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spn-season-16-chronicles · 3 years

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End of the week special edition

SPNews

Tl/Dr: This week was certainly supernatural

And here is a recap of everything that I'm aware of

7th - 13th of November

Quick recap of the week has to be started by mentioning what happened last weekend as events of the first half of the week were direct result of those actions. On 5th of November (maybe date was coincidental, or may be that theh predicted bigger interest on that particular day) Misha posted announcement that main cast will make fundraising event via Internet, to gather money for Stacey Abrams' organisation (fighting against voter suppression). Around the same time tumblr's 2020 year in review was published, with destiel in its own category.

This week has started with people thinking what will happen, with supernatural briefly trending on tublr, because of people, and which submitted questions have any chance of being answered. Many speculated - are they gonna say something interesting, is destiel gonna be canon or uncanon? And at sunday/monday twitter showdown took place, that resulted in publication of Misha's nude picture - and that only fueled the anticipation.

On Monday Misha told that there will be spn trivia, bloopers and outtakes from season 15. The post was not something special, but was commented by Jensen Ackles, breaking his social media silence. Because of the lack of content fandom started interpreting the post on manny ways - while saying "There will be an open bar, right" - is he talking about the finale, or he can't even talk about finale without drinking, or will he be drunk and unfiltered? From that point on anticipation only rose, and two separate tags were trending on tumblr, as well as on twitter.

Tension rose higher and higher as the hour of the event was approaching. Misha commented on Sun-Maid raisin tweet, then Sun-Maid social media person started to answer some Hellers (and people thought that Sun-Maid were also a Heller). Then things got even wilder, as Misha posted on instagram about asking Jensen about his weird acting choices, and about answering on fans prying questions. People were posting relantlessly on tumblr and pushing spn way up high on trending list. That kind of traffic caused temporary local insenity, as someone posted "correct me if I'm wrong, but Misha said something about having secret tumblr account" and manny people ran with it, asking random accounts if they are Misha Collins - kind of smaller, reversed Mishapocalypse.

Then livestrema started - people were rather disappointed as event was rather uneventful and anticlimactic. There was many more people from the cast as expected Kripke, Collins, Ackles and Padalecki. Half of the time was spent on talking about politics with Stacey Abrams, which still was unexpected for few people. After that there were 3 spn trivia questions to the cast and to the fans. They talked about Herpexia, and how Jared gave Seb Roché very weird massage on the airport. Misha said as a joke that the fandom does not care about voters supressio, only about their answers, which is indeed true Activity of the fandom proves that they want answers. Cast did not discuss finale, did not answer any questions. 5 minutes of bloopers were played.

After that people were almost ready to move on, there rumours that someone who won one-on-one zoom convo with Jensen asked him if Dean is bi, and man allegedly said that yes, and bottom to boot. Didn't find source of that rumour. People were stating that in bloopers Jensen was making joke about bottoming. Many that still steyed shipping were inching closer to casually shipping Jenmish. Consensus was made that The Episode That Must Not Be Named simply did not happen. Heller Obama became Ex-Heller Obama by unfollowing twitter destiel stan

Thursday was uneventful, from perspective it was kind of calm before the storm. In evening hours Misha tweeted about Castiel Project on give.trevorproject.org praising fans for selflessness. There was 1000 dollars anonymous donations, and people were very sure that it was Misha who donated. In the morning of next day it turned out that it was very selfless (and probably wonderful person) moved by this act of good will. Stacey Abrams watched finale and praised it

On Friday stuff just... Kept happening. It started with Taylor Swift dropping surprise album "Evermore" that many fans interpreted as describing Dean's and Cas' relationship - Destiel posts were climbing to top positions in T Swift tag. Parallels were seen everywhere. Things got even more unhinged as the day passed. Scripts of confession scene of 15x18 were leaked. It was hard to determine authenticity of script. They were proven to be authentic and stolen by Adam Williams, spn's VFX coordinator.

