we've moved on to greener, murkier pastures but im still so in awe of pat actually using Pa's four signs on himself.
I think that's a thing you could do if and only if you're that emotionally intelligent. Everyone would assume you's use these four signs thing to test it on other people. Never youself.
So for Pat to actually take a step back, and watch and observe how he acted around Pran, to connect each sign to each action he just did, to realise it by himself- that requires a startling lack of ego.
because it shows the depth that pat has. he's playful, cherry, laid back. he's fierce, doesn't get possed off easily but he's scary when he does (still thinking about how he's 'cold' and even scares the seniors but we see him with pran and realise he changed).
so him being all these light hearted things pulls the wool over our eyes about just how emotionally intelligent he is. he didnt go "oh i'll test this out on pran". as you would suppose he'd do. but no, he tested it on himself, realised that it wasn't ink he liked but pran. and it always had been.
why had be been oblivious until then if he was so good at knowing his own feelings? loads of reasons- the patriachal atmosphere of his house. expectations. carrying the knowledge that pran was probably just putting up with the guy who got him sent off to boarding school. but recently pran confused him, with how soft he seemed when they were alone. and so he starts becoming more conscious.
and the second he shifts his perspective slightly boom! it all makes sense! and he doesn't struggle with it beyond the slight disbelief of never never having realised this.
no he starts struggling when he sees wai. not jealousy. its hurt. hurt that despite all their shared history and pain, and the joy he knows they both get from each other, he can't be close to pran so openly. he can't even look at him without people thinking he's picking a fight.
its just how startlingly in tune pat is with himself and that just blows up when he's actually allowed to talk to pran. the conversation at the beach. the bet. the confession through the play. the whole of ep 8.
hes a well written character and its obvious with how much care and attention he has been written and acted.
“Aoki, lend me your hand.” KIETA HATSUKOI (2021) - EPISODE 8.
Sae On: This will be my first kiss scene of my career.
You Seok: This is my first romantic drama, first kiss scene.
Sae On: Same! 😲
Sae On: I will never forget this experience. ☺️
You Seok: I love you, Taekyung ♥️
Sae On: 🙈☺️🥰😄
The fact that this is both their first kiss scene in their entire career makes the kiss scene and the entire series more meaningful and more memorable!!
All I can say is, LEE SAE ON AND KANG YOU SEOK BEST BOIS!!
me: *crying*
friend: what’s going on? why are you crying?
me: *gestures vaguely towards thailand*
A small Bad Buddy meta
After much reading and rewatching I just had to say...
We see pat use the four signs on ink and then see pa use it too. What stood out for me was that while they thought they were using it to test the other person's feelings, they were unwittingly using it on themselves. And we see the dichotomy so clearly, because pa confirms her own feelings in the process while pat doesn't respond to those signs himself. I've seen a lot of y'all say how he wasn't too disappointed when ink didn't react but note he didn't react either and he must have realised that. That the feelings he once felt weren't exactly the same and we see him wonder a bit as to what changed.
He's contemplating this when he's at the instrument shop and pran arrives and automatically realises. Here we see him use the signs not on pran but on himself! It just shows how he understood that the signs are better when used on oneself because only you truly know how you feel about someone, whereas the other person may not openly react to your signs. And this is proven by how pran nor ink reacted when the signs were used because they were both repressing and hiding their crushes, obviously they are not going to let on that they have feelings, they were anyway finding it difficult to do so(pran in the hallway when pat gives him his guitar...his face was such a giveaway and ink at the restaurant with pa ..again her face after pa helped her with the dirt in her eye was telling)..so both have their guards up.
So here pat notices how he himself reacts to pran in the context of how their relationship has been going and it sort of falls into place. It explains not just his behaviour but also pran. Because pran could easily cut him off and not associate at all with him, he could have moved out of the form if he actually wanted to..the only reason he is staying then and keeping up their secret association must be because of something pat is just coming to put his finger on. Its here he realises that they shouldn't even be friends with the way their families work and now he questions..what exactly are they? And we see that so beautifully communicated at the end of the episode on the rooftop.
Coming back to pat noticing him response to the four signs...he notices his feelings now and the only reason he hasn't so far was because he probably didn't think it was possible.....for him to like also like boys and for that boy to be pran. But that's why we get the flashbacks and all the things they went through in high school to show that pat always did like pran but he never got a chance to explore those feelings and because he never expected them. What is so amazing and one of the highlights of this show, is that he doesn't for one moment grudge himself his feelings. He doesn't beat himself up or question it, he accepts that sexuality is fluid and understands that he can like whoever he wants. This says so much about his character and it was at this point at which we all fell for pat (cause by then we were all already gone for pran) and it was after this that the "walking green flag" posts started showing. The way in which they portrayed Pat's character arc was so true to a realistic experience of understanding fluid sexuality, I cannot stop applauding.
Warning. I’m going to kiss you in one minute.
SEMANTIC ERROR | EP 7
This moment is so important. When they finally discuss their pain aloud, forgive one another, and put the blame where it rightfully belongs; on their parents. While reassuring each other that in spite of everything that's happened and the pressure from the people around them, they definitely don't hate each other. & it breaks my heart how desperately they both (but especially Pran) needed to hear that but the relief on their faces when they do makes it all worth it. This is the moment they finally begin to break free from the influence of their families. NOW they can start moving forward together.
You know what I really love about it? I love that nobody explained Pat's feelings to him, nobody told him 'you're acting like this or that you must be into him'. He felt what he felt, and yes he got a nudge from Paa's 4 signs, but he went on this journey of discovery on his own, he really sat with himself and worked it out, and thought it through. He went all the way back through their history and questioned what he felt and did even then. His realisation came from within, it wasn't something anybody pushed him to, not even Pran. It came straight from his own heart.
There's a line in Pran's perspective from the novel that I really love that sparked for me here: There were times when I looked at Pat's face while treating his wounds and wondered what he meant to me. Here, Pat is the one who is going on that journey of trying to figure out what Pran means to him, and he's doing it not because anybody pointed something out to him, but because he felt something within himself and chose to explore it rather than ignore it like he would have done before. And he doesn't really discuss it with anybody, not Paa, not Korn, not Ink. Even when they try to draw him out about what he's thinking he demurs. He doesn't want anybody else's voice in his head about this. There's going to be enough of that if what he discovers within himself is love, enough voices saying this and that. And because it's Pran, something in him knows that he has to be absolutely sure if this is the path he's going to take. He can't go into this on a whim or anything less than 100% certainty. Because once he makes that move there will be absolutely no turning back.
I just express my feelings a lot. Is that a crime? Is it? Fine. That’s what I find attractive about you.
□ a bl sideblog, because yes, it reached that level◇▪︎ ♡🏳️🌈☆
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