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agentsofsupernaturalmarvel · 4 years

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Waves On A Beach // Joshua Bassett

IN WHICH: Josh listens to the story of a woman healing from a deep loss and beautiful love story unaware of how his listening would affect his life. It all started on a beach taking a chance on a forlorn girl holding a guitar.

Characters: Joshua Bassett x Reader, OMC!Peter Everett, HSMTMTS Cast (mentioned)

Words: 2.3k

Warnings: Swearing, cancer, death, love, angst and fluff. (it’s a doozy)

A/N: I watched I Still Believe and all I could think about was writing a fic about it but I couldn’t decide between Josh or Tom Holland. I decided to write without thinking and Josh was picked subconsciously. But there are tiny easter eggs to Tom Holland, two infact if you can name them.

YOU CAN REQUEST FROM ME AS WELL!

Masterlist

Every year without fail, you managed to find yourself on the beach staring out into the vast unknown looking for something. Something that would confirm that somewhere Peter Everett was okay and not in pain anymore. Life had a way of ripping something sweet and perfect from people’s hands at the very moment they need it most. Often you found yourself in a pew in a church struggling to understand how you had the honour of meeting Peter and then losing him within two years.

A foot behind you was an unopened guitar case that had been hidden in a closet for months now. Untouched from hands that had once itched to pluck the strings. Fingers that had learned chords to countless songs for Peter’s entertainment since you worked up the courage to approach him after working as a stagehand for an infamous local band.

For the first time in two years, you had dragged the guitar to the beach trying to build up the courage to play. Without a second thought, your hands found the familiar vegan leather guitar case holding something so beautiful. Breath taken away from the beautifully designed acoustic guitar with a quote by Peter inscribed on the back. He knew rage would claim the previous guitar that ended in pieces mere days after your parents had to come to Peter’s hospital room to remove you.

Sitting cross-legged on the cold sand just out of the ocean’s reach you strummed a familiar song that Peter had adored since he first heard it.

THEN

The local park the university built was often filled with students trying to relax, but you often found inspiration on lyrics. Your eyes were closed as you sang under your breath to a tune you had discovered early this morning over your cereal.

“You’re really good.”

The deep voice spoke from above to the side of you. Your eyes snapped open to see a male with a kind smile and blue eyes staring down. Your lips opened in a gasp at the newcomer you had made eye contact with and briefly spoken to at that concert.

“Uh, thank you.” You smiled feeling nerves build-up, but you shouldn’t take your eyes off of him, “I’m not overly good.”

“No, you are really good.” He spoke, “I’m Peter.”

“Y/N.” You replied, clenching the neck of the light brown guitar tight. It wasn’t every day some guy you embarrassed yourself in front of willingly starts a conversation.

“Are you busy tonight?” Peter asked, glancing over his shoulder to wear his best friend was scanning his phone.

“No.”

“Meet at the side of the pier. Bring the guitar.” Peter was gone as quick as he had appeared in your sight. A tiny smile tugged at your lips, leaving you to know that this had to be a date.

Oh, how wrong you were. At the pier it was a small group collected around a small fire, at Peter’s side was a brunette girl. Little inquiry brought you that Peter had a problem disappointing people and included the girl hanging onto his every word.

NOW

So, wrapped up in the memories of your love, you had no clue that someone had sat beside you with a friendly smile.

“Hi.” The voice made you jump in surprise, bringing your attention to the side where a curly-haired brunette was sitting. His eyes went to the guitar with a broad smile, “You play?”

“Yeah.” You kept quiet surprised at the zing of attraction you felt at the newcomer. Your solemn expression bringing the boys attention.

“Am I intruding?”

“No. Just stuck in some memories.” You replied, continuing to strum returning your gaze to the horizon, “I keep looking at the beautiful sky and wonder how someone can create something so otherworldly but cause suffering as well.”

“Nothing would be beautiful if there wasn’t anything ugly. Vice versa.” The stranger spoke, “I’m Joshua Bassett.”

“Y/N Everett.” Your smile dipped at the last name before your eyes fell to the simple band encircling your finger.

Josh’s eyes followed, feeling a ping of disappointment, seeing that this subtle beauty was taken.

“Married?”

“Was.” You sighed, stopping your fingers from delicately moving on the strings, “A sad story belonging in a novel.”

Josh’s brown eyes blinked at the sad words bumping his shoulder against yours with words sending you back into a memory, “Would it be too forward to ask what happened?”

THEN

So maybe kissing Peter after singing an impromptu song simply stating you loved him was too much especially when Paige saw it. The girl from the bonfire Peter struggled to let down. That led to whatever between you and Peter shattering. Fall turned into winter and with winter came the holidays where you retreated to.

Your dreams were indescribable, and it didn’t matter when your father, Gary, roused you from sleep in your childhood bed. Bleary eyes grasped at the phone mumbling a greeting of some kind at 2am.

“Y/N? It’s Jacob.” The unmistakable voice of Peter’s best friend was confusing to hear, “Peter’s in the hospital. His sister called me, and it’s bad.”

Time didn’t matter as you scooped up every item into the duffle bag and half-assed brushing your teeth or hair. Gary handed over his station wagon keys to his eldest child receiving shock while his partner was demanding a text when you arrived back in the city.

“Drive safe. It’s a long drive.”

You nodded before you spent the night number of hours on the road only stopping to refuel and use the bathroom. Empty snack bags on the passenger held you over as you arrived at the hospital address sent from Jacob.

A power nap in the waiting room before visiting hours was spent restlessly just before a hand nudged you awake.

“Hey Y/N.” Standing in the flesh was Peter’s sister Heather who you had briefly met on Skype in the early ages of the relationship.

“Hi, Heather.” You sighed blinking, “How is he?”

Heather hesitated debating if it was her place to answer the specifics on why the Everett family was at the hospital. In a moment of clarity, Heather decided to bring you to her brother’s room where their parents had congregated. Sitting up against the pillows in a gown was the handsome honey blonde man.

“Y/N.” Peter breathed surprised to see someone he had hurt with simple words on not wanting to hurt Paige. Now facing the unthinkable Peter wanted to hold your hand forever and proudly declare his love.

“Hey, Pete.” You half-smiled sitting on the edge of his bed while the room emptied, “You gave me a scare.”

“You were at your parents? Isn’t that hours away?” Peter questioned taking in the pale blue bruises under your eyes. You nodded in response, but it sent a warmth brought Peter’s body. His fingers grasped yours tightly.

“You’re worth the drive.” You simply replied, squeezing his fingers.

“Jacob was crashing at my dorm. He called for an ambulance when I was wrenching myself around my bed. Indescribable pain that ended with the surgeons removing a tumour the size of a plum from my stomach. The docs found it spread to my liver. Odds aren’t in my favour.” Peter revealed still holding that smile that drew you in initially.

“You aren’t getting rid of me.” You breathed.

NOW

“So, he has cancer?” Josh asked, turning to give you his full attention as you delved into the story that you had spoken about since that first appointment with the therapist.

“It was first in his stomach and then the liver. The last masses were found in a testicle.” You spoke tapping your fingers reliving the proposal in the hospital chapel and response from your parents, “He did chemo, radiation and finally the last resort was surgery. It was upsetting because Peter wouldn’t be able to have children.”

“It was only one right?”

“The chemo and radiation would deplete the chances of conception.” You medically recounted the words from the doctor, “Peter grew up active in church, and everyone prayed for him. From the people at the gigs I did to the listeners to the radio shows I appeared on.”

“Famous?” Josh questioned, but he only received a shrug in response. He kept quiet as you continued on with your story.

THEN

Heather and you held steadfast in Peter’s hospital room, you had walked holding his hand to the point where you couldn’t continue. He went into the operation room, and you returned to his empty bedside. Heather was your confidant and vice versa. Sleep was pulling when the screams of Mrs. Everett broke the silence.

“Heather! Y/N!”

The two girls scrambled to where a shaking couple stood blinking shocked at having heard the news. Right in the OR despite scans showing a mass when the surgeon opened up their son, there was not a speck of anything not meant to be there.

“It’s gone. There’s no cancer.” Mrs. Everett had no clue, but at that moment, all the hopes and dreams of Peter and you rebuilt themselves, “A miracle.”

A miracle that ended with Peter standing firm at the end of the aisle on the beach you swore you fell in love with him. Your dress was as simple as the wedding where you left to spend your honeymoon at the Everett’s family cabin for the weekend.

“I love you.” Peter breathed, pressing his nose against the edge of where your hairline started. The words flooded your system with love so deep you knew you had a lifetime to feel.

You chuckled seeing a mirage of the wedding party just up the beach from where you were sitting.

“We had a good weekend, but Monday came and so did seeing the oncologist. Peter refused to tell me if he had felt off at the wedding or the honeymoon. He was re-diagnosed, and we spent the week learning how to inject medications, the dosages and the times to do it. It was fine until the end.

You stared out the window of the full hospital room where Peter slept soundly with the IV of pain medication. A slight grimace moved over his face every once in a while, but you couldn’t sleep. Not with the news that Peter’s cancer had returned with a vengeance not even a few weeks after your wedding. Your dress still hung up in your apartment closet next to his tux that you hadn’t been able to return after renting.

“Hey. Mrs. Everett.” The groggy voice brought your attention to the dimly lit hall. Standing in the entry was Dr. Johnson with a solemn expression. You left Peter with a napping Heather as you slipped out of the room.

“Dr. Johnson.” You replied, clasping your hands on your arms, “How is he?”

“Peter’s scans gave me insight. The cancer spread throughout his body.”

“Okay, so are we starting chemo?” The doctor’s expression brought you to the answer is that it wasn’t an option, “Radiation?”

“No.”

“Surgery?” You got more frantic unaware that Peter had woken to see you struggling to take the news. The slight shake of Dr. Johnson’s head, “There has to be something!”

