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lurkingshan · 3 months

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I've been thinking a lot about the depictions of generational trauma and parental accountability being presented in dramas lately. Since you've watched way more than me, especially outside of BLs, what are some shows that present or include parental accountability?

This is such a good question and one I have been thinking about a lot since Last Twilight episode 10 aired. Westerners often assume that because of Asian cultural norms around filial piety, parental authority, and respect for elders, we can never expect satisfying parental accountability in our Asian drama narratives. But that's not true! It's been done and done well. It’s because these values are so deeply embedded in most Asian cultures that Asian creators are the best positioned to speak on the harms they can cause, and will often embed these themes in their work.

Now, there is an important distinction to make here: the difference between what characters do, and what the story communicates. A character may choose to abide by honoring their parents at all costs, but the story can still communicate how harmful that is. A character may never apologize for something they have done wrong, but the story can still make it clear they have fucked up and hold them accountable for that via tangible consequences. Here are a few examples from bl to illustrate what I mean, and the different ways this can show up in dramas.

Bad Buddy

One of the most obvious examples of parental accountability in genre, and also a pretty full metal version of it. This entire story is about the damage Ming and Dissaya did their sons with their decades-long feud and insistence on pushing that trauma down on their children, and we got some extremely cathartic scenes of Pat and Pran telling their parents exactly what they thought about that. Of course, even though they raged at their parents, they never got the apologies they deserved (and likely never will) and still had to hide their relationship to appease their parents going forward. But that doesn't mean there was no accountability here. The entire narrative held these parents accountable by showing us how they were harming their sons, forcing them to reckon with it, and ultimately showing them settling into a form of resigned acceptance.

Until We Meet Again

This entire show is about Korn and In's reincarnated souls healing from the trauma of their tragic ending, which was brought upon by the familial pressure and rejection they experienced from their fathers. We not only saw Dean and Pharm work through this trauma and forge new bonds with family members, we saw the direct aftermath of their first deaths, the despair and regret their families felt, and the ceremony that tied their souls together as a result. It's big karmic accountability on a grand scale, and the show never flinched from letting us see exactly how much harm was caused by these parents, or how the tenets of filial piety resulted in Korn's despair that he couldn't be what his father wanted. Even more crucially, we were shown, not just told, the counterpoint impact of good parenting, when Dean and Pharm were accepted by their families in their second life.

Blueming

A rare example of an Asian parent being called to the carpet, feeling the wrongness of their actions, and actually apologizing for it. This does in fact happen in drama! Si Won's mom raised him to hate himself, to be ashamed of his body, to fake his way through life so people would like him, and boy did it do a lot of damage. The story showed us how this affected Si Won and his relationships deeply, and brought him to the point where it finally burst out of him. And his mom, to her credit, was dismayed to understand what she had done to her son. This show also gets bonus points for Da Un standing up to his own mother after she interferes in the film contest.

Bed Friend

Uea's mother's sins against him are numerous, and I will not go into them all in detail to spare my own sanity. She is an abusive parent so horrific that she can never be forgiven, and doesn't need to be. An apology from her would be utterly meaningless. Instead, the drama holds her to account via showing us what she's done to Uea and the work he has to do to heal from the trauma she caused, and ultimately having her son cut her out of his life. It's the biggest consequence she can ever face for her choices and that Uea finds the courage to do it is the story's biggest triumph.

What Did You Eat Yesterday?

On the subtler end of the scale, we have our beloved KNT, which weaves parental accountability through its story in the long, slow journey for Shiro's mother to accept who he is and the partner he has chosen in life. What I love most about this particular depiction is that it's not at all linear in nature. We see her make strides by finally acknowledging Kenji and inviting him to her home, and then backtrack by rescinding the offer due to her own discomfort, and then include him in her family planning to ensure he will be cared for after her death. She’s homophobic and traditional, but she loves her son and sees how much happier he is with Kenji in his life. She is constantly reckoning with that tension. And Shiro and Kenji, being of an older generation themselves, don't hold it against her, even as the show makes sure we understand how much it hurts them. They are not okay with it, but they do understand why she's like this, so they take what she can give and forgive the rest. It's a really touching portrayal of this kind of impasse in a family.

Moonlight Chicken

There are several different vectors of parental accountability in MLC. There is Heart confronting his parents over their neglect and abuse and finally demanding to be treated with dignity. There is Li Ming directly calling out his mother for how her life choices have affected him. And there is Li Ming and his surrogate dad, Jim, working out their issues so that they can communicate better, and so that Jim can learn to stop pushing his own fears and anxiety down onto the next generation. All of it handled with deftness, with care, and with clear purpose to examine the ways intergenerational trauma can perpetuate in the absence of accountability.

#holding out hope that aof comes through on this in lt but compared to his previous work in this arena ep 10 was definitely lacking #last twilight #bad buddy #until we meet again #blueming #bed friend the series #kinou nani tabeta #moonlight chicken #shan answers #shan recommends

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wen-kexing-apologist · 11 months

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Validation- In Which Lurking Turtles Try to Spare Me From Writing a Post by Essentially Plucking My Thoughts Right Out of My Head.

In her incredible post about community, @waitmyturtles posed (and answered) the question:

“Could the ATOTS story have held up WITHOUT Pat and Pran?”

