I love the way that Mina manages to tie each memory to the present in some way, whether that's an object, a phrase, a person, or a feeling. This picture beautifully encapsulates what is happening with Colin. Caught up amidst his joy, he cannot feel the pressure of the storm raging around him.

Im so happy you caught that hehe

The first time I read through this I tried to assign each character to either Colin OR Pen, but the truth is they are BOTH represented in BOTH Tyler and Maude. This snippet of the manuscript that we get to see is so gorgeously written. It captures so much of Polin's story w/o being copy/pasted.

Mina: I gave so many signs. So many signs. So many signs. You didn't even see the signs.

I feel like such an idiot for not catching this the first time around. Especially considering Colin literally mentions deja vu. I think the long breaks between updates and my shit memory really made a huge difference to how I read this story the last time. Because this is blatantly obvious now. 🤦🏻‍♀️

I just be in the dumbest situations

My shaylas!

Oops. I forgot to take notes for the memory part of this chapter, which is a shame because it's gorgeous. The way Mina paints these memories is so stunningly vivid. It's like you are actually there. She a such a genius the way she uses her words like watercolors to paint the scene for us. I'm in awe

ATE

MOTHERFUCKING ATE WITH THIS LINE MINA OH MY GOD. 😭🤌🏻👩🏻‍🍳💋 KMS Tally - 3

Poor sick Thomas. Poor exhausted Colin. But this is still very funny.

I still need to write a fic about this man who wrote a fanfic about me

Heyoooooo! For our monthly fic club this month we are reading "but they were real to me" by the incomparable @icarlysoldmyson.bsky.social. I promised dear Mina that when the last chapter was published I'd go back and reread the whole thing and live tweet it here. 🧵

thinking about chocolate milk rn