All language subtitles for The Extinction of Fireflies.eng

[soft, angelic vocalizing]

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-[man 1] Am I scared?
-[man 2] Yes.

-[man 1] Terrified.
-[man 2] Of what?

[man 1] Of myself,
of disappearing.

[man 2]
Have you not observed

how I have given death
much thought?

[man 1]
Since I first observed you,

apart from all the others,

a young boy
half in a dream.

[man 2] What do you suppose
I saw in that half-dream?

[man 1]
Youth and beauty.

[man 2] And,
the inglorious but...

-sa-- Shit. Shit.
-[man 1] No. No.

[man 2]
Something about a dull life.

See, you're paraphrasing, Jay.

I really need you
to get this right.

-It's hard. I'm trying.
-It's in the writing.

Is it?
I don't get it, to be honest.

Okay. Just use my words.

-Speak slowly, Bette Davis.
-Yes. Yeah, it took her--

[both] Took her 20 years
to learn how to speak slowly.

Yes. Do you want another drink?

What time is it? Callisto
hates when I day-drink.

I have no earthly idea.

Fuck it, his train
doesn't arrive 'til 9:20.

-In New London?
-Yes.

It's the transgender capital
of the world.

-[Jay] What?
-Yeah!

They're all engineers
at Electric Boat.

They build nuclear subs.

-Vodka?
-[Jay] Yes. Wow!

-Really?
-Yeah, really.

Actually,
I just made all of that up.

But it sounds about right,
right?

[both chuckling]

-[Jay] You're smart.
-No.

[Jay] Smarter than
the guys I know.

Well...

Except Callisto.
He's crazy smart.

-Yeah?
-Yeah.

He knows as much as you,
probably more.

Well, he should
read my play, then.

He already did!

-Oh.
-I gave it to him last week.

-Oh, I--
-He read it immediately.

-Oh.
-Callisto's a mad reader,

been trying to get me
to read Goodbye, Gatsby.

The Great Gatsby?

-Right. Shit.
-[chuckles]

Oh, it's the saddest sentence
in the English language,

-the final line of that book.
-That book is fucking endless.

And?

-What?
-My play.

Oh, he liked it! I think.

-Oh. Are you sure about that?
-Yeah.

-Okay.
-Yeah.

Yeah. He did have
a few thoughts, though.

"Thoughts."

He said he'd tell you
about them when you two met.

Oh, there's an icebreaker.

No, dude,
he won't be rude or anything.

He's just direct, very direct.

He says it like it is.
[chuckles] No bullshit.

If he doesn't like
someone or something,

you'll know
about it immediately.

Oh, there's something
to look forward to.

What time does
Charlotte get here?

Oh, um, her flight
gets in at 11:30.

-Oh, my God!
-You know,

Hadrian was not an easy
character to write, by the way.

Does Charlotte ever
talk about Beyond Riches?

No, she hates it.

She was such
a bitch on that show.

Well,
bitches are her bailiwick.

I'm sorry, what did
Callisto say about my play?

Oh, you know, he's just
a snob about everything.

Upper East side, Greek.

-You know the type.
-Oh, yes, I do, actually.

My first boyfriend at Columbia
was Greek, from Queens.

Same church, different pew.

Is it kosher to ask Charlotte
about Down the Lusitania?

Why not?

Stars hate talking about
their old movies!

Okay, you should never trust
what you see on Instagram,

particularly from
old movie stars.

I don't!

But you gotta admit,
it's pretty accurate,

especially the comments.

That's what I focus on,
what people say.

That's why
I'm not on Instagram.

-[Jay] You should be.
-Why?

Because! [scoffs]

You're a playwright.
That's how you get known.

No! I write to please myself,
not other people.

I want to get known
by writing good plays

that give voice
to my generation.

You know,
it's my material

that deserves attention,
not me.

-Fine. Do it your way.
-[scoffs]

I am acting with
Charlotte Christian.

Yay! Life goals.

How old is she now, anyway?

Oh, just a little bit
older than me.

[loudly] What? No.

-Really?
-Yes, really.

I am amazed.

57 is not that old,
my friend.

-Still.
-Still what?

Still, she looks better than

most of the people I know
that age! Of course,

I don't really know anyone
that age, except my parents,

who party like chorus boys
on a cruise ship contract

and still look fucking great.

Thank you,
good genes and coconut water.

All of my friends
are still young.

[theatrically]
Oh, how nice for you!

How very, very nice for you!

What? No, you don't count!

Oh, I really
don't care anymore.

You act younger
than anyone I know.

-No one can keep up with you!
-Oh, thank you.

Charlotte takes great pictures.

Movie stars have to.

Her and Callisto are
super blessed like that.

They cannot take a bad picture.
Me? No.

Oh,
I hate having my picture taken.

Smart.

I was kind of a sick
Charlotte Christian fan

for a hot second
there in the '90s.

Me and my friends used to
act out Down the Lusitania

in our friend Toby's garage.

I played the
Charlotte Christian role,

of course,
[formally] Lady Amelia Herbert.

I had a dress
and everything that I stole

from my Aunt Cheryl's closet.

Auntie Cher was a colonial
Williamsburg reenactor.

She played the lead town whore,
according to her.

[laughs] But I never saw
any other whores

when we went there
on class trips.

She always rolled out
the red carpet for us,

really hammed it up.

-[sighs] She died.
-Oh.

Cancer. Smoking related,

but was all kept very hush-hush
in colonial Williamsburg.

Jesus. In the '90s,

I watched my boyfriend
choke on his own blood and die.

Another drink?

Why not?

-AIDS?
-Yes. Vodka?

Yes.

-Was he sick a long time?
-Yeah, like two years.

Oh, I'm so sorry.

Oh, God,
it was a long time ago.

I don't know much about AIDS.

I know.

-No one my age does.
-That's a tragedy.

Except Callisto.
He knows everything about it.

He refused to do
anything anal

until I got tested and
saw Long Time Companion.

Wait, wait a minute.
What-- what about condoms?

-Doesn't believe in 'em.
-Really?

Yeah, he's one of those
radical anti-condom people.

Oh. I didn't realize there
was such red-hot controversy

swirling around condom usage!

[laughs]
So Greek, right?

I guess.

Of course,
he knows about my past,

the shit I did before him.

For example?

Oh, I was such a slut.

Before or after
colonial Williamsburg?

Before, during, and after!

Weren't you, like, 14?

She bloomed early.
She bloomed real early.

In fact, my first boyfriend
was head apprentice

to Colonial Williamsburg's
ye olde blacksmith,

who just so happened to be
the hottest daddy in town.

Mr. Luther,
fucking hot.

I'm sure they fucked around
after hours behind my back,

-in the shop!
-That sounds illegal.

Shit. [chuckles]
Colonial Williamsburg was

basically a brothel with fudge.

Him and Mr. Luther
still fuck around

when he's in New York
on reenactment business.

-You mean "Mr. Luther and he"?
-Yeah, sorry.

[groans] You know, they don't
teach grammar anymore.

Oh, they don't?
[scoffs]

But is it even necessary?

We're all
autocorrected now, anyway.

Um, I'm still a fan.

They don't teach as much
about AIDS, either.

-Yeah. What did they teach?
-[laughing]

No, I mean, seriously!
Aren't some things

still mandatory,
like history, or health?

Nope. We just Googled.

Wow. Well, The internet didn't
exist during the AIDS crisis,

so if you wanted to survive,
you had to fight for

every shred of information you
could get your bloody hands on.

We survived an avalanche,

and each other
is all we had.

Yes.

Oh, preach AIDS realness.

