#mint green=the characters' union as a couple

[evenmyhivemindisempty]

For the Boyd Holbrook's character union questions (big fan!), how about what's the most expensive thing they've ever bought, and the most expensive thing they've ever been given?

Steve Murphy

Most expensive thing he’s bought: Steve’s an old fashioned (and frugal!) sort; the most expensive thing he’s bought was Connie’s engagement ring.

Most expensive thing he’s been given: When he became a DEA agent his parents in West Virginia put together some money to buy him a very nice and semi-fashionable quartz watch. They were going to get an engraving in the back, but that was just out of their budget. But they sent along a rather sweet note (his mom wrote it).

Donald Pierce

Most expensive thing he’s bought: Pierce will occasionally splurge on some item of designer clothing or a piece of gold jewelry, but the most expensive thing he ever bought was an hour in a Vegas strip club’s VIP lounge for him and a few of his Reavers. He didn’t have a great time. He was hyperaware of the guys around him and tried to oversell his (extremely lackluster) enthusiasm about the girl on girl show a couple of the women put on.

Most expensive thing he’s been given: For his 30th birthday Gabby got him a bundle of mint condition Wolverine comics (one of them was signed by the artist). He cried a little and tried to pretend it was the dust from the box.

Cap Hatfield

Most expensive thing he’s bought: He scraped together some money from doing odd jobs for his family and bought himself a good and sturdy pair of shoes from the cobbler. He immediately ruined them trampling through the woods after Jim.

Most expensive thing he’s been given: The gun Jim got him! He adores it so.

Clement Mansell

Most expensive thing he’s bought: He blew through a few thousand in one go after a long con he ran on a custom-tailored luxury suit. He doesn’t wear it anymore. He decided forest green wasn’t his color.

Most expensive thing he’s been given: He hasn’t actually gotten many expensive gifts. Sandy bought him a series of music lessons with a decent coach, but he stopped after the first one – he stormed out after they tried to offer some basic suggestions, and told Sandy he wasn’t gonna take advice from some ignorant no-name who never sold a single album.

The Corinthian

Most expensive thing he’s bought: He doesn’t really need to buy much in the Waking World. The most expensive “thing” he’s bought was a ludicrously pricey ticket to a restaurant in Shanghai that promised an interactive culinary experience, complete with avant-garde food and visual presentations. He had a great time.

Most expensive thing he’s been given: A very wealthy trust fund baby became enamored with him after a one night stand, and proceeded to whisk him away to a weekend in Paris. They stayed in the penthouse suit of a five star hotel, and rented out the Louvre for a private tour. The Corinthian decided against killing him, because the kid promised him that next time they’d hit up Greece. And after Greece, it was Jaipur, and so on..!

Eli Klaber

Most expensive thing he’s bought: Klaber’s never really had a ton of spending money to throw around, but he did save up for a while for a bottle of French perfume. It was very classy and very chic, and the saleswoman assumed he was buying it for his wife. Klaber sprays it on when he doesn’t have to leave his apartment for the day, and really likes wearing a dress with it.

Most expensive thing he’s been given: Voller presented him with the German Montblanc 149 fountain pen. Klaber really appreciated it, but secretly finds it a bit boring. He longs for the delicate Lady Sheaffers pens.

Ty Shaw

Most expensive thing he’s bought: He likes to get nice gifts for all his siblings, but the most expensive thing he’s bought was the spruce wood Spanish guitar he got Abby for her high school graduation. She wrote him a song as a thank you gift and he teared up listening to her play it for him on the guitar he got her.

Most expensive thing he’s been given: Abby once bought him a very fine pair of leather, custom fit cowboy boots. The spur straps are embroidered with turquoise! He shows them off to everyone.

Quinn McKenna

Most expensive thing he’s bought: Quinn’s never fallen victim to the typical military boy spending patterns. He didn’t buy a charger or anything like that - he got a very sensible used Honda. He used to grouchily say that the most expensive thing he ever bought was the house, for all the good that did him, considering his wife got to keep it in the divorce.

Most expensive thing he’s been given: Quinn’s honestly not sure. Maybe the investment the military spent putting him through sniper school?

[dribs-and-drabbles]

Let's talk about...the phones

Following episode 8 and the wonderful shot of Ink's phone (which I'll get to in a moment), I wanted to collate my observations about the characters' phones...because it seems they've also been carefully considered in all the detailing of this amazing series.

