InsaneJournal

Who: William Shakespeare and Elpis
What: It's Thursday afternoon and William is staying after to read some pre-term term papers.
When: Thursday afternoon
Where: The King's College/William's classroom
Warnings: None
Note: Reposted as a favour



The end of the term was close on his heels with an excess of paperwork to seed through. The closer it reached the end of the semester, the more it seemed his students had lost their interest. Some were burnt out, others just bored. Also, it appeared as if William had lost his own excitement with his students, they could see it bleeding through.

Rubbing his forehead he flipped another page from his stack of early term papers. So far, there wasn't anything that gave him the hope and inspiration he was looking for. Any paper that started off with the expression "Macbeth was totally whipped by his wife," couldn't end well. Rolling his glasses up his nose he pinched the bridge with a groan.

"They learn nothing!" he said with exasperation. What was happening to him? He was crumbling inside himself. The end of this year could be far more grave if William did not pick himself up. He had reveled within his own head for longer than usual. This winter was but a cold comfort.

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[info]done_by_hope
2011-11-16 09:58 pm (local) (link) Track This
While Elpis could usually tell when someone needed a bit of her, personal visits were rare. She wasn't one to play favorites and she enjoyed herself most when she could sit, watch the mortals, and let some of her influence seep through. But this was Shakespeare and she wanted to meet him.

Mostly because she imagined him and Pandora were close. The rest was because he was famous. So she walked into the classroom with a grin, making her way to his side. "Oh you shouldn't say that." She responded, waiting for him to notice her, then grinned at him. "It can't be that bad."

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[info]theworlds_stage
2011-11-16 11:26 pm (local) (link) Track This
The voice that carried across his classroom was a new one. Elegant, sweet, and warming. He embraced that sound and looked up, glasses still perched on his nose.

"Good afternoon," he announced forgetting to stand and give a proper greeting. His head was spinning. He gave a light-hearted smile. "Oh, it is..." a pause, "most horrific." His tone was almost bored, those bright eyes exhausted. He flapped out the paper, positioning his glasses enough to read her a line.

"Macbeth was lame. His wife had him completely whipped. Don't you think." He laid the paper down on his desk, "there's more but I'm not so sure it's comprehensible."

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[info]done_by_hope
2011-11-17 01:12 am (local) (link) Track This
"They're just kids. They'll grow." Smiling she took a chair and set it down in front of his desk, offering her hand. "Elpis. I know you're immortal so it's okay. I'm guessing you're the guy I'm looking for."

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did not get a notice what the heck
[info]theworlds_stage
2011-11-17 12:22 pm (local) (link) Track This
"I had hoped to make scholars of these young adults, they've given up on me." He took of his glasses, folding them up to be set aside. Now he took the liberty of standing with a proper introduction. He took hold of her hand with a gentle kiss to the top. "William Shakespeare."

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[info]done_by_hope
2011-11-17 05:19 pm (local) (link) Track This
She grinned to the greeting. Pandora hadn't been kidding about him. She drew her hand back and set it on her lap. "well don't give up hope just yet. So maybe a few don't take it very seriously, but I will bet if you give them a chance they'll flourish." She tilted her head, "besides I think they can tell you're not exactly enthusiastic about it either."

She glanced to the papers, "like the kid who said Macbeth was whipped. Maybe it's wrong, maybe it's a way to see it all through new eyes. You have your idea, they have theirs. Start a discussion, read the entire paper before judging. Just because it's a different idea, doesn't mean it's the wrong one."

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[info]theworlds_stage
2011-11-17 06:01 pm (local) (link) Track This
She was a pretty little thing, strong and proud, which was something Shakespeare could get lost in. A small smile quirked against his lips once she drew her hand away.

"That is quite true, perhaps I'm just looking for something to really shake me to the core." He set his papers aside, leaning against the desk after offering her a seat.

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[info]done_by_hope
2011-11-17 06:25 pm (local) (link) Track This
She sat down, keeping her smile. "You did find it." She motioned to the stack of papers. "You found someone who said Macbeth was whipped and the first thing you said to me was how it struck a cord. Not necessarily a good one, but different opinions do exist. If everyone thought the same things would get awfully boring very quickly."

"Besides you're expecting something from them, and you're unwilling to give it yourself. I can tell you're running on empty. They aren't challenged so why would they challenge you." She smiled again, "now what's got you so on the downs?"

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[info]theworlds_stage
2011-11-17 09:04 pm (local) (link) Track This
It was like the dear girl could see straight through him. How appalling and interesting at the same time! His hands steadied against the side of the desk.

William shook his head, "my faith in myself is slipping. I write, I fail, my inspiration flutters away like wind."

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[info]done_by_hope
2011-11-17 09:19 pm (local) (link) Track This
Smiling she went to pat his hand. "So find more inspiration. There's a bunch of Muses around you know. You can ask them." She shrugged. IT seemed so simple really. "You have to keep hoping, which is ironic coming from me, but not entirely untrue either."

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[info]theworlds_stage
2011-11-17 09:58 pm (local) (link) Track This
"I've met my girls again, times prove to be a little tougher on this old soul. I wonder if my hope is but dried up." He gave her a small smile, eyes glancing to that gentle pat she gave. Oh! She was but so sweet!

