#divorce!nara talks

[holybasementdweller]

how do you think of chipseclipse :3

too late too late too late too late too late too late too late too late too late too late too late too late too late too late too late too late too late too late too late too late too late too late too late too late

what happened to you

who's lying to me

who pulled the rug

collateral damage

damage control damage control damage control

[bengiyo]

La Pluie: The Kindness is the Point

Hello again, friends and fellow clowns. It’s a Saturday evening and I have recovered from the Devil’s Nap. I’ve seen some great posts already, and I feel compelled to share some thoughts as well following Episode 9 of La Pluie. This episode focused on the fact that Patts has always been a kind person and that Nara is deserving of grace. This show displays a gentleness for its characters that feels so queer to me because so many of us can appreciate how difficult it is to have love, and the way this show goes out of its way to NOT punch down on its characters cannot be overstated.

Nara Gets What She Needed and What We All Deserve

Before I get into talking about Nara, please go read @liyazaki post about the breakup scene and @lurkingshan talking about how Nara’s role in this show subverts the faen fatale trope. Both are brilliant, and I cannot do them justice in any reiteration.

gif by @liyazaki

I absolutely love how this show treats Nara. It’s the exact opposite of bisexual erasure. We have seen across five episodes now that Patts’ feelings for Nara were incredibly real and sincere. They loved each other. When he began hearing Saengtai it became a completely understandable problem in their relationship. Saengtai doesn’t get jealous of the former relationship between them; he instead gets upset because he sees that once again the soulmate connection has caused pain in another relationship. We could have left Nara behind in the last episode and totally been fine, but this show said that she deserves closure, and she doesn’t deserve to lose her friends.

Nara comes to Saengtai and apologizes unknowingly interfering in his relationship with Patts, states that she wouldn’t have done any of this if she had known about them and apologizes for causing his misunderstanding (implying that she blames herself for sending him into his mountain spiral). Tai instead apologizes to her for causing so much trouble and says that all of this was because of his own troubles. You can see the sigh of relief in Nara and the immediate drop in tension.  Nara offers that she likes Tai and Patts as a pair, and clearly says something about Patts’ body to make Saengtai blush. I think it’s wonderful that Tai doesn’t have to leave this trip feeling any kind of ambivalence for his boyfriend’s ex.

Later, Dream brings Nara along to the party, and everyone checks on Tai and Patts to see how this will play out. Tai assures everyone that they talked, and Nara is instantly welcomed back into the fold. The other vets are genuinely relieved to have her back with them and reminisce about old times they had together. After the party montage Patts uses the truth or dare game to pull Nara aside and have one final conversation with her about their relationship.

gif by @liyazaki

Mor already wrote beautifully about the Patts and Nara scene (linked above), and I think it’s so special that this show gave us this scene. This show began with Tai letting us know that his soulmate parents divorced. He has painful feelings wrapped up in how soulmate relationships dissolve, and he still feels a lot of angst about his own parents. I think it’s incredibly helpful for Saengtai to see that Patts and Nara still love each other despite not being able to move forward as lovers.

Finally, the show lets Nara be sad about the end of her romance with Patts. Despite the friendship they might rebuild and maintain in the future, her pain is real, and it matters, too. She’s allowed to have a moment of sadness with Dream and weep for the hopes that she must let go. There are even hints that perhaps Dream held a quiet crush on Nara before (@slayerkitty and @respectthepetty). How wonderfully kind it is of this show to show so many different people holding unrequited feelings for each other without it turning into angst or cruelty. The end of one relationship is not the end of love. Hopefully Tai remembers this as we get back into some of his family drama.

We needed to see the amount of grace extended to Nara. In a show about how love is an active and ongoing choice, there’s no way we could move forward without honoring Nara. I also think it’s important that Nara acknowledge the love between two men as special and valuable as Tai also acknowledges that her love with Patts is valuable. Despite the complex queer relationship chart being drawn across this friend group, everyone is determined to keep folks together.

Patts Has Always Been Good

Let’s talk about Patts. We’ve been saying for weeks that he’s a good guy and that the show has given us no real reason to be suspicious of him. I loved the reveal about him being The Kind One. I’m also curious about the temper he mentioned he has to Nara.

We finally got @shortpplfedup to watch the show, and she nailed down immediately that the core themes are about the choice to love each other in small ways constantly. I cannot stress enough that for all the writing and thinking we’ve done this episode, Tai and Patts do not refer to each other as soulmates this episode at all. They are boyfriends now. They are boyfriends because Patts has always been kind. They are boyfriends because Saengtai has been open to kindness even when he’s hurting and a bit scared.

gif by @liyazaki

My man Patts loves to write notes.

I love the reveal that Patts and Tai happened to be neighbors years ago. Patts was seeing Nara at the time, which we know because the grandmother asked about her. We know that Patts was an attentive and diligent grandson who happened to notice that Tai was clearly going through something. He didn’t even know what Tai looked like. He just saw that he was hurting and wanted to help. We know that help mattered to Tai to the point that even Tien knows about it. When Patts’ grandmother dies, Tai goes out of his way to send that kindness right back.

gifs by @liyazaki

What’s more, you can see these two falling even deeper in love with each other as soon as they recognize that they were briefly pen pals during a very difficult time in their lives. This is great news for fans like me who liked episode six opening with a high heat scene, because Tai is wearing this sweater in the scenes we saw in the trailer during what felt like their first time.

We eatin’ good next week. (“Not as good as Patts.” - @ginnymoonbeam )

However, Patts mentioned to Nara that he has a temper, and we’ve seen that he’s painfully aware of Lomfon’s interest in Tai. I like the show’s choice to hold Lomfon’s conversation with Patts until next week, because it doesn’t matter to Tai. Tai isn’t interested in Lomfon in any way comparable to Patts. I’m excited to see Lomfon get decked for interfering, and for Tai to get mad at Patts for feeling threatened.

I Love Everyone in This Show

I think it’s notable that Saengtien has dropped any pretense that he enjoys being around Lomfon, and I like that it clearly complicates Lomfon’s own feelings. You can see that Lomfon doesn’t even know how to deal with the passive kindness Tai extends to him just because he’s close to his brother.

gif by @wanderlust-in-my-soul

I loved the vets being excited to welcome Nara back into the circle. I also like them joking about finding something new to tease Patts and Tai about.

I loved Dream going to Nara and giving her a shoulder to cry on.

I loved Kung and Bow cheering for Tai and Patts new relationship.

I loved Tai giving Bow yet another cutting look to not get into his time with Patts and teasing her even as she was trying to exit the scene.

I loved Tai and Tien continuing their bit of poking each other in the face with Tien pouting at the end with “I’m your little brother!”

I love Patts’ grandmother passing these notes back and forth just because it was something her grandson wanted.

I love Saengnuea not even being sure if he should do the “don’t hurt my brother” thing with Patts because he’s younger than Patts. I also love him taking care of his brother’s cat so he could go on the trip and complaining that the cat wouldn’t reciprocate his love.

In so many ways this show is about how important it is to extend a little bit of kindness to each other. It’s about how far just a little bit of grace goes. What with Be My Favorite also saying something similar this week (@ginnymoonbeam), I am enjoying some of the themes in the more dramatic shows this year. So, “Please. Be kind, especially when we don’t know what’s going on.”

Thank you as always for coming to my post.

[wen-kexing-apologist]

The Language of Love in La Pluie Ep. 8

Alright internet, my Pride events have ended, and I have returned home, so though I am a day late and a dollar short, you know what time it is….

Alright so I want to get a couple of smaller details out of the way first, as an appetizer before we get into the meaty parts of the episode. 

Gif from @ueasking

I counted and Bow and Kung hold hands in three separate scenes and that is enough evidence for me that they have fucked nasty. Moving on. 