Script didn't reveal any new revolutionary information. But it included cas' POV - "Still beautiful, still Dean Winchester" which hinted on Cas finding Dean also physically attractive. It included "pulls Dean close" as well, which again trigeret speculations if something was taken out, and general anger at big three: queercoding, queerbaiting and "kill your gays trope. Destiel was proclaimed canon for the 3rd time. Spn was trending yet again stopping at 4th place.

Adam Williams went on a twitter spree for more than 10 hours, making very gay-homophobic statements. He claimed among others that Dean is not bi, but Destiel is canon, but not in sexual way, but if Dean woul be bi, he would be a top BECAUSE he is an alpha, and that labels are unnecessary but Dean is streight. Whole cast and cw stayed silent about scripts and Williams' statements (it is worth remembering that he had no influence on a plot, so his statements regarding plot, no matter if stating that destiel is canon or saying that Dean is streight - are as valid as any other headcanon presented on tumblr)

In the meantime Jared published posts praising the finale

As soon as excitement and rage died down and supernatural stopped trending new informations came up. On Saturday evening a Facebook panel with LatAm voice actors took place. (As I do not speak Spanish I'm going to include 3rd and 4th hand information here). It is stated that LatAm dub director thought that Cas and Dean are clearly in love, thought that included in translated script (basically) "I too" was too vague for that relationship and hanged it. There is no consensus on if tape that they got had any other English audio (at least I did not find anything that I can trust 100% yet) so it is best to assume that they've got the version that we've seen. Whole crew just went on with it, thinking that it all makes sense. As they (especial the director) were on board with that version destiel was again proclaimed canon. As I was finishing writing that there were attempts to contact the director, and spn was still trending. People are hating on Misha "for lying" which they should not do, given that only him was ready to listen to them

The End has no End

Fandom, as well as the show just won't die, which is in of itself very supernatural of us

They probably never will be done, and there will never be peace

If there'll be new updates I'm gonna keep the tabs

Good night

#SPNews #destiel #spn season 16 #supernatural #SPN #Deancas #Dean Winchester #Castiel #Carry on wayward sons #But there'll never be a peace #The End has no End

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m-tsuri · 5 years

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She

an original short story in honor of Pride Month

Summary: disaster bi forms crush on a girl after meeting once.

Warnings: brief mention of negative thoughts regarding sexuality.

Anna tasted like cherry soda. At least, that’s what Lila liked to imagine Anna tasted like. The image of the soft, smooth curve of her lips wouldn’t leave Lila’s mind no matter how hard she tried to push it from her thoughts. And she tried a lot.

For years, Lila battled with thoughts she knew were wrong, desires she was told not to have. She thought of boys, often. The feeling of their backs under her hands, the callouses of their fingers as they ran up and down her thighs. But she couldn’t deny that she thought of girls in the same way too. Their collar bones, the gentle curve of their necks, their hips and thighs under her hands as she pulled them close to her.

These contradictory thoughts tore her into two separate beings. One that was perfect for society’s standards, and one that was damned from the start. Lila hated herself for the latter being, disgusted by her perverted thoughts. A sinful girl en route to hell.

She’d never spoken aloud the thoughts that coursed through her. Never written them down anywhere, for the fear that someone would find her deepest and most guarded secret. But that all changed when she met Anna. Devastating Anna.

They’d met at a small boutique in the Downtown area. Anna had asked to see a shirt that was next to Lila. When Lila beheld Anna, all words evaded her and the most she could manage was a doe-eyed nod. Anna made small talk, asking if the shirt looked nice, if the color complimented her. Everything would like on her, Lila had thought. So would nothing.

“I’ve seen you around school,” said Anna.

“You have?” Lila asked, stunned. She would have remembered seeing Anna. The girl had a face that one simply couldn’t forget.

“I think we had English together in Freshman year. You sat near the front of the room, with a little group. I tend to stray to the back of the room.”

Lila was good with names and faces— they tended to go together. So it was a wonder that she had never met Anna before. It felt like a knife to the heart that Lila had neglected such a beautiful specimen.

