not allowed to-"

"You're being naughty," Pran said with another thrust that his Pat right as he liked it, too hard and rough on his prostate. "So you're being punished."

Pat keened and buried his face further in the couch cushion. "Shit! You didn't let me cum last time either!"

"Then stop being a brat and maybe I'll let you next time!"

Pat pushed back on the next several thrusts before saying, "I'm topping next time, you can't stop me!"

Pran slowed his thrusts causing Pat to cry out before sticking a hand into the thong pouch to squeeze the base of Pat's dick. "I totally can if I want to."

Pat pushed Pran off his back before turning around and sitting right on Pran's dick in one smooth motion before setting the pace of his own squatting and bouncing. "Not if I fuck you silly first."

"Is this the best you can do after all those squats to build up your ass?" Pran said despite the color rising on his cheeks.

"I can do better," Pat said with a smirk and squeezed his internal muscles.

"Urgh! You and your fucking kegles!" Pran groaned and thrust up into Pat's body. "As if I'll let you- Shit!" Pat leaned down to kiss Pran through his orgasm, continuing to ride and milk his boyfriend.

"I love what that does to you," Pat said as he eased himself off of Pran and layed himself out on top of Pran's chest even though Pran complained about how heavy he was. "It's almost like an instant win button 80% of the time."

"It only works because I'm close already!"

"But that doesn't mean it doesn't work...." Pat kissed Pran's jaw. "So, what do you say? Keep the thong?"

"Does it even fit properly anymore? Did we stretch out the elastic on the strings?"

"You didn't treat it as bad as the jockstrap from the other time so it'll be fine."

[movementsofmylife]

bad buddy ep 11 (rewatch)

how many times does pran pull out his entire (extremely intense) set of markers and not use them:

total so far: //// /

this episode just leaves me in tatters, in a very different way to ep 10.

this episode is so fucking sad. like, in the really accurate way sadness like this shows up. where of course they go fishing, flirt, hang out, smile, laugh, but the baseline emotion for this episode is this sadness. it's this kind of exhaustion and the knowledge that somethings hanging over their heads.

its the kind of sadness that somethings over and choosing not to look at it can push it away for a bit, but the ending still permeates the episode.

there's so much sky in this episode. they're really shown to be together in spaces that overtake them. but also together in the world in public, outside and not hidden, always looking at each other.

there are so many shots in this ep where you can see they're both struggling and tired. and still they choose each other.

also the parallel that pat asks pran to not talk about something, where the last time at the village pran asked pat. ugh this show.

i really love the domesticity

and pran never chilling with the manipulate malewife vibes

also the way pat looks at pran in this ep.

and patpran in the foreground with tong and yod in the back. like a sign of: people can stick to what they believe in and still get old and live good lives, even if its tiring. this show doing the queer it gets better shit but in one shot and perfectly.

the emotional turmoil is never about their relationship for pran they're a certainty. through the whole episode it's clear that they're grappling with their parents and the fallout and not with each other and i deeply appreciate that.

the space to have complicated difficult emotions without it becoming a problem in your relationship, that's some rare shit (in a bl but also in life lol).

his stare omg

this fucking line and the confidence of its delivery. pran has never doubted pat this whole time and it fucking shows. god.

this top tier pran face. truly 11/10, incredible.

i love this speech. it fully makes me cry every time.

also, relationships are hard. and the things you like about someone can change, they can become annoying to you, or they can disappear. the fact that the thing they both chose about each other are, being nosy enough to be helpful and being a lot in every way, they're saying that they know that the other person isn't perfect and nor is their relationship. but they chose them anyway, because of it and not despite it.

just yeah, they deserve so much of this and more. i'm so glad they get it.

