(no subject)

[slybrunette]

Title: I Need Your Grace To Remind Me To Find My Own
Fandom: Lost
Characters/Pairings: Shannon, Boone.
Word Count: 336
Rating: R
Author's Note: Written for bebitched  . Based off this photo. 
Summary: Pre-island. Shannon wanted something that relied on her, something that was only hers. That no one would take away.

When Shannon was ten all she wanted was a dog.

 

Her dad was spending more and more time at work or with Sabrina, and Shannon was lonely. She wanted something that relied on her, something that was only hers. That no one would take away.

 

Sabrina said no, that she couldn’t take care of it, that she was much too young and irresponsible. So Shannon locked herself in her room and cried her eyes out straight through the calls for dinner and Boone’s pleas through the door.

 

The next day she came home to find one of those ornate fish bowls, the ones with all the plants and the pink rocks filling the bottom that almost seemed iridescent. Inside were two fish, nearly a match pair.

 

They weren’t just goldfish either. These were orange and white, with long whispery tails that fluttered like the wings of butterflies.

 

This was, of course, Boone’s doing, she would realize when she found him watching her in the doorway.

 

“I thought of you when I saw them,” he said, almost like he needs an excuse. “They almost look like they’re dancing.”

 

And it wasn’t a dog but it was something and, in hindsight, more thoughtful than most twelve year olds should be.

 

She would spend hours watching them, when she couldn’t sleep. Watching them dance.

 

It’s what made her want to dance again. It’s what made her start taking those ballet lessons again, start seriously considering being a dancer. It was her dream.

 

But like with most, this dream wasn’t meant to be a reality.

 

The guy she played au pair for, in France, had some too. They were a different color, more red, but they still danced. They still twirled around each other in intricate patterns, like they were performing. And just like with every good show it felt like she was the only one in the room.

 

It was their grace that captivated her. The kind of grace that she had always longed for but never quite found.

Comments

[elise-509.livejournal.com]

Poor Shannon. I love the imagery of these two fish and how perfectly you captured them in relation to Shannon's artistry in dance and her desire for what eludes her. I really feel her loneliness and her pain; I also like that on the island, Shannon at least got to have Vincent for awhile. It ties into your fic very nicely. :) Loved it!

[slybrunette.livejournal.com]

That picture was begging to have something done to it -- something to do with her childhood. And when I saw them I thought about her dancing and how she probably didn't have dogs or cats. And yet she was good with Vincent. And I think that's where this all came together.

I'm glad you liked this! Thanks for reading and reviewing!

[raisingirl99.livejournal.com]

I love this. I love, love, love this. The description of the fish moving as if they're dancing, and the connection to Shannon's own dancing, is so beautiful.

And it wasn’t a dog but it was something and, in hindsight, more thoughtful than most twelve year olds should be.

*nods* Definitely more thoughtful, but I can completely see Boone doing it; and it's also definitely not something that Shannon would appreciate at the time.

[slybrunette.livejournal.com]

I had fish like these when I was a little girl -- I think they're angelfish or at least that's what they look like -- and that's exactly what they looked like -- tiny dancers.

As for Boone...it is very much something he would do, and it makes me miss him (and Shan)

I'm glad you liked this! Thanks for reading and reviewing!

[elliotsmelliot.livejournal.com]

This was beautiful. I could easily visualize it all.

[slybrunette.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I had fun incorporating that picture into this, so I was trying to be imagery heavy.

[mistojen.livejournal.com]

Oh that was gorgeous and sad but the imagery just...ugh this broke my heart. Beautiful, as always.

[slybrunette.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I was aiming for angst here, but also trying to get back into working with imagery.

I'm glad you liked this! Thanks for reading and reviewing!

[lenina20.livejournal.com]

This is probably one of the best Shannon fics I've ever read.It's so visual, so symbolic, but it flows and it makes perfect sense. It's so amazing the symbol of the goldfish, how they are connected to who she is and whar she wants to be, but also are the perfect metaphor of her future relationship with Boone. (they still danced. They still twirled around each other in intricate patterns, like they were performing).Like always together, but never completely.

This was georgous. Perfect.

[slybrunette.livejournal.com]

I can't take full credit for this -- I was given the prompt and the picture -- but I did come up with the dancing thing, the idea of grace as it relates to that, on my own. I had fish like these, it's part of an experience I once had, which I think is what made this come so easily to me.

I'm glad you liked this! Thanks for reading and reviewing!

[gottalovev.livejournal.com]

so beautiful... and yes, she'd like those fishes, I can see her as a little girl enraptured and watching them for hours, then later too.

awesome ficlet, I loved it ♥

[slybrunette.livejournal.com]

You know when I was little, and this is true for a lot of kids, it was the littlest, randomest things that would really catch my attention. That's where this comes from I think.

I'm glad you liked this! Thanks for reading and reviewing!

[meagan4dominic.livejournal.com]

Aww that was beautiful, I think that you captured Shannon's character beautifully & I love how you used the fish, that was very clever

[slybrunette.livejournal.com]

Thanks! It was actually part of a prompt that I ran with.

I'm glad you liked this! Thanks for reading and reviewing!

[hendercats.livejournal.com]

long whispery tails that fluttered like the wings of butterflies.
Beautiful imagery! And I love Boone standing there, watching her watch them. Lovely little ficlet.

[slybrunette.livejournal.com]

Imagery is...something I need to work on. Consider this my attempt at being more creative.

I'm glad you liked this! Thanks for reading and reviewing!

[bebitched.livejournal.com]

Yay! Thank you for writing something so beautiful to my prompt.

These were orange and white, with long whispery tails that fluttered like the wings of butterflies.


Nice imagery.

You make me miss Boone and Shannon. Damn you.

[slybrunette.livejournal.com]

Well it was a really pretty (can I say pretty to a prompt -- whatever) prompt so it was quite easy to work with in the end.

I'm thrilled you liked this! Thanks for an excellent prompt!

[tinkerbell99.livejournal.com]

Oh, Boone. Somehow that just seems so right for him to do that. The references to dancing were perfect for Shannon, too.

[slybrunette.livejournal.com]

It so is like Boone, which is why I always loved him too.

I'm glad you liked this! Thanks for reading!

[eponine119.livejournal.com]

This was sweet. I love that the fish dance, like she does.

[slybrunette.livejournal.com]

Those kind of fish -- they're so beautiful, and they do remind me of dancers.

I'm glad you liked this! Thanks for reading!