I argue, no, because looking back on the last four episodes, the resolution of that four part story was never supposed to be about Pat and Pran, it was supposed to be about Phupa and Tian. In my opinion, the last four Our Skyy 2 episodes are made for Phupa and Tian.

Hell, it’s not even about Tian to me, this whole story is an arc for Phupa specifically.

I argue, Pat and Pran serve as the vessel by which Phupa is forced to confront his internalized homophobia and must decide whether or not to try to move past it.

This is a bold statement, so let me say right now that I watched ATOTS and Bad Buddy around the same time, and while I deeply enjoyed ATOTS I loved Bad Buddy and initially I found Phupa and Tian to be a rather boring, uncomplicated couple that obviously liked each other and refused to do anything about it, despite me not really seeing any obstacles for them getting together.

But because of now being familiar with Earth’s acting and because of Episode 3, I started to pay more attention to Phupa, made that internalized homophobia observation, and then managed, over the course of the four hours it took me to write that post to go from “You’re boring” to “lmao that’s my fucking guy” in regards to how I looked at Phupa.

And, not to toot my own horn, but I am feeling extremely validated in my read on Phupa and internalized homophobia in yesterday’s post after seeing the final episode of Our Skyy 2 x ATOTS.

@lurkingshan has already shared a lot of her thoughts (which honestly reflect a lot of my own) in regards to how Phupa has learned a lot from his interactions with Pat. @waitmyturtles has shared a lot of her thoughts (which honestly reflect a lot of my own) about how Aof’s stories so often center around queer Asian community. And tumblr has shared in abundance all the happy, lovey-dovey, moments between Pat and Pran and Phupa and Tian.

So I am not going to start there. I am going to start with the supporting evidence of Phupa’s internalized homophobia from Our Skyy 2’s final episode.

The first, when Phupa and Tian are getting dessert and Tian tries to feed him. He looks around anxiously and reminds Tian that they are in public.

Gifs from @ayan-sukkhapisit

Second, when Phupa and Tian are clothes shopping and Tian leans in to Phupa and says suggestively “You’re so handsome. You got a boyfriend?”

Even when Tian mentions the size of the crowd at the play, Phupa once again looks around anxiously, the weight of the realization that this many people are about to hear the story of his queerness hitting him.

Each of these moments is a point where Phupa’s internalized homophobia is flaring up, but, (and this is crucial) HE PUSHES THROUGH IT.

And that is thanks to Pat and Pran, but especially Pat.

Now (and hear me out here) Pran is fully responsible for getting Phupa to sign the consent form to put on the play. Pran’s moment of brutal honesty where he called out Phupa’s insecurities and confirmed they were also his own, is what led Phupa to realize that these chaotic, loud, and meddling children had a lot more going on than he first thought, and is what led to him confidently making the statement “No one gets us better than these two.”

Pran’s acknowledgement of his own insecurities in his relationship with Pat is enough for Phupa to understand that Pran is desperate to tell this story, his story for a reason.

But Pat? Pat’s continuous, unabashed, unrelenting, and obvious love for his boyfriend and then his continuous, unabashed, unrelenting, and obvious crush on/harassment of Phupa pushes Phupa out of his comfort zone. Pat and Tian may be the people who make the sacrifices in their relationships, but Pat is not Tian. Pat is willing to make sacrifices for Pran, Pat is willing to hide his queer desire for Pran. But Phupa is not Pran. So Phupa is Not Safe. Where Tian is patient and where Tian also tries to minimize/tone down his own feelings when he and Phupa are together in public, Pat sees Phupa, goes “oh that man is hot and repressed and I’m about to make myself his problem,” and then he puts his foot on the gas and does donuts in the parking lot.

At no point in their solo time together does Pat ever let up on Phupa. Thus, Phupa is forced to reconcile with his internalized homophobia, because he is both safe to do so by being in the woods without the rest of the village, and because Pat never stops reminding him that he is queer. Phupa sees how much Pat loves Pran and sees the way Pat and Pran interact with each other, touching knees, running in to each other’s arms, feeding each other, etc. and hears the insecurities Pran has in his relationship with Pat, and how much they mirror his own, and he realizes that he can feel insecure and still have a happy, loving relationship because he has spent hours upon hours of time listening to Pat brag about his boyfriend. The surface fight of who fell in love first is resolved by way of Phupa understanding that Tian can make all these sacrifices and still be madly in love with him. Phupa needed Tian to have fallen in love first so that he can be certain that he didn’t trap Tian here. Tian needed Phupa to have fallen in love first so that he can have security in a relationship where Phupa cannot overcome his insecurities (class, queerness, etc.) to be openly in love with Tian around others.

SO!

The resolution comes when Phupa decides that it is time for him to stop hiding

Gif from @gunsatthaphan

He pushes past his initial discomfort about the level of open affection he is receiving, but eventually relents to Pat’s flirtations and gives him a smile. It is as good as an admission for Pat that Phupa will, in fact, miss him and did, in fact, enjoy their time together.

He openly admires his Tian at the waterfall, he asks to be played with.

He corrects the narrative, and finally does what we all thought he would do, and “steals” the kiss he wanted to steal all those years ago

Gif by @liyazaki

He fucks his boyfriend

Gif by @liyazaki

He woos his boyfriend by rolling up to Bangkok in a car that is almost certainly out of his price range looking hot as hell.