So, I already wrote about my realisation (a week and a half ago) that Pran's phone is red with a blue case...I mean, I had seen it for a while but it just didn't click until I was scanning the episodes for other things.

But another thing I had kept seeing and thinking about regarding Pran's phone was that the buttons are yellow - fluorescent to be exact. And again...I had noticed for a while but then it didn't click until yesterday that the buttons are yellow! As in, yellow...one of the colours...symbolic of their love and happiness. 🤦🏽‍♀️

And on to Pat's phone. Yet again this is something that had been lowkey (alright highkey) playing in my mind for a while...so when I noticed Pran's red and blue (and yellow) I also went looking for Pat's phone and I just thought, "hmmm, grey...nothing special about that...hmmm but what about the buttons?...are they mint green?...hmmm they might be..."

And yes, they're mint green. Mint green, everyone! (as in, symbolic of their union as a couple). It was difficult to find a screenshot where they're visible...and this one isn't great...but they're there.

Now for Ink's phone. I already mentioned it in a post I threw out about InkPa endgame but here it is again...with the orange and lime green - the colours which I think represent Ink and Pa respectively (and not just because that's what they're wearing in this scene - I'm going to write another post about this later).

But, curiously, Mo also has these colours on the case of his phone. So, this could either be a continuity mistake and they thought no one would notice...or deliberate and I don't really know what to make of it yet. Maybe this will become understandable later...or not...(similar to the material on Pat's bed at the beach also being in his dorm room which I wrote about in this post). What I love here, though, is that we have all four main character's colours - blue and red of the door knob hanger and orange and lime green of the phone case.

And since Ink, Pat, and Pran's phones all had something seemingly important about them/their colours, I went looking for Pa's... This is the best I could get so far. I think the phone/case is just grey/silver/transparent...but the stickers on the back are interesting. A lot of red, some pink, a bit of orange, a tiny bit of blue, but also lime green...and a lime green smiley face.

Circling back to Pat's phone, he also has stickers on the back of his but they're nothing I can make an interpretation from (unless anyone else can? and wants to share it?).

Ahhhh, the details 😍

[halfdan-jones-blog]

Blood in the Chocolate 1+2

Cast

Freya Smallfinger’d – Level 1 Elf, I forget the Failed Career.

Hsiu Mei – Level 1 Alice, Previously a Dentist. Took a wrong path and ended up in Europe.

Mewci – Level 1 Elf, Previously a Falconer, 12 Years old when she was abducted by the fairies. Skretch – Level 1 Ratman, Previously a Lumberjack, Tried to unionize the other ‘jacks and had to flee.

Report

Interior shot of an opulent dining room. Marble floor, large windows showing the skyline of Vornheim. Four adventurers are sitting at the table was the camera slowpans across their bored faces. The door slams and we cut to Cordelia the immense entering the room, flanked by handmaidens.

She sits down and informs the characters that she wants them to break into Lucia De Castillo’s famour chocolate factory. The characters are expected to provide one or more of the following; a map of the factory, Lucia’s secret recipie, a sample of coca beans, chocolate liqueur and any other special ingredients they may find.

After some questions about the rates, travel options and other mundane issues Cordelia informs the party that she has booked them passage with a Captain Gullman Rollger. She bids them good luck as we jump cut to a montage of travel.

We land on an exterior shot of the characters, backs turned as they ascend a hill overlooking a ragged coastline. Snow piled high on the ground as a large building looms on the edge of a cliff. Overlooked by the stone building is a small harbour which is bustling with activity as crates are loaded onto a ship.

The characters discuss their approach and after a little while they settle on just walking up. The guards stationed on the roof do nothing besides watch as they walk up to the bridge. A man with a salt and pepper beard walks up to them and introduces himself as Karl Weiss. He politely ask what business they have with the factory. Freya speaks up and says that they are students from the university at Oxford here for a school trip. She asks if Lucia told him of their arrival in a questioning tone of voice. A great Charisma roll put Karl quite off balance, he apologized and said that he had not been informed. But he would be happy to let them into the entrance hall provided they waited for Lucia to pick them up before they start wandering around the factory. “It’s awfully busy and dangerous in there, you know”

We cut to the characters entering and taking off their excess winter cloaks. The rooms walls are covered in wood panelling and to the East their hangs a large painting of Lucia depicting her in deific terms. The characters where not very inerested in this however. They focused their attention on the peculiar choice of coathooks in the form of golden hands. Skretch took one down and discovered, much to his dismay that it was a real preserved hand.

