the Dalaverse

Tiny, TINY "Nothing New Under the Sun" snippet, just for sirocco_360. I admit to finding people with things stuck on their heads unbelievably funny. The pirate in the cave scene at the end trapped in that gold urn thing? Makes me giggle every time.





“What in blazes is this?”

Will glanced up from where he was packing diapers and cloths into a trunk. Jack was gingerly holding a concoction made of straps of thick padding, covered in soft red velvet. “It’s a pudding cap. Young children wear them when they’re learning to walk so they don’t bump their heads when they fall. Or so Elizabeth and I were told by her prospective nurses.”

He went back to his folding, making a face at the soreness kneeling on the floor had brought to his back. Jack was still visible out of the corner of his eye, hefting the cap in both hands. Annoyed at how easily he got distracted – the damned thing wasn’t even shiny – Will snapped, “Care to give me a hand with this, Captain?”

His only answer was a panicked yelp.

Turning, Will saw that Jack had managed to pull the child-sized cap down over his head, where it had apparently gotten stuck. “Jack! You’re going to ruin it!” The seams were stretched and threatening to pop.

“‘S killing me,” Jack moaned, trying to slide his fingertips under the edges. “Squeezin’ all the blood from me brains...”

“What brains?” Will muttered, tugging at the silk bow on the cap’s front and merely succeeding in ripping it off. “All right,” he said, panting with exertion while Jack flailed his arms around. “Calm down, would you, and come here.” He settled down cross-legged, leaning against the bed, and crooked his finger. Sheepishly Jack knelt in front of him. “If – we just –” Jack braced his arms on either side of Will, gripping the mattress, and bowed his head as Will tugged on the thing. He felt it start to slip, abruptly remembered the many decorations adorning Jack’s head, and steadied himself for a fit.

The captain’s scream echoed through the Pearl’s beams, startling Cotton’s parrot so badly that it took flight, flying into the face of Marty and causing him to spill his large pan of gruel all over the deck, the puddle of which Anamaria skidded along and fell into, cursing loudly while bumping Duncan, who thought that she was coming to peck his eyes out at last and leapt into the ocean. Will tossed Jack out of the cabin, finishing packing the trunk himself and leaving all apologies to the captain.



I had the weirdest dream last night -- very vivid, and about as plausible and sense-making as a dream can be. I was back at school, but sharing a room with Vanessa, Katherine, Megan, and Molly C___ and Allison ____ from high school. We were putting all our stuff up and I was begging to be allowed to plaster the walls with my posters. I actually went through them and decided which ones I absolutely had to have.

I love my posters. I don't think I've ever described them before. Lemme see if I can remember how the room was set up...

Back of the door, beneath the mirror, was the Flaming June poster I bought at the National Gallery, from their Victorian painters exhibit a few years ago. Immediately to the right, above the bookcase, was a Monty Python poster featuring the Ministry of Silly Walks. On the wall with the beds, up at the top corner where it met the cabinets, was the Great American Authors poster I bought at Mark Twain's house in Hartford. Right below it was the Beatles' catalogue poster Jessie gave me one Christmas. To their right, stretching out over the lower half of my bed, was my U2 poster -- a shot of them from the "Beautiful Day" airport shoot. Next to it was the little "DC101 Rocks FedEx Field" promo the parents got from a Skins/Eagles game awhile ago, hanging crooked. Below it was a mini-print of...some painting I can't remember, of a girl in a yellow dress reading a book, from the Gallery exhibit on French genre painting. Next to them was John Belushi in his college sweater in "Animal House," the shot right before he shouts "Toga! Toga! Toga!" I believe. In the little cubby-space between the two bunks, Vanessa had a small Renoir poster; the rest of it was peppered with Bible verses copied onto pink, yellow, green, and blue index cards. So yeah, that wall was more or less completely covered. Right above my head, I had two skinny horizontal posters: one of the Beatles looking at something in the distance, one of three stereotypical 'damsel' paintings with the heading "Beautiful Dreamers," which I found amusing because one of them was Ophelia and another was the Lady of Shallot. Dreamers or suicide victims, guess it's all the same long as they're pretty. The third one was Miranda, from Waterhouse's painting, and that was reallly why I chose it. I think the Ophelia might've been his too, but it's hard to remember because everybody painted Ophelia. Next to and halfway between the beds, we had a map of Solomons Island.

Now we've gotten to the window, and while there was no poster there, it is important to note the "Savvy?" on the shade, in letters shaped from pale blue and lavender crepe paper, made by yours truly. The dot in the question mark was this awesome crisscross pattern. I was sad to tear it down.

Between the window and my desk, I had my skinny vertical Dalí; it was The Persistence of Memory at the top and a quote from the artist that I can't recall verbatim. Right above my desk was the big-ass photo collage Daddy made me the first weekend I was gone. At the top corner of the second and third walls, I had the European one-sheet for "The Princess Bride," in which Westley is carring Inigo's sword and Buttercup's dress is blue instead of red. Tsk tsk. Below that was where Bluto used to be, but we moved him for the crowning glory: Vanessa's PotC poster, given to her by her best friend at Christmas. It was right between our desks and I could lean my head on Jack Sparrow's at any given moment. Next to the pretty pirates, Vanessa had a poster of the Northern Lights she bought at the school store. She had her own photo collage, then three little prints from our trip to the gallery. I can't remember them all -- one was a Monet with boats, one was a little girl in her mother's pearls, and I think the third might've been another Monet.

I guess Dracula couts as a poster, sort of...I brought him down for Halloween because he's been my Halloween decoration boyfriend for as long as I can remember, and then he sort of never went home. We made him a red and green holiday suit and festooned him with bows, and he stayed like that till I brought him back (he still has little red bows at his cuffs and on the top of his head). He hung from the hook under the mirror for awhile, until I acquired my Flaming June and moved him to my closet door.

And there you have it, just one element of my freshman dorm room, which was actually really frickin' awesome. I wish we'd taken more pictures of it. Ah well, this year will have the additions of the "Labyrinth" and Johnny Depp posters Meg gave me for my birthday, assuming I don't donate a few to the common room, and whatever else Ness has picked up. And no more cinderblock walls, hooray!

Maybe the meaning of this dream and the point behind this ramble is that I'm anxious to get back to SMC. And then watch me be miserable as soon as I'm there.