Feet of Clay (Every Unsatisfied Urge)
Title: Feet of Clay
Author: Concupid
Pairing: Noel/Julian
Rating: PG
Summary: The boys work on the radio script for "Jungle".
Author's note: Listening to "Jungle" on the way to work led to some productivity! Thanks, as always, to my dear beta Bluey.
Julian was trying to concentrate, but Noel kept rubbing up against him like a cat. They were lying on Noel's bed, hips pressed together, with Julian's battered laptop in front of them. Julian had tried scooting over so he could focus on the script, but Noel kept inching into his territory. He was currently wedged between the wall and his comedy partner.
"Can you move over?" Julian snapped. "I feel like a T-rex trying to type like this," he added, flailing his forearms about.
Noel laughed, but he looked embarrassed as he moved over. Julian felt guilty, but at a loss. Noel was self-conscious about the strangest things. He was a visual person, and his anxiety about doing a radio show was coming out in all kinds of odd ways.
"What are you doodling?" Julian asked, trying to clear the awkwardness - the killer of their productivity - from the room. "Is that some kind of little monster attacking us?"
"That's Tommy," Noel explained as he added a little more width to the creature's already enormous head. "He's got a great big head and little stumpy legs."
"Why is he trying to head-butt Vince in the kneecaps?"
"He hates Vince," was Noel's matter-of-fact explanation. For Julian, the creative process was generally a slow and laborious process of piecing bits together, but Noel plucked fully formed characters from his brain. Julian had casually suggested Howard have a hero, and Noel was bringing him to life like a comedic Dr. Frankenstein.
"Too modern, I suppose," Julian offered, watching Noel for a reaction. His partner had gotten better at hiding his feelings over the years, but not when he was lost in his drawing.
Noel smiled.
"Tommy hates anything modern," Noel agreed.
Julian silently wondered if Tommy liked Howard because he was a throwback, but he didn't like to pin Noel down too tightly on characters. If he asked too many questions, Noel would remember that Vince and Howard were essentially Noel and Julian and would begin to censor his answers so as not to hurt Julian's feelings or sound overly vain.
"There was no heroin chic in Tommy's day," Julian suggested. "Big heads were all the rage."
He watched as Noel sketched Vince collapsing into Howard's arms and then being placed in an oversized sack.
"Did Tommy kill him? I'm not sure Vince should die in the second episode."
"He's just having a little sleepy while Howard goes on an adventure with his hero," Noel murmured, lost in a world of his own creation.
"What kind of adventure?" Julian asked, preparing to write down every crazy word that came tumbling from Noel's mouth. His partner was in the zone.
"You know, climbing mountains, swimming across streams, killing a mule and selling it for offal."
"The usual."
Noel made a non-committal noise as he sketched Tommy swimming with Howard perched on his head.
"He's forgotten Vince," Julian pointed out.
Noel frowned.
"They'll go back for him," Julian suggested, trying to keep Noel in his creative zone.
Noel was still frowning, so Julian moved closer until they were again pressed together.
Noel drew another large-headed figure.
"That's his son. He was mute for thirty years, and now he's going to sing a song about everything he's seen, but couldn't talk about," Noel explained, drawing music notes around the figure.
"First I saw a bit of soil," Julian sang in a somber tone as he began to type.
"See, you don't need your arms to type," Noel quipped. "You got them daddy long legs fingers. You don't even need to use your hands, you can keep them still while those spider legs move about the room."
Julian laughed, but he kept typing. They improvised scenes until they had nearly half a script, and yet no discernible plot. When Julian tried to casually shake his arm awake, Noel climbed onto his back and pretended to give him a rather gentle bumming.
"Is this distracting you, Barratt?" Noel asked, giving him a smack on the arse. "Am I too close?"
"Is what distracting me?" was his deadpan response. In reality, Noel humping him for a joke could never be as distracting as Noel's very real need for proximity when he was worried. Julian liked snuggling Noel, and was more or less okay with that part of himself. What made him uncomfortable was admitting that the proximity made him uneasy. Noel seemed to feel reassured by all but sitting in Julian's lap, while Julian felt distinctly... distracted. That 'distraction' felt dangerous, like the kind of thing that could ruin a partnership and a friendship. There should be a certain sexual chemistry between comedy partners, but it was a delicate thing. The spark needed to remain a spark. Too much fuel, and it could consume the relationship. Too little, and it would die out.
"You know who would be good as Tommy?" Noel sounded thoughtful as he continued to straddle Julian. "Rich."
"Fulcher?"
"Ayoade. He's good at that..." Vince began naming plants in a deep and authoritative tone.
Julian smiled, easily imagining Richard droning on. He had a unique talent for playing against his youth and natural charm. He was nearly a decade younger than Julian, but he could play an elderly stuffed shirt with ease.
