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coffeefairy · 7 years

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Maddening - Chapter 6

Title: Maddening

Fandom: Once Upon a Time

Pairings: Mad Whale, Red Cricket

Rating: Not for kids and a dash of NSFW here and there (yes, I mean this chapter)

Summary: Modern!Boston!AU. Percy Whale is not a paediatrician but Jefferson Madden insists on bringing his daughter to him all the same.

Notes: Features same sex love - if you don't want to read, then don't read. Sorry for the long wait - my writing attention span is gnat-like and my muse is a fickle creature....

Percy’s phone woke him up and smiling at the picture of a cross-eyed Ruby sticking her tongue out that always flashed when she called he slid his thumb over the screen to answer.

“Finally! I’ve been calling and calling. How did it go last night?”

Sitting up in bed, the blue sheets falling to his waist he grinned.

“It went...amazingly.”

Ruby whooped.

“I knew it! I knew it when he came to Diner, the way he looked at you, like you were a puzzle he really wanted to solve there was something between you.”

“Did you now?”

“Sure I did. I just didn’t want to tell you in case he wouldn’t want to admit it. Wait,” she lowered her voice to a whisper, “is he there now?”

“No, we decided to take it slow.” He glanced around his bedroom, sadly only populated by himself.

“Oh. Good slow or bad slow?”

“What’s bad slow?”

“A euphemism for “don’t call me”.”

“Then it’s definitely good slow. We’re meeting today.”

“Wow, fast work. This is great news, Perce, I’m really happy for you.”

“Thanks, Rubes. I’ll swing by the Diner soon and we’ll talk, yeah?”

“Anytime. You know where to always find me.” The tone was only slightly sulky.

“Got to go. See you soon.”

Two hours later he found the address Jefferson had texted him. It was the penthouse of a tall building with Gothic archways and a spire at the top. It suited the man, Percy thought. Original, eclectic, old-fashioned and classy. Riding the elevator all the way up he exited into a small hallway with a wooden front door that looked liked it could withstand full frontal assault from a battering ram. Knocking, it swung open to reveal Grace dressed in pajamas with seahorses on them.

“Dr. Whale!” Happily she bounced up to hug him and he caught her awkwardly as he held three take away cups and a bag of muffins. Grace didn’t seem to mind the one armed hug though and sniffed in the air.

“Are those blueberry muffins?”

“Good nose. Here you go. And why don’t you call me Percy? Dr. Whale makes me feel like I’m at work.”

“Well, that’s a shame since I like calling you Dr. Whale.” Jefferson spoke as he entered the hallway, his tone almost purring the syllables of his name. Glancing at Grace he saw she hadn’t noticed anything as she poked her nose into the bag of muffins.

“I brought coffee. And hot chocolate.”

“Bless your heart. Grace, don’t you have something to say to Percy?”

The little girl swallowed a large bite of muffin and smiled.

“Thank you, Percy.”

“There you go. Off to the table with you. Mrs. Potts will have my head if you trail crumbs everywhere.”

Rushing farther into the apartment Jeff stood back.

“Come on in.”

Proceeding past the hall Percy entered a large room that was combined living and dining space, the kitchen only separated by a counter from the rest of the room. The walls were painted a dark brown that should make it look dark and gloomy but that in this space seemed the perfect backdrop to the eclectic collection of art and furniture. There were two wide chesterfield sofas, a low coffee table in between. Art from the eighteenth century to the twenty-first lent a sophisticated yet homey air to the place. All in all the mix of traditional and modern looked very much like Jefferson.

“Nice place.”

“Thanks. Have a seat, let’s get some muffins before the little munchkin has finished them all.”

Sitting down Grace quickly switched seats so she was sitting on Jefferson’s lap and reluctantly she let go of the paper bag to put it in the middle of the table. Percy joined them but only sipped from his cup. He didn’t think he’d be able to eat. Nerves were trembling low in his stomach, winding themselves too tight to think of adding food to the mix.

“So, what are we doing today?” Jefferson asked and Percy responded,

“You don’t have a plan?”

