#noelian feels

[tundrafloe]

More Julian talk from Noel's chat with Allison Hagendorf this week!

Noel: “It’s so weird….when we see each other, it’s like we don’t have to say anything, but we went through a lot together and we still love each other, and we’re like brothers. He was a bit older than me, and I was very in awe of him actually, because he’s such a brilliant comic performer, and such an unusual character, you know, and very artistic and very…he doesn’t compromise, and he doesn’t care, so he’s got that element to him, you know? He’ll say we need to do this because that’s what’s good, and he doesn’t care…he’s not sort of trying to make something so that it can be successful. He doesn’t care about that at all. He’s quite sort of artistically pure in that way, and I miss that. He’s quite single-minded, you know, and we work really well together because all of my skills, he didn’t have, and all his skills, I didn’t have, so we were like one human being together. On our own, we’re both hopeless (laughs) No, but we could get back together."

[pinchinschlimbah]

So I came across this interview clipping a while back and it's been drilling holes in my brain ever since. Let's talk about it. Someone who the Boosh guys were friendly with (I censored it because I don't want R****** B****'s ugly face on my page lol) asked in a fairly jokey way "so like....are y'all gay for each other?" and on a public platform, Julian decided to answer with an earnest "yes."

And not only that! The answer is not just "yes", it's "yes and we think about it constantly." It's "yes and we believe that tension is the thing that's central to what makes our dynamic so good." It's "yes and we would explore it further if we felt we could but we're scared it'll make things weird." It's "yes and any time you've seen us exploring it on screen or stage, it is indeed a reflection of our actual feelings towards each other that we're too scared to try out in real life."

The moment I read this I decided that Noelian is canon. To me at least...you may have a different definition. For me, I don't know or care whether they've ever fucked, but this and countless other things they've said and done have shown me without a shadow of a doubt that the feelings and intentions of both love and lust were absolutely there and they acted on them in what ways they felt they could in the context of their lives and careers at that time, and that's real enough for me. On a related note can we talk about the intro to this performance where Julian explains that the song was written "during a blue time" near the start of their career together and Noel interrupts him to say "We'd made love, the chemistry had gone wrong" and then Julian gets somewhat flustered...........hmmmmm 👀

[louciferish]

WIP Ask Game!

RULES: post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it! and then tag as many people as you have WIPs.

I was tagged by both @sweveris and @brigdh on different days I was out of town!

I'll include WIPs for fandoms I haven't been active in lately if I can find them, as well as stuff that I started posting but is still in progress, like "walk on the wild side" or "All That Glitters"

Sorted by fandom: The Losers

spooky losers

soccer dad au (abandoned 2014 losers big bang)

Teen Wolf

teen lobster

Yuri!!! On Ice

spooky otayuri plans

long live the kings pt 4

long live the kings pt 5

harvest moon au

tiger 2.0 - Half Wild: or, the cat princess diaries

food

hitman/bodyguard

additional when words fail

parents

otapliroy acebek

The Mighty Boosh/Noelian

take a walk on the wild side (noelian)

howince - aftercare - food

bruises (howince)

noelian modern first time

fae child vince

howard and vince make a porno

unbuttoning

angsty howince

boosh mood

noelian collar fic

noelian hair pulling

TiMER AU (howince)

Lighthouse Lovers (noelian)

Good Omens

5+1

GO Carnie AU

Our Flag Means Death

Re-Inventing Love (this is actually "what normal people want from foreign objects")

all that glitters

pyrite

Thief of Hearts

Izzy Hands dies at high noon on a Sunday

OFMD bang concept (from Apr. 2022)

There we go! The whole fucking thing! I'm not tagging anyone because I'm tired now, so feel free to snag it if you want to do this.

[derryqueenx]

OOOO FOR THE HURT PROMPT BINGO - “NIGHTMARE” maybe vince has some sort of nightmare that he loses howard & is a bit delirious & scared when he wakes up ,,, & howard is there for him :o

Nightmare.

