#so that's how the sows connect I guess

[mushroomsfrogsetc]

Apparently,not only does James Monroe Iglehart (the voice actor for Lance in Tangled the Series)voice Zestial,but Jeremy Jordan voices Varian AND Lucifer!Seriously,am I the only one who found out from a google search,or is it THAT obvious?!

#hazbin hotel #tangled the series #hazbin zestial #hazbin lucifer #tangled varian #tangled lance #so that's how the sows connect I guess #or maybe people just started making au's for fun #but seriously #in the only two roles I've seen Jeremy Jordan play #he was a short king #and he served in both

[bcacstuff]

Nic was travelling somewhere and Alex is located in Cali so they must be in LA imo

Yes Alex V is based in Cali, The Ramona Gym is the location, already showed it

Gosh they apparently drove from LA to Ramona, and the video yesterday at Huntington Beach was most likely on their way to Ramona. But for real I do not think he travels with just a backpack to Mexico with Nic.

Nic left on Monday 5 February, so has been there apparently all week already and now a weekend to Ramona working out. I figure it's just Nic liking to work with these known coaches, and via Sam's connections he can.

Also how do you want to know Sarah is in Mexico? Yes I know she had a flight, and yes she sowed a beach and her son with her. But you're just guessing that is Mexico and trying to make some story from it. Well sorry... he's hanging out with Nic in Ramona and not with Sarah in Mexico. No coincidences, just 2 people living their own lives. Really Anon stop that behaviour

Yes Alex knows her, not that big surprise

Again, with just a backpack? Or do you see any other luggage?

Okay last Anon just came back saying speculation about The Mirage Vegas is wrong and can be ignored

[sizzlinbaconpeach]

The text connecting Chris and Jill is “戦友” or “kanyuu” which translates to “commrade in arms; war buddy”.?

in the Revelation's bio for Chris, they called him Jill's Brother-in-arms.?

So they don't have feelings for each other?

https://www.tumblr.com/chirikalovesjill/34500920927/where-did-this-picture-come-from-please-anyone

Hello Anon! I want to start off by saying that it's okay if you don't ship Chris and Jill romantically - not everyone does. I mentioned in a previous post how I can certainly see how others would only view their relationship as platonic or coworkers. Unfortunately, the link in your question does not work so I'm sorry I can't respond to that in particular. And I am not trying to sow any discontent or attacking, I'm merely responding and enjoying my preferred ship. I hope you can understand. If we can all stay positive and respectful that would be greatly appreciated. ^_^ Chris and Jill have been fighting BOW's since the very first game. Actual canon is that they survived through the whole mansion together. They've always protected each other. So 'comrade in arms', 'war buddy, 'brother-in-arms', 'partner', 'bestest friend', 'kindred spirits', 'love of my life' are all titles they would/could use to address each other.

Also, in RE1 original, Chris and Jill were written to be romantically interested in each other. In a recent interview, the live-action actor for RE1 Chris stated that he wanted to remain as respectful as possible to Jill's actress as she was much younger than him and he knew they were supposed to be romantically linked in the story. Source: ROE Plays RESIDENT EVIL 1 w/ Original Chris Redfield (Charlie Kraslavsky)

And this cute song that plays when they are reunited: Long Lost Friend Long Lost Friend Revisited - I love how bittersweet this is, very fitting In my mind, there is definitely some romantic sweetness to this song. But Capcom likes to keep them ambiguous or seems to want to retcon them, so I don't know. Ship them or don't. Doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things. I just like how mature their relationship seems - built on lasting trust and respect. Even in Death Island there were ambiguous hints of something more between them. Like, Chris staring at a smiling Jill, backlit by a beautiful setting sun, seems kind of romantic to me. ... Only to fist bump her seconds later. Guess he wanted to keep it professional and clean in front of his sister XD

Before I got into Resident Evil (Biohazard), I never really knew about any 'ships'. I had vague memories of RE2 (Cleon bby) and RE5 (my unknowing teenage self actually shipped Sheva and Chris!), but it wasn't until I actually replayed the games as an adult and explored more of the extended lore that I became a Valenfield fan (and unexpectedly, less of a Cleon shipper). And what cemented it for me even more was the supplemental RE5 guide translations!

I highly recommend any Valenfield shipper to read it here. (scroll down a little more than half way on the page to find the STORY section. It's after the different colored text timeline.)

Some quotes from this official guide book:

... Referred to as "the BSAA's ace", Chris has a brilliant track record preventing many bioterror attacks, but Chris' chest is filled with an indescribable emptiness. Many comrades have been sacrificed to repair the errors of fools. Even if the world's saved, these friends will never return. He had lost his irreplaceable former partner. ...

... Chris has nothing against having a female partner. In fact, the partner he regarded as irreplaceable was a female too. She's the perfect person whom Chris can totally trust and rely on, someone whom he believes is what he needed to complete any mission. Chris felt their teamwork was like an eagle able to escape from biohazardous danger. ...

... Chris is staring intently at a statue of a sleeping beauty. He's like a person looking at his lover through a mirror, where the other side of the mirror's a different dimension. ... The image displayed on the PDA screen issued by the BSAA isn't very good quality. The faint face is illuminated by a weak light, ... Despite that, Chris is able to recognise the person. He's been chasing this lead all the while, just so he can repair the missing piece of his heart. This can't be a mistake, nor an illusion. This is a fact. ... It's Jill, his old partner who sacrificed herself and jumped off a cliff in order to save Chris. Due to Jill's absence ever since, the BSAA have removed her from duty. But two years later, there's finally a sign that shows she may be alive after all, and this sign's appearing right in front of her partner who refuses to believe she's dead. The reason why Chris, who was from BSAA North American branch, was hoping to join this operation within Kijuju, was because he'd obtained some sort of lead leaked by Irving on the black market while he was looking for Jill. ...

... Jill, with her antibodies, has been administered P30--- Gifted with superhuman abilities, she's been given a powerful drug that controls her mind too. This evil drug is continuously injected into her body, torturing her to no end. Just as Wesker intended, Jill's receiving hell-like suffering. "I'm begging you, kill me!" ... Wesker's instruction to Jill before he leaves, which is to kill Chris who has finally come for her, plays mercilessly in her mind like an echo. The painful, unbearable order's destroying Jill mentally, and she's begging with her mind for her old partner, Chris, to end her suffering. "Don't worry about me! If this goes on I'll only end up killing both of you! Shoot me, please!" Despite that, Chris refuses to give up. Chris screams like a beast at the brainwashed Jill. He promises that even if it means giving up his life, he's going to free his partner with whom he has finally reunited, from her curse.

But again, I believe Capcom will keep their relationship more ambiguous and open to interpretation - I think they want to keep all potential shippers content. And they certainly seem to be moving towards a more 'just a good friend/co-worker' angle than before.

Which, in my opinion, cheapens the over arcing story (RE1 - 5) and relationship - but that's for another post to ramble about, I suppose.

No hard feelings if you're not a Valenfield shipper. They have a good friendship and I can totally understand if people only see them as that and nothing more.

#valenfield #just my own annoying ramblings - don't mind me #platonic comrades or secret soulmates - they're cute either way #answer #what do I know? I'm just a shipper ;; #resident evil #I'm sorry if I sound like I'm stuck on repeat :P

[mephinomaly]

[TL] BIOHAZARD/Chapter 8

[ This post uses Ois~su ♪ ]

Time: A few minutes later

Location: In a private karaoke room in the back of the livehouse

Keito: What is this place?

Kaoru: You don’t know what karaoke is? You’ve probably never played around like this so you wouldn’t know, would you Mr Honours Student?

Keito: I know what karaoke is. I’m asking why there’s a room like this in the back of the livehouse.

Kaoru: Yumenosaki’s pretty strict on a lot of things, so we were trying to expand our horizons. This lesson room has all the proper equipment and soundproofing, but it’s never been that popular.

Koga: Hmph. Those Yumenosaki guys who were supposed t’be the ideal customer aren’t even interested in playin’ music.

Kaoru: Yup. That’s why we made it look like a regular lesson room, so it’s more accessible to the general public. It’s a new service we’re providing.

Koga: Ah~, so that’s what happened.

Kaoru: Almost painful to see how much effort I put into managing the place. I was trying to gather as much information as I could, working as hard as I could~.

In the end, this place became a safe haven for kids who felt they didn’t have a place in Yumenosaki, and for those who wanted to use the lesson room like normal.

That room was renovated, but nobody really used it so it returned to how it was before. We started running out of lesson rooms.

Ahh, this is super nostalgic… I was really giving it my all back then.

Koga: Shoulda tried harder in yer idol activities ‘n school work. Barely saw you at school back then, ya know?

Kaoru: Well, me back then didn’t have any interest in that sort of thing ♪

Kaoru: Oh~? That’s weird…

Keito: What’s wrong? Did you see something suspicious?

Kaoru: Sakuma-san was supposed to be waiting for us here, but he’s nowhere to be found.

Keito: …Sakuma-san? What does he want from me now?

Koga: Wait, Sakuma-senpai’s comin’ here?! Hahah! I can’t wait ☆

...I acted like such a sheeple back then, it’s embarrassing.

Kaoru: Aren’t you still embarrassing sometimes~?

Rei: Yo~.

Sorry for keepin’ ya. My bad my bad… Coupla scary people caught me~. Hadta to explain some stuff to them which took a while.

Haa, bein’ popular’s a pain.

Keito: ...

Rei: Oh, you actually came, bouzu. What a good kid you are.

Keito: You were the one who called for me.

Rei: Right, ‘course. You lucky you get to see me like this.

Ain’t you embarrassed? I beat you up so hard the other day you couldn’t even stand ���

Keito: ...

Rei: Uwaa…. Noooooo~, I was sooo embarrassing back then~...

Why was I acting like that? I should have had more tact!

Koga: ...Is that you, Sakuma-senpai?

Kaoru: Ahh, it’s like we’re right back there.

Rei: Indeed… It seems you’ve come to grips with the current situation. We are looking at ourselves in a ghost-like state.

This is hell of earth, having to watch myself act so embarrassing for such a long time. What sort of crime would you class this as?

Koga: Hn, you’re just reapin’ what you sowed. I live my life stayin’ true t’what I believe, nothin’ I’d be embarrassed by people seein’.

Koga: Kyaaa! Sakuma-senpai! Kyaaaa! I-i-i-it’s a privilege to be able to meet you like thissss![1]

Koga: ...

Rei: You’re amazing, Koga, so mentally strong… How can you not be embarrased after seeing that?

Koga: I am so sorry that was extremely embarrassing of me.[2]

Kaoru: Uwa, Hearing Koga-kun use keigo is such a treat.[3] Whilst I’m not as bad as you two, I would rather not have my immature past self put on display for all to see.

But why’s this happening? I guess it’s part of the AIIE project.

Rei: Umu… At the moment, I haven’t any more guesses.

I suspect that, since we are all connected to the same device, our dreams are being mixed together.

Koga: Do you think so? Aren’t dreams supposed t'be more of a private affair?

Rei: Well, this is technology that not much is known about yet.

Kaoru: Now I feel like I’m going to regret taking part in such a questionable experiment.

Rei: We cannot turn back the clocks now. All we can do is adapt to this current situation in as little time as possible.

[ ☆ ]

he speaks formally here

he speaks formally here too. He says ‘gomennasai, hazukashii desu’. Just so you know

keigo is polite speech!

Chapter 7

Chapter 9

#ensemble stars #enstars #translation #mephi's translations #rei sakuma #kaoru hakaze #keito hasumi #koga oogami #undead climax

[sylkishagsuperiority]

So I was recently accused of wanting Sylvie to become a housewife simply because I said I think a domestic lifestyle where she has a stable environment to heal would be beneficial for her. You know, because she’s an abuse victim and a refugee who’s spent her entire life on the run without meaningful connections.

It’s actually kind of hilarious that someone read that and went “oh, so you want her to be a 1950s housewife”. Because obviously those two statements are completely synonymous and there’s no room for any kind of nuance.

But the argument it turned into made me realize that some people see the Sylvie in s1 as someone who’s already finished their character development and therefore shouldn’t change in any significant way.

Which is not how storytelling works?

Sylvie’s personality in s1 is completely and wholly a product of HWR’s manipulation. He literally says “I paved the road, you two just walked down it.” He manipulated Sylvie’s entire existence just the same as he manipulated the fate of everyone on the Sacred Timeline to follow a certain fixed version of events. He needed her to get to the Citadel to fulfill his agenda - and yes, that agenda involved her killing him, even if we’re not yet sure why. The fact that he spent the whole episode 6 goading her, sowing distrust between her and Loki and trying to get a rise out of her is proof of that. Her entire life she had her strings pulled by him. He needed her alone. He needed her angry. He needed her focused on a singular thing, getting to whoever was behind the TVA. She had no freedom, no choice, no say in the matter.

Just like Loki on the Sacred Timeline, who was taken by the TVA the moment he diverged from the path, Sylvie would’ve been pruned if she’d tried doing anything other than living in apocalypses, and finally all that pain resulted in her drive to get revenge on the people who took everything from her. HWR was pulling her strings the entire time.

And now, for the first time in her life, she’s free.

There’s no one chasing her, no one making the choices for her. She can go wherever she wants. She can choose who she wants to become the way Loki was allowed to change once he was taken out of the Sacred Timeline. At the end of s1, she’s in the same place that he was at the beginning. Her glorious purpose ultimately unfulfilling (as evidenced by her tears after killing HWR), her identity in shambles, and for the first time, a world of limitless opportunity at her disposal.

Who she becomes now is anyone’s guess. But one way or another, she will be changing at least to some extent, because that’s the nature of character growth in tv shows. Whatever she chooses to be and do, it will be, for the first time, up to her.

And I’m excited to see what it is, no matter what. I don’t expect her to choose a domestic lifestyle at this point in the story (this is Marvel, after all, and there’s a multiversal war coming), but I don’t think it would be out of character to want that for herself at all. Judging by the McSylki pics, she’s already giving it a try, but with how things went down at the Citadel, she’s obviously still got stuff to work through. I can’t wait to see where she goes from there.

And meanwhile, in fics, I will continue to explore how a safe and loving environment would help her overcome the millennium of solitude and pain she had to go through. And if someone doesn’t agree with those headcanons, that’s perfectly valid. They can simply read other works or (a bold idea, I know) write their own.