“I never do.” He grinned and popped a piece of Grace’s muffin in his mouth.

“So you asked me over to…”

“Come up with one. Now let’s see…Grace, what are you in the mood for?”

“The zoo!”

“The zoo?” Percy echoed. If he had to guess what they’d be doing today it would have been low on the list.

“Yeah! They have five thousand penguins and zebras and squirrels.”

“Five thousand?”

“Uh-huh. I counted. Daddy and I named them all. There’s Esther and Hester, Augustus, Conrad and…ah…I’ll know them when I see them. But when we go to see the snakes you have to hold Daddy’s hand because he doesn’t like them. He doesn’t like any rep-remp-retl…”

“Reptiles?”

“Yes, rempniles.”

“So how about it, Percy? Will you come with us and protect me from the evil rempniles?” Father and daughter tilted their heads in an identical move and Percy chuckled.

“Okay, let’s go to the zoo.”

Grace whooped and shot up.

“I’m getting dressed. I’m wearing my jedi outfit.” Then she was off and Percy was left alone with Jefferson.

“I haven’t been to the zoo in…twenty years.”

“You’re missing out. It’ll be fun.”

It turned out Jefferson was right. It was fun. Grace’s enthusiasm knew no bounds as she hopped in front of them dressed in a child size jedi outfit, yellow wellies and a rain jacket with boats on it. The rain was such a slow drizzle it seemed more like mist and it dusted Jefferson’s shoulders, hanging like tears from his lashes. Deciding to venture into the heat of the reptile house Grace sternly reminded Percy he had to hold her father’s hand. Amusedly Jefferson watched him struggle. The struggle wasn’t what he should and shouldn’t do but had all to do with believing he could. Believing Jefferson wanted him to hold his hand. Then Grace solved his hesitation as she took his hand and put it over Jeff’s.

“There. Now we can go in.”

Taking her dad’s other hand she pulled them inside the dark, damp heat of the reptile house. Jefferson shifted his hold and twined his fingers together with his. Percy’s pulse beat so hard he was sure Jeff had to able to feel it in his wrist. But he just smiled over his shoulder before he let Grace drag him to the anaconda enclosure.

o.O.o

Entering the Diner that evening he was surprised to find Archie Hopper in there already. The psychiatrist lived in the suburbs because of his dog so he had to have made a trip for the sake of the Diner if he was there over the weekend. Not intentionally eavesdropping but wanting to get a chance to speak to Ruby he edged closer. His friend was clearing the Little Red Riding Hood table, the red haired psychiatrist at her side. He was talking fast and the tips of his ears were red.

“-Red Riding Hood is actually an originally French seventeenth century cautionary tale about rape. It taught young women to never walk alone or talk to strangers.”

Ruby just blinked and Archie stumbled on.

“I mean, it’s not only Little Red Riding Hood. Most fairy tales are lessons of some sort, often praising virtuous behavior. Meaning in the West mostly Christian beliefs about virtuousness.”

“So they’re actually parents telling their kids what to do?”

“Certainly. Stories of things that live in deep waters and caves were often invented to keep children from going near.”

Ruby collected the last glasses and waved Archie off when he made a move to lift the heavy tray. She spotted Percy and gave a quick smile and shake of her head that seemed to say, “in a second.” Following her lead he shrank back, still able to hear the conversation in the rather empty Diner.

“I didn’t know that. So, is that where all the fairy tales come from?”

“There’re millions, a lot of them often using similar themes and most being spread by word of mouth. A lot of the most famous ones we know today were collected by the brothers Grimm in the nineteenth century. They were influenced by the times they lived in, the Romantic era, and in a move of national pride they wanted to collect German folklore. Today a lot of them have been toned down whereas before characters died horribly or received brutal punishments. In the day they were told this was commonplace and not viewed as too frightening to tell children, it was just the way life was.” Archie’s voice grew surer as he explained a topic he was clearly familiar with.

Percy smiled as his friend listened attentively to what could only be classified as a lecture. It was sweet to see that whenever she made Archie nervous he’d rely on intellectualism to get comfortable again.

