#REALLY not my cup of tea

[space-blue]

Have you heard of the LOL/ Arcane theory popular on Twitter right now that Vi so far has been coded as a... wife-beater for a lack of a better term? What's your opinion on this? Do you feel there's any room created by the narrative to consider this?

Yeah ok that's a rough one… Might lose some followers over this lol

I stay far and away from "twitter fandom drama". I don't think the limited word count is very conducive to productive dialogue. Here? Sure. I can write an essay on silly meta and my silly mutuals (affectionate) will actually read it and even reply. So no, I use twitter to reblog art and post some of my own for Arcane, but I'm almost never on it and not interested in whatever "Arcane Twitter" has to chirp. I was completely unaware of this nonsense.

Now, to answer you…

WHERE? Where is the proof? The textual, in the show, screenshot to screenshot proof that Vi is even remotely "coded" as a "wife-beater"? Do the little birds provide it? [this is a rhetorical question, don't feel the need to provide links, I've lost as much brain power on this theory as I'm willing to]

Is it that clip I've used myself, that hints at Vi hitting Powder in the Enemy video? Has like… none of them gotten mean to your siblings when they drove you mad? Did they all have golden childhoods? Vi sure didn't. She's an orphan at this stage, just moved in with a man whose nickname is the Hound, who she just saw cave someone's head in with his fists. Her younger sister is basically her daughter, and she's already shown signs of mental illness, probably from before the bridge.

Vi, as a kid, is incredibly disadvantaged. She's dirt fucking poor, her role model rules their criminal underground with his fists, and her sister/daughter/ward is a chronic problem-maker with mental issues and probably her own boatload of trauma. I mean, they both walked into an actual charnel, amid dozens of dead bodies, to find their own dead mom (and presumably, dad?). As preteens!!

I think, by and large, we can cut Vi some slack for hitting Powder. The Enemy video hints she pushed her to the ground. Is that the wife beating coding? I see nothing else. And if that's in, then it's actual bollocks.

Meanwhile, do you know what you get if you type "What Profession Has The Highest Rate Of Domestic Violence?" in google? Yeah, that's right. Non-Fictional Enforcers

A couple between a victim who was falsely imprisoned for 5-to-10 years and is trauma ridden by the way her entire life was shaped by systemic injustice, and a cop… Who has the highest percentage chance of beating who? As you may have guessed, I'm not a big fan of Caitvi as a season 1 ship.

There is NO evidence in the show that Vi would be a wife beater. Slapping your sister for murdering your entire family in a moment of blind sorrow and rage isn't the same as being an abuser. Worse, the show takes insane pains to showcase Vi as being basically the same in act II and III as in act I.

They make such an effort to make her seem to still have that "good heart" of hers. She is precipitated into a relationship with an enforcer mere days after she's let out of prison. It's completely unrealistic. The show is ready to bend itself into a pretzel to tell us that Vi is fine, and she is SO kind actually that she will let one cute enforcer prove to her that her prejudices are wrong! uwu

Do you have any idea what 6+ years in a jail would be like, as a complete innocent, being beaten so many times the warden forgets? And please, it's a mixed prison too, since she's in there with Mek? The show bails out of making Vi as dark and traumatised as she ought to be, by all rights.

The show chickens out of taking the time to make Vi scary. To make her hate and distrust Caitlyn, who is the pretty face of oppression, who didn't even think to release her on her own after finding she was wrongfully imprisoned, and instead needed to be threatened.

They unrealistically sped up their relationship because they wanted the fandom working its teeth on their lesbian romance like a chew toy all the way to season 2.

So no, in my blunt, honest opinion, there's no "coding" for Vi being a wife beater. She's "coded" as an unrealistic goodie who came out of prison emotionally stunted, stuck in her 15 yo self, refusing to see reason when it slaps her in the face—but very ready to see how pretty the enforcer lady is—and otherwise unaffected. She's cool, she's strong, she loves her sister, she's so kind she won't even make a convincing effort at hating Cait… but she lets her ruin things between her and Jinx. Vi suffers the most in act II and III, characterisation wise.