Word Count: 2768

TW: N/A unless you want to count my own broken heart as I wrote this.

Send through your prompts and any NoelJulian related characters (if you have one in mind! If not I’ll just write whatever I feel works best for said prompt)! The Free Prompt square is if you want me to write a fic based on something that’s not already written! You can send them in and just say it’s for the ‘free prompt’ bingo. Let’s cause our favourite characters some hurt (with small comfort. I’m not a monster.)

They were running.

Vince couldn’t see what from, all he knew was that he had to go faster. His legs weren’t as long as Howard’s so he had to work harder to catch up, and Howard was starting to fade away from his eyeline.

“Howard, wait!” He cried out, trying hard to avoid any low hanging branches and sticks, but never able to dodge them fast enough, always adding to the ever growing collection of scratches that now resided on his porcelain face. He should be concerned about that. Thinking about how much makeup he’ll have to wear until they fade, worrying about if they’ll scar. But he isn’t.

All he knows right now is run.

Whatever is behind him starts getting closer, he can feel the ground vibrating underneath him, causing him to stumble ever so slightly but never lose his stance. What he does lose is sight of Howard, and the panic heightens.

“Howard!” He screams, eyes darting around wildly for sight of his friend. He was just up ahead! Surely he didn’t get too far away in that short distance. Surely Howard wouldn’t just leave him behind? “Howard!!” He tried again, his legs starting to fatigue and feel like jelly from how long he’s been running, even though he can’t seem to pinpoint when he started.

All he remembers is run.

“Please, don’t leave me!” His breathe is shaky and he’s moving purely on adrenaline by this point, with the nothingness in front of him and the fear of whatever is behind him, there seems no hope for Vince. He’s about to die scared and alone.

“This way!” Someone suddenly shoots out from his side, causing Vince to scream in fright and stumble over his own feet, landing with a thud in the thick mud beneath him but he isn’t the slight bit concerned about his outfit or how he’ll never get this out of the sequins he spent 87 hours hand sewing in. No, because it’s Howard. He was standing just off the track, hiding in the bushes until Vince ran past, grabbing him by the wrist to get his attention. “The path is more narrow down here, he won’t be able to fit!”

“Who wont be able to fit?!” Vince panicked, wanting some answers, but Howard just shook his head, pulling Vince up off the ground.

“I’m never going to leave you, you hear me?” He said sternly and commanding, so unlike how Howard normally was. Vince didn’t have time to question it before Howard was taking off in a sprint down this new pathway he’d found, dragging Vince along behind him with a death grip on his hand, never daring to let go.

Vince followed behind, trying his best to keep up as Howard moved too fast for his feet to carry. “Slow down! I can’t- I can’t keep up!”

Howard didn’t halt. “I’ve got you, Little Man, come on!”

They ran down the never ending path, poorly avoiding the branches and nature that stood in their way, whatever was chasing them seemingly in the wind for now, but Vince knew better than to assume they were safe. He couldn’t stop running. He wasn’t allowed to stop running or something terrible would happen.

He had to run.

But he was tired. He couldn’t keep up. Howard was moving too fast and the scenery was brushing past him in a blur, his boots tripping up constantly as he started losing his breath. “Howard!” He warned, knowing he couldn’t keep moving at this pace.

“Don’t let go!” Howard shouted back.

“I-I can’t..” He attempted again, explaining as best he could in the most apologetic tone he could conjure, knowing Howard would be disappointed in him for not being strong enough.

“Don’t stop running!” Howard tried again, more desperate this time, but it was too late. Vince started slowing down, pulling back against Howard’s hand until they nearly slipped out of each others grip, his legs unable to move anymore as his running ceased.

He wasn’t allowed to stop running, that was the one thing he knew but he didn’t know why. He hadn’t seen anything chasing them this entire time, so why couldn’t he stop?

But he did. He did stop running.

And that’s when it all went wrong.

