#HBO Real Time Guests

[billmaher]

HBO Real Time Mar. 3, 2023

#bill maher #HBO Real Time Guests

[pfenniged]

It’s a real testament to the strength of Band of Brothers that it wasn’t automatically ruined by the lamentable presence of one Jimmy Fallon

#Lauren shitposts band of brothers #listen #I have nothing against the man personally #I just find him intolerably unfunny and think he over laughs at every guest he's ever had in his presence on his talk show #he's also like a C list actor lets be real #me cringing the entire time he appears #yeesh #Band of Brothers #HBO War #I'VE GOT AMMO GRAB WHAT YOU CAN #coming in at like an ELEVEN

[gucciwins]

a talk show and a surprise 

word count: 1827

a/n: okay, don’t know if you’ve seen haley lu richardson being surprised by nick jonas on FaceTime during an interview and it gave me this idea, and it’s something short and sweet i hope you enjoy, mis amores 

_____

Talk shows were not your specialty, in your opinion. It felt weird talking to a host and having a live audience told to react at different cues. After appearing in the second season of The White Lotus, there was promo to do as expected. Still, there was a new population of fans following your Instagram tripling your following weeks since the show premiered. Your content was being shared as fans deemed you “real” for posting after-running selfies, photos of you cuddling your parent’s corgi they got after all their children left home. Their favorite was a video of you crying on your living room floor to “fine line” as it played on your record player.

It’s a video that managed to be shared thousands of times. To top it off, your best friend decided to offer them a new treat by posting a video of you at Harry’s Wembley show, happily dancing in the rain. The video ended with you pointing to the stage, screaming that you loved Harry Styles. You were obviously a fan, but your paths never crossed, not that you were surprised you still felt like you were getting your footing on what stardom meant. While Harry literally had the entire world charmed.

Bee assured you it would be fine; a few questions, a few stories, and it would be over. She prepared you for the mention of Harry because hosts loved the views and a good clickbait. It wasn’t your first time and would definitely not be your last. Jimmy Fallon was an angel, and you would be fine.

“Welcome our guest for the night, Y/N Y/LN.”

You walk out dressed in a beautiful black velvet mini dress. It features a lace bib with scalloped trim, diamonte piping, and satin bows. It had a flowing mini-length skirt with romantic blouson sleeves. You loved it from the moment you put it on and knew the crowd would eat it up as well.

Jimmy welcomed you with a hug and gestured for you to take a seat on the couch. “It’s great to have you here, Y/N.”

“Well, thanks for having me.”

Jimmy laughs going on to share about your past works and how you are a well-loved guest on the show.

“White Lotus is just amazing. You’re an absolute stand-out.”

You laugh, trying not to get too flustered as the audience cheers loudly for you. “Thank you. I have had the absolute best time. There’s nothing better than getting to film with Aubrey Plaza and Jennifer Coolidge.”

“While in Italy,” Jimmy adds on.

“The cherry on top.”

Jimmy leans closer, “now tell me, were you even a little bit nervous.”

“Oh, I was a mess. I was sure they cast the wrong person, but Bee, my manager, assured me that they thought I was the perfect fit.” You shared thinking back to when you first heard you got the role.

“Heard Aubrey Plaza got you a gift.”

You laugh, shaking your head as he brings out a photo of you with a signed headshot of Aubrey. “A little birdy told her I was a fan. There was a note that said: Now you don’t have to be nervous around me.”

“That’s amazing.”

“It’s framed in my house.” You share. Not at all lying. “The cast was so welcoming. There was not one bad day. Aubrey really took me under her wing, and yeah, one of my best experiences ever.”

Jimmy holds a hand over his heart, “that’s amazing to hear. It can be seen through the show, so if you haven’t watched it, you can head over to HBO Max and watch the talented Miss Y/N Y/N and the rest of the cast. We’ll be right back.”

After a short break you spent with Jimmy laughing and having your lipstick touched up, the cameras were ready to roll.

“Now, Y/N, I was told you love concerts.”

You nod, “I live and breathe them, Jimmy.”

“Who have you seen recently?”

“Oh too many, my good friend Phoebe Bridgers, Haim, oh Wolf Alice was wonderful recently in Los Angeles. My social media is a surface level of the few I’ve gone to this year. I drag my friends to different shows all the time. They love it. It’s the easiest place to fall undetected. At least I don’t think I’m famous enough to be recognized,” you joke, knowing it’s relatively easy to blend in a crowd when you are not the main star.

“Come on now, all these fans in the audience would say otherwise.”

The chant for you is loud, and you take a moment to take it all in. You’re quick to undermine your talent, but it’s clear that you have an audience that loves you.

“Now, what do you have to say about that?” Jimmy smiles, sensing how the cheers made you tuck into yourself for a moment before you began to blow kisses to the fans, thanking them endlessly.

“It’s surreal. Something I definitely don’t take for granted.”

The interview has been moving on smoothly, Jimmy asking you questions about the show and a few about your childhood. You're thankful he doesn’t have new childhood pictures of you to show. Your mother does that proudly on her Instagram.

“Now, you know we have to talk about this viral video of you.”

“Oh no,” you gasp.

Jimmy and you turn to look at a screen playing the video of you standing in one of Wembley’s boxes, dancing to Harry Styles as he sings to a sold-out stadium. It was a special day because your best friend surprised you with tickets that Bee helped her get. You had been working when tickets went on sale and were heartbroken to hear they were sold out nights. Thankfully, Bee has enough connections that she managed to get you tickets

“That is you at a Harry Styles show.”

You feel your face warm, hoping this interview will never reach him. “Looks like me.”

Jimmy shakes his head, “was that your first time?”

“Nope! It definitely won’t be my last,” you share honestly.

He shakes his head, “I’ve been to my fair share, and boy does he put on a hell of a show.”

“He really does. He’s created such a wonderful environment for many I’ve never experienced anything like it.”

Jimmy grins mischievously, “I have a little surprise for you.”

Your eyes widen in surprise, “is it a mug with his face on it?”

The audience and Jimmy laugh. You’re too distracted and don’t notice Jimmy’s hand going under his desk until he calls your name. You’re met with a phone, and the shock quickly sets in.

“Hi, love.” A familiar accent you recognize instantly.

You look away from the phone pointed at you, instead bury your face in your hands as the audience's laugh rings loud. Harry’s laugh is the only one that stands out for you.

“That’s–hi,” you manage to breathe out, not believing that Harry was on a facetime call to you. You look around and manage to find Bee on the side. “Is this real?” You ask her, pointing to the phone.

She gives you a big grin and thumbs up. You can’t believe it.

“Are you surprised?” Jimmy questions, clearly knowing the answer.

“A bit,” you express breathlessly.

All the cameras are pointed your way, and you have to face him. Harry’s smiling, and you feel yourself melting in your seat as you can see his dimples clearly. This is not real. Your celebrity crush is not staring at you through what seems like your phone the close you look at it.

“Hi Harry,” you give him a small wave.

“How you doing, love?”

“Good, good. A tad bit embarrassed. Trying to remember how to breathe.”  

Harry laughs at your response.  “Oh, I’m sorry.”

Jimmy cuts in, knowing you’d probably stare at the phone all day, not wanting to hang up on Harry. “Harry has something he wanted to say.”

His green eyes shine bright, and you know he’s enjoying this conversation with you. “I just finished White Lotus.”

“Shut up! You did not!”

Harry nods, “absolutely did. My band and I would get together to watch it every Sunday. Gave us something to relax over during the tour. You were my favorite,” he confesses.

“Me?” You point to yourself. “This is not real.”

“I hope you can come to a show next year. I would love to meet you?”

“I’m there,” you promise him without a second thought.

Harry nods, “good, we’ll be in touch.”

“Can I tell you something before you go?” You look at Jimmy, then back at Harry.

“This is your call, Y/N. Go ahead.” Jimmy grins, urging you on.

“Harry, thank you. I know I can say that you are an absolutely amazing person. Thank you for creating such a welcoming and safe environment at your concerts. It, in some ways, feels like coming home. I mean, you surely didn’t have to do this, but you did, and I’m so thankful. You’ve always shared your kindness with the world from when you were just a teen to now, and it just goes to show how true and honest your character is. Send my love to your Mom. She truly raised a wonderful human being.”

The crowd awes, not having expected such an emotional confession, and neither were you, but you weren’t sure at the next opportunity you would have to tell him. Harry stares at you for a few seconds with flushed cheeks and a timid smile.

“Thank you, Y/N. That is so kind of you to say. I do hope we get to meet soon. I know we’d get on fabulously. All the best to you. Good night, Jimmy. Good night, Y/N.”

Harry hangs up the facetime, and you bring your hands to your face, not believing what just happened. That did not feel real. You hoped, looking back at it, you wouldn’t cringe with embarrassment.

“That happened,” Jimmy jokes.

You reach forward and grasp Jimmy’s hand tightly. “You are my favorite person.”

“After Harry Styles, right?”

You throw your head back and laugh. “Obviously.”

____

After the surprise of a lifetime, you ended the interview and walked to your dressing room, where you tried to process what in the hell happened in the last half hour. Bee walks in with the proudest smile handing you back your phone.

“We’ll head out at twenty.”

You take the time to slip off your heels and rest on the couch, unlocking your phone and seeing you have three new messages. It’s all from a new contact that you know you did not have before today.

Harry S.

It was lovely chatting with you.

Heard you’re going to be in London in a few days, would love to get dinner with you.

This is Harry, by the way.

Yeah, it seemed your life was about to get very interesting.

#harry styles #harry styles x reader #harry styles fluff #harry styles imagine #harry styles one shot #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles blurb #harry story #harry fluff #harry love #harry x reader #harry imagine #harry blurb #harry one shot #pleasing #harry love on tour #harry styles x y/n #harry x you #harry styles fic rec

[loveisanimaginarydagger3000]

Secrets (4)

Pairings: Dark Wanda X Reader, Natasha X Reader

 This fic is inspired by the song Secret by the Pierces and the HBO Max show Love and Death. I recommend listening to the song before reading but it's not necessary :)

Warnings: Angst, dark thoughts, implied drug use. DARK FIC Please consider these warnings before reading.

