#Rob Ryan Buddy Ryan

[buddiedaydreamer911]

give me one good fucking reason why we haven’t seen oliver’s dogs make a cameo on the show yet.

[idealuk]

Some thing, some thing, ...

... Lucy is Tommy down to what should have been (based on filmed documentation if not for the desire to have Buck to come out as bi). Some thing, some thing, Arielle Kebbel is now on a John Wells "9-1-1" lifeguard rip off on the hell channel that "9-1-1" just left. Some thing, some thing, Ryan had a "symbolic" gay moustache (read: comphet-closeted/lack of a full sense of self) that is gone now before this season's filming is complete. That moustache is gay, and so is Eddie, but that moustache isn't Eddie.

Thank you, ABC, for bizarrely restoring my peace of mind.

Fans of that new show, you have been warned, it may have started out good, it will become a shit show, and you will have regrets.

E.T.A.: I just saw that Jensen pseudo-endorsed Kamala in a Misha Live (in which, Misha says that Eric, and "God" ie., also have) today, yeah, that tracks.

[mydaddywiki]

Buddy Ryan

Physique: Husky Build Height: 5"10"

James David "Buddy" Ryan (February 17, 1931 – June 28, 2016; aged 85) was an American football coach in the NFL and AFL. During his 35-season coaching career, Ryan served as the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles from 1986 to 1990, and of the Arizona Cardinals from 1994 to 1995. Ryan also served as the defensive coordinator of the Chicago Bears from 1978 to 1985, and of the Houston Oilers in 1993. Coaching multiple Hall of Fame defensive players throughout his career, Ryan is considered by many to be one of the greatest defensive minds in the history of American football.

Authentic and ornery, Ryan had that rugged, tough look that always get me going. Even his sons, Rex Ryan and Rob Ryan have it to some degree, but not the way Buddy did.

Born in Frederick, Oklahoma, Ryan played college football for Oklahoma A&M University (now Oklahoma State) where he earned four letters as a guard between 1952 and 1955. He served as a sergeant in the United States Army during the Korean War. Following his service in the military, Ryan's a career as a defensive troubadour began, winding its way through New York, Minnesota, Chicago, Philadelphia, Houston and Arizona.

Twice married, Ryan had had three sons, including fraternal twins, Rex and Rob with his first wife, Doris Ryan. Ryan married his second wife, Joanie Ryan in 1970. Ryan died on June 28, 2016, on his ranch in Shelbyville, Kentucky, at the age of 85, after a lengthy illness. Ryan's passion for the game often made him a divisive figure. As a coordinator, he warred with his head coach and fellow assistants. Most memorably, Ryan throwing a punch at Kevin Gilbride on the sideline of a nationally televised game. And he stay in the back of my mind ever since.

Career Highlights and Awards 2× Super Bowl champion as assistant coach (III, XX)

Head Coaching Record Regular season: 55–55–1 (.500) Postseason: 0–3 (.000) Career: 55–58–1 (.487)

[zepskies]

And So It Goes - Part 15

Pairing: Billy Butcher x OFC (Latina!OC)

Summary: As Madelyn Stillwell’s personal assistant, Helena Flores finds herself caught between protecting her job — and more importantly her life — or helping Billy Butcher bring down the supe who killed her best friend, Becca. 

AN: This story lives!!! Lol I'll try to be more consistent about finishing the last few chapters on this story for those who are still following it.

ASIG Series Masterlist

Word Count: 5,000 Warnings: 18+ for some spiciness, angst.

15: Schemes & Lies

Three months after Butcher and Helena each accepted job offers, they had developed a kind of rhythm. On days like today, when he was home and actually woke beside her in bed, their mornings could afford to be lazy.

She woke to his hand slipping under her shirt as he moved in closer behind her. His bare chest met her back, and she felt his warmth. She had to stifle a smile, though her eyes remained closed while another hand brushed her dark hair away from her neck and pressed a nipping kiss just under her ear. His beard prickled along her skin.

“You can stop pretending you’re asleep,” he rumbled.

A real smile crept across her face as his fingers danced tantalizingly between her breasts. She breathed in deep and hummed with a little stretch, as if she were just waking up.

She gave herself away by purposefully rubbing her ass against his growing length. It earned a grunt from him, followed by a chuckle.

“All right, you fucking asked for it,” said Butcher.

Helena giggled and turned her head to accept a kiss. But before the morning could well and truly kick off, his phone buzzed on the nightstand.

They paused. She was the first to sigh and let her hand fall away from where it had begun to sift through his short hair.

“That’s you, babe,” she said.

“I know,” came his surly reply. Her amused smile returned while she watched him twist away to reach for the phone. He answered it without getting out of bed.

Predictably, it was Hughie. Supe Affairs had another case for him, Kimiko, and Frenchie. Some telekinetic supe was robbing stores without even entering the building.

By the time he hung up, Helena was ready for what her boyfriend was about to say when he sat up in bed and turned to her.

“I’ve gotta go,” he said.

She nodded and laid a hand on his chest. “Be safe.”

He briefly covered her hand and nodded. He hesitated for a moment, but he leaned over and pressed a parting kiss to her hairline.

Then, they each got out of bed to start the day. Butcher eventually left after freshening up and getting dressed, with a to-go mug filled with a fresh batch of Cuban coffee. When his car peeled out of the driveway, heading for the city, Helena saw that the coast was clear.

She got dressed for “work,” and she drove in the opposite direction—a couple of hours upstate. She sent a text each to both Grace and Ryan. By the time Helena got to the safe house, Ryan was already hanging out in the front yard waiting for her.

He ran up to her with a solid hug that almost bowled her over, but she accepted it with a laugh.

“Hey, buddy,” she greeted, carding her fingers warmly through his hair. “What’s up?”

“Nothin’ but the rent,” Ryan joked. She’d taught him that one when they were jamming out to ‘90s music while cooking dinner together last week.

“Damn right,” Helena grinned. She walked him inside, where Grace had been watching her charge from the front windows.  

“I need to run some errands. Are you all right here with him?” Grace asked. Helena nodded.

“Yeah, for sure,” she replied, before looking over at Ryan. “What’re we doing today? Trivial Pursuit, Sudoku, a movie?”

Ryan thought about it. Then he gave a smile that was all Becca.

“All three?” he suggested, and also implored with those big blue eyes.

Helena chuckled. This time, she ruffled his hair. “Okay, Sudoku and a movie first. Let’s pick one out.”

An hour later, they were nearly done with Jurassic Park: The Lost World when Ryan turned to Helena on the couch. A big bowl of popcorn was nestled between them, and their Sudoku booklets were long ago filled out. She’d have to bring more challenging ones next time.

“Can I ask you something?” said Ryan.

Helena nodded and paused the movie. “Shoot.”

“If you’re…together, why don’t you just come with Billy when he visits?” he asked.

She sighed; she’d thought she went over this already. “It’s not because I don’t want him to know I’m hanging out with you. It’s because this is important to me. The work I do with Grace is also important to me, but he’d rather I do something else… Billy wants me to be safe, but sometimes, I have to take risks in order to make a difference. Just like he’s doing with Supe Affairs.”

This was her conviction, and she couldn’t feel guilty about what she was doing, only that she was lying to him.

“I don’t get it,” Ryan said, his brows furrowing. “Are you doing something wrong?”

“What’s wrong is that I’m keeping it from him. But I don’t regret spending time with you, or working with Grace,” Helena replied. “Ryan, it’s natural to want to protect the people you care about. Like your mom. She made a lot of sacrifices to protect you, and that wasn’t wrong either.”

Ryan seemed to digest that, while Helena’s mind continued to churn. It had taken her a while to understand Becca’s choices, but if Helena could already feel this much of a desire to watch over Ryan and protect him, then she could only imagine what Becca had felt. Every day Helena spent with her best friend’s son was both a blessing and a curse: it reminded her of Becca, in the best and worst of ways.

She could also see him thinking, with that sad frown of his. It broke Helena’s heart, if she was honest. So she scooted over on the couch and tugged him into her side. He went willingly, resting against her when she wrapped an arm around his shoulders and rubbed his back.

“But just so you know, I don’t come to see you because I have to,” she said. “I think we’ve got a good thing going here, don’t you?”

Ryan smiled, and he nodded before glancing up at her. “Can you tell me another story about her?”

“Hmm.” Helena searched through the archives of her brain. “Okay, we were in high school—”

A knock at the door interrupted her. Her entire body tensed.

“Ryan, go to your room. Don’t come out unless I tell you to, okay?” she said.

He opened his mouth to protest, but seeing her serious gaze, he nodded and got up to heed her instruction. Helena grabbed the gun Grace had told her was hidden under the coffee table, and cautiously she went to the front door and looked through the peephole.

She relaxed, expelling a breath. Fuck.

“It’s okay, Ryan!” she called back, and she opened the door to one Billy Butcher.

