#Martin insists theres only one and its only when he mentions the book

[nylongenesis]

Hm.

Jonathan Sims The Archivist has either read or attempted to read Howl’s Moving Castle, in this essay I will-

[awellboiledicicle]

Jon and Martin have a rather amicable running discussion about how things they've seen fit into everything. Jon insists it's just a cathartic conversation about culture. Martin has gotten recipies and the fact jon likes cream cheese with blueberries out of it bc Jon is more likely to be comfortable talking when in the context of problem solving.

They have put things on a stool, surrounded by hamsa and nazar to see if Jon can See/Know what they see since the Beholding can see through other images of eyes. Premise of experiment is if the objects symbolize protection from an evil eye, does it stop Jon--holder of p much an evil eye power-- from Knowing things through or around them. Results inconclusive bc Basira wanted her pendant back and also pointed out it all looked very silly.

Jon has emailed his rabbi approximately twelve times in a single day after not being able to determine if its halachically ok to destroy one of the Strangers that mimic breathing etc. It took so many emails bc he was trying to word it in a way that didnt sound like he was losing his whole entire mind.

He has spent several hours pondering if Beholding counts as work or not, and came down on no because its largely involuntary. Spent a further four hours debating on if statements are kosher, and only comes out knowing ones taken under Compelling are probably not great. But he also ends up causing harm by being in peoples nightmares after he reads a statement, even a written one. But he will become ill and... starve he supposes without them. Theres that whole argument he saw online about how if vampires existed-- the movie ones, not the terrible things he knows exist-- then it'd be permissible to take blood from a vein direct if no other substitute was possible. Something about it being permitted if vampirism was a disease and not infectious. Spent more time looking for the argument bc he knew cat memes were between him and the post. Debates, later, if it all still applies to him since he eats out of habit and comfort than anything. He hasn't tried not breathing but he also doesn't want to. His relationship with humanity is complicated and so is his search history because he keeps forgetting every database till he starts shutting down his computer. He needs a nap.

Martin keeps telling the various ppl at shul about his and Jon's hypothetical convos. They all assume the two are dating.

Melanie has made 1 joke post Quitting about how she doesnt have to cover her eyes lighting the candles anymore and then Georgie promises to help her still light the shabbat candles. Georgie uses some of that sweet, sweet sock money to buy a siddur and home Torah in braille. And books on learning braille. The Admiral is learning to not try to pounce on the fire.

The institute has a holiday party and the betting on Dreidle is seconded only by the amount of gelt Martin is winning. The assorted goyim who have no idea what's happening at that table are either learning or taking advantage of the high number of donuts available bc yes.

Basira has walked in on Jon and Martin hotly debating on what hypothetical day the fears dimension would have been made. Jon says before the let there be light, because--assuming genesis is being literal for the sake of argument-- until then there was nothing and this means they come into existence as earth did. Martin argues that, since the fears dont exist in a vacuum and as far as they know exist because of things felt, it happened when G-d put living things on the planet or at least into existence and they were complex enough to be concerned with dying. Both then argue about how, until a certain point, only a certain amount of life is mentioned in the garden, was it enough to birth a fear? Viscera is marked as being a thing only after industrial farming and not farming for meat in general. Did adam and eve becoming mortal spark more fears? Because now they had to work for their food and suffer for birth? Was Slaughter made when Cain and Able happened or during Noah's time? Just between there?

It's a moot point of course on terms of if g-d is real-- the argument is, within these parameters, what would it mean for x? And it's one of the few ways to healthily process all the monsters and things, to put it together.

During the Apocalypse, on a lull in travel, martin asks if they're gonna have to make a new "We all suffered super bad, but the people left are here, let's eat" holiday. Jon rather thinks a fast might be more appropriate. Martin just misses the cake one of the ladies at shul made for after services. It was nice. They promise to make a cake together, when this is over, and mutually agree neither of them have any idea how to decorate one. Jon could Know, he supposes, but he'd rather not.

Jon can't be trusted with commentary notation because he'll get ahold of a new thing and next thing anyone knows its emulsifiers all over again but with different interpretations on why one dude wasnt just picked to make all the things or why Aaron ran with the whole calf thing.

Jon said the mourners kaddish for Gerry when he burned his page. Just... felt like the thing to do for him.

Just spent like an hour crying about Jewish headcanon for tma. Martin is the guy who has a yarmulke for every day of the week bc he got v excited. Jon got beaned in the face with hard candy at his bar mitzvah and then promptly was terrified of being asked to read torah for people. Melanie hoards gelt like she can use it to pay rent.

[furthinorth]

10.22.18

I'm travelling somewhere, like Australia again. Both backpacks bit easier. Theres a big train like bus, and its cslled the Hollyford Trek bus but its not the same. Big crowds of people, I take bus and it's something like a two hour journey. I had flown in and booked an Airbnb but had a day/night first si I took this.