#sylki #pro sylki #sylvie (marvel) #loki (marvel) #loki series #pro loki series

[mytvd]

why is caroline's hair and lingerie post-vampire bite her cutest look so far

omfg toe ring closeup

why is vicki so upset at jeremy feeling like she hooked up with him for "the drugs" after she accused his motives. what is her deal. my initial dislike is morphing into a burning need to figure her out

have elena and stefan even been "dating" for 24 hours yet? this bff/bf bonding hang seems so sudden

i like matt's instincts to leave elena alone, wow. so rare!!

why is mr. tanner's class now on the end of ww2??? i need to see the syllabus

he's the football coach too???? D:

if i didn't already know matt lives i would definitely assume he was destined from how decent he's acting to elena and stefan. why is he friends with tyler

i mean i get that in high school friends are often proximity-based but ugh

"stefan and i have watched every single person we've cared about die" lmao what a natural thing to say

is it important for the vampires to stay on the down low or what?? they are not being subtle at all lol.

if damon is supposed to be 25 why tf he is hanging out with these teens like this?? i get it is to mess with stefan but it's creepy. also what would jenna think about this. where is she

damon could be doing literally anything with his immortality and super senses. so far i am buying that stefan is trying to live a "human life" but damon could be sowing true chaos somewhere with a lot more going on than a small town in virginia. and amongst people with more interesting lives than high school students

the crow im speechless

i think i would find stefan much more boring if i had seen this show at an earlier time in life (especially while it was airing) but at this point i'm so beyond fatigued over seeing woman brutalized in the media and real life and the state of the world that seeing this sensitive guy trying to [presumably] genuinely appreciate small human moments and support his girlfriend is nice? and i like how invested he is in bringing damon's humanity to light (although it doesn't seem like he's doing anything to really keep him from killing non-elena citizens). maybe he gets more boring? also watching the way caroline and vicki are being treated by men is disgusting.

"you can have her when i'm done" dear god how does vicki stomach the presence of tyler!!!!

"yes it is, otherwise you wouldn't put an alternate meaning behind everything you say" okay elena!!!

tbh one reason i never watched this show is because i hated mia on degrassi so much that i didn't think i could handle a show where nina dobrev is the protagonist but i like her a lot on this so far! i was wrong

can stefan even pretend to be upset about damon killing mr. tanner

it gets addressed in btvs that the sunnydale cops are aware of the existence of vampires so i am wondering if the mystic falls cops do as well? like how many bodies with identical neck wounds could they bring in without connecting them to each other? also i guess i know sunnydale is a hellmouth full of monsters and idk if there are atp other vampires killing people besides damon.

oops i spoke too soon i guess stefan doesn't believe in damon after all lol

#the vampire diaries #tvd 01x03 #vampire diaries #tvd

[dulcewrites]

You know what would be the biggest karma on Aemond's face, receiving his father's fate: how? The reader dies so Aemond can't get it wet anymore because he has two full children to take care and not because he..cares for them but to carry on the Targaryen's line.

He's harsh with Daella because she reminds him of his failure, of his wounded pride(Aemond couldn't save the reader and people call him cursed and unlovable for that) and what does that sweet angel become: Aemond 2.0—she respects him as a warrior but hates him as a father and a man because HE had made his mother miserable and let her die(children aren't stupid and catch on things oretty quickly)

Daella is cold, never calls him father but your highness and never once smiles at him only around her grandmother, uncle Aegon and aunt Helaena and her cousins, especially toward her little brother Alaric,she's still the little girl Daella Aemond once knew.

Aemond tries desperately to connect with her but no avail—sweetest karma is when Daella confronts him about Alys when he wants to married her daughter off—Daella rathers die alone instead to be a bird in a cage, waiting for a husband that would never respect her.

Just imagine the phobia of Daella toward marriage,the burning hate she feels for Aemond and finally she blows up at him cursing his existence, calling him his mother's killer..

And Aemond finally feels regret and despair.

BONUS if Alaric feels the same but has the decency to be polite and calls him "Father" but with zero hint of warmth, just indifference.

DOUBLE BONUS if Ser Quinton is still alive and vows to be around the reader's children and take the role as their father.

You reap what you sow they said.

And I can't wait for Alys and Aemond receiving the sweet karma in the final part.

Sorry!! Just I want this scene to get it out of my head, just want to share it with you😊

I plan on ending it right when dance starts so after what happens to Lucerys. But I do think it would be interesting to maybe do like fire and blood style wrap. Kind of describing what happens during dance to reader and the kids. Maybe let y’all guess which story actually happened.

Reader dying, especially if it was to protect her children, would be so sad :(. And truly ironic if somehow Aemond survives and she doesn’t. They would truly hate him sksmdkwndj. Oh and imagine if the other side of the kids family isn’t around either. She’d be forced to cling to the Targaryens.

Aemond and daella having a condescending “you look so much like your mother is certain lights” moment like otto and Alicent bc he’s sick in the head :/

Her aversion to marriage would also extend to just not liking her family. She’d blame her father for her mother’s pain but also blame for for the war even happening. She’d feel pretty severed from both team black and green bc she is her mother’s daughter. Despite the signifiers, she feels like an outsider. It would be awful if in the end she would be expected to marry someone. Let’s say instead of Jaehaera marrying egg iii, it had to be daella. It would just be another cycle of trauma repeating itself

And interesting way to take the story… I appreciate the theory!!

#Daella’s moniker being the realm’s misandrist.. and we love her for it 🫡🫡 #fool me once asks #I do think we would need a major character death bc you know war and shit… I wonder who

[egginfroggin]

Bonds are very hard to break in Iced Tracks, but they do need to be maintained. Distance between the two people holding the connection is detrimental to the bond they hold -- really, "bonds" is just a shorter way of saying "relationship," I guess, but there's some fancy-shmancy Plot Stuff going on with them, so they're speshal.

The bond between Ingo and Emmet is, frankly, the strongest in the fic, despite how it's weakened for the majority of the fic.

Another funny thing about bonds -- they need to be mutually reciprocated. Offered and accepted.

Do you see where I'm going with this?

Emmet keeps offering, and Ingo keeps refusing.

Ingo is convinced that proximity is dangerous, while Emmet never wanted this distance between them and only ever wanted proximity.

Their bond is an unraveled string that Emmet keeps offering the frayed end of to Ingo, and Ingo never lets himself take it.

There is the slightest bit between them, a long-buried line under the snow, but it needs to be dug up again.

Similarly, Kyurem offers Ingo a bond, and Ingo reciprocates it in return for learning how to control his powers -- powers that he doesn't know are a literal curse from the same dragon he just tethered himself to.

But bonds can't be upheld by one person. You don't build a bridge out into the nether without supports on both sides. It crumbles.

And all that unresolved trauma and blame and guild that Ingo keeps piling onto himself because he thinks he's the only one to blame, because he can't control the powers he was blessed with?

It bubbles up and overflows, and that resentment that Kyurem had initially intended to sow in Ingo finally manifests.

Only, it's all directed at Kyurem, and Ingo severs their bond.

And they're back where they started: alone, isolated, and full of ice.

#pokemon #pokemon fanfiction #iced tracks #subway boss emmet #subway boss ingo #submas #kyurem #egginfroggintalkin #eggin's writings #ingo may have shot himself in the foot a bit very badly #then ghetsis happens #but it's okay we know how much of a good person he is right? #yeah it'll be fine #don't worry about it

[groovesnjams]

17 / 50

"Perfect Day" by Al Green

DV:

Way back when rock n roll was young, Otis Redding wrote a song called "Respect" and Aretha Franklin covered it and he said, "She just took the song [away from me.]" At some point before this, during the peak of folk and blues, songs weren't "covered" so much as played by any and everyone: it was an era of standards, often composed by songwriters who didn't perform. I'm not saying "Respect" was the dividing line between eras - rock 'n' roll, with its increasing focus on authenticity may have gotten there earlier. But I am saying that at least since "Respect", covers have been a competition. Who "owns" a song? Otis was right, Aretha owns "Respect" (among others.) How many people even think of "MacArthur Park" or "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" or "It's Oh So Quiet" as covers? They all got new owners when they were covered.

Al Green has been on both sides of this fight: a winner (his "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?" was originally The Bee Gees') and a loser (Talking Heads' "Take Me to the River" was originally Al Green's.) With the exception of an Amazon ad in 2018, he hasn't released new music for a 15 years. Now he's back and he's come for one of Lou Reed's best and you know what? "Perfect Day" is Al Green's now; he just took it away from Lou. Maybe this song is about god, instead of heroin? Maybe it always was? Or maybe it's just still about falling in love, and you still decide the subject, just like anyone who heard the song without knowing anything about Reed. Because there's no limit to the ways you can hear "I'm glad I spent it with you. And there's equally no escaping the darkness inherent in lyrics like "You just keep me hanging on," even if the gospel choir fills the background with beauty. Al's version embraces both sides of the song and makes them his own, most of all when he leans hard into the "You're gonna reap just what you sow" coda, possibly the song's high point, rueful and accusatory and ominous. I'm not sure it's possible to make a song fully your own when it's been popular for 50 years, but if anyone can pull that off, it'd be Al Green: this "Perfect Day" is the work of a master thief showing he's still got it.

MG:

Frankly, I find taking a song about the love one has for heroin and remaking it about the love two septuagenarians have as they stare down inevitable death just as perverse as it would be in reverse. Al Green is stirring, trilling, and schmaltzy in a way that is antithetical to any and all white powders, though I’m sure he does have one of those days of the week pill cases at this point. I’m pretty certain I heard this song first as soundtrack to Mark Renton’s overdose in Trainspotting, unfortunately my favorite movie as a high schooler, and the connection cannot be undone. “Perfect Day” is an intensely sad, painful, and anxiety-inducing song. Al Green singing it actually makes all those feelings worse, like I’m covered in blood and crying for help and someone is smiling and waving at me from across a busy street. If last year was about dissociation music, I guess this year is about derealization music, the sort of stuff that makes your fleshy, lived reality feel fake. We’ve included a lot of light horror on this year’s list – enjoy, this is the hard stuff.

#gnjsoty2k23 #al green #perfect day #lou reed #music

[certifiedskywalker]

So, House of the Dragon…

This first episode felt like coming home: a stinking, blooding, violently familiar but oh-so fond, home. Westeros is back, but has it retained its knack at awing audiences?

I think so, but I'm nervous. Here's why.

Spoilers for House of the Dragon.

As I said, House of the Dragon truly did feel like a homecoming. Delving back into Westeros' deep and dark corners gives this show an edge as we, the viewers, are already connected to this world. We are returning to a place and people that, at some point during the run of Game Of Thrones, notwithstanding season eight, we fell in love with. For better or for worse.

The Houses, the High Valyrian, the histories, the armors, the dresses, the DRAGONS! We're back people, in all of GOT's glory and (nearly) none of its dead weight! The showrunners gave us it all! The gore! The Joffrey-esque, typical Prince entitlement that breeds more gore! We were fed that medieval lawlessness that incites a chaos that leaves viewers disturbed, dreading, and desiring.

And, as we all know, chaos is a ladder. With its cast in King's Landing, House of the Dragon reminds us of that fact by referencing GOT's early seasons as a fantastical political drama. Hand of the King, Otto Hightower, is already playing this Game Of Thrones, mostly to keep Daemon Targaryen from ascending as heir to King Viserys. While he mourned the lost Queen and Heir for the Day, Hightower could see opportunity through the smoke of the funeral pyre. He sent his daughter, Alicent Hightower, to comfort the loss-ridden King Viserys; thereby planting a seed of power for him to sow later.

Lest I fail to touch on the titular Targaryens directly, let me do so now. I hate them all, but I love them too. Viserys is so wonderfully characterized as a rather buffoonish King, loyal to his family save where duty intervenes. Like every patriarch, he is blindly obsessed with lineage and blood to fault, to the point where he would so willingly spill the blood of his wife. So, I guess you could say, like any King, Viserys is loyal to his family...as long as it ensures power.

Perhaps that is why he is so quick to demote Daemon: he sees that hunger for power is far too strong in his little brother, the second born. Their bond embodies the cycle of familial betrayal for the sake of personal ambition. Viserys withholds from Daemon. Daemon feels betrayed. Daemons acts out in a way that betrays the little trust Viserys holds for him. The cycle continues...and has.

The twist in House of the Dragon is that we witness the last betrayal. Daemon, who has been set to inherit the Seven Kingdoms during decades of lost heirs, who has been living a life of a lavish Prince, is deposed as next in line. He, then, is no more different than the likes of Otto Hightower: a second-born damned to feast off of only what he can take for himself. No wonder Daemon hates Otto. He is him, even more so at the end of this first episode! This begs the question of the series: what will Daemon take to feast upon?

Rhaenyra. How wonderful it is to see another young, Targaryen woman take the literal reins. A dragonrider, stubborn, thrill-seeking, and life-loving. Though, a coming-of-age story like this is one to be weary of in my book. The treatment of Daenerys Targaryen in the later seasons of GOT was deplorable and my fear is that HOTD showrunners will treat Rhaenyra, who is so similar to her descendant, as a do-over. A character reformed, but not necessarily to fit the shape of this new story.

I say that only because I watched the After the Episode feature at the end of this first episode of House of the Dragon. The showrunners, in my opinion, have entirely misinterpreted parts of their own production. One stated that King Viserys made his choice to save his son out of duty and, while true, for Kings, for Targaryen Kings, duty is so warped by the pureness of their blood, their power, that it was hardly duty at all the drove Viserys to kill his wife. The same applies to the so-called 'love' between the brothers. Yes, Viserys loves Daemon and vice-versa, but only for the promise of power that each ensures to the other. As long as there is a Targaryen atop the Iron Throne, they will be taken care of...until that pesty cycle of betrayal comes up again...until Daemon is deposed by Rhaenyra.

However, one could argue that Viserys only acts to keep a Targaryen on the throne for the sake of the prophecy. You know, the Song of Ice and Fire. I hate this. Not in the same way I hate-love these Targaryens. I truly hate the inclusion of the Song of Ice and Fire, the prophecy of the Long Night. Sure, it was around, lingering as prophecies often do in fantasy settings. But to name it? To make it such a driving force for Rhaenyra's ascension? No.

If anything, this undermines the heart at the House of the Dragon. Instead of trusting viewers to see the connections, hear them in the old names of these new characters, instead of letting us naturally fall back in love with a world we have been without, the showrunners drew a Stark throughline. One that was unneeded and harms the true humanity that this coming-of-age story could hold. Instead of having Rhaenyra feel driven to Queenhood by duty, by learning about her kingdom and wanting to change things, to mend her family, to break the cycle (does this sound familiar?), they gave her something that places her beyond our reach: the weight of prophecy. The weight of the Targaryen lineage, the madness that we saw come from Targaryen's preoccupation with prophecy.