There were two micromovements that I really appreciated in this episode, one from Lomfon and one from Patts. Unfortunately I will be bringing them to you in the form of screenshots because we *still* need people to be getting louder and gayer about this show and I am seeing a grossly low number of gifs for a show this fucking good. 

We know that Lomfon is interested in Tai, from the keychain he has, to the way that he immediately started questioning Tai’s connection to Patts vis a vis the soulmate thing, and those feelings Lomfon is still hung up on manifest in these very small ways. Namely, that Tai says he is bringing lunch to Patts and Lomfon’s head whips up

He looks a bit sad, and then he turns his head away so that he isn’t being obvious about this quiet devastation he has every time that he hears Tai talk about Patts. Because even though this show is clearly setting the stage of Lomfon and Tien to get together, London really needs to see that Tai understands that the hearing loss may not actually make you hear your “soulmate” and that Tai and Patts chose each other anyway, before he can truly allow himself to move on. 

By the by, one thing I am curious about with Lomfon is if now that he has heard Tai and Patts when it rained, if he will start changing his own mindset about soulmates. Kind of like a switcheroo, you know? Tai believes in soulmates so strongly that the divorce of his parents shook him to his core because it went his core belief that the hearing loss connects you to your soulmate, and he has learned throughout the course of this story and throughout the course of navigating his relationship to and with Patts that he cares less about whether or not the hearing loss connects to your soulmate, and more about the feelings he has for Patts. Lomfon believes so strongly that soulmates don’t exist because he has a crush on Tai, if he can now hear Tai, will he start believing that actually soulmates do exist and he and Tai are meant to be together, or will it further solidify his belief that soulmates don’t exist and he and Tai are meant to be together. Either way, he’s spent a total of like 1 minute of screen time with Tai so we know how this is gonna go, and it will not be pretty for Lomfon if he doesn’t wake up to his feelings for Tien soon. 

Ok, second micromovement is with Patts, who takes a microscopic step back when Nara tries to hand him the Bento Box

He wants to be fed by Tai, (or more accurately wants to eat Tai but I think we’ll be getting to that in Episode 9). Patts sees Nara and immediately knows why she is here. 

And what I love about Patts is that he isn’t mad or angry, he knows the ways in which his hearing loss and the potential of a soulmate has consistently harmed his relationship with Nara and how much she was willing to sacrifice of her own peace of mind to continue a relationship with Patts because she loves him. He loves her too, although not romantically anymore, and I know this because this is not the face of a man who is like “why the fuck is my ex coming over here when we very clearly separated?” This is the face of a man who knows precisely why she is here and is already feeling guilty about having to let Nara down once again, and confirm the fears she had while in their relationship about losing him to the stranger in his head. 

So in terms of body language, Patts cannot be more clear that he is no longer interested in Nara, and it is why I love that Tai explicitly tells Patts that he isn’t mad about what happened. 

Patts hands stay at his sides, he does not respond to any of her movements, he never touches her, he doesn’t deepen the kiss, he doesn’t even move his lips. If we look back at other examples of times he has kissed someone he loves, we know that this is not his standard operating procedure. Even in the flashback to his last kiss with Nara two months prior, he was in to the his, he was touching the back of her neck, he was an enthusiastic participant. Here, he lets her kiss him because he knows that Nara needs both a final confirmation that his feelings for her are no longer what they once were and a final goodbye so she can transition in to a new phase of her relationship to Patts, friends. (At least I hope they are able to remain friends, with the way Nara care about Tai’s wellbeing and the way she understands how important Tai is to Patts, I want more stories that allow exes to be friends.)

Tai sees them, drops his bisexual flag coded bento box he prepared for Patts and runs off to the mountain to spiral about his feelings about Patts, soulmates, and his sincerity of his connection to both of them. 

Patts finds the lunchbox, uses that veterinarian brain of his to make the connection and immediately starts looking for Tai. Which leads us to the first crack in Tien’s armor. Something I already talked about in my stray thoughts post because I was too busy being gay and my brain was too busy coming down from the high this episode brought me that I was not able to turn my analysis brain on.

We got Tien breaking down, running off to go do something brash and stupid…like climb a mountain with no preparation…like brother like brother I guess…and Lomfon chasing after him to make sure that he does not. 

Now, Tien says “Doi Mae Pilang. Soul mate.” with a concerned and searching tone in his voice, and Lomfon reacts by looking genuinely concerned back.

We can argue back and forth about whether or not this concern is for Tai or for Tien, but the fact remains that Lomfon’s eyes are laser focused on Tien. He is worried and waiting, and it takes less than a second for Lomfon to go chasing after Tien when he takes off towards the mountain. 

At which point we get our first intentional, certain touch from Lomfon to Tien. Whereas previously, we saw that Lomfon was struggling to figure out where and how to place himself, and his hands when Tien took a nap on him, here, he is does not get lost in his head. He grabs Tien firm by the arm

Gif from @ueasking

By the shoulders

Gif from @ueasking

By the chest

Gif from @liyazaki who is as much of a hands demon as I am

Who keeps Tien pressed closely too him, and tells him, firmly, sincerely that he is here for Tien 

Gif from @liyazaki from their before and after post

And though this moment is washed the fuck out because of the light, I love that effect explicitly because to me, this is a visual representation of the idea that Lomfon is bringing light and warmth in to Tien’s life. Or that he will be. In this scene Lomfon is acting like a guide to Tien, making sure that he does not run off and get himself hurt too, making sure that he knows that he has support, comforting him when he is upset. 

And while at first Tien is turned away from it, trying to break from it, running from it, eventually he melts. 

Gifs from @liyazaki

And Lomfon reacts initially with a brief moment of surprise, before once again placing all his attention on studying Tien. This is a moment of vulnerability for Tien, something we have not seen, and Lomfon is taking it in stride. In fact, the only people that Tien has really let himself lose control around has been Lomfon. He trusted Lomfon enough to get drunk around him, to take a nap on him, to cry in front of him. 

Even with Tai, while he allowed himself to be mad, and to hug his brother tightly, and to cry, Tai did not see and will not see the full on breakdown Tien had the previous day. Tien does not let Tai know how impacted he is by anything, because he has been acting as an emotional support for Tai for the past two years. As a fellow emotional laborer, I have an extremely difficult time asking people for help and an even harder time when it comes to people who I know are also emotional laborers. Tien has been doing a massive amount of emotional labor for Tai, and that means not letting Tai in to the entire depth of his own thoughts and feelings. At least, that’s part of my read on it. 

So what do we get from Lomfon’s physicality with Tien in this scene? When Lomfon places his hands on Tien, he does not move his fingers, not like Patts does with Tai. But that does not mean that there is no movement in these scenes. His head moves, he is turning his attention to Tien. His eyes move, he is analyzing Tien and trying to read his emotions, trying to adapt to this new version of Tien he has never seen before. Lomfon moves his body, he rocks with Tien when Tien starts to collapse, when they hug, Lomfon is moving with Tien, but his hands remain steady. When Tien hugs him at the end, he pats Tien’s back and while he’s not slapping him, he is certainly not patting his back gently/softly.  Lomfon is solid, stable, logical. He will pull Tien back when Tien’s passion escapes from its leash. He will ground Tien when the world feels like it’s falling out from under him. But he he will not be so rigid that Tien is unable to do things he wants/needs to, he can still move the way he needs to, when he wants to change his position, he breaks free easily from Lomfon’s grasp, when he turns to hug Lomfon, Lomfon is not expecting it but he leans in to the hug, he roll with it. He lets Tien feel what he needs to feel, but makes sure that Tien is safe. 

We head up the mountain.

Gratuitous inclusion of Tai’s hand because I am absolutely obsessed with those rings on his fingers. 