I find it incredibly frustrating because building actual earned trust between Cait and Vi is not actually that hard. There's a few changes to be done in the way they interact, especially early on, and it becomes so much more convincing.

Worse regarding this theory, the one Arcane writer who has been… oversharing… her headcanons, is Amanda, the Caitvi bandwagon driver. You think Riot would let her hype Caitvi as a cute ship for season 2, only to tear them apart with domestic violence?? It'd be like strangling the golden goose. And after they went and took out all the police brutality lines from Vi's LoL character too! No chance.

People who speculate that Vi would hit Cait or be a wifebeater are probably projecting what they want to see and calling it "X-coded" because it makes them sound serious. The doctor's prescription is a whole day at the park touching the grass, and then a whole month watching quality essays on media literacy and analysis.

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Yue Qingyuan and Tianlang Jun having tea together ☕

[Commission for @absolmon!]

[ranilla-bean]

culture tips for writing asian settings: tea varieTEAs

atla's got major Tea Guy representation in iroh but let's be real, even non-tea guys are going to be drinking tea in an asian-inspired setting—you'd be served it instead of water most places. so, what kind of tea are you picking for them?

as an east asian reader, it can take me out of the setting to see the characters drink something like chamomile (from europe/west asia) or... most herbal teas, to be honest. ngl it was weird to see iroh in the show, characterised as a huuuuuuge tea snob, drink stuff like jasmine (it's fine it's just basic, is all! imo!) or like.... a random flower he encounters in the wild.

when we're talking tea, real asian tea, we're talking about the leaf of the camellia sinensis plant. the huge variety we have of tea is actually from the different ways of processing that exact same leaf. popular varieties include:

green: the leaf goes through minimal processing, can have a bright and even leafy/grassy flavour (examples: gunpowder, longjing aka dragon well, matcha, genmaicha)

white: also undergoes minimal processing, with a lighter flavour than even green (examples: silver needle, shou mei)

oolong: the leaf is semi-oxidised, curled, and twisted—can be characterised by a tanniny flavour with a bright aftertaste. my personal favourite! (examples: da hong pao, tieguanyin, dong ding, alishan)

dark (black): note this isn't the same as black tea as we think of it in english. the leaf is fermented to produce an earthy tea with a flavour like petrichor (examples: pu'er)

all the teas listed in the "examples" are fairly credible teas that i think a real tea snob like iroh would drink.

ok, but what about...

"black tea" as we know it in the west—assam and ceylon etc? this variety is actually called "red tea" in chinese. we don't drink it with milk but to be honest, i've just... never really heard of anyone drinking chinese red tea? which is why i've kept it off the list. (there's lapsang souchong, but i associate that with bri'ish people...) anyone who does drink it, let me know! on the other hand something like assam/ceylon, while extremely delicious and also asian, is a product of british colonialism and is consumed with milk. i think if you wanted to massage some of the traditions & have chai-drinking indian-influenced characters, though, that's cool!

do you actually not drink herbal tea? we do... but a lot of it is considered medicinal. we've got stuff like herbal "cooling tea" with ingredients like sour plum, mesona, or crysanthemum; tea that warms you up like ginseng or ginger. the whole concept of hot/cold in chinese medicine though... that deserves another culture post

camellia leaf murdered my family & i have a grudge against it; what else can my blorbos drink? there'a some good, tasty stuff made of wheat, barley, buckwheat, even soybean. wouldn't be egregious for the characters to drink that!

is milk sacriligeous? a real tea snob would think so, but a lot of asians nowadays are chill about milk in tea—usually in western-influenced red tea. hong kong, thailand, india, taiwan, and malaysia (among others) have their own cultures of milk tea, which has even become a democratic rallying point.

what do you think of iroh inventing bubble tea? my main issue with it is it's anachronistic! it was invented in taiwan in the late 20th century, but atla's set in the equivalent of the mid-19th century... you could also make arguments about whether iroh's too snobby about tea to invent it LOL

there's soooo much more i can say about all this so: keep your eyes peeled! i'll talk about medicine & tea ceremony in the near future <3

disclaimer | more tips

[makeitpoppy]

pink venom’s vibes and aesthetic and looks? impeccable

the actual song? … i had a hard time listening to it until the end.

