#to their story). how much is true of the rest of this tv ep is anyone's guess but it's certainly among the more believable

[mariocki]

Roger Delgado makes a brief appearance as an unnamed but helpful Argentine diplomat, in Overseas Press Club - Exclusive!: Two Against the Kremlin (1.13, ABPC, 1957)

[buddiebeginz]

I know those promo pics with Marisol are awful everyone but please let the ep and the rest of the season play out before you jump to any big conclusions. Even if say Eddie gets engaged to Marisol or something crazy like that in this ep it doesn't rule out Buddie. A lot of times with slow burn will they/won't they ships this is the kind of stuff that happens.

We will likely see Eddie and Marisol making things more serious and B/T making things more official all before Buddie realize their true feelings. TV shows are all about heightening the drama and this is how they're going to do it. They're going to make you think Buddie isn't going to happen and then surprise it does.

Also remember that if Buddie wasn't in the works Eddie would not be so entangled in Buck's coming out story as he is. Look at everything that's gone on with Buck this season, Eddie has been right there or Buck has been mentioning him. There is a reason for that. Look at all the promotional stuff for this season they put Ryan and Oliver right at the forefront and then it's was Oliver answering questions about Buddie (questions that get pre approved by the network).

There's also been Oliver's activity on social media. In the past Oliver has directly stated that he's backed off of talking about Buddie or engaging with fans about it because he didn't want to give us the wrong impression yet this season he's been posting and liking Buddie related stuff more than ever. He literally liked a really personal tattoo a fan got of Buddie and went back to comment on it three times. I don't believe for one second that Oliver would be engaging so much with Buddie stuff online or talking about Buddie so much if he thought there was no chance of Buddie ever happening. Not to say he'd never answer questions about it but he'd keep it short and sweet and leave it at that so as not to get our hopes up. I think he knows Buddie is in the plans and he's felt a lot better about encouraging fans now. Like when he's talked about fan theories and confirmed that Buck did find Eddie attractive when they first met.

Please don't let those promos or whatever happens in this ep upset you. Just let the story play out and remember that Buddie is the goal and we won't always like the journey but it's going to take time to get there. We are closer to them getting together than we have ever been we just have to be patient.

Remember also to keep showing your love for Buddie online but don't harass the official accounts. We don't want to do anything that makes our fandom look bad. Just keep reminding them we're never giving up on Buddie.

[mikuni14]

The Sign - Ep 8

We all see you Tharn, how you are eager to be petted and kissed, like Namami! For a second, but still, because, like a true cat, you stopped it for reasons known only by you 😭 100% cat behavior 😆

...............

I have mixed feelings after this episode 👻 On the one hand, it was very interesting, we learned a lot of new things, most of my wild theories turned out to be true, there were a lot of funny scenes that made me laugh out loud. But this episode left me feeling very unsatisfied. For so many reasons:

Phaya looks terrified after waking up from a nightmare. And after a short conversation they both just go to sleep like…..roommates lol Tharn should have hugged Phaya and comforted him, I would give my right kidney for Phaya cuddling up to Tharn like Tharn was cuddling to him before. This scene begs for Tharn to comfort Phaya!

Phaya and Tharn spent a 💞🔥 night, confessed their feelings to each other, and Tharn even said that he made an important decision for himself and Phaya. And their morning after after all this was… nice. That's all. Phaya, Tharn and we deserve better!

Scenes from their past lives. Hmm. First of all, I find it strange to insist on calling Wansarat a girl when the series shows Tharn as a man. I know they didn't want to show Phaya (Billy)'s romance with Wansarat (Freen) so as not to damage BillyBabe's Brand Couple™ image, but there is a very simple solution to this problem: they could have hired another actor to play Garuda and Freen to play Wansarat! And it would even make sense, because at one point Phaya himself says what does it have to do with him, since he already loves someone and it's Tharn - a guy, while watching himself and… Tharn on a fantasy TV with us 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️ Maybe it's just me, but I don't see any great love between Garuda and Wansarat, certainly not like between Phaya and Tharn. Like, they met, bam! they're a couple now, then in a very soap opera-ish (which makes it a bit comical) style, they both die. Unfortunately, in my opinion, this story lacked depth, emotions of these characters, their feelings. The most emotional scene was Chalathon's horror when he killed Wansarat. I just... I just don't believe in their love being powerful enough to want them to be together again, to create new reincarnations 🤷‍♀️

Ok, enough with tis negativity :) What I liked about it:

There was no awkwardness between them in their mornig after scene, they are both adults, they are both smitten, Tharn tries hard to hide how mushy he feels and I love his sparkling eyes and hidden smiles. 🥰 I like that Phaya immediately suggests moving in together, it's very much in his character. (It's a shame that there is no conversation about their relationship status, I think Phaya is the type of guy who immediately wants the rest of the world to know that Tharn is with him)

I love the abbot, how uncompromising and badass he is, how he has no qualms about fucking up the deity he serves, talking back to him, reprimanding him and how he uses his superpowers. He's super cool.

The training scene was great:

Khem is fun and a little shit in combat, but very skillful

Thongthai ending the fight and winning it with one, well thought, well placed, killer sentence 💀😎

Khem who puts being Thongthai's boyfriend above everything else, including his pride, him winning the fight, everything. The scene where he beats himself with Tongthai's hands: 10/10

teasing Tharn but again in such a nice, friendly way 😊

astounding detective work in figuring out where Tharn spent the night

Phaya coming to Tharn's rescue and stopping any situation that might cause Tharn discomfort 🤩

Phaya kicking Khem's ass and CALLING THONGTHAI TO HELP HIM AND THONGTHAI WITHOUT HESITATION JOINING IN KICKING KHEM'S ASS 😆😆😆 it was SO FUNNY

Yai telling Phaya to take care of his baby brother and Tharn smiling shyly and sweetly and not protesting at all! 🥺 ok, just kill me now, too much uwu 🥺

The scene of Tharn and Phaya by the river, how Tharn takes care of Phaya, them holding hands, Yai feeling happy for them and the scene of him making a heart gesture with a random guy 😆 I also really liked Phaya's panicked look when he doesn't see Tharn. The strange thing is that Tharn, who pulls Phaya away from the water, promises to take care of him, is stressed by the whole situation, when later doesn't see Phaya for a long time does… nothing. He's not even aware that Phaya's gone! Well, it's not the first time that Tharn is a victim of the plot and what currently suits the scriptwriters, and it probably won't be the last 😑

I liked Phaya saying: cool story bro, this cgi is nice and shit, but what does it have to do with me, as I already have a sweet boo back home, who is a whole ass DUDE (I know, I checked thoroughly last night) and also my whole world 😤 I love him for that 👌 I really wanted to make it clear that Phaya fell in love with THARN, not someone else's reincarnation, even if that's technically the case.

I liked Tharn's fight with that masked guy.

And I liked Tharn in white shorts and Phaya's oversized clothes. Phaya also served some sexy looks in this episode 👌

Absolutely perfect, heartbreaking scene of Tharn's anguish. I love Babe's voice in the scenes of his despair, his voice cracked just as much when they were pulling Phaya out of the water during their training, as it does now. It's... wow...

And finally, the question… what exactly are Phaya and Tharn paying for, what was the abbot talking about, what is their karma, what did they do wrong to keep paying for it? Because this story shows that they are both victims of OTHER PEOPLE, and that karma should be a bitch only towards Chalathorn?! Am I missing something?

(Phaya must have pleased and served Tharn well, since he did not wake up either when Phaya was being strangled and he tossed around in bed, or when he got up first in the morning 🤭🤭)

[daresplaining]

Your thoughts on She-Hulk ep 8?

I loved pretty much everything!

Yes, so, I was finally able to watch the rest of She-Hulk (I lost access to Disney+ partway through, so it took some finagling) and I do have thoughts! First, as I've mentioned previously, I loved the show overall; I thought it stayed very true to the spirit of the She-Hulk runs I have read (though to be clear, I'm not a Shulkie completist), was really funny (the knockoff "Avongers" merch in that one episode got me. I was on the floor), delivered some sharp commentary on the rampant misogyny in fan spaces and towards media with female leads (often drawing from actual online responses to the show by Comicsgate-types, which was genius), and poked fun at superhero tropes in a way that felt-- again-- true to the character and also mostly in a spirit of love, which is very important. I wanted to start with this because one of the things that kind of drove me nuts while the show was airing was seeing people prioritize the various cameos over the actual fact that freaking Jen Walters, She-Hulk herself, had a TV show, and I loved that she actually broke the fourth wall to call people out on this at one point.

(I'm glad this screenshot now exists in the world, and I'm worried that I might have to pull it out again when Echo's show airs. But hopefully not...)

But the cameos were fun, and felt correct for a show dealing with superhero law and tropes-- you do need a whole bunch of superheroes and villains around for that sort of thing, and I like that they went for an eclectic mix of big names and more obscure characters. Anyone who follows my Iron Fist blog might have seen me freaking out about the surprise appearance of El Aguila, one of my favorite side characters from Power Man and Iron Fist volume 1 (more freaking out will be forthcoming; I'm going to write a post about him when I have two seconds to spare). His MCU counterpart was kind of a parody version of the character, but that was true for many of the D-listers in the show, and I'd never expected to get El Aguila in anything, so I was still pretty dang thrilled. He even had his mutant powers! Amazing! We got MCU El Aguila before, like, MCU Scott Summers.

He also appeared alongside Man-Bull, who is a wonderfully weird Daredevil villain who I also never expected to see adapted. The decision to use El Aguila rather than the more obvious Matador was a little surprising (though I didn't mind at all), but a friend told me that she thought she had heard that they weren't allowed to use the Matador...which is intriguing... Hopefully it's because he's going to be the Big Bad in Daredevil season 4. One thing I was fairly disappointed by was the fact that we didn't get an appearance from Trish Walker, whose modern-day comics counterpart Patsy Walker/Hellcat is very close friends with Jen. However, considering MCU Trish's current situation, I can see why they made that choice. Tonally, this wasn't the right place to continue her story. Fingers crossed, though, for future interactions. Someone needs to get her out of prison!

But anyway, on to the main focus of this post-- this guy:

They definitely made this Leap-Frog hype-up ad as a joke, because hahaha, who gets excited about Leap-Frog, right? Joke's on them: I get excited about Leap-Frog. I was losing my tiny Silver-Age-Daredevil-fan mind that entire night, even knowing that it would be a while before I'd actually be able to watch the episode. Do you know how amazing it is that we got Leap-Frog in this thing? Leap-Frog in a largely comics-accurate costume? Leap-Frog who was allowed to be Silver Age goofy? Leap-Frog with a CATCHPHRASE? (I'm largely allergic to MCU things being imported into the comics-- if I have to open a Daredevil issue and read "the Devil's of Hell's Kitchen" with my own two eyes ever again, it's going to be my supervillain origin), but if 616 Leap-Frog were to start saying "ribbit and rip it", it wouldn't bother me. In all honesty, I didn't think he quite lived up to the hype. He was essentially a different character, and wasn't tremendously Leap-Frog-y when you got right down to it. But seeing him bouncing around in that green rubber costume still filled me with joy, and gave me hope that this might open the door for other such characters. Other fun, wacky, classic Silver Age villains who are long (emphasis on long) overdue an MCU debut. Stilt-Man. I'm talking about Stilt-Man.

In any case, I hope that anyone who might not have checked out She-Hulk yet will give it a try. It's a fun ride.

Psyche. Okay, yes, I'm also going to talk about Daredevil.

To be brief: I really, really liked this cameo. My interest in MCU Daredevil pretty much died in 2018 with the Big Cancellation, and as many bolts of lightning as I shoot through it (or...Hand ninja I sacrifice for it? I guess that's more on-theme), I haven't managed to revive it yet. It was fun while it lasted, but it's not a version of the character that really appeals to me much in isolation, and at the end of the day, I'm a Daredevil fan because I like the comics.

I also have the same issues with Charlie Cox playing Matt Murdock that I think a lot of people have, though that's not something I really feel I need to go into in this post. On the most superficial and shallow level possible (sorry), he just doesn't look like Matt to me, which is something I was able to overcome in the Netflix shows because when you're watching something for thirteen hours straight, eventually your brain adapts. But getting this brief cameo after having not seen him for four years, it was extra jarring, and it actually threw me out of the story a few times. He walked into the courtroom in that one scene and said he was Matt Murdock, and I'm afraid my immediate reaction was, "Pfff, what? No, you're not." (Also...his American accent has not really improved, which was just something I'd assumed he would have been working on.)