Chapter 4- You Deserve Better (3.9k words)

Other Chapters 1, 2 ,3 ,5

You Deserve Better

Look into my eyes

Now you're getting sleepy

Are you hypnotised by secrets that you're keeping?

I know what you're keeping

Arms snaked around your waist, a head moving to rest on your shoulder as you could feel her hair tickling the side of your neck, a low relaxed hum leaving her lips to contrast the nervous sigh you let out. Natasha pressed a small kiss to your cheek, a small smile sneaking onto your face before it was consumed by an anxious expression.

"This smells delicious Moya Lyubov," she whispers out before moving to lean on the kitchen counter at your side. She saw how tense you were, assuming it was the stress of cooking dinner for everyone that had got you so on edge, oblivious to the real reason.

Wanda.

It had been a few days since you had seen the older woman and you could tell she was mad. You spoke to her in passing, mumbling under your breath whether she and Vision would want to come for dinner, blushing at her tone of voice when she asked you to speak up before asking once more and practically scurrying away.

You hated confrontation and you couldn't bear the thought of telling Wanda it was over between the two of you, hoping that she'd just read your mind or something and get where your thoughts were at. If only that was possible.

"I love your lasagne so much," Natasha's tone was light-hearted to try and ease your nerves, looking at you with a soft expression. You met her gaze, a little of the tension flowing from your body as you stared into her emerald eyes that were filled with love and care.

"More than me?" You ask teasingly, swallowing the lump that had built in your throat. She raises her brow at you, pushing herself off the marble countertop, biceps flexing a little, and steps forwards to be in front of you. Her lips ghosts your own as your hand freezes in the air, the spoon full of mince hovering in the air as your attention is solely on her.

"I'll have to think about that," she rasps out, eyes peering up at you as she tilts her head, gently pressing her lips against yours. Her lips are soft, so incredibly soft, and you think you're addicted. When she pulls back you try to chase them, a finger pressed against your chest to keep the distance. "As much as I love eating lasagne, I prefer to eat you out Moya Lyubov," she purrs and it's sinful that she can sound that hot with her accent. "Of course I love you more," she chuckles when noticing how much darker your eyes have turned, a smirk plastered on her face at how easily she could turn you on.

"Yeah?" you sigh out lowly, the feeling of her hands resting on your hips burning into your skin, body heating up at her touch. "Why don't you prove it?'' Her smirk grows a little as she manoeuvres you both around till your back is against the countertop, spoon discarded into the half made lasagne while you look into her mischievous eyes.

Her lips crash to yours, earning a soft moan from you. Your hands move to her waist, pulling her closer and forcing her to pin your body against the marble top, needing to feel her close. Teasingly, her tongue swipes over your bottom lip before pulling away, a chuckle leaving her lips.

"You're going to have to wait until after dinner then," she whispers with a taunting tone, biting her lip to try and hide the smirk that tugs at the corner of her lips at your offended and a little annoyed expression.

You were about to say that you had plenty of time until your guests came over but the sound of the front door ringing interrupted you. A flash of fear washed over your face while Natasha turned her head at the noise, pressing one last chaste kiss to your lips before heading towards the door.

A deep sigh left your lips, the nerves and anxiety from before suddenly crashing through you. After ignoring Wanda for the last few days, you had no idea how she was going to react. You just prayed that it wasn't going to hurt anyone.

Oh Detka.

Mommy's mad.

—

"Help yourselves," you say with a smile after placing the food on the table, letting everyone else get their food before taking a slice of the lasagne for yourself, not having much of an appetite due to the emotions bubbling inside you.

"Thank you Moya Lyubov," Natasha murmurs lovingly, placing a kiss on your forehead before sitting next to you. She offers you a comforting smile, her hand squeezing your leg in an attempt to further soothe your nerves before moving to eat her food.

When you turn away from the redhead, your gaze meets Wanda's. Her eyes bore right through you and cause a shiver to run down your spine, the green turning dangerous as she looks between you and Natasha.

Detka, what are you playing at? You know you're mine.

"So Wanda," Natasha says breaking the small silence, the older woman turning her attention to your girlfriend. The look in her eyes switches instantly, masking the venomous look she wanted to send to the redhead to a softer look, a fake smile plastered on her face. "Are you enjoying the Avenger's Volleyball club?"

Wanda's gaze turns to you, the fake smile turning into a sinister smirk as she answers. "I'm loving it so far," she starts off innocently, apprehension building in you as you can sense she's about to do something. "It helps that I've got such a good teammate with amazing stamina, she can go a few rounds which is impressive." The innuendo of her words don't go unnoticed by you, your cheeks turning a light shade of red as you lower your head to look at your food.

Keep your eyes on me.

The feeling of someone's foot against your inner thigh has you tensing and looking up, the smirk on Wanda's face permanent as she continues with her sentence as if she weren't torturing you.

"Y/n's also very skilled with her hands, it's incredible," Natasha and Vision let out a laugh at your flustered state, both of them assuming it was just because you were being complimented.

"I knew she'd be amazing," Natasha says while squeezing your thigh once more, your hand quickly pushing Wanda's foot away to not get caught. Anger swirls in her eyes when you reject her touch, confused as to why you were suddenly acting so cold towards her.

You love me touching you Detka, what's changed?

Vision soon speaks up, diverting the conversation onto a new topic which you are extremely grateful for, refusing to look to his side at his wife.

What you do notice by watching the blonde man is how often he glances over at his wife, a content and loving look aimed her way which only further stirs the guilt inside you. Not only had you hurt Natasha but Vision as well. Oh god and the twins.

Your eyes began to water a little bit, a fake smile plastered on your face to hide your panicked expression. You're grateful that Vision and Natasha did most of the talking, Wanda occasionally chipping in to which you would just let out a noise of agreement, finishing the dinner on autopilot.

You were taken aback when people started to move, everyone having finished the food and complimented you on the dish.

"I'll take everything in," you say, stopping Natasha who's face flickered between confusion and worry at your troubled state. "Please," you whisper and she nods, offering a small smile before kissing your forehead, lingering for a moment before pulling back and joining Vision and Wanda in the living room.

You take slow, deep breaths as you slowly tidy the table, hearing Wanda excuse herself for a moment and making sure to avoid her path. You could hear her on the phone to the twins, wishing them goodnight and it broke your heart that you could have ruined everything for yourself and her.

Pacing up and down the kitchen soon became tedious, not easing your nerves at all making you decide to join the others in the living room, halting when you heard the conversation.

"How did you know it was the right time to propose to Wanda?" Natasha asked, her finger tracing the edge of the wine glass, looking curiously and hopeful towards the man. His brows raised, a soft smile taking over his lips as he placed his glass down.

"Why? Are you thinking of proposing?" his tone teasing and full of excitement. When she responds with a nonchalant shrug of her shoulders he lets out a chuckle. "Well, Wanda and I married young, basically fresh out of high school," he starts, a nostalgic look in his blue eyes, "I knew straight away that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her and, I know this won't answer your question well, but it just felt right."

Natasha remains quiet for a moment, thinking about Vision's words and to her, everything felt right with you.

"Do you love her?" Vision asks, taking a sip of his white wine.

"More than anything," Natasha replies without hesitation.

"Do you want to spend the rest of your life with her?"

"I do," she whispers, smiling as she decided that she wanted to propose soon. She would go to Yelena on the weekend to ask for some advice before planning on how she would propose, forming a makeshift plan for the week before looking back at Vision. "Thank you."

"No problem," he says kindly, "I better be the first name on the invitation list now." Natasha lets out a laugh at that, you walking back to the kitchen, tears brewing in your eyes again.

Not looking where you're going, you bump into Wanda, her face dropping at your distressed expression.

"What's wrong Detka?" she asks softly, cupping your cheeks and wiping the tear that falls down your cheek.

"I-I Can't," you struggle with your words, your breathing picking up as you can feel a panic attack starting to take over you.

"Detka," she coos out, worry on her face while her hand takes a hold of yours, bringing it to her chest where you can feel her heartbeat and how she's breathing, "Focus on me, follow my breathing."

You do as she says, wanting the spiral of thoughts to leave your mind as you put all your attention on the feeling of your hand on her chest. You gradually slow your breathing, matching it to hers and squeeze your eyes shut to help focus.

See Detka, you need me to take care of you. What would you do without me?

"That's it Dorogaya," she whispers when your eyes flutter open to meet hers, a stray tear spilling down your cheek.

"I can't do this anymore."

What?

"This thing between us has to end," your words are quiet, a disheartened expression taking over your face when you see the pained look on hers before it switches to anger.

No.

I'm not letting you go.

"Detka, think about this properly," her tone lacking the warmth and care from a few minutes ago.

"I have," your tone is desperate as you talk to her, "It's all I can think about. I can't keep seeing you, Wanda, I'm sorry but I love Natasha. I can't hurt her."

You love me Detka. You just haven't seen it yet.

"And we won't," she says and you're shocked for once as she's the one who sounds desperate. "Let's just talk about this properly Detka, please?"

The sheer desperation in her eyes and her plea has the wall you built up crumbling down as if it were nothing, a conflicted expression etched onto your face.

"Let's just talk tomorrow at the motel in the morning, ok? When we both have clear heads, please," she cups your cheeks again, offering you a smile that she hopes hides her anger.

You're not leaving me. I won't let you.

Everything inside you screams at you to say no, needing to end it now and not delay it but you're unable to stop yourself when the word quietly spills out of your mouth.

"Ok," her smile returns at your agreement, an undecipherable glint sparkling in her eyes as she contemplates something.

You're going to regret this Detka.

***

"Are you alright Moya Lyubov?" Natasha gently hums out, wrapping her arms around you in the bedroom, letting you rest your head at the crook of her neck, "You seemed... distracted tonight."

Your body melts against hers, breathing in the sweet smell of her perfume to try and relax, your hands holding her body tight against yours as you both stay locked in the embrace. You let out a hum as a response, scared your words will betray you, Natasha's fingers guiding you away from the safety of her neck to look into her loving eyes.