He takes photos of Tian “the food”

Gif from @boyslovesource

And where we saw a momentary flare up of his internalized homophobia in the cafe, because that mentality is not something that is broken in a night, he powers through and allows himself to be fed.

And at the clothing store too, he initially bristles at Tian’s flirtation but very quickly reciprocates it

He signs the contract. He actively and intentionally allows Pran and Pat to tell his story, to celebrate his queerness.

And he comes to see the play. To see the story of he and Tian’s love. The story that until only recently he refused to even finish. And while Tian is surprised that Pat and Pran are playing them, Phupa is not. Partially because he put the stipulations on it, but also because Pat and Pran have chosen to portray the unexpected, but absolutely personality accurate character. Pat is an unexpected Tian if you go off of looks, but Pat serves the role that Tian does in his relationship and therefore is absolutely the perfect choice to play Tian.

(Honestly, thinking about it more, that choice may have also contributed to Phupa’s comment that no one gets them better than those two. Because he sees them acknowledge their own roles in their own relationship based on who they chose to portray.)

Now, something that I also picked up on, but that @chickenstrangers mentions as well is the following:

“We got to see Phupha and Tian's reactions to the play highlighted, seeing that they appreciated the portrayal. We also saw Ink and Pa's reactions, how moved they were by the play and Pat and Pran being able to portray it; how the story was received by other queer people. These special episodes are exploring the tension between needing to hide and wanting to be seen and open, and in the play, both Phupha and Tian, and Pat and Pran got to open a little bit about themselves to others. Even though it is Tian and Phupha's story on stage, Pat and Pran are telling their own as well.”

And it struck me, as I was going back through the episode to pull screen shots that Ink and Pa also watch the mosquito net scene and ask “why does he have to poke his face so close to him?”

Which indicates to me that Ink and Pa are also expecting a kiss from Phupa and Tian and, not getting one, they wonder why he’s gonna get this close only to not do anything.

Which strikes me as yet another example of the young queer couple not understanding where intimacy can be a struggle for older queers.

Secondarily, Phupa requesting that Pat and Pran portray Phupa and Tian does, in fact, set them up to be openly in love and to have plausible deniability. Phupa doesn’t know that they are going to kiss, and in fact, they were not supposed to. But they do. They get to be open they way the want to be open, the way they wish they could be open. And they get to do it by being vessels for Phupa and Tian’s story.

I actually don’t have much to say here in terms of analysis, but dammit if I’m not emo about the Circle of Queers. Look at all them, standing around, being in community with one another. Happy Pride everyone!

AND THEN PHUPA COMES TO FUCKING DINNER!!!!

He lets Tian spend money on him, he finally does the one thing Tian has hoped for all these years, and celebrates his birthday. Comes as his partner, interacts with Tian’s parents.

And is rewarded for it by learning that he had nothing to fear. Tian’s parents are impressed with Phupa’s dedication, the filial nature of his service, the choice he made to move to PPD because his father loved it.

And far more important, Tian’s parents entrust Tian into Phupa’s care.

And, if you want to get in to outdated concepts of queerness, masculinity, husband/wife whatever, then it is also important to acknowledge that Phupa ends the episode getting fucked by his fiance

Gif from @gunsatthaphan

And he engages in sex with his partner while his coworker and friend is right outside the door, fully aware of what they are doing. Now, we know from ATOTS that this is not the first time that Yod has heard them having sex. But crucially, in ATOTS, Phupa was not aware that Yod was outside the door.

Now, I know what you are thinking, readers “W-K-A, why did you skip over the most important part of Phupa’s self acceptance journey?”

IT’S BECAUSE I’M SAVING THE BEST FOR LAST OKAY??????? Hush.

The culminating event of this episode, and of the entire four episode arc, is Phupa’s proposal to Tian.

Gifs by @liyazaki

Tian’s part of the fight came from fearing that Phupa wasn’t going to fully committed to him. The constant refusal to go to his birthday, one of the few times a year that Tian sees the rest of his family, serves to make Tian feel like Phupa doesn’t consider himself to be Tian’s family.

Now, back to my argument that this ATOTS story couldn’t have happened without Pat and Pran is that I am not entirely certain that Phupa and Tian were completely aware of what the underlying problem was. And if they were, they certainly weren’t going to talk about it. Tian may still have trudged up the mountain to find Torfun’s diary, and he might still have gotten lost, and Phupa might still have had to rescue him, but Phupa needed to see how a relationship dynamic like his was capable of working.

Back to Phupa’s internalized homophobia, putting a ring on Tian’s finger is both a confirmation to Tian that Phupa is fully and completely committed to him but also a PHYSICAL. VISUAL. INDICATOR OF THEIR RELATIONSHIP.

There is no benefit of the doubt, there is no plausible deniability. No matter where Phupa and Tian go, if they go together the world will know they are a couple. Phupa cannot hide from his queerness walking next to Tian with that ring on Tian’s finger.

