Tweak

InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Gwen Cooper is badass!"

Username: 
Password:    
Remember Me
  • Create Account
  • IJ Login
  • OpenID Login
Search by : 
  • View
    • Create Account
    • IJ Login
    • OpenID Login
  • Journal
    • Post
    • Edit Entries
    • Customize Journal
    • Comment Settings
    • Recent Comments
    • Manage Tags
  • Account
    • Manage Account
    • Viewing Options
    • Manage Profile
    • Manage Notifications
    • Manage Pictures
    • Manage Schools
    • Account Status
  • Friends
    • Edit Friends
    • Edit Custom Groups
    • Friends Filter
    • Nudge Friends
    • Invite
    • Create RSS Feed
  • Asylums
    • Post
    • Asylum Invitations
    • Manage Asylums
    • Create Asylum
  • Site
    • Support
    • Upgrade Account
    • FAQs
    • Search By Location
    • Search By Interest
    • Search Randomly

Sweeney Todd ([info]fleetstbarber) wrote in [info]utr_logs,
@ 2008-09-12 20:57:00

Previous Entry  Add to memories!  Tell a Friend!  Next Entry
Entry tags:johanna barker, sweeney todd

Who: Johanna and Sweeney.
What: Family reunion
Where: Fleet St., London
When: Tonight
Warnings: Nothing bloody, I'd hope.


Sweeney had long dreaded and long anticipated this night. He'd never forgotten his precious daughter, looking and behaving much like her mother. He hoped only that Johanna's new sire and mother was being as good of an influence as he thought she'd be. But mostly, he'd been full of remorse and regret.

He wished he'd been able to gaze upon her face just once before they both had died. Barker was never dead within him, even as much as he'd wished that entity in his mind to come undone and gone for good, but Ben Barker had so many loose ends. And Johanna, bless her, was one of those. He didn't wish to be a father to her, he only wished to give her the knowledge that he regretted not being able to be one for her at the point she needed him the most. He regretted that her time with the damned Judge Turpin. And most of all, he regretted that Lucy was never there for her. The poor girl must have been fitful without a loving, warm feminine hand in her upbringing.

He stood at the picture window in the ground floor of his home and waited quietly, sipping the tea he'd just made. He'd sent Sadako out for a while. This was a moment that he didn't think would do well with outside interference. And as easily as Sadako could make herself a non-entity, he still required a private moment with his only child.

(Post a new comment)


[info]notjustblonde
2008-09-12 10:26 pm UTC (link)
It wasn't long before she arrived, walking slowly up the street. She was more sure of herself now than she'd ever been before, she knew enough to know that she was only just learning what she was fully capable of, but what she knew for certain was that she had nothing to fear in the night-time streets of London.

She moved with an easy, careful grace, feet barely making a sound on the pavement, the strap of her reticule was looped around one wrist and her hair was held back with a simple claw clip, she was wearing a dress, because no matter how much she liked being able to wear pants, she just preferred dresses.

She smiled when she saw him in the window, knocking at the door all the same.

(Reply to this)


[info]fleetstbarber
2008-09-12 10:33 pm UTC (link)
He smiled as well, and went to open the door to her, amazed at how very much like Lucy she truly looked. "For a moment, my dear, you could have been mistaken for a ghost of your mother. Do make yourself at home." He said, waving to the couch and chairs.

He honestly couldn't get over it. She was so dainty and delicate looking. That, he knew, was a trick of the eyes. She was much more strong, mentally and physically, than she looked. "You read the journal." Pure statement, leading way to her opinion of it.

(Reply to this)


[info]notjustblonde
2008-09-12 10:36 pm UTC (link)
She settled, almost perching, smoothing her skirt out as she did so, she really was that dainty, she couldn't not be. She may grow out of it eventually, but for now she was still very much a product of her upbringing, "I did." A nod, "And then I read it again for good measure, to be sure I hadn't missed anything the first time through."