“I’m still not sure we should rename the Little Red Hiding Hood table the “French Cautionary Tale Table.”” For a moment Archie just blinked but then his eyes warmed and he actually threw his head back and laughed. A deep, rich sound that seemed all the more surprising as he was usually quiet and soft spoken.

“You’re right, Ruby. Sometimes a little romance is called for.”

Percy could see Ruby steel herself and crossed his fingers unconsciously.

“How about now?”

“Pardon?”

“Romance. How about some right now? I’m off in five. We could go grab dinner or see a movie…ah, only if you want.”

“I…I’d like that very much,” Archie stuttered slightly, the red of his ears spreading down his neck. Giving Ruby a victory fist pump behind the psychiatrist’s back he blew a kiss and mouthed “Call me later”, before backing out of the Diner and leaving them to it.

o.O.o

Jeff sunk down in his most favored armchair, a glass of Scotch in his hand. Grace was in bed and the apartment was quiet. Looking out over the Boston nightscape he sighed. Two weeks had passed since their first date and Jefferson was ready to throw the towel in on caution. The only thing that kept him from giving in was the fact that Grace adored Percy.

Bringing out his phone he flicked through the pictures he’d taken of the two of them at the zoo a couple of weeks ago. Two blonde heads close together in front of the monkey enclosure. Percy lifting Grace so she could see the zebras far off in the distance. The doctor crouched behind Grace as she solemnly pointed out each penguin and gave their names. Eating ice creams, both smiling widely, his daughter with a streak of vanilla across her cheek and a smear of it down her bright braided hair.

More pictures, from another night at the Diner, from the cinema when Percy had laughed in the same places as Grace in the latest Disney movie. Last night she had demanded he read her bedtime story and he knew of no one else who had earned that honor but him before. It had been fantastic to hear Dr. Percy Whale read “The Chicken That Had No Friends” in his polished, educated accent. It had been better to see Grace cuddle against him, her eyes drooping. His daughter had impeccable taste in people and could tell right away if someone was worth her time and she deemed Percy “the best”. Her father could only agree.

Once he’d finished that bedtime story yesterday Jeff had decisively dragged him to the couch and kissed him until their breathing was ragged and their hands frantic. This time it was Percy who broke away first.

“Grace is home, Jeff.” Jefferson pushed himself up, supporting his weight on his arms as he looked down at the attractive doctor.

“Grace is fast asleep, Percy.”

“She might wake up.”

“Were you planning on being loud?” He teased and Percy leaned closer, his breath brushing over Jefferson’s lips and teasing tingles of desire sparked at his nerve endings.

“I was. And I was hoping you’d be too. When we finally get each other I don’t want there to be any cares but you and me in that moment.” Dropping his head to Percy’s shoulder Jeff drew a few calming breaths.

“I hate it when you’re right. Very well.” He pulled back and rose, helping the other man to stand as well.

“We’ll find the time, and the place. And hopefully it’ll be soon.”

Finishing his Scotch Jefferson decided that there were some games he didn’t want to play. If they couldn’t find the right time and place, then perhaps he would just have to create it.

o.O.o

Percy had just finished his rounds for the day, about to settle down with reports and charts for the rest of the afternoon when he found Jefferson in his office.

“Jeff. What are you doing here?” Jefferson smiled and pulled out a bouquet of large fall flowers from behind his back.

“I wanted to see you. Here,” He held them out and Percy resisted burying his face in them.

“I…Well, thank you.”

“I was thinking…” He moved closer and Percy pressed the flower to his chest like a shield. “If we keep waiting for the perfect time and the perfect place, this might never happen. I think we should just give up on finding perfection. I think here and now would be just perfect.”

“Ah…I,” Backing away he felt his heart beat heavier, his throat tightening as Jeff advanced towards him. Fighting to keep his eyes off Jefferson’s lips that he wanted against his, his neck that he wanted to set his teeth to and hear him pant, the hands he wanted on his skin making the heat under it build and fume he kept retreating.