:')

babieees

and the other conversation that also leaves me in tears (this ep is just tears for me).

it's pat coming back to pran's 'as long i have you' and responding in kind. letting him know that pran's enough for him too, and they can hide and live how they need to because he's realized that.

it is heartbreaking that this is what they have in the end. it's the ending that pran had already realized and accepted, finally being acknowledged by pat. because they might not be breaking up but they are. they're losing the relationship they could have had, an easy comfortable one supported by everyone they know, and instead have to carve out a tiny space to survive. and they do it because they know that this space is precious to them, but it's still fucking sad that they had to. (and again, this show is so queer, because these are the relationships and decisions that so many queer people have to make every fucking day and bb conveyed it so well and with such nuance)

and then this song, which i love. and this lovely incredible inkpa moment.

but also the fact that kornwai show up in this montage and then didn't get together. like p'aof knew what the fuck he was doing. and yes, unlike the other two couple they're leaning away from each other, but fuck you can't just drop them into a love song montage and not have it imply things. it implies things!!!

ok so i'm sure no one was thinking about this but this scene reminds of this fucking k3g scene where the father comes and blesses the couple and my mind can't let it go. because it feels like with the line "the world didn't change me either" tong gave his blessing for patpran to live the life they wanted to lead. and idk i'm always emotional about k3g connections.

and this final shot, to really just dig in the knife in my heart. the closing with the knowledge that this will be the last time in a long while that pran gets to sing out his love for pat, and that part of them choosing each other is sacrificing other parts of their dreams.

i'm just fully not ok about this ep and likely never will be. i'm sure that is clear from the ramblings above.

[gennianydots]

Sooo, I was doing my daily rewatch of Bad Buddy Episode 5 part 4/4, you know, how it be sometimes and it really got me this time for whatever reason. I was reminded of a convo I had with Abby aka @abstractelysium where she mentioned this meta and I can’t let it go. Also I have bad buddy brain rot now until forever because it’s my favorite show but hold onto your hats while I ramble.

My thoughts: *the kiss*

For Pat, the kiss is a relief, the best thing. Pat sees this boy he grew up with and is slowly falling for and he gets to kiss him like he wants to and it’s confirmation of his feelings being returned. It’s the best thing! It’s a “My crush likes me back!” happy dance, the whole lovey-dovey she-bang. It’s a thank god we finally got to kiss, I understand our tension better now, I want to be not just friends but more than friends. Pat doesn’t even think about his parents expectations when he is kissing Pran, in that moment, he’s just a boy who likes another boy. We can see this when he smiles after they stop kissing.

For Pran, the kiss is the worst, the worst possible thing that could happen to him. Yes, it’s confirmation that he still loves Pat, that this horrible crush he just cannot get over is still persistent and alive. It’s confirmation that whatever he has been holding inside (his love for Pat) is now so much harder to deal with because of their parents expectations, their faculty’s fighting at school, and now, Pat seemingly returning Pran’s feelings! For Pran, it’s the end of the world. Pat just had to go and catch feelings and make Pran’s life that much harder. But! Despite all those things, Pran lets himself enjoy the kiss and even kiss back. Why? Because, for a few seconds, he lets himself be just a boy who likes another boy. That’s why Pran kisses Pat the second time. Then, through the tears, through the anguish, and the one happy moment he lets himself have, Pran has to go. In my head, Pran has had a crush on Pat for forever and has always thought of his crush as a nuisance. What’s more is that he’s been heartbroken his whole life, because he thinks he and Pat simply cannot be together. Their parents hate each other so they need to hate each other, too, right? So Pran remembers, oh yeah, this cannot happen. A relationship like that cannot happen. It’s easier to go back to being heartbroken all over again, forgetting that it ever happened, it’s easier to ignore his feelings like he has for his whole life.

It’s like Cinderella holding on to her special night with the Prince thinking she’s never going to see him again, but because she got this magical moment she can hold onto, maybe just maybe that evening is enough to carry her through her worst days. But as we know, the Prince doesn’t forget about it and similarly, Pat doesn’t let Pran forget, he downright refuses to not annoy Pran about what transpired on the rooftop.