His dark brows rose a fraction, the surprise evident in his eyes. He nearly dropped the new Connect 4 game he held.

“What the bloody hell are you doing here?” he asked.

Helena sighed and pushed the door open. “Nice greeting. Come in.”

Butcher grasped her arm and leaned in. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Ryan coming, but he still made a point to say lowly in her ear.

“You’ve got some ‘splainin’ to do, Hel.” His tone was cheeky, but it held an undercurrent of serious that she recognized well.

“We’ll hash it out at home. Don’t make a scene in front of Ryan,” she replied. She caught sight of Grace’s car pulling back into the driveway. “I’ll head out first.”

After saying a quick goodbye to Ryan with a hug (all the while ignoring Butcher’s eyes on her), Helena took her leave and started the long drive back home.

Butcher watched her go through the window. And when Grace entered the house, his grouch look let her know that they’d be having words.

He spent the better part of the afternoon catching up with Ryan and playing their new game. But when the kid finally went upstairs for a shower before the dinner Grace was cooking, Butcher cornered her in the kitchen.

“You’ve got some mighty fucking nerve, don’tcha?” he said.

Grace shot him a roll of her eyes. “Come off it, Butcher.”

“You should’ve fucking told me,” he said hotly. “You didn’t just let her back into the game. You pushed her right into the bloody center.”

Grace stopped stirring the spaghetti sauce to level him with a glare.

“Your actions have consequences,” she said coolly. “You could’ve left Helena well enough alone, and let her put Homelander, and all of Vought out of her mind. You are the one who can’t let go.” 

Butcher later found Helena back at her house. She had showered and dressed into one of her old college shirts, faded and rung smaller in the wash, and some skimpy shorts. If she was trying to distract him, she’d have to work a bit harder than that. (Though the sight of her, bare legs and braless, did catch his eye.)  

He turned off the TV while she was watching the latest episode of The Great British Bake Off and looked down on her with a face of stone. She curbed her inclination to spark off first.

“Look, I’m sorry I lied to you—”

“That’s the least of it,” Butcher snapped. “I don’t need you stepping into my business—”

“Excuse me,” she said tersely, and she pushed off the couch to meet his tense stance. “Ryan isn’t just your business. Becca was like a sister to me. You and I both know that she wanted her son taken care of.”

“Grace and I have it covered,” Butcher argued.

“Ryan would be lucky to see you once a month,” she countered. “And Grace can’t watch him every second of the day. Besides, he needs more than that. He needs as many friends and socialization as we can give him—”

“And what happens if Homelander finds him someday,” he reminded. “What the fuck happened to laying low?”

Helena made a sound of frustration and threw up her hands.

“Well, I’m sorry. I’m sorry I just can’t do some stupid fucking data entry job,” she said. “I’ve been in this too long. And apparently, so have you.”  

Butcher didn’t have an answer for her.

So he left, and slammed the door behind him.

Helena didn’t know this, because Butcher screened his calls for the next two days. But he drove back into the city after seeing a text from Queen Maeve, of all people, on his latest burner phone.

He rented a by-the-hour motel for the express purpose of doing business. She had been giving him intel on rogue supes for months, acting as his undisclosed informant.

Tonight, she met him there with a few samples of Vought’s latest R&D project: V24. Supposedly, it gave someone superpowers for just 24 hours.

Why? Well, maybe it would give Butcher the edge he needed to end Homelander, once and for all.

But the pièce de resistance of that conversation was her latest tip: a weapon that could possibly kill Homelander, like it killed America’s first superhero.

Soldier Boy.

Helena was in a silently simmering rage when she got ahold of Frenchie over the phone. She paced the length of her living room. 

“I’m only going to ask this once, and I don’t want any bullshit, Frenchie,” she said. “Where is he?”

The other man gave a nervous chuckle. “Why’re you trying so hard to find Monsieur Charcutier?”

She paused; no one on the team, not even M.M. knew that she and Butcher were together. She made up an excuse on the fly.

“It’s about Ryan,” she said. “I’ve been helping Grace with a few projects, including his safety detail.”

“Truth be told, I haven’t seen him in a few days,” Frenchie admitted. “But, the last time he was here, he mentioned something about finding a supe named Gunpowder.”

Gunpowder? The name rung a bell, but not much of one.

“Why?” she asked. Frenchie heaved a sigh, but he eventually told her about Butcher’s latest plan (obsession)—finding the weapon that might’ve killed Soldier Boy forty years ago.

Helena hung up with Frenchie and made yet another call.

“Yes?” Grace answered.

“What do you know about Soldier Boy’s death?” Helena asked, in a tone that said she had no time and patience for any runaround.

There was a pause on the line.

Soon enough, however, Grace’s shrewd voice returned.

“I know he’s dead,” she said. “Whatever Butcher’s after this time, he’s chasing a ghost story.”

Helena wanted to believe that was true, but she had spent her entire career reading people. Reading a room, hearing the unspoken in what they said. And she had an inkling that her new boss was lying her ass off. 

Not even 24 hours after that conversation, Grace called Helena to ask for her help…and to drop a bomb.

“What the fuck? Victoria Neuman’s a supe?” she exclaimed, but soon covered her mouth, as if anyone could hear her in the privacy of her big empty house.

“It’s worse than that,” Grace sighed. She then explained that Hughie had seen her explode a man who knew her before she became Victoria Neuman. She’d been adopted from an orphanage as a child…by Stan Edgar, of all people.

Helena sat down hard on the living room couch and rubbed at her already aching head.

“And I fucking made her head of Supe Affairs,” Grace said. In her tone, Helena knew the woman was kicking herself.

“She knows where Ryan is?” Helena asked.

“Yes. I’ve already organized his relocation. Meet me at the following address, but don’t write it down.” 

Helena had a better photographic memory than she did an audible one, but she still remembered the numbers and street to the letter.

As always, Ryan was happy to see her. He came bounding to her when she got out of her car. Grace came out as well.

This house was old and situated on the verge of forest, virtually in the middle of nowhere, and cold and dreary with large gray clouds looming above.

“What’s the plan?” Helena asked Grace, after the three of them headed inside. Ryan showed Helena where the kitchen was so she could start making some tea; she needed something to calm her nerves.

“This is safe, for now, but we’ll need to keep moving,” said Grace. “It’s up to you whether you want to come with us.”

The unspoken second choice was staying at home, where Helena was most likely safer. At this point, if she were to keep visiting Grace and Ryan, she could potentially put his safety in jeopardy.

They had to assume Victoria had told Stan Edgar what she knew about Ryan’s first safe house. The fact that Homelander hadn’t come barging in for a year told them that either Victoria or Stan had kept the information to themselves (a small blessing). But Ryan had been even more exposed than they thought.

Helena watched Ryan carefully pour the hot water from the kettle into each of the mugs. She spoke lowly with Grace, even though they both knew that the child’s superior hearing would likely pick up on whatever they said.

“I don’t want to leave him,” Helena whispered.

“You have to think of what’s best for him,” Grace replied.

“I am,” Helena returned. “He needs us. All of us. Even Billy.”

Especially Billy, she thought.

Helena and Grace continued to go over the pros and cons of her continuing to make her visits to Ryan, but Helena was surprised when Grace answered a text with a frustrated sigh.

“Butcher’s coming,” she said.

“What? Now?” Helena said. Both hope and anger trilled through her. She hadn’t heard from him in a week, and now he was swooping in?

Well, she doubted he knew she would be here, to be fair.

An hour or so later, she was proven right. Butcher drove up with Kimiko, Hughie (who strangely had his right arm in a cast), and even M.M. They were just as surprised to see Helena, though they watched the scene unfolding between her and Butcher as they stared at one another with tension.

It didn’t break, even when Ryan came to all but tackle Butcher with a hug.

“Ooh,” Butcher grunted, hiding a frisson of pain as he hugged the kid back. “Easy does it, lad. Bloody death grip you got there.”

Ryan backed off slightly with concern. He’d noticed the same thing Helena did, apparently.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Butcher said with an easy smile. He patted the kid’s shoulder and began to lead him inside. Though his eyes met Helena’s as he passed her. They both knew they didn’t want to make a scene in front of Ryan.

But pulled him aside into the hall before he could have whatever tete-a-tete he wanted to have with Grace. Helena smacked him on the chest, making him flinch.

“Ey!” he protested, but she leveled a finger at him.

“You’ve got some fucking nerve,” Helena hissed. “You go radio silence on me for a week. I have to find out from Frenchie about your latest batshit crazy fucking scheme to end Homelander.”

Butcher’s teeth clenched in frustration, but he grasped her arm gently.

“Look, we can hash this out all you want later. But we’ve both got some fucking work to do here,” he said.

Helena shrugged his hand off her arm. “That’s no apology. Until you’re ready for that, I guess we have nothing to discuss.”

She turned on her heel and went into the room where Grace and the others were waiting, save for Kimiko, who was keeping an eye on Ryan in the backyard.

