#truly this cast and crew are a gift

[gothamcitycentral]

Hazbin establishes very strong parallels between Charlie and Vaggie’s relationship and Lucifer and Lilith’s.

Charlie being as to Lucifer, the fantastical dreamer discouraged and rejected by the world around them.

Vaggie being as to Lilith, someone who failed their assigned role and were driven out of ‘paradise’ (Heaven/Eden) by someone they should have been able to trust (Lute/Adam).

In their most vulnerable moments Lucifer and Charlie find them, love blossoming between each pair because they defied the norm, Lucifer and Lilith being rebellious in a world of order and Charlie and Vaggie being kind in a world of cruelty.

Though at the same time, Charlie is to Lilith while Vaggie is to Lucifer.

“This kingdom was something she really cared about. Something I care about.”

Charlie acknowledges she is the last thread of the hope her mother gave to Hell all those thousands of years ago. The responsibility to her home Charlie puts on her shoulders is born from the love Lilith had for it. She is directly following in her mother’s footsteps, truly believing her people deserve better and that they’re worth fighting for.

Then there is their partners, the fallen angels who don’t share their love’s connection to Hell. Lucifer saw sinners as horrible people who wasted the gift he went to Hell for giving them. Vaggie always kept everyone not named Charlie a spear’s distance away, treating them as people she tolerated but never trusted for a moment. Despite what Heaven had done, had done to them, they were still thinking like angels.

(Though, these mentalities would change throughout the first season, Lucifer choosing to support Charlie no matter what and Vaggie accepting the hotel crew as a part of the in-group which she wishes to protect)

Lucifer’s distaste for his people, not fighting alongside Lilith’s rebellion and instead agreeing to the exterminations, seems to be why they eventually split, despite the love they held for each other. In extreme contrast, Vaggie always supporting Charlie is what keeps them together despite bumps in their relationship. Vaggie always chose to believe in and support Charlie and that means the world and more to Charlie, who spent so much of her life unsupported.

The show also juxtaposes Lucifer’s parental love for Charlie with Vaggie’s romantic love for her, most prominently with Vaggie starting the reprise of More Than Anything to express her love as Lucifer did originally.

(They’re also just. Charlie and Lilith being these tall powerful demon women with Vaggie and Lucifer being their short and tiny fallen angel loves)

What becomes interesting is during the finale when Lucifer (very strongly, very tastefully) implies he ate out Adam’s first wife before fucking his second.

This seems to based on sexual interpretations of original sin. However, in Hazbin we are very much lead to believe the Fruit of Knowledge is a literal apple. Given that Lilith is said to have also offered the apple to Eve, I doubt the implication is that Luci had any sort of one night stand with Eve. Rather, I think Lilith, Eve, and him were once, or attempted to be, in a romantic relationship.

(Considering Eve was made to be Adam’s lesser and Lucifer and Lilith shared the gift of free will with her specifically, I do wonder if Eve had fallen in love with the two, but was unable to leave Adam. The Fruit of Knowledge being given to her so she would be able to be free and join their relationship, but ultimately resulted in their separation as Lucifer and Lilith were casted into Hell)

Which certainly has implications about the future of Charlie and Vaggie’s relationship.

I think the show has actually set very compelling parallels between Eve and Emily.

Much as Lucifer shared forbidden knowledge with Eve, it’s Charlie’s actions that revealed the hidden truth of Heaven’s exterminations. There’s the specific ‘free will’ which Eve was gifted, which fits with Charlie’s influence giving Emily the ‘free will’ to defy Sera and act against Heaven.

I’ve also talked before about the possibility Emily was brought into existence to fill Lucifer’s place in Heaven. Considering the protective relationship Sera has with Emily, along with her looks of genuine horror at her acting against Heaven, it brings to mind the idea Sera has been fearful that Emily would fall just as Lucifer did for Emily’s entire existence, and as such raised her to be more likely to never stray from Heaven as Lucifer did. Which could add to why Sera hid Heaven’s genocide from her despite Emily being a high ranking seraphim; she couldn’t risk giving Emily a reason to rebel.

Which would be a very striking analogue between the two. Both living replacements for the fallen, born into someone else’s shadow to take their place, intended to be the more docile and proper version of Lilith and Lucifer, less likely to stray from the roles they were created to fill. Though, of course, we know Eve fell to temptation and maybe-probably-definitely left or tried to leave Adam, and that Emily is walking the edge.

(Emily having ties to both Lucifer and Eve seems relevant with how Charlie and Vaggie each have parallels to Lucifer and Lilith. Perhaps in her fall, we’ll see Emily ‘thrive in Hell’ just as Lilith did, and similarities between Charlie and Vaggie to Eve will pop up the more we learn about her?)

What’s also interesting is that Eve ‘falling into temptation’ (choosing Lucifer and Lilith over her preordained role) is what separated her from them. However, if Emily were to choose supporting Charlie’s dream over her place in Heaven, then her falling would be what brought her to Charlie and Vaggie. Thereby their situation acts as a foil to the previous generation’s.

And Emily supporting Charlie is very relevant. In More Than Anything we get the exchange of:

“I’ll support your dream whatever lies in store.”

“And who could ask for more?”

Because Charlie can’t think of anything more she could ask. Charlie’s idea of love and being loved is so heavily based on support and being supported. It’s a part of the conflict in Hell’s Greatest Dad, that Lucifer is being genuine and Alastor manipulative, but Alastor is the one actually providing Charlie with what she asks of him, which Lucifer never has. Charlie shows her love for Hell by believing in them, that they can improve, they deserve safety, and they have worth. It’s why Vaggie’s love is so important to Charlie, because for a long time, she was the only one believing in her.

And what does Emily do?

“I don’t know-”

“Yeah, let’s give him a chance!”

She supports Charlie! She believes and trusts her and argues on her behalf. She’s the only angel in Heaven to have faith in Charlie’s dream. Having Emily in the position of a fallen angel, falling right into Charlie’s arms, Charlie caring for her and nursing her back to health, with her being someone who very deeply believes in her, would be the same conditions that made Charlie fall in love with Vaggie three years ago.

Then for Vaggie, Emily also has a lot of the textbook traits that she loves Charlie for. The overexcited-ness, the care she has for others, even the way she doesn’t pull rank. And what she hasn’t expressed, that being seeing value in Vaggie where she herself does not, it feels natural that Emily would express that in the way Charlie does upon learning Vaggie’s history. We’ve seen her sense of justice and her horror at Heaven’s actions, so her deeply sympathizing with Vaggie would be entirely expected, and would be a very easy way for Vaggie to catch feelings for Emily.

However, there is this:

Which suggests the direction of a jealous Vaggie. I think that works, at least initially, with Vaggie feeling insecure in her relationship with Charlie after Emily falling and being cared for by Charlie in the way she was all that time ago. Those feelings heavily changing however, at the realization that Emily is crushing on her just as much as she is Charlie and how deeply relatable to her Emily’s circumstances and trauma would be.

Then on Emily’s side, not only would she have very much been thinking and focusing on Charlie prior to her fall, once she does, she lands in a very emotionally volatile situation where Charlie and Vaggie are supporting her so much and caring for her so deeply. It makes sense that this would translate to her developing feelings for the both of them.

(Now, this is a bit less definitive, but with Emily’s design, the long hair and dress that covers every inch of her short of her fingers, and Heaven being a stand in for the imperialist church, I do read the coming-of-age story the show has set up for her to be one of a conservative christian raised girl striking out of the doctrine she grew up in and finding community in the people her home had demonized, or at least an allegory for such. So having her develop romantic feelings for two ‘vile and blasphemous’ women in a very non-monogamous way would be very thematically relevant I think)

I would say this all works great as an analogue to Lucifer, Lilith, and Eve. Eve being in the unfortunate situation of Adam’s wife but finding comfort in Lucifer and Lilith and falling for the both of them as Emily would as a fallen angel being comforted by Charlie and Vaggie. Lucifer seeing Lilith reflected in Eve and caring for and helping her as he did before being parallel to Charlie helping Emily as she did Vaggie. Lilith initially feeling negativity towards the woman made to replace her bond so closely with her new love, only to realize Eve is falling for her just as much as she is for Lucifer and empathizing with Eve’s situation so deeply, just like Vaggie.

Then, there’s Adam and Lute. I already mentioned that they play parallel with forcing Lilith and Vaggie out of their respective paradises. Their dynamics are built on Adam and Lute punishing, and their domination over, Lilith and Vaggie, because they need to know their place: beneath them. (There’s also the interpretation of that Lute had or has romantic feelings for Vaggie, which is certainly relevant) The show is being very clear with Lute being Adam’s successor I feel, with her taking on his position as leader of the exorcists following his death.

Then, her line: “Your brat is threatening the very foundation of Heaven.” Personally, that makes me think of a sediment Adam would feel towards Lucifer. That’s he is the source of every problem, that he stole his wives (ignoring that Lilith left him before even meeting Luci), and that he destroyed paradise, Eden. Now that Vaggie and Lute’s conflict has seemingly come to a close, I think the show will be shifting to a Lute vs Charlie conflict, much as Adam shifted from Lilith to his hatred for Lucifer.

Now, if the show wants to push a Adam-Eve dynamic with Lute and Emily, what I could imagine is Lute protecting onto Emily in a very one sided way, where she thinks Charlie has ‘corrupted’ the seraphim (threatening heaven’s foundation) and she must personally ‘save’ her, which would very much align with how Adam would feel towards Lucifer’s influence on Eve.

Now, we can tell that Lucifer, Lilith, and Eve’s relationship Did Not pan out particularly well. So I think much like how Charlie and Vaggie have succeeded where Lilith and Lucifer failed, Charlie, Vaggie, and Emily is going to be the successful foil to their attempted relationship. Then for Lute, I think it becomes a question of: does she accept the olive branch Adam did not, does she eventually understand that she is doing wrong, does she accept mercy, or does she continue down Adam’s path, digging her own grave as he did; except that unlike Adam, there won’t be anyone to cry for her?

And y’know, the angel and 3 immortal humans versus the demon/half immortal human and 3 angels serves as a nice counter.

[adragoncalledcat]

Yes it’s past midnight and I can’t sleep, but I want to thank every single person who worked on Willow (2022-).

From the casting, to the costuming. From the props and set designers to the vfx crew (y’all are real ones). From the musicians that played the soundtrack, to the writers that gave us the story, thank you.

I truly cannot articulate how grateful I am that this show exists.

I want you to be proud of what you created. Because every time I watch it, it feels like a gift from every single person that helped make it.

[gentlebeardsbarngrill]

02/13/2024 Daily OFMD Recap

TLDR; Kudoboard; CaseyBloys/David Zaslav Shenanigans; Cast&CrewSightings; Samba Schutte; Con O'Neill; Ruibo Qian; Wendy Andersen; In Person Events; WatchParties; LubeAsACrew; People of Earth; Articles; Netflix WooAsACrew; Love Notes;

== Kudoboard Last Chance ==

Throwing this up top so you don't forget-- anyone who wants to add anything to the Kudoboard please message me tonight so I can get you the password to post. I'll be up for the next two hours so we've still got time.

== Casey Bloys ==

Whelp, Casey Bloys stepped in it again by posting an article by The Wrap about how True Detective was the most watched season on max. As you can imagine, a good chunk of the crew started calling BS on that, what with the Parrot Analytics stats from yesterday. Well, some of our favorite hashtags started trending this morning... #OhBloysHeMad and #TheNumbersWereThere

And in case you needed to see some more data that Bloys was full of crap--- Thank you to our dear friend @quirkysubject for pulling in Rotten Tomatoes Average Tomato-meter Ranking in with the Parrot Analytics Data in this awesome chart!

Not terribly long after, apparently the comments on The Wrap article really started to irritate ol Casey boy because he turned off comments on the post.

