So, this is a little different from most posts I make. XD Basically, I just wanted to take a little time to talk to you guys about a couple of games I found out about recently. They have some good characters - as well as very kinkable ones - and they are very “niche” pieces, not especially widely known. So I thought bringing some attention to them would be a good idea.
Both games are by a gaming company called “Genius Inc.” They make otome-style visual novels, which are all…TECHNICALLY free to play. Yeah, spoiler alert, I can’t - in good conscience - recommend either of the games I want to talk about AS games. I’ll get to why that is, and tell you where you can find walkthroughs to view, later on in this post, however. First, I want to focus on the positives, and especially on the characters. There are two games I want to discuss, and I think it’s best I do them one at a time. So, I’m going to start with this one: “A Villain’s Twisted Heart.”
WHAT’S THE STORY?
I am 90% convinced that, since this game came out in 2021, and has a title like “A Villain’s Twisted Heart,” this had to be inspired by the success of my beloved “Twisted Wonderland.” When you first hear the premise, it does bear a few passing resemblances to the game, but it’s different enough that I think it can stand on its own. The story focuses on the POV Protagonist - referred to as “The Reader” - who has the power to make material anything they read aloud. Basically, if they were to read, say, something from Arthurian Legend, they could potentially summon Excalibur; within the story of the game itself, they read from Cinderella and summon the Mice, and from a science book and summon a portal into outer space, just to give you two examples. However, in typical fashion, the Reader doesn’t know how to fully control their powers, and sees it more as a curse than a blessing.
Things take a bad turn when they encounter a mysterious antagonist, known only as “The Unraveler.” The Unraveler is a Reader gone rogue, who uses his powers to travel to different worlds via different stories and books, and then basically mess everything up there. The problem is, the more one messes with other worlds this way, the greater the risk of the world itself being completely destroyed by the Unraveler’s meddling. He’s now planning to do the same to the Reader’s own world.
To try and combat this threat, the Reader attempts to summon three of their favorite heroes in fiction…but, seemingly because of their lack of experience, they instead summon the villains of the stories in question. These villains are Captain Hook (from Peter Pan), Grimm (the Big Bad Wolf of Fairy-Tales), and Hisame (a genderbent version of the Snow Queen). The Reader thus is forced to team up with these dastardly, selfish, murderous scoundrels in order to defeat the much worse evil the Unraveler presents. In the first season of the game, all the action takes place within the Reader’s own world, with many fish-out-of-water elements for the Villains who are the focus. In the second season, the Reader and the Villains travel between the three worlds of the bad guys’ respective stories, pursuing the Unraveler to try and stop his mad plan to basically become a God. Since this is an otome type game, you make choices along the way to strengthen your relationships with the three Villains, and at the end of the story, you choose to form a romantic relationship with one of the three; they remain in your world (the Reader’s world), while the other two return to their own respective universes…with the promise that they will either visit you or you will visit them sometime down the line.
PROTAGONISTS & ANTAGONISTS
The main thing that both this and the other game I plan to talk about do so well is create strong characters. While the Reader is a mostly pretty blank protagonist - which is par the course for this type of game, to be fair - I do appreciate the person who wrote this visual novel did, in fact, give them a little bit of a personality, and a story arc beyond just falling in love. The Reader starts off as an easily flustered, generally reserved person at the start, and by the end of the game they’ve become just as much of a bad@$$, to be blunt, as the three Villains who they befriend (and, in at least one case, more than befriend). They also have a sense of humor and, despite being shy at the beginning, they aren’t completely spineless, usually ready with a quick comeback or logical argument. On that note, the character IS defined as female, but there’s no reason one can’t imagine them as male in personal writing, or just keep the gender neutral.
The Unraveler, our main antagonist (pictured above), is a pretty deplorable villain. And I mean that in a good way: he’s a decent bad guy. He starts off as a straightforward villain without much depth, but as the story goes on, he becomes more interesting. We never find out his true name; apparently, he adopts a new alias each time he visits a new world, and all his misadventures have unnaturally expanded his lifespan, so he’s far older than he seems; just like the Villains we’re facing, themselves. In the Reader’s world, he adopts the identity of a college professor (Moriarty, anyone?), but it’s pretty clear even this identity is something he’s made up. Whoever he is, his backstory is that he was a person who was neglected and shunned by society for most of his life; when he found out about his powers as a Reader, he used them to make himself into the hero of many stories. He craved the attention and praise being the hero got him, but he wasn’t willing to do the actual work to become a true hero; instead, he would organize things to make the heroes of those worlds look bad, and thus present himself as the only one who could stop their evil deeds. It’s this obsessive need to be given attention and adulation that leads to him seeking to become “The Hero of All Worlds,” which would apparently give him powers tantamount to a God.