Anyway, 

Rain and as a result, water, are incredibly important as a theme of this show. First of all, water belongs to gay people, second of all, rain and as a result, water connect Tai and Patts together, connected Tai’s parents together, still connects them together because as far as we know they will continue to remain voices in each other’s heads. So it is incredibly apt that Tai, when walking up this mountain to get clarity on where he himself stands in his beliefs around soul mates, in his relationship to Patts, falls and lands in water. 

Again, @respectthepetty taught me to look out for lines as barriers and lines as connectors. Here we have Tai’s hand, keeping him connected to water, and his sweater has two likes that visually still block his hand from the rest of his body. He has not yet figured out what his connection with himself and his beliefs are yet, and therefore despite the fact he’s reaching for it. Reaching for that knowledge, dipping a finger into the cleansing waters, he still does not have the clarity he needs. 

Until Patts shows up. 

Touch, again, this time with Patts hand resting over Tai’s shoulder, with Tai’s head cradled in Patt’s arm, with Tai’s back leaning up against Patts’ leg. Patts’ hand brushing gently across Tai’s side. 

Tai, injured, in pain, and about to faint called out to the man he’d refused to talk to for two years, and got an answer, and then Tai fell silent once again. 

“I was so worried about you”

“I can always find you”

“We are soul mates” 

And Tai smiles at that because he doesn’t care anymore, because he doesn’t care if the rain is right, if soul mates are real, Patts is here, Patts was worried, Patts will find him, Patts is patient, and reliable, and caring, and Tai can allow himself to give in to loving him. 

And if you will entertain me for just a moment, I want you to scroll back up a little to the wideshots of Tai cradled in Patts’ arms, and I want you to look at the hand that is draped along Tai’s ribs, and I want you to see the way Patts fingers move. We know from their previous make out scenes that Patts is constantly moving his fingers, scratching, and pressing, and ghosting over Tai. Here too, we see the trend continue, of these small ways that Patts gives comfort to Tai. Whereas Lomfon’s movements with Tien are bigger, firmer, more solid, because Tien needs stability and reliability like that. Tien’s emotions are simple but big, needing to be contained. Patts’ movements are smaller, gentle, softer, because Tai needs patience and comfort. Tai’s emotions are more complicated but simmering, needing to be carefully and meticulously tended to. 

Patts carries Tai down the mountain.

And Tai owes Patts an explanation. You know what, no, not an explanation, a conversation. Tai is ready to talk about these thoughts he has been having, the fears and hesitations that have been bubbling just beneath the surface, close enough to Patts to see them, close enough for Patts to rein in his horniness because he can tell that Tai isn’t comfortable having that level of intimacy with him yet. Because Patts knows a little bit about Tai’s hesitations, he has heard twice now the story of Tai’s parents’ divorce. 

And though at first he gave Tai comfort, when he found him by the water, when he wasn’t conscious, when he was more disoriented, and though he carried Tai down the mountain. Here is where conversation grows serious, and Patts, not being certain of where Tai is going to land with all of this, keeps his hands to himself. Tai tells him about how seeing Patts and Nara kiss got him thinking about, worrying about, wether Patts was giving up a truly good thing with Nara under the assumption that he and Tai were just supposed to be together. Tai tells him about everything, about how much it fucking hurts to worry about all this soulmate business, to be scared of all this soulmate business. About halfway through this monologue Patts starts fidgeting with his own hands, whether that is to rub out the growing anxiety in him or to get out some of the need he has to touch Tai I am not certain, but you can tell the gears in his brain are turning.

And it is not until Tai after Tai says he is not mad about Patts and Nara and after he admits that all “it fucking hurts” to grapple with whether or not soulmates exist and what that means for him, where Patts finally reaches out to comfort Tai. 

Even when he doesn’t yet know where this conversation is going. Even when it is entirely possible that Patts has just risked his life to rescue Tai, carried him down the mountain, and may still be broken up with because Tai is scared or uncertain. Even here in this moment of limbo, Patts still reaches out to Tai to make sure Tai feels how much Patts cares for him. 

Then he doesn’t let go. His hand moves from Tai’s back, to Tai’s elbow, to Tai’s thigh, Patts never breaking his attention on Tai while Tai talks him through his realizations. 

Patts is honest too, and destroys the last remaining threads of doubt Tai had in this relationship by assuring Tai that regardless of whether or not soul mates exist, regardless of whether or not that telepathic link that people get somehow miraculously connects them with their soulmate, that Patts loves Tai and would love Tai anyway. Patts may call Tai his soul mate, but he doesn’t have to see Tai that way, and he doesn’t need to be seen that way by Tai in order for their relationship to work. 

The theme I am loving the most that is coming out of La Pluie centers around that subversion. Tai believed wholeheartedly in soulmates, and that belief was shattered before his very eyes with his parents. Patts sees Tai at the bus stop with a cat, and finds him cute, before Tai and Patts even know they are the voices in each other’s heads, there is an obvious attraction. They are interested in each other because they are interested in each other, not because of the hearing loss. Tai holds himself back from falling too deeply for Patts, for being too intimate with Patts because he cannot get over the idea that one day it might possibly fall apart. But Tai’s father himself told Patts that these relationships take work. All relationships take work. If soulmates exist, and if you are somehow connected to them in your head, and if one day you meet, and fall in love, you cannot rely on the knowledge that you are soulmates to save you from ruining a relationship. If you don’t talk, if you don’t compromise, if you aren’t honest, if you don’t work at it, you won’t make it out the other end. 

And again, that is if soulmates exist, and I think with Episode 8, La Pluie is planting a flag firmly in the “soulmates do not exist” camp. 

Tai relinquishes the ideas he had about soulmates, and finally allows himself to love Patts.

Going back to physicality you can see Patts visibly relax and smile after Tai tells him he is happy that Patts is there. At which point 

gif from @liyazaki

Patts gets playful and cuddly, his hands wrap familiarly around Tai’s waist, Patts’ head slots in perfectly right where it belongs on Tai’s shoulder, and Tai lets himself be enveloped. 

gif from @liyazaki

Patts breaks out the first couples kiss, with that soft, fast sniff kiss on Tai’s cheek, because despite the fact they have not yet officially established they are boyfriends, Patts and Tai know that something in their relationship has changed.

gif from @liyazaki

Tai has come a long way from his make out session with Patts in episode 6 where he barely moved his fingers. Now, Patts and Tai war silently over who gets to hold the other’s hand. 

gif from @liyazaki

And we get a lot of lovely non-verbal communication here, both of them exhausted, needing to sleep, pressed up against each other. With Tai being hugged from behind, in beautiful parallel to his brother. They say goodnight, but Tai spends these last few minutes of consciousness before falling asleep, gently comforting Patts by gently stroking his thumb along Patts’ hand. Because he knows that Patts was worried, and that Patts has been through a lot today, and because he loves Patts, and because he can. Because he can touch Patts, because he can have these little

moments of intimacy, where he can feel Patt’s breathing against his back, where he can give small moments of comfort to someone he cares about. 

They stay like that all night, and when morning comes, Tai is still holding on to Patts. Letting Patts know that he is still there, letting Patts know that he will keep a hold of him as long as he can. From here through the end of the episode, they are touching as much as possible. 

When Tai wakes up, and sits up, Patts slides over and the inside of his elbow makes contact with Tai’s arm

They sit here together, and they talk, and Patts finally asks the question he has been wanting to ask for awhile. 

And it’s funny, isn’t it? How everyone was rushing around them? How they were strangers and then soul mates and Tai and Patts were trying to figure out how and where they fit into each others lives while at the same time knowing that regardless of whether or not this worked, that they would always be in each other’s lives in some form, because of the hearing loss. Patts and Tai can talk about boundaries in the car soon after they have met, and Patts can meet Tai’s father, and they can refer to each other as soul mates, but what does that even mean? 