[suitsofarmour]

blurrrrrrrrrr

[windlullaby-arts]

I'm not sure if I can request drawings but.......rengoku wholesome drawing?? Pretty please 🥺🎀❓️

I hope this is wholesome enough for you but if it’s not, his character alone should be enough :D

If you enjoy my works please consider buying me a coffee ( ´• ω •` ) thank you for your support! <3

[angelsfuzzyslippers]

Some fan art for the fanfic "At the End of Extinction" (by The_Bad_Samaritan (98tuffluv))! It's a zombie apocalypse human AU that I absolutely adore! Husk and Angel whisking a little Charlie across a post-apocalyptic US to reunite her with her parents - with threats lurking around every corner >:3 (I know the designs I went with don't align with the author doodles in the most recent chapter shhhhhhhhh I don't have time to redraw this)

[redstainedsocks]

I gotta tell you... Being hooked up to a bunch of machinery and being gently strapped to a table (for safety) is low-key unsettling even when the people doing it are nice and explaining exactly what's going to happen, when, and why.

Without being spoken to? While being forced? With no information? In a strange place? Surrounded by enemies or hostile people?

That shit would be frightening as fuck. The lack of control. The lack of answers. Feeling less important, less human, than everyone else in the room.

So do that to your characters. If you're into medical/lab whump you're hitting all the right notes with this trope. So go HAM. Do it MORE. It's perfect.

[hazbin-hotel-shitposts-by-zachy]

The fact that Alastor can't really (or just simply doesn't want to) be on a photo without glitching the camera and yet Vox has a completely clear photo of him (and himself ofc, but it's ripped apart) just makes me think of how cute it must've been to take the photo in the first place.

Alastor: No, Vox, I'm not standing in front of that thing. *Points to camera*

Vox: Allllll come on, we need at least one photo together-

Alastor: Vox I'll-

Vox: *puppy eyes*

Alastor:

Vox: *puppy eyes intesify*

Alastor: .....fine. *makes sure he doesnt glitch the camera so they have a quality photo*

[pharawee]

It's been a week already, so here I am with the third part of my Pit Babe novel commentary.

(You can find the first two parts here and here.)

First things first, though. North is an omega. Do with that information what you will. 🤡

Meanwhile, Charlie and Babe are back at it again (because of course they are) and this time they're not taking any prisoners. Poor Way is on the phone with Babe as Charlie does his best to please~ him. In various ways. Way is very confused. All he wants is for Babe to tell him which car he wants him to buy. You know, if this is Way's villain origin story then I'm not even mad.

Charlie mercifully ends the call before things can get a bit too obvious, only for Babe to pick up the phone again to make an x-rated recording of them going at it like bunnies. Keep this in mind for later.

But anyway. It's finally time for Charlie's initiation into Team X-Hunter - that is, if he manages to pass Alan's test: compete against Pit Babe himself. As if Charlie wasn't nervous enough about it already. Naturally, he loses, and he's really upset about it too - not because he failed the test but because he failed his friends. Aw. But no one really expected him to win against Babe anyway, Alan merely wanted to test his determination, and so he's welcomed as the newest member of the team. Competitive racing really is that easy, I guess.

