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BAD BUDDY: A PAT NAPAT ANALYZIS

Little disclaimer here… I AM ANALYZING THEIR INTIMACY. Only their persona within their sexual behavior, NOT their personalities nor partnership.

Ever since I started the show, I fell in love, particularly with Pat’s carefree personality. Because you know what’s just amazing?

Pat could have easily been that usual male stereotype, as adorable Pa pointed out, who claims he is straight but only gay for one man. Which could be true, but when you watch and watch and watch, as episodes go on, you realize Pat is, for the lack of better words, THE man. THE walking green flag, as we all call him.

Why? Well... Keep reading.

He is big, strong, works out, he fits the typical straight man that usually STRUGGLES with his sexuality once he realizes he is attracted to a boy. He has his parents expectations looming over him, he clearly does NOT wish to disappoint them, and yet, he EMBRACES HIS LOVE FOR PRAN SO EASILY.

And not only that. He is a sensitive man. A man with emotional intelligence. A man who is gentle and sympathetic with others. Characteristics that we don’t often see in other protagonists that also fit in Pat’s category.

When he said this line, I nearly lost it. He is such a carefree soul. And I knew he would be just like this. From episode 1. He is RESPECTFUL to people, he is just, and yes, he is hotheaded, and deals with his problems in not such a healthy way at the beginning (alas, the whole fighting, trying to solve problems with punches thing).

but then you keep on watching the show, and Pat SHOWS he is NOT like other men at all. Yes, he looks like it, because he shows himself a certain way, but his actions are far from the toxic male behaviour.

HE IS A MAN WHO KNOWS HE IS NOT ENTITLED TO ANYTHING.

And lets face it. We are NOT used to that. I just loved this scene, by the way. I'm sure many were expecting Pat to go off like "no he can't date my sister"

BUT he did NOT pull off ANY OF THAT BULLSHIT.

He really said "that's not my decision to make, why are you even asking me" and tHAT'S SO SEXY. LIKE. DUDE.

Pat is clearly the jealous type. He is the protective type. HE IS. BUT HE DOESN'T SHOW IT IN A TOXIC WAY. HE IS A GENTLE PERSON.

YES, HE FIGHTS, HE THROWS PUNCHES, HE LIKES TO LOOK MUSCLY, HE IS "MANLY" AND "MASCULINE" AND ANYTHING YOU WANT; BUT HE IS ALSO GENTLE, LOVING, SENSITIVE AND SUBMISSIVE.

HE IS THE PERFECT BOY, DON'T WE ALL AGREE?

NOW AGAIN:

He is SUBMISSIVE; YES, HE IS SUCH A STRONG, MANLY MAN THAT IS NOT AFRAID OF SUBMISSION, OF BEING WEAK IN FRONT OF PRAN, OF CRYING, OF GIVING HIMSELF COMPLETELY, BODY AND SOUL TO HIM

GUYS

HE

BOTTOMED

GUYS

COULD WE ALL STOP AND APPRECIATE THIS?

Guys. He clearly bottomed. And I’m not saying its something it matters, cause it doesn’t. Sexual preferences are just that, but there has been so much male toxicity in BL for so long, and yet, these two manage to destroy it with every single episode.

Pat having bottomed does not mean he IS A BOTTOM. I don’t think sexuality and sexual preferences can be reduced to something so simple. It is DIVERSE.

BUT. The fact that Pat shows off such a “Manly” image and also a SUBMISSIVE one, says A LOT. [I haven’t read the novel, but I believe that they have sex in it and Pran is the one that bottoms, but I could be wrong].

If you see this scene, analyze Pat and Pran’s body language, and the way they speak to each other. Pat is on top, yes, but look at them. Pat is not trying to come strongly onto Pran; you know what he is doing here?

HE IS SEDUCING.

He is trying to seduce Pran, not force him. Listen to his voice when he says "can I do it later?"

He is begging prettily to Pran, as if he just knows that DOES IT FOR HIS BOYFRIEND.

Ever since the show started, I had ZERO doubts that Pran was the more dominant one, and I was 100% sure Pat would bottom.

CAUSE HE WOULD. AND HE DID.

And I am pretty sure Pran would also bottom. They would take turns, of course they would. Sexual preferences in a couple are so freaking diverse and not at all black or white!

