#how to structure a book

[feelingthedisaster]

The King's Men's plot structure is genius.

TKM has been critized a lot for not following the conventional plot structure, because it doesnt end inmediatly at the resolution of the climax, like they taught us in class. But it actually has a reason behind it and it think that is what makes AFTG unique and Nora Sakavic an amazing writer. I'll explain.

So, we all know AFTG has a lot of chess metaphors, however i think it doesnt contain the metaphors, it is the metaphor. Each character represents a piece of the board (Riko king, Kevin queen, Neil pawn, Andrew knight, etc) and exy is the chess, but but but, a chess game not only involves the pieces, the game cannot exist without someone playing, the chess masters (which would be Kengo, Ichiriu, Nathan and all the mafia stuff).

So, AFTG is divided into two plots happening at the same time: what happens on the chess board (exy season) and what happens outside it (the mafia mess).

Of couse, the climax has to be about the outside out, because who cares which one of pieces move in which way if the players are pointing guns at eachother under the board? The guns are more more important. So who cares? The pieces on the board care, the ones that are being played with. And who is the narrator? The character that represents the pawn, the less important figure of the entire room.

Yeah, the 'outside of the board' plot is over half way into the book, but it doesnt matter because that happens outside the board, the chess game has not ended yet. The pawn cannot go back to rest in the box until the game is over, until the king dies. The book cannot be over until the chess game our protagonist is a piece of ends. The books have to end with the king's (Riko) death and that is exactly what happens.

If this isnt excellent writing and one of the best examples of know the rules so you can break them, i dont what is.

[the---hermit]

how I take notes on non fiction books

I recently made a post on my study method, and decided to make a whole separate post on my note taking method. The structure of the notes I write doesn't vary too much from my lecture notes to things I might have to read. A couple of useful informations you might want to know before I start actually talking about note writing is that I am mainly focused on studying history (tho I have had other humanities exams in my degrees), and that I study for oral exams in which the material is mainly composed of non fiction books, but sometimes include articles as well as lecture notes. Somehow I have also failed to mention that I am speaking about HANDWRITTEN NOTES. I only do handwritten notes, I don't work well digitally, so keep that in mind. And with this being said brace yourselves for a very long post. The bullet points I will be making are not really in a specific order and I will be including a few pictures too.

The first step when I am working on the materials for an exam is to figure out in which order I will be reading (and writing notes) the books. This hasn't really much to do with the notes themselves, but it's important to know which of your materials is more general and what other things go more in depth, so that you don't struggle too much while studying. Another plan related thing I always do is to write down each chapter of the book I have to study on my bullet journal and how many pages it is so I can plan my studying more comfortably. If the chapters are very long, and divided in subchapters I sometimes also write those down.

The goal of the notes I write is to fully take the place of the book, so they tend to be very detailed and long. I do this because the very act of writing is part of my study method, and working on things I have written down in my own words is just much better for the type of learner I am. So basically I read the book only once, then it goes back on the shelf and I work exclusively on the notes. This means my notes need to be detailed and well organized.

My method is to read a chapter, underlining important stuff as I am reading, and then right after I am done reading I work on the notes for that chapter before moving onto the next. I do this because it makes the note writing more effortless, I am fresh with informations I just read and I basically just need to skim over what I have underlined.

On underlining, since it is so important. I underline everything I will be including in my notes, it might seem much as sometimes it consists of full paragraphs, instead of key words. But this is okay because my notes I don't just copy and paste.

To create useful notes you need to be re-elaborating the informations. You need to read, understand what you read, and be able to write it down using your own words. That way the notes will be easier to review, they will often be composed of shorter sentences, and by doing so you are also actively making writing part of your studying and not just a mindless activity.

Personally I don't work well with full pages summaries, I need the text to be visually broken into sentences/small paragraphs, and I use a lot of symbols as well as abbreviations.

Symbols and abbreviations are in a way part of your very own language when you are writing notes, you tend to develop these with time, but they are so useful. I personally use different types of arrows, all caps words, position of the text in the page, different methods of highlighting and abbreviations (usually for words that come up often like country names, for example Italy becomes ita, France becomes fr, etc.).

Your notes need to be useful for you, they don't have to necessarily be comprehensible for another person (which means you can and will fuck up sentence structure because sometimes skipping a couple of words makes the notes shorter and still understandable), and they do not have to be pretty. They should be as tidy as possible, but again that might change from person to person, I have some very messy looking notes that make total sense to me. With time you'll learn what works best for you.

I have a visual memory so as I mentioned titles, highlighters, all caps, the placement on the page and other similar things are very important in my notes. I cannot fully exapain some of these things because some definitely only make sense to me in the moment (like the words I choose to write in all caps, or the way I highlight things).