They exchanged numbers before parting ways.

That night Anna texted first. Lila didn’t have the guts to be the first one. She’d never felt this way about anyone. She couldn’t stop thinking about Anna. Where Lila had choked on her words when speaking directly to Anna, she made up for through text. It was much easier, more comfortable. The words came fluently from her fingertips.

Being that it was Spring Break, Lila had a lot of time to fantasize about Anna. What they would do together if they hung out. How Anna’s hand would fit inside her own. Simply staring at Anna’s face.

They’d met the first Saturday of Spring Break. It was now Tuesday night. And Anna texted Lila again. She wanted to hang out the next day. Lila felt her heart stop in her chest and drop out of her ass. A million thoughts ran through her mind at once, it felt like having over a dozen tabs open in an internet browser and all of them were buffering. Until the computer crashed.

Lila hadn’t realized almost an hour had passed since Anna sent the message until her phone pinged. Anna again.

It’s okay if you don’t want to hang. I get it.

Lila typed so fast her message was utterly incoherent. So she typed another, more coherent message. The vibe of their text conversations had been somewhat flirty, but maybe that was just Lila getting ahead of herself. It wasn’t a romantic date, but a date between friends. Right?

I’ll text you tomorrow with the details. Goodnight.

The “goodnight” sent Lila’s heart soaring beyond the clouds at an incredible rate.

Sleep was an impossible thing that night.

The following morning, Lila ate a quick breakfast. She found she didn’t have much of an appetite due to her growing nerves. She spent that day pacing her room and contemplating canceling at the last minute. But she didn’t want to hurt Anna, so she passed the time by doing menial tasks around the house.

Anna did not text the details, but she would let Lila know when she was on her way. That only made Lila more anxious. She liked to know ahead of time where she’d be going.

When the text came that Anna was on her way, Lila scrambled to get ready. She settled on shorts and a loose maroon top, paired with sneakers (they were just about the only shoes she ever wore).

The wait for Anna to pull was pure agony. The suspense drove her up the wall and made her was to pull out her hair one stand at a time. Her heart beat a frantic tattoo in her chest, in her throat.

The moment she got the text that Anna had arrived, Lila shot up from her spot on the couch and called out a quick goodbye to her family. As she bound down the walkway to Anna’s car, she tripped and barely caught herself before she hit the ground.

When she got in the car, she noted the brilliant smile that adorned Anna’s face. She wore a white sundress, her curly hair loose about her shoulders. How Lila wanted nothing than to run her fingers through those curls.

“I really hope you didn’t see that,” Lila said in regards to her tripping.

“I really hope you don’t mind that I laughed. I’m sorry, but it was something out of a cartoon.” Anna covered her mouth in an attempt to stifle her laugh. The sound that slipped from her was beautiful like a symphony meant only for one person.

Anna put the car into drive and pulled onto the street.

“Should I bother asking where we’re headed?” Lila asked with a smile.

“Lookout Point. There’s supposed to be a meteor shower tonight, we’ll get a good view from up there.”

The was beginning to set, the sky washed in colors of blue to red. The clouds looked like cotton candy. Anna’s phone was connected to the AUX cord.

The silence in the car was not uncomfortable, but Lila felt a need to fill it beyond the quiet music that played.

“I can rap the whole of Car Radio,” Lila said out of nowhere.

“Oh?” Anna said, amused and intrigued.

“Yup.”

“Then let’s see it,” Anna challenged. She unlocked her phone with one hand without taking her eyes off the road and passed it to Lila. Lila put on the song and rapped to it, never missing a beat. She felt herself begin to loosen up as the song progressed, to the point where she did awkward car dance moves.

Anna giggled at Lila’s poor dancing; Lila’s heart sped at being the cause of such a beautiful sound.

“I’m impressed. What else can you do?”

So Lila showed her what other songs she knew by heart until they reached Lookout Point, then her nerves returned.

Anna pulled a blanket from the back seat and laid it out on the ground. “I did bring snacks, too,” Anna said, “if you want any.”

