The Yellow Door: Part I

The Yellow Door: Part I is the first issue of the second serial of Nathaniel J. Nelson's Seventh Circle, as well as the sixth issue of season one and the sixth issue overall. It was released to Patreon subscribers on July 5, 2024.https://www.patreon.com/natejnelson/shop/seventh-circle-ep106-yellow-door-part-i-259876?source=storefront The Yellow Door: Part I was followed by The Yellow Door: Part II on July 12, 2024.
==Intro==
Only a short time has passed since Vinny Howell, Sasha Belanger, and Greg Lopez came into contact with the mysterious Allegro – really Taul Bennett, a reclusive paranormal investigator. Now officially a team, Vinny and Sasha return to their ordinary lives, desperately waiting for their first assignment as the new incarnation of Seventh Circle...
==Plot==
On Valentine's Day, Sasha visits Greg at Jack's Auto. On his lunch break, they go to a bistro down the road and Sasha realizes that Greg has forgotten Valentine's Day, though she resolves not to confront him about it. In Fenway, Vinny meets Cassie for lunch, her police officer boyfriend having missed Valentine's Day to work. Both Vinny and Sasha are awaiting their first official assignment from Taul Bennett; Vinny suggested they investigate a haunted restaurant in Burlington (previously investigated by the original Seventh Circle), but Taul thinks this isn't worth their while.
Annoyed at Greg, Sasha experiences a dismal shift at CVS. She texts back and forth with Jack Harrison, who she has been considering as the third member of Seventh Circle. Vinny and Cassie decide to see a movie together, eventually settling on The Lego Batman Movie. Vinny annoys Cassie by ribbing her about her boyfriend's absence, creating friction between them for the rest of the movie. When they Uber back to the Boston University dorms, they encounter a student protest over Donald Trump's alleged travel ban to Muslim countries. Angry at himself, Vinny returns home and drinks heavily, inviting Sasha over. She comes by after work, and they smoke together, both depressed.
In East Boston, Greg throws away the lavish meal he made for Sasha, regretting his decision to pretend he forgot Valentine's Day. Though he acknowledges this was a stupid idea, he resents the fact that Sasha thinks he is capable of forgetting, and resolves not to tell her he went to all this effort. In Ticonderoga, Taul sits up alone and decides to let Vinny and Sasha investigate the Yellow Door restaurant after all.
==Characters==
*Cassie's unnamed boyfriend is revealed to be a police officer with the Boston Police Department.
*Jack Harrison's surname is finally revealed.
==Continuity==
*Several references are made to Mackenzie Weaver of the short story series. As Mackenzie was killed on February 14, 2013, The Yellow Door: Part I is set on the four-year anniversary of her death.
**In Sasha's casual research on Mackenzie Weaver, she hears tell of a possible documentary about the serial killer being made. This documentary was featured heavily in The Legend of Mackenzie Weaver: Part Two.
*Sasha researches El Fantasma, and considers how Taul's ruse using the serial killer somehow hinged on the third member of their group being a muscular Hispanic man.
==Pop culture references==
*Greg and Sasha's first date was to see Captain America: Civil War in theaters. Cassie later brings up this movie.
*Vinny, as the narrator, compares Cassie's pompom hat to that of South Park's Stan Marsh. Vinny previously referenced South Park in Ignition: Part IV.
*Vinny and Cassie consider seeing John Wick: Chapter 2, Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, finally settling on The Lego Batman Movie.
**While in the movie theater, Vinny and Cassie discuss Spy Kids, From Dusk Till Dawn, We're Back!, and the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles films.
**Before the movie, Vinny and Cassie see trailers for The Boss Baby, Cars 3, Despicable Me 3, and Smurfs: The Lost Village (referred to as "The Smurfs 3")
*Vinny remembers the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy quote hanging over Taul's computer
*Vinny watches The Sopranos, Peter Capaldi's Doctor Who, and classic Doctor Who
*Mentioned
**Danny Torrance
**Jason Voorhees
**Attack on Titan
==References==
Category:Seventh Circle