I like to have a clear chapter and subchapter break (so that in case I need to refer back to the book it's super effortless). I like to write those with a red pen, usually the chapter title is in all caps and the subchapter in coursive, but it really depends.

I use only two highlighters in each set of notes yellow for dates, and the colour I associate with the book/the subject of the book (I have synesthesia I don't make the rules when it comes to colours). This of course might change depending your preferences and on the element of your notes you want to focus on. I like to have spacific colour for dates and time periods, because of course while studying history that is a fundamental element. If you are focusing on other subjects you might want to have a specific colour for names, or other elements.

I like to leave a big side margin to add either key words (especially in lecture notes since they might be messier and jump around informations more often), or additional information in a second time (sometimes it happens, after you read another book, or attended a particular lecture you have to add a couple of sentences and I rather have a blank space that never gets used rather than no space at all for emergencies).

I honestly mentioned everything that came to mind right away, but since note writing is now basically a mindless skill I have been practicing for years I surely forgot about something. I might end up adding to this post in the future or write another one. My note-writing method has also changed a lot thought the years from high school to university, it's a skill I have been perfecting for the past decade. This to say that depending on what you are working on things might change, and by experimenting with different things you might find out things that work very well for you. If you have any questions on specific things I didn't mention or that wen't clear my inbox is always open and I am more than happy to help.

Since this post is already very very long I am adding the pictures below the cut

Example of a page of notes before and after highlighting

Example of symbols and structure of the notes and the way I highlight things (in which you'll hopefully be able to understand my handwriting, and in which there might be some spelling errors but alas that often happens in my real notes as well so if there are any it's for the sake of accuracy lmao). If I end up adding informations on the margins I always use a pen of a different color so I can tell which informations I got from what source (ex. main notes from lecture, colorful notes from additional article).

Example of messier notes in which the main text in black are the notes I took during lectures and the additional colorful text was added while writing the materials (I rarely do this, it usually happens when the lectures follow a book precisely, which happens when we have to study books or summaries written by the professor). As you can see I often use post it notes to add more writing space, and sometime I even use them to create visually separated sections. If I end up adding some drawings I also usually like to have them on post it notes so they stand out more (and if you are wondering why the hell would an history student need drawings it's usually either because I need a map or a region/state to mark things out, or when studying for archaeology exams I often needed visual references, for example to identify different types of vases or decorations).

[kingroan]

not to ramble about iwtv but i think a lot of people who balk at the unsavory parts of gothic fiction are people who have either 1) never truly had to face an onslaught of the macabre in their own life 2) have not actually sat with the discomfort of the darker parts of existence or simply not learned or had to learn how to process truly twisted emotions within themselves. and i bring this up in relation to iwtv because i see a lot of people pointing out 'problematic' parts of the book or bemoaning which ships are more or less toxic. and it's like it's a cow farm there's gonna be cows on the cow farm.

yeah anne rice wrote some weird shit and some of it is definitely unnecessary, most of those elements were corrected in the show. but a lot of it is just gothic fiction. you don't get to have sexy vampires, romanticism and tortured yearning without the inappropriate attachments, the true face of grief and the blurred lines between violence and eroticism which has evoked great interest in humans for centuries.

[plutoonwheels]

something I find so funny is the amount of MCD rewrites/MCD inspired written works that are dedicated to becoming a novel in the future because like imagine ten or so years go by and booktok has evolved however it does and now there are like 300+ books about a goddess being reborn into a new world and her inexplicably gay knights. and all the MCs have an A name

[crow-caller]

rewatching your nightbane review and getting genuinely mad about how much the concept of a magically-bound divine right of kings (and how the populace can’t overthrow their rulers without all dying) fucking rules and how alex aster WASTED it. begging another fantasy author to please write this idea but like. good

(also your proclamation in that video that grim has “ice-cold yaoi hands” has haunted me since it came out. why did you speak that into the world social media user crow caller. why)

1. was there when the yaoi hands reigned. I know the signs and know them well. never call me a social media user ever again.

2. The divine right of kings thing Aster backward stumbles into IS very cool conceptually, you're right!! I nearly brought this up in my Skyshade review, but then realized it'd be the weirdest pull: Fallen London has an extremely good version of the same concept. I'm so so so sorry FL for referring to you as anything similar to Lightlark, but if you're interested in how 'magically bound divine right of kings which keeps a populace under control, treated as innate to the world but secretly artificial' can be done well.... well. let me tell you about The Chain.

