#and i love the one actor!! but too much bickering in one ep

[forever-in-phapundao]

.

[magictookourmemories]

I just finished watching The Umbrella Academy season finale. And rewatched all 3 seasons the past few days. I am so disappointed with this season that I have to express it in some ways.

Okay good things first. I loved seeing all them back together again. I missed Klaus and Ben together even though we didn’t see them together that much this season. I love the chaotic reunion in eps 1 and 2. I like how Ben toned down his a-hole personality, less screaming but Brelly Ben and Sparrow Ben were somehow both there. Luther’s stripper clumsy dancing because he’s so happy he’s not hairy anymore. Viktor going on dates after dates? Klaus still being the weirdest in the fam with his new phobia. Allison less famous but with her Claire. Diego and Lila adulting really hard.

The Jennifer incident finally explained. Did not like the rush love line between her and Ben though. Viktor and Reggie’s car bonding moments just like Klaus and Reggie’s in s3. And Viktor finally confronting old Reggie, one of my fav scenes. I think the diego luther cia story line wasn’t necessary but it was funny. Love the series dumb and dumber.

I wished they explained more about the subway time travel, it looks really promising. I mean how did he figure out how to go back after reading the notebook. What was in the notebook? I wanted to be included in the journey. Instead they focused on Five and Lila being a thing. I can see the actors have chemistry. I loved them in S2 as bickering siblings trying to impress the Handler like she’s their mom. I mean if Lila didn’t have kids with Diego and wasn’t married maybe it was alright. Enemies to lovers trope is classic but not this way. I understand the actor is of legal age now but seriously it was wrong. I actually thought Lila is the Dolores of this stuck in time scenario this season. I don’t know why the writers did this.

Five is my favourite character. He just wanted to go back to his family and retire. Can’t believe they made him ruin another family. Yes, maybe he’s tired of another apocalypse and he just wanted to stay in that house with a glasshouse garden but man not with his brother’s wife. I can’t seem to move past this.

Although the Five Deli scene was cute. Would’ve like more scenes of those. I wonder when Lila shouted it’s over to him, what was he thinking going back to the subway. What would he have done if he didn’t see himself?

And Ben? Ben turned into a giant blob. I cannot believe it. There was no sibling warmth except with Viktor. I can’t believe Klaus didn’t make a fuss about it. He wasn’t even a marigold at the end. Because I counted 7. Or was I too tired?

I wish we can create another timeline with better writing and ending. Maybe if we had 10 episodes it could’ve been better? I don’t know did Netflix ruin this for us?

[everywishway]

My Opinions on the Percy Jackson Show

Short answer: I like it, but I have issues with it to which i am mostly blaming Disney. I grew up with this series for a decade, it was my first fandom and I love the books so much so don't kill me pls. Overall, i prefer the musical to this (maybe im just a tech theatre nerd). I hope the show gets better as it continues. If you want the nitty-gritty of my opinions (why really) continue reading

Ok, issue number one is the pacing. Like, Holy Fucking Gods this was going a mile a minute. Even the movie had better pacing and these first two episodes are the same length as half of the Lightning Thief movie. Why is it running so fast like, baby, slow down, you can let us ruminate and have fun here.

Also, stemming from this is the lack of humor and wit compared to the book? Like, Percy is naturally charismatic, funny, and witty and so is Walker?! Like, he was in The Adam Project with Ryan Renolds and he managed to keep up and sometimes outwit him. like, watch interviews of this kid, he's so fucking funny. there were a few moments "my dad is jesus" and "should i try again" being the ones to stand out but those are few and far between and not even as funny as book percy???

I feel like this was Disney not giving Rick enough time and episodes (I think this season should've been 10 eps if not 12) then Rick going "I'm refusing to let certain things go" which inadvertently made the first two episodes feel dull to me?

If I had my say, the whole first chapter was an episode ending with Percy getting expelled, then episode two was him going home and seeing his mother and the minotaur, then episode 3 at camp with Clarise and maybe capture the flag starting. Episode 4 would be capture the flag, then percy gets claimed, then he gets assigned to go on the quest. Each episode would be a part of the quest (bus and Medusa #5, ST Louis Arch #6 (you could cut this episode), Ares #7, Lotus Hotel #8, Underworld #9&10, Ares VS Percy #11 and Luke's betrayal #12)

Finally, all of the kids don't feel like kids. Like, in The Lightning Thief Percy and Annabeth were bickering the whole time over stupid, petty things and I loved that, where is that here? That's so important for the series, why do they feel so bland?! They are talented actors, what is going on

What do I like though?

Sally Jackson, objectively. She was perfectly casted and she has so much love in her heart for her son, she is my queen, I love her so much

Camp is so pretty! Especially the Hermes cabin, which felt so comfy and warm, I love it. exactly what 12-year-old Blue daydreamed about.

PERCY OFFERING THE BLUE JELLY BEANS TO HIS MOM <3

there is other stuff too but I just wanted to get my opinions off my chest to stop myself from boiling over. Can't wait to see if the series improves from here (but im somehow certain the musical is gonna be better tho imo)

[choco-bloop]

A bunch of random kingohger ideas I had while it was airing

I know its been a while since kingohger ended, I haven't drawn much of my silly gay bug kings but I've finally decided to write down a bunch of thoughts that had come to mind, some of which actually became true.

Insect Feature super mode. Predicted this like 30 episodes ahead of Hyouga Issen its insane. Didn't expect the VFX part but tbf, there was no way they were doing a prop for Himeno's

Jeremy never showing his face??? It was brief but before Ikeda was announced to be his actor I just imagined Spider Kumonos being eternally suited and just nodding along and being a general cryptic

Rita's heterochromia being a sign of magic. I made this prediction on the spot on Ep 5 because goddamn that reveal was chef's kiss. And would ya guess it, its true.

Body Swap!! It was prolly inevitable but I wanted HimeRita and YanKagu to swap instead. While idm what we got, i just want to see our lovely married couple bicker. So I wrote a fic.

The kings turn into kaijims. I have no idea where this started but it was inspired by Gaim's helheim fruits. This was prior to 23 revealing that they ate shugod souls to grow big. The main gist was that at one point in time, each of the four kings would have eaten the "fruit" and turned into a kaijim in their respective kingdoms. Himeno and Kaguragi directly ate the fruit by having their personalities be exploited while Rita and Yanma were administered it indirectly due to their perception. It would culminate in Gira eating it and turning into a kaijim that would've resulted in the debut of the castle mech. Ironically this was kinda true with the reveal that Gira was forced to eat the souls as a kid so he could be a weapon and that I think shugod souls are what caused bugnarok to look like how they are now.

Bugnarok Rita. Listen. Hear me out- this was pre-episode 30, like alllll the way back at then 10s. At that point we didn't know the gig with Rita's eye and the way they talked to Jeremy in episode 12 made it feel like they were someone who was also from a marginalized group. So my brain went straight to what if Rita is a bugnarok or Bugnarok hybrid?. I had a whole AU written out for that, maybe I'll give it a dedicated post if people want it.

Broken helmet. I understand the green screen limitations. BUT IMAGINE BROKEN HELMET RITA. IMAGINE. WOULD BE THE COOLEST EYE POWER REVEAL RIGHT? (literally their placement on my how likely are they to get a broken helmet is solely dependent on the eye lore).

More eye shenanigans except Rita gets manipulated by Bugnarok to go against the kings and Himeno is the one to save them. This is what happens when you give me a plot point and let it boil for 25 episodes. I create MULTIPLE scenarios.

Rita being the cause of the Fury of the Gods. Can you tell who my favourite character is? /s. Anyway this was made the week of 30's preview because I was going insane over the entire plot and eye reveal and culprit reveal. Yeah you can tell i was going a tad bit insane? anyway general plot was that Rita is unaware that they caused the initial FOTG (inspire by the fact that their finishing move summons a swarm of butterflies and well FOTG was a swarm of cicadas) and was brought into protection by Karras due to their age (5) but when they were 10, Karras, in order to protect them, sacrifices herself so Rita will continue being unaware of their role. And so in episode 30 they would be forced to restart the FOTG through mind control. I probably threw in Bugnarok!Rita into the mix here too...

Rogue Rita arc. Cm'n. Admit it, we all wanted Rita to go a bit rogue for a while didn't we? And this would give Morfonia the chance to become PapillonOhger

The aides + Suzume becoming the Kingohgers. Especially Morf and Suzume given their links to the throne. but hey the finale gave us Karras and Iroki so can't complain, it was just a different generation.

Jeremy and Rita being related (also have to note that i called him Kumo here lol). I think this was from a rumored casting for Jeremy who looked similar to Rita so then the sibling theory came up and then Jer jer's weapon has purple, Rita is purple/lavender... yeah

Female sixth. Toei stop being cowards please.

Either Rita or Morfonia, or both. are children of convicts. Confirmed for Morf but we STILL don't know about this regarding Rita. We just know their parents exist (no they don't, Karras and Shiron are Rita's real parents at this point)

kings getting their shugods powers! Did you know that apparently God Kamakiri can hear up to 160 000 hertz?? I didn't until I read the wiki! Alternatively just an episode of the kings and shugods working together

20 pilot god kingohger will appear for the finale. the first time was glorious so why not?

every pilot from god kingohger transforming. I have a whole series I did, will link it later (I hope).

That's it for now I think, I might add on more in the future :)

SIKE YOU THOUGHT. THERE'S ONE MORE THAT I WANTED SO BADLY TO HAPPEN. And i doubt I'm alone in this sentiment:

HimeRita kissing each other.

Like at this point they are so married couple I don't know how else to explain these two. wdym 30 and 16 they didn't kiss or become a couple. WDYM TOEI WDYM.