What did it mean to them? What did it mean to Tai? What it meant was that Tai had something to fear, and while Tien was running around referring to Patts as his brother-in-law, Patts and Tai were in a “testing phase” as it were. With obvious attraction between them, but without having put a label on their relationship because they didn’t know where they stood. Because Patts did not know where Tai stood. 

Will you be my boyfriend? Up through this episode, we have really only heard Patts and Tai refer to each other as soul mates. Because that is what society labels people connected through the rain as. In having this conversation on Doi Mae Pliang about how it doesn’t matter if they are soulmates, Patts would still choose Tai and in Patts asking if Tai will be his boyfriend, I will be curious to see if they refer to each other differently moving forward. If we can trust the trailer for this show, we know that Patts refers to Tai at least once as his boyfriend. I think it would be especially poignant if the show moves forward with Tai and Patts referring to each other only as ‘faen’ and stepping away from the soulmate label, because the show has told us from the beginning, it’s not about soulmates at all.

gifs from @liyazaki

(tagging the la pluie defense squad: @bengiyo, @lurkingshan, @ginnymoonbeam and @shortpplfedup because its about damn time she starts the soulmates don't exist show)

[fadelikeclouds]

Diving into Tai’s mind: actions do not speak louder than words

First of all, I will say that I was upset with Tai at the end of episode 10. I am fine that Tai didn’t want to talk to Patts outside on the street. He was probably shocked and frightened by Patts angry outburst, and he wanted to put some time and distance between them so that they could cool off and talk more rationally later. What I’m less fine with is that Tai still refuses to say anything after Patts shows up at his door. And yeah, Patts probably shouldn’t have shown up drunk outside Tai’s door, but he is in pain and needs some comfort, and he tells Tai this. So why doesn’t Tai say anything to reassure Patts?

And now we come to the reason I am writing this. I don’t like staying upset at people, so I try to understand them. After thinking about things I am still frustrated with Tai, but a little less so. Here are the results of my musings.

Tai has been struggling with his parent’s divorce for over 2 years now. It’s easy to say that, but what does it mean? He is a romantic, and seeing his ideal of love crumble before him was frightening because it made him doubt the existence of love and happiness. Soulmates guarantee nothing. Love doesn’t last. Families can break apart. That’s a pretty dismal view of the world. Despair is never easy to cope with. He had his faith in love broken, so of course he wouldn’t talk to his soulmate, because why create a relationship that will only break your heart?

Then he sees Patts, and he starts to hope again. But he’s still hesitant. He’s still scared. He knows that there is no guarantees in relationships, soulmates or not. This is how he goes into his relationship with Patts, fighting against his doubts and fears the whole way. Throughout the beginning Patts is patient, kind, charming, and Tai begins to be more open to the idea of a relationship with this soulmate of his. Then the whole situation with Nara happens, and his fears and doubts about love come up again.

He talked with Nara; he knows how much she loved Patts, and he even cheered her on when he didn’t know Patts was her ex. They honestly loved each other, and seeing them kiss makes him question, again, what makes a relationship last. Confused and panicked, he decides to talk a walk to the Doi Mae Pliang in an effort to figure everything out... which doesn’t work. But he talks with Patts after he finds him in the ditch, and after being reassured that Patts does love him and would choose to love him even without being soulmates his mind clears. He knows he loves Patts, and all of Patts words and actions make him believe that Patts reciprocates that love. So he (nonverbally) agrees to officially date him when Patts asks him the next morning. At a glance, what’s the big deal? That’s only natural. This is a romance, of course they’re going to start dating. But as a character, this choice means that he is willing to face all his fears about being in a relationship, a big shift for the guy who ran away from his issues by remaining silent for 2 years. To be clear, I don’t think his fears go away, but Tai has the resolve that this relationship is worth it, that Patts is worth the risk of heartbreak.

And even then, he’s not ready to go the final step and have sex with Patts just yet. That is another level of vulnerability that Tai eases himself into, something that he doesn’t take lightly. In this episode, when he says he’s ready, to him it’s another way of showing how serious and committed he is to this relationship. He loves Patts, and is willing to face all the fears that comes with being in a relationship with his soulmate.

All of this is a big deal to Tai. These are very large steps that he has taken forward as someone who chose to very litterally suffer in silence every time it rained. Now, does he talk about this with Patts? Not in any great detail. That’s part of the problem.

To Tai it’s not even a question of whether to choose Patts or Lomfon. He loves Patts. All of his actions show just how much Patts means to him. And I think it hurts Tai that Patts doesn’t understand him. Because in Tai’s mind, he’s crossed oceans of fears, fought uphill battles against his skepticism, just to get here. Having Patts doubt Tai’s love makes him feel that Patts belittles all the pain and fear Tai’s endured to get to this point in the relationship. And that hurts because in a relationship, you want to be understood by your partner so that you can share in the joys and pains with them.

But what Tai doesn’t see is that Patts is in pain right now. Patts is scared and needs some words of reassurancs because he is human. He has his own fears and insecurities. He watched as his last relationship fell apart because he has a “soulmate”, something entirely out of his control. And with the appearance of a second soulmate, having Tai lie about seeing Lomfon, catching them at the perfectly wrong moment to see them kiss, Patts loses it. He’s angry and afraid because again, he could lose someone he loves because of this soulmate thing that he has no control over. That fear grips him, and when we’re like that, we can’t think calmly. Sometimes we need the support of others to help us through the dark avenues of the mind.

But instead of helping him, Tai feels like he’s said everything Patts is asking him to say, and he’s upset that Patts can’t hear him. And I get that. It’s frustrating when you feel like you’ve been saying something over and over again, and the other person just doesn’t seem to get it. What’s the point in trying to communicate when nothing you say will be understood? It feels as if all your efforts are just futile. But communication is a two way street. Being understood is an important part of a relationship, but it is equally important to try to understand the other person, which is what Tai is missing here. Tai has spoken through his actions, but what Patts needs are words. He needs to hear that Tai does love him, that he does choose him. We say that actions speak louder than words, but at times words are absolutely necessary.

[heretherebedork]

I now fully believe that the keychain Lomfon has somehow came from Tien.

Because La Pluie is entirely about the idea that any belief in destiny and fate are what hurt love. The more you believe in fate and destiny, the more you are going to be hurt and reluctant to love.

So how does this relate to Lomfon, who says he doesn't believe in fate or destiny in anyway?

He talks about the keychain's importance and the person, who he doesn't know, being the one who saved his life. And that's a lot like Tai remembering the anonymous notes and gifts that saved him during the turmoil of his parent's divorce

So there's a direct connection between those two concepts. And now there's a direct connection of the soulmates in the rain and the hearing loss. And now we're taking a close look at that idea that all these assumptions about who you're going to love and who you're meant to love keep hurting people.

Lomfon is about to face a crisis next week. He is faced with hearing voices in the rain that should be his soulmates but already have each other and his own feelings towards Tien that he has yet to acknowledge (even to himself, I suspect) while still holding onto his crush on Tai.

And the keychain has to matter somewhere in this. That keychain came to him at a time that he desperately needed it and is connected to his first love. Who is his first love? Just like Tai and Patts, his first love is Tien.

But just like Tai and Patts, neither of them knows it.

They fell in love before they know each other. They gave each other love without knowing who they were loving would forever in their lives.

It's destiny but it's also not destiny because all destiny does is give you the chance, all fate does is give the choices.

You have to make them. Lomfon and Tai both had to, have to, make their choices.

Patts and Tien both fell in love without fate but Tai and Lomfon each have something that matters to them and holds them back. They are the ones that have to choose the love that destiny has offered them, that has to open their hands and their hearts to what fate is giving them.

