"Um."

"I'm still backlashed over here and we can talk about something else but we've gotta be talking about something."

"I am finding it very difficult to say words because I normally I find saying things to people I am attracted to at least a bit difficult and all that at least a bit difficult is trying to make up for lost time."

"Okay, if you need a minute I can call Cricket and have him talk to me instead."

"... I feel like if you do that than it means that you hate me being attracted to men. Which doesn't seem very consistent with the rest of this conversation."

"It's really not! I'm just loneliness-backlashed and I try to cooperate with myself enough to not deprive backlashed me of conversation."

"Yes that seems reasonable I'm sorry about doing that to you."

"I did it to myself, I didn't have to fly you home."

"...I think maybe you are just saying to be nice but probably my pointing it out doesn't help sorry."

"I mean, I did do it principally for your benefit, guiding works better the closer the two levels of backlash are, but I didn't have to."

"Okay."

"Um, maybe I should try to think about things for a bit and see how that goes?"

"In a way where I should call Cricket over or not in that way."

"In that way, yeah, though I may give up after not too long I'm not sure."

"Cricket, could you c'mere?"

Cricket comes gliding down the stairs and makes a neat landing in Haru's lap. He turns a circle, purrs, settles down under petting, and explains the Bollywood movie he saw this morning.

...Lucien cannot think of a way that the continued existence of talking cats could be his fault which is for the best really. He thinks for a few minutes about things while being an amount of insane that doesn't cause him to interrupt.

"Um, when you and Cricket are finished talking about um -" a musical foreign film abut Lucien's life??? He wasn't paying very close attention "- that thing. I might have some thoughts."

"It's just a movie he saw, it'll keep." He smooches Cricket on the forehead and Cricket licks his nose and flies back upstairs.

"I am confused about how they made a movie about me so fast - I guess maybe there was already one about my past self? Uh, that isn't really on topic sorry."

"...I guess it's possible they made a movie about your historical disappearance."

"Yes though I am still confused about why it was a musical - or a foreign film for that matter."

"I think almost all the movies they make in India are musicals, so at least it's only one mystery."

"Yeah...I suppose if it was made in the past it is probably not very negative since I didn't do much of anything terrible back then I think."

"There hasn't been time to make a movie about you after your mysterious time travel appearance, so it can't be taking anything you did since then into account."

"That sounds right?"

"You had thoughts?"