#WHY DID I WRITE A NOVEL

[icewindandboringhorror]

I made a few new wax seal stamps out of clay (like the ones I did for my worldbuilding stuff forever ago), this time just of random symbols that I thought might look good done in the style of painting over the raised part of the wax or etc. :0c Some of them aren't carved deep enough to really show up that well, but overall they worked okay for being clay lol

[felix-lupin]

In Coraline, there’s a recurring theme with names and identity, and I personally don't think it's talked about enough. 

(As a note, this is dealing largely with the book, not the movie, although there are some hints of this theme in the movie as well)

Coraline’s neighbors constantly get her name wrong, calling her “Caroline” and not “Coraline”, to which she persistently corrects them. Despite her attempts, they never get it right, until chapter 10, in which Mr Bobo (Mr Bobinsky) finally gets it right.

"It's Coraline, Mister Bobo," said Coraline. "Not Caroline. Coraline." "Coraline," said Mr Bobo, repeating her name to himself with wonderment and respect. "Very good, Coraline."

It should be noted that, until this chapter, Coraline did not know Mr Bobo’s name either. In fact, it had never even occurred to her that he had a name. Up until then, she had just been thinking of him as “the crazy old man upstairs”, not as a person with a name. This moment, with her learning his name and him getting her name right, is a moment of genuine understanding and connection between the two, humanizing them both to each other.

Coraline’s other neighbors get her name wrong, which is representative of them not listening when she says anything, really, such as her telling Miss Spink and Forcible that her parents are missing and them literally not even acknowledging it at all??

"How are your dear mother and father?" asked Miss Spink. "Missing," said Coraline. "I haven't seen either of them since yesterday. I'm on my own. I think I've probably become a single child family." "Tell your mother that we found the Glasgow Empire press clippings we were telling her about. She seemed very interested when Miriam mentioned them to her." "She's vanished under mysterious circumstances," said Coraline, "and I believe my father has as well." "I'm afraid we'll be out all day tomorrow, Caroline lovely," said Miss Forcible. "We'll be staying with April's niece in Royal Tunbridge Wells."

Mr Bobo gets her name right after being corrected (only after being corrected alongside her using his name, mind you, showcasing her making an effort to listen to and understand him as well), which is representative of him actually making an attempt to listen and understand her. This point is further illustrated by a conversation Coraline had with the Other Mr Bobo in chapter 10.

As Coraline entered he began to talk. "Nothing's changed, little girl," he said, his voice sounding like the noise dry leaves make as they rustle across a pavement. "And what if you do everything you swore you would? What then? Nothing's changed. You'll go home. You'll be bored. You'll be ignored. No one will listen to you, not really listen to you. You're too clever and too quiet for them to understand. They don't even get your name right."

He equates those in the real world not getting Coraline’s name right with them not listening to her, and fundamentally not understanding who she is. So, somebody getting her name right, then, shows them actually listening to her, and being willing to understand who she is.

The mice in the real world know more than they should be able to know, and they also get Coraline’s name right.

"The message is this. Don't go through the door." He paused. "Does that mean anything to you?" "No," said Coraline. The old man shrugged. "They are funny, the mice. They get things wrong. They got your name wrong, you know. They kept saying Coraline. Not Caroline. Not Caroline at all."

They seem to know about the other world, somehow, on some level, and the dangers it presents. Them getting her name right represents them knowing more than they should know, more than they are told. Animals in general seem to have this type of quality in Coraline, actually.

The cat does not have a name. It says so in chapter 4, that cats do not need names. It says that this is because cats know who they are. But humans need names, because they do not.

"Please. What's your name?" Coraline asked the cat. "Look, I'm Coraline. OK?" The cat yawned softly, carefully, revealing a mouth and tongue of astounding pinkness. "Cats don't have names," it said. "No?" said Coraline. "No," said the cat. "Now, you people have names. That's because you don't know who you are. We know who we are, so we don't need names."

The cat shook its head. "No," it said. "I'm not the other anything. I'm me." It tipped its head on one side; green eyes glinted. "You people are spread all over the place. Cats, on the other hand, keep ourselves together. If you see what I mean."