She could see the tears brewing in your eyes, a pained expression taking over her face as she couldn't stand seeing you upset. She just wanted you to be happy. That's all she ever wanted.

"I'm sorry," your voice is raw with emotion as you stare into the emerald green, unable to stop yourself. "I'm so sorry," It's a confession from you, admitting to her that you were wrong for what you did, that you were so incredibly sorry for messing things up, but she didn't know that. Her brows furrowed at your state, her body pulling yours against hers, moving to sit on the bed with you in her arms. "Nat, I- I'm sorry," you practically sob out, quiet and soft words leaving her lips as she tries to calm you down.

"What's wrong Moya Lyubov?" She coos when your body stops shaking, your cries having quietened. Her hands roam the expanse of your back in soothing circles, her head resting on the top of your head as you bury yours at the crook of her neck, refusing to meet her eyes.

"I..." You're lost for words, not sure of what to say as you let out deep breaths against her neck. "You deserve better than me," the tone of your voice is dejected, the words barely audible as you mutter them. Her body tenses when she hears what you've said, moving you to look at her.

"What?" Her voice is laced with disbelief, confusion evident on her face. "No, No," She almost looks hurt as if you would say such a thing, her hands cupping your cheeks to make you look at her, the feeling of reminding you of how Wanda did the same action earlier, a pained expression written across your face. "You are more than I deserve, Y/n. You are everything I could ever want and more. You are all I need." Natasha's voice is filled with emotion as she smiles at you, attempting to comfort the both of you. "Please never say that again."

"But it's true," you say back, wiping the tear that spills her down her cheek. "You deserve better than me. I love you Natasha, I love you so much but I just- I can't hurt you. I can't."

"You won't," she sighs out desperately, "I know you won't." A bitter laugh escapes you as you have. You've done the one thing that would truly hurt her. You remain silent after that, a lump caught in your throat as she softly whispers more caring words, needing to make sure you knew how much you meant to her.

You're exhausted from all the lies, the secrets but you just don't have it in you to tell her as she kisses across your face softly, murmuring everything she loves about you.

"I'm sorry," you choke out one more time when she moves to lay with you, pulling you impossibly closer as she holds onto you like her life depended on it.

"You have nothing to be sorry for," she sighs out, pressing a kiss against your lips, another set of tears falling down your cheeks. "I love you Y/n, more than you could ever know."

To respond to her words you crash your lips to her desperately, trying to express all your emotions. It's soft, it's gentle, it's passionate, it's everything and pray that she knows how much you love her.

"I love you."

***

Wasting no time, you knock on the door of the motel room, determined to get this over with. The door swiftly swings open, revealing Wanda whose face harbours a soft smile, a sinister glint flashing across her eyes as she lets you in.

"Wanda, this has to end," you say, getting straight to the point as you sit on the bed, leg bouncing anxiously.

Oh Detka, where are your manners? Don't speak to me like that. Ever.

"Detka," her tone cold and dangerous, "I suggest you treat me with a little more respect than that." You lower your head, ashamed at how she still had control over you. You jump when her fingers lift your chin, making you look at her, an expectant look on her face.

"I'm sorry," you mumble and when she raises her brow, head tilting slightly you say it louder and clearer, "I'm sorry Wanda."

"That's it," she hums out, letting her fingers grip your chin to keep you staring up at her. "Do you want to try that again, from the start?"

"Wanda, I can't keep seeing you anymore, I'm sorry," Your hands flatten against your knees, tapping against your legs as your nerves double at the look in her eyes.

"Why not Detka? You seem to love our little meetings," she says with a little smirk, remembering how you would react to her touch, the pretty moans that would escape you.

"I don't want to hurt anyone," your voice shakes a little as your thoughts drift back to that negative space, considering all the people this would hurt.

"Oh Detka," she coos and you hate yourself for finding comfort in her, her tone of voice easing your worries that little bit. "I told you, I won't let anything happen to us, to anyone. It won't hurt anyone."

I'll do anything to keep us together. Anything.

"It's hurting me," you whisper, her features dropping at your words.

I would never hurt you. This can't hurt you. This is what you need. I'm all you need.

"The lies, the secrets, it's all too much," your tone is full of regret, Wanda taking a step back to give you some space.

"Let me get you a drink Detka," she says upon noticing how you seemed to get agitated, leg bouncing a little more vigorously now.

You keep your gaze on the floor, noticing all the little marks on the faded red carpet. When she hands you the glass, you down it in one to try and ease your nerves and the nauseous feeling.

"Detka, I promise you that no one will get hurt, you don't have to worry," she kneels on the floor at the edge of the bed, placing her hands on top of yours to still them, offering you a soft, reassuring look.

You blink your eyes when the sight of her becomes a little fuzzy, your head beginning to feel a little light headed.

"Wanda, I can't do this anymore, even if it doesn't hurt anyone else," your body falls back a little, unbalanced until Wanda's hand supports your back, gently lowering you onto the soft mattress. "I don't feel well," you mutter, eyes struggling to stay open and locked onto the green, the room spinning around you. It seemed the stress and anxiety of everything was getting to you.

"It's ok Detka, I've got you," she whispers caringly as your body goes practically limp in her hands as she lays you down properly. "Rest Detka, Let me take care of you," she murmurs and you nod your head at her, moving closer to her body before your eyes flutter shut.

***

Putting on foot in front of the other, you walked down the path towards your house with empty eyes, your mind well and truly lost.

You were scared, hurt, confused, guilty and so much more. You didn't know how much more you could take.

Waking up alone in the motel room scared you, unsure of what had happened until you read the note Wanda had left you, explaining how you said you didn't feel well and fell asleep instead. You had a strange feeling about the note, a gut wrenching feeling that made you question whether she was being honest or not, not remembering what had happened.

Speaking of the devil, you snapped back to reality when you got the drive of your house, Wanda standing outside her car as the twins grabbed their backpacks from school, running up into the house. Her green eyes snapped towards you, almost knowing you were there and turned to look at you. Her head tilted curiously as you stared at her, the older woman making the first move and walking closer to you.

You remained frozen on the spot, her eyes scanning the area before speaking up.

"I just checked, I can do Friday," she says with a smile, teeth biting down on her lower lip as she wraps her arms around herself.

"What?" your tone is confused as you just blankly stare at her, an odd feeling stirring inside you.

"I can do Friday and meet you at the motel," she says, frowning when you still stare blankly at her. "We agreed on one more night Detka," she says and your eyes widen, shocked at what you had agreed to.

"Wanda..." your words trail off, unsure of what to say which makes her sigh out.

"It's just one more night Detka," her tone containing a hint of frustration, "Please Detka, we agreed. Just one more night, then... It's over." Her eyes glisten with hope as she looks at you, the sound of a car driving up behind you diverting your attention away from Wanda. When you see Natasha smile at you through the car window, you curse at yourself for giving in once more and turn to the older woman.

"I'll see you on Friday," you're so annoyed at yourself for having zero self control, fingers pinching the bridge of your nose as you can feel the stress flowing through your body again. "It's the last time though Wanda, for definite," your tone is adamant and you don't cower when her stare hardens, holding your ground against her for once.

"See you Friday Detka," she whispers the term of endearment as Natasha walks up behind you, greeting you and pressing a chaste kiss to your lips.

Wanda watches the redhead steal you away, walking with her arm wrapped around your waist into your home, while the corners of her lips tug up into a sinister smirk.

If I can't have you, no one can.

---

There will just be one more chapter of this fic as it was supposed to be a short oneshot originally. I clearly got carried away though😂 The next chapter will be very intense so please read all the warnings carefully and be aware that I am a mean person and will break your hearts...

I hope you enjoyed :)

Please leave any thoughts/comments/votes <3 I really appreciate all the support!

AO3- LoveIsAnImaginaryDagger

Masterlist

#angst #dark wanda x reader #wanda maximoff #wanda x reader #wanda x you #wanda fanfic #natasha x reader #natasha romanov #natasha romanoff #natasha #marvel fanfiction #love and death

[rhysdarbinizedarby]

A speed date with Rhys Darby: Kiwi comedy legend and '60s Volvo enthusiast

We sit down with the Our Flag Means Death star to get his movie, TV and sneaker recommendations.

Have you ever come across an artist, a musician or just an all-around cool guy and wanted to pick his brain? You love what they make, but you want to know how they made it. More specifically, you want to discover the everyday interests and personal quirks that filter into their creative process - the less direct sources of inspiration that have an equal impact on their work. Okay, he likes Queen, but what’s his coffee order? What’s his comfort watch? And in an alternate universe where he doesn’t have the job he has now, what would be his career of choice?

Welcome to Speed Dates, the series where we get to know the local (and sometimes, not-so-local) talent we’re crushing on. This time, we're training our focus on Rhys Darby—the NZ actor and comedian who has cemented himself firmly alongside the likes of Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement in the pantheon of the country's greatest comic talents. Known to most as Murray in Flight of the Conchords, Darby now has the lead part in his very own HBO show to call his own, hoisting sails and taking to the water (alongside Waititi, no less) Stede Bonnet in pirate caper Our Flag Means Death, which released last week to rapturous acclaim.

With Darby's own star turn now here, we caught up with the actor to unearth his tastes and what makes him tick.

GQ: Are you an extrovert or introvert?

I'm an introverted extrovert.

What is your coffee order of choice?

Flat White.

What is your favourite clothing brand?

Scotch and Soda because they're unique items and have a sense of flair. I also enjoy drinking Scotch and sodas, so it's easy for me to remember the label.

Most-worn item in your wardrobe?

Probably my Wrangler denim jacket. It's so easy and classic.

Do you have a go-to pair of sneakers?

Vans, in whatever cool design I can find.

How about a fragrance?

Obsession for Men, by Calvin Klein.

What is your favourite book?

Anything by Erich Von Daniken.

Favourite movie or TV show?

Favourite movie? This is always a difficult one. The Life Aquatic by Wes Anderson. TV show: Dad's Army.

What about your favourite album? Why?

Led Zeppelin by Led Zeppelin. So many bangers! It gets me through the good times and the bad times.

What do you save first if your house is on fire?

My 1968 Volvo P1800

What's the best advice you've ever been given?

Probably the fact that I've been given no real advice.

