The Arnav Appreciation Squad

HI HI HI!!!! I am attempting it for sure. I know I'm a broken record who constantly claims I am - but this time I think I'm actually not lying.

Thank youuuuu so much, that's so kind of you. In the spirit of being a non-liar, I'll be honest and say that I'm likely going to skip to adult!Arshi and fill in the blanks later because ... I'm the worst? That's a good enough reason as any.

I'm glad you enjoyed the excerpt! I love writing Diary of a Sanka Devi because I have to do very little work and just let my inner crazy lady roam free - so liberating.

THANK YOU!!!!!!! Glad to be back!! ❤️❤️❤️

Thank you! Very kind of you.

Again - you will likely never see this, but I have never passed a chance to speak my two cents on anything ever and this will be another public stage for me.

The difference here is choice and freely given consent, yeah? Sex is a very intimate behaviour for many people and they do require a concrete commitment before diving into that. Arnav has some pretty … shitty timing for his whole first attempt here I gotta say. I would wager she did not feel the required amount of emotional safety to trust in the commitment he offered then - hence, needing a full and complete ceremony. However, before their ceremony, he had told her he considers her his wife and brought her to see his mom - that’s a huge thing and a huge expression of vulnerability. At that point, they’d experienced a lot of growth together and I’m willing to bet she felt a lot more sure about the depth of their connection. The commitment was there for her to be able to make that choice and provide consent freely without concern for the future.

HELLO! See what a different world it is when people say hello. HI FRIEND!

Wow, we now have a total of 2 whole people who have called me The Arnav Expert (one of them being me).

I am so touched - and I mean this - that you actually quoted from my absolute nonsense. I hope that somehow my good wishes to you reach you ❤️

That is a fucken doozy of a question, my friend. Also .. what happened to “hello” “how are you?”

I realize this is … so late and you’re likely not even going to see this but my crusade to remind people that norms of polite conversation do still exist on the internet continues nonetheless.

First off, we need to do away with the assumption that people cannot love people who have behaved abusively. That’s just not true. It doesn’t reflect so much of what happens in actual nuanced relationships - and especially in circumstances where intimate partner violence is an aspect of experience. Now, I’m not going to look at their relationship like an IPV researcher because that does it a disservice - considering it’s fiction for one and there’s a host of cultural and individual factors I can’t account for. Also, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but if I were to study any relationship that presents a very typical display of masculinity and femininity - like theirs - I could find any number of issues in it.

The fact of the matter is she loved him as a human being who was compatible with certain aspects of her. He represented certain things she wanted. He is someone who once he loves someone and they’re in his inner circle, that’s it. He’s fiercely loyal and protective, works hard to provide for people he cares about and to solve their problems. For someone like Khushi that grew up feeling like she had to be in control and responsible for things in order to have any value in a family setting, having value to someone while also being able to give him all the power and authority is a foreign but likely healing experience. Being taken care of is a powerful motivation for a lot of people in a lot of circumstances. Arnav displays time and time again that when he wants to take care of someone, that boy does it better than a sugar daddy cause he does it without acknowledging it or asking for anything.

Simple answer: she’s got issues (like we all do) and he makes her feel safe in an important, instinctive way.

In a word - yes! Not as frequently as I’d like, but I do still exist (much to what is I’m sure the disappointment of many) 😭