“You see, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it for two weeks.” Swallowing audibly Whale backed and felt his desk stop his retreat. But Jefferson just kept closing in.

“Jeff…not here. Tonight, I’m free, or just after work or…”

“Oh no, now. Right now, before I actually do go as mad as they say I am.” Holding out a hand to stop him getting any closer Percy felt leather over warm muscle and his resolve wavered.

“I…I can’t…We’re…We shouldn’t…”

“I love doing things I shouldn’t. Come on, Percy. To hell with it.” The face of Jefferson’s young laughing face under him in the snow flashed in his mind.

“No…I’m…”

“I want you, Percy.”

“Oh, god.” His resolve couldn’t hold a candle to hearing the man he had wanted since he was fifteen tell him he wanted him. Seventeen years of pent up need was released as he let the gates open, forced apart by the roaring, rushing flood of desire. The flowers fell to the floor as he grabbed the front of Jefferson’s shirt and hauled him close.

Claiming his lips in a rough kiss he felt as if the need had been set aflame. Light, pure and blinding, shot through him, spread like a wild fire through his veins, exploded in his head. Jefferson hummed approvingly as he closed the distance between them, his arms snaking around his back, hugging him close. Letting all his wishes have free roam Whale pushed his hand into Jeff’s hair. With a decisive tug he pulled Percy’s shirt open, the seams ripping. Backed against his desk he was surprised at Jefferson’s strength when he lifted him and set him down on the top of it, a growl rolling through his chest as he pulled them core to core, Percy’s leg slung over his lean hip.

Hurrying now Percy slid the ruined shirt and white coat off his shoulders, eagerly pushing Jeff’s leather coat off him. It fell to the floor with a heavy thud and impatiently Jefferson stepped back and pulled both the waistcoat and the shirt over his head in one move. Barely giving Percy the chance to appreciate the wide shoulders, the tapered waist and the impressive sculpted chest he stepped back again, his lips finding Percy’s once more. Feeling his last tenuous binds on restraint fray at the edges he found Jeff’s zipper and let the world around them fade.

#mad whale #red cricket #once upon a time #silkywrites

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neighbourskid · 4 years

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Goodbye 2015! You sucked.

(original date: 29 December 2015)

Ah, it is that time of the year again. Christmas is over, the year slowly but surely coming to an end....

And yes, we are doing it again. Looking back on the year, seeing all that wasn't good, everything that sucked. We see it everywhere.

January: 2015 will be my year, I can feel it!

December: Oh, nevermind....

It's all over the social media. Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr... we see it everywhere, from everybody.

But this year you will not hear it from me. I do, of course, agree. This year sucked. Most of it really. There were so many shitty things this year. All the killings of black people, the wars all over the world, the incidents in Paris... you name it, it probably happened.

But, as I said, you will not hear any complaining from me. No. I will look back at all the good things that happened this year. And now I should probably stop rambling about what I could do and get started. So, without further ado: My year in, well, I guess, numbers.

2015 in Movies

As you, my dear readers, have without doubt noticed, I have watched a few movies this year. Well, a few is quite understated. All in all I have been to the cinema 30 times since last December. Which, for most people, is a lot. At least most of my friends told me that I was, and I quote here, bonkers, out of my mind, crazy.. you get the feeling. A few also said they could not afford such extravagances. My answer was mostly, "me neither". But I did go, still.

So, here are the numbers. Since last December, I have-

been to the movies 30 times

seen 26 different movies

seen one movie 4 and another 2 times

seen 3 movies in one afternoon & 4 in one week

been to the movies with 14 different people

been to the movies 12 times on my own

been to 16 different cinemas

And those, my dear readers, are the movies I've seen:

It was a good year of cinema, I tell you. Very excited for next year. Can't wait to try beating my record. And I tell you, I will try. I will also try and watch the Award ceremonies. And watch the nominated movies beforehand. At least that is the plan.

But enough of movies and cinema now. Let's move on to the next category. Because besides sitting in cinemas all year, I have also read a couple of books. You who read my blog have, of course, noticed that.