“We can make him as comfortable as we can, but I’m sorry to say we’ve done everything we can.” Dr. Johnson wasn’t surprised as you hugged him out of Peter’s view. This often happened when Dr. Johnson broke the news to people.

NOW

“The rest of Peter’s life was spent at our home until he was rushed to the ER vomiting blood. It was short. Maybe a week at most before he passed away without pain, but I believe his pain was shifted to me.” You finished deciding not to go into the grief that almost drowned you. The apartment had sold after a month as you fled to your childhood home.

“I’m sorry that happened.”

“I’m not.” You replied, smiling, “I got the honour of loving a wonderful man for two years of my life. I married him and lived with him. Do I wish he was still here? Sometimes but he was in too much pain. He always told me that the pain was worth it, he was able to touch the lives of people. He made his mark on the world.”

Josh was quiet as you strummed the guitar into the song that Peter had adored and asked to be played countlessly. The song was created by a Christian musician after losing his wife to cancer at an early age. Their story and your story had been so similar that the man was happy to help you move passed the loss into music.

The beach hadn’t changed in the time you had been away, but something sure did. Behind you was the sound of a small group, you had become close with overtime. The breeze was combated when a blanket was wrapped around you.

“You looked cold.”

The corners of your mouth curved at the concern in words coming from Josh. His arms wrapped around you next taking in the beautiful view. A view you only saw on the same day every year, but instead of being alone, Josh was always there.

Another change was your name. At age twenty-three you had had three last names, first the one you were born with Y/L/N, then Everett and now Bassett. Peter and Josh were physically the opposite of each other but both gentle souls.

“Did you think this would happen? That we would meet and fall in love?” Josh asked, pressing a lingering kiss above your ear as he took in the sunset.

“No, but I have a feeling someone knew I needed you.” You softly replied, “Didn’t think it would be an actor, though.”

“Are you coming? We want to hear you sing!” Heather called from the bonfire where your family, the Bassett family, the High School Musical: The Musical: The Series cast and even the Everett clan were stationed.

Was it weird your first husband’s family was spending time with your current husband’s family? Maybe, but cancer and loss created a bond indestructible. Besides, it was the Everett’s that pushed you into a date with Josh, and it ended perfectly. How beautiful was it to have the joyful ability to fall in love twice?

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meanstreetspodcasts · 4 years

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This One’s About Pete Kelly...

“It’s about the world he goes around in. It’s about the big music and the big trouble in the big twenties. So when they ask you, tell them it’s about the blues…Pete Kelly’s Blues.”

In 1951, Jack Webb’s Dragnet was a radio hit, and a television version was in the works. The success earned Webb some creative space at NBC, and he was able to bring a new series to the air that summer. Pete Kelly’s Blues, the story of a Prohibition-era jazz man and the shady characters he encountered premiered on July 4, 1951, and it would be a passion project for Webb. The show allowed him to integrate some of his favorite music to his signature downbeat dramatic style.

Webb starred as Pete Kelly, cornet player and leader of the “Big 7” jazz combo. The band played regularly at a speakeasy at 417 Cherry Street in Kansas City; the club was operated by the often mentioned but never seen George Lupo (Lupo, with his skinflint ways, sounded like a kindred spirit to the penny-pinching Anthony J. Lyon on Jeff Regan, Investigator). In between sets at the club, Kelly met (and usually ran afoul of) various characters on both sides of the law in the Roaring Twenties, including the FBI, bootleggers, gangsters, and gun molls. These were desperate men and women, and murder wasn’t out of the question. Pete would try to keep his head above water. Outside of the band, his only compatriots and confidants were Maggie Jackson, a blues singer who could lend a sympathetic ear; and Barney Rickett, a former bootlegger who Pete counted as the only honest man he knew.

Each episode featured at least one performance from the “Big 7,” and it was these musical interludes that made the series stand out.

The band consisted of Dick Cathcart subbing for Webb on the cornet; Matty Matlock on clarinet; Moe Schneider on trombone; Ray Sherman on piano; Marty Cobb and Judd Burnette on bass; Bill Newman and George Van Epps on guitar; and Nick Fatool on drums. Cathcart was a long-time friend of Webb’s, and the two of them assembled the members of the “Big 7.” Webb had an ear for the music; he was a jazz aficionado who amassed a collection of over 6,000 jazz albums and capturing the right music in the program was critical to him. Just as he pushed for accuracy and realism in Dragnet, Webb wanted the right sound for Pete Kelly’s band. He went to great lengths to find the right cornet to give an authentic sound. The instrument was presented to Webb by a San Francisco fan whose father had played it in Chicago speakeasies during the 1920s. This blend of music was something new to dramatic radio, and it coincided with the entrance of jazz into the American mainstream. The non-musical cast was well-rounded. Webb reunited with several of his old co-stars going back to his earliest days in radio. Tudor Owen (Jocko Madigan on Pat Novak For Hire) played Barney, and Barton Yarborough (Sgt. Ben Romero on Dragnet) played Kelly’s bass player, "Red." William Conrad and Jack Kruschen were regularly heard in supporting roles. Scripts came from old pros like James Moser (a regular writer on Dragnet) and Richard Breen (who co-created Pat Novak with Webb).

Pete Kelly’s Blues only ran for 13 weeks in the summer of 1951, but Webb wasn’t done with the concept after the series left NBC. In 1955, he directed and starred in a feature film version written by Richard Breen. Dick Cathcart was back to provide musical support, and the cast included Ella Fitzgerald as singer Maggie Jackson, and Peggy Lee who earned an Academy Award nomination for her performance. Edmond O'Brien, Janet Leigh, and Lee Marvin all co-starred in the film, which was a box office hit. In 1959, Webb produced a TV version of Pete Kelly’s Blues that starred William Reynolds. Several radio episodes were adapted, but the TV version aired for only thirteen episodes.

Though not as well-known as his other radio ventures, Pete Kelly’s Blues finds Jack Webb in top form both as an actor and a creator. Once again, he was ahead of the curve with his mix of music and drama and blazing new trails in radio production. And this series is perhaps his most personal; it’s true that Webb had a strong admiration for law enforcement, but jazz was one of his passions going back to his earliest days in broadcasting as a San Francisco disc jockey. Pete Kelly’s Blues was a labor of love for Webb, and you can hear it in these shows whenever he’s about to strike up the band.

#Pete Kelly's Blues #Jack Webb #Old Time Radio #Golden Age of Radio

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utilitycaster · 4 years

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Your fav character from each class in all the actual plays you’ve watched?

THE BEST QUESTION (if hard). I’m only counting regular PCs here; see the end for some guest/NPC/one-shot mentions. As you can see I love basically all characters but I do have my favorites.

Barbarian: there is a high potential, now that Ashley is back for good, that Yasha will win this next year but for now Gorgug and his sweet awkwardness and confused attempts to find his dad wins. (some other good barbarians: Grog, Beryl from Relics and Rarities who was a. kind of a stoner and b. an absolute delight and c. a cool depiction of path of the ancestral guardian, and Sir Fitzroy Maplecourt, sweet crepe loving failure)

Bard: I love Fig, but I have to go Scanlan. You know that art piece of the Vecna battle that’s overlaid with the All Work No Play “what would the worst character be” line? Yeah. From “I’m snoring after having sex” to “I was saving it for Vax”. You just can’t beat that. (some other good bards: Annabella from Relics and Rarities, Misty from Dimension 20)

Cleric: this is probably the hardest category (shout out to a lot of clerics. Jester, Kingston, and Kristen are tied for second place) but I think I have to go with Caduceus. I love how much he sees of everyone else and how little we know of him. I love how not-so-secretly judgemental he is. I love his bone flute. I love that he’s quietly trying to save his dying home, and perhaps find family that might be dead. Someone hug him for me. (I would like to recognize Pike and Merle of course, as well as Efink Murderdeath here, and while I’m only 7 episodes in I think Zolf is already my favorite of RQG. )

Druid: Keyleth. I feel like TAZ is at a disadvantage because they’re so early on in Graduation, but also I love the Firbolg but I am not sure a druid will ever surpass Keyleth, with all her messy awkwardness and genuine desire to do good at any cost. (shout out to Ricky Huckster for being a really unique take on the druid, Lillith from Escape from the Bloodkeep for being a great wine mom, and to Kugrash who is currently ripping my heart out)

Fighter: I’m surprising myself here but the recent developments with Fabian Seacaster have put him in the forefront, I think because his story is still ongoing and because I’m a sucker for an arrogant jock suddenly confronting mortality and failure. I do still love Percival De Rolo a lot though. (shout out to Magnus Burnsides who is good at everything, and Veros the O.G. Himbo from Relics and Rarities)

Monk: Beau. This is another case of like, I love Sofia Bicicleta too, but Marisha Ray has some kind of genius for playing female characters that really tap into like, things that many women I think feel but don’t know how to express (at least, I, a woman, feel these things and don’t know how to express them). Beau is such a complicated abrasive character who feels things deeply, and who has genuinely tried and succeeded in changing. She’s so dynamic and wonderful and I love her to bits.

Paladin: Vax. I wrote a whole piece about my experience of listening to CR campaign 1 episode 57 that I never published or posted. I think there’s something deeply profound and beautiful about sticking to an oath that you didn’t ever think you’d choose, and to a promise you fell into. (also, spoilers but Fjord’s going to be my choice for Warlock so I cover that there even though one of my favorite things about him is his switch to Paladin). (shout out, of course, to Ricky Matsui)

Ranger: Vex. Due to some valid and some invalid complaints about the ranger class few people play it, which is a shame because the revised ranger options are pretty great (Horizon Walker is amazing, I say as an admitted fan of weird planar shit) and because like, Aragorn was my favorite LOTR character. But yeah, everything I’ve said about Keyleth and Beau applies to Vex, the D&D character I think I relate most to despite my irl stats not matching hers at all (I do not have 17 Charisma). The imposter syndrome, the need to appear that everything is under control, the sibling loyalty, the stubbornness, the quiet leadership - it’s all so perfect and so unique and I love her very much. (Sokhbarr was a fun take though)

Rogue: put Vax as Paladin so I could nominate Riz as my favorite rogue (and again, I love Nott and enjoy what I’ve seen of Argo, and to be fair, Sasha seems very good as well) but I think the inquisitive subclass is so cool and Riz has such a wonderful arc. Also, goblin with gun is great but goblin high schooler with gun is straight up genius.

