#so-starz (series: kisses)

[so-starz]

˗ˏˋ⭒ kisses with shotaro!⭒´ˎ˗

wc: 0.98k+ | genre ? fluff, cw ? none!

types of kisses series [1/7] - routine kisses, gentle makeouts, lazy mornings

shotaro x gn! reader

⋆ note: new series!! excited for this one

you feel his hair tickling your face before you're even awake enough to open your eyes. the smell of his shampoo wraps around you like a blanket, and you hum with contentment as you snuggle further into the sheets. his heavy arm is draped across your middle, lithe fingers softly playing with the hem of your shirt, your head tucked into the crook of his neck to hide away from the sun shining through the blinds.

“baby? you awake yet?” a voice speaks just above a whisper, still coated with a layer of sleep, and you can already feel the hint of a smile creep onto your lips at the sound.

“no. ‘m still asleep,” you murmur back, wanting to savor this moment for as long as you possibly can. you feel shotaro’s chest vibrate with quiet laughter at your antics, his fingers splaying out against your back to hold you impossibly closer to him.

“okay. then i’m still asleep too,” he replies, nuzzling his cheek against the top of your head. you bite your lip to repress the giant smile that’s slithered onto your lips, shaking your head a bit in response.

“actually, i am awake. i haven’t given you your kiss yet.”

at the sound of your words, shotaro pulls back with an exaggerated humph. as you open your eyes to meet his, those sparkingly brown ones are already on you, watching as you move away from his chest to sit up. you rub your eyes with your fist, giggling when he wraps you up in his arms to pull you back on top of him, chest to chest now.

“was waiting for you to wake up. you know i can’t start my day without a kiss,” he speaks with a little smile; one that bunches up his eyes in the corners in that way that you love. you lean down to kiss his cheek a few times before cupping the side of his face.

“what time is it?” you ask, and a sheepish look falls onto shotaro’s face at the question, his nose scrunching up cutely.

“almost 11…” he admits quietly. 

you let out a tiny gasp, lightly swatting his chest. “taro! you have to go to work!” 

shotaro pouts at your response, shaking his head against the pillow as he gazes up at you.

“i need my kiss first.”

you can’t help but melt at the pleading eyes he sends you, and you reach up to brush some of his messy hair away from his face. his perfect, perfect face. every day, you wonder how you were so lucky to be loved by such an amazing person. 

“why didn’t you just wake me up? you big baby,” you mumble, pinching his cheek. he sticks his tongue out at you and you do the same to him. 

“didn’t want to,” shotaro speaks after a moment. “you looked too pretty.”

“am i still pretty now that i’m awake?” you exaggeratedly bat your eyelashes at him, effectively earning another laugh from his lips.

“you’re pretty no matter what. my pretty baby,” and his voice drips with such unexpected sincerity, your stomach swarms with butterflies. “c’mere.”

finally, he reaches up to trail his fingers against the sensitive skin of your neck before gently tugging you down to meet his lips. 

shotaro’s lips are warm and plush against yours, and you feel your heart clench in all the right ways as he kisses you. every kiss always feels like the first, your head beginning to grow foggy as you soak him in. his thumb faintly strokes the back of your neck and he tilts his head a bit to press closer to you—like your body being on top of his was simply not enough. 

your mind spins and twirls with adoration when his tongue swipes across your bottom lip, silently asking permission for your lips to part. he cradles you as if you are a piece of fine china, his hand leaving your neck to find your waist, holding you against him. you can feel his rapid heartbeat through his shirt and he sighs into your mouth, his limbs growing lax when you reach to rest your palm against his chest.

you knew that if you kept going at this rate, shotaro would never leave your side, so with a few tiny kisses to the corner of his mouth, you slowly pull away from him. 

“noooo!” shotaro whines dramatically, sprawling out on the sheets like a starfish. “this isn’t fair.”

“life isn’t fair, babe,” you giggle, leaning down to kiss him on the nose. “you have to go now.”

“don’t wanna…” shotaro huffs, trying to tug you back toward his lips. you smile as you give him another tiny kiss before rolling to the other side of the bed. shotaro is quick to follow you, but you stop him with a soft push to his chest.

“if you don’t go, then how are you gonna get your after-work kiss, hm?” you ask, cocking your head to the side. shotaro scrunches up his nose at you before deflating.

“you’re right,” he sighs. “one more kiss? for motivation?”

rolling your eyes fondly, you grab his chin and give him one long, sweet kiss. when you break away, there’s a goofy grin on his face that puts the sun to shame. 

shotaro reaches up to brush his thumb over your cheek fondly. “see you this evening, baby. i’ll call you during my break, okay?” 

“okay. i love you,” you yawn, snuggling into the sheets again.

“i love you,” he says back, but makes no move to leave once he sees you falling asleep again. “now i really don’t want to go.”

“taro, go!” you swat at him blindly through your laughter, trying to push him out of the bed.

“fine, fine! i love you! you’re so beautiful! i’ll miss you! and you better answer my call or i’m coming home early! i love yo-”

“taro!”

MASTERLIST

reblogs + feedback are greatly appreciated!

©️SO-STARZ

[cajon-desastre]

Hola Carmen, me encantan tus citas y los GIFs que las acompañan, suelen ir a la par del tema del día pero me gustaría conocer tu opinión acerca de todo este l��o si no te importa comentarlo. Asumo que igual no te sientes cómoda con mi petición así que si consideras oportuno no contestarme lo entenderé.

Siempre me has parecido muy sincera y equilibrada en tus comentarios, un beso guapa.

Hello Carmen, I love your quotes and the GIFs that accompany them, they usually go along with the topic of the day but I would like to know your opinion about this whole mess if you don't mind commenting on it. I assume that you may not feel comfortable with my request, so if you consider it appropriate not to answer me, I will understand. You have always seemed very sincere and balanced in your comments, a kiss pretty.

-------

Hi Anon, thank you for your kind words 🥰

I don't mind commenting, what happens is that I don't usually give much air to these things because what is sought, precisely, is to give them visibility and increase the drama, something that I don't usually lend myself to, only just enough when there are things that are too obvious which you can see here and here.

But you asked me for an opinion and this is what I can give you:

Disappointment and frustration would be the first words.

Ridiculous and hasty the second.

Disaster and control damage the third.

As a fan, it is not the way I would like for people I like to follow and support, but it is something that is not going to affect my life any more than the time I can dedicate to creating content or reading other bloggers. I understand that people may be very upset by the latest events and I see that, above all, they are recent fans, or those who have been there for a short time, for the most part.

I don't know, maybe I've been here for many years and I've seen everything. I am vaccinated against this nonsense that becomes cyclical and that is always a consequence of some previous event that is usually related to the shipper side and the image that is wanted to be transmitted to the general public, not to the fandom that is attentive to any movement or fact.

I have always wanted my attitude to be Zen, trying to take what happens on this side of the fence with resignation and humor. It's also because I try to compartmentalize what the fandom is and what the series and the books are. Enjoying the only thing that is stable within this madness despite Starz's mismanagement.

I could summarize that the situation is more of the same and I do not rule out that, when this situation passes, we will encounter new shenanigans. They seem to be one-tricks, and as long as it works, that's what we'll continue to see.

I also recommend that you read @outlanderskin in this post. Her thoughts are very similar to mine right now.

Thanks for the appreciation and I hope that Google translation makes this understandable 😘

-----

Hola Anon, gracias por tus amables palabras 🥰 No me importa comentar, lo que pasa es que no suelo darle mucho aire a estas cosas porque lo que se busca, precisamente, es darles visibilidad y aumentar el dramatismo, algo a lo que no suelo prestarme. Sólo lo suficiente cuando hay cosas demasiado obvias que puedes ver aquí y aquí. Pero me pediste opinión y esto es lo que puedo darte: Decepción y frustración serían las primeras palabras. Ridículo y precipitado el segundo. Desastre y control de daños el tercero. Como fan, no es la forma en que me gustaría que las personas a las que me gusta seguir y apoyar, pero es algo que no va a afectar mi vida más que el tiempo que puedo dedicar a crear contenido o leer a otros bloggers. Entiendo que la gente pueda estar muy molesta por los últimos acontecimientos y veo que, sobre todo, son fans recientes, o que llevan poco tiempo, en su mayoría. No lo sé, tal vez llevo muchos años aquí y lo he visto todo. Estoy vacunado contra este despropósito que se vuelve cíclico y que siempre es consecuencia de algún evento previo que suele estar relacionado con el lado shipper y la imagen que se quiere transmitir al público en general, no al fandom que está atento a cualquier movimiento o hecho. Siempre he querido que mi actitud sea zen, intentando tomarme lo que pasa de este lado de la valla con resignación y humor. También es porque trato de compartimentar qué es el fandom y qué son las series y los libros. Disfrutando de lo único que hay estable dentro de esta locura a pesar de la mala gestión de Starz. Podría resumir que la situación es más de lo mismo y no descarto que, cuando esta situación pase, nos encontremos con nuevas travesuras. Parecen ser de un solo truco, y mientras funcionen, eso es lo que seguiremos viendo. También te recomiendo que leas a @outlanderskin en este post. Sus pensamientos son muy similares a los míos en este momento.

Gracias por el aprecio y espero que la traducción de Google haga esto comprensible 😘

[maximumwobblerbanditdonut]

Sam Heughan has signed up to the celebrity dating app Raya in a bid to find love, MailOnline can reveal.

Despite being known for his role as the dashing Highland warrior Jamie Fraser in Outlander, the Scottish actor, 43, is yet to find his dream partner.

Sam, who was last seen enjoying a romance with Australian model Monika Clarke in 2022, has decorated his Raya profile with a slew of hunky snaps, and lists his main location as the UK.

MailOnline has contacted a representative for Sam Heughan for comment.

Raya is a private membership community that started out as a dating app, but has since become a platform for networking and social discovery.