Butcher sighed and followed Helena into the large study. Helena stood by Grace with her arms crossed. Hughie stood opposite with M.M., who looked between Butcher and Helena shrewdly.

“Aw, hell nah,” he said.

Hughie’s brows drew together in confusion. “What?”

M.M. sighed and cast a finger between the simmering Helena and the tense shoulders of Butcher.

“I can’t believe it,” he said. “How long’ve you two been fucking?”

Helena’s eyes widened, while Butcher’s went heavenward.

“Here we fuckin’ go,” he muttered.

“It’s not,” Helena tried to speak, with stops and false starts that had her blushing. “It’s not exactly like that.”

M.M. tilted his head and crossed his arms. “Yeah? What’s it like?”

“For Christ’s sake,” Butcher said.

“Whoa, what?” Hughie interjected.

“Can we please just,” Grace tried, but Helena finally raised her voice to cut over everyone.

“It’s a thing, okay! We’re together,” she said, though she sent Butcher a glare. “Though at the moment, that remains to be seen.”

A pregnant pause filled the room.

Hughie managed to utter, “Uh...how long’s this been going on?”

Helena sighed. “About a year.”

M.M. blinked in surprise, though it didn’t shock him to see that Grace clearly knew. He shook his head.

“Interesting.”

“Right, can we get back to the matter at hand?” Grace said. “Victoria Neuman. I’d very much like to hear the plan to eliminate her.”

“Well, that depends,” Butcher said. His hands slid into his pockets as he turned to her. “On what you can tell us about your holiday, down in Nicaragua.”

What? Helena thought. She turned to Grace with a frown.

“I’ve never been to Nicaragua,” said the agent.

“Oh really? ‘Cause a little birdy told me you were Payback’s case officer down there, on a classified job that Soldier Boy never came back from.”

The other woman tried to deny she knew anything about what Butcher was talking about…but after he threatened to expose all of her contacts and agents in the CIA, both active and inactive. Helena looked at Butcher incredulously, wondering where his soul had gone to.

He avoided her gaze and remained steady on Grace. This was how he got results.

“It was part of Operation Charly,” Grace eventually admitted, though through her disgust at Butcher.

To Helena’s further surprise, Grace admitted to participating in a secret CIA operation in 1984 for the Cold War efforts against the Russians. In which the CIA trafficked cocaine into the U.S. to fund the government’s efforts.

And Vought American, led by a young Stan Edgar, leveraged enough political power to try partnering their team of supes with American soldiers. Their team was Payback, led by Soldier Boy, Vought’s first superhero.

Helena had been a records keeper, among other things. She knew Soldier Boy’s story all too well. His backstory had been carefully crafted: a “rags to riches” story that framed a poor young kid from hard knocks into taking the world’s first super serum in 1944. He’d led his own unit in World War II, fighting against the Nazis and for the American dream.

His entire career had been tickertape parades, shitty movies, and even a few cheesy music videos that had been chart toppers in the ‘70s and ‘80s. Helena had seen them all. And she’d come to learn, just as well, that they’d been completely fabricated.

Now, she had to listen to Grace tell her story. About how the cast of Payback had fucked up the entire mission.

But Butcher paused her story halfway through, looking pale and almost green as he made his way down the hall to the bathroom. Helena frowned. She held a waiting hand up at Grace and went to follow him.

She heard the flush of a toilet, more than once, after the sounds of his upheaval. She was leaning against the wall, arms crossed when Butcher finally emerged. He stopped short, meeting her gaze. In his, she saw that his eyes were red and glossy. His skin was ashen and dewy with sweat. She could faintly smell chemicals on him. Her head tilted.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“‘M fine, Hel.”

“Nope. Try again.” She stepped into his orbit and looked up at his face. This didn’t look like a bad burrito or a stomach bug. This looked worse. Like withdrawal. “Oh my God. Are you on something?”

Butcher looked away from her. She grasped his trench coat and made him look at her.

“What the hell is going on with you? Jesus, Billy. Talk to me,” she pleaded. “When were you going to tell me about this Soldier Boy thing?”

Again, he didn’t want to seem to answer her. Her lips pursed.

“Look, I know you’ve got M.M. and the rest of the guys. But weren’t you and I in this together?” she asked.

Butcher made the mistake of looking into her eyes. There, he couldn’t lie.

“It’s temp. V. Or uh…V24,” he said.

Helena’s eyes went wide as her mouth fell open. “Oh my fucking…Billy.”

V24 was the last R&D project she heard about before she quit her job at Vought. She knew all too well what it was.

“Finally gives me the chance to level the fucking playing field,” he said. She grasped at his shirt.

“How the fuck did you get that? When I left, it was still in preliminary testing,” she said.

“Well, the mockups are a bit hairy, but it gets the fucking job done,” he said.

She let out an incredulous scoff, resting a hand on his pale cheek. “Clearly it isn’t without side effects.”

Butcher’s face was grim. “Small price to pay.”

Helena paused. Her expression dimmed from concern to shock, and then sadness. Her hand slowly fell from his cheek.

“You’re not going to stop,” she said shakily. “This vendetta you have against Homelander. You’re not gonna stop until you’re dead. Which means you’re giving up on us. On everything we have…or would’ve had.”

“Hel,” Butcher sighed. He tried to hold her, but she slipped away from his would-be embrace.

She shook her head, and tears welled up in her eyes. 

“You don’t really love me,” Helena realized, her lower lip trembling. “Either that, or you hate Homelander more.”

She didn’t give him a chance to touch her again. She walked away from him, down the hall and back into the room where Grace and the others were waiting. She scrubbed at her tears along the way.

Grace’s story culminated in Swatto giving away the CIA’s position. The cartel they were trying to avoid brought Russian special forces in as their allies.

A mass shootout ensued, in which all of Grace’s unit were massacred, and Soldier Boy had somehow been killed, his body taken far beyond the Iron Wall, along with whatever mystery weapon that could possibly kill an invulnerable supe.

Helena couldn’t help but see Grace in a new, more sour light. Yes, she’d been the sole survivor of a mass grave. But she had led an operation that had ruined the lives of thousands.

When Grace asked to speak to Butcher alone for a moment, Helena easily agreed. She needed a break from both of them. She left the room in disgust and joined M.M. on the porch outside. They watched Hughie join Kimiko in playing Connect 4 with Ryan.

“I’m sorry,” M.M. said. It earned her curious gaze. “I can’t even judge you for hooking up with Butcher, because I’m here now too.” 

She smiled faintly. Though a few minutes later, she frowned with a jolt as the front door slammed open. Out came Butcher, roiling mad. Grace was on his heels.

“What happened?” Hughie asked. He and Kimiko walked over with Ryan.

“We’re off,” Butcher snapped. He headed for his car without even looking their way. Ryan ran over to meet him.

“Butcher, wait up! Where-where’re you going?” he asked.

“The city,” Butcher spoke shortly. Helena got up to follow them. Worry churned in her gut, for both of them.

“When will I see you again?” asked Ryan.

“You won’t. Ain’t safe for you.” Butcher’s words were clipped, and none too gentle.

“Billy,” Helena tried to stop him. It took Ryan pushing at the man, showing a fraction of his super strength. It was clearly instinctual, born of desperation. But Helena saw the hint of wariness behind Butcher’s eyes.

“What are you talking about?” Ryan asked. Pleaded really, for an explanation, for some compassion. Butcher had seemed to be rung dry.

“I got to go,” he said.

That was when Ryan grabbed the man’s arm, with intentional strength. He huffed and puffed like he was on the verge of losing control.

“Ryan,” Helena warned, with worry in her eyes. She stepped up behind Butcher, who held out a protective hand against her coming closer.

“Ryan, let go,” Butcher said, with authority.

“No! You said you’d always watch out for me,” Ryan cried. “You promised!”

Butcher repeated himself, more firm, but still, the kid didn’t relent.

“I won’t let you!”

“Well, maybe I don’t want to look at ya, after what you done to my Becca. Did you ever think of that?” Butcher snapped.

Helena gaped. Her shock was almost as visceral as Ryan’s dismay. He let go of Butcher with tears already welling up in his eyes.

His eyes that flashed red.

Helena gasped this time. It led Butcher to subtly shift his stance, so he was standing directly in front of her. He already regretted his words, but his anger and his pride wouldn’t allow him to do anything more than watch for what Ryan would do.

With a blink, the red haze was gone, but he reached for the chain of the Christopher’s medal around his neck and yanked it off. He threw it at Butcher’s feet.

“I hate you,” he said, in a trembling voice. He ran back into the house.

 Butcher turned around to find that Helena also had tears unshed in her eyes. She trembled with both shock and a thread of wary fear. Before he could ask if she was all right, she looked up at him like she didn’t know him.

“How could you do that?” she asked. “He’s just a kid, Billy!”