Sorcerer: a very rare class, tbh, with Pete getting it by default. He is indeed a fascinating character though, and tying his sorcery into the mythology of the world is a pretty brilliant DM move. (I also am very into Hamid thus far, not in the least because I love halflings)

Warlock: Fjord. I liked Fjord from the start, and even when he was being an ass during the pirate arc found him relatable. I think it might be my background as a bard player that makes me love this disaster who survived for years on just a high constitution and being really good at talking and playing roles; I also love someone who isn’t the greatest leader but falls into it, and someone with control issues working through it (see also: Vex, Percy) And finally, I don’t know if Travis was telling the truth about him being lawful good but he genuinely does want to make things better for people and he takes responsibility very seriously. (obviously, I also really liked Leland, and while I think of both Fig and Sofia as primarily of their main classes of bard and monk, they are cool as warlocks. I get why Emily Axford keeps gunning for Hexblade).

Wizard: Caleb. Given all the other sources of magic it’s always fascinating to see why someone becomes a wizard specifically, and I also like how complex Caleb is - not just the trauma, though that’s part, but the humor and the versatility. (Adaine was a close runner-up though, and Taako was my favorite of THB but is a little too goofy to be a favorite).

Artificer: I mean, obviously Tary.

NPCs and guests, with less commentary:

Barbarian: gonna go with Lionel the True Polymorphed Duck here.

Bard: Hazel Copperpot, she of the 1930s radio accent

Cleric: again very difficult, but then again, not so difficult. Lieve’tel was great.

Druid: Nila, the sweet and calming presence in our hour of need.

Fighter: oh god I don’t know if I can choose between Keg, bisexual dwarven disaster, and Brian David Gilbert’s Hargis, awkward goliath theater kid.

Monk: Ferriwen Breeze, who I do hope shows up again because she was my favorite Darrington Brigade character and I really love Genasi; also Expositor Dairon, natch.

Paladin: few people play paladins as guests which is weird. I do like Kerrek, and I do like Arkhan, but like, Kima, clearly.

Ranger: Sandralynn Faeth, hands down. A wonderful NPC.

Rogue: I do love Cathilda, and I do love Twiggy, but I laughed about the Owlbear for the entire Darrington Brigade one shot.

Sorcerer: I mean...it has to be Gilmore, right? Calianna is great but no one can beat Gilmore.

Warlock: Zahra, who also, incidentally, is the only non-Hexblade Warlock who’s shown up. I mean hexblade is objectively amazing but Zahra is too.

Wizard: there have been many wizard NPCs across games and it was a very difficult choice but who else is graceful, unendingly kind and patient, and reliable in all situations? Allura Vyesoren is the wizard you wish your wizard could be. Yussa and Essek and Lup and Arthur Aguefort and Barry and Lyra and Ranier and far more wizard NPCs and guests are all wonderful in their own ways but like, did you think you could come for Matt Mercer’s self insert? you could not.

#d&d #critical role #relics and rarities #dimension 20 #TAZ #Anonymous

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theyearoftheking · 4 years

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Book Forty-Nine: Black House

“Here is a true American loner, an internal vagrant, a creature of shabby rooms and cheap diners, of aimless journeys resentfully taken, a collector of wounds and injuries lovingly fingered and refingered. Here is a spy with no cause higher than himself.”

After almost fifty books, The Talisman still stands at the top of the leader board as my favorite Steve book. It’s richly layered, full of memorable characters and horrible villains, with a satisfying conclusion. It’s the type of book fantasy and horror lovers alike are eager to escape into.

It’s sometimes hard to embrace the sequel to a book you love so much... I mean, I can be bought, but my criteria are stringent:

Consider setting the book in Wisconsin... perhaps the beautiful, sad, remote, desolate western part of the state right along the Mississippi river.

Maybe a Dahmer reference?

Scratch that. Instead, go with an old-school serial killer no one really talks about anymore. How about... Albert Fish? He’s pretty gross.

On second thought, reconsider a Dahmer reference. Maybe an evil spirit that links Dahmer and Fish together?

TONS of Dark Tower references.

If Steve and Pete were to consider writing a follow up to The Talisman with all these elements, I might consider reading it.

Spoiler!

Dark House contains all this goodness, and more.

It’s so fucking dark, y’all. I don’t think I’m ever going to be able to drive past a long-term care facility and NOT think about an old man inside wanting to eat the buttocks of small children.

Oh hey, trigger warnings for cannibalism, and violence against children.

So, Dark House is set in fictional Coulee County, Wisconsin (not a place). But Steve and Pete (I need to start giving Peter Straub some shout outs as well) describe the western part of the state magnificently. Not too long ago I had a sales job that required me to travel the entire state, and I always loved my jaunts west. I’d park right along the Mississippi, eat my lunch and just soak up the isolation. I’d much rather make the drive to Pierce county than the Quad Cities, which my current employer is asking of me. *Silent scream for help*

Despite Coulee being fictional, the actual Wisconsin references are thick:

De Pere (where we recently found out Steve spent a few formative years)

The Brewers

Miller Park

Kingsland Ale- while fictional, it’s a nod to Wisconsin’s rich brewing history, and favorable climate for microbreweries

Dahmer (several times, actually)

Racine. Y’all. I have no idea what Steve’s obsession is with Racine... it comes up in multiple books. It’s really not that great. Take that from someone who spent a brief period of time working there. Honestly, my favorite thing about Racine is the authentic Thai restaurant right in downtown, Sticky Rice. If you find yourself in Racine, please go check them out... their red devil curry is amaze-balls.

So, yes... lots of Wisconsin. Also, lots of Dark Tower:

Eye of the King

Crimson King

The Tower

Red roses

Breakers

Little Sisters

Gunslingers and their weapons

Roland and the ka-tet

Monos! Blaine and Patricia

Chief Breaker Brautigan- who allegedly tells hilarious stories about his escapes. I miss him already.

I have questions about how Steve convinced Pete to include so many Dark Tower elements into this book...

Steve: “Pete, bud... I know you might have a different vision for how this book plays out. Buuut what about if we make it part of the Dark Tower universe?”

Pete: Stares for a long minute. “Um, I thought that series was dead in the water. Do we really need to use Dark House to resuscitate it?”

Steve: “Remember the car accident? You know, the one that almost took my leg?”

Pete *Oh fuck, he’s bringing up the car accident as a bid for sympathy, and to convince me to make this a Dark Tower book...* “Of course I remember!”

Steve: “Well, it shook some things loose. I’m about ready to finish the series. I just thought it might be fun if we make this book a lead-up to the finale”

Pete: “It’s intriguing, but I’m not really sure it’s the direction I want to go in. I was thinking more-”

Steve: “I ALMOST DIED IN THAT ACCIDENT!”

Pete: “Cool, Dark Tower book it is!”

I should write fan fiction. I’ve obviously got a gift.

Black House is told from a birds-eye narration view. Literally... there’s this fat, evil crow named Gorg flying all over town, giving us the lay of Coulee County. Bad stuff has been going on: little children have gone missing, and only a few of their bodies have turned back up mutilated and broken.

The chief of police, Dale Gilbertson, knows he’s in over his head, and keeps trying to convince his pal, retired police detective, Jack “Hollywood” Sawyer to come consult on the case.

Jack isn’t having it. He retired young and moved to Coulee County from Los Angeles after tracking down and arresting serial killer Thorny Kinderling. The majestic beauty of western Wisconsin caught him by surprise, and he happily invested in reasonably priced (read: cheap) real estate with a view.

Upon moving to Wisconsin, Jack befriended Dale’s blind uncle Henry Leydon; who voices several radio programs, including The Wisconsin Rat, which plays indy screamo bands and has plenty of shock-jock antics. The two hang out together, listen to jazz music, and sometimes Jack reads to Henry. Henry was able to use his elevated senses to study Jack’s speech pattern and figure out Jack’s mom was THE Lily Cavanaugh; the Queen of the B’s.

While Jack and Henry are reading Bleak House, Charles “Burny” Burnside is wandering around the Maxton Elder Care Facility, pretending to have dementia, and dragging children into The Territories for Lord Malshun to either use as Breakers, or for Burny to snack on if they have no Breaking skills. So, Burny’s a bad dude who did some suspicious things in Chicago; but an evil spirit (the same one who invaded Albert Fish and Jeffrey Dahmer’s bodies) is what’s causing his kidnapping and cannibalistic urges. I know I say this every ten books or so, but Burny might be the worst King villain ever. I was not upset later on when his intestines were violently ripped from his body.

A sweet little boy (with strong Breaker powers) named Tyler Marshall goes missing outside the Maxton Elder Care Facility. While he was being pulled into the bushes by Gorg who kept repeating his name; his mother, Judy receives a taunting package and letter from The Fisherman, which sends her over the brink, and she’s institutionalized.

Tyler’s disappearance really amps up the town outrage, and Jack agrees to help the police department out. He’s starting to suspect there’s some Territories nonsense going down, and he can help.

From here, the book goes at break-neck pace and includes everything from micro-brewing bikers, a dog bite that causes one to dissolve into a foamy puddle on the couch, our old friend Speedy Parker showing up as a gunslinger, the world’s most annoying newspaper reporter, plenty of flipping between worlds via the creepy old black house hidden in the woods, and a happy(ish) ending. Honestly, there’s a warning at the end of the book, which allows you to choose your own ending. You can stop reading five pages before the end, and enjoy a happy ending where the good guys win; or you can get the real world ending. Both are satisfying... I recommend reading all the way to the end.

