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mountttmase · 1 year ago

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A Mountain To Climb: The Sequel

Chapter Five

Note - so I think this is my favourite chapter so I really hope you love this one 😌🩷 feedback would be very much appreciated

Pairing - Mason Mount × Reader

Word count - 5.1k

Warnings - series will contain fluff, smut and angst

Masterlist

As much as you loved being with Mason, you also loved your own space. Only Freya had ever really spent a significant amount of time in your flat and you mostly hung out at Masons house as it was bigger so you could keep your four walls as your own safe haven. How ever lately you were beginning to wonder what it might be like to have him in your space just like you were in his.

How nice it would be to see his toothbrush next to yours, his shower gel propped up on the side and his favourite mug in your cabinet so you could make him his coffee just as he liked it in the morning.

You’d had a long day at work, endless calls and meetings to the point where it had felt liked you’d barely done anything at all but you’d managed to blag yourself a day off tomorrow and the thought of waking up without an alarm made you happier than you ever thought possible.

You’d just sat down when you felt your phone start to ring, looking down to see a picture of Mason lighting up your screen and you felt your chest flutter at the sight of his goofy smile.

‘Hey, Mase. What’s up?’

‘Hello love. I’m just leaving training and I thought I’d check in. You alright?’

‘I’m okay, I just got in. You up to much tonight?’

‘Nah I was just about to head to the shop and get some snacks. I fancy some cookies but someone won’t make me them’ he teased and you couldn’t help but smile.

‘Well maybe if you ask nicely I might make you some now. I think I have everything’ you told him, your eyes flicking through your cupboards as you made your way into your kitchen. ‘I think I just need chocolate chips’

‘Well I still need to pop to the shop anyway so I can get those and bring them round if you want?’ he told you and you felt a little excitement roll through you at the thought of seeing him today as you didn’t have plans to see him until the weekend.

‘Oh, yeah okay then’ you smiled, thoughts of you and Mason making cookies and being all domestic making you blush and your brain was speaking for you before you could stop yourself. ‘Hey Mase? When you get here do you um… do you maybe wanna hang out for a bit? Maybe we can make them together? Only if you have time’

‘I’ve always got time for you’ he laughed ‘but yeah, if you’re sure?’

‘Yeah of course’

‘Okay cool. What about dinner? You eaten yet?’ He questioned and you could tell he was trying to play it cool about spending time together. You usually liked some notice and for things to be planned so the fact that this was so off the cuff was strange for the both of you.

‘No not yet, I’ve only just got back so I haven’t even thought about dinner yet’

‘I could grab us something while I’m there, how does pizza sound?’

‘Sounds perfect, thank you Mase’

‘I won’t be long, give me 20 minutes or so’ he told you and after a quick goodbye he was off.

You used the time before he got there to quickly get changed into something comfy and have a quick tidy up before getting out all the ingredients you needed and start to weigh them out. You were almost done when a knock on your door snapped you out of your trance.

‘Hey’ you smiled, opening your door to a red nosed and fluffy haired Mason.

‘Hey gorgeous’ he smiled, giving you a quick peck as he passed by. ‘You good?’

‘Yeah, thanks for all this’

‘That’s okay. Where do you want it all?’

‘Kitchens fine’ you told him, leading the way so you could unpack it together and get the pizza in the oven as you were both hungry.

‘You started without me?’ He questioned, head nudging over to some of the ingredients you’d already weighed out before he sent you a wink. ‘Shall we get going? What have I got to do?’

‘Well I was hoping I could get a proper kiss first’ you teased, suddenly becoming a little shy as you played with your fingers and he rolled his eyes at you with a smile before pulling you closer by your hips.

‘Needy girl’ he whispered before ducking his head to kiss you gently. You deepened it instantly, wanting to properly feel him after a few days without his touch and you let him back you against the wall behind you so he could trap you. You knew you loved kissing Mason, but right here right now made you realise how much you really loved kissing him. His body pressed firmly to yours as you gripped onto him for dear life, knowing you needed to take a breath soon but you couldn’t bare to part from him for even a second as he dipped his tongue into your mouth so he could lazily brush it against yours. He broke away eventually, lips pouty and eyes wide as he placed a few kisses across your cheeks before one final peck on your lips. ‘That better?’

You couldn’t speak, just nodding your head shyly as he slowly removed himself out of your grasp and made he way back into the kitchen.

‘So you gonna show me or what?’ He laughed, sending you a wink as you shook yourself out of the little daze he put you in before going to stand with him.

‘I’ve weighed it all out so you just need to put in what I tell you to’

‘Okay let me get ready’ he laughed, quickly whipping his hoodie off and you subconsciously bit your lip at the sight of his abs that we’re on show for a few seconds as his top got stuck to his hoodie. ‘Oi, eyes up here’ he laughed, tilting your chin up so you could look at him before he quickly kissed your nose. ‘You got an apron for me or anything?’

‘No sorry’

‘Should I take this off too then?’ He teased, gripping the neck of his plain white T-shirt and you shook your head whilst pulling it back down.

‘No way, or we really won’t get anything done. Just be careful and if you get dirty I’ll just wash it for you’ you told him before passing him the first few ingredients that he added to the bowl gently. ‘Now I need you to use those big arms and beat them together until it’s all fluffy’

‘Just sit back and be amazed’ he laughed, eyebrows raising before mixing everything together with a wooden spoon and you sat and watched with a gentle smile on your face as he pretended it was a hard workout for him. Once it looked good you told him what else to add and it wasn’t long before he had his dough together on the work surface.

‘Right, roll it up into a tube so I can put it in the fridge’

‘Now I’m no expert, but I thought these have to go in the oven?’ He asked, raising his eyebrow adorably and you couldn’t help but laugh at his confusion.

‘Eventually yes. But I like to let them set up in the fridge for a bit first. Gives us time to eat the pizza too’ you told him, pinching his bum as you walked passed him and sending him a cheeky wink as he looked at you in shock.

You were just checking the pizza through the window in the oven when you felt him brush up behind you, his hands snaking around your body until they made contact with your chest. You were shocked to say the least but after a quick squeeze he removed them to reveal his floury hand prints in your black T-shirt.

‘Mason’ you laughed, turning to face him but the the subtle bite of his lip let you know he was feeling as cheeky as you were. ‘What was that for?’

‘Just felt like it’ he winked, hands now gripping your bum to leave the same prints there and you pinched his sides playfully.

‘Stop that, you’re getting flour everywhere. Go find us something to watch, I’ll bring the pizza in’

‘I’ll take the drinks in’ he murmured, kissing your nose before going over to the fridge and you only just noticed he’d picked up a bottle of your favourite which made you smile as you took the pizza out of the oven.

Mason turned the tv on to some random channel, re runs of how I met your mother playing in the background as you sat next to him, your legs dangling over his lap as you rested yourself against him and you felt him relax into the cushions.

‘Can I tell you something that might sound a bit weird?’ He asked after a little while and you couldn’t help but notice how vulnerable he looked. ‘I know I haven’t spent a lot of time here, like this is basically my first time here really, but I feel strangely at home? Like sometimes my house feels a bit big for just me? But here it’s cozy and it’s like I can forget who I am and just be normal for a bit. Like I haven’t thought about football once since I’ve been here. I like being with you and feeling like I’m part of your world. Does that make sense?’

You felt your eyes prick as he quietly explained, knowing exactly what he meant as it felt like he’d clicked into your life and your space so seamlessly and you felt like home around him too. You quickly cupped his jaw, stroking his cheek before kissing him softly.

‘I feel the same’ you whispered. ‘Frey is the only person that’s ever really been here and I was a bit nervous about having you round after I’d asked but now you’re here I don’t want you to go’

‘I don’t want to either’ he chuckled lightly, pulling you to him so he could scatter your face with tiny kisses.

‘What are you doing tomorrow?’

‘Got training at like three I think, but nothing in the morning’

‘Will you stay then? I’ve not got work tomorrow and I promise I’ll make you breakfast’ you winked and you watched him blush at your proposal.

‘I guess I could. I’ve got my wash bag and some spare clothes in the car from training’

‘Would it be weird if I told you I got you some stuff in my food shop the other week?’ You laughed, covering your face out of embarrassment but he just held you tighter.

‘Like what?’ He teased, his lips in your hair as he couldn’t get to your face but you were still not able to tell him on the off chance he might think you’re a bit weird. ‘Come on, tell me. Or I’ll have to go have a look myself’ he laughed and as soon as he started to shuffle like he was about to get up you made sure he stayed down.

‘Fine. It’s nothing really I just got some of that shower gel you like and some deodorant but that was mainly because it had your face on it and I’m trying to bump your sales up’ you told him, referring to his Sure deal. ‘Oh and I got you a toothbrush’

‘You didn’t need to do all that’

‘I know but that first night I stayed at yours, you had everything I needed and I’m so used to being on my own I thought I better get some just in case you ever did want to stay’

‘Well thank you’ he whispered, bringing you in for a soft kiss that made your heart flutter. ‘I hate to ruin the mood but can we make the cookies now’

‘Come on then, you big baby’ you laughed, getting up and leading him back into the kitchen. ‘Now cause it’s in a roll we can can just cut them up. I’ll get the tray for you to put them on’ you told him, your hands trailing across his body as you walked passed and you felt him stiffen slightly at the contact, clearly not used to you being so touchy with him but there was something about him being in your space that meant you didn’t want to take your hands off of him.

‘How thick do I need to make them?’ He asked as you brushed up beside him before you ducked under his arm that was resting on the work surface so you could stand in front of him and cut one first to show him.

‘You’re being very cheeky’ he laughed, his hands finding your hips as he placed a soft kiss to the back of your neck before crossing his arms over your body so he could pull you into him.

‘Is that a problem?’ You giggled, shivering at the feel of his beard against your skin before he playfully nipped your ear.

‘Of course not’

‘Good, now cut the cookies’ you told him, turning in his arms to quickly peck his lips before leaving him to get on with it. Once all of his cookies were placed on the tray you popped them in the oven and started the timer on your phone.

‘How long do they take?’

‘About 12 minutes?’ You told him, walking over so you could wrap your arms around his shoulders. ‘You know, there’s a lot we could do in 12 minutes’

‘Oh is there?’ He laughed. ‘Like what?’