He glanced down at the ground. His face told her that he knew she was right, but out of his mouth came more resigned assholery.

“Yeah, well, what else is fucking new,” he said. Helena scoffed angrily.  

“You’re more than this,” she said. “I don’t care what the hell Grace told you. You don’t have to be this man.”

He tilted his head at her.

“And what would you have me be? Prince bloody fucking Charming?” Butcher shot back. “You can babysit that kid all you want, but you ain’t his fuckin’ mum! You ain’t Becca.”

A shaking breath fell from Helena’s lips. She flinched as if he’d slapped her.

Butcher saw it all play out across her face: shock, dismay, and deep hurt. Her tears welled up once more and slid down her cheeks. Behind her, he saw M.M., Grace, Hughie, and Kimiko. All of them saw a monster in human clothing.

Rather than torture himself further by staring at her face, he looked away. And like a coward, he began to turn from her to head for his car.

“If you walk away from me, I’m done,” Helena said. She watched him halt in his steps. “I’ll be fucking done with you for real.”

His steps halted for a moment.

She saw that it wasn’t enough to hold him, however. Her tears continued to fall as she watched him walk away from her, and she glared at his back all the while.

She accepted murmured apologies from M.M. and Hughie, and a sad look from Kimiko as they left to continue their mission: their hunt for Soldier Boy.

Helena felt rooted to where she stood, until Grace laid a hand on her shoulder.

Both women eventually turned back to the house. Helena wiped at her tears and went upstairs to find Ryan’s door. She leaned against it and let out a breath.

“You want to talk?” she offered.

“Leave me alone!” came the angry reply. But she knew he was crying, that his heart was shattered.  

She knew the feeling.

AN: 😬 Sorry for ending on angst, but we're headed into the meat of S3 now...

Next Time:

Butcher makes a deal, and Helena finally meets Soldier Boy! 😜

Soldier Boy distracted Helena from her thoughts, however, when he reached out to thumb at her chin, raising her face up to his. 

“What’s your name, by the way?” he asked. His head quirked slightly. 

“Helena.” She guided his hand away with her own, but in one smooth motion, he’d taken her hand and pressed a kiss to the back of it. 

“The face that launched a thousand ships,” he teased. “I like it.”

“That was Helen,” she replied, subtly tugging her hand out of his. “You know, of Troy.”

But the bitch of the bunch was, she was actually blushing.

Keep Reading: PART 16

The Boys Masterlist

Main Masterlist

Tag List:

@lauraaan182 @homielander @calizmor @haibara-ai-tsii @brujaporfavor @sleepyqueerenergy @adoringanakin @skyesthebomb @lunaticgurly @deans-spinster-witch @kazsrm67 @letheatheodore @agothwithheavysetmakeup @jacklesbrainworms @foxyjwls007

@wincastifer @ades106 @iamsapphine @simpforbuckyb @vanillawhiskeyflavoredkisses @roseblue373 @brianochka @branj19 @hazel-eye-coffee-shop-girl-blog @globetrotter28 @charmed-asylum @waywardxwords @deanwinchestersgirl87 @this-is-me19 @rachiem4-blog @sweettimelady @leigh70 @clinicallydepresso

@xiphoidbones @skoveu @nyotamalfoy @kmc1989 @emily-winchester @emily-winchester @xxlaynaxx

[panelshowsource]

sorry i took a lil break from posting gifs and stuff, it was my birthday and then i went on vacation and then i went to the dentist and now it's father's day and asdfghjk real life whirlwind ugh i much prefer my internet bubble of self-indulgence!!!

anywayz i have still been working to keep my google drive updated and add a few new things :)

new have i got news for you

new i'm sorry i haven't a clue

standup specials by ardal o'hanlon, daniel sloss, fern brady, katherine ryan, romesh ranganathan, stewart lee

what's that lady doing? by lou sanders (audiobook)

mostly unrelated to britcom, i do have a googledrive linked on my main account and share films & tv there :) new series i added there that may be of interest is russell t davies' it's a sin

also want to shout out some things on the drive that i recommend or people may have missed!

with the taskmaster podcast wrapping up, there are tons of audiobooks in the books folder :')

for (mostly) wholesome buddy comedy stuff: dara & ed's road to mandalay and great big adventure, miles jupp and elis james travel wales, rob & rylan's grand tour, world's most dangerous roads (just watched the namibia episode with mike wozniak and ola labib and LMAO the concept of the show is just so bizarre i love it), not to mention the latest series of travel man!

campervan travel series british as folk with fern brady, ivo graham, and darren harriott

i have a feeling not every tm fan has seen the actual horne section tv show (+ the 2018 special) so here they are!

does anyone else miss charlie brooker as much as me... screenwipe rewatch marathon when?

[ahellalottafandoms]

Thank you for answering my ask! You are so sweet! As a former fan of Hawaii Five 0, whose main couple, McDanno, was robbed of an amazing sexuality storyline, I am thrilled that Buck is now bisexual! I am hoping that Eddie gets his own amazing storyline!

Now for the reason I am writing you again.....I have seen posts regarding that speculating that Marisol is moving in or that Eddie or Buck will kiss each other in next week's episode and that in 7.6 that Buck and Eddie will be at odds with each other. I wanted to get your thoughts about all the speculation going on.

Also, were you in the fandom when Ryan supposedly posted a story showing that he had Grindr and Scruff notifications? I know from numerous posts that he was gay in some movies that he did and wondered if you believe that Ryan is gay/bisexual in real life? Due to the looks and closeness between Ryliver lately, have probably made many people wonder about them behind the scenes. I really hope they hug in the next episode.

Also, do you know where I can find the leaked scripts that everyone keeps talking about?

Hii

Aww, no worries, and thank you! 🥰

I do think seeing Buck and Tommy on a date and after Buck comes out to him, I think Eddie will start to have some conflict of his own. Internalised, so he makes some rash decisions and then regrets them, when he's had time to properly think things through.

Personally, I think something happens in 7x06 with Buck and Eddie. We know there's conflict between them, and they get into a scuffle, an angry, spur of the moment kiss, before realise Buck is on fire. I mean, Eddie is looking so debauched, and Buck looks the same clothing wise, so it's looking like whatever between the two, they cause it.

I wasn't in the fandom when that was all happening, I'll be honest, I'm kind of a newbie, 2 years in. I don't think Ryan is, but lately with the blushing and unable to keep a smile off his face when he speaks about Oliver or Buddie, I wouldn't be surprised... 🤣 He's also a quite private person, so I don't even think we'd ever know.

The "leaked" scripts are from imcatchingteardropsinmyhands. Apparently, the word b*****r has been removed according to them, so I'm crossing my fingers it has! Because that scene could be interpreted in so many ways without the b word!!

[no-goodbyes-no-regrets]

I tried vibing some sunshine your way! I'm in England and we don't seem to get much of it these days, so maybe that's why it put me in such a good mood today.

I'm the same as you, only got into 911 properly after 7x04 (though I'd watched lonestar since the beginning - apparently everyone hates Rob Lowe but I still see him as Sam Seaborn from the west wing (one of my all time fav shows) 😂).

I've got no idea why there are so many interviews either, and maybe it's adding to how bad some of them are? Like it's diluting whatever messages Tim et al are trying to convey because they're doing it every week and there's only so many teasers you can keep coming up with?

If the current plot resolves with Tommy coming back by hiatus, or by the end of 8B, then the earlier interviews about hurdles to overcome, deepening the relationship, their romance being a romcom, Oliver saying he likes slow burns, etc etc will all make sense - but then the intervening interviews since then will look like total bullshit/outright lying? Idk, I know alot of interviews are by buddie 'journalists' and words can be misquoted and written with a bias, but some of them still seemed pretty clear the current relationship is over. Plus there's the interviews mentioning plots to come that definitely never happened, so I think I'm just back to wanting to ignore them as they cause too much unnecessary stress.

Plus why focus on the stress when the fic and speculation is fun. I've enjoyed mpreg before but never this much 🤣, for me it's the combo with the angst of a breakup makeup that makes it just chefs kiss.

And finally a robron question as I am pretty out the loop with it, do you think there's any chance of Ryan coming back on the horizon??

Sunshine from England?? No wonder it didn't work! That's too rare to send over!

I never watched Rob Lowe in anything before Lone Star really. Not REALLY. sometimes i see things and i'm like 'wait... he was in that???" - i did see some gifs (i think) of him and lisa edelstein in another show where they *also* played a couple. I don't remember what show that was though. But yeah -i've always preferred lone star over the OG. Even now every monday is like "oh hiii babies!!" And i don't think the fandom is as fucking rancid as the og fandom can be. (not the bucktommy fandom - i love everyone in this club, but you know what i mean) I've never seen anyone so *violently* hate tarlos and send hate to Rafa or Ronen just because they're not the person they think the other half of the couple should be with. Even my fellow Nancy/Marjan shippers (all 5 of us) who don't want Nancy with Mateo don't go around harassing Jules.