So, just a few quotes for you...

“Wolf died of a disease called America.”

This line gutted me. I didn’t realize how much I loved Wolf as a character, until I had to read a follow-up that didn’t include him. His soul was too clean and beautiful for a fucked-up world like the one we currently live in.

“He doesn’t like the cell phone to begin with- twenty-first-century slave bracelets, he thinks them...”

No explanation needed.

“Why must life always demand so much and give so little? Parkus answers her question with a single word: ka.”

Again, no explanation needed.

Was this book as good as The Talisman?

No.

Did I want more?

Absolutely.

But was I satisfied with the end?

You bet your (un-chomped on) ass.

Total Wisconsin Mentions: 33

Total Dark Tower References: 50

Book Grade: A-

Rebecca’s Definitive Ranking of Stephen King Books

The Talisman: A+

Wizard and Glass: A+

Needful Things: A+

On Writing: A+

The Green Mile: A+

Hearts in Atlantis: A+

Rose Madder: A+

Misery: A+

Different Seasons: A+

It: A+

Four Past Midnight: A+

The Shining: A-

The Stand: A-

Bag of Bones: A-

Black House: A-

The Wastelands: A-

The Drawing of the Three: A-

Dolores Claiborne: A-

Nightmares in the Sky: B+

The Dark Half: B+

Skeleton Crew: B+

The Dead Zone: B+

Nightmares & Dreamscapes: B+

‘Salem’s Lot: B+

Carrie: B+

Creepshow: B+

The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon: B

Storm of the Century: B-

Cycle of the Werewolf: B-

Danse Macabre: B-

The Running Man: C+

Thinner: C+

Dark Visions: C+

The Eyes of the Dragon: C+

The Long Walk: C+

The Gunslinger: C+

Pet Sematary: C+

Firestarter: C+

Rage: C

Desperation: C-

Insomnia: C-

Cujo: C-

Nightshift: C-

Gerald’s Game: D

Roadwork: D

Christine: D

Dreamcatcher: D

The Regulators: D

The Tommyknockers: D-

Now I move onto From a Buick Eight. I’ve had an advanced reading copy since the book came out, but never had the urge to actually read it. That should tell you everything you need to know about my level of enthusiasm right now. I’m hoping it’s not a Christine 2.0.

Until next time, Long Days & Pleasant Nights, Rebecca

#black house #the talisman #the dark tower #stephen king #peter straub #constant readers #ka #wisconsin #albert fish #dahmer

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dippedanddripped · 4 years

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A Q&A With Keary Kase On Pioneering Hip Hop In Portland

Trenton, NJ born rapper Keary Kase is now pioneering hip hop from Portland, Oregon. After having been involved in a Nike ad campaign that featured him on Billboards across the US, Keary’s singles began to top the radio charts. He began to work with artists like The Wutang Clan and producers Bosko and Non-Stop Da Hitman. Most recently, he partnered with Adidas designers in Portland to develop ‘Reder’ – an athletic apparel brand with focus on CBD delivery systems for athletes who are recovering from injuries.

We had the chance to sit down with Keary Kase to talk about Portland’s thriving hip hop scene, his Nike campaign, and what fans and followers can expect in 2020.

Tell us a little bit about the hip hop scene in Portland. We’d love to know more!

Portland hip hop has so many facets, I’m not sure where to begin. We do have a solid foundation of originals, like Mic Crenshaw, Cool Nutz, Mellenium (Kenny Mack), Maniac Lok, Bosko, Vursatyl, X-Kid, DJ Wicked, Pete Miser and myself, who are still active.

Having strong artists, who have made careers in Hip Hop, as role models and idols allows the kids to aspire to become musical artists. Without these examples, the endless call to normalcy and job security (which we all now know is B/S) by pretty much EVERYBODY, would lead these young Ore-guns to self doubt and failure.

Mike Capes, Swiggle Mandela, Drae Steve’s, JR Patton and Keith Canvas are a few Portland artists to check out.

Right now, a lot of artists are showing support to the BLM movement using their voices to speak, rather than rap to those participating in protests, rallies and such.

How do you feel being originally from the east coast has affected your musical style?

In my embryonic years, I saw myself as an east coast rapper. I felt like, with the exception of rappers like Ice T, Too Short, NWA and The DOC, west coast rappers were mostly basic compared to east coast rappers. They had KRS, Big Daddy Kane, Slick Rick (my favorite golden era rapper), Special ED, Kool G Rap & Polo, RAKIM!!! Plus WBLS used to play all the hot new shit off the block.

I was enamored by east coast swagger and tone. The slang and accent was natural for me because my entire family spoke with it. My ability to slip in and out of the style made me different in Portland.

In the early 90’s I started spending time in LA. I was slanging FIMO beads to tourists at Venice Beach in the daylight and going to clubs and shows at night. I met this dude named Self Jupiter at this summer festival called The African Marketplace, where I was selling jewelry and celebrating my black youth. Jupiter was a member of a rap group called Freestyle Fellowship. He gave me a tape. After I listened to it, my entire opinion of west coast hip hop was turned upside down. I witnessed west coast rappers like Volume 10, WC, Divine Styler, Cypress Hill and E40 change the game. I became influenced by them and my style was set free. I became open to all influences, no matter if they came from the east, west, northwest, midwest or south.

Tell us more about the Nike ad campaign you were featured in. How did that come about?

One day I was leaving my boy Tommy Hestmark’s studio in downtown Portland. I was walking down the street with my back straight and my chest and chin up, as all men and women should. This guy approached me and said “excuse me, can I talk to you?” I looked at him sideways and he says “no, no. It’s just…. Your face is CRAZY!” I squinted as if to say “do you hear yourself fool?” He pulls out a card and explains that he owned a modeling agency and he thought my look was money. He asked me to call to schedule a test shoot. I called and scheduled the shoot. When I went there, he asked me if I was wearing boxers. I confirmed, then he asked me if I would take some test shots in my boxers. I’m thinking this dude is either going to proposition me for sex or he wants to see if I can be the next face of Calvin Klein. I gambled on Calvin Klein and agreed to take the pics. We walked into a hall and he said “you can get undressed here,” then walked away. So there I stood baring all that my boxers would not cover, with my clothes in a small pile on the floor. I heard footsteps, then an attractive woman appears holding a camera. It was his wife. She told me where to stand , took a couple quick pics and said “Keary, you’re a machine,” then allowed me to get dressed and walked me out.

A few weeks later they called me back and said a photographer knew of me and wanted to do a martial arts shoot. There was no pay, but the photographer was well known and really good. I had no portfolio, and no published work so this was an opportunity to do TFP to add to my comp card.

The photographer, Marcus Swanson, wanted me to do a flying sidekick, which is a classic taekwondo photo kick. When I got there, there was nowhere to get a running start so I improvised and pulled it off. While I was there, a Nike scout was lurking. As I was leaving, Marcus’ assistant, Amber Geiger, mentioned a potential shoot for Nike and asked if they could do a quick polaroid. Snap snap and I was out. A few months passed by before I got a call back from my agent about the shoot. In those few months, I became a black belt, won a gold medal at the the regional national qualification tournament in the black belt dividion, then a silver medal at the US National Championship, and was leaving in a few days to go whoop everybody’s ass at the invitational US Team Trials. It didn’t play out that way but I believe being so active in the few months between the martial arts test shoot and the paid shoot is what influenced their decision to go with me for the ad campaign. We agreed on a date and time, after my return, for the shoot.

When I got back, we did the shoot. I thought it was going to be light work but it was brutal. Modeling is hardcore. I remember seeing myself on a billboard for the first time. It felt like a distant relative to masturbation. I also remember it taking forever to get my money. Agencies can be gangster. I had to make some very firm promises before I got the check. After that, our relationship became square.

You have worked with several platinum artists and producers. Do you have any memorable stories about your experiences that you’d like to share?

Hmm. I don’t like to deride or D-RIDE anyone, but there was an interesting encounter with a Wu-Tang Clan member named Cappadonna. Cappadonna, Killa Priest and a small crew they were touring with were staying at my house when they stopped through Portland. My roommate, MyG, was helping them do some business in Portland while they killed time before their next tour date. At the time, we had a lil 5 bedroom spread with 2 recording studios in it, so we let their whole crew crash at the spot. The house was already like a revolving door for whoever was on tour in the NW. Artists could come through while in town and collab, get local pub through us and be blessed with some Oregon grown greeneries for the road.

So this was the first time we met (Cappadonna & I). I was taking acting classes at the time so I was gone when they pulled up. When I got home after class, Cappadonna was in the booth. I walked in the room and he started talking wild like “aye yo break that nigga watch!…stab that nigga!” I’m standing in a room full of dudes, with New York energy, that I don’t know, so I assumed he was talking about me. I dip out to my room and get a screwdriver just so I have something in my hand incase things go left. A few minutes pass, then MyG tells Cappadonna to move on to the next part. At this moment I realize he’s in character and not talking about me at all. Killah Priest enters the room. We introduce ourselves and dap up. He asks me what I do and I tell him that I’m in acting school. When Cap comes out, KP says “this is Kase, he’s an actor.” They gave each other a look that, to me , expressed what he spoke as “this is Kase, he’s a fake nigga.”

Granted, I’ve been a skater since day 1, so I understand that some black people (especially at the time) associate being a black skater with being less black or more white. With that in mind, I let what he said breeze by.

After we blessed up, we got to the business. Bosko had let me hold a beat that I wrote a sticky verse to; Cappa liked it so I let him put a hook on it. Me and KP did a DOPE song on a track that this dude named Smoke produced. It sounded like some official Wu-affiliate shit. MyG lost the session so none of that material was ever released.

The next day the energy still felt suspect. Like they thought I was a suburban negro, lol. I took them to the block, which is now gentrified, but was still hood at the time. Cappa called my whip a 666. It was the same Denali XL with the same 26” Trump Spinners that was in the video for the song he was promoting at the time, but mine was cleaner. It seemed like he felt a way about it. We went to my mom’s restaurant, where Cappa requested a Psalms verse from my mother. She said “how about a Revelation,” and laced all of us.