This shows that, in humans, names are connected to our identities and who we are. Names are used to individualize and distinguish ourselves from each other. But cats do not need names to recognize each other, or be recognized.

"Oh. It's you," she said to the black cat. "See?" said the cat. "It wasn't so hard recognising me, was it? Even without names."

With or without names, it is still the same cat.

During the Other Miss Spink and Forcible’s performance, in chapter 4, they begin quoting Shakespeare. The specific quotes that they use are interesting to me when looked at under this lens of the importance of names, especially Miss Forcible’s.

"What's in a name?" asked Miss Forcible. "That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet."

"I know not how to tell thee who I am," said Miss Spink to Miss Forcible.

Now, of course, this is just them quoting Shakespeare. But. Why these quotes specifically? They’re at the very least notable when discussing Coraline’s recurring theme of names. Especially the quote about the rose. It makes me think of what the cat said earlier, about how cats are sure of who they are so they don’t need names, about how Coraline didn’t need the cat’s name to be able to recognize it for who/what it was.

But, of course, this does not apply for humans. We need our names to be able to know ourselves, to be able to tell others who they are.

In chapter 6, Coraline wakes up and is disoriented. This disorientation is compared to the feeling one might experience upon being suddenly pulled out of a daydream. In this comparison, forgetting one’s name is equated with forgetting who one is and where one is.

Sometimes Coraline would forget who she was while she was daydreaming that she was exploring the Arctic, or the Amazon rainforest, or darkest Africa, and it was not until someone tapped her on the shoulder or said her name that Coraline would come back from a million miles away with a start, and all in the fraction of a second have to remember who she was, and what her name was, and that she was even there at all. Now there was the sun on her face, and she was Coraline Jones. Yes.

The ghost children have also forgotten their names, and with it most of who they were. In chapter 7, when Coraline is locked behind the mirror in the Other World, one of the ghost children says that names are the first things that one forgets after death.

"Who are you?" whispered Coraline. "Names, names, names," said another voice, all faraway and lost. "The names are the first thing to go, after the breath has gone, and the beating of the heart. We keep our memories longer than our names. I still keep pictures in my mind of my governess on some May morning, carrying my hoop and stick, and the morning sun behind her, and all the tulips bobbing in the breeze. But I have forgotten the name of my governess, and of the tulips too." "I don't think tulips have names," said Coraline. "They're just tulips." "Perhaps," said the voice sadly. "But I have always thought that these tulips must have had names. They were red, and orange-and-red, and red-and-orange-and-yellow, like the embers in the nursery fire of a winter's evening. I remember them."

The ghost children may have their memories, but they have largely forgotten who they were. They may remember their tulips, and certain strong memories, but there is very, very little left of them, and they have forgotten who they once were, they have forgotten their names.

"That is why we could not leave here, when we died. She kept us, and she fed on us, until now we're nothing left of ourselves, only snakeskins and spider-husks. Find our secret hearts, young mistress."

"She will take your life and all you are and all you care'st for, and she will leave you with nothing but mist and fog. She'll take your joy. And one day you'll awake and your heart and soul will have gone. A husk you'll be, a wisp you'll be, and a thing no more than a dream on waking, or a memory of something forgotten."

The Other Mother stole their hearts and their souls and their selves. She stole who they were away from them, their identities and names and the names of those they loved, leaving nothing in her wake.

The same ghost that talked about the tulips and the names of the tulips struggles to answer when Coraline asks their gender, as well, and when they do eventually give an answer they seem somewhat unsure of it, as shown by the word choice of “perhaps” and “I believe”

"A boy, perhaps, then," continued the one whose hand she was holding. "I believe I was once a boy." And it glowed a little more brightly in the darkness of the room behind the mirror.

(I personally take this quote, specifically it "glow[ing] a little more brightly" after coming to this conclusion, to mean either that the ghost is happy at realizing that he was once a boy, or even to mean that he has become somewhat more tangible upon this realization; upon remembering something about his self, and his identity.)

As an aside, it's noteworthy to me that we never learn the Other Mother’s true name. She is simply “The Other Mother” and “The Beldam.” Never is an actual name applied to her, only titles. We do not truly know who, or what, she is. Beings without names are shrouded in mystery (or should i say mist-ery). The ghost children are benevolent mysterious beings, the cat is an ambivalent-leaning-helpful mysterious being, and the other mother is a distinctly malevolent mysterious being.