The Great Chain of Being is a concept that the world is divided into a strict hierarchy, with some above others. In FL, the beings at the top are Judgements- cosmic gods who burn as bright as suns (okay, they are suns). They sit at the top of The Chain with the understanding This Is The Way The World is- they are often referred to as 'Kings', because they are analogous to them in many ways. Why do the Kings rule over us? Because the Chain is a facet of the universe, the Chain is true and says they are better than us. Why does the Chain say this? Because it is true.

.......Except, of course, it isn't. The Judgements created the chain, as kings created the Divine Right of Kings- to excuse their excess of power and abuse of it, they create the lie there is a divine truth to the world which just so happens to put them at the top. The universe doesn't make some people better than others, but some people will say it does in order to get away with heinous acts*. In FL, the Judgements abuse their power in far wilder cosmic horrors ways, able to enforce this division with their ability to rewrite reality with burning words. This power is again not necessarily something innate to them because they are sooo special- it is something they have because The Chain they've created to control reality says so.

This is key worldbuilding to fallen london, and is Sick As Hell- though quite Deep Lore, not apparent or relevant when you first begin playing.

(*The Great Chain is a real concept originating from medieval Christianity, which very much places all the world into a strict hierarchy with God at the top- followed by man, descending through various animals, and even including plants and minerals. A key aspect of the Chain was that this 'Absolute Hierarchy' was real, innate, holy, and... of course, an excuse for all kinds of racism. Sure, maybe they did think it mattered to decide lichen was closer to god than mushrooms, but ultimately an obvious reason the philosophy took root was to justify why certain humans mattered more than others.)

[wiklm]

literally going INSANE thinking about murderbot and under pressure by queen it’s like THE murderbot song ever to me especially the bridge. i’m rolling around and screaming. mbs capacity for love is so crazy despite all its claims that it doesn’t really care except for it’s closer friends. like it loves people who are practically strangers and random bot pilots and it puts in so much effort to protect clients (friends. it won’t say it but friends) that it has known for like 1 day (ex. the cracker wrapper in the sink crew. it was so sad it couldn’t do anything to save them from their contracts and it keeps me awake at night) and AGHRJHGHRTR. i’m specifically going so absolutely bonkers thinking abt the lyric “love dares you to change our way of caring about ourselves” bc of THREE AND ART. i love thinking about how mb knows deep down that even if it says it’s not a person that can’t be true bc that would mean that three isn’t a person and ART isn’t a person and it KNOWS that’s not right. mbs self perception has been so fundamentally altered both by its love for others and other’s love for it and AHHHHHRHEHHH AHHHHHH AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH WHAT IF I SAILED AWAY!!!!!! ough my thoughts about this are so scrambled and dumb but i wanted to share and i hope u can go insane with me also. i dream of an alternate timeline in which murderbot is adapted to a beautifully animated show and i can make an under pressure amv that changes my life

[bookshelf-in-progress]

Now that I know more about writing, I'm upset at all the writing advice that urged new writers to find the one best way to write stories, when they should be telling us to play with writing techniques like toys.

Don't tell us to avoid certain points of view! Don't box us into the one currently popular prose style! Let us play and see what effects different techniques achieve, so we can learn the best ways to make use of them! Give us a whole ton of possibility instead of one cookie-cutter template!

[clowningaroundmars]

interesting differences between nbc hannibal and red dragon:

price is waaaay funnier in the show, but in the books he's just a perpetual grouch. brilliant, but a grouch. i DEF think that fuller and his team did the character a lot of service by casting scott thompson. hell, the entire science team gets much better treatment than the book gives them lol

freddy lounds being turned into a cunty freddie lounds in the show did a lot of heavy lifting when it comes to establishing any sympathy for the character but... the description of the day that freddy decided to quit doing straight journalism and go over to the Tattler was haunting. i would not blame him for immediately drafting up a letter of resignation after watching his older coworker ask a lady for a tampon for his bleeding asshole (it makes more sense in context)

nbc toned will's anger and dramaticisms way way way down. in the book he's almost always getting loud, red in the face, snapping at ppl out of nowhere. in the show, he's a bit snippy but generally very serene compared to the book lol

[altraviolet]

Romantasy: structural issue

I'm watching Unresolved Textual Tension's video about Onyx Storm (spoilers they REALLY DON'T LIKE IT lol) and at the very end there's an interesting discussion about the inherent structural issues of Romantasy as a genre:

"A romance book is one book where you introduce the romance, they have the third act breakup, and then they come back together happy... but with romantasy, it needs to support three to five books, and so nothing is really left to happen because they can't do slow burn. Slow burn is how you make- or even just a normal fantasy romance arc, you know, it takes a few books for them to get together. But they can't do that because of the limitations of their genre. But their genre is also tied to having these big expansive worlds with a ton of plot and action. Those two are fundamentally mismatched... I think that's a fundamental problem with the genre and why there haven't been any good romantasy books." -Will

"You have to have the confines of a romance within the bombastic world of an epic fantasy." -Maria

So it should be noted that the folks on this podcast all have literature degrees. They meet the books they read at the level the book presents itself- they criticize ACOTAR seriously because ACOTAR takes itself seriously. They aren't as harsh with IPB because IPB doesn't take itself seriously. So, they do have their own biases, of course, and a different viewpoint/knowledge base than, say, I have.