BUUUUUUT Our dear crewmate @spanishjenkies was kind enough to save a video before hand! So there's evidence of the trolling. Visit their twitter thread here.

Some of the crew has decided to go a bit further with the glorious Passive Aggression and started sending Casey Bloys gifts! @single_cat_mom sent him a Casio Compact Calculator to help him with his future numbers!

Annnnd our crewmate @ofmooshd got a cockroach at the zoo named after ol Casey Bloys!

Truly legendary levels of Polite Menacing today, m'dears! What a day!

In other WB/Max related news:

Did you know there's a petition to get this ... person... fired? If you wanted to sign that, here you go: Only if you wanted to of course.

== Cast & Crew Sightings ==

= Samba BTS =

Samba went hog wild today with the BTS, some lovely folks on tumblr posted the videos. (THANK YOU SAMBA!)

Just a couple of highlights, please visit this post to see all the pictures. You can also visit Samba's IG.

BTS Video 1: Cast Reading - ty @fuckyeahworldoftaika,

BTS Video 2: Con & Rhys - @fuckyeahizzyhands

BTS Video 3: Izzy Flipping the Bird - @fuckyeahizzyhands

= Con O' Neill =

As usual, our favourite Unicorn, Con O'Neill is over here supporting the hell out of the saveOFMD effort and sharing the Parrot Analytics results.

= Ruibo Qian =

Our Venerable Pirate Queen Ruibo Qian is back on Instagram with more inspiring words for us.

= Wendy Andresen for #TaikaTuesday =

So I know that normally #TaikaTuesday is a thirst factory (and don't worry it still was) but I just had to make a shoutout to our absolute gem Wendy Andresen (one of our Red Flag crew) for posting a picture of her pup Peanut cosplaying as Taika for #TaikaTuesday.

For those of you unfamiliar with the reference shirt:

She was kind enough to post more too when asked!

I adore how much she supports the #SaveOFMD effort and she is always a delight to chat with. Sending all the love her way! <3

== In-Person Events! ==

Today at the Our Flag Means Death Matelotage Processional several of our crewmates came out in costume with signs and showed support at the WB Gates! Thanks to all the crew who attended! Thank you @aimeekitty for sharing these pictures! Their IG and Twitter

== Watch Parties ==

= Lube As A Crew =

It's baaaaack! Valentine's Day: 4PM PST, 8 PM ET, 12:00 AM GMT S1 Ep 8, 9 10 with @astroglideofficial

If you've bought Astroglide recently please consider doing some reviews! They would love the support. You can @Astroglide and use #ReviewAsACrew

As you can imagine, the memes are back too <3

== Feb 15: Uncle Season 1 ==

This is mainly for UK folks but non-uk folks are welcome to vpn in as well! Here's an article on how to join via vpn!

Thurs 02/15/2024 + Friday 02/15/2024 - GMT - 8 PM, ET - 3 PM, PST - 12pm

WatchParty Hashtags:

#ForTheNewUncle

#SaveOFMD

#AdoptOurCrew

== People Of Earth S1 Ep 5, 6 ==

#PiratesOfEarth has been going great these last couple days! Thank you again to @iamadequate1 for organising it! Next episode 5 and 6 tomorrow the 14th! at 10PM GMT / 5PM EST / 4PM CST / 2 PM PST /

== Netflix #WooAsACrew Video ==

More love for the streaming platforms! 🌹💕🐙 Vocals: @sgtbeatlespotter Video: @giulianaazr on Twitter

== Updated #WooAsACrew Calendar! ==

Looks like tomorrow the goal is to WOO FX! Twitter / Instagram / Tumblr Tomorrow is also a great day to be creative! Make some cakes! Or flowers, or drawings! Anything! Let's see some sweet stuff!

== Articles ==

Have we seen this one? I can't remember anymore, some more Parrot Analytics from January. Ty to @drcfxtina on discord for sharing!

== Uk Crew Updates ==

Thank you to @queerly-autistic for capturing this! Guess who's front and center on the top recommendations? You guessed it! OFMD!

== Love Notes ==

Hey there lovelies!! Guess what time it is? I've had too much caffeine and I've taken my adhd meds on time so I'm Here, Queer, and ready to Cheer!

Look at everything you all did today! Do you see this list? And that's just a minuscule coverage of the pure polite chaos that ensued! I literally cannot add any more pictures because just so much has happened. We are 36 days in the Gravy Basket and you all are just ramping things up!

The tenacity, and creativity of this crew never ceases to amaze me!

There are more fundraisers in the works... (I'll post more when I know more) there's a slew of events, watch parties, and pure camaraderie everywhere! Everyone's making amazing memes, and artwork and fics! Seriously, you all should be proud of yourselves!

Not to mention, some of the most important things of all-- I am seeing SO MUCH SELF CARE. You are reaching out to the crew for support, you're taking days off, you're having fun and being creative for you... getting back to pet projects and doing things you enjoy!

You all are doing SO WELL. You are kicking ass, don't forget that! We'll have our down days, but no matter what you are making waves all over the place, bringing positive things to this world! As a side note, I wanted to mention, I know tomorrow can be a tough day for a lot of people. It can be lonely, or bring up good or bad memories. Please be sure to reach out to your crew for love if you're struggling. We love you, and even if it's a platonic love, it's overflowing here for you. You are wonderful, and we want to send you all the love we can.

That being said, I'm gonna end tonight with another note from @thelatestkate that I needed to hear a lot recently so I'm gonna share it with you too <3

You got this! Sending so much love m'dears!

== Daily Darby / Tonight's Taika ==

These were the two gifs that murdered me today so I hope you enjoy. These goofy buggers always make my day.

Rhys Src: @bizarrelittlemew Taika Src: @ofmd-ann

[911whatsyourgratitude]

I am so grateful that we have a cast and crew who care so deeply about telling meaningful stories for these characters. I see every day how much love and passion and gratitude 911 viewers have for what we're gifted every week and there's something extra special about seeing that same love and care reflected back to us through the characters on the screen. It's been true every year, but season 7 truly feels like something amazing.

SUBMIT YOUR 7X04 GRATITUDES HERE!

[sepublic]

I dunno if there’s a name for this type of genre/setting, but. I’m really digging how S3 seems to be going for that type of story, often coming-of-age, involving a ragtag group of tweens investigating their suburban neighborhood, performing historical research and unraveling a mystery, in response to supernatural happenings. There’s a monster lurking out there, and they have not much beyond your typical, everyday household objects to defend themselves; And of course, the beloved flashlight!

Obviously three of our protagonists DO have actual magic, but I have to wonder if prolonged separation from the Demon Realm will cause a witch’s magic bile to run out... Thus forcing the kids into a time limit and making them struggle even further against the odds, esp since even their original strength wasn’t enough to defeat Belos’ monster form. This might be why Amity has her Palisman; Willow and Gus have more innate talent and thus ‘bile’ to run off of, but Amity isn’t as gifted and so runs out a lot more quickly, and has to rely on her staff as a backup.

Which, I guess is not unlike Belos, perhaps; I can definitely see him focusing on the kids’ palismen, as he deals with his own dwindling time and energy... Anyhow, I dig this type of horror story where the kids are forced to confront the hidden sins of their town’s past, as a literal ghost comes back from the dead to haunt them.

It’s a mystery and of course you have the occasional kind adult or parent struggling to make things right; Struggling against the danger that threatens the idyllic life kids are meant to have, because these types of stories I imagine are meant to shatter the illusion of a perfect suburban neighborhood, show there’s shadows lying beneath the picturesque surface and nostalgia. A critique of that nuclear family image, because of the skeletons in the closet... Typically the ones who don’t fit in, the outcasts from whom the protagonists are, and find acceptance in fighting the idyllic facade. They too relate to being unacceptable and hidden away, hence their connection to the hidden darkness they unravel. I guess that’s what’s at root behind the fundamental appeal of these stories, what makes them resonate with audiences so much, that and the rad aesthetic of course.

It’s all really a metaphor in a way for a protagonist’s struggle with their parents and their need to be accepted, even as the parent adjusts to a shaken-up status quo they’re totally unprepared for and how they can somehow maintain their duties as an adult amidst all this, accepting that this status quo isn’t so perfect after all. Like Paranorman, Stranger Things, Deltarune. I don’t know WHAT the name is for these type of stories is, but I’m delighted to see The Owl House naturally develop our protagonists’ circumstances into this kind of familiar, recognizable story. The perfect neighborhood isn’t so perfect actually, it’s all a social critique by the end of the day.

And of course, the beta AU aspects are noticeable, especially the baseball bat that is a common trope of these kinds of stories; Which just gets back to what Dana said about her original intentions for the show to be darker, even as it literally becomes so! She DID clarify that Luz and the kids were made younger and more cheerful, precisely as her own creative choice; To paraphrase, if everybody is edgy then nobody is edgy, the brightness of someone like Luz was chosen by Dana herself, not Disney, as a way to contrast with the surroundings.

BUT... That’s how it starts for the story! But as things develop and Luz’s character grows and is hurt, experiences the loss of innocence in coming of age stories... Yeah, I can see the vibes of the Beta AU always having been the intention for the crew, they just opted to have the cast evolve into that, instead of starting off that way! Which of course, creates the nice contrast between then and now that makes the darkness of recent events all the more apparent. I dig it.

It truly feels like such a natural and perfect way to portray Luz’s arc to evolve in her return to the human world, confronting what she’s learned of it since then, and coming to terms with how she doesn’t fit the mold that Gravesfield wants, recognizing its cruelty towards those outcasts, and unveiling the truth. All while finding her acceptance from her mother and peers... Because that’s what it’s really about at the heart of the story, what it’s a metaphor for. It’s the ideal and classic genre to explore and settle her issues back home, in a home that isn’t as normal as some might claim it is away from the Demon Realm.

This could easily be its own isolated, more mundane AU and I love the range this show offers; I’m almost surprised the show didn’t go for this setting earlier, but that’s only because there’s a time and place for it and the time is now after carefully building up to it. Luz is truly disillusioned with the human world after living in a different place and seeing how it easily could and should be better, which just allows her to really make a stand against it this time. Now she knows another life is viable and isn’t interested in returning back to this one. This could be the end of her hero’s journey with how Luz has come back changed; But unlike the classic version, the beginning is not her end.

[jovenshires]

endless au edits: smosh theatre's seasonal lineup (3/4)

no matter what else you have to say about it, one thing is certain. smosh's summer show is a fascinating choice: a production of godspell directed by zoe moacanin. smosh fans may know moacanin from directing last year's infamous performance of les miserables, which was the first show in almost a decade to star both smosh founders, ian hecox and anthony padilla. in a P.I.T. interview with hecox, he revealed that les miserables was moacanin's "brainchild." from the beautiful, minimalistic set to the haunting, romantic stage direction, hecox credited it all as her idea. "the show would not have gone on without her," hecox said. "she's one of the greatest directors i've ever worked with." moacanin's understanding of tragedy and theatre itself truly make her a force to be reckoned with. with a standout crew to support her, including arguably smosh's most talented stage head alex tran, i think we can all preemptively agree that this religious comedy-drama will lean far into the latter and leave not a dry eye in the house. it will surprise almost no one that shayne topp is staying atop the heap of most leading roles in smosh productions as he takes on the intimidating role of jesus christ himself. jesus is a high-energy, charismatic, strong leader that others instinctively follow - all words that accurately describe topp. when i reached out to him to set up a potential interview (coming soon), he had this to say: "it's truly such an honor to be working with zoe [moacanin]. she's extremely talented, and this cast has really captured my heart. i'm so excited to put on this show." i'll have the pleasure of sitting down with topp next week to dive further into his character and his relationship with the cast. speaking of, his fellow lead actor is none other than chanse mccrary, who will be playing john the baptist/judas. mccrary is known for speaking out about how his sexuality and race affect his career, both in how he's perceived by others and how it informs his art. to see him play such a double-edged character will be fascinating, as he will act as jesus's confidante as well as his downfall. smosh theatre is often highly praised for giving their actors room for interpretation. mccrary has taken that and run with it in the past, and i have no doubt that he'll do that again. mccrary shared on his instagram that he's "excited" for the upcoming performance. "i've had so much fun working on this show; this is truly one of my dream roles. come see me and @ shaynetopp sing all for the best and maybe kiss, who's to say". well, he certainly has me sold. godspell is a unique show in that theatre companies often name all of the characters after their actors. smosh is following that unwritten rule, releasing the rest of the cast solely as the songs they sing rather than the characters' names. the incredibly talented arasha lalani will be singing "turn back o' man," performed by the mary magdalene-esque character. lalani has played mostly high-strung, comedic roles with smosh thus far, and she's damn good at it. but as she showcased as cosette in the aforementioned production of les miserables, she absolutely has the range. backing her up in the ensemble of apostles are relatively up-and-coming actors marcus munguia (singing "light of the world" as the comedic, up-beat, class clown apostle) and peter ditzler (singing "all good gifts", a character notably sweet and innocent yet slightly slow on the uptake) among others. the stark mix of both classic smosh members and newer actors makes for a perfectly balanced cast, one that will make this old show feel brand new.

