Operation: Moonfall | Jimmy Crystal Revenge & Redemption

The Scout

A dour cloud followed Buster, but the optimism he stanned so much served as his figurative umbrella. However, every now and then the cloud would swell and threaten to overwhelm him with its downpour. With a mostly uneventful day and dusk around the corner, Buster was hoping the cloud was cutting him some slack today.

Sitting at the dining room table, a fork in one hand picking at a eucalyptus salad, and his phone in the other, Buster indulged in a quiet meal. Eating in the den was out of the question; there was very little respite to be found from his current predicament on the TV. He resorted to reading through his newsfeed, pre-filtered by Ash to block any instance of his or Jimmy Crystal's names, as he munched away at the salad, which seemed to have a muted flavor.

Unfortunately, while setting up the filter, Ash had forgotten to block out Walter Kilborn's name as well. News related to The Real Deal occasionally seeped through the feed, and confirmed what Buster feared: As the story spread, it became more sensationalized by influencers and other clout chasers in desperate attempts to draw attention to themselves. He scrolled over one of those annoying auto-play videos by a Shiba Inu influencer with an unflattering picture of Buster taken from the Kilborn interview as the thumbnail. Several red arrows pointed at Buster's face with the caption "HATES WOLVES?" next to them.

"I'll break down how Buster Moon expertly wields loaded and hurtful language that evokes prejudices and stereotypes against wolves!" the Shiba said as the video started on its own.

"PUT a MUZZLE on HIM!" Buster heard himself suddenly shout out of the screen. He was taken aback, at a loss for where that soundbite even originated from. After racking his brain for a minute, he remembered that instance from the interview.

His lawyers put a muzzle on him for a reason, and that's because they know he did it!

"Oh, that's taken completely out of context!" Buster complained. He was pretty sure the sound levels were altered to make it come across as sinister. Best to ignore it and leave this kind of nonsense alone.

That was easier said than done. Buster kept scrolling through the feed but found his mind squarely focused on that video. It wasn't the first time someone suggested he was prejudiced against wolves, but today he couldn't just let it slide. Before he knew it, he was back on the video, this time furiously typing away a response in the comments section.

"This is Buster Moon and I DO NOT hate wolves! I would appreciate it if you STOPPED spreading these LIES. It wouldn't matter if Jimmy Crystal were a WOLF or another KOALA, my gripes with him are based SOLELY on him being an as—"

No, he couldn't say that. He wasn't a vulgar person; he'd landed himself in hot water once before with that word. He erased that last one.

"Being a JERKFACE," he finished typing, feeling accomplished. Just before he could send the comment, the screen suddenly changed as the phone rang and vibrated.

Unknown caller.

Could be more reporters hounding him for quotes.

Could be another spam call about his car's warranty.

...

Could be an opportunity.

He took a chance and answered the phone. "Buster Moon at your service!"

"Oh, this is Buster?" the voice said in surprise. He sounded younger, maybe mid-twenties in age. "This is Alex Brook from StoryBrook Productions. We want to do a documentary about your life."

It took a second for Buster to find his voice. "You want to do a documentary about me...?"

"More of a docudrama, really. We find your story very interesting and we think the world will too. We're tentatively calling the film 'Receptacle of Lies: The Buster Moon Story.'"