You smiled seductively at him, kissing along his jaw until your lips reached his ear so you could whisper to him.

‘The washing up’

He didn’t say anything, just pulled back so he could look at you, your favourite smile on his face as he stared down at you lovingly whilst shaking his head ever so slightly. You could feel yourself melting under his gaze, heart racing as he looked at you the way his was.

‘Better find me some gloves then’ he joked, squeezing your sides before you both quickly washed up and got everything away just in time for the timer to go off. You quickly set up the cooling rack to place them all on but you had to swat Masons hands away when he tried to take one causing him to pout at you adorably. ‘Hey, I want one’

‘If you wanna burn your mouth then be my guest. Just give them five minutes and they’ll be cool enough’

‘I wonder what we can do for five minutes’ he teased, pulling you to him before sitting you up on the counter. His hands were on your thighs as he stepped between them, yours reaching up to grab his shoulders as his lips found your neck and you moaned louder than you’d intended to as he sucked on your sweet spot.

‘Mase’ you breathed, tugging on his hair so he would look at you and you watched the way eyes darkened at the feel of it. ‘Kiss me’

He didn’t need telling twice, kissing you forcefully and pulling you even further against him. You couldn’t stop smiling as your hands were all over each other, hungry for the taste of each other and the feel of each others skin and you nearly lost it when he groaned into your mouth as you bit his lip, pulling away from you breathless.

‘I think we better stop before I get carried away’ he laughed, kissing your nose and tucking your hair behind your ear gently. You nodded in agreement, kissing his nose in return before reaching to the side of you to grab you both a cookie. His eyes nearly rolling back in his head as he took his first bite. ‘Fuck I love these’

‘Well you can make them yourself now you know how’

‘Nah I think I’ll still get you to make them’ he winked and you shook your head playfully. ‘It’s getting late, shall we start getting ready for bed?’ He asked quietly, and you nodded before he helped you get down. ‘I’m just gonna run down to my car and get my stuff’ he winked and in a few minutes he was back and you were leading him into the bathroom.

‘You can have the first shower, I’ve put your stuff in this draw’ you told him, opening the second drawer down in your cabinet to show him everything and your heart fluttered at his wide smile.

‘You are the cutest thing’ he laughed, cupping your jaw and kissing you gently. ‘Come shower with me’

You felt your whole body tingle at his words, the pair of you had never done this before and you were a tiny bit nervous but you agreed straight away. You’d barely been able to keep your hands off each other all night and the thought of getting to touch him properly made you knees weak.

‘Okay’ you whispered, letting him undress you before you jumped into the shower to get the water running. It wasn’t long before he joined you, and as much as you wanted to rake your eyes over his body, you kept them on his face. His eyes burning right back into yours before he quickly placed his shower gel on the rack next to yours and you couldn’t help but smile brightly at him.

‘C’mere’ he told you quietly, reaching out grab you by your waist and pull you into him so he could kiss you and your hands automatically reached up into his wet hair. He kept the kiss short, pulling back so he could grab his shower gel and pop some in your hands before putting yours in his so you could wash each other. The feeling of his abs rippling under your fingers made you clench your thighs together and you had to hold yourself back from kissing him or touching him anywhere inappropriate. You didn’t need to look directly at him to tell he was hard but you sat back and watched him rinse himself before he tugged you under with him.

His hands were all over you, brushing all the suds off to help rinse you but when he pushed you back against the wall and got down on his knees so he could reach a bit lower you didn’t stop him. Biting your lip as you carefully watched him spread your legs apart by your thighs a little bit before flattening his tongue right where you needed him.

You gasped at the contact, you hands finding his hair immediately as he licked away at you but it was only short lived. As soon as he knew you were getting into it he removed himself from you and stood up. Turning the shower off with a wink before making his way out.

You stood there in shock for a good few minutes, anger boiling inside of you but you knew you’d be able to get what you wanted, you just needed to be a bit firmer with him and show him who’s boss. Quickly drying yourself, you made you way out to find him. You didn’t bother getting dressed, just wrapped the towel around you before eventually finding him in your room, sat on the end of your bed in just his boxers whilst he was texting away on his phone but he placed it down as soon as you stood in front of him. Smiling up at you cheekily as he knew he was in for it.

‘Now Mason, that wasn’t very kind of you was it?’ You asked as he shook his head at you. A bright smile on his face that he tried to suppress by biting his lip but the blush that covered his cheeks and nose was giving him away. ‘You forget, we’re in my house right now so it’s my rules’ you told him seductively and he couldn’t help but let out a shaky breath as you dropped your towel to the floor so he could look over your naked body. ‘Lay down for me’

‘W-what?’

‘Did i stutter? Lay down’ you repeated, pushing on his shoulder lightly until his back was flush against the sheets with his legs off the edge. You quickly climbed up his body and placed your knees either side of his waist so you could hover over him, your hair hanging down and almost creating a protective bubble for the two of you as you propped yourself up on your elbows. ‘Now, im gonna take a seat on that pretty face of yours and you’re gonna finish what you started, deal?’

‘Okay’ he breathed, his eyes wide as he followed your every movement.

‘Good. And if you don’t make me cum then you don’t get to cum after’

‘But-‘

‘No buts Mason’ you whispered against his jaw before you kissed it. ‘Be good for me, I know you can do it’

You didn’t give him time to respond, crawling up his body so you could hover over his face but by the way he was helping position you and the way he sat you on his mouth, you knew he was loving every second. In the past when you’d had casual flings or one night stands you were never one to be shy in the bedroom. You were never seeing these boys again and you knew what you wanted so you were more than happy to take a little bit of control. It hadn’t really been that way with Mason though, trapped under his spell from the word go and each time you’d been physical lately he’d had you exactly how he wanted you.

Something about being in your house with him though made your inner monster come out but from the way he was reacting he seemed to be in his element. You wondered to yourself why you didn’t try it sooner as he was a sucker for praise in general so this seemed like a natural carry on from that and you figured this might have to be a new thing with him to try with him more often.

‘That’s it, Mase’ you breathed, linking your fingers through his so he wasn’t tempted to touch himself. ‘Keep going, that feels so fucking good’ you told him, grinding down on him even more as he squeezed your fingers and moaned into you.

You’d been in this position many times before now, him seeming to want to have his face in between your thighs every chance he got so he knew how to get you where you needed to be pretty easily and now with the threat of not being able to cum unless you did, he was working extra hard to get you there.

‘Fuck, I-I’m close’ you breathed, unable to get another word out as your whole body tingled and your high coursed through you. You couldn’t help but laugh as he road you through it, eventually placing your hands on the bed in front of you and lifting your hips so he could slide out from underneath.

In the next second his hands were on your hips, dragging you back to the edge of the bed and you yelped in surprise at his forcefulness before laughing. His strength surprised you sometimes but you loved it when he pulled you around like it was nothing.

‘Good job, Masey. You ready for your reward’ you teased, shaking your bum at him and even though you couldn’t see his face you would of bet your life savings he was smiling and rolling his eyes at you.

You didn’t have a chance to say anything else, his hand was on your bum and he was thrusting himself in immediately causing you to grip the sheets and moan loudly as he didn’t give you a second to adjust. It wasn’t long before he was pulling you up by your waist so your back was flush to his chest, hands roaming your body until one was wrapped around your throat and the other was teasing your clit until your eyes were rolling back in your head.

‘How’s that, hmm? Am I still doing a good job baby?’ He breathed into your ear, his voice dripping in sarcasm as you tried to grab onto him in any way you could. He had you in a pretty strong grip and you knew you wouldn’t fall but the force he was pounding into you with was relentless and you didn’t know what to do. In the end you gripped onto one of his arms with one hand and buried your fingers in his hair with the other causing him to lean forward and start sucking your neck.

‘M-Mase, it’s too m-much’ you cried but he just shook his head into your neck.

‘No it’s not, you can take it’ he told you and even though you felt him ease up the tiniest bit it still was a lot and you knew you wouldn’t last much longer. ‘You’re squeezing me so tight, I’m right with you yeah just cum for me’

It didn’t take much more, but the feeling of you letting go for the second time that night made him release just after you, moving his arms to your waist so he could keep you up while you both got your breath back before tapping you on the bum as he pulled out so you could run to the bathroom and get sorted. You didn’t have anything to change into so you quickly slipped your bathrobe on before cleaning your teeth and heading back to your room. Mason was just on his way out by the looks of things, back in just his boxers and he sent you a cheeky smile before dipping his head to kiss you lovingly.

‘I’m just gonna clean my teeth. Is it alright if I grab a water?’

‘Of course, there’s some bottles in the fridge. Can you get me one please?’

‘Sure, won’t be a sec’ he smiled and you used the time he was gone to quickly pull on some pjs and get under the covers to wait for him to come back. As soon as he did, you noticed the slight blush on his cheeks and the cheeky smile to which you raised your brow at him before he let out a chuckle. ‘Now am I seeing things or is there a picture of us on your fridge?’

You felt yourself blush immediately, knowing exactly what picture he meant. Right in between two pictures of you and Freya from various nights out was the picture you’d taken of the pair of you sat in his car as you munched your way through a McDonalds. You hid your grin and you face planted the pillows, laughing loudly as he slipped into bed besides you and reached over to place your bottle of water on your bedside table.

‘Come on, don’t get shy on me now’ he laughed whilst prying your hands away from you face and you looked up into his kind eyes knowing that everything was fine and he loved the fact you’d added him to your little collection. He dipped down to kiss you gently and you felt the butterflies erupt in your tummy as he stroked over your waist gently. ‘Can I ask you something?’ He whispered as he pulled away and you felt yourself go ridged about what he might say next.

‘Um yeah, okay’

‘Well at the end of every season we have this end of season dinner and we get to bring a date if we want. I normally go alone or with Chilly but all the other guys are bringing their girlfriends and if Chilly’s taking his then I want to take mine’ he winked and your eyes grew wide of the use of the term girlfriend. The pair of you hadn’t had the conversation about what you were even though you both basically knew but you watched his eyes go as wide as yours at the realisation of what he’d said. ‘Shit, sorry. That kind of slipped out. I’ve been referring to you as my girlfriend to people cause I didn’t know how else to say it I mean-‘

‘Mase it’s okay’ you laughed resting your hands on his shoulders and running you thumbs up and down his neck gently as if to comfort him. ‘Ive been referring to you as my boyfriend’ you told him sheepishly, your own face flushing as he smiled down at you.