A select few are chosen to be part of the 'elite community', with the waiting list to join the app said to be in the 'thousands' and 'not even 10 per cent of those who apply get in'

It was launched in 2015, and can be used on iPhones and iPads for $9.99 a month.

Sam was previously spotted kissing Australian model Monika Clarke in 2022, and he was also romantically linked to Twin Peaks actress Amy Shiels in 2018

A select few are chosen to be part of the 'elite community', with the waiting list to join the app said to be in the 'thousands' and 'not even 10 per cent of those who apply get in'.

Other names thought to have signed up include F1 star Lewis Hamilton, actor James Norton and footballer Jude Bellingham.

Before that he was romantically linked to Into The Woods actress MacKenzie Mauzy in 2017 before they split quietly the next year, and also previously dated Cody Kennedy and Abbie Salt as well.

In May 2023, Sam shared rare insight into his love life by admitting he's still looking for 'The One.'

He told People: 'I've done all of the gift-giving and turning up when least expected, but, so far, I'm still looking.'

He has starred on Starz series Outlander throughout its run, with the second half of its seventh season set to premiere in November 2024.

Sam was previously spotted kissing model Monika two years ago, and he was also romantically linked to Twin Peaks actress Amy Shiels in 2018.

Before that he was romantically linked to Into The Woods actress MacKenzie Mauzy in 2017 before they split quietly the next year

Despite being known for his role as the dashing Highland warrior Jamie Fraser in Outlander (pictured), Sam admitted in May he is yet to find his dream partner.

Outlander is a historical drama television series based on the ongoing novel series of the same name by Diana Gabaldon.

It is centered around an English combat nurse named Claire Randall (Catriona Balfe) from 1945 who is mysteriously swept back in time to 1743.

Last year, Sam also starred opposite Poldark's Eleanor Tomlinson in the steamy Channel 4 drama The Couple Next Door.

The series saw Evie and her husband Pete (Alfred Enoch) moving into an upscale neighbourhood, where they met next door neighbours cop Danny (Sam) and his wife, glamorous yoga instructor Becka (Jessica De Gouw).

As time goes on, these two couples get increasingly close to each other and one fateful night, become sexually entangled in a way that will change their lives forever.

During filming, Eleanor and Sam worked with intimacy coordinator Vanessa Coffey.

Prior to filming, the pair also knew each other through their mutual friend Caitríona Balfe, who plays Jamie's wife, Claire, in Outlander.

Eleanor previously told The Radio Times: 'Sam is now one of my best friends. Every day was a joy and creating Danny and Evie’s complicated and dangerous relationship was a lot of fun.

'It’s a real treat to work alongside such a supportive co-star but to leave a job with a best friend is pretty rare.'

Raya

Laura Fox UK Associate Showbusiness Editor. mailonline.co.uk.

Oops! Old news SH has been on Raya for a while and still can't find what he’s supposedly looking for 😬 One-night -stand with MC a date? If after breakfast He didn't see her again. A casual first night doesn't mean a date on the table. No one had ever mentioned this to the journalist 😂

Posted 11th April 2024

[brasideios]

10 Characters/10 Fandoms/10 Tags

Thank you for thinking of me my dears @krankittoeleven & @ainulindaelynn

Lemme see. This is long, sorry about that. I’m in a rambling mood. These are just the characters that came wandering into my noodle in no order - at least, that was intended.

1. Dorothea from Middlemarch (by George Eliot). She’s probably my fave character ever. I think in a mostly abstract way, she’s come nearest to mapping out how I perceive the feminine part of myself. She starts out so so idealistic - wanting to do something to change the world, to matter, but society has its own rules that eventually beats her down, but she’s so stoic, enduring, and self-denying, that her happy ending is earned… but then the epilogue is so melancholy so was it happy? and… I don’t know. There’s something in it all that I’ve never found a better version of.

2. My brain is on D names now lol so Daphnae from AC Odyssey. The more I think about her story, as little as we’re given of it, the more I find something tragic and fated in it, and then there’s the possibility of changing that fate, or embracing it. Something, something doomed by the narrative, unless…?

3. Demosthenes from my pdfs lol listen - ancient history RPF is a fandom (apparently) so this is valid. I have been down some serious rabbit holes with this man of late - I won’t even start on why or this will be an essay. I could also have put Thucydides in this position - but I’m on D names.

4. Daria. No seriously. I loved this show when I was a teen, and she’s honestly my spirit animal. It was my nickname because I was unfortunately very much like that. I adore her deadpan, acerbic remarks and many of them will live on in my brain forevermore. I wasn’t as witty btw - but the vibes were the same.

5. Hedwyn from the vg Pyre (woot! My brain releases me from the letter D!). I’ve played it several times now, and he’s my fave. Just a sweet guy - so sweet, you always want to free him first, but then you also very much wanna keep him with you - and sometimes I’ve been selfish enough to send everyone else instead. I also like Volfred a lot but that has everything up do with the VA 🙈

6. Alfie from Peaky Blinders. I have no excuses - the character is an unhinged maniac but Tom Hardy just brought something (a twinkling eye) to the role that makes him a very likeable, back-stabbing psychopath.

7. Caesar from HBO Rome. Ciaran Hinds has been a fave of mine since Persuasion - and I liked how he acted this part / how he was written. That’s all I’ll ever say about Caesar - character or historical figure. There are at least another half a dozen characters in this series I might’ve mentioned too. I must rewatch it one of these days.

8. Gannicus from Starz Spartacus. Dustin Clare is an old time favourite from waaaay back when I was persuaded to watch McLeod’s Daughters - really bingeable but quite trashy Aussie TV - sorry to any fans - but it really is. I so enjoyed his vibes and he brings all of that to Gannicus and it just works so well for the character. Pure cheekiness, and when he does this face 🥺 chefs kiss. Side note - I will pretty regularly say some variation of ‘my cock rages on’ about the most random stuff so - thanks to this character for that gem lol.

9. Johnny Spit from the movie Gettin Square. Yeah this is left field and I seriously doubt there’s a fandom for it - but what a character - quintessentially Australian deadbeat, (played by David Wenham). There’s a courtroom scene that kills me every time. I hope he got square, for good this time.

10. Kenny from Mad Men. I don’t even know how to explain it, I just want to protect him and he doesn’t even deserve it, and he wouldn’t have thanked me for it - maybe it was just the way everyone else was just an asshole about his writing. I want to know more about the short story about the egg. I could’ve picked almost any other character from this show though. They’re all so good/bad for their own reasons.

I made it! Haha! I have no idea who to tag - I think the only people who usually join in have already been tagged - so I’ll just add a few and call it ten. Sorry for any double ups.

No pressure at all - @nemo-of-house-frye @theinkandthesea @liminalspacecowboah @cyrus-the-younger @myriath

[ncisladaily]

EXCLUSIVE: Cloud Nine Productions, one of the production companies behind CBS’ Matlock, has a new President.

The company, which was founded by NCIS: Los Angeles star Eric Christian Olsen, has named Amanda Tudesco to the role.

Tudesco was previously Head of TV & Film at Jenny Kissed Me, Jenny Han’s production company that had an overall deal at Amazon.

She will help Olsen expand the company’s television footprint and develop a slate of projects under its first-look deal with CBS Studios, which is the studio behind the Kathy Bates-fronted legal drama.

It comes after Matlock was handed an early season two renewal.

Separately, Anna Volain Jones has been promoted to VP. Volain Jones, who previously worked at Legendary Entertainment, where she supported development on projects including HBO’s Dune: Prophecy and Apple’s Monarch, is a co-exec producer on Matlock, having joined the company in 2021.

Tudesco helped build Jenny Kissed Me and worked on series including Amazon’s The Summer I Turned Pretty and Netflix’s XO, Kitty. Before that, she spent six years as Head of Development & Production at Carpool Entertainment, working alongside showrunners Karyn Usher and Lisa Zwerling, where she worked on Starz’s The Rook.

Olsen founded Cloud Nine Productions in 2016 and previously produced Hulu comedy Woke, which starred Lamorne Morris. It has had a first-look deal with CBS Studios for the past eight years. It is repped by UTA.

“Amanda’s a superstar, and we are excited to have her on board,” said Eric Christian Olsen. “She has fantastic development instincts, incredible production skills, and a stellar reputation with writers, reps, and buyers. With our continued pledge to never work with asshats, she’s also a deeply good and thoughtful human being with a great sense of humor.”

Tudesco added, “I’m so honored to be joining Eric and his incredible team during such an exciting time for Cloud Nine. Eric’s amazing reputation as a producer speaks for itself, and I’ve been so inspired by his intelligence, hustle, and ability to quickly solve complex problems while in the thick of production. I’m thrilled for our next chapter together as we continue to produce, develop, and champion unique stories across all genres.”

[queer-ragnelle]

Hello. I shall thank you again for replying to my requests, which are really helpful. But there is a question that I would love to ask. Or maybe two

1. What are your personal favourite Arthuriana movies/series?

2. Which Arthuriana movies/series are the most accurate to the Legends?

3. Which ones shall I avoid? And why?

P. S. I have already watched:

Knights of the Round Table (1953) 9/10 (I loved Lancelot and Elaine together. He loved her, just not as much as he loved Guinevere... Arthur/Lancelot chemistry. Lancelot vs Mordred... Unexpected duel)

Lancelot du Lac (1974) 7/10 (I loved Gawain and the relationship with Lancelot)

Excalibur (1981) 10/10 (The movie is a gem. I wish we had more like this nowadays... The Lancelot redemption was amazing)

Cursed (2020) 6/10 (I only liked the Fae lore there)

BBC Merlin 8/10 (There were some wack moments. And Arthur wasn't really my jam. But the show is amazing)

hi! you’re welcome, i’m glad it was helpful. :^)

this is going to be a long multi-part answer, so i’ll throw it below a cut to avoid an obnoxious wall of text on the dash.