(Reply to this)


[info]fleetstbarber
2008-09-12 10:43 pm UTC (link)
He nodded, pouring himself another cup of tea. He thought quietly about his words as he took a seat across from her. "I wonder," he murmured quietly -- the house was quiet enough where his words didn't need to be spoken loudly -- and took a sip, "if I may have missed things in my writing of it. But I do know that my intent was laid there, bare and intended for your eyes alone." His tone was even, almost cold as he spoke. Inside his mind, he was having difficulty distinguishing himself from his past.

He regained his control of things with a subtle, slow shake of his head, eyes going to the liquid in the cup.
"I do not apologize for doing what I had to do. I do, however, apologize for not doing what I should have done in the first place."

(Reply to this)


[info]notjustblonde
2008-09-12 10:51 pm UTC (link)
She reached out to clasp his hand for a moment, smiling, "Sometimes it takes the present to bring the past into focus. Looking back now that I have my freedom I can see hundreds upon hundreds of chances I had to take it before, but I wouldn't have thought to then."

She tilted her head, ever birdlike, "Do you understand?"

It was her way of saying that he was forgiven, really, for what was in her power to forgive.

(Reply to this)


[info]fleetstbarber
2008-09-12 11:01 pm UTC (link)
He nodded at that and put his hand lightly over hers. So cold. He lamented it.
"I do, pet."

He put his finger under her chin to get her to look up, so he could get a proper look at her, his brow still furrowed, his eyes searching. "Well, you seem no worse for the wear. You've become a fine young lady in your own right, and courtesy of miss Sedant, you'll stay that way. I assume she's doing what she can for you. Teaching you about the modern world, teaching you how to hone those skills she's given you?" He sat back and slipped away, taking another sip of his tea. "I entrusted you to her, as she seemed to need some company, and you were wont for a feminine figure in your life. I couldn't dare let you be a part of this home as it is. At least, not as you were. As you know, it's far more complicated than I have ever would have wanted for you."

He finished his tea and set the saucer and cup aside. "A young lady's life should be simple and free in this day and age. She should be unburdened by her past or worried for her future. A modern lady requires self sufficiency over propriety, but does better with both." He almost smiled at that, thinking of Sadako. "And I'm not as equipped as Calliope is to teach you those things. Though I would enjoy having you around."

He smiled then, a faint thing.
"That pendant I sent. It's an amulet of sorts. I bartered with a vampire for it. It should easily protect you from the elements of the day which would normally have you spring into flames. I'm at work during the day, but I would be so honored if you could come and visit."

(Reply to this)


[info]notjustblonde
2008-09-12 11:10 pm UTC (link)
There was another smile then, fingers brushing over the spot where the pendant rested between her skin and the high collar of her dress, "I haven't yet tested that, though Calliope told me what it was for, what it would do. The daylight is still too bright for me, gives me an awful headache." She shook her head a moment later, "And she is providing for me, quite well, I'm learning slowly but surely just how far the world has moved on from where I was last in it."

A slight shrug, hands folding in her lap once more, "She'll teach me to find my own food soon enough, once she doesn't get so terribly tired just thinking about it, and while that isn't all I have yet to learn, it is certainly a large part of it."

(Reply to this)


[info]fleetstbarber
2008-09-12 11:16 pm UTC (link)
"That sounds utterly fascinating; learning to hunt, that is. It shouldn't be too entirely hard, now should it? Everyone's got blood." He leaned back in his chair more comfortably. "My... lady. Miss Sadako Yamamura. She's got quite an incredible list of abilities that I might be able to use to your benefit, should the need arise for you to call for drastic measures. She may be able to help you and miss Sedant in that, should the need arise."

He laced his fingers together as he rested his elbows on the arm of the chair. "Wouldn't want you to go hungry, after all."

