#Nine Days of Lancaster

[cacoetheswriting]

honesty: the music video

pairing: rockstar!eddie munson x popstar!fem!reader word count: 2.3k summary: after a long day on set, you can't wait to get it on with your costar.

content warnings: 18+, minors dni: mature themes, literally smut with a minor plot, established relationship, unprotected p in v, overstimulation, praise kink, dom-ish eddie, adult language, heavy use of pet names, mentions of aftercare — if i missed anything in this chapter, pls let me know!

celebrity skin. masterlist <- part of this lil' universe, but can totally be read as a stand-alone. timeline wise, this takes place somewhere after part 3 and before end part 5.

“We want it to be sexy.”

“But not too sexy.”

“Revealing.”

“But not too revealing.”

“Sounds like you guys don’t know what you want,” Eddie chimes in, interrupting the back and forth of your respective teams.

You stifle a giggle.

“That’s ‘cause of the two distinct styles,” someone from your team clarifies, “We wanna be respectful.”

“For sure,” one of the creatives on the Corroded Coffin side agrees. There’s a short pause. “We will have you two kiss at the end, though.”

At that, Eddie smirks. He looks at you from across the table and you could just about melt right there, blood rushing to your face, warming your cheeks.

“That won’t be a problem,” he says confidently and winks.

-

Honesty was a guaranteed hit. Top of the charts. Everybody that’s been so far involved in the project said it. They praised it. From the bass, drums, to the guitar and vocals. The production value was off the scale. A dream arrangement that would stand the test of time.

All the song needed was a music video equally as captivating.

A back and forth discourse began shortly after you first started recording with the band: whose style should the clip resemble more?

Corroded Coffin screamed all things dark, maybe a little gory. Their usual expression featured slightly melancholy undertones and a lot of references to all things Dungeons & Dragons. Imaginative, for sure. An artistry that had rarely been seen in the genre. 

Although it’s been an artistry vastly different from yours. 

The glitter hadn’t necessarily been your idea, but it certainly became a signature of sorts. Anything sparkly, always. And music videos that told a story. Most often one of love since that’s what you idolised ever since you were a kid — it obviously helped that love also sold millions of copies.

Eddie’s team argued that it’s the band’s song and you’re just a feature, therefore the accompanying video should lean into their style. Your management team was hesitant to agree. Calculating risk in case the lines get blurred a little too much and your pristine image shifts to the opposite end of the spectrum. Hours of arguments. Hours of negotiations. None of which you, or the rockstar were even mildly aware of. Too lost in each other's eyes and soft cotton sheets. 

Eventually, a compromise, of sorts, was found.

Ernest Hemingway’s The Killers influenced, in part, a 1946 film noir of the same title, with Ava Gardner and Burt Lancaster taking the lead. The movie, in turn, inspired the black and white music video.

Done up in flair of the characters, Kitty Collins and Ole Anderson (aka Swede), you recreated iconic scenes alongside the brown-eyed rockstar. The rest of the band was also dressed to the nines. Side characters that played their instruments in the background of main shots. They blended in well, while adding a unique spin to the known story. 

Overall, the Honesty shoot quickly became a big spectacle. Bigger than anything Eddie Munson and his band of closest friends has ever been lucky enough to be a part of.

Intricate sets. Glamourous. In front of cameras and bright lights, you and your scene partner, Eddie, mouthed along the lyrics to the song as if they were a script. And with every scene, as if the two of you were the only people actually there, no equipment and no crew, you got lost a tiny bit. Lost in the chocolate of the rockstar’s wide gaze. In the way he smelled. The style of that decade suited the brunette greatly, so you became lost in how he looked in this character. Dapper. Unlike you’ve ever witnessed him before. He committed to the role too. A certain swag in his movements. How he touched you so hesitantly, delicately because that’s what the video required.

By the end of the night, after the director yells, “Cut!” to signalise a wrap, a round of applause for all involved in this project, you’re feeling hot and bothered. Sweaty, though not because you just completed a full day’s work. No. Somehow, you found the Corroded Coffin frontman even more attractive than at the start of that day — something you didn’t think was possible. When you glance in his direction, he’s already staring you down, and you know he feels the same way.

Backstage, inside your trailer, you’re sitting cross-legged on the couch. Fingertips at your lips as you wait for that inevitable knock on your door. You know it’s only a matter of time considering the build up of tension throughout the shoot. From the lingering touches and that kiss the director had you two repeat over and over and over…

Logically, you could wait until the two of you were home. Back at Eddie’s Hidden Hills mansion, away from prying eyes and ears. In a bed that’s become all too familiar. Far from possible interruptions. Logic however, well, right now, logic was taking a back burner ‘cause you needed him now. Desperately. And without a doubt, Eddie needed you too.

A knock. Then again. But the rockstar doesn’t wait for you to answer. He lets himself in. 

“What happened to the wig?” You ask, raising a brow.

“It was itchy,” he replies with a slight laugh, then shakes his head. “I much prefer my natural locks.” 

“That’s too bad,” you say with a slight shrug, “You looked quite smart with that short hair.”

Eddie hangs his head with a smile, though his eyes don’t leave yours. Not even for a second. That’s when you notice the glimmer. That look, the reason he’s here, just like you predicted. So you return the expression. Only yours is a little more sly. Tempting him. Teasing. 

“I had fun today.”.

“Me too.”

There’s a lot that happens in the seconds after you stand up. A lot that happens quickly. 

Eddie reaches for your wrist, pulling you closer before wrapping his, for once, ringless hand around yours completely. He presses it to the middle of his chest, holding it against his heart. You can feel it beating and that’s enough to make you melt ‘cause it’s strong and you swear it skips at the contact. His other hand reaches for the base of your throat. He holds it gently, caressing upwards until he’s gripping your jaw. 

“Kissing you in front of all those other people kinda got me going,” he admits in a low tone.

Naughty, that’s what you want to say, but you don’t get the chance ‘cause his lips crash into yours. Hungry. Desperate. Rough. Heat rushes through your body at the sudden contact, no different than any other time his mouth found yours. You’re at his mercy, always, and he knows it well. 

His tongue glides along your top lip and you part your lips to accept him without hesitation. He wastes no time sliding into your mouth, letting this tongue work in tandem with yours as he tilts his head to further deepen the kiss. The hand holding yours lets go, instead finding home on the small of your back, pushing you as close to him as humanly possible. His other hand lets go of your jaw, albeit not completely. Ghosting along the side of your neck before you feel him wrap it around your throat, squeezing lightly. It’s nothing new for Eddie to be a little rougher with you, but there’s something about this moment, after a full day of moderate teasing and borderline foreplay, that causes a moan to burst through you when he squeezes again, only harder.

The rockstar pulls back, sporting a devilish grin. “Making such pretty noises for me and we haven’t even gotten to the best part.”

“Do your worst, Eds.” It’s a dare. Nothing sweet about it.

He smirks at the challenge and before you can register what exactly is happening, Eddie is lifting you up swiftly, hiking up your dress in the process, only to drop you down onto the sofa with a gentle thud. You’re wide-eyed as he unbuckles his belt with one hand, the other tugging at the pantyhose the wardrobe lady had you wear for the last scene of the video. He partially rips them off of you, then he hikes his index finger along the band of your underwear, eagerly pulling them down your legs until they’re wrapped around your ankles, with the reminisce of your stockings.

“The heels stay on,” the rockstar instructs, pushing your legs apart with force and positioning himself in between. All you can do is nod. Half-naked, half in costume. Same as him.

In the space of a heartbeat, his lips are on yours again. This time they don’t stay for long, instead moving downwards towards your chest. When he squeezes your breast through the silk material of your dress, he compliments how fucking good you looked, “I wanted to ravish you the second I saw you, baby.”

You whimper at his words, and at the fact that his now freed cock is gently brushing against your wet folds. Not quite breaching, just teasing you further. Only adding to the overall stimulation. 

“God, you’re so fucking hot. So fucking pretty. And all mine.” Eddie’s breathing into your bare chest ‘cause somehow in the moment your dress has slipped down ever so slightly and your tits made an appearance. Fingers from one hand are digging into your hip, holding you in place, while the other has you by the ribs. Thumb brushing your soft skin while his hot mouth is sucking on your hardened nipple.

Your eyes are closed. You’re not sure when you closed them. He’s invading your senses all at once. Just when you feel like you can’t take it anymore, when you want to whither and plead for him to touch you where you need him most, Eddie plunges himself into you without warning and your eyes snap open. 

“Oh God…” he groans, drawing his hips back only to slam them in again, making your body bounce against him. “Fuck, baby. Jesus.”

You sob in pleasure as Eddie knocks the wind out of you with each relentless thrust, still increasing his speed. Heavy panting and grunting fills the trailer, along with the sounds of where his cock slams against your sweet juices. He’s sitting straight now. Eyes are fixated on the mess you’re both making, where his length disappears in and out of you, while you admire the way his locks fall naturally in place. Although briefly, ‘cause you’re arching your back the next second, rolling your eyes to the back of your head when he hits that sweet spot.

“So. Fucking. Pretty.” He growls. “You’re so fucking pretty when you’re all stretched open like this, sweetheart. Your pussy was made for my cock, baby. You take it so well. You take this big dick so well, my good girl. Fucking made for me. Ain’t that right, dollface?”