1. What are your personal favourite Arthuriana movies/series?

movies:

Knights of The Round Table (1953)

Sword of Lancelot (1963)

Camelot (1967)

Lancelot du Lac (1974)

Monty Python and The Holy Grail (1975)

Excalibur (1981) [review]

Merlin and The Sword (1985)

A Knight’s Tale (2001)

Tristan and Isolde (2006)

Kaamelott First Installment (2021)

The Green Knight (2021)

shows:

The Adventures of Sir Lancelot (1956–1957)

BBC The Legend of King Arthur (1979)

Merlin (1998)

Starz Camelot (2011)

2. Which Arthuriana movies/series are the most accurate to the Legends?

finding an “accurate” arthurian adaptation or retelling is an exercise in futility. no iteration exists without its own unique interpretation, including the medieval texts. gawain is obscenely inconsistent, so determining what constitutes an “accurate” characterization of him is literally impossible. the same can be said for every aspect of the legends. each author does their own thing! the other problem is that even if what’s there is reminiscent of the stories it references, something is inevitably missing. most of the time it’s gaheris. (okay, it’s always gaheris.) more often than not, the entire prose tristan cast gets cut. occasionally, one of the lads will show up on his own completely disconnected from the original lore… (palamedes in the black knight (1954), lamorak in sword of lancelot (1963) and again in kaamelott the first installment (2021), dinadan in camelot (1967), and tristan in king arthur (2004)) but i digress. if you’re looking for something that covers the majority of the story from arthur’s conception to his death, the choices are minimal.

BBC The Legend of King Arthur (1979)

Excalibur (1981)

3. Which ones shall I avoid? And why?

movies:

The Black Knight (1954): orientalist, black face palamedes. enough said.

Sword of The Valiant (1984): a remake of gawain and the green knight (1973) with worse everything from casting to costuming to pacing. tall, jacked gawain isn’t real and can’t hurt me.

Guinevere (1994): if i was persia woolley and they showed me this movie calling it an adaptation of my books, i’d maul them.

First Knight (1995): so ick it’s funny. wow this lancelot sucks. american accent, insufferable, entitled, gives face-hugger kisses? convoluted scenarios presented as romantic. lame costuming. questionable age gap between arthur/guin. he knew her as a child????? girl run.

Quest For Camelot (1998): rip author vera chapman, fortunate enough to pass before witnessing this abominable adaptation. why americanize the names lynette and gareth? why the hideous animation? the shabby song and dance numbers? the books are dark let’s make a kids musical out of it!

King Arthur: Legend of The Sword (2017): weaksauce attempt to cash in on existing audience. discombobulated the lore until unrecognizable. two women are fridged in the first half hour. strangely edited. nobody is likable. overall cringe.

shows:

King Arthur and The Knights of Justice (1992): nothing of substance here, typical 90s cartoon existing to sell toys.

The Mists of Avalon (2001): i’ll never support anything related to author marion zimmer bradley. she’s dead, let’s kill her legacy too.

Merlin’s Apprentice (2006): not sure what happened here but this sequel to the 1998 original is the biggest downgrade ever.

The Seven Deadly Sins (2014–present): every pitfall an anime can have, this one has in spades. beyond the bastardization of arthurian lore, it’s hard to follow chronologically bc the seasons are named not numbered, full of shameless fan service, lolis, a drop in budget resulted in ugly cgi animation.

Netflix Cursed (2020): take a shot every time a nicknamed character is revealed to be loosely arthurian. no don’t you’ll get alcohol poisoning. did netflix do it? did they solve misogyny by putting a sword in a girl’s hand? this was so disappointing it offended me.

anyway if there’s something i didn’t mention here then it’s mid. bbc merlin isn’t really my thing but it’s fun! transformers feels so far removed from actual arthuriana it’s not worth discussion, unlike some others that are trying really hard and suck so much. stuff like that. hope this gives you some things to check out next!

[strideofpride]

anything you’ve been watching/reading lately that you’d recommend? i think you have stellar taste in media (aka it often matches mine lol) so am curious! hope you feel better soon 💖

Ummmm yes, love this ask!!! (Also I’m so flattered 🥰 you have great taste as well btw)

Books:

Mo Ryan’s Burn It Down! If you’re at all interested in the entertainment industry and how it all gets made, this is basically required reading

the Succession script books (pricey but personally worth it)

I just finished Jill Gutowitz’s Girls Can Kiss Now and felt very seen, a wee bit too relatable

And I’m currently also reading Ann Patchett’s This is the Story of a Happy Marriage, which is a great book for my fellow writers to read

Substack:

I’m a paid subscriber to Hunter Harris’ Hung Up newsletter and I’ve never once regretted it lol

Gotta shout out Dracula Daily as well as the one podcast I listen to rn, re: Dracula (I listen and read at the same time which is perfect for me lol)

Gilmore Women - a Gilmore Girls recap newsletter that talks about everything wrong with each episode lol. I sped through the first six seasons and now I’m depressed that I’m caught up lol

TV:

Minx s2 - it is on Starz which I know most people don’t have but this season has been EXCELLENT

Only Murders in the Building s3 - it’s like a comfort show for me at this point, despite being about murder it makes me feel so cozy. Nora Ephron vibes

The Bear s2 - everyone’s been talking about it already but I just finished and god it was GOOD

The Sopranos - everyone should be doing # Sopranos Sunday with me!!! It’s so fun!! This show is soooo good, really living up to the hype for me

Acapulco - really cute show, makes me wish I was still on vacation in Mexico

Poker Face - bring back standalone episodes like this!!! Bring back character actors doing incredible guest star roles!!!

The Other Two - just. It was the funniest show on TV. It really was. 30 Rock’s spiritual successor which is pretty much the highest praise I can give it

Movies:

Red Eye - I rewatched it after Oppenheimer and it really holds up. Fun, tight thriller that is only like an hour 20 lol. Also Brian Cox aka Logan Roy is in it (and Jayma Mays my beloved)

Theater Camp - as a Jewish theater kid who went to and/or worked at a summer camp every year of her life from ages 4-20, there was no way I wasn’t gonna like this

Mamma Mia series - obviously everyone on tumblr knows about these already but I made my family watch them with me for the Fourth of July and god if I could live in the world of any movie it’d be this one ❤️

Man Up - very cute & fun British rom com I first discovered in college and rewatched this summer. Everyone has incredible comedic chemistry in this, and Lake Bell & Simon Pegg have great sexual chemistry as well (quite a lot of British faces who were nobodies when this was made who’ve gone on to bigger things - most notably Phoebe Waller-Bridge who’s only in a single scene)

X-Men: First Class - my favorite superhero movie ❤️

Indiana Jones series - I rewatched the whole series and saw the new one in theaters this summer. The first and third are literal masterpieces. Second one is mean spirited and racist. Fourth actually has quite a bit of charm, but then it fell apart in the back half. The new one…woof. Nobody but Steven Spielberg should be allowed to direct Indy movies.

Asteroid City - the longer it’s been since I saw it, the more and more I think it might be Wes’ masterpiece

Past Lives - incredible. But I know you already know that one lol

Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret - perfect, perfect film.

The Other Guys - we need Adam McKay and Will Ferrell to get back together, the fate of studio comedies hangs on this (anyway this movie is hilarious - but also if hell is real Marky Mark is obviously gonna burn for all eternity)

Comedy:

John Mulaney: Baby J - I saw him do this special live when he was touring it and I’m mad he cut the FBI bit but he’s still got it

[fimproda]

do you have aswell some movies or tv series with also good plot twists, or that in general you like narrative wise?

Dude, how can I tell you this...

I've got too many 🫠

TV Shows:

Sense8 on Netflix. I'll never get over its cancellation. It was such a good story, with great actors and characters, a compelling narrative, wonderful music and photography, and it was created by the Wachowski sisters of Matrix fame. At least we got two full seasons and a final episode that wrapped up all the plot lines as best as it could.

Anything by Mike Flanagan. You can find The Haunting of Hill House, The Haunting of Bly Manor, The Fall of the House of Usher, Midnight Mass, and The Midnight Club on Netflix; if I recall correctly, there's also his adaptation of Gerald's Game from the homonymous book by Stephen King (but this one is a movie). As for Guillermo del Toro, I think Mike Flanagan's brand of horror is more of a gothic story, with ghosts and other paranormal elements. He always chooses stellar actors and the photography is just top tier.

Dark on Netflix. It's a German show that deals with time travel and its respective paradoxes, and that's how much I'm willing to tell you.

The Umbrella Academy on Netflix. I wouldn't have even begun to care about this show if it hadn't been for Robert Sheehan, but it's actually nice, all things considered; it has a very peculiar aesthetic that not many productions can hope to achieve.

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina on Netflix. It's one of the cringiest, most senseless things I've ever had the displeasure to watch, but God if it makes me laugh. For all the wrong reasons, sure, but it does. I hate Sabrina so much, I want to slap her across the face so much, that rewatching this garbage fire of a show serves as an outlet for all my frustration and anger. I rewatch it religiously at least once a year.

Good Omens on Amazon Prime. Speaking of this, I forgot to recommend you the homonymous book by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, which is one of the most hilarious books I've ever read. I'd only advise you to watch season one, though; I haven't watched season two yet, but I've heard about it, and it's kind of meh narrative-wise.

American Gods on... I don't know, the Starz network? I read the Nail Gaiman book and loved it (forgot to recommend it to you, too), and I really liked season 1. Season 2 was meh, just like Good Omens. I think they made a third season, but I'm not sure. Anyway, both the book and the show are a must if you like mythology, in my opinion.

Let's stay on the Neil Gaiman train: The Sandman on Netflix. Tom Sturridge's performance as Dream (especially his voice) makes it worth a watch by itself, and if I hadn't already realized that I'm an uncurable bisexual, seeing Mason Alexander Park as Desire would've done it. But jokes aside, it's a lovely, well-made show that surely won't waste your time.