‘Oh, well I guess solves that then’ he laughed before placing a loving kiss on your lips. ‘So will you come with me?’

The thought of a big fancy event with loads of people you didn’t know scared the living hell out of you but the hopefulness in his eyes softened you and you couldn’t help but nod your head and agree.

‘Is Sophia going? Maybe she can take me dress shopping’ you laughed and he smiled down at you before kissing you softly again.

‘Thank you, baby. This really means a lot to me’

‘Well, you do everything for me. It’s about time I pay that back’

‘You do a lot for me too’

‘I don’t think cookies are equal to everything you do’

‘But they’re delicious and that’s all that matters’ he laughed before you tugged him down with you, his head resting on your chest as you raked your fingers through his hair. ‘Can I tell you something before we go to sleep?’

‘Of course you can’

‘I thought it was really sexy earlier when you put me in my place and took control’

‘Oh yeah?’ You laughed, your face flushing as he ticketed your side gently and kissed your chest.

‘Mmhmm, I’ll have to be bad more often’

‘No you bloody won’t’ you laughed tapping his nose as he scrunched it up adorably.

‘Night girlfriend’ he winked

‘Night boyfriend’

Tagged: @chaotic-taco-collector-blog @footiehoemcfc @mm-vii

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starssaroundmyscarssblog · 26 days ago

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𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐒𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐖𝐒 (part one)

pairing: teen!noel gallagher x fem!oc (fern gibson<3)

summary: in which noel and fern meet for the first time, because their underage friends are trying out new fake id's

word count: 3.12k

warnings: underage drinking, swearing (ofc)

a/n: i finally found a visual for fern!! it's young kate winslet but i know people like to imagine characters in their own ways, so feel free to continue to do so, i just prefer to have my own visual to base my characters off 💙

also thank you to this ask which reminded me i had this lurking in my drafts for months

PART TWO IS HERE

it was always dinner parties. always the dinner parties, planned down right to the wire three weeks ahead of time, where something would be forgotten. usually, it wasn’t anything tragic - one december, fern’s mum had forgotten to remove the gravy stain from the embroidered table runner, so they had to make do with an equally as festive red instead. another gathering, about a month or so later, mr gibson had forgotten to adhere to the dress code he himself had set. his pocket square was green instead of navy, so he hastily excused himself and was back in time for the mandatory photograph by the fireplace. the world kept turning, just like it always did.

until one day it didn’t, and fern’s planned afternoon of solitary revision was thrown out of the window. granted she had launched herself from the landing and into her desk chair when she heard footsteps coming up the stairs, looking up innocently at her mum, who was flustered and stressed as she knocked on her open bedroom door. “ferny, you need to go to the printers shop.” she was rushing out her words so fast she didn’t hear the phone trilling persistently from somewhere behind her.

“what?” fern questioned, unsure she’d heard incorrectly.

she had not.

“your dad, bless his heart,” this sincerity she severely doubted, since they’d been arguing over the square plates and the benefits of long-stemmed wine glasses since the early hours, “forgot to pick up the place cards on his way home from work yesterday and we’re both too busy to pop and get them now.” fern blinked, staring down at her textbook and blinking back at her mum. maybe she could blag out an excuse and say she really needed to revise for her english exam the following week, but fern’s dad knew her teacher and then would know it to be a lie.

“but the shop closes at four.” it was quarter past three.

“well,” mrs gibson said as she bundled fern up into her coat and passed over her car keys, “you’ll just have to get a shift on, won’t you.” her tone left no room for debate. instead, fern trailed slowly down the stairs and stuck her head into the living room, where her dad was meticulously dusting grandad’s war medals. he looked up when she cleared her throat, and it seemed he was just as hung up over the place cards as his wife was. “thanks, ferny. sorry for interrupting your afternoon. everything’s very quiet up there, are you doing okay?”

“yeah, just trying a new revision method chesc mentioned. it’s not working very well.”

“ah well, just stick to what you prefer. are you off now?”

she nodded. “is there anything else you need me to get while I’m out?” at this, her dad’s eyes lit up. he strode into the kitchen and handed her a shopping list, written on the back of an HMRC envelope. fern scanned over it quickly before shoving it into her coat pocket. “right, i don’t know when I’ll be back. some time after half four, and no later than five. bye, mum!” she called up the stairs, and stuck some plastic bags into the glovebox for the impromptu shopping list.

the print shop was still open by the time she’d arrived in the city centre and parked somewhat nearby. fern sped past a few pubs all lined with people settling in for a Saturday night of listening to the grand national and ducked into the shop. she recognised the boy behind the desk; he attended the local catholic comprehensive. “hey, connor,” she said, watching as his face flushed when he pushed his glasses up from where they’d slid down his nose.

“is it the usual for collection?” he questioned, flipping through a folder of invoices until he reached ‘gibson’. then tonnor disappeared into the stock room, and returned minutes later with a sturdy white box full of glossy place cards and cheese-board labels. “you’re picking it up a bit late today, aren’t you?”

“well,” fern hauled the box into her arms, “it’s been a chaotic week. see you soon, connor, have a nice rest of your day.”

“bye, fern.” he echoed, watching as she walked past the window with a little smile. connor looked down, and realised he was still holding the plastic bag he was going to offer her to protect the delicate little cards against the oncoming rain.

the place cards were set securely on the passenger seat just in time for the rain to start, and fern buttoned up her coat right to her scarf, dragged out from where she kept one in the boot of her car. there was an off license on the corner of the nearly abandoned high street, sure to be busy with life after six o’clock, the lights flickering through the darkened afternoon. she made a beeline for the small shop and pushed open the door, the bell jingling and mixing with the low hum of the fridges. fern looked around, grabbed a small basket and reeled off the list in her head.

cat food, in jelly with no fish because otherwise felix would bat it away with an indignant mewl. some crisps, nice ones with abstract flavours in large glossy packets. guests weren’t fussy and would eat anything presented to them in a delicately painted sharing bowl, but her mum insisted. benson and hedges, two packs, incase anyone wanted one between the main course and dessert. fern pulled a few bottles of wine off the top shelf too, clanging them together by accident as they rolled around in the bottom of the basket. she asked for the cigarettes politely, and smiled when she handed over the cash.

the bell above the door signalled her departure, and the smell of damp pavement in anticipation of the rain followed her all the way back to her car. fern sped over the crossroads in the high street, past the tram station and the betting shop. two boys were stood outside, rain soaking their matching haircuts, laughing until the younger one began to pester too much. “c’mon noel, do it.”

“nah,” he shrugged, “it’ll never win.”

“only a quid, please? It’s called ‘geespot’, it’s hilarious.”

“no,” the older one insisted harder, grabbing who fern assumed to be his younger brother by the arm to frogmarch him to the bus stop.

“but-“

“shut it.” he snapped, awkwardly smiling at Fern when she caught his eye in the reflection of the shop window.

she gave a similar one back, walking away and back to her car. fern put everything in the boot and turned the hot air onto full blast, to dry out her hair and the rain that had soaked through her jumper. water bounced all over the dual carriageway as she tapped her finger against the steering wheel in time to the tape in the deck.

once she was back home, fern set out the cards in the same place as they always were, then shot up the stairs to get changed quickly. for once, she’d been excused from the arduousness that always encompassed the evening, to go out with eloise and chesc. they’d initially planned a quiet night in, but eloise had finally turned seventeen and wanted to try out the new fake id she’d managed to get her hands on.

fern took the time to curl her hair, then deflated when they dropped out a few minutes later. her outfit was casual, a skirt she could get away with leaving the house in, and a maroon top she’d borrowed from a friend that she’d just forgotten to return. she took a jumper, obviously, in anticipation of her dad’s questioning of practicality, and tied it over her shoulders just as the doorbell rang.

“oh henry, martha, it’s wonderful to see you both. i wouldn’t have minded if you’d turned down my invitation, you know, what with-“

“bye mum.” fern chirped, hoping to slip past henry and martha with as little interaction as possible. mrs gibson gave her a gentle peck on the cheek and ushered her out of the door, only for mr gibson to pull her back like the boy had done to his kid brother. “say hello to henry and martha before you go, darling.” he insisted, though his eyes gave away he was just trying to get her to be polite for the sake of appearances.

she inwardly cringed. “hi,” she mumbled, but at their expectant, patient, matching smiles she managed to struggle out a half-hearted “it’s lovely to see you both again, have a nice evening.” she darted out of the house, stopping short when she saw a tall figure leaning against her car door. “hugo,” she sighed, “what are you doing here?”

he shrugged, pushing himself off her car. “well, mum and dad are here, so…” here he gestured to himself, “i, er,” he rubbed the back of his neck, “i miss you,” hugo eventually managed to get out, “i’ve been meaning to give you your stuff back.”

“yeah, i know. i stopped by a few weeks ago, but you weren’t home. your parents said you’re at durham now, that’s good.”

he huffed, “it’s not bad, you know. you would like it there. and I know mum and dad miss you, as well. they liked you.”

again, she repeated, “yeah. i know.” fern moved to unlock her car door and got into the drivers seat, watching out of the corner of her eye as he meandered slowly up the garden path, like he was hesitating. “um, hey,” hugo called out, turning back on the heel of his overly polished loafers, “i don’t know if your mum told you but i changed my degree to philosophy.”

“she did, sung your praises.”

“ah. well, i just wanted to say if you needed any help with your a-level just say the word.”

fern smiled. “i know.”

noel gallagher was having a shit afternoon. it was raining, for a start, and his mum had just told him to go and get liam from where he’d spent the night with a mate. waking up being the only one in their small room was heavenly - there was no snoring, no complaining, and not a single sprawled out twelve year old in sight. “why can’t he come back on his own? it ain’t far.”

at his mother’s stare, noel slammed his mug down on the kitchen table and grumbled as he pulled his trainers on. “quit ye moaning,” peggy called from the kitchen, as he shut the door behind him.

he fished around in his pocket for a cigarette, a joint - anything. there was only a lighter in one and a crumpled up fiver in the other. liam’s mate lived a few roads over, a ten minute walk if he actually cared about picking him up in time to get back for an interview with the smiths on the radio before he went out with mark. “stupid twat,” he mumbled, kicking a stone along with him as he walked, “can’t even walk ten minutes home without a fuckin’ minder.”

eventually, danny’s identical looking house hoved into view, given away by the battered red car that was parked along the curb. noel walked up the small path and knocked impatiently on the door. danny answered, his face falling when he realised noel was standing there alone. “you’d fit right in at the grand national today, long sulking face like that. what’s got yer knickers in a twist?”

