NaNoWriMo 2022: Day 11
Turning in earlier today because I have work tomorrow and I finished an assignment for school earlier. Still got a lot of writing done on my NaNo and wrote notes for two other story ideas (unrelated to the Victorian disaster gay girls story that I’m currently drafting for this year’s NaNo).
Day 11 Word Count: 4,289 words
Word Count Total to date: 37,901 Words
Excerpt:
“Why do you think I’m going to abandon you, Hess? What’s going on, honey?” I asked her softly and reached out to her. She crawled into bed next to me and I wrapped her in the covers and then took her in my arms. She sighed and then shuddered and cried. I kissed her forehead and she held unto me with a vice-like grip. Her nails bit into my bare shoulder blades as she clung to me.
“This is going to sound so stupid, but I thought you’d find a better girl at the Huntresses’ and run off with her as soon as you had the chance, Tilly. I thought I’d lose you to a girl who wasn’t such a twisted little broken doll. I love you, but the way I love you is warped like I am. I’m sorry, Tilly, you deserve someone who will just love you in a straight-forward manner. You aren’t confusing; I am. Now I’m dragging you into my confusion because I saw you dancing at the Huntresses with all those other girls.”
“You left before we could dance together, Hess. I was gentlemanly, I swear. I didn’t say or do anything with those girls that wasn’t proper. All my improper and dirty thoughts I share and act upon with you only. Hess, you’re my wife- only you get access to that side of me. I swear on my old family name- Murray- it’s true!”
I had only danced in good fun with the other girls because for once I could as an adult woman. Now I was expected to dance exclusively with men; I had to be spirited off to a secretive London club to dance exclusively with other women who craved the same thing as me. We were all having a little harmless fun. I was Hess’ husband after all and it was a duty that I took up with all seriousness.
“They’re nothing to me, Hess. We’re leaving London soon enough. We may not come back for several seasons, if ever. I just wanted to experience a London lesbian club once. I’m satisfied now. We can go back to Scarborough and I won’t have to wonder what it would be like to go to such a place.”
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Till's point of view on his and Ivan's relationship - An (personal) analysis of Till's side of things leading up to Round 7.
As kids, IvanTill's relationship was tulmotious, to say the least.
Ivan would do things to rile Till up as a means of getting closer to Till when they were just starting out, and Till would fall for it.
Ivan would steal Till's things and turn around and give it back like some evil Christmas gift as a means of getting closer to Till, and Till would fall for that too, for some time.
But we all know Till isn't stupid. Till must've noticed after some time that the constant disappearance of his stuff only to be coincidentally found by Ivan every time wasn't actually a coincidence. And Till, being handled roughly his whole life by aliens naturally wouldn't have been so fond of the way Ivan would constantly instigate fights with him. So why did Till keep him around? Why did Till allow Ivan into his space?
Well, I think Till actually considered Ivan a good friend, best friend even (maybe reaching but we ball). Ivan was one of the only people who actually made an effort to get close to him and to have someone in a world like this would mean a lot to a kid like Till. (besides, I don't think the things they did together would be the same things enemies would do.)
Other than that, Till is a high-spirited, compassionate, and emotional character. it's shown in a comic where Ivan and Till spot a crushed flower and Till tells it to cheer up out of sympathy, it's shown in the way Till cares about others around him even if he holds a sort of bold exterior that keeps him from showing his heart often.
Till kept Ivan around because he cared about him enough to look past those things. Till kept spending time with Ivan because he cared, Till let Ivan continue doing those things thinking he was unaware because he cared enough, even when Ivan had taken Till's most prized possession, the flute Mizi gave him. he didn't question Ivan about it (?). And he cared about Ivan enough to see him for who he really was. Not as some perfect pet, not even as too much of a nuisance. But as a person, just like he is.
(But this doesn't mean he didn't still see Ivan as a weirdass)
And then we have the meteor shower scene. (pain&suffering.exe)
Ivan, motivated by his strong love tries to get Till to escape with him in the meteor shower scene. Keyword tries. Because they couldn't get far before Till stopped in his tracks and went right back to Anakt Garden, why? because Till wouldn't have been able to live with himself knowing he left behind a person he loved to die, Mizi. he couldn't possibly leave her there. He cared too much.