👨🏽‍❤️‍💋‍👨🏾 🌃 I love these boys so much. I love Ohm and Nanon’s acting so much. Part of me wishes I had been here when it was airing but oh by gosh by golly I sure am glad I’m here now. 💜💙

[quodekash]

im back.

hell yeah flute man

pls my dads are so sweet, i cant deal

IVE CONTINUED FOR THREE MINUTES AND IM ALREADY ABOUT TO CRY AGAIN, WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME

THE WAY THE BLANKET IS RUFFLED AT HIS NECK MAKES HIM LOOK LIKE A GRANNY OR SMTH I CANT STOP LAUGHING

IM CRYING

IM LAUGHING SO HARD IM CRYING

DID THEY REALLY JUST

OMG

IS HE STUMBLING BECAUSE THE GROUND THEY SLEPT ON IS HARD OR IS HE STUMBLING BECAUSE THEY GOT HARD

i guess what im trying to say is DID THEY REALLY JUST FU

YOU GUMNUTS YOU LOST THE KID

OF COURSE YOU FREAKING LOST THE KID

THE ONE TIME I GET EMOTIONALLY ATTACHED TO A CHILD, IT GETS LOST

THIS HAPPENED WITH JIGSAW AS WELL

what is it with our skyy 2 and introducing me to small children that i get emotionally attached to anD THEN RIPPING THEM AWAY FROM ME

he'll be fine tho, im sure of it. he knows what hes doing. and even if he doesnt, he's got two dads and two uncles to look after him, theyll find him and rescue him in the most overly dramatic way possible

my bet tho: he's just gone back to the village and he's completely safe and yod's trying to radio them to let them know hes safe but their radio isnt working, so he's gonna go into the forest to look for them while the four dudes wander around the forest to find the kid, and then theyll all run into each other and be like "welp we panicked for nothing" and then go back to the village and then theyll kiss their boyfriends and longtae will appear with his 184cm tall boyfriend and theyll all party and celebrate

(that last part is a mere wish, i know my boy doesnt show up at all and im sad about it)

OHHHH I FORGOT ABOUT THAT

its totally fine then, theyll find him and he'll be safe and sound

oh look at that, they did a custody switch

i think the real thing we should be saying here is: it's already evening and your legs are STILL hurting?

YOU GUMNUTS, DONT GO LOOKING AS WELL

THEYRE GONNA FIND THE KID AND COME BACK AND FIND YOU GUYS MISSING

AND THE CYCLE WILL NEVER END

HOLY FREAKING HELL YOU IDIOTS

bro is just chilling

i love this kid so much

he's saying this terrifying thing about how a wild animal nearly killed him so he climbed a tree and got stuck in it all night, and he's just so chill about it

i just love him so much

well how the hell are you gonna communicate that with your boyfriends

REMINDER: PRAN AND TIAN HAVE NOW SPENT THREE DAYS IN THIS FOREST

WHAT THE HELL ARE THE VILLAGERS THINKING??

THEY DONT HAVE THEIR HEAD CHIEF FOREST GUY BECAUSE HES BEEN IN THIS FOREST FOR TWO DAYS

also: surely patpran are getting close to their one week quota, right? they had one week to get the thing signed, ive forgotten how long they were already there for, but theyve been in a forest for three days so like idk man

YOU GUMNUTS

SURELY YOU KNOW YOUR BOYFRIENDS WELL ENOUGH TO KNOW THEYRE IDIOTS WHO WILL TRY TO COME FIND YOU WHEN YOU DONT COME BACK

they all probably smell. theyve been wearing those clothes for days in a forest

and pat probably still thinks he can find pran based on his scent, bless his silly idiotic heart

TIAN HASNT HAD HIS FREAKING HEART MEDICATION IN FREAKING DAYS

THE MAN'S GONNA DIE

P'AUUUUU

LMAOOOOOO CALLED OUTTTT

omg bonding

"why do i feel like you're just insecure and not sure if you're good enough to tell anyone that story?" awh

"you know nothing" "why wouldnt i know? i know how it feels to be insecure, unsure if im good enough" wait hang on