2015 in Books

At the beginning of this year I planned to read 50 books for the '2015 Reading Challenge', but I guess I failed.

But I did read, mind you. A lot. For school mostly, but right after I graduated I started reading the books I actually wanted to read, the books I had at home for a long time but never read. I read novels, memoirs, short stories, biographies.. I read a lot. But I think I bought even more.

So I guess, these are my numbers for books. In 2015 I've read-

21 books

around 4.5k pages

13 books for school

7 German ones

11 English ones

3 French ones

This here are the books I've read:

I mostly enjoyed reading the books I read on my own terms. But 'Frankenstein', 'The Hitchhiker's Guide' and 'The Hound of Baskervilles', which I all read for school, were brilliant as well. I loved reading them. They were the most interesting ones I read for school.

'Die Macht der Drei' was honestly one of the worst books I've ever read. While discussing it with my teacher for the presentation I had to have about it, we mostly laughed about how bad it was. The story would have potential, mind you, but it was so badly written. It was horrible to read.

The French ones were acceptable, but I barely understood a thing.

Right now I'm still reading 'The Sherlockian' by Graham Moore (the great chap who wrote the academy award-winning screenplay for "The Imitation Game"), which is a brilliant book as well.

I'm hoping to read more in 2016, trying the challenge again, probably.

Mooooving on now. What else happened in 2015? Humm..... My shitty memory is quite challenging when it comes to such things. Well, how about a top ten of good things that happened? Yeah, sound like a good enough idea.

Top 10 Things of 2015

10. Getting my teeth. It should probably be further up the list, but idk. It was painful getting them, but it was worth it. I have them now, which is all that counts.

09. Watching the Oscars all alone in my bed, all night long and then going to school without having slept a second. It was a great night. I enjoyed that and I will be doing that again next year. The ceremony really touched me somehow. I loved it.

08. The summer camp "Connected" I helped organizing this year. It was amazing, we had a great time. And if you wanna know more about it, read the blog post I made about it.

07. Having made sure that my friend and I can go to San Diego next summer, around time for Comic-Con. I feel like this should be way up the list, but it's just the planning. I know that if I make a list at the end of 2016 it will grace the top of the list. It will probably be the list. But the planning alone is already motivating me like nothing else.

06. Probably graduating from my school? Like, that I made it, that I did not fail. It wasn't a particularly nice event, but hey, it happened. So the three years of, well, suffering, were worth it. I had fun at some of the exams, but that was an exception.

05. I went to the Europa Park in Germany with my friend and we had the best time ever. It was so much fun, I tell you. It was great being away from everything for two days and just enjoying the moment, being there without having to please any people, being able to just be ourselves. Sigh, I miss it.

04. The week me and my classmates spent in Calella, Spain the week after graduation. We had an amazing time there. It was a beautiful goodbye to these people. I really enjoyed myself there. It was great.

03. Going to the Cinema so much...I think. Yeah. It was great. I really liked that. I love the feeling of sitting among strangers, experiencing the same thing for 2.5 hours and then leaving. Not alone. But somehow as a group. It inspires me. Really does.

02. I will put 'Warner Bros. Studio Tour: The Making of Harry Potter' on this place, because as much as it hurt my heart being there, as much as the nostalgic feeling was killing me inside...it was a truly amazing experience and I loved every second of it. It showed me what a tremendous impact Harry Potter had on my life, my childhood. J.K. Rowling formed so much of my life with her books. And I am very grateful for that. I nearly broke down into tears in the café of the studio, but it was....sigh, amazing. Truly was.

01. I knoooooooow it sound incredibly cheesy to put this on my place 1 of the top ten things that happened this year....but it was kinda the highlight. It really was. So, as you know, I've been to London this fall to watch Benedict Cumberbatch in Hamlet. And as brilliant as the play was (AND IT WAS ASTONISHING), my highlight happened three days later, when I went back to the Barbican, stood in the cold for what felt like forever to meet Benedict. And having this incredible man stand an arm's length away from me, smiling and looking at me was most definitely the best thing that happened this year.