Tai was so attached to the idea of his soulmate and his fear of losing him that he never even tried to explore love. Lomfon is so detached from the idea of fate and destiny and soulmates but still holds onto this keychain and the first love that saved him alongside his crush on Tai.

But both Patts and Tien simply fall in love. They aren't looking for soulmates or for destiny or for fate. They are simply there for love. Patts had Nara but also fell for Tai not knowing who he was and willing to leave his soulmate for this love he found. Tien might be confused by the entire experience but he isn't trying to resist the feelings.

Soulmates and the ideas of soulmates has only ever gotten in the way of their love stories because destiny and fate aren't just placed in front of you. They're a choice you have.

Love is a choice.

To love is a choice; to be loved is a also a choice.

[narastories]

Hi Nara! To celebrate your new fic, I humbly submit Harry/Nicodemus to you for the ship bingo. (And Simms/Eileen if you feel like doing two!)

Thank you <3

Aaah, it takes a special kindness to ask me about a ship that you don't interact with. Thank you, friend <3

Harry/Nicodemus, my darlings

my friends are tired of me screaming about this. Yes, very tired, probably. I'm sorry. I don't intend to stop tho ^^"

I'm going to hit them with a crowbar. Gently. I mean neither will break. So I'm going to gently bonk them until they talk to each other properly and kiss lol

train wreck but I can't look away. They have a counter of how many attempts they made on each other's lives.

I want to write fics for this and luckily I doooo write fics for this <3

THAT one scene. you know the one. In the sense that I'm always making these posts where I go "You know THAT one scene where they do THAT thing that makes me CRAZY"

INTERESTING COMPELLING COMPLEX SCREECHING

this has no right to be a rare pair. I mean. I get it. On the other hand if Harry/Marcone became so popular, Harry/Nic wouldn't be a stretch, you know? :P

I need a 200k slow burn NOW. No energy to write it tho lol

person a deserves better than person b. Harry does deserve someone better than Nicodemus. But when I write them Nic always treats him right

they are divorced, possibly not for the first time. I'm re-listening to Skin Game and they bicker like a divorced couple. "Who needs no introduction." Right, cause you guys know each other better than you have any reason to, kiss already

could cut the tension with a KNIFE. Seriously. We had an actual knife involved at one point. Pinning up against walls. Choking. Hair pulling. It's great.

Overall, I just love their dynamic and the potential in this ship <3

Simms/Eileen

pleasantly surprised by being canon. Come on, Luke practically confirmed this will become canon. That is so cool!

I'm a casual shipper. I like them. Wrote a fic. Don't think I wrote it for the right reasons tho, and prob wouldn't write another. But I would 100% read more fic and like them overall.

THAT one scene. you know the one. When Fetch introduces them and Simms just looooks at Eileen for a little too long. Hope we'll get more iconic scenes with them in the next book.

unironically relationship goals. I think they would be good for each other, you know?

Thanks so much for playing! xx

[indigostarfire]

The Soulmate Label: Causing turmoil due to preconceived notions and creating expectations

In the beginning:

Patts relationship with Nara didn't work out. The cause? Soulmates. She wasn't his soulmate and this made her feel insecure and lonely so she broke up with him. Patterns were set: people choose to leave him, and whether Patts realized it or not, maybe being soulmates is what can make a relationship work.

When it rains Tai didn't talk to Patts for two years. Why? Because they are soulmates. His idealistic faith in soulmates having a lasting relationship fated by destiny was shattered by his parents' divorce. Being soulmates is no recipe for success so why bother starting any sort of relationship with a soulmate in the first place.

Patts and Tai are different sides of the same coin. Patts thinks soulmates may have a better chance at a lasting relationship. Tai thinks soulmates is no guarantee for anything, if anything it's a recipe for failure.

Like Tai, Lomfon feels that being soulmates isn't some grand "wow were fated to be in a relationship" type of thing. To him being soulmates is just a coincidence. End of story. Or so he thinks.

In the middle:

Tai is legitimately attracted to Patts and has to work through his prejudices about the viability of a soulmate relationship. So he is hesitant at first but slowly warms up to the idea. At the camp though his feelings are thrown into a massive crisis when he sees Patts and Nara kissing.

First off he knows that Nara was there to try to get back together with her ex, and Tai was certain she would succeed because of how deeply she seemed to know her ex. Secondly seeing them kiss, Tai is immediately confronted with his biased fears about soulmates--a soulmate relationship doesn't work and maybe that's true for him and Patts.

He runs off and with a desperate determination, sets off to Doi Mae Pliang mountain where he tells himself he will find the answer when he gets to the top. Tai struggles internally. His fall mirrors the chaos and confusion in his mind and heart and now he's physically in pain as well. It rains and instinctively he calls out to Patts who finds him because of their soulmate connection (maybe Tai realizes that's a plus).

Now with Patts at his side, being with him and tending to him, Tai reflects and searches for his answer. Tai tells Patt that he isn't angry about the kiss but the fact that Patts and Nara are inseparable. That is making Tai confused and doubting their relationship. "Are we a perfect match or did we just imagine that?"

Tai is wondering what makes love work, what makes it last? The soulmate connection doesn't guarantee success. And look at Nara; her devotion, sincerity, and love is obviously still there…still drawing her to Patts, still making it seem like they are inseparable. So maybe he just imagined their love, their connection was perfect. So who is Patts going to choose?

Tai finds his answer because of Patt's words AND actions. Patts says I'll still choose to love you even without all this soulmate stuff. And now thanks to a two-way communication exchange, Tai’s heart and mind has the understanding and confidence it needs because of Patts words AND actions. So in the morning when Patts asks will you be my boyfriend? Tai has his answer. Tai does NOT respond with any WORDS but just kisses Patts. "I'll take that as a yes," says Patts. Tai lets his actions speak for him. Tai is able to voice his fears and has effectively dealt with his inner turmoil and he found his answer with the help of Patts’ words and actions.

Episode 10, The Shitshow:

Lomfon. He is Tai's soulmate too. Well shit you can have your convictions and then all of a sudden your life can be turned upside down. Now suddenly Lomfon's previous convictions about soulmates is no longer ironclad. Obviously he is buying into this whole soulmate, "I'm fated to be with you" mindset because why else would he feel entitled enough to orchestrate a date with Tai to figure out how he feels. The key chain is fate, I'm your soulmate, therefore maybe you're the one I'm suppose to be in love with. Oh this soulmate issue has Lomfon's mind in massive confusion and turmoil. Who is he really in love with? Tai or Tien? Who has his heart?

Lomfon is Tai's soulmate. For Tai that doesn't matter. He is in love with Patts and they have built up enough loving experiences together that now Tai is finally ready to consummate their relationship. For the romantic, idealistic Tai, a man of very few words if at all, for someone whose actions speak louder than words, this is such a big deal.

Patts fell in love with Tai and then later finds out Tai is his soulmate. Wow, perfect! Maybe this relationship has a better chance at working out. Being soulmates is a big deal for Patts. Then the bomb drops and he finds out about Lomfon being soulmate #2. Now Patt feels threatened. Turmoil ensues. He no longer has that security of being the destined one, that fated, one-and-only soulmate. Two soulmates? Inconceivable, nevertheless Patts is visibly shaken and angry. Underneath the surface, just waiting to pounce and prey upon Patts, is his fear because now who's the better soulmate partner for Tai? Nara left him. Maybe Patts isn't good enough and Tai will leave him too.

The shitshow happens. The lies, the kiss with Lomfon, and Patts can no longer keep his fears at bay. He becomes unhinged. Tai is so distraught seeing Patts like this that he rails to the heavens and the soulmate bonds are broken. From here on out things will start getting interesting. Strip away the whole soulmate label and what is each person left with? The potential to see more of the truth.