"Who are you?" asked Coraline. "I'm your other mother," said the woman.

"She?" "The one who says she's your other mother," said the cat. "What is she?" asked Coraline. The cat did not answer, just padded through the pale mist beside Coraline.

But in conclusion, names in Coraline are extremely important. I’m sure there’s probably more that I'm missing, and feel free to add onto this, but basically—

People need names to know and remember who they are, and forgetting one’s name is the first step to losing the rest of who one is. Names humanize a person; with a name, they are less shrouded in mystery, more clear.

Knowing somebody's name helps one connect to and better understand that person; it is the first step in getting to know them and see them as a full person, the transition from “the crazy man upstairs” to “Mr Bobo”. Names, to people at least, are one of the fundamental building blocks of who we are.

[sacchiri]

Hellsing 2002 calendar illustration.

Ein wunderliche und erschröckliche Hystori von einem großen Wüttrich genant Dracole wayda Der do so ganz unkristenliche marrter hat angelegt die mensche, als mit spissen als auch die leut zu Tod geslyffen

A wondrous and frightening story about a great berserk called Dracula the voivode who inflicted such unchristian tortures such as with stakes and also dragged people to death

[lichqueenlibrarian]

“Jim! Good-bye my…my t’hy’la*. This is the last time I will permit myself to think of you or even your name again.”

Star Trek the Motion Picture, Gene Rodenberry

*Editor’s note: the human concept of friend is most nearly duplicated in Vulcan thought by the term t’hy’la, which can also mean brother and lover. Spock’s recollection (from which this chapter has drawn) is that it was a most difficult moment for him since he did indeed consider Kirk to have become his brother. However, because t’hy’la can be used to mean lover, and since Kirk’s and Spock’s friendship was unusually close, this has led to some speculation over whether they had actually indeed become lovers. At our request, Admiral Kirk supplied the following comment on this subject: “I was never aware of this lovers rumour, although I have been told that Spock encountered it several times. Apparently he had always dismissed it with his characteristic lifting of his right eyebrow which usually connoted some combination of surprise, disbelief, and/or annoyance. As for myself, although I have no moral or other objections to physical love in any of its many Earthly, alien, and mixed forms, I have always found my best gratification in that creature woman. Also, I would dislike being thought of as so foolish that I would select a love partner who came into sexual heat only once every seven years.”

[incesthemes]

as i've rewatched seasons 1 and 2 of supernatural i've been pondering and hypothesizing reasons why john was so adamant on not letting sam know about his destiny. why he was so intent on keeping this secret, why he didn't want sam knowing about monsters, why his role in their hunts appeared to be research-oriented and thus away from the action. my perspective on ignorance and censorship is that it enables further harm, so if john were going to effectively protect sam, it would stand to reason that sam should have a comprehensive understanding of his destiny and what he's up against: give him the tools to fight.

this is obviously not the route john went, so then i have to question why that is—what about censorship was so appealing to him that he thought it not only the best way to keep sam safe, but perhaps even the only way to keep him safe, based on how he begged even dean to keep sam's fate a secret from him in his final words?

so i got to thinking. namely, about the fact that azazel wants sam to be hunting: he killed jessica with the intent to drag him back into the life, which implies that if sam is hunting, he is going down the path azazel wants him to go—he's following his destiny. this aligns with the everpresent theme throughout season 1 that hunting is a monstrous lifestyle, that hunting turns people into monsters. if sam is destined to become a monster, then hunting is the most sure-fire way to get him there.

if azazel wants sam to hunt, then john would need to take the logical opposition and keep sam out of hunting—so, he wouldn't tell sam about monsters until he has to, he'd give sam more passive roles once sam is participating in hunts, he'd train sam in self-defense but not explain why. and importantly, he wouldn't talk about mary, who is the root cause of this lifestyle, the impetus for their revenge quest, more than he has to. if the goal is to keep sam as far away from hunting as possible, and if john is someone who thinks ignorance keeps someone safe, then this more or less explains most of how sam was raised: on the fringes of the family, excluded and sheltered.

