winmyheart

In what world would the situation have been over after Tai confirmed his love for Phatts? Phatts knows Tai loves him and not Lomfon, but he seeked validation and reasoning for Tai's lies. Phatts wasn't in his right mind and therefore nothing would've went through him, no matter what Tai would've told him at that moment.

I've explained multiple times how he had a reason to lie. Patts had been forcibly kissed before as well, and he stood still regardless. Lomfon had no buildup whatsoever so Tai was obviously surprised at the sudden kiss and just froze up.

I'm also not denying that Patts anger was provoked, of course he had a reason to get angry.

All I'm trying to state is that each character has their imperfections yet no one knowingly wants to hurt anyone, they all do what they think is right at that moment, that's true to life.

(I'm pretty sure you mixed Tian and Tai up) Wouldn't it feel illogical that Tai said all of that in that situation? Patts was clearly not in his right mind, and Tai clearly stated that they should talk later. He already told Patts that he loves him a lot, and given how lightly Patts took that we can acknowledge that he wasn't in a state to have a proper conversation with Tai, since he was blinded by doubt and was hesitant on trusting Tai.

Why didn't Tai say that once Patts came over then? Patts was drunk and started blabbering nonsense. He wasn't thinking clearly, so Patts wouldn't have understood what Tai was trying to explain.

Tai didn't cheat on Patts, no matter how you look at it. What caused that misunderstanding on your part? All Tai did was treat him to a meal, but Lomfon stretched it out for longer, Tai even insisted on leaving right once it was starting to rain. Lomfon kissed Tai, but Tai didn't return it nor did he in any way indicate wanting to.

Tai lied, and it makes sense that he lied. It wasn't the best way to handle the situation and he does regret it later, but it still made sense. It's not like he had no reason to lie, even if he could've handled it better.

Oh okay, I'm sorry I didn't grasp that. Still, I'm pretty sure Tai could see the stares Patts gave to Lomfon, especially during the truth or dare game.

What Tai did made sense, yes. Was it the best way to handle the situation? No.

When Lomfon called and asked Tai on a date, we saw multiple flashbacks depicting Lomfon's feelings towards Tai. Tai without a doubt knew that Lomfon has taken an interest in him.

I'm not defending Tai at all, all I'm saying is that some people treat this as illogical behavior to "create more drama" when in reality this is a realistic turn of events.

I know you didn't ask me, but I imagined it as Tai trying to tell Patts that he needs to calm down before they can talk. Tai wasn't going to say anything (therefore, stayed silent) because he knew Patts wasn't in his right mind to understand what he was going to say. Patts didn't understand why Tai stayed silent, therefore he didn't acknowledge that he himself wasn't behaving like he should. Tai meant that they should discuss all of this later.

Another reason for it could've been that Tai was still sorting everything out since he was in shock with the sudden change in the soulmate system, and he needed time to think about how to advance from this before confirming his feelings with Patts.

(Psychological character-design-specialized author here)
Out of character how exactly? This episode served us a ton of character depth and it all made sense. Each character's responses to the situation felt natural and realistic.

Patts wasn't in his right mind in either of the times he tried to patch things back up with Tai, so Tai knew he wouldn't be able to communicate properly with him. Tai was mature in that situation, and I'm proud of how well he could handle it since it's his first relationship.

Patts had a valid reason to get angry, but you have to admit that he was so blinded by his jealousy and doubt that he couldn't think clearly and spat out some nonsense.

This all just makes it all the more realistic,

Even I would most likely lie out of sheer doubt and panic in that situation, I'm sure he didn't want to lie but he just wasn't expecting to have to mention about it. Once Patts brought up his plans for Sunday Tai was surprised since he wasn't expecting to have to tell Patts about meeting up with Lomfon, and rightfully so, since we just saw how Patts reacted to it.

He knew how Patts would react since they both know Lomfon likes Tai.
In other words, his reason was that he didn't want Patts to react the way he did in this episode. I don't think he ever meant to lie but instead just not mention about it to Patts, but since Patts asked him if he's free on Sunday he just panicked and lied about being busy working.

As I said, he could've handled it better, like thoroughly explaining the situation to Patts while making it clear that he doesn't feel anything towards Lomfon, but it's only natural that in that situation Tai wasn't thinking clearly and thought it was best to just hide it than try explaining.

I really loved how we could see that everyone is imperfect in their own ways, Patts got angry while blinded with jealousy and doubt without being toxic, Tai had his reasons to lie to Patts even though he could've handled it better, Lomfon is as confused about the soulmate system as we are but he shouldn't had crossed boundaries, etc.

Realistically and naturally no one is perfect and everyone makes mistakes, but to actually judge a person for those mistakes depends on whether they'll reflect on them or not- and here we can see each of them feeling guilty of their actions. THIS is realistic portrayal of miscommunication. One of the many reasons I love La Pluie is because of the depth and realism in the characters, and we can see that beautifully in this episode.

I wouldn't say Patts is toxic, but he really needs to restrain himself. I actually liked the fact that he has his imperfections and how he reflects on them later on, it's realistic. He wasn't in his right mind at all and I'm sure he'll properly apologize for his behavior later.

We hardly see couples having fights in dramas unless it's enemies to lovers so it's refreshing to see realistic disagreements between them while still keeping this series non-toxic.