One almost-love confession later (Babe can't quite bring himself to say it but he doesn't need to. Charlie knows.) they're back to actually teaching Charlie how to race. Since Babe is still healing from his injuries, he can only (very stylishly) watch from the sidelines as the other members of X-Hunter take over as Charlie's teachers. Today it's North's turn and remember? He's the only omega on the team. Naturally, Babe is jealous. They (dirty-)talk it out. Charlie can now smell Babe's emotions, while Babe has all but lost his heightened senses. Hm.

Later, in the locker room while Charlie is busy racing, Babe comes across Way. Or is it the other way around? It seems like Way really wants to talk to him - or rather, talk him out of being with Charlie. Something's really fishy about the way he phrases things. Manipulate, mansplain, malewife. Or something. But the thing is? For some strange reason it's working, even on someone as headstrong and stubborn as Babe (and the only reason why Babe isn't immediately giving in to Way's weirdly cruel love confession is because his heart is full of Charlie). All these moments when Way and he seemed so flirty and close? Suddenly they've become very, very creepy. Hmm.

Anyway. It's time for Charlie to pay another visit to his mysterious clients and/or family. He never really says (but we now know better). But, oh no! He's left his wallet! Luckily, he's got the world's best not-quite-boyfriend to try and catch up with him before it's too late.

And here's where things go very, very wrong.

(I'm putting the rest of this post under a cut because of major spoilers and a content warning for SA and grooming. Please take care.💜)

Because that's not a taxi Babe sees Charlie getting into. It's one of his "father's" limousines, along with some of his men. Preparing for the worst, Babe follows.

Meanwhile, Charlie is meeting up with his adopted father. Their coversation goes about as expected, with Charlie refusing to return home and bring Babe with him while he's at it, because they've indeed been adopted by the same man. Charming.

This is the moment when Babe barges into the room, thinking that he's here to save Charlie before very quickly realising the truth: that he's been manipulated and played and lied to.

I need you to realise how much of a nightmare this is for Babe. He's spent over a decade running from an adoptive father who wants to trap and abuse him, and now the only person he trusts (and loves, but we don't talk about that) has led him straight back into that trap.

So basically, Babe's sanity is slowly unravelling at the seams. He immediately takes off, with Charlie following him outside and into the rain (because of course it's raining - it's much more dramatic that way). When Charlie attempts to stop him and explain, Babe (understandably) lashes out. He punches Charlie's glasses right off his face, failing to understand why he's the one who's hurting when it's Charlie who should be feeling guilty.

Oh, and then there's this bit:

"I thought you liked racing…" Babe's voice was trembling and soft, completely different from before, "…I thought you loved me."

I barely survived reading this. I'm here for fun omegaverse shenanigans dammit!!

So, yeah, Babe returns home alone, and even though he doesn't want to, he forces himself to remember what happened with his adoptive father, because as it turns out Charlie's betrayal has the most horrifying of implications:

You see, Babe was adopted because he was an alpha with special abilities. But he wasn't the only one, there were other adopted alpha children with special abilities that Babe was never allowed to meet. Eventually, Babe learned about the existence of enigmas who stand above even alphas and are so strong (and thankfully rare) that they can turn any alpha they have sex with into omegas and impregnate them. Children from these unions have a 99% chance to be alphas with special abilities. See where this is going?

Let me spell it out for you - because clearly this isn't wtf-inducing enough: Babe is essentially the main ingredient in his adoptive father's breeding program.

But wait! It gets even worse! 🤡🤡

Babe, alone and at his lowest, deduces that Charlie must the enigma that was sent to lure him back.

And if that's true, then maybe he's already been changed from an alpha into an omega (because his heightened senses are gone, remember?). Maybe he's already pregnant.

And this is what sends Babe completely over the edge (same here, Babe, same here...) because he is positively traumatised by the thought of having children and fulfilling his adoptive father's sick wishes. He doesn't want children. The very thought makes him sick. He values his autonomy above all else. He never even has sex with omegas because he refuses to get anyone pregnant.

