PatPran

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Pairing
Pairing: PatPran
Alternative name(s): Pat/Pran
Gender category: slash, yaoi
Fandom: Bad Buddy
Canonical?: yes
Prevalence: juggernaut ship
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Spoiler Warning: This article or section may contain spoilers. If this bothers you, proceed with caution.


PatPran is the main relationship in the Thai BL series Bad Buddy, and the juggernaut ship for the fandom. While the drama series is based on the novel, Behind the Scenes by Afterday and -West-, PatPran fans tend to draw from the drama rather than the novel. "PatPran" is also the primary way fans refer to the ship.

Their relationship is canon, and incorporates many beloved tropes: childhood friends to lovers, enemies to friends to lovers, secret relationship, secret pining, elevators, and a distinctive "oh" moment. As Bad Buddy takes place in a college setting, for the majority of canon time they are around 18-19 years old. Many have compared Bad Buddy (and PatPran's relationship) to Romeo & Juliet, being forbidden lovers due to their family's feud.

As of February 14, 2024, there are over 2,200 Pat/Pran works on AO3 out of the 2,600 works in the Bad Buddy fandom tag, dwarfing every other ship in the fandom. The second most popular ship, InkPa, has 300 works.

Canon Background

Napat "Pat" Jindapat and Parakul "Pran" Siridechawat were set to be rivals before they were born, due to animosity between their parents who own similar materials businesses. They competed at everything throughout their childhood: academics, sports, and their social life. Initially unfriendly and competitive, their relationship improved when they were 12, after Pran saved Pat's younger sister, Pa, from drowning. This caused Pran to claim that Pat "owed" him something, and Pat conceding that he did, though he told Pran not to talk to him where other people could see in case they get mistaken as friends. Despite this, they began a friendship in secret, talking in tin can phones between their houses, as their bedroom windows face each other.

Their friendship blossomed to a point where in high school, Pat cut out his picture in his school ID for Pran to use it as a guitar pick after Pran had misplaced his and hurt his fingers on the strings. It is heavily implied that this incident caused Pran to develop, or realize he had developed feelings for Pat. However, when Ink joined their class, Pat became interested in her, as Pran observed. He gave both a wide berth, assuming that they were mutually interested in each other.

Pat and Pran also joined the music club in high school. When their club was assigned to perform for Christmas in their sophomore year, Pat and Pran brainstormed what song to play, and eventually decided on an original song that Pran would write. During their brainstorming session, Pran asked Pat if he had ever had a secret crush on someone and Pat expressed occasionally feeling insecurity, which inspired Pran to write the eventual song that they would sing, titled "Insecure" (by Pran) or "Just Friend?" as its official release in the show's soundtrack. However, its actual Christmastime performance got cut short when Pran's parents turned up in the audience, causing Pran to abruptly stop playing and exit the stage. Pat later discovered that because of this, Pran's parents had transferred him out of their high school and to a boarding school. The two did not see each other for three years.

Each finished and graduated from their respective schools, and began attending South Tech University, a fictional university in Bangkok, Thailand, in 2021. Their faculty majors ended up being rivals as well, with Pat in Engineering and Pran in Architecture. The first time they saw each other after the transfer was in an all-out physical brawl between their faculties, when Pran interfered by kicking Pat in the chest. Neither divulged to their friends that they already knew each other and agreed to keep it a secret.

Pran moved into his dorm some time after Pat did; they experienced a short sequence of comedy of errors before realizing that they were across-the-hall neighbors. This made it easy for them to attempt to coordinate their friends avoiding each other to not start fights, and allowed them to interact as they wanted when no one else was around. They quickly grew close, sharing moments that became flirtier and more intimate in nature. They ran into Ink as well, who was also a student at South Tech; her reappearance caused Pran to be jealous and under the impression that she and Pat would rekindle whatever relationship they had in high school. Upon Pran asking Ink, though, she refuted this idea, saying that she had no romantic interest in Pat. However, Pat did admit to Pran later that his feelings for Ink had returned, though soon after this admittance he began questioning his feelings for Pran, especially as he noticed his own jealousy toward Wai's closeness with Pran.

Eventually Pat realized both his feelings towards Pran and Pran's own feelings towards him, and attempted to confess to him while Pran tried to discourage the idea that anything could happen between them. Still, they shared a kiss. Pran attempted to distance himself from Pat after the semester, though this proved to be unsuccessful when Pat followed him to his architecture camp. At the camp, they agreed upon a bet, wherein the first one to confess his feelings would lose, allowing them to have an excuse to flirt with each other under the guise of competition without committing to a relationship.

The bet lasted into their sophomore year of university. Pran, now on the sound team for his faculty's play, ended up butting heads with a student actor in the play, eventually leading the student to quit. Pat, who had auditioned for the play with a love confession as the character he would play, came to the rescue as a last-minute understudy. He told Pran later that his love confession audition was his real confession towards Pran, and that he had always intended to lose the bet.