Tell Callisto
when he gets here.

Oh, I suspect he already knows,

based on
your current reporting.

Probably,
he's a fucking genius.

Hey, you--

you've made some
interesting observations

here in the script.

"It takes a whole life
to learn how to live"?

How sad.

Oh, that's all Callisto,
not me.

Well, this one just says
"Alexandria"?

Oh, that is me.

Virginia, right?

Egypt.

Ohh!
[chuckling]

That makes so much more sense.

Yeah, it would.

-Don't be mad!
-I'm not-- I'm not mad!

Why would I be mad?
It's just--

It's cool.

Where are you putting
me and Callisto?

Upstairs, in the bridal suite.

[Jay] Nice!

Ah! My glutes hurt like fuck.

[Jay] Too many squats.

Callisto gives
heavenly massages!

-Oh, so I've heard.
-[mock gasp] From who?

From heaven's highest
seraphim and cherubim,

who ceaseth not to proclaim
his wondrous deeds and virtues!

Shut up!
You saw his ad online.

-He's a masseur?
-[gasps] Mr. Magic hands.

Very popular with
the silver sneaker gays.

Even has a few celebrity
clients who shall go unnamed.

Clive Davis.

But his parents are making him
get his bachelor's degree,

at The New School.
Whoop-whoop!

Don't tell him I told you,
he's embarrassed as fuck by it.

-By The New School?
-No, no.

-No, by his parents.
-I know, mum's the word.

Okay. This bitch
is gonna go upstairs,

take a nap, and
get pretty for his man.

Have fun.

Serabin and pheraphim!

[sighs] Virginia.

Jesus H. Christ.

[ice clinking]

Morning, guys!

Just checking in
with an update.

Running Waters' mum
has been texting me.

Julie Beth said that Running

won't be released
from prison today,

which is totally messed up,
I know.

She thinks two legal aid
attorneys might be coming

from Sioux Falls
today to meet with

the Big Bluff tribal elders
to discuss bail options.

And still,
the mainstream media

refuses to take a stand
against the oil companies

and to cover this tragedy

unfolding on
ancestral land here.

Well, there.

I had to leave the Big Bluff
yesterday for the East Coast.

I'm now at a writer friend's
summer house in paradise

for a week or so
for some much-needed

physical and metaphysical rest.

[gasps] Oh! And doing
a reading of his new play,

The Extinction of Fireflies.

Important work.

Can't say anything
about it right now,

but basically it's about
every-fucking-thing

that's wrong
in the world right now!

Brilliant!
[chuckling]

Ah, right. I'll check
back in with you guys

as soon as I hear more from
Running's mum, my darlings.

And remember:

we've got to stay positive.
Can't go to the negative.

They go low,
we go high.

We are the Big Bluff!

[chuckles]

Vegan forever.

Mwah! Namaste.

Peace.

-[Jay] Perfection.
-Jesus Christ!

-Scared the shit out to me.
-Oh, my God, I'm so sorry.

-Don't do that again.
-I was watching you live!

Don't ever sneak up on me!

I'm old and I smoke.
I could go at any moment.

Well, you look great.

[scoffs] I look like
fucking tornado wreckage.

That's crazy!
You look so good.

Who are you?

-I'm Jay.
-Jay what?

Jay Mulch,
as in the groundcover.

Oh. Charlotte.
Christian, as in the religion.

-Smoke?
-[Jay chuckles]

Hello, Charlotte.
I am so pumped to meet you.

-When I was a kid--
-Yes! James told me

all about you.
You're reading Antinous.

Yes! With you! Yay!

You're not at all
how I imagined Antinous.

-No?
-Not at all.

I imagined him younger.

-Much younger.
-Well, he was 14.

Antinous broke the heart
of the most powerful man

in the ancient world:

-a Roman fucking emperor.
-[Jay] Uh-huh.

Antinous was pure,
pious, and chaste.

Right!

He was the most beautiful boy
who had ever lived.

[laughs & sighs]

You'll make it work, I guess.

-Make coffee.
-I'm on it.

[Charlotte sighs]

[exhaling]

[thudding]

[Jay clears throat]

You are exactly how I imagined
the mother, Plotina.

Mother figure, darling.
And it's "Plo-tin-a."

-"Plo-tin-a." Say it!
-"Plo-tin-a."

"Plo-tin-a."
Very good.

Plotina, yeah.
Exactly how I imagined

the mother figure,
Plotina.

Exactly how you imagined, huh?

-Totes.
-Like dead.

I'm ashes.

He's turned me
into fucking dust!

[sighs]

I spend the whole play
in a fucking funeral urn.

Use the organic coffee
if he has any.

Oh, uh-- yeah,
um, um, I'll look.

[cabinet slams]

Yeah.

How is that urn thing
gonna work, anyway?

Oh, who knows?

I think James makes it up
as he goes along--

what the flying fuck?

I'm turning into
a reptile, darling.

I'm shedding my skin. Do you
have any body lotion anywhere?

Uh, yeah. Um...

I have so many
questions for James.

-So does Callisto.
-Great name.

-Greek.
-From Greece?

-Greenpoint.
-Ah.

-Brooklyn forever!
-[Charlotte chuckles]

-You two are a couple?
-Yep.

A year ago, Pride.
We met on the Atlantis float.

Hmm.

My first agent/husband/sponge
was a Greek.

-[Jay] Greeks are the best!
-In the sack, sure.

-Girl!
-But be careful, mate.

What do you mean?

Oh, let's just say
my Greek worm

stopped working
after he met me.

Oh, Callisto's not like that.

He's getting
his bachelor's degree.

-In what?
-Business Administration.

Oh, Christ, another one?
Motherfuckers!

[Jay laughs]

So, how do you see...
your character?

-A total bitch.
-Yes. Yes!

Well, that's why James asked
me up here, to read the thing.

And because
I'm the only name he knows

who maybe might be able to
get this thing produced.

Oh, yeah. Has he ever
had a play produced?

Mmm, once.

But it was a failure,
basically.

Ah, he paid for most of it.

Back when he had the money.

-[Jay] Mmm.
-It's hard.

It's hard when you
want to do something

that requires
a real gift, you know?

Especially at his age.

Time runs out.

But he does work hard,
I'll give him that.

Except now it's do-or-die time.

-Right. I-- Oh!
-Do my back.

[shocked laughter]

I've been wondering how
he's doing it, to be honest.

I mean, financially.

I haven't known him that long.
Two years?

We met before Callisto.
We had mm-hmm.

-Mm-hmm.
-Hmm-hmm!

[chuckles]
Will was still around then.

Oh! My William.

-So cool, right?
-Oh, Christ.

He's a fucking Christmas angel,
dressed up as a toucan!

-Hmm.
-Wow.

How he put up with James,
no one knows.

Mmm.

Callisto had some
really interesting critiques

about the play, I thought.

At least it's better
than his last one.

You know, the one about, um...

uh, the pen pal murder.

Mmm! Oh, yeah.
What was that one called?

The Pen Pal Murder.

Yeah.

Callisto thought that
the writing felt stiff.

Well, he's right.

You know, James controls
his characters way too much.

You've got to give us room.
You've got free us up.

Well, at least let us
speak for ourselves.

[Charlotte chuckles]

Callisto's a great writer.

-He did a thing last year.
-A play?

Yes, but without any scenes
or dialogues or anything.

Just, like, a long outline.

He said he'd find
the rest in rehearsal.

Well, that's always fun!

It's about a lesbian couple,
both Jewish, from Poland,

who fought in the
American Indian Wars as men.

I love it!

It's based on
some book he read.

Oh, I need to
read that outline!

