#and that sam and jacob are playing them to be endgame

[dark-immortal-kiss]

I can’t believe it’s 2022 and I’m back on my loustat shit. They were my first ship at like 11 years old. I guess some things are just never outgrown.

[greedandenby]

Jacob & Sam talking about queerness in IWTV.

A compilation of stuff they've said in interviews.

(Long post!)

A.V. Club

Q: The show is being hailed as unabashedly queer as compared to the film adaptation. Why was that important to both of you and the show’s creators?

SR: It’s what’s written in the book. We’re doing the book and it’s the way it’s supposed to be.

JA: It’s true to the story.

SR: It’s true to what Anne wanted and, yeah… it’s time.

JA: It would be rude not to.

SR: Yeah.

Comicbook

Q: How important was it for the two of you to get this aspect of the story (the queerness of the books) not only correct, but to tell the full breadth and aspect of this very unique relationship?

JA: (…) For one, we have to acknowledge that the books are very queer. I think that IWTV Louis is not talking about it, at least in terms of Lestat.

SR: Until you get to the second half of the book. By the second half of the book, Louis does sort of start to acknowledge that it was something more, which I think is such a cool… (…) I think the relationship, the way Louis describes it in the beginning is sort of like, is it subtext or has he acknowledged it or is he just angry with the way it worked out? But I really feel that as we go on, the text is the text. It’s very clear that they’re in love and that they’re in a romantic relationship. I don’t think we would be doing the Anne Rice universe or doing the Vampire Chronicles if that wasn’t the case. I think it would be something else. And it would be a waste of time for us too because the fun stuff comes from the complexities of the relationship and the dynamics and all the detail and nuance that they have. If we’re doing a “will they won’t they” or, like, subtle glances across the room then you spend all the time on that tension rather than the really complicated toxic dynamic that exists between the two of them.

JA: Yeah, and then also playing that off against that tension and the aftermath of some of those fights. It suddenly rebuilds this sexual and emotional tension. Like you said, you get to explore the breadth of a relationship. But yeah, they’re each other’s endgame, aren’t they? In the books, they always come home to each other. I think it’s telling that that seems to be the denouement or the end of a lot of the novels: Louis and Lestat being petty and in love.

Esquire (Sept '22)

Q: The 1994 film adaptation of Interview With the Vampire shied away from depicting the romance between Lestat and Louis. Your adaptation is very explicit; at one point, we even see Lestat and Louis have sex while levitating. Rolin Jones described this series as “an excitable, aggressive, toxic, beautiful love story.” What did that mean to you, finally getting to tell the story in its full, explicit sensuality?

SR: I was very happy it was going that way, because it wouldn't be Interview With the Vampire if it didn't. It’s really important that we explored that, because a big part of their relationship is this intense connection. Anne Rice describes drinking each other's blood as incredibly erotic, almost like having sex. So how do you translate that on screen? I guess nude levitation translates quite well. I think it's really important that we don't shy away from it, because if we spend the whole season going, "Will they? Won't they?," we don't get to the really interesting parts of this complex relationship. Getting straight down to it means we can look at the dynamics of this pair—how they hurt each other and how they build each other up.

JA: With the levitating scene, we talked a lot about how you need those moments of joy and excitement and romance so it's not all about tortured Catholic guilt. We've seen vampire stories told that way before, and like Sam said, you then can't get into the messiness of their relationship. You have to really believe. You have to know that these two people are in love. Being in love is complicated and beautiful and messy.

IFC Center

Q: Sam, from the beginnings of the vampire traditions in literature and theatre, there’s often been a gay subtext. But for this adaptation, subtext becomes text.

SR: Yeah, I would say it’s not subtext, cause in Anne Rice it’s pretty damn clear. So it’s not subtext becomes text, it’s just text is now being text. And I think, fuckin’ yeah, it should be. If we’re going to do Anne Rice, we might as well do Anne Rice properly.

SR (about Lestat’s otherness): He’s come from some pretty intense experiences where he’s learned the history of vampires and things like that. And Lestat has come over from Europe to get away from the catechism of humanity and the way that’s kind of slapped on top of the vampires. That it’s all about self-flagellation in Christianity, Catholicism, that we’re all monsters and as a monster you have to serve Christ by being a servant of the Devil. You’re a monster: wake up and serve Christ. Which is what he’s discovered in his past. And Lestat thinks “That is garbage, and I’d much rather have a good time and I’d much rather celebrate myself.” Because he didn’t get a choice, he didn’t get to choose to become a vampire, he was forced into it. And I think we comment on it on the show, that all vampires are born out of trauma and that’s why people identify with them so well. Because they are traumatic, painful beings – often there’s sexual trauma in it as well. So he’s come to New Orleans to get out of that, to start his own new life, really. I think his bisexuality, his pansexuality has always been a part of that character when he was human, before he was a vampire, and I think that’s something he’s always embraced. It’s also something that’s quite heavily embraced in the vampire world as well, so it’s a nice space for that to work. And then once you become a very powerful being, the mess of humanity, all of these rules and things, they don’t matter.

io9

Q: Why are vampires associated with queerness?

SR: It’s being an outsider but also owning it, and owning a space. And they’re sexy and cool. They’re awesome.

JA: There’s definitely as well something about growing up marginalised, and sometimes (…) you feel like you relate to the monsters more when you grow up othered. You feel like “Oh, this is supposed to be scary but this creature’s being treated the same way that I’ve been treated sometimes”. There’s just something very welcoming and comforting about that and I think those ideas exist together.

SR: And they also live life by their own rules, define their own terms. It’s their own space, it’s not within any conformity. And actually, in our show, we do that a lot, like “Why are you so interested in this bullshit human existence?” I mean, there’s so much more than being confined to one thing or being told that you’re one thing by society.

Pride.com

Q: In this version, the queer subtext is out the door, it is fully textual. Why do you think that was important for this version?

SR: I mean, it’s funny when we talk about subtext because, like, I was a fan of the books previous to being a part of it, and I can see why, particularly in the first book, it could be considered subtext. But I feel like, especially from the second book or even the second half of the first book, it’s really text. And so I feel like it wouldn’t be Anne Rice’s IWTV or Anne Rice’s universe or Vampire Chronicles if that wasn’t properly dealt with and addressed. And as soon as you get through the fact that they’re in a romantic relationship and that they love each other very deeply, then you get to really look at what the hell this relationship was about, what are the nuance and the complexities of it, cause it’s not as straightforward.

ScreenRant at SDCC 2022

SR: I’m really excited for Anne Rice fans to actually get to see Louis and Lestat in a romantic relationship, and we’re not shying away from that in any way, shape or form at all, and don’t even bother… It’s straight up from the very beginning.

Q: Can’t say they’re besties?

SR: Never. No, it’s love at first sight.

JA: They actually kind of don’t like each other. They’re just very in love.

SR: Yeah, very in love. I mean, it’s love at first sight and Anne was very clear about that, for Lestat at least. Had to do a bit of wooing to get him there, but he gets there. So I’m excited for people to see that, because everyone deserves it.

TV Guide

SR: You can see these two monsters, these two men, kissing under Jesus Christ like they’re supposed to be and like they’re valued and important in the eyes of God, and they’re loved; or like they’re the antichrist and they’re here to burn that church down.

TV Insider

Q: Sam, Louis and Lestat’s romance is made explicitly clear in this version, and other than it being loyal to the book, why do you think that’s important for a modern series?

SR: I mean, it’s what exists in the world. Sometimes you hear people say that we’ve made the subtext text when actually we’ve just gone back to the text. It exists. So it’s important to honour that because that’s what was written and that’s why a lot of people love these stories. This love story exists and it’s a complicated love story and they’re complicated monsters who are in love. It would be a real shame if we didn’t honour that.

Vanity Fair / Little Gold Men Podcast(June ’24)

Q: I know a lot of queer viewers who have been drawn to this show, because it’s telling this really unabashed and fluid queer story that’s also […] this bizarre melange of tones and ideas. That feels like something that this community hasn’t gotten a whole lot of, and I think that’s one of the reasons it’s resonated so strongly.

JA: And that’s what I mean. If there were people that didn’t know that we could do this, didn’t know that this existed, that there was this space. That’s where I’m excited for more people to watch it. I don’t want to generalize about areas of America or the UK, but there are areas where you don’t get access to it. I think we can be very London-centric, LA-centric, New York-centric, and only see that. I would love it if there’s a kid who really needs this and sees it and is like, “I’m going to do my own thing,” or that’s just like, “I’m going to go out into the world feeling a little bit more comfortable in my skin today.” That’s beautiful.

Time Out (August ’24)

Q: It’s a LGBTQ+-centred story. Is it important to you to be a part of queer narratives?

JA: It’s unapologetic about its queerness and that’s beautiful. I see so many stories that skirt around things because they don’t want to offend anyone. My character is a Black creole man and he’s queer and he’s kind of awful, but those things aren’t all tied in together. For me, that’s the dream of representation: that our behaviour isn’t entirely tied in with our identity.

[winterironevents]

June 10th - July 20th, 2023

It's been a minute!

Look under the cut for the amazing works made in the past month and a half-ish.

We will be returning to our normal Saturday schedule next week.

Thanks to @massivespacewren as always for the incredible fanart you see here.

Now let's get to some WinterIron goodies!

The Theory of Love, Electric by Halfpennybuddha

Rated: M

Tags: No archive warnings apply, Princess Diaries AU, Royal AU, High School AU, Gay Bucky Barnes, Bisexual Tony Stark, implied/referenced drug use, implied/referenced self-harm, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Bullying, non-consentual kiss, no sex, but minor over clothes frottage and kissing, Tony & Bucky are both 18, dancer Bucky Barnes, Steve Rogers is a Good Bro, endless shopping, implied/referenced alcohol abuse, underage drinking (not main characters), mentions of cancer, mentions of serious illness (past), supportive family, family feels, Jewish Bucky Barnes, unplanned pregnancy, light angst

Summary: "“Even after his tragic death, it should not have changed much regarding succession. I…well, I was still in good health, though in mourning. But now…your grandfather’s death last year, and my testicular cancer, you see. The treatment…well, I am sterile, Iacob.”

Bucky dropped his sandwich.

AKA The Winteriron Princess Diaries AU that nobody asked for."

Takin’ What They’re Givin’ (‘Cause I’m Workin’ for a Livin’) - Chapter 8: Mission Six: Breaking All the Rules by @polizwrites

Rated: E

Tags: Identity Porn, camboy!Bucky, Iron Man Tony Stark/Modern Bucky Barnes, Cap!Steve/Modern Bucky Barnes, oral sex, anal sex, Sugar Daddy, Revelations, Happy Endings

Summary: Bucky's little camboy sidegig - where he plays 'Special Agent Jay' -- gets him attention from an unexpected quarter. Chapter 8 Bucky finally makes it to Seoul, and so do two people very important to him.

My Love is Vengeance - Chapter 4 by @polizwrites

Rated: T

Tags: Canon Divergence, young!Tony, bodyguard!Winter Soldier, recovering!Bucky, POV Bucky, Hydra, double agent

Summary: "[Part of Behind Blue Eyes Series] Still disguised as Jacob, the Soldier goes to a club with Tony. Tony runs into trouble and they both reveal their feelings just before the Soldier’s hand is forced. Chapter 4: The next day, Tony and Bucky are separated and learn more about what Hydra expects of them before reuniting again. "

Surprise Afternoon Shopping by @endlesstwanted

Rated: E

Tags: Sugar Daddy AU, Lingerie, Semi-Public Sex

Summary: With Bucky’s promotion’s party this weekend, Tony’s taken on a surprise afternoon shopping session in search of clothes for the occasion. They just may or may not have spent all of it at Bucky’s regular sex shop.

Home Again (Chapter 31) by @scottxlogan

Rated: E

Tags: Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Canon Divergence - Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Supernatural Elements, Canon-Typical Violence, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, References to Depression, Bucky Barnes Has PTSD, Bucky Barnes & Sam Wilson Friendship, Pre-Relationship, Angst with a Happy Ending, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst and Tragedy, Angst and Romance, Blood Loss, Adult Content, Explicit Language, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Blood and Injury, Dreams and Nightmares, Slow Burn, Sexual Content

Summary: After a few surprising truths are revealed Bucky and Tony are reunited at the reservoir in Wakanda. Will it spell disaster or prove to be the happy ending they've both been searching for?

WinterIron Bingo - July 2023 Round Robin by AoifeLaufeyson, endlesstwanted, HadrianPeverellBlack, Politzania, scottxlogan, Sivan325

Rated: G

Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern: No Powers, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Love Confessions, Crushes, Mutual Pining

Summary: When Natasha talks Bucky into pretending to be her boyfriend so her nosy (but well-meaning) family will leave her alone -- the last thing Bucky expects is to run into his crush: Tony Stark.

Late-Night Requirements by @every-marveler-ever

Rated: G

Tags: Tony Stark is scared (but won’t admit it), Hydra

Summary: Hydra had always been a pain for them, but since dating Sam and Bucky, Hydra became a whole new level of scary to Tony. They said it would be easy, and simple, but Tony just couldn’t believe that.