Only now he's about to get a pregnancy test because he was stupid enough to fall for a cute, innocent boy with glasses.

Enter Charlie who of course still knows the code to Babe's condo. Babe barricades himself in his bedroom while Charlie tells him his side of the story. How he was adopted by the same man, and how he was quite content with his life until he learned about his father's plan to get one of his other adoptive children pregnant - by force if necessary. Charlie felt sorry for this older adoptive brother but since he only knew his name - Babe - he bid his time until he heard about a racer named Pit Babe. Charlie started hanging out at the races and in turn fell in love with racing (and with Babe).

Fast forward to now, only of course Babe doesn't believe him because he must be the enigma, right?

Nope, turns out Charlie is an alpha after all, only his special ability is stealing other alphas' special abilities.

And his grand plan? To take away what makes Babe special so their adoptive father will no longer be interested in breeding (ugh...) him.

Which leaves us (and Babe) with one problem: Wtf Charlie, you don't just steal people's abilities without their consent - especially not when you claim to love them.

So yeah, their whole relationship is based on lies and manipulation, and Charlie essentially stole Babe's heightened senses by having sex with him.

Babe starts crying, Charlie starts crying, then they start having hatesex (which usually ends all their arguments). This fixes things for about five minutes until Babe starts sobbing for real. He wants Charlie to leave. He can't even stand to look at him.

And so Charlie leaves and moves in with his other adoptive brother, Jeff. We'd already established that Jeff is an omega. However, he's a special omega (because why else would he have been adopted too?).

Jeff can see the future. 🤡🤡🤡

He was incredibly valuable to their adoptive father until he probably realised what that meant for him, so one day Jeff took a stroll outside and let himself get hit by a car, claiming that this had him lose his abilities. Naturally, he was promptly discarded, but he seems to live a comfortable life protected by Charlie. He's exactly as aloof as Pon plays him in the series. I love Jeff, ok?

Meanwhile, Babe's back to his old habits, trying to chase away his thoughts of Charlie by getting it on with other alphas. Only it doesn't work. He blames their scent, of course, but he's clearly still hung up on Charlie. Drunk and miserable, he rediscovers the spicy video of Charlie and him that he recorded on his phone and promptly starts masturbating (as you do). When Charlie calls him, he picks up out of habit. Babe is angry (and horny) and Charlie is sad (and horny) so they have phone sex (and they're still really into calling each other papa and daddy - which, you know, there might be better pet names considering who's their adoptive father but ok).

Babe still doesn't want to see Charlie, and as Charlie later aptly puts it:

"Because I chose the starting point myself without asking him. So now I have to let him choose the ending he is most comfortable with."

Much, much later, the racing season picks back up again. Turns out the whole race track had to shut down for an investigation into Babe's accident. It's Charlie's first race and there's some kind of qualifying for future rounds. But, surprise! Babe will be racing too. He's too stubborn to let Charlie win the title. To the surprise of absolutely no one (except for Charlie who's worried about Babe's barely-healed injuries) Babe easily wins, with Charlie (who's overwhelmed by his new heightened senses) coming in fourth place. Plot twist (but really actually not...): Babe doesn't need to rely on his senses to win because he has years of experience to draw from.

After the race, Charlie follows Babe into the locker room. They talk it out. This somehow involves a blowjob but I'm not judging. Babe still won't forgive Charlie, saying:

"You think I love you more than I love myself?"

Which is an incredibly powerful thing to say and I hope they keep this for the series.

Later that night, Babe meets up with Way because he doesn't want to be alone. Things with him have been awkward since that day in the locker room when Way basically confessed, but for some reason Babe won't hold it against him. Way is right, after all (Hmmm.). Only, Way won't let things be and somehow, without Babe noticing, they're suddenly kissing.

And then Babe goes motionless and still as Way starts undressing him. He's stopped just in time by a very panicky Charlie. When Babe comes to he doesn't know what's going on until Charlie tells him.