How about the worst advice you've ever been given?

"Pull your head in. You're not funny. Get a real job."

If you could have any dinner guest over, who would it be?

Bob Lazar

What is your favourite local spot in your home town?

The Matakana Village Pub

If you could pick a career different than the one you have, what would it be?

I always wanted to be a park ranger looking after animals on a giant reserve.

Our Flag Means Death is available to watch on Binge now.

Source: GQ Australia

#rhys darby #gq australia #interview #ofmd #our flag means death

[whartonists]

Flowers and Fake Marble: How TV Production Designers Create the Past (The New York Times)

“I always say that if there were a marble Olympics, our team would definitely take the gold,” Bob Shaw bragged.

Shaw, the Emmy-winning production designer of the HBO drama “The Gilded Age,” was discussing the painstaking effort and maddening attention to detail that goes into painting a wooden column so that the camera can’t help but read it as stone. The scenic artists of “The Gilded Age” can paint a half-dozen distinct marble varieties. To pause at nearly any frame of the show is to marvel at the meticulous mix of authentic materials and brilliant fakes. Look closely at the candelabras, for example: They are fitted with fire-safe LEDs hooked to wavering filaments that substitute for open flame.

Though production design is often seen as a mere backdrop to the action, the scenery, furnishings, finishes and props have their own stories to tell. And these stories are often especially intricate in period dramas, in which a need for accuracy must accommodate narrative demands and the constraints of a show’s budget.

[...]

Flowers were not enough.

In the first season of “The Gilded Age,” the home of Bertha Russell (Carrie Coon), the wife of a railroad magnate (Morgan Spector), was garlanded with fields of flowers for each social event. So even though the script for the first episode of Season 2, which premieres on HBO on Oct. 29, described the Russell home as resplendent with flowers, Shaw knew he had to do more.

In a scene at the close of the episode, Bertha, a patron of the nascent Metropolitan Opera, arranges a surprise performance of a song from Gounod’s “Faust” by the Swedish soprano Christine Nilsson. While her guests are dining, her sumptuous staircase is transformed into Marguerite’s garden. There are flowers, yes, a mix of real and artificial ones, garlanding the railings. But above the staircase are several panels of hand-painted Italian scenery, as would have been seen in the opera houses of the day.

“It was a challenge to have it be beautiful and evocative and tasteful and not be cute,” Shaw said. “It conveys that Bertha goes to extremes beyond what anyone could imagine to get what she wants.”

The result is ostentatious but still gorgeous. This is a line that Shaw and his team often walk, on lush carpeting. “The Gilded Age” dramatizes the conflict between new money, like the Russells, and old money, like their near neighbors, Agnes van Rhijn (Christine Baranski) and Ada Brook (Cynthia Nixon). The excesses of the new money crowd gave the Gilded Age its name, but whether in the studio or filming on location in various historic homes, Shaw balances lavishness with restraint.

“In all of the houses that we did, we had to back off a little bit from the 100 percent period look,” Shaw said. “Because it’s too much visual information for modern eyes.” He is careful to avoid using the set decoration, a combination of period furniture and scenic art, to judge or insult the characters.

“They’re more complex,” he said. “They’re not simply out to say, ‘Anything you can have I can have bigger.’”

#the gilded age #the gilded age hbo #bob shaw fan club

[denimbex1986]

ANDREW SCOTT IS REDIRECTING THE CONVERSATION.

The actor, who plays the enduring queer-with-a-questionmark antihero Tom Ripley in the new Netflix series Ripley, has been doing just that in interviews as of late, and you can hardly blame him; he’s just coming off a promotional run for All of Us Strangers, a romantic fantasy film that has the real-life gay actor playing an adult gay man reliving his youth, including coming out. Scott — beloved as the “Hot Priest” from six-time Emmy winner Fleabag (Prime Video) and nominated in 2020 for an Outstanding Guest Actor turn in Netflix’s Black Mirror — got an avalanche of accolades for the film and, unsurprisingly, questions from reporters keen to link Scott and the character he plays. Interviews hint the Dublin-bred performer, who started acting as a kid and then matriculated through theater, may be weary with forays into identity politics, at least in relation to acting. He’s advised we retire “openly gay” as a descriptor and has likened the sometimes meandering “representation” discourse to a dead end. “It can be a cul-de-sac, certainly,” he told The Guardian. “I think transformation is as important as representation.”

He transforms in Ripley. This adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s novels is a stylized, eight-episode noir thriller, with Scott as the titular, elusive con man. It’s true that people had a lot to say about The Talented Mr. Ripley’s queer-coded subtext almost as soon as Highsmith published it in 1955, with critics and essayists noting the homoeroticism oozing from Tom’s obsession with Dickie Greenleaf. Novelist Edmund White read Tom’s penchant for forgery as a metaphor for “passing,” as gays and lesbians of the era did to survive. Of course, cultural commentary and musings about identity have only intensified since, and that discourse nowadays can influence who gets cast and what gets made in the first place. Ripley is rendered in black and white, but black-and-white connections to Tom’s ambiguous sexual orientation, to his behavior or to Scott’s own interior life are, to this actor, the least interesting part of the story.

“I wanted to work very, very hard,” Scott tells emmy from Palm Springs, where he’s gone for a rest after sprinting through awards season. “And that involves just trying to imagine what it’s like to be this character, not play what people’s perception of what the character is. Tom has a very large brain. And watching the brain at work is what makes him such a fascinating character. Anything else, to me, is superfluous. I’m not sure he thinks about himself too much in that way.”

Scott was seduced by the writing. "The scripts were just so brilliantly economic and gripping," he says. "I thought it was a great opportunity to spend that amount of time with such a fascinating character." Steve Zaillian, who wrote, produced and directed Ripley, won an Oscar for his Schindler's List screenplay and received three Emmy nominations for HBO's The Night Of, which he cocreated, cowrote and directed, in part.

Set in the early 1960s, Ripley begins in New York and traverses a handful of Italian locales including the Amalfi Coast, Capri, Rome and Venice. Production ran from the summer of 2021 through the spring of 2022, including some of the pandemic’s most intense days, which forced cast and crew to adhere to stringent protocols. Yet the timing also meant that the citizens and tourists who ordinarily clog streets had vanished, allowing Ripley unobstructed views of Italy’s scenic vistas. As a result, Ripley has a strikingly stark feel that, combined with its blanched palette, conveys a chilly, quiet sparseness that affords full focus on Scott.

“Andrew’s transformation from a disreputable petty crook on the Lower East Side streets of New York to a sophisticated expatriate thriving in Italy is extraordinary,” Zaillian says. “Everything about him gradually changes — the way he looks and carries himself, how he behaves and speaks, how he thinks. It is a finely measured performance.”

Ripley follows Highsmith’s text almost to the letter. In the first episode, we meet Tom in the slums of New York City’s Lower East Side, where he ekes out a living by forging collection notices, stealing checks and committing petty grifts. You know the rest: Tom has a chance encounter with the wealthy father of a casual acquaintance, Dickie Greenleaf (Johnny Flynn, Genius: Einstein, Emma). Pretending to be an Ivy League grad and closer friend than he is, Tom is hired by Dickie’s dad to go to Italy and bring home Dickie, a trustafarian flitting about Europe with his girlfriend, Marge Sherwood (Dakota Fanning, The First Lady, The Alienist). Armed with a first-class ticket on an ocean liner and enough cash for six weeks, Tom finally tastes the affluence he’s always wanted, resented and believed he deserved but was never able to touch. He finds Dickie and develops an unhealthy obsession with him that eventually culminates in murder and identity theft.

It's the unsettling crime story where the bad guy not only wins but makes us complicit in his devious deeds. "What I think Patricia Highsmith does brilliantly," Scott says, "is make us root for somebody, even though they're doing something that we probably wouldn't do ourselves. He is constantly surviving. I can empathize with him, what that feels like, where he's just not being looked at. It's easy to say that someone is a monster because that moves us away from having to look at ourselves. Human beings do monstrous things to protect themselves. That's why that story has stuck around for so long."

Transforming into Tom Ripley took a toll. Even for a performer as versatile and energetic as Scott, who won a Best Supporting Actor BAFTA for playing Moriarty on Sherlock in 2012 and stunned audiences in 2023 by playing all eight parts in the Chekhov-inspired Vanya on the West End. Ripley demanded more than is typical. "What's unusual about this particular bit of television is how much time you spend with one character," he says. "A lot of the time in television, we can spend time with a hospital crew or a family or a police department, but it's unusual, I think, to spend so much time with one character over eight hours," He's in almost every frame. "I had to have an awful lot of stamina."

You really see that stamina in Ripley's fifth episode, a contained, tightly wound thriller unto itself. Scott is terrifying as he feigns innocence to Freddie Miles (Eliot Sumner), a friend of Dickie's suspects foul play. We know Freddie is doomed the moment he enters Tom's elegant Rome apartment, but it's at the end of Freddie's visit that we see Scott's endurance tested as he lugs a heavy body and makes split-second decisions to elude attention, exuding a demented, friendly calm all the while. Scott - with minimal dialogue - slithers past whatever moral walls we believe separate us from monsters.

"You have to, through his face, be able to understand what he's feeling - sometimes in absolute silence," Scott says. "You have to e able to radiate a thought, which is quite difficult when you don't have language to support you. (The audience) is not thinking, 'I hope that inspector catches him.' No. You think, 'Oh my God, hurry up! Someone's coming!' That's extraordinary considering what he's just done. That feeling of, 'What would you do?' That's what the scripts have achieved."

Ripley's hushed tension is complemented by a cinematic approach that producers don't want to call "Hitchcockian" but that whispers influences like La Dolce Vita and Nightmare Alley. Hard lines, curves, shadows, stairways and vacant passageways tease sensual danger, while meticulously curated costumes and objets d'art (including the ashtray that extinguishes poor Freddie) bathe viewers in a fully fleshed-out world of savage beauty.

"The world that Steve wanted to represent was very lonely," says production designer David Gropman, who previously worked with Zaillian on Searching for Bobby Fischer and A Civil Action. Zaillian was exacting and precise about the tone he wanted "cat and mouse," Gropman calls it. That specificity helped him execute Zaillian's vision, but having a clear brief didn't make the realization easier.