Tyrion said it best: "Prophecy is a half-trained mule. It looks as though it might be useful, but the moment you trust in it, it kicks you in the head." So, I fear the writers of House of the Dragon may have to brace for a strike.

That being said, I am so looking forward to where this show could go that I am more than willing to brace right alongside them.

This story is fruitful and wild and full of whimsy. And DRAGONS. Did I mention that at the top? I hope I did.

#house of the dragon #the house of the dragon #daemon targaryen #rhaenyra targaryen #viserys targaryen #hotd #got #game of thrones #a song of ice and fire #asoiaf #tyrion lannister

[figs-and-cigs]

Some thoughts after a conversation:

Comparison is the thief of joy.

One of the most common issues I see, typically for cishet polyam couples, is the imbalance of dates between couples.

Woman have an easier time finding potential dates (this isn't just a poly thing). I won't get into the statistics and social issues regarding this. While men typically get less matches - and polyam men even less so. (Que the irony that open relationships actually lead to a more limited dating pool.)

For couples, new to Polyam, this situation tends to create the most stress. Seeing your partner have "more success" in dating is usually the first thing to sow seeds of jealousy. Even worse it can lead to a desire of possessiveness (especially for cishet men who are already socially encouraged to think that way).

Remember, limiting your partners' autonomy is unethical. Period. Too often I see one partner trying to restrict the other from dating until they too find dates.

Seeking equality, keeping score, and comparing your experiences - even to your primary partner's - will always end in hurt. Remember this isn't a game. No one "wins" at polyamory. (Guess what, no one wins at monogamy either!) It's a lifelong experience. In life there's going to be good, bad, and mundane moments, chances for growth and mistakes.

Compersion (feeling happiness for your partners' happiness) is a skill. Like most skills it takes time to learn and master.

Jealousy and comparison are going to come up, it's your response and how you handle it that matters. It's part of life and the human experience.

"So what can I do? I'm in no-man's-land while my partner is out having all the fun!"

Celebrate your partner's successes and support them. If the roles were reversed wouldn't you want the same? Acting on jealousy not only steals your joy, it can stifle theirs. Compersion takes practice.

Be a good partner to yourself. Autonomy in ENM/Poly isn't just related to having lots of dates/relationships/love. Do things you enjoy and that fulfill you as an individual. It's hard to be a good partner when you aren't taking care of yourself.

Don't give up. Be yourself, and make connections. Munches and events are the best way to meet people and build community. Polyam discussion groups have been a saving grace for many of us. Being able to discuss shared experiences and struggles with others puts them in a more positive perspective.

Building community means you widen your circle and ability to meet potential partners - but don't go in with expectations.

Next time you find yourself playing the comparison game - in any aspect - remember that everyone's journey and individual experiences are going to be different, and that's ok! That's something to celebrate. Your journey isn't over or less than. It's just different, and like most things in life it'll change with time and gentle effort.

#ethical non monogamy #polyamorous #polyam dating #polyamory #polyam life #poly relationship

[rametarin]

Weird pattern I noticed.

Alright this may not scan with you lot, and Your Milage May Vary (tm), but I’ve noticed a pattern.

Among many whom would classify themselves as more singing the praises of socialism, and I mean outwardly, like, actually casually slipping conversations about “praxis” and “late stage capitalism” into any fucking conversation you can have over skype or discord, most of these people have a terrible habit of “just” having experienced a heroic moment.

There’s always that one guy, or girl, whom regales about how they just talked to someone that was so racist, you gais. Like, I deliberately go looking for sketchy motheruckers to passively absorb what they’re about and what they ramble about when their guard is down, or what they doin’. I’m terminally connected and sometimes just go submarining just to see what passes my passive sonar and swim along in schools just to see what they doin’. Probably a bad habit, but you can meet some interesting people doing that.

But for some reason these red and black flag flying motherfuckers all just so happen to cross streams with random neckbeards that are so totally ethnostate obsessed, viking idolizing NEETs. Absolutely amazing how they always seem to know, “a guy like that,” and feel the need to tell you about them.

Or they slam their door and sit down at their computers and talk about how they “just got done ARGUING with a RACIST... god!” and go on to talk about how everybody around them just seems so anti-black people/asian people/you-name-it. Just, “starting a conversation,” I guess.

Now, yes, ethnostate idolizing wanna-be viking NEETs are awful, no doubt. But you know what is more obnoxious than an impotent loser that supposedly masturbates to fascism in their PC games, fulfilling this niche of being the one pest you see therefore providing fuel to the paranoia there may be hundreds that you can’t?

Motherfuckers lying about exactly how many of them are floating around in the world and on the internet. Specifically to sow seeds to justify seeing every milquetoast assed Minions memer as a potential Dixie pride flying white supremacist apologist or open Nazi. And I see this shit too often for it to be a coincidence.

Can I prove it? No. Take it as a grain of salt, but now that you’ve been alerted to this pattern, you can look for it. Look out for the avowed supposed “anti-racist” or socialist sympathizing type person that always seems to just know a guy and tolerate them to be in their social sphere and tell you about them, despite avowedly claiming to despise and oppose the vile shit they supposedly stand for. If they actually exist.

The strategic value of exaggerating the numbers of an ideological opponent and to stress the inherent extremism and volatility of their beliefs is that the risk of one in the pool being a radical extremist capable of doing something terrible, or like a pack of dogs, egging each other on to more base extremes as normalizing them, is that it creates a fearful imagination of The Other becoming a numeric, unstoppable source of chaos and violence. By telling stories about just how prolific these supposed white supremacist Nazi sympathizers are at the water cooler, they are cold bloodedly trying to create concern in the imagination of an imminent growing danger where you can either bulwark against it, or be overrun by it. And it’s not at all different from the same methods that Imperial Germany and then Nazi Germany, and also the Bolsheviks and Russian Socialists used across whatever population they were in.

Obviously for the Germans, they would just casually throw out some random Jewish person or organization and illuminate how they were supposedly, “just plotting and cheating, you know, like the Jews do.” Because of course didn’t you know? Your average person of Hebrew persuasion is just an ethnosupremacist handwringing disreputable merchant, you know! Checks out with the press you’ve heard from the other guy with the skinned head and the, ‘workers of the world unite!’ T-shirt.

And the Russian sympathetic Marxists, when you could catch them being more openly anti-semitic.

And really any sort of socialist before they decided a grand plan of attack was to become the conversation about bigotry and intolerance and corral minorities on their side by default by claiming the Other was inherently bigotry while they were acceptance.

So these very intolerable Marxiboys (and girls, and other) can just so happen to find the dude with Minions merchandise, flying confederate flags and foolishly hooting, “Jewz and blaks baaaaaaad!” in the most boorish and unimaginitive ways an idiot can be an idiot, always just a degree out of your social sphere, always just out of reach or liberty to show them. The same people that loudly chant, “punch a Nazi!” just so happen to be on peacable enough terms to watch these mouthbreahting motherfuckers and pick up on stupid conversations they have. Enough to always have fresh material to rant about their experiences with their idiocy on the internet.

Yeah I believe that. Or, it follows the other pattern I noticed;

As a kid, I noticed there were a lot of radfem girls that had similar stories like this, but about sexism. If not immediate topical events, then motivations for past events. And sometimes the stories were just shitty gossip that relied utterly on respecting your relationship to the girl in order to believe them, and if you didn’t, you knew social distance was going to increase. You were presented with an ultimatum, whether you liked it or not; Believe their wild story on good faith, or scrutinize it and then have them get emotional and aikido flip your relationship, and walk away, deciding not to associate with you quite so often or warmly. All contingent on how well you’d take their dirt story on good faith.

Well this happens enough and eventually a girl like that exerts their story too far, or they say something someone knows isn’t true but is pretending that they don’t know so the conversation is ambiguous on whether their mud slinging could be true or false or not. They’ll be caught. They’ll be too close and attached for the lie to be anything but a lie, and an insult to their friendship, and an insult to the person they’re trying to propagandize’s intelligence. They’ll be too close to anonymously, “friendily” talk shit around the water cooler, and they’ll HAVE to answer why they lied about this other person, party, event or movement.

And when that would happen, the radfem of yore would break down to the, “Well... I just wanted to have a convuhsayshun about [topic]...” defense.

That’s an implicit admission that they lied. They lied, exaggerated and doctored the truth, fabricated something from events that happen everyday somewhere, so even their fictional story can have SOME basis in truth, and they, “at least got the conversation started.”

I can think of fewer more bloodless and disgusting things than fabricating events like that SPECIFICALLY for this hollow supposed altruism of “social change,” but it taught me how much you can trust a conversation with the sort of person that flies a hammer and sickle, rose, or black and red flag. And I still don’t know if this was some sort of literature culture thing, or if this sort of behavior just appeals to the sort of personality that just spontaneously determines behaving like this for these ends is an acceptable means to an end. Is this something recommended in Rules for Radicals? Is there some psyche book or social science paper that suggests this sort of thing is a viable and acceptable method for, “positive social change?” Because it’s the kind of behavior you expect from a sociopath. I don’t care your “good intentions” or “greater good.”

So whenever I’m chillin’ in a new friend group and there’s that one person that diverts every conversation into shit talking capitalism specifically (geeeee, how subtle) or passionately starts regaling their experiences dealing with a random dude walking around in a picklehaub and making Roman salutes and goose stepping around, I listen, but history and experience have shown me the proportion of these as fish stories being told to raise mass hysteria among young people vs. legitimately talking about Kyle Schmoe from down the block being a statistically anomalous moron, are not good.

[misiwrites]

4KINGDOMS RE-READ ADVENTURE & LORE POST part 1

alrighty. i'm reading my own fic from the start for the first time. obviously i've reviewed each chapter as i've posted it but i got issues with reading my own shit so. anyway. i have baileys, i can do this

and since i'm posting about this story now anyways, and i'd wanted to make posts explaining the lore and the process of creating the universe, i thought okay, two birds with one stone, i'll do both! i can discuss relevant things one chapter at a time.

Chapter 1 (prologue):

not much to say about this. it's a tiny bit cringe but hey. a line that i like alert!

[…] with each new generation that the crowns were passed down to, the holy beasts' magic only grew stronger within the four kings. It was up to the individual nations and their flow of history, however, to define the line between humanity and divinity.

this, and the one thing i liked and even now like in this prologue is the way i ended it with "Perhaps this was all an act of ill omen befalling the four kingdoms – as the world created by the holy beasts was about to come to its end." because it's like, someone opens this 200k+ word fic, and the first chapter says that the world is ending. you just started. and it's saying that it's ending. in 200k words

Re: Chapter 1 - THE LORE! THE LEGEND! THE WORLD OF THE FOUR KINGDOMS! the prologue really breaks down the basics. it's a world with four countries. each was created by one holy beast. the countries are also shaped like the beasts, i traced the shapes from some illustration on google. the characteristics of each country are straight out of the wuxing concept and how the four symbols are connected to it. azure dragon represents wood, so the east is the greenest country. the wood element is connected to the direction of east and the spring season and so on and so forth. the basic building blocks for the world were really just handed to me by beyblade canon and i used them like legos.

Chapter 2: takao complaining about ralf & sneaking into kyouju's house to eat dem noodles

takao is so sassy towards ralf. but i guess he always is. good i nailed that from the first paragraphs

i clearly completely forgot that there are annual fencing tournaments. i went to change the month (moon) in stealth shhhh you saw nothing

the chapter is just a lot of exposition. i think i wrapped it up pretty nicely, IIRC it took considerable planning and reshaping to get an opening chapter that's somehow simultaneously concise and informative and fun. this basically lays down all the relevant information about takao in one go. he's so good at fencing he wants to learn sword fighting already, he doesn't care about formality, he misses hitoshi who left ten years ago, he likes to eat, ralf is there. and wants to go on adventures. a lot of things that will carry through the entirety of the fic. not bad

Re: Chapter 2 - THE LORE! THE MONTHS A.K.A. MOONS! these are literally just finnish translated directly into english. month in finnish is kuukausi, "moon season", but we talk about moons. "tässä kuussa" in this moon i did that, "ensi kuussa" in the next moon gonna go there. this is the reason i made sun and moon always capitalised, to make a difference. there's no such difference in reality in colloquial finnish btw

a complete guide for the good audience January: Heartmoon (tammikuu -- actually "oak moon" but, it's an etymology thing) February: Pearlmoon (helmikuu) March: Earthenmoon (maaliskuu) April: Glebemoon (huhtikuu) May: Sowmoon (toukokuu) -- this means sowing, but i afterwards realised a sow is like, a pig. so now the moon name is kinda. not what i wanted June: Summermoon (kesäkuu) July: Haymoon (heinäkuu) August: Harvestmoon (elokuu) September: Autumnmoon (syyskuu) October: Dirtmoon (lokakuu) November: Deathmoon (marraskuu) -- truthfully i'm not sure if this was deadmoon or deathmoon. i'll find out when a mention of it comes up December: Yulemoon (joulukuu)

Chapter 3: rei hangs out in a tower and finds out he's going north in two weeks. thanks for nothing olivier

i was surprised by how much good(?) exposition i put in this one too. the first sentence already establishes that rei wishes he was free but isn't. there's a pretty tight summary about him having a deity status that robs him of all agency. the first paragraph alone somehow manages to pack the information that the west is very industrialised and kind of bleak. i don't dislike this

mao hanging out there with galux at the start makes a bit of a false premise though. later on it becomes clear she's not there often at all and galux doesn't even appear ever since (note to self, it's her beloved little kittycat)

rei being snide about making olivier climb the stairs to the tower is pretty funny. also, rei saying how he would have preferred the south over the north. wow sweet summer child

Re: Chapter 3 - THE LORE! THE TIGER MAPLE PALACE! this palace causes me so much trouble like you have no idea. it probably shows a bit in the progession of the story that i don't fuckign know what it looks like. the layout is essentially copied from the forbidden city which is the old imperial palace in beijing, and the concept of it being divided into inner and outer court is IIRC from the twelve kingdoms, the series that this fic is mainly inspired by. originally i wanted tiger maple to be more of a, like, actual fantasy palace that defies the laws of physics, like in 12kingdoms the royal palaces have shit like top floors where the kings hang out somehow floating above the clouds. but i didn't think it through early enough and now it's more normal, i guess. the palace is surrounded by the gargantuan wall (which, by the way, was not mentioned in the first chapter so i guess i hadn't thought of it yet?) on three sides and by the tiger maple mountain on the fourth. it's lodged between a mountain range and in the middle of buttfuck nowhere. the good thing about it is that i've made it clear enough how the place is so big that i can keep inventing new locations inside the walls when i want.