Westworld on HBO. At surface level, it's a story about a Far-West-themed park populated by androids. I only watched season one, so I don't know how the show develops from there, but I can tell you that the plot twist is *chef kiss*. Terrific actors, too — and I seem to recall a pretty naked Ben Barnes in one memorable scene.

Speaking of Ben Barnes, Shadow and Bone on Netflix. It's one of the few times an adaptation is better than the book(s) it's been adapted from, and I'm still not done being salty about its cancellation. I think that the show's new storylines fit the characters better than the books', and those things I didn't like in the books have been explained and/or done better by the show.

Brooklyn 99 on Netflix (at least, it's on Netflix in Italy/in the EU). It's a completely different thing than all the other ones above it, and I think it's fitting as my last entry for this list. It manages to combine a comedy show and a cop show in a perfectly natural way, and even the last two/three seasons, which are considerably worse than the previous ones, still remain funny and enjoyable. Plus, Jake Peralta and Amy Santiago are Cassian and Nesta in another universe. Change my mind.

Movies:

Call Me By Your Name. I would never recommend you the book, as it's some of the most pretentious, boring shit I've ever read, but the movie is another thing entirely. Although, might I say, I haven't been able to bring myself to rewatch it since all the allegations about Armie Hammer came out. Pity; I liked him and his chemistry with Timothée Chalamet in this one.

Donnie Darko. This movie turned 20 years old a couple of days ago, but it's still great even in the Year of the Lord 2024. It's a bit cryptic, sure; I myself have never been able to completely understand it. 10/10 anyway.

The Shawshank Redemption, adapted from a novella by Stephen King titled Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption. It's a story about a prison escape, and I'm not going to tell you anything more than this.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. This wonderful title has been translated in Italian as Se mi lasci ti cancello, "if you leave me, I'll delete you". Too spoiler-y of a title if you ask me, but this should give you an idea of what this movie is about.

The Truman Show and the Matrix trilogy, which are adaptations of Plato's allegory of the cave — and which, indeed, my philosophy professor made us watch at the end of the third year of high school.

Shrek 2. Yes, the second one specifically. Best movie ever made.

[tsintotwo]

(Part 2/4)

Second post talking about Tom Sturridge in his projects (Part 1 here).

Remainder (2015)- Plot: Dude has an accident and is in a coma for months. Afterwards, he's forgotten a lot but weirdly, is remembering things that seem to have never happened. This dude is Tom. Now, I have to give it to the director- Tom has been shot GORGEOUSLY in this. The movie is slow at the start and honestly I was ready to happily treat and view this as a 2-hr modeling exercise feat. him. But things did get interesting, and I ended up kinda enjoying the movie. Tom's character gets slowly unhinged, and he portrays that so well. The voice, the attitude, the inevitable sexual tension- all of it had me mesmerized. He kisses a woman and a man. This 2nd kiss might just be, without any exaggeration, the hottest thing I've ever seen in my whole damn life. What's great about this is when he's kissing this man, it's not just like 'oh yeah sexy times!!1!' Basically his character had been trying to recreate a scenario (that happened with the 1st kiss) for months and with this man in this moment it's all come together- so he's ecstatic and almost delirious: that's the scene here. Idk how much the actors really got into this irl 'cause most of the kiss looks quite close-mouthed, but that matters zero per cent because HOLY FUCK they, esp. Tom, sell it like there's no tomorrow. He's just so. fuckin. INTENSE. I can swear to you right now: I will NEVER be over this. (Sorry for a longass kiss analysis; not tryna be pervy, it just really made an impact.)

Mary Shelley (2017)- Kissing husband in front of wife, flirting with said wife, making out with mistress, and then introducing everyone to his twink, all under a minute. Meet Lord Byron, ladies and gentlemen, a veritable chaotic devil. In the movie for, like, 15 mins, but Tom just rolls up and SETS THE HOUSE ON FIRE. Playing such an outrageous character, it might have been easy to make it a caricature. But Tom makes it believable, and you can kinda tell he's having fun with this. The effect is electrifying. Just, perfect casting.

Velvet Buzzsaw (2019)- I'd watched the movie when it came out 'cause I'm into horror/thrillers, but the only thing I remembered is not particularly liking it. I did go and look at Tom's scenes again (who, until recently, I'd totally forgotten was in this movie). He plays a hipster art critic, complete with pretentious scarves. It's a small role, and unremarkable. He does what the job asks of him. There's no lasting impact. (Did he come into the movie 'cause he's friends with Jake Gyllenhaal?)

Sweetbitter (2019)- Series on Starz. New adult girl, Tess, comes to NY, starts working at a high-end restaurant. Falls for bartender Jake immediately. But he's childhood friends+ with two-faced queen B Simone who's very territorial about him. Tess gets close with both of them, and you just know there's a clusterfuck coming. Which we didn't actually see arrive because the show got cancelled after 2 seasons. I did mostly watch this- interesting enough, but riddled with problems. That aside, Tom plays Jake and I have to say this is the only time ever I've thought him less than perfect. The character is a walking NA instalovey-romance trope with near zero redeeming qualities, that's one thing. But a. Tom's American accent was off (which is weird 'cause he's pulled it off decently enough in other things), and b. (I feel like this is the showmakers' fault)- this character is supposed to be a thirst trap: broody asshole, a player with tattoos, a classic bad boy- and I KNOW Tom can do that, be that. And yet, he kind of... wasn't, 100%? The show just failed to present him that way, and it's SUCH a missed opportunity. I mean, dude's got the looks, the charisma, has done awfully well in bad news/lusty devil roles before. So what gives? Just, frustrating. The intimate scenes in the show are VERY nicely done tho. Worth watching just for seeing Tom fuckboy-shoving and kissing a girl against a wall tbh (A taste here)

Irma Vep (2022)- HBO show. Actress separates from actor husband after cheating on him with a woman, goes to France to film a remake of a classic movie called 'Irma Vep' and reflect on life and shit. Yeah, I wasn't gonna watch this. So, I watched the parts with Tom. He's the ex-husband, now on friendly terms with the MC. I loved him in this: something so natural about both when he's having a quiet, regretful convo with his ex wife and being playful and upbeat with his young new gf. There's this scene when he's hurting, goes to the MC for comfort, and they end up sleeping together. It was SO well done- hesitation, hurt, desire, wanting each other, but still really looking for comfort... masterful, from both actors (Tom with Alicia Vikander) and the director.

Bonus: See Wall/A Life (2019)- Two monologues from Tom (Sea Wall) and Jake Gyllenhaal (A Life) at Public Theatre and on Broadway. They both got Tony noms for Best Actor for this. It kills me that there's no way to see it now (check out the trailer on yt, you'll regret too), but there's an audiobook for this done by them on Audible which I got. I just love Tom's voice, okay? Love the way he speaks, even when he's not being Morpheus. And him telling me a 36 min story where he gets hyper and then quiet, excited and then devasted, is in love, is heartbroken- and I can replay it as many times as I want? Just, gimme. Any day, anytime. I'm so happy this exists.

That's it for this post. I've watched more stuff, so there will be a next installment.

[donotexterminateupgradepudding]

Black Sails meta. I love Captain Flint and want to blather on about him in 2022

I have been adrift in terms of media and recently stumbled upon the underappreciated Starz series Black Sails that ran from 2014-2017.  The main summary on the internets is that season 1 is lame but improves afterwards (and yes, it certainly does!).  I’m not usually into violent media, but I can look beyond that when it has a larger premise - generally something that touches on questions like; what is civilization?  What does a civil society look like?  Who benefits?  Who is excluded?  Who matters and who does not?  How colonialism hurts all but those at the very top making all the calls from their distant and comfortable place in Whitehall.

And of course - the MC, the one driving the plot - Captain James Flint.

A man who tightly controls how he presents himself and how much he reveals to others - and spoiler - that amount he reveals is very little.

I’m just going to focus on seasons 1 and 2 at the moment as those pull together the entire story of why Captain Flint exists and what his motivations are.

I would like to give a round of applause for the creative team behind Black Sails, Flint is one of the few INTJ characters that I have seen who is so well written and behaves consistently throughout.  Everyone likes to talk about how the MBTI can be used to create and define characters in media and the darling personality for many villains are supposed to be INTJ but almost always poorly executed.  But Flint, god, chef’s kiss right there, he hits in all the right places.  The mental calculations he’s constantly performing, adjusting to see how to play things out, his crazy ideas (which aren’t all that crazy if you are paying attention) the rich inner world, few close friends and a need for lots of quiet and alone time with his books. Yes, a pirate captain who likes books - so let’s start with that.  The entire plot is kicked off by his quest to find the schedule for that of the L’Urca de Lima, a Spanish treasure Galleon.  He wants the gold to secure so that Nassau can protect itself and self govern as a sort of independent state founded by questionable commerce and pirate crews. John Silver of course has the page and doesn’t know what it is - and thus begins his own search to determine its value.  Thus, he asks Dufrense about it and the accountant makes it clear that if Flint finds a book he likes on a prize, he takes it.

The first episode, although sloppy in other aspects, works hard to make Flint a walking contradiction/mystery.  He’s a feared pirate captain but highly educated and distance and a bibliophile.

We get more insight into him indirectly when Silver sneaks back onto the Walrus and searches Flint’s cabin for the missing logbook.  There in the dim light we can clearly see the first book Silver examines is the epic page turner

De Jure Belli Ac Pacis by Hugo Grotius.  Just some light reading in Latin about the basis for Western international law.  So, we know that Flint is well versed in deep legal thought and framework and he can read Latin.  Which isn’t too surprising for an educated man in the 18th century and was educated in the end of the 17th.  As the sequence continues we can catch a glimpse of a book on Flint’s desk as well.  The top book is Leviathan by philosopher Thomas Hobbes.  I have tried to make out the bottom one, but the scene is too fast and the lighting too inconsistent to see what is underneath.