I dropped them at the barber shop to get faded and bladed. When they came out, the energy was different. Cappadonna got in and said “you know your hood and your hood knows you. He said you put your moms in that restaurant, didn’t you?” I just looked at him and put my hand out. We dapped up and the respect, which was first being given by me and received by him, suddenly felt mutual.

Cappadonna is a wise dude and a beast MC. I asked him questions related to his lyrics. He explained to me what “God Degree” and “7:30” meant and told me the story of the origin of his name. You might be able to detect that I’m most definitely still a Wu-Tang fan, although I liked his earlier work. KP knows what I mean by that.

Tell us about your involvement with the CBD industry and your views on how it can be a therapeutic tool for people?

CBD is my go-to treatment for a number of conditions. If I am anxious, I use a non-psychoactive tincture. This gives me a general sense of well-being, without making me feel altered or high. I feel like myself on a good day. If I need to restful sleep, I employ a cannabinoid rich CBD blend that allows me to drift off into REM without jumping up 100 times to make sure the garage door is closed (or whatever). Using CBD is like taking premium vitamins.

In 2019, I started a company called Nina Botanica with a material designer who works for Adidas in Portland. I began researching how to use compression technology as a CBD delivery system for athletic injury rehabilitation. There are some products on the market that offer a similar product, but none that fully address the issues of muscle strains, tears and associated pain that can knock an athlete off of their game. What sets us apart is, our CBD compression system has a lifetime guarantee. You can use it until you’re tired of using it.

We also designed a pod based delivery system, called the NINA , with Shenzen based technology company Smoore. The smart hexagonal pod + cartridge system uses inductive charging in place of the industry standard USB to power up.

Due to COVID-19 and our current bout with systemic racism, the techy products will be in preliminary production until mid-late 2021.

Tell us about your latest project “Craze”. Who is involved and what inspired it?

I was a week back on after being off music for years. Just getting my lungs back, not planning on dropping anything yet; just warming up. An artist named Uneek, who had been my mentee for several years, reached out. He was talking about how he blew all of his savings on medical expenses for his seed and how William, Lil Willi and Big Bill were all coming for him at once. He had just got robbed in Atlanta, so he was shy about who he could trust in Portland.

Uneek asked me to help him to rebrand himself and act as a manager, as I did in the beginning of his career. Since he had just found the strength to come out about his sexual identity, he wanted to look to the LBGTQ community for support. Since that was outside of my sphere of influence, I decided to help him generate some traffic in his home studio, offering tracking and mixing as an engineer. I told him we could put out a mixtape to re-introduce him to his followers and the rest of the world. I got 15 tracks from producers, Sixteen and J Doe. I wanted to see how serious he was about his career so I told him to put hooks on all 15. He would send me a rough lyric or melody, then I would write or rewrite the lyrics then massage the melody and coach him on how to execute it. After he did it, I would chop it and arrange it in a Logic, while I was on the road.

Once the mixtape concepts were in the bag, I told him we needed a real record to kick it off. There was a lot of material in his catalog, but nothing that sounded like a hit single to me.

He got a track from this lil dude named 64 and put a hook on it that had us laughing. He was like “yeah this track sound like something Da Baby would get on.” It wasn’t my style, really, but I kept getting drawn into the drums. I let the first line go off the top then it seemed like the rest of the lyrics were just there. We called it “She A Thot.” It dropped on all platforms back in April of this year.

Craze, the follow up single, manifested itself off of the vibe we were on after “She A Thot” dropped. 64 had sent us a 3 pack of beats so it had some of the same feel as the others, however, the “Craze” beat was much more elegant than the other two.It was like the bigger, sexier, more mature and pondering sister of the “She A Thot” beat.

When I started writing, I felt the beat asking me to confess. It was saying “tell your truth, Kase.” The melody in my head was so balanced that I just let it drive through the first verse. I remembered, as a young man, being so caught up in hustling that I lost my compassion for people. I reflected on how I had spent the last decade, since my first daughter was born, re-approaching life with more compassion.

Whatever you have done in your past does not define you. But sometimes it’s good to talk about it. Black people have traditionally been afraid of counseling or therapy. Mostly because of our trust issues with the people providing those services. I strongly suggest talking to someone about the things that trouble you. My uncle Jeff calls it “dumping.”

Music is my therapy. Dumping is my new craze.

What artists are you listening to right now and why?

I like listening to new music. I’m listening to Lil Durk, Pop Smoke, Amine, Jack Harlow, etc. But that’s like research for me. I like to see and hear what the big dogs are investing in. But right now, I’m developing a K-Pop artist, so I’m listening Big Hit Entertainment’s people. I’m about to go over there and liberate some musical slaves. (*artists)

But I still listen to Sade.

What’s next for you in 2020? What can fans look forward to?

I’m dropping a mixtape later this month. I may be doing a record + video with Compton artist, AD in the next few weeks. We’re still working out the details, but he’s doing real good right now.

Other than that, I’m developing a young K-Pop idol named Kiari. That genre is making big waves. I’m also looking at television as a next play. I have a pocket ace in the Chinese market that I’m keeping tucked. Oh I’m doing business with China. Sorry Chump…I mean, Sorry Trump. No, wait, I had it right the first time.

#keary kase #pdx hiphop artist #pdx artist #portland oregon #music blog

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jayankles · 7 years

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Fallen Loves Part 2

Pairing: Castiel x Reader, Jack x Adoptive Mother!Reader

Part 2: The Foundling

Word Count: 4060

Summary: Kelly’s pregnancy is coming to an end, she leaves you and Castiel a dying wish. After she dies, she give you and Castiel the responsibility to take care of her son like your own but things will prove to be difficult when you’re left to protect Jack with a broken heart and broken Winchesters.

Warnings: Angst, Mentions of Character Death, Season 13 spoilers in this part and the upcoming ones.

A/N – Overall title was thankfully given by @misticty – my bestie; I love you and thank you! - ‘To play on the fallen angel thing but also shows why jack is alone in most of the images’ and this weeks title was given by @feelmyroarrrr

You felt empty but knew that you had to do everything in your power to protect Kelly’s baby boy. Cas was no longer in the picture and although it tore you apart to the point where you thought you couldn’t function. You couldn’t just leave Jack to fend for himself. A baby, even though he the spawn of Lucifer, couldn’t fend for himself. You just had to pray that you could suck it up and take on these newly found responsibilities to care for a Nephilim.

With Dean still kneeling by Cas, you left him to grieve. You had passed the shock and denial stage and all you felt was complete nothingness. Like there was a hole left in your chest or your heart had been ripped from your ribcage and been squeezed until you were left with a sense of longing for Castiel and a sense of maternal instinct to protect Jack materialising within you.

You left without a word. A fire building in the pit of your stomach, like a power was transferring from another into you. It pushed you toward the cabin in search for Jack, unbeknownst to you Dean had briefly recovered to put on a facade of a tough guy, who hadn’t just lost a friend that meant the world to him, and followed you inside.

Creeping up the stairs and peeking around the frame in the nursery door, you saw a grown naked man sitting on the floor next to Jack’s crib, his eyes glowing yellow. The said baby not in his crib, the one Kelly had demanded and cried for during the hormones of the pregnancy.

You heard another unfamiliar voice, ‘father?’

Sam repetitively whispered no. It didn’t sound right; it sounded as if he was scared. ‘I-I-I’m not your father, Jack.’ Sam stumbled over his words, shuffling on his feet, undecided on whether he should stay put or run as fast as he could. ‘It is Jack, right?’

Jack?

How could that have been possible. Jack should have been a baby, you were supposed to take care of a baby!

‘Father.’ Jack repeated.

With your heart racing and your mind and legs having an argument, your legs won, lifting them and drawing you into the room slowly. As not to startle either Sam or the Nephilim, you cleared your throat, making your presence known to each of them.

‘Jack?’ You raised your hands, showing him that you were of no threat and not there to cause any harm. ‘It’s okay. You’re safe, we’re not here to hurt you, okay? Your mom...’

‘My mother, you know her?’ Jack’s eye still glowed an illuminous yellow. It scared the hell out of you but you had to stand your ground, you knew how much power a Nephilim held. And if he couldn’t control it, there would be serious consequences – for everyone around you.

Before you could answer, you heard the door of the cabin being swung open, footstep following closely behind, thudding with every step he took.

‘Sam? Sammy. Y/N?’ Dean’s voice boomed through from the bottom floor to the top.

‘We’re in here.’ Sam had answered for the both of you, never once removing your eyes from the child with the powerfully amber lit ones.

Dean walked in behind you, catching one glimpse of the Nephilim and immediately raising his gun and shooting at him.

‘No.’ Sam’s voice raised.

Flinching, Jack closed his eyes but quickly recovered, his eyes trained on the three of you. His mouth opened wide and the wave lengths running through the air shattered the windows, slowing down yours and the Winchesters’ movements and pushing you away so you were far away from the scared child.

What had felt like hours to you, a mere five seconds in real time, had passed before you all had been shoved against the wall away from Jack, all hitting your heads roughly against the wall, effectively being knocked out

You woke up with a gasp of Castiel’s name running passed your lips, your head pounding as if your brain was having a battling with your temple. At the time, Dean was holding his head, seemingly having the same effect of a headache that you were having and Sam had jolted awake, slapping away the remnants of his dream or nightmare, everyone’s reaction implied the latter.

Sam and Dean jumped from their spots on the floor, having a quicker reaction time than you, obviously, it took you a little longer to shake your head and get up off the floor, your thoughts jumbled as you saw the spawn of Lucifer in action. You were screwed if anything else was going to happen to the three of you.

‘Can he teleport?’ Dean demanded an answer.

‘Dean, he’s a kid. He won’t be able to control his powers after just hours of being born.’