[stagefoureddiediaz]

The birth and resurrection of Buck

Have a meta to tide you over until the episode airs!!!

The imagery that the writers and the crew (and cast but they’re doing what they’re directed to do so I'm not including them here) have been utilising in relation to Buck and Christian symbolism is pretty interesting - and especially in relation to the resurrection of Christ. 

We’ve seen so many references to it now that its almost like the universe is screaming at us or something! This is not fully comprehensive as I am sure there is more and I've not got time to do the level of in depth analysis I'd like to (I'm trying to get this out before 6x10 airs!), but this is the major points in relation to Buck and the resurrection. Putting it below the cut because its a bit long 😎

Buck is a saviour baby

We all know Buck was born to save his brother and that has had a profound impact on who he is and how he views himself - he has made saving people his entire personality. In Christianity Jesus was born to save the human race from sin and spent his life saving people through his preaching and miracles etc. Even Bucks name ties him to being a saviour - Evan means 'Gods gift' or 'Gods messenger' playing into the idea that God gave the Buckleys a gift (which they then didn't appreciate) and he then used Buck to spread his message (which we are only now truly getting to see the extent of) which leads me on to;

Travelling Buck

The bible details Jesus travelling preaching and spreading the word of God. These travels are an important part of the story and actually stem back to his birth - Mary and Joseph have to escape from Bethlehem and spend time in Egypt before returning to Nazareth

We see Buck escaping his parents and heading out on his own travels - sending postcards back to Maddie. Bucks travels are an important part of his own story - he didn't use his travels to preach etc in the way jesus did but he did use them to

St Christopher and the tsunami

I have a slightly unorthodox view of the st Christopher and the tsunami connection - but hear me out. So most people refer to Buck as being the embodiment of st Christopher in the tsunami arc because he carried Chris and got him to safety - all totally valid and definitely a legitimate way to read it. I However think there is a second way to view it because yes Buck saved Chris etc etc carrying him like St Christopher carried Jesus, but if you think about it metaphorically, things can look a little different.

Think about it this way - Eddie and Shannon have a baby and name him Christopher - then Shannon gives Eddie the St Christopher necklace - to protect him and remind him he has a family to come home to. Now Eddie carries that necklace around with him like a talisman.

Fast forward to the Tsunami and Christopher is dropped off with buck by Eddie to get him out of his loft - Buck is metaphorically drowning in his depression etc over not being able to return to work etc. The show was blatant in its use of the tsunami as a metaphor for the tidal wave of grief and depression both Buck and Christopher (and Eddie to a certain extent) were experiencing for differing reasons (Buck identifying himself through his job and feeling there is nothing else for him and Christopher the grief of losing his mother) - theres a reason he is they are the only two directly caught up in the wave! Buck directly refers to Christopher saving him - up on the fire truck "we saved each other" and then Eddie tells Buck its time for Christopher to "do the same [save him] for you" and then we get Bucks voiceover about the life raft that gets you home - implying that it is Christopher (and Eddie though his words) carrying Buck home (to safety.

We get to see it in action again in Eddie begins - Eddie is buried in rising water - yet the thought of Christopher (and Buck) leads him to safety - to saving himself. The story of St Christopher talks about the water swelling and rising - much like the Tsunami of course, but also like the rising water Eddie battles through to get back to safety - to his family.

It is this reason that I would argue Christopher is the embodiment of st Christopher, and not Buck, although they are in many respects interchangeable.

While we're on the subject of St Christopher, it is worth mentioning that he is not only the patron saint of travellers, but also of things related to travel and travellers—against lightning and pestilence in particular, obviously we had the pestilence shown through Covid - and the separation of Christopher from Eddie and Buck as a form of protection and now the lightning is coming out to play. I think the fact its Eddie connected to Buck on the ladder is more significant than it just being about Buddie - it also connects into the st Christopher of it all - Eddies necklace forms that direct connection to Christopher, and Eddie is going to be connected to Buck via a rope (I love layers connections like this!) thus connecting him to Christopher as well!

Maddie

Maddie as a name means 'from Magdala' - the place Mary Magdalene is from. Mary Magdalene has had a bad rap over the years - there is very little evidence that she was a prostitute - it is likely that another Mary (the most common name for women of the time) was conflated with Mary Magdalene and thus she becomes known as a prostitute. Mary was considered Jesus's most faithful follower, and the one who understood him best - she is considered to have taken care of him and financially supported his ministry. We could attribute all of these same characteristics to Maddie herself - she is the one who has taken care of Buck, she has supported him - one could say that giving him the Jeep and some cash so he could travel is that same as providing financial support (Bucks ministry being the fact that he needs to travel to find himself and end up in LA, so giving him the jeep sets everything in motion) and Maddie is also the one who understands him best (Eddie is on his way to superseding her but shared childhood trauma edges in her favour right now!) Mary Magdalene is the one who witnesses the empty tomb and the resurrection of Jesus - ergo Maddie being the one at Bucks bedside when he wakes isn’t that much of a reach for us to make.

A couple of other snippets before we get to the resurrection itself;

Jesus was 33 when he died - Buck is 33 (approximately) in Canon at the time of the lightning strike 👀

Jesus was resurrected on the 3rd day - we’ve been getting all the 3’s - literally all of them - this season and I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Buck is in a coma for 3 days (and if I'm right about this i'll be flinging myself into the sun over it!)

Also we haven't talked about the Taylor of it all - Taylor is Judas! Let me explain, Judas became Jesus's closest apostle, but he is also separated from the other apostles, through his dislike of the way Jesus went about certain things - he's the only Apostle to question Jesus outright right and he betrayed Jesus - which lead to his crucifixion.

With Taylor she has always had this antagonistic side to her - she questions Buck (without understanding or reason), and she is technically the closest to him (by virtue of dating him not because she is actually the closest person to him) whilst also being separate from everyone else in the show. It is Taylor who betrays Buck and leads to the higher ups semi blacklisting Buck in the aftermath - similar to the way Judas's betrayal of Jesus allowed Pilate to arrest and ultimately kill him. In the same way that it was essentially predetermined that Judas would betray Jesus, it was predetermined on the show that Taylor would ultimately betray Buck (and the 118). Its important to remember that Buck feeling like he's been black listed etc as a result of Taylors actions is a key part of his spiral in season 6 - it is the catalyst for so much of what has happened thus far and part of why he was so determined to prove himself captain material and for his decision to try the age of absolutely and say yes to everything!

As an aside to this Judas is often depicted in Christian imagery with red hair - just like a certain reporter we all know and hate!!

The Resurrection

So we've all been screaming over the imagery of Buck hanging in the air and subsequently being lowered to the ground and into the arms of Bobby and how it fits into Christian imagery of Jesus being removed from the cross Like this one - 'Deposition' by Caravaggio

Deposition is one of the more famous paintings depicting this moment, but Christs removal from the cross is often depicted with the presence of ladders and the pose they have Buck in is also a commonly used one in the depiction of Christ's removal from the cross

such as this one by Rembrant;

or this one by Rubens

in both instances Christ is removed from the cross and into the arms of Joseph of Arimethea and we see the women of Christ (I hate that term but there we go!) both Mary Magdalene and his mother Mary in these paintings. Joseph was granted permission to bury Jesus - a feat normally undertaken by the father of the deceased. The fact that Joseph of Galilee wasn't present (when Mary was) suggests that he was already deceased.

you cannot convince me that this;

wasn't inspired by the above art! there are a couple of really interesting things about the fact we have Bobby very obviously in the position of Joesph of Arimethea. Joesph of Arimethea is taking on the role of father figure to Christ and we know Bobby has taken on the role of father figure to Buck. I'm also willing to put money on the person we can't see being Hen - thus representing the women. This will also likely be accompanied by Maddie being at Bucks bedside (and we might possibly see Margaret there as well in some capacity even if I start growling!!)

The thing with the crucifixion, deposition and subsequent resurrection is that they are the key turning point in the bible - they are the moment when the work Jesus has undertaken up to this point gains its importance and status - without his sacrifice at that moment, it is very possible Christianity (and Judaism and islam as well for that matter) may not exist!

If we break it down in 911 terms and look at where Buck is at right now and where he is headed it all ties in very interestingly with Jesus.

The pipeline is essentially the same

Jesus; betrayed - crucified - removed from the cross - resurrected.

Buck; Betrayed - crucified - removed from the ladder truck - resurrected (and in a coma before waking up)

We know Buck isn't going to actually die - that wouldn't serve the same purpose for the show that Christs death did in the bible. The outcome is the same though. Buck is going to die - temporarily and its going to land him in a coma, but hes going to die. and that is so important. Buck is at apoint where he needs to shed the 'Evan of it all. the saviour label is so firmly attached to Evan and at this point in time Buck cannot escape its clutches - he even leant into it with the sperm donation. Now though hes discovering leaning into hasn't actually helped or made him feel better.

Buck is still stuck with this saviour label attached to him - only the risk is that now its becoming attached to Buck as well - not just to Evan (Connor knows Buck from before - when he was still Evan remember). Bucks choice to become a sperm donor means the lines are becoming increasingly blurred between Evan and Buck. In order for Buck to learn and grow - for him to be able to move on and essentially become who he wants to be - who Buck is, he needs to not be Evan anymore, so that means some form of rebirth.

This is where the coma storyline is such a great narrative device as a representation of the resurrection - in his coma Buck will get to see who Evan would've been - without the Buck of it all. He'll discover that it's not all its cracked up to be in his head - that thats not who he is, who he wants to be or who he'll ever be and being that won't make him happy. It won't be straightforward, nor will he get there immediately (healing isn't linear but Buck is on that road finally), but he will be carrying that knowledge with him and that will help him figure out that Buck is loved and wanted in a way Evan never has been (with the exception of by Maddie), that he isn't spare parts in the way Evan is and he will be able to be resurrected as Buck.

We need to remember that Christ was resurrected 3 days after his death and then appeared to certain people (in particular the apostles but also to others) during the next 40 days. This is why I'm expecting Buck to be in a coma for 3 days.

This is in no way as coherent as I'd like it to be - I think I'll have to revisit when I'm not feeling quite so insane about the episode tonight!!

I don't think I've written this much on religion since I was in RE classes at school!! I find the use of religious imagery in modern media really interesting and 911 is really going all in with it! Anyway I hope you found it interesting and I'm sure I've left out a lot of stuff, but the important points are all there I think!

feel free to drop thoughts opinions etc in the tags or comments - I can't wait to read everyone else's good thoughts and ideas!

