#we were in the beginning stages; setting up relationships and plot points and just about getting started

[thepotatothatsoftens]

[secondhandsorrows]

Some Vital Scenes to Include in a Romantic Subplot, pt. 1

I’ve been in the plotting stages of a novel I’ve been working on for some time now. It’s not a romance novel, per se, but the romantic aspect is very prevalent… dare I say important. Anyway, so as I was working on my scenes and character arcs, I began to realize that I didn’t have enough fleshed-out about romantic arc, nor deepened the protagonist’s love interest or their connection, for that matter. This led me to devise up some scenes that I felt were crucial to the story if I wanted to keep this romantic angle to it, and now that I’ve most of them arranged, I find now that I’m way more excited about my characters’ love story. 

These tips will be unnumbered because, obviously, the sequence of these events and how they will fall into your storyline will probably be different. Also, you don’t have to use only one scene for every suggestion that will be mentioned, as you can have multiple scenes of flirtations or deep conversations, for example. They usually blend all together into the narrative at this point. Just remember that there should be some relevance to the plot at hand in some of these scenes as to not derail completely from the main narrative or other conflicts.

I was going to post this all at once, but decided it was too long and wanted to split it into two parts to go more in-depth and for easy reading. /-\ Enjoy ~

- The meet-cute, or the meet-ugly:

Ah, yes, the first encounter. Or, as we sometimes like to call it: the meet-cute, or the meet-ugly if you’re feeling a little unconventional or perhaps mischievous. Though we may enjoy setting up our star-crossed characters in a whole range of moments from awkward to swoon-worthy, the initial meeting is what’s important (if your characters haven't already met before the beginning of the story, ofc, but this is useful to have in mind). Let us quickly define the two:

Meet-Cute: A charming and serendipitous first encounter between the characters in question that sets a positive, memorable, and oftentimes romantic tone.

Meet-Ugly: An unconventional, awkward, or disastrous initial meeting that adds a unique twist to the start of the romantic connection, often leading to unexpected chemistry and an added intrigue on whether or not they’ll get together.

You don’t have to nail your characters’ first encounter into a label or bubble such as these two examples, but I like bringing these up for a general idea. 

- Bouts of flirting and/or banter:

Just as the title suggests, these are scenes containing the flirtaious communication between the two characters. These kinds of interactions will, of course, develop over time and deepen the bond or relationship. Playful interactions, gazes, and witty exchanges between the characters can create a lighthearted and flirtatious atmosphere that hints at their growing attraction.

The way they might flirt or tease can reveal their personalities. For example, one character might be more sarcastic, while the other responds with quick wit, or quiet bashfulness. There’s an element of subtlety, as flirting lets the characters express their romantic interest without explicitly stating it (unless one of your characters lacks subtlety in general and prefers to shout their undying love from the rooftops, which would make for an interesting dynamic, but I’m only spit-balling). 

Banter, teasing, and romantic tension underscoring heated debates or loathsome gazes suit just as nicely, especially if you’re writing with enemies-to-lovers or rivalry tropes in mind. But be careful! A little goes a long way: too much all at once can repel any growth for the characters or narrative.

- Initial conflict or struggle:

Depending on your story’s big-picture conflict, the introduction of challenges or obstacles can create tension between the characters, adding depth to their relationship and making their eventual connection all the more satisfying. This might include cultural or class differences, opposing goals or values, history of past heartbreak, personality weaknesses such as stubbornness, or external pressures that threaten to keep the characters apart. Even a nosy family or a disapproving mother can be considered. How the characters navigate and resolve these conflicts contributes significantly to the overall emotional impact of the romance subplot, as well as allowing for some exploration of each character's strengths, weaknesses, and resilience. 

- Shared vulnerability:

This kind of scene involves the characters opening up to each other about their innermost fears, insecurities, past trauma, or personal struggles. Shared vulnerability goes beyond surface-level interactions. It involves characters revealing their authentic selves, exposing their emotional vulnerabilities, and allowing the other person to see them in an honest — and sometimes new — light.

This is a symbolic gesture of commitment we’re talking about, here… something that requires trust. As characters share their fears or past traumas, they are entrusting the other person with sensitive information, fostering a sense of trust and emotional intimacy. It might be scary, it could be out from left field, but they will end up learning something new about themselves, their situation, or about the other person, and thus deepen their connection, little by little.

[vasito-de-leche]

;R1999 A Study on Afflatus (I)

Analysis and theories regarding the concept of Afflatus within the universe of Reverse: 1999

if you're from the old r99 news server or the current r99 rp one (or if you've talked to me at any point about r99) then you might know how obsessed I am with afflatus analysis!

so after going feral on my main account about it, and seeing my afflatus thesis drafts just catch dust on my wips, I decided to just open a discussion about it in the fandom! just little by little as I get the thoughts out of my brain!

so yes, this is very much an invitation for people to discuss and theorize about smaller details of the game such as afflatus, medium and other things--there are many fun ways to interpret the way afflatus applies to characters, I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts! ping me in your posts, go feral in the reblogs or comments!

as usual, transcripts were taken from the R1999 Neocities transcript project!

During the first few months of GL's launch, "Afflatus" was generally considered an extradiegetic aspect of the game--a simple mechanic meant to facilitate gameplay for the player, without any relevance to the lore or the plot. Throughout the course of the following patches, namely within the main story, this idea was disproved in many ways, and there were plenty of clues that reinforced its existence in-universe from the very beginning. For the sake of those who have never noticed, I'll do my best to be thorough, but there may be some instances of Afflatus that I missed, feel free to let me know!

The very first time Afflatus is mentioned is in the main story; Chapter 01 - Stage 4 "Chicago Rescue," Sonetto is the one to bring it up during one of the battle tutorials.

Sonetto: That's quite a lot of critters! Timekeeper, we must do something to turn things around now. Remember what the instructor said in class? "Afflatus is a way to hunt in the world." "Observations of the minerals, plants, stars, and beasts as well as our experiences with the spirit and intelligence let us better understand our own existence." Sonetto: Select a proper target for me, Timekeeper. Sonetto: Use an incantation that is strong against the enemy's Afflatus to defeat them more quickly. You can take it from here, Timekeeper.

The fact that this conversation takes place during a game tutorial doesn't instantly render the contents discussed as "just meta," since we've had many different instances of game mechanics being relevant to the overall history and worldbuilding of the setting; Artificial Somnambulism Therapy is both a game mode and a type of therapy developed by Mesmer Jr's family, used extensively within Laplace, as well as a key plot point in Chapter 3 "Nouvelles et Textes pour Rien"; Picrasma Candy is a way for the player to continue playing and an actual medicine for arcanists developed by Medicine Pocket that Argus heavily depends on to use her own arcanum. Bluepoch makes a point to further develop their story through these mechanics, thus it is impossible to separate them from the story itself--battle conversations, daily tidbits, loading screens, items and other details can all be considered canon! Afflatus is no different.

Another early instance of Afflatus occurs in the Tutorial Notebook, which disappears forever once completed--so the following screenshot was taken from this video!

The text reads: 

Sometimes, our Afflatus is strong or weak against an enemy. We need to follow this principle and select the proper arcane skills based on the enemy. Strong or weak? Like a cat to a rat? The relationship between different Afflatuses is like the ecological cycle. When your Afflatus is strong against the target's, your incantation will deal more damage. ─ On Afflatus, Chapter 1

The sticky note implies the existence of a book or research on the subject ("On Afflatus, Chapter 1") which, in turn, supports Sonetto's dialogue about the Afflatus lessons she received in SPDM ("Remember what the instructor said in class?"). With this we can understand that Afflatus exists within the world to a degree that allows it to be studied, also eliminating one of the earliest theories in GL about how Vertin is the only person who can perceive Afflatus due to her status as the Timekeeper.

To my knowledge, there are no direct explanations nor clues as to why or how one would discern Afflatus in others as of writing this. What is the point of assigning Afflatus types in-universe? How can it be done? Sadly, I don't have answers to these questions in particular!

But let's analyze our current examples so far.

According to Sonetto's knowledge on the subject, Afflatus encompasses "observations of the minerals, plants, stars and beasts as well as our experiences with the spirit and intelligence," that allows people to understand themselves. This serves as a list of both Natural (Mineral, Plant, Star, Beast) and Primal (Spirit, Intellect) Afflatuses, while hinting towards the purpose of Afflatus as a tool of introspection.

With this, one may theorize that Afflatus can apply to every living being, as it tackles observations with the surrounding world (Natural Afflatus) and one's inner world (Primal Afflatus). This is partially true, there is a small yet important distinction to be made!

The 1.5 "Revival! The Uluru Games" patch explored the physiological and social differences between humans and arcanists through Ezra and Spathodea, and a new batch of loading screen tidbits were added, such as this one:

The text reads:

The arcanum's Afflatus categories do not apply to humans. However, factors such as personality and preferred instruments may cause certain individuals to have a closer affinity to a particular type of arcane Afflatus.

This daily tidbit confirms that arcanum's Afflatus categories do not apply to humans. The rest of tidbits emphasize on the contrast between the two groups in different aspects; humans cannot cast arcane skills, they use technology and commands rather than incantations, they're considered rational instead of passionate, reason vs instinct, etc etc.

But I believe there is an important distinction to be made! The first loading screen tidbit mentions "arcanum's Afflatus categories," rather than Afflatus itself. There is an aspect of Afflatus that is directly linked with arcanum, and thus it makes sense that it cannot be applied to humans.

We can see this happening in Greta Hoffman's report from the Special Chapter - "The Star" in which she explains her interactions with 37's mother, 77. Here are a few excerpts.

Writer of the Report: I'm not sure whether she was making fun of me or being serious, but I had this feeling that she was eager to tell me how she was granted the secret through a moment of afflatus. It seemed she just saw through the laws behind all things instead of finding them through logical deduction.

"HER": "The rhombus can't be seen with eyes. You shall close your eyes, hearken to the teaching of the supreme existence, and seize the moment of afflatus!" Writer of the Report: Of course, I didn't see anything, nor did I understand what a moment of afflatus was. Perhaps it's just another privilege enjoyed by arcanists, just like their right to be lunatic. Nevertheless, she reached the correct conclusion in a completely wrong way. Is it really possible?

Writer of the Report: But, if there is a god, why are you playing such a prank on us, after we had suffered from the collapse of all the existing orders and the failure of all the great laws? If this is what she called the glimpse of the supreme existence, the moment of afflatus, do you have to present it in such a cruel way?

Even Matilda brings up afflatus during this chapter, in reference to her job monitoring new members.

Matilda: &$#% ... I know she's a rookie, but even so, she's way too unbelievable! "Guide new members with caution and patience. Trigger their afflatus at the right time." Oh, I have to admit, Vertin is doing it better than me for now.

Note the distinction between capital A "Afflatus" and lowercase "afflatus." In this context, the "moment of afflatus" exists as its namesake implies--as an inspiration, a moment of divine impulse that only arcanists can utilize and, therefore, cannot be explained nor proved through human logic.

That is the basis for the tension between Greta Hoffman (a mixed whose arcane blood has been so diluted she can easily pass off as a pure-blooded human) and 77 (a pure-blooded arcanist from an isolated and ancient arcanist society) as two characters from vastly different groups that cannot reconcile nor find a middle ground in their differences. This is the arcane aspect of Afflatus as the 1.5's tidbit mentions, the part that cannot be applied to mankind. But Afflatus also exists as a tool of introspection as mentioned before, which encompasses aspects that any living being can relate to--therefore, it explains why we have both playable and non-playable humans with Afflatus types.

To further understand how non-arcane living beings can still lean towards different types of Afflatus, let's examine the enemies in the game.

The main story is very consistent with how they portray enemies, if you pay attention to their battle information you can see all the deliberate details Bluepoch has added; every enemy comes with a short description that might evolve and change along the story in future renditions of their fights, there are different card sets for different factions (Manus Vindictae's deep black and blue cards vs the Foundation's white and light blue cards), each attack/incantation is uniquely named, giving context and insight into the enemy you're fighting, some even have uniquely named traits/buffs/debuffs!

And as far as I know, every single enemy in the game, regardless of whether they're arcane in nature or not, has an Afflatus assigned to them. Let's look at arcane beings first.

We see that all three examples match their respective Afflatus; a Mineral Carbuncle with a Mineral Afflatus, a Dryad, commonly associated with nature has the Plant Afflatus, and Druvis III, a playable character, retains her Plant Afflatus even as a mysterious NPC boss fight in which her regular incantations have been switched to Manus Vindictae.

And we can also see continuity in Afflatus in other bosses, such as Matilda and Lilya in later chapters--they both retain their own Afflatus as playable characters, and much like Druvis, Matilda's cards are concealed as the default Foundation set for the sake of keeping their identities concealed. There is a clear intent behind these choices.

In the Surface levels of Artificial Somnambulism, the ones that directly correlate to the main story, also feature many other playable characters with their respective Afflatuses; La Source in "Misty Lake a"; The Fool, Bunny Bunny, Pavia, Satsuki and Tennant in "Floating Park a" ...

And I do want to mention that there are instances in which the game allows us to fight playable characters whose Afflatuses have been changed--but there is still an clear goal behind this.

The beta levels of Artificial Somnambulism feature the same aforementioned characters as the alpha ones, but a few of them have different Afflatus. This can be explained within the main story as the direct result of Vertin's mind being tampered with, as we see her struggle to remember and forget things clearly during her AST induced coma in Chapter 3.

???: Her traumatic segment has been reactivated. Increase the power, stabilize her psychube. Try the next dream. Z: The artificial somnambulism therapy may not work on her, Mesmer.

Mesmer Jr.: It means she had suffered the same traumatic experience repeatedly. Even so, she showed no behavioral or cognitive impairment. Back then, as we held her down and put the helmet on her, she even advised me in an extremely calm manner … “I agree with your judgment, but it’s just for this time.” … She was the bellwether of the “break-away” incident after all. I’ll say she’s been well-behaved this time. Sonetto: … I-I thought … Timekeeper is receiving for her low spirit. But you said you held her down … Mesmer Jr.: Oh, that’s just another description of the method used for the same purpose. The aim was to ensure Vertin was unconscious and taken back. That’s the direct order from the vice president of the committee, Constantine. The order from on high was given on the premise of rational thinking and consideration over pros and cons─you are not questioning the reasoning of mankind, are you?

A similar situation happens during UTTU Week, which features playable characters as different characters within the story that UTTU is attempting to share. For example, in 1.2 "Nightmare at Green Lake," the playable characters you fight in UTTU Week represent various different archetypes and tropes in horror.

These inconsistencies are done on purpose, as they're not meant to reflect the truth 1:1.

Now, let's look at human enemies. Here are the two human children from the beginning of the game who disrupt the suitcase--despite being humans, they both have Afflatus assigned to them, and not only that but different types as well, Star and Mineral respectively.

So, to backtrack again! Afflatus cannot be applied to humans from an arcane point of view, simply because humans cannot cast incantations. Therefore, their affinity for a specific type of Afflatus is based on something else, something that they share with arcane beings--such as personality, experiences and preferred instruments.

I want to propose the interpretation of Afflatus being the totality of one's experiences in life; depending on your experiences, the way they've shaped your thinking patterns, your instincts and your personality, you may have an affinity for one Afflatus or another.

This ties in with a different aspect of Afflatus: the idea that one's Afflatus type can change, as the person goes through big changes in their life that influence them in different ways.