but weirdly enough, it wasn't until i was reading east of eden the other night that i finally understood the perspective being presented: late in the novel, the character lee says "when the first innocence is gone, you can't stop."

it made me remember that sam picks. he is a character who wants to understand the world around him and his place in it. if something is bothering him, he turns it over in his head until it consumes him. dean places doubt in sam's head in 2x10 and it obliterates him by 2x11. he's convinced he's going to become some horrible monster because he never stops thinking and trying to figure things out. when his memory is wiped in 4x17 and normal guy sam wesson finds out his coworker is the guy from his weird dreams, he pursues him relentlessly until they're back hunting. when he discovers the wall death put in his mind to keep his hell trauma out in season 6, he pushes and can't stop until it starts crumbling around him. he's intelligent and clever and he wants to know everything. and when he doesn't know, he picks.

and the only way to stop a person like that from picking is to not let them know that there's something to pick at in the first place. that's what the quote from east of eden means: once you catch wind of something, you want to pursue it until you're satisfied. curiosity kills the cat.

and what john is up against is fate itself. something that isn't supposed to be messed with, something that's supposed to be unavoidable. so trying to thwart it is tricky business. he has to be careful.

i think working under that logic his response makes sense, even if it wound up being a self-fulfilling prophecy anyway—sam was always going to find out, and sam was always going to pick. there was nothing john could do in the end to stop it, and trying to keep sam ignorant only made him that much more desperate to know. but that's the great tragedy of it all: john was given an impossible choice, and he's a deeply flawed character. he did what he thought was best, and it only made things worse.

i like this interpretation because it ties all of john's choices together really well; it explains a lot about his character and gives a nuanced and rather reasonable explanation for why he did what he did: a dad who wants the best for his kid does what he believes will set him up on the path to success. when the first innocence is gone, you can't stop—so john does his damnedest to keep sam innocent, even to his dying breath.

the problem comes down to that someone's damnedest isn't always good enough, and that sometimes someone's damnedest ends up benefiting the enemy instead.

[yyshcul]

guys you know that i can read your tags when you reblog my posts right ??

[bumblingbabooshka]

[TUVOKTOBER: Day 15] At First Sight. [Patreon | Commissions]

[articularreview]

⚠️Spoilers for Shinrei tantei Yakumo - the lamenting doll file 03 and the epilogue⚠️

Here in case you missed it

I just read it and spontaneously wrote this.

Be careful if you haven't read it yet.

The file starts with where it left off the last time with them deciding to locate Mahiro's mother.

I kinda forgot about it since we haven't seen Isshin for a while, but this volume reminded me of how much Yakumo is influenced by Isshin. Be it the way they talk or sometimes even their mannerisms.

It's pretty much a given that they'll have to stay another night at the hotel but that would mean Haruka will have to stay in that creepy ass room again. Isshin really told Yakumo “accept the situation or sleep with her”😭😭😭

But sadly It's just like Gotou said, Their relationship label won't allow it smh

Gotou's snores and Isshin's bad posture are KILLING ME. My mom entered the room while I was having a fit of laughter I just looked crazy to her 😭

Isshin is so chill he doesn't care if you try to make him look bad. Rather his hilarious responses made Gotou look silly for complaining. Poor Gotou-san. Maybe I should learn from him... Unbotherement sure is powerful~

Anyways I guess that means Yakumo is the only one who sleeps normally hahaha

Just like I expected, Mahiro's death is weighing Hiromi down. kinda knew it from file 02, but hearing the details from Masae made me want to cry. No parent should ever go through this.

And so they split into two teams: team Gotou and Yakumo. and team Haruka and Isshin. All I'll say is that the latter team sure is a good match.

And then we have Gotou-san who not only has to put up with Yakumo's comments but also got a Salary cut too!! He suffered too much this trip. Imagine wanting to skip work only to get dragged all the way to a whole different prefecture. Still kinda his fault for ignoring Ishii smh.