But I find it incredibly interesting how they've laid out this structural issue. It kinda sounds like... a challenge 👀

[rookflower]

i know the knowledge is Not Secret and Pretty Damn Obvious but remembering the fact the wc writing team changed between oots and avos makes so much sense. like ohhh that's why mothwing is Like That now despite her previous characterisation being far less bitter and aggressive, along with other personality shifts or new directions for characters. that's why onestar's SE zeroed in on the darktail thing they came up with instead of older key scenes or points about his character that they may not remember as well if at all. that's why each arc is structured more episodically, repetitively, and self-contained now rather than having a lot of wee overarching character arcs and plot threads or messing much with the status quo. sometimes i wonder and then i remember the obvious answer. like. to both improvements and its degradations it explains a lot of writing switch ups between then and now doesnt it

[anghraine]

Speaking of the sidelining of Elizabeth's arc in pop culture/fandom takes on P&P, I do have a more uncharitable than usual speculation about it:

I don't think Elizabeth is written as an audience stand-in in a general sense. But the novel does give audiences a carefully-constructed space to fuck up in the same ways that Elizabeth does.

The audience participating in Elizabeth's flawed patterns of thinking and reacting and engaging with other people is not equivalent to Elizabeth doing it in-story. But I think the novel is more broadly concerned with these kinds of patterns in ways of thinking and approaching the world and especially approaching people in the world than with it as a purely in-story thing.

The novel's exact central turning point is Elizabeth's horrified epiphany about her faults following Darcy's letter. That moment is integral to Elizabeth's characterization, but much of what she says of herself and how she's been approaching the world could be fairly turned on much of the audience because of how the book is constructed. This construction is very clearly deliberate.

It's easy to feel like Elizabeth's flaws and mistakes are not really a big deal when it's stuff we ourselves do all the time and when the person doing them is as generally admirable and engaging as Elizabeth. But while she overstates things in the horror of the moment, the novel still insists that the flaws in her approach are a big deal, ethically. They are morally wrong. Elizabeth has to struggle to grow past those patterns and flaws, however imperfectly, and I think there's an implicit challenge in that: so should we.

tbh I suspect that challenge is really uncomfortable for some people to think about too hard, and that's part of the reason there's so much flailing to make the book centrally about anything else.

[a-vague-yet-menacing-agency]

Old news but the fact that Cody was manager at hot topic is so unexplored in fandom. Like he wasn't some shithead employee he was the boss Entry level retail workers are so rarely promoted to manager nowadays, like, was Cody just that good at selling/managing the store? Also, managers make good money. Okay, haha, it's a hot topic, but store managers make like 70,000$ a year (CAD). They have health insurance. So Cody was actually doing pretty well. It's kinda weird to pretend he was on the same level as his friend with just a standard sales associate position, even if that friend was also full-time. Like the power and responsibility that Cody actually had is kind of impressive especially for 28.

AND then! To become a carnie! Like sick move and also Cody lost all his money anyway but the financial disparity! Was Murph probably thinking of like an assistant manager position which would make more sense with Cody's vibe? Probably. Is it funnier to imagine that Cody had to make sales reports to corporate and design store planograms? Absolutely.

Cody was management.

[oidheadh-con-culainn]

two questions to ask yourself when you start looking for pre-christian material in medieval literature:

1. when are these texts from

2. when did christianity come to this area

i can guarantee you in the vast majority of celtic-language sources (and others) the answer to 2. is several centuries before 1. and at that point you gotta ask yourself... how likely is it that these people would be writing about something that has not been a thing for them or anyone they know for, like, four hundred years (or, in many cases, eight or nine hundred years), especially given that most of the people doing that writing are not merely passively existing in a christian society but are, yunno, monks

there are exceptions! but there are way fewer exceptions than you think there are gonna be! and the exceptions are almost always extremely nebulous sub layers that can't be disentangled from the other layers (which are christian) with any certainty so are always somewhat speculative!

and most importantly those other layers are interesting too, but if you only ever treat them like dirt to dig through to get to something "real" underneath you're sure gonna be disappointed a lot of the time (and you're gonna miss a lot of cool shit that would be really exciting if this was an actual archaeological dig and not a metaphor)!!