If we acknowledge that these battle details are all deliberate and meant to add to the narrative, there are two outliers whose Afflatuses change. The first one is Kakania herself; her debut in 1.7 "E Lucevan le Stelle" includes a fight against her in Stage 8 "Mirror and Lantern" which clearly states her Afflatus is Intellect.

One could argue that this is not the true Kakania, as the battle involves fighting mirror versions of her--but as a reminder, the true one is, in fact, hidden among them! And furthermore, if the reflections are exact versions of the real Kakania, it makes sense that they would have the same battle information as her.

As we all know, when Kakania becomes playable in 1.9 "Vereinsamt," her Afflatus is not Intellect but Plant--I'd like to explain this change as the development Kakania goes through in this specific arc of the story.

Her idealistic views and activism, both for her city and her patients, are directly challenged as the story progresses. She realizes that none of her friends within The Circle were the people she thought them to be, namely Isolde whose complex life and struggles were both overlooked and impossible to discern in Kakania's eyes due to their close relationship, and she also sees the town she acknowledged as flawed but still worth fighting for, turn into violent patriots. Everything that Kakania stood for is gone in an instant, and we see her fighting spirit turn into a desperate near-suicidal attempt at making up for her perceived wrongs.

Such radical events like this would warrant a change in Afflatus, as Kakania adjusts her views due to her experiences.

And then on the other hand, we have The Guiding One's Harbringer boss fight in 1.9's Stage 21 "A Homage Paid"--one of its core mechanics is to change Afflatus to that of the last attack it received. Here we see that distinction from before, the lowercase afflatus referring to the arcane aspect, rather than the experiences a person goes through.

As far as I know, this section of the game also becomes unplayable (or is currently unplayable, I can't seem to access it anymore) so the following screenshots are taken from this video!

Kakania's Afflatus change is something that seems to be directly linked to her evolution as a character, while the Guiding One's Harbringer's Afflatus change is directly linked to its status as an arcane construct, using it as a "mimic strategy" during battle. The psychological aspect vs the arcane aspect of Afflatus respectively.

Next, I'd like to discuss some assumptions made about the different Afflatus types; we expect that Beast characters must have an affinity with animals or be animals themselves (Darley Clatter, Getian, Medicine Pocket, Nick Bottom ...) and we expect that Star characters are all related to celestial bodies or the skies (37, Lilya, Matilda, Lorelei, Voyager ...) due to the naming conventions of the Afflatus. And yes, there are motifs within the Afflatus types that match their naming conventions, but a quick look through the character list prove there is much more to offer, as a good chunk of characters don't align with this initial read of their themes.

We have Pickles, a literal dog, and Kaalaa Baunaa, an astronomer, both with Mineral Afflatus instead of what one would expect of them. It's similar to how fandom perceives Awakened as the sole category for sentient objects, when we have characters like Door and Darley Clatter who are undoubtedly objects, implied to have been given sentience, and thus fall within the group of pure-blooded Arcanists rather than Awakened.

I would also like to point out that these initial motifs have nothing to do with a character's Arcanum--another theory I've seen around is that Afflatus types influence an arcanist's arcanum, which can't be further from the truth. One could argue that Kaalaa Baunaa's arcanum (the summoning of meteors and planets) is related to her Mineral Afflatus--both relate to rocks, after all--but just like the previous assumptions, this falls apart when you examine other examples. Jiu Niangzi's arcanum has nothing to do with rocks nor minerals, but liquor. Ulu's arcanum revolves around fire, yet she's still Mineral.

As far as we know, arcanum is something that can be inherited through bloodlines or lineage--think of Mesmer Jr's 01 Story in her Cover Profile, which states “Nobody is more talented in this than Mesmer Jr. Her bloodline gives her outstanding ability and keen senses, which makes everything clear and intelligible to her” in the context of performing AST, or Tennant, whose 02 Story hints towards her father performing the same type of arcanum she's known for--but it's also something that can be taught. We see this most clearly within students of SPDM such as Sonetto, as her skill set matches that of the SPDM students fought during Chapter 3, portraying the "standard" arcanum taught to all arcanist children.

But not only that, arcanum can be influenced by other factors, such as a character's situation and interests--Blonney's arcanum revolves around making drawings come to life, which correlates with her love for storytelling and horror as a child. Pavia's shadow arcanum is hinted to have been formed out of necessity or as a result of his childhood in a dark basement. Tooth Fairy utilizes the fairies she traps.

We also know that arcanists from the same family may not inherit the same level of arcane power, as seen in Shamane and Kumar; the latter was cast out of her family due to her weak arcane power. In all of these cases, Afflatus has nothing to do with arcanum.

So what exactly do Afflatus types tackle?

These are the Afflatus as I've analyzed them, as much as I could summarize it for easier digestion!

With this interpretation, we can see that Star relates to celestial objects and the skies, but also trailblazer geniuses and unstoppable forces, that which is out of reach for common people. Mineral relates to solid materials and stability in permanence, but also the rigidness of strict systems or traditions or stagnancy. Beast relates to wild animals and creatures found in the world, but also the survival of the individual, the struggle to find a place for oneself no matter what. And Plant relates to the flora and the natural cycles in the world, but also the safety of a collective, that which is inherent to the world such as community or change.

This is why these belong to the Natural category of Afflatus: they are concepts that already existed on the world or were manifested into it, from the ground we touch, the people we interact with, to the ideals and beliefs that influence and create societies or bring people together.

On the other hand we have Spirit, relating to the soul, the supernatural and the spiritual aspect of things, but also the unknown, to follow one's gut instinct or embrace the inexplicable. "The way I see the world is unconventional, because I feel these different things about why and how things are the way they are." And then Intellect, relating to the mind and the logical aspect of things, but also the different mindsets and patterns of thought one can have to rationalize things. "The way I see the world is unconventional, because I have these different rules about why and how things are the way they are."

This is why they belong to the Primal category of Afflatus: they are, as the name implies, ancient impulses and habits that mostly exist within ourselves, our thoughts and our feelings.

The Tutorial Notebook also mentions an "ecological cycle," there is a relationship between the different categories that explains why some are strong or weak against others. It's rather easy to understand for the Primal Afflatus, as it's the classic fight between hearts and minds, but Natural Afflatus is a little harder to grasp.

We see the relationship between Beast and Mineral; the former is weak against the latter, the latter is strong against the former. You may read the Natural Afflatus wheel clockwise or counter clockwise.

Using the previous explanations, let us examine this cycle!

Beast is strong against Plant, because it's the disruption of a community or the harmony of the world through a single individual desperately fighting to change their current situation. A desperate animal does not think about the consequences its actions has on the environment while it tries to survive. Plant is strong against Star, because it's a tight-knit collective that embraces change and thus, the lone genius cannot shine above the rest. In an environment that welcomes everyone and everything, there is no way to stand out. Star is strong against Mineral, because it's a single individual choosing to disrupt the status quo, the stability of their society, for the sake of a dream or ideal. A single genius can topple over entire societies. And Mineral is strong against Beast, because a rigid set of rules or traditions leave no place for those who don't fit inside of it or who oppose it. A government that advocates for mankind's superiority leaves no room for arcanists and their rights, it forces them to assimilate within their established rules.

And this cycle goes backwards and forwards!

But I would also like to propose a different type of relation: we understand the aspect of having advantage or disadvantage, but what about Afflatuses that directly mirror each other?

Beast and Star are two Afflatus that directly correlate to an individual against a collective, whereas Mineral and Plant are two Afflatus that directly correlate to a collective against the individual. They're foils of each other; Beast is the underdog, Star is the genius, while Mineral is the stagnant and rigid yet stable and secure systems while Plant is the ever-changing and adaptive nature of the world.

We may also see this in a more precise way: the ecological cycle and Afflatus relationships exist because someone of Mineral Afflatus who is stuck in their ways and refuses to change can be easily upset by someone of Star Afflatus whose nature is to radically change traditions and offer different paths. This is why Semmelweis, a Mineral Afflatus who is hellbent on clinging to the human aspect of herself and sticks to her stubborn mindsets, has such a fascination with Lorelei. Or rather, why Lorelei has such an effect on Semmelweis, as she is a Star Afflatus that begins Semmelweis' journey of self-discovery and acceptance within Series of Dusks.

We can also see previous themes discussed within this post here: one would think that such a radical change is enough to cause Semmelweis to change Afflatus, but we see through her gamemode and the different endings presented that this change is still very much in line with her mindsets and behaviour, Semmelweis remains stubbornly adaptive and pragmatic to the very end, and choosing to follow Lorelei has brought her a deeper insight to understand herself without radically changing who she truly is.

Another example would be Forget Me Not and Druvis III; we know that Forget Me Not is Mineral Afflatus due to his boss fight in Chapter 2 - Stage 13 "Documentary" and Druvis III is Plant Afflatus.

We see the foil dynamics of Afflatus that don't directly interact with each other: the reason Forget Me Not and Druvis III seem to have this type of relationship can be explained through their Afflatus, with Forget Me Not insisting that she perpetuates the very same cycle of revenge and pain, to never move on and continue in the same spot of grieving and mourning for her family. While Druvis III's entire development throughout the Chicago arc--and even leading into the next chapters--tackles her desire to grow and move on, to finally let go of the worst night of her life that took her family away and begin healing from it. It's exactly what Vertin notices within her, and why she's able to connect with Druvis III.

Vertin: Once you dispel the arcanum, it would not be what it is now. I think you are clear, Ms. Druvis, that … Every tree lives for tomorrow.

And that's where I'll leave this extremely long introduction to my study on Afflatus! I'm planning on discussing other themes in the future, such as the way a character's Medium serves as a bridge between their Afflatus and Arcanum, and analysis of the cover profule, but also proper in-depth analysis of each individual Afflatus!

There is so much to look at when discussing Afflatus, every single Insight material has its own description, and each stage for each Afflatus tells a story that relates to their themes!

Please don't be afraid to reach out with your own ideas or observations, I look forward to what everyone else thinks! And congratulations for making it this far <3

[tonysopranoproskater69420]

can't sleep n I'm thinking about how disappointed I was by 28 years later so I'm just gonna lay out the plot beat for beat as I recall it and maybe complain along the way

genuine huge actual spoilers for the entire movie below you've been warned seriously do not keep reading if you plan on seeing 28 years later but haven't ok here we go

aaron taylor johnson, jodie comer, and their kid called spike live in a community on an island safe from rage zombies. jodie comer has some sort of mental deterioration and in one instance implies aaron is not spike's real father however spike calls them both ma and dad throughout.

aaron and spike are leaving their island to go to mainland England when the movie begins. the purpose for this trip is unclear, but to my understanding the point was for spike to kill a zombie for the first time. there is a LOT of ceremony about this and a lecture from a village elder that if they go missing they won't be rescued, but I guess killing a zombie is a coming of age thing.

they encounter a horde of really gross fat zombies covered in lesions crawling along the ground eating worms. these zombies are remarked upon as being different to the running rage zombies but this is not explored. spike makes a kill or two and every time a zombie is killed the camera did something I could not explain but made me feel ill to watch, if I had to guess the fps sped up for like 1 second while also removing every second frame.

then the concept of an Alpha zombie is introduced. what this means is... he's scarier than the others. we're told Alpha zombies are physically tougher and harder to kill but all we see him do is stand still for several hours of in-film time (during which time spike notices a bonfire in the distance) and then he roars to signal an attack. again, an evolution of the zombies that is not explored in any meaningful way.

aaron and spike make their way back to their community with the Alpha chasing them, and when he chases them he is indistinguishable from a regular rage zombie. to be fair to the movie this 3-4 minute sequence was fairly tense but extremely predictable. this is the end of act 1.

spike is celebrated as a hero for killing a zombie even though he doesn't feel good about it. a party is held in his honour and he watches aaron sneak off and eat some chick we don't know's pussy. meanwhile jodie comer's condition has gotten worse, spike confronts aaron about cheating(?) on his maybe wife(?) I really did not understand the relationship, and aaron slaps him in the face.

a village elder tells spike the bonfire he saw is ralph fiennes who pre-apocalypse was a medical doctor. spike becomes obsessed with the idea of taking his mother for help, sets a fire as a distraction, and sneaks her to the mainland.

once they reach the mainland, jodie starts having dementia symptoms thinking she is in her childhood and calling spike dad. there are some close calls with zombies (much MUCH fewer zombie scenes than I was anticipating), then a swedish soldier is introduced. he kinda serves some exposition about the status of the rest of the world.

at one point earlier we saw a heavily pregnant zombie. jodie and spike find her again and help her deliver a (surprise!) uninfected baby. soldier boy objects to this and is murdered by zombies for his troubles. this is probably end of act 2.

eventually we make it to ralph fiennes (who we were told is batshit insane) who deus ex machinas spike and jodie by dosing the Alpha zombie (named Samson) with morphine. idk if anyone saw the trailer and was expecting ralph to be a complete nutjob villain but he's actually very sane and philosophical and competent. he gives some speeches about infected and uninfected being the same once they're dead, and diagnoses jodie with late stage terminal cancer.

she gets euthanized with morphine her body is burned and spike gets to place her skull on a memorial. he goes back to his community, leaves the baby on the doorstep with a note saying he wants to explore and he'll be back when he's ready.

then in the last 5 minutes this fuckin mad max power rangers xena warrior princess gang show up and save spike from a certain death situation and he agrees to tag along with them, which I'm sure will be explored in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple or perhaps the third film in this planned trilogy which for sure is a story that needed to be told and not a cash grab.

I was expecting tense gritty zombie horror where I was afraid anyone could die at any time, not family drama and philosophy about cancer and memory. I saw a letterboxed user compare this to train to busan and blocked them instantly TtB probably had more zombies in one frame in a single train carriage than 28YL did the whole movie. very disappointing.

[morganski-19]

For any of my buddie shippers or gay eddie truthers who feels like episode 5 is a massive blow, it's not over yet. I think that we've really been harping on episode 6 being the big coming out getting together scene, and that has let us fall into false hope. And I honestly have had the stance that buddie, if it does happen this season, will be in the latter half of the season.

This is not a story that should be rushed. Oliver talks about how he wants Buck to have a slow burn. Eddie needs time to figure out himself, and deal with his trauma. That can't happen in the first six episode where three of them are just the opening emergency. It just wouldn't make narrative sense.

Let's remember the three act structure that is so prevalent in a lot of media. Because I am terrible at explaining things, I’ve put in a picture.

This season has 18 episodes, so we are very much still in the set up stage of this season. I think that since most of the plot points from season 7 are wrapped up except for Eddie and Christopher's, it is a good bet that their story line will be driven in this narrative.

I think the inciting incident was that scene with Weston's dad in episode 4. It shows how Eddie feels about this situation more, and can bring out a lot of growth and movement as he tries to get Chris back.

Episode 6 would be 1/3 of the way through the season, and considering it is a direct parallel to eddie begins, I am considering that plot point 1.

Now here is where the speculation really starts. The mid point would be the episode before the winter break, and I think that will involve Eddie going to El Paso and getting Chris back.

Therefore, the rising action for this would be Eddie working through his own issues. Learning how to love himself, and starting his path to discovery. However, I honestly don't see him figuring it all out before Chris comes home.

No matter how this storyline will play out, Chris will be mad at Eddie the whole season. Their resolution will not happen until the end, after the climax.