They began their relationship in secret. Early on they disagreed on the level of secrecy in their relationship, with Pat wanting to be more open while Pran was more fearful, though they soon heard each other out and reached an agreement. Despite this, Wai had noticed their growing closeness and literally dropped the curtain on them, revealing their relationship to their faculties. Pran's friends did not take well to the reveal of their relationship, while Pat's friends got over it much quicker; Pat and Pran comforted and confided in each other in the aftermath. Eventually, both groups of friends accepted their relationship. With the assistance of his friends, Pran conducted a scenario to allow Pat to publicly profess his love for Pran like they both wanted, in a mock engagement ceremony.

They continued to be domestically in love and supportive of each other. When they discovered the truth to their parents' feud, they both fought with their families and ran away together for an episode. During this time, Pran finished a song he had written for and about his feelings for Pat, titled "The Song I Just Finished Writing" (Pran's Version) or "Our Song" as its official release name. Their runaway period is regarded by both of them, and fans, as their "honeymoon."

After their honeymoon, they came back under the guise of having broken up, but continued to maintain their relationship in secret for years. It is implied that they may be engaged by the end of the series.

Fandom

PatPran shippers go where Bad Buddy fans go; thus, they can be found on Twitter, Tumblr, and Archive of Our Own. Many fanworks are fanfiction and fanart; there are also vids and edits on TikTok, and threadfics and social media AUs on Twitter. Japanese-speaking fandom also has a small community on Pixiv.

Additionally, many fans in Bad Buddy fandom are in or came from Mo Dao Zu Shi fandom. This is likely because the show aired in late 2021, when English-speaking Mo Dao Zu Shi fandom was getting exponentially more popular by the day. Bad Buddy and MDZS are similar in that they are both Asian media centered around a canon M/M relationship. Other similarities include both PatPran and WangXian being a "redblue" ship, both ships having the pining character writing a song about his feelings for the other, and a brat/tamer-esque relationship, with some fans also preferring the opposite or versatility.

Many PatPran shippers are also OhmNanon shippers, the ship between the actors for the two characters. Other PatPran shippers staunchly reject the RPF ship, due to opposing RPF entirely or having more negative views of the actors, especially as their relationship became more strained. This has caused a divide in the fandom across multiple languages and countries; there are PatPran shippers who are Ohm fans who do not like Nanon or vice versa, in languages beyond just English.

Some fans also take issue with how Pat and Pran's characters and relationship were depicted in the Our Skyy 2 episodes, due to Pran not being communicative even after the events of episode 8, and the lack of independence incorporated in Pat's characterization, which may seem out of character considering his characterization in the last episode of Bad Buddy. These fans reject the Our Skyy 2 episodes from being a part of the canon as a whole, or select only certain aspects of it that they enjoy.

Popular Elements in Fanworks

Much of Pat/Pran fanworks in English-speaking fandom draw from canonical elements, with very few fanon trends.

As the show was airing live, episode by episode, there are also a number of episode tag fanworks, particularly after episodes 4, 5, and 6. After the series, a significant portion of the fanworks also take place post-canon; the third most popular additional tag on AO3 for Pat/Pran is Established Relationship.

Sexualities

Perhaps one of the only prominent Pat/Pran fanon interpretations is their sexualities. Pran, having only really been canonically interested in Pat, is often interpreted as gay. Pat, meanwhile, is often interpreted as being bisexual, due to both his former interest in Ink, as well as a scene where he says himself that gender doesn't matter to him and that he likes them all (but Pran is only allowed to like him.) The scene itself lampshades the "I'm not gay, I'm only interested in you" BL trope, which Pat explicitly rejects.

Canon divergence

The second most popular additional tag on AO3 for Pat/Pran is canon divergence. This is likely because of the numerous crucial events throughout Pat and Pran's relationship where circumstances or choices can diverge, causing a butterfly effect to later events. Other aspects of canon divergence include Pran not attending South Tech after the transfer, leading to Pat and Pran to meet again much later in life; a break-up of some sort; them getting together in high school, rendering the canon of the show moot; or an increase of the general intimacy in earlier stages of their relationship.

Pran confessing to Pat earlier

It is not exactly hidden subtext that Pran was aware of his feelings and pining for Pat much longer than Pat even considered his own. While in canon Pat correctly assumed Pran's feelings for him without Pran needing to directly say anything, some fanworks explore the idea of Pran telling Pat his feelings earlier such as at the end of episode 4, or even in high school. Tangentially, some fans also like to explore the idea of Pat recognizing his feelings for Pran sooner than he did in the show, as it is implied that he has had them for quite a while and was oblivious to what they meant. Regardless, Pat and Pran in the series are recognized to have a "fell first" (Pran) but "fell harder" (Pat) sequence of pining, which is popular for fanworks to take apart and explore.