Mei took a chocolate from the samples in the meetingroom as the rest of the party raided the bar. Skretch, being the weary sort, told her not to eat it. He summoned a rat and asked her to give the rat a piece to test it out. Doing so resulted in the rat sprouting very big and oozing boils all over it’s body. This creeped Mei out enough to not eat any herself.

They messed alittle with one of the paintings in this room and triggered a gastrap. Only Freya was affected and after a few minutes she started to swell up with magic helium. This ripped her clothes apart and promped Skretch to try his First aid skills, trying to let the gas out safely. The attempt failed and Freya whizzed around the room and then fell to the floor in an indignified manner. Skretch cut the painting out of it’s frame and rolled it up to take with them. Not happy and a little damaged by the experience, the party continued into the guest bedrooms where Freya quickly snagged the Countess of Somerset's dress to cover her nakedness. The party searched this room very carefully and Mei found the Brooch which she pocketed.

Continuing on the party came to the small purple door. Seeing no other way forward Skretch checked the door for traps. He found none and tried the handle to check if it was locked. Which triggered another gas trap. This time both Freya and Skretch where affected and started to become blue and felt their throat hurting respectively. Skretch, now very annoyed by the constant gas attacks proceeded to chop the door down.

The characters where met by a very hot and humid room filled with rolling green grass and a chocolate river, complete with waterfall. Searching around the room they found a couple of beehives and some mint and chili bushes. Mei took a handful of mint and chili but left he beehives alone. Seeing three other doors out of this room, the party discussed which one to take for a good while before Skretch realized he could send his rats out to scout the place. He tried this on two of the doors which netted them the information that the rats did not like the doors to the north. The corridors beyond where noisy and smelled of roasting coco beans. The door to the south they liked much better since it smelled nice. At least to them. Before moving further, Mewci jumped into the chocolate river only to discover that it was boiling hot. Mei helped to fish her out before things got out of hand. Skretch also threw his acne riddled rat into the river much to the dismay of his companions. “Hey, it’s a mercy kill. He was already poisoned half to death.”

Opening the door to the south corridor the party where surprised to find that Lucia de Castillo was also entering the corridor from a different room. They stared in shock at each other for a beat before Lucia breaks into a toothy grin as she orders her minions to attack. The adventurers slam the door and retreat into the chocolate river room to set up some defenses. They are quickly followed however as they are completely outmatched by Lucia and her Pygmies. Skretch was down from his wounds and the others where not looking to hot when Mei activates her Alice exasperation. She draws to mind that she saw a secret door in the corridor outside the river room.

Picking up Skretch, the party flees out the secret door directly out into the cold winter night. Lucia shouts at her guards to shoot them down but they miss all their shots.

The characters run all the way back to Leeuwarden, wounded, without their cloaks and incubating various nasty diseases.

Notes

The first session ended in the river room and picked up with the rat mapping and development of the various sicknesses the party carried. Skretch could not speak out of fear of slicing up his throat, Mei was itching all over and Freya was turning blue and filling with juice at a rapid rate.

Yes, I messed up with the placement of the guard towers, Mea Culpa. I am terrible at remembering details, even though this module has excellent cheat sheets inside the front and back covers. But hey, it’s not the entire world. It made it easier to get into the factory which is what we all want in the end. Besides, two out of four players had never played rpgs. I didn’t want the game to grind to a halt before we got to the juicy bits. Pun intended.

Not much Xp was gained on the whole, something along the line of 200 xp per character. This prompted me to implement the first of many house rules, specifically the Bonus Xp rewards from James Young’s blog. This will hopefully get xp gain moving a little faster.

[dribs-and-drabbles]

Let's talk about...the peppermint inhaler

Yes, it's product placement BUT now that it's been included twice it's clear it's been used well in the story to help show the progress of Pat and Pran's relationship.

First of all...it's literally mint green. I do wonder - if the colours have been planned out (and it's not just me seeing patterns) - whether the use of mint green as a symbol of Pat and Pran being a couple was in part decided by the need to include this peppermint inhaler... 🤷🏽‍♀️

Anyway, the first time it's included, it's following the first time Pat and Pran have a genuine, light-hearted competition - the race up the stairs after the noodle meal at the beginning of episode 3. Pat asks to use the inhaler but Pran withholds it, keeping it from him as both a retribution for Pat winning but also to continue the competition a little longer by letting Pat fight for it. This moment is also after we see the flashback which confirms Pran had a crush on Pat in high school and, once Pran goes inside his dorm, we also see him lean back on the door wistfully, happy for this new playfulness between them.