ANYWAYS - the interviews are bullshit. I mean Tim teased tension between henren and madney over mara, he teased eddie being the third wheel and buck not having time for him, he teased buck leaning on Tommy with the Gerrard of it all - none of that happened. And if you look at the quotes from Lou's interview especially it's more up in the air like "i have a job lined up, i'm going back to SWAT, and a few other things coming up and if they call me to come back i hope i'll have time" he never said he definitely 100% will never ever ever come back as Tommy. That's what the buddie baiting "journalists" turned it into.

And yes speculation is half the fun! I mean how many speculation fics has this fandom written the past six months? Or this-never-happened fix its. Or Tommy-was-there-after-all- fics. Keep 'em coming people! I'm not keen on mpreg fics though but hey if you're all having fun with them - have at it! I know how to blacklist and keep scrolling ;)

As for Ryan coming back... I REALLY hope so... but realistically speaking... i don't think so. But if emmerdale wanted to prove me wrong and give me Robert Sugden back for Christmas, i wouldn't hate that! just FYI @ soap gods

[the22ndcj]

Twintober Day 3+4: Skeletons + Taco Bell

(I combined them because I'm late)

River had played up his fear of skeletons over the years. Turned it into a joke, something he could laugh at. Something he could cope with. But what about a building FULL of skeletons?

The Twin Paranormal trio has decided to check out a supposedly haunted skeleton-themed museum. It wasn't far from home and the owner Selena had practically been in tears recounting all the horrors she'd faced since she bought the place last year.

All of this raced through River's mind as he followed Ryan and Wyatt into the museum's rusted double doors.

Selena had hurried through her knowledge of the history of the place, slapped the key into Ryan's hand and left like her ass was on fire.

It took Ryan a moment to get the key to work in the lock, pushing open the doors as soon as he was able. The interior was very dark. River flipped his camera light on. It revealed a long hallway as the entrance to the museum, lined with displays. Even from where River was standing, he could see the pale grinning faces of the dead.

He gulped and adjusted his hat. He wasn't scared. Not a bit.

One of the stories Selena had told them was about how she came in one day only to find a display open and the skeleton nowhere to be seen. She had thought that she had been robbed only to turn a corner later and find the missing cowboy with his six-shooter pointed at her.

But skeletons didn't move on their own, River assured himself. He had seen a lot of crazy stuff during his paranormal career and he felt like he knew the limits of what entities could manage to do.

Moving entire skeletons wasn't one of them. No, no. He was being silly.

"You do the hallway, I'll get the office in the back," Wyatt told River casually, already on his way down the hall with his camera. Ryan was following him with the REM-PODS in hand.

“Okay,” River called after them.

He got his camera ready, pondering what and where he was going to film for B roll footage. It was fine if he was on his own. He wasn't scared…

His whole body jerked as he turned and found a gnarly skeleton staring at him through the glass. It was dressed like a sheriff with a little bowler hat and badge.

As the other two went through the door at the far end of the hallway, the room fell quiet. River's boots sounded deafening to him as he made his way along the row of displays to pick one to film.

Cow skeletons. Not too scary.

Wolf skeletons. Not bad, but they reminded him of Resident Evil.

Stepping past the wolves, he spotted another human skeleton. It was dressed up in a cowboy outfit with a leather vest, tattered flannel shirt and old timey jeans. A cowboy skeleton might be good footage.

He crouched and got a low angle of it, slowly panning over the empty sockets of its eyes peeking out from under its wide brimmed hat.

As he stood to finish off the video, he heard a small thump. Thinking he dropped something, River pointed his light to check. Nothing.

When he turned his camera back to the cowboy, a blur of movement caught his eye. He froze, moving his camera in the same way. It was just a shadow. Phew.

Another small thump by his feet. But this time when he looked, he found a tiny off white bit of something. Kneeling down, he realized it was an old tooth.

River picked it up and held it up to the skeleton.

"Is this yours, buddy?" He asked jokingly.

The skeleton's jaw dropped open, scattering several teeth down the front of his shirt.

Every hair on River's body stood on end. He couldn't move. He was frozen with the tooth pinched between two fingers, staring at the skeleton through the dusty glass.

Floorboards! It had to be from when he stepped on the old floorboards in front of the display. It shook the skeleton and the wire in its jaw came loose.

Yeah. That was it, River told himself.

A soft creaking caught his attention as the cowboy came tumbling off his bar stool, slamming up against the glass right in front of River's face.

Taking a breath, River turned away slowly and went back down the hall.

He wasn't going to panic. He wasn't going to freak out.

He walked quickly to the door at the end of the hallway. Shoving through it, he searched for his brother and Wyatt.

"Guys?" He asked, startled as he passed several skeletons in old timey dresses with parasols in hand.

One of them tipped her head to the side to watch him.

"Ryan?" River called, hurrying around a skeletal horse pulling a covered wagon. He stopped and took a deep breath.

Ryan and Wyatt were probably playing a trick on him. 

Maybe the skeletons were automated and they had gone ahead to the control room.

That gave him an idea.

Gathering his courage, he doubled back to the women.

"M'ladies," he quipped, pretending to tip a hat. River pulled out the EMF reader from his pack and clicked it on, stretching his arm out as far as he could to run it over the skeletons.

If they were automated and had power, it should go off at least a little.

It spiked to red.

River shook his head. Of course his brother would try and mess with him. They were at a museum of skeletons!

Tucking the EMF away, River glanced around for cameras. The timing for the skeletons was too good. Ryan and Wyatt had to be able to see him.

A door creaked behind him.

“You guys got me good,” River said, pointing his camera as he turned.

It wasn't Ryan or Wyatt standing there, though. Looming in the doorway to the museum's front door stood a mass of bone and leather. It looked like several skeletons had been smashed together, with dozens of limbs and legs. Five grinning skulls twisted to look at him.

River blinked.

No. No, he was really seeing that.

“Ha ha,” he said dryly. “I know that's you guys.”

The skeleton crawled toward him, knocking the horse and wagon aside. Pieces flung past River's boots. 

It this was a prank, it was an expensive one. They'd be lucky if they weren't thrown out for causing this much damage to the displays.

Unless it wasn't a prank…

Every fiber of River's being told him to run, still he held strong.

The thing stopped right in front of him, its many arms held high like a spider ready to attack.

River stared up at it. Despite his determination, he had broken into a cold sweat.

It stared back through empty sockets, hunching down to be eye to eye with him. Standing eye to eye with it, River couldn't see any wires or motors. Only bones and crumpled clothing.

Then it dove at him, and River heard himself scream. Leather tangled around him and squeezed, capturing his whole body like a web.

Dull teeth dug into his leg. Sharp bone fingers closed in around his face.

Then he was awake. Panting and sweating in the driver's seat of the car.

“Dude,” Ryan griped, rolling in the passenger's seat to face the window more.

River looked around through wide eyes as it all came back to him. They had arrived too early and decided to nap in the car until it got late enough to start their investigation.

River stared out the front window. They were parked outside of the museum. The skeleton museum.

“I don't want to do this one,” he said.

“Why?” Ryan mumbled, tugging his hoodie down over his face more.

River wasn't sure how to explain. Ryan would probably think it sounded stupid.

“I had a nightmare about this place.”

“What kind of nightmare?”

Ryan sat up and shifted to look at him.

River froze.

Ryan's face had been replaced by a skull.

For the second time, River sat up like a shot. This time he was in his bed, safely back home in his own room. Not a skeleton in sight.

“How're you feeling?” Wyatt asked, stepping into the room with a big cup in hand. “That Taco Bell really messed you up.”

“What?” River asked.

Wyatt handed him the cup. It smelled like peppermint.

“You know. Food poisoning?” Wyatt asked.

River ran a hand over his face and nodded. Wyatt stepped away and he sank down in the blankets.

“Hopefully you're feeling better by tomorrow. Ryan found some museum he wants to check out.”

River stared after him.

“...WHAT?”

[nwonitro]

VALE 2021

Angelo Mosca, Ann Casey, Art Michalik, The Assassin, Astro Negro, Barry O, Bert Prentice, Bill White, Blackjack Lanza, Bobby Davis,  Bobby Eaton, Brazo De Plata, Brick Bronsky, Bryan Debord, Buddy Colt, Butch Reed, Cpt Ed George, Chris Youngblood, Corporal Kirchner, Daffney Unger, Dean Ho, Deepak Singh, Don Wayt, Doug Anderson, Dick Cardinal, Dino Nero, Dominic Denucci...

Don Kernodle, Don Serrano, Drezden, El Hijo de Aníbal, Ethel Brown, Harry Steck, Jack Veneno, John Da Silva, Jim Crockett Jr, Jim Davies, Jimmy Rave, Jocephus Brody, Joe Cornelius, Jon Gallagher, Johnny DeFazio, John Justice, John Renesto, Kal Rudman, Kirk White, Mac McMurray, Mark Bujan, Markus Crane, Melissa Coates, Mike Reed, Moses Manson, Natasha, New Jack, Pat Barrett...