[electronickingdomfox]

"The Wounded Sky" review

Novel from 1983, by Diane Duane (I had read some TOS comics, and even played a text adventure by this same author, but this is the first novel I read). Very bizarre, very imaginative. You'd probably have to go back to "Planet of Judgment" (1977) to find a similarly unusual TOS novel. Most of the "action" unfolds inside mental landscapes (and that's not even a proper description; the situation is actually far more complex than that). At times poetic, at times metaphysical, it's a more difficult novel than the standard TOS light literature, though there are also many humorous moments.

The aliens are remarkable for how truly "alien" they are, which produces lots of absurd (from a human viewpoint) situations. There's a species who only see in infrared, and needs properly heated cards to play poker. A feline alien that doesn't have language to express the passage of time. Another species with twelve sexes, all of them male (specially the ones who bear children). And glass spiders with an altogether different understanding of physics, who spend a lifetime building a nest of memories to pass to their offspring, and then die at the time of mating. I haven't read any novels by Terry Pratchett, though I know about Discworld from the videogames, but may I say there's something "pratchean" in all this?

In many ways, this is a fascinating novel. But is it a good representative of a Trek novel? I'm not sure. I feel the scope and the depth of this story is a bit constrained by the Trek frame. The TOS series, and even the movies, had a smaller scope: interpersonal problems, specially among the big three, or political conflicts. The aliens were usually very human, and represented different human societies/worldviews. Even when more alien creatures appeared, like the gas cloud from "Obsession", the story was really about Kirk's very personal demons. So maybe this novel would have benefitted if it was set in its own, independent sci-fi world, that provided the needed freedom to explore the larger cast and variety the story strives for.

I'll try to summarize the plot, though this is over-simplifying, since "themes" are more important here than "action". Spoilers under the cut:

The Enterprise is tasked with testing a new revolutionary invention, that will allow ships to travel instantly as far as they want, even outside the galaxy. The artifact in question works by "inversion", sending the starship to a different dimension where time doesn't exist, and popping it up again at the desired coordinates. Since there's no time involved, there's no damage done to ship and crew. Theoretically. Well, what could possibly go wrong?

They take aboard the artifact, along with its Hamalki inventor: K't'lk (pronounced "ketelk", I think). She's the glass spider from the cover, and thus far, takes the prize for most unusual "lady of the week". K't'lk soon becomes best friends with Scotty, though the engineer struggles to understand the nutty physics of the Hamalki. For his part, Kirk has a conversation with her about the reproductive habits of her species, during which K't'lk weaves a strange crystal sculpture, and gifts it to him. She also makes a demonstration of the inversion process, without changing the ship's coordinates. But Kirk can't feel anything, except a vague dizziness.

However, soon after leaving the starbase, the Enterprise is attacked by Klingon ships which desire the inversion apparatus. Sulu manages to outmaneuver them, sending the Klingons into a nearby star, which becomes nova right then. The Enterprise escapes the explosion in the nick of time, by activating inversion and leaving the normal plane of existence. And this time, the crew has indeed strange (but blissful) experiences during inversion. For example, Kirk finds himself living as if he was the starship itself, and this had a conscience of its own.

Upon reappearing in the normal universe, they find out the explosion somehow messed up the coordinates, so they're not anywhere near the Lesser Magellanic, which it was their mission to investigate. Also, the nearby star is going nova too. Coincidence again? Activating inversion once more, this time they're placed in the correct coordinates. But with each subsequent, longer jump, the inversion experiences are becoming weirder, and individuals start merging with other crewmembers, and seeing things from their viewpoint.

Finally, things get more sinister once Kirk reappears with real wounds, that he thought were just the product of his mind. And even worse, the Lesser Magellanic, now nearby, is showing the most disturbing anomalies. Entropy has simply ceased to exist at some points. And it seems the longer jumps with the inversion apparatus have caused this, by ripping the fabric of the universe. Thus, a new universe without entropy is sipping through the tear, and threatens to destroy everything. (It's funny how the problem in "The Entropy Effect" was that they had too much entropy, while here they have too little. If they just left it alone...).

K't'lk is sure she can close the rip between both universes, but to do so, they'll need to make a final jump right at the center of the anomaly. The climax of the story happens entirely inside the mental world of inversion. Which is highly malleable by thought, given the progressive rupture of natural laws. Also, the flux in entropy is represented by ascencing and descending slopes in the landscape. However, they can't close the rip immediately, since they discover a living, god-like being (called simply "the Others"), who would be destroyed in the process. Before that, Spock must join in a group mind-meld with other crewmembers, to give the Others self-awareness, and explain the situation. K't'lk must also stay behind with the god, to weave new natural laws for Them to live in. And she puts forth this universe by singing (echoes from Tolkien's "Silmarillion"? might be, since a forest called "Lorien" appears at one point).

Once everything's fixed, and the Enterprise is back in Federation space via smaller jumps (that won't mess up the universe too much), Starfleet decides that the inversion apparatus is way too dangerous in its present state, and must not be used. Meanwhile, everyone misses K't'lk. But when Kirk accidentally breaks the crystal sculpture that she gave to him, he discovers it was actually an egg. A new, small K't'lk emerges from it, and quickly runs to greet Scotty.

Spirk Meter (or rather McSpirk): 5/10*. During inversion, Kirk gets to see Spock and McCoy's true, deepest natures, and he's in awe with what he finds. First, he's blinded by McCoy's compassion, and the doctor's touch on his arm both reassures and bewilders him. Then Kirk is humbled by Spock's desire of knowledge and his superior mind. The three of them are relieved to find such good qualities in the others' souls. However, the scene is quite abstract, and seems to be dealing more with the characters as ideas, rather than as specific persons. So I don't find it all that slashy really.

As for Spones as such, there's the moment when Kirk finds them walking together, while inside the anomaly, and Spock looks at McCoy with "nearly unalloyed affection". Kirk also considers that McCoy is more geared towards receiving, in contrast to Spock's inclination for giving... How convenient for them!

*A 10 in this scale is the most obvious spirk moments in TOS. Think of the back massage, "You make me believe in miracles", or "Amok Time" for example.

[assortedvillainvault]

Hi. I have a serious crush on Captain Hook and hope if you can write a romance one shot between me (aka the reader) and him please?

You have excellent taste friend! Sincere apologies for how long you have waited for this, I hope you like it! My brain is fried for full prose one shots so I hope bullet points are ok!

Captain Hook x Reader Romantic One Shot:

You wake up alone one morning to glorious sunshine and a note in Hook's elegant handwriting on his side of the bed.

It was clearly written with great care and the Good Quill and Ink, and you can't help but smile as you rub the sleep from your eyes and mouth the words as you read.

"Good Morning My Love. Your next gift lies under a wheel, towards the sky. Follow the Trail?"

Your eyes flick over to the compass on Hook's desk, where the needle points true north toward a cloudless horizon. A second note is folded under the well worn instrument and you scramble out of bed with a laugh.

You follow the treasure trail of notes all over the ship. The Jolly Rodger is well and truly abandoned, and you would be a little unnerved at the silence aboard if not for the multitude of notes and little clues that greet you at every turn.

The search takes literally all day, with a very appreciated set of notes leading you to a pre made breakfast and lunch, as well as the crows nest, bowsprit and even the anchor chain. Some come with little gifts (seashells, jewels that match your eyes) and others compliments and small bits of poetry.

Finally, as the sun sets in a golden blaze across Neverland, you come back to the Captain's Cabin. The last note indicated your 'Treasure' would be inside.

Hook opens the door and scoops you up into a delighted twirl. A mouthwatering scent hits your nose and you gasp at the dinner for two masterfully prepared inside.

And at the scores of multicoloured lanterns, each with a struggling fairy casting flickering light through the room.

When asked, Hook kisses your hand and quips that if they didn't want to be captured and used as glorified candles then they shouldn't have dumped rotten fruit on you last time you went ashore together.

The meal is divine, and you spend the night lovingly in eachothers company, not a care in the world.

On Neverland, Pirate Bay Beach:

The crew idly chat in their makeshift hammocks, listening to the repeated 'THWACK's of an oar against one tied up irate oversized crocodile just past the trees.

Ticktok snarls, but can't bite past the rope his snout has been bound with as Smee hefts the oar again.

"Now now, still got a way's to go!" he quips cheerfully as the oar slaps down again. "One slap for every nervous breakdown the Captain had setting this blummin' date up with you around, and another for every time I had to read through another blummin' note!"

Ticktok thrashes, but Smee can tell the croc has long since resigned himself to this. It's not like the oar is actually hurting him, after all.

[fallenwhumpee]

My friend mentioned pirates a few weeks ago and that's been rotating around my head for a bit :)) was working on a snippet, actually :p but yes, pirates and the navy. Do with that what you will :D

:D anon

Oh well, that's something I always wanted to get into! I love pirates. Please let me try.

Brutal

• Masterlist •

Warnings: Mutiny, execution, blood.

A pirate was nothing but a bandit if it wasn't for the captain's reputation. A ship was nothing but a piece of wood floating. And to gain a captain's reputation, you had to dethrone one.

It was why all captains lived their lives keyed up. It was why they all knew how to sleep with an eye open.

For someone so paranoid, Captain trusted to their crew way too much. They believed that their meed for each other was enough to keep the crew in line for now. They were good on storage, all needs of the crew provided. What could someone else wish when they were sailing for a treasure only Captain knew the place of? Certainly, the wealth was worth more than fame.

Walking at the deck, checking around, Captain felt their fingers ache, a gift given them with the title. Rubbing their hands, they ignored the open weather and gave the order to prepare for heavy rain.

While the crew looked sceptical for a moment, they complied. Captain was on edge through the whole time, fearing that this time they could be wrong and their value in their crew's eye would decrease.

In less than an hour, a storm broke out. Some of the crew looked at them like they were a witch. They didn't mind the look but sent everyone into the hull before taking the helm. With the smallest sail not to stray away in the wind, it was hard to control the ship. By the time they managed to keep the ship in the route and the storm calmed, their muscles were trembling, and they were soaked from head to toe. It was an awful way to begin the day.

As the crew busied themselves with post-storm tasks, Captain couldn't shake off the feeling of unease that lingered in the air. Something didn't feel right, but they couldn't quite pinpoint what it was. Perhaps it was just the aftermath of the storm playing tricks on their senses.

"Keep her steady, Helmsman," They muttered as they left for their cabin.first thing they did was drying their hair with the towel and getting in dry clothes. They couldn't warm up, however, even after changing. They could only stop trembling with their will. They assumed it was because their cabin didn't get much sunlight, but their state didn't change much once they were on the deck.

Crossing their arms, they watched the crew working at a perfect pace. Too perfect, they thought for a moment before they could prevent their paranoia . They leaned to the railing, sighing. Their instincts screamed danger, but they couldn't discern the source. Was it just their nerves, or was something truly amiss?

First Mate approached, their face looking quite troubled as always. "Captain, are you alright? You seem tense."

Captain forced a tight smile. "Just a bit weary from the storm. Keep an eye on the crew, will you? Something doesn't feel right."

First Mate nodded, their gaze flickering over the deck before returning to Captain. "Aye, Captain. I'll keep a close watch."

The day dragged on with a suffocating heaviness, the sun casting long shadows across the deck as evening approached. Captain's unease only grew as the hours passed, a gnawing feeling in the pit of their stomach refusing to leave them alone.

As dusk descended, Lookout's shout cut through the stillness, startling Captain from their reverie. "Ship ahoy! To starboard!"

Heart pounding, Captain rushed to the rail, squinting into the fading light. Sure enough, the silhouette of another vessel loomed on the horizon. Clenching their fists, Captain barked orders to prepare the canons for a potential conflict. The crew sprang into action, their movements swift and practised, but Captain was not one to relax before battles.

As the unknown ship drew nearer, Captain's worst fears were realized. It was no ordinary merchant vessel or another pirate.