Love You Doll by Aralia Tutela

Rated: T

Tags: Living Doll

Summary: Put me away like a doll when they didn't need me.' Tony's mind caught on that phrase, and suddenly he knew what he could do to help his lover relax.

And So It Goes by @purpleicedteas

Rated: M

Tags: Single Dad Tony, Recluse Bucky, Brief mention of Pepper's breast cancer and death; Silver Fox Bucky, Silver Fox Tony, Single Dad Tony, Engineer Tony, Former FBI Agent Bucky, Recluse Bucky, Alpine the Cat

Summary: Bucky Barnes was a retired FBI agent living as a recluse. Content with a solitary lifestyle, he lived for years with only the company of Alpine, his feline companion. When the empty home next to theirs is filled with new neighbors, Alpine and Bucky find their lives weaving with the handsome engineer and his daughter.

Never Have I Ever by @scottxlogan

Rated: E

Tags: Sexual Content, Jealousy, Implied/Referenced Cheating, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Not Steve Rogers Friendly, Past Steve Rogers/Tony Stark, Past Bucky Barnes/Steve Rogers, Minor Sharon Carter/Steve Rogers, Light Bondage, Angst with a Happy Ending, Light Angst, Blindfolds, Restraints, Declarations Of Love, Established Relationship, Angst, Alcoholic Tony Stark, Past Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism

Summary: When the team gets together to spend a night under the stars playing a game of Never Have I Ever, it opens the door to a tense situation where Bucky and Tony are left facing an uncomfortable truth about the history they have with Steve. Will it prove to be the think that pulls their blossoming relationship apart or will it bring them closer together when everything is said and done?

Its Vital Heat by @halfpennybuddha

Rating: G

Tags: James "Bucky" Barnes/Tony Stark, Winifred Barnes/George Barnes, Meeting the Parents, Modern Art

Summary:

“You don’t recognize me, do you?” He couldn’t tell if her voice was teasing or reproachful, and it made him a bit nervous.

“Uh, no, ma’am. I’m sorry.” She laughed, then, the sound a bit like the tinkling of bells.

“Don’t fret so, child. My name is Maria Stark. My son has spoken of you often the past few weeks.” She informed him, taking a delicate sip of her drink.

Oh, God. Tony’s mother.

A Sugar-Coated Pill - Chapter 2 by @polizwrites

Rated: T

Tags: No Powers AU, A/B/O AU, Sugar Daddy AU, Political Campaigns, Amputee!Bucky, Alpha!Bucky, young!Tony, Omega!Tony, Slow Dancing

Summary: Now that they have a few events under their belts, Bucky and Tony start to get more comfortable around one another during a Fourth of July party.

Looking At You by @scottxlogan

Rated: M

Tags: 5+1 Things, Romance, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Sex, Falling In Love, Jealousy, Yoga, Light Angst, Happy Ending, Digital Art, Prompt Fic

Summary: Bucky reflects on those five times he's seen Tony in his yoga pants and the way they made an impact on him. Later Tony reflects on the one time he saw Bucky in his.

The Upside by @otpcutie

Rated: E

Tags: body swap AU, found family, transguy Tony, flirting, teasing, mutual pining, boys in love, fluff, jerking off, smut

Summary: Tony and Bucky give each other permission to get off while body swapped.

[thelioncourts]

Hii, I'm not sure if you answer anons but I've just found your blog as I was looking for iwtv blogs :) I've not read the books and only just watched first four episodes of season 1 but really love watching Lestat and Louis together. I have read they're endgame (I hope they are as so far as I do love seeing them together). I just wondered (if you've read the books and apologies for my book innocence) 😂🤦‍♀️ but is S1 a make the most of it seeing the guys together as in future seasons they'll mostly be separated and with others as I assume the books show? And I hope both actors will hopefully come back in future seasons to see the characters as endgame? 🤔🤞

hi there! sorry for the late reply, I have not been online as much lately. I will preface this that I have 1) watched all of season 1 of iwtv an embarrassing amount of times (in the 15+ times range) and 2) have read all 13 books and 3) keep up, pretty religiously, with what the showrunners and cast are saying about the characters and plot and whatnot.

so -- and of course this is my speculation based on all the above -- I think louis and lestat will be separated in the show to a point, but i don't think it's going to be for very long. i think we will see them reunite and i think they will, for the most part, stay united. here's why i'm assuming this:

general book stuff: so as you haven't read the books, here's a general gist re: louis and lestat. lestat becomes the "main character" of the vampire chronicles with louis appearing less and less and less in the series, up until (honestly) the last handful of books where he and lestat seem to connect in a way they just. hadn't in the past, and they become each other's everything and become such an established endgame. we can get into the logistics of why (if anyone ever wants to ramble about louis-is-anne-and-anne-had-issues-with-herself, just hit me up), but yeah. that's what happens.

show: the show has -- as I'm sure you've seen -- deviated from the books in many ways. i, personally, love every change. the heart of the vampire chronicles is so there, so vivid, and the characters' personalities are still so very them. but the plot has changed in many ways, leaving even book fans up in the air as to what might be happening or what will happen.

as the show has already given us more of a play-by-play of louis and lestat's early romance (something never given to us in the books as we only get louis' anger at lestat), it is setting us, as an audience, up for this: no matter where the show goes, louis and lestat as a couple are going to be incredibly important to the plot because you don't base an entire introductory season around a relationship without making it relevant to the remainder of the show.

there's also the way television works vs. books. everyone can say whatever they want, but the vampire chronicles -- as they are written -- would not do well on television because television audiences get attached to love stories where the vampire chronicles have too many relationships-not-relationships going on. sure, dedicated rice fans would watch an exact adaptation, but that's not how you keep shows on television; you need more people.

audiences are clearly infatuated with sam and jacob's portrayal of lestat and louis' relationship. the ship is huge, the chemistry between the actors is huge, and iwtv, if smart (and i think they are), will capitalize on that. people will watch all of season 4 (whatever season 4 may be) just to watch louis checking to see if lestat is okay after akasha or just to watch lestat cradle louis' face in an intense planning situation, etc.

i very much see sam and jacob being attached to this project as long as the project lasts and i very much see lestat and louis being together and together and together much more in this than in the books. their love story will be the ultimate selling point.

[starlight-time-machine]

Week in Review

03/10/2024 – 03/16/2024

Sunday

Week 5 of missing Cipher Academy.

Monday

I was pretty excited for today’s episode of Game Changer, because the Sam Says episodes are usually some of the best and I love Lou, Jacob, and Vic…but unfortunately this one fell short of my expectations. The general vibe felt like they pushed slightly too far into the psychological torture range, and the players didn’t really put up a good fight so it was just beat down after beat down, coupled with really hard prompts that cost them tens of points at a time. And what was the purpose of the swear jar if those points didn’t end up going to anyone…just another kind of mean thing to tack onto their other commands… The episode ending with everyone losing a bunch of points and Jacob only winning by chance feels like such a far cry from the mind-boggling triumph that Ally ended the last Sam Says episode on. I don’t know, I think this game might be getting a little stale, and unless they can get players who can match Sam beat for beat, future episodes are just going to keep raising the stakes and making the players miserable, and I don’t really want to watch that.

Manga Monday time…Girl Meets Rock is fun. I genuinely forgot that Tamaki existed, but she works well as a stand-in. My points about the other possible guitar members still stand, though. Also fun to see Rin continuing her weird girl era.

Undead Unluck is great, it’s so gratifying to get these lore drops every chapter. And Top getting his super bombastic literally around the world finishing move is fantastic, and a great cap on this arc.

RuriDragon is okay…someone did a Twitter thread praising its translation, so now I overanalyze the dialogue whenever I read it…and it actually kind of annoys me. The writing strikes me as trying a little too hard to be young and modern, but the translator doesn’t actually know what young people talk like. The mom’s dialogue felt the most egregious to me – I get that she’s supposed to be like a millennial mom, but the way they wrote her dialogue feels so unnatural and stilted…it got to the point where it was actively hampering my enjoyment. But I don’t want to come across like a bad faith “all localization bad” Twitter guy…and I often have this same complaint with the dialogue of adult fiction novels, so it might just be me who’s the fringe weirdo who doesn’t know what normal people sound like. It was cute seeing Ruri and her mom hang out, though, I feel like we don’t get a lot of strong mother daughter relationships in anime or manga. But if I’m being honest…I do want the story to get some sort of direction soon…otherwise I think I might drop it.

I can’t believe they did the “only one bed” trope in Dandadan. I like the frog design sense of this world… Momo and Zuma are a cute duo, and the last scene was super sweet, but I couldn’t bring myself to enjoy it because not only are Momo and Otarun obviously endgame, it’s kind of tiring that all three conventionally attractive guys in this friend group are interested in Momo (I mean the mecha otaku guy is also interested, but it’s played off as a joke because of course it is)… I can accept it with Jiji because the “childhood friend with whom you have a different sort of bond” thing was an interesting dynamic, especially as Jiji and Otarun became friends in their own right, but this is getting a little ridiculous… I need the non-Momo and non-Otarun members of this group to start being interested in each other!!! Give me some unexpected ship fodder!!! It’s ripe for fun teen drama, why are we concentrating all the guys on Momo and half the girls on Otarun when, by default, a bunch of those affections are going to end in failure?? Ugh.

Magilumiere whatever. Shigemoto and Sakura bonding was cute, but the rest of the chapter was just typical basic manga comedy stuff. Oh no this anime girl made some shockingly bad food, who could’ve guessed…

Chainsaw Man okay…I’ve been trying to ignore it, because being a mangaka is such a hazardous career and we’ve lost so many big names in recent years…but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss the more detailed art style of Part 1. Finer linework aside, even the panel layouts of Part 1 felt more memorable and unique…it’s just a bit of a shame. I guess I just wish the whole industry was better, but there’d have to be so many changes for that to happen.

I can’t tell if I’m just having an off day where I find everything annoying, or if everything being slightly disappointing is making me have a bad day…agh.

Okay, at least the Undead Unluck episode was pretty good. The constant stops for attack name title cards were a little annoying for the fight’s momentum, but I get that they’re just trying to emulate the pop that those titles have in the manga. I appreciated some of the artsy direction, like Juiz shoving Remember in Victor’s head or the Andy/Fuuko kiss at the end…that panel was what got me to read the manga in the first place, so I have a soft spot for it. It’s also fun that this episode released around when the new manga chapter did, as we have these parallel discussions about soul and what they mean in the context of this world’s rules…it’s impressive that Tozuka really had things planned out to this extent.

Rewatched Succession season 3 episode 3 because I wanted to feel something (and watch something good to make up for the rest of today). This episode holds a special place in my heart for being the one where, when I watched it for the first time, I finally “got” the show. I had enjoyed season 1 and 2 a decent amount, but I kept waiting for bigger and more dramatic moments typical to a corporate drama, only to feel let down by the bathos and subtlety that Succession often likes to employ. But this episode was the one where everything finally clicked for me, and I understood the themes and tone that the show was trying to convey. The shifts of power between Kendall and Shiv are so subtle but gratifying to watch play out as this conflict intersects between the corporate and the personal and the familial – the Rape Me scene and the long Kendall walk down the hallway are both already all-timers, but the FBI raid at the end and Kendall watching it with the most ambiguous expression on his face is really just the cherry on top. As always, everything in Succession is firing on all cylinders at all times, but it’s done so masterfully that you don’t even notice it unless you’re actively thinking about it. It’s such a feast.

Tuesday

Against my better judgement, I’m watching Evilive, another Korean drama. I haven’t had good luck with K-dramas in the past (I’ve only watched two but they both pissed me off), and I’m sure this one is also rife with over the top ridiculous drama that’ll annoy me (oh boy this guy’s the EVILEST GUY and he’s gonna drag this other guy into his OHOHO EVIL SCHEMES for the ULTIMATE EVIL), but…goddammit the gifs of the big evil guy interacting with the older glasses guy were so intensely yaoiful that I had to see what this was about… They may not actually be gay, but I can enjoy the tension nonetheless.

So far it’s been okay. There were some eye-rolly moments, but I also enjoyed some of the more artful direction and shot composition.

Wednesday

Started watching Nisemonogatari because I needed something to pair with my dinner and it’s pretty fun so far. As ever, Monogatari’s set design feels so surreal but familiar, like they’re trying to capture the feeling of a location rather than its actual architecture. I think it’s fair to say that that’s my favourite part of the show so far. I only got through two episodes, and they’re a bit slow in terms of story, but I’m looking forward to learning more about Araragi’s little sisters.

Thursday

粉蒸肉 and DunMesh make a great pair, especially when today’s episode was as fantastic as I was hoping it’d be. It had an equal dose of everything – kinetic action, comedic moments, genuinely harrowing stakes, and a great hook for the ending. It was a given that the group’s well laid plans last episode would immediately go awry, but seeing each member of the group improvise and contribute their skills to the eventual victory is incredibly satisfying (as Laios says, they couldn’t have done it without everyone being there. Shoutout to Chilchuck for the knife throw that made me yell out loud when I read it for the first time). But Laios sacrificing his leg to get the kill is the highlight of the fight, and it really demonstrated his determination and love for Falin. I also love how they had to systematically cut through the dragon’s organs before finally finding Falin’s bones – DunMesh’s down to earth approach to the cycle of life and death and consumption makes their task feel all the more insurmountable and real. I really can’t wait to see this arc conclude next episode. (Also Marcille’s magic runes had sound effects that reminded me of Cardcaptor Sakura, and I liked that.)