Gif from @thebvbbletea

I know there are many people that wanted more of a stout resolution for Pat and Pran in these episodes. But that wasn’t the point Aof was making. Pat and Pran’s storyline in these episodes feels unresolved because Pat and Pran’s resolution doesn’t come until Episode 12. I understand that these analysis may have gotten me too focused on Phupa, but I don’t know. I can’t shake the feeling that this four part crossover was about Phupa. Pat doesn’t change much, Pran doesn’t change much, because we watched Bad Buddy. Because we have already seen the changes they have made to be with each other. Because there is never going to be balance in Pat and Pran’s relationship as long as Dissaya remains the way she currently is. (I’m taking this from a conversation I had with @shortpplfedup, @bengyio, @waitmyturtles, @lurkingshan, and @ginnymoonbeam). Tian doesn’t change much because he was always the one compromising, because he is committed to Phupa. It is Phupa who goes through the most significant changes.

It is Phupa who had to get comfortable with their relationship being on display in the form of diaries

It is Phupa who had to get comfortable with those diaries showing him being in love with Tian.

It is Phupa who has to get comfortable with Pat’s explicit queerness.

It is Phupa who had to get comfortable with public displays of affection.

PPD is a village removed from most things, there is a vibrant and loving community there. But it means they are removed from overarching society. Phupa needs to see the younger generation of queers being comfortable and confident in their sexuality. Phupa needs to see the younger generation being comfortable and confident in their love. Phupa needs to see that the younger generation isn’t worried about people knowing they are queer, he needs to see them be explicit in their love for each other. No code words, no euphemisms, just a boy and his boyfriend and his boyfriend’s scent. And I think that in order for Phupa to resolve his internalized homophobia, he needed to meet Pat and Pran. I think interacting with Pran made him view Pat and Pran’s relationship as an adult one, granting it infinitely more respect and credibility in his eyes, and interacting with Pat made him realize that it is much safer now to be gay that it once was.

Anyway, I’m going to go cry about “We finally have a thousand stars now” for the rest of forever now, thank you.

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waitmyturtles · 5 months

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Last Twilight: Episode 5 reflections

TW: suicide

GORGEOUS EPISODE. OMG.

LOVE THAT WE'RE ALL LOVING ON JIMMY!

Okay, citing meta first. @lurkingshan covers nicely here a summation of the August/Ink LT/BBS comparisons -- yes, the structural motif is there, and I agree with Shan that this whole August situation is more fraught. Shan and @ginnymoonbeam cover Mhok's attraction here and here, and @grapejuicegay covers more of Aof's motifs here.

My own little BBS comparative moment: I was backstage with the boys at the end of episode 8, when Pran called Pat "my boyfriend" to Pat's face for the first time.

ANYWAY. I loved Ginny's meta of identifying both Mhok's caretaking for and his developing attraction for Day.

What caught me about this episode were Mhok's references to his sister, Rung. We saw earlier in the series, when Mhok kicked down Day's door to get to Day -- that Mhok does not want to repeat the mistakes he made vis à vis his sister.

Mhok lost the opportunity to cook for his sister again. He's able to cook for Day now, he's able to care for Day now. Mhok is channeling that energy to Day.

We also see Mhok being VERY. INTENTIONAL. about his timing with EVERYTHING related to Day. He's literally looking at his clock in the car while he and Day are both waiting for August to show up to that restaurant. He's clearly pacing himself vis à vis his attraction to and his courting of Day. The practice date, knowing where he was going to take Day after the failed date with August, taking Day to a bar. Everything is so paced and well-timed. The body spray -- Mhok is an intentional dude at the moment.

In light of Mhok defying expectations of who he could/should be by way of being a former jailbird -- this pacing is another defiance of that. He's a dude who used to -- actually, still, somewhat often -- gets into impulsive fights. Nothing is rushed or impulsive about his caretaking and courting of Day. Everything has slowed down in Mhok's life, much to match the pace of Day re-learning how to live his life without the sense of sight.

I want to say that a part of this slowing down is in reaction to what Mhok missed by way of NOT being intentional and paced with his relationship to his sister. What did he miss, behaviorally, that his sister may have been hinting at, while he was living with his sister, before her suicide? He may have missed some clues. She died while he was in prison. He had to process that while still in prison.

Mhok's regrets, his delicately bringing up Rung during these past two episodes -- are we witnessing atonement, absolution? Not entirely, but I think partly. I love to see a character just behaviorally GROW in front of us. Yes, Mhok is caretaking and attracted to Day -- AND he's growing in the face of a tremendously tragic event. Actually, TWO tremendously tragic events, as he also processing Day's loss of sight with Day himself.

We saw Mhok in quite a bit of denial to start the series regarding his sister. To see him continue to make references to her as he and Day get closer... we're seeing ever more holistic sides of Mhok that are giving full views into his intentions with Day, and it's just really lovely to watch them develop.

P.S. Namtan with the slightly messy hair? Me want more!

#last twilight #last twilight the series #jimmysea #jimmy jitaraphol #sea tawinan #mhokday #mhok x day #day x mhok #morkday #mork x day #day x mork #namtan tipnaree #backaof noppharnach #aof noppharnach

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dribs-and-drabbles · 5 months

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I was encouraged by @grapejuicegay to trash watch Pit Babe and so here I am but I have...questions...

Is Babe really getting off on hearing the sound of the engines?!

Why is Babe having sex with other Alphas (I can't believe I'm writing this 🤦🏽‍♀️) and not Omegas, especially if he doesn't like the way the Alphas smell? Is it because he's a 'Super Alpha' and prefers Alphas to Omegas? (oh dear god why am I doing this?!)