I think the climax will be Eddie figuring out he is gay, and coming out to his son. Then, the two of them figuring out what that means for the both of them. Eddie grappling with how he can be gay and still have loved Shannon in the past. And Chris dealing with how his dad dated all of these woman for his betterment. Also dealing with the fact that his parents were not in love the way he thought they were.

Buddie, if it happens this season, will be part of the denouement. Because, while all of this is happening with Eddie and Chris, Buck will have his own storyline. One that will be very in line with Eddie's, because of how involved he is in the Diaz's life.

I think that, even if Buck and Tommy don't break up in episode 6 like I hope, their relationship won't last. Putting my hopes for Buddie aside, they are simply just not compatible as a couple. Buck will realize this on his own, whether that be his plot point one, or the climax of his story. It would then, allow for Buck to truly understand his feelings for Eddie, and give the audience that longing that a slow burn needs.

Because although us Buddie fans consider their relationship as a slow burn, the general public might not. They need to create that longing for all audiences, and not just us.

It is also good to mention that there is no Buddie without Chris. It almost wouldn't make sense to have Buddie happen without Chris in the picture.

[james-a-b]

the TATINOF experience

ok so. i've wanted to make a post about this for a While now; i feel like a lot of people don't really understand or appreciate how unprecedented TATINOF really was, and for me, watching it in Seattle in 2016, it was the best day of my life.

So here we go.

(I've put the rest below a readmore bc this is an 18 paragraph post lmao)

On March 26th, 2015, Dan and Phil revealed TABINOF via a trailer set in the distant future. The book itself was not entirely unprecedented- other youtubers had written and were writing books, but for the most part (at the time) these were either fictional works or serious biographies; TABINOF was a time capsule of Dan and Phil's youtube brand, and a glimpse into parts of their lives we hadn't seen yet. (For example; Phil's hamster breeding adventures) But tucked into the pages of the book in the trailer were a pair of tickets to The Amazing Tour Is Not On Fire. This was insane. No youtuber had ever gone on tour before, save perhaps for a few musicians; no one had done a stage show. No one knew what to expect.

And, as they asked the audience of each show not to share spoilers, most of us went on not knowing what to expect until we'd seen it ourselves.

I saw the show on June 18th, 2016, near the end of the US leg of the tour. I went in knowing three things:

There were set ways in which we the audience could participate: there was Crafty Corner, Weird Kid, Phone Support Hotline, and a 7 Second Challenge submission box. (I submitted art to Crafty Corner, and I was thrilled just knowing they'd see it)

The set was a giant microwave. What this meant, I could not imagine.

Everyone who'd already seen the show said it was incredible.

I remember having had a dream that I was at the show like a week before it actually happened, and I woke up just as the show was about to start in the dream because my brain couldn't come up with anything they might do onstage lmao.

I can't even begin to put into words how incredible the atmosphere was before the show even started. Phannies were lined up for two blocks outside the theatre, and I'd never felt so welcome anywhere in my life. The doors opened. I believe Cornelia was working the merch stand pre-show, though I don't remember for sure- I got a signed copy of TABINOF and then I took my seat.

The set was incredible, and the pre-show playlist was amazing. Everyone sang along to every song, and when Troye Sivan's Wild came on, everyone screamed. Seriously, if you've never looked at the pre-show playlist for TATINOF you should. Finally, All Star by Smash Mouth played. Everyone was singing along, and laughing because of course Dan put that in there, and then, halfway through the song, the music stops and the lights go out. Everyone screamed, and the opening sequence began to play on the microwave. I understand why they opted to edit that directly into the beginning of the recording, because it would've been a little difficult to see in the recording otherwise, but at the same time it hit so much better when it played directly on the microwave.

And then they came out on stage, and they were so much more awkward than I expected. Dan kept squatting slightly, like he was trying to be shorter, and Phil moved almost like a marionette. They said their hellos, and then they addressed the microwave being there, and the plot started to become apparent- Phil had microwaved his laptop.

I'm not going to get into too much detail on every bit of the show, because I've already written about eight paragraphs and I could write about twenty more going play-by-play through every aspect of the show, but that's not the point of this essay, so I'll attempt to keep things at least a little shorter than that.

The first truly unprecedented thing was when Dan said they were "having a bit of a domestic" when Phil said he couldn't get off the lion. This was the very first time they'd come anywhere near addressing the elephant in the room (their relationship) publicly since the V-day vid. Obviously, compared to the things they've said in 2024 (we've never fucked on youtube, etcetera), "we're having a bit of a domestic" is incredibly tame, but this was huge. Everyone screamed.

And then, shortly after, Phil started singing, and everyone screamed much louder. They did little songs all the time in baking videos or while playing the sims, but this was different. This was on stage, with a spotlight and everything. It was not a surprise to me when Dan cut Phil off; I thought the song was for sure a joke, that there was no way they'd come back to it (spoiler alert, they did).

And then there was the 7 Second Challenge bit, and Reasons Why Phil Was A Weird Kid, and Uncle Dan's Phone Support Hotline, and the PINOF 75 bit. And it was all weird and crazy and amazing. But the next thing I really want to focus on is Fanfiction Live.

Fanfiction Live was... absolutely insane. My show chose cowboys on the moon, and the script they wrote for it was.... so undeniably gay? Like. "Should Phil draw Dan like a French girl"? Are you kidding? This really happened???? They wrote this in 2015. Four years before they came out. This was so far beyond unprecedented. This was unthinkable.

And then, immediately following this insanity, they began Smashing Plates and then they were like "IT'S DIL" and by this point i was hoarse from screaming but when I tell you I screamed...

And then Dil said all those things about Dan feeling like nothing he did was worth anything, but that it meant a lot to Dil and to the audience, and that Phil felt like he had to change who he was to please others but that we appreciated him for who he is... I melted. It was a moment of such genuine honesty, and they'd saved my life, and I loved them so, so much.

And then Phil started singing again, and Dan didn't stop him, and Dan started singing too, and the song was so them, ironic yet genuine, and I was out of my mind because I couldn't believe they were Singing On Stage like that, like, they were youtubers. Not professional singers. No one asked or expected them to go that far. But they did it.

it was the best day of my life.

[suddencolds]

Foreign Home | [1/1]

hello!! I am back after 8 months of not-really-writing with an 8k word fic (which I cut down from 9k words). this is another OC fic w/ Vincent and Yves, who were introduced here!

anyways, this is very character-centric and establishes some things I wanted to establish about them / their world... I hope the little detour into character-development territory is okay.

Summary: Yves has told all of his friends that he's dating Vincent, so it's going to look increasingly suspicious if Vincent never shows up. Good thing Vincent is compellingly good at lying. Anyways, what could go wrong at a housewarming party? (ft. banter, fake dating, cat allergies)

—

Yves spends three weeks turning down invitations.

It’s lucky, he thinks, that he’s been able to stay in contact with so many friends from university—that so many of them have settled here, in New York. It’s less lucky considering his current circumstances:

Out of the people who made it to Margot’s New Year’s party, almost all of them remember Vincent. And—even more inconveniently—many of them seem set on inviting Yves and Vincent places.

Yves thinks up a dozen excuses. No, Vincent can’t join on our coffee outing—he’s got an important, un-reschedulable meeting with a client that Saturday. Sunday? His Sunday’s booked through until 5pm. I know, busy season is the worst to plan around. Or, I think Vincent’s going to be out for a business conference that weekend. The 22nd? I can check with him, but he’s taking a redeye flight the night before—I think he’ll be jet lagged.

The number of excuses he is capable of coming up with is unfortunately finite. Perhaps sorry, I think Vincent has an optometrist’s appointment that afternoon isn’t Yves’s best work, but he has to say something.

Really, it’s just more work to invite Vincent elsewhere—to explain that they’ve played their role as a couple a little too convincingly. That his friends all want to meet Vincent, now.

Back during his days of rowing crew, Yves has given out his fair share of relationship advice to the underclassmen, which has unfortunately—according to Margot—“cultivated an air of mystery about his personal love life.” It was always him and Erika, until it wasn’t. (Ex-matchmaker Yves and his mysterious, highly coveted new boyfriend, Leon says, when Yves complains, which is how Yves decides he will no longer be consulting Leon on the matter.)

“My friends really like you,” Yves says to Vincent, offhandedly, when he runs into him on the way back from lunch.

Vincent blinks at him. 

“You’re saying that like it’s a bad thing.”

“They really like you,” Yves says. “They want to meet you. They think we’re an interesting couple, and they keep pestering me for double dates and inviting you out to a whole bunch of events. I’m running out of excuses as to why you can’t come.”

“Oh,” Vincent says, deadpan, but there’s a slight twitch to his lips, as if he’s trying not to laugh.

“I’m dead serious,” Yves says. “I told Nora that you couldn’t make it to dinner because of an eye appointment. Now if I want to keep this up I’ll need to photoshop you with new glasses.”

“I am a little overdue for new glasses,” Vincent says.

“Not the point. Regardless, I need to keep this up until we stage a breakup.”

“A breakup?”

“A fake breakup. To our fake relationship.”

“Is there someone else you’re interested in?”

“No,” Yves says. “But I’m preemptively saving you the stress.”

“The stress of playing your boyfriend?” Vincent says. “Last time, that just entailed going to a well-organized New Year’s party. I wouldn’t consider that exceptionally stressful.”

“That’s just the beginning. Don’t tell me you want to be dragged along to every dinner party and every downtown outing and every birthday I go to in the foreseeable future,” Yves says. “On top of working 60 hours a week, you’ll have to say goodbye to your weekends.”

“So that’s why you’re plotting our breakup.”

“Yes,” Yves says. “I’d need to explain to everyone how I dropped the ball.”

“I’m sure those new glasses must’ve been the dealbreaker.”

Yves laughs. Truthfully, Vincent could wear the most terrible, unflattering glasses in the world and still manage to look like someone whom Yves wouldn’t bat an eye at upon spotting at a photoshoot. The fact that his current glasses actually complement him very well, and the fact that he knows how to dress himself is just salt to the wound. “Yes, that’s the entire reason why I dated you in the first place. The glasses.”

“If you wanted to keep our false relationship up for a couple months,” Vincent says, “I wouldn’t mind.”

Yves—who, until now, has been walking in the opposite direction of the floor on which he works—stops walking. “Pardon?”

“I like your friends,” Vincent says. “And more importantly, I don’t think it proves a point to Erika if you’ve just gotten into a relationship you couldn’t keep. So if you wanted to keep this arrangement for a little longer, I would be fine with it.”

Yves considers this.

He’s asked more than enough of Vincent already. But Vincent is right. He’s sure Erika must have her fair share of doubts about all of this—about Vincent, about their fake relationship, about its longevity. She seemed skeptical, when he’d last seen her, that Yves could’ve moved on so quickly. The worst thing about it is that he can’t blame her for that doubt. The worst thing about it is that he’d spent so much time accounting for his future with Erika that he hadn’t seen her start to slip away, hadn’t noticed the first sign of inadequacy, the first time her gaze lingered on someone else, the first time he ceased to be all that she wanted. He hadn’t steeled himself for a future without her, and now, half the time, it feels like he’s still playing catch-up.

If he wants to commit to this fake relationship, he’ll need more than one outing to show for it.

And, despite all odds, Vincent is offering just that.

“Okay,” Yves says, before he can think about how bad of an idea this is. It is really, really inadvisable. He’s sure if he weighs his options for more than a few seconds, he will come to the conclusion that he should be shutting his mouth. “If you’re sure—and only if you’re actually sure—what are your plans after work next Tuesday evening?”

“Nothing as of now,” Vincent says. 

“Great. If you can make it, there’s a potluck. Joel’s hosting. He recently finished moving into a new apartment, so I think it’s something of a housewarming party. He lives a little North, past the stadium, so I think I’ll head there right after work—I can drive you.” 

“That works,” Vincent says. “What kind of food does he like?”

“I’m not actually too sure,” Yves says. “I think he’s a fan of spicy food. But honestly, I think he’ll be grateful if you bring anything at all—which you don’t have to, by the way. You’re the esteemed guest, here.”

“I’m sure Joel’s new apartment is technically the esteemed guest,” Vincent says. “But I’ll be there.”

“Okay,” Yves says. “It’s a date. I’ll make it up to you in any way you want, by the way—if there’s ever an instance where you need me to lie for you, I’ll do it.”

“Duly noted,” Vincent says. For what Vincent would ever have to lie about, Yves can’t guess.

More importantly, he has a date for next Tuesday. Something about it is more exciting, even in its dishonesty, than it has any right to be.

—

It’s only a few moments after Yves presses the doorbell that Vincent emerges, holding a couple plates covered meticulously with aluminum foil.

“I haven’t cooked for anyone in awhile,” he says, a little sheepishly. “I hope this doesn’t make a bad impression on your friends.” “Are you kidding? It smells really good,” Yves says, and it does—from the doorway, he can make out the scent of sesame oil, roasted garlic, ginger. “They’ll definitely like it.”

Vincent looks off to the side. “We’ll see.” It takes a moment for Yves to properly parse his expression for what it is.

It never occurred to Yves that Vincent might actually be nervous. At work, it’s rare to see Vincent even remotely out of his element—he always volunteers to take on their more difficult clients, and even on the rare occasion that something falls out of his expertise, he picks things up quickly. Yves has seen him give presentations at conferences without a sweat, articulate as ever. 

If Vincent had been nervous, those times—over prestigious conferences, over negotiations with major clients, over other difficult points of contention—it hadn’t shown. Either he wasn’t nervous at all, or he was just good at hiding it. But he’s nervous now, Yves realizes, which means— 

Vincent wants to make a good impression on his friends. It won’t be his first time meeting Joel, but it’ll be his first time talking to Cherie, Joel’s fiancé, or Giselle, one of Cherie’s friends from work. Mikhail and Nora will be there too. All in all, it’s a decently sized group, but Vincent has talked to larger groups of people before without so much as a shaky voice.

Something about it—about the seriousness with which Vincent regards this whole arrangement—is strangely endearing.

“You have nothing to worry about,” Yves says, and means it in more ways than one.

—

Joel’s new apartment, as it turns out, is already decently furnished, even though Joel had sent out the invitation with the disclaimer that everything is a mess, please bear with us.

“When you said everything would be a mess,” Yves says, leaving his shoes in a line at the door, “I thought your apartment would actually be something other than spotlessly clean and well arranged.”

“It’s easy to make things look neat if you move all of the clutter into the closets,” Joel says.

“It’s just a few boxes,” Cherie says. “But it was tricky to figure out how to place things. It’s a lot more spacious than the apartment we had in college.”

“No kidding,” Yves says. “It’s a seriously nice place.” Back in their last two years of university, Joel and Cherie had gotten an apartment just a few buildings down from the apartment which Yves picked out with Mikhail—they had similar floor plans. Yves distinctly remembers the space: creaky floorboards, space heaters lined up against the walls to last them the winter; decent natural lighting, and never enough kitchen space.

Back then, he and Mikhail had had separate rooms, so their apartment became a spot in which Erika became a frequent visitor, and then, at one point, stopped visiting at all. 

But that’s not the point. The point is, the apartment Joel and Cherie have picked out is much nicer than the one they’d had in college—for one, it’s more spacious, and the entire building has nice facilities and looks newer—and Cherie’s eye for interior design has only helped their cause.