But my longstanding quibbles about casting aside (and to be clear, I love that people like the asker above like him in the role! I think for many people who got into DD through the MCU, he is their Matt Murdock, and I fully respect that), this is the live action Daredevil content that I've been waiting for ever since it became clear that the Netflix show was wedded to its dark, tortured version of the character and would not be touching on many of the other attributes that make Matt interesting to me. If this had come out at least five years ago, I would have gone completely bonkers over it-- and even now, I had a thoroughly great time watching this cameo. I had hoped, but I'd never, ever imagined that we'd actually get the yellow suit--especially after the Netflix show picked the practical-but-boring Man Without Fear/"Trial of the Incredible Hulk" outfit as his origin costume. And you know what? It looked pretty good.

For a "grounded" live action take, I think they did a decent job of translating the feel of the yellow costume while being shackled to a certain expected MCU DD aesthetic as established by the Netflix show's version of the red suit. I particularly liked that...that...

No, I'm sorry. I can't do this. Let me just...

Okay, THERE we go.

As I was saying, I thought they did a solid job referencing this most classic of DD costumes, and I would love to see him wear it in more than just this cameo.

And with the yellow suit came-- my god-- the quippy, swashbuckly Matt I have been longing for. The fight with Leapfrog was fun! The banter with Jen was great! I don't know what else to say! Swashbuckly Matt = Happy Daresplaining. What a relief to finally see that side of his personality make an appearance in this universe, and from an in-character perspective, to see him finally finding that confidence and joy in his adventuring. I hope that the Daredevil show (if it ever actually happens at this rate...) pulls from this; that we didn't just get a lighthearted Matt because She-Hulk was a comedy show.

And the romance was a surprise, but I didn't mind it. It was handled with humor, and it's not a relationship that exists in the comics so it was a fun new concept to play around with. Plus, both 616 Jen and Matt are characters with pretty hefty love lives, so it fits. And even more to the point, as the third asker above mentions, it took a baffling 40 YEARS for Marvel's two most prominent superhero lawyers to even interact, finally facing off for the first time in Soule's She-Hulk run, so I cherish every new scene they have together in any medium because they're great together. I was a little--"worried" is too strong a word, but maybe "cautious"--about how this would be handled from Matt's end, since he's really not a one-night-stand kind of guy. He falls in love easily and dates a lot, but it's dating. He gets attached to people. He clings. But this ended up seeming like maybe not a one-night-stand after all. The last episode seemed to imply that they were still together, so...is this going to be a thing? Are MCU Jen and Matt a couple now? Anyway, it was fun to have a bit of the soap opera-flavored drama of 616 Matt's love life filter into the MCU, because it really didn't come up much in the Netflix show.

In any case, to make a long and much-delayed post short, while MCU Daredevil will have to work very hard to re-earn my interest, I did enjoy this, and loved She-Hulk. I highly recommend it if you're looking for a show that's an all-around good time.

[pendragonthegreat]

DJM interview 05/21/2024 - some hypothetical tv show talk

skip to 53:26 for Pendragon stuff- the rest of this interview is mostly ayaotd related.

i've transcribed the relevant stuff below the cut if you can't listen, but in summary:

dj is still trying to get pendragon adapted and his exact words were "I just started a new effort with some new people." this is not even close to confirmation because pendragon has gotten almost adapted like this a few times so don't get too excited! but i really like hearing that he's still trying and he has something of a lead.

he wants it to be a tv series as opposed to a series of movies, with each book being a season, and he specifically put emphasis on expanding on stuff that's not in the books (the example he uses is character backstories)

he wants to age bobby up to around 16 or 17 at the beginning of the story

interviewer: If you had a chance to turn, like, SYLO Chronicles or Pendragon into a series, TV show or a series of films, would you want to?

DJ: Sure. In fact, I'm working to get Pendragon- I've been trying for years to get Pendragon on the screen in some way, shape, or form, uh, I just started a new effort with some new people, so... Who knows how it'll turn out. But the idea is to actually do a TV series.

[interviewer mentions Saint Dane and DJ says he wants Benedict Cumberbatch to play him. okay skipping forward a little bit]

DJ: How many times have you seen a movie based on a book that you really love, and even if it's good, and I'll put H arry P otter into this category, it's pretty good, but there's always that, "yeah, but they left so much out. Oh god, you're missing this, you're missing this." So you've gotta take this much and squeeze it into this much. The idea with a Pendragon is, I would love to be able to do a series where each book is a season... Now you're taking this much, and you've gotta blow it out even more. So you can get into the backstories of the different characters and do much more detail on it. So my dream would be, besides getting it done, is.. and that would be enough, frankly, the idea is that there's someone who never read the books but watched the series, and that sends them to say, "well, I'm gonna read Merchant of Death," the first book, and have them say, "yeah, the book was good but they left a lot out." [something hard to hear but i think he's saying he wants it to be the other way]

Interviewer: And you were smart enough that every book, the main character, Bobby Pendragon, grows a year with every book. So you know, he starts at 14, ends at 24 [monty note: this isn't true it's more like 1 year per two books and he's 18 by the end] and like grows and learns the course of- and you could do that as a show, rather than just having a kid be a perpetual kid.

other interviewer: And the audience that reads them grows with the character.

DJ: Well... except. I mean, that was the plan, I remember doing an interview when the Merchant of Death first came out and I said, my ideal here is to have 14-year-olds pick up this book and grow up with Bobby Pendragon as each year comes out. And I remember just going, good luck with that. That'll never work.

[everyone laughs]

DJ: and it did! It did work! But TV's a little different. Or I should say, screen is a little bit different. So for the scripts I've been writing for Pendragon, I've actually aged him up to begin with, to 16 or 17. To start with. Because, the thing is, one of the things about, I mean you guys haven't read all the Pendragon books, but he starts at 14, and as much as he's very capable and he's smart, and he's all that kind of stuff, he's almost a passenger for the first couple books. Um, and a lot of other people are doing his fighting for him. And this is a little kid, but he still does plenty of stuff, but it's way easier to accept a 14-year-old doing plenty of stuff when you're just reading about it, than to actually depict it on screen. So it's like, I think he's gotta be a little bit older to begin with, right off the bat.

And because... wouldn't it be great to make ten seasons of TV series, let's be real, [something like it's not gonna happen]. I can't wait till season 6 for him to start kicking ass.

And, just being a film producer that I am, the fact that H arry P otter pulled that off, pretty remarkable. And I think it was as much because those books are just a phenomenon that Warner Brothers stayed with it and stayed with it as the kids aged and whatnot. Lightning's not gonna strike twice. So you don't wanna be casting little kids that you have to deal with them growing up. I'd rather cast a 20-year-old as a 16-year-old, which is the norm.

[chorusfm]

Adam Grundy’s Top Albums of 2023

2023 was absolutely S-T-A-C-K-E-D from top to bottom with some incredible music from so many talented artists. Below is a collection of my favorite albums (which include several EPs, for the first time on my year-end list, because I adored them so much), a separate call out for EPs, a playlist of my favorite songs, the best concerts I attended, my favorite books I read during the year, as well as my favorite interviews I conducted. Also, be sure to check out my favorite movies and TV shows that kept my attention in 2023. I wish all of you a very happy New Year, and I’m thrilled to spend another year with everyone on this site and in the forums. My Top Albums of 2023 * Ratboys – The Window * The Maine – The Maine * M.A.G.S. – Destroyer * Foo Fighters – But Here We Are * The Menzingers – Some Of It Was True * Koyo – Would You Miss It? * Fall Out Boy – So Much (For) Stardust * Chase Tremaine – Accidental Days * Zach Bryan – Zach Bryan * The Gaslight Anthem – History Books * Olivia Rodrigo – GUTS * Taking Back Sunday – 152 * Yellowcard – Childhood Eyes (EP) * Thrice – The Artist In The Ambulance (Revisited) * The Struts – Pretty Vicious * The Japanese House – In The End It Always Does * Arrows In Action – Built To Last * Blink-182 – One More Time * AJR – The Maybe Man * Boys Like Girls – Sunday At Foxwoods * Sarah and the Safe Word – The Book of Broken Glass * Broadside – Hotel Bleu * Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit – Weathervanes * Record Heat – Welcome To Record Heat Country * PONY – Velveteen * Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness – Tilt At The Wind No More * Paramore – This Is Why * STMNTS – Tendencies (EP) * Boygenius – The Record * Greta Van Fleet – Starcatcher * Story of the Year – Tear Me To Pieces * Gorillaz – Cracker Island * Spiritbox – The Fear of Fear (EP) * Have Mercy – Numb * Bully – Lucky For You * Out of Service – Reflections and Refractions: Vol. 1 * Charlotte Sands – Good Now (EP) * Silent Planet – Superbloom * The National – First Two Pages of Frankenstein * Babyfang – In The Face Of (EP) * Cal Stamp – Leather (EP) * PVRIS – Evergreen * Anberlin – Convinced (EP) * Cold War Kids – Cold War Kids * The Rocket Summer – Shadowkasters * Vacationer – Cherish * The Aces – I’ve Loved You For So Long * White Reaper – Asking For A Ride * Post Malone – Austin * The Bouncing Souls – Ten Stories High My Favorite EPs of 2023 * Yellowcard – Childhood Eyes * STMNTS – Tendencies * Spiritbox – The Fear of Fear * Charlotte Sands – Good Now * Babyfang – In The Face Of * Cal Stamp – Leather * Anberlin – Convinced * Hawthorne Heights – Lost Lights * Arcane Ghosts – Distant Youth * Texas King – Capsize * Bad Suns – Infinte Joy * Nicotine Dolls – How Do You Love Me * Zach Bryan – Boys of Faith * MS MR – Saturn Return * Soccer Mommy – Karaoke Night * Boygenius – The Rest * Taylor Acorn – Certified Depressant * Better Lovers – God Made Me An Animal * Bad Luck. – Books On Tape * Palette Knife – DLC Pack 01 My Favorite Songs of 2023 * Olivia Rodrigo – “Vampire” * The Menzingers – “Come On Heartache” * Lily Meola – “Without You” * The Maine – “Blame” * Blink-182 – “One More Time” * Ratboys – “Morning Zoo” * Billie Eilish – “What Was I Made For?” * Zach Bryan ft. Kacey Muysgraves – “I Remember Everything” * PHNTMS ft. April Rose Gabrielli – “Lost On Your Love” * Spiritbox – “Jaded” * Chase Tremaine – “Settled in the Unsettled” * Boys Like Girls – “Blood and Sugar” * Fall Out Boy – “Heartbreak Feels So Good” * Record Heat – “Run” * Cal Stamp – “Radio is Dead” * Koyo – “Life’s a Pill” * Sarah and the Safe Word – “Sky On Fire” * Hawthorne Heights ft. Emo Orchestra – “The Storm” * The Maine – “How To Exit A Room” * Taking Back Sunday – “S’old” My Favorite Concerts I Attended in 2023 * The Maine – Sweet 16 Tour @ The Fillmore (Silver Spring, MD) * Silverstein – This is How The Wind Shifts Anniversary Tour @ The Fillmore (Silver Spring, MD) * Cal Stamp @ Pie… https://chorus.fm/blog/adam-grundys-top-albums-of-2023/

[diamondcitydarlin]

my thoughts on the leaked eps and expectations vs reality (yes they got leaked in Russian again, I haven't watched them at all just read the plot summaries from those who have, so I'm suspending full judgement until I watch the eps when they air). DON'T READ IF YOU DON'T WANT SPOILERS.

So. Idk, kinda double-edged sword here. On the one hand, we had a magnificent time this season coming up with supplementary development and subplots about the side characters (Marwa, the Djinn, the Guide, etc) and we had such good fun imagining how Nandermo might be jealous of each other and do other typical slowburn trope-y things we've come to expect from slowburn romances in TV shows. On the other hand, I think in the process we may have lost sight of what this show is and always has been, which is, at the end of the day, a group of idiotic, self-obsessed vampires that continue to make the same mistakes over and over and fail upwards. I think because the show is so unapologetically queer, we keep expecting those elements of found family and self-progression to stay true throughout the course of the story, but that's not really what this particular show has ever aimed to be.

To be sure, I'm disappointed with what ends up happening with Marwa. I can't imagine that watching it properly in English is going to change my mind about that, but I wonder how much of my disappointment was set up because I couldn't parse those amazing headcanons about her from the actual text of the show and what they were setting up to have us expect from her which, if you think about the actual text of the show, isn't much. I still think she deserved more and I still don't agree with the optics of the first regular WOC being treated like a sim in CAS before having her entire identity erased in favor of a yt dude and then shipped off to probably never be seen again. I really think to some extent they dropped the ball with Marwa, maybe underestimating how much viewers would love and want to see more from her (as well as her revenge). Because I will say, to be fair, that most tertiary characters get treated this way, though perhaps maybe not to the level of mindwashed horror as Marwa. I don't think we as viewers are misplaced in wanting to see at least Nandor get some kind of comeuppance for this.