Friday

I’m happy to see that Undead Unluck is continuing its strong episode streak, especially when Anno Un is one of my favourite characters and his backstory is so uniquely painful and heartwrenching…his family just being him and his mom drives the tragedy home even more when he seemingly disappears… But Anno finding meaning in his art is so important to me personally, and I feel like Tozuka really poured his heart out through this character. The other highlight of the episode was BUNNY!!!!!!!!!!!!! BABY GIRL AGOO BNUUY!!!!!!!!!!! SHE’S SOOOOOOOOO CUTE AND BABY AHHHHHHHHH She’s reading manga!!!! NOOO SHE’S GETTING SLAPPING AND TOSSED AROUND AND HER LITTLE “WEH” AND THE WAY SHE’S SO SQUISHY AND ROUND AHHHHHHHHHH This was such a good episode. AND THE PREVIEW WITHOUT ANY NARRATION WAS SO CHILLING AND THEMATICALLY APPROPRIATE BECAUSE NOW ANNO DOESN’T KNOW WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH Also wow Sean really got sliced in half huh. RIP, you’ll do better next time.

Saturday

Went outside for once, so there’s nothing for today.

[babyboibucky]

Deserve Better

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader

Summary: Bucky disappeared and came back only to say goodbye.

Word Count: 2,887

Warnings: angsty angsty angsty angsty angsty

A/N: Post-endgame timeline with lotsa angst! Included Andy Barber here because why the fuck not but he’s really not a major character lol

Deserve Better || Undeserving || Deserve The Best

MAIN MASTERLIST

-

The day you got Bucky back was the same day he said goodbye. He left you— said it was for the best— just as when your fingertips touched him for the first time after five years of longing.

Your reunion with Bucky after the snap was nothing like the movies, far from it actually. A lot of things happened when he was snapped back, in between the battle with Thanos and Tony’s funeral. Besides, you weren’t an Avenger; you didn’t work for SHIELD nor the CIA. In fact, you remained oblivious of the battle that was going on until the moment of chaos caused by the sudden reappearances of half of the world’s population.

And then you received a message from Steve, about the tragedy and the sacrifice of Tony Stark. He was inviting you to the funeral and as much as you felt devastated from the loss of a hero, you couldn’t help but focus your attention on the last line of Steve’s message.

Bucky’s going to be there too. He’s back. He needs you to be there with him.

It wasn’t until the funeral was over that you finally got to have Bucky all to yourself. You had locked gazes when you arrived and staring back into his beautiful blue eyes again made your knees weak.

Bucky was really back.

“Hi.” He greeted you first, his voice remained the same— soft and gentle.

One word was enough to make you feel the warmth of his existence. Hearing him, seeing him again felt like finally coming home after a very long, tiring day.

“Hi, Buck.” You whispered.

Bucky’s smile was all it took for the dam to finally break. You’d burst into tears right then and there and you were more than ready to feel his arms around you after years of hugging yourself to sleep during his absence.

But the warmth never came. If any, Bucky stopped himself from doing so. You frowned when he took a step back from you, extending his metal arm to keep you at a certain length away from him.

“I’m sorry.” He uttered, refusing to meet your gaze.

“What do you mean?”

“I have to go.” He explained, gently squeezing your arm before rubbing circles on your skin using his thumb.

You didn’t understand why Bucky needed to go when he just got back. You just got him back. You had spent years crying over his disappearance only for him to come back and disappear again?

Bucky explained that he thought he got better but things have become so vastly different after the snap that it left him feeling broken and different again. He told you about Steve’s decision to go back in time, never to return again. How Tony’s death made him feel like it was too late to set things straight and how he would probably carry the guilt and regret from not being able to apologize for what he had done.

“I’ll help you, Buck. We’ll work through this together. I want to be by your side when things get better.” You insisted, tears blurring your vision as you tried to reach for Bucky, wanting to feel him again after such a long time.

But Bucky kept on moving away from you, he kept on pushing you away and you wanted to understand why he wouldn’t let you touch him.

“I’ll only hurt you, I don’t want that to happen. I want to get better because you deserve better. But I can’t do that with you because this...this is something that I gotta figure out by myself.” He further explained.

You shook your head, unable to accept his decision. “Buck...I don’t think I can lose you again. I just got you back...I can’t afford to lose you again, please?”

When you attempted to reach for Bucky’s hand, he finally let you. You quickly entwined your fingers through his metal ones and savored how they felt against your skin. They were cold as usual, but Bucky always oozed a certain warmth that made you feel safe.

But now they’re just that— cold and hard.

“I love you. I’ll wait, Bucky.” You murmured and tugged at his hand before he could even let you go.

Bucky smiled sadly at you, “You don’t have to, doll.”

You shook your head and brought Bucky’s hand to your lips as you cried, “I want to. And I will.”

Pressing one final kiss on his hard knuckles, you watched Bucky slip his hand away from yours before turning around to leave. You felt your chest tighten as if you lost all the oxygen in your lungs the same way you lost Bucky.

Losing him the second time around proved to be even more painful. Because this time, he didn’t just disappear.

He walked away.

-

You waited for Bucky to come home to you for days and weeks until they turned into months...and then years. Still, no Bucky walked through your doorstep but you never stopped hoping.

Sleep was such a rare occurrence to you since Bucky walked away. How do you honestly cope with the loss of someone when you haven’t even healed yet from his first disappearance? You wanted to get mad at him, curse him for suddenly deciding to leave you. But you felt selfish for even thinking about that, because Bucky left to better himself.

To be better for you. He said so himself.

So you kept waiting for him to come back. You made it your reason to keep going. You looked forward to the day you’d hear your door open followed by his heavy foot steps. You wondered, would he smell the same then? Would he still be using your favorite perfume on him? One that smelled like cedar wood and mint and well, Bucky. Would his hair still be of the same length? What about his beard? Would he shave them off before coming back home?

How about his gaze? Would his blue ones still look at you as if you were his moon?

As much as these thoughts made you miss him more, they were the ones that you held onto. They were like your glimmer of hope on nights you were the loneliest, on nights you cried and dreamt of his return only to wake up to an empty, cold space beside you.

You held onto these thoughts every single day in hopes of them becoming real soon enough.

People have told you to move on, to not waste your time waiting for someone who walked away just like that. But you trusted Bucky when he said he wanted to be better because you deserved better. You couldn’t move on, not from Bucky.

You love him with your entire being, so much that his absence caused you physical pain too. You couldn’t even find the right words to describe how much you love Bucky.

In the three years that you spent waiting, you’d met a lot of people too. People who showed interest but none of them really won you over.

You’d met a man named Andy through work. He was a lawyer and was dealing with his own divorce. The connection was there and you wouldn’t deny that.

Two people dealing with the grief from losing someone they love, it wasn’t that hard not to find a common ground. And you did find some solace in Andy and him in you. But it was just that, nothing more and nothing less.

“How has it been?” You asked Andy after he had settled into the booth across of you.

The restaurant was surprisingly scarce on a Sunday morning. Usually there were plenty of customers, their chatters overpowering the soft music playing in the background. Now, it was peaceful and the radio was turned off. There were only the clinks of plates of being set on tables and the footsteps of the staff walking around the place as they attended to the few customers around.

It was serene and peaceful, pretty much like Andy’s aura when he arrived.

“I wouldn’t say I’m fine but I guess I’m at a much better place now than before.” He said with a nod, as if he was finally agreeing with himself after questioning his emotions for the past few months.

You offered a kind smile and placed a hand on top of his, “It shows, Andy. I’m glad. I’m happy for you.” You said.

He had been going through a lot of emotions since he signed the divorce papers. He didn’t want to but knew it was for the best. Andy had a son, Jacob, and he didn’t want for his son to grow up in an environment where his parents no longer slept on the same bed. As much as he loved Laurie, the relationship was no longer working and was becoming toxic the more they stayed together.

“And you?” Andy asked back before calling the waiter.

You let out a deep breath, “Still waiting.” You chuckled as your stared at your hand that remained on top of Andy’s.

Andy spared you an apologetic glance but nodded, “I do hope he knows how lucky he is.” He said, turning his palm up so he could hold your hand.

To others, the gesture may seem romantic but it really wasn’t. You and Andy both knew that despite the similarities and the comfort you found in each other, the both of you were not meant to be together in that way.

Your heart still belonged to Bucky after all.

-

When you received an invitation from Sam Wilson, you felt confused and excited. There was going to be a huge gala at the compound to honor Steve Rogers’ legacy as Captain America.

You’d heard the news about Steve’s passing not long after he went back in time. He finally got to live the life he deserved and when he came back, it was as if everything had been corrected. He may no longer be the super soldier that many knew but he remained the same person— but he wasn’t the man out of time anymore. Despite his white hair and wrinkles, Steve looked the happiest he had ever been.

You wondered how Bucky coped up with such a huge loss, you always worried for him.

It sparked debate though, Steve’s decision to leave the Avengers. Some got angry, said that Steve was selfish for doing that. Others showed sympathy, that Steve didn’t owe the world anything. He’d spent a lifetime fighting for everyone. It was time that he fought for himself and what he deserved. And Sam fought just as hard for Steve’s legacy and finally, all his hard work finally paid off.

What confused you was whether Bucky was going to be there? Does he know about the gala? Was he finally back? If he was, why hasn’t he come home to you yet? You had so many questions that you wanted to ask.

The answers though, were literally in the palm of your hand— the invitation.

-

It was no surprise how big the gala was. Just on your way inside, you’d already come across a lot of big personalities. There were politicians and popular celebrities too. You felt intimidated given that you went by yourself and that you weren’t really part of their world.

You were just you, someone who had fallen in love with one Bucky Barnes who introduced you to the world of superheroes. The rest was history.

“I’m so glad you’re here!” You turned around and found Sam approaching you with a huge smile.

You embraced him and smiled as you pulled away, “I wouldn’t miss this for the world.” You told him.

It was Steve and Sam that you’d met first and they were nothing but kind to you. Despite being well, ordinary, they welcomed you like their own when Bucky had introduced you.

Sam’s expression changed at your response, “I honestly thought that you wouldn’t show up after Bucky said—“

“Bucky?” You immediately cut him off upon hearing his name.

“Bucky’s back?” You asked and Sam had never looked more confused as ever.

He carefully nodded, brows knitting together as he frantically looked around. “I thought you knew about it.”

“How long? How long has it been since he came back, Sam?” You probed, feeling your throat constricting at the unexpected revelation.

Sam merely looked at you with what seemed to be pity. Why? Why was he looking at you like he was sorry? And why didn’t Bucky tell you when he came back? Was he simply not ready? Or was he waiting for the right time?

“Sam, how long?” You asked again, voice firmer this time around.

“A year ago. He decided to join the Avengers but wanted to undergo formal training before taking on the responsibility of one.” He responded.

You opened your mouth to say something but it’s as if your whole body was paralyzed. He had been back for an entire year now...and yet he kept you waiting?

A hand on your arm pulled you back to the surface, looking up at Sam you shook your head in utter confusion.

“I don’t understand why he didn’t tell me.”

Sam sighed, “I thought you knew. He said he saw you and—“

Sam’s words died on his tongue when he saw that your attention was no longer on him. Following the line of your sight, Sam turned around and saw that Bucky had walked into the venue. He swallowed and couldn’t hide the guilt he felt from assuming that you knew about his return. Before he could apologize, you’d brushed past him as you kept your gaze on Bucky.

Why he didn’t inform you of his return was beyond you and to be honest, you couldn’t bring yourself to care about it for now. Because Bucky was right in front of you and it felt like forever since you last saw him.

A lot has changed. He chopped off his hair but he still sported some scruff. Bucky looked closer to his younger self back in the 40’s. You remembered the conversation you had with him about cutting his hair.

“Should I cut it?” Bucky stood in your bathroom, observing his long locks in the mirror as he ran his fingers through them.

You walked over to him, hugging him from behind and pressing your lips on his back before moving to stand beside him.

“Do you want to?” you asked.

Bucky scrunched his nose, “Maybe in the future. I do miss my hair back then.” he smiled.

You chuckled, “Back when Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes used to sweep the ladies off of their feet?” you teased.

Bucky turned to you and wrapped an arm around your wait pulling you closer to kiss your lips, “Hmm, I wanna see if that hair will have the same effect on you.” he said and kissed your cheek.

You hummed as you caressed his face with your delicate hands, “I’d like to see that too, but maybe you should keep the scruff.”

But it wasn’t just his hair that changed. It was his entire demeanor— his aura seemed a lot lighter now, he seemed happier and confident. You knew it for a fact because he wasn’t wearing a glove to hide his metal hand. It was out on display for everyone to see and shake, apparently.

