tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6140199280786281854.comments2023-11-10T03:46:58.196-05:00Dragging Blue LakePenelopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16697841178807127327noreply@blogger.comBlogger1310125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6140199280786281854.post-55859552459361702362016-12-30T18:30:34.195-05:002016-12-30T18:30:34.195-05:00Maruutsu!!!!!!!! *waves* It is so good to see your...Maruutsu!!!!!!!! *waves* It is so good to see your screen name in front of my face!<br /><br />lol No, Angela has never cheated on Alex to my knowledge. If it helps, Horace is not terribly handsome although he is better looking than Enoch. Enoch finds his own appearance perfectly acceptable but recognizes that Horace is the better looking son. Penelopehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16849958697187040289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6140199280786281854.post-89032331241896519762016-11-09T16:30:12.231-05:002016-11-09T16:30:12.231-05:00(I commented on the prologue but I don't know ...(I commented on the prologue but I don't know if it got sent. Anyway I'm Maruutsu, long time no see! )<br /><br />How did Horace get so handsome though? Did Angela cheat on Alex? Is he the only good looking Goth? Inquiring minds need to know.<br /><br />Must be hard on Enoch. He looks like a clone of his father, the poor dude.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6140199280786281854.post-68234960113859144402015-07-18T19:48:23.969-04:002015-07-18T19:48:23.969-04:00JOSEPH! *huggles* Sorry, I didn't see this ...JOSEPH! *huggles* Sorry, I didn't see this 'til now. I don't check my DBL email address like I should. :\<br /><br />And heh, yeah, I'm always afraid that the pause has been so long between chapters that it is near impossible to recall the plot. D'oh! The Cully & Enoch fight was a more recent-ish chapter. I think this will be the second to last time that it will come up. There are bigger events going on, but I seem to keep circling back to that one.<br /><br />LOL about Ian! He's a good guy and should get more screen time.<br /><br />Thanks for dropping in!! :DPenelopehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16849958697187040289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6140199280786281854.post-20239999938181176352015-07-11T11:01:41.705-04:002015-07-11T11:01:41.705-04:00I need a reread because it's been far too long...I need a reread because it's been far too long since I even clicked on this site but I thought I'd read this chapter on a whim and I must congratulate you on the fact that I could pick up on what was going on without getting confused or feeling like this chapter was one huge recap. All the characters and the stories were coming back to me reading this - they're quite memorable actually but it was good to have a reminder of some of the events going on. I must have missed Cully beating the shit out of Enoch but there's always been bad blood between them, hasn't there? As I said, need a reread.<br /><br />Random thing: Ever since I started reading this story a few years ago now (eek!) I'd basically been in love with Laurie. Now I'm going off him and noticing Ian. Ha!<br /><br />Good to see you back publishing. I always enjoy reading your stuff, Pen!Josephhttp://www.tenebridge.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6140199280786281854.post-73165955278383092172015-07-09T00:52:20.362-04:002015-07-09T00:52:20.362-04:00I'm not sure that Adelaide would have an affai...I'm not sure that Adelaide would have an affair either, but I do know for sure that it would never be with Troy. Neither one thinks of the other in that way. Their relationship is more like an uncle and a niece, if anything. As for Laurie, he thinks all of the above. Adelaide is very perceptive and if Ian (who is very clumsy) were cheating then it probably would not take Adelaide long to suss out the truth of the matter. Laurie knows this. He also knows that Adelaide can be as vindictive as Dina is. I think too that Laurie is not wrong in imagining that Adelaide has some less than charitable thoughts about Ian. Don't get me wrong, she cares about him a great deal. Even still, she does carry around the notion that accepting Ian cost her a portion of her dignity (but that it was worth the sacrifice). She could have had anyone. Lastly, I think the idea of Troy and Adelaide together makes a kind of sense to Laurie. The two of them have a similar disposition. This is really where his logic falls apart though because honestly, there isn't even a hint of romantic impulse between the two of them. I'm sure too though that the idea of Troy being with Sabina has never seemed remotely possible to Laurie. It would never have crossed his mind. Even looking back, Laurie remembers the black hair that he found on Troy's sweater. He no longer thinks of Sabina as having black hair (when he thinks of her at all).