as she swam into waters over her head
Today's poem:
Shopping Urban
Flip-flopped, noosed in puka beads, my daughter
breezes through the store from headband to toe ring,
shooing me away from the bongs,
lace thongs, and studded dog collars.
And I don't want to see her in that black muscle tee
with SLUT stamped in gold glitter
shrink-wrapped over her breasts,
or those brown and chartreuse retro-plaid
hip-huggers ripped at the crotch.
There's not a shopper here a day over twenty
except me and another mother
parked in chairs at the dressing room entrance
beyond which we are forbidden to go.
We're human clothes racks.
Our daughters have trained us
to tamp down the least flicker of enthusiasm
for the nice dress with room to grow into,
an item they regard with sullen, nauseated,
eyeball-rolling disdain.
Waiting in the line for a dressing room,
my daughter checks her cleavage.
Her bellybutton's a Cyclops eye
peeking at other girls' armloads of clothes.
What if she's missed something-
that faux leopard hoodie? those coffee-wash flares?
Sinking under her stash of blouses,
she's a Shiva of tangled sleeves.
And where did she dig up that new tie-dyed
tank top I threw away in '69,
and the purple wash 'n' wear psychedelic dress
I washed and wore
and lost on my Grand Tour of Europe,
and my retired hippie Peace necklace
now recycled, revived, re-hip?
I thought they were gone-
like the tutus and tiaras and wands
when she morphed from ballerina
to fairy princess to mermaid to tomboy,
refusing to wear dresses ever again.
Gone, those pastel party dresses,
the sleeves, puffed water wings buoying her up
as she swam into waters over her head.
~Jane Shore
***
ranalore asked me recently if I had a Max/Alec playlist, and I said I really didn't - I have a couple of songs that remind me of them, but for some reason, they've never really pinged me musically the way most of my pairings have/do. But in writing that bright, tight forever drum, I did find myself listening to a couple of songs more than usual.
So I do have sort of a mini-mix for them, I guess, and it goes like this:
Flesh Mechanic - Placebo
He tries to embrace her
she wants him to race her
he needs a laser
to get it through her skull
means and lies and hatreds
tears that fall in sequence
cold caress
imprints
conversation growing dull
This is my Alec song, and it's very much Alec himself, and also his approach to Max.
Point of No Return - Expose
And when you smile
It warms my heart and me
Oh, baby, can't you see
I like to feel the passion to
the point of no return
Oh, baby, I will be in full reaction
I want to take you in my arms
You're taking me to the point of no return
This is my Max song. I don't know why. I hear it and I think of her now.
Shameless - Ani DiFranco
I gotta cover my butt because I covet
another man's wife
I got to divide my emotions
between wrong and right
then I get to see how close I can get to it
without giving in
then I get to rub up against it
till I break the skin
Alec, dealing with Max while she's all, "I love Logan, but you have to pretend to be my boyfriend to keep him safe."
Foundations - Kate Nash
Thursday night, everything's fine,
Except you've got that look in your eyes,
when I'm telling a story and you find it boring
You're thinking of something to say.
You'll go along with and then drop it
And you humiliate me, in front of our friends.
Then I'll use that voice that you find annoying
And say something like, "intelligent input, darlin',
why don't you just have another beer then?"
Then you call me a bitch and everyone we're with
will be embarrassed,
and I won't give a shit.
Only this first verse really applies to them, but wow, it really does apply, doesn't it?
Sometime Around Midnight - The Airborne Toxic Event
But you know...
that she's watching
She's laughing, she's turning
she's holding her tonic like a crux
The room suddenly spinning
she walks up and asks how you are
so you can smell her perfume
you can see her lying naked in your arms
I listened to this a lot this weekend while writing, and I can see the angsty "Max and Alec have heatsex but then she goes back to Logan anyway" story I will probably never write (unless it has a happy ending) in it.
any songs you can recommend I should add to this list?
And speaking of recommendations, and jumping fandoms, I am very, very scared of how Morgan/Reid seems to be the dominant pairing in Criminal Minds. I've watched about 12 episodes now, and I still have absolutely no desire to read about Reid having sex with anyone.
What I would like are gen team stories, good Morgan/Garcia UST/flirty banter stories, and crossovers! Specifically, I would like to see what the BAU makes of the Winchesters or the Scooby Gang (or, if you could finagle it, the BAU in the Firefly-verse) (again, gen, please). What have you got for me?
I suppose I should get an icon, too. Morgan, Garcia, or Morgan and Garcia, I think. Though when I finally get to her episodes, I might need an Emily Prentiss icon.
***
I am still grooving on the awesome that was the Chuck season finale, and here are some links from the tv blogs I read:
* The most enjoyable episode of TV of the year? Thoughts on the 'Chuck' finale by Mo Ryan (btw, I agree with her - I would LOVE to see John Casey and Sam Axe knocking back beers together. hint hint.)
* Chuck: "Chuck vs. the Ring": Greatest American hero? by Alan Sepinwall (plus, an interview with Chris Fedak about the finale)
* 'Chuck' finale thoughts and renewal hopes by Daniel Fienberg
Seriously, for me, Chuck is like an unequivocally happy place for me - I love all the characters (even when they are creeping me out *eyes Jeff warily*), it makes me laugh, it makes me sniffle occasionally, I love the references, the music is awesome, and Adam Baldwin is SUPERAWESOME as Casey.
For a show that I am not actively fannish about - I have no real desire to read or write Chuck fic - I will be exceptionally sad if NBC doesn't renew it.
***
PS: Dude! The preview function finally works at DW. Oh, happy day!