Which brings us to the real stars of this story, the three Villains. What I appreciate about this game is that these three Villains ARE villains, at the start. They aren’t just misunderstood heroes, or even anti-heroes: they, themselves, acknowledge that whatever and whoever they used to be, they became the bad guys of their own stories. A common thread runs through all three of their stories: it’s revealed that each of these Villains used to be the hero of their own respective world. They were protective presences who guarded their people and tried to help them in times of need. That all changed when the Unraveler came to their world: he framed each of them for crimes they did not commit, and when they tried to stand up against him, they failed, lost, and thus their reputations were completely ruined. The suffering they went through led to all three making the same basic decision. To quote a song: “You’re looking for a monster? Well, it’s your lucky day! I’ll be what you want!”
As the story goes on, each of the three not only begins to form attachments - both to each other, and to the Reader - but they do start to shape up. By the end of Season 1, they’ve effectively gone from Villains to Anti-Heroes: they’re not exactly GOOD people, but they’re on their way to the path of redemption. And by the end of Season 2, I’d say all three are what would be termed Flawed Heroes. They’re now more or less heroic figures, the way they once were…but after spending so much time as Villains who would kill or even eat you without a second thought, they obviously still have some broken gears in the clockworks, so to speak. On that note, let’s now take a look at the three separately…
MEET THE VILLAINS
Captain Hook is the first of the trio we’ll talk about. Hook seems to be the sort of self-appointed leader of the villains, as he’s the one who comes up with most of the plans throughout the story and tends to act as an ironic voice of reason. I do love the way Hook is portrayed in this version: while he’s younger than most versions of the character, he’s still basically the Captain Hook we all know and love. He’s a sneaky, dastardly swashbuckler with a theatrical, charismatic, slightly foppish sort of personality. The game plays a lot with the duality of Hook, between him as the dandified gentleman and him as…well…a pirate. He’s a drinker, a womanizer, and has the sort of cocksure swagger many typical pirates have, but he’s also capable of being quite eloquent and even somewhat of a ham. They also play with the brutality of Hook: he’s a manipulative sadist who loves to play with people’s minds, keeping his cards close to his chest and finding stealthy, subtle ways to solve most problems. You can never fully trust him, and he seems to be the one of the three who gets the most pleasure out of the thought of not only killing but outright torturing those who cross him. As the game goes on, Hook softens up considerably, his sadistic elements toning down bit by bit, as he starts to realize he still has a chance to reclaim at least most of the things he lost when Peter Pan (one of the Unraveler’s many identities) cut off his hand and fed it to the Crocodile.
Grimm, the Big Bad Wolf, actually reminds me a bit of Jack Howl from Twisted Wonderland…except that, at the start, he’s much meaner. Where Hook is a mental threat, who prefers to outwit his enemies, toy with their minds, and use guile and sneakiness to get what he wants, Grimm is a purely physical threat. While he isn’t a total dunderhead, he is, nevertheless, a person who relies largely on brute force and intimidation to get what he wants. At the start of the game, he behaves more like an animal than a human being, and is easily the most physically imposing and strong of the trio. He’s also, being the Big Bad Wolf, RAVENOUSLY hungry. He’s a bottomless pit, really; threatening to eat people on more than one occasion, and constantly chowing down throughout the game, without a shred of manners. As the game goes on, we quickly realize that under his big and bad exterior, Grimm has a soft side; he’s basically a violent tsundere, afraid to admit his true feelings and form close attachments because of past experiences, and trying to seem meaner than he (already) is. As the game goes on, Grimm opens up more and more, and shows a sort of puppyish side to his personality: he’s extremely curious about human life, and the way things work in the Reader’s own world, and goes from trying to push them away to becoming the single most protective of them out of the whole bunch. By the end, while he’s still got his rough edges and doesn’t always like to show his soft sides, those soft sides are clearly taking greater precedence.