[gizkasparadise]

hello! it’s been a minute. things im watching (or attempted to watch lmao) rn:

city of streamer. just started this and 4~ish eps in im decently hooked. nothing groundbreaking yet but it’s moving along well and the female lead seems interesting

memory lost. jfc i think this show wins Show I Most Hate Watched. the leads had chemistry, but the whole time i kept thinking 1) hey maybe we dont need the opposites attract will they wont they bickering while you’re trying to take a statement from A RAPE VICTIM, 2) .....the same like. 6 people host an elaborate murderer masquerade ball for just...the same 6 people?? the production values of their lives exhaust me, 3) i just. really was begging for someone to follow due process. at any point. please there are people being exploded. 

alchemy of souls. gave it another try and it’s just not vibing for me, so officially dropping this one

have a crush on you/love heals. i was hooked through the sheer charisma of the main actors dragging the plot line along, and because im a huge sucker for “working with the ex” as a trope, but the fake child emotional manipulation got to be too much for me and i just wanted this female lead to realize she’s a gorgeous neurosurgeon who could do so much better than an emotionally unavailable ex. good thing i dropped because apparently the end goes totally off the rails into a lava pit

thinking of checking out starry love, but might wait for the ep count to go up, love to hate you, the journey of chong zi, and the heavenly idol

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL

March 2021 Part 4

Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs. 

This is a LONG ONE, it’s been A WEEK everyone. 

Ongoing Series - Thai

Lovely Writer Ep 5 - a little slow this week, but at least Gene finally flirted back, and very cute flirting it was, too. Also we got Aey’s motivation, background, and love interest. Thank goodness for that. 

Brothers Ep 8 - still pants, what can I say? Clearly I am a BL masochist. Very embarrassing for everyone concerned. 

1000 Stars Ep 9 - the conflict over Tian’s father was REALLY well done. The plot of this drama is excellent, the leads are great together, and yes I totally cried. What, you didn’t? 

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Word of Honor (China) Ep 16-18 - big battle fighty fighty stabby stabby. Ep 17 switches to “this drama isn’t big enough for two chaotic-neutral godlings!” So what do they do? Drink together and bicker... A LOT. Then in Ep 18 we all get the dubious joy of really freaky puppets. (I HATE puppets.) Also how is China letting this be so SO VERY VERY GAY?  Also, I wanna walk through the forest wearing a smanshy purple robe and waving a big fuck-off white fan around simply because I’m a pretentious fuss monger. And frankly, I feel like this is an achievable life goal for me. 

We Best Love 2 (Taiwan) Ep 4 - not gonna lie, this is looking to be one of my top 3 BLs of 2021. It’s SO GOOD. Big bonus to this ep for treating stalker behavior like the mental illness it is and not as some dumb representation of enduring love. 

The Most Peaceful Place is My Place (Vietnam) Ep 1 - finally dropped (find it under NƠI BÌNH YÊN NHẤT LÀ VỀ BÊN EM on O2′s channel). It’s got actors already comfortable with BL and looks pretty good so far. An angry tsundere uke reunited with his ex, a stoic chef, giving us lots of snap, crackle, and pop out the gate. 

Dear Uranus (Taiwan GL) Ep 2 - I want to love it, but it is just moving too fast. There’s not enough character dev and then they’re throwing flashbacks in? It feels like a treatment rather than a show, and a rushed treatment at that. Bummer. 

HIStory 4: Close To You (Taiwan) Ep 2 (AKA Ep 3-4) - let the cheesy popcorn continue! Idiot remains an idiot; ingenue remains an ice queen; nice gay guy remains nice and gay; obsessive stalker brother is getting ever more whackadoddle. Of course these last two have the best chemistry. (It’s caregiver codependency and the salvation trope. We got us a Leo/Fiat situation going on.​) Plus lots of classic BL tropes because OF COURSE there are lots of tropes. 

Occasionally, I am tempted to argue that shows like H4 or Cherry Magic or Ossan’s Love aren’t technically BL because of the office setting and age of the protags - but then they all behave like high school students anyway, so *shrug* 

Stand Alones

Cute little Taiwanese micro BL Friend or Lover dropped, about bisexual realization within a friendship group. Normally these are too short for me, but this one did pretty good with its 15 minutes of charm, plus it’s abad boy + shy softy pairing. 

Breaking News - Thai BL

Fish Upon the Sky released its actual trailer. The upside-down kiss is gone, which makes everyone sad, and it seems far less rivals to lovers than the first iteration, which makes ME sad. But it still looks good and a more classic BL than GMMTV has given us in a while. New trailer focused more on the makeover trope and they’ve upped Mix’s role (the object of everyone’s affection) now that he’s proved himself. (Or they are using him more to carry the trailer since he has a fan base form 1k*). Starts April 9 on GMMTV in 1K*’s time slot, probably with a 10 ep run. 

2gether the movie is apparently coming April 22 to Thai theaters. F4 Thailand must be having issues or GMMTV just wants to milk the BrightWin cash cow. It’s rumored to be a combination of 2gehter + Still 2gether with some extra scenes and ending. Also, one assumes a lot will be cut out, if it’s movie length.

Call It What You Want released its updated trailer. If anything, it looks more scary than before. What are we in for? April 9th. 

Nitiman got a release date, May 7 on One31. 

I Told Sunset About You 2 got an updated release date of May 27 on LineTV. 

Second Chance the series is coming to LineTV on March 29. I don’t know much about this one. Tons of familiar faces (mostly TharnType side dishes) and some nice looking new talent but a dearth of eng subs. I think it may take on Brothers’ time slot. Line did eng subs for Brothers so maybe they will do 2nd Chance too? 

Close Friend the series is coming April 22. This is a combination of 6 couples with 6 story arcs as music videos (maybe)? It’s an epic fan service with familiar faces like OhmFluke (UWMA), MaxNat (LBC also in Y-Destiny), YoonLay (YYY also in Y-Destiny), KimCop (GenY), and JaFirst (TT2).

Y-Destiny starts March 30, and has starting dropping couple’s trailers. I’m still suspicious given the director but it seems like there is plot (or plots) and a theme. Looks to be a series of 7 single ep vignettes (amended, see comments, might be 2 eps each for 14 eps total), different couple each time, some with supernatural elements, all with decent chemistry and acting chops. 

Sun MaxNat’s tutor/student arc

Mon jaded rich kid meets poor innocent  

Tues sports romance enemies to lovers 

Weds the messy realistic actual dating one 

Thurs hot ghost boyfriend (sad) 

Fri YoonLayPerth coping with loss and finding new love (sad). This one will all rest on Lay's acting so we know it’s in safe hands. Our boy is going to KILL it. 

Sat time-slip memory loss reunion romance 

I’m thinking we can’t expect any of these to end happy or be classic BL. They’re gonna be more slice of life-ish. 

Gossip - BL Outside of Thailand 

Scholar Ryu’s Wedding Ceremony AKA Nobleman Ryu’s Wedding (Korean historical BL) got a legit teaser (eng sub here). @curriculumvtae​ reports that it’s releasing April 15th on WeTV (Philippines & Thailand) and Idol Romance (South Korea), while Will of Thai Bl says it’ll be on Viki too. It’s a short run of 8 ep built on a fake relationship trope (arranged marriage variant):

Ryu Ho Seon’s (Kang In Soo from You Wish) arranged marriage turns out to be with his expected bride’s brother, Choi Ki Wan (Lee Se Jin from Mr Heart). Ryu tries to undo the marriage, but his ill mother opposes this saying the scandal would be too much. Meanwhile, Kim Tae Hyeong (Jang Eui Soo from Where Your Eyes Linger), a senior at Ryu’s school, comes to congratulate him and falls in love with Choi. Then one day, the original bride disappears.

Okay it seems a bit twisty turny for ONLY 8 EPS, but oh my goodness how excited are we? Our first intentional historical BL out of Korea!

We already knew Hong Kong was doing a remake of Japan’s Ossan’s Love under the same name (not my favorite Japanese BL but so very popular) but it’s now reported to be coming to Viu in June. Who knows how the CFA will take it. Depends on whether Hong Kong bows before the NO GAY KISSES regs or if they are going to use this as a political nose thumb... things could get cray with this puppy (the original has several kisses and s shower scene). Are we back in Addicted territory only with added comedy and civil unrest?

Speaking of Japan, Absolute BL (AKA Zettai BL ni Naru Sekai vs Zettai BL ni Naritakunai Otoko) dropped sooner than anyone thought, March 27. But being Japanese who knows how/when/if we get subs. Protag finds himself trapped in a world of BL, but being straight he fights against any hot guy that draws near, but the whole world (literally) is conspiring against him. It’s a parody adapted from a yoai.

What with Absolute BL from Japan plus Lovely Writer and Call it What You Want from Thailand, is 2021 the year of BL being ultra self referential? Sure feels like it.

In Case You Missed It

Faded a gay micro film from Taiwan from 2017 deals with parental acceptance and serves up a ton of BL tropes (piggyback, forehead kiss, etc). I’m pretty sure this was a propaganda piece for legalization of gay marriage, and it’s an interesting nugget of BL history as a result. Yes, it ends happy. It’s cute. 

Next Week Looks Like This:

Some shows may be listed a day later than actual air date for accessibility reasons.

Upcoming 2021 BL master post here.

Links to watch are provided when possible, ask in a comment if I missed something.

Man there’s a lot going on right now! Spring has sprung... I suppose. 

P.S. I cannot believe I missed Absolute BL as a blog name. Numbnuts = me. 

[kdramaxoxo]

Hey! Would love to hear your thoughts on our beloved summer up until now. What are your thoughts on the actors and storyline as well 😌😊

Hi!!

OMG I'm so sorry this is so long anon D:

I generally like and enjoy Our Beloved Summer but it's kind of a mixed bag for me overall hence the super long answer.

Good things:

The actors are great

The filming is so so pretty

I love the documentary set up. It's a creative way to show the back story

Soft romance! and there are a lot of very soft moments

Re: Soft Romance - the writing is also really lovely when it comes to the romantic moments. The kisses, the gazes, the times the couple finally gets together or flirts or feels feelings - Gorgeous!