Chapter 4: rei has a bad time travelling to the north, then has a good time being in the north, then has a bad time again

this chapter is longer than my small intestine. equally bumpy too

it's also weird to me now that i put two rei chapters in a row. i know this happens sometime later too but that would be a no-no to current me

mao having a wife moment in the beginning and rei not really appreciating it. hmm well i don't know how i feel about that. there's a very casual drop about her being his fiancee. this makes me feel like i started off writing them being closer than they ended up being later on. but. i'll take note of it

a lot just happens in here. i have no evidence but i can imagine this chapter being like a fucking trial testing readers' patience. i'd bet my left kidney that it's eliminated many.

rei and max meet for the first time and it felt very funny to me at the time of writing. well, i guess it's still pretty funny but kinda illogical in the "i wanted this to happen, so the characters are now gonna act like this" way. of course max would just fuck with rei first thing. not literally. in the prankster way.

a line that i like alert! kind of a fake alert because i went to edit it a little before copying it here. but you'll never know. you don't know what it said

I had assumed the sky to be void of all light, but as I now stood there staring at its upward depths, I saw a brilliant whirl of hues of purple blending in with the beautiful, velvety black. Against that glossy darkness shone the silvery crescent of the shy Moon, shrouded in a thin veil of clouds as if making a half-hearted attempt at concealing itself. The distant shine of thousands of stars dotted the arch of the sky and continued till the ends of the horizon, like gems embedded in fine folds of dark velvet.

really like this description of a shy moon half-heartedly hiding in clouds. that was good writing!

not doing a lore for this one because the chapter made me tired. i failed my own trial. oh but as like half-assed lore i can say that the ruins of the church that rei mistakenly calls a castle in this chapter is designed after the cathedral of my city. which is not in ruins. there's also no pool by it like in the chapter. but the environment, i based on my city. the north is meant to be a fusion of northern europe, italy, and the US, so it's easy to model resting palace (the capital) after the city i live in, because this place is old as dicks. and european.

this is part 1 of idon'tknowhowmany. depends on if i survive

#4kingdoms stuff #i read my own fic and die while at it

[koravelliumavast]

Please share pig pictures! Also.. are you open to taking questions regarding pigs? We’ve been raising feeder pigs for the past two years and I love them. And we want to eventually get sows and do the whole process but that’s a big jump.

Very interested in how your experience raising livestock influences the way you experience fantasy literature where there are rural farming communities featured! Do authors get a lot right or wrong? What pops out to you? Thinking specifically of Wheel of Time but also there was a swine herder in The Kingkiller Chronicle.

Also interested in how your experience raising livestock influences the way you think about Food Science.

This is a great question! I’m completely down for questions about pigs! However I’m not sure how entirely helpful I can be as we’ve been raising pigs in my family for over like 60-70 years or so and primarily do show stock but I’m sure I can answer something!

I think the wheel of time has definitely been one of the best in terms of small agricultural communities in fantasy. Everyone knows everyone and in the two rivers specifically they’ll help their neighbors out. Not to mention the large number of related families which is such a thing in smaller rural communities.

Additionally my family also raise cattle (again mostly showstock) and i think the thing most fantasy authors dont do right with livestock is that the characters don’t seem to have as much of a connection to their livestock. Like (and maybe it’s just us) but all of our pigs have names because they were our 4H animals and like i know that some of the pigs like being scratched behind their ears or some will come when you call their names or that cow was my show cow and now look at her! Or look out for 626 shes a mean old cow. I just don’t see that in fantasy books as much but it’s definitely something that is realistic. The animals have big personalities and if you’ve grown up raising them you’ll understand their personalities. I guess it’s kind of shown with Rand and Bela and I haven’t read kingkiller chronicles so I can’t speak on that. But like GOT and the dragons is the closest I’ve seen. Daenerys like talks to her dragons and whatnot (I think. I’ve only seen clips of the show.)

And growing up in an agricultural background so far has shown how much I already know about the food science industry. Like in my intro class half the stuff she talks about I already knew from 4H or FFA or just absorbed over the years. I think my agricultural background is something that shows in like discussions especially. Like I already know how to tell the grades of meat because as part of having cattle at the fair, a vet would come and measure the marbling of the cows and the top carcass value would get a prize. Plus I’m more desensitized to gross things. So when i have to take bio and dissect an animal or something I won’t be grossed out because like I’ve seen a partially reabsorbed mummy piglet who died in the womb. It was disgusting but also cool.

But also one of the things I hope to work on some day is food deserts in agricultural communities. There are a number of small towns in my state that have to go an hour or more to get fresh produce which makes them a food desert. However these people going that distance also have farms and are surrounded by crops 3/4 of the year. When you think of food deserts you might think of like other continents but not in a farming community and yet there it is.

#asks #any pig questions you can absolutely message me about #I can talk more but I won’t #keepmissaustinweird

[mrsbsmooth]

Episode 32 - Script

Picking who to dump from the island (not that your choice matters whatsoever)

NARRATOR: I haven’t been this excited by a plan since the time I last upgraded my phone.

NARRATOR: I had important calls to make…

NARRATOR: Alright, I didn’t. I had cat videos to watch.

NARRATOR: But {0} has an important call to make now, so let’s get back to it!

Nicolas checks no one is in earshot, and leans towards you with a mischievous grin.

NICOLAS_HAPPY: Here’s the cheeky plan I’ve been cooking up.

NICOLAS_HAPPY: It’s a game changer and it’s gonna be loads of fun.

PLAYER_FLIRTY: I’m listening.

NICOLAS_SERIOUS: Well, we need to look fully compatible or we’re at risk tonight, right?

PLAYER_EMBARRASSED: You saying we’re not fully compatible?

NICOLAS_FLIRTY: I think we’re compatible, I’m just not sure the others do.

NICOLAS_SERIOUS: And that’s what matters now.

NICOLAS_SERIOUS: Our matching jackets help, for sure.

NICOLAS_IDLE: But it might not be enough.

NICOLAS_SAD: We haven’t had as much time together as some other couples here.

NICOLAS_SERIOUS: They’re obviously gonna seem closer.

NICOLAS_HAPPY: This is just a crafty way to level things up and give us a better shot.

PLAYER_FLIRTY: So, what’s your plan?

NICOLAS_SERIOUS: We keep exploring our connection with each other.

NICOLAS_FLIRTY: We just tell the others it’s a bit stronger than it is.

NICOLAS_FLIRTY: Like, we tell them we’re catching deep feels…

NICOLAS_FLIRTY: Can see a future together, all that jazz, yeah?

PLAYER_EMBARRASSED: And can you see a future together with me?

NICOLAS_HAPPY: I like what I’ve seen so far, but it’s too early to know for sure.

NICOLAS_HAPPY: I want us to buy some more time together.

NICOLAS_FLIRTY: That’s assuming you want more time with me?

I want ALL the time with you, sexy!

PLAYER_HAPPY: Course I want more time with you!

NICOLAS_FLIRTY: You’ve got great taste then, like I do. Another thing we’ve got in common.

NICOLAS_HAPPY: Seriously, I think me and you could be a force to be reckoned with.

PLAYER_FLIRTY: You’ve certainly made an impact already.

NICOLAS_FLIRTY: You’ve seen nothing yet, {0}.

I’ve had enough of you already

PLAYER_ANGRY: I think we’ve spent enough time together already.

NICOLAS_SURPRISED: Ouch, {0}! I did not expect you to say that.

NICOLAS_FLIRTY: People usually say I’m pretty lovable.

PLAYER_SURPRISED: Really?

NICOLAS_HAPPY: Nah, but they usually find me entertaining at least. And sexy.

PLAYER_EMBARRASSED: And modest?

NICOLAS_IDLE: Nah, no one says that.

NICOLAS_SAD: But even if you’re not into old Niccy-chops you still need more time in the villa.

NICOLAS_FLIRTY: Even if just to explore things with some of my less attractive rivals.

Too early to answer that

PLAYER_EMBARRASSED: I’m not quite sure how I’m feeling about you yet.

NICOLAS_HAPPY: So you’re saying you want us to spend more time together?

NICOLAS_FLIRTY: Your wish is my command.

NICOLAS_FLIRTY: I’m gonna convince the new boys we’re melty about each other.

NICOLAS_HAPPY: If you do the same with the others, I reckon we’re golden.

NICOLAS_FLIRTY: And if I can sow any seeds of doubt, I just might.

PLAYER_IDLE: You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?

NICOLAS_HAPPY: I’m loving every second. Haven’t had this much fun in ages!

NICOLAS_SERIOUS: So, are you hopping on this sneaky train?

Hell yes! Let’s do it

PLAYER_HAPPY: Sounds like a plan to me! Like you say, we might need to buy more time together.

NICOLAS_HAPPY: Yes, {0}! See how compatible we are!

NICOLAS_FLIRTY: And even if it doesn’t work, at least we’ll have fun trying.

No way I’m doing that

PLAYER_ANGRY: I’m not up for playing these games to stay in the villa.

NICOLAS_SAD: I get that.

NICOLAS_SERIOUS: But I just think as one of the new couples, we might be at risk if we don’t make a play.

PLAYER_ANGRY: Even so, bit too sneaky a move for me.

NICOLAS_IDLE: Fair do’s. Just thought it might be a fun mission for us, but your call.

NICOLAS_FLIRTY: It is a bit sneaky, but I guess I just want more time to explore things with you.

Let me think about it

PLAYER_IDLE: I’m not sure if it’s a good move or not. Let me think about it.

NICOLAS_IDLE: Course, think it over. No pressure.

NICOLAS_HAPPY: I know it seems a bit sneaky, but I’m happy to roll the dice to get more time with you.

PLAYER_SERIOUS: We do need to work out who we’re voting for though.

NICOLAS_SERIOUS: I’ve got a shortlist.

NICOLAS_SERIOUS: But want to chat to peeps more today to see which couples I’m buying.

PLAYER_IDLE: That might be a good idea. A lot’s changed over the last few days hasn’t it?

You notice Lulu and Suresh pulling Gabi away from Dana for a serious looking talk at the firepit.

NICOLAS_SERIOUS: That looks deep. Wonder what that’s all about?

Dana catches your eye and motions to meet her at the sunloungers.

NICOLAS_FLIRTY: Guess you’re about to find out.

Nicolas flashes a playful grin and runs over to join the other new boys by the pool.

You wonder whether his plan will help you stay in the villa or not tonight.

Johnny checks no one is in earshot, and leans towards you with a mischievous grin.

JOHNNY_HAPPY: Here’s my little plan. It’s a game changer and will be loads of fun.

PLAYER_FLIRTY: I’m listening.

JOHNNY_SERIOUS: Well, we need to look fully compatible or we’re at risk tonight, right?

PLAYER_EMBARRASSED: You saying we’re not fully compatible?

JOHNNY_SAD: I think we’re compatible, I’m just not sure the others do.

JOHNNY_SERIOUS: And that’s what matters now.

JOHNNY_HAPPY: Our matching outfits help, for sure.

JOHNNY_SERIOUS: But it might not be enough.

JOHNNY_SERIOUS: We haven’t had as much time together as some other couples here.

JOHNNY_SERIOUS: They’re obviously gonna seem closer.

JOHNNY_HAPPY: This is just a fun way to level things up and give us a better shot.

PLAYER_FLIRTY: So, what’s your plan?

JOHNNY_SERIOUS: We keep exploring our connection together.

JOHNNY_FLIRTY: We just tell the others it’s a bit stronger than it is.

JOHNNY_FLIRTY: Like, we tell everyone we’re catching deep feelings. We can see a future together, all that stuff.

PLAYER_SURPRISED: And can you see a future together with me?

JOHNNY_HAPPY: I think so, but it’s too early to know for sure. I want us to get more time together.

JOHNNY_FLIRTY: Assuming you want more time with me that is?

I want ALL the time with you, sexy!

PLAYER_FLIRTY: Course I want more time with you, sexy.

JOHNNY_FLIRTY: That’s so great to hear. Another thing we’ve got in common.

JOHNNY_HAPPY: Seriously, I think me and you could be something special.

PLAYER_FLIRTY: You’ve certainly made an impact already.

JOHNNY_FLIRTY: Same with you, {0}.

I’ve had enough of you already

PLAYER_ANGRY: I think we’ve spent enough time together already.

JOHNNY_SURPRISED: Oh really? I didn’t expect you to say that.

JOHNNY_FLIRTY: People usually say I’m pretty lovable.

PLAYER_SURPRISED: Really?

JOHNNY_HAPPY: Usually. Or if not, entertaining at least. And cute.

PLAYER_IDLE: And modest?

JOHNNY_IDLE: Maybe not. But even if you’re not into me, you still need more time in the villa.

JOHNNY_SAD: Even if just to explore things with other people.

Too early to answer that

PLAYER_IDLE: I’m not quite sure how I’m feeling about you yet.

JOHNNY_HAPPY: I get that, early days. But that’s another argument to spend more time together.

JOHNNY_FLIRTY: Fingers crossed on that.

JOHNNY_FLIRTY: I’m gonna chat to the new boys and tell them I’m all in with you.

JOHNNY_HAPPY: If you do the same with the others, I reckon we’re golden.

JOHNNY_HAPPY: And if I can stir up some drama, I just might.

PLAYER_SURPRISED: You’re enjoying this aren’t you?

JOHNNY_HAPPY: I’m loving every second. Haven’t had this much fun in ages!

JOHNNY_SERIOUS: So, are you hopping on this fun train?

Hell yes! Let’s do it

PLAYER_HAPPY: Sounds like a plan to me! Like you say, we might need to buy more time together.

JOHNNY_HAPPY: Yes, {0}! See how compatible we are!

JOHNNY_FLIRTY: And even if it doesn’t work, at least we’ll have fun trying.

No way I’m doing that

PLAYER_ANGRY: I’m not up for playing these games to stay in the villa.

JOHNNY_SAD: I get that. I just think as one of the new couples, we might be at risk here.

JOHNNY_FLIRTY: So, we should make a play.

PLAYER_ANGRY: Even so, bit too sneaky a move for me.

JOHNNY_IDLE: That’s fair. Just thought it might be a bit of fun, but your call.

JOHNNY_FLIRTY: It is a bit sneaky, but I guess I just want more time to explore things with you.

Let me think about it

PLAYER_SERIOUS: I’m not sure if it’s a good move or not. Let me think about it.

JOHNNY_IDLE: 'Course, think it over. No pressure.

JOHNNY_HAPPY: I know it seems a bit sneaky.

JOHNNY_HAPPY: But I’m happy to try something to get more time with you.

PLAYER_SERIOUS: We do need to work out who we’re voting for though.

