wunderkind | (no subject)

wunderkind

STUFF GOES IN HERE

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From:

humanistic

[As George goes on, Mitchell slowly lets the magazine drop, so he can just see him over the top of it, a little more with each item on that list. By the end, he's staring at George, dryly, and he lets the silence drag on a little.

A beat longer; then a breath.]

How long had it been. Between Nina and your last hook-up, I mean, how long of a time had it been?

From:

nebbish

[Now, there are questions that are fair, and there are questions that are unfair. That is a question that is unfair.]

It - a - a little while. Before...

[Mitchell knows when "before" was.]

From:

humanistic

You're sure it wasn't the romantic philosophies drivin' them off?

[...all right, so that was a bit of a low blow. George's nervous trailing-off voice inspires some small tiny scrap of remorse in Mitchell--there's teasing him and then there's shaming him, right, and if he's crossed the line he can blame a whole host of things for that infraction, but in the end the only proper response is to relent.]

Don't pout, all right, it was a joke. Take my advice. If you put together a reading list for her, do-- poetry. And romances, preferably ones with muscley werewolf lovers, and-- [He waves the magazine, dismissively.] --girl's shit, y'know. Save the Russian literature for when she rolls over and asks you what you're reading, and then you can tell her all about it, and she'll be all, drowsy, and impressed with your scholarly tendencies.

[A beat. He looks over at the book and winces a little.]

Maybe-- work on finding a sexier Russian novel. It can't hurt.

From:

nebbish

No, Mitchell, I don't think it was the romantic philosophies driving them off.

[And he does pout - no, not "pout," pouting sounds stupid, he gives a look of wounded outrage, that's better - because Mitchell knows damn well what was driving them off, and it was George's own restraint so that he didn't hurt them. And they could see how that turned out, couldn't they. But...all right, also that he tended to have a little bit of a nervous reaction to being in the...vicinity...All right, even before that he didn't really have any luck -

Bollocks.

He pushes out his lower lip in a not-pout but doesn't get worked up into real anger.]

And I'm not going to give her books about muscley werewolf lovers. That's dishonest, first off, and second it'll plant...wrong ideas. Possibly. About...Well, let's just say that the fictional depiction of werewolves is off. Way, way off.

From:

humanistic

[That is a pout, but considering the hysterics to which George can get himself worked up to, a pout is really not all that bad. Mitchell grins a little, settling down behind his magazine again.]

Oh, so you're the one in the relationship that reads the romance novels. Because all that I get from that is that you've actually sat down and read muscley werewolf lover protagonist books. Tryin' t' see how you measure up? Ah, but don't get discouraged by the cover illustrations, there's like one bloke that poses for those, it's all vanity muscles--

From:

nebbish

What!

[His voice (normally a masculine baritone that ladies are quite impressed with, thank you very much) perhaps gets a touch higher-pitched in outrage. A touch.]

No! No, it - you - you - I - I - I - I was examining, Mitchell, the depiction of werewolves in literature in order to - to - to see how inaccurate it is - and hugely inaccurate, that's the answer, don't - don't talk about this like I went out looking for romance novels so I could have - have a wank, or - or - Look, l...et's - what did you need to say about Annie!

From:

humanistic

[He smirks at the inside of his magazine--it's always something of a success when you get George's voice to leap up into the stratosphere like that. Annie will owe him a fiver for this (metaphorically, as she hasn't actually got any money). Undeterred by the attempt at the subject change, he asks, casually (without missing a beat):]

Mmh. Yeah. Hey, George, there's a crossword in here. The clue is 'most common adjective used t' describe werewolf muscles in romance novels'--you're the expert here, would you say that's rippling or glistening. Sweaty, maybe, that might fit in there better--

From:

nebbish

That is not the clue!

[His voice perhaps gets maybe a touch higher. Oh, it's still masculine - very masculine - but...also a bit screechy.]

I know that's not the clue because the first thing you look at to solve a crossword, the very first thing, Mitchell, is the number of letters, and you just made suggestions that varied in the number of letters -

From:

humanistic

[Smoothly:]

Eight letters. Begins with r, ends in g, there's a double p in the middle there... rippling? Do we think it's rippling? 'His rippling lupine muscles', does that one sound like a quote? I'd ask Nina, but-- she wouldn't know--

From:

nebbish

No, Mitchell, of course she wouldn't, because I'm not about to get shirtless in front of her while lupine, am I! And how about this for a quote for you, how about - sod off, the werewolf said, with rippling lupine annoyance, how does that do -

From:

humanistic

I don't think annoyance can ripple, can it--and that's not the clue, if you're writing your own crossword, that's one thing, but this one is clear: eight letters. Begins in r, double p in the middle--

[He lowers his magazine again to smirk at George.]

Can I see your rippling annoyance?