Gropman's team included three researchers, five art directors and two supervising art directors, all spread over different countries. They spent months sojourning the Italian coast to select the perfect hotels, banks, post offices and train stations. The team built facsimiles of the main train stations in Naples and Rome, as well as the Lower East Side tenement apartment where we first meet Tom. Every single object we see serves a purpose; in episode five, Tom is in a record shop purchasing a copy of "Il cielo in una stanza" by the Italian singer Mina, who vanished from the public eye in 1978 and has not been seen since - though she continues to release music. A subtle allusion to Tom's ghosting act? Perhaps. Either way, the prop is one of countless Easter eggs that nod to the time, place and sense of dark romance associated with the era.

"He cares about every detail," says Gropman, a two-time Oscar nominee. "We, by Steve's decree, weren't allowed to shoot on streets where there wasn't cobblestone. There were over 200 locations. It's the hardest thing I've ever done."

Others agree that Ripley was a difficult and intense, albeit rewarding, shoot. Flynn recalls struggling with the isolation and anxiety caused by quarantining and distancing after travel, which made seeing his wife and three children in London complicated. Scott and Fanning spent a lot of time with just each other in barren towns. They were lonely, but as number one on the call sheet and a producer, Scott took ownership and worked to take care of his team. "I was finding it really hard," Flynn admits. "He was trying to sneak me care packages. It was really sweet. He was generous and available to everybody, even though he's carrying this huge thing, which I thought was commendable." Fanning called Scott one of the loveliest people she's ever met - warm, funny and full of life. "He's the opposite of his character."

Marge is deeply suspicious of Tom from the jump, but like Tom, she has minimal dialogue. Her intuitive awareness manifests in a furrowed brow, a pursed lip and a clipped smile deployed as a mask. "There's not a lot of people in the story that are fooled by Ripley," Fanning says. "Marge knows something is off but can't quite put her finger on it. There's a lot of acting without words." She loved playing in that box, and with Scott especially. "We just dove in and went through it all together. It was such a challenge, but he couldn't have been a better person to take on this role. He's a grifter who's making you emotional."

Grifter, con man, crook, thief - Tom Ripley might deserve a lot of labels, but one Scott is reluctant to apply is "sociopath" or, for that matter, any other badge that files him in some neat category. "It was important not to diagnose the character with lazy assumptions," he says. Of course, Scott understands all the thinking about Tom's queerness; he's even thought about Highsmith's own complex relationship with her lesbianism in relation to her writing. But he says thinking too much about Tom's orientation, and any notion that it could be more pronounced in this modern take, distracts from the real power of the narrative. "Homophobia can exist sometimes through silence or people's speculating about other people's sexuality," he says. "And there's a lot of speculating about Tom. Sometimes the speculation itself is the (more) insidious thing."

As he told The Guardian, transformation can be as important as representation. And anyway, Tom's sexuality isn't what makes him alluring. It's his ambiguities. All we need to know about Tom Ripley is on the page.

"I wanted to ask questions about him without necessarily answering every single one of them clearly. He has to make stuff up on the spot for survival. He's an absolute brilliant, talented genius," Scott says. "Who is Tom Ripley? The point is we never really know."

#Ripley #Netflix #Steven Zaillian #Andrew Scott #Patricia Highsmith #The Talented Mr Ripley #Johnny Flynn #Dickie Greenleaf #Dakota Fanning #Marge Sherwood #Freddie Miles #Eliot Sumner #Emmys #Black Mirror #All of Us Strangers #Fleabag #Hot Priest #Palm Springs #BAFTA #Moriarty #Sherlock #Vanya #West End #David Gropman

[atarahderek]

How to "diversify" Scooby-Doo without sucking out its entire soul--and the audience's souls with it

So as the entire internet already knows, HBO's Velma was a major flop. The only views it's getting are hate views. Conservatives find it hilarious because leftists are trolling themselves by accusing the show creators of being secret right-wing trolls. Well, if they are, they're bloody brilliant.

The premise of the show was never, "What if Mystery Inc. were more diverse?" It was always, "What if Mystery Inc. were super woke? Also, what if we sexualized characters aged 15-17 and targeted exclusively audiences over 18?" So really, the show's creators shouldn't be so baffled as to why even their target audience hates their show. I guess this goes to show that when you buy the lie that reason is "too white" to be permissible, you predictably start to act like an idiot.

But what if I told you that there was already a canonically established means of "diversifying" the cast in a way that actually retains the spirit of the original show?

The series finale of Mystery Incorporated revealed that that show and every previous iteration of Scooby-Doo is canon to the others (yes, this does include the live action films, so take that as you will). It also implied that all future iterations of the franchise will be canon as well. This provides the single most perfect opportunity to explore what Mystery Inc. would be like if they were from other races, ethnic backgrounds, nations and even planets. It would present different reimaginings of the characters in a natural, creative way that the audience would just eat up. All you would have to do is create a series where Mystery Inc. explores the multiverse and meets a variety of alternate selves. Just think of it. You could have...

a Japanese or Korean Mystery Inc. that flanderizes the heck out of every anime trope (and they 100% have permission to turn the tables on us)

an African, Afro-Caribbean or African American Mystery Inc.

a South/Southeast Asian Mystery Inc. with a MUCH less sexualized and angry version of the above woke Velma

an alien version of Mystery Inc., with lots of opportunity for worldbuilding

a version of Mystery Inc. from a completely different time period, such as the Victorian era

a Rule 63 version of Mystery Inc.

a version of Scooby that corresponds to the largest dog breed in each of the above cultures/universes

There would be no need to make each iteration of the gang particularly diverse within the gang itself, unless they were temporarily mixing up members across the multiverse to accomplish a mission (e.g. the Japanese team swaps out their Daphne for the original, or the alien team borrows the original Shaggy and sends theirs with another team). No one cares if a particular AU team is comprised of only black members, and in fact it helps sell the idea that this is the same team from a completely different universe. To reiterate, the Scooby gang does not need tokens!

Of course, the real key to making a good Scooby-Doo show is simple:

Absolutely NO virtue signaling!

It won't kill you to simply tell good stories with good humor and beloved characters. In fact, you'll probably find people actually love your work. If you do it right, audiences might even start begging for a spin-off focusing on one of the guest teams.

#Scooby-Doo #Velma #opinion #better ideas #animation #classic characters #Youtube

[artificialqueens]

War! (Bianca x Alyssa) - Jinkx-Monswoon

SUMMARY: In which Alyssa and Bianca read each other to filth—but in the heat of the moment, one does something that leaves them both speechless.

A/N: fun fact! about an hour after I finished writing this fic, Alyssa was announced as the next Pit Stop guest! did I accidentally predict that? you decide… >:]

“Alyssa,” says Bianca from across the dressing room, “how much longer is your damn makeup gonna take?”

“Hey, a bitch needs time to paint,” Alyssa retorts, leaning toward the mirror and brushing at her lips with gloss.

“Puh-lease,” Bianca rolls her eyes, “since when do you paint?”

“Speak for yourself!” Alyssa squints at Bianca’s reflection in the mirror. “Sure, you may paint now, but don’t act like we haven’t all seen your humble beginnings on Drag Race…” She turns from the reflection to the real Bianca behind her, her brow furrowed.

“Emphasis on humble.”

Bianca shoots up from her chair. “Oh, you wanna go there? Fine by me, Katy.”

“Oh, hardy-har. At least I wasn’t kissing RuPaul’s ass as Judge Judy.”

“Hey, I did NOT do that on purpose, okay? If I could do it again right now, I’d do Santino Rice just to piss him off.”

“Sure,” Alyssa laughs.

“But I’m not gonna!” Bianca declares as she saunters toward Alyssa. “And you wanna know why?”

“Oh, yes.” Alyssa stands as well, leveraging herself against the taller queen. “Enlighten me.”

Bianca lightly jabs her acrylic nail into Alyssa’s chest. “Because I don't need to go on All Stars to get a do-over in the first place!”

Alyssa’s eyes widen as she backs away, breaking out in a fit of incredulous laughter.

“Oh! Ohhh-ho-ho-ho!” She throws her arms out and sneers. “Del Rio wants a fight!”

“And I’ll win, too. You know, like I usually do when I’m in a competition. I even still have the title to prove it!”

Alyssa tilts her head, flashing a faux-sweet smile. “Aww, and you even still use the same tired-ass reads!”

“I thought we already established which one of us is actually funny.” Bianca puts a hand on her hip. “Didn’t we?”

“You make a good point! In fact, let’s establish a few more facts. For example…” Alyssa starts counting on her fingers.

“You have two shitty movies…”

“That you agreed to be in.”

“Just to beef out my IMDB page—which also includes a Netflix original docu-series and a Drag Race web series that, unlike yours, is being brought back by popular demand.”

“Oh, yeah? Go on, ya big fancy sellout.”

Alyssa proudly gestures to herself. “I was also a semifinalist on America’s Got Talent!”

“Hah, as a fucking wildcard!” Bianca smirks. “Getting eliminated five times between two shows is nothing to brag about.” Her volume rises—she may be getting a little carried away.

“It’s called good networking, miss Vimeo original comedy special. Like, come on, who the fuck uses Vimeo—”

“Okay, okay, Q&A’s over. Let me ask YOU a question, Edwards.“ 

A shit-eating grin emerges from her black-colored lips.

"Do you like Dancing with the Stars?”

Alyssa’s face twists. As proud as she may be of her drag daughter, she certainly does not appreciate Bianca having the gall to compare her success to Alyssa’s. “Don’t you dare,” she seethes.

“What about The Masked Singer?” Bianca continues, drunk on the power of her words.

“I will make you shut up, and you’re gonna regret it when I do,” Alyssa—a woman of her word—threatens.

“Oh, and don’t even get me started on—”

Suddenly, Alyssa grabs Bianca with both hands by the collar of her dress, pulling herself up to look her dead in the eye.

“Finish that sentence,” she whispers in a dry, cutting rasp. “I dare you.”