Pete Marquez, The Patriot, Paul Christy, Paul Orndorff, Reggie Parks, Rob Russen, Roger Francoueur, Ron McFarlane, Ronnie Sutton, Royce Profit, Rumi Kazama, The Russian Brute, Rusty Brooks, Ryan Sakoda, Sarah Bridges, Scott Reynolds, Sergio El Hermoso, Shaun Vexx, Snowman, Steve Cain, Steve Lawler, Stu Schwartz, Ted Lewin, Tom Cole, Tony Marino, Vinnie Valentine, Mark Morton, Jack Curtis Jr.

[sweetsmellosuccess]

Deadpool & Wolverine

Dir. Shawn Levy

Early on in Shawn Levy's tumultuous MCU action flick, Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds, as always) starts casually referring to himself as the "Marvel Jesus." Sardonic blasphemes aside, the joke works because, in a sense, it's so achingly true. The MCU has been in a tight, downward death spiral ever since the scintillating crescendo of the early phase films, Avengers: Endgame, flailing around, attempting to reset the audience meter with the next batch of characters, lesser known, and given much less coherent storylines. In true Disney fashion, the MCU has been bleeding itself dry, with a neverending cavalcade of "content," via movies and TV shows, with ever more dwindling results. 

The dismal apex of the second wave of MCU faire came last year, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which was as thoroughly soulless and badly constructed as an outhouse made out of Fritos. Shrill, incoherent, and filled with half-assed CGI effects that felt nearly insulting, the movie got trounced by audiences and critics alike (finally, some agreement!), and left the MCU to hole up and nurse its wounds, especially after the utter failure of last December's The Marvels (a superior film to Quantumania, but with even worse box office results). 

It's no secret the MCU has been in decline, spreading itself far too thin, and producing inferior work in the process. This year, Marvel has sagely decided to back off the endless churn of new releases, instead focusing their efforts on one release in calendar year 2024, which also just so happens to be a) The introduction of Deadpool (formerly a Fox property) into the MCU proper; and b) The first-ever "R" rated film in the MCU pantheon. 

Thus, the "Marvel Jesus," has burst through the building, and is attempting to resurrect a once revered brand, now fallen on callow times. So, no pressure, Mr. Levy, your film just has to meet the sky-high expectations of Deadpool Nation, while also rejuvenating an entire massive entertainment empire on its lonesome. Just how effectively it manages to achieve these lofty goals remains to be seen, but I can report that the film certainly gives it its best shot. 

With a script co-written by Levy, Reynolds, and a host of others, the film takes solid aim at the myriad of mistakes and miscues that has befallen the MCU over the years, incorporating 'Pool's murderously savage derisory jeers to poke righteous (and deserved) fun at the mothership, while retaining the series' gleefully indecorous, hyper-violent tone. 

As for the story, bear with me a minute. Yes, there is, indeed a multi-verse element, which I think by now we can all agree  —  with the notable exception for the Sony Spiderverse films, which remain delightful  — has just become rote and spent: A Get Out of Jail free card for overmatched screenwriters, and a means of re-incorporating extant properties under one mouse-eared umbrella.

That said, we meet Mr. Pool as he’s busy excavating Wolverine’s grave from Logan, James Mangold’s darkly somber (and significantly superior) film from 2017, meant to have been Hugh Jackman’s last time donning the Adamantium claws. As he does so, he’s pushed into laying waste to a bevy of Time Variance Authority enforcers. 

Out of context, we have no real idea why he’s doing what he’s doing, and so, cue the backstory: Because (spoiler alert) Logan has died on this earth, the entire planet’s timestream has become disrupted, and has gotten the ill attention of TVA operative Mr. Paradox (Matthew MacFadyen), itching to try out his unsanctioned doomsday device that would do away with that entire universe to clean up the timeline mess.  Faced with the real possibility of losing everyone he cares about, including former GF Vanessa (Morena Baccarin), former X-Force buddy Peter (Rob Delaney), and Dopinder (Karan Soni), Deadpool takes it upon himself to steal a multiverse transverser and hunt down a Wolverine from a different universe in order to use him to repopulate the missing Wolverine from his planet, thus sparing the universe Mr. Paradox’s planned extinction. 

Things don’t exactly go as planned. Eventually, DP does find a Wolverine, of sorts, but, as he himself puts it, he gets the “worst” one, a Wolverine who managed to let down his entire X-Men team, allowing them to all get slaughtered. Going from bad to worse, the pair of misfit brutes eventually find themselves deposed on a dead, post-apocalyptic desert world, like something out of the Mad Max-verse, running afoul of the local ruler of said wasteland, Cassandra Nova (Emma Corrin), a wildly powerful psionic type (and sister to Charles Xavier, founder of the original X-Men). 

Ergo, DP and Wolverine have to somehow make their way off this hostile plane of existence, with the help of a few former Marvel castoffs, get back to DP’s universe in time to stop Mr. Paradox from his diabolical plans, all while avoiding the army of alternate universe Deadpools, gathered together as a tribe of red-clad mercenaries (the cutest of which, without a doubt, Dogpool). 

There are certainly more hits than misses in this go-round, with some of the deprecating take downs ("Pegging isn’t new to me, friendo, but it is to Disney!") coming so rapid fire and from the hip, you have almost no choice but to fall for at least a few of them. True to form, DP is particularly merciless to the so-called hand that feeds him, putting Marvel in the crosshairs for some inspired burns (“Welcome to the MCU,” DP tells Wolverine, “but you’re hitting it at a bit of a low point.’) The film is filled to the brim with an enormous number of similar MCU full-body takedowns, profane quips, and wanton acts of violence, which helps distract from the fact that the story, such as it is, doesn’t really make a ton of sense, and seems to lose what steam it does have by the third act. Previous DP flicks have done the work of reaching a satisfying conclusion amidst all the dick jokes and beheadings, but here, Levy, Reynolds, and the rest of the writing team seem to have exhausted themselves in the first two acts, leaving the film’s climax severely underpowered. 

Still, apart from everything else, the film represents a desperately needed palate cleanser for the MCU from the last few years, a chance to show the world the company can acknowledge their missteps, and laugh at their mistakes. It's the first step of regaining their toehold on pop culture, and a welcome opportunity to reapproach their existing future projects with these painful lessons in mind. 

It's a hopeful idea, though I would be remiss if I didn't point out after this relatively quiet year, 2025 has three more MCU films slated to open. We can only hope they take this brief reprieve and do something extraordinary with it -- though, cynically speaking, I have my doubts. 

[droughtofapathy]

"Welcome to the Theatre": Diary of a Broadway Baby

Follies in Concert

June 20, 2024 | Transport Group Theatre | Carnegie Hall | Evening | Concert | Series | 2H 20M

FOLLIES FOLLIES FOLLIES. THE HIGHLIGHT OF MY YEAR. THE HIGHLIGHT OF MY LIFE(?)

Last night, Carnegie Hall was New York's hottest gay club as every one of us turned up to weep over Sondheim's breathtaking score, played by a divine 30-piece orchestra. Fifty Broadway actors shared the roles and songs of this wonderful show, culminating in a lineup straight out of our wildest dreams.

Though we were robbed of a Donna Murphy triumph with "Could I Leave You?" due to filming schedule changes, we received the impromptu comedy show of the year as Beth Leavel grappled with a broken mic stand and brought the house down anyway.

Kate Baldwin as another eleventh-hour addition proved to be the best moment of the night. Her "Losing My Mind" will go down in history as one of the most divine we will ever hear. Not since Marin Mazzie has a theatre been so rapt, so silent, so in awe. She's always struck me as a Phyllis, but now proves she has the range.

Jennifer Holliday does what she wants, and what she wants was a smooth and seductive "I'm Still Here" full of gravitas even as she meandered far from the written notes and rhythms. She turned a five-minute showstopper into a nine-minute showstopper complete with a standing ovation to open up act two.

Karen Ziemba led six of our finest dancing Broads over sixty (or even seventy)(Mamie Duncan-Gibbs, Ruth Gottschall, JoaAnn M. Hunter, Dana Moore, Michele Pawk, and Margo Sappington) in a "Who's That Woman" original choreography to a standing ovation.

So many thrilling performances, one after the other. I am deeply in love with Barbara Walsh now, and it's honestly a crime she and Carolee Carmello were so underutilized by only having "Waiting for the Girls Upstairs" (Phyllis and Sally don't get much singing in that number, and it's a tragedy). I need to seriously contemplate the Barbara-Phyllis/Carolee-Sally dynamic immediately.