“where’s becks?” danny questioned.

“not ‘ere, off shaggin’ her new fella. is r’kid in?”

the small boy’s face fell. “oh. yeah. hang on, i’ll get ‘im. come in, i guess.”

noel stepped inside. there was a pack of fags on the stairs, so he took one and shoved it in his back pocket. ‘why put them there,’ he thought as he slid another one out for good measure, ‘if they weren’t for communal use.’ all of a sudden, liam came clattering in from the kitchen, trying to balance his football on the end of his shoe as he stuffed a slice of burnt toast into his gaping mouth.

“what the fuck are you doin’ ‘ere?” it was a statement, not a question. “isn’t your precious band doin’ an interview this afternoon or what?”

“yeah,” noel lit up his ‘borrowed’ cigarette as he passed liam his bag, “but you’re so ‘precious’ that mam thought you needed a fuckin’ police escort to get you home without someone bashing yer head in.”

“and i got lumped with you instead? jesus wept it must be my birthday.” liam sneered, reading around his brother to try and grab at his cigarette. noel held it above his head and dragged him over the road to the high street. he walked casually into the offie, discreetly slid a tube of polo mints into his pocket and paid a few quid for a pack of benson and hedges.

somewhere near one of the pubs liam had gravitated to, connor, the specky kid in his year, was stumbling over his own hands in the printing shop, gazing dumbstruck at the girl who’d just walked out with a smile towards him. he watched as she tucked a box onto the back seat of her car and pulled a thick scarf out of the boot.

priss.

noel managed to pull liam away from the pub just as fat drops of rain began to fall, dampening the pavement and wetting their trainers. they stood infront of the betting shop, and he quickly explained how odds worked while his brother feigned interest and laughed intermittently at the stupid names. there was a small tug on his jacket sleeve, and liam prodded him in the hand just for good measure. “can you put a bet on this one?”

he was actually considering it, until he saw the name.“c’mon noel, do it.”

“nah,” he shrugged, “it’ll never win.”

“only a quid, please? it’s called ‘geespot’, it’s hilarious.” liam was staring up at him, eyes wide with his plead.

“no,” he tried again, but to no avail as when his brother opened his mouth again noel grabbed him by the arm and made to drag him by the shoulder all the way home.

“but-“

“shut it.” a flash of red caught his eye, the same colour of the girl’s coat he’d seen before looking back at him in the shop window.

she was pretty- well, pretty enough for noel to understand why connor had worked himself up into a fluster. he didn’t see many girls at school, none really, but he knew they all hovered by the gates at half past three from the days he actually used to go to school. noel would have recognised her, definitely, though the delicate upturn of her nose when she smiled tentatively back at him gave away a slight ‘holier than thou’ attitude he thought she could lose.

liam laughed at him all the way home because of it. noel shoved past him when they got home, the sounds of his mum coddling his brother drowned out when he slammed the door of their shared bedroom shut and flicked on the small radio he’d paid for from the catalogue.

mark wanted to watch the grand national, which meant he was forced into a pub fortunate to have a small tv behind the bar. noel sat at the bar, spinning around the half-empty glass of his second pint, watching with halfheartedness at the final three races of the day. he finished his drink and signalled for another, surprised he was actually getting served so far from greater manchester - they were in hale, because mark preferred to watch horse racing rather than listening to it. “then I know firsthand if i’ve made a few quid or not,” he said, “and if i win the next round is on me.”

for that reason alone, noel had agreed.

the pub was bustling with the saturday night rush, all eager to get a few pre drinks in before people trickled into the clubs of their choosing. mark, who’d previously been fiddling with a toothpick, leant forwards so he was leaning on the bar when his betted race was about to start. somewhere from the telly, there was a gunshot but noel’s attention had been dragged to the same red coat as earlier.

she was stood there again, nose perpetually upturned, eyes fixed on the screen as her friends ordered their drinks. without tearing her eyes away she handed over her purse, clearly happy to pay for whatever the two girls were giddy about receiving. as the race drew to a close, mark let out a boisterous cheer as his horse cantered across the line first and that was enough for the corners of the girl’s lips to draw upwards as she clinked glasses at a table with her friends.

“oi, mate, are you fuckin’ listening to me or what?” noel pushed his hand off from where mark was shaking him insistently. he shifted in his chair and took a long sip of his drink, eyes drifting back to her, unable to look away as she peeled her coat off her shoulders and set it gently over her chair. “yeah, ‘course I am.”

“what did I say then?” silence. “yeah, i thought so. ser too busy mooin’ over that priss over there.”

“i ain’t moonin’. just… lookin’. snd now i’m listening to ye, so go on then. what d’ya want?”

“you got the cash to buy the next round?” noel glared at him. he’d only dragged himself forty five minutes away from cheap pubs and even cheaper girls because he was banking on free drinks. “i know i said, but i ‘ave to get it from the shop tomorrow, so i can give it back then.”

“fuck sake! yer still owe me the money to put the fuckin’ bet on! and that was only because I thought yer wouldn' get away with it in the shop.”

mark’s grin had returned, however, and noel followed his gaze over his shoulder. she was standing at the bar again, chin resting on her knuckle as she talked easily with the girl behind the bar. her hip was jutted out an at angle that was only intoxicating, and when mark silently urged him to talk to her, he was close enough to see the shade of her lipstick perfectly matched the thin red belt snaked around her waist.

noel watched as she reached out for the three glasses, holding them deftly in her hands as she steadied herself for the walk back to her table. “d’yer want any help with that?” he rushed out before he could stop, giving her the same awkward smile as she set the drinks down on the beer mats.

“oh, thank you. we’re just over here.” noel trailed after her, spurred on only by the measly thumbs up mark had sent him on his way with and the thought he might actually get to have a conversation with her that went beyond the realms of ‘hi… bye’.

she wasn’t hard to keep up with, the table was only a small distance away, but he kept getting distracted by the way her hair brushed against the low-cut back of her top. noel gently set the glass down on the table with a half-hearted smile to the other girls, and watched as she batted something away under the table. he guessed it was a pestering hand from one of her friends. “hey,” she said, far too loudly, “did you ever put a bet on that horse?”

noel was genuinely surprised she remembered. from his recollection, she was smiling at him to be polite in the awkward way people do when they accidentally catch someone else’s eye. “oh. nah, r’kid wanted me to but he’d have lost me a quid ‘cause it didn’t even win.”

“ah.” she took a long sip of her drink. “um, well I’m fern, it’s nice to meet you.”

“noel. pleasure.”

fern. it was a pretty name, much nicer than some of the other’s he’d heard being yelled down the roads on mornings he had to have the window open. judging by the pearls around one of her friend’s necks, he was willing to bet they had equally as refined names, but ‘fern’ seemed to suit her and noel had never looked at anyone before and thought their name suited their face.

“do you want another drink?” fern asked him, eyeing his empty glass he’d left behind at the bar. his friend was looking at them both curiously, and when noel turned back around and gestured to his glass, he nodded enthusiastically. he stood up, downed the last dregs, and slung his arm around noel’s shoulder.

“mark. nice to meet ya.”

fern smiled, though this time it looked slightly forced. “fern. and this is chesc and eloise.”

chesc and eloise seemed startled at the second new arrival. “hey,” eloise said, while chesc gave a small wave with her fingers. “ignore them,” fern said, standing up, “they’ve got their hands on a fake id and they haven’t tasted freedom since they were on the residential trip to france in primary school. do you mind helping with the drinks again?” this question was directed at noel, and he agreed within a second.

“what’re you drinking?” she asked him as they stood at the bar. noel couldn’t help but notice she was stood in the same way, only her hip was angled closer and she was leaning towards him looking content to be there. “anythin’, i’m easy.”

she smiled. “good.”

🪩⁺˚⋆｡°✩₊🎸

#noel gallagher #noel gallagher x reader #noel gallagher x oc #noel gallagher fluff #noel gallagher smut #oasis #britpop #fluff #manchester #90s #fem!reader #fem!oc #oasis x reader #noel gallagher x fem!oc #oasis x fem!oc #oasis x oc #smut #oasis smut #oasis band

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kerothi · 5 months ago

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character headcanon generator — 10 headcanons! Generate 10 headcanons and share whether they're true or not. Repost, don't reblog.

Jean's favorite color is pink. — False. Not that he hates it or anything, but his favorite is blue.

Jean steals other peoples clothes. — True. Applies to men only (t-shirts and hoodies) and is definitely a good sign that he fancies said man.

Jean is very good at using chopsticks. — True. He's just good with most fiddly things in general. Boy got those piano fingers.

If the source media was a musical, Jean would be the one character that asks why everyone is singing. — True... While also singing.

Jean doesn't own a single pair of matching socks. — False. All that needs to be said there, really lol.

Jean reads Ao3. — True. He absolutely would though. Jean would have ships for all his favorite shows and do not look in his bookmarks. ">_>

Jean has a pet dog. — True... Eren counts, right??

Jean is a horrible liar. — False. But debatable, it depends who he's lying to and why. He's good at blagging though. Can and will rob most people (but especially strangers) blind at the poker table. Cannot bullshit a friend when it comes to something too deep or serious.

Jean tells dad jokes. — False. Jean tells jokes that are bad, but I wouldn't necessarily call them dad jokes. He's not quite there yet lmao.

Jean is very willing to eat inedible things. — False. He is the one trying so hard to wrestle it out of the daring one's mouth because don't be stupid, your body can't digest that, how are you not dead yet already, oh my god.

Tagged by: @polishedforsurvival (tysm!! ♥)

Tagging: @praesidi | @calcitration | @naitfall | @worldhell & anyone that wants to!