Lila shook her head, taking in the sight of the city from the height of Lookout Point. She’d never actually been up there before, never had a reason to. Until now. Anna came to stand beside, closer than was necessary. Their shoulders brushed.

“It’s a lovely sight isn’t it?” Anna asked.

Not as lovely as you, Lila wanted to say. It sounded so cheesy in her head. She settled on saying, “It is.”

They walked to the blanket splayed on the ground. The sky was nearly completely dark, the sun almost gone over the horizon. As Lila sat, Anna excused herself, going to her car. She leaned into the driver's seat. Music blared from the car’s speakers. Hozier. Lila loved the artist and the music.

“Let’s dance,” Anna said, dragging Lila up to stand. “It’ll be a while before the shower starts.”

They danced to the music. Anna kicked off her shoes at some point. With her white sundress and under the light of the moon, she looked like a Celtic druidess performing a ritual to the gods. And Lila had never been possessed by such a strong desire to kiss someone as she had been in that moment. Anna was free as a bird, swaying to the music with her arms above her head. Lila had stopped dancing to watch her and found she couldn’t take her eyes off Anna.

“It’s no fun if you aren’t dancing,” Anna called out as she noticed Lila no longer dancing.

“I got tired,” Lila lied. Anna squinted her eyes at Lila and made her way over. She stopped in front of Lila and looked up at the sky. Lila’s gaze caught on the dip of Anna’s throat. Lila thought of what it would feel like to kiss her there, then on the place just below her jaw, where her pulse beat.

“It’s starting,” Anna whispered, pulling Lila back to reality. She looked up and saw a handful of meteors falling across the sky. A chill crept down Lila’s back. Anna dragged her down to sit on the blanket.

They sat a few feet apart. Lila stared up at the sky, watching the meteors as they fell through the sky. She wondered where they were headed, if they would land on another planet or crash into other space rocks. She was engrossed in her thoughts she didn’t realize Anna staring at her for a good deal of time.

Lila became alarmed. She touched her face. “Do I have something on my face.” She frowned. “Wait. I didn’t eat anything.”

Anna laughed her lovely laugh. Lila thought she’d never tire of listening to that sound. Anna’s laugh was sudden and bright and contagious. The sound embedded itself in the space behind Lila’s heart safely tucked away.

“I want to kiss you, Lila,” Anna breathed. “Since I saw you trip on your way to my car, I’ve had to restrain myself. But I don’t think I can any longer. I really want to kiss.”

“So kiss me.”

And she did. Lila let Anna pull her close until their lips met in a gentle kiss. Anna tasted like cherry soda. Lila absolutely melted under Anna’s touch. Lila pulled Anna onto her lap, never breaking their sweet kiss. Above them, the meteors shot across the sky toward their undisclosed destination.

Lila was no longer two separate beings warring against each other. She was one being, whole as whole can be. Anna was the bridge she needed to realize that. She was not a sinful girl en route to hell, damned from the start. The Greeks, the Romans, they didn’t have labels as people did now, they loved who they loved without restraint. It was accepted. Among them, she could kiss a girl and no one bat an eye. There were gods dedicated to this sort of thing.

Love was not--should not be considered a sinful act. And she didn’t realize that until now, as she held Anna in her lap, their lips pressed together as they became one. The stars looked down on them with joy and appreciation. They were an audience to an extraordinary thing. Lila and Anna. Anna and Lila.

Lila was not disgusted by herself anymore, she was content. She wanted to hold this girl in her lap for the rest of time. She wanted to feel Anna’s heartbeat under her hand until her own ceased to beat. This girl, insignificant in the eyes of the world, made Lila fall to her knees with a single look. She would do anything to hear that laugh until she was a thousand winds. No one could stop her now.

In the circle Anna’s arms, Lila felt safe and whole.