“I’m glad you were able to come!” Cherie says, turning to Vincent. “Yves is always telling me about how busy you are with work.”

“He’s the one putting out all the fires,” Yves says. 

Vincent smiles, extending a hand for her to shake. “Cherie, right? It’s nice to meet you. And you’re—” He turns to Joel, with a slight sniffle. “Joel. I think we met last time.”

Cherie squeezes his hand. Joel laughs and says, “I’m surprised you remember my name.”

“He’s good with names,” Yves says. An acquired skill from all the hours of networking, probably.

“That’s a useful skill to have, especially if you’re dating Yves,” Joel says. “I swear he knows everyone.” He goes on to tell a story about how, back in university, Yves almost accidentally got elected as vice president for a business club he’d only shown up to once.

At some point into the conversation, Yves ducks into the kitchen to help with setup. He sets out the dish he’s brought—salmon sliders with mango salsa—and the beef skewers that Vincent made earlier (he’s not sure why Vincent was worried in the first place, because the skewers look very competently made). After that, he busies himself with finding a way to keep everything temporarily covered until they eat.

Something soft and fuzzy winds around his ankles.

He looks down, and the soft and fuzzy thing looks back at him with pointy triangular ears. This is news to Yves.

“You guys have a cat?!” He shouts from the kitchen, vaguely in the direction where Joel and Cherie should still be standing. “Since when?”

“Since a month ago,” Joel shouts back.

“Her name is Gingersnap,” Cherie adds. “Gin for short.”

“Oh,” Yves says, kneeling down to scratch her behind the ears. His hands are a little calloused from all the snow he’s been shoveling lately, but Gingersnap purrs anyways, evidently unbothered. “What the hell, guys, now I’m never going to be able to leave your apartment. Consider me a permanent resident.”

“Don’t threaten me with a good time,” Cherie says.

At some point, Gingersnap gets up, mewing, and heads out of the kitchen, and Yves resumes life as an active contributor to the potluck’s success. When he finishes reheating everything up, setting the table, arranging the dishes, and filling up two pitchers with iced water, he wanders back out into the living room. Vincent is there, alone, except he’s not really alone, because…

Oh.

God.

He’s kneeling down, unmoving, speaking to Gingersnap in a soft, low voice, holding out a hand for her.

She approaches him, a little tentatively, and then nuzzles her orange head into the crook of his hand. Vincent smiles—a soft, private smile. “Hi, Gin,” he says.

There’s the low, lawnmower hum of a purr as Gingersnap rolls onto the ground to let Vincent continue petting her. It’s a heartwarming sight—Vincent, from the office, crouched down to pet a cat that’s smaller than his hand. Yves thinks he might cry.

Then Vincent withdraws his hand, reaches up with an arm to swipe at his eyes. Something jolts through his shoulders, a tremor so slight that Yves wouldn’t have noticed it if he hadn’t already been watching—

“—nGkt-!”

Gingersnap mews at him, perplexed but undeterred. “Sorry,” Vincent says to her, quietly, “I’m not trying— to—” It’s all he can get out before he’s veering away again, this time with both hands tightly steepled over his nose for—

“hhIH’—GKKtt-!”

He sniffles softly, though the sniffle is immediately followed by a small, quiet cough. He reaches up with one hand to rub his nose. Yves watches his expression draw uneven, his eyebrows furrowing. 

“hhIH…”

Whatever sneeze he’s fighting seems terribly indecisive—but terribly irritating—for the way he rubs his nose again, his eyes squeezing shut in ticklish anticipation.

“HhIH… hh… HH-hhH-hHIHh—”

 He cups a hand over his mouth to muffle the sound, and not a moment too early—

“—hIHh’iiIKKTSHh-!”His shoulders jolt forwards with the force of it, though it gives him barely a moment’s reprieve before his breath hitches again, sharply, urgently. “IiI’DSZCHuuhh-!”

“Bless you,” Yves says.

Vincent turns to blink at him. His eyes are a little red-rimmed and watering. There’s a thin flush over the bridge of his nose.

“You didn’t tell me you were allergic to cats,” Yves says, rounding the corner to close the distance between them.

“Slightly allergic,” Vincent admits, turning aside with a liquid sniffle. “It’s ndot - hhIHH-! - a big deal.”

“I didn’t know Joel and Cherie had a cat,” Yves says. “I’m sorry. I would’ve told you if they did.”

“It’s fine,” Vincent says, with a laugh. “I like her.”

“You might like her, but your body doesn’t seem to be a fan.”

“It’s a good thing that I have a consciousness, so I can codtinue petting her.” Vincent sniffles again, lifting one hand to rub his nose with his index finger. Yves does not know how to even begin to tell him what an inadvisable idea that is, but either way, he doesn’t have a chance to before Vincent’s eyes graze shut, and he turns to face away from Gingersnap before he jerks forward, catching a muffled - “Hh’GKK-t!” - into a clenched fist.

“Bless you,” Yves says. “You know, you’re really not going to make the situation any better if you keep on—”

“nNGKT-!!”

“—bless you!”

“hh—hHhih’iiKKsHHhUH!” The last sneeze is noticeably harsher than the others—it sounds loud enough to scrape against his throat, which seems to be further evidenced by the small cough that succeeds it.

“I’ll ask Joel if he has any antihistamines,” Yves says. 

“It’s fide,” Vincent says. 

“If you insist on spending time with Gingersnap, wouldn’t it be better to spend it without having to sneeze?”

“I would still have to sdeeze,” Vincent says, as if he’s already experienced in the matter—briefly, Yves wonders how many cats he inadvisably plays with on a frequent basis. “Just less.”

“That would be an improvement.”

Vincent looks away. “Antihistamines mbake me tired,” he says, after a little hesitation. 

“It’s a good time to be tired,” Yves says. “It’s not like you have any pressing work to get done.”

“I want to make a good ibpression on your friends,” Vincent says, wiping at his eyes with the edge of his sleeve. “That’s ndot going to happen if I fall asleep halfway through dinner.”

“If you did, I’m sure no one would fault you for it.”

“I’ll take something after we finish eating,” Vincent says. “If things haved’t improved by then. ”

“Okay,” Yves relents, and—since it doesn’t seem like Vincent is leaving anytime soon—takes a seat next to him on the rug. It’s a compromise he can accept.

—

Nora gets there next, followed by Mikhail and then Giselle. It’s Yves’s first time formally meeting Giselle, who turns out to be very tall and a little intimidating—she’s come straight from work, so she’s dressed accordingly, and she talks with the sort of quiet authority that Yves knows is usually indicative of years of experience. Right before they sit down for dinner, Vincent ducks out into the bathroom—‘I need to look at least marginally presentable,’ he’d said, seeming like he was in a rush—so Yves saves him a seat at the table. 

“Yves,” Giselle says, taking another salmon slider. “You made these entirely from scratch? This is delicious.” 

“Thanks,” Yves says. “To be honest, it was a bit of a gamble. I wasn’t sure if the sauce was going to pair well with it.”

“Yves is really good at cooking,” Mikhail says. “That’s half the reason why I roomed with him in college.”

“So what’s the other half?” Cherie says. 

“The other half is that he lets me eat his food,” Mikhail says.

Yves laughs. “For a second, I thought you’d have something nice to say about my personality.”

“Don’t flatter yourself,” Mikhail says. 

“Yves is very good at cooking,” Vincent says, emerging from the hallway. Yves blinks at him. Whatever he’d done in the bathroom has done wonders—he looks remarkably put together. Not a strand of his hair is out of place. His eyes are dry, not red, not teary, not irritated, his collar crisply upright, his voice devoid of congestion. The only telltale sign about his ailment is the slight bit of redness to his nose, but it’s winter—that could easily be chalked up to the cold.

He slips easily into the seat next to Yves, his posture impeccable. Yves does everything in his power not to stare. 

“I think he’s responsible for some of the best hot chocolate I’ve had,” Vincent continues. That remark is surprising, too—repurposed from a memory as it is, it seems almost like something that could be genuine.

But Yves remembers how easily Vincent had lied, back on New Year’s—how easily he’d drawn the fictitious threads between them, almost thoughtlessly, as if they had always existed. 

I could make better hot chocolate, Yves thinks, before he can stop himself. I could really make the best hot chocolate you’ve ever tasted, if I just had time. It’s an absurd thought, and one that he doesn’t have much grounds for. He had been pressed for time, back then—he hadn’t known when Vincent’s ride was going to be arriving—but even if he’d really, properly tried, even if he’d succeeded in making the best hot chocolate he’s capable of making, there’s no guarantee that Vincent would’ve liked it.

He’s surprised by the pang in his chest, now, the desire to make true something that he knows to be false, to be worthy of the compliments that Vincent’s so easily spoken about.

“That’s definitely an exaggeration,” Yves says. “Technically, Mikhail didn’t even know that I knew how to cook when we signed the lease. The real reason why we roomed together is much more interesting.”

It’s a story he’s told before, though Cherie and Giselle haven’t heard it before. It’s easy to fall into it again: Mikhail and Yves met in their first year, over a group project in an intro to finance class. The two other members of their team had been dead weight, and at the time, Yves had thought—incorrectly—that Mikhail was just as bad as the rest of them.

It’s practically a comedy of errors—a series of miscommunications had led them to each finish the project independently. Yves remembers the all-nighters he’d pulled for that, nervous and over-caffeinated, until the day before the presentation, where he found that Mikhail had not—unlike the other members of their group—spent the last few weeks slacking off. 

Beside him, Vincent goes still.

When Yves chances a quick look at him, he sees: a slight, almost imperceptible ripple to his expression, before it smooths out again.

He nearly backtracks—his first thought is that perhaps something he’s said is the source of Vincent’s irritation—but then Vincent turns his face away. There’s the slightest disturbance to the line of his shoulders, and then—

“—gkT-!”

The sneeze is barely audible, stifled as it is into a half-closed palm, though the gesture is subtle, too—easily mistaken as Vincent simply looking away, resting his chin on his hand.

“I can’t believe you guys are still friends after all of that,” Nora says.

“Right,” Yves says. “I was so ready to never talk to him again. But obviously, we still had to give the presentation.”

He talks about how, in a half-asleep effort to salvage the project work, he and Mikhail had found some way to relate their findings to each other, to loosely bind the disparate subjects into a coherent thesis. Mikhail talks, too, about how they’d manipulated their presentation to get their combined work to seem sufficiently on topic.

Mikhail is halfway through his story when Yves sees Vincent jolt forward beside him.

He looks up just in time to catch the tail end of a sneeze—expertly stifled, just like the others—into a clenched fist. This one’s a little more forceful, even in its quietness—it leaves Vincent hunched over for just a moment, his shoulders slightly slumped, before he straightens again, covertly lowering his hand.

There’s a slightly hazy, distant look to his features, as if whatever’s been bothering him hasn’t begun to let up yet.

Yves nudges him with his arm. Vincent doesn’t exactly jump at the contact, but he does freeze, his shoulders stiffening.

“Hey,” Yves says, quietly enough that he doesn’t think anyone else should be able to hear. “You okay?”

Vincent nods.

“You sure you don’t want to take anything?”

Another nod. 

“I can’t tell you how little either of us proofread that paper,” Mikhail is saying.

“I reread it three months later,” Yves admits. “And he’s right. We really didn’t proofread it.” 

But it was a winning proposal, even though they’d both been too tired to realize it then. And still, Mikhail had still managed to hold a grudge against him for two long months. And then Mikhail had run into last-minute problems with his upcoming lease arrangement, and Yves had happened to find a decently priced two-bedroom apartment with no roommate, and he’d reached out half as a joke.

“You know those friends who say they can never room together?” Mikhail is saying. “Like, they hang out all the time, or they’ve been friends for years, or they trust each other with their lives, or whatever. But the second you put their living habits in close proximity, everything goes to shit? I think we were the opposite.”

“Are you sure it wasn’t just because you two never had a good enough relationship to ruin in the first place?” Nora says jokingly.

She has a point. Yves is starting to think that all of the formative relationships in his life have all happened by accident.

—

Vincent and Giselle get along very well, Yves notes, listening to the two of them talk. Halfway through dinner, they get into a heated discussion about the more outward-facing expectations at work, as Joel and Cherie exchange knowing glances. Giselle talks about feeling accountable for the team she manages—for knowing that if they don’t perform, she’ll take the fall for them; for being careful not to disperse the stress from higher ups unevenly, for constantly feeling her way through how much work is reasonable to expect of them. Vincent talks about the stress of apportioning work to others—the knowledge in his own competence and the knowledge gap when it comes to how others will handle things, the desire to take on more work alone to make sure everything is accounted for.

Nora, who’d had an internship at a different firm after each year in college, weighs in too on the management styles she’d been under, to what extent the expectations from leadership affected the dynamic between her coworkers.

It’s interesting, Yves thinks, that they all have their own subset of worries, even when they come across as people who are so certain of themselves.

As the others speak, Vincent stops periodically to rub his nose with the knuckle of his index finger—an action that always seems to keep the irritation at bay, but never seems to mitigate it entirely. For a moment, his expression goes hazy, his eyes watering ever so slightly, but it always lasts only a moment.

When Mikhail cracks a joke that has the entire table laughing, Vincent takes the opportunity to cough quietly into an upheld fist. When Cherie talks about her and Joel’s extremely mathematical efforts to fit everything into the car before moving, Vincent turns aside, raising a napkin to his face with a quiet, well-contained sniffle.

It’s difficult to tell, at first. But his attempts to keep quiet, to succumb to his symptoms as inconspicuously as possible, take their toll on him. Every time he jerks forward with a near-silent stifle, Yves can tell, by Vincent’s expression when he emerges, that it’s just short of relieving.  Every sniffle seems to only add on to the mounting congestion, in the long run. It’s a slow, almost imperceptible unraveling.

And yet, when Yves asks about it—when he offers to ask the others for antihistamines, or when he offers to make the drive to a convenience store himself; when he suggests that they go out to get some fresh air—he’s always faced with the same nonanswer, the same dismissive, I’ll be fine. The same persistent, Don’t worry about it.

So Yves doesn’t worry about it, for now—at least, not outwardly.

—

At some point after dinner, they disperse. Yves talks to Joel and Cherie about the apartment, about the pains of moving in, about the other places they’d considered and about why this one had been at the top of the list. Then about the cat— “we had been talking about getting one,” Cherie says. “And then one day Joel was wandering around downtown, and one of the pet shops there was holding an adoption event, and then when I got home there was a cat in the living room.”

“He didn’t call you to come pick out a cat with him?”

“Have you ever heard of ‘ask for forgiveness, not permission?’” Joel says. 

“He texted me before he brought her home,” Cherie says, and scrolls through her phone until she finds a text that says: Would you kill me if I brought home a cat. Just asking for a friend. And hypothetically if we extended this thought experiment it would be an orange cat that’s 2 months old.

“That sounds like a text from someone who’s absolutely decided already,” Yves says. “Ask for forgiveness, huh? So how’s the forgiveness going?”

“I let her name her,” Joel says.

“He’s on litter box duty for the next six months,” Cherie says.

On the other side of the room, Mikhail and Vincent are having a conversation—it could be because Vincent is the person in the room that Mikhail has talked to least, to date, but Yves has a feeling that it’s so that Mikhail can gain embarrassing intel on what Yves has been doing for the past few months.

Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Vincent turn away, his eyebrows drawing together, raising both his hands to his face to catch a sneeze into steepled hands. Then, not a moment later, his shoulders shudder forward with another.