NO

HONEYBUN

NO WAY

HONEY YOU'VE BOTH MADE SO MANY SACRIFICES FOR EACH OTHER TO GET TO WHERE YOU ARE TODAY

i wanna hug him so bad

FREAKING FINALLY

MAN NEEDS HIS MEDICATION

ID RATHER MY DAD DIDNT DIE TODAY

GJWEKBRSVD

THATS IT

IM DONE

I CANT DO THIS ANYMORE

IM NOT EVEN SLIGHTLY OKAY RIGHT NOW

ITS THE WATCH

i know he has it just because pran dropped it in the forest and pat picked it up, but its still the same watch that pat picked up for pran when they were children, all those freaking years ago

i just think its a lovely parallel

i love them so much

hsdshgjsdhjgsd

SEE?? you help each other out, you both sacrifice for one another, YOU ARE IN LOVE AND YOU MIGHT NOT BE PERFECT BUT YOU'RE THE DAMN BEST AND GVERYJDHFGB

BITCHES BE CRYING RN

ITS ME

IM BITCHES

SOBBING MY EYES OUT

COMFORTING DAD PATS (pats like the action of patting, not multiple of the character whose shoulder is being patted. words are hard)

I LOVE THEM SO MUCH

HSDFHSDFHSDHG

THEY MEAN PROBABLY TOO MUCH TO ME

ALSO PRAN DEFINITELY SMELLS WORSE THAN PAT FOR ONCE, HE HASNT SHOWERED IN DAYS

ANYWAY, HUGS

I LOVE HUGS SO MUCH

SAME

HE IS ME

I LOVE YOD SO MUCH

shoot i ran out of images

just fyi: it took over two hours for me to get from halfway through 2/4 to halfway through 4/4. and i still have a whole episode left go to. this may take like a week to finish

[dribs-and-drabbles]

Colours in Our Skyy 2 Bad Buddy x A Tale of Thousand Stars ep 3

In which I get a little bit more meta than I usually do...

So as we know, this ep was spent mostly in the forest on a few days during which the characters couldn't change clothes, which means there are less colours/clothes to comment on. That being said, the red and blue pairings were provided in all possible places.

Tian's plaid shirt from the night before also has thin red stripes to accompany the blue, and kampung's jersey and Pran's tote bag offer another pairing. I think there's also blue, red and yellow in Kampung's t-shirt. I love that Pran brought his bag with him - despite being lost in the forest, Pat is still metaphorically with him. I think it's also interesting that Pran's shirt looks almost camouflage, and that he mostly wears it when he's taking the lead - looking after Tian on the way to Bull Camp and then accompanying Phupha when Kampung goes missing. Knowing that Pran ends up portraying Phupha in the play - and despite Pran playing Tian in his and Pat's role-playing of the other couple - it's a clever choice in this ep.

Pat, on the other hand, does get a change of clothes at the start of this ep, and with the brown, green, and cream he looks like he's trying to imitate the rangers' uniform to be included in the search party.

Plenty of people have commented on how Pran and Tian have been made to look very similar, especially with their hair, but in the below scene it's so clear how the show is trying to have the characters 'imitate' each other. Pran and Tian are in the same colours, only the white and yellow are reversed in their clothing. Pat and Phupha, as already mentioned, also sporting the same colours. But the mixed-pairings also have similar shoes - Pran and Tian in canvas lace-ups with cream toes/soles, and Pat and Phupha in leather boots. The show is really drilling into us, 'look how similar these people are!', but as we learn from their interactions it seems Pran and Phupha are more alike, as are Pat and Tian (hence why they end up playing those roles in the play).

Once Pat and Tian have made their way back to the village, Pat changes into his teal shorts and a brown shirt. I haven't offered much colour-interpretation yet in this post but in general brown and olive green feature quite heavily this ep, especially with all the camouflage. I think this partly comes more from the atots side of this crossover and the use of earth tones in the original series, but it's incheresting that there's been so. much. talk. about sacrificing arising from this ep. I won't go into it all but they're all dealing with something (or multiple things) they have to yield on or sacrifice.