Isn't it a tad unfair to let him race using his special powers against others who don't have them?

I nearly choked on my water reading Pavel's tattoo thinking it said "Full Sausage" but then I remembered @slayerkitty or @sparklyeyedhimbo had already made a point of this and I thankfully realised it says "Full Savage" 😂

I actually can't stop thinking about how salty Babe's skin would be because that man would have been sweating in that car race...

Wait wait wait...are they really calling (translating) Babe having sex as the "concentration"?! Like it's a thing he needs to do to...release pent up energy?!...to focus his mind?!

Do we get to know if any of Babe's friends are also Alphas (or Omegas or Betas) or is he the only one?

Please! This is so silly (affectionate). They can't compete over a person...someone who has their own autonomy to say what he can do and with whom 😂 And, sorry, but Charlie, love, you should have had more confidence in Babe since you went to him as a fan.

How did Winner win that first one?... I can't believe this show has me googling how to win a drift race... "It's all about dominating the other driver..." ah, ok, now I get why they're doing this.

Oh, if I'd just continued watching I wouldn't have needed to google it 😂🤦🏽‍♀️

Kind of impressed by the actual drivers of these cars though.

Winner needs to take some advice from Elsa and Let It Go.

"I don't go into strangers' houses"... I smell a parallel in the future, it's that alpha stink.

*she squints* TINIDEE APARTMENTS?! Charlie is staying in the same building as Pat and Pran?! (*aaaand there she goes making it about Bad Buddy again*)

OMG what is it with villans and bonsai trees?! (I want a bonsai tree, does that mean I need to become a villainess? 🤔)

Why are they calling that guy 'Uncle'...he looks the same age?!

Okay, that was...not as bad as I first thought. Nut is a big bonus and Pavel and Pooh are doing a decent job. I do wonder if Babe and Charlie are endgame though or if Babe and Way are... Will I keep watching? Probably, now that I've started, but I may not do this each time...unless each ep throws up more questions. Thanks kk.

#pit babe #pit babe the series #<- yes I'm brave enough to tag this #because I think people will genuinely answer these questions #whether in jest or seriousness #I'm all ears for both

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grapejuicegay · 11 months

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I made a post about PatPran potentially getting to heal from the times they have not had agency over the reveal of their relationship and I said I was hopeful but keeping my expectations low. The expectations are high now, through the roof.

Not only did we get them having the chance to control the narrative, to control what the story is when the curtain comes down, they get to have control over being behind the curtain. They get to have people supporting the story they want them to believe.

They have the support of their friends for their relationship (all the boys talking about how sad they are about PatPran's relationship having to end) but also their support in the story that they really did break up even when it's clear that they haven't.

Mo will talk about how obviously he's seen them talk to each other, he'll say that they look like they're kissing behind the curtain. But when the curtain falls, he will be right there "stopping the fight".

Korn will call Pat to the workshop for an emergency and the boys will back him up in the fact that if they didn't claim an emergency he wouldn't have left his boyfriend to come to them, but they will all sit around and talk about how unfair it is that Pran and his aren't together anymore.

Everyone knows that they're together. But everyone will support them in their story. They have all the support that they could possible need. So much so that Pa can come in and joke about ruining their moment but it's not a big deal because they can have a moment later. There will always be a later to have a moment. Because there is no breaking them up and everyone knows it and supports them in however they want to go about it.

This post was largely a joke but I can't explain how happy I am that it's accurate.

#now i just wait for my SafeLouis dreams to come to life #bad buddy #bad buddy series #bad buddy brain rot #our skyy 2 #our skyy bad buddy #i have more thoughts I'm sure #they'll come out eventually #but for now this is my main source of happiness #and it's a BIG one #thanks p'aof <3

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telomeke-bbs · 5 days

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BAD BUDDY FILMING LOCATIONS 13

Barring any surprise discoveries, this write-up will call time on all of my Bad Buddy location posts – I've had notes for this tucked away for more than a year now, and have been putting off writing it up partly because I didn't want it to end, and also partly because (frustratingly) there's one final location I still haven't been able to track down (😬 more on that later).

But now it's time; more than two years after Bad Buddy aired I really should put my location posts to bed, and I was motivated to set digital pen to virtual paper by an Ask from fellow BBS fan @honey-beebs (linked here). Lucky Bee is heading to Bangkok right about now and will be looking up BBS locations while there, so I hope my posts will be helpful! 💖

This write-up, Part 13 in the series, profiles mostly odds and ends – minor locations that I found late and/or couldn't manage to fit into any other location post. So there isn't a theme here, but it's all BBS-related so hopefully Bad Buddy location fans will still find something interesting in this.