I'll get it for you! As soon
as Sleeping Booty wakes up.

-She's up!
-Oh! [laughing]

-[James] What?
-[both] Nothing!

Morning, dearest heart!

We were just talking about you.

-I heard you.
-[both] You did?

How'd you sleep,
Mrs. Roosevelt?

I was up all night texting
Running Waters' mum.

-Oh, right, Julie Beth.
-Mmm.

-Good morning.
-Good morning.

-We need organic coffee.
-Oh, and cigarettes.

We're running out.
How about wine?

-Do we need wine?
-Always!

Well, we've got
to stock up, boys!

Aye-aye, captain!
We sail at dawn.

[laughing]

I, uh...

I read your script.

-Finally.
-I know.

Some good stuff in there.

I'd like to maybe hear
Callisto's notes, though.

Wait. Now they're "notes"?

Me and Charlotte,
we were discussing the play.

"Charlotte and I."
We went over this, honey.

Well, that's why we're
doing this this weekend, right?

To read and
to give you feedback.

Ugh. Daddy's gonna
need coffee for this.

Maybe Callisto can help make
your play better, stronger.

Oh, of course he could.

And then we could all
smoke cigarettes and drink rosé

while we watch him
levitate in the backyard.

-James!
-I'm kidding, honey.

-[sighs] Well, he is a writer.
-Since when?

Oh, I told Charlotte
about Callisto's new piece

about the lesbian couple,
both Jewish, from Poland,

who fought in the
American Indian Wars as men.

Wait, the foof and the what
and the-- wait, what?

I can't wait to read it.

-It's just an outline!
-Well, it sounds very detailed.

There are no scenes
or dialogues yet.

It's theater.
Who gives a fuck?

I do.

Oh, God,
you're being negative.

I'm not being negative,
Charlotte.

Well, don't hear it
as criticism.

-No...
-Wait!

Since when did defending
yourself become being negative?

Hmm, "negative,"
it isn't the right word.

-"Stiff"?
-"Stiff"!

That's what I mean. You need to
be more open to letting

-other people help you, James.
-Are you kidding me?

At this point, I need everyone
on planet Earth, and Neptune,

and his or her moons
to help me out.

What we want and what
we'll allow for ourselves

are very often at odds.

Trust me, sweetheart,
I am this close to

drinking and fucking
my way into gay heaven.

Hmm, drinking and fucking?
In heaven, you say?

Good morning, baby.
You're naked.

-I am?
-Not naked enough.

Fooled ya.

You're a fucking god!

[laughing] Get in here, you.
I'm a hugger.

[Charlotte giggles]

[sniffing]
You smell like Hawaii.

-Doesn't he?
-Au naturel, lovely lady.

Au naturel!
[laughs]

Christ.
I need to get laid.

Another celebrity client,
Mr. Hands?

-James.
-Chill, Jay.

He's our playwright!

I-- oh-- ow, ow!
[clears throat]

I am a ginormous fan
of your play.

Really?
'Cause I've read otherwise.

-Don't ever listen to Jay.
-I don't.

-[Jay] The fuck!
-We'll talk.

-Coffee?
-Is it organic?

-No.
-[Jay] He ran out.

No, but we plan to
pillage some more

after we rape
the local townswomen.

-Ha!
-James!

-I'm kidding, Charlotte! Jeez!
-No, it's cool.

-Right, Charlotte?
-James knows rape isn't funny.

Of course James knows
rape isn't funny.

-Jesus Christ, woman.
-Oh, fuck off.

[scoffs]

Charlotte and James are
having a little falling out.

-Over a planet.
-Neptune.

It's all good.

[mocking] Is it?

Is it "all good"?

I'm sorry,
I loathe that expression.

I-- I just do. I always have.

No, I mean, just--
Is feeling the testosterone

drain out of your body
on a daily basis "all good"?

Is it "all good" when
little kids in Yemen

get blown up on school buses
on a daily basis

on their way to summer camp?

Is it "all good"
when 90% of mankind

lives on less than
a dollar a day?

Breathe, brother. Breathe!

They make
testosterone boosters.

Okay. Please, do not tell me
to breathe, okay?

I am breathing.
Now. See?

[loud inhale and exhale]

I'm breathing.
That's breathing.

Breathing's actually
involuntary.

My brain will not
allow me not to breathe.

I don't have to tell my brain
to do that, okay?

I actually couldn't speak these
words right now

if I weren't breathing.
So I'm actually breathing

and thinking
and speaking, right?

So, I'm breathing,
thinking, and speaking.

Oh, look, here's coffee.
So I'm actually drinking coffee

and thinking and breathing
and speaking.

Good morning.

I think Callisto means
"breathe with intention."

-Exactly.
-Well, I'll give it a whirl

on Monday
before my foreclosure.

But are they happy?

-Who, the bank?
-No.

The 90% of all mankind living
on less than a dollar a day.

-Oh.
-Excellent point.

Them. Well, we'll ask them
when we go into town

to stock up on cigarettes
and organic coffee.

And red wine.

-[spritzing]
-And a mop.

-Mm-mmm!
-Sorry.

I saw dirt over here.

[soft rustling]

[Callisto]
I find in my life

nothing more
than a shapeless mass.

What I have not been
defines me most.

The hero's existence is simple.
It goes straight to the mark.

I have occupied each of
these extremes, but...

life has always drawn me away.

My life has contours less firm.

I recognize
the working of fate,

but too many paths
led nowhere at all.

And my end now fast approaches.

Ah...

[fan tapping]

-Bravo.
-[chuckling]

Thank you. Thank you!

Devastating.

-That's huge, coming from you.
-Oh! [chuckles]

-You found so many levels.
-It felt really good.

Yes, well.
You can't teach levels, baby.

You either have them
or you don't.

I did change
a few of the words.

Ah, you personalized it.

Good actors do that.
We all do.

-Quite a bit, actually.
-[chuckles]

You gave it oomph!

Well, someone had to.

Great writers need
better editors, right?

-Is that a quote?
-No, I just came up with it.

Oh! Brilliant.

"I find in my life...

nothing more than
a shapeless mass.

What I have not been
defines me most."

Mmm.

We can all relate.

I don't want
to end up like that.

-Like Euphrates?
-Mmm.

Right!

Now...

you have too much potential.

I mean, look at you.
You've got it all.

The face, the brains,
the body, the talent.

Oh, I read your play,
by the way. Mmm!

-Well, most of it.
-When?

Jay gave it to me this morning,

right before they went
to get our groceries.

-It's just an outline.
-No, it's brilliant.

That's what it is, mate.

The world needs to hear it.

The universe needs you
to tell that story.

So timely.

The genocide of
Native Americans continues.

Mmm.

I saw it last week with
my own eyes. I have videos.

None of this shit has changed,
and you're writing about it.

-It's fucking brilliant.
-Wow.

-Thanks.
-Mmm.

And you do massage?
[chuckles]

I am a massage therapist, yes.

Oh. How about reflexology?

Yes, I studied in Shanghai.

[laughs]
Do my feet!

Aww. Oh, Christ, what a grip!

-Oh, you have such soft skin.
-[giggles]

-[squeals] Don't!
-Mmm! You smell so pure.

[southern accent] I am.

Why, I'm just a delicate
little hothouse flower.

[gasps]
Blanche fucking Dubois!

Now there's a part.

But I'm running out of time
to play that one, and fast.

Oh, that's good.

You went to China
to learn how to rub feet?

My dad was there
doing business for a year

when I was on break
from Deerfield.

You live up to your name,
Mr. Hands.

God, you'd make a killing
in Los Angeles.