Finally, there is Hisame, the Snow King. In order to talk about him, I have to give a bit away about his backstory: Hisame’s origin states that he was stabbed by Kai (the Unraveler’s identity in his world) with a dagger formed from a cursed icicle. In Lord-of-the-Rings fashion, a piece of the icicle knife broke off inside of him, and is working its way slowly into the Snow King’s heart, freezing him from the inside out. As time goes on, not only does this cause Hisame to become more and more emotionally cold and distant, but it also means he runs the risk of dying if his heart freezes completely. The only way to break the curse is, of course, through True Love’s Kiss…but if you’re worried that means you HAVE to pick him, don’t worry: in the same vein as “Frozen” or “Maleficent,” it’s explained that True Love doesn’t have to be ROMANTIC love, it just has to be real. Regardless, for most of the game, Hisame is as cold as his slowly freezing heart: he’s haughty, dictatorial, commanding, passive-aggressive, and thoroughly icy. He’s an emotional threat, constantly seeking to make others feel inferior to himself; a dominating and imposing presence. He’s not a sadist the way both Grimm and especially Hook can be, it’s more that he doesn’t care if you suffer or not…which, arguably, can be seen as even more frightening. Part of the reason he acts so cruel and heartless, it’s revealed, is because he’s afraid of what will happen if he gets too close to someone: he’s scared he’ll hurt them, or that their compassion will be wasted on him in some way. Eventually, he does learn to accept his own emotions and finds a way to both literally and figuratively thaw out his frozen heart.
For those reading who know me for my kinkier fanfics, yes, I do have MANY thoughts related to these three lads as kink crushes, especially Hook and Grimm. Perhaps I’ll go into them more if people ask in some fashion, but for now, suffice it to say all three characters are awesome and definitely have the capacity to make me blush.
WHY YOU SHOULD NOT PLAY THE GAME.
So, I’ve established I like all these characters, and the story itself - while not completely perfect in its execution (the second season is somewhat rushed, in particular) - is actually a decently well-told tale. It blends elements of both slice-of-life romance and a sort of magical/superhero adventure epic together in a very fun and sweet way. I also appreciate that, while you can form relationships with all three, they remember that you can only pick one to be your true love at the end. By which I mean, even though the Reader shares romantic scenes with all three characters, they’re written in such a way that you can sort of “excuse” the fact they ultimately will only pick one lover by the end of the tale.
HOWEVER, there are two things wrong with “A Villain’s Twisted Heart,” and to be honest, they are problems that all the Genius Inc. games I’ve looked at (I’ve taken a peek at a few by now) seem to have. The first is that this game is very cheaply made. And I do mean VERY cheaply made: a lot of the artwork featured in the game is taken from stock, with only a few backgrounds, screens, and the main character sprites being original. The music, similarly, is a blend of some original music and stock music together. All of Genius Inc.’s games seem to be made on the budget of a can of beans, but this one seems oddly and particularly low-budget compared to even some of the others I’ve looked at.
This problem would be excusable if it weren’t for the other issue: all of Genius Inc.’s visual novels have the same basic gameplay system, and it’s a system that is, to be blunt, rigged completely. The games are free to play, and most of the choices you make throughout the story are totally up to you to make. HOWEVER, there are specific choices - referred to as “Premiere Choices” - which are THE MOST IMPORTANT DECISIONS for the character to make. Choosing one way will lead to basically getting a bad ending, and choosing the other will lead to basically getting a good ending, plain and simple. This is already problematic enough, but this is what really tears it: in order to even MAKE the choices that will lead to the good ending(s) of each game…you have to pay money.
Yeah. The games are free to play…but to get the good endings, you have to spend cash.
On the one hand, I guess it makes sense from a business point of view: how else would these shoestring budget titles make a profit? But from the perspective of the player…that’s just messed up.
SO…how to experience these characters and this story for yourself, without giving in to these miserly fiends? Simple: watch a walkthrough on YouTube. There are actually a couple of channels with walkthroughs of this specific game available online, it seems to be one of the most popular titles Genius Inc. has produced. I can see why: out of all the games I’ve looked at so far from this company, this one is probably my favorite, as I feel it has the strongest and best-written story out of all the ones I’ve seen.
So, if you don’t know about this game and want to learn more about these lads, head to the magical YouTube and start looking. It may not be worth playing, but it’s definitely worth checking out.
“But wait!” I hark thou wail. “What of the other game you mentioned? What is it?! Is it on YouTube as well?!”
Patience, my little ducklings, patience…I’ll get to THAT business another time… ;)
(This post is inspired by @angelbesideme who didn't know who Poppy was when I rambled on about him in some tags on a post about Tankhun in Kinnporsche. The gist of that ramble is that I love that Tong is getting to play such a complex character with Tankhun since all he had been given before kp was very plain characterisation.