Way is their adoptive brother and he can hypnotise alphas.

Because DUN DUN DUN! Way is the enigma.

To be continued. 🤡🤡🤡🤡

[island-in-the-shadows]

Truly, my sympathies to people watching IWTV and are getting tired/bored of different perspectives. I'm not bored or even remotely tired.

Interviews by their very nature are perspective based. The story has this specific framing. As did the first book. They added to it with Armand now being an active participant and Daniel being more seasoned at interviewing. I understand how Armand's very edited and hyperbolic take on events that Book Lestat describes in The Vampire Lestat rubs people the wrong way. I do think that one could argue the way Lestat writes his own autobiography is the objective truth (note Armand in his book does not contradict Lestat). However, sorry to say, there is never an objective truth. The truth is always subjective.

I was raised by a whole family of lawyers and if I learned anything is that you can spin things in any way, but an objective truth will never exist. Not in crime, not in person to person storytelling, not in fictional storytelling. Hell, viewers seeing the SAME show CANNOT come to a consensus. Why? Because we all put our thoughts, experiences, and feelings to it. That's all perspective.

We see Louis give Armand a kiss in bed. Some think aw domestic and cute. Some think Louis is deliberately withholding and rewarding Armand for good behaviour. Some saw the act they put on in E2 as some version of truth and domesticity and some think it's only an act. Some think Dreamstat is actual Lestat out there somewhere and some think it's Louis' conscience.

Yes, the narrative will confirm one thought or another on some things but not all of them. They're deliberately left up to interpretation. Something btw, Lestat urges the reader to do in TVL when he does not go into details about his time with Louis and Claudia. And part of that has to do with perspective.

We could have a straightforward narrative with no corrections and no perspectives. But would that be as interesting as seeing how minds that far exceed our own twist and bend and interpret events? Would it be as interesting as seeing a vampire who tells himself a story so that he can carry on living despite being miserable? Would it be as interesting as this vampire who tells himself a story get pushback on what he's saying by someone who notices errors and inconsistencies? Would it be an interview at all? Or would it be, as Daniel put it in the very first episode, "a fever dream told to an idiot."

If you want a straightforward non-challenging version of the story, the 1994 movie exists. It's not perfect and a lot of details are missing, but there's only one, unchallenged perspective to it. And even then...how many people didn't (want to) see the queerness in it?

TL;DR I get being frustrated or tired or bored by the way the show is trying to tell the story, but at least it's doing something a little different and not word for word.

[50cal-fullauto-astarion]

Hey, just stopping in to say that König would just throw his kids around like a disgruntled baggage loader at an airport. IN A FUN WAY. He’s physical, just picks them up and moves them around like briefcases or bags of rice. His kids love it, they think it’s fun as fuck. Their dad is good at playing, he’s like a big dog with a soft mouth. He still play fights, but he never bites; they are safe, they’re free to be goofy, and young, and unburdened.

They climb on him and hang on like little possums. He just pretends they’re not there, no matter how loud they shriek laughter as he goes about his business.

[spaceratprodigy]

Feeling GREAT today babes 👍

[somepancakeonline5377]

God I’m so sick of JSchlatt haters being like “erm isn’t he racist? 🤓👆” “isn’t he republican🤓👆”

NO HE IS NOT

HE MAKES EDGY STUPID JOKES THAT ARE SO CLEARLY JUST THAT, STUPID EGDY JOKES. “Erm he still shouldn’t have said it 🤓👆” THE MOST POPULAR FORM OF “EVIDENCE” WAS SOME SHITTY THUMBNAIL THAT WAS CHANGED AND A JOKE SWAGGERSOULS MADE BE FUCKING FOR REAL. ITS SO OBVIOUSLY JUST A EDGY JOKE GROW THE HELL UP.

