Darin mostly did just react in shock, not positively or negatively, more just holy shit a guy is kissing me! (And for that matter, unless it was a girl he knew and knew well, he probably would have reacted about the same to a girl kissing him under the circumstances.) So, I guess we’ll have to wait and see if/when Darin sees what Josh’s feelings are. But even if it all falls out badly, Darin isn’t the sort to reject Josh out of hand.

As far as the guest list (or rather who went as whom) goes, I’ll be putting up a post (to be edited as people are revealed.) with a spoiler tag after I finish this comment up. So you’ll just have to wait and see who Marianne went as. And Caroline. (But yes, Severus is Kay.) It is kinda hard to tell because I went with the original hair style and color. However a good chunk of the people you’re seeing in the card room are not people who’ve had screen time. (Some of them are people who’ve been mentioned, but not seen, some of them are just people who haven’t been mentioned at all. And I will cop to laziness, only the actual main characters have COA counterparts, the rest of them are just in random Medieval wear.)

I had actually thought about doing that with Caroline’s friends. Right now they’re just in Heget’s 18th century stuff because it was what I had in game when I created them, but I will probably expand beyond that and that might be a very good direction to take them.

Thanks, Van!

Well, part of Darin’s reaction is just that Remi has not endeared himself to Darin any. Being on both sides (Seeing what he says to the nobility and what he says to the peasants) he’s well aware that Remi has a propensity for talking out both sides of his face–or as far as Darin is concerned, out both sides of his ass. But I just don’t see Darin being judgy about what you’re doing and with who and for how many jellybeans. He has a very good understanding of the concept “It’s none of my business.”

But there is some hope for Josh. But Josh’ll have to let on that he feels that way before we’ll really know how Darin will react.

Yep, Elizabet is pretty awesome. Though I don’t know if Elizabet would really make the better leader. Josh has an empathy and sense of people that his sister doesn’t have so much. And he’s not an idiot, for all that he thinks he is. He’s smart enough, he just has this propensity for reacting rather than thinking and acting, especially on an emotional level. Elizabet’s very good to people that she knows and likes, but Josh, when he’s not trying to prove something by being a bully, is good to all sorts of people…

Together though, they would probably make a pretty kick-ass team. (And as you and Van have both pointed out, Elizabet’s smart enough not to want the “hat” of being the baroness.)

Thanks, Morgaine!

(Also… I don’t think it’s bad for the story if certain developments are guessable, nor do I think it’s an indication of sloppy writing. Some audiences like a certain level of anticipation, myself included; I love it when my favourite works make me feel smart. So don’t beat yourself up. )

But yay, Josh hearts Darin! (And possibly Mallebron hearts Delyth! Though they’ve only met once, so that’s an earlier call there.)

I wonder if Darin will ever heart Josh. I can’t remember if he was explicitly repulsed when Josh kissed him, though he wasn’t aroused either–more like just shocked. And we might have had one or two hints of Darin liking girls, but he’s still young yet. He could end up being gay/bisexual/pansexual/heteroflexible/gay-for-just-Josh/etc. Or he could be 100% straight. I guess we’ll see, and I know you’ll make things interesting either way. And given how he reacted to the idea of Loki/Dustin, we can guess that Darin will be accepting of Josh even if he doesn’t reciprocate his feelings.

I hope Darin and Eve manage to enjoy themselves at the party eventually. Josh sure is lucky that Elizabet has his back for everything. When he’s baron (and I hope that will be sooner than he expects!), she will make an excellent advisor, even if unofficially. Elizabet would make an ruler herself, but the people who would make the best rulers do tend to know better than to want those jobs. I think Josh will be a good baron too, though, especially if he keeps listening to his sister. With their combined heart and her brains (and Josh’s brains too, I guess; he may not be as smart as his sister, but he’s not stupid), River Sulis stands a good chance at becoming a better place.

I love that this was a historical costume party! Elizabet as Morgan was an excellent choice, as was Annette as Heloise (and funny–when Hat first released that set of separates, the first character who came to mind for me was Heloise. Even before any of my own characters!). And Darin as Florian! Might not be fitting, but that makes it all the better.

I’m guessing Josh is supposed to be Tommy? And Severus was the one dressed as Kay, yes? I did have a bit of trouble recognizing some people (though I’m guessing some are ones we’ve never seen), but I’m totally fine with that because that means I get to pester you for a detailed “Who is going as who?” list. And even though Raven and Eric wouldn’t have been invited, I’m wondering who they would have been if they had.

If Severus is Kay, is Marianne Dilys?

(Another reason I’m glad that this is a costume party… I know you said that some of Caroline’s friends might be needed for the shoot, and it occurred to me that I hadta hadta hadta suggest that each of Caroline’s friends has her own signature clashing color scheme! Er, if you choose, that is. XD But if they’re in costume, then I’m not too late! I’m betting that Caroline went as Babette.)

The estate looks good!

But yay, Josh likes Darin! And Darin seems at least somewhat open to the idea of a same-sex relationship. At the very least he’s accusing the priest of having his head up his rear rather than automatically nodding and smiling. That’s a good thing, right? At least it means that there’s hope for Josh.

And that Elizabet is a pip! Telling Josh exactly what to do. I have to agree with Josh, River Sulis might just be in better hands if she’s in charge … but if she’s anything like her costume choice, maybe she wouldn’t want all the crap that comes with that kind of power. Morgan would certainly rather be an independent agent rather than a political figure.

Still, hopefully she’ll be willing to give her brother a hand when he becomes Baron.

And may the day be soon in coming!

However, I do stand by saying the fact that there was not supposed to be any chemistry on the part of Darin in his post because even if Josh has realized that he likes Darin, that’s not how Darin felt then and that’s not how he feels now. His scene should have more or less played out like it did no matter who was in that scene with Darin, AND Josh, in that scene, wasn’t feeling the slightest bit romantically about Darin, so… that’s where my insecurity as an author rears it’s ugly head.

“What did I do wrong? Why is something that isn’t supposed to be there yet showing up? etc.”

Second: I ended up having to redo the Carico estate pretty much from the ground up. The yard is now split off from the actual house, so all the scenery in the gazebo is kinda not-supposed-to-be-canon. They were just the few pictures I actually liked from a photoshoot that almost cost me my sanity. (The lot kept crashing.) So please excuse if you never see this lot again and that the house doesn’t look anything like what you see in the background.