Speaking of Ishii I'm happy he and Makoto were mentioned even though they didn't make an appearance. Isshin's mere presence made up for any other character's disappearance. Kaminaga-sensei is a genius for mentioning Eishin too. I think references like that will increase in the complete version. Knowing the future and the direction of your work sure makes a big difference. It was really interesting knowing that Eishin was the one taking care of Nao when Isshin's not around. Nao must really miss Isshin even if she doesn't show it on her face. I head canon afterwards Nao being overjoyed to see not only Isshin but Yakumo and Haruka too after his two-day disappearance.

The scene when that madman dragged Haruka gave me the chills. Kaminaga-sensei using TTCM as a reference sure was brutal I ended up imagining it. Haruka did her best till the very end but the situation was hopeless. She can't even resist. her mouth, legs and wrists were taped. And on top of that he had the audacity to slap her! How dare him! If that man wasn't charged with attempted murder after all this I'm throwing hands!

In the end the case was solved and we find out that Takahiro-kun was the one talking to Hiromi all along. It really broke my heart knowing that all this time he didn't even know he was dead and yet played along to try to comfort Hiromi who was mourning for her child. What a strong kid. He and Mahiro are.

The lamenting doll huh... makes sense.

In the epilogue we learn that Yakumo can't handle hot food which I thought was really cute.

Tbh his whole food preference was quite unexpected. First we learn that he has a sweet tooth (Which Haruka thought doesn't suit him at all lol) and then a similar situation to the one in the epilogue happened in vol. 7 iirc when Yakumo was (again) staring at the sake and when Haruka asked if he can't drink he stubbornally tries to only to spit it out. This man just can't be honest😂 I actually really respect men who don't drink or smoke so that's a flex~

Now some of my favorite Yakumo lines which for some reason all happen to be verbally abusing Gotou (Can't blame Haruka for laughing because c'mon how could you not?)

• “You can say that because you've never heard it yourself. Compared to Gotou-san's snores, even a train would be quieter.”

• “A member of the police stating that he'll be driving under the influence? Japan is finished.”

• “I'm saying bears can't understand the taste of wine. What if someone made up a new proverb: bears and wine.”

• "I don't want to waste any more calories than this."

• "Well, that's not surprising. A bear with damaged taste buds such as Gotou-san will never understand."

Bye I'm using these irl.

I'll also add these two because I keep remembering these two exchanges and laughing:

1)

"I see. If you don't want to, it's fine. But please stop bringing cases to me from now on."

"This and that are a different story."

"No, it's the same thing. Ah, that's right. So that Gotou-san will stop bringing me cases, I'll be reporting to the police that you've been leaking investigation details to a civilian."

"What!? Don't joke with me! I'll get fired if you do that!" Gotou shouted in panic.

"Good then. That way I won't have to involve myself in cases that have nothing to do with me, and taxpayer money won't have to go into paying the incompetent Gotou-san; just like killing two birds with one stone."

"What did you say!?"

"Isn't that great? This way, Gotou-san can also play around to your heart's content. So it'll be more like killing three birds with one stone," said Yakumo, grinning as he looked at Gotou.

He really stabbed where it hurt. Having been commented like that, Gotou wouldn't have a way to refuse. "Fine. I'll help. Happy?"

Gotou lifted his heavy bottom up from the sofa reluctantly as he sighed. Yet Yakumo wasn't done with his counterattacks.

"Not really, it's fine even without Gotou-san helping."

"That wasn't what you said earlier!"

2)

"Sorry about that. Could you please tell me what I should do?" Gotou asked formally while swallowing his displeasure.

"You should know if you listened to the story"

"I'm asking because I don't know."

"You should have if you paid close attention to the whole story."

"Well I don't know!"

"Is that something to be proud about? Good grief.”

Too much Yakumo😂

Volume 11 is up next. I'm really really excited for this one because Unkai and Miyuki are one of the best antagonists I've ever read. I'll never forgive them for what they did to Yakumo but their back stories are very very well written and explains how they ended up that way. That last arc will wrap everything up. I remember reading the book description a while back but Laute's translations stopped at the time so I thought I'll never read it.

The day has finally come!!!