From:

nebbish

Right -

[George turns to Mitchell, giving him a good view of his face - then framing his face with his hands like he's in the bloody music video for "Vogue" or something, just to give Mitchell the unadulterated view - ]

Here, a prime view of my rippling bloody annoyance. Try not to swoon.

[And then he drops his hands and makes a little gesture that looks sort of like shoo.]

And it's rippling. There aren't any other eight letter words with r, double p, and a g at the end.

From:

humanistic

[He doesn't move to write it down, because of course there's not anything to write down. He just looks at George, grinning vaguely--even after he's dropped his hands, he's still grinning, and watching, and that goes on for a moment before he folds up the magazine and chucks it on the floor, leaving back on the sofa with his hands behind his head.]

Make sure you show that little move to Annie later, she could use the laugh. Rippling.

From:

nebbish

Move? There wasn't any - any move, there...

[But that did catch his ear a little bit, and so he gets distracted by - ]

Why - why could Annie use the laugh?

From:

humanistic

Oh, come on.

[Sarcastically, sharply, he throws his hands up around his face in a pantomime of George's gesture--only he puts on a slightly nauseated face whilst doing it.]

This. This is what it looks like-- see why she'll laugh? You do these things and it's like you've never actually seen yourself--if you had, you wouldn't do them--

From:

nebbish

Wha...Mitchell, that's not how I looked at all!

[He tosses his head upwards and grumbles - ]

I looked considerably more handsome than that, for one.

From:

humanistic

With your hands framing your face like that? It was like the world's most boring marionette show. A giant face puppet. I couldn't tell if I was meant t' be impressed or meant t' laugh.

[A beat; he adds, judiciously:] A handsome enough puppet, I s'ppose. Better than Muffin the Mule, not that that's saying much.

From:

nebbish

Well, at least I didn't look like Punch. Of Punch and Judy. Only...uglier.

[Which is a much less clever retort, and that makes him grumpier still.]

From:

humanistic

[Mitchell squints at him for a moment.]

Maybe slightly.

[And before George can get all George about that, he quickly goes on--]

Look, what I wanted t' ask you in the first place is, have you noticed Annie lately, or have you been too busy with your ripply werewolf muscles and your romantic reading list.

From:

nebbish

I've... [He wants to get George about that, very George about it, but that's a strange question and he gets distracted with it.] Of course I've noticed her. She...says things. Many, many things. Sometimes when I'm on the phone. Or writing, and then that annoying thing happens - you know, when you're writing, and she's talking at you, and suddenly you start writing what she's saying.

From:

humanistic

The writing one's just a you thing, I think, that's never happened t' me.

[But Annie does have a tendency to chatter on in moments of extreme concentration, and so Mitchell has to wince a little.]

Look, she can't help it, yeah? She's a ghost. It's not like she's got a lot of other outlets for conversation--she's not even leavin' the house, for God's sake, what d'you expect her t' do besides talk?

From:

nebbish

I know! I know.

[He raises his hands, warding off any impassioned defense of Mitchell's comrade-in-deadness.]

Believe me, I am perfectly well aware of her reasons for needing to talk to people. And I am happy to have her here. We are all happy to have her here. I'm simply saying, Mitchell, sometimes it's nice to have a bit of peace and quiet so that I can read a few minutes. Uninterrupted. Intellectual things.

From:

humanistic

Alternating between the Antiques Roadshow and Secret Diary of a Call Girl doesn't actually count as intellectual, y'know. Not even if you're wearing glasses as you watch.

[It's not even a werewolf thing, this lack of understanding. This is a George thing, and a not-being-dead thing--but moreover, a George thing. George, who likes quiet and rooms without mugs of tea everywhere (which he has also complained about, often, usually in hissed whispers when Annie isn't around, which is a nice gesture even if it's still a complaint).

So, fine, Mitchell sighs.]

Look, I'll try t' be around more so she's got someone else t' talk to--I've just been dealin' with a lot of shit lately--but it won't matter. She'll still talk at you as you're reading, that's just... who she is.

From:

nebbish

I do not - I have never watched Secret -

[But there's no denying that - but he watched it purely because of Billie Piper and her considerable acting talents, and the subject matter and perhaps the occasional titillating scene was unnecessary - incidental - unwelcome, even, not like he was doing it for a wank - and - right - ]

And it would be good if you were around more, and thank you very much for committing to being around more, it is, I should say, about time. [A stiff nod, but then he feels like he has add - ] But just because...you should be around more. If Annie wants to talk at me, that's...fine. It's fine. [And he has to finish up with - ] I...do like her. You know.

From:

humanistic

[The fact that George doesn't finish his protest of not actually having watched Secret Diary of a Call Girl is not lost on Mitchell, who was giving him a sceptical sort of look. Really.

But all right, he'll give George that one. He's merciful, sometimes, for the right people.]

D'you try and guilt me because you've got too much guilt, and you've got to, sort of, spread it around? I just want to understand the process-- and while you're at it, do you actually like Annie, because you're protesting and stammering a great deal on that point.