Re: Re: Soft Romance - Choi Woo Shik is excellent at lonely hurt broken hearted boy even if (see the not so good things)

It's 100% my genre: Slice of life romance with a bit of humor

And it feels really quiet and peaceful to watch? I can't explain it but it's pretty calming.

V's OST (ARMY here lol)

Not so Good Things (a.k.a missed opportunities)

When the couple finally meets up in the future they are pretty annoyingly petty and stubborn for too long (not as bad as Love Struck in the City but on the edges of that). That can be frustrating to watch.

The drama favors Choi Woo Shik's character Ung so it feels a little one sided, but I think he was just as petty and maybe even more cruel than Yeon Soo (sorry wanted to get that off my chest)

Where is the rest of the story? Sure, we have romance - got it. But there needs to be more and well, there just isn't.

Re: Where is the rest of the story?: All of the characters 100% revolve around the two leads (I get it it's a romance) even though they have interesting personalities and jobs. It would have been so fun to see the SLS NOT be that for more than a couple of episodes or something ELSE happen other than the couple stuff.

Re: Re: Where is the rest of the story?: NJ is amazing we love her!! Why is her only story line that she has a crush on Ung? Why show her doing cool work stuff, hanging around looking fabulous and showing up everywhere only to give her that one trait?

Also...

Why didn't this show end at episode 12? It really felt like a perfect ending but now there are 4 more episodes and I'm confused. I'm assuming we're going to watch the mains bicker and push pull for 14 eps but it would have been so much better if their reunion and night gallery date was the end of the show.

[jemmo]

Habe you seen any of P'Aofs other works? I'm still quite new to BL so I wonder if he's just that good or if Ohm and Nanon make most of the greatness of Bad Buddy? I mean obviously they play a big part but with a shitty script even fantastic actors couldn't do much. 😳

hello dear anon!!

and yes, i've seen a lot of p'aofs works. from what i remember, his most notable series have been he's coming to me, dark blue kiss, still 2gether and atots. and they have all been very good in my opinion. i wasn't much of a fan of 2gether, but i dont know what p'aof did when he picked up those follow up eps but to me they were a big improvement, so he must have some kind of magic up his sleeve.

and as for all the others, i couldn't recommend them enough. to me, dark blue kiss is one of the best handlings of an established relationship in a BL ive ever seen. it might be a tad overdramatic and have its own shortcomings, and yes it is centred around jealousy which isnt always my fave, but i do honestly understand where both the characters are coming from. there are reasons for both of their actions and how they behave and i really appreciate that. plus tay and new do have great chemistry and i like their dynamic, but thats just bc i love when they bicker like an old married couple. and lets not forget mork and sun who literally invented side couple syndrome. i think they stole everyone's hearts, their storyline and dynamic was just so good and i so wanted to see more of them.

atots is atots. i feel like its already legendary even tho it only aired last year. such a refreshing storyline and setting. both characters felt so fleshed out and whole as people. and i love that, besides the romance which was amazing, you got to see how both characters went on journeys as individual people. i cry at a lot of things and there's a lot of things to cry at in atots, but what got to me the most was the scene where tian has to leave the village. let me tell you, if you love the found family trope and want to see a young man find true fulfilment and happiness in his life, watch this show.

and last but definitely DEFINATELY not least, he's coming to me. this show THIS SHOW. if the rest of my reply is trying to convey to you that p'aof really is just that good, this is where i say that if you pair p'aof with seasoned, talented actors as we did with bad buddy, you get a masterpiece. bc p'aof, working with singto and ohm in this show must've been a match made in heaven bc this show is amazing. for such an out there and kinda ridiculous concept, it somehow delivers. nothing about it feels like a joke. they took a story about falling in love with a ghost and made me actually care. not once while watching was i thinking in my head 'this is stupid and pointless bc this would never happen' bc i was too invested in the journeys these characters were having, of learning to move on and learning to be and accept yourself. and yes singto was amazing, but for me ohm stole the show. watching this series was what made me watch bad buddy, bc i just needed to see more of ohm acting. his portrayal in the series is legit faultless to me. at such a young age as well he gave me everything. the innocence and pure joy of someone so young and naive to the world, the sheer amount of empathy and care he had for mes, gosh i dont even know what else to say without crying he just carried this show. and i can see why it created such a strong bond between him and p'aof.

but bad buddy really and truly knocked it out of the park. and from what i can see, that is ohm and nanon. bc p'aof has brought magic to everything he's done but this is another level. bc to me, p'aof is great at everything he does and can do, scripting and directing and helping actors with characters etc, but where these other series dont compare to bad buddy is in the chemistry. ohm and nanon have the ability to act so naturally together and thats not something p'aof can create himself. sure, he can help a lot, but that chemistry comes from their close bond, their understanding of themselves and each other and their talent and passion as actors. its just a dream team the three of them. and i so hope that gmmtv will let p'aof run wild with experienced and talented actors again so we keep getting more masterpieces like bad buddy. bc there's no hiding now, we know they can do it, we know they have all they need, so just be brave gmmtv. let p'aof work his magic.

[dorky-thighchi]

WHAT I LOVE ABOUT DAISUGA AND CANON MOMENTS

Let’s appreciate these two for leading the team to the nationals (long post ahead)

1. Their goals and hard work for the team:

They’re always shown together planning for the team. When Asahi stopped playing volleyball, Noya got suspended, former coach Ukai stopped coaching. I felt bad for these two, they went through hard times as their captain and vice captain it’s their obligation to unite and guide the team. During their first year and second year they were used to failure and called flightless crows. Their expectations crumpled but they did not give up. It’s Daichi and Suga’s job to bring back the name of Karasuno to the nationals with the help of coach Ukai and Takeda, finally they made it to nationals, that’s why their former captain was so proud of them because they followed his words. When they didn't have their coach yet, they behaved as Karasuno’s temporary coaches (thank goodness Takeda’s an angel). Daichi was shown coaching the team in the first few episodes and Suga helped Tanaka bond Kageyama and Hinata. Suga questioned Daichi’s plan about the weird duo (Daichi’s a matchmaker) but after what Daichi said he helped the two bond and honed their skills.

In the HQ light novel “Melancholy of the third year student”, Asahi stated “with Sawamura leading the team and Sugawara taking care of the members, what could i possibly do to contribute” he witnessed Daichi and Suga walking together in the hallway; Asahi was impressed because of their dedication to guide the team to the nationals despite they’re in college prep class still they gave their best in guiding the team. Tanaka also acknowledged his senpais hard work that’s why he extremely respects his senpais, he was always there supporting the two. Coach Ukai madly respects Suga because he gave his setter position to Kageyama for the sake of the team and Daichi because he’s the best in motivating the team. 

2. They know each other so well: 

Daichi has this proud mode when he talks about Suga. When he told the team that Suga’s an experienced setter he had this “Yes that’s my amazing setter” face and when Suga did that amazing spike he jumped like a kid. In the HQ light novel “Sugawara’s decision” this happened during the first training camp. Suga was anxious to tell Daichi of his plan to give his setter position to Kageyama. When Suga finally told Ukai about his decision, Daichi and Asahi overheard their conversation and promised to win any match as much as they can. When Suga stated “I think in order to win, the person we need right now is Kageyama” Daichi and Asahi expressed their concern because the three promised to step on the court together (i get so emotional when the 3rd yrs play together). Daichi was worried and he told Suga that they can do something about it. THIS IS ACTUALLY ONE OF MY FAVORITE HQ LNs because of what Suga thought after their discussion “He was glad to have sawamura who accepted him the way he is, as his teammate” AND I FUCKIN LOST IT HQ LN SHOULD BE ANIMATED. Daichi supported Suga’s decision for the team, “Daichi was very certain of Suga who had been with him for the past 3 years”, he even stopped Tanaka from interrupting Suga’s monologue telling him to listen. 

Remember when Ukai announced the first lineup for dateko vs karasuno match and the shot was focused to Suga and back to Daichi; you can see Daichi did this weird eye thing glancing at Suga. Daichi’s proud moments of Suga were “I think you’ve revived too Suga” and “I’m glad you still want to fight” when he told Daichi “I do wish my tosses could’ve played a part in the victory”. When Asahi and Noya stopped coming to the team, the only members left were Suga, Daichi and the 2nd years. Suga also took the blame and Daichi was there for him. He was shown secretly listening to Yamaguchi and Suga’s conversation about the mop (and comforted him that he shouldn't blame himself. I’m kinda disappointed they didn't include this in the anime). These panels show their trust and respect for each other.

He cant even dare to hurt Suga (but lets Suga punch him anytime) and he knows when Suga goes to overthinking mode. Also Suga knows Daichi so well i think i’m gonna cry. Scolding Daichi when he was not vocal during the game; Suga’s known for being the only one who can lecture Daichi. When Daichi told Suga and Asahi that it’s better to hand over the team to the 2nd yrs, Suga knew Daichi didn't mean that; Daichi felt hopeless because they lost again. He knew Daichi wanted to stay and play volleyball and step on the orange court. 

He’s also used to Daichi’s stern mode. Daichi was also shown being the one who can keep Suga in control like “Suga please calm down”. Their relationship isn’t fully conveyed in the anime but i’m thankful that creators created drama cds, light novels, extras, spin-offs and haikyuu stage play to let us know more about the characters.

 3. The team parents: 

They always discuss about their team members like Suga asking Daichi about Kageyama and Hinata (kagehina bond ep) and Tsukishima. In the haikyuu drama cds “what if karasuno’s manager isn’t shimizu kiyoko” and “the reason behind the t-shirts” they were worried about entrusting the manager’s job to Tanaka, Noya and Hinata. When the team was hungry because Kiyoko wasn’t there, Suga told Daichi to take action so he assigned the weird duo to buy foods for the team and they were the ones who planned for the names of the shirts with the help of Noya, Kiyoko was pissed at the two because they were busy thinking of their own shirts. In the haikyuu light novel “the last summer vacation” (Sources: 1|2) Suga watched the team with worry on his face because it was so hot so he approached Daichi and expressed his concern that the team will get sick from the heat. Coach Ukai overheard the discussion and called a meeting. They’re usually seen together in every scene in the anime, stage play, haikyuu light novel, extras, manga, spin-offs and drama cds, scolding Tanaka, Noya, Hinata, Kageyama and Tsukishima; discussing volleyball stuffs; and buying pork buns for the team. In the lets haikyuu and extras (hq spin-off) it’s actually semi-canon they’re karasuno’s team parents. They also have this karasuno christmas bonding tradition.