To start things off: the scene where Pat helps Pran look for his lost earphones (beginning at Ep.4 [1‌/4] 10.29) is the only outdoor one with an overt reference to rugby (Pat is still in his rugby kit after practice) that was filmed at Rangsit University (RSU):

(above) The boys search for Pran's lost earphones at BBS Ep.4 [1‌/4] 10.58

All other rugby scenes (plus a whole lot of outdoor university scenes as well) were filmed at Bangkok University's Rangsit campus. But the location of this one scene is actually the grass verge in front of RSU's Faculty of Architecture:

(above) The tree in front of the Architecture Faculty, below which Pat and Pran search for Pran's lost earphones

Proof of the above is the building that we see in the background of the scene, behind Pat and Pran – that's the Chinese-Thai Institute of Rangsit University, with its unmistakeable roofline and parade of columns, on the other side of the road from RSU's Faculty of Architecture:

(top) The Chinese-Thai Institute of Rangsit University (opposite the Faculty of Architecture); (bottom) the map location of the Chinese-Thai Institute in relation to the Faculty of Architecture‌

Elsewhere on campus, the covered car park where Pat serenaded Pran with Nanon and Sizzy's Love Score (Ep.8 [1‌/4] 15.52), spied on by a furious Wai (Ep.8 [1‌/4] 16.57 and Ep.9 [1‌/4] 5.19) is also where Pat, loving Pran on the down low, waves to Chang, Korn and Mo before getting into his car where Pran is waiting (Ep.12 [3‌/4] 4.54):

(top left) Pat serenades Pran in his car at Ep.8 [1‌/4] 15.59; (top right) Wai sees Pran getting into the car of his sworn enemy Pat at Ep.9 [1‌/4] 5.21; (bottom) Pat waves to Chang, Korn and Mo from the covered car park while Pran stays horizontal and out of sight in the car (Ep.12 [3‌/4] 4.54)

These scenes were filmed at the ground floor covered car park of the Faculty of Optometry (Building 12/1) at Rangsit University:

(top) Location of the Faculty of Optometry on the map; (middle) the ground floor covered car park of the Faculty of Optometry is on the left of the photo – in Bad Buddy the perforated cladding is visible at Ep.9 [1‌/4] 5.21 and Ep.12 [3‌/4] 4.54; (bottom left) a look into the car park; (bottom right) the building opposite the car park, that we see behind Chang, Korn and Mo at Ep.12 [3‌/4] 4.54

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Another covered car park in Bad Buddy was the airport car park in Ep.12, that we got to see when Pat sent Pran off to further his architectural career in Singapore:

(above) Pat and Pran at the airport car park (Ep.12 [3‌/4] 7.32)

Despite the airport signage at the top right of the image, this wasn't the car park at Don Mueang (or Suvarnabhumi for that matter). It's actually the same car park as the previous filming location (the ground floor covered car park of the Faculty of Optometry), just over at the other end facing the basketball court:

Corroborating details are the large V-shaped struts and the ramp next to them, that we can see behind Pat and Pran at Ep.12 [3‌/4] 7.32.

And if the adjacent basketball court looks familiar – it's arguably most famous because of its appearance in SOTUS S2, when Kongpob and Arthit were shooting hoops there in a one-on-one bet. (And that was also when Kongpob found out Arthit was a great shooter – see SOTUS S Ep.4 [4/4] 8.22. 🤣)

The court also appeared a couple of times in SOTUS Season 1, but its scene with Arthit and Kongpob's matchup is perhaps the most memorable one. 🤩

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Still on the RSU campus, the South Technology University Library was represented by (no surprises here) the Rangsit University Library (Building 7). This is also the building on whose forecourt Pat and Pran's favorite wonton noodle stall is located:

(top) Location of the RSU Library on the map; (bottom) a view of RSU Library (Building 7) and the forecourt in front, that housed the wonton noodle stall

In Bad Buddy, the South Technology University library scenes are all indoors:

(top) Pat keeps the Engine gang distracted while Pran hustles the Archi gang back out of the library at Ep.2 [1‌/4] 5.58; (bottom) Pran apologizes to other library users for reacting too loudly to Pat's teasing at Ep.3 [2/4] 3.30 (actually the same location as the one above, just from a different angle)

Matching images of the RSU Library with corroborating details:

(top) This photo from RSU Library's Facebook (linked here) has a lot of matching details – the RFID gate scanners, the ceiling lights, the bookshelves, the shelf labeling, vinyl floor pattern, orange-red ottoman, green exit sign and what looks like a book-scanning station in the bottom right can all be seen at BBS Ep.2 [1‌/4] 5.58; (bottom) this photo on Google Maps by P. Hirancharoennon (dated April 2019, linked here) is actually a match for BBS Ep.3 [2/4] 3.30, just viewed from a different angle – note the same dark red sofas that curve around the columns, chairs in the far background that match what Pat and Pran are sitting on, the ceiling lights, the computers for OPAC (library catalog) reference and the yellow-orange poster of what looks like a clock on the right

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This scene of Pat applying ointment to Pran's shoulder at Ep.7 [2/4] 3.05 (re-living the tending to my stricken lover trope and calling back to Ep.4 [3‌/4] 7.07) is one of the few in BBS that actually shows wet weather (remembering that the series was filmed at the height of Thailand's rainy monsoon season, although we don't actually get any scenes of PatPran in the rain):

This scene was filmed at the elevator lobby of Chana City Residence, and may possibly have been one of the scenes originally planned for the rooftop that were rained out on that fateful last night of filming (see the Behind-the-Scenes video จนกว่าจะพบกันใหม่ครับเพื่อน! | แค่เพื่อนครับเพื่อน | BAD BUDDY SERIES linked here):

Anyway, proof of the location can be found in this scene in Oxygen The Series Ep.12 [2/4] 13.57:

The full-height window frames, wall paneling and red fire alarm panel are a match for what we see in Bad Buddy.

