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Aug. 10th, 2006 11:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
nnyI.
Um.
*giggles*
This one is for![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
apiphile.
I'm sorry, Del. I don't know what you did to deserve this.
Original, in case anyone's interested.
Minty
Minty was just like the rest of them.
Minty - you could see him trying to be just like the rest of them. It wasn't a natural thing, not with him, but you'd have to watch hard to notice.
Everard noticed.
Noticing was what Everard did. He'd always been a thinker, and that was what caused him all the trouble. He'd be alright if he could only learn not to think but the minute he stopped concentrating on - on eating, or staring into space, or following someone else, there he'd be. Thinking. And what he was thinking was -
Well it was wrong, wasn't it? What they were doing?
Minty didn't laugh at him when he said that. Minty listened carefully and nodded his head in all the right place and Everard could just feel his voice wandering away into the little embarrassed place where all his explanations seemed to end up.
'It's wrong, isn't it?'
Not much of an argument.
It was one of the things Minty was good at, was arguing. He'd carefully explain to you what he meant and you found yourself nodding before you knew where you were. Found yourself nodding and agreeing and completely unable to remember all the convincing arguments he came up with. And the things was, if you asked, he'd explain again. That was the thing. He'd explain again really carefully and really patiently, only maybe a little slower this time because you were clearly hard of thinking and that wasn't your fault. And the thought of that, the thought of his understanding, that was enough to make you pretty eager not to ask him again.
It was always easier to just go along with the herd, in any case.
But one argument he remembered was a story Minty told. About a nice little farmyard and a nice little boy. And he'd been Minty's friend, that little boy. They'd played together. The boy had seemed almost proud to know him. Had named him, and Minty'd been so proud.
Until he found out.
Until he learned what it was his name meant.
Turn and turn about, Minty said. Survival of the fittest. Farmland Uber Alles. (No one knew what that last one meant, always wondered who Alice was, but it was pretty impressive, nonetheless.)
When you listened to Minty, it all made sense.
When you listened to Minty, when you let him convince you it was their own fault for wandering into the field in the first place, you could almost get past the way they looked so fragile on their two spindly legs. Could almost get past the way their bleating sounded almost like a language as the sheep advanced, surrounded them, moved in for the -
"Out of the strong came forth sweetness," said Minty, as they prepared to eat.
"And from the eater came forth meat."
Everard dutifully parrotted along with the others.
But no one could stop him thinking.
Um.
*giggles*
This one is for
apiphile. I'm sorry, Del. I don't know what you did to deserve this.
Original, in case anyone's interested.
Minty
Minty was just like the rest of them.
Minty - you could see him trying to be just like the rest of them. It wasn't a natural thing, not with him, but you'd have to watch hard to notice.
Everard noticed.
Noticing was what Everard did. He'd always been a thinker, and that was what caused him all the trouble. He'd be alright if he could only learn not to think but the minute he stopped concentrating on - on eating, or staring into space, or following someone else, there he'd be. Thinking. And what he was thinking was -
Well it was wrong, wasn't it? What they were doing?
Minty didn't laugh at him when he said that. Minty listened carefully and nodded his head in all the right place and Everard could just feel his voice wandering away into the little embarrassed place where all his explanations seemed to end up.
'It's wrong, isn't it?'
Not much of an argument.
It was one of the things Minty was good at, was arguing. He'd carefully explain to you what he meant and you found yourself nodding before you knew where you were. Found yourself nodding and agreeing and completely unable to remember all the convincing arguments he came up with. And the things was, if you asked, he'd explain again. That was the thing. He'd explain again really carefully and really patiently, only maybe a little slower this time because you were clearly hard of thinking and that wasn't your fault. And the thought of that, the thought of his understanding, that was enough to make you pretty eager not to ask him again.
It was always easier to just go along with the herd, in any case.
But one argument he remembered was a story Minty told. About a nice little farmyard and a nice little boy. And he'd been Minty's friend, that little boy. They'd played together. The boy had seemed almost proud to know him. Had named him, and Minty'd been so proud.
Until he found out.
Until he learned what it was his name meant.
Turn and turn about, Minty said. Survival of the fittest. Farmland Uber Alles. (No one knew what that last one meant, always wondered who Alice was, but it was pretty impressive, nonetheless.)
When you listened to Minty, it all made sense.
When you listened to Minty, when you let him convince you it was their own fault for wandering into the field in the first place, you could almost get past the way they looked so fragile on their two spindly legs. Could almost get past the way their bleating sounded almost like a language as the sheep advanced, surrounded them, moved in for the -
"Out of the strong came forth sweetness," said Minty, as they prepared to eat.
"And from the eater came forth meat."
Everard dutifully parrotted along with the others.
But no one could stop him thinking.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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Date: 2006-08-10 10:43 pm (UTC)I don't know what I did to deserve it either, but I'm glad I did. You're on a roll tonight! KEEP IT UP!
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Date: 2006-08-10 10:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-10 10:48 pm (UTC)I'm glad you like it. I blame golden syrup.
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Date: 2006-08-10 10:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-10 10:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-10 10:54 pm (UTC)AHEM.
Yes, good inspiration. Good fic. Lalala. STOP LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT.
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Date: 2006-08-11 08:31 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-10 10:44 pm (UTC)*giggling helplessly*
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Date: 2006-08-10 10:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-10 11:56 pm (UTC)*laughs and laughs*
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Date: 2006-08-11 12:10 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-11 12:20 am (UTC)*molests icon*
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Date: 2006-08-11 08:27 am (UTC)Incidentally I have a friend called minty, that made it all the more wrong :D
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Date: 2006-08-11 08:57 am (UTC)