[ibidflash]

I did nanowrimo when I was like 15. And I did it. I wrote a 50,000 word novel in a single month. And the story I wrote fucking sucked! I knew as I was writing it that it was trash. But the pride I felt in seeing that word count hit 50,000... Man it felt so good. I'd achieved something. I put a shit load of effort into something and I completed it. And that was, to me, the point in nanowrimo. It wasn't about writing this wonderful story. It was about setting yourself a challenge and completing it. And knowing there was a whole community of people doing the same thing. Generative AI is just so completely antithetical about that. The whole point is the journey not the destination. You can't just skip the journey in the 'do the journey' challenge.

[lonestarss]

thinking about egg sethos realizing that being a man is an option through cyno again and sobbing

[phoenixkaptain]

You know, theoretically thinking about it, one could suggest that Hannibal’s obsession with Clarice stemmed from his obsession with Will Graham. He brought up Will Graham in their very first interaction and you could consider Hannibal as a character quite capable of making mental leaps, such as the leap from “someone killed my sister and made me eat her and now I want gruesome, horrible, bloody revenge” to “anyone who is rude to me should be killed with extreme brutality and I should eat them.”

It could feasibly be suggested that the tactic they (as in Chilton and Crawford and those adjacent) meant to use, getting Hannibal to be attracted to the first woman he’s seen in multiple years so he would give advice, succeeded in a way they didn’t expect it to, Hannibal becoming attracted to the first person he saw in multiple years who fascinated him the way Graham did.

Crawford puts Clarice in Will’s spot. He is trying to use her to poke and prod and annoy a serial killer into revealing themself by allowing them to discover the mistakes those serial killers will inevitably make in their anger and annoyance. Clarice is sent to Hannibal Lecter’s cell to ask for advice, and while Will did make the choice on his own, for the most part, Hannibal doesn’t have any way of knowing that. For all he knows, Crawford dangled a piece of meat in front of him only to take it away and dangle another, slightly different piece of meat. (A less tenderized piece pft)

Hannibal’s obsession leaping from Will to Clarice is reasonable. We don’t know precisely why he became obsessed with Will, admittedly, but we know he became obsessed with Clarice over the course of Clarice taking Will’s place as Crawford’s bloodhound.

So what is the show? The show simply asks the question: what if that obsession never leaped over? What if Will didn’t discover that Hannibal was the Chesapeake Ripper the very first time they met? How would that obsession evolve?

And the answer is simple: the same way, in many ways, that it did with Clarice.

I’ve heard people describe the series Hannibal as putting Will in Clarice’s place, and I certainly agree that that was probably the primary inspiration, but I would also suggest that it was partially: what if Hannibal could build a similar relationship to Will that he did to Clarice? If his obsession to Will was given fuel, how big of a fire could one reasonably start?

How far does Hannibal’s obsession with Will go if he’s never given another subject to obsess over?

That’s the primary question I take away from the series. And the answer I get, is:

Pretty. Damn. Far.

[conkniving]

never did fallon think the 'conniving' part of her unofficial moniker would ever bring with it the negative connotation so often associated. even when the old hag in the seal harbour apartments would spit "little conniving bitch!" as she eavesdropped on the gang member coercing another rent extension ( she was just terrified of the big black doberman and wanted them both gone — honestly, it felt good to be conniving in that regard ). but recently, being 'conniving' made her feel a little guilty. not shameful, because there was nothing to be ashamed of when it came to annaki. but guilty, yes. guilty for the way fallon wielded a poker face new year's night before atticus, after having just rushed out of a dark corner office with his sister and the fresh memory of her lips. guilty for not quite meeting cyrek's eyes, as if he would be able to read everything he needed to know in hers and proceed to beat the shit out of her. and guilty that when she was around the other bastards, if there was a buzz in her pocket she knew to be coming from the redhead, she would try her best in her nonchalance to find a private space to let free the smirk that would never fail to come to her lips while she typed a response. it wasn't as bad as she was probably imagining, considering she had still been able to be around atticus for the reminder that valentine's was also a shared birthday... to which fallon promptly left in her haste to secure something worthy of a gift.

and so, caught between the emotional turmoil and wanting to do right by annaki, fallon instead focused her nervous attentions elsewhere. justified in that it could be productive, she snatched up nadine at the first opportunity. it hadn't escaped the older member's awareness that there had been immediate chemistry between the younger and a certain university employee. and secure in the fact that her little firecracker could handle herself, it still wouldn't hurt if fallon were to trap them for at least a ride in the tunnel of love for a good ol' interrogation in order to have something, anything, on one colson crawley. see? good conniving.