And it's similar with Poppy - in that Poppy is FANTASTIC at the slapstick comedy characters but I just know he would slay a serious role and I really hope he's given the chance in the future. So @angelbesideme this is for you.)
I first became aware of Poppy in YYY, in which he plays Porpla - a yaoi fan and owner of a boarding house...who is either trans or a drag queen (apologies for not knowing exactly).
And in my awareness of him I learnt he was also in Why R U? and Lovely Writer, both of which I had already watched and not really noticed him in...so I went back to see.
In Why R U? he plays Junior - a class clown character and friend of Zon...so with similar slapstick theatrics to YYY...(on the right below)
But in Lovely Writer, he plays Jap, Gene's brother - I think he's the older brother but with the characters' dynamic he sometimes acts like a bratty younger brother - but either way, it's a little more *ahem* 'straight acting'...
And then most recently he's played Foei in Cutie Pie - Lian's wonderful assistant. He's back in a slapstick role but oh my god he was so good. So cute, so darling, so upstaging.
BUT having said that, I really want to see him play something serious, deep, challenging, angsty, soul-destroying (mine), and H E A V Y.
Praying to the bl gods to bring this about...not that it has to be a bl...I would watch him in anything just to see it.
For some time now, I wanted to launch a series of mini-articles, discussions and theories about the Wheel of Time. Being currently not busy, let's start!
As I was falling asleep yesterday, a detail of a Memory of Light kept popping up in my head. As Rand rides away after the Last Battle, he takes out his pipe, cannot channel (not the One Power nor the True Power) but by wishing it lit, the pipe is lit. Now, we know that the ending was written by Robert Jordan and that Sanderson, though knowing why and how, will not tell us.
BUT, if you read carrefully, one can find some clues. I'll summarize the bits of information I thought useful for this theory :
The Wheel of Time is a cyclical time
The Dark One is sealed at the beginning of time
The Bore happens at the end of the Age of Legends when mankind opens the Dark One's prison
During the fight with the Dark One, Rand "creates" realities, not by channeling but by using threads of the Pattern
All these infos, swimming in my head as I was falling asleep suddenly all clicked. Rand, during the fight, created the world again, after rejecting several possibilities. Hence the world, which could have stopped, is born again. As such, while it's a bit of a stretch, a can theorize that Rand is the Creator (or at least an avatar of him) creating the world and sealing the Dark One.
If we take this theory as true, Rand's pipe becomes much clearer. During the fight with the Dark One, he uses the threads of the Pattern and DOESN'T channel. And, for me at least, at the very end, he kept this ability to bend the Pattern's threads and light his pipe with it.
So... that's it, not much of a theory, but the epiphany seemed so important I had to share it.
TL;DR lol : Rand is so badass, that he becomes the mother-flamming Creator to finally get some peace.
Me, between 3 and 4 am this morning when I couldn’t sleep: No, but THIS SHIRT
You don’t understand the hold this costume choice has on me. Looks pretty innocuous, right? But, see, it represents Pat’s fading feelings for Ink alongside his growing feelings for Pran. Let me explain...
There are two colours overlapping in the leaf design: One a light yellowy/greeny/cream and the other a light grey/blue. These are the two colours that Ink and Pran wear respectively in the scenes that Pat has with them in episode 4.
In the photo shoot, Pat is initially in a t-shirt with a yellowy-green print. That colour is similar to the top that Ink is wearing when she’s taking the photos (and at the bar later).
Then we have Pran in the light grey/blue colour in his dorm when Pat is taking care of flirting with him.
Honestly, the more I look the more I understand that no clothing choice is arbitrary. Everything is deliberate. And the costume department deserve all the awards.
I've already gushed about one of Pat's shirts (I think it's my favourite costume of the whole series so far 😍) but this one is coming a very close second:
Just look at it!
So we have Pat wearing a red shirt (Pran's colour), with a blue night sky design (Pat's colour), with what looks like the golden gate bridge across his chest (correct me if I'm wrong) lit up with yellow lights (their love and happiness). The bridge itself in the day time is red, spanning the blue water and sky.
Now, in episode 9, Pat is the bridge between the two faculties - he encourages Pran to talk to Wai, he goads Wai into stop "pouting like a baby", he benches himself so that Wai can focus on the rugby game, he steps up to help Wai when he gets bullied in the bar, and oh yeah literally takes a bullet for him. Pat is trying to reunite Pran with his friends, thus paving the way for the two friend groups to come together.