"You have quite beautiful eyes, my lady."

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[info]done_by_hope
2011-11-17 10:05 pm (local) (link) Track This
"Hardly. Trust me I can tell. No one is ever without hope." She needed to believe that, or she'd find less purpose in herself. "Besides I'm here to cheer you up." She grinned. "You just have to stop being so hard on yourself."

The compliment made her smile more, "well thank you, but we're not here for that."

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[info]theworlds_stage
2011-11-17 10:19 pm (local) (link) Track This
"An artist is but his own worst critic, even one as vain as myself."

"Oh?" he said with slight surprise. "I could never deny a lady her compliments." He gave her a slight courteous nod. "But you come with a purpose, I see." She seemed to brighten even more at his compliments, he now see why Pandora favored her. Perhaps he could cherish this creature as well.

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[info]done_by_hope
2011-11-17 10:39 pm (local) (link) Track This
"I've heard that before. I can't really say much besides keep trying. Find a new interest. Let something spark you. Don't judge too harshly." She shrugged, then nodded. "I came here to see if I could help you. Which I am trying to do. Hopefully when I leave you have some more hope. I can't inspire but I'm told I listen really well."

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[info]theworlds_stage
2011-11-17 10:59 pm (local) (link) Track This
"Elpis," he said her name as if it were a melody to sing. He hummed letting that name fly off his lips, her presence, her face already sending his mind into a frenzy! There was so much he could work with that face. That beautiful, smiling face! He took hold of her hand, setting it between his own with a soft pat. "You have my dear, already. It was sweet of you to come." He did not let go of her hand.

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[info]done_by_hope
2011-11-17 11:24 pm (local) (link) Track This
She liked physical contact so she hardly minded him holding her hand. "It's what I do. Besides you know my adoptive mother, Pandora, so I figured I'd have to meet you." She grinned, "now, let me listen and share your troubles. I won't repeat them."

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[info]theworlds_stage
2011-11-17 11:59 pm (local) (link) Track This
His spirits were lifting as she spoke, reminding him of Thalia and her energetic personality. He top hand circled fingers against her palm. "Adoptive?" He had not ever expected Pandora, his dark lady, his Sylvia to be the motherly type.

"Keep them locked away, very tight." He smiled continuing to tell her with great exuberance the details of his recent lost love, his dissatisfaction with his writing, the students. William had a flare for drama and he spoke as if the world crumbled right at his feet. A part of him was stuck in the mind of a troubled soul, because it was that trouble that gave an artist the ability to create. He went on to say how the world sucked so much out of him today, broke him off into little pieces to the point where he was sure they had dried him up! So, seeing the faces of uninterested youth with what he had created for the English language was disheartening.

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[info]done_by_hope
2011-11-18 12:18 am (local) (link) Track This
"It's all very Greek," she explained while making a face. "I am going to assume you know the tale of Pandora and the box. It gets so confusing whether me being out of the box is good, or bad. Part of me is still in it, because the day I'm completely out is the day mortals lose all hope. But I've stayed with Pandora for a long time. She became my mother." She smiled, "my birth mother is Nyx, the goddess of Night. She's not very mothery or looks at me with kindness. So I adopted Pandora. Took a bit for her to adopt me back though."

She smiled as she listens. "You are too stretched maybe. Doing this can't be good, or it is. Right now you're letting them take and taking nothing back. See the way I work is I find the people who have the most hope, and often its those who have nothing else. I take a bit of energy from them, and give it back in return. These kids, they believe in you. They study you. Take that into yourself. Embrace it." She shrugged, "that's all I can say really. Who did you write for when you started you know? Go back to that. Find something to write about."

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[info]theworlds_stage
2011-11-19 12:44 am (local) (link) Track This
"I first knew her as Sylvia, then as Pandora, but yes I know her stories well." He chuckled lightly. "It seems she adopts who she wants when she wants." He too had taken time to win her affections and he'd done so quite stunningly!

Something in this darling creature's words rung very true. Like a little bell going off for the first time in years. He was trying to hard, to stand up and be who he had been. "Maybe it's time for a new William Shakespeare." One that the world wouldn't see coming, then they wouldn't have to stretch so thin what he created now.

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[info]done_by_hope
2011-11-19 12:54 am (local) (link) Track This
She nodded, "she does that. But I love her. She's looked after me all these years." Then she grinned, "that's the spirit! We've all had to re-invent ourselves. Just embrace that. Go with it. Explore, and see, and live. Don't just exist."

She was glad to have helped him. "well I'm glad I helped. I need to get going though. Classes." She wrote down her number, "call me whenever. I do an amazing pep talk."

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[info]theworlds_stage
2011-11-19 01:49 am (local) (link) Track This
His fingers slid against the scribbled on piece of paper, giving her a much freer smile than he had before she entered. "I thank you for the visit, you shall indefinitely hear from me." He was certain that would touch her cheeks with pink, as he was definitely enamored with this new, bubbly and hopefully attainable creature. She was quite charming.