With the change in speed, Howard was jolted back whilst Vince was thrust forward, both stumbling over one another in the sudden shift in velocity until they were both falling, only it didn’t stop when they hit the ground. A sudden hill had appeared that wasn’t there before, and they were both tumbling down uncontrollably, narrowly avoiding boulders and trees as they desperately tried to reach out for one another in the sea of passing sceneries and danger.

“Vince!”

“Howard!”

They cried out, but never able to reach for the others hand. The hill seemed never ending, a continuous torturous drop of anticipation as Vince awaited the harsh ground to come up suddenly, only it was much worse than that.

Vince isn’t sure how he knew, but he just did. When a thick tree branch emerged from the ground up ahead Vince knew he had to hold onto it, it was the only way to stop his own momentum of falling endlessly, so he held on for his life, his shoulder jarring at the sudden pull but it was enough, he wasn’t falling anymore. In an act of pure instinct, Vince reached out to the side with his other arm, holding his hand out wide until Howard fell towards him, gripping on as tightly as he could manage onto the other mans wrist to stop his falls as well, and good thing Vince did because as soon as they were both finally no longer falling, that’s when Vince realized they were teetering off the edge of a cliff.

Something in Vince told him to prepare for that and he did. It was like the cliff appeared out of thin air, and yet it seemed all too real. Vince was being supported up by the branch he currently clung onto, his legs hanging over the cliff side with nothing to ground himself too, as he dared to look down at Howard, who’s only lifeline was Vince’s grip on his wrist. One wrong move and he’d be plummeting down into the depths of nothingness that awaited below.

“Howard!” Vince groaned out in despair, pleading eyes looking down at his friend as he silently begged for him to make this right like he always did. Vince didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t pull them both up, he knew that. Howard was the one that fixed things, not him. If it was Howard in his position Vince would have nothing to worry about, but this was too much. It all laid on Vince’s shoulders and he already knew the outcome.

“It’s okay!” Howard shouted out, his eyes soft and not a hint of panic floating in them. He stared up at Vince with understanding.

“No! No I don’t want this!” Vince cried out, eyes watering as he felt his grip on Howard’s wrist slipping. “I can’t hold on!”

“It’s okay, Vince…” He repeated, quieter this time, a reassurance that Vince didn’t want.

Vince shook his head rapidly, feeling the grip on the branch above him starting to slip too. He had a choice to make. He couldn’t hold on to both. He could let go of the branch and they’d both fall, or he could let go of Howard..

“No!” Vince shouted, both to his own thoughts and as a response to Howard. “Don’t make me choose.. I can’t do this, Howard!” It was only a matter of seconds now before the universe would make the choice for him, but Vince held on to whatever grip strength he had left. He wasn’t done with Howard yet. They had so much more they had to do together! This wasn’t how it was meant to end.

“Let me go...” Howard said, sounding way too calm considering the life-threatening situation he was in, and the consequences of what he was telling Vince to do.

“I can’t!” He pleaded through tear filled eyes.

“You have to!” Howard begged back.

“I can’t lose you! You said you’d never leave me! You promised!” He argued, reminding him of the promise he’d made only minutes ago, voice starting to be laced with anger at just the possibility of what Howard was asking him to do, relying on the only other emotion he had left to feel some sort of control here. “Please don’t leave me...” He begged in a whimper, a repeat of himself this time.

Howard opened his mouth to respond, but the sudden sound of a cracking branch filled the air as they both dropped down just a millimeter, the branch alarming them of their time running out. Then, Howard’s face shifted to determination.

“I’m sorry, Little Man.” Was all he said until he reached up, pulling away at the fingers so tightly wrapped around his wrist, much to the defiance and outrage of Vince.

“NO!” Vince screamed as Howard forced his fingers apart, releasing his grip finally as he was forced to watch his best friend drop. Falling down into the abyss below, solidifying the worst case scenario come to life. Vince sobbed, as everything moved in slow motion, never being able to reach Howard no matter how hard he tried.

“Vince!”

He wailed, tears streaming down his face.

“Vince!”