‘He nearly killed us, Y/N, and you’re defending him!’ He roared.

‘I’m defending him because you scared him, you waltzed in there, guns blazing. You shot first, you didn’t even attempt to talk to him. He was fine just talking to Sam and I, and you shot at the damn kid, one of the most powerful kids, might I add, like a freaking psycho.

‘Didn’t you say that it isn’t just black and white with monsters. This kid could have been good and you took a shot at him. You took a shot at my kid, he’s my responsibility and now he gone. Alone in this world, naked, why can’t you just think for one goddamn second?’

Dean fumbled with the keys to his beloved car until he found the right key. ‘One, don’t quote me to me and B, he’s Lucifer’s son, what more do you need to prove he’s a bad kid?’

‘Oh I don’t know, the fact that he’s half human!’ You all but shouted at him, pulling open the back door to the impala and getting in with a huff of annoyance.

Sam had got the information of Jack’s whereabouts from a restaurant called Pirate Pete's Jolly Treats. He led you and his brother to the North Cove precinct in Washington where the Sheriff had told Sam that she had kept Jack at the station, gave him some clothes for the lost and found, and taken his fingerprint; find something peculiar – although not to the three of you – in the scanning database.

When you got there, you hopped out of the impala and sprinted toward the flickering lights within the precinct. Jack was screaming, clutching at his head, a sheer sign of the Angel radio blasting and thrumming through his eardrums. Lights exploding above him as he tried to stop the pain or tried to figure out what the source was.

He laid eyes upon Dean, you noticed, and his irises shone brighter, before he could do any harm, though, Sam had shot him with a taser gun, rendering him unconscious.

‘Nice shot.’ Dean had said, you only rolled your eyes at him, weighing up whether it was a good or a bad thing to have electrocuted the Nephilim.

The bad being you had scolded Dean for shooting at him but the good being it had knocked Jack out so that he could feel pain nor could he hurt anyone else.

Sam tentatively ambled towards Jack’s crumpled body, checking him but the cock of a gun had caught your attention. The Sheriff.

‘Don’t-’ Sheriff Christine Barker surveyed the area, clearly walking in and getting the wrong idea of what was happening. ‘What the hell is going on here?’

Breathing out a sigh, the three of you raised your hands at the view of the gun pointed and ready to shoot.

Christine had thrown you, the younger Winchester and the Nephilim into the cell and locked you inside, cuffing Dean to question him on the situation she had walked in on. As she sat him down, Christine had spread out his arsenal on her desk.

‘I’m sorry, say that again.’ Her expression no doubt incredulous as he told her about himself, his brother and you, about what you did – what you really did.

You sat with your knees drawn up to your chest, your chin resting atop of them. The picture of inside the cell became blurry and you found that it was because of your tears, Cas’ death replaying over and over and over again inside your mind, you hadn’t realised your body wracking with sobs until Sam had placed a hand on your shoulder to calm and bring you comfort.

Your sobs had awoken Jack but he had spun around so quickly it made your head spin, he retreated away from you his eyes glowing once more and trained on you and Sam.

‘Woah, woah, woah. Easy, easy, easy, easy. It’s okay. You’re okay. We’re not gonna hurt you.’

‘You already hurt me.’ Jack spat out at Sam, he apologised to him, trying to explain that he wanted to slow Jack down before he hurt his brother and himself.

‘Jack?’ Your voice coming out steady and soft, as not to rattle and provoke him further. ‘Are you okay?’

‘I don’t- I- I was scared.’ The Nephilim revealed, his glowing eyes reverting back to their original blue. ‘When I get scared, things… happen. I can’t stop them.’

He shook his head, not understand the power he held within himself.

‘Why were you scared?’ Sam asked, still leaning his weight away from the powerful child.

‘Because of the voices. They were so loud… so angry.’ His voice lowered.

Wiping away the stray tears, you slowly let your legs fall to the floor, leaning toward him. You were still skeptical that this was Jack Kline, the fully grown kid that was supposed to be a baby. ‘Do you- do you hear them now?’

From the crouching position Jack was in, he truly thought about the answer, listening carefully to what was inside his own head. ‘No.’

You and Sam let out a breath that neither of you thought that you were holding, thankful that the Angels had been silenced.

To your surprise, Jack had carefully sat down on one of the benches in the cell, crossing his legs as if he was in elementary school. He was so pure and he held all this power that had been passed down from his archangel father. How they were related you had no idea.

‘I’m sorry… would you tell them that I’m sorry?’

‘Oh, Jack, honey, of course. We know you didn’t meant too okay. We’ll protect you. I’ll protect you.’

Jack nodded his thanks and smiled honestly, not that he would know the difference but it was nice to see someone so… so innocent considering the way that he had been brought into the world.

‘How are you- um- how are we talking right now? You’re supposed to be a day old and you speak English?’

You were just as confused as Sam was but was thankful that he had asked the question that had been playing on your mind.

‘My mother, birth mother, taught me.’ A proud grin on his face as he spoke fondly of Kelly. Jack explained that he had become Kelly but didn’t learn his powers from her. He stood from his place in the cell and walked over to the window. ‘I don’t know why these things happen. It’s like I’m me but not… me.’

‘Jack, before you were born you opened up a door to another door. Do you remember that?’ Sam kept him talking and Jack traced his fingers against the cement walls before clenching his fists. He spoke his affirmation, Sam following up with the question of whether he could do it again.

The boy hesitated, he shook his head and changed the subject. ‘I have to find my father. He’ll protect me.’

Your eyes shot to Jack, already arguing that it was a bad idea. Sam on the exact same page as you but when he mentioned Lucifer, the boy said that Lucifer wasn’t his father’s name.

‘My father is Castiel.’ You gasped as the Nephilim said your dead Angel’s name, he took a seat again. ‘And my mother said that Castiel, he would protect me. She said that she would no longer be my mother after she goes, that Y/N would protect me too. She said that the world is a dangerous place. I couldn’t be a baby or a child so I had to grow up fast. That’s why I chose him to be my father and her my mother. Where are they?’

Sam swallowed and bluntly said that Castiel was dead, Jack’s hopeful face dropped, he was upset too. He hadn’t already met Castiel yet he loved him. To recover Jack’s fallen mood, Sam pointed to your frozen frame, ‘but this- this is Y/N.’

‘Mother!?’ The word finally brought you out of your stupor and you shook your head.

‘Hey Jack,’ you replied with a small curl of your lips, ‘but you don’t have to call me mother. It makes me feel old.’ You let out a watery chuckle. ‘Castiel’s gone but I’m still here and I’ll protect you the best I can. I promise.’

Dean strolled in, ‘we’re good to go.’

‘Really?’ ‘Are you sure?’ You and Sam answered at the same time.

The older Winchester nodded, telling you both that he gave the Sheriff the talk and that she would need to process the information.

With you sitting next to him and offering him comfort, Jack remained still as Dean talked about getting out and going back home, commenting on getting rid of the Nephilim.

Sam and you had jumped from your seats, telling Dean that Jack was a good kid and nothing like Lucifer.

A commotion had arisen from the front of the precinct and Dean rushed out to see what it was leaving you, Sam and Jack still in the cell.

Creaking and cracking came from another exit, Sam had walked along the length of the cell gate. The door window cracked before it was ripped off of its hinges, that being the fault of a celestial being, of two of them. The taller darker skinned Angel’s eyes glowing blue; Jack’s ears ringing out as the Angel radio blasted his ear drums.

Meanwhile the woman had torn off the cell door, attempting to take Jack but you wouldn’t let her, neither would Sam. He punched her while you threw yourself in front of Jack, ready to take on the Angels after him.

Sam dealt with the female Angel, until she overpowered him and slammed him into the wall. The male had taken over kicking Sam in the head and in the ribs, whilst the woman made a move to attack you.

Her fists swung back and forth, the skin on your cheeks breaking and bleeding as her knuckles collided with your face. She wasn’t getting Jack if you had something to do with it. You would do everything in your power to protect him, even if it meant getting a few licks off of an angry Angel.

Their torture continued until you had – unintentionally – left your post in front of Jack. The Angels had got a hold of Jack and only got to the jail cell door before Sam had blasted them away with a sigil; Jack, as well as an Angel blade, dropping to the floor.

‘Jack,’ you whispered in a hoarse voice, ‘are you okay, honey?’

Another Angel, the chick you saw earlier at the restaurant, strutted in without a care in the world – like most Angels.

The taller Winchester warned her not to touch him, to stay away from him as she looked into the cell at Jack. She nodded and held her blade out so that Sam could take it, but the hesitation he had caused her to snarl shouting that if the Angels couldn’t have him, nobody could. Right then, she flipped her hand and stabbed the Nephilim in the chest.

‘Jack! No!’ You cried out, unbelieving that you could lose Castiel and Jack in such a short time frame. Jack fell to his knees before Sam had stabbed her stomach, obliterating her from her chosen vessel. She fell to the floor with a thud but when you reached Jack, he wasn’t affected at all. You stood there stunned as he pulled the blade out of his chest, blood covering the blade but none dripping from the wound that should have been there.

‘How? How are yo-? What?’

‘I’m fine.’ He simply said.

You sat with Jack on the bench outside the precinct, the Sheriff’s son being wheeled away on a gurney into the ambulance.

Jack’s hands resting on his thighs, you took one of his in yours, covering the back of his hand was the only comfort you could provide.

Leading Jack to the impala, you sat in the back with him, sitting in silence as Sam and Dean threw open the doors and shuffled in the front, heading back to the cabin.

‘Can I tell you something, Y/N?’ Jack whispered in a low voice. Your head rested against the back bench of the impala and you rolled it to the side so that you could face him, one of your eyes opening a slither so that you could just see him.

‘Of course, Jack.’

‘I like nougat. I tried some today, and I liked it.’

