Gender? I don't even know her!

“Normal People”

Steeplechase Pier, Coney Island September 1931

“Normal people”

Steeplechase Pier, Coney Island September 1931

Jack found a bench down on the pier, looking out over the channel and had sat, checking over her notes, waiting for Michael to arrive. The sun was just starting to go down and the hazy light illuminated her stray hairs as he made his way down the boardwalk to meet her. He sat next to her and handed her a hot dog.

"What's this?" she laughed.

"What, you never had a Coney Island hot dog before? You been livin under a rock?" he took a bite of his own sausage.

"Darling I've had a hot dog before. My question is why you're handing me one."

He shrugged. "Thought you might be hungry." He looked out over the channel.

"So I've been thinking about the case…" she started.

"Hey" he interrupted, catching her gaze. "I wanna try somethin'."

"What?" She raised an eyebrow at him.

"I wanna sit on the pier and eat a hot dog and pretend to be normal people."

"Michael if we were normal people, we wouldn't be rooting out a cult under the Coney Island docks on a Friday evening." she said flatly.

"Yeah but… we could pretend? For like…" he looked at his watch. "20 minutes? We got 20 minutes before sunset."

"You want to pretend to be normal people for 20 minutes." She repeated slowly, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Yeah. yeah I do. I wanna sit on the dock, look at the ocean, and eat a hot dog like I don't know what's actually goin' on in the world." he took another bite. "And if you wanna join me in that, more's the better."

"Alright. 20 minutes." She closed her notebook and relaxed back against the bench

"Well, more like 19 minutes now."

She laughed and took a bite of her hot dog. They ate in silence, watching the waves lapping gently at the beach below. When he finished eating, he shifted closer and put an arm over her shoulder. If they were normal people, he'd be able to call her his gal. He'd be here with his gal who wouldn't push him away if he asked too many questions, or if he tried to stay over too many nights in a row. The gal he could take out and introduce to people without worrying that he was stepping over some kind of line. The gal that he could take to Coney Island and buy a hot dog for without the pretense of an investigation.

But that was for normal people, and god help them both, they weren't that. So instead he did whatever this was, and pretended it wasn't tearing him apart. Basking in his 20 minutes.

She rested her head on his shoulder, the warmth of her seeping through his shirt. He let out a soft sigh and let his eyes close gently, enjoying the sounds of the gulls and the feeling of the breeze in his hair. If he was a normal person he'd put his fingers under her chin and draw her into a deep kiss. If he was a normal person he'd tell her he loved her. He'd buy her a ring, she'd say yes with a smile on her face… but that was for normal people.

The sun set. " Ok" he murmured. "Back to work."

She patted him on the shoulder as she stood ." That was nice." She said with a smile. " thank you, Michael." She turned and started walking down the pier towards the shoreline."Now come on, I managed to get a copy of the key to the basement. We should be able to get in and poke around without too much trouble."

YES ! that be Part why Pixie take pictures , Pixie really like making Art from them too !!! Is really fun !

They started messaging. Cachét complimented his drawing of a human-bug threesome and asked for a print. Three years later, Cachét and David got married. The human-bug threesome drawing hangs on the wall of their home.

slow down for your disabled friends. thats like a bare minimum kindness that we shouldnt have to ask for. i love that youre so quirky and walking fast is a cool personality trait to you and all that but i bet you can count your physically disabled friends on less than one hand

Hey folks!

Let's talk about Beck's End and why you should support it!!

In the UK historically, Northern voices and rural voices are too often left out of the conversation. A lot of this is just straight up classism - for Americans, think Appalachia or the Deep South.

It also has very deep historical roots here in the UK - the Northerners resisted the Norman invasion after 1066 and were punished for that by having all their woodlands and farmlands burned and then sown with lime (the mineral) to poison the soil so that they had to be dependent on southern agriculture for food. You can still see the effect this scarring of the landscape had on the land today (it's why we have the Yorkshire moors that Kathy and Heathcliffe are so fond of).

Much like the way this phenomenon plays out in many countries, even today Northerners are thought of as violent, small-minded and stupid: regardless of our contributions to culture (hi, The Beatles). The North of England is profoundly and unfairly underfunded by the government for things like state infrastructure - from transport to healthcare.

So for me, (Ella), as someone who lives in the North, making Beck's End isn't any old audio drama project. It's really meaningful to me that it's a series that's set in the North of England, starring a cast from the North and working with a crew from the North. That's actually kind of a big deal.

Right now we're 69% (nice) funded with 8 days to go. If you're able to lend us some financial support, please consider doing so. If you can't for any reason, please consider giving us a signal boost.

[ID: A digital drawing of Noel pressing a kiss to Arthur's left hand (John's hand). Arthur is watching with a soft smile and allowing his hand to be tugged up. Noel is smiling wide as he ducks his head and kisses John's fingers. John's hand is glowing slightly and illuminating the curve of Noel's cheek and his coat. Noel also has an arm wrapped warmly around Arthur's back.

Noel is a middle aged man wearing a gray hat and trenchcoat. He has tan skin and many visible scars. Arthur is a stout white man with short hair, a mustache, and wears a brown vest over a dress shirt. End ID.]

[ID: A traditional and digital ink drawing of Arthur Lester from season 1, handcuffed on the boat on the water. He is hunched forward, his hands between his knees and glares darkly as he says "I'm blind". The image is colored in sepia browns, except for his yellow eyes. Behind Arthur is dark water underneath the boat, and then thick fog rolling over the water.

Character design: Arthur is a heavyset white man with disheveled dark hair plastered to his forehead. He wears a dress suit under a plain sweater and slacks. He has notable eyebags. End ID.]

been relistening to malevolent!!! I missed my s1 design of pathetically dour, offputting arthur so, so much. shout out to episode 9, easily one of the Most fucking episodes of the whole show 🦑

bloody version under the cut