Suddenly, he felt a jolt in the air around him, knocking him to the side. It must have been whatever was following them, it had caught up finally!

“Wake up!”

With a sharp inhale, his eyes flew open as he let out a scream. Something around him had changed, but his brain wasn’t moving fast enough for him to figure it out straight away. He had just been hanging over the edge of a cliff, holding on for dear life. Why was he now somewhere else? He was sitting down, in a bright red room surrounded by familiar looking items and merchandise but he couldn’t remember how he knew them.

Panic instantly set in, his eyes darted around the room, the adrenaline still coursing through him.

“Woah woah woah, easy there buddy! It’s okay, you’re okay..” A familiar voice sounded out, but that was impossible. Vince had just watched him die.. He couldn’t be here with him right now. It was all an illusion, a joke, a sick prank that the universe was playing on him. Howard wasn’t here…

But he was.

Howard’s face came into view suddenly as he sat down in front of him, his eyes filled with worry and concern as his hair looked a mess, like he’d just woken up.

“W-What..? Howard? I don’t- what’s going on? Where am I? You were just- I just-“ He stuttered out, his brain now moving way too fast for his mouth to keep up, a million questions racing through his head as his heart pounded in his ears.

“Hey now, it’s okay, just breath, yeah? Breath with me.” Howard held tightly onto Vince’s hands, grounding him and Vince realized this wasn’t an illusion. He was here, and the contact he had right now felt different than the one he’d just had as he held onto his best friend to stop him from falling. It felt, somehow, more real?

Howard started taking in deep breaths, eyes locked onto Vince’s as he guided his friend through his breathing. One deep breathe in through the nose, one long breathe out through the mouth, and then repeat. Vince followed along, not entirely sure what else to do except trust Howard completely and wholeheartedly to make things right, like he always did.

“That’s it, you’re doing great.” Howard cooed, and before too long Vince had his breathing under control, the beating in his ears lowering to help him concentrate a bit more on what the hell was going on. Finally, now feeling a bit more coherent, he took in his surroundings.

He was in his room, on his bed. He remembers now…

It was all a dream. Howard didn’t die, he didn’t fall. Vince didn’t let him go, he didn’t fail him. He was right here, sitting right in front of him as good as new, not a single injury in sight.

“Oh my god..” He breathed out gravelly in disbelief, a hand coming up to his forehead as he took in a few more deep breathes, closing his eyes for a moment to just take a moment to let everything sync in.

“You’re okay..” Howard repeated, running a hand comfortingly up and down Vince’s arm. “Bad dream?”

Vince allowed himself to let out a sarcastic chuckle. “Something like that..”

“Want to talk about it?” Howard offered, probably never expecting Vince to take him up on that offer as that was the last thing Vince usually did, but that didn’t stop Howard from trying.

Vince was going to say no, it was on the tip of his tongue on pure habit and because there was no way in hell he wanted to relive the complete terror he’d just experienced, but something stopped him. Whether it was real or not, the raw emotions that Vince felt in his gut when he thought Howard had truly died would probably stay with him forever, not just because of the idea of Howard dying (which was horrible in itself) but with the idea that Howard died without Vince ever telling him how much he cared.

Howard would have died thinking Vince probably cared more about his shoes or his latest fashion trend or whatever new celebrity was in town more than Howard, which simply wasn’t true. Vince had just never been good with his feelings, and rather than express them it was easier the cover them with lies or the illusion of not caring.

It’s easier to avoid being hurt when you’re the one pushing people away.

“It’s alright if you don’t, just thought it might be good-“

“You died.” Vince cut in, looking down at the blanket blankly.

Howard paused. “Oh..” He whispered out dumbly.

“Yeah.” Vince answered back. “It wasn’t fun..” Neither is this conversation.

“Are you-uh, are you okay?” Howard sounded like he didn’t know how to respond to Vince’s honesty, either not expecting the smaller man to tell him the truth, or not expecting that to be the truth.