“Made for you, Eds.” You just about whisper back, nodding your head feverishly.

Slap. His hand makes contact with your thigh and you practically wail. “That’s right,” he praises, “Made for me. So fucking tight for me.” Slap. Slap. Slap. 

Eddie’s cock starts to swell. You can feel it expand inside of you, then again when he thrusts back in. It has you heaving. The speed he’s established is close to becoming a little too much for the two of you and he drops his weight slightly, allowing you to wrap your arms around him, nails digging into his bare back. He can sense that you too are close and he’s trying hard to hold back, make this moment last longer, but his body refuses to slow down. Chasing the way your glistening pussy chokes his length. 

“Where do you want me baby?”

“Inside,” you croak out. “Cum in me, Eddie. Please. I need you to fill me up.”

“M’mph—” He chokes out, movements growing more and more erratic. The whole trailer is shaking at this point, that’s what it feels like to the two of you anyway. “Everybody out there will know what a good little slut you are. Not that innocent. Wanting me to fill you full of my cum, fuck.” 

Slap. Slap. Against your thigh. 

“Please, Eddie.” 

Slap.

“Shh… I’ll give you what you want, sweetheart.” He coos, “Gonna pump you full. Gonna make you see stars while my cum drips out of you.”

That’s when you shatter around him, uncontrollable desperate squeals making him groan louder as he continues. It’s sloppy, messy, and once you’ve completely unravelled underneath him, the rockstar can’t contain himself any longer. He lets out a broken moan as ropes and ropes of his warm spend start to throb into your hole.

His body gives up at the last spur and he drops flat on top of you, although not without a loose kiss placed to your jaw. His cock remains inside of your pussy. You can feel it pulsing until, after a few minutes, it no longer matches the beat of your heart.

Eddie lifts himself then. He kisses you softly and you smile against his mouth. When he eventually slips out and stands, he tells you not to move, that he’ll grab a towel from the small trailer bathroom and will help you get cleaned up.

“Wardrobe is going to kill us,” you call after him, balancing on your elbows as you sit up slowly. “Pretty sure these clothes can never be worn again. Purely for the fact that they reek of sex.”

“At least your wig stayed in place,” Eddie points out lightheartedly when he returns, his pants once again buckled, a towel in his hand. “That’s something the hair and makeup team should be proud of.”

“I’ll be sure to tell them,” you say, meaning it as a joke ‘cause there’s no way you would ever admit to what sins the two of you just committed.

Eddie smirks. “Pretty sure they already know,” he says as if it’s no big deal, “We weren’t exactly quiet, sweetheart.”

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celebrity skin. masterlist | the killers (1946) reference

& the celebrity skin. taglist: @eviethetheatrefreak , @thirddeadlysin , @haylaansmi , @nope-thanks , @tlclick73 , @vintagehellfire , @ashlynnkennedy , @avalon-wolf , @sidthedollface2 , @astheni-a , @bebe07011 , @aysheashea , @papillonoirsworld , @vol2eddie , @spideyanakin-interacts , @rogers-sweatbands , @mimsie95 , @mmunson86 , @eddiesguitarskills - (if your user is crossed out, it means the tag isn’t working. pls check you’ve enabled tagging in your settings)

[razorblade180]

9 days of Lancaster Day 5: Hidden Relationship

Ruby:*washing plates*

Jaune:*dirty* Hey there stranger. Hard at work I see.

Ruby:I lost a bet with Nora and this is my punishment. What’s with the smudges?

Jaune:Yang wanted to help me “improve my combat abilities.”

Ruby:Ooof, I’m sorry.

Jaune:I’m not immediately sore like last time so that’s something.

Ruby grabs a glass and fills it with water for him.

Jaune:Awww, my heart. *grabs it*

Ruby:Hush you goober. I know Yang’s training all too well. I’m surprised you’re walking.

Jaune:Well y’know, recently I’ve been getting in good stamina training.

Ruby:*red*…Is that so? Hadn’t noticed. My training is always pretty vigorous.

Jaune:Oh I’ve noticed. Guess I still have a long way to go. Although…I’m sure you’d have a little more trouble with my “training”

Ruby:Pfft, oh really? I think I’m pretty fit in case you haven’t noticed!

Jaune:Oh I’ve noticed.

Ruby:…..*flicks water on him*

Jaune:Ah!

Ruby:I couldn’t think of a comeback. You’re filthy anyways. I’m just washing you up a bit.

Jaune:If that’s the case…I think there’s a smudge around my chin I can’t quite get off.

Ruby didn’t know if it was herself, Nora, or Yang that has influenced Jaune, but it was a diabolical blessing. The young knight approached her innocently with a smile. Ruby double checked their surroundings then preceded to gently rub her thumb across his chin. Of course, Jaune took the opportunity to pull her in by her lower back. Ruby gladly became ensnared in his trap, going as far to stand up on her toes and give a sweet, mischievous kiss.

The two of them giggled as they continued peppered each other with growing affection. If only more of these moments could come by frequently. Unfortunately, privacy is hard in a group of nine, and the both of them wished to revel in this growing relationship away from others. Not forever of course, but long enough to make it feel personal and intimate. Although if the others knew, they’d probably tell them intimacy is far from a problem.

Ruby felt her body hold him closer as their kiss became…less innocent. Jaune was seconds away from putting her on the countertop when the click of a doorknob snapped them back to reality. An instant petal burst brought Ruby back to washing dishes while Jaune focused on his water as Yang walked in.

Yang:Hey party people! Ruby, you should’ve seen Jaune during our match. Gotta admit, he’s getting some moves. Almost pinned me a few times.

Ruby:Wow, that’s high praise. Practice must be paying off.

Jaune:*refilling water*

Yang:Someone’s thirsty.

Ruby:Pfft, I’ll say. He’s all red too.

Jaune:W-What can I say? Things got pretty heated, literally.

Ruby:Please don’t singe him. We can’t explain that to Nora.

Yang:He will be fine. All he needs is a little rest and a well deserved bath. Also isn’t Nora supposed to be on dish duty?

Ruby:I lost a bet, which sucks because I wanted to look around Mistral a bit.

Yang:I’ll take over for ya. You suck at drying anyways.

Ruby:Hey!

Yang:I’m gonna put my things away first. Jaune, hit the showers. You smell like smoke. *walks off*

Jaune:Gee, I wonder why!

He waves goodbye at Ruby and heads to the bathroom. Honestly it was a miracle he didn’t singe anything. As he walked in a closed the door, a sudden gust went by him. Jaune turned around and was greeted with a swift hand over his mouth from Ruby while the other quickly locked the door behind him. She slowly moved her hand and smiled.

Ruby: I lied about Mistral

Jaune: You are gonna get me killed.

Ruby tried not to laugh. She ran the sink and turned on the bath for more noise.

Ruby:Gotta make opportunities where you can. Besides…*red* You got me a little riled up.

Jaune:I mean…fair but- my life.

Ruby:You’ll be fine. I’ll sneak out after I learn about this so called “training” so let’s just focus on us. I can also help you wash up, like any good partner would do. Unless… you don’t want to?

She didn’t even let him respond before taking off her cap and sitting on the sink counter with a wide grin. Ruby held her arms out, inviting him. Despite his protests, Jaune easily walked into the embrace and found his hands back where they were before they were interrupted.

Jaune:Prepare for your workout.

Ruby:Hehe, lead on. I’m happily in your care~

[jgroffdaily]

The New Yorker Interview

Jonathan Groff Rolls Merrily Back

The actor reflects on his journey in reverse: from his latest Tony nomination to his arrival in New York, waiting tables and dreaming of Broadway.

By Michael Schulman, Photograph by Thea Traff

June 2, 2024

Excerpts:

One of the problems with “Merrily” is its protagonist, Franklin Shepard, whom we first meet as a slick, philandering forty-year-old Hollywood producer. It takes two acts to arrive at the charismatic musician he once was, with a lot of mistakes in between. Putting effect before cause gives each scene a painful irony—but how do you get an audience to care about a guy who’s off-putting for so long? “Merrily” is back on Broadway, in a production directed by Maria Friedman, and it’s finally a hit. One big reason is its Frank, played by Jonathan Groff, whose natural warmth shines through even in the character’s older, sleazier incarnation. When this revival opened Off Broadway, in 2022, The New Yorker’s Helen Shaw wrote, “Groff’s silky tenor and angelic face elevate a part that can sometimes be contemptible—for the first time, I could see Frank as both the dreamer who believes in greatness and the glib charmer who believes every lie he tells.”

Groff, thirty-nine, is now nominated for a Tony Award, alongside Friedman and his co-stars Daniel Radcliffe and Lindsay Mendez. He was previously nominated in 2016, for “Hamilton,” in the scene-stealing part of King George III, and in 2007, for the indie-rock musical “Spring Awakening,” as the rebellious schoolboy Melchior Gabor—his breakout role, opposite Lea Michele. Groff had come to New York three years earlier, as a stagestruck, closeted nineteen-year-old from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where he grew up among Mennonites and was obsessed with the original cast recording of “Annie Get Your Gun.” “Merrily,” with its themes of aging, idealism, and the vicissitudes of show business, has had Groff thinking about his own path toward stardom. “Doing this show on Broadway at this time, moving to New York twenty years ago, I’ve now lived the time frame of the show,” he told me recently.