[theater-goul]

I drew him so cunt like, I don’t even know what to do with him, how does he serve THAT much cunt

[ravenwolfie97]

In Wishes and Memories: Chapter 1

Siffrin finished their quest, but they've still got some journeying to do with the rest of the party. What will they find, learn, and realize as they continue their travels? What else does the Universe have in store for them?

(after finishing the game recently, i was filled with thoughts and ideas and i needed to do something with them. i have an over-arching plan for this story though, so i hope you stick with it and enjoy!)

(cross-posted on AO3, but my main audience is here lol)

Reality was finally starting to settle in.

The timeloops were broken, and you were finally free from your curse, fulfilling the conflicting wishes and saving Vaugarde and your friends... your family... your loved ones.

And now, they'll continue moving onward in their journey together with you - the first step of which being returning Bonnie to Bambouche now that their sister was unfrozen.

…With an ulterior motive of finding your hat.

It blew away from the tippy top of the House after you returned back to normal. 

And that hat meant a lot to you; it’s part of what little remained of your country, and you've had it for as long as you could remember.

As everyone travelled one last time through the village, celebrating and eating and merrymaking with the people of Vaugarde, you mostly tried to hang back, to come to terms with what had just gone down. 

You still felt pretty Craft-sick, worn out and dizzy. Though, a full stomach packed with tasty Vaugardian foods made you feel a lot better.

You were really looking forward to a night of actual rest… with a brand-new sunrise awaiting you once your eye opened next.

☆☆☆

It was only about an hour into the celebrations when you saw Isabeau had noticed you sitting on the bench next to the library. He came up and quietly joined you on the bench.

"Hey, Sif." His voice was low and gentle. "How're you holding up?"

You didn't want to pretend anymore. "I'm pretty tired, still," you replied honestly. 

Isabeau crossed his arms. "Makes sense. You have had quite a lot going on for yourself these last couple days." He paused. "Or, I guess, technically way more than that. Do you know how many times you looped, anyway?"

From the way you instinctively withdrew, Isabeau realized his curiosity had trumped his courtesy. "O-oh, I'm sorry, that's probably still a sensitive topic..." 

"No, it's okay," you interjected. "It's just... not something I want to think about right now... Don't think I would remember, anyway."

Isabeau let out a nervous laugh. "Yeah... Alright, then." 

You both looked out into the crowd: Mirabelle was chatting with other Housemaidens, including that stylish fan of hers; Odile was speaking with some of the older folk of the town; Bonnie was playing with some of the other kids. 

Isabeau turned back to look at you. "It seems like the others are preoccupied at the moment, so... what would you like to do now, Sif? Do you wanna go back to the Clocktower and take a nap? We still have accommodations there for the night."

You nodded. "Can you come with me, too, Isa?"

Isabeau's cheeks darkened at an embarrassingly quick rate. "S-sure! Yeah, let's head over there now!"

He leapt up a little too energetically off of the bench but slowed down for you. "Do you need to lean on me again?" he asked, extending an arm out to you.

"I don't think so," you answered. "But... I'd like to hold your hand."

Without waiting for a response, you grabbed Isabeau's hand, lifted yourself up from the bench, and came around to his side. "Let's go."

"Okay, yeah, here we go!" Isabeau started walking towards the eastern side of Dormont, feeling the weight of your hand as you both lightly swung your arms back and forth. It was hardly big enough to wrap around his palm. 

Isabeau had to try and maintain a slower pace to accommodate you, but it didn't seem like he was burdened by it at all. 

It felt nice, not having to be in a hurry anymore. The two of you could just calmly walk together, hand in hand.

☆☆☆

Soon enough, you both reached the Clocktower. After taking your shoes off, you went right upstairs to the bedroom. Immediately at the sight of a bed, you lumbered towards it and faceplanted directly into the sheets.

Isabeau smiled at you from the stairwell. "Do you need any help from me? Or do you wanna be alone for a bit, or-?"

"No!" Your reaction was immediate. Slow down. Talk it out. "I mean... I don't want you to leave. And, um..." 

You hesitated, through some cocktail of guilt and embarrassment and maybe… romantic inclination?

"I'd like your help with changing clothes."

"Sure! I can take care of that." 

You could tell Isabeau was still pretty excited about being so close to you, especially after finally confessing his feelings, but it felt more like he just wanted to help his hurt friend out. 

Carefully, Isabeau knelt down and unfastened the pins on your cloak, laying it gently over the foot of one of the other beds. 

While he was up, he went into the closet where all their extra sets of clothes were.

As he did so, you sat on the edge of the bed and used your toes to pry the socks off of your feet, tossing them somewhere on the floor.

Lifting your head back up, you saw Isabeau had easily found your small, light pajama set, holding the clothes in his hands. 

They were still folded neatly, since you hadn't slept with the others last night.