Before this, their dynamic had been stilted, unsure of where they stood with each other after three years apart, and with the need to conspire to keep their respective friends away from each other. It seems the inhaler has been used here as a marker...showing the development of their relationship from uncertainty and animosity to a new playfulness and mutual respect.

Moving on to episode 9, Pat and Pran are now officially boyfriends, they've settled their dynamic to some extent, and are not hiding their relationship anymore. Pran offers the inhaler to Pat directly...out in the open where their friends and others can see, who then watch as Pat uses it as an opportunity to flirt by sniffing Pran's arm. The difference in moods between the scenes shows the progress Pat and Pran have made with each other and serves as another marker...they're now comfortable with each other, and with those around them seeing them together, and they understand and care for each other intimately.

If the inhaler makes another appearance, I think it will be incorporated into a scene once their dynamic/relationship has been through another shift...and I can only think of that being after the conflict with their families, when everyone has put their rivalries behind them and Pat and Pran can finally relax and enjoy their lives together. We'll see!

[dribs-and-drabbles]

Episode 8 details

These are some things which I couldn't fit into my costume colour posts this week since there was just so much to write about.

Let's start with Pat and Pran's colours, blue and red: In the theatre at the beginning (they're boyfriends now!), they are surrounded by each other's colours. The red curtains and the red base on which the xylophone has been standing. There's something blue to the left, a blue box behind Pran, and the two people sat front of stage are in t-shirts in shades of blue. The auditorium seats are also blue (the floor is purple - a mix of blue and red) and even the scaffolding at the back is blue. However, the little pop of lime green and yellow on the sides help to balance these colours.

After the (red) car drives away, it reveals blue and red detailing on the pillar.

And of course the two 'P's are in blue and red on the earbud case holder. I love that they're overlapping, like they're intertwined, so unified that you can trace one complete 'P' by starting on the blue and continuing on the red before re-joining the blue again. Also, the cord is blue with red and I think mint green.

And a gif to show the lights on the (blue) earbuds, which flash blue and red.

Now onto the yellow: During the flirting on stage at the beginning of the episode, there are people in the background with yellow card (I presume for the animal [is it supposed to be a buffalo?] that stands next to the xylophone). My yellow theory, in case you're new here, is that it signifies the love and happiness between the characters (or I'm a clown who just sees coincidental patterns 🤷🏽‍♀️).

And the yellow lights of the traffic between Pat and Pran on their dinner date on the rooftop. 💛

And now for the mint green: So, my theory with this is that mint green signifies the union between the characters as a couple (I wish I could do words better to have a smoother explanation). Anyway, I predicted that we would see a lot more mint green appearing in the episodes now that Pat and Pran are boyfriends...and I think I'm right.

In episode 8 (along with some items of clothing, which I'll write about later), we see Pran's alarm clock is (almost) mint green in the close up (tbh, I wasn't sure if this is grey or mint green...so I'm calling it the latter 🤷🏽‍♀️).

In episode 7 already I had noticed Pran's table mat looked like a dark mint green (ok, so that would be teal/turquoise 🤷🏽‍♀️) but in this close up we can see it's a mix of the darker teal and the lighter mint.

Even the bucket and hose at Pran's family home is mint green.

And lastly, I wasn't sure whether to include this one...but the towel Pat has over his shoulder is just a mix of everything - teal, blue, yellow, pink, orange, purple...is there green in there too? - but I also love that he's wearing one of Pran's tops (see the neckline - that is definitely not a Pat look).

[Ep 1] [Ep 2] [Ep 3] [Ep 4] [Ep 5] [Ep 6] [Ep 7] [Ep 9] [Ep 10]

[dribs-and-drabbles]

Thoughts on the costuming of Bad Buddy (a thread*)

Episode 7:

So much to write about again this week but I’ve kept it as short as possible 😬 Here goes!

First of all, Pat has a RED car?! That’s all.

So, this episode seems to have a blue/yellow theme to it - in that there are seven scenes with yellow and blue paired together (either on the same person or shared between two) and these scenes are dotted within the episode like bookmarks. Which is interesting because the arch of the episode feels like it has two bookends - the two curry scenes at the beginning and the end.