Tai let's his actions speak for him; he decides to be Patts' boyfriend, he had sex with him--all of this is proof of Tai's choice. Nothing needs to be said. His actions are proof of his love. The problem is that Tai expects Patts to understand this about him. And maybe Patts could understand this if he was calm but Patts isn't calm. Tai tells him, "Do I have to choose? You have to know that I love you so much." But Patts can't comprehend what Tai is saying due to the lies and the fear and anger getting in the way.

I can understand Tai's wanting to wait and continue talking after Patt has calmed down. But when Patts shows up at his house, dude please for god's sake, what's so difficult for you say the words?! Pikachu, I choose you! (Sorry, I just couldn't help myself.) I was struck by Tai's obstinate and adamant refusal to say those three simple words. @fadelikeclouds does a great job of diving into Tai's mind and explaining Tai's and Patts' dynamics. This post helped me understand that Tai might be frustrated and hurt that Patts doesn't truly understand him. Maybe this hurt is huge because he feels Patts doesn't understand all the pain and turmoil he suffered in order to arrive at his decision to be his boyfriend. Maybe Tai feels that the significance of his actions is lost on Patts. But Tai, dude, talk about whatever it is that's hurting you, whatever the heck is preventing you from saying, I choose you. More light is shed on Tai's behavior in @lurkingshan's post.

And then there's Tien…dear god every scene he was in I got destroyed. My heart got ripped out and curb stomped. @heretherebedork and @bengiyo's Not All Gays are Great say it all in their posts. (Bengiyo's take on all the characters is so spot on and just a great read.)

Now without this soulmate issue clouding the picture, maybe Lomfon can have more clarity. Maybe Tai and Patts can work through their issues and clear up their misunderstandings. And maybe at the end of the day Tien can finally have someone in his corner who cares and loves him too because he is the only character whose heart is untouched by all the biases and preconceived notions that this soulmate label comes with. He just loves honestly with his whole heart.

[hms-tardimpala]

Hi! Since you were talking about your latest project, for the ship bingo I'm going to ask: John/Dean? (And if you want to do one extra, may I suggest Philes?)

NARA. I should have known you'd come up with the ship that's not talked about in polite company. Thank you so much!

So, for any anti that might have followed me by accident: I think we're about to part ways. John/Dean here refers to John Winchester and Dean Winchester from Supernatural.

Train wreck but I can't look away: whichever way you look at it, whether it's consenting or not, it's not gonna start well, go well, or end well. No amount of great writing will make this relationship stable or fair. It's doomed.

I'm a casual shipper: this isn't my OTP in this fandom (that spot belongs to Destiel), but I multiship.

INTERESTING COMPELLING COMPLEX SCREECHIBG: Dean took on his mother's role in the family in most ways after her death, why not this too? Have you seen the Winchester family dynamics? None of it is healthy, they're violent creeps with codependance issues. These boys haven't been socialized! So yeah, incest, why not? So many themes to explore with this ship. Abuse, masculinity, free will, homophobia, parenting.

Fandom ruining it: not really. There is amazing fandom content for that ship. But the SPN fandom is extremely divided and confrontational, and John's character is a touchy subject. Most people stop at arguing about whether he is good or bad, and are too busy decrying incestuous ships to provide interesting discussion about Dean/John.

Person A deserves better than person B: hey, John Winchester sucks. He's interesting, but he's the kind of character you watch telling yourself "I wish he'd rot in hell" and guess what? He canonically does!

Could cut the tension with a KNIFE: every room John steps into has tension. Things are already tense and intense and electric with his sons (in different ways) in a story where he doesn't fuck them. Imagine if he wasn't just Dean's father, drill sergeant and personal god, but also the man who taught him to have sex.

FREE SPACE: ew ew omg ewww! This hits the tiny mark between "absolutely disgusting" and "so fucking hot". There are days I can't stomach it, but I stand by it because it's extremely compelling.

Thank you a thousand times for giving me the oportunity to talk about them, it was very exciting.

And now, some Philes as a palate cleanser:

Train wreck but I can't look away: their worldviews and morals are too different and conflicting to build a lasting relationship, it's always going to be messy, and I'm here for it.

THAT one scene. You know the one: the duelling scene, of course. Thurston, what were you thinking? Also, the minotaur fight scene when Fetch realizes Niles is sort of a friend, kinda??

INTERESTING COMPELLING COMPLEX SCREECHIBG: It's because they have such different opinions and goals that they are interesting to see interact. For Fetch and Niles to date or fuck, I think Fetch would have to get more down to earth and less absolute about his views, and that would be an interesting growth. Also, Thurston Niles is a great character to explore and make headcanons about.

They are divorced, possibly not for the first time: these guys fight so much. They're used to each other's presence like you're used to an inconvenience or a flaw in the sidewalk. The way Fetch goes to Niles' house for drinks, and Niles doesn't serve him alcohol, and they antagonize each other but still have a decent time is so Divorced to me.

Could cut the tension with a KNIFE: I love to see the girls fightinnnnnggg. I love that Fetch seems two seconds away from imploding when he's in the same room as Niles. What's interesting is that the tension is brought by Fetch and Niles is chill about their situationship. When they meet on a case of Fetch's, sparks fly and that's awesome.

FREE SPACE: I'm using this space to say a trop I love to imagine for them is "ugh, why did it have to be him of all people?". I like to imagine them both inconvenienced by their attraction.

Thank you so much for playing with me <3

[chaoticpuff17]

Can u plz tell us about Nara's life?

Like her life is also gonna be like her mother but how's namjoon gonna react if like Nara says "save me form him" or because it's her daughter will he try to save her form her yandere?

Nara is going to live a very sheltered life. Don’t get me wrong, she’s going to be very very loved, but she’s also never going to have the freedom a normal child would.

She’s got her father and uncles and brothers and all the other sons protecting her and the other daughters and keeping them “safe” and sound within the confines of their world.

Eventually Nara will grow up to marry Yoongi and Sen’s son Yoonho, who while yandere like our crazy ass boys, is a soft yandere and won’t be bad to her.

If Nara did go to her dad asking to be saved from Yoonho, Joon would definitely be willing to negotiate on that. He’d probably talk to both of them to see what was going on, but he’d remove Nara from the situation until there could be a resolution. In Joon’s world there isn’t really divorce, and so long as Nara isn’t being harmed or in danger, he’s not going to end her marriage.

[l1lk4]