#writing #my writing #my words #lgbt #bi #pride month

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midtownsciences · 6 years

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April’s Fool

gif by @starksparker <33

Pairing: Peter Parker x reader

Summary: Peter receives a note from his secret admirer

Warnings: a few swear words, embarrassment, Peter has a bad time :(

A/N: this is my contribution for @spidermanfeda Day One!! this challenge may be the death of me tbh

Peter raced down the empty hall, skidding to a stop at his locker. He had already missed homeroom, but if he made it in time for first period, he might be able to dissuade the teacher from marking him absent later. He could not afford another red mark on his attendance sheet; that would mean more detentions, and less time as Spider-Man.

Peter quickly entered the combination into his locker, and pulled the door open with such force it came right off the hinges.

“Shit,” he muttered, cringing at the sound of the breaking metal as it echoed down the hall.

He set the door down on the floor and scrambled to grab the books he needed and stuff them in his bag. As he ran his fingers over the spines of a few of the text books piled in the locker, making sure he didn’t need any of them, a folded slip of pink paper caught his eye. His heart sank as he realised it must be a detention slip he had thrown in there and forgotten about.

He retrieved the paper, chewing on his lip as he opened it.

Roses are red

violets are blue

I lose my breath

when I’m around you

Meet me under the bleachers at lunch

- your secret admirer xo

“What?” he whispered, eyes wide. He didn’t have time to analyse the handwriting, or interpret the meaning of the poem, because the bell was ringing and he would definitely be late if he lingered any longer. He lifted the locker door and perched it back on its hinges, hands hovering in front of it as he took a hesitant step back, waiting for it to fall. When it didn’t, he turned and sprinted to his next class, the note tucked safely away in his back pocket.

“Dude, someone has a crush on you! This is insane!” Ned’s eyes were wide as they roamed every inch of the note. He turned it over in his hands, inspecting it for any clues as to who might have written it.

“Try not to sound so surprised,” Peter grumbled. He took the note back and folded it, hiding it in the pages of his chemistry text book. “And I don’t know—something feels…weird.”

“I mean, it’s not that weird that somebody has a crush on you,” Ned said.

“Dude—”

“Something you’d like to share with the class, Mr Parker?” the teacher called.

“Uh- no, sir,” Peter replied, shrinking in his chair.

The teacher turned back to the board, scribbling frantically as he continued his lecture, and Peter turned to Ned. “People have crushes on me, Ned. It happens, it’s not unrealistic,” he murmured. “But this feels weird. ‘Meet me under the bleachers’? That’s sketchy. Why wouldn’t they just talk to me, like a regular person?”

“Do you remember when you met Liz? How long was it before you could form a complete sentence around her?”

Peter huffed. “I could speak to her—”

“No, you couldn’t,” Ned replied flatly. “In fact, if she still went to school here you probably still wouldn’t be able to talk to her. This person is probably just shy. You should give it a chance.”

Peter’s brow creased as he turned back to his books. Even if Ned was right about the note being innocuous, there was only one person Peter wanted to have written it. But she was one of the most beautiful girls Peter had ever seen, and he doubted she even knew who he was. She definitely wouldn’t have been paying enough attention to him to know which locker was his.

As if on cue, (Y/N) raised her hand to answer the teacher’s question. “It increases across the period and decreases down the group.”

“Correct!” the teacher enthused, before continuing his excited speech about electronegativity.

(Y/N) twiddled a pen in her hands, flicking it lightly back and forth in her fingers as her eyes scanned the messy scrawl of the teacher’s writing on the board. Any time Peter’s gaze landed on her, everything around him seemed to fade out. She radiated calm. That’s what drew Peter to her—the sense of quiet that seemed to follow her wherever she went. For him, everything was always dialled to eleven, but it was as if concentrating on her allowed Peter to turn everything else down. He wondered, if he got close enough to her, would the noise of the outside world disappear altogether.

Even if the note wasn’t from her, Peter still wanted to know who had written it. He was tired of pining after a girl that didn’t even know his name. If there was someone out there who liked him, he was more than willing to give them a chance.