Hobbes of course laid out the concept of the ‘social contract’ as well as an idea that some sort of absolute power or sovereign is needed to maintain society and prevent men from falling to their more ‘baser/animal’ nature.  Of course the show starts out with the idea that the pirates of New Providence Island are not men in the eyes of the law; where the law = England.  There are more books in his cabin and unfortunately, less effort is put into showing how nerdy they are as well.

These alone tell us, the viewer that Flint is a huge nerd and continue to contrast with how absolutely calculating and efficient he is towards doing what he needs to do to best serve his own goals.

When he finds out that someone searched his cabin (with the nice little feather in the bottom of the drawer trick) it confirms that the schedule is on his ship and in his crew.  However, the person who stole it is still unknown.  But that doesn’t matter, within mere minutes, he figures out that he can accuse Singleton who wants his job, is the thief, just setting off a fight to the death from which he pulls a blank page.  When he found that feather, I knew he was going to use that as his method to remove Singleton and find the page.  Adding to this is the sheer brutality of his fight with the other man.  He is a highly skilled fighter and takes a beating making his victory even more emotionally significant.  A white shirt bloodied and sliced open, his face a total mess, the shaky hand by which he hands the page to Billy Bones, who has no choice but to endorse his lie.

Please confirm the schedule my dear Billy, you have no choice after what you just witnessed.  He owned the entire situation and uses it to his full advantage before riling the men up with his “Princes of the New World” speech.

Keep in mind anyone who says this speech indicates he isn’t INTJ isn’t examining it in the context of the rest of the series.  He knows this is the time to give a speech.  Introverted types of people can give rousing speeches - if anything those of us who hope to advance our personal goals realize it is a necessity.  Public speaking is a tool.  Saying things to advance yourself is a tool.  The entire series reminds us time and time again, James is a person with few close friends he cares about and does not open up to anyone but them.  Furthermore, Captain Flint is a man created by the formerly proper Lt. James McGraw.  With Flint himself, being a tool for him to achieve James McGraw’s personal goals.

But back to the books.  It takes a few episodes for Miranda Barlow to be introduced who on the surface appears to be a woman who is involved with Flint likely in a romantic way.  At the beginning of episode 3 he wakes up in what later is revealed to be Miranda’s bed and casually walks into the kitchen in his undergarments before she patches him up more.

Knowing that he’ll be leaving soon for the gold, he remembers to grab a book he found in Captain Parrish’s cabin, a book of plays by Middleton which he clearly took for her.

Though Miranda’s body language and fiddling hands tell us she’s not quite sure what to do with what is likely another stolen book he’s brought her.  However, this also will tie into season 2 when it is revealed that Miranda lent James one of her favorite books, Don Quixote by Cervantes.  She in part lent it to him to help him determine how to deal with her husband, Thomas and his quirky personality.

Miranda states James may need to learn Spanish.

Now, I have to admit, I’ve tried multiple times to read Don Quixote, however, I’m always met with defeat (and that edition was indeed in English).  Yet, we should have enough of an awareness to realize that the book has a man who is both absurd and true to himself and no one will argue that Thomas Hamilton is a charming idealistic aristocrat who wants to ‘make a difference’. We see after this flashback that Flint is looking at all of the books from the nameless Spanish Man-O-War that was captured by Flint’s visionary plan.  He stops at one book, La Galatea, also by Cervantes.

After taking it off the shelf and all alone in the cabin, he takes the time to read the book.  This confirms that he has learned to read Spanish in addition to being able to speak it.  And we can look at this two ways - he learned Spanish because Miranda thought it would be useful to him in his career (true) or because he wanted to understand Thomas more and thus saw the book as research on his personality.

Once securely in the captaincy; again, he picks up the book and prepares to head ashore to visit Miranda.

They take great care to linger on shots with the book, when he talks to the two look outs; the fact he cares a cutlass in one hand while a book in the other.

Silver even comments on the book, which he simply replies that it isn’t for him.  We can certainly see that this is for Miranda based on the Middleton in season 1 and the flashback with her copy of Don Quixote.

However, under the cover of darkness, he is unable to approach as she is entertaining a local mother and her children and in classic awkward INTJ fashion, places the book on her porch where he knows she’ll eventually find it.

Pssshhh, not like I’m actually going to reveal my emotions to you Miranda.  You know those pesky emotions are difficult for me to handle.

The following morning before he opens fire on Charles Vane, we see Miranda opening the book to see a single line of “I’m sorry”.

Can we just stop and appreciate how on point this is for Flint and for anyone with a similar personality.  It is hard to apologize in person with words when one is more intimately involved with someone.  And that you have a long term relationship with.  Apologizing though an action is completely in character for him.  He is likely apologizing for their argument about her letter for the pardon in Boston; for the fact he brought her here; for what he is about to do in the name of an independent Nassau; for future things that Miranda will disagree with.  All of it.

In addition to all of this, the entire main plot of La Galatea is around two men and their love interest with one man being more elite and properly educated while the other is poor an rural.  It is a story that has a love triangle and Black Sails likes its examples of how love triangles work outside of civilization with the ending that sees Max, Bonny and Rackman successful and not selling out to keep their relationship.  In contrast, the ‘peak of civilization’ in London destroyed the love triangle that was James, Thomas and Miranda due to how wrong it was in the eyes of a few.  I can only guess that Flint selected this book because it had something in common with Miranda and their shared relationship with Thomas.

Which leads to the next key book that is involved in the ‘riveting’ reveal in season 2 episode 5.  Which isn’t that riveting if you’d been paying attention since the beginning.  I did not know the full background of Black Sails in our age of easy information and summaries.  I had assumed the queer rep was in the Anne Bonny, Jack Rackham and Max relationship based on the few things I’d seen.  But it was painfully obvious to me by episode 3 that Flint was not a straight character and his relationship with Miranda at the present was not one based on any sort of romantic love.  He let’s her belittle him as she cleans his wounds after bleeding on her floor as they interact like two people who know each other well - out of habit.  Richard Guthrie finds the stashed away portrait of the handsome Hamiltons and watches as Miranda flirts with the pastor. 

This is my long-winded way at getting to the key book, Meditations by Marcus Aurelius a very famous Roman stoic and emperor.  Miranda gives the book to Guthrie to find something to reflect on his circumstances and she wants to share this with him.

James will have none of this.  He has a look that could kill as he shuts the door while looking at Guthrie as Miranda slips away between them.  After the most awkward sex scene in the show where Flint passively lies below a sexually frustrated Miranda, he stares blankly beyond her unable to even touch her with his hands, unsure where to even place them relative to her body.  This is all one needed to realize that whoever the person is/was that captured James’s heart if it were even possible, it was not Miranda. 

As they dress, Miranda knows James is upset and when asked, it becomes an explosive argument about Meditations.  James has hidden the book away while Miranda feels her connection to her old life and Thomas and that book are slipping too far away from her - which drives her to write the previously mentioned pardon letter.

Flint can’t share that book with anyone else - though in season one we are left with him only reminding Miranda how important that book is too him with little else.  This is the start of the fight that James Flint isn’t sure how to resolve and other than Guthrie realizing that Miranda Barlow is the famous Miranda Hamilton who according to rumor had a torrid affair with her husband’s closest friend (a naval officer) we all know it is referring to Flint.  Though Guthrie only hears one side of the sex and thinks Flint was more involved than staring off into space as Miranda used him, but we know he likely felt that he should let her use him based on their complicated relationship and past. As the flashbacks slowly unfold, we first get the Cervantes books linking James, Thomas and Miranda.  What the big reveal is that Meditations was a gift, dedicated to James from Thomas.  To stop Flint from destroying the weak inherant nature of Nassau, Miranda rides into town with the book.  To present it to him, as she feels that he never got over the ostracization he faced and how he ignores that fact he could have been hung for his actions under civilized English law.

It is hard to tell who is right or wrong - honestly both of them are likely correct.  They have been dealing with so much pain and trauma that they’ve had a long time to learn how to really make their words sting as they argue.

She leaves him alone with the book which he gently touches.

And opens to show the full note that Thomas wrote directly to him. 

When we see the last dual flashback of James and Miranda leaving London, he reflects back on his relationship with the one person we can confirm he truly loved - reading to him in his bed from the very book.

So yeah, this book holds a lot of emotional meaning for him and even if Miranda shared a love of the text with her husband, she never denied that their relationship was something much deeper.  We could also look at the fact that Marcus Aurelius in his younger years was involved with his older teacher and they wrote lots of sappy love letters to each other.  That if they’d existed in another time and context their relationship would have been less of an issue.  It is funny how the progressive English intellectuals like to refer back to the classics while only taking part of it while ignoring other aspects that did not fit into their early 18th century narrative.

And with that, I’d like to wrap up my quick meta about the role of key books reveal much about Captain Flint’s complicated relationships, past events and how he may think about the present and future.  I’d like to dive into another quick analysis on how they visually broke down the growing closeness and relationship between James and Thomas in season 2 flashbacks but that will be for another day.

[yano2519]

Different PR strategies to push a movie

There are a lots of comments in the past weeks about Cait's PR strategy for Belfast.

I have to admit that the number of interviews, TV appearances, online chats, etc. also got on my nerves over time. But I think that's simply because every article, etc. that appears is also posted here in this fandome.

I suspect, however, that anyone who buys an issue of the Guardian, Vogue, the Irish Tatler or Vanity Fair will not notice that the article style, the questions and statements in all articles are almost the same, if one disregards small deviations and nuances that come about due to the different journalists.

After a film has been shot and before it is released in theaters or on television, a PR strategy is defined to market the film, which should arouse the interest of viewers and thus guarantee the highest possible box-office takings. This strategy is then used for all interviews, appearances, practically a red thread to which one is oriented.

Or does anyone really believe that after a film has cost millions to produce, actors are left to their own devices in interviews and are allowed/capable of saying whatever they want? The same goes for the interviewers. They are given a list of questions in advance, which they can use as a guide.