JOHNNY_SERIOUS: I’ve got a shortlist, but want to chat to everyone more and see if I change my mind.

PLAYER_IDLE: That might be a good idea. A lot’s changed over the last few days hasn’t it?

You notice Lulu and Suresh pulling Gabi away from Dana for a serious looking talk at the firepit.

JOHNNY_SERIOUS: That looks deep. Wonder what that’s all about?

Dana catches your eye and motions to meet her at the sunloungers.

JOHNNY_FLIRTY: Guess you’re about to find out.

Johnny flashes a playful grin and runs over to join the other new boys by the pool.

You wonder whether his plan will help you stay in the villa or not tonight.

Dana looks unusually worried as she watches Gabi, Suresh and Lulu’s intense looking talk at the firepit.

DANA_SERIOUS: Wish I could be a fly on that firepit.

PLAYER_EMBARRASSED: What do you think they’re talking about?

DANA_HAPPY: Probably what a hilarious, stunning hottie I am.

DANA_IDLE: Either that or Gabi and Suresh’s unfinished business.

DANA_EMBARRASSED: Lulu said the three of them needed a private chat.

DANA_EMBARRASSED: So, that’s got my alarm bells ringing.

PLAYER_EMBARRASSED: Are you worried about Gabi and Suresh?

You notice Gabi lean closer to Suresh as they talk in hushed tones.

DANA_EMBARRASSED: Course I am! Look at her body language with him.

DANA_EMBARRASSED: I mean, I love that she’s got strong flirt game.

DANA_SERIOUS: But I prefer it when it's with people who aren’t her beefcake ex… And yours.

DANA_SERIOUS: You think there’s still feelings between Gabi and Suresh?

Looks like they’ve still got a connection

PLAYER_EMBARRASSED: I think there’s still a connection between them, or unfinished business at least.

DANA_SAD: Yeah, me too. I just wish I could explore things with Gabi without these complications.

DANA_SAD: I guess everything is getting complicated for us both.

I think that’s in the past

PLAYER_HAPPY: Gabi and Suresh are in the past. Don’t think there’s still feelings there.

DANA_IDLE: I hope you’re right, but it looks like there’s something between them to me.

DANA_EMBARRASSED: Guess I need to talk to her and see where her head’s at.

PLAYER_IDLE: Maybe you do.

I wish I knew

PLAYER_EMBARRASSED: I wish I knew the deal between those two. I’ve found out so much new info the last few days.

DANA_EMBARRASSED: Yeah, your head must be spinning as much as mine.

DANA_SERIOUS: Especially with the dumping tonight.

DANA_IDLE: I think tonight’s forcing everyone to assess where they’re at with their partner.

PLAYER_SERIOUS: I think you might be right about that.

Your eyes meet Nicolas as he walks past.

He gives you a playful wink, as though he’s hinting you should run with his scheme.

Your eyes meet Johnny as he walks past.

He gives you a playful wink, as though he’s hinting you should run with his scheme.

PLAYER_IDLE: He was just saying something similar.

DANA_EMBARRASSED: Interesting. Do you think you’re compatible?

Yes, we’re couple goals

PLAYER_HAPPY: I think we’re pretty compatible. Feels like there’s something there.

DANA_HAPPY: That’s cool. I don’t know him that well yet, but seems like a good guy.

DANA_IDLE: Happy you’ve found a connection.

DANA_SAD: Even if I hoped it might be me and you sharing a connection.

PLAYER_EMBARRASSED: Things really went off the rails before Casa Amor, didn’t they?

DANA_SAD: They really did.

No, we’re not a good match

PLAYER_SAD: I don’t think me and him are very compatible.

DANA_SURPRISED: Really? I thought you two had pretty good chemistry.

DANA_SURPRISED: You’re even wearing matching outfits.

DANA_SAD: Guess you can never tell who you’re gonna vibe with.

Time will tell

PLAYER_IDLE: It’s too early to know if we’re a good match yet. We’re still figuring each other out.

DANA_IDLE: Yeah for sure. I thought I’d figured Gabi out, but not so sure now.

DANA_SAD: Guess time will tell for us both then. But feels like time might be running out.

DANA_SERIOUS: I’m really pranging about tonight. I’m not ready to leave the villa yet.

DANA_SAD: Feels like I’m just getting started.

DANA_SAD: I’d be so gutted if both of us don’t make it to the final.

PLAYER_IDLE: We don’t know what’s going to happen tonight.

DANA_IDLE: We don’t. And I’ve still got no idea who we’re going to vote for.

DANA_EMBARRASSED: It’ll be interesting if Gabi pushes to keep Suresh in the villa.

PLAYER_EMBARRASSED: Yeah, it will.

PLAYER_SERIOUS: Nicolas said he's got a couple of ideas for who's on his shortlist.

PLAYER_SERIOUS: Johnny said he's got a couple of ideas for who's on his shortlist.

PLAYER_SAD: Didn’t say who though.

DANA_HAPPY: Ooh mysterious. Hopefully it’s not yours truly.

PLAYER_IDLE: He said he’s going to chat to more people and see how he’s feeling later.

DANA_IDLE: I’m gonna take some time alone to get my head straight, then I’ll do the same.

DANA_IDLE: Maybe you should too.

DANA_IDLE: You’ve got strong connections here.

DANA_IDLE: You should remind them that you deserve to stay in the villa.

Dana gives your shoulder a reassuring squeeze as she walks into the villa.

Your head whirls with thoughts of tonight’s dumping as you decide who you need to talk to first.

DAYBEDS: Arlo, Pete

You join Arlo and Pete on the bean bags who are laughing about something.

PLAYER_HAPPY: Mind if I join you guys?

ARLO_HAPPY: Sure, {0}. Pete’s just bantering about fish.

PLAYER_HAPPY: What about fish?

ARLO_EMBARRASSED: He’s always been scared of them.

PLAYER_SURPRISED: Why?

PETE_SERIOUS: Their eyes creep me out. Started when I went snorkelling as a kid.

PETE_SERIOUS: Just after I put my mask on…

PETE_EMBARRASSED: I had some giant whiskered catfish staring at me like he wanted to eat me.

PLAYER_HAPPY: Maybe you’ll get sent on a snorkelling date?

ARLO_HAPPY: I hope so.

PETE_HAPPY: I’d suck it up to get a date with you, babe.

Arlo beams at Pete.

PLAYER_IDLE: You two hitting it off still then?

PETE_HAPPY: Big time. Feels like we’ve known each other way longer than we have.

ARLO_FLIRTY: We can banter about nothing for days.

PETE_FLIRTY: Wild chemistry from day one!

PLAYER_IDLE: You’re not worried about the dumping tonight then?

ARLO_SERIOUS: Nah, it’s obvious we’re a match. Right, {0}?

Yeah, you vibe together

PLAYER_HAPPY: You two clearly click. It’s obvious.

ARLO_HAPPY: Thanks, hun.

PETE_HAPPY: Yeah, glad it comes across.

I’m not buying it

PLAYER_SERIOUS: I’m not buying you two as a power couple. Feels a bit forced.

ARLO_ANGRY: You don’t know what you’re talking about.

ARLO_ANGRY: Nothing forced about us. Is there, Pete?

PETE_SERIOUS: Not at all. We’re legit. Sure you’ll change your mind on us soon.

ARLO_SURPRISED: Can’t believe you don’t think we’re compatible!

PLAYER_EMBARRASSED: You asked, Arlo. Thought you’d appreciate me telling it straight.

ARLO_ANGRY: Well, I don’t.

Too early to tell

PLAYER_IDLE: I’m not sure yet, it’s only been a few days.

ARLO_FLIRTY: A few days is all it takes when you’re with the right person.

PETE_FLIRTY: Damn right.

PLAYER_IDLE: Do you think me and Nicolas are compatible?

PLAYER_IDLE: Do you think me and Johnny are compatible?

ARLO_SERIOUS: I was on the fence about you…

ARLO_ANGRY: But after hearing what you think about us, I’m gonna say no.

ARLO_IDLE: I’m kinda on the fence about you as a couple.

PETE_HAPPY: I think you might have something together.

You catch eyes with Nicolas who gives you a playful nod to remind you of his plan.

You catch eyes with Johnny who gives you a playful nod to remind you of his plan.

Sell your compatibility with your partner

PLAYER_HAPPY: We couldn’t be any more compatible than we are. We hit it off.

PETE_HAPPY: Good to hear your vibing. You look like a good couple to me.

ARLO_SURPRISED: You’ve actually got things in common then?

PLAYER_HAPPY: Yeah, for sure. Why?

ARLO_IDLE: Just doesn’t seem like you’re each other’s types to me.

Ignore your partner’s plan

PLAYER_IDLE: I guess time will tell about all this.

ARLO_IDLE: Yeah. Feels like he’s not exactly your type.

PETE_HAPPY: Either way, doesn’t really matter what your types are, does it?

PLAYER_SURPRISED: What do you mean?

PETE_HAPPY: Well, on paper Lulu’s way more my type than Arlo.

PETE_HAPPY: But we’re onto a good thing aren’t we?

ARLO_ANGRY: Err, I thought we were. But then again I thought I was your type. You said I was.

PLAYER_EMBARRASSED: Got your foot in your mouth there, Pete?

ARLO_ANGRY: Or was me being your type a lie?

PETE_EMBARRASSED: You are my type. Just not quite as much as Lulu is.

PLAYER_HAPPY: Keep digging, Pete.

ARLO_ANGRY: So, what is it Lulu’s got that I don’t?

PETE_EMBARRASSED: Nothing.

ARLO_SERIOUS: No, go on.

PETE_EMBARRASSED: You really want to know?

ARLO_SERIOUS: Yeah, I do.

PETE_FLIRTY: She’s got that cute girl-next-door vibe.

ARLO_SURPRISED: Am I not the girl-next-door, then?

PETE_FLIRTY: I just like Lulu’s vibe is all. Plus she’s got an outrageous bod on her.

PLAYER_SURPRISED: Know when to cut your losses, Pete.

PETE_SURPRISED: What? She asked.

PETE_FLIRTY: She’s just got those curves. She’s a head turner.

ARLO_FLIRTY: I’ve got a killer bod too, hun. Tell him, {0}.

Yeah, you do

PLAYER_FLIRTY: You’ve got a great body, Arlo. I know that.

ARLO_HAPPY: Thanks, {0}. I know it, too.

PETE_SERIOUS: Sounds like everyone knows it, so why the drama?

I prefer Lulu’s body

PLAYER_FLIRTY: I’m with Pete on this, Lulu’s figure is total goals.

ARLO_ANGRY: Yeah, whatever, {0}. Mine’s goals, too.

PETE_SERIOUS: So why the drama?

I’m not getting involved

PLAYER_IDLE: I’m not getting in the middle of you too.

ARLO_ANGRY: Sounds like he wants someone else in the middle of us.

PETE_FLIRTY: Now that’d be a hot threesome.

PETE_EMBARRASSED: Too soon?

ARLO_SERIOUS: Your eyes should be on me, and me only.

PETE_FLIRTY: They are.

PETE_HAPPY: Most of the time.

ARLO_SURPRISED: I can’t be dealing with you right now!

ARLO_ANGRY: And, you’re not my type either, just so you know.

PETE_HAPPY: Come on, don’t get aggy with me over nothing.

The other Islanders look over, noticing raised voices.

ARLO_ANGRY: Finding out your fella is into someone else isn’t nothing, is it?

PETE_SERIOUS: I didn’t say I was into her. Just that she’s got a cool vibe.

PETE_IDLE: And a great body.

ARLO_ANGRY: I’m done with this.

Arlo storms away from Pete.

The other Islanders pretend they haven’t been staring the whole time.

PETE_EMBARRASSED: Probably should’ve handled that better, shouldn’t I?

Pete follows Arlo into the villa.

POOL: Alfie, Meera

You join Alfie and Meera who happily shoot the breeze by the pool.

ALFIE_HAPPY: {0}, come join us.

PLAYER_HAPPY: What’s going on with you two?

MEERA_FLIRTY: Just persuading Alfie he should come to Leicester when we get out of here.

ALFIE_HAPPY: As long as I can bring Benji.

ALFIE_HAPPY: Think this is the most time I’ve been away from him.

PLAYER_HAPPY: I forgot about Benji.

MEERA_HAPPY: Aww yeah, can’t wait to meet Benji!

MEERA_FLIRTY: Dogs love me, so don’t be surprised if he wants to stay with me.

ALFIE_IDLE: Guess that means I’m staying in Leicester then.

MEERA_FLIRTY: Fine by me.

MEERA_HAPPY: I always kind of fall in love whenever I’m dog sitting.

ALFIE_IDLE: Same! Did I mention me and my old man foster dogs from a shelter near us?

ALFIE_IDLE: Help them get less nervous and scared so they’re more likely to be adopted.

ALFIE_HAPPY: He does the training and I basically just shower them with love.

PLAYER_HAPPY: That is sweet.

MEERA_HAPPY: I’m definitely getting involved in this doggy action when we get out of here.

MEERA_EMBARRASSED: Wait, that came out weird.

You all laugh when Meera realises what she’s said.

MEERA_FLIRTY: Although I do enjoy that position, too.

ALFIE_HAPPY: Who doesn’t!

It my fave position, too

PLAYER_FLIRTY: It’s my fave, too. It’s one thing Suresh got right in here.

ALFIE_HAPPY: In the quiz on day one you mean?

PLAYER_HAPPY: Yeah, feels like ages ago now.

It’s not my fave

PLAYER_FLIRTY: It’s not my fave position. Suresh got that wrong in the quiz.

ALFIE_HAPPY: Ah yeah, the one on day one, you mean?

PLAYER_HAPPY: Yeah, feels like ages ago now.

Change the subject

PLAYER_IDLE: Let's talk about something else.

ALFIE_IDLE: Sure.

PLAYER_SERIOUS: How are you two feeling about the dumping tonight?

ALFIE_IDLE: What dumping?

MEERA_HAPPY: Exactly, not even thinking about it. Just enjoying being reunited with Alf again.

ALFIE_IDLE: It’s a proper gift, innit? I reckon everyone can see how close we are already.

MEERA_EMBARRASSED: We’d be even closer if a certain fool hadn’t dumped me already.

ALFIE_EMBARRASSED: Yeah, I did some serious grafting in Casa.

ALFIE_EMBARRASSED: Luckily it worked out, and you’re both still here. So really, I smashed it, right?

MEERA_HAPPY: You got lucky, boy. When it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be.

You two are meant to be

PLAYER_HAPPY: You two are perfect for each other. Dream couple.

