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Mar. 26th, 2009 08:14 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
adiva_calandiaFrom that Daily Entertainment:
Five lives Kim could have led. (Ranged, approximately, from most to least doomy.
1. Kim lets out a long, silent breath, opens her eyes, and pushes her skirts back down.
"That," she starts in a rasp, and swallows. Her throat's dry; she wants a drink. "That's a pound."
The swell grimaces, shrugging his jacket back on, and pulls out a few coins. "Wasn't worth it. Covent Garden's going to the bloody dogs."
Her temper flares, and before she can stop her mouth, she hears herself snap, "'S 'cause all the dogs go to Covent Garden."
He slaps her, but he leaves her the full pound anyway.
---
2. Kim can't remember being this nervous since her coming-out ball. The bride and the groom are supposed to open the dancing at the dinner after the wedding, and she's absolutely certain that she's going to trip over the train of her gown and rip all that fine lace to shreds.
And yet, when the music starts, there's a strong hand on her waist (one of these days, she thinks absently, she might get used to that sensation) and her groom -- her husband -- leads her without hesitation. For a few minutes, she even believes she's graceful.
The first dance comes to an end, and the guests applaud. Other couples begin to join them on the floor. Kim stands there, pink-cheeked and smiling, and starts slightly when someone taps her shoulder.
"Lady Franton?"
She turns, and there's Mairelon, half-bowing and offering a hand. His smile is small and soft and . . . sad, perhaps, though she couldn't quite say why.
"May I have this dance?"
---
3. It's amazing how quickly you find your sea legs. It's amazing how useful a former pick-pocket's skills are when it comes to tying knots, or a former house-breaker's dexterity is when it comes to scaling the rigging. It's amazing how much worse the food is at sea.
It's amazing that Charlotte's crew shows so little concern for Kim's penchant for trousers.
And it's amazing how little time it takes for you to realize you can't live without the smell of salt air.
---
4. "Jim!"
It's not a gentle smack Kim delivers to the back of the dozy boy's head. She's not in the habit of going easy on the kids, and they know it. "You dossin', Jim?" she asks. "Got somewheres more important t'be?"
"No ma'am," Jim replies smartly, and Kim hides her flicker of smile in a snort. He's not a bad boy -- she thinks he might even have the same knack for locks she had when she was his age -- but he does tend to let his mind wander. It's a dangerous habit in a thief.
"How's about you charm that lock open, then," Kim says, folding her arms, "or I'm lettin' Moll take over for you."
Moll looks up, startled but beaming; Jim glowers and sets to work, spurred on by the jeers of the other kids; Kim hides her smile again, but the most experienced among her students know it by the way the lines around her eyes crinkle.
---
5. In short, this was the safest, politest, and, at the same time, the most thorough house of accommodation in town: every thing being conducted so that decency made no intrenchment upon the most libertine pleasures, in the practice of which too, the choice familiars of the house had found the secret so rare and difficult, of reconciling even all the refinements of taste and delicacy with the most gross and determinate gratifications of sensuality. . . .
"What on Earth are you reading?"
Kim's head comes up as she slaps the book shut and turns the cover over. "Mairelon! You shouldn't sneak up on folks like that."
He gives her that charming smile. "Terribly sorry."
"No you ain't."
"Aren't. And I am. What are you reading?"
After a moment, she reluctantly turns the book over so he can see the cover: Fanny Hill: Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure, by John Cleland. Mairelon's eyebrows go up -- then his smile widens, and he winks.
"Just don't let Aunt Agatha catch you," he says, turning and heading for the door. He pauses with his hand on the handle. "And if she does, just say it's mine."
Kim shakes her head as the door closes, smiling to herself.
Five things Kim wishe she had. (Depending on where she is in her life, clearly.)
1. More food. (After Mairelon adopts her, she goes through a period of hoarding. Aunt Agatha disapproves.)
2. A father. (Yeah, um, Mairelon and Kim's relationship is weird on a number of levels.)
3. Less of a figure.
4. A better understanding of Greek.
5. More time to herself./Less time by herself.
Five of Tom's plans for after the zombie apocalypse.
1. Sleep for a week.
2. Shower. Are there showers? Shower. Actually, shower, then sleep for a week.
3. Buy new clothes.
4.Throw my gun in largest, closest body of water Put my gun in a drawer and try not to think about it.
5. Invest in sleeping pills. And a stockpile of food. And maybe a bunker.
Whee memes.
Ugh, I am very, very hungry, I have a lot of reading I didn't do, and last night I caught my roommate's bad mood after listening to her tale of heartbreak over the unavailable boy she's in love with (I sympathize, I do, I just -- don't know what to do besides nod and make sympathetic noises).
My parents went home at 4 AM this morning, after a week here. It was perfectly wonderful to see them, but I think a week of near-constant contact with them while trying to do schoolwork was about all I could handle. I'm not sure you can say that my work has suffered appreciably -- it's not like I did significantly more reading before they visited than during their visit -- but I am trying to stay on top of things better, and having dinner with them every night made that very difficult.
Still and all. I shouldn't defeat this day before it's even started by grumbling. I'll get dressed and go print stuff out and get breakfast, and then things will go well.
OH. I did look at a really awesome house yesterday, and assuming we can find people to sublet to over the summer, I think we're gonna go for it. HOUSE.
