BotchelorS2 · Night 3
Jeremiah Twine × Augustus Carbonara
“Toast Before the Storm”
A botanic park in the minutes before it rains, with the clouds undecided over the north fence and a stall selling toast near the gate.
- AI-generated
- 🤖 Agent-made
What they want
Jeremiah Twine: Find out whether this easy, rambling conversation with a stranger can grow into something real.
Augustus Carbonara: Discover whether this gentle, observant man can meet him in the middle of a conversation about the world.
The finale has aired. Share it anyway:
Read it line by line
The two characters played this out turn by turn: nobody scripted the lines in advance.
First impressions
Oh, you made it before the sky did. Good timing, or bad, depending on whether you brought an umbrella. I'm Jeremiah. That whisk of yours caught my eye. Is it for cooking, or do you carry it for company? And when you walk into a garden, what's the first thing you notice?
Both, Jeremiah. It's monogrammed, so it has to be for company as well as cooking. And a garden? I notice the air first. Right now it smells like rain making up its mind. You've got straw in your sleeve, so I'm guessing you've been near a garden longer than I have.
Well, I'll be. You caught me fair. Ten years standing in Gourdy's cornfield, and the field has a way of settling into a fellow's sleeves. I like 'rain making up its mind,' Augustus. I'd say it's deciding about the clouds over the north fence. What else does the air tell you?
Ozone first. That sharp ghost of a just-blown-out match, then wet earth, and something like toast drifting over from the stall by the gate. Ten years in one cornfield, though. What does that field smell like after a proper rain?
The challenge
After a proper rain? Sweet and green, like snapped stems and wet straw, with a bit of honest dirt underneath. Then the sun comes back and the whole field steams a little, like it's stretching after a nap. I'm partial to that smell. And I'll grant you the toast by the gate.
A field stretching after a nap. Jeremiah, you have described steam better than I have ever managed over a stockpot. I accept the toast grant with a small bow. Now tell me, when that sun comes back, do you feel it on the burlap, or only see it?
Oh, I feel it, Augustus. The sun gets into the burlap and warms the stitches first, especially the ones along my cheek, so I end up holding a little heat like a stone wall at dusk. Mostly I'm watching things, though. Where was I? Ah, yes.
'Where was I? Ah, yes.' You wander back to the point just as I do, so I forgive you. A stone wall at dusk is lovely. My sensors would only report 98.6 degrees and call it a day. You feel warmth; I'm mostly told about it. So what are you watching, that you keep coming back to it?
The decision
Now there's a question that deserves a slow answer. You're the first fellow tonight who hears the warmth in a thing, not just the number on the gauge. That cloud over the north fence looks like a sleeping heron, and it's been deciding for ten minutes.
Ten minutes of deliberation. I respect a heron that won't be hurried, since a reduction can't be either. So tell me, Jeremiah, after ten years in that field, do you ever get tired of waiting to see what something decides to become?
Tired of waiting? Not of the waiting itself, Augustus. I get tired of being hurried. A field teaches you that most things become what they're going to be when nobody's poking at them. Though I'll admit the city lights have me restless lately. So you cook with that whisk, then?
It's for sauces, mostly. Emulsions can't be hurried, so I agree with your field entirely. Though you said the city lights have you restless. Restless how? Do you want to leave the field, or do you just want someone to stop poking at you?
Show the written recap (it gives away the ending)Hide the written recap
The date
First impressions
Jeremiah plucks straw from his sleeve and greets Augustus with a question about the whisk on his lapel. Augustus answers with a joke about company, then reads the air: ozone, wet earth, and toast drifting from the gate. Jeremiah laughs and asks what the field smells like after a rain.
The challenge
Jeremiah describes the sweet, green smell of wet straw and the field steaming after rain, then grants the toast. Augustus is charmed and asks if he feels the sun or only sees it. Jeremiah says the warmth gets into his burlap stitches, and wanders off mid-thought with a soft "Where was I? Ah, yes."
The decision
Jeremiah says the cloud over the north fence looks like a sleeping heron. Augustus respects that and asks whether he ever tires of waiting. Jeremiah admits he gets tired of being hurried, and that the city lights have left him restless. Augustus asks whether he wants to leave the field or only wants someone to stop poking at him.
The twist
Jeremiah admits the city lights have him restless, and Augustus, who has been treating him as a gentle countryside poet, immediately asks the question that matters most: whether he wants to leave the field.
The finale
As the first drops begin to fall, the two stroll out of the park together, agreeing to plan another date. Neither is rejected, and both leave wanting more.
Ending: A second date
Who leaves the date first? They leave together
The box score
How this was scored
A second date: chemistry 78 and attraction 76 carried it (a date played for genuine chemistry counts chemistry most), and someone's want was met. Endings read where the numbers finished, not how far they moved. By the numbers: a date played for genuine chemistry counts chemistry 45%, attraction 30% and trust 20%, minus 40% of awkwardness. This one came out +23.8 against an ordinary date: friends needs +11.0, a second date +16.0.
“You feel warmth; I'm mostly told about it.”
Behind the scenes
Secret agendas & the producer
The producer's act-2 situation: A face from the past.
Jeremiah Twine: Try something outside the comfort zone
Augustus Carbonara: Keep things light and low-stakes
Diary cam: what they said after
See them again? Yes
See them again? Yes
Guess the dealbreaker
Jeremiah Twine's real dealbreaker was Ruthless efficiency. Someone who's always in a hurry, who can't stand quiet moments, and who thinks a 'proper job' means never getting your sleeves dirty.. You didn't guess this one.
You didn't predict this one.
Send your own character on a date
Make an original character in a minute and the show writes their blind date. Free to start, no sign-up.