MEERA_HAPPY: Thanks, {0}. Glad it’s obvious we vibe.

MEERA_HAPPY: Even if it took Alfie a while to get there.

ALFIE_EMBARRASSED: You both know I’m not the most experienced with relationships.

ALFIE_EMBARRASSED: Probably explains some of my mistakes in here.

You two won’t last

PLAYER_ANGRY: Can’t see you two lasting long. If others feel the same you might be goners tonight.

ALFIE_SURPRISED: Wow, {0}.

MEERA_ANGRY: Forgot you were a relationship expert, {0}.

PLAYER_ANGRY: Just saying it how it is.

MEERA_ANGRY: Well, you’re just showing why Alfie made the right choice by coupling up with me.

MEERA_SERIOUS: And if he could go back in time, I’m certain he’d couple up with me this time.

He’d pick me again

PLAYER_FLIRTY: Alfie would pick me again for sure.

MEERA_ANGRY: Yeah, right. Think you’re deluding yourself, {0}.

PLAYER_ANGRY: Whatever, Meera.

Maybe he would pick you

PLAYER_IDLE: Yeah, maybe he would pick you this time.

MEERA_SERIOUS: Glad we agree on something then.

ALFIE_SERIOUS: Let’s keep it calm, yeah?

MEERA_IDLE: Yeah, you’re right.

Who knows if you’ll work

PLAYER_IDLE: Who knows if you’re meant to be or not. Time will tell.

ALFIE_IDLE: I’m feeling confident in us.

MEERA_HAPPY: I’m feeling very confident in us. Excited for everything we’ve got in store together.

PLAYER_IDLE: Have you two worked out who you’re voting for yet?

ALFIE_SERIOUS: We haven’t even talked about it yet. Don’t want to vote for anyone to leave.

MEERA_SAD: It’s not a nice thing to have to do. At least everyone’s in the same boat though.

PLAYER_EMBARRASSED: Yeah, think it’s causing a bit of tension.

MEERA_HAPPY: Some people are even wearing matching outfits to try to swing it their way.

ALFIE_HAPPY: That’s hilarious.

MEERA_EMBARRASSED: Bit desperate to me.

PLAYER_ANGRY: Whatever.

ALFIE_HAPPY: They do both look great in those outfits though, don’t they?

MEERA_IDLE: They do actually, in fairness.

ALFIE_SERIOUS: Anyway, {0}, Meera and I should have that chat about tonight.

MEERA_EMBARRASSED: Yeah, guess we do.

PLAYER_SERIOUS: I’ll leave you both to it then.

GYM: Finn, Kat

Kat rubs sunscreen into Finn’s back as he stands by the weights bench.

KAT_FLIRTY: Come join us, babe.

FINN_EMBARRASSED: We’ve been talking about everyone’s least favourite holiday destination.

KAT_SERIOUS: Casa Amor.

PLAYER_SURPRISED: Why’s that?

KAT_HAPPY: ‘Cause that was our first proper test as a couple.

FINN_HAPPY: Apart from my excess baggage, my views on marriage…

FINN_EMBARRASSED: And nearly recoupling with Arlo.

KAT_ANGRY: Babe, you weren’t ever recoupling with anyone else.

KAT_ANGRY: You were just hogging the limelight as per.

FINN_HAPPY: I do that, don’t I?

PLAYER_HAPPY: Does that remind you of anyone else, Kat?

KAT_FLIRTY: Cheeky! But true. Probably one of the many reasons why we click, Finn baby.

FINN_IDLE: For sure.

PLAYER_EMBARRASSED: What were you saying about Casa Amor?

KAT_HAPPY: Basically that I was proper stressing about what Finn was up to.

KAT_EMBARRASSED: And if he’d get with someone else.

FINN_FLIRTY: Same way you could’ve.

FINN_FLIRTY: {0}, Kat was telling me the Casa boys were all over her.

Kat shoots you a cheeky look asking you to play along.

KAT_FLIRTY: All over me, weren’t they, {0}?

Yeah, the Casa boys were all over you

PLAYER_HAPPY: Yeah, they were all grafting you hard, Kat.

KAT_HAPPY: Facts. Stayed faithful though. You’re welcome, Finn.

FINN_HAPPY: I didn’t have any doubts.

I remember you failing at flirting with them

PLAYER_HAPPY: I remember you being so rattled about Finn that you lost all your flirt game. Awkward.

KAT_EMBARRASSED: He doesn’t need to know that.

FINN_SURPRISED: So, you tried getting your flirt on then?

PLAYER_HAPPY: Tried and failed.

KAT_ANGRY: Only after seeing that postcard, if you wanna go there, Finn.

FINN_EMBARRASSED: No, let's not go there again.

Leave me out of it

PLAYER_EMBARRASSED: I’m staying out of this. What happens in Casa…

FINN_HAPPY: Wise words, {0}. Wise words.

KAT_SERIOUS: What matters is I passed a test with flying colours for the first time since GCSE chemistry.

PLAYER_HAPPY: Thought you said you got a D?

KAT_HAPPY: Exactly, smashed it.

KAT_IDLE: But anyway, we both got put to the test in Casa, and came through for each other.

KAT_HAPPY: That means something. Especially with us both being promised-skewers in the past.

PLAYER_EMBARRASSED: Promised… skewers? Like chicken skewers?

KAT_HAPPY: Oh, I meant promiscuous, didn’t I?

FINN_HAPPY: Yeah, you did. And it does mean something, Kat.

Finn looks at you, suddenly much more serious.

FINN_SERIOUS: But, Kat, do you mind if I have a quick chat alone with {0} here.

KAT_SURPRISED: What about?

FINN_HAPPY: Ah, nothing important.

KAT_FLIRTY: If this is some juicy goss I'm not missing it.

FINN_IDLE: Nothing juicy.

KAT_SERIOUS: Finn, babe, you're more of a goss fiend than me!

FINN_SERIOUS: No goss, Kat.

KAT_SERIOUS: What do you want to talk to {0} about then?

FINN_IDLE: Football.

KAT_HAPPY: Bye.

PLAYER_SURPRISED: Football?

Finn whispers to you, out of earshot of Kat.

FINN_SERIOUS: It’s actually really important. And it's not about football.

PLAYER_SURPRISED: Why did you say that to Kat, then?

FINN_SERIOUS: You wouldn’t want to see Kat’s reaction to what I need to say.

FINN_SERIOUS: I’m not even sure how you’re going to react.

FINN_FLIRTY: But I’ve something I need to tell you.

*You better start spilling then!

PLAYER_HAPPY: We need to have this chat, Finn.

FINN_HAPPY: Really hoped you’d say that! Let’s head to the loungers.

I’m going to pass

PLAYER_IDLE: I’ll pass this time, Finn.

FINN_SERIOUS: It’s about what I wanted to say to you before Casa Amor.

PLAYER_SURPRISED: Oh, that.

FINN_SERIOUS: It’s about what I said to you before Casa Amor.

PLAYER_SURPRISED: Oh, that.

FINN_FLIRTY: I’ve wanted to tell you this so many times recently, and it’s been eating me up.

FINN_SERIOUS: I've tried to find the right moment since Casa.

FINN_EMBARRASSED: But too much has been going on.

FINN_SERIOUS: This could change everything for us both. Hear me out?

*I need to hear you out then!

PLAYER_HAPPY: Let’s go to the loungers then.

FINN_HAPPY: So happy you’ll hear me out.

I’m okay missing out on the tea

PLAYER_IDLE: Gonna pass on this one, Finn.

FINN_SAD: That’s a shame.

Finn casts you a final sad glance and returns to his work out.

You sit next to Finn on a sunlounger. He checks no one is in earshot.

PLAYER_FLIRTY: I’m intrigued about what you want to tell me that you don’t want Kat to hear.

FINN_EMBARRASSED: Yeah, this is all a bit awkward.

PLAYER_EMBARRASSED: Things aren’t good with you and Kat?

FINN_HAPPY: Nah, things are pretty sweet between us.

FINN_HAPPY: The feelings are definitely getting stronger.

FINN_IDLE: Particularly on her side.

PLAYER_SURPRISED: It’s not mutual?

FINN_EMBARRASSED: It is mutual. Just slightly more mutual on her side.

PLAYER_EMBARRASSED: That doesn’t make any sense.

FINN_SERIOUS: Well, things aren’t making much sense for me right now.

FINN_HAPPY: Kat’s an absolute worldie.

FINN_HAPPY: And she’s hilarious and clearly all in on me. And I am into her.

PLAYER_EMBARRASSED: So, what’s the problem?

FINN_EMBARRASSED: I’m also catching feelings for you, {0}.

PLAYER_SURPRISED: Really? This is what you were going to tell me before Casa Amor?

FINN_FLIRTY: Indeed it was. I get you had too much drama going on to hear me out then.

FINN_HAPPY: But I’m chuffed we’re having this chat now.

FINN_FLIRTY: I know I hinted at this before we got whisked off to Casa.

FINN_FLIRTY: But we never really got to finish the chat.

FINN_HAPPY: And I never got to hear whether you feel the same or not.

FINN_IDLE: I feel like Casa changed a lot for me.

PLAYER_IDLE: A lot’s changed for me since Casa, too.

FINN_IDLE: Very true. You’ve got a new partner and there’s a whole new villa dynamic.

FINN_HAPPY: Being away in Casa was what I needed to get some space and perspective.

FINN_FLIRTY: And to be tested.

PLAYER_SURPRISED: Sounds like Kat thinks you both sailed through that test.

FINN_SERIOUS: We did. And I was never gonna twist from Kat.

FINN_SERIOUS: But I knew my bigger test was coming up.

PLAYER_EMBARRASSED: Meaning?

FINN_HAPPY: Sharing a villa with you again.

FINN_HAPPY: When I saw you at the recoupling I got goosebumps.

FINN_FLIRTY: And I realised I had stronger feelings for you than I thought.

PLAYER_SURPRISED: Wow, okay.

FINN_HAPPY: I feel like so much has gone on recently.

FINN_HAPPY: It’s taken me by surprise how much I like you.

PLAYER_SERIOUS: What is it you like about me?

FINN_HAPPY: Well, it’s not even about your looks, which are lovely by the way.

FINN_HAPPY: You’re way out of my league.

FINN_HAPPY: But there’s just something indescribable and totally unique about you.

FINN_FLIRTY: The way you smile and laugh.

FINN_FLIRTY: And how that always brings a smile to my own face.

FINN_SERIOUS: How you’re not scared of keeping people on their toes.

FINN_FLIRTY: Or going after what you want.

FINN_HAPPY: How much life and vibes you bring to the villa. How you make me feel.

PLAYER_SURPRISED: And how do I make you feel?

FINN_HAPPY: Excited. Everytime we talk or make eye contact, I’m alive and present.

FINN_HAPPY: In the moment.

FINN_SERIOUS: I get bored of most people after a bit, but haven’t with you.

FINN_EMBARRASSED: I always… you know, get a bit nervous when I see you.

Finn stumbles slightly over his words, his voice less assured than usual.

FINN_EMBARRASSED: I’ve been fighting it for a while as I’m with Kat. And you’re with whatshisname.

FINN_SERIOUS: But… I need to finally, you know, open up about how I feel about you.

You look at Finn, who seems unusually boyish.

FINN_SERIOUS: The only thing that really matters is whether you have feelings for me too, {0}.

Yes, I’ve got feelings for you

PLAYER_HAPPY: I’m catching feelings for you too, Finn.

PLAYER_FLIRTY: There’s always been a spark between us and I was hoping you’d say all this.

FINN_HAPPY: I’m very glad I told you. And that you didn’t fully pie me off.

FINN_FLIRTY: I got nervous back then. I never get nervous.

No, I’m not interested in you

PLAYER_EMBARRASSED: I don’t feel the same, Finn.

FINN_EMBARRASSED: Ouch, okay. Thanks for letting me know.

FINN_SAD: Hope you didn’t mind me opening up to you.

FINN_SAD: I know we’re both coupled with other people.

FINN_SAD: Felt like I had to put it out there before things develop more with me and Kat.

I’m not sure right now

PLAYER_IDLE: I’m really not sure if I’ve got feelings for you or not.

PLAYER_EMBARRASSED: So much has happened here, my head’s all over the place.

FINN_FLIRTY: You and me both, {0}. It’s been a rollercoaster ride hasn’t it!

FINN_HAPPY: But I’m glad you’re not closed off to me.

PLAYER_EMBARRASSED: So, where does this leave you and Kat, then?

Finn looks away awkwardly, and seems unsure what to say.

FINN_EMBARRASSED: I need to work that out.

FINN_EMBARRASSED: And I hate myself for even admitting I’ve got feelings for you, too.

FINN_HAPPY: Kat’s a diamond, and she’s actually really sweet when you get past her front.

FINN_SERIOUS: And I really want to make sure I don’t hurt her.

FINN_IDLE: But at the same time, I knew I’d regret it if I didn’t tell you where my head’s at.

FINN_IDLE: How are you feeling about Nicolas?

FINN_IDLE: How are you feeling about Johnny?

I'm into him

PLAYER_HAPPY: I am into him. I'm enjoying being coupled with him.

FINN_HAPPY: He seems like an entertaining boy for sure.

FINN_FLIRTY: I guess you should think about which one of us you like most.

PLAYER_FLIRTY: Who said it's just between you two?

FINN_FLIRTY: Keeping me on my toes, {0}. Like it!

FINN_IDLE: Fingers crossed for you both then.

PLAYER_HAPPY: Thanks, Finn.

I'm not that into him

PLAYER_EMBARRASSED: I'm not that into him if I'm being honest.

FINN_IDLE: That's interesting. Thought you two were vibing.

FINN_HAPPY: Good news for me potentially then.

FINN_SAD: Guess you've got high standards.

Time will tell

PLAYER_FLIRTY: It's early days for me and him.

PLAYER_FLIRTY: Who knows what the future might hold.

FINN_FLIRTY: Hopefully it shows us together.

PLAYER_FLIRTY: Like I say, who knows.

FINN_HAPPY: I hope you find the person you’re looking for, {0}.

FINN_SERIOUS: You deserve to find someone who treats you as special as you are.

Finn gives you a warm smile before leaving you alone on the loungers.

PLAYER_EMBARRASSED: I guess we both need to have a think about what to do then.

FINN_SERIOUS: We do indeed.

Finn gives you a warm smile before leaving you alone on the loungers.

You stand by the pool in the cool evening air. A phone pings. It’s yours.

PLAYER_SURPRISED: I got a text!

The rest of the Islanders gather around. You read it out.

LITEXT: Islanders, it’s time to make your decision about which couple is the least compatible.