<br /><br />Laurie is less convinced now that he has talked to Ian though. Adelaide was mourning her father, and it would not seem to be like her to rush into another man's arms under the circumstances, not even in a desperate fit of passion. The problem is that he has planted the seed of doubt in Ian's mind now.<br /><br />Naomi is going to give her parents so much grief as she gets older. So very much grief.Penelopehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16849958697187040289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6140199280786281854.post-48349983245052274482015-07-08T23:51:21.069-04:002015-07-08T23:51:21.069-04:00So Laurie thinks his dad is banging Adelaide. Inte...So Laurie thinks his dad is banging Adelaide. Interesting. I wouldn't have pegged Adelaide as the type to have affairs, but of course we here in Readerland know that she isn't having an affair. I'm just curious as to why Laurie would think that about Adelaide. Does he get the feeling that Adelaide thinks she's too good for Ian? Or that she might sense something between Ian and Lydia, and want to get back at him by having an affair of her own?<br /><br />Methinks Naomi has some of Aunt Dina in her.Vanhttp://kingdomofnaroni.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6140199280786281854.post-63933360586528098072015-07-08T22:56:31.741-04:002015-07-08T22:56:31.741-04:00The design of that kitchen is very strange and I h...The design of that kitchen is very strange and I have no excuse. Also, during the shooting of this chapter, Laurie kept giving Ian the sweetest little smiles. Witnesseth: <br />http://i.imgur.com/mIvpX1w.jpg<br /><br />Also, also, also I would like to direct your attention back to this chapter:<br />http://draggingbluelake.blogspot.com/2008/07/chapter-6-troy-sifts-through-mire.htmlPenelopehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16849958697187040289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6140199280786281854.post-16282152651888440972015-05-26T22:39:40.517-04:002015-05-26T22:39:40.517-04:00Pssst! You've been nominated for a Sims bloggi...Pssst! You've been nominated for a Sims blogging award:<br /><br />http://dinurielhq.blogspot.ca/2015/05/liebster-award-thanks-beth-and-gayl.htmlVanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09325395792013382406noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6140199280786281854.post-46472798395998174512014-07-22T12:51:54.236-04:002014-07-22T12:51:54.236-04:00hehehe
I feel bad to be making fun of Enoch righ...hehehe <br /><br />I feel bad to be making fun of Enoch right now, because I know that he's not just contending with a broken nose right now. He feels awful about setting Cully off like that. Still kinda funny though. XD Penelopehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16849958697187040289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6140199280786281854.post-44148593567543393952014-07-22T01:37:49.403-04:002014-07-22T01:37:49.403-04:00You know, it may have been Octavius and Medea! It ...You know, it may have been Octavius and Medea! It was way back in the early days, in any case. I think their introductory post had some candles in it, so that might have done it.<br /><br />Enoch does have rather cow-like eyes. XDVanhttp://kingdomofnaroni.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6140199280786281854.post-23107225540297016252014-07-22T00:48:50.805-04:002014-07-22T00:48:50.805-04:00Heh, I wonder which Naroni couple that was. For so...Heh, I wonder which Naroni couple that was. For some reason, I am imagining that it was Octavius and Medea. You should have written these things down for posterity! :p<br /><br />The line about Enoch's eyes being like a cow cracked me up because it seemed somehow so accurate to actual events.Penelopehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16849958697187040289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6140199280786281854.post-80533021928948962592014-07-22T00:38:41.760-04:002014-07-22T00:38:41.760-04:00In a way, Oona is right-- Cully does need to be tr...<i>In a way, Oona is right-- Cully does need to be true to himself. But part of being true to himself is going to involve not listening to Oona.</i><br /><br />Funny how that works sometimes. XD<br /><br />Oh man, Mr. Pen's retelling reminds me of the early days of Naroni, when my brother used to get a kick out of cycling through my images with no context and making up nonsense stories. I believe there was a point where some guy was lamenting that his wife didn't let him play with fire.Vanhttp://kingdomofnaroni.