loved the update, and some lines got me thinking about the themes of the story overall. specifically, the way both khenbish and asterion have a scene where they say out loud "i want", the focus on the desire, and the way powers above refuse it for us. the way we internalize this refusal, and ourselves refuse to act on the desire. the desire to do what we want. the desire to be happy. the desire to have gay sex. (/hj)
luke and his yearning for intimacy and kota and his self-imposed refusal to open up to people about onsen also fit into the theme i think, so i might be onto something :p
tuan's scene was maybe a little too long, that was already mentioned. however, i LOVE how it could be read as less so khenbish daydreaming about the sex he could have had, but instead an act of self-worship, where tuan is the ideal khenbish strives for
two more things: "why yes, i do have an appreciation for the male gender, thank you for noticing" is such a great line, and i love how the mc and khenbish ended up in the gayest restaurant in france