***
Shopping Urban
Flip-flopped, noosed in puka beads, my daughter
breezes through the store from headband to toe ring,
shooing me away from the bongs,
lace thongs, and studded dog collars.
And I don't want to see her in that black muscle tee
with SLUT stamped in gold glitter
shrink-wrapped over her breasts,
or those brown and chartreuse retro-plaid
hip-huggers ripped at the crotch.
There's not a shopper here a day over twenty
except me and another mother
parked in chairs at the dressing room entrance
beyond which we are forbidden to go.
We're human clothes racks.
Our daughters have trained us
to tamp down the least flicker of enthusiasm
for the nice dress with room to grow into,
an item they regard with sullen, nauseated,
eyeball-rolling disdain.
Waiting in the line for a dressing room,
my daughter checks her cleavage.
Her bellybutton's a Cyclops eye
peeking at other girls' armloads of clothes.
What if she's missed something-
that faux leopard hoodie? those coffee-wash flares?
Sinking under her stash of blouses,
she's a Shiva of tangled sleeves.
And where did she dig up that new tie-dyed
tank top I threw away in '69,
and the purple wash 'n' wear psychedelic dress
I washed and wore
and lost on my Grand Tour of Europe,
and my retired hippie Peace necklace
now recycled, revived, re-hip?
I thought they were gone-
like the tutus and tiaras and wands
when she morphed from ballerina
to fairy princess to mermaid to tomboy,
refusing to wear dresses ever again.
Gone, those pastel party dresses,
the sleeves, puffed water wings buoying her up
as she swam into waters over her head.
~Jane Shore
***
ranalore asked me recently if I had a Max/Alec playlist, and I said I really didn't - I have a couple of songs that remind me of them, but for some reason, they've never really pinged me musically the way most of my pairings have/do. But in writing that bright, tight forever drum, I did find myself listening to a couple of songs more than usual.
So I do have sort of a mini-mix for them, I guess, and it goes like this:
Flesh Mechanic - Placebo
He tries to embrace her
she wants him to race her
he needs a laser
to get it through her skull
means and lies and hatreds
tears that fall in sequence
cold caress
imprints
conversation growing dull
This is my Alec song, and it's very much Alec himself, and also his approach to Max.
Point of No Return - Expose
And when you smile
It warms my heart and me
Oh, baby, can't you see
I like to feel the passion to
the point of no return
Oh, baby, I will be in full reaction
I want to take you in my arms
You're taking me to the point of no return
This is my Max song. I don't know why. I hear it and I think of her now.
Shameless - Ani DiFranco
I gotta cover my butt because I covet
another man's wife
I got to divide my emotions
between wrong and right
then I get to see how close I can get to it
without giving in
then I get to rub up against it
till I break the skin
Alec, dealing with Max while she's all, "I love Logan, but you have to pretend to be my boyfriend to keep him safe."
Foundations - Kate Nash
Thursday night, everything's fine,
Except you've got that look in your eyes,
when I'm telling a story and you find it boring
You're thinking of something to say.
You'll go along with and then drop it
And you humiliate me, in front of our friends.
Then I'll use that voice that you find annoying
And say something like, "intelligent input, darlin',
why don't you just have another beer then?"
Then you call me a bitch and everyone we're with
will be embarrassed,
and I won't give a shit.
Only this first verse really applies to them, but wow, it really does apply, doesn't it?
Sometime Around Midnight - The Airborne Toxic Event
But you know...
that she's watching
She's laughing, she's turning
she's holding her tonic like a crux
The room suddenly spinning
she walks up and asks how you are
so you can smell her perfume
you can see her lying naked in your arms
I listened to this a lot this weekend while writing, and I can see the angsty "Max and Alec have heatsex but then she goes back to Logan anyway" story I will probably never write (unless it has a happy ending) in it.
any songs you can recommend I should add to this list?
And speaking of recommendations, and jumping fandoms, I am very, very scared of how Morgan/Reid seems to be the dominant pairing in Criminal Minds. I've watched about 12 episodes now, and I still have absolutely no desire to read about Reid having sex with anyone.
What I would like are gen team stories, good Morgan/Garcia UST/flirty banter stories, and crossovers! Specifically, I would like to see what the BAU makes of the Winchesters or the Scooby Gang (or, if you could finagle it, the BAU in the Firefly-verse) (again, gen, please). What have you got for me?
I suppose I should get an icon, too. Morgan, Garcia, or Morgan and Garcia, I think. Though when I finally get to her episodes, I might need an Emily Prentiss icon.
***
I am still grooving on the awesome that was the Chuck season finale, and here are some links from the tv blogs I read:
* The most enjoyable episode of TV of the year? Thoughts on the 'Chuck' finale by Mo Ryan (btw, I agree with her - I would LOVE to see John Casey and Sam Axe knocking back beers together. hint hint.)
* Chuck: "Chuck vs. the Ring": Greatest American hero? by Alan Sepinwall (plus, an interview with Chris Fedak about the finale)
* 'Chuck' finale thoughts and renewal hopes by Daniel Fienberg
Seriously, for me, Chuck is like an unequivocally happy place for me - I love all the characters (even when they are creeping me out *eyes Jeff warily*), it makes me laugh, it makes me sniffle occasionally, I love the references, the music is awesome, and Adam Baldwin is SUPERAWESOME as Casey.
For a show that I am not actively fannish about - I have no real desire to read or write Chuck fic - I will be exceptionally sad if NBC doesn't renew it.
***
PS: Dude! The preview function finally works at DW. Oh, happy day!
***