Already, Bianca is preparing to open her mouth again—and so, too, does Alyssa prepare to strike back.

“…the Emmy-winning HBO Max original…”

Oh, she’s serious. So be it—this is the perfect opportunity for Alyssa to enact her revenge.

“We’re Here—”

“Shut up.”

“—mmph!”

Bianca stumbles, nearly knocked over by the intense, electrifying kiss discharged onto her lips.

Alyssa doesn’t hold back. She’s been waiting to do this for years. Her pride had long kept her from doing it sooner—but again, this was the perfect opportunity for it. To show Bianca what she was capable of; to weaken her; to bring her down to her level, in order for her to understand that Alyssa is so stupidly in love with her that it makes her angry.

She’s absolutely relishing in having caught Bianca off guard, and finally being able to unleash on her all of the feelings she’s repressed for far too long.

Then, not even a second after she pulls away, Bianca retaliates.

She pins Alyssa against the wall, pushing back into the kiss as she snakes a hand into her hair. Alyssa is too shocked to even move—that is, until Bianca gently tugs at her locks, and that’s enough for the smaller queen to crumble into the kiss, dizzy with passion.

The messy exchange goes on—it starts with the two practically smashing each other’s faces together, drunk on the heat of the moment—but each pause to catch their breath is sobering, and it gradually brings them down from the high. The moment becomes less of a collision between opposing forces, and more of a union between hearts, reflected in each kiss being more gentle and affectionate than the last.

An eternity seems to pass before Alyssa finally calls it off, lowering her head and sinking into Bianca’s chest. In spite of what just happened, she feels a twinge of regret for doing something so impulsive. Completely separated from her pride, this regret escapes her.

“Sorry—”

“Don’t.”

…Shit.

She’s fucked up, hasn’t she?

Alyssa looks up at Bianca, fearing the worst—but upon seeing the glazed look of desire in her eyes, her mouth falls slightly agape and her cheeks flush.

“Just kiss me again.”

It takes a second or two for Alyssa to even register this—but once she does, she wastes no time acting at her behest.

Revenge has never been so sweet.

#rpdr fanfiction #alyssa edwards #bianca del rio #alyssa x bianca #rare pair #jinkx monswoon

[thephantomcasebook]

'People are looking for this show to fail, no one is expecting season 2 to be good.' Why are so sure of it? Most people online were happy with season 1 and there were many comments on how it redeemed Game of thrones, it's still a mystery to me though, because many scenes would fit seasons 7-8 of GoT, like, Rhaenys breaking the floor with her head, Cole murdering a guest the wedding and getting away with it, etc, the writing was far from perfect, yet people liked it a lot. You criticize the promo, but many loved it as well, Olivia and Emma are popular, twitter and tumblr love them together. If anything, I'd guess WB and HBO would continue to do what they were doing because it clearly worked, people love Rhaenyra and Daemon and team black, they are the main marketing attraction, their social media and the book that were released barely had any pics with the greens, but a lot of Daemon and Rhaenyra.

I know that I go on these epic, Kevin Smith style, long winded rant posts.

But this one will be pretty short.

To Quote Paul Atreides

"Truth is in the streets, not in this parade of Sycophants who flutter around this palace with their meaningless statistics and empty ritural."

Simply put:

Twitter and Tumblr is not real life.

At no point, since their inception, has these sites represented even a majority of the true beliefs, likes, or tastes of the general public. There are many entertainment companies that are finding that out the hard way when their money has drained away trying to impress and appease the relatively small cast of people on these sites compared to the general public.

A majority of people, off tumblr and off Twitter, don't like Olivia Cooke. Some of it is Alicent hate - true. But a lot of it is because she is seen as a smug and patronizing asshole who plays girl activist while lecturing people from her cushy expensive London flat. Emma D'arcy is seen as an aloof grifter who identified as a woman for over 30 years, but once she couldn't break big into entertainment, changed her pronouns, and suddenly got cast. And then used it to be just as insufferable and sexist - entitled is the word used.

People on Tumblr and Twitter eat that shit up, because, they're people just like them. But if you go off the sites, talk to real people - especially people covering media and behind the scenes - you get a completely different story. You have to get out of your own echo chamber and look and investigate a little deeper.

I'll wager with you, right now, that if they pursue the twitter and Tumblr crowd and what they like, this show will be cancelled. If they put Olivia Cooke and Emma D'arcy together in the media tour, they're gonna be behind the eight ball. If they lead with talk of Patriarchy, this show is gonna be cancelled.

You, and they, Nonny, do not have any clue how fucking ugly this could turn on a dime. If they put a foot wrong, if they continue to push social political messages, if they even fuck up, just once, Youtube will excoriate them to the end of time. And unlike Twitter and Tumblr, Youtube is an important platform because a majority of people watch it. And if the Youtubers come for this show, it will be the end of it.

I cannot stress this enough. Warner Brothers is out of money. They are 50 billion dollars in debt. They don't even have the budget to release more than 2-3 movies a year now. Dragons are expensive, battles with dragons are extremely expensive. They have basically cancelled all of the other spin-offs. If this show drops audience below the target, Warner will kill it. They have delayed the show three times now with requests to rewrite the scripts.

This is House of the Dragons last chance.

I'd say I wouldn't gamble it on what Twitter and Tumblr likes.

[billmaher]

HBO Real Time April 14, 2023

[[MORE]

Guest List: April 14, 2023

The Interview:

Ben McKenzie is an actor and the co-author of the forthcoming book, Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud.

Twitter: @ben_mckenzie

The Panel:

Rep. Katie Porter is a Democratic Congresswoman from California who announced she is running for the Senate seat being vacated by Dianne Feinstein. Her new book out on April 11th is called, I Swear: Politics is Messier Than My Minivan.

Twitter: @katieporteroc | @RepKatiePorter

Piers Morgan is the host of Piers Morgan Uncensored on TalkTV.

Twitter: @piersmorgan

Watch Bill and his guests continue their conversation after the show on Overtime, airing Fridays at 11:30pm ET on CNN Tonight and streaming Saturdays on the Real Time YouTube channel.

#HBO Real Time Guests

[highlifestyleindia]

On Tuesday, "Succession," an HBO series about a cunning media tycoon and his squabbling family, received 25 Emmy nominations, one of which was for the coveted best drama award.

It will compete against "Squid Game," the first non-English language Emmy nominee from Netflix Inc, which is a South Korean thriller.

In "Squid Game," competitors who are short on cash vie for prize money, occasionally at their peril.

Both HBO's "Euphoria," about youth juggling sex, drugs, and social media, and the sci-fi sensation "Stranger Things" from Netflix were nominated for the drama award at the televised industry's highest accolades.

Among its 20 nominations, the cheery series "Ted Lasso" will defend its best comedy crown. The show will go up against "Hacks," "Only Murders in the Building," and "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel".

Hannah Waddingham, who starred in "Lasso" and was nominated for a supporting actress Emmy last year, said she was surprised to receive a second nomination because she felt she had "had my minute."

For everyone of us, it's a little bit of a magical moment, she remarked of the cast of the programme. The "Lasso" cast had ten nominees.

With 20 nominations, HBO's "The White Lotus," which follows guests and workers at a posh beachside resort, earned a spot in the competition for best limited series.

On September 12, the Emmy Award winners will be revealed.

This year, the Television Academy received a record number of entries, according to CEO Frank Scherma, indicating that production was rebounding after being halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The nominees were dominated by streaming television programmes, continuing a trend as viewers migrate to internet viewing. HBO and HBO Max received 140 nominations. Netflix received a 105.

For "Succession," which won best drama in 2020, there were fourteen acting nominations. In the race for outstanding actor, Brian Cox will face off against Jeremy Strong.

Adam Scott, the star and acting nominee of the newcomer "Severance," a psychological thriller about office workers, is speechless after learning that it has received 14 nominations and will compete for best drama.

"It is too much. I was genuinely shocked, flattered, and honoured," said Scott.

A brand-new show from ABC, which is owned by Walt Disney Co, "Abbot Elementary" entered the competition for best comedy.

Quinta Brunson, who was nominated for writing and acting on the programme, stated on Twitter that "crying, shaking, and throwing up has new meaning to me because I real life did all three."

Although voters passed over their co-star Selena Gomez in acting categories, Steve Martin and Martin Short will vie for the title of best comic actor in Hulu's "Only Murders in the Building," which is about true-crime podcasters.

For her portrayal of a 1950s housewife and comedian on "Mrs. Maisel," Rachel Brosnahan is a contender for best comedy actress, along with "Insecure" actor Issa Rae and "Hacks" star Jean Smart.

For the second year running, "Hacks," which follows an established female comic attempting to advance her career, has been nominated for best comedy series.

Jen Statsky, co-creator of "Hacks," said in an interview: "I think it's a really important thing, especially in this moment and time in our country, to showcase women and to tell their stories."

Zendaya, the previous winner for best drama actress, was nominated for "Euphoria," Laura Linney was nominated for the drug-dealing drama "Ozark," and Melanie Lynskey was nominated for the new series "Yellowjackets," which follows high school girls who must survive in the woods.

This year's major categories did not include the concluding seasons of the comic "Black-ish" or the heartbreaking "This is Us." Also overlooked by Emmy voters was the well-known Western "Yellowstone."

