Gemini Feed

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Gemini Feed, stylized in all lowercase, is a 9-page short story written by Aquiles Castro on March 23 2022.

### Plot

The story opens at Las Cruces Police Department in New Mexico. From the viewing side of a one-way mirror, Officer Patterson angrily asks his partner, Officer Miyazaki, why they are allowing Korolev Laghari and Kwon Lenore (whom he refers to as "the world’s nosiest pair of migraine-inducing amateur detectives") to get questioned together. Miyazaki replies that this is the only way they will give up information regarding their prime suspect, Dr. David Willard, in their current murder case dubbed "GEMINI FEED". He also comments that Korolev and Lenore are their first and only lead, at the behest of one of the victim's families.

Patterson notices that both of their mouths are moving, but they are staring through the mirror at the officers, almost as if they can hear and see them. He asks sarcastically if the two "think it’s a poltergeist or a cryptid this time", offering the first hint to the reader that Korolev and Lenore deal in supernatural matters.

Miyazaki and Patterson enter the questioning room and the former introduces himself to the pair, as they have never met. Lenore is polite and converses with the officers, while Korolev's demeanor is standoffish; he stays close to Lenore. When he abruptly asks why they are being detained, Miyazaki waves it off, saying that they're just talking. He brings up the fact that Korolev and Lenore visited David Willard while he was awaiting trial for the murders of Dolores Sanchez and Christine Himmelfarb. After mentioning that they just want the truth, that Himmelfarbs don't believe that Dr. Willard is the culprit, Korolev accuses them of already making up their minds.

Patterson becomes agitated with Korolev specifically. He shouts that Korolev is disrespectful by not providing information on what they discussed with Dr. Willard, and is to blame for the lack of closure the victims' families have.

Korolev is delighted to see Patterson lose control. He condemns him for feeling too much when it comes to the cases he takes on, citing the times he has let it get in the way of solving them. He states that the difference between the two of them is that Korolev "let shit get to [him]", that he does his job. Miyazaki tosses a commanding glare in Lenore's direction; she shrugs. The two are standing now, pointing metaphorical and literal fingers at each other and arguing.

Suddenly, Lenore interrupts the commotion with laughter. She points out that Korolev is on his tip-toes. He sits back down and laughs along with her.

```
Miyazaki looks at Patterson. *What the fuck?*
Patterson looks at Miyazaki. *See? Insane.*

```

After the duo calms down, Lenore tells the officers that Dr. Willard is innocent— not because he declared himself so, but because they could tell from his demeanor and other undisclosed attributes that neither Patterson nor Miyazaki would believe. She also reveals that the Himmelfarbs have hired them to get to the bottom of the case, as they "want the truth, not just someone to blame"; their investigation and findings will be admitted into court when there is a trial.

When Korolev and Lenore start to leave, Miyazaki dares to ask who murdered the women if it wasn't David Willard. Lenore corrects him:

```
"**Pfft! No, no. You still don’t get it. It wasn’t a *who*, it was a *what*.”**

```

Korolev and Lenore mock the officers' ignorance, quoting their earlier conversation from the other side of the one-way mirror; Patterson and Miyazaki are shocked that they were able to listen through the supposedly soundproof glass. Korolev declares that it was not a cryptid like Mothman that drained the women's bodies' blood and "churn[ed] them into meatballs in his basement", but a parasitic creature. With that, the two leave the room and then the building.

After they exit, Korolev compliments Lenore's pronoun pin idea, referring to the "she/her" pinned on her overalls. She attempts to hand over his sunglasses, as he is squinting, but he juts out his chin expectantly. She slides them onto his nose, playfully scolding him for being lazy. She asks him why he doesn't use the pronoun pins she has offered him before; he answers:

```
“I prefer to let people guess. God help them if they are wrong.”

```

Lenore laughs and refers to Korolev's gender as "causing problems on purpose". He agrees and they resolve to find lunch.

### Characters

* Greg Patterson
* Jurou Miyazaki
* Kwon Lenore
* Korolev Laghari
* David Willard *(mentioned*)
* Dolores Sanchez (*mentioned*)
* Christine Himmelfarb (*mentioned*)

### Themes, motifs, and symbols

#### Allusions to animals

Throughout "gemini feed", Korolev and Lenore are likened to animals-- specifically predator animals and in particular, wolves or dogs.

Korolev is described as having an "eagle's nose" when the officers first look through the one-way mirror. He is also described as having "hawk eyes" and sharp canines. The way he stares at Patterson can be described as a predator watching prey, and causes Patterson to shiver. The way he speaks is almost like a bark: sharp, cold, and biting. His behavior toward Lenore and those around her could also be described as a wolf guarding something; Patterson theorizes that, to make up for his short stature, Korolev emulates a guard dog and "If he’d reached for Lenore, he would try to rip out his throat like a damn Rottweiler".

Korolev describes his hunger as "starving like a dog" at the end.

When Korolev and Patterson are at each others' throats, the look Miyazaki gives Lenore is described as ordering her to leash her dog. The look she gives back suggests that "he would melt the chain and use it to pick his teeth". Miyazaki at this point wonders if Lenore is actually Korolev's dog. Interestingly, he does not call her his "guard" dog, implying that he believes Korolev owns and has control over Lenore.

As she leaves, Lenore scratches at a spot behind her ear, like a dog might do with their claws. Moreover, she is the one with long, sharp nails; Korolev's nails have no bite, no danger.

Both Lenore and Korolev demonstrate specific ways of establishing an almost animalistic sort of "dominance" in the room:

```
"Silence again. Korolev is firm in the statuesque, sitting up straight and watching the officers carefully. He does not move, almost like it would give power away. Lenore is the opposite. It seems that she asserts dominance by taking up space and moving."

```

In particular, Korolev's allusions to canine creatures have led some readers to theorize that he is actually a werewolf.

#### Monstrosity

Korolev and Lenore have established themselves at this point as investigators and hunters of the supernatural. In short, they deal with monsters. The fact that they choose to take on what appears to be at worst a gruesome murder case suggests something more sinister at play. In "GENESIS", the full extent of the case is revealed to include the victims' bodies as practically desecrated-- something only a figurative (or in this case literal) monster could commit.

The two also appear to creep the officers out, especially Patterson. It would be no stretch to suggest that he views them as monsters.

#### Bias

Anti-queer, specifically transphobic, bias is present in one particular character: Officer Patterson.

Though the story is in third person, the portion behind the one-way mirror is framed in his perspective. He refers to Korolev and Lenore as "genderfucks". Though his confusion at their gender presentation is not necessarily bigoted, it is revealed that Korolev has expressed discomfort with being referred to as "boy" in the past, but Patterson continues to call him that. He also calls Korolev an "it", refusing to understand that he uses he/they pronouns.

Even Miyazaki asks Patterson to put aside his personal bias before they interrogate the duo in order to get information from them.

### Trivia

#### Title

The title of the story is taken from a song of the name name by BANKS. According to the author, the lyrics themselves do not reflect the nature of Korolev and Lenore's relationship; the song itself is about an abusive relationship between two individuals who feed off of each others' anxiety and depression, in essence feeding “the gemini”, which is the personification of opposing forces.

In astrology, Gemini evokes themes of twins and duality, which is a constant in Lenore and Korolev's encounters. They are parallels to one another, and one is never seen without the other.

Interestingly, neither character is a Gemini. Korolev is a Scorpio and Lenore is a Libra.

#### Music

A playlist created by the author is available on Spotify. It contains songs that they found evocative of certain themes or emotions of the story and characters.