lights out. an expletive escaped in a breath as their ride shuddered to a halt in a momentary lapse of utter darkness before red accented the contours of the environment in sinister tones. the metal bar resisted external force, and the rise in panicked voices from the rest of the attendees did nothing to quell the anxiety bubbling up in her own chest. a hand floundered beside her to assure that nadine was still there, as equally confused and restrained. tucked into the cuff of her boot, the thai retrieved a small switchblade, using her free hand to find nadine's so that she could firmly plant the blade's handle there. whatever happened, at least she knew that nadine had a way to defend herself. this fucking town. despite the stalwartness of the bar, she tested its limits once more before edging her hips toward the gap between that and the cart's shell. sucking in until organs were surely displaced, she was able to slip herself free. and out. except, seeming to have forgotten what current the boats had been guided upon, fallon's foot met no surface until plunged into shockingly cold water. air rushed out in a yelped "fuck!" as ribs hit the edge of the river. real smooth. crawling out, it was a coin toss as to which side of the tunnel was closest — then a voice. the faintest knocks. can anyone hear me?

"'naki?" it sounded pathetic, the winded level of her voice. stumbling along the minimal shoulder of the displays framing the river, she met the door with a gesture intending to open it. to no avail. of course, why would anything work in their favour? and choosing to ignore the disjointed sounds of others — definitely not the trapped attendees — ambling in the background, she tried again, "annaki? what are you doing?" this isn't safe for you, either. it went unsaid. "there are people stuck in here. why isn't there any attendants outside? they should be fucking doin' something about this!" she couldn't tell if the hair raised on the back of her neck was from the cold of her drenched clothing or the fact that the very perpetrators of this could be in there with them. "can you see a control panel? some kind of emergency switch?"

@conkniving​

location ; outside the tunnel of love 

date ; valentine’s day

ANNAKI COULDN’T DENY THE SMILE THAT CROSSED HER FACE with every message she received from Fallon. She was always one who wore her emotions on her sleeve, incapable of hiding her thoughts as they were easily read on her face. It would be a lie if she said that after New Years that the moments they shared alone had frequented her mind on a regular basis, the redhead practically blushing just at the idea of when she would next see her. The last thing she expected to wake up to was a present from the exact person who had made herself at home on her mind, not that Annaki was looking to evict her from the premise any time soon. The flowers were delicately handled, showcased on her kitchen counter after diagonally cutting the stems to make them last as long as possible. Just the sight of them was something she wanted to extend, as the feeling in her chest as she looked at them was more than she could currently describe.

The idea of a Valentine’s celebration fit too perfectly into something Annaki would enjoy, hoping she could totally inconspicuously run into Fallon during the event. She was never one to bite her tongue, but Fallon was different. She was so much cooler than she would ever be, seemed somehow far to reach in the way she wanted. And yet, Annaki didn’t want to give up. Fallon was….well, she wasn’t sure she met someone as special ever. So, she could prove she could be badass, or as badass as Fallon needed, despite her need to constantly wear pink, collect stuffed animals, and watch cartoons.

She was elated that Fallon was texting her that day, walking around with a half-eaten cone of pink cotton candy in her hand when her eye caught a sight of the exact person on her mind. Except, that sight included her walking into the Tunnel of Love with someone else. It was probably stupid to make assumptions, but Annaki was never one who was good at denying her emotions. Besides, what was going on between the two of them was never stated to be something serious, was it? So this wasn’t something she could reasonably be upset by. Dumping the last bit of her cotton candy into a nearby trash can as her appetite had left her, the redhead made her way towards the exit of the carnival when suddenly the lights of the tunnel of love went completely dark. Walking to the exit of the ride, she was alarmed to see the doors shut, unable to be moved with pressure. “Hello?” Her voice was initially soft, before concern took more control of her. Her small fist banged thrice on the exit door, as she said louder, “Hello? I’m trying to open this!” But there was no handle or mechanism to pull, and shoving her shoulder a couple times did nothing, only further increasing her panic. “Can anyone hear me?”