And I just love that they didn’t show us a scene where they “play/fight” who will bottom. Guys. Those scenes suck.

The “you bottom! No, you bottom” thing is awful, and it was absolutely wipped away as a possibility the moment Pran asked Pat if “calling him his wife made him feel superior”

Don't you agree?

Thanks for coming to my ted talk.

PS: Yes, when I confirmed Pat bottomed I screamed my lungs out. I absolutely loved it.

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bad buddy isnt about two people who hate each other learning to love each other, it's about two people who love each other learning to trust each other. and not to be dramatic but i think that's beautiful. that's that on that

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KORN

Okay, but what if Korn had a crush on Wai, decided to hit on him, Wai thought it was a cruel joke and that's how their personal animosity started? (I'm sure Wai has TRUST ISSUES with capital everything)

So Korn is thinking Wai's a homophobic asshole and Wai is thinking that Korn is a jerk...

Just saying.

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I would appreciate a bit more conversation about the way that Bad Buddy is queer-coded. I understand that’s a fairly inane thing to say, given this is a BL series, but tbh we all know that most Thai Y-series are p much supposed to be Straight-Coded, given the commerical limitation/expectations and the usual primary audience.

P’Aof has already made comments to the effect that certain moments in this series were supposed to break Y-series conventions, and he and his friends have spoken in their reactions about how relatable the series is, how Pran for instance reads as gay, and some scenes could be in their (p’JoJo and Aof’s) gay (not Y-series) shows, like Gay Ok. His friends even pointed out that scenes are in some ways more overtly sexual than Y-series usually are.

I’ve seen people mention here and on Reddit that even the source material lends itself to this sort of genre fuckery, which is partly why I actually shelled out and bought the book for the first time ever. I feel like the primary way this is true is simply in the set-up of the narrative, with the primary conflict being “our family and friends will never accept us.” And now, in the meat of that conflict, the metaphor for being in the closet, for not being ready to come out, etc, is so strong it’s almost overpowering.

Pran doesn’t want to see his guitar (talk to/play with Pat) because he might play it (kiss, love Pat). And then his mother mistrusts Pat so much that he won’t let Pat into their home?  Only her servant can touch something Pat’s touched? And all that feeds into Pat asking if Pran ever hating him, trying to see if he gave Pran a reason to hate him, and you know there’s a part of Pran that thinks Pat existing is a reason to hate him. And then later Pran and Pat are visibly yearning to spend the night together, only to have that connection interrupted by Wai, to the point that Pat literally assumes he’s going to have the shit beat out of him simply for being cheeky and trying to speak to Pran? And at then at the end Pran says the kiss meant nothing, that he doesn’t want to be understood by Pat…. jeez!

And of course it doesn’t have to be read that way, but I loved watching p’JoJo talk about times guys have come to him about girls and he had to just be ok with it, and get over it in the morning, and not say anything. I love that this show is letting us see young characters dealing with these conflicts in ways that are not necessarily through forcing us to witness bursts of homophobic violence exclusively, but instead letting us follow these characters through a general culture of fear/hatred that as a viewer we can read as and know is utterly ridiculous and unfair.

I’ve seen so many comments saying that the friends’ anger/hatred is stupid/annoying, or that the parents are to blame for the pain their children feel, and what I see is just an allegory for a queer teen story about coming of age in a conservative society. Like it’s so stupid!! They’re just in love!! Of course not all youth Y-series need to be about that, but the texture of a queer-coded gay show is so interesting to me???? Let’s talk more about it!!

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thinking about this scene and it reminded me of how whenever pranpat lead fights their respective groups would only be able to see the other’s face and i suddenly had a ridiculous idea of pran’s friends finding out after they’re really dating where they’re somehow convinced pat’s hazing pran privately.

like this scene where pat’s poking his cheeks probably to illustrate pran’s dimples and make him smile but they’re a secret so pran shoots him a grin then turns biting his cheeks in what appears to wai a distressed frown (he is devastated. about how disastrously endearing his bf is.)

in their increasing alarm they follow pran after class once bc louis saw pat shoot a signal pran’s way after which he remained distracted till he left and safe and louis aren’t as paranoid as wai yet but pran’s their sweet, darling friend and they want to make sure he’s safe. whatever conversation they eavesdrop on further convinces them pran’s being hazed.