The gym was eerily quiet at lunch. Peter’s shoes squeaked on the floor as he made his way to the bleachers, folding and unfolding the pink note in his hands. He slid it into his pocket when he ducked under the bleachers to wait for his secret admirer.

He was almost afraid to look when he heard footsteps shuffling towards him, but he glanced up to find April Montgomery just a few feet away, wringing her hands together. The light sliced through the bleachers in slats that fell softly across her face, illuminating her golden hair and rosy cheeks.

“So you got my note,” she said quietly.

Peter merely gaped at her. April was one of the most popular girls at Midtown. She was a senior. And she was gorgeous. Peter could barely breathe, let alone speak to her.

“It’s okay, Peter,” she said, stepping towards him. “You don’t have to be nervous.”

He exhaled shakily as she closed the distance between them and looked up at him from underneath dark lashes.

“Do you think I’m pretty?” she asked.

“Wh- I… of course,” he said. Peter didn’t know April very well, so he couldn’t say with any certainty that he liked her, but one thing he couldn’t deny was that she was beautiful.

“Would you like to kiss me?” she whispered. She stood so close, Peter could feel her breath on his chin, could smell her flowery perfume.

He thought about (Y/N), and her calmness and her quiet. He thought about the way she pulled at him, like the tide tugging at a shell on the shore, drawing it into the ocean. Maybe he didn’t feel that way about April, but (Y/N) didn’t feel that way about him, either.

He nodded, and April smiled. “Close your eyes,” she said.

Peter allowed his lids to flutter shut, his heartbeat quickening as he felt her lean towards him. Of all the things he had thought he might do that day, kissing April Montgomery underneath the bleachers in the gym was not one of them.

Heat rose in Peter’s cheeks as he leaned in, feeling the warmth of April’s lips just inches away. He reached out tentatively and took her hand—

April snorted, jumping back and bringing her hand up to her mouth to stifle her laughter. “I’m sorry,” she wheezed between giggles. “I can’t.”

“And cut!” called a voice from the other side of the bleachers. Peter’s stomach churned. He’d know that voice anywhere. “Great work, April!”

“Flash?” Peter said quietly. The confusion in his voice earned him a glance from April that seemed almost sympathetic, but it dissolved back into a grin as her laughter returned.

“Do you know what day it is, Penis Parker?” Flash asked as he rounded the corner, a shadowy silhouette at the end of the bleachers.

Peter knew exactly what day it was, and he was livid with himself for being so stupid. How had he not worked it out sooner?

“April Fools’! Or should I say, April fooled you!” Flash grinned. Peter couldn’t look at his smug face any longer. His anger curdled his blood, almost clouding his vision. He pushed past Flash and sprinted towards the door. “What? You don’t want to see the footage?” Flash called after him.

Peter glanced back, hand on the door, to see Flash and his friends gathered around a phone, snickering at whatever was on the screen. He ducked out of the gym before he could lose the shred of dignity he had left.

The laughter of Flash’s friends followed Peter down the empty hallway. Tears stung his eyes as he pulled the paper from his pocket, rolling it up in a tight ball and throwing it in the trash. He took a moment to stand still, eyes shut tight and fists clenched, reeling in his anger.

The clang of the bell pulled him out of his haze, as floods of students pooled out into the hallway. Peter couldn’t face them. If he knew Flash at all, that video would already be all over the internet, and everyone would have seen it.

He ducked his head, hurrying through the sea of students towards the door, which he pushed open without looking back. The cool air soothed his burning cheeks, allowed him to catch his breath. With a quick, cursory glance behind him, he jumped the school’s fence and darted out across the street.