Oxygen The Series filmed a lot at Chana City Residence, with the building name prominently displayed in the ground floor lobby scenes (see Oxygen The Series Ep.12 [3‌/4] 5.17 for one example). This confirmed its location, and thus the matching end wall of the elevator lobby also confirms the location for Bad Buddy's scene above at Ep.7 [2/4] 3.05.

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Pat and Pran's motorbike ride in Hua Hin was filmed at one of the side roads perpendicular to Khao Tao Beach:

(above) Bad Buddy Ep.11 [2/4] 13.15 – Pat and Pran set off on a motorbike ride toward Uncle Yod's bar

In the distance behind Pat and Pran we can just make out (on the left, half-hidden by a tree) the island of Ko Singto (also called Ko Sai) with its distinctive, leonine silhouette.

The truck ride to and from Chatchai Market (scene beginning at Ep.6 [3‌/4] 0.28) and PatPran's mud-play (scene beginning at Ep.6 [3‌/4] 4.00) were also probably filmed along the same road because we can see the same kind of barbed wire fencing, and Ko Singto also appears at Ep.6 [3‌/4] 4.04.

(top) PatPran in Uncle Tong's yellow Datsun; (bottom) Pran slaps some Hua Hin mud on Pat

(top) Uncle Tong, Pat, Pran and Junior head off to Chatchai Market; (bottom) Ko Singto in the background on their return

The exact side road (more like a dirt path) isn't traversable on Google Street View (and with increasing development of the area it may not be around for much longer anyway). But other Street View captures show similar barbed wire fencing in the general vicinity:

(above) This image from Google Street View showing similar barbed wire fencing dates to January 2017 and can be viewed at location 12°27'50.4"N 99°58'36.0"E

Noting that the road heads toward a hill looming inland (visible at Ep.6 [3‌/4] 0.28), triangulating off the map pinpoints an approximate location:

(top) The approximate location on Google Maps; (bottom) a dirt path viewed from 12°28'28.7"N 99°58'24.9"E, that is a likely candidate for the location (the trees in the distance are a match for what we see flanking the road at Ep.11 [2/4] 13.15)

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So PatPran's motorbike ride ended up at Uncle Yod's beach bar (location already identified in this post here – it's the Anchor Bar and Restaurant at Khao Tao Beach). However, the approach road to Uncle Yod's Bar is also visible on Google Street View – the location coordinates are 12°28'03.7"N 99°58'35.1"E, which brings up a match:

(top) Bad Buddy Ep.11 [2/4] 14.09 – Pat and Pran at the entrance to Uncle Yod's bar; (bottom) a screenshot from Google Street View of the approach road to the Anchor Bar and Restaurant

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The filming location for the music video to Pat's theme song Secret (sung by Kacha Nontanun) was already identified in this post here (it's the legendary rooftop of Chana City Residence):

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The music video for Pran's theme song (Just Friend?) stepped away from Bad Buddy and was a mini-movie unto itself:

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The video was filmed in a location that had nothing to do with Bad Buddy the series – the Prince Palace Hotel Mahanak in central Bangkok. Visual proof of this is within the video itself, at timestamp 2.33:

(above) Nanon scribbles "แค่เพื่อนมั้ง?" (meaning "Just a friend?") on the hotel notepad, which bears the name Prince Palace Hotel Mahanak

From the interior details we can tell that the music video for PatPran's theme of togetherness (Our Song) was also filmed at the same hotel:

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(top) Music video for Our Song, timestamp 2.11; (bottom) music video for Just Friend?, timestamp 2.07

Although the images above do not show not the same space, there are enough similar details in both (e.g., the armchairs, the green wainscoting with its gold-trimmed wainscot cap and the window framing) for us to conclude that both videos were filmed in the same building – the Prince Palace Hotel Mahanak.

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One final location that was referred to in Bad Buddy didn't actually have any scenes filmed there – it's the street in Singapore where Pran's condo was supposed to have been located. The address was identified on a postcard on the Ep.12 memory board (see this link here for more detail):

(above) Pran's postcard to Pat from Singapore, on the Ep.12 memory board

Although the details in Pran's address are mostly fictitious, the street is not. Lorong Limau in Singapore actually exists:

(top) Map location of Lorong Limau; (bottom) a screenshot of the neighbourhood around Lorong Limau

Lorong is the Malay word for street, and Pran's full address in Singapore is Blk 94, Lorong Limau #86‑05, Singapore 320047. Except for Lorong Limau and Singapore however, the address is wholly made-up.

This location is nowhere near the Marina Bay Sands (so Pran really couldn't have seen it from his apartment window). The neighbourhood around Lorong Limau is known as Kallang/Whampoa and it is considerably less flashy than residences bayside (although it is still central and convenient). There is also no Block 94 nearby, nor is the unit number #86-05 a real one, because the 86 refers to the floor level and there are no buildings with as many floors in Singapore at time of writing.