"Damn navy," they muttered, but everyone heard that in the deep silence. "I will see it scuttled," they snarled as they ran to the helm, getting the ship to a better position to aim the canons.

It took only one shot to burst everything into chaos.

Their ship shook with the missed shot, and it was all they needed to order fire. Pirates, too bored of mundane days, fires as if there was no tomorrow. After the heavy fire, two vessels closed the distance until the ships locked side by side, a battle beginning. Captain was first to cross to the navy ship, their sword and pistol their only trusted ally.

But in the middle of chaos, something caught Captain's eye. A figure standing tall and commanding on the deck of the enemy ship, their uniform adorned with the insignia of high rank. It was the captain of the navy vessel, a formidable opponent whose skill matched their own, and a way to destabilise the whole ship.

Captain charged forward, their sword meeting the navy captain's in a shower of sparks. Captain's heart pounded in their chest as they fought, their senses heightened by the adrenaline coursing through their veins.

Despite their best efforts, Captain found themselves unable to gain the upper hand against their formidable opponent. The navy captain fought with a ferocity and determination matched their own, and it only fueled their anger.

But just as the tide seemed to turn in favour of Captain, a sudden movement caught their eye. A group of navy soldiers, armed to the teeth, appeared from below deck and surged forward, circling their crew.

Realizing they were outmatched and outnumbered, Captain knew they had to act fast and smart. With a swift motion, they disarmed the overconfident navy captain and pressed their blade against their throat, the cold feeling returned agsin as a wave soaked them.

"Stand down!" Captain's voice cut the battle, drawing attention across both of the decks. "Or your captain will breathe their last breath."

For a tense moment, the navy soldiers hesitated, torn between their loyalty to their captain and the threat of imminent death. But with a resigned nod from their leader, they reluctantly lowered their weapons, signalling their surrender.

Breathing heavily, Captain released the navy captain. "Kill them all."

The order was given with a cold, calculated tone. Without hesitation, the pirates descended upon the surrendered navy soldiers, their blades flashing in the dying light of dusk.

Captain watched the chaos unfold with a mixture of satisfaction and remorse. They knew that in the world of piracy, mercy was a luxury they couldn't afford. Besides, their own crew had to see that they were Captain for a reason.

As the last of the navy soldiers fell, Captain turned to address their crew, their voice ringing out across the deck. "Gather what plunder you can and prepare to make sail. We're not safe here."

The crew moved quickly, looting the enemy vessel for any valuables they could find and securing their own ship for departure. With the wind at their backs, they set sail into the fading light, leaving the navy vessel burning down slowly.

Captain went to their cabin to dry up again, annoyance painted all over their face as they failed to keep their expression in check.

The rest was short-lived as First Mate barged in.

First Mate's expression was grave as they entered, a sense of urgency preventing Captain from snapping with annoyance. "Captain, we have a situation."

Captain's brow furrowed. They were too tired to deal with anything. "What's happened?"

First Mate hesitated before continuing. "There's talk among the crew. They're restless, discontent. Some are even muttering about overthrowing you, saying you've led us into too many close calls and that we'd be better off without you."

Captain's blood ran cold at the news, the gravity of the situation sinking in. "How many are with them?"

"Enough to cause trouble," First Mate admitted grimly. "But not enough to overpower us if we act quickly. Though but tensions are running high. I fear it's only a matter of time before someone makes a move."

Captain's mind raced as they considered their options. They couldn't afford to let a mutiny succeed, not with their reputation and authority on the line. But they also couldn't risk a full-scale confrontation that could tear the crew apart.

"Round up any loyal crew members you can find," Captain ordered, their voice steely with determination. "We'll confront the mutineers and put an end to this before it escalates further."

With a nod, First Mate turned to leave, their footsteps echoing in the tense silence of the cabin. Left alone once more, Captain cursed their luck and the treachery of those they had trusted with their lives. But there was no time for self-pity. They had a mutiny to end and a crew to rally if they were to maintain control of their ship.

Captain gave themselves a few seconds before barging out. They watched as the crew gathered at down, gripping the railing until their knuckles began to ache. After waiting the majority and watching First Mate separate some to form a circle around, they walked down the stairs.

"The only disadvantage of having my own cabin is being isolated from the circulating whispers. But truly, did you all thought I would not hear your talks about mutiny?" They snarled, their sharp voice cutting through the air like a knife.

The crew fell into an uneasy silence, their eyes darting nervously among themselves. Some shuffled their feet uncomfortably, while others exchanged glances, unsure of how to respond.

Captain's gaze swept over the assembled crew, their expression neutral despite their angry tune. "I've led you through storms and battles, risked my life countless times to keep this ship afloat and our plunder secure. And this is how you repay me?"

A few heads bowed in shame, but still, no one spoke up to challenge Captain's authority. They had the respect and fear of their crew, but even that seemed to be slipping through their fingers like sand.

"You may think me harsh, reckless, or even selfish, but every decision I've made was for the good of this crew and our shared goals," Captain declared, their eyes darting around with righteous fury. "If any of you still doubt my leadership, then let them step forward now and face me like true pirates."

Whispers grew for a moment and Captain spotted some movement, half of the circled crew subtly reaching their cutlass. Their number weren't enough to hinder the ship.

"Very well," Captain said, their voice carrying a steely resolve that brooked no argument. "If this is the path you choose, then let it be settled here and now."

Without warning, the first blow was struck, and chaos erupted in a frenzy of steel and fury. Blades clashed, shouts rang out, and blood stained the deck as the mutiny unfolded in a violent struggle for control.

It was a lot easier than going against a navy. The small uprising was over in a matter of minutes, mutineers brought to their knees. The deck was littered with fallen comrades and mutineers alike, the air heavy with the metallic tang of blood and the acrid scent of gunpowder.

First Mate approached, their expression a mixture of relief and concern. "Captain, are you injured?"

"I truly don't seserve you," Captain muttered to themselves and shook their head, wiping sweat and blood from their brow with the back of their hand. "Just a few scratches. What's the damage?"

First Mate stood in attention, taking in the scene of chaos and with a disgusted expression. "We've lost a few good men, and there are injuries among the crew, but nothing we can't handle. The mutineers are yours as our seal of loyalty."

Captain nodded, their jaw clenched with tension. "Good. See to it that the wounded are tended to, and get yourself something to celebrate with your men."

First Mate saluted, their gaze lingering on Captain with a mixture of admiration and concern. "Aye, Captain. I'll see to it right away."

As First Mate moved to carry out their orders, Captain took a moment to collect themselves, sighing as they approached to the kneeled rebels. There was no mercy in their heart.

"Did you truly think you could succeed a mutiny against me, who has survived and succeeded even more than you heard?" Captain snarled. "You are greedy animals who can't see the consequences of your own actions. What makes you think that your end will be different than any navy i wreck?"

A part of then enjoyed the mutineers trembling before them. And for a moment, they let that part take the control as they did in the deck of the navy ship.

"Now... what should I do with you?" They mused to themselves.

The mutineers cowered before Captain, their faces pale with fear and regret as they awaited their fate. Some dared to meet Captain's gaze with defiance, but the fire in their eyes quickly flickered out under Captain's icy glare.

"You've betrayed your comrades, your captain, and the code we live by," Captain continued, their voice low and dangerous. "And for that, there can be only one punishment."

A smirk took over their face. Surely they weren't being too... brutal. They gave what people deserved.

"Keelhaul*."

-•-

Keelhaul: to punish a sailor by pulling him under a ship, from one side to the other or from one end to the other

[bleach-boyz]

Chapter 5: Haggard

prev. // next

In late 2002, Jackass: The Movie was released to monumental success, and the whole cast became full-blown celebrities. Audiences loved it, and its popularity led to each cast and crew member getting lots of recognition and a huge check. This was the first time you felt not only creatively satisfied but financially satisfied by a project you worked on. The entire experience truly felt like a gift. 

As a member of the crew, you were able to go to all the promotional events and parties the cast were invited to, which meant you got to meet and party with countless famous people. 

The partying had definitely been taken to the next level in terms of how fucked up everyone would get. You’d occasionally take part in some pills or other drugs that were offered to you, but mainly you stuck to just drinking. You definitely couldn’t keep up with Steve-O or Pontius for very long at a Hollywood party, but you’d stay on pace with people like Ryan or Knoxville. 

Truly, your lives had never been more crazy, but with Bam, there was always another project to work on. Even while you were working on Jackass, he’d been insisting you still pump out new CKY films, the fourth of which was released only a month after the Jackass movie. He was an extremely ambitious force, which you admired, but it meant there was rarely a break from the chaotic lifestyle you’d all adopted. 

Earlier in 2002, while Jackass: The Movie and CKY 4 were in post-production, waiting to be released, Bam had come to you with his idea for the movie Haggard, which he’d started writing recently. He wanted you to work closely with Joe Frantz, basically just being another assistant director like you were for the Jackass movie. You agreed, but there was one aspect that made you hesitant to be involved. 

The film was about Ryan Dunn’s relationships. 

After your dramatic acceptance of your feelings towards Ryan that night in Tokyo, you had been avoiding spending too much alone time with him for your own sanity. Although his breakup had actually stuck this time, he definitely still needed space to figure himself out and move past it all. You hoped that’s what Haggard would do: let him release all his frustration and finally walk away. 

Still, you two continued to be around each other constantly with all these projects you were working on, and Ryan kept confiding in you with his feelings about the breakup when he could get you alone. He still looked to you as his friend and someone to lean on, and even though the platonic nature of your relationship pained you, you couldn’t deny him what he needed. 

You’d resolved for your feelings to remain unrequited, at least till the end of shooting for Haggard. It was borderline masochistic on your end, but you felt a responsibility to your friends and coworkers to make sure there was no interpersonal drama or complication. You’ll reassess whether or not it’s time to say something once the film is done. 

Filming in West Chester for Haggard was a bit complicated sometimes. The director and star of the film were now super famous and in high demand, and Bam, in particular, was always having to fly out at the last minute for random appearances and projects. The constant stopping and starting was annoying to you since you were the one having to make the shooting schedule. You had a late June release date in 2003, so you were working overtime to plan everything out. Really, all you could do was make sure you filmed as much as possible when everyone was in town. 

There were some particular scenes that you weren’t looking forward to filming—those being between Ryan and his new love interest, “Heather”. For obvious reasons, helping direct and film your crush being intimate with someone else would be difficult for you, and you were especially insecure about it because Jenn had asked a really attractive friend of hers to play the role. 

Jenn actually found out about your crush on Ryan during a drunken confession one night when you two were out alone. You’d sworn her to secrecy, and as far as you knew, she hadn’t told Bam. She would often encourage you to make a move or tell him your feelings, but you insisted that it wait. 

The only other person who knew about your feelings for Ryan besides Jenn was Dico. You hadn’t intended on telling him either, but after living with someone for so many years, you’re able to pick up on subtle changes to their usual behavior. He’d noticed the way you avoided taking smoke breaks with Ryan as often and how you’d make sure when you all went to bars or restaurants you weren’t ever sitting next to him. At first, Dico thought something had happened to make you dislike Ryan, but after an interrogation, you just decided to tell him. You also swore him to secrecy, and although it didn’t seem like it had gotten out yet, neither Jenn nor Dico were historically good at keeping anything quiet for too long. You were anxiously awaiting the day Bam or Raab would bring your crush up publicly to embarrass you. 

The first night you were scheduled to shoot with Ryan’s love interest “Heather”, you were shooting in a local bar that had agreed to let you film for an hour. All you really needed was some b-roll of the two being lovey-dovey to establish the budding romance. 

-

"Well, where the fuck is she?” Bam asks Jenn as she comes inside after calling her friend. We are all set up to film, but the girl who’s supposed to play Heather is nowhere to be seen. 