Suddenly, you noticed Isabeau freeze in place. And then, the realization hit you, too.

Undressing you was a level of intimacy neither of you would be used to, in a romantic context or otherwise. Definitely way outside of the boundary of "not liking being touched", which was what everyone else had assumed for so long.

Isabeau turned back around to see you now, as you were actively removing your gloves and placing them at your side. You attempted to lift the bottom of your turtleneck up, but…

Ow. Ow, that hurt. Your arms quickly began to ache in that position.

You didn’t expect to feel so worn out that you couldn’t even lift your arms and pull something as light as a shirt. It’s a good thing Isabeau had come with you after all, then.

Isabeau quickly hopped over to you. "Here, let me help you!" He put his hands on the hem of the sweater and looked up at your face. "Can you still lift your arms up?"

Slowly and methodically, you raised your arms up straight. It still hurt, but at least you just had to stay still this time.

Isabeau swiftly lifted your shirt up and pulled it over your head and off your arms.

You thought you would feel more uncomfortable, suddenly being shirtless in front of him. But maybe you were just too tired to care right now. 

You had never gotten changed in front of anyone in a long time. Or maybe that was the time weirdness messing with your perception again. 

Or maybe you just forgot. It wasn’t a super important detail to remember, anyway.

You looked at Isabeau’s face after a moment, noticing him staring at your chest. You knew it’s new to him, but what was so-?

Oh. You glanced down at yourself and saw... a star-shaped symbol in the middle of your chest. Its darkless shade was barely distinct from your pale skin. 

You… don’t remember that being there before. Where did it come from? Or was it always there?

…You weren't even sure if you remembered what your body looked like anymore. Even when you would sleep in the Clocktower, there was no mirror to look at yourself in or anything. 

You didn't want to be exposed to your own disgusting visage if you had any say in it anyway. 

...Those thoughts were going to be pretty hard to get out of, huh? 

You shook your head. No more of that talk. 

Isabeau should keep going.

It looked like he just snapped out of his trance, too.

"AH! SORRY!" he yelped. "H-here, let's get this on, now!" He frantically reached for the pajama top and draped it around your shoulders, covering your chest up except for that star marking.

You slid off of the bed to stand, sliding your arms into the sleeves. "Can you help me with my pants, too?"

Isabeau's entire body tensed up and his face contorted into itself, in a stunned expression. That was cute.

"Y-yeah! I gotcha, Sif," Isabeau responded, his voice decidedly more high-pitched than usual.

You felt Isabeau's fingers brush against your belly as he unbuckled your belt and unfastened the button on your pants. 

What an odd feeling, touching somewhere that private so lightly it hardly even counts. 

But it did to you. Every little touch meant so much to you.

Isabeau delicately rustled his fingertips along the waistband on your pants and pulled them down. You stepped out of them easily, giving the ends a little shake off your ankles. 

Quickly, Isabeau grabbed the soft pajama pants and slid them over your feet, bunching the rest of the legs around your ankles so that he could pull them all the way up easily.

You noticed his fingers linger at your hips. You supposed he had to be at least a little curious. But this was neither the time nor the place for it. He knew that too, and backed off after only a moment.

Isabeau looked up at you one last time, raising his hands to button up your shirt.

Warmth rushed to your cheeks. He didn't have to do that, but the softness and ease with which he slid the buttons through... Something about it made your heart flutter.

"Thank you, Isa," you sighed once he had finished.

"Of course, Sif," he replied, honey in his voice. He looked you right in the eye, full of gratitude, even though you were the one feeling grateful here.

Isabeau got back to his feet. "Is there anything else you need?"

You glanced away, embarrassed to say it. But you should. It would make him feel better to say it.

"Maybe not... need , but... I would like it if... you could stay here and sleep with me."

"O-oh!" Every little thing got Isabeau all flustered. It amused you. "Sure, yes! I-I'll go ahead and change clothes as well, then!" 

He hurriedly scrambled back to the closet to grab his tank top and shorts.

You sat back up onto the edge of your bed and just watched him. 

Isabeau unbuckled his sash and belt, and then slipped out of his shirt. His shoulder and back muscles rippled as he settled back into a relaxed position. 

You weren't... “into it”, per se, but… It was fascinating to watch.

Isabeau continued, shuffling off his big pants before putting on his sleep shorts. He then slipped the tank top over his head.

He turned back around towards you and flinched. “W-were you watching me that whole time…?”

You blushed. “M-maybe…” Quick, think of something funny to break the tension! “You just looked so… im-dress-ive.”

Isabeau couldn't hold back a belly laugh and snorted at your dumb pun. “Alright, that's enough outta you. Time for you to get some crabbing sleep!”

