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the picture prompt meme

1. comment with your character.
2. others will leave a picture (or two, or three...)
( 2a. if you like, link a visualosities post in your top level comment to give people material to work with! )
3. reply to them with a setting based on the picture.
4. for an idea of how this works, see bakerstreet, which is where i stole this meme from!
5. THIS IS A SLOW BURNING MEME IF YOU SAY YOU'RE LATE I'LL SLOW BURN YOUR HOUSE DOWN

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Billy has run into Nelson before - in a book store no less, we keep meeting each other here - but he is kind of surprised to see him hanging around the LGBT section. Not that he didn't have his...suspicions, but you know.

He doesn't mean to follow him though, that's an accident as he turns the corner and oh hello very nice cover of a seemingly very interesting book.]

Oh, Mr. Nelson! I didn't know you were here, sorry!

[ Nelson jumps a little, putting the book quickly aside and jumping back from the shelves like he's being burnt; it only takes another anxious step backward to bring him safely into the section opposite, where he nervously wrings his hands together. You just can just imagine the flopsweat, were this a cartoon. ]

Oh! H-hello Billy-- no need to apologize, I was just... going around putting loose books in their places. No harm done. [ Legit excuse, right... ] What brings you here? Well, that might just be your business. You don't have to answer that.

[Too late he definitely saw the cover and the way Nelson cast it aside.]

It's fine! I was just looking for something new. Teddy and I finished those books we were reading last time, so I was going to find something else. Not necessarily in that section, but I figured it was probably a good start.

Erm, maybe. I wouldn't really know. I was here looking for something good in the historical... fiction, they've, um, got some new war stories, it seems like.

[ He grabs for one randomly, to examine the dust jacket. ]

Anything in particular that you like? There's plenty to choose from.

[caaaarefully picking up the discarded book. to, you know, examine it.]

I don't know, I'm kind of into a lot of things. Sometimes I read more fantasy/scifi stuff but occasionally more "real"ish fiction. What about you ? -- I mean, you were just taking about war stories, are those your favorite?

Edited (shhh i can read) 2013-06-30 21:31 (UTC)

[ Nelson's ears go a bit red as Billy goes about his business picking up the other book, though he continues on as if he hadn't been busted; he nods, putting the book in his hand back and letting himself look over the other spines more carefully. ]

I'm a big fan. They're very gripping, particularly when you get into all the real stories about real men out there doing their duty. The fiction is all right, but, you know... sometimes you're not in the mood for someone's fantasy. [ He taps his chin with his fingers. ] More so since I've-- I was with the USMC a long time ago, so in some ways it feels sort of like going back home.

[real mean, huh? like the one on the cover of this book, nelson?]

Oh I didn't know that! Did you end up fighting a war somewhere?

[ Exactly, Billy. Exactly. It's much more subtle if the book Nelson has with a handsome man on the cover is one about soldiers.

Nelson smiles, relaxing a little as he nods again. ]

I did. I didn't know I was going to have to -- when I first enlisted they only stationed me overseas, but then I had to go to Germany in the 40s. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I had a good time when I was there, but there's, uh... well, you probably know all about how it feels making a difference, I won't get into it.

But-- of course, that's all very familiar. [ He indicates the book he's holding. ] So on the other hand, sometimes fiction is the best respite. Historical, or... crime, suspense, uh, or, I suppose even a romance is all right once in a while. If it's interesting.

That's really brave of you, to have done that. You definitely made a difference.

But you should try those books we were telling you about last time! The Arrested Restraint novels? They're really great, and the crime and suspense aspects are so well written.

Thank you. That's nice to hear.

[ He's clearly pleased, smiling, then he glances aside a little shiftily. ]

I'm just not sure they'd be my-- [ At risk of contradicting himself, whoops. ] Well, maybe. I suppose it can't hurt, just to-- uh, you really like them? I feel like everyone always has negative things to say.

No they're really great, and, hey, if you're into books like this one, [noting that he is still holding the gay photograph book] then you can just imagine the romance aspect that way, too.

I'm not-- listen, it isn't-- [ He clears his throat, still looking away. ] Is that a popular opinion? Thinking the protagonist isn't a woman?

I don't know about popular, but it would explain why it reads the way it does. Like, okay, all of the crime stuff? Completely flawless. Like the author has done serious research there. And the emotional stuff is just. Wow. But then you get to the sex and it's -- I mean, I wouldn't know how to describe those things either, but that really only helps prove the theory.

Well, I don't know about that.

[ He puts the book he was holding back on the shelf so he can crossing his arms, leaning back a little and exhaling. ]

But if it was true I'm sure the author had a good reason for um, the unconventionality.

Oh, yeah, definitely! It's not bad writing at all, I just think maybe it's someone who isn't okay with their sexuality so they've written this story which is really about how they feel, but the protagonist is a girl because it's more normal to them - and if that's the case, i guess I kind of feel sorry for the author.

But that's all speculation, of course! Who knows what the truth really is.

Who knows indeed. I'm sure the author wouldn't ever say so.

Um, but-- you never know, someone can always write one thing and feel another. Anything could have changed between when they were writing it and when they published it. It's impossible to know how other people are feeling. [ He bites his lip. ] Even assuming you're right, it's only... a fiction story.

You think maybe the author got together with his guy since then?

Well. He probably wasn't planning to. Maybe the ending will clarify, but I'd imagine he'd want to separate fact from fiction a little bit.

[ He pauses, then clarifies: ]

"They," I mean.

The ending, like of the next book? I didn't know you were that interested in them!

I'm not! [ He raises his eyebrows and puts his hands up quickly. ] I-I was only speculating, since you were-- er, who can really know besides the author, right?

[nice save there nelson] Yeah, true! I wonder if they'll ever talk about it.

[ Thinking on his feet: it's what he does best. ]

Probably not. There's um, some benefit to remaining anonymous, I assume. They don't have to worry what anyone would think of them.

What's there to worry about? It's a great book with a huge following. It'd be like if Twilight had been anonymously written in the beginning of it.

[a beat and then!!] Though maybe the mystery just adds to the sales. A mystery writer for a mystery series!

[ He smiles a little, and shrugs. ]

Good business sense, at least. [ He pauses. ] If they were writing inspired from their life, maybe there are people they know who would recognize themselves in the story were they know the real author. Not everyone might find that flattering.

Oh yeah, the boyfriend might not be thrilled.