They're always on the hunt
for body workers out there.

Daddy would murder me

if I didn't finish
my school this time.

Need to finish something.

Anything.

[Greek accent]
"Time to get serious, Carly.

Your mother and I,
we're getting too old for this.

Too many bites
at the apples."

Aww. They love you.

I'm such a fuck-up.

What?

My dad wants me
in the shipping business.

Plus, Jay doesn't want
to leave New York.

He loves it,
and my family loves him.

-Hmm.
-Go figure, right?

They want us to get married.
My mother wants grandkids.

Well, what do you want?

I don't want
to disappoint them.

Well, I never gave two shits
about disappointing anyone.

I saw something and
I just fucking went for it.

Never got married,
never had babies, so...

there's never been anyone there
that I could disappoint.

Do I have regrets?

Hmm. Fuck yes.

I regret I didn't get married,
I regret...

I never had babies.

I'm contradicting myself,
I know, but...

those regrets were zilch
compared to the ones I'd had

had I not pursued
my hero's existence.

Had I not lived...

straight to the mark.

[car rumbling]

Sounds lonely.

Oh! I got over all that shit
a long time ago,

-and now I'm out of cigarettes!
-[car door slams]

-[James] We're back!
-Oh, thank God!

-Did you get my cigarettes?
-[James] Yes, ma'am.

One, two, three.

From the tribal smoke shop.

Autumn Leaf sends her regards,
by the way.

Autumn's a peach.

-And guess what I got?
-What?

New coloring book. Yay!

-Ever color?
-Are you kidding?

You should try it!

It's a great time-killer,
like knitting.

Callisto and I were
just deciding your future.

-Really?
-Oh, I'm all ears.

We're gonna get married
and have lots of babies,

-right, Calli?
-[Callisto] Mm-hmm!

Toss me that knitting,
will you, darling?

Callisto was reciting
Euphrates' death plea.

Oh! Was this before or after
your backyard symposium

-on gays and procreating?
-He's a natural.

Baby, go and show
James your rewrites.

-Wait, rewrites?
-"Baby"?

Just a few, to make it
more conversational.

Um, he's an emperor
on his deathbed,

surrounded by the Praetorian
Guard and the Roman Senate.

-He's not Chatty Cathy.
-I also screwed around

a little bit with
Hadrian's Greece speech.

Oy, that.

Before Euphrates kills himself,

the scene with
Antinous in Alexandria.

Egypt, case you're wondering.

-Thank you, John.
-John?

I love it.
It's mad good.

Oh. You made it
more "conversational."

Uh, it just wasn't flowing.

-Exactly.
-Interesting, huh.

-It was flowing for me.
-Well, I reworked a few words

and a sentence or two
here and there to make it...

land better with
a younger audience.

-Important point.
-But what if I don't want it

to land better with
a younger audience?

-Why not?
-You don't?

-What? Everyone wants that.
-Hey, maybe we read the play

out loud before
we rip it apart?

-Sure.
-So wise. You're right.

It was massively uncool
of me to touch a single word

of your awesome play
without your permission.

-I apologize.
-No, it's--

Oof, he is stiff. I need
to work on you, sexy man.

He Worked on me earlier.

Miss Dubois and I
had a session.

[southern accent]
He made my mouth water.

That sounds murky.

Okay, you know what?
Thank you. Thank you.

And thank you for the apology.

I honor your need
not to change things.

There's a lesson
in that for all of us.

Ew.

So evolved,
this young man right here.

It's all the hot yoga.

-Namaste--
-Namaste--

Jinx! You owe me a beer.

[laughs]
I owe you nothing.

Okay. Anyway, I got us
some nice fish for tonight.

-No salmon, I hope.
-Nope, fresh tuna.

-[Charlotte & Callisto] Okay.
-Jinx again!

-Oh!
-Wait, wait, wait.

What happened now
to salmon and tuna?

Anything from the Pacific
is 1000% carcinogenic.

The Atlantic too. 1000%.

-I heard that.
-1000%.

-I saw it online.
-And on NPR.

-Oh, well!
-Mmm.

We're all so fucked!

Ugh!

I love this one.

It's a unicorn.

I collect unicorns. See it?

-I see it. Yes.
-[giggles]

Show it to James.

[exhales]

[Jay] James?

Do you see it, James?

Do you see the unicorn?

[crickets chirping]

[Charlotte]
The stars...

Oh, my God. They're...

falling from the sky.

[Callisto]
They're really good.

Bithynia has gorgeous stars.

-Greece?
-No, Turkey.

-Oh.
-My grandpa lived there,

in a villa he built
on the Black Sea

before he died in
his plane off Icaria.

The island where
people forget to die.

Oh, Christ!
Let's go there.

[chuckles]
We visited him every July.

Papa would drink ouzo
with Sprite every night,

tell me and my sister
the story of the stars.

[Jay] Artemis?

Jay hates my sister.

She thinks I'm not
good enough for her brother.

-She never said that.
-Whatever.

She should see a nutritionist.
That's all I'm gonna say.

[scoffs]

What about your grandma?

Yiayia Merope. Uh...

She drowned the year
my dad was born.

Oh, so much tragedy.

Yes.

Papa never got over it.

Yiayia Merope was named after
the seventh Pleiad, Merope,

who married Sisyphus,
a mere mortal.

Her sisters shunned her for it.

Oh, poor Merope.

Papa said you could
only see Merope

when it was cold and clear

[Greek accent]
"and the air was a corpse."

We looked for her every night.

We never found her.

Papa said he only saw her

in the iron sky of
the January new moon.

But we were never
there to see that.

Beautiful, right?

Oh, fuck yeah.

Everybody comfy-cozies?

Yes, Daddy.

Ooh, you missed the fabulous
story of Yiayia and Merope.

Oh, sounds mythological.

That's my childhood.
All mythology.

Ugh.
Mine was all New England.

The only mythology
we ever heard was that

Dad wasn't
drinking himself to death.

My mom says
the same thing to my dad,

but she's just giving him
a hard time.

Sometimes, I wonder.

Wonder about what?

His dad's a freak
of a booze hound.

Freak?

He's a lawyer.
You'd hate him.

Probably.

-Wanna hit this?
-Yeah, sure.

-[smooch]
-[James] Oh.

[exhaling]

-[smooch]
-Oh.

Wow. Okay.

Uh, let's just
continue with the play.

-[Jay] So disrespectful, Calli.
-[Charlotte] Sure.

-[Callisto] Why not?
-[Jay] Why'd you say that?

I'm gonna refresh
my drink, ladies.

-You say it all the time, babe.
-Oh, make me one, too.

Jay, darling? Drink?

[Jay] I'll have a baby vodka.
I'm kind of wasted.

-Good idea.
-[scoffs]

-I'll make baby's vodka.
-[laughing]

[Jay, angrily] I'm pumped
you two are hitting it off.

-I was worried.
-That's enough.

Okay, boys. And girl.

So, we got to
Euphrates' suicide, right?

No, we're still on that.

-The scene before.
-Shit. Okay.

Ugh, Christ,
this thing is long.

I like this scene.

-Thank you.
-[Callisto] You're welcome.

Thoughts?
Notes? Revisions?

No. It's just heartbreaking.

-You got it.
-Yeah, yeah, yeah.

No tea, no shade,
but this says a lot about you.

All my older gay clients
romanticize their past.

Oh, well,
we silver sneakers usually do.

Oh, really?

That's why you wrote
this Russian novel of a play?

To romanticize your personal
crisis as an aging gay man,

-as seen through the eyes of
-[camera shutter clicking]

a second-century Roman emperor
and his 14-year-old boy-toy?