You watched in awe as Bucky interacted with the people around him. He used to avoid eye contact with strangers but now he seemed relaxed doing so. Although he would still open and close his metal hand, something he did whenever he was anxious. The crowd still made him uncomfortable but he’s shown a lot of improvement since then.

The question as to why he never told you about his return continued to linger in the back of your head. But you couldn’t stop yourself from smiling from ear to ear, eyes brimming with tears as you quickened your steps.

Your Bucky was finally back.

And then the world seemed to have stopped when a certain blonde walked over to Bucky, her hand sliding over to his cheek as she leaned up to press a quick peck on his lips.

You knew her of course, Sharon Carter; and you knew about her and Steve. It was Bucky himself who told you about them and how proud he was that Steve finally decided to try his luck at romance. Which is why you felt even more appalled at the scene playing before you.

The way Bucky slid an arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him and how he tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. How he was smiling down at her, whispering to her ear as they laughed.

Bucky was in love with Sharon. You didn’t have to ask him that anymore because he was looking at her like she was his moon, his source of light in the darkness.

You knew that because he looked at you the same way, back when you still had his heart.

Suddenly, the questions plaguing your mind found their answers. You understood now why he never came home to you.

He did get better, you could tell that by the way he smiled and laughed.

Bucky was better now, but not for you. At least, not anymore.

-

Everything Bucky Tag List:

@ddowii @jessou893 @stealapizzamyheart @bagelofthelord @mxnt @dontputyourfckingdrinkonmytable @jeeperky @ohladymacbeth @wildflowergubler @supraveng @twinerd14 @buckysmar  @bakugouswh0r3

[elisaintime]

I just checked out IMDb and it says Bailey (Claudia) is only in one episode (which we know is not true) so maybe there is an mistake with the Antoinette actress being in four episodes?? I think we have to wait till the series is out to know if Antoinette is going to be in the series post episode 3 and what her story is going to be if she stays in the show.

There is at least going to be some drama in episode 3 with Lestat, Louis and Antoinette and maybe even with Jonah and we’re going to see the jealous side of both Louis and Lestat.

But I’m glad that we know and that is was said that Louis and Lestat are the love story in the series and that they’re home to each other. They’re soulmates.

I’m glad that all books are out and that the creators, writers, etc. know how the books ends and that Louis and Lestat are endgame which will definitely play a role in further seasons/scripts since they might add some new things into it bc like you said Sam and Jacob are the mains and I’m sure it won’t change in further seasons so they might switch, add or change some things but with the thoughts in their head that Loustat is endgame.

(Sorry it turned out longer than I thought 🙈)

You are the second person to ask about IMDB! I just answered that question in a previous reply, so you can see my thoughts about it here. I also talked about Louis and Lestat's soulmateness here.

But as for the show seeing them as endgame... I'm not so sure about that. Sadly.

We know from the original casting call, that the actor for Lestat would be contracted for 5 series (originally, the show was going to be multiple 1-season miniseries, each focusing on a different book, not one big show with many seasons). And the actor for Louis was contracted for only ONE series, with the addition of 2 episodes in a future series. Now the structure of the show has changed, and the "mini-series" for IWTV has been stretched over 2 or 3 seasons, so obviously Louis will continue to appear in the full series, but I don't think that means that he will be in any of the rest of the 5 (or more) series they planned for Lestat (except for two (2) episodes in...the Queen of the Damned series, maybe??)

But what does this mean for their epic love story?? you ask. Well...it doesn't look good. At least not based on what was ORIGINALLY planned for the saga. It sounds like the original plan was to tell Louis and Lestat's love story in the IWTV series, and then focus on Lestat's solo adventures for the rest of the 5 series that the Lestat actor was contracted for, with Louis only making that brief cameo appearance. This makes me think that their love story was PLANNED to come to an end after the IWTV story arc.

Now, MAYBE this has changed since the original plan...they clearly made some changes along the way during production--expanding the IWTV story arc from one single 8-episode season to a multi-season series, etc. But I'm not holding my breath. They clearly already had a PLAN for what they wanted to do with Lestat's story for the rest of his 5 series contract, a plan that probably already involved outlines for each season that have already been written, and that plan does not include Louis. Changing it to be about Louis/Lestat as a forever-couple would mean a huge change and overhaul to the whole plan that got the show greenlit in the first place, and I honestly don't have much hope for that. They planned the romancey IWTV miniseries already knowing that the romance wouldn't last. Will they change their minds and alter the entire layout of the saga they already had envisioned?? Possibly. But not probably.

Also, we know that Louis's story ends with him alone WITHOUT Lestat in modern times during his second interview with old Daniel, AND with a new companion/boyfriend, Rashid. And, like, a huge plot point of the IWTV story arc is that Louis and Lestat break up. Louis leaves Lestat pretty epically. And I'm sure the emotional component of their cataclysmic breakup will be different in the show (based on how romancey they're making it), but the breakup does obviously still happen. Louis moves on, finds someone new, and I'm guessing Lestat is going to do that as well, considering that in the books, Lestat is finding someone new to fall in love with every 5 minutes. Like no matter how much Louis and Lestat truly love each other deep in their hearts, they spend a LOT of time apart, not able to be together despite that love.

If the TV show does keep going with future series based on more books, will it have their romantic hundred-year-later reunion that's in the books at the end of TVL?? Probably. But will that mean that Loustat get to be a couple through all future seasons? Probably not, considering they didn't even think they would need to contract the Louis actor for those seasons. They clearly have other plans for Lestat's future as the star of the show that don't include Louis. Sadly.

But then why do they keep talking about Louis and Lestat as this super romance?? Well, they never say it's the ONLY romance, do they? They just say its A romance. Listen to how carefully they phrase things. And sometimes romances have ends! Sadly! Especially for immortal beings who have eternity to have other romances, and I can really see a TV show like this wanting to explore pairing Lestat with other actors in other roles to keep the audience invested in the new fresh hot dramatic romance of the week so they don't get bored with a happy old married couple on the screen. ALSO (and yes I know I'm being cynical here), I can see a TV show like this being like "we can only get away with being so gay and interracial, so Lestat needs to shift to female and/or white love interests in later seasons."

Sadly.

Would I love to be wrong about that?? Yes!! But I do not think it is likely.

[thecountesstribe]

I couldn't talk about it last night because my heart was literally SHATTERING INTO FUCKIN PIECES but I'm kinda complacent now. Spoilers and a long ass rant ahead.

I'm going to start by saying fuck you sam and the writers who wrote that episode. Have a shit day. How could y'all do us like that.

Ash, sweet sarcastic baby Ash... So y'all just killed Ashtray and think we're going to be okay?!!!! All Fez wanted to do was go to his future wife's play, look handsome and give her his note and her flowers. Was that too much to ask? Instead y'all had him dealing with Custer fuckin ass and a swat team. The absolute heartbreak when he was screaming for Ash to "come out and don't shoot"💔😭😭 WTF!!!! I'll defend Ashtray like a lawyer on retainer. Y'all better not have a bad word to say about him. He was just a kid and yes him starting a shootout and killing that asshole probably made it worse but there was no way Ash would go on living without Fez.... that's his brother and the only person in the world that he had. Fez screaming he's just a kid and begging the swat team not to shoot was literally too much. The whole bathroom scene with Ash crying and being stubborn proved he wasn't a hardass but a scared kid who's whole life was on big tragedy. He knew he was gonna lose Fez and that loyalty and love that Ash has for him is unmatched. It was reciprocated. Fez heart really fucked him over in the end. If he never took in Faye he wouldn't have had to deal with Custer and that shit. It's not like Custer could've talked to the cops and snitched without implicating himself and mouse for other shit. The beam slowly traveling up Ash body, then the thud and then watching Fez not look away, I'm sick. He watched him died bro..... y'all broke him. They didn't deserve that, they didn't. The trauma y'all left my baby with. Then the transition from Fez wounded in the hallway after just watching his brother die to Rue's speech " I was in the hall when you died" how the fuck am I supposed to be okay???? Count yo fuckin days Hbo and Sam!!!!!

Faye was really unsettling my spirit but I'm glad she spoke up. Should've done it sooner but I'm glad she atleast tried. She basically put herself in danger cause I'm pretty sure that is leading to Laurie being on the feds watch list. I really believe that this is one of the reasons that Rue wasn't snatched up as yet for the 10k.

Maddy protecting Lexie, love that for her. This season really showed how Maddy matured. She could've done worse to Cassie but the few licks she got in was enough for her. Her saying Nate is Cassie's problem now.... yes mama💅🏾. Let Cassie learn.

Cassie needs to get her shit all the way together. It ain't nothing left to say. She completely burned bridges and herself during the process and I hope the next time we see her she ain't still acting like a daft fuckin clown.

Thank you Mama Suze for trying to hold the play down. She's a sweetheart. Her telling them to watch their language then turning around and swearing LMAOOO. Parents man😅😅😅 but fuck Gus for breaking those girls heart.

Nathaniel Jacobs is still running around armed and we all know he's dangerous. Just because he turned Cal in doesn't mean he finally wants to be a good person. He said it his damn self, it was for revenge. He acknowledged Cal hurt his feelings but he also acknowledged he gets off on hurting people. If he goes after anybody from the play I'm going to end Nate Jacobs once and for all myself. We all know he ain't gonna let that shit go😪. Put Lexi and Ethan in witness protection and I want round the clock monitoring for them. I don't believe there is redemption for Nate, I'm sorry.

Lexi Howard deserves the world. Glad her and Rue made up. She was very much underappreciated and they took advantage of her cause they knew she's nice. I cannot believe we didn't get to know if/how she found out about Fez... and we got to wait 2yrs for it. This is some bullshit. Glad we saw more of her character this season. She really is fuckin fearless. Just give her and Fez their life on the prairie endgame, with their 3 kids and Lexi's writings.

Rue my darling, I'm so happy to see her sober and I'm glad she kept sober for the entirety of the remaining of the school year. Love that for her. I also love the fact that she's staying away from Jules and she needs to stay from Elliot. You're in danger my girl😅😅😅 and I have to wait until 2024 for these loose ends to get wrapped up. I'm not a patient person, I really am not.

It's still fuck Elliot and Jules till they confess for creepin around. The song was cute but it didn't need the whole 2mins. It's the finale not Eastland High junkies got talent. Could've done something else with that 3 mins.

The season finale really fed us crumbs. Now we gotta wait 2 years wtf😐😐😐. I'm in my first stage of grief btw. Ash aint dead, Fez isn't in jail and he and Lexi lived happily ever after on a farm and Ash is one of the best uncles to their kids in tv series multiverse. Till 2024 people.

[rose-tinted-juls]

juliana's fav tv shows updated: 26.07.2021.

la casa de papel / money heist (2017-) nationality: spanish created by: álex pina main actors: úrsula corberó, álvaro morte, itziar ituño, pedro alonso, miguel herrán, jaime lorente, esther acebo, alba flores short summary (imdb): "an unusual group of robbers attempt to carry out the most perfect robbery in spanish history - stealing 2.4 billion euros from the royal mint of spain." seasons: 4 - (season 5 is coming in september + december 2021) why i love it (in a few words): it's thrilling, all the characters are perfectly written, i love listening to spanish speech, the actors are awesome, SO INCREDIBLE PLOT, uncountable twists, i got attached so fast, i binge watched it, it never feels forced

band of brothers (2001) nationality: american created by: tom hanks, steven spielberg main actors: damian lewis, ron livingston, ross mccall, rick gomez, james madio, kirk acevedo, neal mcdonough, scott grimes, dexter fletcher, donnie wahlberg short summary (imdb): "the story of easy company of the u.s. army 101st airborne division, and their mission in world war ii europe, from operation overlord, through v-j day." - based on the book band of brothers by stephen e. ambrose seasons: 1 why i love it (in a few words): it's ww2 and i'm a huge ww2 enthusiast, i love hbo war, it shows the good and the bad, we follow the whole journey of these soldiers and it's amazing, the actors are absolutely incredible, their friendships are 100/10, the cinematography is beautiful, it's based on a true story

downton abbey (2010-) nationality: english created by: julian fellowes main actors: hugh bonneville, maggie smith, michelle dockery, dan stevens, robert james-collier, allen leech, penelope wilton, matthew goode, lily james short summary (imdb): "a chronicle of the lives of the british aristocratic crawley family and their servants in the early twentieth century." seasons: 6 + 1 movie (the second movie comes in december 2021) why i love it (in a few words): it has phenomenal actors, the plot is exciting-thrilling, there are twists you don't expect, so many love stories and i love them, fantastic characters, it's often so funny i can't stop laughing, dame maggie smith and her performance as the dowager is just incredible and i love her, costumes on point, tom branson o.o

broadchurch (2013-2017) nationality: british created by: chris chibnall main actors: david tennant, olivia colman, jodie whittaker, arthur darvill short summary (imdb): "the murder of a young boy in a small coastal town brings a media frenzy, which threatens to tear the community apart." seasons: 3 why i love it (in a few words): david tennant, his scottish accent i can't-, olivia colman, their duo oh my god these two together are something extraordinary, it's such a thrilling show wow, SO MANY PLOT TWISTS, cinematography is phenomenal and gorgeous, it's so funny at times oh lord (especially david), it's impossible to stop watching