“B-but he’s homophobic/transphobic!!” THAT MAN HAS KISSED MORE MEN THEN YOU WILL EVER MEN OR WOMAN AND HE IS IN A PODCAST WITH A OPEN TRANS WOMAN. THE PODCAST IS SLEEP DEPRIVED AND HER NAME IS ASTROSIST, SHE IS AWESOME AND CLEARLY FRIENDS WITH JSCHLATT BECAUSE OF COURSE THEY WOULD BE THERE IN A FUCKING PODCAST TOGETHER.

“Well he’s an awful person/rebublican 🤓” ITS CALLED A PERSONA, JSCHLATTS WHOLE PERSONA IS THAT HE IS AN NEW YORKER ASSHOLE BUT HE ISNT ITS JUST FOR THE BIT. HE LOVES ANIMALS, IS GREAT WITH KIDS, ACTUALLY FUNNY, AND MOST DEFINITELY NOT A DAMN REPUBLICAN. ITS CALLED A FUCKING BIT. Okay he is from New York but I digress.

Anyway fuck JSchlatt haters who don’t know shit about him, I mean if you just don’t like him for his content that’s fine but to try and make him seem like a shitty person is just shit man. I’m a JSchlatt fan for life man🔥🔥

[stoat-party]

“How dare they burn everything the Courier loves to ashes!”

*imagines my courier reacting to watching everything she loves burn to ashes*

“…that’s some good stuff. you got me this time todd.”

[the-magpie-archives]

Several times recently I've found myself making tea whilst listening to The Magnus Archives, and as a result I've developed a silly little headcanon...

I'm not sure if it's a nationwide thing, but certainly throughout my life I've experienced the weird stigma of having sugar in your tea. It's not direct or aggressive, but there always seems to be this vague notion that sweetening your tea makes you less strong, less manly. I rarely see men ask for sugar, and often observe an obvious proudness in teenage boys when they say "no sugar, thanks."

Picture Jonathan Sims, newly appointed archivist, worried he's not good enough, placed haphazardly in power of people who were very recently peers, and desperately trying to prove he's the right man for the job. Everything seems to be falling apart a bit, and he's not at all sure his assistants have any faith in him; he had to ask for a tape recorder because he couldn't get his laptop to work properly - that's embarrassing.

Now imagine Martin: office sweetheart, gets along with pretty much anyone, just moved to a new position working with two close friends, and the attractive guy from research is his boss (he's a bit rude and stuck up, but it's probably just the stress, right?). He's pretty comfortable! Aside from the occasional snide remark from Jon it is a good job, which is especially pleasing considering how he got to work at the institute in the first place.

Two opposing forces, as we all well know! But what's better at building bridges than a nice cup of tea? Martin makes a lot of tea, but I like to think he memorises how everyone takes theirs. Regardless, he has to ask at least once.

And so, kind, sweet, gentle Martin, his offer of a cup of tea promptly accepted, would have the misfortune of saying, "do you take that with sugar?" to an embarrassed, flustered Jon, who's trying desperately not to confront any romantic feelings he might have hidden away. The ensuing scoff and slightly too enthusiastic 'No! Thank you.' would be enough to remember that preference for a while.

As times go on, hundreds of cups of tea later, things get less tense between the pair, and Martin never has to revisit the question; but late one night, shortly before Jon is to leave for Great Yarmouth and Martin is to risk it all to take down Elias, Jon places a hand gently on Martin's shoulder and asks "Could I have a cup of tea?". Of course Martin says yes, it's the least he could do, but as he turns to go and make it, Jon calls out again. "With sugar, please."

Just a tiny vulnerability, but enough. By that point most of Jon's facade has been torn roughly away many times, but letting go of small points of pride often means more than non-deliberate actions. Having enough bravery to admit to liking something soft and sweet is harder than you'd think.

Maybe during those six months after, Martin would watch the sugar dissolve into his own tea with a painful melancholy, the sweetness a bitter memory.