We are children,
my generation.

-No, we're not.
-[Charlotte] Yes, you are.

We're actually
more sophisticated.

-Baby vodka?
-[Jay] Thank you!

No, it's like,
everything's changed now.

And nothing I remember
is there anymore.

And what about
what I don't remember

remembering being there?

I-- I feel like a phantom.
Like-- like

an age-inappropriately-dressed
phantom, just lurking--

lurching around New York City

with a nasty case of
plantar fasciitis.

Now, many people-- not me,
of course, but most... well,

let's call them, quote-unquote,
"older people" I know--

-Quote-unquote, "your peers."
-Well, if you will...

See, they romanticize
their past because

they're utterly traumatized
by what's coming down the pipe.

-Well, this is different.
-Oh!

You actually think you had it
better than today's young gays?

Absolutely. Yes, I do.

Despite all the AIDS and
the stigma and inequality,

and the no marriage
and no kids--

-What?
-Mmm, not on the page,

not on the stage,
right, Callisto?

I'm the wrong person to ask.

Wait. Charlotte,
why does this threaten you?

Are you serious? I was the one
marching and protesting

to save your lives,
you remember?

Oh, and all the gays thank you.
Didn't you get our card?

I lost out of the biggest job
of my career because of it.

-Wait a minute.
-No, it's true.

No, it was way more
complicated than that.

No,
it wasn't complicated, James.

-Okay. 1992, right?
-[James] Ugh.

I was flat-out fired
from the Lusitania sequel.

The front page of Variety,
the whole bit.

Ugh. And then,
if you will recall,

I was blacklisted in Hollywood

by the studio that made
$1 billion off me because

I sued them because they
refused to hire gay actors.

Your peers, whom they
branded "production risks."

Oh, Christ.

I had to finally grovel
and take that shit part

on Beyond Riches.

Christ, I was so fucking broke.

A crap show that crowned me
"Hollywood's biggest bitch"!

Oh, you were in the running
long before that, honey lamb.

[fake laughing]
Go to hell.

Oh my God,
Beyond Riches is, like,

the greatest
television show ever made.

It was a colossal
piece of shit, honey.

And Down the Lusitania 2

was a career-ending epic flop
for everyone involved.

You dodged a major bullet
on that deal, sweetheart.

A sequel to a movie
about a sinking ship?

There were survivors, arsehole.

Oh, let's agree to disagree.

[Jay]
We never acted it out.

Down The Lusitania 2 never
came to our movie theater.

You acted out my movie?

With costumes.

[James] Nicked from a hooker
in colonial Williamsburg.

It was quite the production.

-Shit!
-I played you, of course.

[formally]
"Lady Amelia Herbert,

cabin E14.
Do drop in."

-Aww. How old were you?
-14, 15?

[chuckles]

So, Euphrates kills himself?

-[James] Yes.
-[Jay scoffs]

Wow. Okay.

I thought you'd be grateful.

-[Charlotte] Grateful?
-Yes, grateful.

Adverb of "gratitude."
Ever heard of it?

-It's actually an adjective--
-Grateful and honored that

some sad little
gay boy in a dress

in Tidewater, Virginia
wanted to be you.

Whilst sleeping with
ye olde blacksmith!

Ye olde blacksmith's
head apprentice.

-Get your story straight.
-It's your story, honey.

When and if you're
ever honored like that,

do drop in and we'll talk.

Are you serious?

What?

"If"?

Yes. "If."

You don't think
I'm good enough to make it?

Well, I'm just perceiving
and reading between the lines.

Whatevs, Lady A.

-[Callisto] Jay...
-[James] Let's keep reading.

-[Charlotte] Good idea.
-What page?

[James] Uh, 28.

Fix me another drink, Adonis.

Here we go.
Jay, did you day drink?

Who the hell had time?
We were too busy chasing down

cheap booze and
organic smokes from here

to East Jesus and back.
Right, James?

I still can't believe we
trucked our butts all the way

to a fucking Indian reservation
to pick up organic smokes.

Who the fuck smokes
"Minnihana Lights"?

Excuse me? First of all,

"Native American,"
not "Indian."

And I smoke Minnihana Lights

to support the tribal women
who make them.

All right,
let's all calm down, okay?

-Jay...
-What? I'm calm. I'm calm as

a motherfucking cucumber.
Where's my fucking drink?

[Charlotte] Oh,
I might go to bed.

You're not going anywhere,
Lady A.

-No, Charlotte, please.
-Here, come sit with me.

Okay. Protect me from
your future husband.

And the mother
of your children.

Yes, you two sit there
nice and pretty.

[imitating] "Perceiving and
reading between the lines."

-[Charlotte] Ugh.
-All right, I'll read Hadrian.

-You do that.
-[Callisto] Jay, enough.

Relax! Toss me
a Minnihana Light, Lady A!

Lighter!

[Charlotte] Would you like me
to smoke it for you as well?

[Callisto]
I hate when he day drinks.

What? I'm just
getting into character.

What's wrong with that?

[lighter clattering]

Hit it, Hadrian.

"You are flushed and confused.

Your voice is low and strange.
What torments you?"

"Nothing."

"Your eyes look straight at me,

yet they lack the gentleness
that I marvel."

"So?"

"I feel judged with
harshness and suspicion,

and not as a god
by his adorer."

"You are absolute master over
but one being... mine."

"Then where is my boy,

ready to cast off his dagger
and belt of gold

-to lie with his master?"
-Okay, hold up, hold up, y'all.

"Belt of gold"?
What is that?

Just what it sounds like.

Yeah, it's a belt made
out of gold for your dagger.

-Okay.
-While we're stopped,

I do not believe
that this man

is the absolute master
of your being.

But is he?
Look at him.

-He is.
-You're 14.

Why do I take
my own life then? Huh?

For the same reason
Euphrates takes his.

-You've read Hamlet, right?
-Of course I have.

I know, I know:
"To me or not to me."

-Oh, Jesus.
-What's your point?

-Okay, uh, let's continue.
-[Charlotte scoffs]

"Why do you charge me to carry
to Euphrates your permission?"

"He is sick.
He is old.

His life no--
no longer offers him

-anything worth the living."
-Depressing.

Hey, why are you so petulant?

-You sound like Bette Davis.
-James!

You know, maybe I'd like
to hear Callisto in the part.

Oh, shit.

-Would you now, maybe?
-Mmm.

It's Jay's part. No.

Would the playwright
like to maybe hear Callisto

-in the part?
-James.

-No?
-Of course you would.

-Be honest.
-Okay, yeah, maybe.

Maybe? Maybe...

"it's creepy that some
lecherous old dude lusts after

a 14-year-old boy he picked up
on a camping trip."

-Lecherous?
-Camping trip?

-Jay.
-Your words, Callisto,

-not mine.
-He's drunk.

-He's drunk--
-No. No! It's right here,

in black and white
and fuchsia highlighter.

"Isn't it creepy that
some lecherous old dude

lusts after a 14-year-old boy
he picked up..."

[Jay and James]
"...on a camping trip?"

[script thuds]

[crickets chirping]

[owl hooting]

-You can be a supreme asshole.
-Why did you do that?

-Do what?
-You upset him.

-This is everything to him.
-[Callisto] He is a mess.

Am I? Isn't this what
we're doing here this weekend,

reading and giving feedback?
Your feedback, as it were.

-Show a little class.
-Oh, here we go.

[Charlotte] Lover,
pour me another glass of wine.

Pour your own
damn glass of wine.

Now I'm definitely
going to bed!