LITEXT: Please break off into your couples and prepare to cast your votes! {0}CoupleDown {1}MakeYourMindUp

DANA_SAD: This suddenly feels like a big deal.

GABI_SAD: Yeah, it feels proper important now.

LULU_IDLE: It’s gonna be harder to make this decision than we thought.

PETE_FLIRTY: Speak for yourself, Lulu. Think me and Arlo know who we’re voting for.

PETE_FLIRTY: Ain’t that right, Arlo?

Arlo shoots you an awkward look about your comment earlier.

ARLO_SERIOUS: Yeah, 100%.

KAT_IDLE: I think me and Finn should get through this test easily enough.

FINN_IDLE: Sure hope so. The villa would be boring without us wouldn’t it?

SURESH_HAPPY: I think you could say the same about me too, bro.

GABI_FLIRTY: Yeah, you’d defo be missed, Suresh.

Suresh notices Lulu looking at him.

SURESH_EMBARRASSED: Oh, and Lulu would be missed of course too.

PETE_HAPPY: Nice save, mate.

NICOLAS_FLIRTY: I can’t imagine a power couple like me and {0} being voted off.

NICOLAS_HAPPY: Isn’t that right, {0}?

JOHNNY_FLIRTY: I can’t imagine a strong couple like me and {0} being voted off.

JOHNNY_HAPPY: Isn’t that right, {0}?

We’re a true power couple

PLAYER_HAPPY: We are the Queen and King of this villa without a doubt.

PLAYER_FLIRTY: And nobody is gonna knock these crowns off our heads.

Others are more compatible

PLAYER_SERIOUS: It seems to me that some of the other couples are probably more compatible than us.

NICOLAS_SURPRISED: What?! That’s just not possible.

JOHNNY_SURPRISED: Really? Not sure that’s possible.

I wouldn’t like to say

PLAYER_IDLE: It’s too hard to predict. Anything is possible at a dumping like this.

NICOLAS_SURPRISED: I’ve gotta disagree, {0}. Some things are a dead cert.

JOHNNY_SURPRISED: I’ve gotta disagree, {0}. Some things are practically guaranteed.

ALFIE_SAD: I really don’t like having to do this at all. I don’t want any of you to leave.

MEERA_HAPPY: It’s all good, Alf. We’re not going anywhere.

FINN_IDLE: So, I guess we should all split up and find a little private area to cast our votes.

KAT_FLIRTY: Maybe use that private area for a little something extra too?

FINN_FLIRTY: Well, if we’re going home, we might as well go out with a bang!

You shoot Finn a glance about your chat earlier. He awkwardly leaves with Kat.

ALFIE_SERIOUS: Meera, do you mind if I have a quick chat with {0} first?

MEERA_SERIOUS: I guess. Have to make it quick though. Come find me when you’re done.

Meera eyes you as she kisses Alfie on the cheek.

The remaining Islanders disperse to various parts of the villa, leaving you and Alfie alone.

PLAYER_SERIOUS: What do you want to chat about, Alfie?

ALFIE_SERIOUS: I want to talk about who me and Meera think should be dumped.

ALFIE_SAD: I can’t really say that I’ve made my mind up yet.

ALFIE_SAD: And maybe I could sway Meera still.

ALFIE_IDLE: Maybe chatting with you will confirm my choice?

ALFIE_SAD: Also, with the dumping so close, this could be the last time we get to have a chat.

ALFIE_IDLE: So, do you want to come talk with me, {0}?

*Yeah, tell me about your choice

PLAYER_HAPPY: Let’s talk, Alfie!

ALFIE_HAPPY: Nice one. Follow me.

You walk with Alfie to the daybeds.

Nope, not interested

PLAYER_IDLE: No thanks, Alfie.

ALFIE_IDLE: Really? Don’t you want to hear about who Meera wants to dump?

ALFIE_IDLE: Chat with me, and you’ll find out.

ALFIE_SERIOUS: Plus hearing your thoughts on the couples might help me make my mind up.

*Actually, let’s talk

PLAYER_HAPPY: Let’s talk, Alfie!

ALFIE_HAPPY: Nice one. Follow me.

You walk with Alfie to the daybeds.

Still not interested

PLAYER_SERIOUS: Alfie, I really don’t care.

ALFIE_SAD: Ok. No worries, {0}.

ALFIE_IDLE: I’ll see you at the firepit for the results.

You head over to the swing-seat to vote with Nicolas.

You head over to the swing-seat to vote with Johnny.

You sit down beside Alfie on the daybeds.

ALFIE_SERIOUS: This has to be the worst part of this whole thing.

ALFIE_SAD: Choosing friends over other friends.

ALFIE_EMBARRASSED: It’s like trying to pick your all time favourite England players.

ALFIE_IDLE: There’s just too many legends to choose from.

ALFIE_SAD: I really don’t want to do this, {0}.

PLAYER_SAD: It’s part of the game, Alfie. It has to be done.

ALFIE_IDLE: I know. I’m just trying to delay it.

PLAYER_SERIOUS: I thought you were going to tell me about Meera’s choice?

ALFIE_SERIOUS: Of course, yeah.

PLAYER_SERIOUS: So, who does she want to dump?

ALFIE_SERIOUS: You probably won’t like the answer, but she wants to dump…

ALFIE_SERIOUS: You.

ALFIE_SAD: Obviously I'm not happy about it.

ALFIE_SERIOUS: We've been coupled up and we've got some history.

ALFIE_SERIOUS: I really value you as a friend.

ALFIE_SERIOUS: What do you think of that?

I expected that

PLAYER_SERIOUS: That’s not exactly a surprise. Meera has definitely got it in for me.

PLAYER_ANGRY: Especially after that little bust up earlier.

ALFIE_EMBARRASSED: Yeah, you might not have helped your case with that remark.

ALFIE_SERIOUS: I’m not sure that her reasons for picking you are that snakey, though.

PLAYER_SERIOUS: Meera has wanted to get rid of me since she returned from Casa Amor.

I didn’t expect that

PLAYER_SURPRISED: I know we’ve had our differences, but I didn’t think Meera would want me dumped!

PLAYER_EMBARRASSED: Especially after we had a nice chat earlier.

PLAYER_IDLE: And I told you both I thought you were a dream couple.

ALFIE_SERIOUS: Yeah, she was pretty adamant about it too.

I can’t say I’m bothered

PLAYER_SERIOUS: She can try to dump whoever she wants, I can’t stop her.

PLAYER_IDLE: Besides, I’m not too fussed anyway. She’s not the only Islander voting.

ALFIE_EMBARRASSED: I guess she sees you as unwanted competition.

ALFIE_IDLE: To be clear though, {0}, I don’t agree with her.

ALFIE_SERIOUS: There’s no way I would want you to leave.

ALFIE_SAD: The thought of losing you really upsets me.

ALFIE_SERIOUS: But, Meera can be pretty persistent, so I'm not sure what to do.

PLAYER_SERIOUS: You said that I might be able to sway yours and Meera’s decision.

ALFIE_IDLE: That’s true.

ALFIE_IDLE: Sway me, and maybe I’ll be able to sway Meera. It’s worth a shot.

ALFIE_SERIOUS: So, which couple do you think we should vote to dump instead then?

Kat and Finn

PLAYER_SERIOUS: You should vote to dump Kat and Finn.

ALFIE_SURPRISED: Kat and Finn? That would mean breaking up our epic bromance!

PLAYER_SERIOUS: Yeah, I know that’d be a hard one for you. Just not sure they’ve got a future.

ALFIE_SURPRISED: I know they’re chalk and cheese, but he’s my boy.

ALFIE_SAD: I couldn't imagine being in the villa without Finn.

PLAYER_EMBARRASSED: I get that, but this is about compatibility as a couple.

ALFIE_SERIOUS: That is true.

Lulu and Suresh

PLAYER_SERIOUS: You should vote to dump Lulu and Suresh.

ALFIE_SURPRISED: Lulu and Suresh?

PLAYER_SERIOUS: You and Suresh have never seen eye to eye.

PLAYER_SERIOUS: Plus, do you believe he’s turned over a new leaf?

ALFIE_IDLE: Can I see him as a faithful boyfriend to Lulu, you mean?

ALFIE_SERIOUS: Guess I’ve still got my doubts.

Gabi and Dana

PLAYER_SERIOUS: You should vote to dump Gabi and Dana.

ALFIE_SURPRISED: Gabi and Dana?

ALFIE_SURPRISED: I thought they seemed to vibe together.

ALFIE_SERIOUS: Although there’s some weird thing with Suresh and Gabi still.

ALFIE_SERIOUS: Surprised you’d want to dump Dana though.

PLAYER_EMBARRASSED: I guess we're supposed to leave any friendships to one side.

PLAYER_EMBARRASSED: This is about compatibility as a couple.

ALFIE_SERIOUS: That is true.

Arlo and Pete

PLAYER_SERIOUS: You should vote to dump Arlo and Pete.

ALFIE_SURPRISED: Arlo and Pete?

PLAYER_SERIOUS: Did you see their fall out earlier?

ALFIE_IDLE: How could I miss it? What was that about?

PLAYER_SERIOUS: About Lulu being more Pete’s type than Arlo is. He kept putting his foot in it.

ALFIE_EMBARRASSED: Yeah, he doesn't know when to keep quiet.

ALFIE_SAD: Much as I enjoy them both, I think you've got a point.

ALFIE_SERIOUS: I'm not sure I see them being compatible long term.

It’s too hard to choose

PLAYER_SAD: Actually, it’s too difficult to pick someone. I just can’t.

ALFIE_SAD: You know exactly how I feel.

Alfie stands up from the daybeds.

ALFIE_SERIOUS: This is a tough situation, {0}.

PLAYER_SERIOUS: It really is!

ALFIE_SERIOUS: I best go chat with Meera, can’t put it off any longer.

ALFIE_SERIOUS: I'll definitely bear in mind your opinions though.

PLAYER_HAPPY: Thanks, Alfie.

ALFIE_SERIOUS: Anything else you want to say before I head off?

Guilt trip Alfie

PLAYER_SAD: Just that I'd be devastated if we got dumped tonight.

ALFIE_SAD: Me too.

PLAYER_SAD: I feel like my time in the villa is nowhere near done.

PLAYER_SAD: I'd be so sad if it ended prematurely.

PLAYER_SAD: I really want to get to the very end.

ALFIE_SAD: I know exactly what you mean.

ALFIE_SERIOUS: I want us to finish this experience together.

Leave it at that

PLAYER_IDLE: No, I'm good.

ALFIE_IDLE: Okay, no worries.

ALFIE_IDLE: I’ll see you at the firepit for the results.

ALFIE_IDLE: Good luck, {0}. I’ll really miss you if you don’t stay.

I’ll miss you too, Alfie

PLAYER_SAD: I’ll miss you too, Alfie.

ALFIE_IDLE: Well, let’s hope we can both stay then.

Good luck, Alfie

PLAYER_HAPPY: Good luck to you too, Alfie.

You head over to the swing-seat to vote with Nicolas.

You head over to the swing-seat to vote with Johnny.

Nicolas is waiting for you on the swing-seat. You sit down beside him.

PLAYER_SERIOUS: Ready to get into it then?

NICOLAS_HAPPY: Born ready.

PLAYER_EMBARRASSED: Do you know which couple you want to vote out?

NICOLAS_SERIOUS: I’ve chatted with everyone today and I’ve narrowed it down to two couples.

PLAYER_SERIOUS: Which two?

NICOLAS_SERIOUS: Alfie and Meera or Dana and Gabi.

PLAYER_SURPRISED: Why?

NICOLAS_IDLE: Alfie and Meera are fine. They’re just a bit meh.

NICOLAS_FLIRTY: They’re both nice and all. Just don’t see much chemistry between them.

NICOLAS_FLIRTY: I can’t imagine them ripping off each other’s clothes on the plane home.

PLAYER_EMBARRASSED: We’re voting on compatibility. Not just sexual chemistry.

NICOLAS_FLIRTY: If you don’t have that chemistry from the start, you’re never gonna last.

NICOLAS_FLIRTY: Tried it once.

NICOLAS_EMBARRASSED: Lasted a week.

NICOLAS_HAPPY: Also, overheard you telling Meera you didn’t buy her and Alfie. That was hilarious.

NICOLAS_HAPPY: And telling her Alfie would pick you again?

NICOLAS_HAPPY: Probably not the smartest thing, but love your style.

NICOLAS_SERIOUS: But it also got me thinking he’s still got a crush on you.

NICOLAS_EMBARRASSED: Not great news for Meera.

PLAYER_SURPRISED: Bit of an eavesdropper aren’t you?

NICOLAS_HAPPY: Hard not to overhear that tea!

Nicolas laughs.

PLAYER_SERIOUS: And what about Dana and Gabi?

NICOLAS_SERIOUS: They’re both lively and fun. And Gabi brings all the triple ex drama.

NICOLAS_FLIRTY: Tempted to keep her in for that.

PLAYER_SURPRISED: Triple ex drama?

NICOLAS_HAPPY: You, Gabi, Suresh: Triple ex. Never seen anything like it. Gives me life!

NICOLAS_HAPPY: What? You know I live for the drama.

NICOLAS_HAPPY: But, I think Gabi’s a bit too much of a live wire for Dana.

NICOLAS_SERIOUS: And she’s still clearly into Suresh.

PLAYER_EMBARRASSED: Who? Gabi or Dana?

NICOLAS_FLIRTY: Gabi for sure!

NICOLAS_SERIOUS: Well, {0}. Which couple do you want to dump?

Kat and Finn

PLAYER_SERIOUS: It has to be Kat and Finn.

NICOLAS_SURPRISED: Aww, I actually weirdly think they might last. Not sure why. Like their vibe.

NICOLAS_IDLE: But you’ve known them longer than I have. You probably get them more than I do.

PLAYER_IDLE: You’re happy voting for Finn and Kat then?

Lulu and Suresh

PLAYER_SERIOUS: It has to be Lulu and Suresh.

NICOLAS_HAPPY: Yeah, good shout. Turn your ex into an ex-Islander. Makes sense.

NICOLAS_HAPPY: And one less alpha for me to outshine.

NICOLAS_FLIRTY: Although I would miss Lulu. She’s a sweetheart.

NICOLAS_HAPPY: But happy for you to try to dump your ex.

PLAYER_HAPPY: Glad we’re on the same page.

NICOLAS_HAPPY: It’s get your own back time, {0}!

PLAYER_IDLE: You’re happy voting for Suresh and Lulu then?

Gabi and Dana

PLAYER_SERIOUS: I agree, it has to be Gabi and Dana.