“She’s not coming.” Jenn says. 

“What do you mean she’s not coming? Why not?” Bam asks, annoyed. You can tell he’s starting to get a bit cranky, like he usually does at the end of a long day of shooting. Jenn rolls her eyes. 

“I don’t know what to tell you. She said her boyfriend got skeeved out at the last second about her making out with some random guy, and he won’t let her do it.” Jenn says, and you furrow your eyebrows. 

“Well, what are we gonna do? Frantz and I are getting on a plane tomorrow to shoot the HIM video, and we only have the bar today for like 45 more minutes.” Bam states. 

“We’ll just get someone else here to do it.” Jenn says and looks over at you suggestively. Bam notices this, and your eyes widen. No way did she mean you. This had to be a joke.

“You don’t have any other hot friends who could get here quick?” Bam asks Jenn.

“Not quick enough. Also, most of them already said no when I was asking around for someone to play the part in the first place.” Jenn responds, and Bam pouts and grabs the shooting schedule for the rest of the month from Joe. This is supposed to be the last month of filming, and every day Bam is going to be in town, we have something else lined up. 

“It would be best to find a way to do it now. It was already a bitch getting the owner to allow us this time today; we’d have to find another day he’s okay with, and I doubt he’d give us a time that would fit into our current schedule. We’d have to rearrange things, and we’re already running behind given our release date.” Joe explains. Bam sighs grumpily. 

“This is the best option; it’ll be great.” Jenn says, smiling at you. You suddenly remember what the conversation is about, and you start sweating and shaking your head. 

“Well, alright, fine.” Bam says as he scans you up and down. “You’ll need a different shirt, but I guess it’ll work. Jenn, you two switch shirts.” He says. You look down at your shirt, which is an oversized WaWa t-shirt. Bam would have to blur out a logo like that in post. 

“Wait! I don’t know if this is such a good idea." You finally get some words of objection out. You aren’t an actor! And there's no way you’ll be able to keep your cool playing Ryan’s love interest. 

“I don’t want you to do it either, but do you see any other chicks here?” Bam asks, and you look around. Nothing but dudes. Fuck. 

“Can I talk to you in the bathroom?” You ask Jenn and grab her arm before she can answer. You two walk through the bathroom door, and you cross your arms. 

“What the hell was that?” You ask, and Jenn throws her arms up in defense. 

“What?” 

“Your friend doesn’t even have a boyfriend.” You say, and Jenn smirks. 

“Yeah, but I thought I’d help you out with your little crush.” She says. 

“How is this gonna help me?” You ask, rubbing your face with your hands. 

“Well, you two can finally kiss and be intimate, which is what YOU want. And Ryan will totally be into it and realize how horny he is for you, and if he’s not lame, he’ll ask you out or whatever.” She explains. 

“That’s very optimistic... Also, we’re shooting a movie; none of it will be genuine.” You say. 

“Who cares?”

“I don’t know Jenn,” you start, and then hear a pounding at the door. 

"Cmon, we’re running out of time!” Bam yells from the other side. 

“Look, if you really don’t wanna do it, then you can go tell everyone out there I lied, but I think you should just get over it and see what happens.” Jenn says.  

You sigh. You know that, feelings for Ryan aside, you are the only option if you all want to keep this film on schedule. That commitment and responsibility would have been enough to make you agree without thinking, had your scene partner been anyone else. That fact that it’s Ryan, though, makes you incredibly nervous and hesitant. You are mainly afraid you’ll somehow, through acting, reveal your true feelings and embarrass yourself. However, you’d be lying if you said there wasn’t anything exciting about the situation. Jenn is right; you do desperately want to kiss and be intimate with him, and you are compelled to just take what you can get, regardless of how “real” it will be. 

Knowing you need to make a decision, you finally cave and take your top off. “Give me your shirt.” 

When you two walk out of the bathroom, you spot Ryan wearing an eyepatch and sitting on a bar stool at a small table in the back of the bar. You could only reserve the back section for shooting, so there are a few random customers milling about, mostly paying no mind to the camera.

You feel very self-conscious, as already a few men are eyeing you. Jenn is smaller than you, so her black top fits you very tightly. Additionally, it’s pretty low-cut, leaving you showing off more cleavage than you usually do in public. You haven’t been exceedingly insecure about your body since high school, but you still feel most comfortable in oversized t-shirts and sweaters. A lot of the time, you get jealous looking at women like Jenn, who wear a lot more feminine and fitted clothing, because you don’t think you have the confidence and body to pull off wearing anything similar. Right now, this self-consciousness is only exacerbating your feelings of anxiety over the entire situation. You cross your arms in front of your chest and nervously walk over to where Ryan is sitting. When you arrive, he looks up at you and smiles. 

“Are you okay with me filling in?” You ask, making sure he isn’t uncomfortable with the idea. 

“Oh yeah, it’s chill; I don’t mind.” He says. 

You sigh, relieved, and drop your arms as Bam heads over to you.  

“I should make you two switch shirts more often.” He says, and you roll your eyes and maybe catch Ryan checking you out in the process. That gives you the tiniest boost of confidence, and you sit down on the stool across from Ryan. You take a sip of the beer that has been sitting on the table. 

“Just tell me what I have to do again.” You say, feigning annoyance when really all you can feel is unease. 

“All I need is like a few minutes of footage of you two being flirty and talking and kissing or whatever. I’ll speed it up in post and throw a song over it, so it doesn’t really matter what you say. You just need to seem into each other. Try not to look awkward.” He says and directs that last part to you. 

“I’ll do my best.” You say sarcastically and look over at Ryan. His face is unreadable. 

Bam walks back behind the camera, and the two of you are left staring at each other. You want to say something—maybe crack a joke to diffuse the tension—but you can’t. 

“I hope this isn’t too weird for you.” He finally says, and you take a deep breath. 

"Well, is it weird for you?” 

Before he can answer you, Bam calls action. 

It’s not quiet, due to the commotion happening in the other parts of the bar, but all of that feels incredibly distant. You somehow manage to keep your eyes on Ryan, lean in, and put your elbows down on the table to prop your head up with your hands. 

Ryan takes this as his sign to move closer, and you feel his legs intertwine with yours under the table. He lights a cigarette. 

“I don’t know what to say," Ryan says as he takes a puff. 

“Me neither.” You say and observe Ryan’s body language. He is leaning in, but his speech and his face make him seem a bit timid now. He’s nervous, maybe. He is playing with his cigarette in his hand, and you can feel his leg shaking under the table. He doesn’t look uncomfortable necessarily; he's just a little lost on what to do and antsy. This display diminishes a lot of the intimidation you were feeling, and you realize that you need to take the lead. 

You lean forward even more and grab Ryan’s free hand with yours. He looks down at this and then back up at you. 

“Just be normal. Act like I’m a girl you really like.” You say, trying to focus him in for the sake of footage but also pining for his attention. You two had never really been in a position like this, and you’d spent the last few months so needy for his touch that you don’t care if your friends are watching and filming you now. You want him badly. 

Out of the corner of your eye, you see Joe bring another camera over to film from a different angle. You look at him for a second before Ryan lets go of your hand and grabs your chin to focus your eyes back towards him. You feel your face burning up; you’re wearing makeup today, though, so hopefully the redness doesn’t show. 

Ryan tucks a piece of your hair behind your ear and offers you the cigarette he’s smoking. You try to keep your hand steady as you grab it and take a puff, never letting your eyes leave Ryan. You hand it back to him, and his other hand goes back to holding yours. You look down and think about how big his hands are compared to yours. 

“What are you thinking about?” Ryan asks, and you look back up at him. His energy shifted entirely after what you said, and now everything about him is dripping with confidence and flirtation. You don’t know if he’s just a good actor or if there may be something real to it, but you are absolutely not in a position to complain. You decide if he’s going to turn it up, you might as well go for it too. The fact that you can hide your real feelings behind the pretense of acting drives you to take your chance and be as forward as you like. 

“Your hands are big.” You say, playing with his hand. 

“Yeah?” He says and watches you, amused. 

“Also,” you begin, eyeing him coyly, “it’s probably time for you to kiss me.” He raises his eyebrows. You have a tiny moment of regret, afraid you might have made Ryan uncomfortable, but soon after, he’s smirking and leaning in. You hold your breath and lean in too. 

It’s just a peck, but as he pulls away from you, you can’t help smiling. It was innocent and only lasted a second, but you can’t help feeling so happy. You know you may be giving yourself away, but Ryan’s face surprisingly reads just as content as yours. Before you can say anything, he’s leaning in again to give you another quick peck. When your lips touch, your heart skips a beat, and when he pulls back, you feel all giddy. 

You think you hear Ryan say “cute” under his breath before he takes another drag of his cigarette. Soon after, Bam calls cut, and you’re brought back to reality. 

“Good, now I wanna get some more footage of you guys standing up over here.” Bam points next to the pool table. 

You wait for Ryan to get up before moving yourself. You follow behind him to where Bam had pointed. You try to regain composure and not think too much about the fact that you just kissed your crush for the first time. Well, the first two times in fact. 

You and Ryan stand opposite of each other as Joe sets up the cameras. 

“Having fun?” Ryan asks you, and you let out a pained laugh. You resent the fact that he can stay so calm during this. 

“It’s alright.” You say and he grins. He’s being so cheeky, and it’s impossible to tell if he’s enjoying being intimate with you or if he’s just entertained by the whole situation. 

“Alright, ready to go.” Joe says, and soon after, Bam is calling action again. 

Ryan immediately grabs your waist and pulls your body closer to his. You feel weak over how close your bodies are and grab Ryan’s hand to steady yourself. 

Being affectionate with Ryan makes you painfully aware of how much you miss being this close to someone. All this time, you’ve been yearning for Ryan, but above that, you yearn for someone to hold you, a companion, someone who desires you as much as you desire them. Behaving like this warms you up inside. Ryan kisses you on the forehead, and you swear you’re about to melt. 

You stay close like this for only about a minute before Bam yells cut again. It takes you a little longer than last time to snap out of it and let go of Ryan. When you finally do and take a step back, you feel cold. 

"Alright, we just need to get some more interior and exterior b-roll of the bar, but you guys don’t have to be in that. We’ll meet you back over at Ryan’s for the sex scene.” Joe says, and you freeze. 

“Sex scene?!” You ask frantically. You don’t remember ever talking about that. 

“It’s not really a sex scene; we just need some footage of you guys making out for the end when we show all the couples getting together.” Joe explains, and now you remember. 

It’s one thing to do cutesy flirting and tiny kisses with Ryan; it’s another to put yourself in a compromising position and fully make out with him. When you agreed to step in and play the part earlier, it totally slipped your mind that you would not only have to film the bar scenes, you’d have to film all of them. 

“Do we really have to?” You ask for your own sake and catch Ryan raising a quizzical eyebrow at you. You realize that he’d known this whole time that he’d have to make out with you, yet hadn’t shown any concern about it.

Of course, you’ve imagined making out and even having sex with Ryan. Late at night, you’d often fantasize about different scenarios that would lead to the two of you being physically intimate. Needless to say, the situation unfolding right now is not at all similar to any of your past fantasies, and you really have no idea what to expect from Ryan. All you know is that the chances of you keeping your composure are slim to none. 

“Every romance movie needs an obligatory sex montage. Keeps the dudes interested.” Bam states. 

“This is a romance movie?” You ask. 

“Look, just drive over there; we’ll meet you.” He says, and you make eye contact with Jenn across the room. You signal for her to come with you and you make her get in your car with you.

“I don’t know what I’m gonna do here, Jenn. You gotta help me.” You say as you two sit inside your car, still parked outside the bar. 

“You’re doing great; you two looked so cute.” She says as she adjusts the rear view mirror to look at herself. 

“This whole thing is so weird. It’s gonna freak him out if he finds out I actually like him.” You groan. 