I get on, and three people strike me. Theres a tall man with dark hair and a smooth face, kind of looks like Avalon, initially very """"'Man'""" like. He sits in my car. (His name is Johnathan.) Theres a disabled woman with short hair and a twitchy face in the next car up who keeps looking st me with bright eyes. And a woman with long curly hair and a perky attitude sitting next to me.

At first our car is the first or second on the bus. The bus driver, an old man maybe named Bob???? Martin??? absolutely hits it off with me, and so I ensure with everyone else. Best friends. Absolute chums. Love each other dearly.

On the way there, I think the three people are originally a blonde woman with long hair and a woman with short orange hair and the man in the background. Lots of standing a d watching transit and hitting it off. I flirt with them a bit. We all bond. I have to get off first. Bc my airbnb. So I tell them my name as we approach the stop and insist they find me on fb, please. Their names are Holly and.... something like Astrid.

I get off the bus track marked purple on my phone, transfer on the long bus, the true Hollyford Trek bus, marked a light sage green on my map. Same driver, the updated versions of those people. We take the bus all the way to the end, which means all the way into the country and a big country lodge. We spend the rest of the whole day and the night here. We take silly photos together (I see one of me, finger guns at the camera, in navy and pink and with long hair in a ponytail), we sit around the fire singing songs and making s'mores, theres some sexy and not tension about sleeping with folks in the house, a hike. Reminiscent of Grand Canyon with Abigail and Danny and Laity Lodge and Pecos. The bus driver stays with us too. We all bond A LOT. Technically one overnight, felt like a lot longer. When we are all on the bus the next day, our car is in the back and we're packing slowly and sadly. Holly friended me on FB, I see that she wrote a poem about being gay for me. She includes the photo of me making finger guns (which were directed at her) and a photo of her doing finger guns as if to say back at me. I want to pursue that but I'm unsure how to yet. As I told them all when I told them to friend me, I'm here for longer, what are they doing on Friday, i very genuinely would love love love to hang out.

Blonde woman is super into Jonathan. He is mildly into her, a little awkward around me. I need to pee badly so when we pull into the station for bus drivers break, I duck in. There's a toilet with glass doors that may very well be a ceremonial toilet, not a real one. I use it anyway. Someone tries to come in, making me unsure if the glass is one way or two ways, but they wait outside after I yell. I get back outside just in time to see the last cargo bay start to move, and I start running, knowing that my friends would be letting Martin know I was in the bathroom. Sure enough, it stops almost immediately and I jump on. My clothes fall off, I jump off and get them and the train stops again. One falls, I almost dont get it, but they all encourage me to do it, I run all the way back and then all the way up the train, swimsuit in hand. This time, I catch a handle and jump all the way in, into a car full of people kind of like Snowpiercer. A little kid grabs my face and seriously yells "who is your favorite person on this train?" As I start to jog back through the cars, people recognize and cheer, I wave, and completely forget names, except "Johnathan!" feels as though it is being pulled or is just falling unconsciously out of me and I'm shook.

I get back to my car, they all cheer, mention the incident where the kid asked and I forgot everyone's names. Dont mention that I said Johnathans. We all sit with each other patiently as our stops come up. Orange haired gay disabled lady gets off first, after only light but purposeful flirting. I decide I'll text her and ask her out. Other people trickle off. I start haphazardly packing and realize I should text my Airbnb. Johnathan is up next, one of the few of the original bus load admist all the strangers who had been getting on and off like a normal bus since we left the end. He had helped me back in the first time I caught up to the bus. He hugs the blonde lady and she makes it long and romantic and tries to kiss him, which he avoids. I ignore them and keep packing. He gathers up the last of his stuff and turns to me, we hug. He kisses my cheek and buries his face in my neck, hugs me tight but gentle. I cup the back of his neck and hold him tight. He tightens. The bus pulls up to his station. I cannot describe the depth of tenderness and gentleness and intensity of this hug. It felt like were communing, from sadness to soul bond understanding to the edge of something else. We pulled away, softly. I kissed his cheek. We almost kissed but didnt. I returned to packing, and he left. My stop was in two stops but I got so phased out by that experience and the train stopped for so long at that stop that I gathered my stuff and got off, reminding everyone else to friend me on fb. May have gotten them to write it down, then written down theirs. Had this thought about wanting to hang out, hadn't told Johnathan like I'd told everyone else, then thought about it and thought no, I felt confident knowing he would hang out with me within the next few days. We would be going on a date. I knew. I just -- we understood.

Stop I got off at is packed packed packed, busy and full. I get confused briefly, then decide to walk the two stops I accidentally stopped short of, so I can grab the purple bus briefly to my airbnb/walk right to my Airbnb. I walk to the sidewalk I need and a middle aged woman from the train is there and we start talking. She says I'm basically a local now, "well, not an indigenous local, you know, you ever think about that? About them? I do. Makes me real sad." And talked about their tattoos kind derogatorially, made a joke about it I didnt laugh at (which wasnt as hard as I thought, she just kept going). Then she asked where I was going/what I was doing. I told her I was walking the two stops I missed and she wouldn't hear anything of it, started to call me a cab or an uber as I thought about and miss and was nervous about Johnathan and then that lady.