the pacific (2010) nationality: american created by: tom hanks, steven spielberg main actors: joe mazzello, jon seda, james badge dale, rami malek, ashton holmes short summary (imdb): "the pacific theatre of world war ii, as seen through the eyes of several young marines." seasons: 1 why i love it (in a few words): hbo war, it's ww2 and i'm such an enthusiast of it, joe mazzello is incredible oh my, it's a bit graphic (for some people it's too graphic and i can see why) but i love it, it makes you feel you're there fighting and like wow, actually all the actors are amazing in it, we see three different story lines so we get to know different aspects of the whole thing

the crown (2016-) nationality: british created by: peter morgan main actors: claire foy, matt smith, olivia colman, tobias menzies, vanessa kirby, helena bonham carter, josh o'connor, emma corrin short summary (imdb): "follows the political rivalries and romance of queen elizabeth ii's reign and the events that shaped the second half of the twentieth century." seasons: 4 - (season 5 and 6 are in the making) why i love it (in a few words): i've always been interested in queen elizabeth's life, this is a look inside the royal family that you don't often have, the actors are SO AMAZING, honestly sometimes it's so funny and then the next minute it's heartbreaking, it teaches me more about them than anything else, i guess it gives you their point of view so you can understand them a lil bit better, as a child i loved the british royal family so baby me is happy inside when i watch it

the falcon and the winter soldier (2021) nationality: american created by: malcolm spellman - stan lee main actors: anthony mackie, sebastian stan, wyatt russell, daniel brühl short summary (imdb): "following the events of 'avengers: endgame', sam wilson / falcon and bucky barnes / winter soldier team up in a global adventure that tests their abilities - and their patience." seasons: 1 why i love it (in a few words): i'm a huge marvel fan, my fav characters are sam and bucky, SEBASTIAN STAN, it's funny (honestly which marvel movie/series isn't?), the cinematography is gorgeous, the plot is great, fight scenes on point

biohackers (2020-) nationality: german created by: christian ditter main actors: luna wedler, jessica schwarz, adrian julius tillmann short summary (imdb): "a fast-paced thriller following medical student mia akerlund who discovers the use of highly advanced biohacking technology in her university town." seasons: 2 why i love it (in a few words): exciting, plays in a city i know, plot twists, the cinematography is amazing, a beautiful show honestly, the plot is interesting and one of a kind imo, the actors are pretty great

the mandalorian (2019-) nationality: american created by: jon favreau main actors: pedro pascal short summary (imdb): "the travels of a lone bounty hunter in the outer reaches of the galaxy, far from the authority of the new republic." seasons: 2 - (season 3 is coming) why i love it (in a few words): i love star wars and the star wars universe, pedro pascal is amazing, honestly i fell in love with pedro just by his voice literally without even knowing his face, BABY YODA, the character development, exciting plot, pretty awesome fight scenes, great actors

the queen's gambit (2020) nationality: american created by: scott frank, allan scott main actors: anya taylor joy, thomas brodie-sangster, harry melling, jacob fortune-lloyd short summary (imdb): "orphaned at the tender age of nine, prodigious introvert beth harmon discovers and masters the game of chess in 1960s usa. but child stardom comes at a price." seasons: 1 why i love it (in a few words): cinematography is beautiful, anya taylor joy is gorgeous, and she's such a talent oh my, i love chess, the plot, TBS is in it, it's a show you can't not binge watch it just pulls you in

( +1 )

peaky blinders (2013-) nationality: british created by: steven knight main actors: cillian murphy, paul anderson, helen mccrory, joe cole, finn cole short summary (imdb): "a gangster family epic set in 1900s england, centering on a gang who sew razor blades in the peaks of their caps, and their fierce boss tommy shelby." seasons: 5 - (season 6 is coming) why i love it (in a few words): i love mob stuff in general, so amazing actors oh my, cillian murphy, helen mccrory, it's so dark i love it, plot plot plot, the soundtrack is phenomenal (especially when it's arctic monkeys shhh), it's british (yay)

[youngbugandtonystank]

I’ve seen a lot of things on Twitter recently about the hype over white ppl vs black ppl at marvel on Twitter about how ppl always hype up the white actors and characters but never the black ones .. and about how the black character don’t get that much attention weather it be interviews or even with social media following ? I just wanted to know what are your thoughts about the subject?? I mean I kinda do agree .. with some of them about how they are feeling with the situation

This post can explain pretty well how racist Disney can get, especially with TV shows and movies. Here, let me share it:

This content was made by @anikawalia. You can find more of this in this source: x.

Some of these things happen with the MCU too. Well, Disney /= MCU.    

While I adore some of these friendships, it always bothered me how they make the black/POC characters the sidekicks and best friends:

White hero, sidekick of color: why Marvel needs to break the cycle

The problem with this is they get reduced to ‘sidekick/best friend’ when they can cast a black/POC person to be the protagonist instead. Some of those characters are disrespected in major ways in the MCU. They’ve missed several opportunities to introduce more non-white leads. And sometimes they don’t even get them the promo those characters deserve. Ned Leeds for example, Jacob Batalon was the only member of the main cast that didn’t get an official poster/promo for Far From Home, even if Ned has been a major part of Peter’s life and a big character in the previous movies to the point that he had a cameo in IW and Endgame, yet he didn’t get promo for a movie where he actively participates in. 

Or the fact that they kicked out Laura Harrier only to give a romantic relationship a spotlight. And when asked about it, Watts said Liz was probably older because of Laura’s age. Disrespectful af. Laura was very vocal about continuing in the MCU, and she didn’t even ask to be Peter’s love interest, no, she wanted to play a more important role in the franchise. She said she wanted Liz to become Firestar and even hinted that she wouldn’t mind playing Black Cat. People forget to credit her for being the first black lead female and love interest for a Spider-Man adaption. Nobody cared about that, they only said she was only a ‘love interest’ that we shouldn't care about because she's not MJ. And this is exactly the problem when they’re casting black/POC characters. They’re not accessories or representation points. If she wanted to continue and they clearly have space for characters like Betty Brant and Happy Hogan, then why is Liz not getting the same treatment? Sorry, I went off but this makes me really mad. You have no idea how excited Laura was about getting this role. Literally every interview, she mentioned how much she wanted to continue. 

Also, the Latin-American representation. I’m not even going to start with this because lmao I’m getting mad. I hope we see America Chavez, Anya Corazón, and Ava Ayala getting their rightful throne in this franchise. 

Here are some thoughts some of the actors shared about this:

"I’ve done seven Marvel movies where every producer, every director, every stunt person, every costume designer, every PA, every single person has been white," Anthony Mackie.

Laura Harrier thought Zendaya stole her role because she didn’t think Marvel was going to cast two black actresses in the same movie

Zoe Saldana: Because you’re not just dissing me, you’re dissing what that child considers important in their world.”

Benedict Wong: This idea of a manservant-sidekick. That’s not something that appeals to me. I sort of found that out myself, and I thought, “How can we change this?” Maybe there’s a kid who’ll watch and say, “Oh wow, there’s a superhero representing me.” That’s what we want from diversity.

Lashana Lynch: We didn't have to explain that Maria is Black, you can see that she is. She's raising a young Black child, as well." 

Jacob Batalon on critics are praising the diversity in the film. And how does that make him feel and what does it mean for him as a Filipino-American.

Michael Peña on How is the MCU doing in Latinx representation?

But we also should celebrate some wins here, our new James Bond is Lashana Lynch, our new Captain America is Sam Wilson, we have a canonical princess Shuri Udaku, and the queen of Asgard is Brunnhilde, let’s celebrate that♥ Also, War Machine deserves his own TV show on Disney +.

[vormirjumper]

Masterlist of my Gifs💗

Marvel 

Natasha Romanoff 

Natasha being done with everyone’s bullsh*t

It was never okay to let her go

Natasha’s last words

Natasha + Comforting her teammates

Natasha Romanoff on a motorbike is my religion🏍 Natasha Romanoff + being emotionally vulnerable 

me looking into the mirror realising how much weight i’ve gained since quarantine started 

Bucky shooting his shot with Natasha

Iron man 2 

The first 2 Avengers we saw on screen together were the first 2 Avengers to leave us :(

Are you blending in well here Natalie, here at Stark Enterprises™? Your name is Natalie isn't it?

You’re name is Natalie isn’t it

I've never fallen from quite this high Falling into your ocean eyes

Endgame

Retrieving the Infinity Stones 

character development NOT FOUND

Film/Series Parallels

Avengers Endgame (2019) | Defending Jacob (2020)

Avengers Endgame (2019) | The Good Place S4:E8 The Funerals To End All Funerals (2019)

FIlms

JoJo Rabbit

ROMAN GRIFFIN DAVIS and ARCHIE YATES in JOJO RABBIT (2019)

“Pluck up your courage, walk out that door, and have an incredible adventure. Okay?”

“I fell so in love with Rosie because she’s this kind of magical, warm, safe place. Everything she does comes out of love, like the love she has for her child. She loves being a mom and she has this worldly history and she’s traveled. She’s vaudevillian and sees the magic in small moments and is an epicurean." - Scarlett Johansson

Marriage Story

Marriage Story (2019) Dir. Noah Baumbach  

I have been working. I’ve been doing the work alone. Marriage Story (2019) dir. Noah Baumbach

MARRIAGE STORY (2019) Dir. Noah Baumbach

I was your wife. You should’ve considered my happiness too.

Others

Scarlett Johansson as Grace MacLean in The Horse Whisperer (1998)

SCARLETT JOHANSSON as Olivia Wenscombe in THE PRESTIGE (2006)

THE DEVIL ALL THE TIME (2020)

Samara Weaving as Grace Le Domas in Ready or Not (2019)

Charlize Theron in Long Shot (2019) Dir. Jonathan Levine

Original 6 Avengers 

The OG6 Group Chat📱

Chris Hemsworth’s chicken consumption is to be blamed for global warming

You can honestly see that you genuinely love one another

The Six Original Chaotic™ Avengers for the Kids Choice Awards 2020

Romanogers ( Steve Rogers + Natasha Romanoff )

Yeah we’re getting married *smiles*

Love is when you can't stop looking at him, even if he'll never look back. Avengers Endgame (2019) | Captain America Civil War (2016)

Would you trust me to do it? I would now. 

One kiss is all it takes

Evansson ( Chris Evans + Scarlett Johansson ) 

Scarlett Johansson mentioning Chris Evans in interviews 

Chris Evans mentioning Scarlett Johansson in interviews

Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson in The Nanny Diaries (2007)

“It's my favourite scene in the movie. It's so sweet.” - Chris Evans 

“it's always easy between us”

I think we all know exactly what that sounds like 😉

Scarlett Johansson and Chris Evans singing Lizzo’s ‘Truth Hurts’

Who would you say is the best looking?

Would you rather have Tony Stark's Mustache or Thor's Abs?

“We have a lot of empathy for one another as people”

we just enjoy each other very much 

If you could take any one of the characters that you've played and put them in the marvel universe which would you pick and why?

Scarlett Johansson

Press

That’s exactly how Thanos did it

Scarlett Johansson not knowing anything about the MCU for 4 gifs straight 

Scarlett Johansson + sexist questions she’s been asked from the Avenger films press conferences

Scarlett Johansson + male Marvel cast during Endgame press

Scarlett Johansson on Marriage Story: From the Pages to the Performances | Netflix

Red Carpet

Scarlett Johansson and Roman Griffin Davis on the Red Carpet of the 26th Screen Actors Guild Awards

Samuel L. Jackson scolding Scarlett Johansson for not sending him enough pictures of her kid

The way Scarlett Johansson’s face is able to change to boss bitch mode instantly.

Photoshoots/Ads

Scarlett Johansson for GQ’s 2010 ‘Babe of the Year’

Scarlett Johansson for GQ’s 2010 ‘Babe of the Year’

Scarlett Johansson for Lux (2015) 

Behind the Scenes of Scarlett Johansson’s Playboy Interview 

Shows 

Scarlett Johansson introducing Niall Horan on SNL (2019)

Scarlett Johansson on Ellen throughout the years 2010-2019

Scarlett Johansson on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon throughout the years 2013-2019

Scarlett Johansson on The Ellen Show Oct '19

The grossest thing my daughter has ever done

Chris Evans

Chris Evans is an ass man

What’s Your Number? (2011) Dir. Mark Mylod

Christopher Robert Evans don’t do that with your eyes

I can’t show it, it’s way too embarrassing.

I also would like Chris Evans to stare at me intensely

Whatcha gonna do with all that junk All that junk inside that trunk

Chris Evans as Johnny Storm in Fantastic Four Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007)

Chris Evans + Black Women

Chris Evans as Ari Levinson in Red Sea Diving Resort

Harry Styles

Cheeky Harry

We have a dancer on our hands

a cutie™

I want your belly

This video is dedicated to touching.