And the bridge itself - an iconic image of the power of collaboration between architecture and engineering. Look what can be achieved with an alliance of the two friend groups, the two faculties, and the two professions. It's GOLDEN!
I've already partially written about this shirt (and its connection to my all-time favourite of all of Pat's shirts) - in that it could have been used to connect Pat with Ink through the shared colour of the t-shirt print and Ink's mustard yellow top (to offer the subconscious implication that she's might be a 'love interest' for Pat)...
...of course, the choice of this t-shirt could also be completely arbitrary...
...but I've always been curious as to whether I could find a deeper meaning/reasoning behind its inclusion here (even if it's just a complete coincidence). After re-watching ep 4 last weekend, I finally decided to do a bit of googling...
And what I discovered is that the name "Salome" and the picture don't seem to originally go together...at least not that I could find...so I wonder if they made this shirt themselves...and therefore why (or maybe someone else made it and they just found it 🤷🏽♀️).
I'll begin with the picture. It is a painting called Portrait of Sabartes, by Pablo Picasso in 1939. Jaime Sabartes was Picasso's lifelong friend, secretary, and chief "legend-monger" (he basically sang Picasso's praises to whomever listened). Sabartes asked Picasso to paint him as a courtier to Philip II...
"Portraying Sabartes as [such] is amusing as this was the role he played in the court of Picasso; that of the loyal servant following his master from Paris to Antibes to Royan. Although Sabartes was often represented by critics as a pathetically faithful dog, Picasso no doubt respected and returned his loyalty - albeit in his own fashion."
I know this is a very very tenuous link...but I couldn't help jumping on the fact that we see Pat as a faithful puppy... Yes, it's really a stretch to think Aof/the costume designer might have meant this with the use of this picture...(*she whispers* but what if they did?). Another less tenuous link is just the fact that Picasso and Sabartes were born in the same year and were lifelong friends...just like Pat and Pran 🤷🏽♀️ (I also like that Pat also wears a couple of other Picasso-esque shirts in the series...although I haven't been able to discover if they actually are Picasso prints yet.)
Anyway, onto "Salome" and this is a little more concrete, I think.
Salome is "commonly identified with the daughter of Herodias who, according to accounts in the Gospel of Mark and the Gospel of Matthew, danced for Herod Antipas" in exchange for the head of John the Baptist. Salome has been depicted in many forms in paintings, literature, films, sculpture, music...you name it...often as a "lascivious woman, a temptress who lures men away from salvation" - or a femme fatale.
In episode 4, Ink is introduced as a kind of femme fatale - or faen fatale as @absolutebl would say: "This is when the story introduces a character whose sole purpose is to drive a wedge between the main BL pair." Luckily, in Bad Buddy, this trope was one of many that were subverted and it became clear quite quickly (in the most delightful way!) that Ink actually wasn't a 'traditional' fean fatale character. But having Pat wear this t-shirt in this episode, in a scene where it was implied that Ink might be a love interest for him...well, whether planned or not, I think it's genius.
But, along with the above, as I was reading the wikipedia page (I know, not always the best source🤷🏽♀️), I came across this:
"Salome is shown in the mystery play as a personification of Carl Jung's pleasure in The Red Book. [...] Through interactions with Salome, Jung learns of how he neglected the emotional feeling side of his personality and the difficulties of accepting that part of himself that he suppressed."
Now, I think this really is just my brain making connections between the above quote and posts I've read recently about Pat...BUT I just love that people have recently been writing about Pat's character growth...and about his repressed emotions and his realisation of them. Others have written so well on this subject that I'm not going to attempt my own words...I'll just link them here for you to read if you're interested: this post by @scarydeul; this one by @grapejuicegay; and this by @goldenmorningglory.
.
Whether planned or not, this shirt is SO GOOD - I love that I can find all these connections to the characters and the story - and I feel like it should actually have an honorary spot in my top ten of Pat's shirts from the series. 😂
Let's talk about...Pat's "Proud to be a Noles Hater" shirt
I've been thinking about this one for a while...actually since a comment I got on another of my posts about Pat's shirts. I have thoughts about that and the general reaction these shirts get, which I'll address below...but first, the shirt:
So when Pat wore this shirt in ep 8, it's safe to say a lot of people lost their sh*t over the *ahem* 'ridiculousness' of it in the context of a Thai romcom...well, I'm here to refute that sentiment. I'm here to say it was highly intentional and actually a really f*cking genius deliberate choice.