But Pat here, below, has a moment - a mini-Oh! moment - where he realises he has to yield to himself. Having this 'nonsense' fight with Pran and going through their experiences in Pha Pun Dao has made Pat confront and admit to himself something which he either hasn't realised or has been repressing for a long time - that he can't live without Pran. Yes, Pat has always wanted to be around Pran, he always wants to help him, and he's been depressingly lonely without him...but being unable to live without Pran seems heavier. And this realisation goes beyond acquiescing on the fight with Pran, because it has consequences for the bigger picture of their lives and hiding from their families. And that's scary. So no wonder he's perhaps repressed this from himself, instead feeling easier to tease Pran about him always needing Pat, to bicker about who needs the other the most, and to sit in the nonsense fight rather than acknowledge what it really means.

Incidentally, I like that Pat pulled the watch out of his shorts pocket - the object that Pran links to Pat and the teal that seems to symbolise their union as a couple.

Someone (sorry I don't remember who) mentioned that Pat wears a lot more stripy shirts now than he ever did in BBS, which is potentially an influence from Pran, but I love that they're both wearing their love and happiness when they reunite back at the village. I also sat up at seeing Tian's brown t-shirt with the yellow rectangle over his heart - reminiscent of Pran's long-sleeved top in ep 8 of BBS. Tian is ready to sacrifice himself and his health again to go into the forest to look for Kampung and Phupha, with his love for them driving him to do it. (In ep 8, Pran's love for Pat took him away from drinking with Wai to comfort a sullen Pat).

And then on to that final scene with Pat and Pran and we get Pat in Pran's red and cream/yellow shorts, and Pran in Pat's dark blue (or their teal)...and an ominous dark green. They're finding a resolution to their little fight but it's bittersweet.

Coming back to what I was saying about Pat's Oh! moment above, I think him asking Pran to apply the bruise cream was a way for Pat to admit to himself and Pran, albeit subtly, that he does need Pran, and for Pran to understand that admission. (And I'll quickly say that I don't think Pran needed to be the one to say it first but I'll come back to that below). When Pat gives Pran's watch back, however, he reverts to the teasing "Like I said, you can't live without me", he's trying to keep things jovial. Tian has already told Pran about Pat's realisation though - not to aid any teasing or to bolster one side of the fight, he doesn't seem that type of character (he's not a gremlin like Pat and Pran). No, I think he sees that Pat and Pran need this knowledge open between them and facilitates a way for it to happen. In true PatPran fashion, Pran goads Pat into saying it and Pat's soft look to Pran shows his gratitude to have the opportunity (below). Pat needs to admit it out loud to himself and to Pran - the person to whom it means the most for him to hear it. His sigh before he says it is a relief, it's releasing the hold he's had on his fear about what it might mean for them, and Pran's reaction helps alleviate that.

Pran's "Neither can I" isn't as big and dramatic as Pat's statement, but that's because it's not revelatory, not for Pran (who's known it since he fell for Pat in high school and couldn't get over him even after being sent away and pushing Pat away once they had reunited at Uni), and not for Pat - there was always some truth in Pat's original words, "without me, he can't do anything" and they both know that. Pran wasn't the one who needed to admit to Pat that he needs Pat because it's been known all along. But Pran repeating now, in his own way, that he can't live without Pat helps to strengthen their bond.

This moment is bittersweet because of their situation - there is no option to not be together, they've known this already but now it's been explicitly said, so until their parents can be comfortable with them together they will always be hiding something, making sacrifices. This is their life. They're able to understand that on a deeper level.

With this understanding, Pran, unable to do or say anything else, takes his focus to something tangible: The watch, and what it represents - Pat, his time with Pat, their history and connection from childhood, the gaps when they were separated, and their reuniting in Uni. @btwinlines started off a great thread about how time stops for Pat and Pran when they're apart, but the watch also represents how time might make things easier in the future and that all they can do is hope. And, in the meantime, love each other the best they can through all these little fights they have. It's not a grand resolution for them, like Phupha and Tian get later in the show, because they're not in the same place as the other couple. This is just a snapshot of their journey towards where we see them at the end of ep 12 in BBS, so if it feels like they're in limbo when we leave them, they are, but with a renewed perspective of each other and the poignancy of it all.