You snorted at him, ‘good for you Jack. If you want, when we get to a gas station, I’ll buy you a whole back full of nougat bars. Just make it last and don’t eat them…’ you paused to yawn, ‘don’t eat them all at once because I don’t know what your digestive system or metabolism is like yet.’

‘Thank you, Y/N. You’re the best.’

When you arrived, you shoved the door open and overheard the Winchesters talk about burning Castiel’s body. You couldn’t listen to another word; you still refused to believe that he was really, truly, gone. You led Jack inside of the cabin, apologising with every chance you got that you hadn’t protected him like you had promised.

‘It’s okay, Y/N. You tried – to the best of your ability, you protected me like you promised. I am alive,’ he paused, ‘because of you and Sam and Dean. I am safe. It it more than I could say if I was in the custody of Lucifer. I’m glad I chose you as my mother.’

Licking your lips, you looked down at your feet, hopping from one foot to the other. You cleared your throat and wiped away the tears that threatened to fall. Jack had chosen you and Castiel to be his parents but you were the only one left.

‘Sorry, I- um, I’m thankful you gave me a chance to protect you. But if you do something stupid, I will not hesitate to turn on my mom mode and kick your ass into shape. If something goes bad then- then we’ll figure it out.’ You told him with all seriousness, pointing a finger at him.

Jack looked behind him, trying to angle his head correctly, ‘my- my ass is out of shape? I don’t-’

You lightly chuckled, ‘no Jack. It’s just an expression. It means that there will be repercussions if you intentionally do something bad, if it’s an accident we work out what caused it and try to fix it. We do everything we can to help you, to steer away from the bad if it comes to that, but we’ll look after you, we’ll take care of you, I’ll take care of you because it’s my job, because you’re my responsibility, because you’re my son now.’

Sweeping away his unkempt hair, you pecked a kiss on his forehead and lead him inside the house to say goodbye to his birth mom.

Sam followed the two of you in. You bit your lip at the sight of Kelly, her still warm corpse on the bed, under the thin sheet. Standing aside, you gave Jack’s arm a squeeze of reassurance before you let him walk closer to his mother.

He was hesitant in his movements, as he should be, his mother had died giving birth to him, even though he didn’t know a lot of emotions but he experienced grief, sorrow, he even felt the guilt creeping up inside of him.

Slowly reaching out, Jack opened up his hand, his fingers twitching before closing around her clothed feet. He was close to breaking, his eyes swelling, almost puffy and reddening in colour.

The blaring sun had sunk and dawn had now made its appearance, the Winchesters deeming it the right time to burn Castiel’s body, Dean had already prepared his body using the tatty curtains that were there when you, Cas and Kelly had first arrived – trying to protect both Kelly and Jack.

Castiel was on the pyre, your arm around Jack, the tears had already fallen, streaking down your cheeks. Dean was pouring the liquid gas over the pile of wood and the covered and tied body

‘Do you wanna say anything?’ Sam said, shoving his hands into the pockets of his orange jacket.

You shook your head. ‘Can’t, not yet.’ Your throat was sore as it felt like sandpaper working against your windpipe, restricting any further noise coming from you. Resting your head on Jack’s shoulder, you tilted your head upwards, glancing at Jack to see if he had any words for his father figure.

‘What do you say?’

‘Right.’ he paused, remembering that Jack was only but born a day ago. ‘Thank you. You say thank you and you say you’re sorry. You hope that they’re somewhere – uh – without sadness, pain. You hope they are somewhere better.’ He nodded, trying to convince himself. ‘You say goodbye.’

Sam had finished his explanation, you held on tighter to Jack at the thought of saying goodbye to your Angel, to the love of your life, your reason for living. It was harder than you thought, when you didn’t want to let go.

Dean joined the group, standing in between you and Sam, ready but reluctant to ignite the pyre. ‘Well goodbye, Cas.’ Dean fiddled with the lighter in his hand waiting for you to say your final goodbyes.

‘Goodbye, my love.’ It felt like your whole self had collapsed inside of you, your feet feeling heavy and your heart feeling empty.

Surprisingly, Dean continued, albeit with an understandably hoarse voice, ‘goodbye Kelly, goodbye Crowley, goodbye mom.’

‘We don’t even know-’

‘Yeah we do. We do, Sam. Lucifer killed her the moment he realised we trapped his ass, he killed her, you know he did.’ He stared down at his feet to compose himself, already facing the fact that he lost his mom and everyone else that he had grown fond of dead. ‘She’s gone, they’re all gone.’

No more words were spoken between you, the Winchesters and the Nephilim. Dean flipped the lid of the lighter then flicked it so the flame sparked.

He couldn’t even look as he tossed the lighter into the pyre.

The flames whooshed and grew, the oranges and yellow licked and kissed the air on the cold night in Washington. The ring of wood ignited and you were blinded by the light and stepped back from the heat. Jack arm hesitantly came to wrap around your shoulder, offering you the small comfort that he had slowly learned.

Tears gathered in Dean’s eyes, you noticed when you looked over at him, you were sure that they matched your own.

Licking your lips and biting the bottom one, you put an end to your quivering lip and grabbed hold of Dean’s hand, interlinking your fingers together, silently consoling him, needing his to know that you were there too to offer the reassurance that you both needed.

Your life was gone and the foundling was yours to protect and you were going to stick to your promise and oblige Kelly’s wishes and look after her son and to raise him as your own, you just didn’t know whether Dean could keep his opinions about Jack being the spawn of Lucifer to himself. The question was: would nature or nurture with the foundling growing up? Would you be enough to steer him away from the darkness? Could you do this alone? Without Cas?

Lemme know what you think…

Cas tags: @thorne93 @becaamm @you-know-whodoesthat-crazypeople @jotink78 @love-kittykat21 @hymnofthevalkyrie @kurosaki224-new-blog @thing-you-do-with-that-thing @iwantthedean @mrswhozeewhatsis @feelmyroarrrr @mizzezm @jesspfly @skybinx-blog @casbabes @plaidstiel-wormstache @lilasiannerd @ladydork @purplediamon @graceforme86 @nervousmemzie @percussiongirl2017 @oneshoeshort @whit85-blog @moonlover19 @emoryhemsworth @reallyverynodansi @captainemwinchester @ilsawasanacrobat @cojootromuelle @essie1876 @dancingalone21 @dslocum89 @atc74 @superwhomerlockinuum @spnbaby-67 @anitalasirenita @queencflair @weasleywinchester-blog @ria132love @nightlyinsomnious @easelweasel @grace-for-sale @roxyspearing

Fallen Loves tags: @princess-of-erebor1992 @d34n-l0v3s-c4s @kasia-fields @kudosia @jessilliam-caronday @supernaturallymarvellous @spn-smut-destiel @erin654 @unleashthemidnight @worried-and-horny @goldenolaf25 @melonberri @kenmen02 @sorenmarie87 @sophiebobzz @ericaprice2008 @sinners-winchester @cxemilyxlopezxc @briannaaae3 @growningupgeek @scionofthestars @gone-to-fight-the-fairies @samwinchestergal @demonlover87 @lupine-princess @katrodriguez1234 @misha-hoechlin @thepallaspalace @maryartposts @everythingpumpkinspiced @lonelyfandoms @angelblazon @firefly124 @thatshellfiredean @plaidstiel-wormstache @poukothenerd @dancing-the-hellfire-rumba @kamaroon @madeinthenh @superseejay721517 @robecca-le-blog-des-citations @hillywooddestiel @walkerchick007 @angie-tomlinson @deanandsamsbitch @luthien-princessofdoriath @yeppudaasims @smileydolphinsml @sir-helen-keller @trashforwinchesters @wotinspntarnation @megiestuff @daring-to-screw-up @sillesworldofwriting

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ethanalter · 7 years

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Judd Apatow Talks Final Season of ‘Girls,’ His Next HBO Series, ‘Crashing,’ and the Return of ‘Love’

Judd Apatow and Gillian Jacobs on the set of ‘Love’ (Credit: Netflix)

Once upon a time, television wasn’t very kind to Judd Apatow. Back at the turn of the millennium, the triple-threat writer/director/producer watched as his beloved comedies Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared were sent to the cancellation gallows despite terrific reviews and devoted fanbases. Turning his back on TV, Apatow went on to scale new heights of success with blockbuster big-screen comedies like The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up.

And those success stories, in turn, led him back to television, this time with drastically different results. For the past five years, Apatow has been an executive producer of Lena Dunham’s acclaimed HBO series Girls, which is about to launch its sixth and final season on Feb. 12. The following week, he’ll unveil his next HBO series, Crashing, a peek at the contemporary New York stand-up comedy scene with comic Pete Holmes as our guide. And Mar. 10 brings the second season of Love, Apatow’s popular Netflix series starring Paul Rust and Gillian Jacobs as a pair of Angelenos in the throes of a tortured romance. In a wide-ranging interview, Yahoo TV spoke with the prolific producer at length about his three shows and why he’s thrilled to be part of the cable and streaming arm of the Peak TV era.

Lena Dunham and Riz Ahmed in ‘Girls’ (Credit: HBO)

Going into this last season of Girls, it must have been nice knowing that everyone was working towards a definitive endpoint. It’s always fun to work on the last season of the series, because when you work on a show, you’re always trying to slow things down. There’s a natural momentum towards things working out or crashing and you don’t want a lot of those things to happen, because if they do, the show is over! So it’s nice when you can do them, because you are actually ending the show. Some of the difficulty with this show was figuring out how to let the characters mature, and the rate at which they’re maturing. Last season, knowing that it was the second-to-last season, we were able to have fun with them getting a little bit smarter. Or, if they were stuck, it felt even worse because they’re reaching the end of their 20s and things still aren’t working out. That’s what happens with friends — some people get their lives together and others just spin out and crash.