Julian wrote Richard's name in, and wrote a note to himself to follow up. They would begin recording in a few weeks and needed to have their cast on hand. Julian and Noel would be doing most of the voices themselves, but they wanted to bring in a few other actors so Howard and Vince could have scenes together. Danny Wallace had kicked down the doors of the BBC and demanded the Mighty Boosh be given a show. At least, that was how Julian imagined it happening, because numerous meetings, gatherings and lunches with various members of the BBC had amounted to nothing. Everyone agreed the Mighty Boosh was a uniquely contemporary and yet timeless entity, something hip and edgy and unique that the BBC theoretically wanted, but was too afraid to take on. Now that they were in the door, Julian wanted to make sure they made the best of their opportunity.
Julian glanced at the clock on his screen. He only had an hour until he was due to meet up with Roger to work on some music. Julian vacillated between feeling pretty chuffed with his recent compositions and being convinced he'd be laughed off the radio. He needed an opinion he could trust. Noel was too inclined to be supportive of Julian's musical endeavors
"You got a hot date of slap bass planned?" Noel asked, with his unsettling intuition.
Julian and Roger had been friends since they were children. Roger had helped Julian figure out how to use the washing machine after his first wet dream (Julian would be able to continue looking his mother in the eye). Their brief attempt at a romance was barely worth mentioning in terms of their shared history, and yet Julian felt increasingly awkward discussing him in the face of Noel's knowing looks. There was always a chance things might turn sexual when Julian and Roger got together, but that was only a small part of their friendship.
The same could be said of Julian's friendship with Noel.
They spent most of an hour hammering out a storyline, until Julian was forced to pull himself away.
"I'll call Ayoade," Julian promised, "and see if he's free."
Noel gave a distracted "Cheers," as he walked Julian out of the apartment.
As he drove across town, Julian thought about Tommy Nookah, with his giant head and feet of clay. Even after they'd agreed that if Ayoade wasn't available, they'd have Fulcher do the role, Noel had continued to insist that Vince be unconscious while Howard and Tommy went on their 'adventure' - despite there being no reason for Vince's voice to be absent. Although there was something about Howard dragging Vince around in a sack that tickled Julian, he also felt mildly unsettled. There was no real reason for Howard and his incredibly boring hero to be alone, yet Noel insisted on keeping Vince an oblivious burden on Howard's back as he jumped through hoops for his old friend.
Julian wasn't sure what it all meant, but he felt certain he shouldn't discuss it with Roger.
Author: Concupid
Pairing: Noel/Julian
Rating: PG
Summary: The boys work on the radio script for "Jungle".
Author's note: Listening to "Jungle" on the way to work led to some productivity! Thanks, as always, to my dear beta Bluey.
Julian was trying to concentrate, but Noel kept rubbing up against him like a cat. They were lying on Noel's bed, hips pressed together, with Julian's battered laptop in front of them. Julian had tried scooting over so he could focus on the script, but Noel kept inching into his territory. He was currently wedged between the wall and his comedy partner.
"Can you move over?" Julian snapped. "I feel like a T-rex trying to type like this," he added, flailing his forearms about.
Noel laughed, but he looked embarrassed as he moved over. Julian felt guilty, but at a loss. Noel was self-conscious about the strangest things. He was a visual person, and his anxiety about doing a radio show was coming out in all kinds of odd ways.
"What are you doodling?" Julian asked, trying to clear the awkwardness - the killer of their productivity - from the room. "Is that some kind of little monster attacking us?"
"That's Tommy," Noel explained as he added a little more width to the creature's already enormous head. "He's got a great big head and little stumpy legs."
"Why is he trying to head-butt Vince in the kneecaps?"
"He hates Vince," was Noel's matter-of-fact explanation. For Julian, the creative process was generally a slow and laborious process of piecing bits together, but Noel plucked fully formed characters from his brain. Julian had casually suggested Howard have a hero, and Noel was bringing him to life like a comedic Dr. Frankenstein.
"Too modern, I suppose," Julian offered, watching Noel for a reaction. His partner had gotten better at hiding his feelings over the years, but not when he was lost in his drawing.
Noel smiled.
"Tommy hates anything modern," Noel agreed.
Julian silently wondered if Tommy liked Howard because he was a throwback, but he didn't like to pin Noel down too tightly on characters. If he asked too many questions, Noel would remember that Vince and Howard were essentially Noel and Julian and would begin to censor his answers so as not to hurt Julian's feelings or sound overly vain.
"There was no heroin chic in Tommy's day," Julian suggested. "Big heads were all the rage."
He watched as Noel sketched Vince collapsing into Howard's arms and then being placed in an oversized sack.
"Did Tommy kill him? I'm not sure Vince should die in the second episode."
"He's just having a little sleepy while Howard goes on an adventure with his hero," Noel murmured, lost in a world of his own creation.