Till probably felt guilty, going back to Anakt garden and missing out on the chance of a lifetime because it was all in wrong timing. But imagine just how much guiltier he felt seeing Ivan the next day. He hadn't left when Till went back. And so this was the first thread of their relationship that was frayed and torn.
After this point, Ivan was under the full assumption that he had been wrong about how he thought Till saw him so he gradually started to distance himself too, the antics were dialed up as he fought with Till while intending to put distance by becoming someone Till would hate while remaining in Till’s life and caring for him when Till was unaware because even then he couldn’t force himself to leave Till’s world even if Till wanted to leave his. But Ivan was wrong, Till didn't go back because he didn't like Ivan enough to stay, but rather he cared too much for his own good.
Till noticed what Ivan was doing, and Till thought Ivan hated him for leaving him behind, so as a last effort to pull Ivan back to him and fix his relationship with his best friend, to let Ivan know he wanted him near, he left him a message on graduation.
"You were the one who stole my pencil at that time right?"
That was in response to Ivan's "I hope you'll remember me" message.
Till's response sounds pretty straightforward but it was actually an indirect pointing to a direct message; "I know it was you, I always did, of course I remember you. I see you. Im not even mad at you for all of it...So come back?" unfortunately for Till, Ivan failed to read it like this. Ivan instead saw it as Till finally realizing how bad Ivan really is, he probably even thought Till was mad at him for all of it. So this only motivated him to distance them more until they weren't even talking anymore.
And so after everything, round 7 comes. Till has to compete and win against Ivan.
Till went into round 7 with the full intent to sacrifice himself and let Ivan win because he couldn't continue to live in a world he hated, in a world where he was tormented, was used, and had nothing else to live for. he couldn't continue to live in a world knowing Mizi, his shining light and savior was gone. And that he has to kill his friend, the last one he has left.
But his plan was ripped to shreds as Ivan realized what he was doing and on instinct interfered with what Till was doing.
After the kiss scene, Ivan chokes(?) Till after realizing everything else isn't working. and Till still doesn't fight back properly because he doesn't want to, he doesn't have that spirit any more. not the one Ivan saw in him when they were kids. That's been more or less drained out of him because of the years of trauma and torture, the lost years, everything. He's tired, he's miserable. Besides, what's the point anymore? He's lost Mizi. He's gonna loose Ivan, and if he's just meant to be a lamb to the slaughter then why should he delay the inevitable? Till didn't have that will to live anymore after everything so if Ivan was gonna give him one more out and kill him then so be it. He'd let him. (TP)
Only that's not how it goes, as soon as Ivan's hands leave him Till is disoriented. and then he is shocked, confused, worried? because he didn't expect this, he realizes what is happening, that Ivan had taken the hit for him, that Ivan had once again tossed himself to the side for Till. And not even Till knows why.
And at the end of the day, Ivan is dead, and Till is left knowing that he is truly alone now.
(I go over pencil.exe a little more in another post of mine if anyone is interested in reading)
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so it’s. it’s like. man this is so hard without my laptop.
alright so Crassus is a weird guy, existentially. There’s a tendency to speculate, assign, and insert him into whatever places are conspiratorial and shadowy because he fits into those narrative places with ease. My personal favorite (aside from all of it) is the idea that he may have pulled strings wrt to Sulla and Caesar’s conflict to help get Caesar out of it.
The Defeat of Rome: Crassus, Carrhae and the Invasion of the East, Gareth C. Sampson
In the universe that exists in my head, he definitely had a hand in it, but he didn’t really intend for Caesar to figure out he played a part in it, but Caesar’s good at puzzles, and noticing someone goes both ways. Binding someone to yourself goes both ways.
Crassus: The First Tycoon, Peter Stothard
This scene takes place sometime relatively soon after Sulla’s death. Crassus has complicated feelings about it, Caesar less so. Veni, vidi, vici, baby!
Here’s a bonus thing that I keep thinking about with them.
The Roman Revolution, Ronald Syme
like, utang na loob. and it is DEEP between them.
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