“Totally off topic,” Yves says, to Joel and Cherie. “Do you guys have any antihistamines?”

“I think we have some Benadryl,” Cherie says. “It should be in the bathroom cabinet, behind the mirror.”

He does find it there, eventually—next to a box of band-aids and a small cylindrical container of cotton swabs. Perhaps he’ll hand it to Vincent, discreetly, when he’s done talking to Mikhail. Vincent had said antihistamines made him tired, but now that dinner is over, it shouldn’t be an issue—Yves suspects people will start heading out soon, and he’ll be the one driving, anyways.

When he steps out into the hallway, Mikhail and Vincent are in the middle of a conversation. It’s a conversation Yves has every intention of interrupting, and no intention of eavesdropping on, until he overhears—

“So,” Mikhail says, “When you first started dating Yves, what was it that you saw in him?”

Yves winces. That’s certainly not an easy question to answer—he and Vincent don’t know each other all that well, and any planning they have done on the basis of their fake relationship has been almost entirely centered around logistics—events, important dates, flagship moments in the relationship, trivia-worthy personal details. Not… this.

But Vincent just laughs, seemingly unfazed. “Honestly, if I told you everything I liked about Yves, you’d want to date him too.”

“That’s a tall claim,” Mikhail says. Yves is positively certain that no permutation of words in the universe could make Mikhail want to date him. “You can’t just say that and not give any examples.”

“I guess Yves is a very considerate person,” Vincent says, with a sniffle. “It actually confused me, at first. When I was growing up, after I moved here from Korea, I was brought up in the sort of environment where there was always an expectation for self-sufficiency. It didn’t matter how young I was, I guess—there were certain things I was expected to know, and certain things I was expected to teach myself.”

Something about his expression looks wistful, if not a little sad. But perhaps this is a trick of the light; perhaps his eyes are just watering from earlier. “My parents trusted me with a lot of things, but it was the kind of trust where they weren’t planning on filling in the gaps for me if I fell short.” 

“I know what you mean,” Mikhail says. “That must’ve been difficult.”

“It wasn’t easy,” Vincent says. “But I’m not telling you this because it was a burden to me, or anything. Back then, it was all that I had ever known. It was normal to me, then, because it was inevitable.”

“Yves is a very different person than I am,” Vincent says. “At times, when I was growing up, it felt like kindness was always something that had to be calculated.”

He pauses, sniffling again, before he raises his arm to his face with a forceful—

“hIhh’GKT-! Hh… hh-HHih’NGKktshH!”

“Bless you,” Mikhail says reflexively.

“Thadk you,” Vincent says, sniffling. He lowers his arm. “I was always taught that if you lend a hand to someone else, you have to make sure their success is not the thing that robs you of your spot—that sort of thing. But Yves is kind even without thinking about it. He’s kind even when there’s nothing in it for him.”

“So that was what made you develop feelings for him?” Mikhail asks.

“Eventually, yes,” Vincent says. “At first, I thought that we were irreconcilably different.”

“What changed?”

“Yves is an easy person to like, romantically or otherwise,” Vincent says. “It’s a little disarming to be on the receiving end of his type of kindness. And I think that’s ultimately what made me start liking him. He’s just the sort of selfless person you can’t help but admire, if that makes sense. It’s like—when someone does so much for you out of sheer selflessness, at some point, you start wanting to be a part of their happiness too.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Yves sees a small orange blur—mostly fluff, on four short white legs, with two pointy ears—bound from the kitchen into the living room.

“I get it,” Mikhail says. “That’s an interesting answer. It makes me hopeful that Yves might’ve stumbled into a relationship that will be very good for him.”

That’s a statement he’ll have to revise, Yves thinks wryly, in a few months, whenever it stops being practical for Vincent to keep up this act.

“Oh,” Vincent says, blinking. “What makes you say that?”

“When he and Erika broke up, he was—” Mikhail pauses, briefly, and Yves is thinking about the many embarrassing—but completely, verifiably true—ways he could finish off that sentence. “—he was pretty upset,” Mikhail says, instead, which Yves decides is suitably merciful.

“Look, what’s between them is between them—I’m not going to claim I know all the ins and outs of their relationship. But given that Yves was living with me for much of the time that he and Erika were dating, I’ve seen them interact more times than I can count.”

“I don’t think Erika is a bad person,” he continues. “She’s very ambitious, which I think was good for Yves back when they first started dating. But I don’t think she recognized those things about him—how much he cares for others, how much he gives people the benefit of the doubt, how much he… well, frankly, how much bullshit he’s willing to endure on his end. I think she took his kindness for granted, a little bit, and she certainly didn’t go out of her way to reciprocate.”

“What I’m saying is, I’m glad he met you,” Mikhail says. Beside him, something small and orange hops onto the couch they’re standing next to. “I can tell that what you said was sincere.” 

If even Mikhail thought he was being sincere, perhaps Vincent is a little too good of an actor.

“Obviously, it’s early for me to be saying this, so you can take it with a grain of salt,” Mikhail continues. “But I think you could be kind to him in the way he deserves.”

The sentence feels like a punch to the stomach.

And—well.

I’m glad he met you. I think you could be kind to him in the way he deserves.

Yves has really dug himself into this hole, hasn’t he?

Mikhail thinks that Vincent is good for him—Mikhail, one of Yves’s closest friends, someone who is by no means quick to express his approval over whoever Yves is seeing—which means that when they inevitably stage their breakup, Yves is never going to hear the end of it.

Is it cruel to be taking Vincent to all of these events, to be introducing him to all of his friends, when—after the impending breakup—Vincent might never see any of them again? Is it cruel that Mikhail likes Vincent enough to be hopeful that this is going to last?

Yves doesn’t have time to contemplate it more when three things happen.

One—Gingersnap, who is still perched at the very top of the couch, nudges her face against Vincent’s arm and mews softly at him.

Two—Vincent stops what he’s doing to reach out slowly, cautiously, to scratch gently at the fur under her chin. Gingersnap purrs, leaning her head into his hand.

Three—Vincent withdraws his hand, suddenly, as if he’s been burned, twisting away reflexively. He lifts his hand—the same hand he’s been petting Gingersnap with (probably inadvisably) to his face, to cover a resounding—

“hh—hiHH-hHihh’iIZSChHH-uhh! snf-!”

The sneeze sounds ticklish and barely relieving, as if he’s been holding it in all afternoon. 

It’s only a few moments later that Vincent’s jerking forward with another ticklish, wrenching, “hh… hhiHH… NgKT-!—hh’hiiIIIK’TSCHhuhH! snf-! hiIh… hIIIH-IITSCHh’yyue!”

“Oh,” Mikhail says, finally comprehending. “You’re allergic to cats?”

“Just slightly— hIh… hH- Hiih—hhH’nNGkT-!” Vincent sniffles wetly, rubbing his nose with the back of his hand. “Sorry to - hh-! - cut our codversatiod short - hH… I… hhiHh’IiKSHhuh! Excuse mbe… hH… Hhh-! I’mb going to rund to the bathroom… hh… hhiIh… hh-HIih’iiIK’SHhUHhh!”

Yves ducks out into the kitchen before Vincent has a chance to head his way. He busies himself with removing a glass from the cabinet and filling it with water, Somewhere behind him, he hears the bathroom door click shut, hears the slightly muffled sound of a sneeze, then another.

He shuts his eyes.

Vincent had said that it was fine. Should Yves have insisted? It’s Yves’s fault, again, that Vincent is in this situation, but then again, he couldn’t have known—both that Joel and Cherie would have a cat, and that Vincent would like her so much. Either way, Yves can’t help but feel partially responsible.

But would it be strange, now, to offer Vincent something to take for it, to openly acknowledge his affliction? Should he have done something earlier? Or should he wait to acknowledge it after they leave?

Against all doubt, he finds himself outside of the bathroom door.

Yves knocks.

There’s the sound of water running, inside, and then the sound of the faucet being turned to shut. Then there’s a brief pause. Yves is contemplating knocking again when the door opens just a crack.

There, Vincent stands, his eyes a little watery still, his nose just slightly redder than usual, his hair slightly out of place—he’s just washed his face, then.

“Yves,” Vincent says.

“Um,” Yves says, holding out the glass of water and, next to it, the bottle of Benadryl. “Thought you could use these.”

Vincent takes the cup, a little hesitantly, and sets it on the bathroom counter. Then he takes the bottle of allergy medicine, unscrews the cap, and removes two small pink pills.

“Thank you,” he says. Yves thinks he’s about to take a sip when he twists to the side suddenly, his eyes squeezing shut, snapping forward with a loud—

“hIIH’IIKKSHh’hUh!”

The hand he’s holding the cup with trembles a bit with the action, but the water inside doesn’t spill. 

“Bless you,” Yves says, taking the cup from him, before—

“hIHH… hh-Hhih’iISCHhh’Uhh!”

“Bless you!”

The only acknowledgment Vincent gives him is to take the cup back from him, sniffling, and down the pills in one quick, decisive sip.

“They’ll take some time to take effect,” Yves says, though he’s sure that Vincent knows that already, for the way he knew to take two, even without reading the label on the bottle. “Are you okay?”

“It’s been awhile since my last edcounter with a cat,” Vincent says, sniffling. 

“You forgot how bad it was?”

“It gets better with exposure,” he says. And worse without.

Yves says, “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry. I really didn’t know they’d have a cat.”

“Even if you’d known, I ndever told you I was allergic,” Vincent says. “It’s fine.”

“I should’ve thought to check. Seriously, a housewarming party—”

“I told you, snf, I like cats,” Vincent says, clearing his throat. “So it’s fine.”

Yves looks around—at the bathroom, which looks just as pristine as he’d left it earlier, except that the tissue box on the bathroom counter is a little askew. At the slight tiredness to Vincent’s posture, even as he looks off to the side, tilting his glasses up to his forehead to swipe at his eyes with his sleeve.

“Do you want to get out of here?“ Yves says.

“I cad stay,” Vincent says, as if he really is willing to, despite the side effects. “Do you want to stay longer?”

I want you to be comfortable, Yves wants to say. 

Instead, he says, “I think I’ve just about caught up with everyone. Besides, we have work tomorrow, and I think Cherie and Joel do too, so I don’t want to stay too late, you know?”

“Okay,” Vincent says. 

“I’m happy you came,” Yves says, stepping past Vincent to put the bottle of Benadryl back into its original spot, where he found it. He snags the glass from the counter on his way out.

“Your friends are a fun crowd,” Vincent says, following him out.

Yves laughs. “I think just between you and me, Mikhail has been dying to interrogate you about this relationship.”

“He did idterrogate me,” Vincent says. “How much of it did you overhear?”

“What?”

“When you were standing out in the hallway.”

Oh. Well, perhaps he hadn’t been as discreet about eavesdropping as he’d thought. Yves says, “Okay, you got me. I heard a good amount.”

“I don’t think Mikhail noticed you there, if you’re worried,” Vincent says. “In any case, it doesd’t matter if you overheard. It was just the same story.”

They step out into the hallway. Giselle has left, already, to be home in time for a cross-timezone call with a team that works somewhere halfway across the world. Yves bids everyone else a goodbye (Cherie and Joel thank him for coming, and Cherie hugs him and Vincent both on the way out; Nora asks Vincent to send her a recipe to his beef skewers, to which Vincent admits sheepishly that he stole from a cookbook, to which Nora says “making it successfully is half the work;” Mikhail says, “If you and Vincent get a place too, I want to be invited to your housewarming party.”)

On the way out, Yves grabs both of their coats off from where they’re hanging in a closet next to the front door, and hands Vincent’s coat to him. There’s never much street parking by the apartment, so the car is parked a couple blocks down, and it’s cold enough to be worth bundling up.

“You’re very good at lying,” Yves says, when he’s sure that the door is shut behind them.

Outside, it’s snowing just a little. Snow falls from the sky in thick white flakes. Vincent pulls his hood over his shoulders, sniffling a little—though whether that’s from the cold or from the allergies, Yves can’t be sure. “Is that a compliment or an insult?”

“Definitely a compliment. I just mean, you play the part really well.”

“So instead of being a good boyfriend, I’m a good fake boyfriend,” Vincent says, lifting his sleeve to his face to muffle a cough into it. “Somehow, that seems much less impressive.”

“It’s arguably more impressive,” Yves says. “It definitely requires a different subset of skills.”

Vincent is quiet for a moment. When Yves looks over, he sees Vincent raise both hands to his face, steepling them over his nose, his eyes fluttering shut.

“hHh… hHh’iiiIKKSshh’uhh!”

“Bless you,” Yves says. 

“Ndot— hh… hHh… done — hH-hhIh’nGKKTsHuuh! hHh-hH’IIZSCHHhhuh!”

“Bless you! Cats, huh?”

Vincent hums. It’s snowed all through dinner—the snow under their feet coats the sidewalk, powdery and untouched. Their shoes sink into it while they walk.

“I didn’t know you used to live in Korea,” Yves says.

“It’s not a secret, snf-!,” Vincent says. “But I ndever found an occasion to bring it up.” 

Yves can think of a hundred things to say—how it’s strange only learning this information secondhand; it’s strange to play the part of someone who knows Vincent and knows him intimately, and to know so little about him, at the core of it. Isn’t it like that, with coworkers? The only window he has to Vincent’s life is made up of the things Vincent has chosen to share with him—over small talk in the break room, or conversationally over their outings, or during longer drives.

He knows an assortment of trivia, like Vincent’s favorite color (green) or Vincent’s birthday (March 15th) or the number of siblings Vincent has (one), or when he had his first kiss (during his first year in university) or his least favorite chore (vacuuming) or how he spends his weekends (generally at the library downtown, catching up on work or working on his personal projects). But even that was only for the sake of having something to say if his friends asked him—of having a basic understanding of his supposed partner that Vincent could later corroborate.

“Was it very different there?”

“I moved here when I was pretty young,” Vincent says. “But it was very different.”

When Yves looks over, there’s something complicated to Vincent’s expression that gives him pause. “Back then, I was young enough that everything was new to me. So the cultural shift wasn’t as pronounced for me as it was for the rest of the family. I think that’s why they moved back, eventually.”

“Did that happen recently?”

“They moved back just six years after we came here,” he says. “I was in high school at the time, so I stayed with my aunt to continue my education here.”

“Was it difficult living here on your own?”

“Is this useful to you?”

Yves blinks, taken aback. “Sorry?”

“Is this information useful to you?” Vincent says, looking over at him. His glasses have fogged up a little in the cold.  “Do you think your friends are going to ask about it?”

“It’s—not exactly useful in that sense,” Yves says, backtracking. “I just wanted to know. But you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

That’s right, he reminds himself—he and Vincent are only doing this for appearances’ sake. 

“I got used to it,” Vincent says, finally, which isn’t exactly an answer. “It’s hard to say if—hold on, I— hh-!”

Yves sees him duck off to the side, raising his arm to his face.

“Bless you—!”

“hh-Hhiih’IIZSCHh’uhH!”

The sneeze is muffled slightly into his sleeve. Vincent sniffles, keeping his arm clamped to his face for a moment, in trepidation, before dropping it to his side.

“Apologies, snf-!,” he says, as if he has anything to apologize for. “It’s hard to say if things would’ve been better if I’d gone back with them to Korea. I just know things would’ve been different.”