I'm almost certain this will be a coincidence, but I love that when Pran puts the watch on again it's almost at the same time as when he reset it at the end of BBS ep 1. I love that it's ten minutes later though, because it symbolises how time has moved on for them - i.e how much has changed - since they got together, and therefore how much more will change as time keeps moving forward. And that's something they can trust in.

[ep 1] [ep 2] [ep 3] [ep 4] (<- I was right to be hopeful!)

[respectthepetty]

I didn’t think I would love this bad buddy / 1000 cross over her here I am absolutely loving it!!

I am going to need Pat or pran though to sort out this petty argument between Cheif and Tian by being like “do you realise how lucky you are? Do you know how much I would LOVE to be invited round to my partners parents?”

Also did the house survive the shake? Going to need a report.

Anon, I was mildly looking forward to the Bad Buddy x Our Skyy 2 episodes, but it being mixed with A Tale of Thousand Star greatly increased my excitement!

Because I think Pat and Pran's argument is petty.

They are competing over a play, hoping the other loses, punching each other, and saying mean things behind each other's back while Tian and Phupha are existing in a relationship-ending moment where if they don't figure it out, Tian won't come back.

But that's the magic of Aof. What I perceive as pettiness from Pran and Pat is what will help them solve Tian and Phupha's issues, and what you see as pettiness between Tian and Phupha is what will and has already begun to enlighten Pran and Pat.

Pat always gives in to Pran. Tian always gives in to Phupha. They do this because they love their boyfriends. They don't do it begrudgingly. They want to give their boyfriends things that make them happy even if it means they have to sacrifice their own happiness.

So Tian asking Phupha to go with him to see his family once a year, when Tian lives in the remote village to be near the love of his life all year shouldn't be a big ask, but it is, and Phupha refuses to even consider it for valid reasons: economic status, perceptions of masculinity, sense of duty, and the biggest, Tian's father tasked Phupha to look after Tian which is still a point of contention between them because it goes back to how much does Phupha see Tian has his partner versus how much Phupha sees Tian as his responsibility.

Pran and Pat would love to be openly invited to each other's family gatherings, but they also always compete for everything. It's their love language, yet Pat always loses because he willingly gives in. And that comment he made struck a chord with Pran because it's the same argument Phupha and Tian are having - Does Pat think Pran wants to be with him or does Pat think Pran needs to be with him?

We know the answers to both of these, but these two couples are having two sides of the same argument: desire versus responsibility, want versus need, give versus take. Pat and Phupha are the same because they feel they must take care of Pran and Tian.

We know Phupha loves Tian, but how does he show Tian that? By hanging the mosquito net and lighting fires?

We know Pat doesn't think Pran needs him, but how does he show that? By accidentally allowing Pran to be in this remote village by himself for less than a day before he shows up to help him?

It's due to Aof's genius that even though Pat and Tian always give in, they are on opposite ends of the spectrum, and Pran and Phupha who always win, are as well. Because Aof is showing that regardless of who wins and loses, love shouldn't be a competition. What's the point of Phupha winning if he loses the person he loves? What's the point of Pat losing if he still keeps score?

Tian and Pran are lost in the forest. Phupha and Pat are out to rescue them. My biggest hope is that Tian and Pran get themselves out of the forest AND somehow rescue Phupha and Pat.

But even if they don't, I want both couples too see that they don't need each other to succeed. They want each other to be present for the success and the journey to get there. I want each couple to see they aren't responsible for each other's happiness, but that they want to be the reason the other person is happy.

Because it's a choice to love someone, with intention, every day, not a duty nor a competition.

Because at the end of all this, the amount of love both couples have for each other can make that house shake.

Because they can make any house shake with the way they chase after each other.