In the first bookend, Pat has a dark blue tank with a small yellow detail over his heart whereas Pran has a stripped yellow and light blue top and red shorts. Also note the mint green wall behind Pran (I’ve already written about the blue and mint green lights in the window). All these colours emphasise the joy they’re having with the bet...and that they’re headed towards coupledom.

In the library, we have a literal bookend in mint green - note the red detail inside on the yellow background and with a blue book behind that 🤓 - and yellow labels on the shelves. Pran has a yellow shirt for when he’s reminiscing all the flirting he and Pat have done...and for when he flirts again with Pat in the aisle - he’s not afraid to wear his love now. 

In the montage of the flirting, we get another of the yellow/blue pairings - Pran is in a pale yellow shirt when Pat takes off a dark blue t-shirt. In the bus stop moment, Wai has a yellow and white top and Pat has a t-shirt with yellow, red, and mint green on the print (I’m not sure what to make of Pran’s lime green yet). The rest of the friends are in neutral or their faculty colours (in fact, that goes for the whole episode). Lastly, in the lecture, Pran is in blue in a sea of red, showing where his heart lies.

Then the episode shifts - Pran goes back to his own red and Pat has an ominous forest green...BUT I think it’s symbolic that Pat takes it off - it’s indicating that even though there might (will) be obstacles, they’re not coming from their own ignorance or repression anymore (like before the bet). Note also that Nong Nao is a mixture of pastel blue, pink, and yellow! (Also see Pa’s comforter/duvet in the background, which I will come back to later).

In the theatre, Pran first seems quite neutral in this white sweater with red and black sleeves but he also has blue jeans...and is holding a yellow clipboard and blue pen - so, his and Pat’s colours and their love. In fact the four clipboards, from left to right, are red, yellow, blue, and yellow. For his confession (which we eventually see at the end), Pat is in a wonderful blue t-shirt with the words “your man?” visible and a dark red shirt over the top. I also like that Pa brings Pat’s sticks wearing a pink cardigan. 

Then we have another bookmark of yellow and blue...this time with the red. Ink also wears this yellow hoodie for the noodle scene, where she is also situated between Pat and Pran in the wide shots - symbolising the love between the two.

In the theatre, the tone shifts again...Pran’s in yellow but it’s a mustard yellow - similar to the mustard in Chompoo’s top. But it’s her top that is most interesting - the green foreshadowing the confrontation with Chat and angst that brings as well as Pat’s angst in the following scene.

I predicted the Nivea scene would look happy and flirty but then turn angsty...and I was right. I like the yellow details, though, on Pat’s olive green top - almost like “wearing you heart on your sleeves” - and the yellow lights between their faces...their love is glowing between them. Wai interrupts and we have another of the yellow/blue bookmarks with his outfit. This seems like an odd combination for him, and it’s either part of the WaiPa baiting I’ve written about before, or it’s again symbolic of the love between Pat and Pran (Wai sits between them) even though Pat leaves upset, or it’s reminiscent of when Pran left the guitar with Wai (Pran was wearing a yellow shirt then). (This scene was also when I noticed that Wai has yellow converse...and I checked earlier episodes and he has them right from the beginning too.)

Ahhh look at those yellow lights and that bright yellow of Pat’s top! Yes, Pran tried to confess but it was done in the wrong way - and the white shirt indicates that - and Yes, Pat is upset with Pran for the Wai/guitar/conditional confession but he still loves Pran and wants to be with him - which is shown by his yellow top.

And then we draw to the end, towards the final bookend - as hinted by the mint green hue on the wall to the right of the theatre. Here Pran is in a light violet shirt over a white t-shirt - perhaps showing how he wasn’t quite feeling his usual full self (ie bright red) because of the situation with Pat and Chat... Pat, however, is in a brown t-shirt - a colour which we haven’t seen that often. In fact only twice so far and both times it was Pran’s dad. I’ve already written about my new hypothesis that brown might symbolise sacrifice/giving in/submission, but I’ll just say that the face design might symbolise how Pat has saved Pran from the humiliation of grovelling to Chat (ie. to save face) and instead chosen to ‘humiliate’ himself by ‘losing’ the bet by showing up for Pran without needing his public confession.