"No, it won’t. I swear he looked really into you in there. And Ryan is definitely not a good enough actor to fake something like that. If anything, he’s probably gonna pop a boner when you make out later.” She jokes, and you throw your head back against the seat. 

“Jenn,” you start, and then hear someone knock on your window. The sound surprises you, and you jolt forward, only to see it was Ryan. You roll your window down. 

"Sorry, you know how to get to my apartment, right?” He asks. 

“We’ll just follow you.” Jenn responds, and Ryan nods and leaves. You roll your window back up and start your car. 

“I’m gonna be sick.” You say as your nerves travel from your chest to your stomach. 

“It’ll be hot.” Jenn says and smiles mischievously at you. 

You get back to Ryan's, and it’s just you, him, Jenn, and Ryan’s roommate Justin for a little while. 

While you wait for the others to show up, you all have a couple beers and a casual conversation. You feel awkward because all you can think about is what comes next, so you hardly say anything, just listen. Jenn tries to get up at one point, but you grab her leg and make her stay by your side. You catch Ryan eyeing you periodically, but do your best to ignore it. You have to focus all your energy on attempting to appear normal. 

When Bam and Joe finally arrive, you’re a few beers deep and feeling slightly more relaxed. As they set up the camera, Jenn comes up beside you and offers a mint. 

“Funny.” You say sarcastically but still grab one. 

“Don’t worry, I gave Ryan one too.” She laughs. 

They set up the camera in Justin’s room because Ryan sleeps on a mattress on the floor in the basement. You feel a little weird about making out on a random dude's bed while he’s in the building, but he assures you it’s fine. 

You and Ryan enter the bedroom, and it’s about as quiet and weird as you expected it to be. 

"Okay, so I guess just lay down and both of you take your shirt off." Bam starts, and your heart thumps louder than you’ve ever heard it thump before. You look over at Ryan, who is already taking his shirt off, and you slowly start to do the same. You try to tell yourself that it’s no different than going to the pool, as you are left in just a bra on your top half. You then go to lay down on the bed and watch as Ryan comes up beside you and stares down at you. You shiver and avert your eyes. 

"Alright, now I know this is kinda weird or whatever, but I just need you guys to make out for about a minute. The camera is gonna be really close to your faces, but try to ignore it; definitely don’t look at it. I’m gonna start rolling now, so just go whenever.” Bam instructs. 

You look out at Bam and Joe right up on you, and Jenn is watching from the doorway. Your breathing increases, and you feel your face warm up at how tense and uncomfortable the atmosphere is. You then feel the pressure of the bed shift as Ryan starts climbing on top of you, caging you in. 

“Are you okay?” He asks as he holds himself over top of you. 

Are you okay? Well, no, you’re not. At no point throughout this whole process have you been okay. You’ve only been able to get through so far by focusing on your feelings of responsibility and desire. You felt responsible to keep the film schedule on track, to help your friends when a problem arose, and to fix it. And you felt desire—the desire to touch Ryan, to be with him no matter the circumstance. It’s clear now, as you look at him over top of you, which of these two feelings is starting to take over again. 

Ryan’s face reads as protective and eager while he waits for your answer. You can tell he’s concerned about your comfortability in this moment, but you see an unbridled hunger in his eyes, like he could pounce any second. This look sends a surge of lust through you, and suddenly everyone else in the room falls away in your mind. 

You reach out and grab Ryan’s face, pulling him down and connecting your lips into a kiss. There’s a half-second of surprise from his end before he’s kissing back with fervor, supporting his weight with one hand, and holding your face with the other. 

You try to keep up as he takes control over the situation, forcefully slipping his tongue into your mouth. He kisses you like he needs it to live, and his passion and dominance does nothing but turn you on. 

You tangle your fingers in his hair and let one of your hands travel down his back. Ryan’s body rocks back and forth, causing your crotches to graze over each other ever so slightly. You almost whine, wanting more friction, but suppress it and kiss him back with even more neediness. 

At some point, he starts kissing your neck, and your head starts spinning. He sucks on your skin ever so slightly, and you can’t help this time from letting out a small moan. He stops what he’s doing and looks at you ardently, clearly excited by the noise you just made. You blush and just pull his head back up to keep kissing you. 

After a few more moments, you hear Bam yell cut, but it feels far away. You somehow manage to snap out of your daze and pull your lips away from Ryan, opening your eyes and seeing all the others in the room staring at you two. 

You, feeling suddenly embarrassed by how taken away you got, push Ryan off of you. He looks just as out of it and goes to sit on the end of the bed. 

“Jesus Christ you guys.” Bam says teasingly. 

“Are we good?” You ask bashfully as you sit up. 

“Yeah, good work.” He says, still poking fun at you, and you get up, put on your shirt, and leave the room. Jenn follows you out to the kitchen, and you let out a huge breath you didn’t know you were holding in. 

“That was crazy.” She says, and you shush her, afraid the others might hear. 

"Sorry, it’s just that he’s definitely into you.” Jenn whispers. 

Up until now, you wouldn’t have believed that, but what just happened in that room had you rethinking a lot of things. Ryan had come at you with such force and need that you didn’t see how it could be fake. All this time, you’ve thought your crush was hopeless and that Ryan would only ever be able to see you as his friend. Now, you weren’t sure what to think. You know that your behavior exposed your own feelings, though, and you definitely don't want to know anyone's opinion on it right now.

Ryan, Bam, and Joe walk out of the bedroom, and Ryan looks distracted. Bam and Joe seem to be laughing to each other about something, likely what just occurred. 

Part of you wants to talk to Ryan about what happened, and part of you wants to take him back into the bedroom and continue it. Your thoughts feel too scattered to be able to speak coherently, though, and you can’t shed how flustered you feel having been filmed getting so carried away in front of your friends.

“I have to go cause, uh… well, Dico and I were gonna watch a movie, and uh… yeah.” You say, quickly wave, leave the room, and head out the front door before anyone can respond. 

You silently drive yourself back to your apartment, ignoring Dico once you get there and throwing yourself down on your bed. 

You check your cell phone and see a missed call from Jenn. You grunt and toss your phone on the floor. 

What did this all mean? That’s all you could ask yourself as you lay down in the dark. 

Ryan had clearly kissed you the way you’d kiss someone you liked. You couldn’t deny that. If he did like you, though, how long had he liked you? It can’t have been too long, seeing as he’s been so hung up on his ex. Had he just realized it today, as Jenn said he would? What does he want? To fuck? To date? Nothing? There are too many questions. 

You are adult enough to know there’s no way to get an answers without talking to Ryan directly, but god, that’s so scary. There’s always the chance that his behavior was just a momentary lapse of control. That he, having not been intimate with someone in a while, got carried away, and it had nothing to do with you being you. If that were the case, bringing it up might only make things awkward. 

Regardless of what his deal is, you’re now stuck playing his love interest in the movie. Luckily, there aren’t many other scenes you have to be in, and none of them are like the ones you did today. Nevertheless, you're dreading having to meet for those scenes now that you've made yourself so transparent, and you know you'll be unable to avoid any teasing from Bam and Joe.

You roll over on your back and stare at the ceiling. Even through all this worrying, you can’t help but crack a hopeful smile. 

Because maybe this is the start of something.

---------------

Heyyyyy. It's been a second since my last chapter, so sorry about that. Things are moving hehe. Again I appreciate everyone reading, hopefully you like the way things are going. Finally gonna move into Viva La Bam era next chapter and we're gonna stay there for the rest of the story. Lmk if you wanna get tagged.

@arsonistsloth

[neroushalvaus]

My favourite things in Operation Mincemeat (I've sadly only listened to the cast recording since it's not possible for me to travel to Britain right now and there is no bootleg yet anywhere to be found):

The gender-indifferent casting is done so well. I don't even mean this like gender doesn't matter in Mincemeat, it certainly does, but Ewen Montagu being played by a woman works so well and you completely forget about the actor's gender when listening to him. The same goes for Hester Leggett, she is the perfect archetype of a prim and proper older englishwoman, while being played by a young man. Gender truly is a performance, huh.

Montagu and Cholmondeley have this wonderful Bialystock and Bloom vibe going for them.

All of Born to Lead and God, That's Brilliant... The utter conviction the MI5 guys have in them being God's gifts to British espionage and the best most special boys in Britain... "‘Cause if you’re in trouble, don’t scream and shout – Just call the English public school boys; we’ll sort it all out!"

Sir Bernard Spilsbury in all his ghastly glory. "If you're after buckets of gore, here's Brian, he's basically a lung in a drawer" "NO!!" "...it's just Brian"

Dear Bill.. Just... One of the songs of all time. I don't have to talk about it because everyone loves it. An absolute gut punch of a song.

Something about the individualist thinking exercised by Montagu and the other MI5 boys contrasted with the team spirit of the submarine crew.

"Goose-step to the left, jump to the far right" 😐

Even though Useful is uplifting, it's also heartbreaking. Something about both Jean and Hester thinking about how they'd like to be honored for their service, Jean wanting medals and statues and the King recognizing her efforts, Hester wanting something small and sensible... Something about one wanting everything and the other wanting so little and them both settling for nothing. "No medals, no statues, no plaques, no flowers for Hester and Jean"

Montagu telling Cholmondeley about how you get "morons" to do what you ask by telling them how smart they are, only for Jean to do the exact same thing to him.

How the musical ends by actually giving Glyndwr his name and identity back... I know it doesn't really change anything, it doesn't make his story any less sad, but if no one mourned Glyndwr Michael when he died, I am glad people are at least crying now.

[slxshrfvcker]

♡︎~Ten Years Of Hannibal~♡︎

Today, April 4th, 2023 marks 10 years since Hannibal was released by NBC! So... HAPPY HANNIVERSARY, MY DEAR FANNIBALS!

It’s absolutely outrageous that Hannibal was released TEN YEARS AGO!

I don’t have the words to describe how grateful I am to Bryan Fuller and the cast of Hannibal for coming together and creating such an amazing and memorable masterpiece that I have loved and appreciated for so many years, and that had been embedded into my skull for the beautiful artistic mastery of not only the art, colors, displays, music, and culinary arts, but beauty of acting, and the way it made me feel throughout the time I had experienced while watching the show, I am forever thankful for the work they had done for us and will continue to be for the years to come, these people are truly awe inspiring and incredible people. So with that being said…

Thank you, Bryan Fuller, Mads Mikkelsen, Hugh Dancy, Hettienne Park, Caroline Dhavernas, Gillian Anderson, Laurence Fishburne, Kacey Rohl, Scott Thomson, Aaron Abrams, Lara Jean Chorostecki, and everyone else who helped make this show come to life, as well as the casting crew, the costume designers, producers, other designers and the visual/sound designers, all of you are amazing and we, as the fandom, the Fannibals, appreciate you all and your dedication, your hard work to come together and make this show such an incredible experience for us all and a legacy that will live on for years and an eternity to come. Again, THANK YOU! We love you, us Fannibals, WE LOVE YOU ALL!

Now, without further ado, here are ten things that you and your half of the murder husband duo do to celebrate your tenth anniversary of being in a long lasting and loving relationship~🎉❤️

*Reader is gender neutral~❤️ enjoy!

Dr. Hannibal Lecter~

♡Unconditional~

❥Hannibal is very proud to have you as his significant other, his love and his forever partner, so for the first show of appreciation and love for you on your 10th year anniversary, Hannibal would be awake very, very early, much earlier than his usual, to prepare you the most beautiful, thought out and special breakfast that he will bring to you and let you eat in bed, making sure that you don’t have to lift a finger in the morning so that you can be relaxed and ready for the long day he had planned ahead for the two of you.

