For me it's that my Spidey love has been lifelong and predates anything related to this specific cinematic universe.

There are two properties in the entire MCU that I'd say are legitimate works of art, and they are Agatha All Along (WandaVision comes close; it walked so Agatha could fly) and Black Panther.

Btw nothing I've said about the MCU applies to WandaVision or Agatha All Along, the latter of which is simultaneously the single greatest thing this franchise has ever produced and also too good to be uttered in the same breath as this franchise.

In recent years, the only MCU films I've watched since the last Thor were The Marvels and Fantastic 4 and they left practically no impression, I felt like I was forgetting them as they were playing. I do want to get around to Black Panther 2 and the new Spider-Man eventually, and that's about it.

(not to say there aren't specific ones I won't check out, but as an overarching narrative, I could no longer care less)

Every now and then I toy with catching up with the MCU and then a Russo brother opens his mouth and I'm instantly cured.

Oh yeah it was summer here a few days ago and the last two nights we've had to start up the fireplace (no central heating).

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Choose your top 25 favourite books. One per day for 25 days, in no particular order.
No explanations, no reviews.

Day 9:

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Choose your top 25 favourite books. One per day for 25 days, in no particular order.
No explanations, no reviews.

Day 9:

Fraggle Rock cast photo

Speaking of podcasts, if you become a Patreon supporter of the brilliant @onceuponavhs.bsky.social, you'll get to listen to a very special episode on FRAGGLE ROCK, for which I selected 10 of my favourite eps for them to watch--an extremely fun project for me, and such a great discussion!

Chimes at Midnight 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰

Yeah, I was trying to simplify but lost precision in the process!

Being a millennial gay ofc I'm excited for Practical Magic 2 but I'm a bit concerned by the implication the curse is still on. Like, how does that not undermine the entire emotional arc of the first film? Willing to give it a chance to explain itself but, hmmm.

10 horror movies to get to know me:

An American Werewolf in London
Bride of Frankenstein
Psycho
Bride of Chucky
The Witch
Bram Stoker's Dracula
Scream
Theatre of Blood
A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge
Sleepy Hollow

It's so fun when you revisit a show you haven't watched in years and wonder if it's still YOUR show and then it soon becomes very clear it's still very much YOUR show.

A masterpiece!

It was also actually a real challenge, having only 10 slots to make sure I fit in crucial arc eps, stories that establish all the major characters, eps that I just find really fun, and ones that I felt were some great examples of what the show could do at its best.

Fraggle Rock cast photo

Speaking of podcasts, if you become a Patreon supporter of the brilliant @onceuponavhs.bsky.social, you'll get to listen to a very special episode on FRAGGLE ROCK, for which I selected 10 of my favourite eps for them to watch--an extremely fun project for me, and such a great discussion!

Quite possibly the most terminally uncool look I've ever seen.

Appearing on an Oz podcast this week to discuss Gregory Maguire's The Witch of Maracoor, and I'm actually just excited to be chatting about the work of one of my favourite authors. The fact that it's part of the Wicked canon is almost just gravy.

An IG post from LGBTQ Nation: "Trump has people wondering if he's about to die with his latest social media post." Rosie O'Donnell's comment: "a girls gotta dream ❤️"

I love Rosie.

It's 2026, how are we still posting like this??

How many times do we have to do this posting-a-sad-picture-of-Robin-Williams-with-a-sombre-caption-about-funny-people-with-depression meme? (Or, even worse, Genie-you're-free.) Robin Williams had been diagnosed with severe dementia before his death. This was a very specific situation.

Sweeney Todd

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon

Choose your top 25 favourite books. One per day for 25 days, in no particular order.
No explanations, no reviews.

Day 8:

Fatal flaw: Keir Starmer’s leadership vacuum threatens to swallow him up The PM’s current and former colleagues say the Mandelson scandal has exposed the hollowness of his hands-off style.

"'Lots of people think Keir Starmer is a good man who is out of his depth,' said one Labour insider. 'Wrong. He’s an asshole who’s out of his depth.'"

To clarify tho: all the increasingly insane and convoluted family tree dynamics were always genius. If you don't get that it's very deliberately a fairy tale soap opera, I don't know what to tell you.

it's a really imaginative show with some Big Ideas and sometimes really clever plotting that also sometimes has dialogue that's like "that's not what heroes do!" and "good will win because good always wins!" and i love it in both modes

I'm sorry, I am such Once Upon a Time trash, up to S3 in my big rewatch, and I just love this show so much, I don't even care, I love it when it's smart, I love it when it's stupid, I just love it, ok?

Based on the sheer number of times I've rewatched it in a relatively short period of time, it will surprise no one who's followed me for a while to hear that, yeah, it's Wicked, and yeah, it's both parts.

Another that not everyone here is actually probably aware of: Rocketman.