Vince shook his head. “No.” He confessed, looking up at Howard now through teary eyes. “It was horrible. I had you, in my hand, but I couldn’t pull you up.. I wasn’t strong enough and you knew if I didn’t let you go then we would both fall and you- you made the choice for me.. You fell and I watched you fall and I couldn’t do anything about it..” The tears were falling freely by this point but Vince didn’t care. “You said you’d never leave me but you did and I was all alone and I cant be alone, Howard.. I can’t be alone without you, I just can’t, okay?!” He wasn’t aware of when he started shouting, but there were too many emotions running through his body in such a short period of time it was hard to keep track of them all and sort through them, they were just each coming up to have their moment.

Howard thinned his lips, watching with sad eyes as his friend broke down in front of him, and without needing to say a word he pulled Vince in closer, wrapping his strong arms over his shoulders and pulling him in to a tight hug, allowing Vince to sob into the crook of his neck as he fought to hold back his own tears.

Vince had never been this open with him. Ever. Whatever horrible story his brain had played out for him must have really did a number on him to leave him like this, and if what Vince said is what he experienced then Howard couldn’t blame him. He tried to picture the roles being reverse; of Howard trying desperately to hold onto a falling Vince, but his brain didn’t even let him consider that a possibility. Even the mere concept of a life without Vince wasn’t possible for Howard, so having to witness that would break him.

He held Vince as tight as possible, letting the smaller man weep and get it all out as he rocked him through it, humming and shushing in comfort to just let him know that he was here. He wasn’t going anywhere.

“I’m never going to leave you, okay?”

-

Thank you for the prompt anon! I actually had a real good time writing this one and was starting to get all emotional myself :'( hope this is what you were after!

[yeahwehadatime]

ummmmmmm….feeling a bit of nostalgia today julian?

[anciientboosh]

Noel on Arctic Boosh

[ladydarklord]

Noelian hand holding for Feb 14 (and forever)... happy Valentine's!! 🖤

You bring me such joy ❤️🖤 Happy Valentine's Katey

[youspeakshit]

.

[badbadbucky]

and a spoopy prompt - you can pick (or do both!) vince and howardspend a halloween in instady of going partying, cute the scary movie matathons, thrown popcorn and hide and seek in the dark in the flat OR Noelian and halloween traditions then and now - how has it changed, how is it the same? :D

“Well, tha’s it, Halloween is ruined,” Vince said as he draped himself dramatically across the couch. 

“What’s going on, little man?” Howard asked. 

“Everythin’ is closed, no one is havin’ any parties, no nippers comin to the door for candy. It’s completely ruined,” Vince said. He could feel himself getting a bit weepy, Halloween was his favorite holiday and he hadn’t gotten to do a single fun Halloween thing in the entire month of October. 

“Halloween isn’t supposed to be about any of those things anyway,” Howard said. He sensed that this was the perfect opening for his lecture about Samhain. “It’s actually a Gaelic festival-”

“You’re a Gay Lick festival--” Naboo said as he came down the stairs from his attic room, he and the rest of the shaman were going to have it large off planet. He didn’t have time to stick around and chat, but he never ran out of time to have a jab at Howard.

Then he was gone before Howard could say “hostile living space”. 

Howard turned his attention back to Vince, expecting him to have a smirk on his face from Naboo’s comment, but he was just staring at the ceiling. In an amazing moment of clarity, Howard realized that perhaps a discussion of ancient holiday traditions would not be the best way to cheer Vince up.

“We can still have fun tonight,” Howard said.

“No we can’t,” Vince said. 

Oooh Vince was settling in for a long sulk, if Howard didn’t snap him out of it now, he would be intolerable until Christmas. 

“Of course we can. Now, go put on your costume.” Howard commanded. This would buy him at least a few hours. As Vince had not managed to put a Halloween costume on in under three hours in the entire time Howard had known him. 

“I don’t wan--”

“Shut it. Do as I say,” Howard said. 

Vince scowled at him, but did as Howard said.   He disappeared into their bedroom to change. 