We were talking at a bakery north of Washington Square Park. Groff had glided in on a bicycle. As we spoke, he frequently welled up with tears—he’s a crier—but regained his composure by focussing on a pair of googly eyes affixed to the wall behind me. For our conversation, which has been edited and condensed, I had an experiment in mind.

Let’s start with the extremely recent past. Three days ago, you went to the Met Gala. How was your night?

The big headline for me was Lea Michele was pregnant, and I sat next to her at the table, holding her giant train thing while she peed. She took it off, and I was holding that and her purse. I saw Zac Posen, who was at our table, help Kim Kardashian up the little tiny stairs, and I said to him, “Wow, that was such a sweet moment of the gay helping the diva.” I was relating to him, like with me and Lea. It’s a zoo of famous people. I was going to go to the after-parties, but my body was just, like, “No.” I hit a wall from the shows and the epicness of the week, with the Tony nominations. So I was home by eleven-forty-five, and in bed by midnight.

The Broadway production of “Merrily” opened last fall. You told Jimmy Fallon that Meryl Streep came to your dressing room, where you have a bar named BARbra, and she took a video of you and sent it to Barbra Streisand. Who else has been there?

The first thing that comes to me is sitting in BARbra in October or November, drinking whiskey with Sutton Foster. I came to New York as a teen-ager and saw her six times in “Thoroughly Modern Millie”—now she’s in BARbra, dropping in for, like, an hour and a half after the show, and it’s so full circle. Who else? Patti LuPone was there—another big one for me. Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Martin McDonagh. Glenn Close sent back a bottle of champagne to be chilled in BARbra, which we drank together.

This show, like every Sondheim show, is very dense. Over the course of three hundred-plus performances, are there certain moments that have suddenly hit you a different way, or that you realize have a double meaning?

Double, triple, quadruple, infinity. I’m still having revelations, which really makes me believe that it’s a true work of art. Maria [Friedman] talks about how, with Sondheim’s writing, he “leaves space,” which is why it’s always new. He always needed to work with a collaborator, and she talked about the actor being an essential collaborator. She said the lyric he wrote in “Sunday in the Park with George”—“Anything you do, / let it come from you, / then it will be new”—is Sondheim’s directive to the actor.

The Tuesday after the Tony nominations, I got to the theatre, screamed with Lindsay [Mendez], screamed with Dan [Radcliffe]. [He chokes up.] Then I was singing “Growing Up”—“So old friends, don’t you see we can have it all?”—which has meant so many different things to me in the run of the show. At yesterday’s matinée, Dan and I were sitting on the roof singing “Our Time”: “Up to us, pal, to show ’em.” We’ve done it a million times. We look at each other, and Dan just fucking loses it crying. He had to look away from me. We talked about it afterward, like, “What the fuck was that?” I don’t know. Something just happened.

When you started the show, in 2022, at New York Theatre Workshop, were there kinks in your performance that you’ve since figured out?

I remember feeling shocked at being disliked for so long in the first half of the first act. It was very clear from the energy of the audience that they loved Mary in the opening scene—immediately, they’re on her side. I’m out here as a gay guy, playing this straight, two-timing Hollywood producer who’s cheating on his wife. I’m already having to feel confident in a way that I don’t in my everyday life, this sort of swagger. And the audience hates me. I remember feeling scared and self-conscious. Maria, in that preview process, really helped with that, because she talked about the value of when it’s real, and you’re not playing ugly just to be ugly. The one line that I really struggled with was “I’m just acting like it all matters so people can’t see how much I hate my life and how much I wish the whole goddam thing was over.” That is a really confronting thing to say.

People might say that this is one of the fundamental flaws of “Merrily We Roll Along”—that you’re confronted with this cynical, smarmy Frank in the first act, and you don’t really understand him until the show’s over. I can imagine going into this not knowing if that’s a solvable problem, because it hadn’t been for decades.

Well, Maria wanted us to find the truth. She really believed that these characters weren’t archetypes, that there’s humanity in the writing from beginning to end. I found it after that first week or two of previews, not being so afraid. The line that made me want to do the show was “I’ve made only one mistake in my life, but I’ve made it over and over and over. That was saying yes when I meant no.” I’ve done that a lot in my life, and there was something that felt like the closeted version of myself. George Furth and Stephen Sondheim—I can only imagine being gay at the time that they were gay. Even though Frank is straight, there’s so much repression that feels very familiar to me.

Except that you felt it at the beginning of your life and not the middle, as Frank does.

Yes and no. I still feel it. I’m still trying every day not to go back. I’m obviously out of the closet, so that’s a huge relief, but I’m always going to be reckoning with the Republican upbringing that I had. I’m always negotiating whatever homophobia I’ve got. It’s all in there, still. What we see as ugliness in the top of the show, to stand and say, “I want to fucking kill myself, I hate my life,” and not overdramatize it but try to find it in the most pure, truthful place—it’s still, every night, a meditation to go there.

Let’s wind back. In 2021, you played Agent Smith in “The Matrix Resurrections.” Any good stories about Keanu Reeves?

Getting to play Agent Smith really unlocked rage inside of me that I didn’t know was there. That’s helped me so much with “Merrily,” particularly in the first act. Learning the kung fu was, like, months of fight training. They called me the Savage, because I was so into it. We were shooting a big fight sequence with Keanu, and, after the first few takes, I remember Lana [Wachowski] at the monitor, like, “Jonathan, come over here. Who is that?” I was, like, “I don’t know.” And she was, like, “And what is that?” I said, “Gay rage?”

I’d never shot a gun before. I shot Keanu and thought I had peed my pants, because I had this hot feeling. You know when you pee yourself and it’s warm? It lasted about ten minutes and then it went away. I sat next to Keanu and said, “Keanu, I just had extreme heat from my groin for, like, ten minutes.” And he was, like, “You opened up your root chakra.”

You turned thirty that year [Hamilton]? How was that?

I remember it vividly. We were at the Public Theatre. There was a fire in the East Village, and the show was cancelled that night. I got a cupcake at the deli around the corner from my apartment, on Sixteenth Street, and ate it by myself. I can be a bit of a loner, so that was a happy birthday for me.

(On Looking being cancelled)

But, in 2015, Michael Lombardo was our executive at HBO, and I was crying into my salad at some restaurant in West Hollywood, trying to convince him to keep the show going, right before getting on the plane to come do “Hamilton” Off Broadway.

I loved Raúl Castillo, who played your love interest Richie on the show. I interviewed him around then, and he told me that, since he’s straight, you all had to teach him some of the mechanics of what gay people do.

Oh, yeah! God, I love him so much. I officiated his wedding in July.

Let’s go back to 2013, when “Frozen” came out. You voiced the iceman Kristoff and the reindeer Sven. How did that film change your life?

It’s funny—I remember recording some of “Frozen” in San Francisco. I would be teaching Raúl, like, how to lick my asshole while jerking me off—not teaching him, but sharing the ins and outs of gay intimacy—and then going into the recording studio on a Saturday and being Kristoff and Sven in a Disney movie.

When they showed me “Let It Go” for the first time, I was, like, Oh, my God, this will help millions of people come out of the closet. This is the gayest thing I’ve seen in my life! That was the thing about “Frozen”: I don’t think anyone who worked on it thought it was going to be a juggernaut. It’s so weird to think of this now, but when it came out it felt quite alternative, because there was no villain, really, and the love was between two women. Now there are, like, tissues with Elsa on it.

Now we’re moving backward to “Spring Awakening.” By the time it moved to Broadway, in 2006, you were the twenty-one-year-old lead of the coolest musical in town. What was your actual life like?

I was so not cool. The show was cool, and the music was cool. I had people dropping me off joints at the theatre. And I remember fully understanding the stark difference between who I was playing onstage and who I was in real life, which was an extreme theatre nerd who wanted to be in the ensemble of “Thoroughly Modern Millie” and never would have imagined playing Melchior. It’s his gravitas. And trying to tap into that side of myself, which was a side I’d never experienced before.

Tell me about your audition.

I went to the open call and knew who Michael Mayer was, because he had directed “Thoroughly Modern Millie.” But it was “Spring Awakening” and I was, like, There’s a beating scene? This is so intense! They called me in for Melchior, then had me sing “Hey Jude” in a falsetto, and Michael was, like, “That was your falsetto?” And I laughed at him sort of making fun of me. Tom Hulce, who was our producer, told me years later that he moved my head shot from the “No” pile into the “Yes” pile because I had laughed at Michael in the audition, and he thought, This kid has the ability to let Michael roll off his back. We should bring him back in the next month or two.

It was, like, ten people up for Melchior. They brought me in first, because they thought they would just see me and cut me. But I had worked so hard on the audition material. I remember calling my dad the night before the final callback and saying to him, “I know I can’t be this character all the way yet, but I—”[He tears up again.] I really got to get my shit together! Why does this keep happening to me?

Because we’ve gone on an emotional journey.

I guess so, in reverse! Fuck me. [Pauses.] I knew that I had it inside, if they would just give me the chance. That’s all I was trying to say, but I guess I can’t stop crying while I’m saying it.