Yves doesn’t know what to say to that. It feels like something that Vincent has thought about for years, something that Yves couldn’t even begin to comprehend—growing up here, alone. Away from his family, in a country foreign to him, with his family all the way on the other side of the Pacific ocean; staying with a stranger. To say that it had to have been difficult would be a vast understatement. 

Had he doubted himself, then? Had it been his idea to stay here, in the States? Had his parents told him it was for the best? Had he argued with them on the subject? Had they listened?

“Do you think you’re happy enough now to justify that decision?” Yves asks.

Vincent is quiet for a bit. Around them, the snow continues to fall, silent and slow, listing upwards on every updrift. “Sometimes,” he says.

—

When they get back to the car, Vincent is quiet. The car is frigid, the window panes cold enough to fog up when Yves puts his hand on them—he puts the heaters on to the highest setting. If anything, being out of the cold seems to make Vincent’s nose run even more—a fact which he carefully obscures, resting his face on the palm of his hand with a few muffled sniffles.

“Thanks again for coming,” Yves says. “I know I—and everyone else—already said that to you like a hundred times. But I mean it.”

“It’s ndo problem, snf,” Vincent says. “I’ll be sure to avoid putting you into contact with cats in the future,” Yves says.

“There’s ndo need for that.”

“While we’re at it, is there anything else you’re allergic to?”

“Not much,” Vincent says. “Unless you pland on getting rid of the entire season of spring.”

“That’s secretly why you chose an office job,” Yves says. “So you could avoid all the pollen by staying inside all day.”

“Busy season was - snf-! - idvented solely for that purpose,” Vincent says.

It’s barely a couple minutes into the drive when Vincent stifles a yawn into his fist.

“Are you tired?” Yves asks. “I mean, you did say that thing about antihistamines making you tired.”

“Wide awake,” Vincent says, before—moments later—hiding another yawn behind a cupped hand.

“Evidently,” Yves says, which earns him a quiet laugh.

“Tell me if you ndeed me,” Vincent says, leaning his head lightly on the passenger seat window. As if this is work, or something. As if Yves could have any conceivable reason to need him during the drive home.

“Not at all,” Yves says. “As a matter of fact, it’d probably be a good thing if you close your eyes. You wouldn’t have to look at all this traffic.” It’s a little past rush hour, but traffic is only just starting to clear up, and driving in the city at any hour has never been a particularly pleasant experience.

Vincent opens his eyes. “Do you wadt me to help navigate?”

“I want you to sleep,” Yves says. “I’m an expert at handling traffic.”

It’s as if all this time, Vincent was merely waiting for permission. Yves isn’t certain if he’s asleep, but he certainly looks to be—when Yves sneaks a glance at him, his eyes are shut, his shoulders slack, and his breathing has evened out. It’s an image Yves wants to thoroughly take in—the slow rise of his chest, his eyelashes fanned out over his cheeks. 

Instead, he drives. Instead, he stares hard at the rows and rows of cars before him, at every traffic light, and tries not to think about—

Vincent, at the housewarming party, kneeling down to pet a cat smaller than his hand, despite being well aware of the consequences.

Vincent, calling Yves kind even without thinking about it, talking about him—about his best qualities—with near-artful dishonesty.

Vincent, walking beside him in the snow, talking candidly about growing up here; the unspoken understanding between them about how much he must’ve given up.

That Vincent, the same Vincent from work, asleep in Yves’s passenger seat, while Yves drives him home.

Yves can’t help but think that if he caught feelings for someone like Vincent, Erika would be the least of his problems.

[castlebyersafterdark]

I feel like Noah isn't going to need to talk about Finn being a good kisser because we are all going to see that on screen. When actors have great chemistry it's so damn obvious and they work so well together it's all the audience talks about. Noah and Finn have much better chemistry than Finn and Millie do. Not to mention they are older and will potentially have more of a sexual chemistry. The audience is going to bring up these moments on their own and Noah won't exactly have to "set the record straight". I'm thinking about Kerry Washington and Tony Goldwyn in Scandal who had amazing chemistry, both romantic and sexual to the point where the whole audience did nothing but ship them together in real life because it was so hot. People were demanding more scenes with them because they worked so well on screen. There are dozens of examples of acting pairs getting shipped in real life because they work well on screen together and I think Noah and Finn will end up in that category without staging a conversation about who kisses well. It will speak for itself. I think the only reason Millie got asked about Finn's kissing is because on some level, the audience knows something is just off about mileven and it's awkward as fuck to watch. Instead of realizing that is for a plot specific reason, they are trying to blame the actors and since Finn got bad actor allegations against him (for the same reason - mileven is intentionally bad but the audience can't figure this out) he got the blame for the awkward kissing. Will and Mike have a different relationship than Mike and El. And the actors have a different relationship and vibe. It's going to come across very differently on screen for a number of reasons. So I don't think it's going to be a situation where Noah has to clear the air and defend Finn, so much as the audience collectively realizing a bunch of things at once - that mileven was 13 and wasn't going to be hot or romantic, that it's a stage kiss between kids, that Millie saying that was awkward (and kinda rude) and she shouldn't have.

I feel like Noah isn't going to need to talk about Finn being a good kisser because we are all going to see that on screen. When actors have great chemistry it's so damn obvious and they work so well together it's all the audience talks about.

This is really true, to be honest. We're going to see it!! So, what's to ask?? The chemistry is the big thing. Honestly, what's been lacking with Mike and Eleven most most of the time. And chemistry doesn't always have to be sexual, truly. Especially when they were younger. I thought season one Mike and El did have chemistry - and not necessarily romantic. They worked as a duo, for the most part. You could see the friendship forming. That's important. Season three?? I saw no romantic chemistry.

Season 2 Byler? Their friendship chemistry was amaaaaazing. And they had more chemistry fighting than Mike and El had as a couple all of season 3! And then the issue is that in season 4.... the romantic and friendship and beginning stages of sexual chemistry, at that age where all of these things start to entwine... Mike and Will have it. Mike and El, hmmm. Not really. So we can see where it's heading. It's just the mood. Observable, really.

Also think you're onto something with the "why was this so awkward" regarding Millie and Finn's lack of chemistry on screen. Purposeful, but generally it's not being looked at because the obvious possibility is not considered, the alternative is either simply not seen due to status quo or heteronormativity or ignorance or SOMETHING - all true. All so true.

[sakebytheriver]

Thoughts on the Abbott sunny crossover now that it's actually out

Hello, my beloved mutual, whom I adore

Before we begin, I would just like to set the stage for the environment I was in when I saw this ask, on January 8th, 2025, first off, I live in LA so there were fires raging around us and I'm watching a live news coverage of the fires, decide to check my tumblr notes because what else can I do in this situation, see your ask, get excited about the episode right before seeing a collumn of smoke outside my window fairly nearby all things considered, I go to tell my roommate about the suspiciously fire shaped orange lights underneath the smoek collumn off in the distance, we worry about evacuation once more, before once again deciding to remain where we are and he suggests we play some Wii and I say "yeah let's!" I turn on our tv and it loads the roku menu right off the bat, so I think of your ask and say to my roommate "wait let's watch this random sitcom crossover episode first" he humors me and my excitement over this meaningless sitcom crossover, one of the shows he has not watched, you see, he has no knowledge of It's Always Sunny nor my unhealthy relationship to the fictional character Charles Kellyford, I pull up Abott Elementary on Hulu and I see the new episode and I click on it. Nothing occurs. I click again. Once more Nothing, my roommate sees the label above the epsiode,

"Available January 9th at 2AM"

I.

was.

Devestated.

We then proceeded to have problems plugging in our Wii while we watched that fire in the distance from our window, but we played Wii sports for several hours before said fire died down and we both proceeded to make our own individual frozen pizzas

Crossover episode still several hours away from availability, roommate's eye now slightly damaged from Wii sports incident

...

Ok. Here i am, many many hours later, because I took some benadryl and passed out before 2AM and I have now watched the crossover

First thoughts: I like it! 😁

I had fun, I think they did a pretty good job of making it feel like an Abbott Elementary episode that just so happened to have Sunny characters plopped in, like a version of It's Always Sunny but from the point of view of the people the gang interacts with, but with the added benefit of those messed with characters having several seasons of a show and emotional connection built between them and the audience in a way one episode side characters would never be able to accomplish. Using the Abbott characters we all love to give a little taste of what it's like to be on the other side of that interaction with It's Always Sunny gang and see just how baffling and chaotic these random strangers with criminal records and lots of issues can be when they just somehow show up in your life all of a sudden. I do think it was a little congested and the pacing was pretty rapid fire, but they were trying to combine two entire sitcom casts and they have to give every character something to do in only the span of twenty minutes, these constraints were to be expected and I was preparing for much worse truly

I think they did a good job of combining characters and finding the right combinations of It's Always Sunny characters to work with the Abbott characters,

Mr. Johnson and Frank should probably just have their own spinoff at this point, like I wanna see those two go out together on a Saturday night so bad, it would be disgisting, but it would also be glorious

Dee and Janine was honestly so bigbrained of them, like of course they'd click before Dee blows it up because Greg's a hunk that's a totally on point Dee move right there

Mac and Ava was something I did not see coming and honestly? I wish Abbott could be just like a little more problematic so we could have had like Mac at his gayest with Ava going full fag hag. Like those two at the club???? The power would be unmatched and you all know it

There's definitely a plot in here somewhere with Mac and Jacob recognizing each other at The Rainbow now and I've gotta wonder how low into his rock bottom will Jacob need to get to actually drink enough to go home with Mac

And of course, my boy, my skrunkle, the blorbo that ruined my life Charlie Kelly, I'm so proud of him and I'm so glad he ultimately learned Nothing, because my boy is nothing if he's not stupid ☺️❤️ Barbara, Melissa, and Jacob being the ones to teach him was also just like so, 'yeah that makes sense', of course Jacob would notice Charlie's illiteracy and then of course he'd go to Melissa and Melissa would go to Barbara and the three of them would turn Charlie into their pet project of the day as they do when those three put their heads together. Jacob's like their over eager son who comes up to them with his newest fixation of the day and they roll their eyes at him before ultimately joining his quest, I also love the fact that they all seemingly put their classes on hold and brought them to the library just to watch this criminal adult read a book about birds

I liked how they had Dennis avoid the cameras, it was in character and was also a great way to decongest the screen a bit, I'm guessing they had him hide so that in the It's Always Sunny version of the crossover we'll follow Dennis and what he's doing behind the scenes (I hope they show a camera guy on screen and Dennis hiding from him, like I can just imagine a camera guy walking past a little alcove and then Dennis slides out the second after he's off screen in that slippery snake way he does), have him talk about how they need to get out of there while Charlie says he likes it here because he's learning to read, Dee says she has to stay long enough to get Greg to fall in love with her, Frank says he's staying long enough to prove that no good Mr. Johnson wrong, and Mac says he's doing everything he can sucking up to Ava and if Dennis would just Help Him they could get out of there sooner. And then Dennis calls them all a bunch of insults in his Dennis way before coming up with his own overly complicated and ultimately unsuccessful plan to get them out of their community service, maybe he's responsible for that random ass graduation ceremony they had for Charlie as a part of his big scheme or something, because honestly, man, what was that?? 😭

Ultimately I think it was pretty good, like I said the biggest issues were the congestion and the pacing, but considering the time crunch and the number of characters it could have been much much worse, I definitely think there were a lot of plot threads and stories they only just touched the surface of and maybe the Sunny side of the crossover will delve deeper into the stuff they set up in this episode, but it just feels like they were trying really hard to cram a lot of stuff into one episode and if they had been given a second one, been able to make this a two-part Abbott special I think all of the congestion and pacing issues would be resolved so easy, but as it stands it's still a very well executed episode/story 😁

I'm excited for the Sunny side of the crossover, I want to see the other point of view now, like the premise of these crossovers are basically "The Best People in Philly Meet The Worst People in Philly" and I've gotta know what those awful awful people think of all those goody two shoes 😂

[ivpapaemeritusiv]

 Chapter 28: Meliora

Summary: In this chapter, Addeline gives birth to her fifth child, but it doesn't go as smoothly as she had planned!

Word Count: 2,500 Words

In this chapter, we see Addy and Swiss welcome their child into the world. We have no reason to believe that the delivery won't be a smooth one except for the fact that this is Addy and of course something is going to happen.

The 2027 North American tour began without a hitch. Being pregnant, Addy had to watch most of it from the sidelines, but she enjoyed the show, nonetheless. During their show in Tampa, she even got a chance to catch up with Ellie, who was taken aback by Kaisarion's growth and even more astonished to discover her friend expecting her fifth child.

Their destination in Europe proved much more eventful. Finding themselves in France, Addeline was lending a hand to the crew, helping them unload their instruments for a show that night. Despite all the warnings about lifting heavy equipment at nine months pregnant, Addy’s stubbornness could not be swayed. She was three days away from her due date, an accomplishment that filled her heart with immeasurable pride.

She was helping Mountain lift his drum set into the bus when she felt a gush of water drench her feet. Mountain felt the splash of water and quickly jumped back, “Gross, Addy! You got your baby juice on me.”

“Shit!” the woman said. She was nervous but this nervousness was not like before. This time, her nerves were different. She wasn’t afraid for her baby’s life but rather fortunate and thrilled about the upcoming birth.

Having experienced a natural birth and two preterm births before, she was now grateful for the opportunity to have a normal, full-term pregnancy in the hospital with pain management tailored to her preferences.

“Mountain,” she regretfully informed him, “I’m sorry but I gotta go.”

“Yeah!” he shouted with a know-it-all tone, “Don’t worry about it! Go find your baby daddy!” He yelled good luck as the woman vanished from sight.

In the intensity of the moment, she completely forgot about the need to search for Papa Emeritus. Instead, she began feverishly searching for Swiss, asking everyone she encountered on her way back into the venue if they had seen the ghoul. With the help of a few kind souls, she was pointed onto the right path, and she hurriedly followed their directions, determined to find him back on stage. As she ran towards him, he extended his arms, bracing himself for the impact of her full-force sprint. He eagerly wanted to catch her when she reached him.

Just as she found her way into his arms, she couldn’t contain the news any longer and blurted out that her water had broken. Suddenly, Papa emerged from behind the curtain. Swiss placed his hands on Addy’s stomach as Papa rushed to his wife, unable to contain his excitement. He didn’t even mention the mix-up with Swiss because he was so overjoyed.

Addy was aware of Swiss’s strong desire to be present for the birth of their son. She pondered on a way to subtly prompt Papa to extend an invitation to him to the hospital. Unlike with the twins, where it happened organically, she wanted to avoid any suspicion of a secret relationship.

Fortunately, they wouldn’t need to plot. Addy felt an intense pressure building inside her, reminiscent of the moment when a baby begins to crown. It’s impossible, she thought, realizing she hadn’t felt any contractions yet. Her water had just broken, so how could she bypass the typical stages of labor? Reflecting on the past two days, she pondered if the mild cramping she had felt could have been contractions.

Swiss quickly understood Addy’s distress and exchanged a knowing glance with her. “GO GET THE PARAMEDICS OVER HERE,” he shouted to a random passerby. Then, he turned to Addeline and Papa and began to give them directions, “Okay, Addy, you need to lay down and spread your legs. Cardinal, you need to check to see if the baby is crowning.” The urgency in his voice was evident as they all sprang into action.