#—headcanons.#standby;#that was v silly and fun ty for tagging me jen! c:#eren isn't escaping the dog allegations now WATD's back #sorry boo ♥

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brighter-by-the-daly · 2 years ago

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Rachel Daly x Millie Bright x Reader

Part Four - Departure

Posted: 22/04/23, Edited: 24/09/23

AN: Thank you to @ac3may for the late night brainstorming sessions for this series 💜

“I’m gonna miss you sooo much!” Rachel whined from the drivers side of the car. “We’re only going for a week Rach!” Millie chimed from the back seat, poking fun at her best friend’s need to have you around 24/7. “You’re not in love, you don’t understand!” your girlfriend snapped in jest, “well that’s a bit rude” Millie muttered to herself barely in earshot but just loud enough that you heard her. “This is the longest we’ve ever been apart!” Rachel’s whining continued as she placed a hand on your knee which you ignored. She’d been determined to wind you up since last night and was getting on your last nerve, “I can’t remember the last holiday I went on” sighing as you continued to daydream out of the window at the passing scenery. “Oh okay, do I not exist? Can nobody hear me?” Rachel looked around the car at the two girls next to her dramatically. Rolling your eyes before turning your head to look at your woman, “so this is my life is it? Stuck to you forever?” your side eye burned a hole in her head partnered with a smirk to show you’re playing with her. “We haven’t even been on holiday together yet and you’re going with Millie! I heard that eye roll by the way. I’ve lost count of how many eye rolls you’ve done during this journey!” Rachel’s tone jokey but extremely jealous you were going away without her. “Oh my god you needy little bitch!” Millie straight face stared at her bestie in the rear view mirror. “Do you know how badly I need a holiday!?” “Yes! You don’t shut up about it! When you get to Champion’s League, then you can have a holiday!” Millie swiped at her causing you to smack a hand over your mouth to hide the giggle coming from within. Rachel’s hand tightened the grip on your knee hearing you trying to hold back your laughter, knowing all too well that once one of you starts laughing, you’re all gonna set off and once you three start, there’s no stopping you. “Well I’m sure you two will have a looovely time without me” Rach continued sarcastically “just think of me when you’re soaking up that sun yeah! You sure as hell need some Brighty!” The banter inside the car was too much for your hand to hold back as the laughs came flooding out of your mouth making the other two to erupt in laughter as well. “In all seriousness though..” Millie leant through the middle to look at Rach “we won’t miss ya!” she mocked, trying her best to act serious but struggled to keep a straight face as Rach attempted to swipe at her behind the seat. “Wooow okay, maybe I’ll find a new best friend and girlfriend while you’re away” she said acting smug with herself. “I’d like to see you try and find someone that’ll put up with all your crap!” you hit back at her as you interlocked your fingers with hers. “I think you’re both being very rude!” Rachel ended in a silly voice as she pulled into the airport car park.

Chelsea lost the first leg of the Champions League semi final which you all watched together the day before. Even though she was injured, Millie was always going to go to Barcelona with the girls but with so many players injured, there was plenty of free space on the plane and she’d managed to blag you on. Who says no to a free holiday? No one, that’s who. Rach had encouraged you into going and was excited until you got in the car this morning and started to act unbearably needy. It was cute really but you liked playing with her, she knew you’d miss her too but at the moment you were having fun with it.

Lugging the bags out of the car Millie walked away to take a phone call leaving you and Rach alone. Sinking into the boot of the car you took a moment to say goodbye “I am gonna miss you yknow” you said stroking her forearm knowing it makes her feel tingly. “Of course I do, you don’t hide it very well” she winked as her elbow prodded your ribs. “Don’t do that when I’m leaving” you shoved her shoulder gently “what? Wink?” she pushed as she winked harder and repetitively in your face causing you to push her away with more force, “okay you ruined the moment! My last memory of you won’t be my hot and sexy girlfriend, it’ll be the pain in the arse I somehow fell in love with!” you laughed. “Oh you know exactly how you fell in love with me” her sultry tone paired with her bedroom eyes came as close to your face as possible without actually touching you, making your stomach do somersaults and resisting her impossible. Grabbing the back of her neck you pulled her into a slow and passionate kiss goodbye.

“Ahem” the sound of Millie making her presence known broke you both apart “we’re boarding, we better go”.

Rachel carried your bag and held your hand tightly through the terminal until you reached the gate where the team were congregated. Passport in hand you hugged your girl as the team filed through border control, there were club photographers and social media personnel everywhere. Assuming Rach wouldn’t want to kiss you on camera you said goodbye and turned to join the queue. You should have known Rachel wasn’t going to have any of that as she grabbed your wrist pulling you back towards her and embracing you one last time, feeling flashes of light on your skin as your lips locked together. “I’ll miss you princess” your speech soft and a little emotional as you tucked her hair behind her ear. “Have an amazing time beautiful, I love you so much” was her response and with that you were swept through to the plane tunnel, “I love you more!” you called out to her as the door closed. “Never” Rachel smiled under her breath, the distance between you already making your love for each other grow fonder, something you didn’t think possible.

Part Five - So Far Removed

#rachel daly #rachel daly x reader #millie bright #woso masterlist #woso x reader

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unitedbydevils · 6 months ago

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We need more signings, we got more injuries...

Does what it says on the tin tbh.

United brought in a second, different style of striker in Joshua Zirkzee to provide competition and rotation with Rasmus Hojlund - then we lose RH to a hamstring injury. 6 weeks out.

United brought in the young starlet Leny Yoro to replace Raphael Varane - and then he breaks his foot and has to have surgery. 3 months out.

Maguire and Lindelof push for a return to match fitness... and are both out. Luke Shaw managed to make it back for England late in the Euros but is now not match fit. Tyrell Malacia is alive but ???.

The upside is that this sexy bastard is back, and that's basically like a new midfielder given the length of his absence last year, but that's one player - who works as a 10 or an 8 or a wide playmaker. Useful, but not positions we're immediately in danger with.

United's next move needs to be a new CB and a new CDM; someone to replace Lindelof and someone to rely on instead of Casemiro. Case looks leaner than last year but that could be a blag or it could be temporary. Who knows.

Can Hannibal play as a midfiend marshal? Is Collyer ready to step up? My gut feeling is no to both. I'd like Ugarte, and to swap Sancho for him. Again, the spidey sense isn't tingling for this though. Who knows who we'll get. Worth a look at my gaffer's vid on Youtube about alternatives to Ugarte if PSG play hardball.

youtube

Beyond CDM, I think the De Ligt/Mazraoui double move is on. I really do. I think it needs AWB sale to probably West Ham, and someone else (Lindelof? McSauce?) to be shifted too. I'm bored waiting though. Patience isn't my thing, especially with the Community Shield tomorrow and the league start the Friday after.

HURRY, INEOS, HURRY.

#manchester united #man u #man united #man utd #manchester reds #ineos #rasmus højlund #joshua zirkzee #leny yoro #Matthijs de Ligt #Noussair Mazraoui #Youtube

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thestalwartheart · 1 year ago

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this mess we're in

As 007 walked into his dimly lit garage on an otherwise uneventful Thursday evening, Q knew he must have looked a picture. He felt all the blood leave his face at once, and it must have made him look horrified and sallow, for that’s how he felt looking at Bond: utterly despairing. Whumptober fill for the prompt, 'working to exhaustion.'

[Read below or on AO3.]

Q was a man so ignorant of his own face that, on a busy day, someone could have asked him the colour of his eyes, and he wouldn’t have been able to give them an answer. Occasionally, however — though it was very, very rare — he could sense what his face was doing and knew exactly what reaction he wore.

“Quartermaster,” greeted Bond.

Even that one word seemed dragged out of him. He was certainly as well-pressed as ever, but for the first time since Q had met him, it was the fine suit that was wearing him, not the other way around. It seemed about the only thing holding him together because between the sling over his left arm, the bloody carvings of shrapnel from his brow to his chin, and the ferocious black eye he was sporting, little else was in order the way it usually was.

“Goodness,” said Q. “You look awful.”

“Lovely to see you too.”

Q’s brow furrowed. “Are you not supposed to be in Medical?”

“I’ve been discharged.”

“Have you.”

Once upon a time, Bond never would have lied to Q. With a cheeky smile at his lips, he would have admitted to blagging his way out of there, softening the rules somehow (usually by softening one of the nurse’s hearts).

But that was the thing, wasn’t it, when everything was all akimbo with someone? When you were no longer sure where you stood.

For god’s sake, Q chastised himself. He should never have slept with the man. But Q’s tender heart was always getting him in trouble, and when Bond had smiled — really smiled — for the first time after M died, the sky was a bright pink, the weather was warm, and the booze was, honestly, excellent, so Q had given into the foolish thought that they all deserved a moment of happiness.

It was a story as old as time.

“I need a gun,” said Bond without fanfare. It was another evasion.

“You can have one when you’re next in the field. I’m certain Mallory isn’t letting you go anywhere looking like that.”

“It was Mallory who sent me down here.”

“I have half a mind to call him.”

“He’s busy.”

“Is he.”

With an annoyed tilt of his head, Bond growled. “Do you have something to say, Q?”

“Yes,” Q snapped, even as he felt the futility of everything. “You should be resting. Not…I can’t just assign you a gun when you can hardly shoot it.”

It was the wrong thing to say. Bond’s shoulders tightened. It must have caused him pain, but he was a man highly tolerant of pain, and it didn’t show on his face.

“I’ll rest when the job’s done.”

For a moment, he could have been the old M. Q didn’t have to wonder who had instilled in Bond this attitude, this belief that he himself must do all the work that needed to be done, no matter the cost to his body or soul. No matter the cost to anyone else.

“I can shoot,” said Bond more calmly, perhaps realising they were getting nowhere. “It’s my right that’s the gun arm, remember?”

Q put his face in his hands and rubbed at his eyes. It was seven pm. He ought to be home with the cats.

“Q…” Bond’s unmarred hand reached out to stroke at Q’s shirtsleeve, which was rucked up around his elbow. When Q looked up, Bond’s demeanour had changed. His eyes blazed in a familiar way, and suddenly, Q could see a pattern unfolding before him. A polymorphic engine unspooling.