In 2005, you made your Broadway début, as an understudy in “In My Life.” Now, this was the weirdest musical I’ve ever seen. As I recall, there were dancing skeletons in a song about how everyone has a skeleton in their closet, a giant lemon that came from the sky at the end, and a girl on a scooter who turns out to be a ghost. And it was written by the guy who wrote “You Light Up My Life,” who then came to a dark end.

And his son!

Yes, his son killed his girlfriend. What the hell was going on with that show? Did you ever go on?

I went on for the ensemble members. I was so excited! I was in my first Broadway show, at the Music Box Theatre, walking in where it says “Stage Door.” And you couldn’t give away tickets to see the show. People were coming to laugh at the show from the audience.

Like “Springtime for Hitler”?

Exactly. And the cast had to do the show, even though people were laughing at them, which is devastating for the actors. But we formed a little family. It’s the plight of the actor. You’re just out there, like Sally Bowles in “Cabaret.” I was twenty years old, so I was lit.

Had you been waiting tables?

Yeah. The whole year before that, I was at the Chelsea Grill, in Hell’s Kitchen. The day I got to New York—October 21, 2004—I moved to Fifty-first Street and Ninth Avenue, before it was super gay, and I walked down Ninth and got a job waiting tables. A week later, I waited on Tom Viola, who runs the charity Broadway Cares, and became a bucket collector. I’d watch the second act of shows and then collect the money at the end. I went to hundreds of auditions, trying to get my Equity card. That, to me, was “Opening Doors,” from “Merrily”—that moment of sheer will and ambition and ignorance.

We’ve now reached our finale, which is 2004. Can you tell me about the decision to move to New York?

My mom was a gym teacher and my dad is a horse trainer, and they didn’t really understand anything about the performing world. But my dad grew up on a dairy farm, and he was supposed to take over and become a Mennonite preacher, which is what my grandfather was. My dad didn’t like cows—he liked horse racing, so he sort of rebelled and did his own thing. My mom always says that nurse, secretary, or teacher were the options for women in a small town at that time, but her passion was sports, so she ended up being a coach.

So they understood the power of fanning the flame of passion. When I was a kid and into acting, they drove me to play practice. They drove me to community theatre. My senior year of high school, my mom drove me to New York to audition for this bus-and-truck tour of “The Sound of Music.” I got that tour, and deferred my admission to Carnegie Mellon. I made ten thousand dollars after a year on the road, and I learned so much from getting to act every day. I wanted to take my ten thousand and move to New York, and my parents were super supportive: “If you feel like you need to go to college, you can always go to college. But take a gamble and move to the city.” I’d worked at this theatre in Lancaster called the Fulton Opera House, where I’d met this girl who wanted to move to New York, so she became my roommate.

To me, “Merrily We Roll Along” is about how difficult it is to stay in touch with the person you were as adulthood knocks you sideways and forward. When you think about nineteen-year-old Jonathan coming to New York, do you feel like you’re the same person? What’s changed?

[He bursts into tears.] I can’t tell why I cry! When we were about to start rehearsal for “Merrily,” I would listen to “Our Time,” and I couldn’t sing it without crying. And, when I think about that version of myself—I think it’s because that person who brings you here does diminish. Maybe it’s the grief for that person. The whole reason that I’m here now is because of that person, but that person no longer exists.

But that person is still in there, somewhere. That voice is so quiet now, but it’s still driving my choices. You have to make choices. You get older, that pure inspiration dies, but it doesn’t have to go all the way away. I think that’s the whole point of the show, why it goes backward. Maria says that Sondheim put all of his regret into it, so that we could have less regret for ourselves. And perhaps the reason it ends with these people, with these versions of ourselves that we remember when we see it, is that it’s an invitation to remember and honor that person.

Why does that make me cry? Is it grief? Is it joy? I don’t know, but I’m so grateful for that purity and that optimism. The first month that I was here, feeling so lost and confused, I pulled the Bible that my Mennonite grandmother gave me off the bookshelf. She gave me that Bible before I left town. I was alone in the apartment thinking, What the fuck am I doing in New York? Or not even “what the fuck”—I didn’t swear until “Spring Awakening,” and when I would sing “Totally Fucked” I would get beet red. And I remember putting the Bible down and thinking, This is not the answer. This is not making me feel good. And then running to Central Park and standing in front of the Bethesda Fountain. I was nineteen, and I was, like, This feels better—but, like, What? Who am I? What am I doing here? I know I want to act, but I’m so scared. And gay. But it was something—some voice, some passion, some inspiration. Some something brought me here.

[scotianostra]

On August 3rd 1305 William Wallace was betrayed and handed over to the English.

One of the biggest misconceptions in the story about Wallace is that Robert the Bruce betrayed him, this is not true and one of many inaccuracies in the Hollywood film Braveheart, a great film in it’s own right, but it was not a true depiction on our heroes life, it was a Hollywood love story.

There has been debate about Wallace’s betrayal for centuries while Blind Harry’s accounts might be called into question because it was written over 250 years after the events, Sir John Menteith is the man that history has judged to have betrayed Wallace, Menteith’s descendants have argued that but for Harry’s account and tradition, there is no proof that the then sheriff of Dumbarton is innocent, they also say as the Sheriff of Dumbarton he may only have been doing his lawful duty, but as he was appointed by Edward king of England in my opinion this duty was illegal anyway

However putting the ancestors protests aside you only have to take a look at the evidence in the ‘Chronicle of Lancaster,’ written in the thirteenth century, where it is stated that 'William Wallace was taken by a Scotsman, namely, Sir John Menteith, and carried to London, where he was drawn, hanged, and beheaded. also in the account of the capture and execution of Wallace contained in the Arundel manuscript, written about the year 1320, it is stated that 'William Wallace was seized in the house of Ralph Rae by Sir John Menteith, and carried to London by Sir John de Segrave, where he was judged. John of Fordun a Scottish Chronicler wrote less than 100 years afterwards that..

'The noble William Wallace was, by Sir John Menteith, at Glasgow, while suspecting no evil, fraudulently betrayed and seized, delivered to the King of England, dismembered at London, and his quarters hung up in the towns of the most public places in England and Scotland, in opprobium of the Scots.’

Whatever the actual events there is little doubt in my mind of Menteith’s involvement, Wallace was held in Dumbarton Castle but by the 23rd of August, which to me seems a remarkably short amount of time, they had taken Wallace to London had a show trial and executed him, more to come of that in a few weeks time.

Pics are of The Wallace monument at Robroyston, the monument is a 20 foot high granite Celtic cross paid for by public subscription and unveiled before a crowd of around 1000 people at 4:30pm on Saturday 4th August 1900. The keen eyed among you will have noticed that the plaque says he was captured on August 5th, but my source in The Society of William Wallace has p[previously assured me that it was on the 3rd, those details read;

This memorial erected 1900 A.D. By public subscription is to mark the site of the house in which the hero of Scotland was basely betrayed and captured about midnight on 5th August 1305 when alone with his faithful friend and co patriot Kerlie Who was slain.

Wallace’s heroic patriotism as conspicuous in his death as in his life so roused and inspired his country that within nine years of his betrayal the work of his life was crowned with victory and Scotland’s independence regained on the Field of Bannockburn.

On the cross in stone is

In Defence

Then the Lion Rampant followed by

WALLACE MCCCV

&

"Dico Tibi Verum Libertas Optima Rerum Nunquam Servili Sub Nexu Vivito Fili"

Taught to Wallace in his boyhood.

(Latin translation as: "My Son, Freedom is best, I tell thee true, of all things to be won. Then never live within the Bond of Slavery.") "We are not here to sue for peace but to fight for the freedom of our country" Wallace at Stirling Bridge

Who dared to nobly stem tyrannic pride or nobly die

Burns.

I think the fact that so many attended that day, and the fact the public paid for the Cross speaks volumes, many see the story of Sir William Wallace as a modern reincarnation due to the film Braveheart, while this may have ignited the interest of many a Scot scattered around the globe with the Diaspora, it shows that Wallace was and is still a large part of the Scottish psyche.

[countyflagchampionship]

Our grand winner: Mercer County Ohio!

Mercer County OH beat Mercer County NJ, Marshall County IN, Marion County IN, Livingston County NY, Northampton County NC, Lancaster County PA, Orange County CA, Frederick County MD, Jefferson Parish LA, and Cecil County MD to get here. Congratulations Ohio!

A little about Mercer County Ohio

Mercer County lies at the Western border of Ohio with Indiana. It was organized in 1824 but first created in 1820 and named for a Revolutionary War general: Hugh Mercer. As of the 2020 census, the population was 42,528. You may or may not know the county from its largest (population 10,935) city Celina, which began growing in the 1880s after oil deposits and natural gas were discovered nearby. In our modern day, Mercer County's economy relies on manufacturing--Crown Equipment Corporation, Reynolds and Reynolds, and aluminum manufacturing--as well as agriculture.

About the flag

On April 4, 2002, the County Commissioners adopted this official county flag for the first time in its history. The celebration of Ohio's 200th Birthday was the catalyst for the endeavor. Over thirty designs were received from students, residents and workers of Mercer County. The commissioners accepted the flag created by a group of nine individuals employed by Fanning/Howey Associates located in Celina, the county seat.

The Ohio Channel

Barn –  Mercer County’s strength and heritage in agricultural is clearly represented by the silhouette of an 1800’s style barn.