Earlier in the ep, Pat introduces the 'football' theme with the Tampa Bay t-shirt. Originally, I interpreted this shirt's inclusion in a few ways, mainly with the colours - first the mint green signifying Pat and Pran becoming boyfriends, and second the pumpkin orange both as a parallel to the bus stop hand-hold but also as a connection to the lime green Pa wears in the corridor and to Ink.
And then comes the 'Proud to be a Noles Hater' shirt - the 'Noles' referring to another American Football team. Colour-wise, I interpreted the darker green as a sign of the angst to come between Pat and his dad, whereas @karometeenk offered a great theory about the use of bright orange connecting Pat and Pran by music.
But I want to go beyond my colour theories...because the 'Noles' shirt is genius in many other ways... So, the slogan refers to the football team of the Florida State University, who are long-time rivals of the University of Miami - who are the ones to wear this slogan at games.
So Pat is wearing a t-shirt about a famous university rivalry in a show predominantly about rivals - the rivalry between his parents and Pran's (which started because Ming stole Dissaya's university scholarship) and the rivalry between the engineering and architecture faculties at the university they attend - but also during a scene where he's rehearsing the play, which is about another set of rival families. Adding to that, he's wearing it with Pran who should be his rival but who most definitely isn't because they are now boyfriends - which Pat is very proud about - even though there's a bit of conflict between them because of Pat posting pics to his IG...which they make up over the xylophone. So it's both representing the existing layered rivalries in the show and is a tongue-in-cheek joke of the fact that he and Pran are absolutely not rivals (although they love a bit of competition!)
But, there's more!
Pat goes home to his dad. His very proud father, who seems to enjoy the rivalry between the two families - remember in ep 1 Pat's ma tells Ming: "You seem so proud." Ming responds, "Of course. If we get hurt, they get hurt too." In ep 8, Ming brings up the fact that Pat has been choosing the architecture play over playing rugby, initiating the divide between them that will grow by the end of ep 10. It reminds Pat of the rivalries that still exist despite his blossoming relationship with Pran.
Later in his room, it's interesting that Pat changes into white clothes:
It's like he's stripping himself of 'sides' - he's become neutral, like Switzerland (honestly, I would have gone feral if this t-shirt had been Swiss rather than S. Korean). He wants to rid himself of the rivalries, and to be able to live in peace without them.
But speaking of the t-shirt being S. Korean...
Korea is a country divided, on opposing sides, adding to the 'rivalry' theme...with the "select" print on both sides suggesting a side maybe needs to be chosen...but the writing on the back could allude to Pat putting the conflict and rivalry behind him when he's with Pran...and the word 'Temporary' could also allude to their troubles not being permanent for their whole lives (by ep 12 we know it's still going to take time but the parents are on their way to accepting their son's boyfriend).
And then, after the delightful exchange across the roof, Pat lays Pran's shirt over his chest, covering himself once again in colour and proudly adorning himself with the word 'Friend' - the opposite to a rival. No more reminders of rivalries, no more tongue-in-cheek slogans...this is their honest and true status (well, boyfriends, but you know what I mean).
And here's where I get a bit preachy...because looking into all the costume choices of Bad Buddy has illuminated the fact that there is a danger with the knee-jerk reaction of 'oh my god that is ridiculous, why did they use that, where did they get it from?!' etc etc etc...that happens with 'foreign' media, which is at best rude and at worst...well...maybe indicative of some unconscious bias/prejudice/racism 🤷🏽♀️ (<- not sure which is the right term here...maybe all three).
Because it shouldn't be assumed that no one in the production understands the writing - of course some people speak English (or German, or whatever) - it shouldn't be assumed that no one thinks to check what the writing refers to...because this is/these are production companies that produce content not only for a national audience but also international - they have to make sure they're not using something offensive or, for example, pro-nazi or something just as controversial.
And Aof found a lot of the clothes himself in charity shops...so I can imagine him picking up various shirts - knowing Pat is a character who wears loud, crazy things - and either himself or someone else googling what any writing refers to...and to find a shirt like the 'Noles' one, he must have felt like he hit the jackpot - with not only all the layered meanings but also because yes, on the surface it does seem totally ridiculous. But it really, really isn't when placed in the right scene.