One of the things that always makes my blood boil is those tik tok “sahm” that get paid INSANE amount of money to glamorize the life of being a sahm that they aren’t,because while they film(aka to the job they get paid for) someone else has to look after the kids and clean.For example all those “mormon” moms who have a tv show,all of them get paid BIG money,are usually breadwinner of the house,they go on trips,have their own money and someone else takes care of the kids and they make girls think this is what being a SAHM is,so now you see TEENAGERS wishing to be a “sahm” or a “trophy wife” but they don’t realize that when they give birth to a kid,don’t get any education,have no certifications,no job experience and get married(if that even happens at all because is seems to be normal for them to have no security at all,just wildly trust anyone with their life,literally,they will be left COMPLETELY vulnerable to whatever life will throw at them(and no I’m not talking only about divorce) and they will be left homeless,broke,and MAYBE they will find minimum wage job,oh and without home money and any stability they will most likely not be granted custody of the kids,and if they do end up having custody of the kids most fathers will make them single moms because they didn’t take care of the kids or will be a the fun weekend dad.There are SO many stories of how that life actually looks like when you’re fully financially dependent on another adult and not an influencer with money.Not one of them thinks about death of the husband,him loosing his job,getting sick,a car crash,what then?They don’t think about it because those women on tik tok dont have to worry about that because they’re not sahm/trophy wifes with no income of their ownAnother factor in this is promoting the sick ass racist cult,Mormons are a cult,not a religion and they want to make it seem fun so people join,they don’t make it that obvious but many of them are Mormons and they try to make it seem like the life they’re living is a “traditional” mormon life or people take it that way and run with it,for example Nara smith,ballerina farm,that god awful tv show mormon wifes or whatever it’s called and many many other tik tok creators.There’s also a new texas group of tik tok moms(i got blocked by their “leader”),her name is aaryn and she calls herself a queen of texas,she used to be on some reality tv and she was racist and I mean in such a calculated way that it’s just gross to watch,there was an Asian woman and a black woman and she was racist to both,people defend her now saying it was a “mistake” but you don’t mock someone’s ethnicity and skin color by a “mistake” it’s a conscious CHOICE of words.I got blocked because she posted a tik tok saying that people judge her for being on tik tok at her big age and I asked if she stopped being racist at her big age or is that still going on and just like everyone else calling her out I got blocked,which is why there are NO comments about it on her profile.Absolutely disgusting,and there are people defending that.I guess that’s Texas and Utah for you,ban of abortion,racist people and sundown towns,I was absolutely shocked at the fact that those still exist but turns out they’re not unusual in Texas at all and people there are fully aware and do nothing.Those people want to go back to 1950’s and make it seem cute and nice like women we’re left with no choice but to stay at home with no way to make money,that they were beat into submission,that they were forced to have kid after kid,that racism was absolutely normal and nobody stood up for black people,that women had to fight to even have a bank account and many still needed a “permission” from their husband like they were a dog with an owner.This is what they want to go back to because it fits with their religions or more so cults so they make it seem “cute” and try to erase all the shit they did.

[holybasementdweller]

hi nara :3 thoughts on house of nyx?

Oh.... Well it's. I mean, complicated, yeah?

[booksnstuff58]

Book review: Romcom

Today I'll be talking about one of my absolute favorite books:

A Marriage of Anything but Convenience by Victorine E. Lieske

Now, I read this one a few months ago, but I love it so much I just had to review, and recommend it!

I don't even know where to start with this one.

A Marriage of Anything but Convenience was the first romcom I read. Before this one, I had it in my silly head that all romance books were smut. Why did I think that? I have no idea, but I did.

I started reading A Marriage of Anything but Convenience after reading a very dark and disturbing book. I may review it later so you know what you're getting yourself into. After reading said dark and disturbing book I was kinda spooked. I was also house sitting at the time, which doesn't help anything. Neither does my true crime fascination. Since I was spooked, and sleeping in a strange house, I decided I needed something to distract me. So I went to find the silliest, goofiest sounding book I had on my kindle.

And this is what I decided on. And I'm so glad it was!

Here's what the back cover says:

It was a simple marriage of convenience. Just two years. What could possibly go wrong?

Nara couldn't believe it when her father came up with the crazy idea that she needed to marry Mr. Stuffy himself. Derek Marshall. Sure, he was stinkin' gorgeous and made her insides quiver. But marry him? She was on her way to getting her dream job as a fashion designer. Well, on her way if you counted getting coffee for someone who had her dream job.

Derek has been in love with Nara all his life. But how can he possibly get her to see it? He's not cool like the men Nara usually dates. He gets tongue-tied around her. But now they're married and all he can think about is the clock ticking down until the divorce date.

Can he show her how much he really cares?

*Copied from Amazon page*

Now for the actual review!

First of all, I need to say I love the characters! Nara and Derek are both adorable. They are so very different and it was just so cute! Nara is fun loving, and a little silly. Derek is "Mr. Stuffy". What I pictured was back always straight and a serious look forever on his face.

But that all changed with Nara. Nara was determined to make him loosen up during their two year arrangement, and that whole situation was hilarious! There were a few times where he agreed to do things with her, because he knew it would make her happy, even though it was NOT something he was comfortable doing.

I laughed the entire way through this book until I cried! It was so cute I was squealing! I cannot express how much I love this book!

Another thing, that some might not care about is references. I LOVE references to other books, movies, shows, really anything that I have seen, read, or listened to. This one's got two!

First is Magnum P.I., which I enjoy watching. Only the original with Tom Selleck though!

The other one I feel like needs a bit of back story.

Like I said, I went into this book thinking there were probably going to be nasties, and I wasn't sure until I saw this reference. It was fricken VEGGIE TALES!! I was so excited when I saw that! I grew up watching Veggie Tales, but once again, only the old ones, and as soon as I saw the reference, I screeched "IT CAN'T BE GROSS NOW! NOT WITH VEGGIE TALES!" And I was right!

Later I did see a review saying it was boring because of the lack of smut, but seriously, I don't think it's EVER necessary.

And last, but certainly not least, triggers.

0

There is absolutely NOTHING in this book, that I found, that could be a trigger. Like I said, no sex. There wasn't even swearing. It was beautifully squeaky clean! My favorite kind of book!

Also, I did get this book for free on Amazon, but it wasn't an ARC. I'm not sure if it's still free or not, but it's definitely worth the look! I did end up buying the paperback after reading it. So I could display it and lend it to friends!

Anyway, that's the end of my review. Let me know if you've read this book or are interested!

Be back with another review soon!

[marshmelotay]

Tay continued to flip through the album, shaking her head. "One day you're gonna look at these and only remember the good parts." She believed it, she never threw away her wedding pictures. "I mean... if you ever wanna find a girlfriend, I suggest you hide these, yes. But don't destroy them." She quickly flipped to the end of the album and admired the pictures of his house in the UK. "Whoa, it looks huge. And really pretty, I understand why you wanna renovate this place too. It would be a shame to sell it though, I can already tell it'll look great."

Nara finished her drink rather quickly, she was way behind Jay on drinking but the faster she went, the more the alcohol had her head spinning. "To be honest, Panda boy is just a storyline. It's all fake. I was talking about my real divorce with Conti. That was rough for me. But yeah... working that storyline definitely takes the best out of me."

Drinking the pain away. {Tay & Jay}

Nara was on her way to Jay, the drive seemed like it took hours but finally, she was parking in front of his house. The place looked empty and she wondered if she got the address right. Checking her phone once more, it seemed like she did and so she knock on the door and waited. She was secretely hoping that Jay would show up because it looked a little scary. "At least I know judo..." she mumbled to herself as she waited nervously. When the door finally opened and she saw Jay standing in front of her, a smile appeared on her face. "Hey, J."

@sw1tchdcddy

[wen-kexing-apologist]

Connection

I am just thinking, very very strongly, about the reveal today of Tai ‘s parents and their soulmate connection. I had been discussing with some other blogs about what Tai's parents were hiding from Tai, and with the reveal of Lomfon being able to hear them and with the reveal of Tai being able to sever the connection, we thought that it might be something like that.

But I have been wondering day in and day out for weeks now if Tai’s parents could still hear each other AND THEY CAN! And that is so so so important to me when it comes to supporting the story La Pluie is trying to tell.

But I must say that I wasn’t fully expecting that them still being able to hear each other through the rainverse would be a good, valuable, comforting point of connection for Yad and Warun to this day.

 

La Pluie is a writing masterpiece for so many reasons but the one that stands out for me specifically in this episode is the way the writers use Tai’s parents rainverse link to show the difference in how conflict should be handled and how it shouldn’t. 

Tai’s parents have their disagreements, they propose separating, they continue to try for another year, and ultimately, Warun decides that it would be better for the both of them to divorce so they have the opportunity to pursue lifestyles that better suit their own wants and needs. But they still love each other.

And I will hand it to La Pluie time and time again for giving a consistent statement about love being able to persist in a new form when romantic love fades. I love that Nara and Patts remain friends, and I love that Yad and Warun still consider each other soul mates. 