❥Once breakfast has been devoured and your stomach full and satisfied, Hannibal would make sure to tell you had had canceled all of todays plans and proceed to help you to the bathroom where he had previously prepared a warm bath with soaks and all the things that you possibly could ever want for a bath, the ultimate relaxation time that Hannibal would let you have alone or join you in with whatever you would prefer and need of him. He would help wash your body and your hair, pour you some of that expensive bubbly stuff you always adored and just spend time with you for as long as you both possibly could before the water was to get cold and force you two out.

❥From then on Hannibal would have given you your first actual gift of the day, as if the breakfast and bath surprises weren’t enough. He had went out a few weeks prior to buy you that dress/tux you’ve been eyeing, and gift it to you wrapped in the most beautiful and luxurious gift wrap her ever could get, watching your eyes light up and sparkle with absolute joy was all he could ever want and need in his life. But he had to make sure you realized that this wasn’t all that was planned and that you should put on the dress/tux he had bought you, because he had more surprises up his sleeve~!

❥Hannibal had driven the two of you to the next location he had planned for, the whole restaurant and surrounding park had been rented out for just the two of them to enjoy, and he couldn’t help but smile and feel all the flutters of love and affection for you when he saw those tears of disbelief and happiness, and threw your arms around him in absolute appreciation and thankfulness. He held you tightly before he pulled away to bring you to the tables, letting you pick whatever you wanted from the rather expensive menu and treating you with the best possible alcohol or nonalcoholic beverages you wanted.

❥After the two of you finished eating, Hannibal brought you over to your next surprise, that of which being your [favorite activity], though he didn’t really enjoy it himself he knew you adored it, and let you have all the fun you wanted, he participated with you and helped you reach the end goal of the activity, smiling at your face as it lit up with happiness.

❥The night was slowly approaching and Hannibal had made sure the two of you had the best time of your life so far, and he was so very far from being done with the night for you. He brought you back to the house and sat with you on the couch, handing you a few more gifts that he watched you open happily, smiling at each gasp and smile of appreciation for what he had gotten you, happily returning your affection when you opened each one.

❥Hannibal smiled happily at you as he watched you while he sent out messages to everyone to inform them about the dinner party he was hosting that night, one where he would finish the night off with the grand surprise for you…

❥Dinner time was rolling around and the guests were filling the house, congratulating you two on surviving ten years of being in the relationship that many envied of you two. You ate happily beside Hannibal while conversing with the guests, happily accepting the few gifts some brought for you two to open later on. The dinner was incredible and delicious as always and you absolutely adored Hannibal with your entire heart.

❥The time was growing later and it was nearing the end of the dinner party, and it was time for Hannibal to elicit his final gift of the night, standing her tapped a knife to his wine glass and cleared his throat, he looked at you and smiled, announcing his love and passion for you, expressing his gratitude for you being by his side for this long and telling you that you mean the world to him, you saved him from himself many time than you can count and he couldn’t be more happy to spend his life with you, and with the final words, he smiled, promising you that he will stay with you forever and love you for the remainder of his life and until his dying breath, and even though after death it was uncertain what would be, he promised to love you even then.

❥Dinner had finally ended and everyone had went home after saying their final congratulations, before the two of you were alone yet again. The look Hannibal gave you was unconditional love, and you returned it with the same look that meant it all. The rest of the night, you two laid in bed entangled in each others arms making the most soft love you two had ever made, holding each other and whispering sweet nothings to one another before the two of you fell asleep in each other’s embrace, knowing full well of your mutual unconditional love and affection for the both of you…

Special Agent Will Graham~

♡︎Eternal~

❥Waking up, Will had no idea it was a special day in all honesty. He had a small feeling that it was different than the rest but he didn’t know what exactly what it was, so he had done his usual morning routine, giving you a soft loving kiss on your head and making his way to the bathroom for a shower and his morning ritual. He did remember to make a small breakfast for you and leave it sealed in the fridge so that you didn’t have to worry about cooking anything and just taking what he made for you and heating it up before you went to work too. He left a cute little note on the top of the container that expressed his happiness and love for you, before he grabbed all his things and left for work, making sure his dogs were quiet and fed as he left.

❥When you woke up you found the breakfast rather quickly and smiled softly at the note, always enjoying these little displays of affection he showed you, knowing it was hard for him to do so anyways. You checked your phone as you ate and you noticed an event on your calendar… ten years… ten years! Oh my gosh! Today was your ten year anniversary with Will! How could you forget?? You mentally scolded yourself and hoped that he had forgotten as well to spare yourself the embarrassment of such a thing, and as you finished breakfast you washed the dishes and filled the dogs’ water bowls before taking the trash out and making the house much more tidy and smell much better (let’s be real here, it would definitely have a bit of an unpleasant smell with all those dogs running around the place) before you got ready for work yourself. Running out of the house you got in your car and went to work, remembering to stop by a little gift shop to buy a little something small for Will, to make up for the forgetfulness of your memory on todays special event.

❥Will got home to see the rather very clean house and it surprised him a bit, but he didn’t mind it. He was glad to have a sparkling clean house for once in what felt like forever. As he sat down at his desk to work on a few new lures for his fishing stuff, he suddenly remembered the day and importance! The tenth anniversary of your relationship was today and he had forgotten, oh how bad he felt for just now realizing this. He hadn’t even bought you a gift or done anything to plan for today, and he felt terrible about it. He quickly pulled his phone out and scrolled a bit through it to figure out what he would do for you today, as you would be home soon and he was absolutely in shambles on how he forgot about today. Concluding that he would take you out for dinner and let you pick something out at the mall no matter the expense he set his phone down and stood up, searching through his closet to find something nice to wear for dinner tonight. He called Hannibal and asked him advice on tonight, and with newfound confidence, Will picked a more fancier outfit out and then he heard the front door open.

❥Will immediately ran to greet you, enveloping you in a hug and kissing you before the two of you said your happy anniversaries at the same time, causing the two of you to break out into laughter and smiles. He was shocked but grateful as you handed him the small gift, admitting to him you had forgotten all sheepishly, yet he didn’t seem upset, he laughed and looked at you, admitting that he too had forgotten. He set the gift to the side and told you about the dinner plans and how he was going to take you to the mall to make up for forgetting and you happily agreed, kissing him gently before urging him to open his gift. He smiled excitedly as he saw it was some new equipment for his fishing lures, he thanked you with a loving kiss and a hug before he told you that the two of you should get ready and go to dinner before it was too late.

❥The two of you got dressed rather quickly and left, going to have a small candle lit dinner at your favorite restaurant, having loving conversation while drinking your favorite drinks and eating your favorite fancy foods. He smiled at you and you smiled at him as you both talked and laughed, having the best time of your lives.

❥After dinner, Will brought you to the mall and let you pick out whatever you wanted, insisting that he didn’t mind the price and he showed that by happily buying the things for you, spoiling you with all the love and money he could.

❥The two of you soon got home and just spent some time lazing around on the bed, watching movies on the tv and petting the dogs as they laid in your laps. You two occasionally shared a kiss or a small make out session, before the dogs interrupted and whined for kisses and affection of their own, which you two of course obliged to and happily gave.

❥Will and you just held each other all night and whispered soft affirmations to each other, reminding you how much you two meant to each other and how important you two were to one another.

❥Will eventually was the first one to fall asleep, holding you close and running his hands through your hair as he was at first trying to hum you to sleep, but he ultimately hummed himself to sleep. But you couldn’t be more happier, you held him and cling onto him until you fell asleep yourself.

❥You two just ultimately have such a deep connection and love for one another that you didn’t need anything big and extraordinary to profess your love, you two had each other and that was enough. You both were meant for each other and you two were eternal for one another. He loves you and you love him, and that’s enough, he is so thankful to have you for these ten years and for many more to come. As you too, were with him. ❤️

Happy Ten Years, Hannibal~ ❤️🥀🍷🥩

[accio-victuuri]

There are a couple of “celebrities” on weibo and in person who have shown support for One and Only but my favorites have to be Director Fu ( BAH ) and WCC ( sdc ). Director Fu is really loyal and supportive to WYB. He attended the SDC 3 championship, spoke on a BTF viewing event, continuously praises WYB’s acting when given the chance and now was seen by fans attending a screening of the film. I really wish for them to work together again! As for WCC, you all know i like him. HAHAHAHAHA! He is WYB’s ultimate SDC work bestie last season.

what’s hilarious is a fan randomly asked WCC while he was signing in, something like, when’s SDC 6 gonna be out. and he was — 😐😐😐. i guess that’s answer enough to everyone thinking about the future of the show. maybe it will get delayed till yibo is available. lol.

anyway, congratulations to Yibo + One & Only cast and crew. this movie is truly a gift to everyone who watches it. 🫶🏼

[niceinchnails]

Someone write Ultracelestial Cataclysm for me and also write and direct it as a CGI Youtube Webshow, complete with 3 seasons and a full animation crew & well-fitted cast, stagger the episodes over a course of 7 years, and stay true to the characters i have created and garner a dedicated fanbase who truly love my work, and I will gift you a game on steam

[offdensen]

i wrote a review for army of the doomstar on letterboxd for my third watch (after marathoning the entire show in one day) and i wanted to share it here, too.

spoiler free.

⛧⛧⛧

i think it's time for me to say something actually substantial about this film now that i've rewatched it after having gone through the entire series once again.

the thing is, it's impossible for me to judge this fairly or objectively. my attachment to this series, to the music, to the characters, to anything that brendon small touches means i can never be unbiased about the production of the film. i spent years lamenting the lack of a proper ending, thankful for 2017’s galaktikon II: become the storm providing an infringement-avoidant ending but still left wanting. having a proper conclusion after so long is a wonderful gift, one that’s made me cry every time i’ve gone through it.

what's so incredible about this film is that it’s as if no time has passed since the doomstar requiem. i can certainly feel that ten years have come and gone since this series was unceremoniously cancelled by the powers that be at [adult swim], and i definitely carry at least some of the teenaged bitterness from that still, but army of the doomstar picks up so well from where we left off that it's a testament to the passion and love the cast and crew have for this silly little show about death metal musicians.

you can tell that these characters live in brendon small so intensely after all this time. he picks them up effortlessly, not just in his performance, but also in his writing and direction. tommy blacha is as strong as ever, particularly as a haunted, tormented murderface. how extraordinarily lucky we are to have victor brandt, mark hamill, and malcolm mcdowell returning to give their characters one final hurrah.

visually, it's an absolute treat. army of the doomstar feels cinematic in a way that makes it stand out not just compared to its source material, but also to its [as] contemporaries. it still has that slight titmouse jank that i dearly love, enough that it doesn't feel divorced from its roots; it is the logical conclusion to the art evolution the show had been endeavoring through every season. not showing this on the big screen, even for a very limited run, is an injustice.

music has always been metalocalypse's high-point and it remains true here. brendon small never really departed from that heavy sound during the show’s temporary death, having expanding upon it in galaktikon II with a stronger emphasis on synth. this really shines in the film’s score, balancing its orchestral and guitar-forward metal elements delicately well. dethklok itself is as technically impressive as ever, returning with that more mature sound from the last season. dethalbum IV works delightfully well as a companion piece.

i don’t know how this film would fair to those that haven’t revisited the show since it was still airing new episodes, to those that never kept up with the overarching story, or to those who were particularly married to what we were given in galaktikon II. the grand spectacle of become the storm was traded for something that better resembled the thesis of the show, the thread seen throughout that tied ego and selfishness to loss and destruction, not just to others but also to oneself.

i also don’t think it could be evaluated fairly as a standalone film. truly, how much does it matter how well something stands on its own when it's sewn from a grander piece?

army of the doomstar is different, both in overall tone from the show and plot-wise from its proxy from 2017, and i think this is to its betterment. it is still funny like its origin, but it is also heartfelt, it is genuine, it is sorrowful, it is hopeful. it is a love-letter to the music it was birthed from and to the fans that kept it breathing. it is niche, but it is ours.

thank you, brendon, for not breaking up with us.