So, in the final bookend, we get the last blue/yellow pairing. Pat in a blue sweater and Pran in light yellow t-shirt. The small green detail over Pran’s heart - a palm tree similar to the print on the back - indicates there will be ‘trouble in paradise’...but we knew that, right? 😏 Now for Pa’s bedsheets - they’re a mix of blue (Pat), red (Pran), and mint green (they’re boyfriends now!).

Other points to note:

The parents: In the beginning, we see the first yellow/blue pairing with Pran’s parents. His dad’s in yellow - and although Pran photos him because of the sugar-daddy/sugar-baby joke, I like to think the yellow is symbolic of the joy Pat and Pran hare having with the flirting. His mum, interestingly enough, is in dark blue again. I recently wrote about a theory that Pran’s mum studied engineering, which might explain why she’s often in blue. We’ll see if that’s true later.

In the video call, Pat’s dad is in a light olive green top, indicating the angst that he will cause Pat (he’s already making him feel bad about having to follow exactly in his footsteps, so this isn’t much of a stretch...)

Pa (and Ink and Wai): I’ve already written about the connections between the colours of Pa, Ink, and Wai’s clothes, so I won’t repeat them here. But I will just say that Pa also has yellow soles! (like Pat and Pran) and in this scene her shoes and cardigan (and that yellow wall helps) make up one of the blue/yellow pairings. Note also that Ink wears one yellow and one green converse. Ahhh, the details!

[Ep 1] [Ep 2] [Ep 3] [Ep 4] [Ep 5] [Ep 6] [Ep 8] [Ep 9] [Ep 10] [Ep 11] [Ep 12]

[dribs-and-drabbles]

Thoughts on the costuming of Bad Buddy (a thread*)

Episode 8 (2/3): PatPran

There's so much I want to write about this week that I've had to break it down into three different posts: one for Ink and Pa; one for Pat and Pran; and one about the Friends. But here's Pat and Pran...

When I wrote about my mint green colour theory before episode 7, I predicted that we would see a lot more of this colour when Pat and Pran got together...and yay, I was right! I've already posted about some details but with the clothes we start right off the bat with Pat in mint green shorts. (There's also something mint green hanging behind the brown bag on the wall...maybe another bag? Perhaps we'll get to see Pran using it at some point...although he's only ever used his blue 'P' bag, so perhaps not...). Pat is also in a teal and black and white stiped top...but I'm not sure what to make of the use of teal to be honest - it might be that my mint green theory should extend to teal as well (so the whole dark to light spectrum of this colour) but I'm not sure there's been a pattern to its use...I need more time to investigate...

Pran, on the other hand, is wearing their colours - in blue and pink stiped pants. I don't think I need to point out both their faculty jackets in the background...but I guess I just did. (And that's Pat's bag hung up on the right).

Once dressed, Pat again has mint green on his clothes - in the writing on his sandy/orange (pumpkin?) t-shirt. In contrast, Pran is in white - perhaps symbolic of being anxious about people finding out about their relationship and therefore feeling the need to present a neutral façade. Of course, Pat, on the other hand, can't wait to be open about what they are and his colourful top shows that.

I've written in more detail about the friends groups in post 3/3 of this thread, but before episode 8 I had predicted that the engineering group would be supportive of Pat hitting on someone from architecture based on their colours - Korn in bright red and Mo in pink (incidentally, Pat has red details on his blue top) - and again I was right (yay me!). Of course we don't know what's going to happen next now that they know it's actually Pran...but that's for another day.

I liked this little interjection by the rugby coach, wearing this dark blue top with a yellow flower print - it seems like the possibility for Pat to be open about his love and happiness in front of his friends is blossoming...? 🤞🏽

Later both Pat and Pran are in shades of orange. I'm interpreting this as either a mix of red and yellow (so Pran's colour and their happiness), or a hint reinforcing Ink's importance with Pa and the potential of their relationship...or it could be a bit of both. Anyway, I love the yellow square over Pran's heart. He's upset at the beginning of this scene but softens in Pat's embrace as he recites the play's lines and is his happiest in the balcony scene later than day. This colourful outfit (with the blue jeans) is a stark difference to the white of earlier. The writing on Pat's top is equally interesting, not only the "PROUD" (okay you have to ignore the rest) emphasising how he feels about being with Pran, but the forest green colour. It alludes not only to the little animosity between him and Pran that quickly dissipates but also the coming difficult conversation with his father and ensuing angst.