Oh, he’d been lax for a man who prized himself on his pattern recognition skills.

It was the same look Bond levelled at him whenever he wanted something. A gun, a favour. Q’s mouth around his cock.

Q drew his arm back quickly. Sharp disgust niggled at him. He supposed it was his own fault, though possibly his late parents had something to do with it. His whole life, people had been telling Q he was special, one of a kind. The best in his class. The best European hacker in a generation. The best Quartermaster they’d seen this side of the new millennium. So it stood to reason he was something special to Bond, too, except when it didn’t. Except when Q believed himself so exceptional as to have turned — really turned — the straightest man in the Service, unlocked the key to his vaulted heart and coaxed out at least a unique friendship, if not more.

Now, however, Q was getting a sense of what it was like to be one of many.

“You’ll get yourself killed,” he sighed helplessly.

“I always come back,” replied Bond. It was the kindest he’d sounded since he’d stepped through the door. Q suspected it was also the closest thing he would get to an apology.

“What will you do if I don’t give you the gun?”

Bond shrugged. “Find another, I suppose. One not as good.”

Q didn’t have the energy to parse whether Bond was bluffing or not. Instead, he went and retrieved a palm-print encoded gun, and he added a radio for good measure. He suspected Bond wouldn’t use the latter; they’d been working together long enough now for Q to catch onto the things that were sanctioned and those that were not. Only the former required a radio.

Still, better to offer and not be needed than needed and not there.

“That’s the last favour you’ll get from me,” said Q, handing over the kit. “If one can even consider it a favour, in your condition.”

Bond smiled. “Thank you, Q. Enjoy your evening.”

Q watched him leave, limping as he went, a gargantuan example of ego and self-sacrifice in one fallible body, and Q knew as well as Bond did that his threat wasn’t true in the slightest. Whatever Bond wanted from him, that’s what he’d get. Except, perhaps, the judicious use of Q’s mouth in pleasant places.

There were weapons, and there were weapons. Q wasn’t about to hand Bond the thing that could hurt him most.

Not again.

#00q #00q fic #my fic #james bond

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hottakehoulihan · 2 months ago

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Wicked

tl;dr I wasn't overwowed and I hesitate to endorse it, but I had fun and would like to see the next...or maybe I'll just hunt up the book.

and I figure you could do the same so either you want to read a long yammer about it (yay for you! You can!) or you don't intend to and you want to read yammer (yay!) or you just like yammers (!) or you're going to spare yourself and will avoid clicking this "Keep reading"

I don't think my hot-take on the movie will be that interesting but skip ahead to the line if you want it; I'm just blagging here

I never did read the book, and as a Bible-belt USA-ian I don't live near much in the way of theater (and as an IRL introvert I don't have an easy time getting out of the house)

but I used to get real joy out of hitting the matinee quite often; I'd catch a Ghibli remake or a weird art film about once a month.

And then COVID hit and I haven't been to the theater since.

Until today, where I found myself walking with freedom at hand and whimsy in my heart. And Wicked seemed cool. I seem to like old-people music and Wicked is pretty old, so it felt like a good gamble. ...also I read literally all of L. Frank Baum once. I don't remember much. I wonder if I could do it again?

Anyway, I found myself at a theater. And as I'm kind of a country mouse, I struggled to even figure the place out. No humans nearby, and the movie "Queer" was also showing but no poster to explain what it was (I could have pulled out my smartphone but eh...I'd have had to kill an hour waiting for it to start, if I'd bought that ticket.)

So Wicked. For a noon-thirty showing there were only five other people in the theater; a pair of women in the front row, a guy in the row behind me, and a guy in the very back. And me. And the popcorn I got which...I arrived in the theater at precisely the time the film was to start, and then sat through a full half hour of advertisements for other films (why isn't Tom Cruise dead yet? Oh yeah; he's rich and has a captive stable of people to bleed the blood and souls from.)

And the last of the advertisements was for a sequel to a CGI-fur sequel to Lion King? So dumb; there's no emotive quality in having "The Incredible Journey" style photorealistic-animals-as-voiced-by-people. Even "The Incredible Journey" (not sure I watched the whole thing; it was on a TV at one point and I'd read the book in elementary school) probably only succeeded because it came out when videos of animals were a novelty and you could get excited about watching Rin-Tin-Tin or something.

Even though, as Rachel Lindt pointed out, the dang dog changed every few scenes (I haven't ever watched or read anything RinTinTin. I think I owned a tattered used Lassie book once.)

Anyway, to the movie

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=-=-===-==-=-=-=--==--==-=-=

If I ran things I'd put a lot of effort into making the first musical number be so arresting, be-hooked, and singable that...

Well probably people DO try. But dang if 'Ding Dong the Witch is Dead' isn't a banger, and I couldn't name two songs from Wicked 2024 now (mere hours after watching it) without long meditation. Hmm. ...okay, I could, but three is Right Out.

But it starts, after the obligatory dancing and singing about the woman's death

(My leading lover tells me that having to live as someone who can't be touched by water and therefore cannot easily bathe or easily enjoy the comfort of a bath or shower would be a big step toward becoming a bit standoffish and intolerant of the company of others. ...a reasonable point)

with the good witch (an elfishly thin hollywood blonde) doing the necessary of corroborating that yeah, The Witch is dead and celebrations are in order and now she needs to go powder her nose so they can continue without her

and you can tell she's not super enthused

and she almost makes her escape but someone asks her

"Wait, were you once her friend?"

and this leads into the flashback that is actually the movie.

(and probably the book)

The movie ends at what I think is the first act end so if this is a classic three-act --nope I websearched it Wicked is TWO acts--anyway the movie goes only to where our green-skinned friend becomes known as The Witch

and her green skin is not just real, it's important

(and see, green skin isn't really part of the Frank Baum books. It was invented for the movie and became such a part of culture that I think there's a chance--I'm not researching this for that you want EducatedEssaysEscobar or something--that maybe the Wicked musical becoming a cinema work was delayed by copyright nonsense about having a green-skinned witch)

because this story has a sprinkling of arguable diversity. Lots of the characters are black, a few are asian, one or two are "Hollywood fat", many are short, some are little people, exactly one is in a wheelchair,

oh, and there are talking sapient animals somewhat integrated into society

yet for some reason, when momma (who had an affair and it's hinted it was with Oz?) gives birth to her first child, the girl comes out green and everyone gasps in horror, fear, and even disgust. And daddy says to "take it away".

And the talking bear nursemaid (except probably she didn't do the nursing with bear teats but who knows?) takes care of young Alpheba (I guess that's her name; maybe the book explained it as a lazy take on "alphabet" like the nursemaid picked the first word in the abridged dictionary that seemed namelike?)

And then later her-father-the-mayor sires another daughter and mommy dies and the daughter grows to elementary school age but is alas handicapped (the only physically handicapped person in all of Oz as far as we know) (oh and all of this happens offscreen during a time skip) and now Alpheba (henceforth aka Emerelda or Eme) enthusiastically helps younger sister when possible but of course daddy still hates her.

Much later we find out that little sister's handicap and mommy's death (oh yeah; she died. We also find this out then) are because daddy had mommy OD on folk medicine for good birth so that he didn't give birth to another green girl.

Anyway, none of this matters. The story truly starts--with adult-sized Eme--on the first day of college. Little sister is gonna go to school. Eme's gonna go live in the woodshed forever. Little sister wants people to stop babying her and stop FUCKING TOUCHING her GODDAMN CHAIR. ...but at the last minute Daddy orders Eme to "help" little sister and for some reason Eme is dutiful (possibly guilt over inspiring daddy to push mommy to overdose) and this doesn't quite work

but actually? Now the movie is REALLY starting

because we are introduced to Skeleton Barbie!

No, that was unkind. She's very thin, very blonde, and very very PINK.

But that's all intentional and

anyway they have a meet-contempt

and then they flirt with ...I'm not sure I fit the phrase "toxic yuri"

but I am oversplaining

I went too long

shortening

Blondie leads a bullying campaign against Eme but it turns out Eme has magic powers.

And see, there are two teachers at this school.

A goat who teaches history. Some strong nods to censorship in classrooms are present for this part of the film. Because apparently talking animals have been subject to hate crimes and some of those crimes happen during this film, along with implied holocausts.

A sorceress. Played by whitehaired Michelle Yeoh.

Michelle Yeoh (Henceforth Miyo because I don't bother learning names) sees Eme's magic manifested (strong poltergeist) when someone starts dragging little sister (in wheelchair) to class against everyone's will.

And Blondie wanted to be teacher's pet but Eme's gonna get the role, so Blondie steps up when Miyo asks for a volunteer and ends up accidentally ceding part of her richgirl private suite to Eme so that Eme can attend school on a Miyo-scholarship.

So yeah, Blondie and Eme dislike each other and are stuck with each other and Blondie is automatically Popular and so ostracism/mockery/bullying-lite happens to Eme

And Miyo has contempt for Blondie but Blondie is too self-important and used to getting her own way to register it.

And meanwhile Goat teacher befrends Eme because Eme understands what it's like to be Different

Different

Given the somewhat-too-long-or-perhaps-not-to-my-taste musical dance numbers (I suspect I like musical numbers and I like watching dancing but merely tolerate musical dance? I am still figuring myself out) and the strongly-done-intentionally-unsubtle conflicts, I had some time to look away from the screen and ponder things

and I was trying to figure out the "Different" and if it was a specific theme or it it was just a theme.

Like, the presence of some "Hollywood Fat" actors, some Asian actors, and many little and black actors suggests to me that they're trying to make it be not about skin color or body type.

and while the only queerness I see so much as a hint of in this is the possible sapphic tension between Blondie and Eme (and I do not think there is much; I think it's a stretch and they're both written as heterosexual)

Soooooo neurodivergence?

That's all I've got. If we're gonna make this an allegory, I think that's it. Otherwise, I think they're really trying to avoid making an allegory and are trying to say "Different" because they mean "Different."

Which works.