Three amber bands –  The three bands across the bottom of the flag represents the different colors of crops as they ripen and are ready for harvest.

Lighthouse –  The lighthouse is a symbol for Grand Lake.  The largest man-made lake in Ohio and a natural resource as well as recreation for Mercer County.

Six Beams of Light –  Each of the six schools in Mercer County is represented by their prevalent school color as a beam of light coming from the lighthouse:  red for St. Henry, orange for Coldwater, gold for Parkway, green for Celina, blue for Marion Local, and purple for Fort Recovery.

Foundation of Lighthouse – The foundation of the lighthouse is comprised of  fourteen stone blocks, representing the fourteen townships in Mercer County, Ohio.

The Board of County Commissioners of Mercer County, Ohio gives special recognition to the following employees of Fanning/Howey Associates, Inc., Celina, Ohio for creating the Mercer County, Ohio flag design: Marlene Abels, Vicki Giere, Beverly Heffner, Steve Hopf, Jane Miesse, Jon Miller, Doug Rich, Steve Starnes, and Joyce Vehorn

mercercountyohio.org

[ash5monster01]

Goes On Chapter Eight

Pairing: Charlie Dalton x OC!FemReader

Warnings: 18+, depression, mentions of suicide, heavy topics, eventual smut, slow burn romance, fluff, gender themes/stereotypes.

Summary: Against his best efforts Charlie has to start at a new preparatory school after the tragic events that took place at Welton. The very events that led to the loss of his best friend and getting expelled in the first place. He has no plans to make friends let alone get close to anyone ever again. That is until he meets Evelyn and her interesting group of friends. No matter how hard he tries to push them away he finds it to be impossible. So he caves and in the end learns that life can still be enjoyable even if it feels like everyone is against you.

word count: 2.3k

Seven ←→ Nine

Masterlist

Ridge Academy, NY

2/13/60

Charlie nearly jumps out of his skin when hands shake him awake. Eyes darting open only to not be able to spot anything in the dark room. His heart is practically in his throat as he registers he’s still in his room where he is meant to be and the dark figure looming above him is none other than Nate’s. Finally allowing himself to calm and sink back into his covers, he lets out a deep sigh.

“There is so many other ways you can wake a guy up” Charlie groans, hands coming to rub at his eyes. That’s when he sees it’s nearly midnight on the alarm clock beside him. Not so long until Valentine’s day.

“Sorry, but get dressed” Nate whispers, shuffling back to his side of the room where he sees him start putting on his shoes.

“Any reason in particular?” Charlie asks as he sits up and Nate just laughs.

“Yes dingus. It’s the night before the school dance. We have no homework and Mr. Lancaster took sleeping pills. That means it’s time to party” Nate tells him, referring to the teacher that monitors the dorm floor. He was much different from Dr. Hager but he did pretty much the same.

“Party, and how does that work around here” Charlie says knowing it was nearly impossible to party back at Welton. Nate just grins in the night and throws Charlie his jacket.

“Dress warm”

It’s not long until the boys are sneaking out the dorm floor. Finding their way downstairs and out the entrance. Snow falls slowly and Charlie is glad he had worn a sweatshirt under his coat. By the time they make it to the tree line and see the flicker of flashlights he finds himself experiencing some intense deja vu. Yet that all goes away when amongst the small crowd is Evelyn. She’s bundled up tightly with a blanket low hung off her shoulders. The green hat atop her head brings out her hazel eyes even in the dark of the night. Charlie feels the breath get knocked out of him as he spots her. He realizes he had never seen her in pants until now and it makes his mouth go slack.

“There you guys are, what took so long?” Violet seethes, teeth practically chattering as she stays tucked up under Martin’s arm.

“New guy here had a bunch of questions” Nate jokes as he moves to join his friends. There isn’t many people within the small crowd that Charlie doesn’t know. Only two he hadn’t really gotten to know. A blonde girl named Amy from his Math class and one of the basketball players Eli, who had his arms wrapped around Laurie. Jay Adam’s apparently never asked or Eli just beat him to it. Either way she still didn’t end up with small Nick Harrison.

“Hey you” Evelyn smiles up at Charlie as she approaches him. He does his best to smile back as he freezes in the night. Her small hand reaching out and smoothing down the front of his jacket.

“It’s freezing” he tells her and she giggles lightly, arm hooking with his own.

“Don’t worry, we have ways of warming you up” and Charlie’s cheeks flush red in the dark of the night. He knows that wasn’t the way she meant but then again she still probably knew exactly what she said. The small group moving deeper into the woods where you could no longer see the faint lights coming from the school windows.

Pretty soon they reach a clearing and Evelyn leads him to a log sat on the ground. As Charlie moves to sit beside her, Nate and Marty begin work on a fire in front of them, and he realizes fairly quickly that it had become a makeshift campfire set up.

“Shouldn’t be long until the fire is going but this should warm you up for now” she tells him softly, revealing the silver flask from her coat pocket. Charlie raises his eyebrows at her as she hands it to him.

“This is yours?” he can’t help but question and Evelyn laughs.

“Yeah, I’m not much for wine coolers like those girls over there” she points across the fire to the other log where Violet and Laurie had already cracked open a few. “Marty has a fake and he sneaks them into the woods every time we want to celebrate”

“Of course he does” Charlie says with a chuckle before twisting the top off and letting the liquid burn down his throat. When he goes to pass it back Evelyn is quick to take a sip as well, and Charlie’s throat dries because his lips had just been there, and it was extremely sexy to see a girl not choke on her liquor.

“Hey, better share” Nate calls out as the fire catches and Evelyn giggles before tossing it to him. They both watch as Nate unscrews the cap and tips the liquid back in his mouth. It’s when his face screws up tightly and a deep cough leaves his throat, Evelyn and Charlie die of laughter.

“Yeah get your jollies” he sneers, arm moving to wipe his mouth and pass the flask right back.

“Don’t worry big guy, the girls got some wine coolers for you over there” Charlie teases and Nate rolls his eyes yet he can’t help but be happy. Charlie and him had gotten really close after their talk and even if he still did love Evelyn it was so much easier to bear now.

“I’m surprised you aren’t sleeping and stressing about tomorrow” Charlie says even though he supposed by now it already is tomorrow.

“I can stress in the morning, since I have to work the dance it’s better to enjoy myself now” Evelyn tells him and Charlie smiles, shivering lightly in the night air.

“Still cold?” Evelyn asks innocently, eyes batting up at him, and Charlie smiles.

“I’ve faced worse” he says, remembering all those freezing nights spent in the cave. They were all worth it though.

“Yeah well I can’t have my co planner sick” Evelyn says and next thing Charlie knows, she’s wrapping the edge of her blanket around him. Scooting up flush to his body and huddling into his own warmth. His heart nearly doubles in speed as he pulls the blanket close to them both and wrapping them inside. “Better?”

“Way better” he whispers, face so close to her own all he can think about is kissing her. The way the fire reflects off her eyes is enough to make his insides melt, but before he can get to lost in his head he’s pulled right back out.

“So Charlie, does Welton have anything like this? Some secret party getaway?” Violet asks from across the fire and Charlie turns to face her.

“Not really, I mean me and my friends used to sneak out to this old cave but it was too strict for us to ever really have a secret hangout spot. Our dean had guard dogs even, barked if we ever tried to leave our rooms after curfew” Charlie tells them and majority of them are shocked to even hear of this. An actual fact about the boy in front of them who had spent so long trying to hideaway.

“How’d you sneak out then?” Marty asks, freeing a cigarette from his letterman jacket and lighting it.

“Dog treats” Charlie smirks and the group around the fire is laughing at the image.

“Probably wasn’t popular enough to know about the best party spot on campus” Nate teases, settling on a log beside Amy since it was the last spot open.

“Oh you’ve got it all wrong Nathan Price. I was a living legend at that school. If there was a party spot, I would’ve been the one to make it” Charlie says, the old confidence slurring in his tone. The flash of amusement in his eyes is enough to convince everyone around him.

“Is that why you got your ass beat?” Evelyn asks and the rest of the group wears confused looks at the mention of this.

“Not exactly. I wrote an article in the school paper without permission and during the assembly to address it I snuck an old phone in and when it rang I answered it in front of the entire student body and staff. Told the dean it was a phone call from God, and they should allow girls at Welton” and as he recalls the story, the rest of them laugh harder and harder. Evelyn even is shocked by the outgoing stunt the boy had pulled.

“That definitely deserved an ass beating” Evelyn agrees and Charlie chuckles, feeling that old confidence surge through him and settle in his bones. Which may explain why he takes the arm pressed against her and wraps it slowly around her waist and out of sight from everyone else.

“Yeah, I’m man enough to admit that even I had gone a little too far with that one. My friends were pissed” he says, a flash of Neil’s face as he limped back to his dorm room. The sadness in his eyes as he feared for the worst. As if Evelyn senses his sadness she snuggles in closer to his side which in turn causes Charlie to squeeze at her waist.

“Why would they be mad?” Laurie questions and Charlie takes a moment before deciding to answer.

“I had signed the article with the name of our secret club, while none of them had no idea I was writing it let alone publishing it. Hence the phone call from God so I could take the blame and protect all of them” he says and Evelyn’s heart soars for the kind boy beside her. One she really would’ve liked to know five months ago.