He’d be marked absent again, and probably get detention, but he didn’t care. He’d take the silence of detention over the taunting of his classmates any day.

tags: @jvghead-jones-iii, @cutie1365, @thegirlwiththeimpala, @magnitude101999, @cinnamon-roll-parker, @spider-bih, @quacksontommy, @celestialpercy, @tmrhollandkay, @bi-writes, @tohollandback, @ficklemenagerie, @iamwarrenspeace, @1enchantedfantasy1, @starlightfound, @aussie-mantle

(if i tagged you by mistake please let me know <3)

#spidermanfeda #day one #peter parker x reader #spider-man x reader #peter parker imagine #spider-man imagine #spider-man: homecoming #spider-man #spider-man fanfiction #peter x reader #peter parker #peter parker fanfiction #definitely not my best tbh #but i am under PRESSURE #and have been so distracted lately #hopefully this will get me back into the swing of things #like trust me i know this isn't good #but YEET #there it goes

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barefootblogger-france · 5 years

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Five years ago the Barefoot Blogger started her extraordinary journey to live in France. Remembering some of my early days moving to France, the drama and friends is so much fun. This is one of my favorite blogs 2013 … enjoy!

If “Dancing Queen” from the movie “Mama Mia” came into your mind last Friday, it was me blasting the music from iTunes through my rooftop in France. I was celebrating that my internet connection and phone in the apartment were finally working!

To tell the truth, before then, I was close to a meltdown.

My lack of French language skills was about to get the best of me. Imagine trying to place a service call to the cable or telephone company if you can’t communicate. There’s no way to get through an automated phone answering systems if you can’t speak French!

The drama

Every day I was showing up at my friend Geoffrey’s house with a “Deborah-do” list. He is the only bi-lingual person I know that I’ve felt comfortable asking favors. However, depending on him to deal with all my never-ending household issues was getting to be a bit much. Even for me, the “Queen of do-me-a-favor ple..eee…ase.”

So last Thursday morning I stopped by the town’s tourist office to ask about a newcomers group I heard about last summer. The receptionist gave me verbal directions to the newcomers’ office. Wasting no more time, I set out to find it. After a few wrong turn I came to the athletic field mentioned in the directions. A sign led me to a tiny building inside the fence at the far end of the playing field. The squat, stone structure looked like a baseball dugout shelter; except it had a door at the end closest to me and barred windows on the sides.

The fence gate was open and just inside the gate a dirt path led to the entrance door. When there I turned the worn knob and pushed my weight against the heavy, wooden door. Expecting to see a reception desk inside, or at least to hear a “bonjour”, I saw only a hallway of closed doors and heard muffled voices coming from behind one of the doors.

Walking towards the voices I reached the room that, I hoped, would be full of English-speaking people. Opening the door and sticking my head inside the tiny, dimly lit room, my eyes met the glares from at least a dozen men and women, all sitting around a table. They were probably conducting a very important meeting of some kind, which I rudely interrupted. But surely they would understand. I was on a mission.

I needed someone, anyone, to come to my rescue… to speak English.

Before I was totally into the room, a kind young woman stood up from behind the table to greet me at the door . But by then, I had blurted out “does anyone speak English?”

No one said a word. They just looked at each other, waiting for someone to speak up.

Silence.

“What??” I said to myself. ” No one speaks English? What kind of a “welcome” group is this?!”

Fortunately, none of that ‘head-talk’ came out of my mouth. Nevertheless, I’m sure every person in the room, from the look on their faces, got the message and said in their own heads: “Ugly American!”

Meanwhile, the nice lady who was standing with me quickly grabbed my hand, pulled me into the hall, and closed the door behind us. With sign language and a few French words that I could understand, she managed to communicate that I should come back the next week for French lessons.

In total despair, I walked home. Right past Geoffrey’s house.

As fate would have it

Friday morning I was surprised to hear my new cellphone ringing. I’d purchased it for calls in France and I couldn’t imagine who would be calling me. It was Geoffrey. He announced he had found the perfect person to help me with my phone and internet problems. His English friend, Andy, could help me out for a few hours — for a small fee.

Eureka! Within a couple of hours of showing up at my apartment, Andy worked miracles. The internet, the landline, the wifi connections … all were up and running. On top of that, the plumber was on his way to find out why I had no hot water, and to turn on the radiators. I had been taking cold showers for five days and the apartment was cold at night. No wonder I was getting hysterical.