Papa swiftly obeyed the man’s instructions, lifting up Addy’s dress and confirming what she had felt, “I see the head,” he revealed, his nervousness evident, “What do we do?” he asked anxiously.

“We wait for the medics to get here,” Swiss reassured him.

Addy’s discomfort intensified as the labor pains finally found her, and still, no one had come to help.

“Shit!” Swiss exclaimed, frustration evident in his voice.

A crowd had gathered around the young woman by this time. The passerby returned with news that the medics were unavailable.

“Shit, shit!” Swiss repeated, feeling the weight of the situation, “Does anyone here know how to deliver a baby?” He was hopeful that at least one person in the crowd had experience.

When no one volunteered, Swiss turned to Papa. “Cardinal, I’m going to need you to trust me,” he said urgently.

Papa, already on the verge of a breakdown, asked, “What do you mean, trust you?”

Both Papa and Addy were overwhelmed, tears streaming down the young woman’s face as she realized that this birth was not going as planned either.

Swiss, being observant and resourceful recalled every detail of the twins’ birth. He quickly recognized Aether in the crowd and asked his fellow ghoul to call an ambulance immediately. He knelt between Addy’s legs and reassured her, “Okay, Adds, listen to me. You know what to do, okay? When you feel a contraction, you push, and I’ll count to three. Got it?”

Addy, her face a mess of emotions, looked down at him and nodded, indicating that she understood. The Cardinal stepped aside, putting all his trust in the multi-ghoul.

Swiss heard Addy’s moans and asked, “Is that a contraction?” She nodded in confirmation. “Then push, now!” he urged. Addy pushed with determination as the crowd gathered around. Cirrus had arrived at the scene and knelt beside Swiss to offer support. She was amazed by his bravery and ability to take charge in an emergency. She couldn’t help but feel a sense of delight seeing him deliver his own child.

This pattern continued for what felt like an eternity, with Addeline pushing longer than ever before. Tensions ran high as Papa, who had been quietly supporting his wife, finally broke the silence, asking, “Is everything okay? Why is it taking so long?”

In the midst of the anxiety, Swiss remained calm and confidently announced, “I got it! The shoulders are out!”

Suddenly, the tense atmosphere transformed into a defining moment for the crowd, who had become fully invested in the well-being of the mother and baby.

“Addy, one more push!” Swiss encouraged. With one final, determined push, Swiss skillfully delivered a baby boy, and the joy in his eyes was undeniable. Cirrus let out a sigh of relief and rushed to check on Addy, while Papa hurried to Swiss to ensure the newborn was okay. Swiss couldn’t help but admire the child’s precious facial features.

In that moment, the question that had been on everyone’s mind was finally answered. This baby, with his mixed features including his skin color, was undoubtedly Swiss’s child. The resemblance was clear to everyone except Papa.

Swiss and Cirrus exchanged glances, their unspoken understanding spoke volumes. They shared a look filled with both worry and hope, silently communicating their uncertainty about whether Papa would notice the resemblance.

Papa, unaware of the cryptic conversation, took the baby from Swiss and knelt beside Addy, asking, “My darling, what’s his name?”

Addy, noticing the surprised look on Swiss’s face, mirrored his expression as she laid eyes upon her son. Swiftly wiping away her own look of dread, she confidently answered, “His name is Meliora.”

As the ambulance arrived to take Addy and the baby to the hospital, Addy silently bid farewell to Swiss. They gently placed her and the baby on a stretcher for transport, with only Papa allowed to accompany them. Cirrus, sensing Swiss’s sadness, placed a comforting hand on his shoulder and offered words of encouragement, saying, “You did amazing, Dad.” Swiss looked into Cirrus’s eyes and planted a friendly kiss on top of her head. The two embraced tightly, displaying a strong bond of friendship.

Swiss and Cirrus arrived at the hospital shortly after the ambulance whisked Addeline away. Cirrus remained calm while the frantic man rushed up to the lobby desk demanding to know where the maternity ward was, "I'm looking for an Addeline Copia," he shouted.

The unphased receptionist pointed the two in the right direction.

As Swiss's nerves got the better of him, Cirrus begged him to calm down, "Get it together, dude. She's in a room. She's not going anywhere."

"I know, I know," he boasted, "I'm just excited to see my son."

Cirrus whipped her head around, "He’s not your son, here, Swiss. He’s Copia’s. Don’t let your emotions give yourself away.”

Swiss having to maintain the pretense that the child belonged to another man definitely cast a shadow over his mood, “I guess we can just call you little sunshine,” he snapped back.

Addeline was sitting on the bed with Meliora when the ghoul and ghoulette walked in. a wide smile lighting up her face upon seeing Swiss. The scene was heartwarming as Swiss extended his arms to welcome the new bundle of joy. With a natural ease, he took the child from Addy, cradling the infant gently as if it were second nature to him. "Hey little man," he whispered, tenderly playing with the baby's tiny fingers.

Wanting to remind Swiss of what they discussed, Cirrus asked, "Where is Papa Emeritus?"

"He stepped out to call Sister Imperator," Addeline said.

Swiss remained unphased by her words. He had seen Addy give birth before, he witnessed the growth of all her children, always there for the highs and lows, but the moment he gazed down at his own flesh and blood, the magic he felt was unparalleled. The realization that he had created this life filled him with a profound sense of wonder. Even Cirrus couldn’t help but smile.

The ghoulette turned to look at Addy, who was admiring her secret lover gazing down upon their son, “How do you feel?”

“I don't know," the mother replied, "I actually feel kind of dizzy.”

Horror overtook Cirrus as she noticed the alarming amount of blood around Addy, "Unholy Satan, Addy you're bleeding!”

Addy's heart rate began to increase, causing one of the monitors to beep relentlessly as she slipped out of consciousness.

"Swiss!" Cirrus urgently called out for help, her voice filled with desperation. The man was already outside the door, shouting for assistance.

Papa Emeritus, upon seeing the medical staff rush to his wife's room, ended the call with Sister Imperator and hurried back to the woman’s side.

The tension in the hospital room escalated as Addeline began to hemorrhage. Panic and urgency filled the air as medical staff rushed to stabilize her condition. Swiss and Cirrus stood by, their faces etched with worry and fear as they witnessed the sudden turn of events.

Papa Emeritus began yelling over the commotion, “What in the hell is happening?”

The staff swiftly started to wheel Addy out as a doctor urgently stated to Copia, "Your wife is hemorrhaging. We need to rush her into surgery to save her life. Can she receive blood?"

“Yes, yes,” she can receive blood,” he responded frantically.

The doctor didn't pause as she continued, "We may need to perform a hysterectomy on your wife..."

Copia instinctively interjected, "Don't you dare take out her womb!"

Swiss, initially upset about Addy's condition, now directed his frustration at Copia, "She could lose her life, and you're concerned about her giving you more kids?"

Papa, coming to his senses, regained his composure and allowed logic to prevail, "No, of course, just… save her! She has five little ones."

The doctor acknowledged his comment and left the room, with the trio of musicians following closely behind.

Fear gripped the hallway as Swiss, Papa, and Cirrus anxiously paced outside the surgical room. A tense silence filled the air during the seemingly endless moments. Finally, after an hour, the doctor emerged, removing her scrub cap and wiping her brow. Papa rushed to her, with Swiss and Cirrus following closely, "Is she alright?" his voice filled with desperation.

"She did fantastic!" the woman revealed, "The bleeding was minimal, and we were able to fix her right up! She can stay here overnight with the baby and go home in the morning."

The one question still lingered in everyone's thoughts, "What about her womb?" Papa asked.

The doctor placed an ungloved hand on his shoulder and smiled, "She can still have babies, Mr. Copia."

A look of relief overtook the man's face.

After the news of Addy's recovery sank in, Cirrus reluctantly reminded everybody, "Um… Papa Emeritus… what about the show?"

He touched his forehead, regretfully informing his ghoulette, “The show must go on I’m afraid."

"Shouldn’t someone stay here and wait for Addy to wake up?"

Papa shook his head, "You both return to the venue and let the others know to continue with the soundcheck. I'll stay here." Swiss felt disheartened to be asked to leave. He longed to be by Addeline's side when she regained consciousness, but he understood he couldn't insist. The ghoul passed Meliora to Papa and he and Cirrus took their leave.

Addy opened her eyes, dazed and confused about what had transpired. A fragment of her day had disappeared, and it startled her upon awakening from her slumber.

Directly in front of her, Papa sat in a chair slumped over, taking a nap in his hands. He’d been patiently waiting for her to regain consciousness for nearly an hour.

Addeline jumped up, gasping as she pulled out the nasal cannula from her nose. This stirred Papa awake. Rising from his chair, he gently took her by the arms to calm her, "Amore... Amore..."

She began to relax, looking around, recalling that she had just given birth. She frantically placed her hands on Copia’s cheeks, sandwiching them between her hands, “Meliora?”

“My dear, he’s fine. They’ve taken him to the nursery.”

“What happened?” she asked, confused.

“Well, you lost a lot of blood, so you passed out. They had to do surgery on you.”

“Surgery?”

“Don’t fret, Tesoro,” the man could see she was frightened, “It wasn’t invasive at all. The doctor was able to fix you up without cutting you open or taking away your womb.”

“My God!” Addeline was shocked to discover everything that had happened to her, “Am… am I okay?”

Copia laughed and pulled the woman’s head down to his lips. He kissed the top of her head as he assured her, “You are perfectly well, darling.”

“Swiss? Cirrus? They were here, weren’t they?”

“They were,” he told her, “But I sent them back to the venue so that—”

“The show! Papa your show!”

“You are a nervous Nellie, my pet. I will make the show. That is not for you to worry about.”

Maintaining eye contact with Copia, she nodded and let her head fall back onto the pillow. A subtle smile graced her lips as he reciprocated the gesture. He held her hand tightly, determined to stay with her until he would reluctantly have to depart.

[9mothsinspace]

Okay! Rant (and spoilers) ahead! It's been some time since I read Dragons of Fate now and I need to put down my thoughts about it. My obsessive bookmarking of scenes must be put to some use! Really, hoarding scenes it my one true dragon trait.

Now. Critique comes first. For one:

Inconsistency problems. I ranted about some of them in other posts as well, but here a few in short: 1. Raistlin is too well-informed about Immolatus. He may have figured out that he's a dragon at some point after Brothers in Arms, but even then, he couldn't have detailed knowledge about his hunting habits from the short encounters he had with him. 2. The Green dragon in the orb is named Viper, not Cyan 3. In the very first scene a gnome appears he finishes a sentence. The a-gnome-never-finishes-a-sentence rule has been broken before but still.

Then. The repetetive and tedious explainations of time travelling. Okay, so the book starts with a chapter that basically retells the last chapter of the previous book to explain where things left off. So far so good, it's a bit unnecessary that the time travelling is spelled out to the reader in such detail and that Sturm is used as the 'ignorant character' device that needs everything explained to him. But then we switch scenes and the same discussion takes place with Dalamar and Justarius. And then again with Tanis (again the ignorant character device) and Astinus! Yes, every character has to be up to date, but the process doesn't have to be described every time. It just feels like the reader isn't trusted to keep up and I would actually welcome some ambiguity here. But maybe that's just personal preference.

Destina. I was actually on bord with the entire Destina plotline in the first book, but in the second one it feels like she has simply been erased, now that the heroes of the lance have entered the stage. And the plot with her love interest... uff. I read somewhere that Dragonlance has a problem with writing love stories and I agree. There is no real distinction between initial attraction and supposed deeper feelings? At least not in this case. There was no time for these two to fall in love and it feels like a plot device.

Raistlin. Now. This REALLY is personal preference but he felt... out of character a bit? How do explain it better than 'he isn't evil enough'? Yes he is still sarcastic and snarky, but it also just set on fixing the river of time without ever even contemplating an outcome that doesn't end with him dead? Of course his memories of his failed atttempt of godhood could have taught him better, but are you really telling me that RAISTLIN MAJERE doesn't have any ambition or shred of selfishness left in him? Especially after he says he doesn't really regret his actions? And I loved the scene in the beginning where he tells Tasslehoff that he is sorry that Mary was never real but it also just felt off.

Now, I ranted a lot about things I didn't like. So here the things i absolutely did (especially in the third half of the book that made up for a lot of the previous bugs I think):

Gnomes!! They were hilarious! Like, in every scene and every dialogue they were what I expected gnomes to be. Chaotic bureaucracy, exploding shit, little self-preservation, that's just awesome.

Magius. I had my issues with his and Raistlin's dynamic at first because it felt like they were set up for being friends just because it serves the plot and Raistlin was more dragged along than making decisions on his own... but the death scene really had me with a lump in my throat. And Magius handing over the staff and declaring that it will be Raistlin's now and in the future - that was actually a mindblowing moment!

The Immolatus and Takhisis dynamic. Now, this was an intriguing and ambiguous relationship. We know that she favours him, gifts him a powerful artifact and makes him a commander of her army, even recruits him again in Brothers in Arms, but he just hates her guts. Why? We got just enough bits to be interested but not enough to make it flat. Nice!

Raistlin and Sturm. Sue me, i ship them and I loved every bit of interaction.

Kitiara and siblings in the dragon army. This... I mean-!!! Again, this is subjective, but I was just always absolutely in love with Kitiara and Raistlin as a team and understood but was saddened when they tried to kill each other half the time. To see them now on the same side in this alternative present and with Caramon at that... this is everything I wanted for them. I know, I know, that's just me, but i'm all in for team evil Majere / uth Matar siblings.

So much from me :) Plz tell me you thoughts if you agree or disagree with any of this.

[i-am-befuddled]

Ok honestly, I think “Oops” is the best Helluva Boss episode of season 2 thus far. The previous ones have struggled with tone switches and using too many vulgar jokes in the place of substance, but imo this episode knocked it out of the park. (Details below, long post warning)

Yes, there were sex jokes but that’s to be expected in HB, and I didn’t feel like they were out of place majority of the time. The tone balancing felt pretty good overall, and I loved seeing the different sides to each of the characters.

Fizz and Ozzie are somehow the cutest and most wholesome couple, and they were a great contrast to Stolis/Blitzø. I adored getting confirmation about Fizz and Blitzø’s backstory, and the added detail that Blitzø actually had a crush on him was cute and made it all the more heartbreaking. It also confirmed that he lost his mom in that fire too, but I find it interesting that he keeps this detail from Fizz. I think he’s still holding onto that guilt/doesn’t want to burden fizz with it, so that was really interesting character writing.

I’ve seen a couple complaints about the apparent “miscommunication trope” between them, but I somewhat disagree. Yes, miscommunications are always annoying in fiction, but they do happen irl. And given what we know about blitzø, communicating has never been his strong suit. It’s implied that their relationship was stressed leading up to the fire, due to some jealousy or insecurity, and given how severe both of their injuries were (and the emotional damage dealt), I think it makes sense that they wouldn’t investigate the miscommunication. Fizz did have every reason to cut blitzø out, even if he didn’t have the whole story. And blitzø was dealing with enough of his own trauma and guilt to let it fester. They both turned to bitterness and lashing out in anger, so I’m glad they had the opportunity to set the record straight (and that they’re not entirely on good terms yet, but can grow)

Also Fizz talking about his disability in a mostly positive light was really cool to see. He acknowledged how it was painful and took a lot of adjusting, but he’s happy with where he is today and has learned to live with it.