“I take it back, apparently he is a legend” Nate says as a cigarette gets passed to him and Charlie just laughs with the shake of his head.

“Not anymore, I just so happened to get myself kicked out and dethroned” Charlie says with a soft shrug.

“Why not try for legend status here?” Amy giggles around the puff of smoke from the cigarette Nate had just given her.

“It’s too late for that, I’ve already been stuck in the lame planning committee. My reputation can never come back from that” and Evelyn gasps before knocking her shoulder into his ribs to which he laughs.

“Such a jerk” she shakes her head as the group starts to talk amongst themselves and Evelyn grabs the cigarette Amy has passed her way.

“You smoke?” Charlie questions, more surprised by her tonight than he had in the entirety of knowing her.

“Only on special occasions, especially when I need to relax” and then she was sucking a deep drag, the lit end glowing in the dark night.

“Do you smoke?” she questioned right back around the puff of smoke she blew into the air.

“I did. When I got kicked out I had to abandon my cigarette stash at the school. Worst part is knowing my old roommate was such a goodie two shoes he’ll never get any use out of it. Feels like I wasted them twice” Charlie says and Evelyn chuckles as she taps some ash off the end.

“Well it’s a nasty habit to have anyway. I hate kissing boys who taste like smoke” she said with the soft shake of her head and Charlie was quickly smirking at her.

“Got some plans to kiss me doll?” he asks and she blushes only briefly before laughing into the night air. Without responding she guides her hand to him, cigarette pressed between her fingers. The palm of her hand meets his chin only slightly as her fingers press to his lips and allow him to inhale a puff.

“Not anymore” she said with a mischievous grin, pulling the cigarette back and passing it back to Amy.

“You’re killing me” he told her with a sincerity she was still getting used to. Out of nowhere the last few days Charlie had really come out of his shell. He was approaching her more often than not, spending time with Nate outside of their dorm, and eating lunch with them. It had been a big turnaround.

“That just might be my goal” she tells him and Charlie is squeezing her waist where he still holds her to him tightly. He hadn’t been cold once since she had been there.

“I’m not worried, girls can’t resist me” he says with a coolness that had been so foreign until now. Evelyn just shakes her head and goes to take another sip from the flask.

“I’d like to say that isn’t true but I wouldn’t be here if it was” she says and Charlie laughs into the night air. Tonight had been the first time in a long time he hadn’t felt overwhelmed by the sadness of Neil. He could just be him and maybe begin to accept his life for what it was.

“Still no kiss then?” he asked, smirk heavy on the lips Evelyn so desperately did want to kiss.

“Ask me again later” she tells him and Charlie quickly pumps his free hand in the air.

“I can live with that answer” he tells her and Evelyn smiles before turning her attention back to some of her friends. Easy conversation flows through the cold forest and laughs echo in the late night air. It was the same and yet entirely different and Charlie found that he could be comforted by it while also saddened. You don’t get over things in one night but each new day was becoming easier and easier. Plus being in the woods somehow made it easier, made him feel closer to the boys, and that’s when he remembered.

I went into the woods because I wanted to live deliberately.

Taglist: @eden-punk @linmichea1 @pursuedbyamemoryy @mynameisjxlia

Comment if you want to be added to the taglist :))

[kylo-wrecked]

rl updates, go! *multiple pokeball emojis*

may 9-16: i discuss potentially extending my contract with agency. between these days. (yes, we do have the patience for this.)

may 17-19: i drive upstate to disappear into the woods. (no jk, going hiking. yes, we do have gear for that.)

may 24-26: i discount amtrak myself to Lancaster PA for friend weekend. (yes, we have those too.)

june ~1-13: i get on a plane to Spain, go to a party down a red dirt road; three days Madrid; plane hop; nine to ten days en Gran Canaria where i become one with the sea. (no jk, it's back to queens for us >:T land of autoshops and f*** *****.)

and so, frens, if i'm scarcer than usual... sorry ever so, but^

[usafphantom2]

Victoria Cross for Lancaster pilot Squadron Leader Ian Bazalgette – August 1944

Header main image: ‘Beyond Praise’ – Bazalgette’s blazing Lancaster ND811, ‘F2-T’, with only one engine still running, skims the village of Senantes, France, before crashing on 4th August 1944. (Artwork: Len Krenzler)

Eighty years ago this month, in August 1944, an incredible and selfless act of supreme gallantry by Lancaster Pathfinder pilot Squadron Leader Ian Willoughby “Baz” Bazalgette resulted in the subsequent award to him of a posthumous Victoria Cross (VC).

Ian Bazalgette was born in the Canadian city of Calgary in October 1918, to parents of English and Irish background. The family always called him “Will” and in 1927, when he was nine years old, they all moved back to England. When the Second World War began, he was almost 21 and having volunteered for military service he initially served with the Royal Artillery, being commissioned in 1940, before transferring to the RAF Volunteer Reserve. After completing his pilot training, he joined 115 Squadron at Mildenhall in September 1942, to fly the Vickers Wellington twin-engine bomber operationally. In the RAF his nickname became “Baz”.

When he had completed 13 operations flying Wellingtons, Bazalgette and his squadron transitioned to the four-engine Lancaster and he flew a further 15 ‘ops’ against heavily defended targets in Europe, surviving some harrowing experiences, including a crash landing. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC), with the citation mentioning his “great courage and determination in the face of the enemy”. When his first operational tour was complete, he was posted as an instructor at No 20 Operational Training Unit, based at Lossiemouth in Scotland. Then in April 1944 he was ‘head hunted’ for the Pathfinder Force and joined 635 Squadron at RAF Downham Market, Norfolk, as a flight commander with promotion to acting squadron leader. He completed a number of Pathfinder target- marking operations in the lead-up to D-Day and afterwards.

A 635 Sqn Lancaster with the unit’s ‘F2’ code letters at Downham Market in 1944. This aircraft has the H2S radar dome under the rear fuselage and is fitted with the then secret ‘Village Inn’ radar-directed Airborne Gun Laying Turret (AGLT) equipment for the rear turret. Bazalgette flew Lancaster ED811 ‘F2-T’ on 4th August 1944.

On 4th August 1944, on his 58th operation, Bazalgette was the master bomber for a daylight raid against the V-1 flying-bomb storage caves at Trossy St Maxim, France. He was tasked with marking the target and controlling the Main Force bombing. Nearing the target his Lancaster, ND811 ‘F2-T’, came under heavy anti-aircraft fire; both starboard engines were put out of action and serious fires broke out in the starboard wing and the fuselage. As the deputy master bomber had already been shot down, with the deaths of all those on board, the success of the attack depended on Bazalgette. Knowing this, he pressed onto the target, despite the state of his Lancaster, and marked it accurately.

Sqn Ldr Ian Bazalgette DFC (far left) with his usual 635 Sqn crew (L to R): Geoff Goddard, Ivan Hibbert, Chuck Godfrey, Bob Hurnhall (who was replaced by Vernon Leeder on 4th August 1944), Douglas Cameron and George Turner.

After dropping his markers and bombs, Bazalgette’s crippled Lancaster dived almost out of control and bursts of ‘flak’ hit the nose of the aircraft badly injuring the bomb aimer, Flight Lieutenant Ivan Hibbert, whose right arm was almost torn off. The flight engineer, Sergeant George Turner, and the wireless operator, Flying Officer Charles “Chuck” Godfrey, dragged Hibbert from his position in the nose in a critical condition, carried him to the rest bunk, applied a tourniquet and injected him with morphine. The crew attempted to fight the flames inside the aircraft, but smoke filled the fuselage and the mid-upper gunner, Flight Sergeant Vernon Leeder RAAF, was overcome by fumes. Leeder was not part of Bazalgette’s usual crew, but had replaced Flight Sergeant Hurnhall for this sortie. Then the port inner engine failed and, with only one engine running, altitude could no longer be maintained. Bazalgette ordered those of his crew able to do so to abandon the aircraft, and four of them bailed out from low altitude. All four survived and subsequently evaded capture with the help of the French Resistance. Aware that his bomb aimer and the mid-upper gunner could not bail out and refusing to leave them, Bazalgette attempted to crash-land the burning Lancaster in a last effort to save them. He managed to put the aircraft down in a field near the small French village of Senantes, but moments later the Lancaster exploded and Bazalgette and his two comrades were killed.

Left: Sqn Ldr Ian “Baz” Bazalgette. Centre: Bazalgette’s medals. Right: The BBMF Lancaster flies in tribute to all who flew with Bomber Command during the Second World War and especially those who lost their lives. (Lancaster image: Lisa Harding).

In August 1945 Squadron Leader Ian W Bazalgette DFC was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for his heroic sacrifice in not abandoning his two wounded comrades who remained on board. The citation for his VC in the London Gazette included the words, “His heroic sacrifice marked the climax of a long career of operations against the enemy. He always chose the more dangerous and exacting roles. His courage and devotion to duty were beyond praise.”

LEST WE FORGET

@memorialflightclub.com

[the-lancasters]

Christmas 2030 - Selected members of the press were invited to Lancaster Palace for a festive photo call with Queen Elizabeth and her nine grandchildren. It was a rare opportunity for the press to see all nine together, as they all spend varying amounts of times in the Royal spotlight.