If we now transfer this to Belfast, it is only understandable that Cait talks about family, children, Ireland etc. in her interviews. Belfast is a family film, it's about Ireland, it's about children, it's about family and the difficult decision to leave home. Anyone who reads the interviews will now think to themselves. Great the actress knows her stuff, she doesn't just play this role, she has experienced it all personally: Childhood in Ireland under difficult conditions, a child herself and a husband to protect from the crazy fans, leaving home early to work as a model. People get curious, interest in the film is aroused, sales increase, etc.

It's very similar with Jamie D., he also talks a lot about his family, his childhood in Ireland, etc. in his interviews. I don't think he talked much about his family in the promo events for 50 shades of Grey, that was simply not necessary and didn't really fit the film.

When we now come to Outlander's PR strategy, things look completely different.

From the beginning, a lot of interviews, magazines, etc., have focused everything on the sex scenes. It was often said that the producers expected them to be as realistic as possible. I always wondered why there was so much focus on the sex scenes and not on the incredible chemistry of the leads in general. The fact that in a simple kiss scene (Wedding kiss, Prestonpans, Eye of the Storm, etc.) in an embrace (Prestonpans, Blood of my blood) or in a dialogue, they both convey so much emotion like no other acting couple.

It is known that SC has a contract for 6 seasons. This also means that since then, they have to ride this strategy. Countless stupid questions about the sex scenes, which are always repeated in every promo of a new season.

Just thinking about what questions were asked during that time:

- Whether the two of them are now allowed to play their sex scenes completely free, without a script

- Or the question about Jamie's Tinder account. (Season 4)

- Whether the sex in their 20s was better than in the 40s (Season 3).

- Whether questions about the French kissing because OL is set in France in season 2. etc.

I don't remember Rik or Sophie being asked similar stupid questions.

Starz tolerated all of this, even pushed it, in order to increase interest in the series and sales the series.

But that's how PR works, with the difference that Belfast's PR did a more professional job to some extent.

Since Belfast has been running in the UK this week, I think the promo will be finished in the near future.

I'm curious to see how or if Starz will push the PR for OL and if the approach will be the same as before. It wouldn't surprise me if then question came how it was to shoot the sex scenes during Cait's pregnancy and with baby bump.

[filmmakerdreamst]

Why Xena: Warrior Princess Was Groundbreaking

If you remember Xena: Warrior Princess, you probably do for a few reasons. The tiny, tight-fitting costumes worn by its lead characters. That circular spinny thing Xena threw at people (it’s called a chakram). Xena’s fabulous ululating war cry. The bizarre mish-mash of history the show threw together (though the producers knew their stuff, deep down – Rob Tapert later produced the rather more accurate Spartacus for STARZ). What you might not remember, or might not know if you’re unfamiliar with the show, is just how important and ground-breaking Xena was when it first aired between 1995 and 2001.

The first and most obviously groundbreaking thing about Xena: Warrior Princess was, of course, the gender of its lead character. Xena wasn’t the first female lead of an action-adventure series – Charlie’s Angels and Lynda Carter’s Wonder Woman, for example, had enjoyed success in the 1970s, while non-action-adventure shows led by women had been common for quite some time, with 1990s examples including Ellen, Blossom, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, and Cybill.

The way Xena presented its female hero, though, was a bit different. The opening narration describes how “a land in turmoil cried out for a hero” and then presents the hero in question with an emphatic “she” as we see Xena riding into battle. Lucy Lawless, aside from being likable and charismatic, gave us a heroine who looked like she could physically handle a fight (rather than a super-powered waif-like heroine) while still being extremely attractive (as the costume department and directors were keen to emphasize!). She owed a lot to Carter and Wonder Woman, but Xena’s capability, confidence, and independence were a breath of fresh air in the 1990s SFF television landscape.

Xena’s portrayals of race, gender, and sexuality may seem fairly normal or even disappointing now but were highly progressive at the time. While the show was white-dominated, there was a clear effort made to introduce a more diverse cast. One of Xena’s early love interests was a black man, something hopefully no longer of note, but still relatively unusual at the time. The show also cast a black actress, Galyn Görg, as Helen of Troy, the most beautiful woman in the world, offering a nice change from the usual blonde, blue-eyed Helens we’ve seen on film and TV for decades. Similarly, Cleopatra was later played by Gina Torres. The series also set several episodes in Asia, featuring Asian guest characters.

The most significant relationship on Xena was, of course, that between Xena and Gabrielle. To a modern viewer, their relationship probably comes across as frustrating and disappointing, as despite many hints, frequent sub-textual references, and great chemistry between the two actresses, their relationship was never officially clearly stated to be romantic. They did, however, kiss as early as season 2.

Back in the 1990s, two characters of the same gender kissing was still a huge deal. Carol and Susan on Friends were restricted to hugging even at their wedding, while Willow and Tara’s first on-screen kiss on Buffy the Vampire Slayer was eventually worked into the deeply emotional episode “The Body,” after almost two years of subtext and more hugging.

On Xena, in the grand tradition of SFF TV (see also: Star Trek‘s “Plato’s Stepchildren”), a way was found to make the kiss more palatable to the networks. Xena was occupying the body of a man, Autolycus, at the time, so we see Xena’s spirit and Gabrielle’s come together for the kiss, played by the actresses, and then cut to Renee O’Connor’s Gabrielle kissing Bruce Campbell’s Autolycus, so the image actually broadcast is that of a man and a woman kissing. This may look like pandering and queer-baiting to modern eyes, but for the 1990s, it was a major step forward and the kiss was hugely important to LGBTQ Xena fans. Throughout the series, tricks like this were used to create a romantic story by the back door, so to speak. In another plot arc, Xena and Gabrielle’s reincarnated souls married each other.

Both characters had relationships with men throughout the series as well, but a reading of the show as led by two bisexual female characters who were in a relationship with each other was positively encouraged by numerous hints. In 1997, the same year as Xena and Gabrielle’s kiss, both Ellen DeGeneres and her namesake character on her own sitcom came out, something which sent shock waves through the entertainment industry, so this was a genuinely progressive move. And Xena told progressive stories about gender in other ways as well. Also in 1997, the episode “Here She Comes… Miss Amphipolis” featured a transvestite character winning a beauty pageant (in which Gabrielle acts as Xena’s “sponsor,” surrounded by men “sponsoring” their girlfriends).

Xena was groundbreaking in its format as well. Like contemporary show Frasier, Xena was a spin-off based on a character from another series and this produced a setup that might not have sold without its head start from Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. Our hero is not a pure and innocent champion of good, but a former villain trying to redeem herself for the bad things she’s done (this may sound familiar, but remember, the show pre-dates Angel!). This setup ensures that Xena never slips into standard Strong Female Character tropes. Strong she certainly is, but she is also fully three-dimensional, flawed (always trying to balance violent impulses and a desire for peace), looking for ways to use her violent skills for good and burdened by guilt. And then there’s her counterpart, Gabrielle – resisting physical violence for a long time, interested in art and literature but unable to tear herself away from Xena and the violence inherent in Xena’s lifestyle.

The show also popularized some of modern SFF television’s most beloved tropes. It was not the first show to break the fourth wall, or do a musical episode, or do a time loop episode, or any of the other tropes that show up. However, it did do a lot to popularize more experimental episodes like “A Day In The Life” or the famous first musical episode “The Bitter Suite” – which took the musical format completely seriously, a move unusual at the time – as the show used these in a manner and with a frequency that were unusual at the time (along with its parent show, Hercules).

The X-Files, for example, produced some great format-bending episodes, but usually only once or twice a season (with the exception of season six). Xena showed that a series format could be seriously flexible, including multiple episodes set in the twentieth century, hundreds of years away from the main setting of the show, as well as a wide range of other stories. Again, it was not the first or the only show to do so (Doctor Who is the most obvious example of a show with a seriously flexible format) but it made this type of television seem viable and popular.

Xena has had a huge influence on SFF film and television over the years. It takes only a brief look at a basic description of the show to see how much Buffy the Vampire Slayer (which debuted as a television series two years after Xena, in 1997, though the 1992 film pre-dates Xena) and Angel owe to Xena, and the debt was acknowledged in Buffy’s “Halloween” (“She couldn’t have dressed up like Xena?”).

It’s also worth noting that, before The Lord of The Rings showed the world how beautiful the New Zealand landscape was, the cast and crew of Xena and Hercules were ignoring the distinct lack of any similarity between the geography of New Zealand and Greece and showing the scenery off as best they could on relatively low budget television. Many of the cast and crew worked on the Lord of the Rings films as well – notable examples include cast members Karl Urban and Martin Csokas, costume designer Ngila Dickson (whose departure in 1999 presumably allowed her to focus on the films), and Richard Taylor and Tania Rodger, co-founders of Weta Workshop, who worked on a handful of early episodes.

In some ways, Xena: Warrior Princess hasn’t aged too well. The special effects can look a bit ropey (not surprising considering the show’s era and budget), the stories are often cheesy, and its episodic format has gone out of fashion. But the show is well worth a watch if you haven’t yet caught an episode. It has heart and heap-loads of humor (every episode ends with a joke disclaimer about who was or was not harmed during the making of it) and managed to balance dark and light pretty well, veering between pure comedy and deeply serious material with relative ease. The current SFF TV landscape wouldn’t be what it is without Xena and her chakram.

