Brandon and Phillip have an arrangement. It isn't a game; it's closer in spirit to a contract.

Gentrification is the consumption of the working class.

An operative from the future tells Wade that he has two options: kill himself before he has a chance to live 2000 years and become Cable's accomplice in dictatorship, or kill Cable. So now, Wade has thirty days to figure out a way to die. Unfortunately, most of his ideas involve convincing Cable to kill him. Fortunately, most of Cable's ideas for stopping him involve sex.

Sixteen ways of looking at a rabbit.

On Bazzard's first Christmas in London, the thorn of anxiety is keenly felt, and then drawn out a little.

Tom is snowed in at Cortina with Dickie and Marge and Peter and Freddie. Sometimes he's really a very lucky boy.

“Why do you wear your face like that?”

Nie Huaisang's hand comes up partway to Meng Yao's face before his fingers curl inwards. Meng Yao's eyes go wide and tremulous before the corners of his mouth curl into a small smile, like one of the soundless laughs shared between them in the midst of a banquet speech.

Luo Binghe looks at Shen Qingqiu’s face carefully for any sign of recognition but finds none. Instead, Shen Qingqiu looks impressed, like he can’t imagine it. Luo Binghe preens at impressing Shen Qingqiu and he chooses to take this as a win in the series of battles in the war to make Shen Qingqiu remember. Luo Binghe just hopes that the battles will eventually come to an end.

Goodsir is at heart a merciful man; Hickey uses that against him.

Tomorrow, then, Hal comes again. Satisfaction is not requital, and once is not enough.