It was also STATED BY THE DIRECTOR IN THE HQ MAGAZINE AND THE VOICE ACTORS THAT DAICHI AND SUGA ARE THE TEAM PARENTS AND TANAKA’S THE BIG BROTHER (here are the links: 1| 2|3) 

IT’S CANON!!!!!! IT’S DAMN RIGHT CANON!!!!!TEAM PARENTS DAISUGA IS CANON!!!!!!

 4. Teasing, bickering and just them being dorks: 

Suga teasing daichi is my jam. In the HQ LN “Yachi’s delivery mission” (Sources 1|2), this conversation frickin made me squeal like a mouse with laryngitis. After practice the team was thirsty and wanted something cold to eat. “It’s indeed hot, lets get ice pops before we head home” daichi stated then frickin SLY/LIL SHIT SUGA JUST CASUALLY SAID THIS REMARK “Oh that’s not a bad idea, are you going to treat us Daichi-san” HE FRICKIN ADDED -SAN. So the team didn't let the opportunity go away they screamed with joy and thanked Daichi. After what happened Daichi just glared at Suga who was smiling at him. Daichi’s a softie when Suga’s involved. Suga got Daichi to buy ice cream for the team.  I REPEAT HQ LN SHOULD BE ANIMATED. 

Daichi knows when Suga’s about to do something stupid and his antics. They argued about this. When Suga was mad at Daichi because he was implying that the last year shrine visit was nothing; he was so pissed he started fuming at daichi. Suga also told Daichi that steak just being steak is better over diced steak.  Hyped suga and daichi trying to calm him down is the cutest shit. In the HQ LN “Tokyo Expedition: Captains’ Meeting”(Sources: 1|2), Daichi warned Suga about Kuroo because he knows how to read minds and loves mind games and Suga was like ‘you need to chill Daichi’. When it was Suga’s turn to pick a card from Daichi’s deck he picked the joker and twitched his brows, Daichi whispered at Suga telling him whenever he drew the joker his brows twitch so Suga massaged his brows. I REPEAT AGAIN THIS SHOULD BE ANIMATED. The other captains and vice captains are competing against each other but look at these frickin idiots they are helping each other. DAICHI OBSERVING SUGA THEN WARNED HIM ABOUT HIS TENDENCY OF TWITCHING HIS EYEBROWS. IM GONNA FRICKIN DO A BACKFLIP. Also Daichi and Suga love to make fun of asahi but when you frickin hurt asahi these two will frickin punch you in the face. Frickin daisugasting dorks.

 5. They are always together and in sync:

In the manga, anime, extras, stage play, light novel, drama cds and official art/merchandise they’re usually frickin together and always in sync, same reactions and thoughts. Remember when Daichi looked at Suga (S1 ep24) like he was asking for approval then Suga nodded. That was so cute ugh.

Extras: 

Suga is 6 months older than Daichi. June 13 and December 31. Their birth dates makes me go WAIT WHAT. 

Suga and Daichi’s name meanings are compatible.

During the christmas bonding time, Suga received daichi’s gift, a daruma. Daichi bought it as a gift because it weighs like a volleyball (he’s such a volleyball nerd) and he told Suga that they should draw the eye together. (Source link)

Suga thought that Daichi was jealous of his t-shirt because the phrase on his shirt was cooler than his. (Source link)

Suga’s first synchronize attack was a success and he tossed it to Daichi. Coach Ukai assigned these two along with Tanaka to learn synchronize attack.(Remember when Daichi told Suga he borrowed coach ukai’s tablet so they can watch the videos together)

The way they look at each other like there’s nothing else to look at. 

What I truly love about these two is their relationship and trust for each other.They complement each other, which makes them a good combination. They went through obstacles and look THEY MADE IT TO THE NATIONALS, kiyoko witnessed their progress and asahi thanked suga and daichi because they welcomed him again in the team, remember when asahi was not sure if they’d accept him to the team but daichi and suga were just laughing and made fun of him. 

Their vice captain and captain interaction isn't fully expressed in the anime and i hope that everyone will appreciate them more! They made it to nationals! And them being proud of Hinata and Kageyama in the hq time skip is one of the best treasures Furudate sensei gave to us. 

Lets talk about these two. Daisugasting volleyball idiots. 

I rest my case.

[thii-nii]

BL ~ Drama Asks

I was tagged by @pharawee. Thank you!! 🌺

1. If you had to watch one drama forever what would it be?

I don't rewatch dramas a lot. Usually, I really love something while I'm watching it and it means a lot to me in that period of time. But when I try to rewatch a drama months or years later, it often feels really awkward and I hardly ever finish them. So most of my favourite dramas occupy a special place in my heart, but I'm reluctant to rewatch them. (+ There are always so many new dramas that I want to try and that are waiting for me to fall in love with them! XD) That said, if I had to choose one, right now I'd pick Kinnporsche. It's a combination of different genres, so I'd be able to enjoy lot's of different emotions. Additionally, there's just so much to love in Kp, lot's of awesome themes, intense moments and lovable characters. I actually want to rewatch Kp right now, because there still are so many things I want to try making, that I didn't get around to before... but I'm still in my procrastination period. lol

2. If you could change the ending of a drama which one would it be?

Well, Kp ended most recently and we might not get a season 2, so... I'd want to see a different ending for Kim and Chay. I mean, if we actually get a season 2 I'd love to see them find their way back to each other (while also getting to see more of angry/feral Kim & rebellious Chay), but if this is the overall ending, it feels a little cruel to have both of them be in so much pain. (Not to mention that no one even knows they were a thing?? I need them all to spend time together and for Porsche to kick Kim's ass a bit for hurting Chay.) And, of course, "History is only written by the victor" .... ???? Well, well, well, wellll..... I need some conclusion to Korn's messed up games.

3. Name your favorite drama and tell who your favorite character was.

I'm so bad at choosing favourites. But, uhhh, Kinnporsche (Porsche, Kim, Vegas); I told Sunset about you & I promised you the Moon (Teh, Oh-aew); Not Me (Yok).

4. Name a drama you dropped within the first few episodes ~ we all have at least one!

As I said earlier, I love trying out new dramas. But that also means I end up dropping a lot of them. Of the ones airing right now, I dropped Unforgotten Night, Check Out (I enjoyed Ep 0, but I couldn't even get through the first episode 😞) & Even Sun (just last week; it has Boun & Prem and such a beautiful setting, but I noticed I wasn't really paying attention anymore, so I let it go).

5. Name a popular drama you've never watched and why?

Hmm, The Untamed & Advance Bravely. I don't know why? I've seen them around a lot and I feel like I should've at least tried them when they were airing, but somehow I didn't and still haven't.

6. Name a drama you regret watching.

I usually drop them before I have too many regrets. But there were a few really popular ones that I continued watching, simply because I kept seeing so many gifs of them, only to still feel kind of meh about them at the end. >_<

7. Name a drama you thought you’d never watch but did and did you end up liking it?

The only one I can think of that might fit this question is 3 Will Be Free. It wasn't really on my mind before, but since I was in the mood for something a little darker, I remembered gifsets of this drama and wanted to give it a try. I've seen two episodes so far and am still interested!

8. Name a pairing you want to see?

Ohhh, as long as it has one actor I like, I'd already be super happy. But hmmm, maybe Mond Tanutchai & Gun Atthaphan (since we never got Gramblack and I like their bickering friendship); Jeff Satur & anyone that's not a baby.... Jeff Satur & action scenes... no wait, where am I going with this...

9. Name a pairing you didn’t think had chemistry?

Nat Natasitt & Max Kornthas in the few episodes of Cutie Pie that I've seen.

10. Name a pairing you have seen in another drama that you like?

??? I'm interpreting this as: a pairing I've seen in a drama that I haven't (fully) watched? Yim Pharinyakorn & Tutor Koraphat (also Cutie Pie). I liked them enough to look up their clips on yt after I dropped Cp.

[sleepymccoy]

Actually, my friend asked me tonight what I though would make a good second season of good omens and I had a decent answer, so imma share it

I remember some tweet from gaiman ages back about how he was trying to write season two but every time he plotted it out it was either not a good story or not good omens. And I think his constraints are real. No Pratchett means it's unlikely to reach the level of absurdist humour that it needs to, but also in order to level up the stakes it needs to get serious again and the main two characters are too traumatised to handle that in the kooky way they do in season one. In season one, they solve an ongoing abusive life. The rest of their lives are either kind and boring to see on tv, or not kind and therefore not a good sequel

So I think aziraphale and Crowley need to be totally sidelined and become actual side characters. They aren't in every ep. They aren't present for the end game. They do crop up occasionally tho, cos they're still intelligent, relevant people

The best story idea I've got is this; three of the four horsemen died. Who takes their place? It could pick up after covid with some wave of the hand the vaccine beat pestilence, so we've got three whole new spots to fill, not just pestilence coming back to pollutions empty post. And that's just what it is, humans turning into exaggerated and extreme versions of humanity's modern failures and fighting to be the true horsemen. I don't know what failures you'd reference, internet or capitalism or what, that's a creative room chat, but you could have them teaming up to take each other on, or small groups finding each other and not realising the others are around.