Because I'm fucking weird. I've had decades to learn to pretend to be normal and I can mask and blend with the best of them

but it cracks and people are jerks and so I felt some of this in a way that wasn't pleasant

even though it was intentionally (IMHO) unsubtle

(I can't say hamhanded or hammy (a word that derives from using lard as cold-cream-makeup-remover I think and leaving a ham smell) or anything because I think that's a calumny and that if an ordinary story needs (and it does) three hints for every one the author intends the audience to catch, a campy musical needs "hints" to be "stomp stomp")

anyway

speaking of allegory

the talking-goat (Doolittle, I think was actually his name) professor is leading a sort of underground information network among other marginalized talking animals and Eme finds out about it and about their struggles

and she's horrified, but then even more horrified when on the second day of class with him (the first was cut short when hatecrime-grafitti was uncovered) he's arrested and dragged off by jackbooted thugs who don't want him teaching his woke history, and then the new guy shows up and starts teaching about how if you abuse talking animal babies enough they never start talking and isn't that great

and Eme snaps

and puts the room to sleep

Except for the guy

I didn't mention the guy

he's the male lead I guess.

He had a meet-contempt with her earlier when he almost ran her over with his horse

and he shows up to the library and start stomping on books and kicking them around and singing about how being dumb is the best way to be happy so college is stupid and they should all dance with and fuck him

and all the people there want to fuck him. This is the other gay thing in the movie I forgot, but everyone wants him

Except Eme

Except when she puts the classroom to sleep, he's the other one who doesn't fall asleep and so he helps her rescue the baby lion kitten from the torturecage the new evilteacher brought

and they have a romantic moment while they're releasing the kitten near a mountain stream

but she later sings that she can't touch him (henceforth Dude) because Blondie and Dude have a thing going on...so no hoping for the pretty guy

and I suspect that in the book she wasn't as into him as in this movie, but she's a little into him

but anyway Miyo stumbled across the sleeping classroom and thinks "Yay! My pet project is so cool I'm gonna write Oz about her!"

See we know that you can ask to meet Oz and he'll grant your wish if you're cool enough.

And Miyo got Eme an invitation.

Oh, and also Blondie and Eme became friends. ...because Blondie accidentally did a favor for Little Sis and Eme decided to force Miyo to let Blondie study sorcery. ...and Blondie realized that Eme was kind of badass a little? It's ambiguous, but Blondie seems to have a heart in there under all the privilege.

And so Eme drags Blondie off to Emerald City

and Oz is played by the Jeff Goldblum, who has been evil in 100% of his roles I think.

Yes, especially his role as "Doctor Chaos; releaser of dinosaurs"

so it's no surprise that when he points her at the book of DOOM

that she can read it and cast spells (whups; gave the enslaved monkeys wings!) and that he has been faking it for years

but she doesn't know that yet and when he offers to make her not be green she's like (earlier she sang a very transparent "I want" song about how she'd maybe like to not be fucking weird and instantly ostracized all the time) "That's sweet but actually could you do something about the hatecriming and genocide?"

and she finds out he has been bringing new and exciting ideas from the enlightened land of Omaha and that vilifying and marginalizing the animal peoples was his idea

oh and Miyo is his sidekick

and so blondie and Eme try to run away

and Eme tries to cast the monkeywings spell on herself but it fucks up and she just gets a flying broom

and Eme escapes and learns to fly but Blondie is stuck behind

and the flying monkeys are still slaves to Oz. Not sure how that'll change. Right now they're slaves because Oz has their families as hostages.

Well.

Anyway

yeah this is where we got "Intermission"

and I'm reminded of a Bob the Angry Flower strip, where Bob is happily reading 1984 and kicking his feet over the side of the bed and saying "Ahh Winston, how are you going to get out of this one?"

Or like a lover said as I started Red Dead Redemption 2: "We played the first game. This is a prequel. We know this is a tragedy."

...so...I'm kind of eager to watch the next movie, and kind of frustrated that I watched what amounts to half the story, and kind of feeling silly for signing on for a lowercase-t-tragedy

And I think the catchiest song is maybe the one at the end where Eme (I'm intentionally playing off of "Esme" from Discworld) sings about how she'll never know what's impossible for her until she tries and so she's gonna try defying gravity

or maybe it just stuck with me the longest because it's at the very end

Maybe the best song is "all you need to know is that you're better off knowing nothing" that was sung in the abused library around all the getting-mangled books

(not okay with that)

(They were hollywood books. The end credits should have had a scene saying "no books were harmed during the making of this film") but no.

(There's no stinger after the credits; I sat through them just in case)

Okay, the two main actresses? Blondie and Eme? They were pretty. darn. good. at. acting.

The songs? Forgettable. I just reviewed the list. Forgettable. IMO.

The story? Remains to be seen. Even as an origin story, it's not there; she's only been cast out and declared other at the end of the first film; she still hasn't committed to DOING anything.

Ultimately I don't advise you to avoid it but I cannot endorse anyone seek it out either.

And if I had it to do again I might wait until I had them both on DVD.

Or I might get the book and skip the movie entirely.

<shrug>

#HHH.txt #Wicked 2024 #wicked the movie #Wicked Spoilers #anti-wicked #not really but I'm trying to think of how I'd warn people I'm not being nice to their “comfort media”

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goldstargloww · 1 year ago

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twitch_clip

[martyn, eloise, and bek are talking to/about alison (npc)] martyn: see, sh- i told ya! [opens eloise's backpack without anyone knowing] eloise: did she really-…? [martyn takes a bucket of blobfish out of eloise's back and shoves it in his inventory] martyn: she gets well angry about that martyn: right, i need to go get some… [has to stop talking in order to not burst out laughing—you can kind of hear it in how his m turns into a b at the end of "some"] martyn: uh… i need– yeah, i need to get more wool for the store [bek and eloise continue talking as martyn starts leaving] martyn: [very quiet whispering] oh my god martyn: [trying to stay quiet] run. [amused half-hyperventilating] martyn: [laughing] run, run– she doesn't know about backpack locking! martyn: [laughing and volume steadily increases] she doesn't know! just run! just run away! go! martyn: [laughter's died down, but still amused] oh my god– just keep going..– ohhhh… martyn: just go.. i- u- nobody tell her, okay?–

twitch_clip

martyn: –so i think i'm gonna do this eloise: hang on– eloise: how'dju– eloise: martyn. eloise: i swear to– martyn. eloise: now hang on. martyn: …heh? eloise: hang on. eloise: where'd you get that blobfish? martyn: i got it, like–… martyn: [breaks a bit] martyn: …two hours ago :D? [strained, trying and failing not to laugh] eloise: martyn? eloise: [laughing a bit] martyn, where'd you get that blobfish from? martyn: [grabs the blobfish out of the barrel it was being sold in] martyn: [quickly and strained, trying not to laugh] don't know, i don't know what you're talking about, there is no blobfish, i've never heard of a blobfish– [stops as he ran out of breath, he didn't have much to begin with] eloise: there was! there was a blobfish in there! martyn: n- i- i've never seen one! [still strained] eloise: there was a blobfish in there, martyn! martyn: y– you're gaslighting me–! eloise: i'm not gaslighting you! martyn: [begins running away] and i won't stand for it! martyn: i won't stand for it! [finally starts actually laughing] eloise: now, [unfortunately/fortunately] for me, i have [lost/locked] my back– [fades out of distance as martyn runs off] (i couldn't tell which one she was saying, sorry) martyn: just run! just run! [laughing in such a way that he isn't really inhaling and is therefore quiet and strained] martyn: lose her in the sewers! lose her in the sewers! [caught his breath, more normal again, but still audibly amused] martyn: there we go, this is fine– shhshhshhshhshh… [climbing under the deck towards where the sewer entrance is] martyn: oh, god [whispering, barely audible] martyn: [shaky exhale both out of amusement and panic] martyn: i've been meaning to go this way anyway, to check if there's– [quietly, but vocal (not whispering)] eloise: [fairly indistinct talking in the distance, presumably to chat] martyn: [laughs, but he's trying really hard to keep it near-silent]

twitch_clip

martyn: [laughing] she finally noticed– martyn: it only took about– - two hours martyn: i just- i don't know why that to me is so hysterical martyn: i literally– i couldn't get the words out to even try and blag… -that, i hadn't taken it martyn: i just– honestly, i just– siezed up martyn: it's what we call in the industry, as uh, corsping martyn: and even then it wasn- [runs into an enderman] uAuaaahhh, hello friend

#scurvyblr #pirates smp #inthelittlewood #soupforeloise #c:/sgos/clips #c:/sgos

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convexicalcrow · 2 years ago

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watched this proper people ep about exploring an abandoned high voltage research lab and got inspired go figure

The secret to sneaking into a place you definitely didn't belong in was confidence. Confidence, and money. Because if you couldn't blag your way in, paying people off was the next best option. That's how Cub found himself wheeling Scar inside the most high tech high voltage lab he'd been able to get access to. Paid off the guards and got the keys to the lab. It shouldn't be that easy to get access to such new and highly dangerous technology, but hey, Cub wasn't about to complain.

"Cub! I didn't know you worked here! You kept that one quiet, you old scoundrel!" Scar laughed as he caught sight of the lab for the first time, eyes wide with wonder. "This is all that new-fangled 'lectric stuff! The lightning machines! Yeah! I've seen these in the newspaper!"

There were giant capacitors and lightning towers and current generators and god, all kinds of things Scar didn't know the names of, but all looked like they'd come from some kind of space film! The air smelled like ozone and dust; the equipment had been used earlier in the day, Scar could tell. It invigorated him, though not enough for him to be without his chair. Soon, though. Soon. Just a little bit of current through his muscles, that's all he needed. God, he was so hungry for it.

"Well, they think I work here, and that's enough for me," Cub said. "At least I know how to work the equipment now. You'll be safe with me as I throw a million volts at you."

"Oh! So that's what you've been up to! Scamming your way inside! I like it, I like it very much. This will come in very handy. I'm so glad I hired you," Scar said.

"Well, you wanted lightning, and this is where you can get it," Cub said. "Might as well use my degrees for something, even if it's not what my parents would respect."

"Well, they don't pay you, I do, so get to work, Cub! I'm hungry," Scar said.

It took Cub about an hour to set the equipment up properly. He didn't need to rush, after all. Scar chattered brightly, getting Cub to explain everything. Cub still didn't quite understand why Scar needed to be hit by lightning, but in the time he'd been working for him, he'd noticed it seemed to give him these supernatural abilities. He'd seen the man with lightning crackling from his fingers after being struck.