OK, so maybe Pran stayed here for a spell and then moved to within sight of the Marina Bay Sands sometime later? Not completely far-fetched, because we know that by the time of his Ep.12 break in Bangkok he had been working on a new tower for Marina Bay (and it would have had to have been a pretty prestigious project to be sited in that locale, meaning that Pran could well have afforded swankier digs if his career was on the up and up):

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And this is probably just a coincidence, but guess what's happening with the Marina Bay Sands? 🤣

Planning approval has been given and construction is expected to commence some time in 2025.‌ Yay Pran! 🤣

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Anyway, these are all the locations that I have for now. I've not been able to track down every location in Bad Buddy, nor am I going to try. For example, I'm not going to stress out over unidentified interior spaces like Ajahn Pichai's office in Ep.1 and Ep.3, and InkPa's dark room in Ep.10:

(top) Ajahn Pichai's office at Ep.1 [4/4] 6.19; (bottom) InkPa's dark room confession at Ep.10 [3‌/4] 17.05

These were likely filmed within the same buildings that represented their series counterparts anyway, so Ajahn Pichai's office is likely at RSU's College of Engineering, and the dark room in RSU's Digital Multimedia Complex (Building 15).

Likewise, I'm not able to say exactly where on campus the 112 Chemical Store is (where Bad Buddy made a potent political statement) as there is no Google Street View down that back alley.

But because of this TikTok video by TikToker @‌markydoge, I know it has to be somewhere in the environs of the RSU College of Engineering. 🤩

It's probably near the white tiger mural and workshops, because the air-conditioning condensers and buttressed walls that we see just before Pat pulls Pran into that alleyway are similar to those that we see when the Engine boys chase down Wai at the beginning of Ep.1 – and because the roofline of the Engine workshops can be seen behind Korn and Chang in their pursuit of Wai at Ep.1 [1‌/4] 0.51, the location is also anchored on the map. 👍‌

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HOWEVER, there is still one fairly important location that remains unidentified and that continues to frustrate me – and it's Pat and Pran's family hardware stores.

(above) Ming and Chai watch Pran's dad set up store right next to the Jindapats' one at BBS Ep.1 [1‌/4] 4.54

I've searched far and wide but just cannot find the location, and it's all the more frustrating because there are so many clues:

The store belonging to Pat’s family looks like it is actually a construction material shop; the shelves and the items all around have been there for some time, and not likely to have been put together just for Bad Buddy.

The store belonging to Pran’s family looks like a covered vehicular park or outdoor storage, masquerading as a shop though.

The general location of the shops is likely to be not in Rangsit (where a lot of other filming happened), but rather somewhere closer to central Bangkok (though not right in the city center either). This is because the planting on the road divider outside is very well-manicured (which is more a feature of central Bangkok), and the lamp-post has markings similar to those on central Bangkok lamp-posts. But there aren’t any tall buildings visible, so it’s not likely to be in the absolute city center either, where skyscrapers are everywhere blocking the sky.

I've been scouring maps of Bangkok and trawling Google Street View, but have not been able to find a matching location. If anybody out there has any leads, please do let me know! 😍

And that's a wrap for BBS locations! For now, at least (unless I can find the above – I won't stop trying). 😍 In the meantime, if any Bad Buddy fans have questions about BBS locations that you think I might be able to help with, do send me an Ask or message and I'll be more than happy to share my two bahts' worth! 💖

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[P.S. – here are the links to all the filming location posts:

Part 1 – The legendary rooftop, PatPran’s student apartments, their high school, the white arches behind the Engineering Canteen, the Zero Waste Village and various seaside scenes, their honeymoon suite, the hospital where Pat was treated for his gunshot graze, and the high school reunion.

Part 2 – Pat and Pran’s family homes, the Flagpole Bar, the car park fight location, and the Jae Si Curry House.

Part 3 – Various locations at and around the rugby field, including Pat’s photoshoot with Ink, the rugby bleachers, the iced milk tea (and green tea wave) picnic table, InkPa’s photography picnic, the old bus stop and the new bus stop. Also Khun Noppharnach’s pharmacy.

Part 4 – Pat’s Engineering Faculty (in and around Rangsit University’s College of Engineering).

Part 5 – Pran’s Architecture Faculty (Rangsity University’s School of Architecture).

Part 6 – Various F&B and commercial locations (eateries, shops, malls and a market).

Part 7 – Pat’s post-graduation apartment and Pran’s residence in Singapore.

Part 8 – Various campus locations filmed within Rangsit University’s Digital Multimedia Complex, including the auditorium and the Freshy Day Song Contest.

Part 9 – The LogTech Building and Pran’s architectural office in Singapore.

Part 10 – Locations for the Our Skyy 2 x Bad Buddy special episodes.

Part 11 – The apartment for rent that Pran went to view in Ep.2, the elevator scene with Pat just after the viewing, and Wai’s apartment.

Part 12 – PatPran’s elementary and high schools, as well as the location of Pa’s near-drowning.

Part 13 – Random locations (Pran searching for his lost earphones, the covered car park where Wai spied on Pat serenading Pran with Nanon's Love Score, the airport car park, the SouthTech U Library, PatPran's rainy day ointment interlude, their motorbike and truck rides in Hua Hin, the approach road to Uncle Yod's bar, the filming location for the music videos Just Friend? and Our Song, and Pran's street address in Singapore).

Will update this list if I can track down the hardware stores! 🤣]

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#bad buddy filming locations #bad buddy locations #patpran #bad buddy analysis #telomeke #YouTube

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