As far as his sins against Guillermo go though, I don't think this is anything too off base from what Nandor would normally do, and I don't think he necessarily does it out of maliciousness towards Guillermo. That's the point I think they're trying to make about Nandor here; he's so self-focused, he does whatever he thinks the immediate gratification solution would be without any concern for the consequences. He clones Guillermo's boyfriend without a single thought to how this might negatively affect anyone else. He's an idiot, basically, of course.

And Colin having his entire plot as a child erased from his memory is doubly frustrating and tragic, even as I love knowing we get old Colin back.

So yea there's definitely a cynical kind of vibe to this season that I think is leaving a bad taste in everyone's mouth. We're wondering what the writers are trying to say about the characters, if there's any point to keep watching or if we can just rest assured that these characters will go on making the same mistakes, never changing, and always ending up back at the restart button. BUT THE THING IS...we do have at least two more seasons, and an element of vampirisim in this show has always been that struggle to break free of endless cycles in an existence that goes on indefinitely, so it makes sense that this would continue as a conflict before the story reaches it's final denouement.

But I do have to say at this juncture that I agree some things were indisputably fucked up this season, my main complaint being the way Marwa's character was treated. Sure, there's time for them to bring her back and remedy this, but they could have done better by her to begin with than leaving us with this unpleasant bookend.

[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

[annakie]

A List of Shows I’ve Watched So Far This Year

...and a couple of sentences about each one.  Also some movies and podcasts, too.

I started keeping a list around the time the entertainment outlets started publishing their “Best of 2021″ lists near the end of the year so I would be sure to catch some good TV since I wasn’t sure what to watch half the time.  So this list is partially from those lists, partially stuff I found in other ways like via tumblr gifsets on my dash, some things I stumbled upon, had already been watching, and some just because I was subscribed to whatever service a show was on and thought “Hm that looks interesting.”

Tried keeping track of movies and podcasts, too. Gonna do video games in a different post.  Currently I have 34 shows on my “To Watch / Catch up on” list, and always adding more.

This is in no particular order at all.

Taskmaster (& rewatched a lot of it.) - OK I immediately lied.  I moved this to the top because I honestly believe everyone should watch Taskmaster.  It is the most joyful thing I’ve ever watched, I love it so, so much.  Everyone I have convinced to watch the show has loved it.  It curbs anxiety, it always always always makes me laugh, and there’s a lot of it to watch. 

Taskmaster is a British... panel/game show, sort of, where five comedians/entertainers are at the whims of the Taskmaster (Greg Davis) and his assistant (Alex Horne, who is the true genius behind the show) and do ABSOLUTELY ABSURD tasks to earn his approval.  The same cast stays for an entire season (early on 5 or 6 episodes, then 8, now 10.)  Greg scores their efforts, and at the end of the season, the winner takes home... a bust of Greg’s head.  Mostly bragging rights and a spot on the Champion of Champions special that happens after every 5th season.

I cannot express how much I love Taskmaster. You can just watch most of it for free on Youtube.  Series 1 Episode 1 is a fine place to start, or maybe try season 4 for people you likely already know.  Anyway, that’s the sales pitch.  Everything else is just my opinions.  Watch Taskmaster, unless you hate fun and don’t need a distraction right now?

I started watching it near the end of last year, and then synced up with @ahab99 and we watched the rest of it together.  It’s been one of my favorite things to do this year, and the fandom is great.  My favorite seasons are 4, 5, 7, 9, 12 and 13, but I love them ALL.

Kongen Befaler (Taskmaster Norway) S1 & 2 - I love Taskmaster so much I started watching the Norwegien version, which is slow going because I have to be in the right mind to watch something with subtitles, but the Norwegian version is very nearly as good as the original.  Highly recommend it if you’ve finished with the original.  I haven’t yet gotten to the New Zealand version yet because I’m waiting for ahab99 to be ready, but I know it’s also considered to be great.

The Great S1 & 2 - Speaking of great... watched this as it was on Alan Sepinwall’s best of 2021, and I trust him about quality of things most of the time.  Enjoyed The Great a lot, not one of my favorite things of the year, but thought the leads were very good and also Sacha Dhawan was a nice surprise.  It’s got a lot more grossout humor than you were probably expecting. But I’ll watch S3.

Halt and Catch Fire S1-4 - I’d watched S1 and the first half of S2 when it was airing, then fell behind, and my DVR broke, and I never caught back up.  But Sepinwall had mentioned it somewhere in a review I read recently and put it back on the list.  It’s a show that got stronger every season.  S1 was really trying way too hard to be Mad Men But In the 80′s And About Tech, once they figured out the characters in S2, toned down Lee Pace’s character and made the “mousey wife” not so mousey, it got amazing.  Loved it so much.

Station Eleven - The first few eps aired last year, and I watched it in real time, but the last three aired this year.  This is one of the best things I watched not only this year but... ever.  A story of love and hope after a world-ending pandemic.  You would think “I don’t need a pandemic story right now” but yeah, you need this story.  One of the most satisfying moments I’ve experienced in fiction near the end of the series, too.  So good.  Highly rec.  This also means Mackenzie Davis was one of the leads of... the last two things I talked about and she deserves all the awards.

Hacks S1 & 2 - I love Jean Smart and had been meaning to get around to this one for awhile, so I got to it like a few weeks before S2 aired.  Really funny and powerful story of two women in different generations who were there when they needed it the most.  A definite rec.

Starstruck S1 & 2 - I watched this not only because Sepinwall recommended it, but because it was created by & stars Rose Matafeo, who is on series 9 of Taskmaster and who I adore because of it.  Really funny,  great story, a little frustrating, but well worth it.

Our Flag Means Death (3 times) - Thanks to tumblr for all the gifsets, and finding out Guz Khan (who is in S12 of Taskmaster) is in this show, I gave in and watched it.  I didn’t watch it the first time til the week after it ended, but then I signed up for HBO Max to support the show and watched it three times in one month.  Loved it.  Can’t wait for S2.

Severance - Came for Adam Scott, stayed for holy shit what is going on here why do I have to wait week to week for more?  I NEED ANSWERS NOW.  Creepy, bleak, and very, very intriguing.  Am on the edge of my seat for season 2.  Another one of the best things I’ve seen this year/in awhile.

The Expanse (Some in 2021, some in 2022) - One of those shows I’d been meaning to get into for a long time and I knew if I could stick with it eventually I’d love it. I had tried the first episode a couple of times over the last few years and didn’t like it but... I was determined this time and stuck with it.  I have LOVED Shohreh Aghdashloo for a long time and she got me to stick around.  I honestly didn’t love the show until season 2 or so, but at some point I was all in, and was sad when I finished, though a couple of the seasons were weaker than others for sure, and learning the circumstances behind the removal of one of the main characters, who was another of my favorites, put a small damper on it.  But I’m glad I finished it.  Someone make a S7. :(

Upload S2 - Watched S1 and thought it was decent, S2 was... definitely affected by the Pandemic filming.  It was OK, but not great.  The season finale especially seemed cut off too soon.  But I’ll keep watching.

Doctor Who Specials (New Year’s special and The Sea Devils) - New Years special was great, other one was okay. It’s nice that they’re addressing 13/Yaz.  Even though, ya know, it’s almost regeneration time.  There’s a lot about the 13 era I have liked, but also a lot of wasted potential.  And I’m not a fan of the Timeless Child thing... have seen few who are, though. 

I also rewatched the Husbands of River Song because the Taskmaster himself, Greg Davis, plays King Hydroflax in this episode.

Critical Role S3 + Calamity - Been keeping up with Critical Role still, though sometimes I fall behind a week or two.  I have been enjoying S3 a lot, probably more than I enjoyed the first arc of S2.  Having Ashley back full time is great, and I like the new characters.  Been staying far, far away from the fandom and the drama, though.

Calamity was amazing.  I know I posted a thing about maybe not watching but I did because of how everyone was talking about it, and it was everything people said it was.  I cried through most of the finale.  Thanks to @thequeenofmyownscreen for crying with me. :)

I have very much wanted to get into Dimension 20 since before Calamity and really want to now, but have yet to find the time.

Breaking Bad Rewatch (Just season 2.5 to the end) - After watching the first half of S6 of Better Call Saul, and hearing the second half is going to have more relevance to Breaking Bad, I went back and re-watched BB from the first Saul episode to the end, since I hadn’t seen it since it aired. For like the S2 and some of the S3 part I was fast forwarding through a lot of like, Hank & Marie scenes or parts that were a lot of people staring at each other, but after awhile I just settled in and re-enjoyed the ride.  Worth it.

Better Call Saul S6 - As noted above, have been keeping up with BCS the whole time.  Love it.  Can’t wait to see how it ends.  DON’T KILL KIM WEXLER, PLEASE SHOW.

(BBC) Ghosts S1 - 3 - Three of the main characters have been contestants on Taskmaster (Charlotte Richie - S11, Lolly Adofope - S4 and Katy Wix - S9) plus at least two guest stars (Jessica Knappet - S7, Bridget Christie - S13.)  So after learning this plus seeing some gifsets on my tumblr dash and seeing it was on HBO Max, I watched.  Really enjoyed it, highly recommend. 

(CBS) Ghosts - While looking up info for BBC Ghosts, I saw CBS had brought the show to America.  I thought “Well, let’s see how bad they fucked this up” and dove in, intending to watch just the first episode or three.  I finished the (currently only, S2 is incoming) season in like a day and a half.  They did a good job making both the living married couple and the ghosts American, retaining some flavor of the BBC version without it being a direct ripoff aside from the pilot and one ghost being a near carbon copy of the British counterpart.  I think they did a good job making it their own.  The Brit version is probably still better, but I don’t regret watching both and will watch the next seasons of both, too.

(New) Kids in the Hall - I was in High School when the Kids in the Hall was originally airing on Comedy Central here in the US, and things like “I’m Crushing Your Head” were as cool as Wayne’s World quotes.  Wasn’t sure what to expect about the revival but I really loved it, a lot.  Be warned if you watch it there is old man full frontal in uh, the first episode, lol.  But seriously, it was great.  And I’m flabbergasted and mad that it wasn’t nominated for an Emmy.

Only Murders in the Building S2 - I think S1 aired last year?  Watching S2 now.  What a delight this show is.  As an Old, I grew up loving Steve Martin and Martin Short and they’re amazing here.  I had no idea who Selena Gomez is before this show, and now I adore her.  Enjoying S2 a lot.

For All Mankind S3 - I think I watched S1 & S2 at the end of last year, and except for that mindbogglingly terrible subplot at the end of the 2nd season, I really loved it.  S3 has been likewise great so far.  Even though the stupid subplot continues into S3.  I’m a Margot and a Dani stan.

Mare of Easttown - When this was airing last year it felt like everyone was talking about it and how great it was, so I got around to watching it.  It was, indeed, very good, with a resolution that was surprising but didn’t feel like came out of nowhere.  Also more Jean Smart = good.

The White Lotus - I mean, I have HBO Max right now and this is another show people kept talking about when it was airing, so I watched it.  Eehhh, it was okay.   It was a good takedown of white people at their most white-people-ness.  Don’t think it deserves the Emmy love it’s getting except for the guy who played the hotel manager.

The Umbrella Academy S3 - I keep up with TUA when it’s on, and enjoy it. Enjoyed S3 as well.  Not as much as S2 but hey, enough to look forward to S4.  Mostly glad this season Luther got over Allison, but Allison this season was uh... not great.

Stranger Things S4 - Just like most everyone else, watched ST4 and I did love it, though the criticisms of it is pretty valid, too.  NGL, got pretty bored with the Eleven subplot in the first half and fast forwarded through it as I thought it was very obvious Henry = Vecna and it felt like otherwise we were rehashing a lot of other stuff.  And the Russian Prison subplot could have been cut way down, too.  But still, love Stranger Things.  Can’t wait for S5.

Murderville - Will Arnett’s improv / cop comedy.  Swung WILDLY in quality depending on who the guest of the week was.  They were right to put Conan first and Kumail Nanjiani last so it started and ended on its strongest episodes.  I adore Annie Murphy but it was uncomfortable watching her stumble through her episode.  But I finished it and would watch a S2.