Five lives Kim could have led. (Ranged, approximately, from most to least doomy.
1. Kim lets out a long, silent breath, opens her eyes, and pushes her skirts back down.
"That," she starts in a rasp, and swallows. Her throat's dry; she wants a drink. "That's a pound."
The swell grimaces, shrugging his jacket back on, and pulls out a few coins. "Wasn't worth it. Covent Garden's going to the bloody dogs."
Her temper flares, and before she can stop her mouth, she hears herself snap, "'S 'cause all the dogs go to Covent Garden."
He slaps her, but he leaves her the full pound anyway.
---
2. Kim can't remember being this nervous since her coming-out ball. The bride and the groom are supposed to open the dancing at the dinner after the wedding, and she's absolutely certain that she's going to trip over the train of her gown and rip all that fine lace to shreds.
And yet, when the music starts, there's a strong hand on her waist (one of these days, she thinks absently, she might get used to that sensation) and her groom -- her husband -- leads her without hesitation. For a few minutes, she even believes she's graceful.
The first dance comes to an end, and the guests applaud. Other couples begin to join them on the floor. Kim stands there, pink-cheeked and smiling, and starts slightly when someone taps her shoulder.
"Lady Franton?"
She turns, and there's Mairelon, half-bowing and offering a hand. His smile is small and soft and . . . sad, perhaps, though she couldn't quite say why.
"May I have this dance?"
---
3. It's amazing how quickly you find your sea legs. It's amazing how useful a former pick-pocket's skills are when it comes to tying knots, or a former house-breaker's dexterity is when it comes to scaling the rigging. It's amazing how much worse the food is at sea.
It's amazing that Charlotte's crew shows so little concern for Kim's penchant for trousers.
And it's amazing how little time it takes for you to realize you can't live without the smell of salt air.
---
4. "Jim!"
It's not a gentle smack Kim delivers to the back of the dozy boy's head. She's not in the habit of going easy on the kids, and they know it. "You dossin', Jim?" she asks. "Got somewheres more important t'be?"
"No ma'am," Jim replies smartly, and Kim hides her flicker of smile in a snort. He's not a bad boy -- she thinks he might even have the same knack for locks she had when she was his age -- but he does tend to let his mind wander. It's a dangerous habit in a thief.
"How's about you charm that lock open, then," Kim says, folding her arms, "or I'm lettin' Moll take over for you."
Moll looks up, startled but beaming; Jim glowers and sets to work, spurred on by the jeers of the other kids; Kim hides her smile again, but the most experienced among her students know it by the way the lines around her eyes crinkle.
---
5. In short, this was the safest, politest, and, at the same time, the most thorough house of accommodation in town: every thing being conducted so that decency made no intrenchment upon the most libertine pleasures, in the practice of which too, the choice familiars of the house had found the secret so rare and difficult, of reconciling even all the refinements of taste and delicacy with the most gross and determinate gratifications of sensuality. . . .
"What on Earth are you reading?"
Kim's head comes up as she slaps the book shut and turns the cover over. "Mairelon! You shouldn't sneak up on folks like that."
He gives her that charming smile. "Terribly sorry."
"No you ain't."
"Aren't. And I am. What are you reading?"
After a moment, she reluctantly turns the book over so he can see the cover: Fanny Hill: Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure, by John Cleland. Mairelon's eyebrows go up -- then his smile widens, and he winks.
"Just don't let Aunt Agatha catch you," he says, turning and heading for the door. He pauses with his hand on the handle. "And if she does, just say it's mine."
Kim shakes her head as the door closes, smiling to herself.
Five things Kim wishe she had. (Depending on where she is in her life, clearly.)
1. More food. (After Mairelon adopts her, she goes through a period of hoarding. Aunt Agatha disapproves.)
2. A father. (Yeah, um, Mairelon and Kim's relationship is weird on a number of levels.)
3. Less of a figure.
4. A better understanding of Greek.
5. More time to herself./Less time by herself.
Five of Tom's plans for after the zombie apocalypse.
1. Sleep for a week.
2. Shower. Are there showers? Shower. Actually, shower, then sleep for a week.
3. Buy new clothes.
4.
5. Invest in sleeping pills. And a stockpile of food. And maybe a bunker.
Whee memes.
Ugh, I am very, very hungry, I have a lot of reading I didn't do, and last night I caught my roommate's bad mood after listening to her tale of heartbreak over the unavailable boy she's in love with (I sympathize, I do, I just -- don't know what to do besides nod and make sympathetic noises).
My parents went home at 4 AM this morning, after a week here. It was perfectly wonderful to see them, but I think a week of near-constant contact with them while trying to do schoolwork was about all I could handle. I'm not sure you can say that my work has suffered appreciably -- it's not like I did significantly more reading before they visited than during their visit -- but I am trying to stay on top of things better, and having dinner with them every night made that very difficult.
Still and all. I shouldn't defeat this day before it's even started by grumbling. I'll get dressed and go print stuff out and get breakfast, and then things will go well.
OH. I did look at a really awesome house yesterday, and assuming we can find people to sublet to over the summer, I think we're gonna go for it. HOUSE.
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Date: 2009-03-26 03:23 pm (UTC)Also, hee hee hee #3. *approves*