I love the idea of some guy getting kinda frantic and rabid really really trying to convince the woman who represents cults and organised religion that cryptocurrency is where the threat is

Aziraphale, Crowley, Anathema, Adam, and Tracey all have a group of three horsemen to be who think they're the only ones and they all think they're talking about the same trio until the miscommunication gets too much and it all falls apart. Everything comes to a head in some way and the three are chosen, maybe with one of the being on humanity's side to keep the mood light. But the tug and pull of good and evil is important in good omens I think, so that's not necessary

I think you could write similarly interesting characters, keep the humour of the first season, keep the jumping pov to join at the end, involve some new cultures and people to make the vibe evolve a bit, and still show Tennant and sheen bickering.

England's full of great actors, I'd love to see them hire a whole new dozen cast members to main stage season two

As it is I'm worried season two is just gonna be. heaven and hell are fighting again, Aziraphale and Crowley get involved. It's stressful. And I'd rather not see that happen tbh

[monstress]

thoughts on cowboy bebop 2021 under the cut

my expectations were LOW so like...the show isn't bad but it wasn't great either

cons:

the pacing is sooo slow why did they need to pad an original 20 min eps series to 40-60 mins??? after eps one, i played this in 1.25x speed and turned my brain off and it immediately became more watchable

speaking of padding, i was excited for more Julia backstory but not like THIS......ma'am im so sorry but you'll always be a bad bitch who had her own mysterious adventure outrunning the syndicate in my mind instead of gaslight gatekeep girlbossing your way to the top. spike was right...JULIA THIS ISN”T YOU!!!!

after the first eps, i do ffw every syndicate scene which isn't great since it covers half the runtime. i think what’s great abt the original is that much of the shadowy organization - its characters, relationships, and influence is left to the viewer’s imagination so like demystifying them diminishes their intimidation

the sexytumblrman-ification of vicious. why........

the writing is rough as hell and i deeply admire the few actors who could pull it off....

......which leads to the julia and vicious characters. oof wow. what was casting thinking. switch them with asimov and katerina’s actors and i’d might actually watch their Marriage Story b-plot

that fetishizing comment to jet like i cringed so hard but at least it had a cute moment of spike and jet laughing abt it afterwards but we could do without that

i know they changed gren’s plot bc the writers might want to avoid the bury your gays trope but i wish they were more essential to the plot and had more to do

oof i wished this adaptation was done by apple tv or amazon prime like netflix is cheap as hell for scrimping on the production budget for a show where it is all abt world-building and ~vibes

and the vibes were OFF...like choose a tone! choose a genre! what are u trying to say here! what is permeating and unsaid in every eps!

the Ed reveal...god that didn't translate well to live action....i was also like...who the hell is this pale child 😭 not this show going 2 for 2 on casting white ppl for lead roles originally of poc

THE ENDING??? et tu, julia? the last 10 mins sours the entire show mashallah what a disservice to spike, julia and vicious and abt how tethering yourself to ghosts while trying to survive in capitalist isolation will ultimately undo you

pros:

the music??? new Seatbelts???? yoko kanno i owe you my life

EIN....majorly underused but a delight everytime onscreen

sorry to my mans john cho but mustafa shakir is carryingggg this show i mean GET this man booked in every project like i’ve been saying since luke cage honest god he deserves it

john cho is great i like him he makes me smile like we as a society are overdue of him gracing the screen as THE sexy leading man (rip abc selfie...)

faye is gay and i knowww it’s because they had the mechanic substitute gren since they had so many changes to their character but the moment where she gets all emotional since it taps into something she hasn’t realized or FORGOTTEN abt herself like idk if im reading too much into it but i shall

when the bebop team bicker, banter, then work together...peace and love and friendship on earth and beyond 😇❤️

they actually bought the loofah on a stick T T the callback made me laugh and broke my heart at the same time

the flashback scene in eps 9...ok maybe i DO allow some syndicate scenes and julia & vicious can actually hv chemistry! just not with each other :/ 

eps 7 is the best eps. i did like the small alteration in faye’s backstory and u can’t play the scene of faye watching that tape of herself and not have me cry. that scene in particular is a standout it’s like the first time the show actually breathes and hv a quiet moment - letting the actors do their thing and hv the viewer emphatize with their reactions (gonna ignore the irony that the best part of this show is when there’s no dialogue slgsklgkslgkl)

tl;dr: not a good show, you can skip this even if ur not a fan. it’s fine and not as bad as ppl make it out to be but watching the og is a much better use of ur time.

[themonkeycabal]

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier ep 2

Spoilers!

Last week Bucky was a terrible patient and his new BFF is the father of a guy he killed while he was the Winter Soldier (so super healthy), Sam gave up Cap's shield and returned home to try to help salvage the family business (that went poorly), and some — I guess he must be from the Defense Department — dick made a big speech about needing heroes and he gave the shield to some goober (John Walker, but he'll always be Goober to me) in a Cap suit who strongly reminded me of Langly from the Lone Gunmen. (I'm not familiar with the actor, so I don't know what he actually looks like, but the helmet and the camera angle did him no favors at all, I'm just saying. Super punchable.)

Oh, and Sam has an adorable little minion named Lt. Torres who is getting himself into trouble with some weirdass terrorist group who like to slap red handprints on everything.

Zemo's out there lurking, too, but we haven't seen him yet.

I'm still slightly dazed that this show is real and we get to watch it.

Ep2: The Star-Spangled Man

Weird slow-mo opening shot of a close up of somebody unzipping their jacket. I mean. Okay. (Ohhh, it's the garment bag the Cap suit is in.)

And then we're on to Goober, he's wearing BDUs and he's in a football locker room (maybe high school?), fondling the lockers. He peels a name sticker off one, and underneath it says JW 10. A woman comes in and asks if he's reliving his glory days. They yada yada I don't care.

Now I guess they're talking about him becoming Captain America. "Everybody in the world expects me to be … something. And I don't want to fail them." She tells him to be himself and that they're gonna love him. Well, I've already decided he's a goober. I mean, he might not be, but he's got a hill to climb with me.

He spends a few seconds trying out his Captain America voice, then his buddy Hoskins comes in to talk him through it and give us some exposition. "Two weeks ago we were prepping for a special ops mission to Chile and now this."

Goober whines about how it's been handshakes and meetings and senators and whatnot and he just wants to get to it. But his buddy is all, that's part of the job man. Gotta glad-hand, too. You big baby (he doesn't say that part).

"You can't just punch your way out of problems anymore." Well, I mean, I think that was Steve's MO, mostly. That and 'hit it with the shield until it stops moving'.

Nu Cap is making a big showy thing at a rally at his old high school (Custer's Grove HS, GA) stadium for Good Morning America. He's still looking punchable in that helmet. But, they do bring out a kicking marching band, so there's that. It's a boring GMA interview. I don't care.

"John Walker, first person in American history to receive three Medals of Honor. Ran RS-One missions in counter-terrorism and hostage rescue. The government did a study of your body at MIT and you tested off the charts in every measurable category — speed, endurance, intelligence." (I legit laughed out loud. Lookit Captain Gary Stu over here)

Blah blah super humble yada yada. Just wants to make people feel safe, he has sooooo much respect for Steve Rogers, yada. Look, he could be a great guy and maybe I'll warm to him. But not yet!

Back in Brooklyn, Bucky's watching this and his face is all "No! No? What the shit is this? NO! NO? WHU NO?! No." Also, Bucky, I know you have a couch, why are you sitting on the floor? Love yourself just a little bit, dude.

In Louisiana Sam is in an Air Force hanger, staring at a garish 'Cap is Back' poster and looking a little queasy. Rhodey told you, subtly and not really directly, to not give up the shield, buddy. I hope when Bucky gets there the first thing he says is "He gave the shield to *you*, dummy. Not Captain Gary Poppins over there."

Torres says Nu Cap seems like a good guy. Sam's like, uh-huh, sure, so anyway. There's another "cap is back" poster and Sam's like 'ugh'. And they're off to Munich. I guess for the Flag Bros. Hey! There's Bucky! Finally, they're in the same scene. It's been nearly sixty minutes of screen time to get to this moment, Marvel. No, I wasn't counting.

"Shouldn't have given up the shield." lol. Hi Bucky! You forgot to call him a dummy.

Sam's like I haven't got time for this. And Bucky points to the umpteenth Cap is Back poster (seriously? Good lord.) "You didn't know that was going to happen?"

  Sam did not know that was going to happen. "You think it didn't break my heart to see them march him out there and call him the new Captain America?"

Bucky will not let this go. "You had no right to give up the shield, Sam." You tell him!

But, Sam's kind of not in the mood. Look, I get it Sam, you didn't feel equal to the shield, but Steve gave it to you because he knows, my dude. Trust him. Come on.

But, he's feeling very raw about this, right now. "This is what you're not gonna do. You're not gonna come here in your overextended life and tell me about my rights." Well, ouch. 

He says he's got bigger things to worry about, but that seems unpossible to Bucky "What could be bigger than this?" Terrorist douchebags wearing funny masks in Eastern and Central Europe. Well, fine, Sam; be all puts-things-in-perspective guy.

Redwing traced the far-too-strong maybe leader to a place in Munich. For some reason Bucky does not have good feelings about Redwing. Uh-oh, Bucky, you're going to extra hurt Sam's feelings.

Oh lol, it's the "Big Three" convo. "What big three?" "Androids, aliens, and wizards." Still funny. Sam's so proud of himself.

"I'm coming with you." "No, you're not." Bucky went with him.

Did they glare at each other the whole way to Munich? lol. I love this show so much already.

"Enjoy the ride, Buck." "No, you can't call me that." "Why not? That's what Steve called you." "Steve knew me longer. And Steve had a plan." lol, Steve Rogers never had a plan a day in his life.

Bucky wants a chute, but Torres who wisely stayed out of all of that, is like we're way too low for a chute. "I don't need it anyway." Then Bucky drama school bitch rips off the left sleeve of his jacket and jumps out while yelling like the dumbass he is. And he hits every branch of the dumbass tree on his way to the ground.

"I have all of that on camera, you know that right?" And Redwing zooms by to hovers over Bucky. So, maybe it's not a mystery why he doesn't like Redwing. lol.