#hbo #apple tv #abc #disney #hulu #television #awards #tv shows #series #emmy awards #squid game #ted lasso #yellowstone #hacks #succession #trending #news #follow #updates #instagood #instanews #instagram #likeforlikes #explore #explorepage #viral #home #love

[moon-ursidae]

GAME SESSION 2 RECAP

game spoilers and spoilers for the hbo series below the cut!!

hours played: (with MANY breaks) roughly 11 hours🥴

alright i ate WAYYYYY too much ramen at lunch haha then i had some coffee and watched some comfort videos before i go back in!!

i also have my dog next to me to keep me company this time haha

okay! so i left off where i was about to go into the town to find bill!

i know there’s a bloater coming up here soon and i’m SO SCARED

i’m so mad i wasted my shivs on those 2 clickers and then there’s a door that you can only get open w a shiv AND I CAN’T MAKE ANYMORE GODDAMNIT

the dialogue between joel & ellie about the arcade game was really cute :)

again, checking every nook and fucking cranny for supplies praying that i can get back to that door

FUCK WHERE’S THE SAFE COMBO?? PROBABLY IN THAT GODDAMN ROOM FUCKKK

I GOT IN THE DOOR! lots of supplies but no dice on the combo :(

FOUND IT! fuck yea supplies🕺🏻🕺🏻

today i’ve learned that i’m a horrible shot in this game LMAO

bro ellie is F E R A L

bill: “you better stay right on my ass” “can’t miss it” THE WAY JOEL GRABS HER AND SAYS “knock it off” IS SO DAD OF HIM LMAOOOOOO I AM CACKLING

as of right now, i kinda like bill. he’s exactly what you’d think someone would be like if they were surviving on their own. and he’s clearly smart bc he has a whole ass town covered in traps and barbed wire. very resourceful. a valuable ally

i also like that he and ellie are extremely sassy and sarcastic toward one another and joel is just like 🙄

can i get some fucking slack plz w all these runners and clickers LMAO

i’d honestly rather deal w clickers tho than any other infected

this house looks a lot like clementine’s house from the telltale walking dead game!! i wonder if it was on purpose👀

also was lowkey hoping for an uncharted 2 marco polo reference in the pool. darn :/

OKAY THE JOURNAL UPSTAIRS WAS A LIL TOO REAL. brought back some pandemic flashbacks.

ellie trying to apologize about tess :(

and then he said “ellie you don’t have to worry about me” UGGHH MY HEART. such a goddamn dad.

oh fuck it’s the school

BLOATER TIME OH FUCK

BLOATER DEAD. I AM SWEATING PROFUSELY

poor frank and bill dude :(

THE TRUCK! AHH

also sorry but bill’s reaction to frank’s note was kinda funny to me “fuck you too”

THE OPTIONAL DIALOGUE W ELLIE STOP 🥹

“you’re doin a good job” and she said “i won’t let you down with this” AHHH🥺

the similarity between some of joel’s mannerisms and some of pedro’s from previous roles is CRAZY

OMG after she showed the comic she stole from Bill the way joel just sighs and asked “what did ya get?” in an exasperated tone💀

NOT THE PORNO MAG💀 “get rid of that!”

PLZ THIS IS SO FUNNY “why are they all stuck together?” joel just like “um.” i bet in his head he’s like ohmyfuckinggodhowdoiexplainthistoa14yearoldgirl

“i’m not even tired” *instantly cuts to her passed tf out* 💀💀

omg the iconic scene where she’s looking out the window slay

oh my god we’re getting to parts of the game that they’ve been filming!! i’m interested to see what the truck crash into the store looks like in post!

also the music playing while they were attacking the truck was badass

people are almost as scary as the infected bro. this garage full of stuff? disturbing that PEOPLE did this.

joel was a hunter???? holy shit bro

i’m wondering if it was soon after the apocalypse?? to get his anger out about what happened to sarah? or maybe he didn’t have a choice in the matter? i’m very curious to learn more about that.

i knew joel was a complex character but goddamn. this man has been through the fuckin ringer

“keep your voice down.” and she fucking mocks him going “okay” in a deep gruff voice I LOVE HER

okay i’ve had enough of these damn hunters bro goddamn

okay so i already forgot some things haha i took a break to eat

her acting like a hotel guest at the counter🥺 so cute

THE JOKE BOOK!!! MAKES AN APPEARANCE!!! YEEEEEAAAAA

“what’s not right?” “left?” I LOVE THAT JOEL GOES ALONG WITH IT

they’re so cute i would die for them

goddamnit i knew there would be SOMETHING soon. more hUnTeRs

i would like out of this hotel lmao i hate enclosed combat zones. the one’s outside are nicer

I FUCKIN KNEW THAT ELEVATOR WAS GONNA COLLAPSE FUCK JOEL OH MY GOD

i don’t like when they’re seperated i’m scared :(

i haven’t been alone this whole time and that is what has kept me sane and playing the game LMAO

i very much don’t like the sounds down here

I FUCKING HATE THIS OOOOOO I HATE IT VERY MUCH DOWN HERE

is this the hotel basement meme?

like from the vanity fair lie detector video?

my face is fucking RED i am very much hot and sweaty

oh god i thought the underwater part was what people meme’d about. i’ve only seen spores but that’s a sign bro.

I FUCKING DID IT. HOLY FUCK. MY HEART IS BEATING OUT OF MY CHEST I FEEL LIKE I’M GONNA THROW UP. I GOTTA TAKE A BREATHER LMAOOOO

oh thank fuck back to dealing with people thank god dude

oh my god is this ellie’s first kill? joel’s being kind of an ass about it. i’m glad ellie’s laying it on him. YEA TEACH HIM TO BE HUMBLE ELLIE

i feel so fucking bad for ellie dude. there’s an immediate shift in her body language as well. she’s like folded in on herself after joel was a shithead. and oh yeah her first fucking kill is at 14??? and joel is like dismissing her?? i oughta smack the shit outta that boy

i mean i kinda feel bad for both bc i feel like joel is trying to navigate this without getting attached bc he lost sarah. he knows he’s gonna have to seperate from ellie at some point. maybe he’s trying to fight the paternal instinct to get super attached to ellie bc of that? and obviously ellie is going through it. everyone’s after her, she has to keep her immunity secret, she just killed a man, and joel is being a dick. i just wanna hug both of them :(

oh my god and now him teaching her how to handle a rifle UGGGHHHH dude i’m gonna CRY

and she just killed more people🥺 ELLIE I’M SORRY HONEY

she looks so fucking guilty oh my god

“how’d i do?” STOP🥺

“how about somethin a little more your size” AND HER LITTLE “okay.” AND THE MUSIC AND I’M GONNA CRRYYYYYYY

AND HIM STUTTERING AND MAKING SURE ABOUT THE SAFETY ON THE GUN I- AHHHHHHHHHHHH🥺🥺🥺

oh shit! i wonder if this is the part that they’ve been filming with the hunter trucks!

that poor couple :(

the “let’s just get to the bridge” and ellie saying “okay” w a shaky breath :( LET ME HUG HER DUDE

almost to the bridge🕺🏻🕺🏻

omg joel saw the movie that’s promoted everywhere. and basically insinuated that sarah wanted to see it and joel saw it w her.🥺

alright i stopped after finding some optional dialogue w ellie. the chair that i sit in to play games makes my back and neck hurt SO BAD. and they both hurt hella so imma call it.

all in all, this play session was STRESSFUL. there were a lot of times where i had to go calm down for a bit before coming back. and also food breaks, and i have dogs to take care of as well haha. i really like seeing joel and ellie’s dynamic develop! :)

i really love this game so far. i’ve never really been one to talk a lot about combat systems in games just bc i play games for the story. and the last of us has a phenomenal story and really good writing so far. i’m excited to see the bond that joel and ellie have deepen, and what else is in store for our dynamic duo.

i have a feeling in my gut that i’m gonna get chased in a humvee by hunters tomorrow. but we’ll find out 😳

#the last of us spoilers #tlou spoilers #the last of us #tlou #joel miller #ellie williams #joel and ellie #mads plays the last of us!🌿

[boricuacherry-blog]

How did Michael Jackson get away with it for so long? The 'Wacko Jacko' persona was a deliberate ruse to cover a much darker truth, says Jacques Peretti as he examines his own complicity in letting the pop star off the hook.

If you keep wondering what to think of Michael Jackson's complicated legacy - is it OK to play Billie Jean at a party? Do you have to switch radio stations if Smooth Criminal comes on? - imagine how Jacques Peretti feels. He has made three films about the pop icon in the past 15 years and in this, his fourth, he aimed to build the fullest picture yet. But how many of us are brave enough to confront that picture?

The Real Michael Jackson (BBC Two) comes just over a year after the broadcast of HBO/Channel 4's Leaving Neverland, a gruelling, four-hour documentary built around the detailed accounts of two men, Wade Robson and James Safechuck, who say they were sexually abused by Jackson as children.

The Real Michael Jackson has much more in common with Louis Theroux's 2016 Savile film, in which the newly somber documentarian confronted his own journalistic failures and berated himself for not doing more to tackle a high-profile abuser who got away with it for so long. Didn't Jackson also "hide in plain sight"?

Peretti makes a compelling case that the pop star deliberately cultivated that 'Wacko Jacko' persona of the late 80s - Bubbles the chimp, the oxygen chamber, the Elephant Man bones - to provide cover for a truth that was much darker.

Savile's crimes were not on the same global scale. Peretti details the "Jackson machine", that small army of private investigators, expensive lawyers and fixers, which swung into gear during his trials, or whenever his reputation was threatened. It is an MO reminiscent of Harvey Weinstein or Jeffrey Epstein. Yet none of these other men had anything like Jackson's huge international fanbase, which, until uncomfortably recently, included Peretti himself.

"Is he a pedophile? That's the question that should be asked," Peretti says ruefully as he (and we) rewatch footage of a younger Peretti interviewing Jackson's longtime manager Bob Jones (who testified against Jackson in 2005) for one of his earlier films. "And I don't ask the question. That is a failure...that is a regret of mine."

In fairness, he is far from the only Jackson-adjacent journalist with regrets for not doing more to quiz Jackson on the rumors.

Jackson's habit of occasionally emerging from his post-Thriller seclusion to attend an awards ceremony arm-in-arm with a 12-year-old, or grant exclusive access to an interview, means there is a wealth of footage to scrutinize. Diane Sawyer in 1995 and Martin Bashir in 2003 made the most headlines - even asking him about the allegations - yet it's the softballs, including Oprah Winfrey's live 1993 interview at the Neverland ranch, which are retrospectively more creepy (although, to be fair, she did at least ask him about his sexuality). In the clip, Oprah approvingly notes one of several bedrooms on the property made up for young guests: "You have to be a person who really cares about children to build that into your architecture," she says.