Pat loving Pran's scent / Pran calling Pat a "dog"

Beginning in episode 3, where Pat and Pran are bunched up hidden together, Pat compliments Pran's scent, to which Pran insults him by calling him a dog. This comes back when they enter their relationship, with Pat waxing poetic about how much he loves Pran's smell, while Pran refers to Pat's clinginess and scent obsession as doglike. Fanworks usually incorporate this dynamic, if at the very least in their dialogue. This also has allowed omegaverse fics and headcanons to be quite common, particularly with Pat as an omega; still, there are a number of fanworks with him as an alpha, and/or Pran as an omega instead. Petplay fics may also be inspired from this, though there has not been a trend of petplay PatPran fanworks of note.

Pran's desire to cook and feed "the one he likes"

One of Pran's love languages being food and cooking is obvious in the show, especially after the bet where Pran tells Pat that it was always his dream to cook and feed "the one he likes." This often gets incorporated as some sort of aside (much like Pat loving Pran's scent and Pran calling him a dog) but occasionally as a central theme in works.

Pran's mental health

Pran canonically has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder; this started as an interpretation by Nanon, Pran's actor[citation needed], and is later explicitly mentioned in the Our Skyy 2 episodes of Bad Buddy. Other than this, Pran's mental health is not explored in the show, but many fanworks like to touch on or incorporate, at the very least, his noticeable anxiety and obsessive-compulsive behavior. Some fans have noted that his forgetfulness with his earbuds may be indicative of ADHD, and fans who relate incorporate other symptoms of ADHD in their characterization of Pran.

The implied sexual versatility of their relationship

Pat and Pran's sexual relationship is hinted throughout the show, and a common interpretation is that Pran had bottomed during sex until episode 11, when Pran initiated a kiss with Pat and told him that it was "his turn". The following scene shows Pran spooning a shirtless Pat, post-coital, and asking Pat how he did, to which Pat rates him a ten out of ten. (Some fans also interpret this as their first time.) Due to this scene, it is widely regarded that Pat and Pran are both open to being on the receiving or giving end of penetrative sex, and a large portion of explicit fanfiction and fanart tend to incorporate this in some way.

Additionally, a scene in the series shows that not only is Pran aware of heteronormative expectations enforced on gay couples, but that he also actively rebukes them (e.g. being called Pat's "wife"), which fans also like to interpret as indicative of the equilibrium of their relationship in every aspect.

Pat and Pa's close siblingship

Even though Pat did not confide in Pa during the revelation of his own feelings for Pran, Pa has always liked Pran and supported whatever endeavors her brother had with him, particularly if they weren't antagonistic. Pa also confides in Pat about her own feelings for Ink. Many fans enjoy Pat and Pa's close siblingship as well as Pa's overall support of his and Pran's relationship, and like to write them as each other's emotional confidants, with a similar amount of teasing and unconditional support as they show to each other in the series.

Pa, Ink, Korn, and Wai being the main supporters of their relationship

After the events of episode 11 when Pat and Pran maintain their relationship in secret, Pa, Ink, Korn, and Wai are let in the know in order to help them coordinate the secrecy better. This has widely appealed to fans, who like to write, draw, and headcanon the dynamics between the six of them, especially with PatPran and InkPa as canon couples within the group. Additionally because of this dynamic, AU fanworks sometimes have Ink and Wai as Pran's confidants while Pa and Korn are Pat's, for the group dynamic balance, even though Ink and Pran are not shown to be particularly close in the series.

Long distance relationship

After graduating, Pran takes a prestigious internship in Singapore while he and Pat are still together. They have a long-distance relationship for at least two years because of this. Many fics like to explore them navigating the complexities and stressors of a long-distance relationship, as it is not explored in the series at all (due to a timeskip), such as sending each other gifts and having weekly calls. In particular, fanworks like to show Pat's side of this, likely because of having more canonical characters to work with, as well as exploring Pat's experience with pining even in an established relationship, as Pran's own pining is explored in the series.

Another common element of these fanworks is Pat being jealous of Max, Pran's blue-eyed English-speaking coworker who asks Pran to fake date at one point.

The Gifted AU

As Nanon, Pran's actor, was in the drama series The Gifted, a show about high school students with "gifted" powers, it is also common to see Gifted AUs in Bad Buddy fandom, especially for the Pat/Pran ship. Some AUs explore Pat and Pran being incorporated into the Gifted and having powers of their own, interacting with characters in the Gifted canon. Other fanworks map canon Bad Buddy characters into an adaptation of the show's premise.

Redblue

Pat and Pran are a "redblue" ship. This is largely due to the Architecture faculty uniform being red and the Engineering faculty uniform being blue. Though they are not shown to necessarily have an affinity for one color or the other as individual characters, their wardrobe is frequently reflective of this as well as the themes of certain scenes; for example, if a scene focuses on Pat thinking about Pran, he will likely be wearing a shade of red at some sort. Fanart tends to reflect this, as well as memes, color indicators, and the general way fans talk about the ship.

Fanwork Examples

Fanart

Fanfiction

Fanvideos

Links & Resources

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