Bucky and Sam meet up at a dilapidated warehouse in the middle of the forest. Only good things ever happen in dilapidated warehouses in forests. Like extra shady weapons smuggling. Bucky's gonna stalk after them. Sam messes with him a bit.

"Look at you all stealthy. A little time in Wakanda and you come out White Panther." lol. ilu Sam. "It's actually White Wolf." "Huh?" heh. What he won’t tell you, Sam, is that he earned the name from the kids near his goat farm who liked to spy on and giggle at the grumpy growly white guy. 

"Hello. How are you?" "Great. What did I miss?" They're a delightful disaster! And they bicker and bicker and ahh, finally.

Also the people they're stalking are hella strong. And then these two idiots knock into an old bit of metal and make some noise. The shady people stop for a mo' but then move on. Sam scans one of the trucks the shady folks were loading (there are two), there's a figure sitting in the back. "There's an eighth person. I think they have a hostage." And Bucky zooms off! And Sam after him.

Bucky jumps onto the lead truck and then just like wanders around inside. I'm pretty sure the truck behind you noticed you, dummy. Anyway, it's loaded with crates marked "keep frozen." "They're stealing medicine. Vaccines." Those utter bastards. He spots a girl peeking out between containers. "Hi." lol, idiot.

He thinks it's the hostage, but I'm waiting for her to kick his butt out the door. She's not, you know, tied up in anyway. So … Also, again, does the second truck not have a radio to the first truck? Like was the driver texting while Bucky climbed up the back of the truck right in front of him? Now he's strangely incurious about the open door?

And, then she smiles at him and kicks him out the door, he hits the windshield of the second truck (maybe they've finally noticed you, Bucky!) and she puts on a mask with a red handprint. As you do. Two guys on the roof of truck 2, pull Bucky up ready to beat him silly.

Super strong girl, jumps over to truck two and punches Bucky some more. The Redwing zooms over and she jumps up, grabs it, and smashes it over her knee.

"I always wanted to do that," Bucky says, sad he didn't get the chance.

Sam shows up, there are more guys on the roof of the other truck. And there's fighting and fighting and then Sam is pinned down and the bad guy gets plonked with the shield and here comes Captain Poppins dropping down out of a helicopter. What timing. The CGI and green screen for this whole sequence are pretty dire. I'm sorry but it's true.

Captain Poppins is joined by his buddy Hoskins. "Sam. John Walker, Captain America." They know who you are, goober. Though, pausing to introduce yourself in the middle of the fight is a very Steve Rogers move, so points for that, Goober.

Lol, the look on Bucky's face when he catches the shield and Goober takes it from him. He's like 'rule two, rule two, rule two, remember rule two.'

Lots of fighting lots of fighting. Bucky is knocked off the side of the truck, he digs in and sort of zippers down the side, and then hangs off the bottom, his head inches from a tire, clinging to the underside by his vibranium arm. A bad guy stomps on it. Um, it's vibranium, guy. Like … though, somehow it works? and Bucky's arm sort of flops onto the road, sending up sparks. Sam does a neat little move, flies under the two trucks, grabbing Bucky as he goes, and knocking them both free.  None of that worked out particularly well, guys.

"Could have used that shield," Bucky says helpfully. lol. "Those were all super soldiers, Sam." Well, bummer.

Back on the trucks, I think Hoskins is in trouble. Cap Goober is pulling himself back up. Hoskins is thrown from the truck, but Cap Goober tosses the shield and Hoskins lands on that. Now Goober squares off against super soldier chick. He does not fare well. And he's thrown from the truck to land on the windshield of a following car. You know, if I'm driving down the road and I see people fighting on a pair of big rigs, I don't follow close. You know what I'm saying? I maybe pull over and let them get way far away from me. Anyway, sorry for your body damage.

Bucky and Sam walk along the road, a pair of sad sad heroes who did not have a plan.

"I'm sorry about Redwing." "No, you're not."

Cap Goober turns up in a sorry looking vehicle of some sort. "So that didn't go as planned." Bucky and Sam keep walking. lol

So Goober's vehicle keeps pace with the disaster duo. "We're pretty sure it's one of the Big Three."

Bucky: "THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS WIZARDS!" That's his hill, he'll die on it.

Since it's super soldiers, and that's bad news, Cap Goober thinks they should work together. Sam's quiet but not thrilled. Bucky is not quiet. "Just 'cause you carry that shield, it doesn't mean you're Captain America."

Cap Goober has apparently jumped on a grenade 4 times. "It's a thing I do with my helmet. It's reinforced." Okay, I laughed.

He persuades them to ride with him, because it's like 20 miles to the airport. It's probably for the best, since I'm pretty sure they might try to strangle each other in five.

"They (Flag Haters Anonymous) say their mission is to get things back to the way they were during the blip." This group's goals are so hazy and weird.

oh, lol. Sam wanted to know how they tracked the Flag Smashers, and Hoskins is like, um, actually, we tracked redwing. "It's not exactly hacking," Captain Goober explains, "it's government property. We're kind of the government." Not winning any points, Goober.

Bucky's just glaring at him.  "Does he always just stare like that?" lol

We get a bit of exposition about a group called the GRC, the Global Repatriation Council, which is tasked with helping the previously blipped reintegrate. Sam's like, okay, and? Hoskins explains "they provide the resources, and we keep things stable." The GRC sounds even more make believe than super soldiers, to be honest. But, whatever. Not here to analyze the bizarre and unlikely geopolitics of the MCU. Cap Goober makes a pitch for Sam and Bucky to sign up but Bucky is very firm about his "No".

Hoskins insists he has mad respect for them, but they were getting their asses kicked until he and goober showed up. Um, Hoskins, my dude, you also got your ass kicked.

Bucky stares for a second. "Who are you?" "Lamar Hoskins." Sam insists he needs more than that. "I'm Battlestar. John's partner."

Bucky says Mm hmm. Stop the car. And he's gone.

Cap Goober gives a pitch to Sam about how he's not trying to be Steve, or replace him, he's just trying to do his best and be the best Captain America he can, and it'd be great to have Cap's 'wingmen' on his side. I sense sincerity, but you're still punchable, goober. And Sam isn't buying it either. He shakes his head and laughs bitterly, "It's always that last line." He hops out and follows Bucky.

Elsewhere, the super terrorists have reached a safe house with a way too chatty dude who is trying to make them at home in his dicey looking shopfront. He rattles on about how they're becoming legends and the people love them because they're pushing back! Against … the GRC? I guess?

Super soldier girl (Karli) gets a hate text. "You took what is mine. I'm going to find you and kill you." Well, sleep tight, sister!

One of the other guys has already logged into a computer system and he starts hacking and wiping their info off the internets and interpol, I guess.

"Six months ago would you have imagined people supporting a cause like this?" I'm still very unclear on what your cause is.

Maybe I'm overthinking the silly superhero universe, but I can't imagine the blip world was wonderful. You're missing half the people. So half of everybody who'd do various jobs. So half of the knowledge base of humanity on earth. Half of the experience base of humanity on earth. Half of the farmers, half of the engineers, half of the doctors, half of the people who maintain any system you can imagine, half of the people who build those systems, half of the teachers, half of the factory workers, half of the grandparents who pass down stories and community knowledge, half of the animals, half of the fish, half of the insects and so half of the plants. Ecosystems could easily collapse. Certainly infrastructure did, with half of the people needed to maintain it gone. Cities would have started to crumble, since half of the sources of goods, food, and services were gone. (we did have something of a real-world equivalent in Europe during the Black Death. Things were not nice for quite a long while after the worst years of the plague.)

I'm sure there would be areas that did better than others. But, half of any government gone, half of any police, half of any military. There would be power vacuums and probably shitheads to fill them. I don't see any particular utopia in a blip-ified world.

And that's not even taking into account the psychological damage to all the unblipped. The pure existential horror of half of everything suddenly gone.

But, that aside. I like genuinely do not know what they're trying to achieve.  

"We're not playing no more," announces Karli. "We can't let the same assholes who were put back in power after the Blip win." Literally do not know what that means. "The GRC care more about the people who came back than the ones who never left." I mean … isn't that literally what they're for? "We got a glimpse of how things could be." Chaotic and apocalyptic? In fairness, I guess if you could carve out your own thing in that, and maybe it could even be good, then you'd be bitter if everybody came back all of a sudden and messed that up. I'm sure the power struggles are real.

"One world! One people!" Okaly-dokaly. Fascinated to see how you eight will achieve that.

Bucky's brooding on a plane, Sam's trying to sleep but the brooding is too much to ignore.

"You alright?" "Let's take the shield, Sam. Let's take the shield and do this ourselves." He's using his almost scary Winter Soldier voice. And staring into the void. Sam, call his doctor. She needs to remind him of rules one and two. "We can't just run up on a man, beat him up, and take it." Good point, Sam. For real, call Bucky's doctor. He's going to the scary illegal place.

"Do you remember what happened the last time we stole it?" "Maybe." lol such a petulant little grumpus you are, Bucky. "I'll help you in case you forgot. Sharon was branded an enemy of the state and Steve and I were on the run for two years." Not everybody was lucky enough to have a goat farm during all that, Bucky. That's what the man's saying.

"We just got our ass handed to us by super soldiers and we got nothing." "That's not entirely true," Bucky says mysteriously. And he jumps down off his brooding crate to go sit next to Sam. "There is someone that you should meet."

Baltimore, Maryland

Sam has a cute aside with a neighborhood kid, then Bucky leads him up to a house that has seen better days. Somebody answers the door and Bucky says they're there to see Isaiah. But, the young guy who answers the door insists there's no Isaiah there. He's not very welcoming. Bucky says "tell him the guy from the bar in Goyang is here." The things you got up to, Bucky. I do wonder. "We had a skirmish during the Korean war." oh, lol. I mean, I'm sure it's a horrible story, but lol, Bucky you disaster.

Oh hey, Carl Lumbly! Gosh, I haven't seen him in an age. I almost didn't recognize him.