While Vince was getting ready, Howard went down to Boots and bought three enormous bags of candy, a box of microwave popcorn, and he rented a couple scary movies from a kiosk out front. Neither he nor Vince were particularly tough when it came to horror, but Howard loved it when Vince would grab his hand or bury his face in Howard’s shoulder when something scary happened. 

Howard returned to the flat, he spread out all of the sweets on the coffee table. He lowered the lights and lit some of Naboo’s black candles. He heard quite a bit of ruckus coming from their room, it sounded like Vince was running a drill or possibly a socket wrench, Vince must have entered one of the more challenging phases of putting on his costume. Howard hoped it wasn’t too elaborate. One Halloween, when Vince went as Marie Antoinette, he had worn a corset, and he’d had Leroy tighten it so much that he’d had to be placed in an iron lung for two weeks afterwards.

Howard made caramel apples decorated with nuts for himself and hundreds and thousands for Vince. Then, once all of his preparations were complete, he went into the hall closet and pulled out the costume he’d purchased a few days previous. 

Whenever Howard complained about Vince hugging him too much, Vince would reply that he couldn’t help it, that Howard was just a big ol’ Teddy Bear. and when Howard had been walking past a costume store, he had seen a Teddy Bear onesie in the window. and miracle of miracles, the onesie had actually been in his size, so he had bought it and kept it hidden in the closet where he stored all his cleaning implements--the one place he knew Vince would never look (it was also where he hid Vince’s Christmas presents). 

Finally, Vince opened his door just a crack and peered one large blue eye out. “Are you ready for my entrance?” Vince loved an entrance more than anyone Howard had ever met. Once, when they’d gone to a school disco, Vince had insisted that he get ready at Howard’s house, because Howard’s house had a staircase, and he wanted to come down the stairs like the pretty girl in one of the American teenager films he liked so much. 

Howard bit down on a smile. “Yes Vince, I am ready for your entrance.”

Vince opened the door fully, and Howard’s jaw dropped.

Vince wore a blond wig with ringlets nearly down to his waist. He also wore a blue dress, white stockings, and platform Mary Janes. He’d done his makeup so he had bright rosy heeks and delicate pink lips. He stood with his hands behind his back, waiting for Howard to say something.

When Howard instead just continued to stare, Vince got a bit nervous. “Don’t you like it?”

Goldilocks. He was dressed like Goldilocks. 

“I thought since you was bein’ a bear--”

“And how exactly did you know I was going to be a bear. Vince?” Howard asked. Grateful to be able to focus on something beside Vince’s legs in those white stockings. 

“Uhhhh--”

Howard tried to look stern, but his face morphed into a wolfish grin. “Looks like I need a new hiding place for your Christmas presents.”

Vince gave him an abashed smile then turned to look at the spread Howard had created. “Wow Howard, you did all this?”

“See little man? I told you Halloween could still be fun,” Howard said.

They settled into the couch and watched horror movie after horror movie. sometimes Vince shrieked and hid his face in Howard’s shoulder. Sometimes Howard would give a--very manly--scream and grab Vince’s hand. 

They argued over the best sweets, developing a complex sweets based economic system. They ate their caramel apples and when Howard got a bit of caramel stuck on his face, Vince licked it off before Howard could brush him off, sputtering about personal space and proper hygeine, but Vince saw how red his cheeks got, and Howard never did go and wash his face like he kept threatening to do. They got into a popcorn fight that escalated into a popcorn war. and Vince insisted on painting Howard’s face so it more properly matched the onesie. 

They feel asleep on the couch, Goldilocks and his big bear, surrounded by sweets wrappers and apple cores, popcorn scattered everywhere.  There was mysterious black and brown facepaint smeared all over Vince’s lips and Howard’s bear makeup looked a bit blurry, but neither seemed to mind.  Of course, they would have to clean it all up in the morning, go back to their normal lives.

But that was November’s problem. This...was Halloween. 

Thanks for the awesome prompt @silentorator !