Now that I have rambled on for, like, forever I will end this looking back post, with looking forward. Because that is something we all should do: Look forward. Not back. Don't dwell on past things. Don't drag yourself down for something that didn't work out the way you planned it. Look to the future. Keep moving forward!

The things I look forward to in 2016 are quite a few, I tell you. And I'd rather think about them, than about all the bad things that happened in 2015.

In 2016 I look forward to going to Letters Live! in March with a few of my friends. I look forward to maybe visiting my grandma's hometown in Italy. I look forward to our team weekend in February, our teenager party in April. I look forward to the two weeks my friend and I will be spending in San Diego next July. I look forward to meeting Zachary Levi. I look forward to starting my studies next Fall. I look forward to... 2016. And hopefully it will be a good year. Hopefully our world will come to good terms with itself. Hopefully some wars will end. Hopefully the refugee crisis will get a good solution. Hopefully, we can all be the best versions of ourselves. Hopefully we get to fulfil our dreams. Hopefully this will be our year!

And with that, my dear friends and readers, I wish you all a happy new year. I hope it will indeed be a happy new year for you.

With love,

Alex

#blog post #import from old blog #long post #2015 #end of year #movies #books #highligths

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thatsnotcanonpodcasts · 5 years

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Episode 54: World Science Festival 2019, Activision & The Wandering Earth

Welcome back for another episode of the ongoing celebration of being a Nerd, the weather in Queensland is starting to cool off a little. It takes an extra couple of minutes to cook your feet on the concrete now. We have another wonderful episode full of fantastic material for everyone, and believe me when I say everyone. Before we go further, we wish to have a moment to farewell the Mars Opportunity Rover, the gutsy little robot that could, and did for 15 years, so long and see you soon. First up Buck is excited to tell us about the World Science Festival happening this year in Queensland. There are events all around the place ranging from Chinchilla (the dinosaur capital of Australia) to the northern coast in Townsville and Gladstone not just in Brisbane. Buck is like a kid in a candy shop trying to work out which events he wants to attend. Check it out there are so many things to do and see it is totally amazing. There are even films being shown at GOMA (The Gallery of Modern Art) that you can look forward to. The Professor has news about the jobs cut at Activision and the ramifications of it. Also a rumour about job offers circulating for the recently unemployed. This is another major studio/publisher that is facing trouble with declines in sales, share price and general profitability. Wonder when they will start to listen to the customers and make games fun again. Also just bring back games with great storylines, not everyone wants to play a battle royale. DJ has found an amazing movie for us to all go and watch, titled Wandering Earth. It is a Sci-Fi from China on a big budget and is looking well worth watching. We will let you know what we think, but remember we encourage you to make your own decisions not just be sheeple and follow mindlessly what some cretin says. We also have the games being played and the lists of shout outs, remembrances, birthdays, events and general banter. Also we are sad to announce that no one was interested in the date with the DJ.

EPISODE NOTES:

World Science Festival Brisbane 2019 - http://www.worldsciencefestival.com.au/?gclid=Cj0KCQiA14TjBRD_ARIsAOCmO9b4a4oCKRet7RwIKcYPNs3VXlKlj2QXL7RbnpOZNd7SY9MhDCuDrD4aAmynEALw_wcB

Activision Job Cuts - https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-02-08/activision-is-said-to-plan-job-cuts-as-sales-of-key-games-stall

Wandering Earth the movie - https://www.flicks.com.au/reviews/chinese-blockbuster-the-wandering-earth-might-be-the-best-sci-fi-movie-of-2019/?fbclid=IwAR23djvIMpwbHdA_moWg7qnkyrVqkLERcukORh978SxohkKI-QdOefsIRZI

Games currently playing

Professor

– Wargroove - https://wargroove.com/

– Apex Legends - https://www.ea.com/games/apex-legends

Buck

– The Elder Scroll V: Skyrim - https://store.steampowered.com/app/72850/The_Elder_Scrolls_V_Skyrim/