"He was a hero. One of the ones that Hydra feared the most. Like Steve. We met in '51." "If by met, you mean I whupped your ass, then, yeah." lol

Isaiah says he took part of Bucky's arm in Goyang and he just wanted to see if it grew back. And if Bucky was there to kill him. Bucky says he's not a killer anymore.

"You think you can wake up one day and decide who you wanna be?" Well, sure. "It doesn't work like that." Oh, but it must, or else what's the point? Isaiah has a lot of reasons to be bitter, though. 

"Isaiah, the reason we're here, is because there's more of you and me out there. And we need to know how."

This does not please Isaiah, who doesn't want to talk and throws a can of sardines (or something, I don't know what that was) through the wall. Old but still super solidery.

"You know what they did to me for being a hero? They put my ass in jail for 30 years." Um, wow. "People running tests, taking my blood, coming into my cell. Even your people weren't done with me." Well, that's deeply uncool. He very much wants his unwelcome guests to GFO, and I can't say I blame him.  

Sam is super pissed once they get out onto the street. "Why didn't you tell me about Isaiah?" Bucky doesn't answer. "I asked you a question, Bucky." Yikes.

And no, Steve never knew, because Bucky never told him. "So you're telling me there was a black super soldier decades ago and nobody knew about it?" I guess so.

And we're interrupted by a bizarre random encounter with presumably racist cops. They stop them in the street, get weird about asking for ID, and then ask Bucky, "is this guy bothering you?" And Bucky's like what in the actual fuck, he looks like a high school chem teacher and I look like the muscle for a loan shark, "no he's not bothering me. Do you know who he is?" Oh to be the Winter Soldier again for just a moment, eh? Anyway, one of the dipshits recognizes Sam and they get all dipshitty apologetic. "oh, Mr. Wilson, we're so sorry."

Oh, lol, they're going to arrest Bucky. There's a warrant out for him, because he missed his therapy session. I told somebody to call his therapist! I want to know which of those dipshits ran Sam and Bucky for wants. Because that’s not automatic or some shit, somebody’s got to call it in. 

Sam's like 'well that took a weird turn.'

Sam and Dr Raynor meet at whatever facility they’re holding Bucky. "Thanks for getting him out." "That was not me," the doctor assures him. Nope, it was Captain Goober, who greets the doctor with a wave. "Christina! It's great to see you again." lol. And Sam's day gets worse.

"I heard you were working with Bucky and thought I'd step in. Bucky's not going to be working on a strict schedule any longer." 

She's like, uh what? Says who? And he points at himself. okay, again, lol. Though, it’s weird to me how he insists on calling Bucky ‘Bucky’, like they’re buddies. They’re not buddies. Bucky's going to punch him in the face. 

"He's too valuable an asset to have him tied up. So just do whatever you've got to do with him, then send him off to me." Will Bucky turn around and go right back into his holding cell?

Dr's not going to let him. "James, condition of your release, session now. You too, Sam." "That's okay. I'll be out here with…" "That wasn't a request." Poor Sam. He has had THE WORST DAY.

I love Bucky slouching against the sergeant's desk all surly, like a 16 year old who got busted for boosting his grandmother's car.

Dr Raynor settles them all in what I assume is an interrogation room. She tells Bucky she just wants to help him get over whatever is eating at him. I guess she figures Sam could help with that, too?

"We're going to do an exercise. It's something I use with couples when they are trying to figure out what kind of life they want to build together." lol. but of course. a million fic writers deliriously rush to their keyboards.  

"Are you familiar with the miracle question?" "Absolutely not." "Of course not." heh "Okay, it goes like this. Suppose that while you're sleeping, a miracle occurs. When you wake up, what is something that you would like to see that would make your life better?"

Bucky says his miracle would be Sam talking less. Sam says that's what he was going to say. Dr Raynor is writing fic of her own. "You guys are leaving me no choice. It's time for the soul-gazing exercise." This is the weirdest therapy session ever.

Bucky is very on board. Sam's like 'what have you done? staring? that's his thing!'

"Let's do it. Let's stare. This is a good exercise. Thanks, doc." Bucky, you little asshole. lol

How many takes to do this scene? I can tell they're trying not to laugh. "Take 57. It's 1:30 am, guys. Please, can we get it this time?"

"Wait, what are you doing? Are you having a staring contest?" What about these two men's attitudes walking into the room suggested they were going to be at all mature about this, Doc?

"James, why does Sam aggravate you? And don't say something childish." She knows you too well, Buck.

Oh, Bucky. He wants to know why Sam gave up the shield, because Steve believed in him, gave him the shield for a reason. But, maybe Steve was wrong about Sam and if he was wrong about Sam, then he was wrong about Bucky.

Sam, has his reasons. He says maybe Bucky and Steve can't understand, but he wants to know if Bucky can accept that he did what he thought was right. Poor Sam.

And Sam's had enough. He says they've got bigger shit going on and he'll put whatever this issue is aside for now, and they'll go take care of that, and then he and Bucky can never see each other again. "Thanks doc, for making it weird. I feel much better."

She's like, well shit.

Bucky leaves as well, but she stops him. "I know that look. What's wrong?" "What was rule two again?" "Don't hurt anyone." "Goodbye, doc."

I think maybe she miscalculated a tiny bit.

"I feel better," Sam grumbles. "I feel awful," Bucky sighs.

And down the street Captain Goober and Hoskins starts chirping a police siren at them and they wave them over. "Gentlemen!" I really want Bucky to punch him just once.

Goober wants them to join forces. They're tracking Karli through various displaced communities in Europe.  She's the flag stompers leader, I guess? She's like … 16. DOUBT.

Anyway, she's do-goodering by stealing medicine and taking it to the displaced camps. I'm confused. So, post-blip, people who'd not blipped are now suddenly being displaced? I thought the displaced where the blipped trying to reintegrate. But, she was mad at the GRC for only caring about the blipped not the unblipped (which, again is the GRC's raison d'être, so yes?). I feel like I'm missing something.

Bucky snarks at Goober a bit. He's not a fan at all. "Things are really intense for you, aren't they, Walker?" 

Sam's like okay, let's all simmer down. "It is imperative that we find them and stop them." But, also, though, he and Bucky are free agents, so they're more flexible than mister "i'm the government" over there.

Captain Goober doesn't care for that. "Word of advice, then. Stay the hell out of my way." Don't push your luck, goober.

Bratislava, Slovakia

Flag Stompers loading a small plane. Uh oh, they've been found out! Karli asks how much time they have. "None. It's the Power Broker's men." The Power Broker. See, that's the kind of jackassery you get in a Blip scenario. That's what I'm talking about. Did you steal super soldier serum from this guy, Karli? Hmmm? One noble Flag Stomper offers to stay behind and hold them off while they make their escape, for One World! One People! Dream big, kid.

He knocks down a power pole to block the road but then he runs at the badder guys? And gets himself shot a zillionty times. I … he'd already blocked the road? Why not just … you know what? Never mind.

Back to Bucky and Sam and Bucky with an idea that might just be worse than the self-sacrificing Flag Stomper's run-at-the-badder-guys-for-great-justice idea. He suggests that perhaps somebody who knows all of Hydra's secrets can give them the answers they need. 

"So you're just going to go sit in a room with this guy?" "Ye-… yes," Bucky says, absolutely oozing with confidence.

Off to see Zemo! I'm sure that will go terribly! Can't wait!

And Credits!

Not gonna lie. I'm not sure how I feel about this episode. It felt a little disjointed.

I don't get the Flag Munchers, but I'm thinking they're just a red herring. Because they're basically utopian idealist twelve-year olds with nice but vague goals and vague iffy means to achieve those goals. I don't feel they're a whole lot more than some misguided kids who grew up in a blipped world and change is difficult and scary (and I’m sure it’s probably managed poorly. I can’t think of anything less efficient than a global council for anything. you could have a global council for dirt and it would be a bureaucratic nightmare). And they probably stole super soldier serum from somebody way scarier. Dummies. I think they're going to need to be rescued at some point. Probably soonish.

As for that other guy. There's moments where I like John Walker a little bit, and moments where I find him really aggravating. I get they want to make him the super-duper bestest perfectest hero, or that’s why he was chosen by the DoD or whatever, but part of Steve's charm was he wasn't perfect. He wasn't Captain America because he won a million awards, he was Cap because he had a good heart. That's the point. THAT'S WHY YOU SHOULD BE CAP, SAM!

Also, I don't like hard feelings between Sam and Bucky. Though, nothing about their history would suggest an easy friendship (one time Sam was driving in his car and Bucky ripped the damn steering wheel out), so that's not a complaint, it just makes me sad. They really only have a connection because of Steve and he's gone. Be friends, guys!

And finally, when will Sharon Carter return from being an enemy of the state?

[skepwith]

The Sleuth of Ming Dynasty: A Primer

Aren’t you missing a “the”?

Depends on which promo material you look at. The Chinese title is The Fourteenth Year of Chenghua (Chenghua = the current Emperor’s reign), which is also the name of the BL novel the show is based on.

It’s based on a BL novel, you say? Is it Gay?

Yes and no. This is a Chinese production, so as with The Untamed they have to have plausible deniability of gayness for the censors. That said, the two main characters quickly end up living together, they risk their lives for each other, and at one point they run towards each other in slow motion while a highlights reel of their relationship plays. There’s kabedon, a bath-time encounter, and domesticity up the wazoo. From interviews it sounds like the actors fully expected their characters to be shipped together and were happy to encourage that.

Will this fill the aching void in my heart left by The Untamed?

Possibly? It doesn’t have the operatic levels of emotional intensity of The Untamed—there’s less soul-searching and more mystery-solving. The tone is often humorous, and while there are definitely moments of angst, you probably won’t be weeping into your popcorn. On the other hand, the production design is gorgeous (except that the city apparently only has one street—but it looks great!) and the cast is good-looking and have great chemistry, so it might just scratch that itch.

What makes this show special?