pat: did u miss me? pran, v affectionately: what the hell?! the rest of the gang bc they can’t see their faces: >:( pat: r u free tonight? pran: i have an imp assignment to complete by tonight. pat, laughing: great! dinner’s on you then.

pran’s v imp assignment is their two weeks anniversary btw. 

wai doesn’t even need to say ‘i told u so’ his expression screams it. safe and louis are pale at what they witnessed, fearing it’s smth worse than what they understand bc pran’s never mentioned this to them.

safe: that must be why pran couldn’t complete the song, that dick purposely pestered him so he wouldn’t finish louis: ah that must have been that asshole’s shirts then. i saw pran washing shirts that weren’t his but he lied and said they were old ones. they were too smelly to pran’s. wai: that dickhead doesn’t leave him alone in the dorm either that’s why that mf was waiting outside  safe: don’t u see the faces that fucker makes at pran when their gang fights us? louis: that’s why he’s always telling his guys he’ll handle pran bc he wants to be the one to hit him!! wai: *steams like a whistling kettle, sound effect and all*

pran’s gang is ready to throw hands immediately but they know their interference might make pran upset so instead they swear not to leave him alone. not once thru out the night. and when pran lets out a long resigned sigh, they interpret that as relief and rejoice. 

pran was planning to make his bf dinner and possibly get laid that night but well. wai and louis won’t stop crying about this test they say they’re positive they’ll fail (he wonders when they’ve started to care about tests) and safe swears he has no place to stay at night, that he was turned out by his family bc of his smelly socks (which he promised to dump before entering pran’s room).

they reach all sorts of wrong conclusions on every pranpat interaction they’ve ever witnessed. but when they try insulting pat in front of pran (to help him blow off some steam if not confide), pran weakly defends him instead. and they debate if its bc he’s trying to prevent a fight so architecture doesn’t land a penalty again or if it’s some kind of stockholm syndrome.

regardless it breaks their heart.

its not often that pranpat reaffirm their plans with each other in college so they don’t get interrupted enough to notice what’s up but the gang once catches them alone in a corridor with pat tickling pran relentless and that’s when shit hits the fan.

after their irrefutable evidence that their beloved leader is being bullied (re: pran’s uncontrolled giggles and weak pleas for pat to stop), they don’t need to hold wai back from throwing a punch onto pat’s jaw.

to their utter surprise, instead of panic or relief pran turns absolutely livid. he shoves wai back and yells at him in the harshest, maddest tone they’ve ever heard from him. pran’s so angry he’s shaking, and wai’s overcome with this urge to defend himself but pran’s fuming gaze cuts him off.

pat doesn’t make a move towards them, doesn’t even shoot wai a second glance, still cradling his jaw, and instead moves to pull pran’s elbow and tell him he’s okay. the rest of the gang watches quietly, in mild horror, as pat gently turns pran towards him, tugging his arm till pran meets his eyes then smiles at him lovingly and says he’s ok, asks him if he should go.

really even at this point it’s only safe that has alarms blaring in his head, realizing they’ve read this whole fucking thing wrong. very, very wrong.

pran’s still afraid to confess the truth of the matter, but weeks of lying in pat’s arms, hearing his confident reassurances has made strong enough to face this. hes just annoyed bc he was planning to tell them of his own  accord and now bc he kept pushing it his bf got hurt and is still consoling him.

anyway pat cut his lip, is bleeding slightly and v decidedly not okay, and in a rare moment of vexation with his best friends he brusquely shoots that pat’s his boyfriend and drags pat away. 

(yes he was also running away bc he’s too scared of this going terribly wrong, still afraid of looking at his friends faces, but for now he tells himself to focus on pat). 

(also yes pat holds this above the architecture gang’s head for years to come. rn he’s just vv enamored with his bf and coming to terms with the realization that angry pran turns him on).

the boys do wonder if pran’s lost his fucking head. but its not pran’s anger of declaration that convinces them they’re wrong. its the way pat’s looking at him, anew like he’s seeing pran for the first time. with so much affection and love and wonder and love in his gaze their necks turn warm.

louis having an epiphany: he was PROTECTING him!!

he then feels like an idiot all over again bc ofc that’s why pran was the only member of their gang that would leave the fights with hardly a scratch on him. and they’ve all seen pat’s arms.