I am now dead. I have ascended. I will never come back to earth again. But the final tributes broke me. The reveal that Sondheim said in a private zoom reunion that Follies was his very favorite original score. The late Harvey Evans' epitaph. Original cast member Kurt Peterson ending the concert with "hey up there, way up there, what'd'ya say up there..." All of it underscored by Sondheim's brilliant work. I am in tears all over again.

Verdict: My Soul Transcended Space and Time

A Note on Ratings

Full set list below cut:

Opening Weissmann Monologue: Hal Linden Beautiful Girls: Christian Mark Gibbs Don't Look at Me: Katie Finneran and Marc Kudisch Waiting for the Girls Upstairs: Thom Sesma, Stephen Bogardus, Barbara Walsh, Carolee Carmello, Grey Henson, Ryan McCartan, Julie Benko, Hannah Elless Rain on the Roof: Klea Blackhurst and Jim Caruso Ah, Paris: Isabel Keating Broadway Baby: Adriane Lenox The Road You Didn't Take: Alexander Gemignani In Buddy's Eyes: Christine Ebersole Who's that Woman?: Karen Ziemba with Mamie Duncan-Gibbs, Ruth Gottschall, JoaAnn M. Hunter, Dana Moore, Michele Pawk, and Margo Sappington I'm Still Here: Jennifer Holliday Too Many Mornings: Norm Lewis and Nikki Renee Daniels The Right Girls: Michael Berresse One More Kiss: Harolyn Blackwell and Mikaela Bennett Could I Leave You?: Beth Leavel Loveland: Chorus You're Gonna Love Tomorrow/Love Will See Us Through: Fernell Hogan, Olivia Elease Hardy, Nina White, Miguel Gil Buddy's Blues: Santino Fontana with Lauren Blackman and Sarah King Losing My Mind: Kate Baldwin The Story of Lucy and Jessie: Alexandra Billings Live, Laugh, Love: Kurt Peterson (ft. John McMartin's original cane)

[thisisyourdriverspeaking]

One more music post for 2024. The 2005 edition of my Indy 500 soundtrack posts. Enjoy.

Tony Kanaan (Car 11) - Will Smith - Switch

Sam Hornish Jr (Car 6) - Black Eyed Peas - Don't Phunk With My Heart

Scott Sharp (Car 8) - Kelly Clarkson - Since U Been Gone

Danica Patrick (Car 16) - 3 Doors Down - Let Me Go

Helio Castroneves (Car 3) - Ciara ft Ludacris - Oh

Dario Franchitti (Car 27) - Trillville ft Cutty - Some Cut

Vitor Meira (Car 17) - Frankie J ft Baby Bash - Obsession (No Es Amor)

Kosuke Matsuura (Car 55) - Nelly ft Jung Tru & King Jacob - Errtime

Buddy Lazier (Car 95) - Phil Vasser - I'll Take That As A Yes (The Hot Tub Song)

Tomas Enge (Car 2) - Mariah Carey - We Belong Together

Tomas Scheckter (Car 4) - 50 Cent - Just A Lil Bit

Bruno Junqueira (Car 36) - Alicia Keys - Karma

Scott Dixon (Car 9) - Bobby Valentino - Slow Down

Adrian Fernandez (Car 5) - The Game ft 50 Cent - Hate It Or Love It

Sebastien Bourdais (Car 37) - Baby Bash ft Akon - Baby I'm Back

Dan Wheldon (Car 26) - Howie Day - Collide

Roger Yasukawa (Car 24) - Brooke Valentine ft Lil Jon & Big Boi - Girlfight

Bryan Herta (Car 7) - Rob Thomas - Lonely No More

Darren Manning (Car 10) - Akon - Lonely

Richie Hearn (Car 70) - George Strait - You'll Be There

Jeff Bucknum (Car 44) - Keith Urban - Making Memories Of Us

Alex Barron (Car 51) - Ludacris - Number One Spot

Kenny Brack (Car 15) - Green Day - Boulevard Of Broken Dreams

Ryan Briscoe (Car 33) - Dave Matthews Band - American Baby

Patrick Carpentier (Car 83) - Destiny's Child - Cater 2 U

Ed Carpenter (Car 20) - Trick Daddy ft Ludacris, Lil' LKim & Cee-Lo - Sugar (Gimme Some)

Jaques Lazier (Car 21) - Weezer - Beverly Hills

AJ Foyt IV (Car 14) - Backstreet Boys - Incomplete

Marty Roth (Car 25) - Pretty Ricky - Grind With Me

Larry Foyt (Car 41) - Papa Roach - Scars

Jeff Ward (Car 22) - 50 Cent - Disco Inferno

Jimmy Kite (Car 91) - Jesse McCartney - She's No You

Felipe Giaffone (Car 48) - Fantasia - Truth Is

All added to this playlist :)

[magicallarynx]

"ryan has explicitly said no" that's fake news ryan has never said it's not going to happen but then again you're probably stupid enough not to realize eddie announcing he's straight when he was getting hit on by a priest in a scene that was all about repression and robbing yourself of joy and literally saying about growing a beard, but listen sweetie it's not anyones fault but your damn selves that you're bitter tommy was nothing but a plot device.

… you really need to get some fresh air, buddy. You don’t know me, I don’t know you.

It is genuinely unhealthy that you would say something like this to stranger, especially over one tag on one post (among over a thousand other notes). You’re mighty brave behind that anonymous shield, but you’re fighting an imaginary battle.

With all due respect: log out, seek help, and stay the fuck off my blog.

[mydaddywiki]

Rex Ryan

Physique: Husky Build Height: 6’ 4" (191 cm)

Rex Ashley Ryan (born December 13, 1962) is an American former football coach and analyst. Ryan was formerly the head coach of the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills of the NFL, and also held various coaching positions with seven other NFL and college teams. Ryan is the son of former head coach Buddy Ryan and is the fraternal twin brother of Rob Ryan. He currently serves as an analyst, most notably on Sunday NFL Countdown.

Born in Ardmore, Oklahoma, Rex attended Southwestern Oklahoma State University, alongside Rob, and played for the football team as a defensive end. He graduated from Southwestern Oklahoma in 1986.

Ryan’s coaching career started in 1987-88 when he was a graduate assistant at Eastern Kentucky. After moving onto New Mexico Highlands (1989) and Morehead State (1990-93), Ryan then spent two seasons (1994-95) with the Arizona Cardinals under his father, Buddy Ryan. He returned to the college ranks as the defensive coordinator at Cincinnati (1996-97), Oklahoma (1998) and Kansas State (1999).

Prior to being named a head coach, Ryan spent ten seasons (1999-2008) as an NFL assistant with the Baltimore Ravens – including 2005-08 as defensive coordinator – where he won a Super Bowl (XXXV). Ryan spent eight years as an NFL head coach, first with the New York Jets (2009-14) and then with the Buffalo Bills (2015-16). Afterwards, he was hired by ESPN, where he currently serves as an analyst, including on Sunday NFL Countdown.

Rex and his wife Michelle have two sons, Payton and Seth. From the the toe-sucking adventures and the Mark Sanchez jersey tattoo, I don’t know why I want to fuck Rex? Maybe because he’s such a freak that I think if I lay my game done, I might have a shot with him. Then again, I’d fuck any spawn of Buddy Ryan, even Rex’s twin brother Rob Ryan with his long hair.

Career Highlights and Awards Super Bowl champion (XXXV) PFWA NFL Assistant Coach of the Year (2006)

Head Coaching Record Regular season: 61–66 (.480) Postseason: 4–2 (.667) Career: 65–68 (.489)

[piratewithvigor]

AEW Roster Organized By Age (& events, for context)