No, Jay is-- Please. He's--
Jay's not in his right mind.

Are you kidding?
I feel fabulous.

[James] Fuckin' done.
Done with that.

[ice clattering]

Want company--

James.

[sighs]

[fountain trickling]

[crickets chirping]

[James murmuring softly]

Sanctuary is left open...

Sacked by Nero.

Corinth in ruins...

yet Greece lives on.

Unchanged since
Aeacus first breathed in

the lavender honey in mirth.

Palestra's rugged shore,

where Charmides and Socrates
wrestle no more.

[bike bell dings]

-How was your swim?
-Great.

Was the water warm?

Perfect.

Did any of the
ancient peoples see you?

-Ancient peoples?
-My neighbors.

Want another drink?

-I'll take a beer, sure.
-You got it.

Sorry about earlier.

That whole mess with
Jay and your script.

Ah, it's all right.

-I'm used to it.
-He's very direct.

-Hmm.
-Says it like it is.

Funny, he says
the same thing about you.

I didn't understand
the attraction at first.

-Now I do.
-Okay.

Seriously.

I believe you.

And for the record,

Hadrian did not
pick up Antinous

on a camping trip, okay?
It was a barbecue.

-[chuckling]
-No, it was. Seriously.

Where do you think
barbecues came from?

Yeah.
Antinous, he was a hottie.

I mean, he was... oof!

The Romans, they treated
foreigners just like animals.

I mean, to them,
he was just a... human sex toy.

Mmm, tell me more.

Well, they fed each other
grapes,

and then they banged
each other's brains out

from Britain
to Bethania and back.

Mm-hmm. I know it well.
[chuckles]

But, their love endured.

To Hadrian and Antinous.

[bottles clink]

Mmm.

It's heaven here.

I love your place.
Your patio, your fountain.

I love this fountain!

Did you do
all this yourself?

No. None of it.

-Who did?
-William.

-William, your gardener?
-No, William, my life partner.

My... ex-life partner,
as it were.

He made everything
here beautiful.

I mean, I'm barely
holding it all together.

This is bad.

You should see this garden
when Will was tending it.

It was our sanctuario.

Did you...

did you see any fireflies?

-I saw a few down at the docks.
-Yeah?

You see that, uh,
row of pine trees there

along the property line?

Yes, I love them.

Yeah, they used to twinkle,
just yellow and green.

Like Christmas in July.

[sucks teeth]
Not anymore.

Damn.

You ever hear
a nightingale sing?

Wait, nightingales exist?

-Uh, what?
-I don't know.

-Yes! Of course they do!
-I was-- I'm mistaken.

I always thought they were
magical fairy tale birds,

like-- like mermaids
and dragons.

-No! [laughing]
-Okay.

-Yeah.
-Okay.

So, how does
a nightingale sing?

Like it can't decide
what song to sing.

So it stays up all night
and sings 'em all,

like Judy at Carnegie Hall.

[both chuckling]

Who's Judy?

Nobody.

Just an old friend.

From a fairy tale.

You are so cute.

[scoffs]

Oh, be grateful
for the compliment.

Oh, well, thank you!
I shall treasure it always.

-Oh, stop.
-No, I'm just--

I'm just uncomfortable.
I'm just really uncomfortable.

I'm just, like,
Woody Allen uncomfortable.

Oh, I know him!
He... married his daughter.

[chuckling]

Yeah. I mean, well...

-Mmm. Take this off.
-No, I'm good.

Take off the dang shirt, Woody.

Okay, okay. All right.
I'll take one for the team.

How do I--

Just gonna make sure...

-[laughs]
-Wait--

You're not very
good at this, are you?

Like, good at what?

Letting a boy have
his way with you?

-Your fiancé--
-He knows.

He knows you're
having your way with me?

No.

That I like older men.

-[laughs] Relax.
-I'm relaxed.

I'm totally relaxed. This is--
I'm not-- Okay. Oh, wow.

[sighing]

Uh...

So where is Jay, anyway?

Passed out somewhere, wasted.

I noticed.

He's done.

New York City.
It's exhausting.

I want this.

God... looking good naked.

That's what everyone's after.
I don't care what anyone says.

You don't need to look good
naked. You've got a brain.

-Okay...
-And somewhat of a personality.

[laughs] Oh, I bet you say
that to all the older men

you try to have your way with.

I want to be remembered for
more than looks and a body.

Oh, high hopes indeed.

See?
Now you're ridiculing me again.

-Again? No.
-Yes. It's okay.

-I'm sorry. I-- I--
-You can't help it.

Sarcasm.
It's in your veins.

[chuckles]

Oof. So smart.

"Our brains will
always betray us."

William says that all the time.

He's right.

You know, it used to be
that I would think something,

and then at the same time,
I would think,

"Jesus Christ, James,
that's not right.

Stop thinking that."
And then I would, you know,

stop thinking that.

But now, you know--
I mean, lately?

-Mm-hmm?
-More and more--

No, I just-- lately, I just
hear these-- these thoughts.

I hear-- I hear these words
just flying, just spewing,

just, like, you know,
projectile vomiting

out of my mouth,
and I'm just like,

where the hell
did that come from?

Like, where did you learn
all this garbage?

Like, "Stop talking, James.
Stop talking. Mayday, mayday.

Stop talking. Everybody is
gonna think you're nuts."

But you know?
They're right. I am nuts.

-No, you're not.
-No, I am.

I am absolutely nuts.
I am that crazy-haired gay guy

with irreversible sun damage
who says nutty things.

-You don't say nutty things.
-No, I-- please, honey.

I'm like fucking
Richard Simmons.

Ooh, legendary.

[laughing]

-Right?
-Okay, I mean, yeah.

[chuckling]

[sighs]

I mean, you know,
the body goes. We know that.

We can-- You know,
we can see that.

But it's, like,
you know, what they--

What they don't tell you
is how the mind...

slowly starts to slip away.

Just day by day,

cell by cell, it just...

your brain, it just...

gets pissed away, you know?

I mean, not the one that,
you know,

drives a car, or, you know,
writes a play, or watches porn.

No, no, I'm talking about
the, uh...

the brain that fires up
the graveyard shift.

The one that wakes you up
in the middle of the night.

The one that...

works overtime.

The one that loses the reality
of the reality, in the reality.

Pragmatikotita.

All that anger.

And then, one day...

[scoffs]

"So we beat on,

boats against the current,

borne back ceaselessly
into the past."

Mmm. I love that book.

I'm gonna get another beer.
Do you want one?

Sure.

[Callisto]
Yes, yes, yes!

I could get so used to
this setup right here.

Fuck Fire Island.
I want to be as far away

from the beautiful people
as possible.

Run away somewhere tomorrow,
like up here, like you!

By myself.

Drinking a beer,
smoking a bowl.

Every night, all summer long.

Doing nothing whatsoever but
writing plays all day, and...

searching for fireflies
and nightingales at night.

[can tab clicking]

Right?

What's up, man?

-No, what's going on?
-Nothing.

What happened?

[exhales]

Whoa. James, you okay?

[sighs]

Oh...

Hey, it's okay.

[James sniffling]

It's all good, man.

Shh. It's all good.

[birds squawking]

[waves lapping]

[Charlotte]
Happy Sunday, everybody.

I wish I had
better news, but...

Julie Beth just texted me.

She said that Running was to
be released from prison today.

The fascist pigs
are holding Running

and several other
council members

pending further investigation
of, quote-unquote,

"suspicious tribal activity."

Frustrating for me, of course,
because I'm still in paradise.

[Jay, mocking]
"I'm still in paradise."

Recharging this old soul.

[Jay] Ha!