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6140199280786281854.post-45855611935777725252014-07-22T00:24:18.506-04:002014-07-22T00:24:18.506-04:00That response felt like pure Cully to me. He's...That response felt like pure Cully to me. He's a little morose on the inside. If Oona is going to go down, she's going to go down swinging. Cully, on the other hand, would probably just fold over and declare himself done. :\ There are advantages to the way that Oona operates, but that isn't for Cully. He's too genuine to manipulate another person or to spin an unfortunate situation for personal gain. In a way, Oona is right-- Cully does need to be true to himself. But part of being true to himself is going to involve not listening to Oona.Penelopehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16849958697187040289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6140199280786281854.post-53169644465534025852014-07-22T00:11:30.982-04:002014-07-22T00:11:30.982-04:00Jinx, Van! heheheJinx, Van! hehehePenelopehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16849958697187040289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6140199280786281854.post-50836263392726176092014-07-22T00:10:22.990-04:002014-07-22T00:10:22.990-04:00I was having a lot of trouble writing this chapter...I was having a lot of trouble writing this chapter, so I asked Mr. Pen to do it for me, keeping in mind that he has never read DBL (he's not allowed to). I told him that the basic premise was that there were two sets of siblings and that one pair had beaten the crap out of the other pair on separate occasions for completely unconnected reasons. Here was Mr. Pen's version of this chapter:<br /><br /><i>She'd beat up on them too,<br />the old one not the young one,<br />I beat up on the young one.<br /><br />And they were brothers.<br />And she's my sister. What's<br />a sister beating up anyone<br /><br />for? She'd beat up me if<br />I'd let her. She's an idiot.<br />The old one's probably an idiot<br /><br />too. The young one had eyes<br />like a cow when I'd finished<br />wailing on him. I went home<br /><br />and ate a pound of sliced<br />corned beef. She's always<br />leaving the top on the mustard<br /><br />ajar, and it gets crusty. It<br />got crusty this time too. I hate<br />her. I wish I could beat her.</i><br /><br />I have no idea where the corned beef came from.<br />Penelopehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16849958697187040289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6140199280786281854.post-30619676500297692892014-07-22T00:10:10.283-04:002014-07-22T00:10:10.283-04:00I like Cully's response there. I don't kno...I like Cully's response there. I don't know. I get told the "roll with the punches" stuff quite a bit and have never found it helpful. But given Oona's life, I can see where she's coming from.<br /><br />I'm also not surprised that Enoch managed to get Cully to the point where a punch in the face would be necessary. Vanhttp://kingdomofnaroni.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6140199280786281854.post-24584179184217212592014-05-24T01:13:59.552-04:002014-05-24T01:13:59.552-04:00I don't think children have even come up in th...I don't think children have even come up in the conversation for them, at least not in any meaningful way. Lydia has no desire to have children, and Horace is secretly conflicted. I think his most private fantasies may well involve having a family with Lydia. The prospect of it frightens him though because he knows that she does not love him, that their relationship is fraught with negative overtones and needy undertones, that he has a LOT of trouble expressing affection and that it maybe isn't the best idea to bring a child into that environment. Horace is a bit of a coward, and I don't think that he is ever going to be able to undo all of the lies and the ugliness that he has heaped onto this relationship. And you're dead on about appearances-- Horace doesn't want people to think of him as being the kind of man who would fall in love with Lydia Caliente. Likewise, he could never put all of his cards out there and have her know how he felt in case she rejected him. To his mind, he couldn't survive it if she spurned him after he told her how he felt. Better that she disliked him for treating her like crap. If the assumption is that she could never want him, then he doesn't risk anything in that scenario. But if this chapter is any indication, then the assumption is wrong. Horace is who he is, but I think Lydia is willing to work through his bullshit and his insecurities if that's what it takes to be close to the man that she promised to stick with for the rest of her life. Lydia is strong in ways that Horace will never be. I think that when he looks at her, he can see her straight through to the marrow and that he admires her capacity for forgiveness, for empathy, for compassion... But Horace can't be forgiven if he remains too much of a coward to atone.Penelopehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16849958697187040289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6140199280786281854.post-16524349942363995562014-05-23T23:51:56.279-04:002014-05-23T23:51:56.279-04:00Interesting. It does make sense that Horace would ...Interesting. It does make sense that Horace would be in love with Lydia (and terrified of those feelings). He's a Goth. His parents seem to have a polite-but-cold marriage of convenience, his mother was in love with another man, but she married his father anyway Because Appearances. His grandfather had them dragging the lake looking for his grandmother, even though the implication seems to be that Mortimer actually had full knowledge of where Bella really was, Because Appearances. Horace goes about with combed hair and suits and lets people think he married Lydia for her money Because Appearances. And then here's Lydia, who is so obviously not about Appearances. He probably finds her baffling and fascinating and just altogether unlike everything he thinks he knows about the world.