(Reply to this)


[info]notjustblonde
2008-09-12 11:22 pm UTC (link)
There was the brighter smile again, shaking her head, "We do well enough with what comes in bags, though I know it isn't the same way things should be done, that it will be different when it's warm and alive and running on its own." She shook her head, brow creasing for a moment, "There's some small voice in the back of my mind that says I shouldn't be so eager for it, for any of it, but the rest of me knows that it's what I'm meant for. Maybe what I was always meant for."

(Reply to this)


[info]fleetstbarber
2008-09-12 11:26 pm UTC (link)
He chuckled slightly, "Nothing's quite as fine as fresh food, my dear. And a living target is something that my dear one would be able to provide for you... provided you don't kill her, of course. Though she assured me she can resurrect herself should that be an issue."

Sweeney looked her over again and smiled. "I believe, my dear, in fate. What God has given you and what you've given yourself or been gifted are all pieces in the jigsaw puzzle of your story. Your story, I would hope, will be far more happy and far longer than mine was. The fact that it's going to be just as bloody doesn't bother me in the least."

Though it probably should have, and he knew that.

(Reply to this)


[info]notjustblonde
2008-09-12 11:30 pm UTC (link)
She was smiling again, "I suppose the little nay-sayer is what's left of who I was, the girl who liked her ivory tower, who doesn't want to believe that things are better this way, that different is good and that we are allowed to take what we want, that sometimes that's just the way things have to be."

That was when the smile went wry and utterly amused, "Which is why I just ignore her."

(Reply to this)


[info]fleetstbarber
2008-09-12 11:37 pm UTC (link)
The last bit provoked a chuckle and a smile from him. "Oh Johanna, you truly are your father's daughter. Take heed in your desires and and let what moves you take control. Victorian principals were never suited to our family. You are allowed so much more now, more than you've ever thought to dream. You are not bound by anyone, not bound by time. You have no bars or limits. All you have is your motivations." He stood then, to go fetch himself a glass of brandy.

"And that's really all you need."

(Reply to this)


[info]notjustblonde
2008-09-12 11:45 pm UTC (link)
She was beaming at that point, it was an expression that in the coming years some men would kill for, and many others would die for, and she was hugging her elbows to herself, almost rocking for a moment in something close to glee, "It really is, and I know that now. Apparently it took nearly a year in bedlam and a sudden, unexpected, shift in time to see it however."

She shrugged then, "I'll go far, once I know how far I can go. To the ends of the earth and back I suppose."

(Reply to this)


[info]fleetstbarber
2008-09-12 11:58 pm UTC (link)
He took a drink of his brandy before taking his seat once more. "I'm sorry you got put there." His voice was somber again.

"Shouldn't have happened."

(Reply to this)


[info]notjustblonde
2008-09-13 12:00 am UTC (link)
She shrugged, just once, "No, it shouldn't have, but it did and that's all there is to be said about it, besides the fact that I'm not there now."

She smiled, shaking her head, "You shouldn't look so worried over it, I've put it behind me now, where it belongs."

(Reply to this)


[info]fleetstbarber
2008-09-13 12:05 am UTC (link)
He wasn't the 'let the past go' type. He looked at her with a quick, careful glance.

"It's good that you can. It's a burden that I'll carry for the rest of my days, to know that my dear girl was made to go to such a wretched place, simply because Turpin deemed it to be the right answer." He sneered at the name of the judge.

"I fathom that his stay in Hell is just as much torture as all the living hells he sent good, innocent people to."

(Reply to this)


[info]notjustblonde
2008-09-13 12:10 am UTC (link)
She smiled again, "I've learnt a word for what it was he thought I was: Recalcitrant, which can be defined as stubbornly resistant to authority or control, or marked with a stubborn resistance to the same."

She shrugged, almost a bounce, "And I was just learning then that I could be, but I certainly intend to keep it up now."

(Reply to this)


[info]fleetstbarber
2008-09-13 12:15 am UTC (link)
That made Sweeney brighten once more. "It truly is a lovely word, though I believe you to be more on the side of individualism than truly recalcitrant. After all, my dear, you show respect to your elders, and you don't openly defy or resist them. You simply go along your own path."