"What kind of adventure?" Julian asked, preparing to write down every crazy word that came tumbling from Noel's mouth. His partner was in the zone.
"You know, climbing mountains, swimming across streams, killing a mule and selling it for offal."
"The usual."
Noel made a non-committal noise as he sketched Tommy swimming with Howard perched on his head.
"He's forgotten Vince," Julian pointed out.
Noel frowned.
"They'll go back for him," Julian suggested, trying to keep Noel in his creative zone.
Noel was still frowning, so Julian moved closer until they were again pressed together.
Noel drew another large-headed figure.
"That's his son. He was mute for thirty years, and now he's going to sing a song about everything he's seen, but couldn't talk about," Noel explained, drawing music notes around the figure.
"First I saw a bit of soil," Julian sang in a somber tone as he began to type.
"See, you don't need your arms to type," Noel quipped. "You got them daddy long legs fingers. You don't even need to use your hands, you can keep them still while those spider legs move about the room."
Julian laughed, but he kept typing. They improvised scenes until they had nearly half a script, and yet no discernible plot. When Julian tried to casually shake his arm awake, Noel climbed onto his back and pretended to give him a rather gentle bumming.
"Is this distracting you, Barratt?" Noel asked, giving him a smack on the arse. "Am I too close?"
"Is what distracting me?" was his deadpan response. In reality, Noel humping him for a joke could never be as distracting as Noel's very real need for proximity when he was worried. Julian liked snuggling Noel, and was more or less okay with that part of himself. What made him uncomfortable was admitting that the proximity made him uneasy. Noel seemed to feel reassured by all but sitting in Julian's lap, while Julian felt distinctly... distracted. That 'distraction' felt dangerous, like the kind of thing that could ruin a partnership and a friendship. There should be a certain sexual chemistry between comedy partners, but it was a delicate thing. The spark needed to remain a spark. Too much fuel, and it could consume the relationship. Too little, and it would die out.
"You know who would be good as Tommy?" Noel sounded thoughtful as he continued to straddle Julian. "Rich."
"Fulcher?"
"Ayoade. He's good at that..." Vince began naming plants in a deep and authoritative tone.
Julian smiled, easily imagining Richard droning on. He had a unique talent for playing against his youth and natural charm. He was nearly a decade younger than Julian, but he could play an elderly stuffed shirt with ease.
Julian wrote Richard's name in, and wrote a note to himself to follow up. They would begin recording in a few weeks and needed to have their cast on hand. Julian and Noel would be doing most of the voices themselves, but they wanted to bring in a few other actors so Howard and Vince could have scenes together. Danny Wallace had kicked down the doors of the BBC and demanded the Mighty Boosh be given a show. At least, that was how Julian imagined it happening, because numerous meetings, gatherings and lunches with various members of the BBC had amounted to nothing. Everyone agreed the Mighty Boosh was a uniquely contemporary and yet timeless entity, something hip and edgy and unique that the BBC theoretically wanted, but was too afraid to take on. Now that they were in the door, Julian wanted to make sure they made the best of their opportunity.
Julian glanced at the clock on his screen. He only had an hour until he was due to meet up with Roger to work on some music. Julian vacillated between feeling pretty chuffed with his recent compositions and being convinced he'd be laughed off the radio. He needed an opinion he could trust. Noel was too inclined to be supportive of Julian's musical endeavors
"You got a hot date of slap bass planned?" Noel asked, with his unsettling intuition.
Julian and Roger had been friends since they were children. Roger had helped Julian figure out how to use the washing machine after his first wet dream (Julian would be able to continue looking his mother in the eye). Their brief attempt at a romance was barely worth mentioning in terms of their shared history, and yet Julian felt increasingly awkward discussing him in the face of Noel's knowing looks. There was always a chance things might turn sexual when Julian and Roger got together, but that was only a small part of their friendship.
The same could be said of Julian's friendship with Noel.
They spent most of an hour hammering out a storyline, until Julian was forced to pull himself away.
"I'll call Ayoade," Julian promised, "and see if he's free."
Noel gave a distracted "Cheers," as he walked Julian out of the apartment.
As he drove across town, Julian thought about Tommy Nookah, with his giant head and feet of clay. Even after they'd agreed that if Ayoade wasn't available, they'd have Fulcher do the role, Noel had continued to insist that Vince be unconscious while Howard and Tommy went on their 'adventure' - despite there being no reason for Vince's voice to be absent. Although there was something about Howard dragging Vince around in a sack that tickled Julian, he also felt mildly unsettled. There was no real reason for Howard and his incredibly boring hero to be alone, yet Noel insisted on keeping Vince an oblivious burden on Howard's back as he jumped through hoops for his old friend.
Julian wasn't sure what it all meant, but he felt certain he shouldn't discuss it with Roger.