Resident Alien S2 - I think S1 was stronger so far, but still loving this show, and Alan Tudyk is great, so is his co-lead Sara Tomko.  Could do with less Mayor and Mayor’s Wife who’s character’s names I can never ever remember, and more of everyone else.

Barry S2 & 3 - I watched S1 as it aired and never got around to picking up S2 or 3 until a few weeks ago.  It’s very good, and very violent.  Can’t believe they’re still gonna do a S4 after that S3 ending.

The Flight Attendant S1(ish) - I watched the first episode and thought... I am not into this enough to watch the rest of the season but I do want to know how it ends.  So I skipped right over to the last two episodes.  Maybe I’ll do the same with S2.

Gentleman Jack - Was interested in this from tumblr gifsets.  Literally watched the first episode and a couple of hours later the cancellation was announced, lol.  Overall, I enjoyed it but I hope Suranne Jones’ back is OK because she carried this show for all sixteen episodes.  Anything focused on Anne Lister was great.  But they could not write a subplot of side characters to SAVE A LIFE.  The cast was great, (I mean they had Five himself Peter Davison!) with what they were given.  But so many subplots either were messy, boring or went nowhere and were dropped without resolution.  Still glad I watched it but... it feels like only Lister/Walker ever found its footing and everything else was... not there.  I’d have kept watching, but not super upset it’s likely not going to happen.

Star Wars

Book of Boba Fett - I think I liked this series more than most when it was focusing on Boba Fett but also like... the criticism was fair.  And yeah it felt more like a sub-show of The Mandalorian rather than its own thing in the end.  It was quite cool seeing the whole gang, minus Cobb, fighting together in the finale.  And also uh, this may be blasphemous, but I am slightly disappointed they brought Grogu back?  I think they are victims to their own success if they don’t think the show can survive without Grogu, whereas I was kinda looking forward to Mando on his own.  But I’ll enjoy Mando S3 either way, I think.

Even this review of BoBF became a review of The Mandalorian. *facepalm*

Obi-Wan Kenobi - Yeah it was messy blah blah but I really really loved Obi-Wan.  We’d been waiting for Obi’s return forever and I think they did a great job making the show emotionally resonate.  It was so great seeing Hayden back, too.  And it also adds a little more emotional weight to ANH how too, with Obi-Wan having a relationship with Leia.

Star Trek

I watched all the Star Treks. Yesterday was the first NON-STAR TREK Thursday of this ENTIRE YEAR and I AM MAD ABOUT IT.  Luckily Lower Decks S3 starts next month.

Prodigy S1.0 - There’s still more Prodigy S1 coming, but I am enjoying this show more than I thought I would, grading on the “It’s for children!” curve.  NGL I am most invested in the Real Janeway & Chakotay stuff but the kids and Holo-Janeway are also great.  Excited for more.  And the Kobiyashi Maru episode was a fave, as well as the 1.0 finale.

(Rewatch) Picard S1 & then Picard S2 - I forgot most of what had happened in S1 so I rewatched it.  I like it more than most people did, but I mean... there’s like no Star Trek I don’t like.  S2 started strong, and I liked the ending, and a lot of what they did in the middle stumbled with some great moments and a few not so great.  There were definite parts of S2 that... didn’t work.  But it was also fun.  Plus my Teenage Dream Crush (lol) showed up, which was a huge plus for me.  And uhm... I am absolutely feral about what’s going to happen in S3.

Discovery S4 - I think Discovery had gotten stronger every season, and I again, have enjoyed every season.  I do definitely agree I wish every season wasn’t universe-ending threats, and the bridge crew doesn’t get enough to do, but I mean... that doesn’t at all ruin my enjoyment of the show. I thought the universe-ending threat was at least new and original this year.

Strange New Worlds S1 - Ummm... yeah.  It’s great.  I’m mad about how great it is.  It’s not my favorite of the New Treks (Lower Decks is probably my fave) but I do get why so many people say this is their favorite.  REMEMBER THOUGH... we wouldn’t have this Pike, Spock and Una without Discovery S2.

--

MST3K

Mystery Science Theater 3000 S13 + Specials - I Kickstarted MST3k season 13 for uhhhh... more than I probably should have.  I am really loving Season 13 so far.  Jonah is great as always, I already adore Emily and her bots, and having Joel back in the riffing seat with J. Elvis by his side mashed the nostalgia button so hard.  All the episodes have been hilarious, though some are more faves than others, but that’s normal.  Really enjoying the “special events” too.  Having something to do like, every other Friday by appointment has been nice, too.  The chat is very friendly and actually funny.  Ready to support them for as much as I can when S14 talk comes around.

The Mads Are Back - MST3k-related, Frank Coniff and Trace Belaiu have been doing monthly riffing livestreams since July 2020 and I’ve been to them all.  So another monthly Tuesday night appointment.  They also do a guest interview after each, which has been delightful.  Was a big help early in the Pandemic to have another monthly “appointment” to look forward to, and I’m glad they’re keep on keeping on with the livestreams especially since Frank’s health problems.  And I love that nearly all the old cast plus some of the new MST3k cast has come and hung out in the post-show with them. <3

Along with that, just rando, MST3K and Rifftrax episodes whenever I feel like it, often as white noise when I’m gaming or working.

--

Trashy Realtiy TV - I make no apologies.  I don’t watch a lot of reality TV but I have watched these.

The Circle S4 - I just lilke the Circle, OK? Love is Blind S2 - It’s a dose of drama that I usually avoid. 70% of Love is Blind Japan S1 - Wanted to see the differences. I watched the pods and vacation part, skipped most of the “We’re back at our real lives!” episodes and just went and saw who made it to the altar and who said I do.

JUST STARTED:

The Other Two - Haven’t finished yet, but just wrapped up S1.  A Sepinwall rec I wouldn’t have checked out otherwise.  The Entertainment Industry Takedown stuff is kinda funny but nothing we haven’t seen before.  What has made this show work so far is that yeah the mom + adult kids are very dysfunctional on their own but they love each other and their little brother a lot and that glue makes the show worth it for me.

Blood and Treasure S2 - I would not watch this show most likely but Mark Gagliardi is one of the main stars (probably #3 on the call sheet I’d guess) and when a guy you kinda know is on TV, you usually wanna watch that guy being on TV.  It’s a fun cheesy National Treasure like romp.  This season was filmed in 2020 and JUST NOW BEING RELEASED and only on Paramount+ so we’re probably not gonna get more.  The first two episodes released just this week so, we’ll see how the rest of the season goes.  Mark’s character has his own subplot this season though so I’m excited for that.

Movies

TBH I don’t watch a lot of movies?  There’s too many shows to watch.  But I have watched these in the last 6 months...

Everything Everywhere All At Once - Everyone was talking about it so I wanted to experience it.  As amazing as everyone said.  I still think about it often. And get Absolutely Story of a Girl stuck in my head.

The Batman - Not a huge Batman fan, (like it’s FINE but whatever) but wanted to see Pattison’s take on it.  Thought the movie was a little too long, and I came away with no strong feelings other than Pattison and Dano were both very good, and was excited to see Izzy Hands and Irving from Severance in the movie :v

Star Trek The Motion Picture - I’ve seen this like a half dozen times, and am always amazed at how many reaction shots of the cast’s face they padded the film with.  Wanted to see the new enhanced visuals and cut.  At least what they were gazing at for 15 minutes of the film’s runtime looked great.  I need to finish rewatching the rest of the TOS movies.  I’ve been saying that since I finished my All-ST Rewatch in 2020.  SO I guess I didn’t actually FINISH that rewatch.  Hm.

The Lost City - I truly don’t know why I watched this movie but I had finished whatever show I had been watching and didn’t want to start a new one yet so I watched this for no reason.  Cast was good, movie was cheesy but also fun in a Romancing the Stone sort of way. Not great, but fun.  Daniel Radcliffe makes a great villain.

Suicide Squad - I’m... trying... to watch the DC movies.  I’ve only seen the two Wonder Woman movies, Batman vs.Superman and that first Superman movie, all when they came out.  I’ve heard the second one and the Peacemaker show are great though so I’m trying to shove my way through the rest to that.  Do I have to watch the Snyder cut?  Anyway, this was fine, but felt like it was trying way too hard to be cool. Was entertaining at least.

Podcasts

I haven’t been listening to a lot of podcasts lately, tbh.  Mostly I listen in the last hour before bed when I’m playing on my Switch and hanging out with Patchy. 

The Taskmaster Podcast and Taskmaster: The People's Podcast - Yep been listening to the companion podcasts to Taskmater, too.  The original TM podcast is hosted by Series 9 contestant Ed Gamble and it’s fantastic because he’s SUCH a fan of the show, and he’s a great interviewer.  It’s a recap podcast, of the current episode if a series is airing or past series when one’s not.

The People’s Podcast is hosted by S8 contestant Lou Saunders + a guy who’s a fan (and a writer) who keeps meticulous stats of the show.  Though there’s a bit of episode discussion it’s mostly a celebration of the fandom.  Episodes are a bit more hit or miss depending on who the fan-guest is, but it’s a good effort and usually still entertaining.  Especially loved them interviewing Norwegian Taskmaster Assistant Olli Wermskog <3

Hello From the Magic Tavern S4 + Patreon Bonus Content - I’ve been a fan of HFTMT since about episode 24 (When Craig Cackowski guest starred.)  Through the years sometimes I’ve kept up, sometimes I’ve fallen months behind, but I have listened to it all, including the spinoff podcasts and signed up for the pateron on day 1.  Still love these guys after all these years.  If you want to listen to three guys and guests worldbuild a silly magical world, here you go.  There’s like 400 episodes including spinoffs and Patreon content, you won’t run out any time soon.

The Delta Flyers - Technically as I’m a Pateron patron I watch the episodes online, not listen to them as a podcast.  This is Robert Duncan McNeil (Tom Paris) and Garrett Wang (Harry Kim’s) Voyager rewatch podcast, that they started as a pandemic project, and they’re now in season five.  I really enjoy their takes, even when I don’t agree with them, and there’s so much BTS content.  Also the bonus content includes really great interviews with the rest of the cast pretty often, guest stars, directors, writers, crew, producers etc etc.  I pledge at a mid-teir level now and don’t regret it at all.  I usually watch while working, and sometimes I get a few episodes behind.  And also sometimes I have to rewatch the Voyager episode before listening to the podcast episode.  But very worth it.  Going to miss this one when they’re done.

The “To Watch / Catch up On” list: Counterpart You're the Worst Miracle Workers Zoey's Extradordinary Playlist Pen15 Derry Girls In Treatment We Are Lady Parts Girls 5eva Squid Game Succession Reservation Dogs Evil I May Destroy You Love Life Shadow and Bone Yellowjackets New Girl Wheel of Time Lovecraft Country Atlanta Watchmen Tuca and Bertie Sharp Objects Devs Yellowstone Gaslit Abbot Elementary Shining Girls The Orville

Catchup: Cobra Kai Downton Abbey (last season or two + movies) Rutherford Falls S2

I am taking suggestions.

And then there are a bunch of upcoming shows or shows with seasons that aired in like 2021 that I haven’t mentioned here to watch like, the Lord of the Rings show, and S2 of Leverage: Redemption not currently on this list that I will watch as they come out.

No idea how someone with an actual life squeezes in more show time.  I’m still like 90% in quarantine still (thx immune system) so... at least I’ve got the time.

[wenellyb]

Some have said Sam was marginalized in TFATWS. He got a tv show with its plot focused on his journey, he’s getting a solo movie. Bucky fans are still waiting for Bucky to be more than a sidekick/plot device. It’s been a decade.

Hi Anon!!!

I don't know what you're trying to say to me, and I think that I'm about to give an unpopular opinion because I tend to agree with you, at least on the first part.

It's funny how perception works, and it's funny how people on Tumblr tend to forget it, but we will always have different views on the exact same scene, episode or movie, and it's not because I believe something about a character that it is true, because someone who has seen the exact same episode will have a different understanding of that character.

Here comes the unpopular opinion, I have never felt that Sam was marginalized at any point in the show. I didn't have any particular problem with how Sam was written and felt like we got to know so much about him, after spending years of having him as a side character.

I saw a lot of comments saying Sam was sidelined in his own show, and I could have not been more confused, because that's not what I saw.

I wrote a long post about it after episode 2, because a lot of people were saying the show was focusing a lot on Bucky, but that's just not true imo. It was the fandom focusing on Bucky, the show itself showed a lot of Sam's story too.

Then in episode 3, some people were saying that Sam wasn't in charge, and were wondering why Bucky was taking the lead on the mission.

