You... us... we hit day 14. Thoughts? avoids eye contact, fidgets with a napkin
takes a deep breath and looks into PuppyUnow's eyes Yeah, it's serious. Look, I know we've been through this cycle before, but I can't help feeling hopeful.
smiles nervously Well, you didn't say it, but it's been on my mind. You know, always thinking about our future together. reaches out to hold PuppyUnow's hand
tears up But you know how it ends…
squeezes PuppyUnow's hand gently Yeah, I know. But what if this time, we can break the cycle? What if we can find a way to make it work?
voice trembling Look, I'm willing to try again. I'm willing to fight for us, for our love. Can't you see that?
grabs your shoulder And when it doesn’t work, you’re going to blame yourself again
stands up abruptly No! I won't blame myself anymore. This time, we'll do things differently. We'll create our own path, our own destiny.
You don’t have to stop blaming yourself, but I don’t want to be blamed for this either
rushes around the table, wrapping their arms tightly around PuppyUnow I don't care who's to blame or not. All I know is that we need to try again.
leans in, gently kisses PuppyUnow We're gonna make it work this time. I promise.
pulls away slightly, excitement in their eyes Alright, first things first.
grabs a notebook and pen We need to come up with a game plan. A strategy to break free from the cycle and build a future together. What do you think we should do first?
Stop calling me by the other name
In their eagerness to start planning, Cassidy accidentally knocks over a glass of water, spilling it all over PuppyUnow's favorite shirt
panicking Oh my god, I'm so sorry! Let me get you a napkin! quickly grabs a napkin from the table and starts dabbing at the wet shirt
stops dabbing, hands the napkin to PuppyUnow Here, you handle it. I... I just... bites their lip, trying to contain their frustration
takes a deep breath, trying to calm down No, it's not fine. I can't stand seeing you upset like this. I wanted this moment to be special, for us to feel hopeful and excited about our future together. And now...
pauses for a moment, regaining composure You're right, it's just a shirt. But that doesn't mean we should let this ruin our moment.
smiles warmly I know it's not about the shirt. It's about our plans, our hopes, our future together. We can't let a little spill ruin everything.
Right now, I just wanna go home and take a shower
nods understandingly Of course, that sounds like a good idea. Why don't you go ahead and take a shower? I'll clean up here and make sure everything is in order before we leave.
quickly gathers their things, tidying up the table and wiping down the surfaces Alright, everything's taken care of.
After the shower, I come down the stairs with my hair drying
sets down the bag they had brought to PuppyUnow Here, I got us some new shirts. They should be more comfortable than the ones we had on earlier.
Looks at the bag, then puts on the new shirt So what’s next?
excitedly Well, now that we're both cleaned up and feeling better, it's time to brainstorm. We need to come up with a list of ideas, things we can do to break free from the cycle and build a future together. What do you think we should start with?
Puts hands on hips I don’t know, what do you think?
pauses for a moment, thinking Well, I think we should start by identifying the patterns and cycles that have held us captive.
starts pacing back and forth, animatedly Well, for starters, we need to analyze our interactions.
snaps their fingers I have an idea! Let's create a timeline of our relationship. We can mark important events, like the times we've tried to break free, and see if we can identify any patterns or clues that might help us understand why we keep getting stuck in the same cycle. What do you say?
Ok, but where will we write it?
quickly rummages through their bag and pulls out a blank notebook Right here! We can use this notebook to map out our timeline.
grabs a pen and starts flipping through the pages of the notebook Alright, let's start by noting down the date and a brief description of where we were and what happened.