And then after the conversation with his father, Pat is lying, dejected, in bed - all in white. Devoid of colour. Devoid of happiness.

But then we get that wonderful balcony scene, full of love and care and connection. Pat gives Pran the earbud case holder (which I wrote about in my episode 8 details post) with the red and blue 'P' and neck cord, and Pran gives Pat the 'friend/unfriend' t-shirt. Pat lays it over himself and he is again full of colour, full of feeling.

But...we need to remember that although this shirt is symbolic of their connection - having been passed between them and worn by Pat before - it is also an ambiguous dark olive/grey (and borders on brown as well - more on that below) which echoes the ambiguity of the 'friend/unfriend' writing...and the ambiguity that their status has been to them and is still to others. It's potentially foreshadowing the angst that we will see in part 4 of the episode, both between them and for the final curtain drop, despite making Pat so happy here.

And so for the angst...Pran's anxieties come to the fore, Pat and Pran exchange heated words, and the t-shirt gets pulled off and slung to the floor...the 'friend/unfriend' wording feeling ominous in the tension between them. Pat, as Riam, plays the xylophone to "express his upset" (in yet another scene where the play reflects their life) and it's fitting that Pat is shirtless - bare and exposed, vulnerable and natural.

I adore the framing in this shot - Pat is in front of a rich red curtain, stood on a red base, with the yellow buffalo (?) between him and Pran in the foreground shadows, and that hint of mint green above Pran's head. Pat is in the light, wanting to be out in the open with their relationship, whereas Pran feels he needs to hide in the darkness. The smiley face of the animal seems a direct contrast to the solemnity of the scene, almost mocking, but it could also be a reminder of the love and happiness that does still exist between the two despite their current difficulties.

Afterwards, after they have reflected and calmed down, they come together to reconcile. Before episode 8, I proposed a new colour theory, that brown symbolised a sacrifice or yielding, and here we have Pran and Pat sat side by side, separated by a brown roll of material 'haphazardly' leaning on the blue scaffolding behind them. They apologise, express their desires and their fears, and then yield a little to the other, meeting in the middle, understanding the other and compromising on their needs and wishes.

In the frame is also the red fabric, the blue scaffolding, and the yellow of the buffalo (which has been purposefully moved here from the front of the curtain for this shot). Not only that, I realised after seeing @elogval's beautiful artwork that the wall on the left is mint green. All the important colours. Regarding the clothes, Pran is in a sandy top with blue stripes (I have written about this in the friend group post - 3/3 of this series) and Pat is holding the 'friend/unfriend' shirt. It's not a surprise that after he puts it on again we come to the final moment of trouble - when the curtain falls and their relationship gets revealed.

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[dribs-and-drabbles]

Another new costume colour theory...

(Even I think this is getting to be a bit much now but here goes...)

A reminder to start, so far we have:

Blue = Pat (and the engineering group)

Red = Pran (and the architecture group)

Forest/Olive Green = conflict or obstacles to the characters’ happiness

Yellow = the characters’ love and happiness

Mint Green = the union of the characters as a couple

Now I would like to propose a new theory: 

Brown = Sacrifice/Giving in/Submission

Before I go into my ‘evidence’, I admit I’ve been wondering whether Aof/the production team actually just wanted to have a changing colour palate through out the series (with no underlying meaning to any of them) but because of the way the story develops and how different themes come in, it’s just been easy to associate the changing colour palate to the different aspects of the story (meaning I’m just clowning here)...because it feels like it’s getting so complicated and I do wonder how likely it is that this has all been genuinely planned out...so maybe my brain just likes looking for patterns and can easily invent reasons for those patterns...

Anyway, evidence for the Brown colour theory:

Pran’s dad. He’s generally very submissive to his wife and family, looking to her mainly to take the lead on things or be the louder ‘voice’. When we first see him, he’s in a brown and white striped top and Pran stops him from serving himself with his own spoon. He looks guilty and ‘put in his place’ as though if his family weren’t there, he would live by a different set of rules:

Then we see him accompany his wife as she stops Pran from playing in the music concert..again looking to her to take the lead and giving in to her wishes:

Pat. Brown isn’t seen again as a large item of clothing until Pat wears this t-shirt in episode 7 at the end when he sacrifices winning the bet by stepping up to help out Pran with the play. He gives in, he submits - all out of love - but he does it for Pran to make him happy. 