I’m also enjoying seeing blitzø reaching out to more people in his past. First Barbie and now fizz. I assume this has to do with Stolas getting hurt, but whether Blitzø is doing it consciously or not remains to be seen. Regardless, I think we might see a real turning point in his character soon.

Like I mentioned previously, I also loved seeing the different sides to each character. I liked seeing Ozzie interacting outside of a stage and as a business person, as well as how he acts around fizz. Seeing Stolas admitting to catching feelings and still wanting to be respectful was awesome, as well as seeing the side of him that’s not just a horny owl.

Also seeing that crimson and striker are still threats was helpful. While I was missing their motivation in the beginning, I realized that kidnapping Fizz and Blitzø wasn’t really their plan — it was happenstance that they took advantage of. Which feels in character.

Only minor complaints I have are that Fizz’s song went on for just a touch longer than I felt necessary, and some of the characters (Blitzø, crimson and striker) felt like they were just in Greed for the plot to happen, but that’s sometimes necessary for storytelling. I might find a couple other critiques upon rewatch, but my immediate takeaways were largely positive.

Overall, fantastic episode. The animation was stellar, as was a lot of the character work, and the voice acting was very good. I really hope that future episodes can take after this one.

[droppingpetals]

happy thursday everyone ! i am here to beg for some new partners over on discord . i have a few very specific plots i'd like to do with my girls . they've all been written out as m/f but could easily be spun into f/f plots too , the point just being that i get to use more of my girls for once ! i've written them all out under the read more - button <3

𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 if any of these plots interest you and i'll slide into your dms <3

CONTENTS : daisy jones and the six vibe , rockstar's path to fame , right person wrong time , exes to lovers , pining , you'll always have a place in my heart — started dating in their teens , he had a band with his friends all through high school and they were set on making it big . he had a girlfriend to support him through the entire journey , both thinking they're inseparable and for life and she moves with him to california because this is the boy she wants to be with . years pass and the band finally begins to make it big ; cue fame , glory , parties , alcohol and even drugs . the relationship doesn't make it , they break up , possibly a massive horrible fight ensues and she moves back to their hometown with her tail between her legs . cut to some years later , the rockstar fame and life has taken a toll on him and he returns to their hometown for a break , reaching out to his old flame . she's always been the type to answer his calls . preferred fc for this : àstrid bergès-frisbey , but open for others .

CONTENTS : crime and mafia elements , gentleman's club , forbidden relationship , long pining , jealousy , sneaking around — give me a plot with a man who works for some sort of crime ring and he's been put in charge of running one of their estates . said estate is a strip club used for money - laundering and whatnot , where he manages to fall for one of the new dancers . give me feelings of jealousy when she's up on the stage , having to sneak around because it's not good for business , finding any and every excuse to spend time together . alternatively a stripper x customer plot . preferred fc for this : kaya scodelario , but open for others .

CONTENTS : period drama , forbidden relationship , affair , sneaking around , neglected housewife — literally just give me a lady chatterley's lover plot . a neglected housewife in whichever time period we choose to do it in finding comfort in someone who works around the estate . her husband is too busy with business to notice her , probably doesn't even care about her . cue a hot affair that turns into proper feelings , he's jealous when she has to return to her idiot of a husband each night when he could treat her much better . making plans of running away and starting over somewhere else . suggested opp for this : jack o'connell , henry cavill .

CONTENTS : motorcycle club , freshly out of prison , opposites attract , right person wrong time , exes to lovers , affair — high school sweethearts . being a part of an mc is all he's ever known and she's always been okay with that . together since they were fifteen , she's always been supportive of him until something goes wrong and he takes one for the club , ending up in prison for _however long we want_ . she can wait for him or she could move on , already in a new relationships several years later when he finally gets out . cue a hot cat and mouse game when he wants to get her back , she doesn't know what to do because she has a new life but he is her first love and she never really got over him . perhaps they even begin an affair behind her new partner's back , he's desperate to win her back and she's torn between ration and love . open with fcs for this one .

some other more loose ideas with no proper plots around them :

friendship where the line between friends and lovers is constantly blurred , one is more smitten and in love , whereas the other thinks it's all just fun and games .

this mafia plot .

any exes to lovers trope ever .

[nonbinarygamzee]

what are your thoughts on gamkar (esp as it is presented in the comic) ?

ehehehehe. well. i like dem :]

ummm um to be like #thoughtful or whatever though i always struggle to put my investment to words because i simultaneously feel like a lot of what draws me to them feels self explanatory but Also every time i think that about hs i turn out to be wrong. that sounds so mean i just have autism and 0 frame of reference lol.

but anyways for me like ive basically been invested in gamzee and by extension gamkar from the beginning. at risk of being kind of nice for once i actually think homestuck did a pretty decent job wrt the introductions of the trolls in establishing the levels of importance and especially the dynamics at play through when we see them interacting, so it always felt Important that the conversation that established gamzee and karkat as good friends was so early on. in general i dont really think hs has many transitional spots that are not being used intentionally to create subconscious association between the subjects. so by extension theres the more obvious literal conversation we have between the two of them that both establishes them as close (at least in gamzees mind) and establishes a rift in that relationship, but theres also things like the conversation gamzee and terezi have about playing the game together, that while not about karkat explicitly, kind of centers him from both ends and is literally sandwiched between the introductions of these two, which to me sets up the assumptions that their dynamic is going to hole relevance, which we end up seeing later on. dare i say that gamzee/terezi conversation even kind of ends up being the earliest nod that both of these trolls are in some way vying for karkats attention. theres like plenty more of these moments of association but im not willing to go looking atm, get back to me. good way to read the comic in general though, imo.

and like so its pretty obvious from the start then that gamkar was always going to be something, right? their personalities are written in a way that both compliment and counter each other, and theres that interest then in murderstuck when it is flipped on its head but idk if you go here i think by now it is clear i dont really agree with all of that. my interest lies in the fact that gamzee is the type of person karkat resents because to him, as somebody who both has been denied entry into society and who desperately WANTS it, even to the point of internalizing and glorifying the very oppressive violence that keeps him an outsider, gamzee has Failed. shes an addict, shes stupid, shes toothless, and above all she is weird and wholly unrelatable and karkat is simply not in the position at that stage of his life to sympathize because he is still running on the assertion that the Right way to be a troll is to conform to the expectations of the empire (and prove himself as one of the Good Ones). so when gamzee has their breakdown and all of a sudden karkat is not only unable to shove all of the responsibility he insisted upon onto another person, or ignore the fact gamzee spent all of her time haunting the meteor asking Him for help..... he does it. sort of.

this is kind of the spot where i have the most trouble articulating my thoughts because i guess they are sort of contradictory. because i think the gamkar moirallegience was not only at that point in time important to the integrity of the plot, but has always been an important part of the story in terms of culminating the themes and messaging going on. and i do stand by that, i think on top of the fact we were ROBBED, to erase that without ever addressing any of it again in the retcon is like.... a major misunderstanding of the functionality of the moment in the first place! which like yeah yeah its homestuck we should be used to that. but UGH. it undermined so much of karkats character to retcon what imo was always his peak moment of personal empowerment. everyone talks about karkat as somebody who is deeply caring despite his exterior and like... i do think that is true. but the story simply is Worse from then on having stripped him of the pivitol moment that truly defined that trait as vital to him, and i think it frankly has no small part in why karkat feels like less than a character by the end. that said i dont really think it was a "good" relationship. just not for any of the reasons anyone ever seems to say. so many conversations i see wrt gamkar is people talking about loving it but not the "toxic way it went down in canon", or calling it like mutually abusive, or just in general making karkat out to be some kind of victim of his ex when like......... thats all kind of just completely made up? for starters not that i dont Get it and not that i think it means he was being entirely disingenuous, but from the very beginning karkats establishment of their quadrant was done in a way that centered the people around them, not gamzee. and i say not gamzee exclusively because i think aside from the obvious of keeping their friends safe, karkat was also centering himself; we know the Point of moirallegiance is to keep an unpredictable party "in check", and that is what he did, but i can both understand the functionality of the relationship marker in the context of the universe And understand that to be a means of subjugation of the trolls involved. and karkat, being both obsessed with romance and holding a deep feeling of inferiority, of COURSE would look at this as an opportunity to prove he can live up to that expectation of pacification. we get his side of the story when things fizzle out, gamzees religion apparently becoming such a frontal obsession she doesnt pay him any mind, but we dont get to hear anything from the party whos not only being mind controlled, but also has to approach this dynamic with the knowledge it wasnt for her and that karkat continued to covet terezi "in every quadrant" (LOL!!!!!) when he wasnt openly mocking them. and well i just think that is very interesting. karkat is in a powerful position, narratively, that gamzee is never ever granted, that gives him the benefit of the doubt from the audience that he is right and she is wrong, even though we know that hes like... literally always wrong!!! i am not about to start trusting him NOW!!!

um ok this god long sorry. basically i think they are extremely complimentary to one anothers stories and flaws; karkat desperately needs to see and understand people that vary from the expectations he has grown up chasing. he needs somebody who understands what it is like not to meet those expectations. he needs a reason to choose growth or else he fizzles into the disgusting excuse for a character we have of him by the end! gamzee by contrast needs to be seen by somebody who is both in the position to treat her like a person, who holds power in this narrative they are all trapped within to Grant her the choice of depth. where he needs a reason to grow she needs somebody willing to grow to meet her where she is! you cannot pull somebody from their abuse but you must be willing to understand their reasonings and have a hand at the ready for the day they choose to go! ive never understood the debates surrounding gamzees agency because we are shown explicitly the ways it is denied, and shown her awareness to the fact she is trapped, the fact she is a character and the narrative cannot be upheld without her roles; karkats ability to "help" her to me was never as much a question about whether he could literally get her out of that, but whether he could act as the lens through which people understand gamzees situation As one of coercion. they are utena anthy forever ok im done

[lyricanatheart]

ARC review of The Quiet Side by Casey Blair:

Thank you to Casey Blair, Victory Editing, and Netflix Galley for this ARC book!

⭐️- Worldbuilding

What a world! The aspect of an avatar for the gods’ divine vessel was so compelling to me. The use of “Sage” and “Learned” honorifics are well utilized, and I enjoy the priesthood foundation of the story. I was also interested in the idea of nullifying magic. I thought the concept was something to definitely continue fleshing out! Overall, I know the point of the story is the romance, but I would’ve loved some more of the world building aspects. The magic system is so wonderfully unique, that I wish we could’ve learned more about the world, the priesthood, the specific specialties of the characters, and so on. Learning that this is a prequel to a series coming out later, I’m eager to pick up the next series and learn more!

⭐️- Character Development

Overall the characters are very enjoyable, especially in their given circumstances. That being said, some of the characters tend to rush through their emotions so quickly. I felt like I was watching a speed run of fighting to lesson learning in the span of a few pages. However I think there’s such a quality of raw humanness to it, that it did not so much bother me. The dynamic between these two characters was overall extremely healthy, and something I wish we saw in more romances. I really appreciated that these characters were not toxic towards one another, generally wanted the best for each other no matter what stage in their relationship they were, and were not possessive of each other in a harmful way. Especially in a shorter story like this, the pacing of the relationship was stellar.

⭐️- Plot

Something that I took away from this book was that nothing is an exact science. You can’t measure emotions, nor bread! You must keep trying for what is right for you. This book had a lot of great imagery surrounding growing a seed, and how you must plant a seed to begin anew. I think this is the exact perfect imagery for the book. I also think this book does a decent job with establishing a plot as well as a romance. I just felt the plot was a little lacking considering the amount of effort with the romance. That isn’t a bad thing at all, especially given the nature of the book!

⭐️-Writing

The author’s voice is strong! I just know it is just a bit much for me personally. It isn’t a bad thing, I just know there is a very wide audience who would very much so enjoy it! It’s also a first person narrative which has always been a sticking point for me, and likely contributed to my feelings on the matter. That being said, the author has some profoundly beautiful quotes within the book that had me setting my phone down a moment to appreciate it. The sweet bits of romance were tender and endearing, and felt they did well to compliment the characters involved. On the other hand, although I knew going into it that this might be a steamy book, I didn’t think it was necessary at all. The book itself reads as teen romantasy, that the sexual encounter comes completely out of left field. Overall, a very enjoyable book nonetheless!

Thank you again for the ARC book! It was such a pleasure to read.

[warningsine]

Black Earth Rising is not the kind of drama that allows its audience to be caught napping. In the first couple of minutes alone, a Q&A session with an esteemed human rights lawyer dissolves into a ferocious argument over the “neo-colonialist bullshit” and “self-righteous western paternalism” of the international criminal court (ICC). Moments after we see an animated sequence of a young girl being lifted from a pit of bodies.

Anyone familiar with writer/director/producer Hugo Blick’s previous lofty BBC series The Shadow Line and The Honourable Woman will know he has a flair for unapologetically complex thrillers that pick away at global conspiracies. This is rich, demanding drama that is well worth investing in.

The Honourable Woman was set against the backdrop of the Israel-Palestine conflict; with Black Earth Rising, Blick widens his scope even further, to examine the moral jurisdiction of the ICC and the west’s relationship with Africa. Harriet Walter plays a barrister, Eve Ashby, whose adopted daughter, Kate, survived the Rwandan genocide. Kate (Michaela Coel, proving she can do serious just as well as comedy) is dealing with her own ghosts, but when Eve takes on the prosecution of a warlord responsible for recruiting child soldiers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo – though, crucially, also for halting the slaughter of the Tutsis in 1994 – Kate begins to question who is on the right side, and what the right side is.

And this is only part of the overall story. As all good drama should, Black Earth Rising asks big, thorny questions, stoking debate rather than closing it down, not least when it comes to conversations over history and to whom it belongs.

At a time when the global appetite for political cooperation is in decline, what does it mean to have an international court presiding over predominantly African cases? “I discovered that most, if not all, of the ICC’s formal indictments were against 40-odd black Africans,” Blick has said, of his inspiration for the series. Are we past the age of western interference? Should there be, as one character demands early on, “African solutions for African problems?” Is the ICC enacting self-righteous western paternalism, tainting the global image of an entire continent, or is Eve, as she appears to truly believe, delivering justice to those who need it most?

Clearly there are no easy answers, and that point is pressed home; one particularly harrowing scene involving UN peacekeepers shows that honourable intentions are not the same as fair and just results.

This all takes place against a backdrop of corruption and cover-ups in which everything could be a threat and it seems impossible to take anyone at their word. It weaves a web of possible leads and connections. Why this warlord, and what is the link to Eve and Kate? What’s in the envelope? And where did John Goodman, playing the boss of the law firm Kate works at, get that ice cream?

As much as it’s an examination of moral boundaries and international justice, it’s also a solid thriller, taking its time to lay the breadcrumbs of several mysteries amid a constant murmur of menace. It also looks fantastic. Blick loves a lingering shot and there are several conversations lit almost in silhouette that could have come straight from the stage. The cast are as good as it gets.

The fact that it crams at least a feature film’s worth of plot into the opening episode could indicate that such a pace will be impossible to sustain, but then again, Blick has managed it before, even if The Shadow Line did turn out to be mostly, sort of, about pensions. Black Earth Rising offers more than ratings-grabbing popcorn thrills. It flings an enormous cast of characters into a series of desperately combustible situations, and it demands that you keep up. It is, potentially, quite brilliant.