How about a little tour?

What?

Hello? Hello!

Anybody here?
Is the coast clear?

Hello?
I'm hearing myself.

Hello?

Oh. Anyhow,
Big Bluffers,

feast your eyes on paradise.

Don't you just want to
nest in the trees

and eat all the flowers?

Don't do it, Running Water!
They're doused in Deer Out.

-You're naked!
-What the fuck?

Joe! You've been there
the whole time?

It's Jay, okay?
Jay? Jay Mulch.

[James]
Like the fertilizer.

Groundcover, asshat.

Uh... listen, guys,
I've got to go.

Remember, we are the Big Bluff.

Vegan forever.
Namaste. Mwah. Peace.

#blessed!
#setlife.

-[Charlotte] Shut up.
-[chuckling]

-Where is he?
-[Charlotte] Who?

Jesus Christ, woman!

Magic Hands. Lives in a speedo,
smells like Hawaii.

You're a frickin'
piece of work, dude.

-[Charlotte] Who isn't?
-Not me. I'm normal.

[Charlotte]
Excruciatingly so.

That is true, actually.
You are.

-Was he with you?
-When?

-Last night.
-Where?

-At Dunkin Donuts!
-He gave me a massage,

then he went for
a midnight kayak.

Midnight kayak.
Drunk and high. Charming.

-[Charlotte] Smile, guys--
-No, I don't--

-Oh!
-[water splashing]

No! You did that on purpose,
you idiot!

-It was an accident!
-An accident!

How do you work that out?

[Jay] I didn't want
my picture taken.

That feels significant.

So you threw my phone
into the fucking fountain.

You weren't
holding it tight enough.

Ha! That's my only
lifeline to Running Water.

-How ironic.
-Oh, shit.

I hope I stored
all my shit in the clouds.

-Oh, God, I hope so too.
-You know,

your shit isn't actually
stored in actual clouds.

-It isn't!
-Don't ruin it for her.

[Charlotte]
Where's the rice?

Oh, it's in the cupboard
next to the fridge.

It might be organic.

Nothing in here is organic!

Oh, she's a goddamn delight.

-Where are you going?
-To find Callisto!

-Oh, I'll come with you.
-No, no, you're naked.

[James] Oh.

What?

[Jay] I forgot my unicorn.

[James chuckling]

[Charlotte]
Does this even work?

Nope.
Once it's soaked, it's done.

-It's over. Bye-bye.
-Shit.

I really hope I stored
all my shit in the clouds.

[imitates Charlotte] Well,
hope springs eternal, Lady A--

Oh, God, yes, that whole
thing with Jacob, Jeremy,

Judith,
whatever the fuck his name is.

And I've been nice
to him all this time

because I thought
he was your friend.

Oh, you've been a real doll.
Thank you.

[Charlotte sighs]

[Charlotte grunts]

Did you have sex?

You and the boyfriend?

I never kiss and tell,
Aunt Eller.

Well, it's just so interesting

why you boys insist on
objectifying each other.

-'Cause we like it.
-[Charlotte] Oh, that's bad.

-Is it?
-I mean, in terms of

every spiritual teaching
I've ever read, yes.

Oh!
I didn't realize butt-fucking

was covered in
a course in miracles.

[sighs]
Is everything a joke, James?

In this conversation?

-[scoffs]
-[Charlotte sighs]

Mmm, mmm, mmm.

You drink too much.
Clouds your judgment.

-Judgment of what?
-[Charlotte] Uh, reality.

Uh, actress, heal thyself.

-[Charlotte] Oh, I do the work.
-What work?

-The work on myself.
-Really?

Is that the secret sauce to
becoming a special person?

An enlightened being?
A chosen one?

[mocking] Ooh!

An 11:11?

Shamelessly demanding that
the world cater to each and

every one of your ridiculous
food and beverage whims?

That work?

[Charlotte]
Not whims. Priorities.

Whose priorities?

Uh, the universe's, maybe.

You know, I hate to tell
you something, sweetheart,

okay, but the universe?

Girlfriend don't care if
you eat your own offspring.

Well, I disagree.

[James] Well,
we'll never know now, will we?

-Some of us do.
-Do we, now?

[Charlotte] Well, if you did
the work, you'd understand.

Understand what? Some mythical
pile of piping hot rat crap?

-Oh, stop attacking me.
-I don't attack you!

Yes, you do.
You always attack me.

I mean,
even in your fucking play,

you've turned me into ashes!
I am fucking dust.

-[siren approaching]
-Oh, get back in your urn.

Oh, and what the hell is that
and where are they going?

Oh, my God. Callisto.

Oh, Jesus.

[siren wailing]

[siren continues wailing]

[waves crashing]

[grass rustling in wind]

[car doors thudding]

[front door clattering]

[James sighs]

-[Charlotte sighs]
-You want one?

[door slams]

What?

[James] Do you want one?

A drink?

No, a hot air balloon ride.

-I'm good.
-[James] Table for one.

Merci, monsieur.

Ugh. Why isn't he coming in?

Should we go get him?

He told me he's never
been inside a hospital.

I mean, how is that possible?

[James]
I was born in that hospital.

[Charlotte]
Who is Jay calling?

His in-laws.
They love him.

-[Charlotte] Why?
-His... skill sets?

[scoffs]

-Did the police call them?
-Police?

There'll be
an investigation, right?

Oh, my God,
I hope not.

-What do you mean?
-Jesus Christ.

Maybe you should call Will.

-Why?
-Ugh. I don't know.

He's always so good at
situations like this.

[sighs]

He... has had
a lot of practice.

My gran
committed suicide young.

Well... in her mid-50s.

Dad said the fairies took her

because she was
too beautiful for this world.

Where did they take her?

Jury's still out.

[groans]

It's terrible
being discontent.

-Yeah.
-[Charlotte grunts]

You're always so...
misinterpreted.

Ha. All the time.

By everyone, everywhere.

So fucking exhausting.

Well...

more for anyone around you,
I suppose, than yourself.

And...

you can't-- won't--

settle for any one thing
or...

personal feeling.

And so you roam
about the world

from this beautiful
moment or place

to the next
beautiful moment or place.

[voice breaks] But it always
comes back to you.

In your flat.

Alone.

[sniffles]

Making baked beans on toast.

[sobbing]

[sighs]

-[door slams]
-[Jay] That's fucking weird.

-Oh, I didn't mean to say--
-Don't start.

-Drink?
-No!

-Charlotte?
-[Charlotte] No!

How is Callisto?

[Jay sighs]
He'll live.

Oh, he's lucky to have you.

-[James] He'll be fine.
-He always is.

[James] You know, you guys
can stay here a few extra days

while he recuperates,
if you want.

-Are you fucking high?
-Yeah, I guess.

-A little, yeah.
-James! James!

We would've stayed
at the fucking hospital

if our shit wasn't here.

His parents are driving up
from Greenwich to get us.

Oh, God.

I told Callisto
to wait in the car.

-Oh, is that wise?
-Why?

[laughs bitterly] What--

You two want
another crack at him?

-Hey, we're all adults here.
-Are we?

Look, I'm going to the car
and keep him company.

[sliding door rumbles
open & shut]

You drink too much.

Oh, this from
the coloring book critic. Ha.

If only your play
was a tenth as witty.

You've got it all figured out,
don't you?

I certainly have you
figured out.

Who doesn't?

At least the booze
and the bitterness.

Oh, the booze
and the bitterness!

Quelle poetry.

-Use it in your play.
-I will.

Hadrian can woo
Antinous with it

over cocktails
at the Colosseum.

If I use it,
I'll send you royalties.