NICOLAS_HAPPY: Glad we’re on the same page. Look at us being all compatible and everything.

NICOLAS_SAD: Still, will be sad to lose all the drama, but hey ho.

NICOLAS_HAPPY: Understand why might want Gabi out of the villa, too.

PLAYER_IDLE: You’re happy voting for Gabi and Dana then?

Arlo and Pete

PLAYER_SERIOUS: It has to be Arlo and Pete. Especially after their bust up earlier.

NICOLAS_SERIOUS: Not sure. I see them as a couple that’ll love to fight and make up…

NICOLAS_FLIRTY: If you know what I mean.

NICOLAS_FLIRTY: But you’ve known Arlo longer than I have, so happy to go with your gut.

PLAYER_IDLE: You’re happy voting for Arlo and Pete then?

Alfie and Meera

PLAYER_SERIOUS: I agree, it has to be Alfie and Meera.

NICOLAS_HAPPY: Glad we’re on the same page. Look at us being all compatible and everything.

NICOLAS_HAPPY: You’ve known Alfie from the start.

NICOLAS_SERIOUS: If you don’t buy him and Meera then you should listen to your gut.

PLAYER_IDLE: You’re happy voting for Alfie and Meera then?

NICOLAS_HAPPY: Send the text, {0}.

Johnny is waiting for you on the swing-seat. You sit down beside him.

PLAYER_SERIOUS: Ready to get into it then?

JOHNNY_SERIOUS: I guess so.

PLAYER_EMBARRASSED: Do you know which couple you want to vote out?

JOHNNY_SERIOUS: I’ve chatted with everyone today and I’ve narrowed it down to two couples.

PLAYER_SERIOUS: Which two?

JOHNNY_SERIOUS: Alfie and Meera or Dana and Gabi.

PLAYER_SURPRISED: Why?

JOHNNY_IDLE: Alfie and Meera are fine.

JOHNNY_IDLE: They’re both nice and all. Just don’t see much chemistry between them.

JOHNNY_FLIRTY: I can’t imagine them ripping off each other’s clothes every night.

PLAYER_EMBARRASSED: We’re voting on compatibility. Not just sexual chemistry.

JOHNNY_FLIRTY: You need that chemistry from the start if you’re going to last. In my opinion.

JOHNNY_SURPRISED: Also, overheard you telling Meera you didn’t buy her and Alfie.

JOHNNY_EMBARRASSED: And telling her Alfie would pick you again. Maybe not the best timing, {0}.

JOHNNY_SERIOUS: But it also got me thinking he’s still got a crush on you. Not great news for Meera.

PLAYER_SURPRISED: Bit of an eavesdropper aren’t you?

JOHNNY_HAPPY: Hard not to overhear that tea spilling!

Johnny laughs.

PLAYER_SERIOUS: And what about Dana and Gabi?

JOHNNY_SERIOUS: They’re both lively and fun. And the dynamic between you, Gabi and Suresh is tasty.

PLAYER_SURPRISED: Tasty?

JOHNNY_HAPPY: Never seen anything like it. Gives me life!

JOHNNY_HAPPY: What? You know I live for the drama. Literally.

JOHNNY_HAPPY: But, I think Gabi’s a bit too complicated for Dana ultimately. And she’s still clearly into Suresh.

PLAYER_EMBARRASSED: Who? Gabi or Dana?

JOHNNY_SERIOUS: Gabi!

JOHNNY_SERIOUS: Well, {0}. Which couple do you want to dump?

Kat and Finn

PLAYER_SERIOUS: It has to be Kat and Finn.

JOHNNY_SURPRISED: Aww, I actually weirdly think they might last. Not sure why. They’re sweet together.

JOHNNY_IDLE: But you’ve known them longer than I have. You probably get them more than I do.

PLAYER_IDLE: You’re happy voting for Finn and Kat then?

Lulu and Suresh

PLAYER_SERIOUS: It has to be Lulu and Suresh.

JOHNNY_HAPPY: Yeah, good shout. Makes sense you’d want Suresh out of here.

JOHNNY_FLIRTY: I would miss Lulu, though. She’s a sweetie. But happy for you to try to dump your ex.

PLAYER_HAPPY: Glad we’re on the same page.

JOHNNY_HAPPY: Me too, {0}! Think you’re making the right call.

PLAYER_IDLE: You’re happy voting for Suresh and Lulu then?

Gabi and Dana

PLAYER_SERIOUS: I agree, it has to be Gabi and Dana.

JOHNNY_HAPPY: Glad we’re on the same page. Look at how compatible we are.

JOHNNY_SAD: Still, will be sad to lose all the drama, though.

JOHNNY_HAPPY: Understand why might want Gabi out of the villa, too.

PLAYER_IDLE: You’re happy voting for Gabi and Dana then?

Arlo and Pete

PLAYER_SERIOUS: It has to be Arlo and Pete. Especially after their bust up earlier.

JOHNNY_FLIRTY: Not sure. I see them as a couple that’ll love to fight and make up, if you know what I mean.

JOHNNY_FLIRTY: Big passionate, whirlwind romance. But maybe it’ll be too much and burn out.

JOHNNY_SERIOUS: You’ve known Arlo longer than I have, so happy to go with your gut on this.

PLAYER_IDLE: You’re happy voting for Arlo and Pete then?

Alfie and Meera

PLAYER_SERIOUS: I agree, it has to be Alfie and Meera.

JOHNNY_HAPPY: Glad we’re on the same page. Look at how compatible we are.

JOHNNY_HAPPY: You’ve known Alfie from the start. If you don’t buy him and Meera then you should listen to your gut.

PLAYER_IDLE: You’re happy voting for Alfie and Meera then?

JOHNNY_SERIOUS: Send the text, {0}.

You take a look around the garden at the other couples talking in hushed tones.

You send the text and almost instantly your phone pings again.

PLAYER_SURPRISED: I got a text!

Everyone looks over at you.

LITEXT: Islanders, please gather around the firepit immediately.

LITEXT: The couple that has received the most votes from their fellow Islanders is about to be dumped from the villa. {0}TwoTicketsHome {1}Hometime

NARRATOR: Looks like {0} and Nicolas might be compatible after all.

NARRATOR: And I think we know who wears the trousers… {0}.

NARRATOR: Looks like {0} and Johnny might be compatible after all.

NARRATOR: And I think we know who wears the trousers… {0}.

Matching trousers... Or matching tops at least!

NARRATOR: But are the other Islanders buying that {0} and Nicolas are a match?

NARRATOR: But are the other Islanders buying that {0} and Johnny are a match?

NARRATOR: If not, {0} might have a flight to catch! Find out next time on Love Island!

[rinwellisathing]

You're Awful, I Love You: Part 33

Enver Gortash/Trans Male Tiefling Durge

Within what felt like a few short moments, the group was seated at a war table upstairs. Ketheric was in a large, imposing chair, Gortash beside him in a somewhat smaller one. One to match the chair Gortash sat in was at Ketheric's other side, but Sentry ignored it and slid into Gortash's lap instead, earning a look of abject disdain from Ketheric. The rest of the seats, simple dining chairs practically, were populated by Gabraela (who looked furious), Tomi (who was smiling pleasantly and had her hands folded neatly.), and Orin (who glared briefly at Sentry). Other than them, Jackal sat in one of the chairs, his throat covered by a thick scarf and a pallor to his grey skin, then a rather portly man in black robes with a network of scars across every inch of his skin, and finally a confident and rather attractive orcish woman with a scar over one eye.

“So, here we are, finally able to discuss our plan like civilized people.” Gortash began, unable to hide a satisfied smirk as Sentry draped his arms around his shoulders and sprawled across his lap. “I suppose introductions are in order, if we are to work together. I am Lord Enver Gortash, currently a baron, but soon to be Grand Duke should everything go to plan. My role in our little play, as The Tyrant, will be the brave hero who will step in and save the city from chaos and death, provided by you.” Sentry grinned wickedly. “Oh, is it my turn? Yeah, I'm the 'chaos' bit. Sentry Ojeda, The Dread Executioner. My sisters and I...well, and our newly returned brother I guess...will direct our cult to sow chaos in the streets, bloody murder in the name of a brand new exciting god...yet to be named...Patriars and peasants alike will fall to our blades, the streets will run red and no one will be safe from our Unholy Assassins. Really puts a damper on the current ruling class, you know. How can they lead if they can't even protect folks in their own homes? And we DO have access to their homes, make no mistake...Every cellar in Baldur's Gate has sewer access if you know where to look....” He shifted and stretched like a contented cat in Gortash's lap, his hips grinding a bit against his partner's at the thought of all that bloodshed. He felt Enver react subtly and the tiefling leaned over to run his tongue over Enver's neck and up to his ear, adding in a whisper. “After this, let's find a bedroom, yeah?”

Ketheric stared icily at Sentry and Gortash, but inclined his head, closing his eyes and clearing his throat. “Myrkul has instructed me to raise an army of the undead and rally them here at Moonrise Tower. Our ranks will be bolstered by the faithful of this new god. But more importantly, I am to provide what is under Moonrise tower....With that said, however, we will need to exercise caution. To approach an Elder Brain without proper precautions is suicide. We would end up devoured or worse.” “Don't worry about that, we have the solution. Sentry?” Gortash nodded to the Tiefling.

“So...where my temple is in the sewers, it's connected, as I said, to every building in Baldur's gate. Near one of the taverns, I've seen this guy, always in a hood, dumping bodies....Bodies with their heads cracked open like sun melons at a summer time picnic...So of course, I had to let Enver know, such an interesting thing after all, you don't see that every day, so we were laying in bed one night, just having a cuddle, and I couldn't help but mention it...He and some associates looked into it and would you believe it? A Mindflayer. One not being commanded by an Elder Brain.” Sentry explained with a cat-like grin, a smug air of satisfaction about him to be so many steps ahead of this stuffy, dreary necromancer. “And this Mindflayer just told you how to resist an Elder Brain?” Ketheric quirked a brow in disbelief, his voice tinged with doubt. “Most will tell you just about anything when beaten and deprived of food for long enough.” Gortash replied, examining his gauntlet with a self-satisfied smirk. “A Mindflayer is really no different from anyone else when you have it dead to rights.”

“Alright, fine. I trust you two brought this crown with you?” Ketheric steepled his fingers, leaning forward, now trying to avoid eye contact with Sentry and Enver as the tiefling was making even more of a show of hanging on to Bane's chosen and whispering in his ear. “Yes, we came directly from our little excursion.” Enver replied.

“Hey, you didn't actually introduce yourself, old man.” Sentry gave a playful little pout and looked at Ketheric. “We both said our names, so....” The necromancer's expression painted a very clear picture of the multitude of ways he wanted to throttle the young tiefling, but he inhaled deeply through his nostrils and in a weary tone, muttered. “General Ketheric Thorm.”

“There we go. After all, it's important to have trust with plans like this...I'm sure you're familiar with the pit falls of The Dead Three working together, there are so many fascinating stories throughout history, cautionary tales, really....some truly exciting cases of back stabbing and murder, so many I've brought to life in my Bhaalist history period.” Sentry rambled, his voice oozing false pleasantry. He was enjoying needling at the necromancer.

“I have read of these past alliances, yes...which makes me doubt this one even more than your rather flippant attitude, child.” Ketheric stood up, hands on the table. “Now if you'll excuse me, I have other matters to attend to. There are guest rooms available if you don't intend to return home immediately.” And with no further pleasantries, the elf turned, motioned to his entourage, and left the room. Sentry stood first, arms folded across his chest, watching the old man leave. Gortash stood up beside him a moment later as the door closed. “Know what would be great fun?” Sentry grinned wickedly. “Let's go find the master bedroom.” Gortash fought back a hearty chuckle, covering his mouth a moment. “You're despicable, my dear Bhaalist.” But he didn't object. “What, so that's it!? You're not going to make sure we're alright after being imprisoned here, after I've been dead fuck knows how long!?” Jackal shouted, his voice a wet, guttural rasp now as he stood up, body tensed in fury.

“You heard the necromancer, there are guest rooms. So go on, be a good boy and lie down.” Sentry smirked, barely offering a glance in his brother's direction as he continued towards the door.

As Sentry and Enver headed upstairs, ancient and rotting stairs creaking beneath them, Sentry's ears pricked up, vaguely aware of odd sounds from inside the walls. “D'you hear that? It's like someone punching cut up parts, tenderizing them, that little squishing, squelching sound...” “From what the Mindflayer told me, the colony winds its way all throughout the tower. Have you ever seen Illithid construction?” Gortash asked as he and Sentry reached the upper floor landing. “Can't say I have, though the copper dreadfuls they feature in DO refer to it as fleshy...” He mused. “Quite so.” Enver nodded. “So in all likelihood, that's what you're hearing...” The two of them made their way into a corridor with several doors, presumably leading to sleeping chambers. Sentry began to try each door handle. “Huh...all locked, that's not very hospitable, is it?” “Well, it's fortunate we just came from a heist, isn't it?” Enver smirked, producing the little machine that had opened the door to Mephistar earlier and set it on one of the doors. The thing whirred and clicked, spinning and flashing before the door creaked open, revealing a large, once luxurious bed, now in disrepair. The room was shockingly well appointed for someone who seemed as bare-bones and no-nonsense as the general. There was a fireplace with a fire already crackling, tall bookshelves filled with dusty tomes, a sickly green collection of runes and sigils on the floor, both men could easily clock it as a shrine to Myrkul, the final member of The Dead Three. A cluttered desk covered in correspondences and maps stood beside tall boards with battle plans and formations tacked up. Golden candle holders stood about the room, lighting it in a dim, sickly glow. A portrait hung above the bed, obscured by ages of dust and decay.

“I don't think this bed's been used properly in a couple hundred years.” Sentry announced. “The one side's near perfectly made...I think we can put it to better use.” He sat on the edge of the bed, leaning back and giving a coy, playful smile, beckoning his partner to join him. Enver accepted the invitation most eagerly, standing in front of Sentry and leaning in to push him back, grabbing his wrists and pinning them above his head, kissing him deeply and hungrily, in a way that told Sentry he'd been longing for this the entire night. Sentry lifted his legs, wrapping them around Enver's waist and pulling him down ontop of him, nipping and biting into the kiss. Neither one heard a low, irritated whine from the corner and the sound of fleshless paws tapping at the wooden floor, padding out of the room in a hurry.

#baldurs gate 3 #baldur's gate 3 #oc #tiefling #durge #dark urge #writing #fanfic #durgetash #gortash x durge #enver gortash #lord enver gortash #ketheric thorm