In short, food and found family. There are many loving close-ups of food being prepared, cooked, and eaten. And there are people who come together and make a family and then they all eat happily around a big table and it’s just ... sniff. Throw in some characters you’ll want to hug and protect, and you’ve got yourself a new obsession show.

Who are these characters?

Tang Fan is a foodie, a brilliant scholar, and a human disaster. His job is investigating court cases as a local magistrate, and he supplements his meagre salary by writing erotic novels on the sly. He whines about literally everything, but he also has a big heart and a sunny smile.

Sui Zhou is the taciturn ex-soldier to Tang Fan’s effusive string bean. His time in the army gave him impressive martial-arts skills and also PTSD. Now he’s part of the Emperor’s police force (the Embroidered Uniform Guards, who are not nearly as colourful as that sounds), so naturally he and Tang Fan end up investigating cases together. For all his grumpy eye-rolling, at heart Sui Zhou is a big softie who wants to make sure everyone is well fed.

Wang Zhi is the youngest palace eunuch ever to rise to his position (he’s supposed to be 17(!), but clearly the actor is in his 20s) as the Emperor’s right-hand man. He’s morally flexible (to put it nicely) in his pursuit of the Emperor’s interests, and at first you’ll think he’s sketchy AF. But before too long he’ll have schemed his way into your heart somehow.

Dong-er is my perfect child a cheeky preteen servant who basically gets adopted by Tang Fan and Sui Zhou (though it might be more accurate to say she adopts them). She has a genius brain, a bottomless stomach, and a fearless streak that sometimes gets her into dangerous situations. This is Not Okay, because Dong-er must be protected at all costs. Fortunately, Sui Zhou and Tang Fan seem to understand this.

Duo Erla is a hard-riding Oirat plainswoman who’s come to the city with her liegeman-translator-bodyguard Wuyun and a sizeable chunk of the show’s horse budget. For a tiny woman, she packs a lot of menace. But even her annoyance and Wuyun’s scorn prove to be no match for the power of Tang Fan’s puppy eyes.

Pei Huai is a local doctor who’s a fan of illegal dissection and New World vegetables. As a friend of Tang Fan’s, he often gets called in to determine the victim’s cause of death. He and Tang Fan bicker like a pair of friends who’ve known each other longer than they can remember.

Ding Rong is Wang Zhi’s underling and a one-man Ming Dynasty CSI. To be honest I barely noticed him at first, but then in one ep he turned up in a black ninja outfit and beat up some baddies, and I thought, “Ding Rong, you interest me strangely.”

Mama Cui is the madam of the well-appointed Huanyi (“Joyous”) Brothel, in which Wang Zhi happens to own shares. This photo, of course, is not her. This is Tang Fan pretending to be Mama Cui for a case. It’s not very convincing—he’s so much prettier than she is.

There are lots of other great characters, but I’ve only got so much space here.

Okay, I’m sold. Where can I watch this?

The first 30 or so eps are currently on YouTube, or you can watch the whole series on Viki. Then you can join me in raving about it here.

[gizkasparadise]

weekly drama #thoughts

right now, my favorite airing drama that i’m keeping up with is our blues. the episodes seem to build on each other/the drama is getting better with every ep, which i much prefer to stories that start out strong and then fizzle out. i love how messy everyone and their interpersonal relationships are, and if you would have told me that two, feuding middle-aged single dads would have been my favorite storyline i would not have believed you but here we are. im also a sucker for the ships passing in the night and Hero of Another Story format that we’re getting. standouts for me so far have been the relationships between The Dads and their teenagers, shin min ah’s character and how well/nuanced depression is being depicted, and i cant wait for more on the han ji min and kim woo bin storyline. 

drawbacks are lee byung hun :| im not the hugest fan of the actor or the character so it’s like a double-dose of please get out. im also hoping hansu doesnt make a return :’D

--

my liberation notes continues to be oddly soothing to watch. unlike most of the viewers, i dont feel an intense relatability to the characters other than i also hate commuting lol, but they’re all interesting. obviously im a sucker for mr. gu and mi jeong, and i wont lie that’s a good 85% of why im watching the show, but i also like the introvert squad (esp my curmudgeon rep mr. manager) and chang hee is growing on me. gi jeong i really want to like but she is honestly just too much for me in a bad way right now, which makes me sad because i adore lee el. i do like her interactions with her boss though. im excited for the possible gangster storyline

--

sh**ting stars i am watching but im on the fence with it. the “africa” scenes were so bad i thought they were an intentional parody and then they...weren’t. which is a big first strike. the editing in the show is really bizarre/annoying as well, especially since the cast is so huge it was overwhelming for the first two eps. eps 3-4 were moderately better. 

weirdly enough, what i like the most about the show is the business element of it, which is usually my least favorite part of a drama. seeing all the different components of the entertainment firm come together is super interesting. i also like the platonic relationship between han byul and yu sung/how much of a big bro yu sung is in general. right now my favorite character is actually the lawyer, because i respect that healthy work/life separation lol. im going to give this show another week or two of eps and see if it’s working for me, since i do also love a bickering couple

--

next up are the cdramas who rules the world and the wind blows from longxi. im also interested in the twdrama white book but idk how readily subs will be available for that one. for kdramas, i’ll be starting bloody heart and the sound of magic

[sorrytodistract]

About Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. ending

I wrote a little something for the series finale last week and published it on both IG and Twitter but I realised that tumblr has been a huge factor as to how I fell so much in love with the show. Therefore I decided to share my little experience as an AoS fan over there too. Enjoy!

How do I begin to explain what Agents of SHIELD means to me ?

I stumbled upon it when I just started to get interested in Marvel and especially the MCU. I remember hearing about it first when they announced the show, probably an article about how the #CoulsonLives campaign made it happen in the summer of 2013. From then, I kept it in a corner of my mind, telling myself how I wanted to watch it once it came out. Flash forward to the very beginning of October, I was scrolling through tumblr when I saw a gifset picturing two scientists bickering. I saw from my friend's feed that it was from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. And I realised I forgot it started airing the week before. I had a feeling I was going to love these first two characters I saw. I just had no idea how much. I managed to binge the first two episodes and then I was waiting impatiently for the third. I was longing to find out more about all these characters and follow them as they solve supernatural mysteries... By FZZT, I was totally hooked and had already read and watched all the cast's and EP's interviews. In April of the next year, I was so excited about the season finale that I watched it live, in the middle of the night while I had Uni in the morning. And then I couldn't wait until the next season, with a million questions and impatient to find the character's I've fallen in love with once more. I was studying languages and watching the show in its original version and without subtitles most of the time because I couldn't wait, really allowed me to become fully bilingual. 

Through the years, I grew up as a young woman as I tried to find my professional path. It had its ups and downs but I could always count on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. every week to cheer me up and for a good time. I was enjoying watching them go to the end of the world for their missions. I've always loved travelling and so decided on a job related to tourism. Meanwhile, Fitz's struggles with changes helped me deal with my own stress and anxiety issues. Some episodes were harder than others because they sometimes hit too close for comfort but I still couldn't let go of the show. The kindness and benevolence I could feel from the entire cast and crew through social media made me feel at home when I was watching the show and the behind-the-scenes content. They were a part of my life, as well as the other fans I was talking to on tumblr or Twitter with on the daily. We developped special bonds through our love of the show. 

Another flash forward to... March, 2017. I was now working as an apprentice for an airline as well as getting my degree in tourism. I was at school when I saw C2E2 anouncing they were having Iain De Caestecker as a guest, one of my favorite actors from the show. Elizabeth Henstridge had already been announced and it promised to be such an exciting convention with my two favorites. I don't know why but then I checked my calendar and saw that I was off work and school that weekend... An insane idea was forming in my mind : one of my friends from the fandom lived in Chicago, I was off work and had great opportunites for plane tickets... I took the plunge and got them that same day. I have never travelled to the United States before but everything was decided within a few days. My craziest idea yet.

About 10 days before the departure, anxiety kicked it fully and I came very close to cancelling my trip because I was so nervous something would go wrong. I made it though. To one of the best weekends of my life. Elizabeth and Iain were the nicest and really made the jetlag and anxiety worth it. I was able to meet so many fans of the show for the first time, some I already kind of knew from social media and it was so fun to put faces on names and hang out with everyone during the weekend. This convention made me realise how I wish to meet every cast member from the show to thank them for what the show meant to me. And so everytime I was able to, I would participate in one and meet other cast members and other fans and I would have SUCH a blast. Every cast member I've met were so kind and funny and I always felt comfortable with them, even when I was rambling incoherently because of nerves or loss of words.

In a perfect world, I would also want to meet every crew member to thank them personally because without them, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. wouldn't have been the same. They were all essential in making my absolute favorite show.

I remember how every year we would campaign on social media to make sure we have one more season of our favorite tv show because we loved it so much and they deserved a good run. I was so fond of every character, they felt like family to me and I was always eager to find out more about them and see their new adventures. Jemma's resilience helped me through grief, Daisy's optimism boosted my own to always move forward whatever the obstacles, May's resistance encouraged me to develop my own, Yo-yo's faith reminded me that I should always thrive to be better. Seeing so many multi-faceted and powerful women on screen was rejuvenating.

This show reminded me every week of the importance of family and its values and how we don't necessary have to be blood-related to become one.

I don't think I've ever loved a series more than Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. As it's more than a tv show, it's family. It accompanied me during most of my adulthood and I'm going to miss it. But more than that, I'm grateful that it exists and will forever be in my life. Through the episodes I can rewatch. Through all the friends I've made thanks to the show. Through all the memories.

Thank you Maurissa, Jed and Jeff for creating the little show that could. Thank you to all the writers for fleshing out all these perfectly flawed characters. Thank you to the entire cast for portraying them with so much talent. Thank you to every crew member for doing an outstanding job and sharing your memories with us fans. Thank you all for 7 amazing years ! All the best to each and every one of you.

And last but not least thank you to every AoS fan I’ve interacted with over the years for the best experience. I am lucky to be able to call quite a few of you my friends.