While my new best friend had fulfilled his intended mission, he inadvertently informed me he had a van.

A van! A strong, young man with a van! My prayers were answered. Now my ten boxes that were stuck in a warehouse in Marseilles could be rescued !The boxes filled with clothes and household items were shipped from the States in August and had been “held hostage” since early October. I was having a spat with the handling company and customs agent about taxes. (Another story, another time.)

Quick trip to Marseilles

This tale is best told by pictures.

Driving the two hours to Marseilles was no problem. Finding the warehouse where the boxes were stored was another story. Our GPS map didn’t take into consideration there is massive construction work underway around the port in Marseilles.

At the warehouse everything looked orderly and well-managed. Then my boxes were trucked on a fork lift to the door.

Please no! These can’t be mine!

Notice there are no pictures of Andy hauling the boxes up the 55 steps to the tower apartment. I didn’t have the nerve!

Home at last!

Moving to France Drama: Stress, yes. But fun along the way

When I look back on my first month living in France, I can easily say the “good times” have outnumbered the “bad”.

Hanging out with Geoffrey almost every day has been an adventure in itself –with enough stories to fill a book. It’s given me a great chance to meet some interesting “characters”. These are not the kind of folks you’d meet at fancy social gatherings. They are the people you’d pass on the street. Luckily I’ve had a chance to get to know them and experience their ways and antics. Here are just a few …

Rugby Reggie

Reggie is from the French Basque country. “I’m Basque” he proudly proclaims in his raspy, deep voice to anyone within listening distance. He lives on the same street as Geoffrey and spends a lot of time on his doorstep. When he’s not teaching the young boys in town how to play rugby. Reggie (shown on the right) and his good friend Matthew gave me permission to use their names and pictures in the blog. I told them they could say “Hi” to the many women who like to read about life in France.

The day this picture was taken Reggie and Matthew moved a mural and wrought iron patio set I bought from Geoffrey from his house to my apartment. Little did they know that, aside from carrying the mural and patio set through the streets of Uzes, with no vehicle, they’d also have to climb the 55 steps to my “tower” apartment.

Matthew and Jerry

The part that no one knew was that the mural was too big to come up the winding tower steps.Did that stop Reggie the Basque? Of course not! With a stroke of shear genius, Reggie figured out how to hoist the mural up the side of the tower wall and maneuver it sideways into the upper window of the apartment. Voila!

Michel and Nicholas come for dinner

Perhaps the two most delightful characters I’ve met in Uz��s are Michel and Nicholas. Both were invited, along with me and Geoffrey’s girlfriend Nandine, to have dinner with Geoffrey on a Sunday afternoon.

Geoffrey the cook

Geoffrey prepared a special French meal for us with the Mont d’ Or cheese I bought at the Saturday market. “Mont d’ Or” means “mountain of gold” in English. It tastes like honey from heaven. The cheese comes in a round bamboo container with a paper lid. To prepare Mont d’ Or you remove the box lid and stuff two or three cloves of garlic deep down into the middle of the cheese. Wrap the container in aluminum foil and bake the cheese for approximately 30 minutes, or until it is nicely melted.

Geoffrey served the Mont d’ Or with boiled potatoes, a salad with vinagrette dressing and fresh baguettes. For dessert we had formage blanc with rum raisin sauce, sprinkled with roasted almonds.

It’s hard to decide if the meal that Sunday, or the company, was more entertaining. Geoffrey’s friend Michel is quiet and introspective. Nicholas is rowdy and comical. Most of the conversation around the table was in French. Nevertheless, I could understand a lot that was said from the occasional French words I know and from the animated facial expressions and laughter.

Who wouldn’t have fun with guys like these?

(RIP Nicolas – 2018 – We miss you)

Stay tuned. More friends to meet.

Moving to France: The Drama Five years ago the Barefoot Blogger started her extraordinary journey to live in France. Remembering some of my early days moving to France, the drama and friends is so much fun.

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