WATERMELON SUGAR

🍉Watermelon Sugar 🍉

Tom Holland 

Tom Holland in The Devil All The Time (2020)

Happy 24th Birthday Thomas Stanley Holland est. June 1st 1996

Tom Holland + Puppies 🐶

I do have a Spiderman tattoo 

Someone collect this man

Tom Holland on BBC Radio 1 “You can’t copy someone else's homework.”

Shawn Mendes

You're a gentleman that likes to rock out with his jock out

Shawn Mendes at The Victoria’s Secret 2018 Fashion Show

Tom Hiddleston 

Tom Hiddleston rehearsing the Cap/Loki fight from Avengers with Sam Hargrave 9 years ago

Tom Hiddleston is one of the only men who can turn a butt question about Scarlett Johansson into praising her for her work ethic

Benedict Cumberbatch 

Benedict Cumberbatch shoot for Vanity Fair by Jason Bell 2015

Florence Pugh 

What advice would you give to people struggling with body confidence?

What kind of preparation did you do for ‘Black Widow’?

Ariana Grande 

If you wanna stay, we're taking it slow baby 'Cause you and me, and I got enough on my mind But I can make some time for something so divine

Dua Lipa

I should’ve stayed at home

[ghostiewriter]

I get the comparison to stelena/delena but also I personally dont see them that way. Samusa is like puppy love and Rivusa is the obvious winner hands down. I never viewed stelena in the way i do with samusa as I found both tvd ships compelling, saw a real triangle and was torn between the two tvd ships. Stelena and delena had iconic moments that I still remember even now & fans still gush over them. imo that wont be the case with samusa as it's just a block in the path to Rivusa. You could 1/3

say the same with stelena but I always saw both salvatores being the big loves elena needed. stelena was a love story that ended but delenas continued w sequels whereas imo samusa isn't this big love story it's more of a chapter, atleast to me ik others will feel differently which is well within their rights. I just feel like watching tvd was a buzz as there was real discussion about who elena loves more, who is right for her, would things be different if she was still human etc but with fate the convo is largely about rivusas single scene & their build up hardly taking a second glance at sam. It seems like 90% people preferring rivusa over samusa. That's my take on it sorry for rambling and I dont want to seem like I was attacking you for the comparison which is valid (rivusa is enemies to lovers like delena and both sam & stefan were what musa & elena needed after they suffered a loss/losses). Anyway thanks for reading this incoherent ramble, hope you have a nice day

Dude, I won’t lie to you, I meant it more as just like a comparison on how they are two ships that have a divided a fandom but you bring up some really interesting points!😂

Tbh I get where you are coming from with the whole concept of Sam being a puppy love that’s just a stepping stone into an eventual Rivusa endgame, and whilst I would’ve been all up for that, the more I think about it the more I realise I wouldn’t actually like it.

Like it was confirmed that Sam was meant to die in season one but they liked Jacob so much that they kept in, and I feel like if he’s just a stepping stone, what was the actual point of keeping him alive? Maybe it’s the enemies to lovers fanatic in me, but I want an angsty slow burn build up to Rivusa, and I think Sam could play a vital part in that. Stelena was so loved because it was developed and I believe Samusa can be the same. But then Rivusa/Delena happens and it’s this inevitable falling that neither party can stop.

I feel like if they are going to play out the whole love triangle card, I would rather Sam have a standing chance. Develop his character more, divulge into his personality more, give him a plot beyond being Musa’s love interest. Yes, I want Rivusa to be endgame but I don’t want it to be one of those things were it’s like “why was she so hooked on Sam when he’s literally as bland a piece of cardboard?”. I’d rather Sam have some more valid value to the show in general, and then the love triangle too. Make the love triangle an actual love triangle and not one of those “oh she’s definitely gonna end up with him” kinda situations.

But that’s just my opinion😂who knows what the writers have planned!

[marvelhero-fics]

Far From Home

Pairing: Tom Holland x Actress!Reader

Summary: You play the role of supportive girlfriend at the Far From Home premiere with your long time boyfriend, Tom.

A/N: This wasn't requested, but after watching the stream of the Far From Home premiere I decided to write a little about it!

Word Count: 2,657

Warning: Some swearing, that's it! bit of fluff too

You’d touched down in Los Angeles around 2 hours ago. Those 2 hours were mainly filled with hair dressers, make-up artists, and designers, along with small happy moments with your boyfriend. You hadn’t seen him in almost 3 weeks, but your flight was delayed from London so you arrived late. Meaning you had to start getting ready for the premiere the minute you made it to the hotel. 

You sat in a large hotel room, Zendaya was sitting to your right, getting her make-up finished. Tom was slightly behind you, Law making him try on a variety of glasses. While Jacob was on the other side of the room, sitting on his phone with Harry next to him. The room was filled with laughter and talking from the cast, all of them extremely hyped up for tonights big moment.

Your make-up artist turned away for a few moments to rummage through her supplies. Tom waltzed over to you and stood next to you. 

“What’d you think?” He asked, eyebrows raised while doing a cute little pose in his outfit. 

“Maroon is definitely your colour, Tommy.” You smiled, looking up at him. His soft brown eyes looked down at you through the thin lenses of the glasses. 

“I know.” He joked, he began to lower himself down, about to give you a peck before the make-up artist swatted him away. 

“Don’t you dare, Tom. The lipstick isn't dry yet.” She stated, earning a loud laugh from you and Zendaya, along with a big pout from Tom. 

---

A large group of you all met down in the lobby of the hotel. There wasn’t really any fans lingering around considering everyone was at the premiere. The group split up and all jumped in different black Audi SUV’s to make your way to the premiere. The particular car you jumped in with Nikki and Tom was decked out with webs painted all over the car, along with a large image of Spider-Man, which you all laughed over. 

Tom was clearly nervous, his leg bounced and bounced, shaking against yours. You calmly put your hand on his thigh. “It’s okay. You’ve done this before and you can do it again. You’re a pro babe.” You spoke softly. He turned to face you and smiled.

“I’m just so nervous, and excited. It’s just a lot to process y’know. I feel like I’ve been waiting for months and the moments here. Right now.” He stammered.

“And like (Y/N) said, you're going to nail it.” Nikki stated. The three of you continuing to chat to aid in easing Toms nerves. 

The car finally pulled up to the premiere. The road was barricaded off, with seemingly thousands of fans shoved against the metal fences. You looked on in awe. Being an actress, you’d been to many premieres, you even had the joy of going to the Avengers Endgame premiere, but this was on a new level. It was absolutely huge.

The car pulled to a stop and the three of you got out. A roar of screaming and shouting waved over you. Everyone was very excited to see Tom. You quietly moved towards Harry, Harrison, and Sam, who had arrived only moments earlier. Tom took a moment to wave at all the fans, only causing the screaming to escalate. 

“How fucking crazy is this?” Sam stated, almost having to yell even though he stood right next to you. 

“Homecoming was nowhere near this big.” Harrison replied.

“It’s because they heard I was coming, people love me.” Harry laughed, earning a punch from his twin and a chuckled from yourself and Harrison. You turned around to see Tom walking towards the fans. You genuinely thought some of the fans might pass out by the looks on their faces. 

“I’m so proud of him.” Nikki spoke, not really to anyone in particular. She was definitely having a mum moment. Tom was surrounded by a team of security guards, more than usual. It always made you slightly nervous. You looked away, turning towards the set up of the premiere. You and Harrison chatted about the gigantic Spider-Man in the middle of the walkway, and about how many fans there were. You were interrupted as Tom finally made his way back to you. 

His hand grabbed you waist, yourself and his family in a little huddle with security guards circling you. 

“This is fucking insane!” Tom shouted, his grip on your hip tightening. 

“We have to move in.” A security guard told the cluster of you. You very quickly grabbed Toms face, giving him a smooth kiss that he happily reciprocated. 

“Go to the front.” You smiled. He looked down at you, completely in awe. For that very split second, you felt like the screaming stopped. All the buzz happening around you stopped and the two of you gazed at each other. The bright sun accentuating his sharp features. This was his night, and you were so unbelievably proud of him.

“I love you.” He softly grinned. 

“I love you too, Tommy.”

He moved to the front of the pack and you snuck in between Sam and Harrison. It was a good thing you were used to premieres, otherwise this would've definitely been too much for you to handle. 

You all made your way through the ‘red carpet’. It was completely bustling with people that you’d never seen before. Everyones phones out taking a thousand different photos. Tom had made his way over to the first interview of the night. A roar of Toms name began as he was speaking, and you couldn't see his face in the moment, but you could imagine the giant grin he would’ve been wearing. You and Tom usually lived in your own little bubble together. But it was nights like these that truly made you understand the effect he had on people, and just how famous he'd really become over the years. 

The crew of you moved down the red carpet following along Tom in the background. He was immediately in the spotlight, photos being taken from every angle. Tuwaine quickly approached you giving you a kiss on the cheek and a sweet greeting. You’d been with Tom for so long now that you quickly became friends with his friends. 

“How crazy is this?!” Tuwaine expressed, eyes wide.

“I know bro! It’s fucking mental.” Harry replied, 

“Stop swearing so much, Harry.” Nikki quickly interjected, earning a laugh from Sam and yourself.

“You’re spending too much time with Tom, he's a bad influence.” You joked. 

The five of you moved further down the carpet, the swarming crowd attempting to move with you. It was definitely strange not being in the spotlight tonight. It wasn't bad, but it was just so different. 

You all finally made your way under the giant blow-up Spider-Man. 

“Dude, the dick on this must be huge.” Harry commented, snark in his voice. 

“It’s clearly actual size.” You retorted, trying to hold your composure.

“You’re vulgar!” Sam quickly added. Causing the three of you to laugh out. You’d always got on with the twins so well, and you were endlessly glad that they were here tonight. 

Tom suddenly arrived in front of you. “Come.” He said quickly, his hand grabbing yours and dragging you out from your group, without time to reply.

Without a moments notice, you were in the spotlight. Tom’s hand has resumed its usual position around your waist. A smile immediately hit your lips. You would’ve cursed Tom out if you weren't so used to this. 

“How crazy is this?” He spoke, his head still facing the cameras with his usual smouldering look.

“You’re clearly a very popular man, Holland.” You replied. Paparazzi were yelling from every possible angle. 

The two of you furthered your way down the carpet. Eventually he branched off, and you returned to the family. He began doing interview after interview. The family and yourself were pushed further towards the barricades and you watched as people took photos of all of you, the twins and Harrison all taking their moments to smile and pose.

After a moment, you noticed an interviewer you recognised. She was from ET and she’d interviewed you a few times for movies before. You quickly swooped over to greet her. 

“(Y/N)! It’s so good to see you.” She exclaimed,

“You too, Keltie, how are you?” 

“I’m fantastic, do you mind getting an interview with us!”

“You know I’m not in the movie, right?” You joked in response.

“Yea of course! But we love you at Entertainment Tonight and we always love speaking with you!” She grinned from ear to ear.

“Alright, sure, just because I love ET.” You responded.

She made a few motions to get the cameras rolling and everything set up. 

“Alright! We’re here with (Y/N) (Y/L/N) at the Spider-Man Far From Home premiere!” She spoke enthusiastically, turning to face you, “obviously you’re here playing the role of supportive girlfriend for tonight, how is it being at a premiere for a movie you’re actually not featuring in for once?” She asked, pointing the camera towards you. 

“Well, I’m loving being the supportive girlfriend, it’s definitely a very easy role to play when you’re supporting someone as fantastic as Tom Holland. And it’s kinda nice not having the pressure of the movie on my shoulders, y’know? I can really just relax and enjoy my evening.” You laughed.

“Are you excited to finally see the film?” 

“Of course! I’ve always been a Marvel fan and I’m super excited to see where they’re taking the universe in this film, and I’m really excited to see how the movie turned out. I know Tom and the rest of the cast really put their all into the movie and I know it’s going to be absolutely amazing, so I’m super excited.”

“And we saw some Instagram posts last year of you in Venice with the crew, what was it like being on set with everyone?”

“Oh it was amazing! Venice is such an incredible place and I was super lucky to get a break from work to go hang out with everyone for a few days. I’ve known the cast since Homecoming so it’s really just like hanging out with a bunch of my best friends.”

“That’s awesome! And finally, we have to ask, with all the new Spider-Man suits in the film, which suit is your all time favourite!?”

“Some heavy hitting questions here!” You laugh, “I mean, I love the Iron-Spider suit because it just looks so awesome in the films, but honestly I’d really have to say I love the original, like, sweat suit thing that Peter Parker makes. I just think it’s so authentic, like obviously a 15 year-old isn't going to make a super flash, intricate suit. Like it’s really just a jumper, some sweat pants, and some finger-less gloves, which I think is so hilarious!” You grin as the interviewer laughs along.

“I love that! Thank you so much for talking with us (Y/N)! We’ll let you go continue to smash the supportive girlfriend role!” 

“Aw, thank you for having me!” You drift away from the interviewer, noticing Tom’s family had moved further down. You couldn't even spot Tom. You slowly moved through the crowd, trying your best to stay away from cameras.

“(Y/N)! (Y/N) (Y/L/N)! (Y/N)!” People were yelling your name left and right. Another interviewer popped up in front of you, she was someone you’d met before, and she’d interviewed you on very short occasions at other premieres. 