The Queen was a proud grandmother, showing off both the annual display of Christmas trees, decorated by her various patronages, and her family, all dressed in either red or green. Questions were quickly shut down about how much she sees some of her grandchildren.

The family are gearing up to travel to Sanderton House the following day for their annual holiday residence. Some families stay longer than others these days.

--

Completely inspired by the very cute photos of Queen Sylvia and her eight grandchildren!

[lil-red-reaper]

Hello everyone! I’m making this post to let all my fellow Lancaster shippers know that the annual Nine Days of Lancaster is coming up! The event was organized this year by the Lancaster Server’s very own Aashi / AdAstra, so huge thanks to her for getting everything all set up and for once again asking me to the make the graphics 💕

Writers, artists, and editors will have two prompts to choose from each day, though if you’re feeling up for it you’re more than welcome to do all of the prompts! Make sure to tag your entrees with #9daysoflancaster23!

Down below is the list of all of the 18 prompts that were chosen for this year’s event:

Can’t wait to see all your amazing entrees! Let’s show our love for this amazing, adorkable ship! If you’d like to become part of the Lancaster discord server you can join here. We’d be happy to have you!

Thanks for reading!

[ukrfeminism]

Five women have accused a judge of bullying and sexist behaviour during employment tribunal hearings.

One woman told BBC News Judge Philip Lancaster had shouted at her at least 16 times, while another said she feared for any woman appearing before him.

The women, who encountered him in separate cases, said they wanted to highlight his "degrading behaviour".

Mr Lancaster has not responded to questions from the BBC.

All the women we have spoken to lost cases heard in Leeds in front of Judge Lancaster, although some of them have been fully or partially successful on appeal.

Employment tribunals are specialist courts that rule on disputes between employers and employees. There are about 30,000 hearings in England, Scotland and Wales each year, centring around issues such as unfair dismissal, discrimination or redundancy payments. Northern Ireland has a separate system.

Dr Hinaa Toheed, a GP, appeared before Judge Lancaster at an employment tribunal in February 2022, while bringing a case of maternity discrimination against her former business partner.

She says that on the first morning of her hearing the judge described her case as an "omnishambles".

Dr Toheed says as soon as she started giving evidence, the judge took over cross-examining her from the barrister representing her former partner, and tried to bully her into conceding points that supported the other side's case.

"If I didn't agree with anything that he said, he would shout at me," she says.

At the end of the first day, Dr Toheed's legal team became concerned that Judge Lancaster was behaving in an intimidating and aggressive manner towards her.

They noted down each time he shouted at Dr Toheed while she was giving evidence, counting 16 separate occasions over three days.

Dr Toheed says that her lawyers considered asking the judge to stand down from the case but concluded that such a move would almost certainly be unsuccessful and might well simply antagonise him further.

She lost her case but is appealing against the tribunal's findings.

Dr Toheed complained to the Courts and Tribunal Judiciary about Judge Lancaster, accusing him of "an inappropriately hostile attitude" towards her.

Her complaint was considered by a higher judge, Stuart Robertson, in 2022, but his conclusion is being kept "in abeyance" [on hold] until Dr Toheed's appeal is decided.

Judge Robertson justified his decision on the grounds that her complaint covered similar points to her appeal and he wished to "avoid possible embarrassment" to the employment tribunal process.

"It seems like the bigger concern is how this looks for the judiciary, than actually dealing with Judge Lancaster's conduct," says Dr Toheed.

Nine months earlier, a woman called Andra had appeared before Judge Lancaster to represent her partner, Ion Ionel, a joiner from Romania. He had brought a case of racial discrimination against the construction company he worked for.

Although she was not legally trained, Andra, who is also Romanian, said she had prepared extensively for the hearing.

She says Judge Lancaster appeared irritated from the start of the hearing and shouted at both her and her partner on multiple occasions.

"I don't think I've ever been treated like that in my life," she says.

"He literally interrupted me whenever I was asking any questions, saying it's either irrelevant, or I shouldn't ask this today, I should put it to another witness, not this witness. And then when we got to the other witness, he would say: 'Why didn't you ask the other witness yesterday?'"

Mr Ionel lost his case but successfully appealed against the ruling.

An appeal tribunal said that there had been "serious material procedural irregularities" during the hearing, including "a significant number of occasions when the judge intervened to prevent questioning of the respondent's witnesses".

A new hearing - in front of a different judge - has been scheduled for September. Meanwhile, Andra still wants action taken against Judge Lancaster: "What he put us through was horrible, really horrible."

Since November 2023, audio from employment tribunal cases has been routinely recorded in England and Wales.

But at the time these cases were brought (between 2018 and 2022), the judge's written notes of proceedings were treated as the official court record of employment tribunal hearings.

The lack of independent evidence, say the women, means it is difficult to have complaints against judges upheld.

Even now, there are strict guidelines on accessing the recordings - claimants must be accompanied by a court official on court premises.

However, one case heard by Judge Lancaster received publicity in the press. In 2021, Alison McDermott, an HR consultant, brought a high-profile case against Sellafield, the nuclear waste disposal and reprocessing company in Cumbria.

News reports referred to criticisms she made of Judge Lancaster. Ms McDermott says he yelled at her and made "sneering" comments about her earnings.

"I think it mattered hugely that I was a woman," she says. "For some reason, he had a real problem with the fact that I was a well-paid professional woman."

Ms McDermott lost her case, although an appeal judge found there had been errors in her tribunal and she won some minor concessions. A separate hearing is deciding if she is liable for costs.

Her story served as a rallying point for complaints against Judge Lancaster in particular, and the employment tribunal system in general.

BBC News has spoken to two other women who approached Ms McDermott after her case, who had also complained about the judge:

A nurse, who brought a case against an NHS trust in 2021 claims he showed "extreme bias" towards her employer's witnesses, and says he bullied her and "raised his voice angrily" - she lost the case but was partially successful on appeal

In 2018, a woman who lost a case brought before Judge Lancaster alleges that his behaviour was "erratic, illogical, aggressive" and "profoundly disturbing"

"On the one hand, it's affirming," says Ms McDermott. "On the other hand, it's really upsetting to hear that more women have been abused."

Judge Lancaster, who has been an employment tribunal judge since 2007, declined to comment when approached by the BBC.

In a statement, the Courts and Tribunals Judiciary said it could not provide comment in response to any conduct allegations.

It also said they could not provide a figure for the number of complaints that had been made against Judge Lancaster, as such information is confidential.

[teaospin]

ATTENTION MY FELLOW LANCASTER PEEPS

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Our wonderful organizer and community within the Lancaster Server have now finalized everything, and we are now set for this year’s Nine Days of Lancaster! Starting from the 28th of this month to the 6th of June- you will have the option to write/post a Lancaster fic based on the 2 prompts provided for that day!

If you aren’t writing, please make sure to pay attention to A03 to support your fellow Lancaster peeps who are going to be participating in the events! I will also say that if you aren’t writing, why not make some memes on the event? Maybe some art? 👀

Banner and prompt lists provided by @lil-red-reaper

If you feel like joining the event in any capacity, or just wish to see what everyone else is doing and have a community of fellow Lancaster shippers to share your HCs and Ruby/Jaune hyperfixations with, please feel free to join The Kingdom of Lancaster Discord Server with the link provided below!

Just make sure to follow the rules within the server, to respect your fellow shippers, and not be an asshat! ^_^

[razorblade180]

I don't remember if you did or not, but do you have a post where there's like a family tree or something for all your RWBY things?

I want to be able to follow along, but it's a bit confusing.

If you do, could you give the link, please?

Funny enough, I don’t. If anyone has a good website for those family tree diagrams I’d love to know.

Until then, I’ll just make a simple list right now because asking about my ocs will always give be boundless energy. I’ll try being brief. If I write a name that has the last name of the main ship in the au, I trust I don’t have to explain who the parents are.

Lasting Embers AU (Dragonslayer)

Jacquelyn Frost

Parents aren’t important aside from being deceased and her mom being the former Winter Maiden (Vol7 didn’t exist yet)

Jael Frost

Biological daughter of Jacquelyn and Adam. The younger sister of Sienna Frost

Sienna Fost

Adopted daughter of Jacquelyn and Adam. Older sister to Jael

Biological parents and older brother are deceased. Happened when she was very young.

Sienna is not her real name. She doesn’t remember. (It’s Jasmine)

Yujin Xiao Long

Only daughter

Lie Tenzen

Ren and Nora’s only son.

Canary Branwen

Daughter of Qrow and Winter.

Qrow passed away when she was like nine. (Don’t quote that age I don’t have my notes with me. She was a kid)

Not a fan of Ruby (Her Cousin)

A fan of Yujin (Also her Cousin)

Twin Snowflakes AU (White Knight)

Nick and Summer Schnee

Fraternal Twins. Brother and Sister

Sparrow Branwen

Winter and Qrows adopted son

Eliza Marigold

Only daughter of Henry Marigold

Mom took hush money and left after birth.

Henry was not the one who gave her hush money.

Valerie Valkyrie

Nora and Ren’s only daughter

Veronica Belladonna

Blake and Yang’s only daughter.

Blake was the one with the bun in the oven.

Miscellaneous (not a OC name)

This Au has a child for Robyn, Cardin, and a couple others. They don’t really matter too that much but they exist. Most notable is Max (Cardin’s kid) and a little girl named Ruth

Premonition AU (Knightshade)

Lucas Belladonna

Peach Rose

Daughter of Ruby and Weiss

Not related to Lucas in any way but they’re close.