Source: Smackdown Hotel

Jan 3 1952 - Jim Ross

Feb 8 1952 - Elizabeth II crowned

May 30 1955 - Jake Roberts

Nov 3 1957 - Laika becomes first animal in space

Nov 7 1957 - Tony Schiavone

May 13 1958 - Velcro is patented

Sep 20 1958 - Arn Anderson

Mar 20 1959 - Sting

Jun 12 1963 - Jerry Lynn

Jul 1 1963 - ZIP codes are introduced in the US

Oct 13 1963 - Don Callis

Nov 11 1963 - Daddy Ass

Apr 14 1967 - Jeff Jarrett

May 9 1967 - Kevin Kelly

Oct 11 1967 - Taz

Dec 6 1967 - First successful heart transplant

May 10 1968 - William Regal

Oct 30 1968 - Luther

Apr 10 1969 - Dustin Rhodes

Jul 16 1969 - Apollo 11 lands the first people on the moon

Mar 24 1970 - Christopher Daniels

Nov 9 1970 - Chris Jericho

Dec 18 1970 - Rob Van Dam

Apr 3 1971 - Alex Marvez

Jun 12 1971 - Mark Henry

Feb 8 1972 - Paul Wight

Oct 12 1972 - Karen Jarrett

Nov 29 1972 - Atari releases Pong

Oct 30 1973 - Adam Copeland

Nov 30 1973 - Christian Cage

Jan 1 1974 - Jim Ross starts his career in wrestling

Sep 23 1974 - Matt Hardy

Oct 8 1975 - Michael Nakazawa

Jan 23 1976 - Nigel McGuinness

May 8 1976 - First roller coaster with a loop in it opens

Oct 4 1976 - Emi Sakura

Feb 28 1977 - Lance Archer

Aug 31 1977 - Jeff Hardy

Nov 9 1977 - Alex Abrahantes

Dec 12 1977 - The Butcher

Mar 17 1979 - Samoa Joe

Aug 1 1979 - Prince Nana

Oct 3 1979 - Johnny TV

Dec 29 1979 - Justin Roberts

May 6 1980 - Colt Cabana

Jun 2 1980 - The Blade

Jul 16 1980 - Excalibur

Nov 17 1980 - Mercedes Martinez

Dec 27 1980 - Claudio Castagnoli

Feb 19 1981 - Shawn Spears

May 22 1981 - Bryan Danielson

Aug 1 1981 - MTV debuts

Dec 12 1981 - Eddie Kingston

Apr 7 1982 - Sonjay Dutt

May 21 1982 - Kota Ibushi

Aug 3 1982 - Nyla Rose

Oct 10 1982 - Tony Khan

Dec 3 1982 - Jake Hager

Mar 1 1983 - Mark Sterling

Mar 19 1983 - Matt Sydal

Apr 1 1983 - Scorpio Sky

Jul 26 1983 - Roderick Strong

Oct 16 1983 - Kenny Omega

Dec 7 1983 - Matt Menard

Jan 26 1984 - JD Drake

Feb 2 1984 - Brian Cage

Feb 17 1984 - Jimmy Jacobs

Feb 23 1984 - Serpentico

Mar 20 1984 - Angelo Parker

May 4 1984 - Orange Cassidy

Jun 30 1984 - Dax Harwood

Jul 1 1984 - PG13 rating is invented

Sep 19 1984 - Renee Paquette

Nov 4 1984 - Ryan Nemeth

Nov 8 1984 - Keith Lee

Dec 26 1984 - Pat Buck

Dec 29 1984 - Anthony Henry

Jan 17 1985 - Mark Briscoe

Feb 13 1985 - Truth Magnum

Feb 26 1985 - Penta El Zero Miedo

Mar 13 1985 - Matt Jackson

Mar 19 1985 - Luchasaurus

Mar 20 1985 - Matt Taven

Mar 23 1985 - CJ

Mar 31 1985 - First Wrestlemania

May 16 1985 - Mike Bennett

May 19 1985 - Malakai Black

Apr 20 1985 - Jay Lethal

Jul 15 1985 - QT Marshall

Aug 6 1985 - Tony Nese

Sep 9 1985 - The Bunny

Dec 7 1985 - Jon Moxley

Dec 25 1985 - Miro

Jan 24 1986 - Vincent

Feb 5 1986 - Madison Rayne

Feb 19 1986 - Shawn Dean

Feb 21 1986 - The first Zelda game is released

Mar 2 1986 - Bishop Kaun

Mar 4 1986 - Dalton Castle

Apr 8 1986 - Big Bill

Apr 22 1986 - Chuck Taylor

Jun 15 1986 - Cezar Bononi

Jun 29 1986 - Serena Deeb

Jul 22 1986 - Thunder Rosa

Aug 21 1986 - Pac

Oct 22 1986 - Taya Valkyrie

Jan 13 1987 - Ian Riccaboni

Feb 4 1987 - Aaron Solo

Mar 1 1987 - Kyle O'Reilly

Mar 7 1987 - Angelico

Mar 10 1987 - Alex Reynolds

Mar 17 1987 - Brody King

Mar 30 1987 - Trent Beretta

May 17 1987 - Cash Wheeler

Apr 21 1987 - Dutch

Jun 18 1987 - Brandon Cutler

Jul 20 1987 - Evil Uno

Sep 5 1987 - AR Fox

Jan 19 1988 - Wardlow

Mar 20 1988 - Josh Woods

Apr 14 1988 - Marina Shafir

Apr 17 1988 - Dasha Gonzalez

Jun 11 1988 - Hikaru Shida

Jul 18 1988 - RJ City

Aug 23 1988 - Metalik

Aug 28 1988 - EJ Nduka

Aug 31 1988 - Athena

Sep 26 1988 - Buddy Matthews

Sep 29 1988 - Rush

Nov 24 1988 - Anthony Ogogo

Jan 25 1989 - Stu Grayson

Apr 10 1989 - Juice Robinson

Apr 11 1989 - Ari Daivari

Jun 14 1989 - Peter Avalon

Jul 5 1989 - Adam Cole

Jul 27 1989 - Nick Jackson

Jul 31 1989 - Max Caster

Sep 20 1989 - Ethan Page

Nov 3 1989 - Andrade El Idolo

Dec 17 1989 - The Simpsons premiers

Aug 17 1990 - Danhausen

Aug 20 1990 - Mark Davis

Sep 30 1990 - Swerve Strickland

Nov 12 1990 - Stokely Hathaway

Dec 18 1990 - Anthony Bowens

Dec 30 1990 - Rey Fenix

Jan 9 1991 - Ruby Soho

Jan 23 1991 - Powerhouse Hobbs

Jan 30 1991 - Toa Liona

Feb 4 1991 - Mike Santana

Apr 22 1991 - Nick Comoroto

Apr 23 1991 - Dr Britt Baker DMD

May 18 1991 - Colten Gunn

Jun 4 1991 - John Silver

Jul 14 1991 - Diamante

Jul 21 1991 - Adam Page

Aug 23 1991 - World Wide Web starts up

Sep 27 1991 - Ortiz

Nov 22 1991 - Brandon

Nov 22 1991 - Brent

Jan 15 1992 - Preston Vance

Apr 7 1992 - Abadon

May 19 1992 - Kip Sabian

Jun 3 1992 - Red Velvet

Aug 17 1992 - Saraya

Sep 14 1992 - Penelope Ford

Sep 15 1992 - Dralistico

Oct 9 1992 - Jay White

Dec 27 1992 - Yuka Sakazaki

Jan 7 1993 - Darby Allin

Jul 28 1993 - Sammy Guevara

Jan 25 1994 - Willow Nightingale

Feb 21 1994 - Ricky Starks

Mar 26 1994 - Paige Vanzant

Apr 12 1994 - Marq Quen

Jun 6 1994 - Lee Moriarty

Aug 26 1994 - Austin Gunn

Sep 16 1994 - Kiera Hogan

Apr 17 1995 - Bandido

Apr 23 1995 - Jamie Hayter

May 29 1995 - Konosuka Takeshita

Jun 6 1995 - Tay Melo

Aug 7 1995 - Kris Statlander

Oct 19 1995 - Toni Storm

Nov 13 1995 - Boulder

Nov 13 1995 - Bronson

Nov 22 1995 - Toy Story is released

Dec 10 1995 - Satnam Singh

Mar 15 1996 - MJF

Aug 11 1996 - Lexy Nair

Oct 26 1996 - Wheeler Yuta

Apr 29 1997 - El Hijo Del Vikingo

Jun 4 1997 - Riho

Jun 15 1997 - Jack Perry

Jul 10 1997 - Isiah Kassidy

Oct 27 1997 - Leyla Hirsch

Dec 13 1997 - Lee Johnson

Mar 9 1998 - Parker Boudreaux

Jul 15 1998 - Anna Jay

Aug 4 1998 - Mariah May

Sep 7 1998 - Daniel Garcia

Dec 15 1998 - Komander

Dec 24 1998 - Kyle Fletcher

May 4 1999 - Hook

Sep 20 1999 - Darius Martin

Oct 2 1999 - Skye Blue

Mar 3 2001 - Dante Martin

Mar 23 2001 - WWF buys WCW

Nov 8 2001 - Julia Hart

Oct 13 2004 - Billie Starkz

Jul 10 2005 - Nick Wayne

Jan 17 2012 - Negative One

[this-daydream-is-dangerous-13]

I am going to have to avoid social media again tomorrow because TK’s going to be everywhere alongside Blondie (at least when he plays I don’t have to see his face as much. Stupid moustache).

The Eagles (TK’s brother’s team, Blondie’s usual team, beloved team of Ryan Reynolds buddy Rob McElhenney) are in a cross-division match up tomorrow with the Jets, in NJ.

Her plane just ended up there and his bestie just posted about them landing. The Chiefs are off until Tuesday. His brother is about to break some record.

So imagine another party box situation, this time with all the Kelce clan.

Ugh. Whyyyyyy do I find him so offputting to look at? Why not an English footballer, Blondie?!? (This is no Posh and Becks).

I wanna talk about the rerelease of my FAVE album without getting TK image bombed. This is greatly diminishing 1989TV (and eras movie) fun. Booo!