choicescreen

[choicescreen]

the smell of warm, soft gingerbread wafts from the kitchen, a treat so dear to the little souls within plumfield. a great many of them were more loyal to their stomachs than they were checking out the intentions of mother bhaer's guest—but not young dan keane.

for his part, he watches charles with an eye jo can only imagine is from being cheated by an untoward number of adult men during his time on the streets. the poor little innocent, she mourns inwardly, likely we will never know the extent of strife he faced on his own. she briefly excuses herself, lifting a hold-that-thought index finger.

"dan," she begins. the boy straightens, evidence of his improved manners and tender feelings for his benefactors. "i want you and the older children to keep an eye on the little ones. make sure they don't make themselves sick eating too much gingerbread. does that sound capital to you? i will be down in a jiffy. and hopefully," she turns her bright gaze back to charles, "mr. fraser-smith joins me."

the boy excuses himself, nodding sharply at charles. once he is out of earshot, jo turns around.

"i have gained much from this arrangement, to use your words. freddy loves me and i love freddy. endlessly and unconditionally. though not as man and woman. we only appear that way, you see."

she pauses, reaches out. her hand lands lightly on charles' bicep. "you mustn't do it with someone you do not love. there has to be love there, or else it only ends up like the marriage we—yes, we, i scorned romance in my youth, except in my books—loathe to lock ourselves up in."

@choicescreen liked for a starter feat. the all-knowing muse wheel (aka period allyship with jo bhaer née march + q/charles)

it is only when he thinks to himself she looks well, and catches his own surprise in thinking it, that he realises his preconceptions may have been unfair. on bhaer, certainly, but all the more grievously so on jo.

                    ❝ i will admit, i had my reservations ❞, sounding only as contrite as he is capable, which is not very much, but perhaps enough for someone as perceptive as her, ❝ but it seems you’ve gained more from this arrangement than just a shield from prying questions. ❞ if he appears to disapprove, it’s likely for his own benefit more than hers. his relief to see her unconfined is mingled with something bitter, unbecoming. perhaps it is envy? his delivery on follow-up is suitably dry, lest he be taken too seriously. ❝ for that reason alone, i’ve half a mind to change my stance on marriage entirely. ❞

[choicescreen]

Little Women, 1994 (dir. Gillian Armstrong)

[choicescreen]

The Sandwich (Atteyat Al-Abnoudy, 1975)

[choicescreen]

"i have known a few like her, some even younger. and while you are correct in your assement, none acted like she did."

he toes the line he always has—somewhere between firm and ceaselessly kindhearted.

"the influences sebastian and his ilk have wrought on her can be attributed to that. though they are few, they are powerful."

a headache brews. par for the course when ramona is involved.

"i know." he'd say he appreciates it, but exhaustion wins. "someone of her age should never have been turned. it was inhumane."

[choicescreen]

"i didn't say it. you," she gestures at him by protruding her lips in his direction, "did."

she gives a single bark—ha!—of laughter. "don't i fucking know it."

"shut up." but he's fighting a grin, affectionate with his own retort. "oh yeah, you know me. the picture of civility. total bootlicker."

he yawns, stretching like a cat. "those assholes always think they can fuck everyone over without it costing them shit."

[choicescreen]

"not here," he corrects, lip half-consciously curling into a snarl. "ey law, boy, do you listen to anything anyone tells you?" yes, he hadn't clarified. do not mention it. do not take it to heart. "when freida and i were still in the circus business, there was a russian trapeze artist. isaik, his name was—is. he is still living."

dragon smoke comes from the corner of his mouth, his nostrils. "have you ever heard that song, the one about the man on the flying trapeze?" his voice takes on a very slight singing lilt, rushing the tempo in order to make his point, "he floats through the air, with the greatest of ease, i pray that someday while he's up there he'll sneeze. swore up and down, left and right it had been written about him."

marion blinks, shifts his weight to loosely drape one knee over the other, ankle bouncing in empty air twice and then stilling. "isaik is an equal opportunity sort of man. he has lovers of all sorts at his beck and call. when i moved out here, it didn't tear him asunder. he'll likely say—" he bites the fleshy inside of his cheek to keep from smirking too loud, "hello to me when i go visit for the holidays."

an inelegant mirror to marion's pensive gentleman, xeno slouches like a child, limbs splayed and back crooked. he cocks his head to the side, another bend in the roadmap of his body, curiosity ensnared by a lover's confession.

"a russian?" he's worn that masquerade before. not that it matters; it's not his story he hungers after, but the possibiltiy in marion's. "you met him here? what happened?"

[choicescreen]

the corner of gilda's mouth crooks into a complicit half-smile.

"between you and me, i'm not sure if that excuse was for my sake or theirs."

"only if you don't tell any of mine."

[choicescreen]

jaeyi blinks, once, twice, thrice, then refrains from saying something dark.

she musters up a softening of her expression to accompany her nod. "why manyang, though? why not, i don't know, anywhere else? is it because of the lake?"

"we're only here for a couple of weeks. a month, maximum." the crew for the nature documentary, wesley means. "i hope we don't disturb you or, uh, the town, too much."

[choicescreen]

damn, it's like that? "so i gathered."

she turns to fill a glass of water from the sink, bringing it over to him a few moments later. she nearly allows it to overflow, trying to think about how any other member of her family-team would handle this. in wildly different ways, she concludes, so just go with how you would. she thinks they'd like that.

"yeah, so. what do you want to do? what does... not being stabbed at since last week call for, exactly?"