We are talking about a mission to go on a crime infested island, to follow a criminal Bucky just helped escape from prison...Of course, Sam wouldn't take the lead on a mission like that, and I'm happy about it, he's Captain America, not a mercenary.

The way I see it, perception is everything, and a lot of people on Tumblr, me included, think that their perception of the show is objective, when it's just subjective.

It depends on your expectations and what you like in a show, on a lot of things really...

I also saw people complaining that Sam's character wasn't complex enough or was two-dimensional, and I have to wonder what kind of MCU movies they have been watching, because I personally feel like we got to know more about Sam than a lot of other Marvel superheroes in their first or second solo movie. Let's not forget that this is the first project where he is a main character, and that there is more to come. We can't really compare him to characters who have had 3 solo movies each.

I never felt like I was missing something when watching the show, but that doesn't mean that the people who did feel like something was missing are wrong.

I never felt like the focus wasn't enough on Sam. What I did feel was that, the fandom itself didn't focus enough on Sam, sometimes it was Bucky's tears, then Zemo little dance, but there weren't that much gifs or talks about Sam's moments, but they were there!

And also, I will say this carefully, I agree with a little bit of the second part of what you're saying about Bucky. But only a little bit because I love Bucky's character, and I feel like Bucky got focused on too during the show, he was the other title character too and we also got to see a little bit of his journey.

But in the last episode, I would personally say that Bucky's role was reduced to just being a love interest for Sam. And I'm surprised not more people complain about that, because when it's a female character, suddenly being the love interest is bad and they act like it was the worst thing in the world... But this is for another discussion.

What I mean by "Bucky was the love interest" is that, he came to help Sam, he stopped in the middle of a battle scene to look at Sam, during the speech he was looking at Sam.

And like other MCU love interests, he got some fighting scenes. We also saw him get a little taste of what it is like to be a hero and telling the truth to Yuri, but all of his other scenes revolved around Sam, even wrapping things up in New York so he could join Sam in Delacroix.

So, I can understand what you mean that the show focused more on Sam than on Bucky, because I myself tend to agree with that, at least for ep 6. But I don't fully agree because I think he was more than a sidekick or plot device, we got to know him too!

I really had no problem with the writing of the show, except Lemar's death, which really was a deal breaker for me, I think it was the worst writing choice they could have made. And when I say the worst, I mean the worst, it was absolute nonsense and very disgusting.

But for the rest of the show, especially ep 6, it all worked out for me. Because even the parts that were brushed ff, gave us more time to focus on the other parts of the story, Sam taking his full function as Captain America, there were so many iconic scenes and let's not forget Isaiah, that scene was just breath taking.

I also think that I react differently depending on the type of media, because for MCU movies, I have a tendency to focus on what I liked and forgive the mistakes, of weaknesses more easily.

Because they are MCU movies, not Independant movie dramas, I don'thave the same expecations.

TL:DR: I personally don't feel like the show didn't focus enough on Bucky or not enough on Sam, but I understand the people who do because it all depends on the people who are looking at it and their expectations.

[mikuni14]

Kinnporsche ep 9

Because THIS TIME I decided NOT to TRUST the promotional photo, THIS TIME it turned out to be real. Story of my life *sigh*

IT SEEMS to me - or more -  I HOPE, that this is all a plan made by Kinn and Porsche to get the information out of Tawan and Vegas who, being sure that Kinn and Porsche are "divorced" and fighting, will act bolder and say more than they would like. My assumption is based on: 1) there was no scene with Porsche confronting Kinn about his behavior towards Tawan, which would be logical after how they acted in ep 8, also Porsche is not a timid uke suffering in the corner and Kinn does not avoid “talking” 2) Kinn didn't confront Vegas at the pool, and recently in a similar scene he was threatening him with a gun and was very aggressive and now what, he just LEFT? Left his beloved with a guy who constantly makes a move on him? Um, no? Not Kinn? Not after their famous make up sex in the bathroom and not after ep 8? 3) Kinn asked his father to trust his decisions when discussing Porsche, 4) I think if Kinn felt REALLY betrayed by Porsche, then after their honeymoon shown in ep8, we would be dealing with a small nuclear blast at least. Same with Porsche, had he been rejected by Kinn after misunderstanding AGAIN, he would have reacted differently too (he literally had a breakdown last time, we had that beautifully-horrible scene in the bathroom, Porsche CRIED). I would just expect a bigger drama in such a situation, but there was practically nothing, 5) last time Kinn was betrayed, he shot that person, he and the rest of the mafia are shown killing the betrayers through the whole series, but now it’s just “lock him up”, coveniently next to Tawan, who immediatelly starts to show his true colors to Porsche? Vegas shows up? Hmmmmm... I've seen plots like this in movies and TV series when the two protagonists pretend to be fighting or pretend to be a prisoners to get information. Well, we'll see. I hope that's true, because after something like this it would be hard for me to imagine them restarting their relationship again. Besides, it would be the repetitive, fighting, reconciliation, fighting, reconciliation. How many times has it already been in this series? Is this how their relationship going to be? 

The best character of this episode was, of course, Tankhun, who didn't say a single stupid word. I am also a bit surprised by the indulgent treatment of Tawan to get information from him. After all, this is a mafia, it seems to me that the standard threat to health or life would bring much better and quicker results, but maybe I’m oldfashioned :D Literally two episodes ago Vegas got the information this way and now they’re being nice to another traitor?

Pete had an interesting reaction to Vegas, to his touch. Pete is clearly disturbed by Vegas, and yet he had a strange reaction after the ceremony ended. Also it was a first time I got something from Pete, something that is not his “regular guy” act, something that is... new :) There were some glimpses before, sure, but this time it was something more solid :D

Anyway, Kinn, Porsche and Vegas in this episode were just beautiful. Angry, tense Kinn is just so hot, Porsche “smiling” to cover his anger is so hot, Vegas and his side profile is just so hot. Ah! Forgot about Pete - when he is freaking out around Vegas - also hot. I guess my fav look is them looking angry and tense lol

[enchanted--realm]

When Calls the Heart Live Rambles

Season finale, s8 ep12 The Kiss

So this was such an awful finale. Everything leading to this moment made absolutely no sense. Before we get into the whole thing, let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start *sing like Julie Andrews*

Noooo, Henry is leaving!!! I kinda suspected this already, but I didn't want it to actually happen. Man, when Abigail left she really dragged everyone else with her: Cody and now Henry *le sigh*

Clara running to Jesse when he arrived was so sweet.

I wish Faith were leaving instead of Carson.

I absolutely love Rosemary and her newspaper business. And finally Elizabeth apologized. Goodness.

Now the triangle. I need to do this very calmly or else I will explode.

When Elizabeth spoke to Nathan saying she was just trying to replace Jack with him, that she loves him but isnt IN LOVE with him. Yo I just about fell out of my seat. I was so scared. That was the first time I ever doubted she wouldnt be with Nathan. But then the whole scene at the saloon between Nathan and Lucas made me think Lucas is still hesitant about Elizabeth's feelings, so maybe this love triangle isnt over yet.

Then when she opened that package where her book was and it read A Single Mother...that's when I was like. Oh my gosh she chooses no one. She chooses Baby Jack Jack and the 'the kiss' actually DOES refer to a kiss on the cheek. I thought my awful joke that I posted earlier was coming true. But then I suspected, okay, there's no way she's picking Lucas. If she doesn't feel in love with Nathan yet, then she will later in s9.

Then, the minutes kept passing by. Its 9:50pm and I'm thinking to myself 'wait a minute. Is this enough time to resolve things with Nathan?' And then I got really scared. More minutes passed and she hadn't broken things off for good with Lucas. I could only start to think that there is only time left in the episode for a conversation with Lucas and that's it.

When Elizabeth was at the school house and Robert brought little Jack with him. I was like, 'omg my theory is coming true. It is a kiss on the cheek to Jack Jack because she chooses him and to be a single mom,' then later she can choose Nathan without a love triangle plot.'

Next...

The last few minutes of the episode. She's looking for Lucas and looking very much in distress and I'm super confused at this point and also scared and slightly in denial. 'She can't be choosing Lucas?' And then I realize what the writers are doing. 'Ohmygosh she's choosing Lucas' and then I watch the rest of the episode in horror and I'm covering my eyes because I can't watch that kiss and then ew ew ew so MANY kisses yuck.

Elizabeth choosing Lucas doesn't make any sense storytelling wise, regardless of any bias I have towards Nathan. There was so much build up for Elizabeth and Nathan's relationship. A solid foundation had been built between them, something that a real relationship could grow from and become love. Whenever Lucas and Elizabeth had scenes it was so surface level. They had some connection through her writing career but even that wasnt very deep. Everything else in their relationship, the fancy dinners and romantic dates, that's really all they were. It was all just romance and the feelings of love without having any true depth of feeling. And not once did Lucas or Elizabeth ever mention the word love with each other.

And what about ep2 of this season when Nathan confessed his love to Elizabeth and she ran away because she was scared? It showed how she was running from her feelings and living in fear and when she ran away to pursue Lucas afterwards, it showed how Lucas was only a crutch for her and a comfortable relationship rather than something true and real. Because news flash, loving someone is actually being vulnerable and taking a leap of faith which she would have been doing if she were with Nathan, not with Lucas. She isn't taking any risk by opening her heart to Lucas. There isnt any vulnerability in their relationship on Elizabeth's part there.

And what about the Emerson quote, about doing what you're afraid to do. And what about Nathan's cringey parallel with Carson 'I'm not giving up', and what about Allie's feelings in all this and her wanting Elizabeth as a mother, and what about the ep with Ned and Florence's wedding when Elizabeth starts to take her own advice about not living in fear and that we can't let fear stop us from missing out on life's greatest joys? I'm sure there's lots more too that I'm missing here but that's what I could think of just at the top of my head.

Also, Nathan was saved that day he didnt go on the mission at Fort Clay. He was saved for a reason and now for what? For a Lucas ending? They totally filmed two versions of the ending and then decided last minute who she should end up. It actually makes sense too because when she first talks to Lucas, what? She's gonna confess her love to Lucas in the middle of a crowded cafe? As if! She was gonna break up with him there. She really was there just to see Minnie. They had the scene interrupted so that it could sort of make sense with whichever ending they wanted to decide upon later.

I'm so annoyed with the writers. They obviously did this for shock value. There are so many tv shows that do this but an audience doesnt watch a show for shock, they watch it for the story. Just bc something is shocking doesnt make it good storytelling. Shock value is only good when it makes sense upon looking back. This does not. A good story can usually be predicted by the audience actually. From what I've seen on social media, it seems that the majority of viewers wanted and predicted that Elizabeth would be with Nathan. This is for a reason. A good story sets up the relationship and gives clues and leads the viewer along to grand reveal later. It all makes sense to the audience. It's suppose to be a good story and an enjoyable ride for the audience. A show shouldnt be written as the season is happening, everything should be concluded or at least have a very clear ending to work towards. I hate how writers just decide to change things in an instant because then all the moments prior to the present episode make no sense and it was all for nothing.

This finale literally made me sick to my stomach. They did this story so dirty and I'm also upset that now, the actress who plays Allie, she probably won't be in the show much anymore which is a real shame because she was pretty good for a child actress and I just like to support the youth coming into their own.

I am not going to watch s9. Catch me fulfilling my heartie needs on fanficiton.net and also, I pray that we get leaked footage of this Elizabeth chooses Nathan ending that I am sure was filmed. Also the episode was called 'The Kiss' which is very vague and not specific to either relationship. Which is another hint to the writers leaving things open so they could make last minute decisions on who they wanted her to choose.

So disappointed. From what I see on twitter and everywhere else on the internet, this show will tank next season because no one will watch it. Lori Loughlin really said if I go down then the show goes down with me.

Jack died for this????

[charmedseoull]

Interview with sugamins about her work House of Cards (Ao3′s second most hit English work and most hit BTS work)

Before You Read the Interview

Archive of Our Own Transcript

Reddit Transcript Part 1 / Part 2

House of Cards is documented within the Top 50 Most Hit BTS Works on Archive of Our Own Project, otherwise known as T50BTS, by Charmedseoul. It is the second most hit English work on the Archive of Our Own platform, most hit BTS work, and 16th most hit work overall. It centers around the internationally popular K-Pop idol group BTS (Bangtan Sonyeondan) with the main characters being Park Jimin, Kim Taehyung, and Jeon Jungkook. This work is being documented for historical purposes for the Fanlore website with its own page. Charmedseoul is a BTS-focused anonymous historian who plans to eventually document each of the top 50 most hit BTS work on Ao3 as in depth as this one. If you are in contact with any of the authors of these works, please contact her on Twitter @charmedseoul or on Tumblr @charmedseoull.