- Why Xena: Warrior Princess Was Groundbreaking by Juliette Harrisson

[a-man-for-hire-and-his-archives]

Monte Carlo Television Festival: The Black Sails pirates board the Principality of Monaco

(Published on June 13, 2014 and translated from France in English)

The 4th day of the Festival was placed under the sign of piracy. Indeed, the actors of Black Sails left aside their boat and their wooden legs to speak to us without language of wood. We therefore had the chance to meet some very charismatic actors from the series, namely the very charming Hannah New (Eleanor Guthrie), the sublime Jessica Parker Kennedy (Max), and the boys with devastating looks Luke Arnold (John Silver) and Toby Stephens (Captain Flint). Here's what to take away from the conference:

– They feel very lucky to be able to shoot in this kind of setting and despite the green background to do such beautiful things. 5-6 years ago nothing would have been possible. – “Treasure Island” by RL Stevenson is the book that inspired the series. Almost all the actors have read it and they have taken inspiration from the book for their characters. – Regarding her role as a woman in the series, Hannah New says that it's great to play a strong woman in the middle of all these men, it's very fun and it's also a way to show that women too can have power. – Jessica Parker Kennedy had previously starred in the CW series “  The Secret Circle“, she says that she loved filming in this series and that it is a pity that it was canceled. But her cancellation is also the reason she was able to audition in Black Sails . Her role as Max is something she's never done before, so it was a great opportunity for her. She is very happy in the end of this role. – Jessica Parker Kennedy has a crazy anecdote from the shoot: during a scene where Max and Eleanor kiss, the bed they were on broke. – Professional sailors work with the actors. – Toby Stephens tells us that Black Sails is a kind of Deadwood on the sea. – For actors, shooting nude scenes is not exciting. Hannah New even adds that each time it's weird, but everyone is very professional and then it's an opportunity to explore something different, especially in this kind of series with a big sexual context. – Sex and violence are necessary for the series for more realism and in relation to the theme of piracy. Starz never asked to emphasize these points. The cast consider Black Sails to be very different from Spartacus .

– In season 2, we will find Captain Flint in London.

In off, Hannah New told us that she loved this press conference and that the questions asked were very interesting. She is proud to see such talented young journalists (we have specified that for some it was only a hobby and not a real job). Hannah New is a simple, generous and very charming actress, thanks to her. Finally, she told us that she was very lucky to work on Black Sails , among other things because her male partners were really charming… We won't contradict her on this point!

A season 2 is coming soon on Starz and the series will be broadcast in France on OCS Max via Canalsat.

credits to Sur Nos Ecrans

[little-butterfly-writes]

Give Me a Child? - Kiro Zhou

Type - Smut with fluff at the end

Warnings - NSFW, vaginal sex, food play, internal cumshot, oral (female recieving), pregnancy fluff

Word count - 2245

A/N - HAPPY BIRTHDAY KIRO!! I apologize for being inactive lately! MC’s name is Ash, I felt like giving her the name of the close friend who requested this. Also, a big thank you to @among-starz for proofreading this <3

Your husband, Kiro, is currently on tour. You feel quite lonely whenever he leaves for work, but what can you do? Apple Box gives you a sad face as he sits on your lap. He places his paws on your chests as a plea for attention.

“Do you miss daddy too?”

“Ruff!”, he barks.

“I know, he hates us so much~. He left his wife and puppy home alone~.”

“Daddy missed his little girl very much. He didn’t miss his dog too much, though.”, someone whispers in your ear.

You nearly ascend to the high heavens at the jumpscare Kiro gives you. He moves Apple Box’s paws from you so he can cup your chest instead. You try to keep every bit of your composure as Kiro kneads your breasts over your shirt. Apple Box quickly leaves your lap to greet the sunshine in your living room.

“Alright, alright. I’ll give you some love too.”, He says as he bends down to pet the corgi.

“Did you bring food? It smells like takeout.”

“Not even a greeting for me? I guess Miss Chips doesn’t love me…”, he pouts.

“Oh, Kiro! My dearest husband is back! I missed you so much!....Did you bring food or not?”

“I guess~. I brought some ramen for us. If only I could get a kiss…”

You chuckle as you give him a kiss. Kiro hands you your already fixed bowl and comes to sit with you.

“How did you already put this together without a noise?”

“A superhero never reveals his secrets.”

The two of you snuggle while you eat and watch your favorite shows together. The small lab is sleeping in his bed.  Kiro caresses your body, especially your stomach after you finish eating. The show keeps going, but Kiro is keeping his focus on you. 

“Kiiiirrrrooooooo”, you whine.

“Yes, Ash?”

“Why are you rubbing my stomach so much?”’

“To help aid digestion, of course.”

You accept that answer and continue watching your show. Then kisses fall on the nape of your neck. Kiro’s soft fingers push down the waistband of your pajama shorts. Kisses from silk lips touch down on to your heated cheeks.

“Be quiet, or you’ll wake up Apple Box”, he teases.

“But Kiro, I don’t think-”, he cuts you off by rubbing your clit.

“Sorry, what?”

“I, uhn, I can’t,”, a loud moan slips from your parted lips.

“Ash…”

Slight panting is the only thing you’re listening to. You notice as a digit slips into your heat, then another.

“How would you feel if I asked you to have my children?”

The subject had been brought up during your honeymoon while Kiro did a short livestream. Both of you had decided you’d both wait awhile before the next step together. You brought it up recently, but it never spurred more than a chat. The fingers he slipped in are waiting to move.

“Are you sure you’re ready, Kiro? What about your job?”

“I’m positive, Ash. Besides, it feels like the right moment. Do you want to try now? We don’t have to if you don't want-”

“I’m ready.”, you say with confidence.

“Really!?”, Kiro beams while he moves to finger you.

“Ye, ummm, yeah…”, you sigh out.

Kiro pulls away from your heated arousal, then carries you to your shared room. He drops you on the bed, making you giggle from the bounce. He strips you of your clothes, button after button at a snail's pace. A whine from your lips urges your husband faster. As Kiro finishes, a light bulb lights on top of his head.

“I’ll be back in a minute~”, Kiro says in a singsong voice.

He leaves the room quickly only to return with a jar of honey. You give him a quizzical look. Kiro is wearing the signature cheeky grin, the one he wears when he sneaks snacks behind Savin’s back. You watch him strip quickly as you lay on the bed.

“Let’s try something new tonight”, he smirks.

He slowly crawls on top of you. The memory foam mattress imprinting every curve of your body. You barely notice as the sticky honey is poured onto your abdomen. Kiro draws you in an enchanting kiss as he puts the jar on the nearby nightstand. Kiro breaks away to move further down. The feeling of his warm tongue lapping at your belly feels pretty good.

“Kiro, uhn, stop teasing me!”

“But I have to make sure all the honey is all gone before I stop!”

As he finishes licking the remainder of the honey, the cheeky bastard scoops up more honey and smears it onto your throbbing clit.

“Miss Chips…”, he says before leaving a long lick along your slit.

You tangle your fingers into golden locks. Your toes are already curling into the sheets.

“No matter how many snacks I eat, you’re always my favorite.”, he murmurs in between your legs.

Kiro starts out slowly, teasing licks against your aching cunt. Slowly letting his tongue glide in and out of your hole as he holds your legs up. As a few minutes pass, his pace quickens. Kiro’s muscle is fucking you, sliding in at a fast pace. Your moans turn into pants for air.

“K-kiro....!”, you yell out.

“Be a good girl and cum on my tongue”

You let your orgasm rip through you. Kiro gladly sucks up your leaking essence. Your legs fall limp once he lets go.

“Tired already, baby? I haven’t even fucked you.”, your husband croons.

“Kiro, please, just fuck me already.”, you beg lightly.

“As you wish, my princess”.

Kiro uses your slick folds to lube himself before he enters you slowly. Your jaw drops as his thick cock stretches you out.  A groan of approval comes from Kiro’s throat.

“God, babygirl. I swear you get tighter every time I fuck you.”

“Please, start moving! I want you so badly!”

Kiro starts moving. You can feel each little ridge as he slowly pulls out. He hears a little whine from you, so he thrusts even harder. Kiro lowers himself to rest his forehead on yours.

“I love you so much, Ash.”, he moans out.

You can only moan as a response to his words. You’re drowning in the ocean of pleasure as he starts pounding into you roughly.

“Keep going! Keep going, oh god I’m so close.”

Kiro kisses your lips softly. His left hand moving to twist your nipples as his right hand rubs your clit. Your second orgasm of the night runs through your body. Kiro comes after you, deep breaths coming from his lungs.

“Yeah? You want me to keep pounding you until I spill deep inside you?”

“Please! Give me all your cum! I want your babies!”

“That felt so good,  Ro..”

“I’m not done with you yet, Ash. I have to show how much I missed you.”

Your night is filled with moans and screams of passion. Kiro came in you again, and again. You’re pretty sure you won’t be able to walk a straight line in the morning. 

In the morning following suit, you’re surprised to see Kiro up early for once.

“What are you doing?”, you yawn out.

“I gotta see if Savin can pick up some pregnancy tests. If he can't then I need to put on a disguise then get some myself.”

“Can’t you do that later? I wanna cuddle still.”

“If Savin can get them, then we can cuddle more.”

A minute or two passes by. Kiro sighs after a phone ding.

“Looks like I’m free to cuddle. Come here, Miss Chips!!”

The next time your try is next week. Kiro has been very busy at the studio. It came to the point where you barely saw him at home the past couple of days. Since it was Kiro’s day off today, he had no other plans other than being hilt deep inside you all day. One minute you were cuddling on the couch, the next you were in nothing but your thigh highs. Kiro is already playing with your tits while you grind on his thigh.

“Go on baby, cum on my thigh.”

“But….but I’ll make your jeans, haaah, dirty..”, you stumble out as he pinches your nipples.

“I don’t give a fuck about my jeans. Just let go.”, he murmurs.

You let the tight coil in your stomach snap.  You’re still rolling on the waves of your first orgasm as Kiro lays you on your stomach.

“Lift your ass up”, he commands.

You let out a whimper as you move your legs to the position Kiro wants you in. The soft throw pillow helps your upper body feel comfortable. Kiro digs his fingers into your hips, surely going to leave bruises tomorrow. You wiggle your bare ass against clothed hardness. With the sound of metal being unzipped and unbuckled, your cunt is filled to the brim in one swift thrust. You yelp out in surprise as he pounds into you mercilessly from behind. He bows down over your body to outline the shell of your ear with his tongue. You can feel his hot breath ghost over the nape of your neck. The flutter of your walls earns a groan. You purposefully clench around his thick cock again, earning a hard smack to your ass. A series of moans follows your loud whimper.