Could anyone watch all this, especially after Leaving Neverland, and not have profound doubts about the professed innocence of Jackson's interest in young boys? Apparently so. J Randy Taraborrelli, the celebrity biographer and Jackson's loyal friend since childhood, continues to believe in Jackson's innocence and there were a couple occasions in his interview where you might wish he had been pushed harder. Ultimately though, the non-confrontational strategy paid off in an exchange that is enormously revealing about the nature of denial.

Peretti may not always ask the right question, but he has certainly been asking them of the right people. And now, at long last, the time is also right for genuine reflection. There are astute insights here from a variety of tabloid journalists as well as Jackson's fellow survivor of 70s child stardom Donny Osmond, and Matthew Knowles, talent manager and Beyoncé's dad. These guys weren't just there, in the distorting eye of the celebrity storm, they are all too aware of the types of games celebrities played to negotiate media scrutiny.

Is it possible to continue to continue to admire, even enjoy, Jackson in light of all that we now know? A lot of people remain very invested, both emotionally and financially, in believing that the answer to this question is yes.

#mj #michael jackson #leaving neverland #the real michael jackson #jacques peretti #BBC #ellen e jones #donny osmond #matthew knowles

[eldritchsurveys]

1176.

Loaded Questions: Party Game - Part 1 bonesofivory All questions from the Loaded Questions game

What is not worth all the money in the world? >> I bet I will finally think of a funny answer for this randomly in the middle of the night when I'm trying to go to sleep. What would make for a ridiculous new national holiday? >> But there are already so many ridiculous national holidays. I feel like we're full up on those at this point. What would cause you to give a child a "time out"? . What is something you would want to do every day? >> Bask in a sunbeam like a cat.

What word or phrase do you overuse? >> I can never remember one when asked, but I do have a few phrases and words that I sometimes feel self-conscious about because I know I use them constantly.

If you were in jail, whom would you want for your cellmate? .

If you owned a nightclub, what would you call it? >> The Church of Ill Repute. It was the name of a bar/nightclub/concert venue type place I made up for a roleplay character on Vampirefreaks back in the day and I still love it. Or we could just go with something like "Cathedral" or "Midnight Mass" or something if that one's Too Much. (Yes, I'm mostly inspired by that one club that used to exist in NYC that was in an old cathedral -- forget what it's called now, was it... Limelight?? idk but every day of my life I regret I was born just a bit too late to have been able to go there myself.)

What image should be next to the word "extraordinary" in a dictionary? >> The aforementioned NYC nightclub. On what TV show would you make a perfect guest star? .

How do you know when you're having a bad day? >> My thought patterns are the first indication, because I get real self-punishing and defeatist and borderline-to-full-suicidal real quick. It's a pretty dramatic shift. Also my executive function goes entirely out the window instead of just, you know, straddling the windowpane and threatening to jump.

Where is a terrible place to fall asleep? >> Any of the brown line trains, they're just terrible for that. You don't want to try to sleep on a (J) or something, like, that's just silly. I was always partial to the orange line, the (F) especially. (D) can be pretty good too since it turns local at night. Blue lines are a safe bet too. Didn't care for the (E) much but (A), sure, can get some good ZZZs on an (A).

What would constitute a bad neighbor? >> So many things crowded into my brain at once, where do I even begin. I think I'm just particular. How do you think you'll celebrate your 100th birthday? >> I don't know what kind of person I will be at 100 (to say nothing of what kind of world this will be in 2087...), so I really couldn't say. Which television family is most like your own family? >> Imagine one of those Black family sitcoms like The Bernie Mac Show or Everybody Hates Chris but there's no laugh track when they casually joke about beating their kids etc. Also it has to be on HBO because it's not actually suitable for "family" audiences.

What would make you turn off the TV immediately? >> Being bored by whatever is playing on it. It's hard to pinpoint a specific thing that would bore me, it's generally more an overall vibe than anything else. What would significantly change the mood right now? >> Oh, you know. Pretty much anything, to be honest.

What is the most impressive thing you can make? .

How are you planning on changing your life for the better? >> I'm not planning on that at all.

What is the most creative thing you have done recently? >> Whoof...

When is having very little of something actually a good thing? >> Hmm. What do you wish took a shorter amount of time to accomplish? >> Downloading. It's 2024 and I'm still letting game downloads run overnight while I sleep because they take so goddamn long. The latest BG3 patch is going to be my villain origin story when it finally drops. If your birthday became a national holiday, how would you celebrate it? >> It sometimes is a national holiday, but I cannot convey how much I hate sharing my birthday with Memorial Day of all things. I wouldn't want my birthday as such to be a holiday, though. My birthday is for me and people who specifically know and want to celebrate me. Also, I don't want to be associated with this nation.

What is something five out of five doctors can agree on? >> Lab coats rule.

What would be a strange gift to give at a baby shower? . What is a terrible thing to stuff a turkey with on Thanksgiving? >> Anything, I hate that people stuff the turkey. Soggy stuffing is the worst.

What inexpensive thing would you love to receive as a present? >> I mean, a lot of things. There are a lot of inexpensive things in the world that I like.

If Columbus discovered today's America, what might cause him to go back on his ship and sail away? .

What is a terrible excuse for forgetting a loved one's birthday? >> I took this literally at first and was like, "well, forgetting is largely involuntary, people don't forget on purpose, so...???" but I think "forgetting" is being used loosely here, to mean something more like "not acknowledging/overlooking" which could be for any number of reasons, including "I just didn't feel like putting any effort into acknowledging it", which, well, isn't great for a relationship. So, yeah, I guess that.

If you had to give the same gift to everyone on your holiday list, what would you give? .

What celebrity doesn't need a Halloween mask to look scary? >> That is a bit meaner than I'd prefer to be about people's appearances. Upon blowing out the candles on your next birthday cake, what will you wish for? .

What present would you immediately re-gift? >> I can't think of anything but overall I am pro-regifting.

If you could put a stop to one holiday tradition, what would it be? >> Fireworks. 100% What do you have an abundance of and could share with others? .

What information should not be communicated through text? .

What would you most like to find when going through your bag of Halloween treats? .

What have you done that would put you on Santa's naughty list? >> I am permanently on Santa's naughty list for the crime of wanting to bone him. If you could interview the devil, what would be your first question? >> "Doin anything tonight? 😏"

What kind of pet could someone have that would make you think that person is crazy? . What road sign do you wish existed? >> If I was wittier I would have had a ball with some of these questions but my mind just doesn't work that way 98% of the time, RIP.

#surveys #survey #random survey

[ear-worthy]

Indecent with Kiki Andersen: Where NFW Meets LMAO

 Have you started watching or listening to either a podcast, TV show, or musical artist and after that initial encounter, the show or performer instantly shoots to the top of your favorites list? 

That's only happened to me a few times. The latest occurrence is when I watched the first episode of The Last of Us on HBO. The show immediately shot to my top five and will stay there until season two begins, and I reassess.

I had the same reaction when I first listened to the Indecent podcast with Kiki Andersen. At the beginning of every episode, Andersen begins with, "This is Indecent, where we're peeling at the wallpaper of polite society, and where NSFW meets LMAO."

It's an excellent description of the show in summary form. Check out the show's artwork here. It is an uncannily accurate portrayal of the topics, tone, and sharp-minded core of the show. It's intelligence wrapped in humor engulfed by precociousness.

Here is the marketing scoop on the show: "Comedian Kiki Andersen finds the funny in the most uncomfortable corners of our culture. Sex. Politics. Religion. But in the digital age, what can and can’t be talked about at the dinner table has changed dramatically. Indecent is a podcast all about what’s off-limits and who sets the boundaries for today’s taboos."

 The podcast began in May 2023 and has already produced numerous noteworthy episodes. The July 19 episode with Viva Ruiz, who uses her artwork to fight for reproductive rights, was one of my favorites, especially the use of art to legitimize abortion as a vital part of healthcare. In the search for conservative comedy on August 9th episode, Andersen offers a simple but brutally effective point about comedy: "Jokes are only funny when they have a semblance of truth to them. If they're completely false, there's no joke there."

Throughout her episodes, Andersen does intellectual battle with anti-woke comedians who claim that their careers are jeopardized by cancel culture, and "wokeness." Andersen does not inflexibly battle wokeness and cancel culture. Instead, she questions their core and their meaning. To her credit, Andersen recognizes an essential truth. You can't be against something if you have no idea what it actually is.

As a comedian, Andersen elevates over other comedians on podcasts because she doesn't try too hard to be funny. Unlike other podcast comedians whose diatribes sound more like a bad "Best Man Toast" at a wedding, Andersen allows her sharp humor to flow freely from the conversation. She's funny, sharp-witted, caustic at times, perceptive, and observant. Shepard and Rogan could learn quite a bit from Kiki Andersen.

I loved her October 13th episode about the Satan hysteria in the 80s and 90s. I had forgotten about this 30-year-old conspiracy theory from the religious Right on how Devil worship was corrupting the youth. According to these religious zealots, Pentagrams and Satanic rituals were more popular than Beanie Babies. Her guest, Chelsey Weber-Smith, used the recent tale of moral panic over the alleged spread of devil worship as a morality lesson for today, as we witness so many call out LGBTQ+ people, immigrants, and minorities as convenient scapegoats for the complex problems in our world.

 Andersen's road to this podcast is a definitely one less-traveled. Before she was a comic, Kiki Andersen was an Emmy award-winning news reporter under her real name, Kelly Andersen, but after enough people confused her for Kellyanne Conway on Twitter (yes, really) she decided to change her name, her career and do something way less depressing. "Now she uses everything she learned about how the world works to make people laugh."

Kiki Andersen lives in Los Angeles, where she does standup and sketch comedy seven nights a week. Since moving west, she has rapidly moved up the comedy ladder, performing regularly at the Laugh Factory and other clubs on the West Coast. 

Andersen was recently the featured act in a string of sold out shows for Nate Jackson. As a former member of the Supernova comedy productions team, Kiki Andersen has shared the stage with comedy’s biggest stars including Bill Burr, Whitney Cummings, Jim Jefferies, Nick Kroll, and others.

 Check out Indecent. It's comedy with a brain, insight with intellect, and perception without prejudice. Have a belief you cherish? Well, hold on tight because Andersen can shake up people without shaking them down.

#podcast #podcasting #wokeness #cancel culture