Parts of this interview have been edited with links to Fanlore and Wikipedia pages for understanding. Any information in [brackets] serves for further clarity for readers and elaboration of information.

Disclaimers: This interview contains spoilers for the BTS Archive of Our Own work House of Cards. The story’s Archive of Our Own tags contain violence and gangster activity, along with discussion of prostitution and drug use. The full tag list is:

Alternate Universe - Gangsters

Gang Violence

Violence

Drugs

Drug Use

Explicit Sexual Content

Explicit Language

Blood and Gore

Blood and Torture

Gambling

Gunplay

Undercover

Disturbing Themes

Homophobic Language

Attempted Rape/Non-Con

Xenophobia

Dom/sub

Threesome - M/M/M

Drug Addiction

Dubious Consent

This interview discusses an 18+ mature work and Not Safe for Work topics. Please read this interview at your own discretion. You are responsible for the content you consume.

House of Cards by sugamins is a multi-chapter Archive of Our Own fanfiction that follows police officer Kim Taehyung’s undercover operation into the gangster world of Haedogje Pa. Jeon Jungkook, shrouded in an air of mystery and dubbed “The Boy,” is the heir to this crime empire. Park Jimin lives with him, acting as a lover of sorts in a high, pristine penthouse apartment. The story follows the three and their complicated relationship where sex, violence, and drugs surround them. Kim Taehyung tries to take down the empire as his moral lines of black and white begin blurring into gray. In this crime-ridden alternate reality to Seoul, everything from the structure of the gangster world to the trust between three lovers is as fragile as a house of cards.

Now presenting the interview with sugamins, author of Archive of Our Own’s second most hit English work and most hit BTS work, House of Cards:

How did you start writing?

How did you get into fanfiction?

How much writing experience did you have prior to House of Cards?

Do you have any literary or artistic inspirations? Any other authors or works that have inspired you to create anytime before or after House of Cards?

How did you become an ARMY [ARMY stands for Adorable Representative MC for the Youth. It is the fandom name for fans of BTS, otherwise known as Bangtan Sonyeondan]?

I started writing fanfiction in 2012. But before then, I used to enjoy writing stories as a child and young teenager. I used to write and illustrate my own stories. I even had a sketchbook filled with my own comic book, which was terrible! But I've always been creative. It started with art and then I moved onto writing when I discovered I was able to be much more creative with my words rather than my pencil.

I first got into fanfiction through my years spent on Tumblr. I had always known that it had existed, but I had never really gone looking for it because I hadn't belonged to a fandom at that point in my life. It was back in 2012 when I stumbled upon an EXO fanfic that a lot of people were talking about (Arbitrage, you can find it on Livejournal.) I read it and then thought...wow, so this is fanfiction! From that point, I started reading more and more, mostly Infinite fanfiction. And then I decided to start writing with the encouragement of an old online friend, and here I am!

In terms of writing experience, I have never formally received education. I stopped studying English Language and Literature when I was 16, instead focusing on Art, History, and Religious Education (purely because I wanted to learn about philosophy and quantum mechanics) for my final two years at high-school. The only experience I have is through writing fanfiction. I started back in 2012, and I've developed a lot since then. I started off small, writing horror short stories and little collections. Brotherhood was the first 'long fic' I created. I was shocked that it managed to get so big because I had never created a story of that size before. Writing helped me gain experience and figure out what worked and what didn't work, what I was good at writing, and where I was lacking and needed to learn. I don't think you can really experience an art form until you start doing it. You can learn all about the techniques and the conventions, but until you pick up a pen and start writing or drawing, you won't ever know what it means to create.

My literary inspiration has always been Stephen King. Which is funny, as he has described himself as 'having diarrhea of the typewriter.' I think that applies to me sometimes. I am a bit of a wordy writer, though I've started honing it down for certain stories. Sometimes, a story needs to be floral and descriptive, sometimes, it needs to be punchy and direct. So, King was my major inspiration, especially with horror. I also enjoy the works of Poe and Lovecraft (I acknowledge the problematic themes in the work of Lovercraft and seek not to praise him as a person. He was a terrible person for sure, but sadly, he had a way with cosmic horror that is hard to find.) I also enjoy Chuck Palahniuk and the dark, seedy and overall zany stories that he has created. I like his style a lot!

In terms of inspirations for House of Cards, I was obviously inspired by the films Infernal Affairs/The Departed. American Gangster and Training Day were also major inspirations (and also because I love Denzel Washington's performances in both films. I mean, who doesn't love him?) But I also drew inspiration from other sources that were less focused on gangs, more focused on the dark, nihilistic state of the world around us. I couldn't recommend the TV series True Detective hard enough. It is one of the best series I have ever watched. It handles dark and disturbing content so well, and its fractured, unreliable story-telling and philosophical musing is some of the best I've ever seen on screen. I highly recommend checking it out, but be sure to check the content warning and triggers because it certainly isn't suitable for younger audiences and those with triggers. In terms of real-life content, I think Ross Kemps' docu-series are very good. Particularly Extreme World and On Gangs. His docu-series show the dark and disturbing side of criminal activity, the drug trade and more. 

I became a fan of BTS [Bangtan Sonyeondan] back in 2013. I had already been a fan of K-Pop for some time by then, as I had started listening to various K-Pop and K-Rock artists back in 2009. I knew of their debut, but I had seen hundreds of new acts debut by the time that they broke into the scene, and so I didn't pay much heed. Someone I followed on Tumblr at the time kept posting about how much she loved them, especially Taehyung [BTS V/Kim Taehyung]. One day, I stumbled upon a gifset of Yoongi [BTS Suga/Min Yoongi] being sarcastic in one of their first interviews. I thought he was funny, so I decided to check them out. At the time, they had recently released We Are Bulletproof Pt. 2 [BTS’s second music video release with their debut album 2 Kool 4 Skool]. I followed them from that point, and their first comeback [A “comeback” refers to when a K-Pop idol group releases new music, usually done twice a year.] was also my first comeback. I liked their music [BTS released Boy In Luv and Just One Day in 2014, both music videos of songs from their Skool Luv Affair EP.], but I liked them even more as individuals. I loved watching their shows [Here is a link to BTS’s schedule during 2014 when they had their first comeback. You can find the shows and interviews they were on there.], even though they are incredibly embarrassing to look back on now. They just had so much energy and looked to be having so much fun that I was having fun just watching them. I was a fan, I liked a lot of their songs and followed their activities. But it wasn't until they released HYYH Part One [Hwa Yang Yeon Hwa Part 1 (Korean) = The Most Beautiful Moment in Life Pt. 1 (This is the title in English), released with the I Need U and Dope music videos.] that I really became a fan of their music. I had already created a couple of small horror stories for the fandom at that point. HYYH Part One [The Most Beautiful Moment in Life Pt. 1] inspired me so much that I created Brotherhood, my first 'long fic.' I joined AO3 [Archive of Our Own] and started posting there. I received so much support from fellow fans that I carried on writing, and the rest is history!

How has your experience being an ARMY [Adorable Representative MCs of the Youth, BTS’s global fan base name.] been? Did you ever leave the fandom then come back? How did you interact with others when you first got into the fandom and as you grew up?

How have you been since you wrote House of Cards? What have you been working on? 

Are you okay with talking about how old you are now and how old you were when you wrote House of Cards?

Before you even wrote House of Cards, what inspired it? Any TV shows? Music? Movies? Books? Ideas? It could be anything.

How did you start writing House of Cards? Did you finish the entire story then publish it or did you write it as you went? What was the writing process like?

Did you have any beta readers or editors? If you did, are you still in contact with them now? How did they feel about your work?

My experience being a fan has mostly been positive over the years. In the earlier days, back around when I first started writing for the fandom, it was certainly much more positive. I've received so much support over the years, not only in my writing but in my personal life from readers and fellow fans that being a fan of the boys [The members of BTS] really has changed my life. That's not an exaggeration. I doubt I would even be here now without those years having such a positive effect on my mental health. I've never really been the kind to interact with others and form cliques within the fandom, I just like being in my own space and interacting with everyone that comes my way, I guess?

These days, I'm not as active as a writer or in fandom spaces however. I feel like my time in the fandom has started to come up and I don't know how I feel about it just yet. I feel nostalgic for the time when I was first starting out in the fandom and I didn't really know much, but everything was fun. It doesn't feel so fun now, but I mostly contribute that to the effect that Twitter has had on shaping the fandom's growth. Twitter has never been a good place for creatives within fandoms because of issues with algorithms and such. Tumblr was always the better website for hosting artistic content for a variety of reasons. So, I think the fact that everything is on Twitter now has been partly responsible for my decline in engagement and overall enjoyment. I'm currently taking a break from Twitter. The next couple of months will be what makes me either stay or leave the fandom.

Since writing House of Cards, I've been an active writer in the fandom. Over the years, I've added quite a lot of stories to my AO3 accounts and various pseuds. My largest ongoing story is another gang story, set in the 1980s, called Valentino Summers. I actually started writing and publishing it on Ao3 just four or so months after I finished House of Cards—which is wild to think about. Finally finishing House of Cards seems like such a long time ago in my mind, and yet I'm still working on a story I created that same year! I like contributing horror stories to the fandom, especially in the Halloween period. I like publishing series in the month/upcoming weeks before Halloween—though I won't be doing so this year [2020].

When I started writing House of Cards, I would have just turned 22. It was inspired by the song 'Wires' by The Neighbourhood. I might be mistaken, but I believe that Jungkook [BTS Jungkook/Jeon Jungkook] posted a tweet with the song in it. [Jungkook did tweet about this song. Here is the English translation.] I had never heard of the band before, but my partner was a fan of their music. She sent the song to me and I was very interested in the lyrics, so I started discussing them with her. One thing led to the next, and then we had basically come up with the entire plot of the story. We just needed to create the characters. We spent a little while doing so, and then I started doing some research and started writing the story. There really isn't a grand backstory to House of Cards, it just happened so fast. We often come up with story ideas like that, and my partner is responsible for a huge amount of my stories. She has the creative visions, which I then turn into words. We make quite the team, haha~ The inspirations, I mentioned those in my previous answer regarding films and TV shows.

I published the story as I went, though I staggered the updates because I didn't want to post too frequently. I had the entire story planned out from the start——I didn't change a single aspect of the story no matter what I received in terms of feedback. I think a lot of readers assume that writers might tweak things if they sense the audience wants something to happen in terms of plot or relationships. Personally, I don't like doing that. I like sticking to my plans even if I know my vision might not be what the readers want. I think it's important for the story to be created the way I see it because my vision is what made me create it, if that makes sense.

The writing process was surprisingly smooth! You might not think it because the story is big and there are a lot of characters and plot threads to keep on top of, but it went smoothly for me. It flowed just as smoothly from start to finish as Brotherhood did. I never struggled once with writing the chapters, nor did I ever get stuck and wonder if I should change the content in order to make it easier to write. I'm surprised that I managed to complete it so easily because that's not the case with writing now! I tend to be a lot slower now, more deliberate and more open to changes in order to ease the process and the overall flow of the story. In a way, this change has been for the best. I do wonder what House of Cards would be like if I were to write it now, with my different approach to planning and writing. It would probably have a quicker flow, and the word count would either go down as a result of cuts, or go up because of additional scenes I would have likely included.

I didn't have any betas, which you can probably tell from the work. My stories are so big that I never wanted to put the burden of fixing them onto someone else. I know they are imperfect, oftentimes bloated things, but that's just what they are. I did try creating a story with another writer in the past, but it didn't go very well. She would often have conflicting opinions on things and would not have any leeway for anything I suggested, whereas I always had leeway to allow her to change things. Even to the point of completely changing the plot of the story that I had already started writing, and then allowing her to add graphic sexual content she didn't even want to be in the story. She actually stopped writing fanfiction randomly in the middle of us creating the story! She made a post about it being disgusting and nasty and then bowed out. I have no clue if she ever came back! So, my negative experience with attempting to work with someone else when creating a story kind of made me not want to have a beta. It's a wild story, I know!

House of Cards is praised for its realism and accuracy with weaponry, torture, sex, and violence. How did you research these things?

How did you come up with the gangster universe in House of Cards? How did you develop Haedogje Pa?

How did you name the original characters in House of Cards? Did any characters in particular take inspiration from existing characters in TV shows, anime, books, any type of media?

How did you decide on Vminkook as your main characters for the story? What do you see in their dynamic and them as characters?

Jimin is claimed to be one of the best written characters in the entire story. What was your thought process when characterizing him and developing him?