But Scar's patience for waiting for natural lightning strikes was low, and once he'd heard about the high voltage research labs, all Scar wanted was to go to one and see how that kind of current would affect him. This really wasn't Cub's area of expertise, but he undertood enough physics to pick it up quickly.

Cub checked the monitors and dials once more, and double-checked the generators. He'd had a colleague - who he'd paid off - to walk him through the set-up several times, and he was sure he'd done things correctly. Besides, if the cost of getting Scar the lightning he needed was to work in a research lab, well, Cub could think of worse things to do. This stuff was exciting! Is exciting! This is cutting edge technology! How could he not be excited to be looking into this stuff? He'd forge proper employment papers later if need be, but for now, Scar was wheeling himself into position. They were nearly ready.

"Alright, I'm going to need you to stand up for this, think you can do that? Only, the chair will disrupt the current and could lead to fires, so," Cub said as he returned to Scar.

"Yeah, yeah, I can stand for a little bit. Do you want me standing now? Or can I sit for a little bit longer?" Scar said.

Cub detached the walking sticks from the back of Scar's chair and handed them to him. "Use these for now, but when I tell you to ditch them, ditch them, okay?"

"Okay, Cub! Just- gimme a hand, I-"

Scar reached for him, and Cub helped him stand, making sure he was as close to being on the target position as possible. Scar was wobbly on his feet, but the walking sticks did help steady him. Cub pushed the chair away, knowing that if this went well, they'd never need that again.

"Go quickly, Cub, I'm not sure how much longer I can stand for," Scar said.

"On it, boss. Hold on, it won't be long. You'll have your lightning soon enough," Cub said as he returned to the control panels.

The air hummed as the impulse generator warmed up. Cub could feel the tension in the air. Sure, this would be heard for miles around, but well, they were just doing some late night testing, that's all. Nothing to worry about.

"Alright, Scar, ditch the walking sticks! Voltage incoming in less than 20 seconds!" Cub called as he turned on the capacitors.

Scar obeyed, and there was silence in the room as the electricity built up, and when they had met capacity, Cub let off the bolt with such ferocity the windows shook. The flash was bright, and loud, and Cub covered his eyes with his hand as he waited for the discharge to finish before switching it all off. He only needed one bolt, after all.

The one sound that filled the air in the silence was laughter. Cracked, choking, insane laughter. Cub felt a shiver go up his spine.

Scar radiated power as Cub returned to the test floor. He stood upright, looking nowhere near as weak as he used to look. His body looked strong and powerful. His energy sparkled. He couldn't touch Scar like this. He'd get shocked. All he could do was take him outside and ground him before they were okay to return home.

"Cub! Ohhh, Cub! Oh, that was so delicious!"

Scar's eyes were wide and manic, sparks dancing between his fingers. He licked his lips and his face seemed to glow. He took a step towards Cub and reached for him, stopping before he actually touched him. Cub shivered, his hair standing on end as he watched the sparks from his fingers arc out, reaching for him.

"What a good boy! Oh, you're working here until I say otherwise! I need this, Cub. Oh, I need this so much. Ohoho, yes, yes, this is all I could ever have wanted. So much power! Oh! Oh, yes, you will be greatly rewarded for this, Cub, don't you worry about that," Scar said.

"Yes, sir, thank you so much, sir," Cub breathed, unable to look away from Scar's glowing white eyes. He was sure he could see wings shaped like lightning coming from his back, and perhaps anyone else might be concerned, but Cub just kept staring, unable to look away.

"Go clean up, I'll wait for you outside, there's a good boy," Scar said.

Scar didn't kiss him; their lips were far enough away for the current not to arc, but it didn't stop Cub feeling like he was about to be shocked anyway. He closed his eyes for a second, needing to steady his breath, and when he looked again, Scar was gone.

"Thank you, sir," Cub murmured as he shook himself out of his mesmer and got back to work, making sure the lab was just as he'd left it.

Scar was lying down on the grass, gazing up at the sky, as Cub found him. His energy no longer crackled or sparked; the earth had grounded him so he was safe to approach.

"Come, come, lie next to me, Cub! The sky's so beautiful tonight," Scar said, gesturing him over.

"Yeah, yeah, it is," Cub said as he joined him.

The sky wasn't entirely clear, but clear enough to see stars as whispy clouds floated past the moon. Now, this, this was Cub's passion. Stars. Those, he understood. Those, he loved. He felt Scar reach for his hand, and Cub smiled. He knew what was coming.

"Tell me about the stars, Cub. Tell me all their names and how far away they are. Let me hear that as I fall asleep. Take me home, Cub. Take me home to where I belong, up there in the sky amongst the stars," Scar murmured.

Skin to skin contact made Cub see what Scar was seeing; he'd never quite got used to seeing Scar's imaginings like this, but it was how things went after the lightning. Stars danced around his vision, and Cub started talking, telling him about every star he could name. This time, lightning danced between Cub's fingers, but there was no pain, no shocks. Just Scar lying closer to him, joining their hands together as Cub whispered about the stars.

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theretirementstory · 2 years ago

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Bonjour tout le monde, we have lost an hour 😳, but here in Bar sur Aube the sun is shining, we have 9c but if météo is to be believed I will get wet on my walk this afternoon.

I have an admission to make; I had thought that Monique would have contacted me saying “grandchildren have arrived would you like to come over on X day”. Well, no message arrived and rather than me messaging saying I am free on X day is it convenient, I did nothing! Looks as if the children will be back in Paris now and I didn’t see them 😩.

I wanted to make a start on “the garden” this week. I “dug” the mower out of the garage and cut the front grass. Then I went for the strimmer, no wire through holes so thought Ok, new bobbin needed. I went to remove the cover and with hands like mine (no grip no strength) I had to utilise a screwdriver to push one lug up. Yes success, so now the second lug…….. ha! you’ve guessed it, it was proving difficult so I tried to prise the cover up gently…… it moved! I tried a bit more and poof off it came minus the second lug 😩😩. So I guess that means I need a new strimmer! I gave up with the gardening until a few days later when I went out to remove “sticky bud” weeds. I was going to try and put new compost into the potager but I don’t think I had better lift 40L of compost before my appointment with the cardiologist…. I am quite sad that I don’t have the strength to get the compost into the potager, as I really want to get my broad beans and peas started off and if I get those jobs done I am sure I will feel more like starting on the other planters. I had been to the “DIY” shop and I saw that they had the beef tomato plants, however they were long and leggy and I really think it is way too soon to plant those outside. I mean, I am no Percy Thrower, but it is only March. I do hope I can get a couple of plants in a month or so.

My visit to the cinema with the podiatrist was a big success. Afterwards, we chatted and then she invited me to a restaurant about 40km away. She really rates it and so we agreed that we would go there. I had an appointment with her on Thursday and after she had seen to my feet, we agreed hat we would go to the restaurant on the 16 April. That is so nice and I am looking forward to it.

The decorator dropped my “devis” into my letter box and I must admit I didn’t think the price was too bad for the job. Now he had mentioned perhaps around October/November for the work, so I was surprised when I received a message asking if the quote was OK. I said I would take the signed devis and the cheque to his home that day, the following day he messaged to say that he had a cancellation and could possibly come on Monday or Tuesday this coming week 😳. Oh my goodness!!! I am expecting company around the 5 April…… hopefully it will be finished for then.

Todays excerpt of poetry is taken from “Spring Has Finally Arrived” by LH Theaker.

“The grass is green across the hill,

But yellow blooms the daffodil.

It’s sunshine on a little stalk,

A friendly flower, I bet they talk…..”

As I mentioned earlier, I am due to see the cardiologist this coming week. I hope that this weight loss, walking and depriving myself of my favourite cheeses will have paid off. Apart from not having the stamina I had in the early part of last year, I am pain free and am sure that weight loss and exercise will really help me in the long term.

Being “Brown Owl” of the knitting group, I received the minutes of the meetings and saw that there is to be a visit to the “Cite du Vitrail” in Troyes. It is a new art gallery given to stained glass, which had been produced in this region for centuries. I know I don’t attend the stained glass workshop but I am hoping I can blag my way onboard 😉, watch this space 😃. Now I mentioned last week about taking the elderly lady home from the group. I have been to check in the times of the “navette” and she is correct it does finish at 5pm. I am wondering if we can finish between 4.30 and 4.45 and if it would be possible for the lady to be picked up and deposited at home by the bus before 5pm. I will put that to her and the group this week. With knitting in mind, I visited the bureau at HUDA (the association that works with the refugees) I said that Friday was no good to me now and we are hoping that I can resume the group on a Monday afternoon.

I made a sampler using two Tunisian crochet stitches and last night I started on what could maybe have been a cover for a baby. Well, I seem to have mixed up two types of stitches and although it looked good, it was far too heavy to have been useful for a baby. I really must order a set of the crochet hooks so that I can try different sizes. While I was in one of the (cheap) shops in town purchasing a garden fork, I managed to pick up some crochet patterns, for gift bags and cushion covers, I will take them to my group on Friday.

I realised that I had forgotten to give Anie a jar of Rhubarb and Date chutney, I was up in her part of town the other day, so I called to drop it off. There was no reply when I rang the bell so I stood the jar on the floor by the door. She lives on a main thoroughfare, and the door is directly onto the street. I thought she may have been out for a couple of hours but I messaged to say I had left it for her. Apparently, she had been to visit her sister in hospital quite some miles away, had returned home and found this jar….. then when she opened her phone found out who had left this “gift”. She was very pleased to receive it.

“Comme d’habitude” my walk has taken me to “the bar”. The other day, my neighbour was in having his coffee, and we got to talking about the demonstrations and increase in retirement age. Now this guy is Portuguese, speaks French but no English. I had thought that my French was not up to discussions like this, but hey, we had rather an in-depth conversation. I love it because when I tentatively use a word, the person often repeats it with a nod to confirm it is the required word. How patient are these people with me 😊.

No cinema for me today, just the mundane things like ironing, making lunch and of course getting outside for my walk. I wish you all a good day.

Until the next time…..

#bridges #nature #trees #barsuraube #photography #crafts #troyes #livingthedream

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