The design of the face is also interesting and could be interpreted it as though he’s helping Pran ‘save face’ - to avoid the humiliation of having to chase down Chat to re-join the play. Instead, Pat is allowing himself to be the one ‘humiliated’ (he obviously doesn’t feel this way because he does it gladly) by ‘losing’ the bet (even though he does ‘win’ in the end - by him and Pran getting together):

Pran. And lastly - this one is a stretch because we haven’t seen it yet - but there will be a scene with Pran in a brown and white striped shirt where it looks like he is pulling himself away from Pat, seemingly unwilling to do something, but then later gives in, yields to Pat, and feeds him the food that was in his hand. There might be more to this scene but for now it seems to fit:

So if we see this colour more during the up-coming conflict then I think this theory will stand...perhaps if Pran feels he has to submit to his mother’s wishes, sacrificing Pat...or maybe Pat will sacrifice himself so that Pran doesn’t get hurt...or the other way round... Who knows how the story will pan out...but be wary of brown clothes, I think!

[dribs-and-drabbles]

Episode 9 details

Here are some things that I couldn’t fit into my other analysis posts this week since there's just so much to write about...again.

Let's start with all the red and blue details...and there were quite a lot. First, the blue costumes of the play with the huge backdrop of red...and not to forget the pops of yellow - Pat and Pran's colours plus their love and happiness. I like that brown is also featured (I guess because the play's characters are peasants...?) but it adds to the theory that brown signifies sacrifice or yielding since Pran has sacrificed his own right to an apology from Wai and instead is pursuing him to try to apologise and reconcile.

Then we have the very obvious red and blue bibs for the rugby training - reminding us that there is an opposition between architecture and engineering...and therefore between Wai and Pat...but it's interesting that Pat gets given the red bib - it represents him being on Pran's side and on Wai's team, highlighting that he's doing his best to not oppose Wai/architecture any more. Note that Wai also has a blue t-shirt, so he's wearing the colours united...perhaps foreshadowing that he eventually accepts Pat and Pran's relationship. Again, I like the yellow flower on the coach's top - once again potentially showing Pat and Pran's blossomed love and happiness.

For the rugby game, the kit they're wearing has a lot more blue than red - emphasising that there are more engineering students in the team than architecture (to be fair we don't know what subjects the extras study but 🤷🏽‍♀️)...with Wai represented as the red stripe on their shorts. And again, there's a large blue gazebo (engineering) literally overshadowing the smaller red bag (Wai).

This is a terrible screenshot (the best i could do unfortunately) but I LOVED the pink, blue, and yellow drinks in the bar. On one hand, they are Pat and Pran's colours and their love and happiness BUT they are also the pansexual flag colours - following the hotpot double date, Pat's words could be interpreted as him being pansexual.

For the final blue detail, Wai has a blue cloth and the same rich blue is in the background. In a way, the cloth is symbolic of both how Wai views Pat and also Pat's involvement in this situation - first, in Wai's eyes Pat is unworthy of more than being dragged through the dirt, and second, the cloth is used to remove the spilt beer from the floor but then Pat also 'removes' the beer by stopping the guy from spilling more.

Sticking with Wai and the other rugby guy (TORG), I really liked the location by the bathrooms. It's probably all arbitrary BUT I like patterns and linking things so here's my interpretation: First, there's red, blue, and yellow in the painting of the woman's face behind Wai and she's looking towards Wai and TORG almost like a witness - maybe a nod to the fact that the CCTV camera captures this scene which helps Pat later. There is also a huge swathe of brown on the wall - later Wai finally yields and helps out Pat and Pran with the video footage. Lastly, there's a small circle of mint green between Wai and TORG - and with mint green potentially being used as a signifier of Pat and Pran's union as a couple, it could be a little indicator that the real issue causing Wai to fight TORG is in fact his frustration with them and not the guy in front of him.

I also noticed what I presume is Wai's nametag (anyone who understands Thai script - let me know if I've made the wrong assumption)....which looks like a 'b' in Latin script (i.e. English) and therefore an upside down and backwards 'P' 👀 I wonder if his name was deliberately chosen because of this...(okay, I'm really reaching with this one...)

And lastly, although Pran's te-shirt isn't referring specifically to a christmas holiday (it looks more like a beach theme), I think it says "Holiday Mode Yay", which seems like a nod to the fact that it was broadcast on christmas eve. 🧐

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