[pinchinschlimbah]

Ok real talk….when you correct for shoes, hair, hats, and posture, what do you think Noel and Julian’s actual height difference is?

[ladadee195]

Hey, Dee! Another prompt, coming atcha! How about: Are you feeling okay? Your face is looking a little red. Howince or Noelian, take your pick!

Oh gosh, this is sadly so short! I did my best! Grunt…….grunt…..gasp. It was very very hard for Vince to stifle his laughter over the amount of sounds coming from beside him. Peeking an eye open Vince gazed at Howard as he tried and failed to tangle himself into the semi-complicated yoga pose that Vince had easily folded himself into. 

After a muttered curse Vince could no longer take it. He laughed and relaxed until he was sitting cross legged. 

“Are you feeling okay? Your face is looking a little red.” 

Howard grunted and tried to again to force himself to bend the way the book said. “I’m fine, I’m just pacing myself.” 

“You don’t have to do this with me ya know,” Vince said. “I don’t expect you to be an expert right away.”

“No no I got it, see.” Howard gestured to his tangled limbs. He hadn’t gotten it at all but that didn’t matter to Vince, it was the thought that counted right? Howard was spending time with him doing something that Vince wanted. 

“Yeah I see.” he nodded with a soft smile, already thinking up something that Howard would excel at later. Maybe a trip to the stationary store? 

[louciferish]

WIP Wednesday: noelian edition

I’ve been wanting to do one of these and post a bit of this story for a few weeks now, but kept talking myself out of it. Pulling the trigger this time, damn it. This is from a draft that’s currently at around 9k, codenamed “ragdoll”

---

He practices with the scarf, feeling silly every time. It’s not as if it’s hard to tie and pin and scarf, but he needs to know how it looks, to get used to the weight of the metal wasp against his throat. He puts it on every morning, takes it off, goes about his day.

The night of the gig, he tucks everything into a messenger bag and takes it along that way, riding the tube and then the bus over on his own with the bag tucked between his feet. He’d tried to get a ride, but Reggie was working, and Dave shook his head when he found out where Noel was off to. “I’m not going to be your weird friendship wingman,” he’d said, even when Noel offered to buy him a beer.

So, it’s the tube, and the bus, and then he’s alone in a dirty bar bathroom, tying the scarf on in a scratched mirror over the urinal. Someone’s scrawled TOSSER at the top of the mirror in thick black marker. Seems right. 

Swallowing, Noel fits two fingers between the scarf and his adam’s apple, checking the fit. He turns his head to see it in profile. Thing is, part of him wants to feel silly about this. He wants to check his reflection, see this strange creature looking back, and have a laugh. Oi, you look ridiculous. What are you playing at here?

But he doesn’t look ridiculous. The shimmering scarf draws light to his eyes and makes them look even more blue, and the crystalline wasp perched below the curve of his jaw is both beautiful and dangerous. Like him. 

Noel swallows again, licks his lips, watches his own reflection out the corner of his eye. 

The bathroom door creaks before slamming open and a guy stumbles in. He’s barely of age, all oversized t-shirts and baggy jeans, frosted tips in his hair, and he blinks at Noel, double-taking, like maybe he’s wandered into the wrong toilet. 

That’s a signal to go if there ever was one. Noel gives him a nod like nothing’s amiss and shoulders by, escaping before the kid can say a word. 

[derryqueenx]

ur vince and howard fics are my favs on ao3, getting notifs you've posted a chapter makes my day!! :D i love the way u write and tell stories, pls keep them up!! <3

omgggg I’m getting so many lovely messages today you guys are amazing 🥺

Thankyou so bloody much that’s beyond sweet! I’m glad that other people are enjoying my stories and im not just writing them for myself 😂 hahah

I definitely never plan on stopping any time soon!

& I love all of you guys that read my stories!! I’m truly blessed

[yeahwehadatime]

60 Seconds: Julian Barratt

Which of your comedy creations are you particularly proud of?