<br /><br />I'm curious as to what their kids would be like, if they had them. But I can't imagine either of them really wants kids, at least not any time soon.Vanhttp://kingdomofnaroni.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6140199280786281854.post-51092048787090563062014-05-23T23:42:47.211-04:002014-05-23T23:42:47.211-04:00Lydia, I think, has traces of both parents. A lot ...Lydia, I think, has traces of both parents. A lot of her personality is the result of rebellion against the way that she was raised though. Her parents (and Troy and Dina) stressed the importance of fitting in for as long as she can remember. It was too confining for her. Then, I think she found a lot of inspiration in Don. Don did whatever the hell he wanted, when he wanted, how he wanted. Don was Lydia's hero. He adored her too.<br /><br />Jan was incredibly bright. She had a take-charge personality and was always the default leader wherever she went. She spoke her mind and wasn't afraid of anything or anyone. She could be pretty no-nonsense but she had a warm heart.<br /><br />Nina was a spit-fire, and a bit vapid. She was incredibly, incredibly self-centered. Her moral compass could have used a bit of a tune-up. (Siren wasn't kidding when she said that Nina and Troy slept together once.) She had a jealous streak. She felt like she was in competition with every woman she ever met-- including Siren. When Siren grew-up to be even prettier than Dina had ever been, it drove Nina ballistic. Overall, she was a pretty distasteful person. Lazy too. I still don't know what Terry saw in her. Neither did anyone else for that matter. He did care about Nina, but I also think that he never stopped loving Jan.<br /><br />Before Remmington went senile, he was the most deadpan fellow you could ever hope to meet. This drove Troy up a wall. It was sooo hard to get a read on Remmington. Most people thought of him as being kind of boring. He would take up a lot of obscure hobbies and fixate on them. He probably rated somewhere on the autism spectrum.Penelopehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16849958697187040289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6140199280786281854.post-44794856750256542272014-05-23T23:22:28.368-04:002014-05-23T23:22:28.368-04:00Lydia married him because she was attracted to him...Lydia married him because she was attracted to him, they were very very young and at the time, it seemed like the thing to do. As for Horace, I'm starting to suspect that he is love with her, and perhaps always has been. Although if anyone were to ask him (and this includes Lydia), he would certainly deny it. I imagine that he is pretty vocal in supporting the idea that he did indeed marry her for her family assets. It's probably quite shit being married to him because he can be just as awful to her as he is to the people that he dislikes the most. Lydia can let it roll off of her back somewhat because he is "just Horace". But for him, the way he treats her is a defense mechanism. He can't let anyone know where he's weak, and most especially not her. If he's in love with her then she's the most dangerous person in the world to him. And he knows full well the way that she feels about him. He's as attuned to people as Enoch is.<br /><br />That incident with Oona really shook him up. I don't know what he intended to do when he arrived in the bedroom, but for sure he just needed to feel close to someone if only briefly. Seeing Lydia there bent over the dresser in her underwear was probably enough to set him on that path, and once he got there, he found that he needed that human contact. In particular, he found that he needed her. (cont.)Penelopehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16849958697187040289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6140199280786281854.post-12970385118771337322014-05-23T23:01:33.793-04:002014-05-23T23:01:33.793-04:00In this scene, Horace was acting strangely from th...In this scene, Horace was acting strangely from the second he walked through the door-- tip-toeing around in total silence, looking somewhat disheveled. It weirded Lydia out a little bit. Then he started coming on to her, which he almost never does. This too felt odd. Couple that with the fact that he was being something of a nuisance because she was late for the school clean-up, and you get what she was feeling when this began. She wasn't entirely averse to having sex with him, it was mainly that she knew something was off and that she was scrambling to get out of the house. So, yikes! No, nothing traumatic happened to her in this scene. (Though she is probably a bit worried about Horace's mental health right about now.) She thinks that he's a jerk, there's no doubt about that, but there was a time in the not-too-distant past when she found him to be a hopelessly sexy jerk. All of that came back to her when she saw the way that he was looking at her. And knowing Lydia, if she seriously did not want him to touch her, she would have had no qualms about defending herself with whatever she could have managed-- an elbow to the groin, a wooden jewelry box to the face, whatever.