And what I love about La Pluie here is that it uses the rainverse link to compare realistic and fictional love. Yad and Warun maintaining their connection shows a realistic understanding of romantic love, that it is something that you have to constantly be working to maintain. And even when the romantic love fades, the love they have for one another changes and they are able to maintain their soulmate link despite rejecting a romantic relationship and staying primarily physically separated from one another for the past few years. 

But TAI?! 

Tai’s entire life is built on a fictional understanding of love. Tai’s entire understanding of romance is built from the likes of Nora Roberts. He has no actual understanding of the effort that it takes to maintain romantic relationships and he is additionally so fucking conflict AVOIDANT that at the first sign of conflict Tai severs the connection. 

Tai shuts himself away from everyone, he shuts Patts out of his head, and that causes Patts SO. MUCH. PAIN. Patts is devastated at the idea that he has NO connection to Tai anymore. Even when they are separated, even when they are broken up, especially when Patts wants to be in that relationship with Tai still. Especially when Patts wants to talk through what happened and correct the problems they had, Tai with Patts distrust and anger, Patts with TAI FUCKING LYING TO HIM AND REFUSING TO GIVE A STRAIGHT ANSWER EVER. 

Patts wants to work at this relationship, because Patts has been in relationships before, he knows how it goes. Patts wants to work at this relationship because he loves Tai and him misunderstanding Tai and Lomfon’s interaction when he goes to apologize and Tai’s refusal to answer the simple question of who he chooses makes Patts feel like Tai wants absolutely nothing to do with him. I mean, he was literally locked out of Tai’s life last episode. 

Anyway, this is just a very long-winded way of saying that it is so intriguing to me that Yad and Warun continue to cultivate their connection with one another even with their irreconcilable differences and at the first sign of trouble, at the first sign that Tai has to do some work with Patts he loudly and emphatically gives up his connection. 

(tagging @lurkingshan for meta round up reasons :p)

[happy-lemon]

After her scary encounter with a shark, Nara took a day off from the ocean and went to town, where she met Teodor Medina. He’s a single dad who’s still recovering from divorce and his shattered dreams of owning a resort, but he loves scuba diving which gave them so much to talk about that they ended up having dinner together at the diner.

[lvnaras]

《   ☾   ┊   simay barlas & she/they / non-binary   ┊  ♡   ⊰   ❝   watch out , 𝐋𝐔𝐍𝐀𝐑𝐀 𝐎̈𝐙𝐃𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐑 has crash-landed into roswell !! they look twenty four years old and celebrate their birthday on 29/november. they are from sacramento, california, reside in aurora apartments and are currently working as an architect. one thing you should know about them is they can shotgun beers like it’s nobody’s business   ❞   》

hi guys i’m t ( pronouns she and/or they, i’m 23 soon to be 24 ) ! this is my child luna, they’re a new muse so i’m still trying to figure her out myself so excuse the word vomit in the information section KJNDSKJDN

a. BASIC STATISTICS

𝐍𝐀𝐌𝐄: lunara yildiz özdemir.

𝐍𝐈𝐂𝐊𝐍𝐀𝐌𝐄: luna, nara, lu.

𝐀𝐆𝐄: twenty four.

𝐃𝐀𝐓𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐁𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐇: november 29th, 1996.

𝐄𝐓𝐇𝐍𝐈𝐂𝐈𝐓𝐘: turkish.

𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐘: american.

𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑 𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐓𝐘: non binary ( she / her / they / them. )

𝐒𝐄𝐗𝐔𝐀𝐋 𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍: pansexual.

𝐎𝐂𝐂𝐔𝐏𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍: architect for an architectural study in roswell.

𝐒𝐈𝐁𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒: tba ( older sibling ).

𝐒𝐈𝐆𝐍𝐈𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐓 𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐒: none at the moment, tbd & tbd ( exes )

𝐏𝐄𝐓𝐒: cheshire ( female calico cat ).

𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐈𝐎𝐔𝐒 𝐁𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐄𝐅𝐒: non religious believer.

𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐆𝐘 𝐒𝐈𝐆𝐍: sagittarius.

𝐌𝐁𝐓𝐈: ENFJ-a, the protagonist.

b. INFORMATION

trigger warning: mentions of death of a loved one, mentions of car accident, mentions of underage drinking.

lunara was born in sacramento to a couple that really shouldn’t have been together in the first place. it’s a good thing she doesn’t remember much of her early childhood because all she’d be able to see in her memories would be her parent’s endless fights. for the sake of not biting eachother’s heads off they ended up divorcing when she was around 5 years old. and after a custody battle it was decided they’d have shared custody. which really only meant that most of her time was spent by her mom’s side in roswell ( her mom is a native and wanted to go back to her family ) and some summers and/or christmas she’d have to go to wherever her dad was working that year. for anyone else that jumping around would have been hell but luna was a self proclaimed social butterfly and loved being able to say she had friends all over the us.

around the time she started high school their father married once again, a woman that already had a kid of their own, at first having to navigate through all of that was a bit difficult and she definitely didn’t like them but the more she spent time with them the more she realized they weren’t really a threat and her dad looked happier than ever so she embraced them as if they were actually related. 

on her senior year of high school her mother passed away in a car accident. she had been her best friend and confidante and as someone that hadn’t really dealt with loss before this one hit her quite hard. she had to move from roswell back to sacramento where her father settled down and despite having an amazing emotional support with the rest of her family she was young and something in her changed. she became a bit more recluse and reckless, interacting with the wrong kind of people, staying late in parties, getting drunk despite her age. 

this behaviour continued in college as well, she’d be more focused on mingling with the students than studying, making friends left and right, going to parties every night. very much a ‘live fast, die young’ mentality. it wasn’t until a professor ( someone she found out years later was actually a good friend of her step mother ) sat her down and made her see how much untapped potential she had that she decided to change for the better. after a good talk, a bit of crying and apologizing to her finally she finally decided on her architecture major ( it was previously undecided, she didn’t even know if she wanted to be in college ) since she loved design and everything that had to do with it. she started to focus on her future a bit more and realized that’s what her mother would have wanted. 

she didn’t fully go back to what she used to be and she definitely still loved to have fun and party. she pretty much managed to find a middle point between the academics and her social life and her life only improved from there.

she managed to graduate with high scores and was immediately employed by an architectural firm in california. with the expansion of the firm came the decision of opening different branches on the united states and so luna was deployed to the one in roswell, nm and she’s been here ever since.

she hasn’t been in roswell since her senior year of high school pretty much and has only been back for about six months give or take. she’s been pretty busy tho so she hasn’t had the chance to go around the town and all that but she’s very excited to do that! and hopefully make new friends or find her old ones!

c. WANTED CONNECTIONS

these are just some generic connections i’d LOVE to have but literally... anything you think luna could fit in i’m up for! or we could just brainstorm, just please don’t make me come up with everything myselfand try to have ideas too<3 that’s all i ask for!

old friends from when she lived in roswell! she spent at least half of her growing years in town, studied here up to her senior year ( not sure what age is that maybe 17 ? ) so she’d obviously have friends! maybe an old boyfriend/girlfriend that she had to leave behind when she moved away?

alternatively, old friends from the many cities she’s been in thanks to her father!! maybe like... summer flings?? i left the cities unmentioned so it’d be easier to plot, one of them would definitely be california, but legit any city in the us ( maybe even out of the us tbh ) where it’d be fun to spend the summer or christmas!!

new friends! she hasn’t been out and about much since she moved back into roswell and this would obviously would be a ~new connection~ type thing so anything platonic? would be awesome! frenemies, hookups, like coffee mates, anything you could think of!

neighbors!! anyone else from aurora apartments! the chaotic energy is There 

roommates?? i think she’d have two, at least it’d be awesome! could be any gender tbh we don’t judge just something fun! or something angsty if they don’t like eachother? 

found family connections are my fave so anything involving that would also be amazing!

literally anything you could think of<3