“(Y/N) (Y/L/N)! Do you mind if we steal you for a quick interview?” She asked, politely enough. 

“I really didn't think people would want to interview me, I’m honestly not in this movie at all!” You laughed back, not really wanting to do an interview.

“Of course we want to interview you! You’re the woman of the hour tonight!” She stated back, pitching very hard for an interview.

“Well, I would definitely have to say Zendaya is the woman of the hour, but sure, let’s do a quick interview.” You smiled softly, knowing that it would be a 3 minute interview, and she would stop pestering you if you did. 

“(Y/N) (Y/L/N), it’s so good to see you, you look absolutely stunning tonight!” She complimented, the mic gripped tightly in her hand as the camera filmed the two of you.

“Thank you so much.”

“So, Spider-Man Far From Home, how excited are you?” 

“Yea, super excited. I truly do know how hard the cast has worked for this, and I know how much effort and time goes into a Marvel movie, so I’m just really excited to see how the film turns out.” You smiled,

“Do you know much about the movie already?”

“I wish I could say I didn't, but I do know probably most of it. I think Tom tried to hide it from me for a while, but he just wasn’t good at containing it and ended up telling me pretty much all of the plot. But it’s definitely better that he tells me instead of letting it all out in an interview or something.” You laugh,

“Of course! Oh and speaking of-” She was cut short by someone grabbing your hip, you turned slightly to see Tom behind you,

“She’s getting interviewed! She’s not even in the movie!” A loud British voice joked. He shuffled so he stood next to you, the smooth fabric of his suit against your arm, his palm lightly rubbing your other hip as he held you close. “Hey darling.” He whispered.

“Tom Holland has just joined us! How are you feeling for the premiere tonight!?” Her attention was immediately moved to him.

“I’m so excited! This is huge! I didn't realise there would be so many people, no one told me how big this was gonna be!” He answer, you watching him with a soft smile.

“How is it having so many people here supporting you?”

“It’s incredible, I mean, pretty much my whole family is here and so many of my mates came tonight, and obviously my beautiful girlfriend is here with me,” he looked at you with loving eyes, “and it’s so nice to share this film with all of them because they’re all obviously my biggest support system, so it’s really nice.” 

“And when are we finally going to see a movie with the two of you together?”

You both chuckled at the question, “who knows!” Tom quickly stated,

“At the moment I think we’re happy enough with the off-screen romance, but maybe one day.” You added, with a shrug.

“What’s it like having to see your boyfriend having a romance with someone else on-screen! Obviously with the MJ and Peter romance in this film, is there any jealousy?” As she spoke, you felt Tom gripping you tighter, you even saw his jaw clench out of the corner of your eye.

“Of course there’s jealousy! I’m so jealous that Peter gets to be with MJ! I mean have you seen Zendaya? Have you seen her!? She’s literally the most beautiful person ever! I’d love to get to have an on-screen romance with her!” You joked. You knew the interviewer would want some stupid ‘scoop’ about it all, but you were a seasoned professional at this point. Tom relaxed quickly. 

The interviewer laughed along and you two quickly moved away, furthering yourself down the carpet. 

“I really, really love you.” Tom whispered, his head right next to yours.

“I really, really love you too, and I’m so proud of you. All this-” you motioned towards the giant red carpet, and fans, and cameras, “you worked so hard for this, and you really deserve it, babe.” You smiled, he grinned back.

“Thank you, darling.” 

[babygirlizz]

Movies and TV shows of 2019

Okay so a couple or few years ago I did a review of movies that had released that year because I was super into movies that year. I am still into movies, but I have been watching a lot more shows this year. So, I will be reviewing movies and tv shows. Furthermore, I will be including stuff released this year, that I found this year, or that has a new season this year. Basically just anything that I have loved this year. Also, I don’t feel like ranking, so no particular order. Also, SPOILERS AHEAD - if you see a title of something you have not seen, and don’t want spoilers, please feel free to skip that section. Also, some of these I haven’t seen in a hot minute so if I get a detail messed up, we won’t speak on it. And finally, trigger warning - if you have struggled with sexual assault and may have an issue reading about it, either skip this post entirely or skip over the review of “Unbelievable.”

MOVIES -

1. After

I have been waiting for this since middle school. I read the after books on wattpad because what teenager in love with harry styles didn’t. Now I will be real with y'all. The acting could use some work in specific scenes, and some of the actors aren't MY favorite picks for certain roles, but I’m not gonna hate on actors. Ok so, Tessa (Josephine Langford) is an incoming freshman in college and is rooming with an upperclassmen, Steph (Khadijha Red Thunder) who has a friend named Hardin (Hero Fiennes-Tiffin). Steph wants Tessa to branch out and do new things, so she invites her to a party, where they play the stereotypical games, and thats when Hardin is kind of dared to make Tessa fall in love with him. ALSO, Tessa has a high school boyfriend named Noah (Dylan Arnold). She starts seeing Hardin, her boyfriend finds out, she falls in love with Hardin, and finds out it was all a dare. Buuuuuuut, pLoT tWiSt he actually loves her.

2. Avengers: Endgame

Ok listen, Infinity War was heartbreaking bc Bucky duh, but y'all are really gonna take Tony (RDJ) and Steve (Chris Evans) away from me? Shut up. Still, this was a really good movie and I’m not just saying that because I’m a marvel hoe. FRICK Thanos and thats on Ant Man. Thats literally all I have to say.

3. Annabelle Comes Home

I am a whore for scary movies. I love them so much and this one was *chefs kiss*. I love Mckenna Grace, she's such a good young actress and she fits so well in scary moves. There’s not much to say about the plot in this one, and ya really need to see it. Also, Bob (Michael Cimino) is so heckin cute what the heck.

4. Let It Snow

Ok this is a lot to unpack so grab ya snacks. Let’s talk about couple number 1 (of 3), Tobin (Mitchell Hope) and Angie (Kiernan Shipka) who are best friends. Tobin is in love with Angie but doesn’t know how to tell her, and gets lots of unwanted encouragement from his best friend Keon (Jacob Batalon) who just wants to throw a heckin good party, is that too much to ask for? So Angie gets invited to a party by some cute guy, JP (M and Tobin is jealous but goes with her anyways and they steal a keg for Keon’s party and run from the scary hosts of the party and end up stranded in a church after his car spins out of control. They finally make it to the party and kiss on the roof with the waffle town sign shining bright behind them. NEXT - we have Julie (Isabela Merced) and Stuart (Shameik Moore). This is kind of really cliche with the whole “he’s-famous-she-doesn’t-care-he-finds-that-attractive-lets-fall-in-love” aspect, but its also hella cute uwu. They meet on a train and the train stops so they go eat at the waffle town and go sledding and do a bunch of cute coupley shit. His manager comes to get him and basically tells her that nothing will ever really happen between them and he leaves. Then, he shows up at the party and they fall in love. NEXT- we have Dorrie (Liv Hewson) who is a lesbian that constantly struggles with the gay panic. Her best friend Addie (Odeya Rush) doesn't help much either because she's having her own relationship problems. Dorrie works at Waffle Town and when she's working the girl she's talking to, Kerry (Anna Akana) comes in with her dance team, and she's not out of the closet. A bunch of shit goes down, but they end up together and Dorrie learns that she’s worth more than she thinks and that’s all that matters. Also, Billy (Miles Robbins) and Tin Foil Woman (Joan Cusack) make wonderful additions to this movie.

5. The King

First of all - Timothée Chalamet and Robert Pattinson in the same movie? Sign me the HECK up. But they’re also historical, frick yea. Not too much to say about this movie other than it’s good. Super graphic (don’t watch if you don’t like decapitation lol) and super long, but good nonetheless.

6. Falling Inn Love

This movie is super freaking cute. Gabriela (Christina Milian) decides that she needs a change and enters a contest to win an Inn in New Zealand. She wins the Inn and is shocked when she realizes the Inn needs a LOT of work. She goes around town to get stuff to fix up the Inn and constantly runs into Jake (Adam Demos) and they have this flirty but we don’t like each other relationship, but then ya know, they fall in(n) love. 

SHOWS -

1. The Society

I could talk about this show for hours, literally. I love it so much it’s insane. Ok, so lets start from the beginning. A town called West Ham is being plagued by a disgusting smell. Due to this, the town decides to send busloads of teenagers to the mountains while they try and resolve the smell situation. All of the teenagers fall asleep on the bus and wake up to the announcement that they had to go back home due to road blocks. When they get off the buses, its late and no one is there to pick them up. They think that it may just be a sense of miscommunication, so they head home, only to find that none of their families are there, and they can’t get ahold of any of them over the phone. They finally decide to investigate and find that all exits out of town are completely blocked off. They then decide to find a way to survive without their families. This causes a lot of tension within the town including the death of a main character. This shows also includes gay representation!!!! This is my favorite couple, Sam (Sean Birdy) and Grizz (Jack Mulhern). Sam is deaf and gay and his brother, Campbell (Toby Wallace), makes fun of him for both reasons, and when the whole issue with the town happens, he believes he will never find love because he doesn’t think anyone else is gay, until Grizz comes along, and tries to learn ASL and loves him for him.

2. Roswell New Mexico

Alright, to be completely honest, I did not want to watch this. I have no idea why I just didn’t. I saw an edit on like instagram or something of the couples in the show and I was like, alright I can give it a chance. And spoiler alert I loved it. The series starts off with Liz Ortecho (Jeanine Mason) comes back to her hometown of Roswell around the time of her the anniversary of her sister, Rosa’s (Amber Midthunder), death. She gets pulled over on her way in and the officer that pulled her over was Max Evans (Nathan Parsons), who has had a crush on her since they first met, and just so happens to be an alien. After Liz gets shot in her families restaurant, Max uses his healing powers to save her, but leaves behind a hand print on her that makes her suspicious. She continues to investigate until he tells her the truth. She also finds out that her sister was actually murdered, and has the same hand print on her that she did when Max healed her. Turns out, his sister, Isobel (Lily Cowels) killed her, but it was actually another alien possessing her (which they didn’t know was possible when she killed her). When they landed on earth they also landed with their “brother” Michael (Michael Vlamis) who starts off the series with an on and off relationship with Alex (Tyler Blackburn) and I love them together. Alex is the son of one of the guys trying to find and take down the aliens and he also went to war and lost his leg. Anyways, towards the end of the season Alex starts seeing Maria (Heather Hemmens), which is a couple I don’t really like, but also bi representation is good! Anyways I don’t really wanna spoil this one too much I just love it a lot.

3. Elite

This is a show that came out in 2018, but they released a second season this year. All I’m saying is please watch the original version, not the dubbed over version. Elite is a spanish show about a few students that get a scholarship to the private school after their school gets demolished. This shows is in the fashion of present and past which includes a lot of flashbacks leading up to the the murder of one of the students. My favorite part of this show is the relationship between Ander (Arón Piper) and Omar (Omar Ayuso). Ander is the son of the head of the school and Omar is the brother of one of the students that got a scholarship. Not only are they of different socioeconomic status’, but Omar is also Muslim, and his family would not approve of him being gay. He finally finds the courage to tell his family, but thats not until season 2. Also, his sister Nadia (Mina El Hammani) falls in love with the “bad boy” of the school, Guzmán (Miguel Bernardeau) and starts going against her parents wishes as well.

4. The Umbrella Academy 

Y’all mind if I confuse y'all real quick. So, a bunch of women all of the sudden give birth out of nowhere at the same time even tho none of them were pregnant? Yea I know weird. Anyways, so this dude tries to adopt as many of them as possible and ends up adopting like 7. They all have powers and they try and stop the apocalypse. That’s literally all I can tell y'all. 

5. Unbelievable

I swear I didn’t mean to get y’all upset right now. This show made me angry and sad and so many other feelings all at once. So the show beings with a girl named Marie (Kaitlyn Dever) getting raped in her home. When she reports it, they can’t find any evidence, as he cleaned the apartment and made her shower. This mixed with the fact that she struggles remembering parts of her experience (which is common with sexual assault), the police don’t believe her and force her to retract her statement. This in itself is awful, but they also charge her with false statement, which adds on to the fact that people already believe that she is a liar. Years later, two female detectives, Karen and Grace, piece together rapes in their precincts and once they find the rapist, they find Marie’s picture in with his belongings, proving that she was telling the truth the entire time.

6. Sailor Moon

I just got into anime and all I have to say is that I love this. That is all.

[takaraphoenix]

*frowns*

I think I lost about 25% of my enthusiasm for Stargate with season 8 of SG-1 and the first season of Atlantis.

I mean, first of all SG-1...

Killed off Janet toward the end of last season. Now there is no Janet anymore. I am not okay with that.

Decided to write Hammond off toward the end of last season. Now there is no Hammond anymore. I am not okay with that.

Seriously, 1.) and 2.) makes two out of the six major characters of this show and just why would you do that to me, personally.

Someone decided that Jack should be in charge? Why? Look, I get rank-wise and experience-wise it makes sense, but... Jack is a hands-on man, him behind the desk doesn’t make him happy? And his diplomatic skills are legit shit. That he’s not single-handedly causing a war between the US and Russian is a miracle considering how disrespectful he continuously is toward the Russians...