I actually like the fact that each of the characters have their imperfections, it makes this all the more realistic and the dynamics flow naturally.

I used one drama for most of these for the following reasons:
1. I haven't seen that many dramas, and they're mostly gay romances I watch
2. It proves my point that these tropes are common because most if not all of them can be seen in one drama, which supports that a ton of dramas have those.

There are a lot of shows where LGBTQ+ people are discriminated against. Take these for example:
- Not Me
- Bad Buddy
- Until We Meet Again
- Between Us
- Bed Friend
- Love By Chance
Those are just a few of many. And even if a drama doesn't showcase the reality of homophobia, it isn't problematic. It's rather a utopia of what we LGBTQ+ people wish to live, it's fiction. It's nice to see queer characters living their life normally despite the fact that in our world it isn't entirely possible. I find that comforting as a gay man myself.

It can be frustrating that you've seen the same misunderstanding used a lot of times, but it doesn't mean it's terrible writing. A skilled writer can have the weakest concept ever but can still make it a great story. La Pluie isn't weak writing at all thus far.

Tai didn't leave entirely because of the kiss, more like he wanted to find out " the secret" about the soulmate connection with Patts. Nara was obviously determined about patching things up with Patts and Tai even encouraged her without knowing it was his own soulmate she was targeting. He was insecure, he didn't leave just because he saw his soulmate get kissed by another. That's a misunderstanding on your part.

Tai wasn't a few meters away from Patts and Nara, not to mention he was likely behind Patts at that moment. (we can kind of see it when we're shown the kiss from Tai's point of view) Peripheral vision doesn't have anything to do with that. If the author truly put out all of this buildup just to give us a piggyback ride scene like you said, we wouldn't have had less than 20 seconds of Patts silently carrying Tai on the side of the screen. If that was truly the "main event" in this they wouldn't have cut it so short. Hell, they could've just made Tai twist his ankle by slipping at the camp while drunk or something. This plot event was included to solidify Patts and Tai's relationship and lessen Tai's insecurities regarding the soulmate connection, while also setting up an emotional attachment to the two's bond so that Lomfon butting in will feel more meaningful.

Gaaaaah me too! I The concept of UWMA was really cool for example (though the execution was kind of poor, too much comedic relief scenes with no chemistry) and it was really inspiring, I hope to write a soulmate novel inspired by it some day as well!!

At the same time I'm happy that this is still ongoing but also I can't wait till I can write a full-on review for this once it's completed, a lot of people seem to be hesitant on picking this series up because of the lack of positive comments so I really wish to give La Pluie the appreciation it deserves.

I actually love that list, because every single one of those things can be seen in straight romance as well. DRAMAS overall. I haven't seen that many dramas but I sure have seen all of those tropes before. (and no, not just in gay romances)
- wealthy characters: The Girl who sees Smells (other ml is extremely wealthy)
- fantasy element: The Girl who sees Smells (literally in the title)
- "stock cliches" these literally happen in real life, what makes it a cliche...every single one of those has happened to me except the accidental kiss one, which I've seen in like every romance drama ever (that I'd call a cliche though)
- exes coming back are so common in dramas, take Descendants of The Sun for example
- for La Pluie the world is not like ours, it's stated clearly that this is a fantasy world with this hearing loss and soulmate connection thing. It makes a lot of sense that LGBTQ+ is normalized since we've seen that soulmates can be the same gender as well.
- I haven't seen that in a single drama thus far, though I know they very much exist.
- past connection: The Girl who sees Smells
- drama: that is usually the premise or towards-the-end plot point in dramas. that's why they're called dramas. they're almost always following solving a problem, misunderstanding, or lack of communication. I don't know a single drama that doesn't follow that format.

I acknowledge that "BL" has its tropes but this is definitely not just about them being gay.

I relate to that! It's common for dramas like this to narrow down on the angst before really getting into it at the end. It also serves us emotional attachment to the characters (the backstory in this case) so that we are able to show empathy towards them once things go down. That way the plot is also more steady and clear. Soulmate dramas surely are amazing, would call it one of my favorite tropes as well!

(PS: The few people enjoying this show as much as I am have also been writers, it's nice that us fellow story-makers ourselves have learned to appreciate La Pluie for the masterpiece it is!)

In my comment I highlighted the fact that the reason it was a back-hug was exactly because they weren't face-to-face. Did you assume Lomfon would've just ran in front of Tien, locked eye-contact with him, and gestured for a "consensual" hug? That's just unrealistic. Claiming something as "lack of creativity" because it's a common occurrence is nitpicking. Back-hugs are common, feeling insecure for not remembering important facts about your loved one is common, misunderstandings are common- Not only in dramas, but in real life as well.

Saying the soulmate system is irrelevant to the story is like saying quirks are irrelevant to My Hero Academia. It's a good sign that a show doesn't rely on one source of plot, (that being the soulmate system in this case) and most of the misunderstandings and drama in La Pluie are caused by the soulmate connection. The biggest mystery in this show is literally the soulmate system and how it works. That's exactly why Saengtai is insecure and unsure, Phat and Nara ended it once and for all, Saengtai went to the mountain and such. Kind of weird that you've forgotten about those since you use quite a lot of time on these comments anyways.

I also don't like the way you narrow this down to just "BL" (I don't like that term overall) since this stands alone as a series, it's not only about "boys love".