He rushed over to you, scooping you up before you knew it, and plopped you down on the bed. He climbed up on the opposite side not long after you came back to your senses.

You gingerly shuffled your aching body under the sheets and got settled, looking Isabeau in the face as he laid beside you.

You realized he was in the same position as when he almost confessed to you over so many timeloop nights in the Clocktower. And you realized that you never had that moment with him in this timeline. You took the time, through your tired eye, to appreciate every detail in his face, the freckles on his shoulders, the sparkle in his eyes… 

“Hey, Isa…”

“Yeah, Sif?”

“...I love you.”

“...I love you, too, Sif.”

You paused for a moment, noticing your heartbeat pick up speed. 

“Can I kiss you?”

Isabeau's face softened. “Of course.”

You felt Isabeau's hand curl around your cheek as you closed your eye and pulled yourself in. And waited.

His lips met yours. They were so gentle and comforting. Like a small hug. You wanted to stay there forever.

That feeling lulled you closer to sleep. You withdrew from Isabeau's face and nestled yourself into his body. His chest was soft and warm, more comfortable than any pillow.

Fatigue settled into your muscles, your bones, your soul. And you drifted off to sleep.

“Goodnight, Siffrin.”

☆☆☆

You opened your eye and rose from slumber in a half-awake state. You felt very groggy, and your body felt pretty sore, but you didn’t feel as sick now.

Wait. You didn’t immediately recognize where you were. The Clocktower? You looked down at your body to find you’d been changed into your pajamas.

Your brain was foggy. Was all of the last two days a bad dream? Did you reset back to the morning before defeating the King? But you never went back here before. So what-

THUNK!

You jumped as you heard the door downstairs slam shut, followed by someone’s stern voice shushing and scolding whoever did it. You couldn’t quite make it out. Something like, “Keep quiet! Siffrin is still asleep!”

Another, much smaller voice whispered “sorry” back to them.

You continued hearing their collective soft shuffling as you tried to organize your thoughts.

But suddenly, a scent caught your attention. You carefully breathed in… the scent of fresh, warm pastries, wafting up the stairwell. 

They must have been a gift from the boulangerie… after defeating the King… and saving Vaugaude.

A whimper escaped you before you'd realized you started to cry. You tried desperately to hold it in so no one else could hear you or worry about you, but you couldn’t stop many loud sobs from exiting your mouth.

You, at the very least, curled up as tight as you could, hands covering your face, as you heard their footsteps rush up to you.

“Siffrin!!” You heard Mirabelle shout as she hurried to your side.

She sat down next to you, gently tapping your right hand and trying to hold it. You took it down from your face and gripped her hand as hard as you could.

Your cries echoed throughout the Clocktower, from deep within your chest, partnered with hot tears that ran down your face. Your whole body was tight, squeezing out every last ounce of emotion.

After what felt like hours, you finally ran out of tears to cry. Mirabelle offered you some tissues in the meantime, which you needed and generously accepted.

Once your eyesight cleared and you could breathe normally, you saw Odile and Bonnie sitting across from you on the other bed.

“Are you feeling better now, Siffrin?” Odile softly broke the silence.

All you could do was nod in response.

“What happened?” Mirabelle asked. “Did you have a nightmare?”

“We might have woken him up earlier,” Odile mentioned to her, before turning her attention a little harshly to the kid. “Because somebody was being loud downstairs.”

“I already said I was sorry!” Bonnie yelled indignantly before quickly reeling it back in. “D-did I wake you up, Frin?” They turned to you and stared with their large eyes. “I’m really sorry if I did.”

You mustered up a chuckle at them. “No, Bonbon. I was already awake for a bit,” you croaked. “It’s okay. And I’m okay, too, I promise.”

“So what were you crying about?” Bonnie wondered aloud. Typical kid question.

“Siffrin doesn’t have to tell us that,” Odile quickly tried to correct them.

“It’s fine, Odile,” you cut in. “I… don’t really know how to put it into words, though.”

“Were you remembering what happened before?” Mirabelle posited. 

No, but now you remembered it all a little bit. All of the bad things you did and said recently.

You bit your lip. You didn’t want to start crying again.

“That’s not it,” you said. “It’s just that I realized… After you came back in, I knew, for sure, that today… was a new day.”

Suddenly, Mirabelle nearly headbutted you as she flung herself into you, giving you a big hug. “Oh Change, Siffrin! Now you’re going to make ME cry!”

Odile covered her emotional smile with a hand, but you could still see it in her eyes. 

Bonnie gave you a big, excited grin. “Well, we just got a whole bunch of tasty snacks, so now we can have something good to eat to celebrate!”

You laughed and smiled back. “Yeah, we can celebrate! Just as long as it's not all croissants.”