The shift in narrative due to 2.) and 4.) bothers me too, because it’s no longer the team going on missions, the dynamics change due to Jack’s lack of presence in the field, there is also a lot more bureaucracy now on Jack’s front.

THEY WENT FUCKING FULL DUMBASS STRAIGHT ROM-COM AND HONESTLY FUCK YOU. “The Man and The Woman for dumbass reasons refuse to get together so The Woman gets together with a Genuinely Nice Guy who really adores her and makes her happy but shortly before the wedding she realizes that she still loves The Man” and oh just fuck you. And somehow, the lack of Jack and Sam actually getting together makes this bullshit straight trope ONE THOUSAND PERCENT WORSE. At least shitty rom-com movies from the 90s had the pay-off that The Man and The Woman got together in the end, but this...? What the fuck? Not only does she not get The Man, no, she also lost the Genuinely Nice Guy so... she can now... I dunno, be Forever Alone I guess?? Seriously. If they would either make Jack/Sam actual endgame and had let them get together, okay. Or, if you don’t plan on pulling through with it, at least let them move on from their feelings and find happiness somewhere else? What the fuck kind of twisted mind wants their main characters to spend all their lives pining...?

They now also killed off Jacob. Now there is no Jacob anymore. I am slowly growing weary as to how many characters are actually going to remain until season 9...

So, you could say I have a few issues with season 8. Taking three out of the ten major reoccuring/main characters (Jack, Sam, Teal’c, Daniel, Hammond, Janet, Jacob, Brya’c, Rya’c, Thor) is a third. You removed a third of the characters I have grown fond of. That’s not okay. I am not okay with that.

And granted, I think the reason it bothers me more than it might have is that it takes me twice as long to watch this season as it did with previous seasons due to Stargate: Atlantis being every second episode I watch... and I am yet to find anything appealing about that.

First of all, Elizabeth Weir. I don’t like the new actress. I liked the actress who played her when she was first introduced. And then, snap, recast. And by someone who looks nothing like her. I don’t get those decisions. Like, when I recast A Blonde, how about at the very baseline I am getting a blonde actress...? Not to mention, somehow she just... she rubs me the wrong way, I guess? I can’t explain it, but while I instantly liked Elizabeth 1.0, I instantly disliked Elizabeth 2.0...

McKay is an obnoxious asshat. Sheppard feels like he’s supposed to be that super charming leader, but is 100% trying too hard. Carson... I am still undecided on. Teyla is, I honestly don’t know, meant to be charmingly innocent/naive in demeanor while being a badass but somehow it’s not really working so far. I genuinely like Ford so far.

I think a part of the problem for me is that it’s too many characters at once. With SG-1, you met four characters and got to know them. Six main characters from the get-go is a lot and unlike SG-1 that did put focused episodes into its first season to establish its main characters, Atlantis just continues being team-up episodes instead of focusing more on the individuals.

Still, having two characters not being very lovable, two characters feeling off to me, one somehow so far slipping through so much that I genuinely can’t even faintly grasp him and... only one character I actively like... that’s not a good ratio, especially considering it’s a spin-off of a show where I love everyone and can’t even actively pick one single favorite character?

Perhaps a part of it is that it’s the spin-off of an amazing show. Somehow, that seems to be a set-up for failure because brilliant shows leave you with high expectations for its spin-off, but in the end... different writers, different people in charge, different characters.

What certainly is a part of it is the clash. Bouncing back between SG-1 and “Oh my, the worst threat are the goa’uld!” over to Atlantis and “Look at them wraith being the biggest threat ever!” is giving me active backlash at this point. It kind of just... takes away from the gravitas of both threats, for me.

Though, granted, bonus points for putting them into a literal different galaxy, cut off from Earth, because it removes the usual “Why is there not more crossovering happening?” that spin-off shows bring with them.

And I mean, I’m not giving up yet. It’s only been 18 episodes, maybe it’ll pick up next season and sell me more on the characters. And I am optimistic that season 9 will come around too because they have to realize that this position isn’t Jack’s and that he belongs back with the team, at the very least even if you’re not bringing back my precious characters.

But that first season, especially coupled with season 8 of SG-1 that has a big drop in quality, it overall brings down the enjoyment level...

[newyorktheater]

Bob Dylan, Glenn Close, Daniel Radcliffe, and Gloria Steinem are all on a New York stage one way or another in October, always a good month for theater.

This year’s October is likely the busiest ever, thanks to the addition of the hundred shows in the New York International Fringe Festival, which for the first time has been moved from August to October.

Three shows are opening on Broadway in October: Elaine May returns to Broadway in a star-studded revival of Kenneth Lonergan’s “The Waverly Gallery”; Daniel Radcliffe, Cherry Jones and Bobby Cannavale star in “Lifespan of a Fact,” a true story that starts with one of our society’s unheralded heroes – a fact checker. Jez Butterworth’s “The Ferryman” is one of the several plays that month about a stranger who visits…and turns everything upside down.

Off-Broadway’s promising shows include a re-imagined “Oklahoma”; an evening of Beckett performed by Bill Irwin; and a new Bob Dylan musical with a book by Conor McPherson. Glenn Close stars as Joan of Arc’s mother. Christine Lahti portrays Gloria Steinem.

Off-Off Broadway, filmmaker Todd Solondz makes his theatrical debut, and two plays by Samuel D. Hunter are joined together into a dinner theater, New York style.

Below is a selection of openings in October, organized chronologically by opening date. Each title is linked to a relevant website. Color key: Broadway: Red. Off Broadway: Black or Blue. Off Off Broadway: Green. Theater festival: Orange

October 1

Girl from the North Country (Public Theater)

Playwright and director Conor McPherson transforms Bob Dylan’s songbook to tell the story of a down-on-its-luck community on the brink of change in Duluth, Minnesota in 1934.

October 2

Final Follies (Primary Stages at Cherry Lane)

Three one-act plays by A.R. Gurney, who died last year at the age of 86.

October 3

On Beckett (Irish Rep)

Bill Irwin explores his relationship with the work of Samuel Beckett through excerpts of his texts including “Waiting for Godot,” “Endgame,” and “Texts for Nothing.”

The Bachae (BAM)

Euripides’ cautionary parable of hubris and fear of the unknown thrashes to new life in the hands of Anne Bogart, the renowned SITI Company.

October 4

Makbet, a version of Shakespeare’s tragedy presented by the Dzieci international experimental theatre ensemble, takes place inside a shipping container in Sure We Can, a Brooklyn recycling center. It’s one of the first shows in the monthlong New York Fringe Festival.

  October 7

Oklahoma (St Ann’s Warehouse)

Director Daniel Fish’s 75th anniversary production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s landmark musical upends the sunny romance between a farmer and a cowpoke with what has always been just below the surface. The cast includes Rebecca Naomi Jones, Mary Testa, and Ali Stroker.

October 8

Rags Parkland Sings The Songs Of The Future.(Ars Nova)

Sci-fi folk concert set 250 years in the future. “Rags will play the revolutionary songbook that carried us to where we are today”

October 10

Black Light (Greenwich House Theater)

Jomama Jones, portrayed by Daniel Alexander Jones, returns in the cabaret show that’s an act of healing and an act of warning in these turbulent times. My review when it was at Joe’s Pub.

October 11

Midnight at the Never Get (York)

a gay New York couple in 1965 put together a show at an illegal Greenwich Village gay bar. But as the decade ends, they find themselves caught in a passion they can’t control and a political revolution they don’t understand.

Playwright William Jackson Harper

Travisville (Ensemble Studio Theater)

Their lives are irrevocably changed when a stranger visits the members of a community untouched by the civil rights movement, forcing them to take sides and take a stand.

October 12

FringeNYC 

FringeNYC opens in earnest with performances by 23 of its 83 shows, including  The Resistible Rise of JR Brinkley, the true story of a 1920s con man who became a successful politician.

Duke Oldrich & Washerwoman Bozena (Czech American Marionette Theatre)

non-traditional staging of a 374 year-old marionette play based on the story of love at first sight of the 11th century Duke Oldrich, who married a washerman. Part of the Centennial Heritage Festival

October 13

The Things That Were There  (Bushwick Starr)

Written by David Greenspan and directed by Lee Sunday Evans, the play dramatizes the events and relationships of a family over many years at a family get-together. “Certain scenes begin again with slight or significant variation as a means of investigating family relationships through a continually shifting lens a

October 14

Emma and Max (The Flea) 

Filmmaker Todd Solondz (“Welcome to the Dollhouse,” “Wiener-Dog”) makes his theatrical debut with a play about privilege, race, and the intersection of black and white.

October 15

Fireflies (Atlantic)

Written by Donja R. Love, starring Kris Davis (magnificent in Sweat and The Royale, now on FX’s Atlanta.) When four little girls are bombed in a church, the marriage between Charles (Davis) and Olivia (Dewanda Wise)  is threatened

October 16

Apologia (Roundabout)

Stockard Channing in a powerhouse performance as a woman facing the repercussions of her past, in this play by Alexi Kaye Campbell

October 17

Mother of the Maid (Public)

Glenn Close plays Joan of Arc’s mother in this drama by Jane Anderson (“Olive Kitteridge”)

October 18

Gloria: A Life (Daryl Roth Theater)

Christine Lahti portrays Gloria Steinem in a new play by Emily Mann directed by Diane Paulus.

  The Lifespan of a Fact (Studio 54) 

Daniel Radcliffe, Cherry Jones and Bobby Cannavale in a true story that begins with an essay written  about a Las Vegas teenager who committed suicide. But the fact-checker assigned to make sure the piece is accurate begins to wonder whether any of it is true

October 21

  The Ferryman (Bernard Jacobs) 

Written by Jez Butterworth and directed by Sam Mendes, this play is set in the Carney farmhouse in rural Northern Ireland in 1981, a hive of activity with preparations for the annual harvest…until a stranger visits.

The Book of Merman (St Luke’s Theater)

Two Mormon missionaries ring the doorbell of Ethel Merman in this new musical comedy. Carol Sakolove sings original songs as Merman.

October 22

School Girls or the African Mean Girls Play (MCC)

A return of the play about the catty girls at Ghana’s most exclusive boarding school who vie to enter the Miss Universe pageant.My review of the original production.

Plot Points in Our Sexual Development (Lincoln  Center)

In this play by Miranda Rose Hall, Theo (Jax Jackson) and Cecily (Marianne Rendon) want to be honest about their sexual histories, but what happens when telling the truth jeopardizes everything?

October 23

Happy Birthday Wanda June (Wheelhouse at Duke)

A revival of Kurt Vonnegut’s satire about a big game hunter who returns to America after an eight-year absence to find it trying to address the culture’s toxic masculinity

October 24

India Pale Ale (MTC)

In this play by Jaclyn Backhaus, a tight-knit Punjabi community in a small Wisconsin town gathers to celebrate the wedding of a traditional family’s only son, just as their strong-willed daughter announces her plans to move away and open a bar. This comedy of generations clashing was the recipient of the 2018 Horton Foote Prize  for Promising New American Play.

Playwright Orlando Pabotoy

Sesar (Ma-Yi)

After watching an excerpt of “Julius Caesar” on television, a 14-year Filipino boy locks himself in the only family bathroom to dive head-first into the world of ancient Rome, determined to make sense of Shakespeare’s famous tragedy, eventually joined by the boy’s father, a former town mayor now exiled because of his democratic beliefs.

October 25

The Waverly Gallery (John Golden)

Written by Kenneth Lonerganand directed by Lila Neugebauer, making her Broadway debut, and starring Elaine May as Gladys,  whose world is being rearranged both within her own mind, and externally – the landlord wants to turn her  small Greenwich Village into a coffee shop. It co-stars Lucas Hedges, Joan Allen, Michael Cera, and David Cromer.

Lewis and Clarkson (Rattlestick)

Samuel D. Hunter’s two plays focus on two modern-day descendants of the explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. Each night “the plays will be performed together, in an intimate space for a small audience of only 51 guests who will gather to watch, to share a catered meal between the two productions, and to consider as a community our place in the ongoing American experiment.”

Renascence (Transport Group)

The biography of radical poet and playwright Edna St. Vincent Millay, using her poetry as lyrics.

October 28

Daniel’s Husband (Westside Theater)

A turn of events puts the perfect life of a gay couple in jeopardy, This production of a play by Michael McKeever had a run last year at Primary Stages. My review

October 30

Steven Levenson and Mike Faist

Days of Rage (Second Stage)

Steven Levenson (who wrote the book for Dear Evan Hansen) writes about five young idealists in the middle of a country divided, in October, 1969, who admit a mysterious newcomer to their collective, and the delicate balance they’ve achieved begins to topple. It stars Mike Faist (late of Dear Evan Hansen), Tavi Gevinson, J. Alphonse Nicholson

      October 2018 New York Theater Openings Bob Dylan, Glenn Close, Daniel Radcliffe, and Gloria Steinem are all on a New York stage one way or another in October, always a good month for theater.