“Please! Please Kiro, I want to cum!!” Your body is humming.

“Do you deserve to?”, he mumbles into your ear as he reaches down to stroke your clit. 

“Yes, yes, pleaassse! I want your babies, please, cum inside me!” He thrusts start growing faster and erratically. 

“Come on, Ash. Release yourself all over my cock.”

You feel an eruption of warmth blooms between your legs as you roll on the waves of your second orgasm. Kiro’s cum paints the inside of your pussy in white spurts. He waits a minute before pulling out and turning you on your back. Your husband adjusts the pillow that held your upper body and pulls it down to your lower back.

“Roro, this feels silly..”

“We can’t let anything essential drip out! Just for half an hour, Miss Chips.”

Kiro pouts playfully, so you agree to keep your waist up high. He makes sure that you’re okay and not in any pain. He brings you some cold water out of the fridge.

Of course, you and Kiro have many more nights of passion after, yet those two times were the most memorable. The pleasurable bruises that marked your body, and the chance of  finally creating a little life form made you elated just thinking about it. After around three months of trying, Kiro was forced to leave for a tour yet again.

While he’s gone, you start to notice a dull ache in your head. Somedays, you’d wake up feeling like you’d puke your guts out. Even the smell of your favorite foods could set your sensitive stomach off. And the cravings of things you normally would eat, like chocolate with your chips? Something wasn’t right.

You take a deep breath before entering the bathroom, a box of pregnancy tests in hand. Your eyes light up as you see two lines pop up, no longer seeing that pesky single line. You cried tears of joy. Over the course of the day, you take a couple more tests to confirm that you aren’t going crazy, all of them coming out positive. Since you haven’t seen Kiro in around two weeks, you decide to surprise him with the news the next night when he would be home.

An hour before your husband will be home, you put the one test you saved in a small rectangular box. You tie a pink and blue ribbon loosely to prevent the lid from popping open.

…..

“Miss Chips! Your superhero Kiro is home!”

You nearly trip over your own feet as you rush over to your soulmate, the boxy clenched in your hands.

“Kiro, Kiroo! I have a gift for you~!” Your body vibrates in excitement.

“Alright, alright! Let me see!”, he chuckles.

You hand him the box. He quickly removes the ribbon and opens it. You two stand there in silence as he looks at your test.

“K-Kiro? Are you okay?” You’re met with silence.

“I’m sorry, Kiro….I thought this was what you wanted..”

“I’m going to be a father?” He looks up at you, his eyes watering slightly.

Your frown turns into a smile the minute he embraces you in a bone crushing hug. You wrap your arms around his neck while leaving a small peck on his lips.

“Miss Chips, we’re going to be parents! I’m going to be a dad!”

He picks you up gently and places you on the plush sofa. Kiro kneels in front of you, taking your hands and placing them on his cheeks as he rests his head on your stomach.

“Thank you so much for everything, Ash… I couldn’t even think of a life without my one and only love.”

“I love you too, Kiro”, you say with a wide smile.

That night’s movie night is one you’ll never forget. Kiro whispered words of love that left you ecstatic. He rubbed your tummy while he cuddled you from behind. The happiness in his eyes each time you’d look over at him. Kiro was prepared to be given a cruel life at a young age, yet you turned his future around. He wouldn’t have life any other way.

[mrsfraserheughan]

These are not my own reviews, they are Amazon reviews for Outlander S5. But I couldn’t have said it better myself! S5 was so much better than S4, but it was lacking...something. I hope Starz and OL production team takes note when planning S6. 

My thoughts are: bring back the real Jamie and Claire kisses.

Minor characters are minor for a reason! Let’s keep them that way.

I know Jamie and Claire have to split time with the Bree Roger storyline 😴 but keep JC the main focal point of the show to keep viewers’ interest.

NO more episodes where Jamie & Claire don’t have any scenes together (S5). And certainly not any episodes where Sam and Cait don’t appear in the episode at all! (S4). 

“Soft Frasers” are fine for minor decoration but don’t cut out the passionate love scenes that are still in the later books. Their passionate love (yes, the sex scenes, people!) is what holds the whole plot and the series of books together. Claire didn’t travel back 200 years for a mediocre love story, or crappy sex. (Think stable scene). The book scene of that was 🥵🔥🔥while the awful rendition in the show was ....

[incensuous]

Incest Rec List

Books (that I have read):

“Flowers in The Attic” by V.C. Andrews (Older!Brother/Younger!Sister; explicit; dub-con). There’s also 3 sequels (”Petals in the Wind”, “If There be Thorns” and “Seeds of Yesterday”) as well as a prequel (”Garden of Shadows”). There’s also a spin off series called “Christopher’s Diaries”, but it was written by another author and goes against pre-established canon.

“Game of Thrones” by George R.R. Martin (Twin!Brother/Twin!Sister; explicit; consensual).

“Tigana” by Guy Gavriel Kay (Younger!Brother/Older!Sister; explicit; consensual). It’s just a plot detail, without much importance.

“The Cement Garden” by Ian McEwan (Older!Brother/Younger!Sister; explicit; consensual). 

“Forbidden” by Tabitha Suzuma (Older!Brother/Younger!Sister; explicit; consensual). It’s a romance book and just so happens that our protagonists are siblings. It also has a very sad ending. 

“The Thirteenth Tale” by Diane Setterfield ( Older!Brother/Younger!Sister; hinted, but it’s suspected by other characters; slightly dub-con).

“Os Maias” by Eça de Queiros (Younger!Brother/Older!Sister; explicit; consensual). A classic portuguese novel, I’m pretty sure there’s an English translation. The characters are unaware that they are related. 

 "The God of Small Things" by  Arundhati Roy (Twin!Brother/Twin!sister; explicit (iirc), consensual).

“The Mortal Instruments Series” by Cassandra Clare. Oh, this one is complicated to categorize, specially without giving spoilers. But I’ll try: we have one couple that are together unaware that they are related (Older!Brother/Younger!Sister). If you read further, we have one couple that believes to be related by are still attracted to one another (Older!Brother/Younger!Sister). Go further into the series and we have a non-consensual kiss between another Older!Brother/Younger!Sister couple, in which the brother is very attracted to said sister.

“Josie and Jack” by Kelly Braffet (Older!Brother/Younger!Sister; subtext, likely one sided attraction). Fun fact: one of the characters compare Josie and Jack to Chris and Cathy from “Flowers in the Attic”.

“The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allan Poe (can’t remember who is older, but it’s Brother/Sister, subtext).

“The Secret History” by Donna Tartt (Twin!Brother/Twin!Sister; explicit; consensual).

“The Dreamers” by Aldair Gilbert. (Twin!Brother/Twin!Sister; explicit; consensual). This one is interesting, because originally, it was a book called “The Holy Innocents”, which in turn as based in a French book called “The Holy Terrors (or “Le Enfants Terribles” in French) by Jean Cocteau. I was never able to find the original version to buy, as when the book was adapted into a movie called “The Dreamers”, Aldair decided to re-write the novel and re-publish with the same title of the movie.

Books (that I haven’t read, and therefore can’t offer much detail, if anyone has read, feel free to fill the gaps):

“Ada, or Ardor” by Vladmir Nabokov (brother/sister). It’s by the same author of Lolita, so I can assure you it must be polemic. 

“Book of Daniel” by E.L. Doctorow (brother/sister). I think it’s a biblical thing. 

“Burying the Shadow” by Storm Constantine (brother/sister).

“Mirror, Mirror” by Gregory Maguire (brother/sister).

“Malika” by Valérie Valère (brother/sister).

“The Mists of Avalon” by Marion Zimmer Bradley (brother/sister). 

“Pin” by Andrew Neiderman (brother/sister).

“A Spell of Winter” by Helen Dunmore (brother/sister).

“Wasteland” by Francesca Lia Block (brother/sister).

“The Blue Bedspread” by Raj Kamal Jha (unknown).

“The Holy Terrors” by Jean Cocteau (brother/sister). As mentioned in my comments about “The Dreamers”.

“Watch Your Mouth” by Daniel Handler (unknown).

“Mara and Dann: An Adventure” by Doris Lessing (Younger!Brother/Older!Sister).

“Moon Tiger” by Penelope Lively (unknown).

“The Hotel New Hampshire” by John Irving (unknown).

“Love’s Forbidden Flower” by Diane Rinella (brother/sister). Has a sequel, “Time’s Forbidden Flower”.

“Flawed” by Kate Avelynn (brother/sister).

I would like to notice that most of the books in this list are difficult to find (at least if you live outside of the U.S.) and can be expensive since most of them you will have to buy from the U.S. and have them delivered to your house. There’s many more books, I’m sure. This is only the ones I have heard of.

Movies/TV-Shows:

“Flesh and Bone”. 2015; One Season. At Starz. (Older!Brother/Younger!Sister; explicit; dub-con). It’s like Black Swan, but instead of lesbians, it’s about incest.

“Merlin”. 2008; Five Seasons. At BCC. (Half-Brother/Half-Sister, not sure who’s older). The characters are unaware of their status as siblings, but there’s a build up for their relationship before it’s dropped in Season Two.

“The Borgias”. 2011, Three Seasons. At Showtime. (Older!Brother/Younger!Sister; explicit; consensual). Based in the historical Borgia family.

“Consent”. 2010, 1h 27 min. (Brother/Sister). Haven’t seen yet to be able to say details, but I’m pretty sure it’s explicit.

“Shame”. 2011, 1h 41 min. (Brother/Sister; hinted, subtext).

Also, many of the recommended books have an movie adaptation, so be sure to check them out (especially “The Dreamers”, because the movie is wonderful).

——–

That’s a great list, thanks for submitting :) I’ve heard others mention Forbidden too. @thecloserkin​ also has a great review on Under the Pendulum Sun, which contains canon incest, and I really have been meaning to get further in it, I’m just awful at paying attention.