<br /><br />Then there's the fact that their relationship is hard to pin down. Certainly, people say about them that he married her for the money and that she married him for his name. If I remember correctly too, Alexander is under the impression that she outright hates Horace and that Horace pretends she doesn't even exist. But this is all from the outside looking in. Lydia couldn't care less about her social position, and Horace *has* money. I won't say that he didn't care about Lydia's money, but it wouldn't have been a sufficient reason to marry her to his mind. (cont.)Penelopehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16849958697187040289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6140199280786281854.post-83213061948757323802014-05-23T22:02:03.930-04:002014-05-23T22:02:03.930-04:00Hmm. Also not sure about the warning, but not havi...Hmm. Also not sure about the warning, but not having experienced that sort of trauma, I wouldn't be able to say for sure what is or isn't needed. Lydia didn't want to and Horace didn't listen... but then she's reaching to take his pants off. "She changed her mind" is bullshit, but in this case, since we have her POV, that does seem to be what happened. There are rapey elements, but I guess I'll leave this one up to Lydia herself in regards to what happened here.<br /><br />As for Lydia and Horace themselves... hmm. I just sort of assumed they were one of those arranged marriage couples who tolerate each other because they don't even find each other interesting enough to dislike, but clearly that's not the case (though maybe they'd both thought it was on occasion). Horace in particular, I don't know why (maybe the lack of sexual chemistry with Oona, who seems like the sort of person who has sexual chemistry with everyone, even if it's not always a healthy chemistry), but I was working under the assumption that he's asexual or very close to it. Maybe this wasn't so much about sex for Horace as it was an attempt at connection, or a need to feel something. Lydia may just be the only friend he has.<br /><br />Strange to think that Lydia is Siren's daughter. She's so casual and uncensored, so the opposite of her mother. She doesn't seem much like JL either. What was DBL's version of Nina like? Jan? How about Remington before he went senile?Vanhttp://kingdomofnaroni.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6140199280786281854.post-31205793302681571392014-05-23T21:04:09.744-04:002014-05-23T21:04:09.744-04:00I have close to a million things to say about this...I have close to a million things to say about this one, but I think I'll leave them on the shelf for now.<br /><br />Also, sorry if this needs a warning. I am of two minds on that subject where this chapter is concerned.Penelopehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16849958697187040289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6140199280786281854.post-84471394988985545232014-05-19T19:52:07.349-04:002014-05-19T19:52:07.349-04:00*FLAILS* Holy crap, you read the whole thing in 48...*FLAILS* Holy crap, you read the whole thing in 48 hours??? That deserves, like, some kind of a prize. *ponders this*<br /><br />Sorry to leave you, Van and Joseph (and any other potential lurkers) hanging for so long. I get writer's exhaust, if that's a thing. <br /><br />I only just started writing Chapter 106 yesterday. D'oh! But the good news is, it will be up this week.Penelopehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16849958697187040289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6140199280786281854.post-40590944504763897242014-05-19T19:00:48.431-04:002014-05-19T19:00:48.431-04:00I used to lurk here and then (sometime after "...I used to lurk here and then (sometime after "Kvornan Sees The Invisible Axle") stopped checking it for a while. The other day I decided to take a look and saw you'd been updating and got SO. EXCITED! I reread the entire thing within the last forty-eight hours and just wanted to tell you that DBL is still one of my favorite stories. It's amazing and complex with believable characters, and it was a lot of fun to reread and immediately feel affection for characters I hadn't read about for a long time in chapters I'd first read before I cared about them. Keep on keeping on!Bastethttp://correctdichotomy.tumblr.comnoreply@blogger.com