The Mighty Boosh. Me and Noel Fielding shared a love of weird comedy and we wanted to do something that was a mixture of our influences. I play music and he paints, there are different things we brought to the table that created a world. I’m proud of that.

What do you think about Noel presenting Bake Off?

Amazing! I think he’s great, he’s bringing his surreal virus into the mainstream, he’s like a Trojan horse coming in. Being a personality is something I can’t do. Maybe I’m too grumpy. Noel really loves to talk to people. I don’t, really. It’s like being attached to a rocket when you’re with him. His energy is just an incredible thing to plug into.

(read the full interview here)

[anciientboosh]

Do you still look across the stage for him?

[ladydarklord]

In which I talk entirely too much about rereading, magic, and the future, all within the context of the Boosh. A loosely-connected ramble? You betcha.

I love a good review.

There’s a special pleasure that comes with repeat consumption of any good media. If a book really touches me for whatever reason, I’m going to reread it. If a movie or a television show warms my heart, I’m going to rewatch it. It’s comfort food for the soul, an elixir of good feelings that promises me, “Nothing bad is going to surprise you. When this is over you will feel satisfied that it was time well spent.” What’s not to love?

The other reason I like to re-consume media is that I can get something new from it every time. The first time I read a story, I am focused on the plot and the characters presented to me, face value as it were. But on a second, third, fourth read-- who knows? Maybe I’m swept away by the author’s detailed knowledge of art history, or how their words put me in the driver’s seat of a souped-up Ford Granada when I haven’t got the foggiest idea of how to drive a stick shift. Sometimes I’ll watch a TV show again only to notice how much detail they put into set design. It’s a heady mixture of familiar comfort and new discovery that leaves me asking, “How on earth did I miss that the first time?”

And of all the things I love to rewatch, I see this combination most clearly illustrated in The Mighty Boosh.

There’s a paradoxical duality unique to the Boosh. On the one hand, every single moment we’re reminded that this is a Noelian love child, every scene slaved over until it was perfect. As fans we seek out interviews, bloopers, and episode commentary because we want more of these reminders, until we’ve cultivated this extensive behind-the-curtain knowledge-- an understanding that, rather like watching a play onstage, The Mighty Boosh is very much a production put on for our entertainment.

On the other hand, I often feel that Julian and Noel were so successful in their endeavors that Howard and Vince have a life of their own, and are exactly the sort to change the episodes just to be cheeky. (Or to quote a friend, “Boys be sneaking back through time and space to move stuff around and snog in the broom closet when we’re not looking.”) It’s magic, really. It’s why I can watch Party a hundred times and expect every time that maybe this time they’ll keep snogging on the roof instead of falling and chucking each other over for girls. 

It’s magic, and that’s why a film or a fourth series could still work.

Because here’s the thing: I am an advocate for letting things end when the story is over and the time is right. I hate when a show outstays its welcome and taints everything that came before it (this is a whole rant all on its own, honestly).  I think of Will Sharpe who said after the second series of Flowers, “I feel like I've said everything I need to say with these characters and this world.” But that’s the beauty of the Boosh: they didn’t break up, and I’ve never met a soul who thought that The Chokes was the end of the line. Tell me I’m wrong (you can’t).

While we’ve come to terms with the fact that Noel and Julian are not on anyone’s schedule but their own, the conviction remains that they have more to say and that in doing so they would neither ruin what already exists (as happens with so many “comebacks”) nor would they even miss a step in sucking us right back into their world. Give them some time for their shy giggly reacquaintance, and watch them reinhabit Howard and Vince in the present day, probably surprising even themselves with what their characters say and do.

When the boys talked about how they wanted fans to believe that the world they created was real, because it was real to them-- why not take them at their word? If we can acknowledge the magic of the Boosh (and how can you not), it stands to reason that Vince and Howard could just as easily inhabit the ‘20s as they did the Nineties and the Naughties.

In the meantime, catch me watching the episodes over and over again (this time Vince won’t let Eleanor have her way with Howard), enjoying new things every time while savoring the best comfort entertainment I’ve ever found.