Taehyung is an especially dynamic character whose morals get tested time and time again in House of Cards. What was your thought process when characterizing him and developing him?

Jungkook is one of the characters that the readers spend the least amount of time getting a perspective from, but is incredibly well written in his character progression. What was your thought process when characterizing him and developing him?

When it came to various aspects in the story, I did do research. Most of it never really had an impact on the story itself. For example, I would be looking up gun models that are used by law enforcement agencies around the world and trying to find specs of them so I could learn how many bullets each gun held, or how much a magazine could hold. In action scenes, I didn't want my characters firing off 20+ bullets for a gun that—in reality—holds far less. That's a fact that doesn't really mean much to the average reader, but it meant something to me! I've always hated how many bullets fly through the air in action scenes in films and TV shows because I'm always wondering if it's possible with the firearms featured in the scene haha~ In terms of torture, I've come across the subject through various documentaries and TV shows about gangs, crime and serial killers. I didn't really do much additional research into the topic, beyond reading up on what I had come across to make sure it wasn't fictionalised for drama purposes. Obviously, there will be some lack of realism in my story because I couldn't possibly write a realistic portrayal of gang violence and torture when I have zero personal experience with it. My aim wasn't to give the story 'full' realism (I'll explain more about that in the next question) but to simply create a world that felt real, even if there were little aspects that had to be exaggerated for the sake of the story. Taehyung's behaviour when undercover certainly broke many procedures. The only thing working in his favour that allowed him to get away with it is that the crimes he committed couldn't be directly traced to him. But a real undercover agent would never do the things that he did on behalf of the gang. Basically, this means that the entire story is unrealistic! But of course, it wouldn't be very entertaining if Taehyung simply observed from the background and didn't dirty his hands. So, I had to bend and break the rules a little!

For the universe, I knew that I couldn't base it too much in reality. Because of basic Korean law, it would have been impossible for me to write the gang operating in the way they did in the story—especially with guns. Most Korean gangs tend to use other forms of violence and weapons in order to control their respective areas, rather than guns. My other story, Taste of Ink, has what I would consider a more realistic approach to gang activity—with the main weapons being knives, baseball bats, etc. and the main forms of violence being assault instead of flat-out murder. So, for the sake of allowing guns to appear in the story, I had to create a Neo-Seoul, so to speak. I took inspiration from Korean gangs, and mixed it with influences from other gang cultures in order to create 'Haedogje Pa.'

When it comes to naming original characters, I honestly don't put much thought into it. I like to use real names for inspiration. I often Google various Korean films I've watched and read the cast list in order to find interesting character and actor names. This is because I have a habit of reusing names sometimes. For example, readers of my stories might have come across a couple of Daesu and Goohee characters. Do you know where I got these names from? I picked Daesu from Oh Daesu - Choi Minsik's character in Oldboy. Goohee comes from the manhwa 'Let Dai' - he is the stubborn gang leader that actually has a good heart beneath his rough exterior. I ended up liking him the most by the end of the story, so his name is one that often comes to mind when I need to pick an original character name.

I never really consider real life dynamics when I'm writing because my stories are so detached from reality that it seems pointless including any inspiration from reality. I chose the three main characters simply because, at the time, they seemed to fit the character moulds the best. The other characters fit their respective characters so well (especially Namjoon [BTS RM/Kim Namjoon] and Yoongi) that I simply thought it was best to have Taehyung, Jimin [BTS Jimin/Park Jimin] and Jungkook as the three lead roles. I chose them more based on how I thought they could personally fit the characters, rather than focus on the dynamic. To use Taehyung as an example, I thought that he would fit the character of the informant in my story because in reality, he is intelligent and seemed like he would suit the role. For Jimin, I thought he would be a good choice for a character that some might think is vulnerable or even weak. He is actually very strong and the most important character for the plot progression. For Jungkook, I liked the thought of someone with such an innocent outer appearance hiding a dark secret.

I'm so glad that readers took to Jimin so positively on a whole. I know there are some that hated him, or that hated the fact I chose him for such a role (a 'negative' sex worker role). But Jimin is the most important character for the plot progression. It is through him that the entire plan finally culminates in the explosive finish. I wanted to treat him with care because I understood that his character could go very wrong if not handled correctly. It would have been easy for him to simply become nothing more than a sexual prop, should the story have focused too much on Taehyung and Jungkook as the key players. So, I decided to subvert it by giving Jimin the ultimate hand in the story and allowing him to have more control than Jungkook in the end. If Jimin had not decided to follow through with the plan, if he had decided to snitch or had simply refused to do his part in exposing the gang, the story would've ended drastically differently. But I also didn't want to write Jimin taking control of the entire situation at the end because it would've felt ingenuine. He is a character that has been deeply affected by a lifetime of trauma. I was worried that some might take my portrayal of his trauma the wrong way, and see him not as a character that has suffered immense mental damage but rather as an annoying, weak character that gets in the way of more 'interesting' dynamics. I'm sure there will be readers that think that. Mentally traumatized individuals are often seen in such negative light, be they fictional characters or real people. When writing his character, especially in the later scenes, I wanted to make sure the trauma he experienced would shape his behaviour. Writing the scene of him getting ready to leave, when he is taking his pills and he doesn't think he can do it, it was hard. It was hard getting into that headspace of feeling so powerless in the moment and knowing that freedom is in reach, but not knowing how to achieve it. He was a difficult character to write, but I think he turned out just right in the end.

Taehyung was probably the best character to write. I love characters that start off so morally upright and pristine, and by the end of the story, their backs are bending and close to breaking from the weight of their conscience and misdeeds. His character has many facets to him that made his perspectives so interesting to tackle. From his green days in the gang, where he is horrified by the violence he sees, to the changes in his psyche as he starts to become desensitized to it all. Fundamentally, Taehyung begins the story as a good man, a hero, but by the end, there is no black and white thinking. He has become grey, muddied from his time spent in the gang. Is he a hero for bringing them down? Would a hero do the things that he did in order to bring down the gang? He killed people. He tortured people. He threatened a man with a gun, a man he knew had a deepset fear of guns that would severely trigger him. I think it all depends on how the reader sees it. The hardest thing to write for his character was his troubled descent into the relationship between him, Jungkook and Jimin, and how it affects his thought processes and emotions. I didn't want House of Cards to be seen as a romantic story when I created it. If readers see it that way, they are more than entitled to their own interpretations. I cannot tell them how they can interpret my art, that is not my role as the creator. I don't know if I effectively portrayed the co-dependency between the three main characters as well as I would've liked. But I had never tackled such a story and themes before, and so it was all new to me.

I didn't know that Jungkook had the least perspective from the three main characters. Similarly, I never really put that much effort into creating and developing his character! Jungkook simply 'happened' in the moment. He would appear in the chapter, and then his character would basically take control of the scene. I never really knew what he was going to say or do beyond my rough plans for each scene. I just waited until he appeared and let the creative spirit flow through me. That's how he came to be! I've had that happen many times in the past with characters—they have a life of their own and I've no control over them. In my story, Brotherhood, Taehyung happened the same way. It was impossible to write his character in that story because he was so wild and free-spirited that it didn't feel right unless his behaviour was a total spur-of-the-moment reaction to the other characters and new plot points. But with Jungkook in House of Cards, I don't know why I didn't have him planned out like the others. It's interesting to think that he might've had a good progression when I never planned any of it in detail!

Were there any original characters you particularly liked writing or enjoyed?

When you wrote for the BTS hyung line, how did you determine their roles in the story and characterize each of them?

Is there a reason behind Namjoon saying “brother” or was it a consciously written character quirk?

When you handled more serious subject matter in House of Cards, how did you feel when writing it? Were you ever startled by your own work?

Was there any type of purposeful titling for the fanfiction chapters?

What was your reason for House of Cards’ open ending?

I liked writing Lim, the original informant that helped Taehyung join the gang. I like writing characters that come across as sleazy. In his case, the sleaze was all an act and wasn't true to his character; he was affecting it for the sake of creating a persona. But I enjoy writing absolute sleaze balls too—the kind of guys that have chest hair and wear gold chains and thick watches, who practically ooze oil. I just find them fun! Lim was a good teacher, even when he was rough around the edges. It was sad doing what I had to do to him for the sake of the plot. But I feel like Lim understood the game as well as everyone else, and so he knew he was running on borrowed time. 

Of course, I loved writing Bae Goohee too! He was an absolute bastard! I loved writing this figure that is spoken about throughout the story as a frightening man, one so brutal that the readers are already wary of him before he even appears in the story. I believe that Taehyung refers to him as a 'guard dog' at some point. I think Bae is the scariest character in the story for me because he is so ruthless and willing to do any order that the Jeon clan give to him. That kind of blind and unwavering devotion is frightening!

I also enjoyed writing Sungah and Jangmi. I think they're the only female characters in the story that have dialogue? Sungah has a great backstory that I unfortunately couldn't go into too much in the story, but it shaped her character a lot. I like how frank and intelligent she is—she holds her own even in a department filled with men that receive far more praise than she does simply because she is a woman. She also allowed me to add an angle about the unfair treatment of women in jobs that have power, drawing parallels with how Taehyung faces discrimination from his fellow officers when his sexuality is abruptly revealed during the investigation. As for Jangmi, I just liked writing about the wife of a mob boss! And not one that is simply a trophy wife, but actually has a lot of power and influence across the city. I wish I had been able to feature her more, alongside her husband, Jeon himself. But I like the scenes they appear in and I enjoyed writing them.

For the rest of the members, I had Namjoon and Hoseok [BTS J-Hope/Jung Hoseok]'s characters planned right from the start. I had also created plans for Yoongi and Seokjin [BTS Jin/Kim Seokjin], but I wasn't sure how much of a role they would play in the overall story. As I started writing them, I realised that Yoongi would play an important role in both Taehyung and Jimin's character development, and so he ended up featuring a lot more than I had expected. I planned their jobs and then let them influence how I would write them. Namjoon and Hoseok's characters came naturally. Yoongi's character completely took over his job role and basic description and became a really strong character that I'm proud of. Seokjin was a little trickier because he doesn't appear in too many scenes—but the scenes he does are integral to the plot. I needed to make sure that his character said everything he needed to in his limited scenes. He has quite the bombshell to drop after all! Seokjin was also tricky because I wanted him to have an air of mystery around him. I wanted him to be the kind of guy that not even Taehyung and his police connections would be able to unearth much about; a ghost in the system. I would've also liked for him to feature more in the story, but I feel like his character appeared in the essential scenes that the story needed. He was going to feature more in the planned sequel, being one of the first characters to appear alongside Yoongi. He was going to serve an important role, so I'm disappointed that I didn't get to show those scenes to readers.

With Namjoon, I wanted to portray him as a mature character, but not one that was conservative and stiff. I thought about having him say things like 'man' but that seemed too casual and didn't suit his character. 'Man' made him seem more like a surfer than a police officer. But when he said 'brother' in one of the scenes, I realised the word suited him better. It was fraternal, and it allowed him to show some affection towards the other characters without having to have physical contact with them. It's not the only Namjoon I've written that says 'brother' a lot. In Valentino Summers, Namjoon has experience with hippies in the neighbourhood that he lives in, so he also refers to other characters like Jimin as 'brother.' It just seems to suit him! I guess it's because I like creating Namjoon characters that are intelligent and mature, but still have a gentle and warm presence. I could picture him saying it in real life (I'm certain he already has!)

When writing serious subject matter, I'm surprised to admit that I was never shocked by what I was writing! I guess it's because I already knew that I was going to be handling dark themes. I wouldn't have tackled such subjects had I not felt comfortable doing so. Dark content isn't for everyone, and by that I don't simply mean consuming it. Creating it can be very difficult for some writers, and can even cause distress. It's not easy diving into a world that is filled with crime, pain and fear. It's even harder putting yourself into the shoes of a character that is suffering/has suffered. I was never writing in a desensitised state though. Far from it. I'm actually very sensitive to violence in reality. In fiction, it depends on the violence—but I'm usually not too affected by it. I've been a fan of horror since I was a child, and so I've seen a lot of nasty films filled with gore and 'shocking' deaths that never really had much of an effect on me. Unrealistic violence doesn't scare me. But when it comes to personal violence, that is always frightening to me. It's far scarier writing a scene where a character feels threatened by another character and doesn't know what is going to happen to them then, say, writing a scene of a character dying a bloody, ridiculous death in a horror story. Personal violence is much more realistic, therefore it is more unsettling to write. In House of Cards, the violence is very personal. It's in your face, it's inescapable for the characters that are involved in it. But at no point did I ever feel like I needed to stop writing because I was uncomfortable or scared by the content. If I had been uncomfortable, it would have been very reckless of me to continue writing the story.