As you build towards the finale, how definitive will the conclusion be? Will there be some open-ended questions left for fans to think about? Well, you can’t get definitive when you end a TV show. One thing that I keep thinking is that the end of The Sopranos is genius. Because there’s really no end for these characters; unless they all go down in a shipwreck, they’re going to live on and we’re not going to know what happens afterwards. And The Sopranos ending really captured that. As we worked on this season, I thought a lot about how different shows ended, and I think that the ending of this season of Girls is very interesting, and hopefully people will like it. But there’s almost no way to satisfy everybody, because people have their own hopes and dreams for what will happen to these characters.

Related: Ken Tucker Reviews ‘Girls’: Final-Season Fun And Fury

Some of my favorite Girls episodes are the standalone installments that pop up during the course of a season — like “One Man’s Trash” in Season 2 or “The Panic in Central Park” during Season 5. Are there any planned for this final year? There’s one standalone this year that I think is really incredible. I’ve always enjoyed those episodes. Sometimes we’ll be talking about the arc for the season, and Lena will go off to write an episode, and then suddenly she’ll just hand in a little movie that has nothing to do with the rest of the season. She just gets inspired. We often never discuss those in the writer’s room, and they’ve been some of the best episodes of the series. Lena hasn’t made a movie since Tiny Furniture, but in a way, she’s gotten to make a whole bunch of movies during the life of the show.

Allison Williams and Ebon Moss-Bachrach in ‘Girls’ (Credit: HBO)

Looking back on the legacy of the show, what do you think Girls achieved during its six-season run? When the process started, it felt like a way of doing an independent film on television. We were trying to find a way to capture what Lena did with Tiny Furniture and do it every week on HBO. I feel like Lena shows so much courage to be honest in a way that people hadn’t really been before in television, both emotionally and with her willingness to be very explicit in portraying relationships and sexuality. I think she busted down a lot of walls by talking about things that haven’t been explored on television very often. Now there are a lot of shows that go that deep and that brutally honest, shows about women, and shows about men and women. If you look at television before Girls and after Girls, it’s changed a lot. I think she’s been a big part of this Golden Era of TV, and I think her work, along with Amy Poehler’s work and Tina Fey’s work, has inspired a lot of women to create television and to create and star in television. That’s a fantastic thing.

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You can certainly see Girls’ influence on a show like Crashing, which also has a very scruffy, indie film-feel. What was the process of developing the series with Pete Holmes? I met with Pete five or six years ago when doing his podcast, You Made it Weird. I didn’t even know who he was; his manager’s a friend of mine, so I was doing it as a favor, and I had such a great time. We did it in front of an audience at the South by Southwest festival, and the other guests were Kumail Nanjiani, Todd Barry, and Chris Gethard. Then he asked me to come on his TBS talk show, The Pete Holmes Show, and we did a filmed sketch where he was pitching me movie and TV ideas. One of those ideas was a series about Pete’s life after his wife cheats on him and he tries to be a comedian. In the sketch, I said, “Well, that’s just too sad. Who would want to watch that?” He was pitching it as a joke, but then we started talking about it and we developed the idea.

Pete Holmes as a struggling comic in ‘Crashing’ (Credit: HBO)

I love exploring the world of comedians, and although there are some shows in which people play comedians, I don’t think any series really explores it deeply and fully like this. We see a young comedian in New York who isn’t good at his craft yet, so he struggles because he needs money and it’s hard to live in New York. Because he’s sleeping on different peoples’ couches, it gave us an opportunity to have all of our favorite comedians on the show. One week it’s Artie Lange, another week it’s T.J. Miller, and another week it’s Sarah Silverman. It’s a really great format to show how different people live.

Pete Holmes plays “Pete Holmes” on the show, and the guest stars all play themselves as well. Was that your intention from the beginning? I used to work on The Larry Sanders Show, and I love when people play themselves. I think people are so interesting and rarely get a chance to tap into who they really are. So when we find someone like Artie Lange, we’re writing a story that’s fabricated, but within the making of that episode, we’re improvising and talking with Artie to discuss what his life is really like and what his struggles are. Some of it’s really hilarious, and sometimes it’s really sad and moving. That’s a unique feature of the show; the people aren’t really satirizing themselves, they’re actually trying to get very close to the truth of who they are. That’s something we tried to do at Larry Sanders — using people’s actual lives to get as close to the truth as we can while still telling a funny story.

Is the New York stand-up comedy community depicted in the series a mash-up of the current scene, as well as the early ‘90s when you were trying to make it as a comedian? This is the modern version of trying to break into the comedy scene in New York. A lot of people bark — which means they hand out flyers all night — and if they can get enough people to go to a certain club, they’re allowed to go on at the end of the night in front of the last two people who haven’t left. It’s a brutal way to break in. There’s a lot of desperation for people just starting out. You have to be very strong, because sometimes they’ll only let you go on if you buy two drinks. Or you can only get on if you bring a certain amount of friends. There’s always the obstacles to getting stage time. So we’re trying to show how rough it can be to establish yourself and to get enough stage time to get better. It’s hard to get better when you’re performing for three people at 2:30 in the morning! [Laughs]

You mentioned Pete’s podcast, which is a new outlet for comedians to reach the public. Comics like Marc Maron, Scott Aukerman, and Lauren Lapkus are all finding a lot of success in that medium. Is that a phenomenon that interests you? I hadn’t thought about that before, but I do think it’s true. When I was starting out, I looked up to people like Jay Leno and Jerry Seinfeld, but there were no podcasts, so you didn’t really get to know these people. I used to interview them for my high school radio station because I wanted to know who they were, and one of the reasons why I did that was because something like podcasting didn’t exist. We all love somebody like T.J. Miller, and one of the reasons why we like him is we might have heard him talk for hours and hours to another comedian and really reveal himself. We have much more intimate relationships with these comedians who we’re fans of [today].

Holmes and Artie Lange in ‘Crashing’ (Credit: HBO)

Will Crashing have a season-long arc, or is it more of a couch-to-couch structure? There is an arc in that Pete sleeps on a series of couches, but also deals with larger problems over the course of the season. A lot of it is about, “Can Pete keep his soul while trying to be a comedian in New York?” We shoot it in New York, and we shoot on film. I said, “You know what? No one shoots on film anymore. None of these shows are on film. They all look the same, because they’re all digital.”

Crashing and Girls capture neighborhoods of New York you don’t often see on TV, and Love does the same thing for Los Angeles. Does Season 2 of Love continue to explore new areas of that city? Yeah, we definitely open it up. There’s a funny storyline in the season where Gus [played by Paul Rust], gets a job on an action movie that’s shooting out of town. I always think it’s weird that there aren’t shows that take place in L.A. that accurately portray L.A. Our show focuses on the East Side and Silver Lake areas. So it’s fun to try to do that, because — as odd as it sounds — people don’t shoot in L.A. Even the shows that shoot in L.A., they’re doubling for Wisconsin or something.

Paul Rust and Gillian Jacobs in ‘Love’ (Credit: Netflix)

The first season of Love ended with Gus and Mickey in a very strange place, emotionally. What can you tease about their relationship arc in the second year? We’re trying to show every bump along the way as these people get to know each other. The whole idea of the show is to take a slower, closer examination of every nuance as people try to get into a relationship and make it work. It’s all about baby steps, and part of it is about what you hide from people when you first meet them, and how it slowly comes out.

Related: Ken Tucker Reviews Season 1 of ‘Love’: Love Hurts, Love Is Strange, Love Forever Changes

Andy Dick had a memorable appearance in Season 1. Any special guest stars planned for Season 2? There are a few episodes where David Spade plays the father of the teen actress Gus is tutoring, Aria, who’s played by my daughter, Iris. David’s character is a struggling actor who never did really well, but now his daughter’s doing very well. David’s one of my oldest friends and he’s a great actor, so it was really fun to write a part where he gets to do something really unique.

Australian comic Claudia O’Doherty was the breakout star of Season 1 as Mickey’s roommate Bertie. She embarked on her own love story at the end of last season — will that continue? I met Claudia when we were working on Trainwreck. I saw a bunch of her videos online, and just immediately thought, “Oh, this is one of the great comic minds.” So while we were doing that movie, I said to her, “Hey, we have this new show, and we’d love for you to play this part.” She was even better than we could have imagined. And yes, one of the fun aspects of the second season is exploring her bizarre relationship with Randy, who is played by Mike Mitchell. We actually get to follow multiple relationships in the second season, and it’s funny, because Randy’s this sweet, but unemployed guy who people aren’t sure about whether he’s a good person to date or not.

Mike Mitchell and Claudia O’Doherty in ‘Love’ (Credit: Netflix)

You’ve found lots of success in this new TV ecosystem, which stands in contrast to your early experience in the industry when shows like Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared were canceled before their time. Are you happier with the industry as it is now? I love not working for network television! [Laughs] I think that’s a nightmare. With these streaming services, you shoot a season, they air it, and then maybe they want another season. You’re not in constant fear that you could get canceled tomorrow. The whole idea that you could be in the middle of your show and someone will just hand you a phone and go, “They want you to stop shooting right now,” is just the worst nightmare for a creative person, because you work so hard to build this world. These characters become so real to you, so it’s like making television with a gun to your head the whole time wondering if they’re going to shoot.

I’ve really enjoyed working with Netflix and HBO because they’re both very supportive, and their highest priority is doing something bold and creative. It wasn’t like that at network TV. They were always trying to dumb things down or make things more accessible. I feel like we’re in a very wonderful new world where all of these new networks and streaming services can only survive if the product is great. So you’re encouraged to be original, and that’s what you dream of. We’re having the best time.

The final season of Girls premieres Feb. 12 at 10 p.m. on HBO. Crashing premieres Feb. 19 at 10:30 p.m. on HBO. Season 2 of Love premieres March 10 on Netflix.

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#_revsp:wp.yahoo.tv.us #gillian jacobs #judd apatow #Lena Dunham #_uuid:3c3fe0c2-55ab-3887-9f26-af3e4c029209 #girls #netflix #_lmsid:a0Vd000000AE7lXEAT #hbo #Love #_author:Ethan Alter #crashing #pete holmes

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