"why's it concerning?" said by a boy who cannot fathom that most people, present company excluded, have never been shot at.

xeno rocks onto the back legs of his chair, narrowly avoiding tipping over completely. he smiles at nile, like she's the one who's just told a joke.

"i'm not being funny. are you being funny? i thought we could celebrate. five days without being shot at—that's pretty good, isn't it? i haven't even been stabbed since last week. i think that's good."

[choicescreen]

her smile leans a little towards satisfied.

"well, if you don't go and tell any of my folks..."

"oh, but that's great fun. are we holding grudges, too?"

[choicescreen]

@inrovina said: "i hate businessmen."

it happened one night.

"shit," bronca snort-laughs, a scrape in the back of her throat that would've sounded mean if they weren't amicable.

the teasing that comes next is harmless, oozing with sarcasm. "and here i took you for a little brown-noser."

[choicescreen]

@inrovina said: "i haven't been shot at for days."

it happened one night.

a seven second pause. "excuse me?"

"that's," hm. "concerning?" she didn't mean for her tone to raise like she was asking a question, but there isn't much she can do about that now.

anyone else might have asked if he'd told the authorities. she would have, too, but nile's foundations have been shook, these past few years—not that there wasn't always an idea of how useless those people can be, deep down.

"are you, wait, are you being funny?"

[choicescreen]

@inrovina said: "have you ever been in love?"

it happened one night.

marion smokes, contemplative, like a gentleman. he puffs a heavy exhale, head tipping against the back of the wing chair, cigarette arm held elegantly above, elbow balanced on the one left free. he will not allow himself to hold the posture for long, so he shifts, sits up, holds xeno's eyes.

"yes. many times, i am afraid." haltingly, realizing he can't back out now that he has divulged, "but only once seriously. with a russian."

[choicescreen]

@holyrots

"this is a small town, and tongues will soon be wagging."

[choicescreen]

@holyrots

"i speak plainly because i consider it dishonest to deceive you."

[choicescreen]

@bluedprints

"i’m afraid you've caught me brooding."

[choicescreen]

it happened one night from the 1934 film. alter as needed.

can't get a thing done unless you do it yourself.

please. i can't fight on an empty stomach.

i hate businessmen.

you're not being fair, darling.

i come from a long line of stubborn idiots!

nice and gooey. just the way i like it.

in a pig's eye, you will!

you wouldn't know a story if it reached up and kicked you in the pants.

it's going to do you no good, my tough friend.

keep your shirt on, young fella.

what you need is a good sock on the nose.

i'm in a very ugly mood. so if it's just the same to you, scram.

i want to be left alone.

why, you ungrateful brat!

i hated to wake you up.

you needn't concern yourself about me, young man.

you're doing a pretty sloppy job.

if you play your cards right, you might get some money out of it.

i had you pegged right from the start.

i guess it never occured to you to just say, "please, mister, i'm in trouble. will you help me?"

you look like you got class.

the colder they are, the hotter they get.

you bore me to distraction.

if you promise not to snap my head off, i'd like to thank you.

that's none of your business.

you're on a budget from now on.

we're stopping here for the night.

your ego is colossal.

hey, you're kinda little, aren't you?

if you've got any peculiar ideas that i'm interested in you, forget it.

there's a brain behind that face of yours, isn't there?

perhaps you're interested in how a man undresses.

a night's rest will do you good.

you sweet thing, you.

listen, brat. i'm going to count to ten. if you're not out of bed by then, i'm going to yank you out myself.

your hair's cute like that. you should never comb it.

if you don't get out of here, i'll slap that fresh mouth of yours.

one egg, doughnuts, black coffee.

what makes you so disgustingly cheerful this morning?

i've always been told what to do and how to do it and where and with whom.

this is the first time i've ever been alone with a man!

dunking's an art. don't let it soak so long. a dip and plop, into your mouth.

i ought to write a book about it.

come here, you little fool!

you don't have to lose your temper!

no mushy stuff.

that's better. you're all right, now.

going without food is bad business, son.

we're right in the middle of nowhere.

i can use a smart guy like you.

i was never built for these moonlight strolls.

i wish you'd stop being playful.

this is the first time i've ridden piggyback in years.

you can't be hungry and scared at the same time. if you're scared, it scares the hunger out of you.

you're becoming terribly disagreeable lately.

holy jumping catfish!

you've had a lot of men crazy about you, haven't you?

the world's full of people like you. don't know what they want.

life's swell if you don't try too hard.

i wish you wouldn't talk too much.

young people in love are never hungry.

if you do, i'll break your neck.

haven't slept one night this week.

have you ever been in love?

those are the only places to live. where the stars are so close over your head that you feel you could reach right up and stir them around.

better go back to your bed.

get me a drink and make sure nobody disturbs me for half an hour.

i haven't been shot at for days.

you know i've always liked you.

i need a thousand dollars.

i wouldn't trust you as far as i could throw that desk.

so long, kid. and good luck.

get me a doctor. i'm about to have a nervous breakdown.

certainly gave us a run for our money.

the thought of it makes me shudder.

if you'll do what i tell you, perhaps i might develop a little respect for you.

you thought that up all by yourself, huh?

i hope he breaks his leg.

still in the dumps?

i wouldn't hurt you for the world. you know that.

i knew there was something on your mind.

i've been such a burden to you.

i want our life to be full of excitement.

you're a peculiar chap.

this is a matter of principle. something you probably wouldn't understand.

that's an evasion.

you're a sucker to go through with this.