-As if.
-[James] You know, listen,

nothing happened between
Callisto and me, okay? Nothing.

[Jay] Wait. You think...

He was drunk, you fool.

-It was more than that.
-[Jay laughing]

James, look. Don't take this
the wrong way...

Callisto's a fuck-up, okay?

A beautiful fuck-up, yes.

A-- a very sexy, very charming,

very flexible,
very fabulous disaster.

He fucks things up.

He's my hero.

Come what may, I love him.

And he loves me.
Truly, deeply.

We don't have to
fetishize each other

into some porn cartoon fantasy.

We can just be
two men, together.

We can get married.

We can have kids,
just like everybody else,

much to your horror and dismay.

Shame those asshole babies
never live.

Ugh.

When did you become so barren?

"Barren"?

Your world is barren.

Your play...

is barren.

Well.

[Jay] You have nothing
to bring into this world.

Nothing to birth.

Nothing to bring.

[sighs]

You are barren.

And I pity you.

Don't pity me.

[Jay] Can't help it.

You are our worst fear.

[sighs]

[footsteps recede]

[door sliding]

[sighs]

[Charlotte]
What did I miss?

[scoffs] Nothing.

We were just, uh... chatting.

Maybe I should think
about what I'm doing.

Yeah, you should.

Uh... I'd like to stay,
but, uh...

-Uh-huh.
-A free trip to New York

is very tempting.
Where's my fucking bag?

-[James] Yeah, it really is.
-[Charlotte] I could see Heidi.

Ugh.

I mean, she could do with
my support, poor thing.

And my asshole agent talked
about taking me out to lunch.

Oh, and I could finally
see Wendy's play thing.

-Is it still on?
-Yeah, it's about to close.

Shit. I can't miss it, then.

I mean,
I'd never hear the end of it.

Yeah.
She has such mommy issues.

I could meet with Peter Shine

at New Horizons
about your play.

-Talk you up.
-Yeah.

I mean, I know you guys
don't like each other,

-but I could talk up the play.
-I like him.

You are ready to have
people read it, right?

[scoffs]

You decide.

Well, I mean... I don't know.

What can you lose?
If he likes it, he likes it.

If he doesn't, well,
no biggie, right?

-Right.
-So, that's my plan. I think.

[laughs]

-Sounds good.
-Okay if I take this?

I could give it to Peter,
say it's from you.

-A peace offering.
-I hate wine.

-Oh, now you're mad.
-Oh, I'm not mad.

I know how you get.

No. Charlotte,
why are we friends?

Well-- because we...

-we love each other.
-No, I mean--

I know we love each other,
but I mean...

Why are we friends?

[scoffs]

Why are we friends?

[sighs]

Mmm. You!

[chuckles]

You!

I need to get packed.

Footsteps receding]

[car door slamming]

[door sliding]

[softly] Hey.

How you feeling?

Uh... [chuckles]

[door thuds]

Like... an idiot.

Where's Jay?

Oh. He's upstairs, packing.

Your folks are coming.

I ruined your weekend.

No.
You did not ruin my weekend.

Still time.

[laughs]

I should've stayed here with
you instead of screwing around

in the middle of the night
in a kayak on the ocean.

No, adventure called you away.

I get that.

-You do?
-Yeah.

You wanna follow me?

Where?

Give me your phone.

Oh. Yeah.
One sec.

-It's locked.
-Oh, um,

it's 1-- 19. 1963.

It's William's birthday.

There. Now you're following me.

Wow, that's quite
the picture there.

-Keep scrolling.
-Jesus Christ!

Let me see.
Yeah, that one's lit, I know.

Yeah, it's "lit," indeed.

-I gotta push the envelope.
-Pushed.

[laughs]

-What about this one?
-What's--

Wait, is that a salad
between your legs?

-Yes.
-Oh. Well, it looks good.

It's delicious.
Huge portions.

Great value.
You should try one.

-I feel like I just did!
-Don't make fun.

-I'm not! I--
-It's how I support myself.

Yeah, I know, honey.
It's great.

Got to shake it
'til you make it, right?

Mm-hmm. Well,
never worked for me.

Of course, we were still
using two tin cups and a string

when that opportunity
presented itself.

[chuckles, then stops]

Oh. Who's this?

-That's me.
-Aww!

Awkward teenager.
I hate that picture.

Why?

-I wasn't working out then.
-Oh.

-Who's that with you?
-Prom date.

Your girlfriend?

Sister. Artemis.

You took your sister
to the prom?

Mm-mmm. She took me.
It's a whole Greek thing.

[chuckles] Well,
we all have our awkward phases.

-Mine ended last year.
-[laughs]

[footsteps approaching]

[Jay] They're here.
They're in the driveway.

[sighs]

[car horn honks]

Boy, they look pissed.

Charlotte's coming with us.

[Charlotte]
It just made more sense.

[Jay] Uh...
Callisto. Let's go.

[Callisto]
I'm not leaving.

-[Jay] You're not leaving?
-[Callisto] Mm-mmm.

[Jay] Charlotte,
will you please go

tell Callisto's mother
to come inside?

No!

No?

Would you like me to go
and tell Zeus and Hera

that you've decided to live
here for the rest of your life?

That you found yourself in the
arms of a middle-aged man

and can't let go?

[Callisto sobs]

Well...
thanks for a fun weekend.

It was really fun.

Let's do it again real soon.

We'll be in the car, Callisto.

I'll call you again, darling.

[smooches]

[James exhales]

Honey, you gotta
get in that car.

[sighs]

Have you not observed how
I've given death much thought?

Since I first observed you,

apart from all the others,

a young boy,

half in a dream.

What do you suppose
I saw in that half-dream?

Youth, and beauty.

And the inglorious
but safe ending

which life brings to all
who accept its slow...

dulling from where?

[James exhales]

[sniffles]

I feel like I lived
a whole life here.

[door thuds]

[sniffles]

[sobs]

[exhales]

[soft, melodious music]

♪

♪ We meant to live
inside a song ♪

♪ That would go on
and on and on ♪

♪ Not on the couch
in your rec room ♪

♪ And so we left you
in a run ♪

♪ The way a bullet
leaves a gun ♪

♪ The way a bullet
leaves a wound ♪

♪ And we did everything
you feared ♪

♪ Danced to dark
on rotting piers ♪

♪ And we forgot
all about you ♪

♪ We were crazy ♪

♪ We were cruel ♪

♪ We did everything that
you warned us not to do ♪

♪ But the dirty truth
is that ♪

♪ We were right ♪

♪ To do everything ♪

♪ That we did to you ♪

♪ To you ♪

♪ And in our taxis
full of teeth ♪

♪ Life was beautiful
and brief ♪

♪ So we let our
juices spray them ♪

♪ We gave our skin away ♪

♪ To make a playground place ♪

♪ Where we would
let anybody play ♪

♪ But there were reasons
to your rules ♪

♪ We were stupider
than fools ♪

♪ When we laughed
right in your face ♪

♪ And we were crazy ♪

♪ We were cruel ♪

♪ We did everything that
you warned us not to do ♪

♪ But the dirty truth
is that ♪

♪ We were right ♪

♪ To do everything
that we did ♪

♪ Because all you
wouldn't say out loud ♪

♪ Had to come
rock and rolling

♪ From our mouths ♪

♪ Rocked the cradle
and the crowd ♪

♪ Until it rocked us ♪

♪ Inside out ♪

♪

♪

♪ But the dirty truth
is that ♪

♪ We were right ♪

♪ To do everything
that we did to you ♪

♪ We had to do ♪

♪ Everything ♪