[ottovanvonveen]

Started reading ORV for the first time in a while and now I have a question that might be silly: Is Kim Dokja Yoo Joonghyuk?

[motohagios]

liberty: lord im so glad to finally find someone just like me out here. it was gettin lonely as hell. there are things i need to talk about that NOBODY here gets

luce: oh well i'm so glad you were able to find someone!! it must be so liberating to be able to finally talk about intersex issues

liberty: what? i'm talking about having someone who knows what whataburger is

luce: o-oh

frol: i fuckin miss whataburger. new york burgers are shit. if i had my druthers they'd open up a damn whataburger here instead of that shake shack bullshit

davey: GASP

liberty: oh simmer down davey. if any of y'all had whataburger just once you'd understand.

davey: i can't.... i can't accept this

liberty: enough of the drama queen antics davey. anyway since we're all here let's get started.

frol: huh? on what

liberty: well first we're gonna go to texas roadhouse here, it ain't as good as actual texan food but i'm fixin to get some steak right now. then we'll go to dunkin 'cause i want one of those pumpkin things. then we're going to watch that damn musical since davey kept crying at me to go watch it so we'll finally get that out of the way. then we're gonna go play billiards down the street from-

frol: hold your hoses.

liberty: huh?

frol: you've got the whole damn night planned out?? you're plumb crazy. i already ate lunch with tada. and i ain't even get a chance to look at that big apple

davey: you're in it

liberty: i mean.... i am the leader here.

frol: the FUCK?? what the fuck are you on about, the LEADER?? is this a damn hierarchy??

liberty: well yeah. i'm the leader of this pack.

frol: that doesn't mean you get to lead ME around. in fact i should be the damn leader not you. i have experience. i'm the leader in my nasa internship group. and i'm more popular with the ladies than YOU.

liberty: they probably just want your damn hair tips rapunzel

frol: you just think you're the leader because you're from new york and new yorkers are snobbish motherfuckers that think the sun comes up just to hear yall crow! but the truth is EVERYBODY. FUCKING. HATES. YALL. the rats here are way better fuckin company

luce: l-language please....

liberty: HOW DARE YOU. I'M A TEXAN BEFORE I'M A NEW YORKER. and if that were true then davey would be a leader too. and he's not. he's like a stray mutt we picked up in an alley that follows us around

davey: a mutt? that follows behind you? in a pack? that would perhaps be referred to as...... a beta wouldn't it? 😊

liberty: besides i have more experience as a leader. being from a gang and all. which is way more important than whatever the fuck nasa is

davey: so if there are betas in this scenario, that would make you.... an alpha. is that it? is that the word liberty? are you an alpha? hypothetically. an alpha? 😄😄😄

liberty: fact is i'm a leader for a REASON.

davey: and a male on top of that as well. and hypothetically an alpha. which makes you....

frol: how the fuck do you not know what nasa is. it's bigger than your west side story asses

luce: guys please don't fight!! this is all just a big miscommunication thing. we're all friends here, liberty's just used to acting like a leader around me and davey because we do work for him, but it's not malicious!!!

frol: it's dumb as fuck. i gotta deal with the same bullshit at school all the time and don't get me started on tada's dumb ass....

liberty: y'know what frol.... i'm sorry. let's just leave this behind. i guess i'm just on edge and all ever since they took home on the range off netflix.... you and i can understand each other in ways others won't. and i really don't want to lose out on a rare bond like this.

luce: y-yeah! come on, think of whataburger guys!!

liberty: what? i'm talking about us being intersex. why would i keep a friend over whataburger luce

luce: i....

frol: we're going to krispy kreme and then the planetarium.

liberty: fine.

[wellzofyouth]

That one post of my mine predictably aged like fine wine. Never let somebody on comic twitter in the writer's room😭😭😭 Like imagine a 1 to 1 adaptation of literally any event?? -1b at the box office. "Who are these people???"

[magentagalaxies]

always found this little parallel between how scott speaks about buddy cole vs danny husk fascinating:

(top quote is from this 2017 vulture interview, bottom quote is from paul myers' 2018 book "one dumb guy")

'he's smarter than me. braver than me. he's better than me'' vs ''danny may not be the smartest or the bravest but he's a very decent man''