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What gets me every single time is how Pat and Pran see each other.

For the first 4 episodes we saw Pat as this bubbly, happy and magnetic person. He is charming, confident, self assured and very helpful. He is playful and flirty.

And once the pov shifts Pat is much more quiet and thoughtful. He seems to be calmer.

Whereas Pran is very quiet, closed off, sometimes he comes off as a bit cold and grumpy. He doesn’t show much of what he feels. At least not in the first 4 episodes.

But once we see him through Pat’s eyes it’s like… switching on a light in a dimly lit room. He becomes this smiling person. He is endearing in ways he wasn’t before. He looks even more beautiful than he did in the previous episodes? There seems to be a freaking halo of light around him?

They see each other as the most beautiful and precious person and they’re drawn to each other like magnets. Their attraction seems to be inevitable.. and it’s so beautiful to watch.

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Wait a minute! Dammit! See I’m noticing something else from ep 5. The confession to Ink. Pat wasn’t truly confessing he had feelings for Ink he was using Ink as a launching pad; he was talking about Pran. That’s why she says that doesn’t sound like a love confession but like getting something off your chest.

He was basically confirming to himself he had feelings for Pran back in high school but was too afraid to confess because he didn’t want to lose their friendship 🤯

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want an extra evidence of how pat has always been in love but was so oblivious or just didn't even think through his feelings

take n.1

this is how he remembered their school performance first time

take n.2

this is how he remembered it later

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pat : do you have a boyfriend?

pran : no.

pat : why?

pran : because my parents are strict. but why do you not have a boyfriend?

pat : because your parents are strict.

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found this and thought more people should see it! it does feel a little different but it's so important too.

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do you know what theme i think i loved the most throughout the whole ep? courage.

because throughout the series so far, we know that pran has no courage to admit his feelings, but pat has courage in spades. you can see it in the way pat pushes forward with his playfulness and in the way pran pulls back to stop from getting hurt.

and you can see it most in the fight scene; pat is so full of courage that he doesn’t care who hears or who sees him, he wants this. he wants it to be known that him and pran have something, anything. and he’s asking for pran to be just as courageous, courageous for him.

tell him. he wants pran to be be brave enough to say it. but he can’t be. he doesn’t have it in him. not in front of wai and not even when they’re alone, he has too many walls to break them now.

and so he tells him, begs him to shut up. he’s asking too much, he can’t do it, doesn’t have the courage. pat’s bravery is so at odds with pran’s fear, and they’re begging each other to both be on the same page, be something or be nothing. and it just doesn’t work.

that’s why the fight scene makes the rooftop scene even better.

when pat asks that question, do you think we csn be friends, with a trembling lip and tears in his eyes, he isn’t asking pran to be courageous, he’s meeting him halfway. he needs something and if pran won’t give him what he wants then he’ll take what he can get. friendship is better than nothing. that’s all he’s asking for, even if it hurts him.

but then pran asks that question, do you want us to be friends. and in that moment, he’s asking pat to be brave for him. he knows he wants more than friendship but can’t ask for it, so he’s asking pat to have the courage he doesn’t, to say what they both know is true, that’s it’s more. and if pat can do anything, he sure knows how to make pran happy. so he does. he says what pran wants to hear and what is true, and they’re the same thing.

no. just that word and everything shatters. pat gives pran the courage he’s lacking, and they’re not at odds anymore, they’re completing each other. everything slips into place. and all the obstacles that courage overcame in that moment can fade away.

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Pat is so tuned with Pran that even in his subconscious mind, he'd never do anything to intentionally hurt him. In the confrontation scene, he's clearly drunk and not in the right state of mind, yet when Pran holds him roughly by his collar, his first reaction is to surrender. His reflex should have been to back handle Pran in return, yet he is aware that it's Pran infront of him. He stops himself and let's himself be manhandled because he'd never hurt him.

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Pat is trying to process this groundbreaking information

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gonna say it, this kiss scene was one of the rare times in a bl where i thought “wow these actors aren’t being held at gunpoint to kiss each other” 💀 i didn’t even know it was possible to get a kiss like this in this genre