Bonnie looked at you quizzically. “What's the matter with croissants?”

Right. You shook your head. “Long story.”

Suddenly, you froze as you noticed something. “Hey… where is Isabeau?”

The last place you saw him was… right beside you, in bed. That was hours ago, he certainly could have gotten up, but where would he have gone?

“We… aren't sure about that, either,” Mirabelle responded. “While the rest of us were out earlier, he broke away and said he needed to get one last thing before we left Dormont. He didn't say more than that, though, so we're all kinda in the dark.”

“Well, no use staying up here longer than we have to,” Odile sighed after a beat, standing up from the edge of the bed. “We’ve got some breakfast to make, don’t we, Boniface?”

Bonnie grinned at her with wide eyes. “Yeah!!!” They immediately darted off towards the stairs but stopped themself shortly before they went out of view. “Come and hang out with us when we’re done, Frin!”

Odile quickly followed behind them, and Mirabelle lingered beside you for just a little longer, holding your hand gently. “I’m glad you’re doing better, Siffrin.”

She got up and gave you one more sweet smile. “I’m going to join the others downstairs. Remember, if you have any more big feelings, please don’t hesitate to talk about ‘em, feelings buddy!”

You made a crinkled smile back at her. “Thanks, feelings buddy.”

As soon as Mirabelle headed down to the kitchen downstairs, you heard the door creak open again. Everyone clamored at the visitor - it sounded like they were being nosy and asking what they had.

A deep, hushed voice told them to back off. You could immediately recognize that voice. 

Isabeau came back!

And as he was telling everyone else off, he mentioned your name. You started to get anxious.

Isabeau climbed up the stairs and flinched when he saw you upright on the edge of your bed. “Uh, hey, Siffarooni!” he greeted. “How’re you doing? Did you get a good sleep?”

You nodded, summoning a yawn and rubbing your eye. “What was everyone talking about just now? You have something for me?”

“Y-yeah! I, uh…” He shuffled his hands behind his back. “Well… y’know what, no.” His brow furrowed seriously. “What you said the other day… you were right. I don’t want to be a coward anymore. So… I’m just gonna give it to you.” 

He extended his hands and showed you… a small gift box. It was wrapped with a cute silk ribbon. 

You carefully untied it and opened the box to find… some lightless pearl earrings and a chain necklace. 

You looked up at Isabeau curiously, and found him blushing hard and squirming in place. 

“What are these for?”

“Well, I noticed that you didn’t wear earrings like the rest of us do, so um… A-and the necklace was for if you didn’t like the idea of wearing earrings! I knew a few people who moved to Vaugarde and pierced their ears later in life, and they said that it hurt a bit, s-so I just wanted to give you an alternative, in case your ears were too sensitive!”

You blinked. You knew the earrings were important to Vaugardian culture, but coming from him after confessing… 

“Did you get these from the jeweler here in Dormont?”

“Yeah!” Isabeau beamed as he spoke. “She and her wife were so happy to be back together, and she gave these to me on discount!” He paused and got shy again. “Wh-what do you think? Do you like them?”

You smiled. Of course you liked them. They were gifts from Isabeau. 

Although… “While I'm not too certain if I'm comfortable with the earrings… I really like the necklace. Thank you, Isa.”

Isabeau smiled wide, his eyes bright. “You’re welcome, Sif. I just thought it would be, like, a nice souvenir from the town! So you can remember it once we go travelling elsewhere.”

You’re pretty certain that wasn’t the only reason he gifted you these things, but you thought that it would be nice to have something personal to remember Dormont by. Something outside of your timeloop journey.

“COME ON DOWN HERE, IT’S TIME FOR BREAKFAST!!!” 

Bonnie’s loud shrill voice echoed throughout the Clocktower. 

The smell of freshly cooked eggs and toasted bread along with the buttery pastries already made you aware of the oncoming morning feast you were awaiting.

Isabeau excitedly headed towards the stairwell. “Come and join us when you’re ready, Sif!”

As he descended, you looked down at the jewelry he got you. Even at a discount, it probably cost quite a bit more than you’d ever be able to pay him back.

No. It’s a gift for you. You don’t have to pay him back. Just accept it.

The chain necklace was a little bit weighty, but the links were still thin and intricate. You slipped it over your head and let it rest on you. It was quite comfortable, and it would make a fun sound as you played with it between your fingers.

Not exactly as fun as a thing that goes “ding-ding” when you walk, but… close enough.

You changed out of your pajamas and into your trusty cloak. You decided to show off the chain necklace outside of the collar, too. You slipped the gift box with the earrings into your pockets. Maybe one day you’ll find something to do with them.

But, for now, it was time for a big breakfast with your family.

[voluptuarian]