He smiled slightly, "You're headstrong, but that doesn't make you devious."

(Reply to this)


[info]notjustblonde
2008-09-13 12:19 am UTC (link)
She nodded, "Authority or control." She shrugged, looking perfectly at ease, as if she fit right into the little parlor, and perhaps she did, "And respecting someone doesn't mean following them blindly, not hardly. You can respect a person and still openly defy everything they say or stand for."

There was that wry little smile again, "And just because I'm respectful doesn't mean I'm not devious."

(Reply to this)


[info]fleetstbarber
2008-09-13 12:23 am UTC (link)
He honestly wondered how so much of his personality wound up in her when he wasn't around. It suited her. Her mother was also delightfully similar. "You know, Johanna," Sweeney said, taking another sip of his brandy. "I do believe you will be just fine, with that kind of outlook. Don't let it get you into any more trouble than it's worth, however."

(Reply to this)


[info]notjustblonde
2008-09-13 12:28 am UTC (link)
She nodded, having gone demure once more, "I know, I don't intend to get myself into any trouble at all, and certainly none that I can't smile, or at worst, claw, my way out of."

She had no idea just yet how utterly pitiless she could be, just how amusing she would find it when her dinner was begging for its life, no idea, really, but somehow she knew all the same, perhaps it was genetics, perhaps it was just her newly increased awareness of her surroundings, of herself, things she didn't realize but things she knew all the same.

(Reply to this)


[info]fleetstbarber
2008-09-13 12:34 am UTC (link)
Sweeney simply nodded. "Well, my dear. This is a new life for you. I was wondering, as I often do, if you'd be taking a new name for your new life. You're more than welcome to. Johanna is a pretty name, though. Your mother named you that. And since Benjamin Barker is dead and gone and all but a fading memory to even the man he is today, it wouldn't be fair to you, to be chained to that name."

(Reply to this)


[info]notjustblonde
2008-09-13 12:37 am UTC (link)
"I hadn't really thought about it." She said, headtilting once more, "Though I suppose I really ought, leave everything behind and start anew."

She nodded, turning this idea over in her mind, looking at it from all angles, trying to find any unexpected snags in this plan down the way, finally she nodded, "I think I will, as soon as I find one that fits."

(Reply to this)


[info]fleetstbarber
2008-09-13 12:43 am UTC (link)
"I'm delighted to hear it." He said. "And I believe it's getting late. I'm an old man now, I must watch my rest. Sadako has insisted I sleep at some point, I barely rest when left alone to my own devices." He sighed softly and set down the glass of liquor.

"Though my offer is open for you to come and spend whatever time you can with me. Your presence has greatly lifted my spirits."

(Reply to this)


[info]notjustblonde
2008-09-13 12:47 am UTC (link)
She laughed softly at that, though shy and behind her hand, as was fitting, but she nodded, unfolding from her seat, "And by all rights I should be sleeping now too, being nocturnal is taking a good deal of getting used to."

A smile emerged then, "And I think I should like to come by more often."

(Reply to this)


[info]fleetstbarber
2008-09-13 12:54 am UTC (link)
He stood as well and took her hand, leading her lightly across the floor to the door, before pausing there. "I would like that very much, Johanna." That said, he leaned down and put a kiss on her chilled cheek.

"Go have your dinner. You are as cold as stone, dear." He said softly with a smile. "And have a pleasant evening."

(Reply to this)


[info]notjustblonde
2008-09-13 12:57 am UTC (link)
Another smile at that, nodding, "I shall, just as soon as I get home, and you get some rest, you'll be old before your time if you don't sleep, at least for a little while."

She waved then, slipping away into the usual Fleet Street shadows, unsurprisingly at home there.

(Reply to this)

Home | Site Map | Manage Account | TOS | Privacy | Support | FAQs