Serendipity Karuma

Also goes by Serenity

Parents are alive but not around

Older sibling but doesn’t see the younger one

Rosebud AU (Lancaster)

Dustin Arc Rose

The oldest of three siblings

Raised by Cinder and Neo

Not a fan of his biological parents or siblings

Has silver eyes

(I probably should’ve called him Dustin Fall but oh well. I’m not changing the tags)

Carmine Arc Rose

Middle child technically, but she doesn’t acknowledge Dustin as an older brother.

Has silver eyes but wears red contacts

Only the grownups in her family’s circle know her real eye color

Cousin of Kovu

Garnet Arc Rose

Youngest of the three siblings

He’s just a lil fella

Kovu Belladonna

Son of Blake and Yang

Older cousin to Carmine

Yang had the bun in the oven

Aero Amitola

Son of Ilia and Sun. (I refuse to explain myself here)

Bird Boy

Mona Paulo Furem

All you really gotta know about her parents are that they’re horrible and her mother is reason Mona is the way she is

Has a younger sister. Barely talked about.

Does not live at home or keep in contact

Miscellaneous

Ren and Nora run an orphanage

Oscar is Ozcar and has been for decades.

Side note, there’s a a child named Levi Belladonna that’s Ruby and Blake’s kid. He has no au. I just thought he was neat. Maybe one day.

[armoricaroyalty]

On tour with Vivi: The Duchess of Laye makes her stunning debut on the international stage with her Maritrean tour

The Duke and Duchess of Laye wrapped up their first international tour on May 20th. With more than 20 planned engagements in five countries in just nine days, the pressure was on for the Duchess’s style team.

“Dressing for a tour would have been a new challenge,” said former royal stylist Katarina Lynx. “A tour involves more logistical considerations than domestic engagements. IF you’re popping down to the clinic to visit patients, you can send someone back for a change of shoes. On tour, you don’t have that option.”

Throughout the tour, Vivi struck the perfect balance between royal polish and unbothered ease. She chose seasonally appropriate sleeveless and short-sleeved dresses for her springtime tour, favoring lighter fabrics and and pastel tones like lavender and lilac. The Duchess played princess with full skirts and structured bodices. Several of her looks featured sweet puff sleeves, echoing her iconic bridal gown, while breezy blowouts and understated makeup looks kept her youthful and not overdone or fussy.

Previous | Chapter Start | Beginning | Next

author’s note: that’s a wrap on the tour! thank you to @atreanroyals, @the-lancasters, @theroyalthrones, and @ardeney-sims for sharing their time, ideas, and sims with me! this was super fun to work on :D

[nancypullen]

Not Dead Yet

It's me, the lady who used to spread nonsense far and wide courtesy of this blog. I can't express how much I miss emptying my brain into this space. I drag home after nine hours in the book mines and it's all I can do to eat, soak in a hot bath, and go to bed. I'm sorry to the handful of readers that I have left. Don't give up on me, this isn't forever. The reason that I'm here tonight is because this handsome guy just had a birthday.

He was born sixty-eight years ago in Washington D.C. when the cherry blossoms were in full bloom. His father used to tell the story of walking around and around under those cherry blossoms waiting for news that his firstborn had arrived. That was back in the stone age when fathers weren't allowed in the delivery room. Although his birthday was earlier in the week, we'll be celebrating him tomorrow when the Edgewater gang arrives. I have to work until 2 o'clock but they can't start without me because I know where the presents are. He requested red velvet cake so that's what he shall have, and there will be gourmet pizzas (Jamie's recipes, Tyler manning the pizza oven - what a team!). Hopefully Mickey will feel the love and understand how happy we are that he was born. Of all the choices I've made in my life, he might be the very best one. While looking for an old photo of us to add to this post I came across this one. This was a few days before our wedding in 1984, at my parents' home in Florida. We were opening wedding gifts and apparently very excited about some flatware.

But I have questions. Why are we dressed alike? More importantly why are we dressed like WHAM?

Weren't they the guys who popularized wearing t-shirts under vests? I think Hall and Oates did it too. Regardless, you can bet that Mickey and Nancy were on the cutting edge of fashion, and out on the dance floor every chance we got. In hindsight, we look ridiculous. But the point of this ramble is, we looked ridiculous together. That's how we've gone through life since 1982. Now he's sixty-eight and I'm sixty and we still enjoy looking ridiculous together. Again, I'm awfully glad he was born. As the song says, he puts the boom-boom into my heart. Moving on. I'll work Saturday, I'm off Sunday, then I work three more days. On Thursday our plan is to drive up to Lancaster, Pennsylvania and spend a couple of days. It's just about two hours from us and we'd like to explore the area. I was excited until I saw the forecast for rain, rain, and more rain. I'm not sure how much exploring we can do in a downpour. Crossing my fingers that the forecast will change. We may need to change our plans if it doesn't. I'm off to bed, busy weekend ahead - work and an energetic six year old who was recently visited by the tooth fairy, twice. She lost her first tooth on Easter, and another at school on Wednesday! I can't wait to hear all about it. Is there anything cuter than a snaggle-toothed kid? Alright, sweet people, I'll sign off and go read until I fall asleep. I'm reading about shipwrecks (kind of like my life since we moved to Maryland, but you know I'll sing in the lifeboat). I hope that spring is making your heart light. I hope that whatever troubles you is small compared to what brings you joy. And, as always, I hope that you are safe and well. Sending out loads of love tonight. Take some and pass it on. XOXO, Nancy

[sleepysaltuna]

have I ever mentioned that the side characters were also my comfort characters? because they are and I currently am fixated on them hehehehe

so here’s a lil redesign of the side characters!! check under the cut for some comparisons and headcanons I have for them!

Sierra Watson ❤️

- girlie is AWFUL when it comes to crushes and romance. she cannot for the life of her figure out her feelings nor can she tell when someone likes her. she’s also a terrible wingman so please don’t ask for her help because she WILL end up just blurting out “oh [name] has a crush on you!!” to your crush

- she likes dressing to the nines for no reason. clearly.

- gossip is her middle name. she loves talking trash about the other cheerleaders but the feeling is mutual because they usually trash talk her behind her back

- wears a facade 24/7 because she’s scared of not being accepted for who she is. Vince and Tomoko get to see the real her more often than her other friends and family do though

- her hidden talent is writing! put a book or computer in front of her and suddenly she becomes a modern day Shakespeare. if you somehow do find her wattpad account you’d better be prepared to sign an nda because she does not want ANYONE to find her cringe. not even her best friends know it exists and she plans to keep it that way.

Tomoko Tanaka 💙

(credit to @/lizwuzthere on AO3 for her first name!!)

- she has all of the tea. somehow knows almost everyone’s secrets and is able to tell you who has beef with who, who likes who, etc. she runs an anonymous blog where she talks about all of the drama going on between her classmates. only Raf knows she’s the one running it, but the two came to an agreement that he won’t tell anyone so long as she never talks about his friends or family

- a kogal! her natural hair color is black, but she bleached and dyed it to the color she has now due to wanting a less gloomy color for her hair. she has a collection of clip in extensions which are dyed in various colors to match her the main color of her outfits. this is the same case with her eyes! they are brown, but she has a collection of colorful contact lenses that match the color of her extensions and her clothes. right now, she’s really into blue

- she used to be a cheerleader but quit because she couldn’t stand some of the other girls. she does continue to attend the practices just so she can watch and support Sierra

- she’s half Japanese and half American, but because she lives with her father instead of her mother, she uses her Japanese name more. her full name is Tomoko Allison Lee Tanaka. in all honesty, she likes being called Tomoko more than Allison and will no longer respond if someone does call her Allison.

- this girl is immune to the desert heat. or is she? no one really knows but with the way she dresses, it’s amazing how she isn’t melting like a popsicle left too in the sun. however, she’s never seen without a cold drink in hand

Vince Lancaster 🧡

(credit to @/williamtrasheater for inspiring me to make him a lil more punk-ish fashion-wise!!)

- the bodyguard of the group. will punch you if you so much as look at his friends wrong. he towers over most of his classmates and even some of the teachers too and he’s not afraid to use his height to his advantage. he’s also strong but he holds back in a fight because he genuinely does not want to fatally hurt anyone.

- speaking of which, he’s a big softy under the asshole facade he hides himself behind. unfortunately his current situation does not allow for him to show off that softer side often - his “friends” have created a monster out of him and expect him to fit that mold or else. right now, Sierra and Tomoko are the only people who get to see softy Vince

- he knows cars. very well. he fixes his own car whenever it breaks down. currently, he’s a receptionist at the local auto repair shop but he spends more time helping the mechanics than answering phones

- he smokes. it’s a nasty habit he was (pressured) to pick up by his “friends”. he has enough self control not to smoke around Sierra and Tomoko and he also refuses to smoke in his car because they frequent it often

- he used to be Jack’s closest friend way back when they were kids but unfortunately, due to peer pressure, he made a mistake that costed him his friendship with Jack. it’s a mistake he deeply regrets now but again, due to his situation with his “friends”, he has no choice but to do nothing and let his guilt eat away at him. he can’t even be nice to Jack because they’re always watching.