My word of advice to fellow dark content writers: it's always important to recognise your own boundaries. There's nothing wrong with removing dark content from a story if you get a bad vibe or feel strange when writing/reviewing it. Always follow your gut instincts and never put out work that you don't like.

When writing stories, I vary between titling the chapters and leaving them blank. For House of Cards, I cannot remember the exact method for naming the chapters. Sometimes, the title comes to me when I am writing the plans and I have an idea that just suits the mood of the chapter. Other times, I have finished the entire chapter and I have to spend some time reviewing the content to decide that the title will be. In some cases, I have finished most of a whole story and I'm still not certain what to title it! I feel like with House of Cards, the titles came after the chapters were finished, or at least when they were works-in-progress.

There are some titles that really stand out to me. 'Nice Teeth' for example, is a really ridiculous title. Going into the chapter, I don't think many readers would've imagined what it could mean. 'Submachine Sodomy' is even funnier. I really can't believe I chose that as a title! I'll bet a lot of readers saw it and thought, "Oh no! Not another gunplay scene!" Luckily for them, it wasn't a reference to Jungkook's predilection for firearms in bed.

In terms of chapter titles that I really like: 'Delusions of Grandeur,' 'I Own This Fucking City,' 'Sleeping Dogs Bite' and 'Carpe-fucking-Diem.' I just feel like these titles are very well suited to the contents of the chapters. They are the kind of titles that have bite to them, that hint at action or an important plot point.

As for the open ending, there are a couple of reasons. First of all, I had planned to continue the story in a sequel that would pick up after the events of House of Cards, roughly a year on after the investigation. However, I did not pursue this sequel. I wanted House of Cards to end on an open note for the sequel to continue the story. When it comes to certain stories, I just feel that closed endings aren't always necessary. I often enjoy stories with open endings. With House of Cards, it didn't seem right just closing the book and saying it was over. There was still so much that needed to be explored. Unfortunately, I decided to not continue it. But I still think that House of Cards' ending fits the story.

Were there any scenes or moments or lines in House of Cards that you were particularly proud of or want to highlight?

If you were to write the Yoomin sequel to House of Cards, how would’ve that looked like?

How were readers’ reactions to your work in the beginning?

Did any reader comments stick with you in particular?

How did you take the criticisms and hatred towards House of Cards for its serious subject matter? When did those types of comments start appearing? Also, where did the hatred come from? Twitter? Tumblr? Ao3 comments? Did people harass you at all or hurt you? How did you heal from that?

House of Cards has a lot of scenes. I'm proud of most of them and I think I did the best I could when writing them. I do not really like the sex scenes, but that is because I wanted to write them in a dirty, sleazy way. If I could, I would change them. I like the action scenes, especially the Gold Monkey Casino and police raid scenes. Action scenes are hard to write! Fight scenes in particular are so tricky. I often sit there, choreographing the fights so I can describe them! I loved writing Yoongi's introduction to the story, when he walks into the scene wearing nothing but his underpants.

One scene that I really liked writing is the scene where Namjoon and Hoseok investigate the USB stick that Taehyung sends to them. I personally love Namjoon and Hoseok's characters. I always enjoyed writing them. In this scene, I liked getting to write them in a setting that was not the police department office. A scene where they got to relax and banter with each other, even though they were still working. They discover a horrifying crime ring in the city, but they are left with no choice but to keep it secret because they do not want to risk blowing Taehyung's cover. I do not know why I really like this scene, I just do.

In the sequel, which focused primarily on Jimin and Yoongi, the plans were to have them reunite through Seokjin—who has avoided jail time through a plea deal with the SMPA. They undergo a healing process together as they try to come to terms with what happened to them. Yoongi has a lot of unhealed trauma from his childhood, much like Jimin, which I only got to briefly touch upon in House of Cards. They grow closer from bonding over their traumatic experiences, and they become happier and healthier as a result. Taehyung and Seokjin were also going to be main characters, with Jungkook, Namjoon and Hoseok making supporting appearances over the duration of the story. It was going to be drastically different from House of Cards because it would be lacking in action and violence. It would have been much more intimate, with much more scenes of characters talking and discovering things about one another.

I cannot remember early reactions to the story, I just know they were positive. There was a lot of positive support from the start. As I updated and started to get more and more into the story, I received a lot of support on tumblr too. I started posting chapter previews there, as I used to get asks [On Tumblr, users are able to ask bloggers questions through an “Ask” function. This can be done anonymously or with their own blog username associated with the question.] requesting them. I got A LOT of asks on my original Tumblr from readers that wanted to discuss the characters and certain scenes. It was really interesting seeing just how much the readers were interested in the story, so much so that they wanted to learn even more about the characters and the universe I had created.

Through House of Cards, I have received comments and messages from readers that had addictions. They told me about how they recognised their own behaviors through Taehyung, and this helped them realise what was happening to them. Those comments stuck with me for obvious reasons. I have family members with addiction issues, and knowing that I could help some stranger I have never met before come to terms with their own addictive behaviours had a massive impact on me. Funnily enough, a negative comment stuck with me. It was not a bad comment, by no means meant to cause offence. It was a comment that was left on the story when I was posting the early chapters. I recall the reader asking when the story was going to pick up the pace because it was too slow. It stuck with me because, at this point in the story, Taehyung had already trained to become an undercover agent, had enrolled in the gang, had met and interacted with Jungkook, and had murdered a man. I was surprised that this amount of development had been seen as 'slow' by a reader, as I had thought the plot had been moving very fast.

I never really had any hate posted on the story when I was updating it. I got angry reactions when I had finished it. Because the story had not ended the way some readers had wanted, I think that was what caused the negative reactions. On my original Tumblr, I even got an ask about how an anon reader was going to write their own ending because my one was bad. I told them that I did not want them to take my story and change it like that. I have no idea if they ever posted the ending anywhere. The angry reactions were mostly from shippers, who were upset with the story not ending the way they had wanted. To them, I ask: what were you expecting from the story? I thought it was always obvious that Taehyung was going to do what he had set out to do from the start, so I do not think I misled readers at all. It was a story about an undercover agent taking down a gang—and that is what I wrote.

I know there was some animosity towards me on Twitter too. Twitter is a whirlpool of negativity, I am not surprised. Writing House of Cards made me appear problematic. My partner used to follow an author a long time back, who tweeted about me being problematic—despite having never interacted with me or admittedly read my stories. It was shocking to me that people were making assumptions of who I was as a person based on a story I created. I have never created stories with the aims of hurting or upsetting others. I am a very quiet and private person, and I hate the idea of hurting others. It was strange to me that people could assume me to be this cruel or even dangerous individual, intent on hurting others, because I created a fictional story. Do they think the same of script writers for television shows? Or film directors, who create films with dark subject matter? Do they think published authors are problematic people for writing dark and disturbing content? Do they think certain genres should not exist because they do not personally like them?

I do think it is strange that fan fiction writers are placed on these ridiculously high pedestals of moral absolutism. Fan fiction was created to be a space for creative outlet for marginalised individuals, particularly queer individuals. The heavy censorship of dark and unusual content is putting this entire ethos at danger. I understand not wanting to have certain topics included in stories because there is a risk that the content can be used for grooming or can be presented in a way that can negatively affect young consumers' perceptions (like pedophilia for example.) I certainly agree that there needs to be boundaries in place to stop the community from being flooded with such illegal content. But I think there is a difference between wanting to remove dangerous content, and wanting to get rid of content you do not like. Content can be problematic to you, but that does not make it dangerous, illegal, or bad. For some readers, the content they create is their way of dealing with trauma. Maybe this is not healthy for them. But that is their decision to make, not yours.

I orphaned the story because I did not want to handle the potential backlash. To put it simply, I do not handle negative criticism well. Not because I am stuck-up and think I am perfect, but because I am a very anxious person. Just reading angry comments makes me feel very uncomfortable, often nauseous. I know that House of Cards has received overwhelmingly positive feedback from readers, and for that I am thankful. But I had to distance myself for the sake of my own mental health. Since orphaning it, it exploded in popularity. I am thankful that I orphaned it because that amount of attention would frighten me a lot, haha~

What was your reaction to the fanfiction trailer by Sappiamur?

How did you come to the decision to reveal your real name in the end note of House of Cards?

How did you feel when you finished House of Cards?

How did you come to the decision to orphan House of Cards?

Did you ever anticipate the overwhelming fan reaction to House of Cards?

How do you feel knowing that House of Cards is one of the most read fanfictions on Ao3?

What do you want House of Cards to be remembered for?

What do you hope people take away from House of Cards?

Why do you think House of Cards became so popular?

I had to go back and watch it. It's been some time since I last have, and I'm still as amazed by it now as I was back then. The trailer is insane. I cannot imagine how much work went into making it. It's so good and it fits the vibes of the story to perfection. I think the first time I watched it, I was in shock. I must have repeated it at least 10 times in a row, just to make sure it was real and I wasn't imagining it. Then I think I screamed about it on my social media accounts, haha~ If you reading this have not watched the trailer, consider doing so. I promise you won't be disappointed.

Back when I first started posting fanfics, I used to get a lot of asks wanting to know my name, my pronouns, stuff like that. I thought by adding my name at the end of the stories, it would help cut down on these requests. But I also did so because I used to get a lot of asks referring to me as 'author-nim' and I didn't like being addressed by this honorific. I'm not Korean so I have no right to receive that honorific. So, I included my real name so readers could address me with it when sending me asks and interacting with me. I don't add my name at the end of my stories now, but my name is in my Twitter bio for those that want to know.

When I finished it, I felt relieved! I was so calm in the moment! Looking back on it, I can't remember much. But I do remember finishing House of Cards without any issues. The final chapters flowed smoothly, it all clicked into place, and I had a great time writing them.

I came to the decision to orphan the story after several nights of contemplation. I was considering deleting the story, along with a few others, but my partner and some friends told me I shouldn't do so. They suggested orphaning it instead. So, I did so. I didn't want to delete it in case readers that had started it had not gotten to finish it yet. I would've felt very mean robbing them of the opportunity to finish the story like that. I don't regret orphaning it instead of deleting it. I didn't want to destroy the story, I just needed some distance between me and the story.

I didn't anticipate it, and I still don't understand it! I'm shocked that House of Cards got the reaction that it received. Do I think it's a good story? Yes, I think that I worked hard to create a story that is enjoyable to read. But did I ever think it would get the reaction it did? Not in a million years! I thought that it would be one of my more popular stories because a) the pairings and b) the content. Gang stories usually tend to get a lot of attention because it's a popular genre in fanfiction. I just didn't expect it to reach such a vast amount of hits, kudos and comments.

I'm in shock that it is one of the most read stories on AO3. I don't think I will ever be able to create another story that will garner that kind of attention and feedback. It's a once in a lifetime thing, so I'm immensely proud of myself for achieving such a feat. But really, it's all because of the readers that it achieved such a goal. I'm so thankful for every single one of them.

I just want it to be remembered for being enjoyable, I think. I don't have any grand and lofty ambitions for the story. I think so long as the readers enjoyed it, that is all that matters.

I'm not sure what I would like readers to take away from House of Cards. I guess I want them to reflect on the idea of morality and that not everything is black-and-white. Good people can do bad things, and bad things can happen to good people. It's hard to answer this question because House of Cards isn't a story that I consider to have deep messages in it? There are no messages about acceptance and love and healthy relationships and such, like some of my other stories.

Honestly? I don't know what made it get so popular. I assume it's because of the pairings or the setting of the story. I know that a lot of readers say they love the story because of how well it's written, but I can't comment on that as the creator, haha~ I can't say my story is well-written as I'm not consuming it from an outside perspective. What I can say is that I do think I created a story that has a lot of twists and turns and betrayals, which I think adds to the enjoyment factor.

How are you now in 2020? Are you writing professionally in real life at all? 

How do you feel BTS fanfiction has changed over time? Since you’ve been writing for it for so long. 

Do you have any messages for people who may read this interview in the future?

I'm not writing professionally. I have self-published two books via Amazon and Lulu. One was a basic re-branding of my story babes in the woods. The other was a total rewrite of Brotherhood, which I called 'Brothers,' featuring a whole new setting and roster of characters. I published them as readers showed an interest in reading original stories. I have been considering rewriting House of Cards as an original work in the future, but I can't say for certain that I will do so.

Since I started writing, I think there's been a lot of changes in the fandom—not only in fanfiction but in general. There's been popular trends that have come and gone (I was around for the explosion of social media and text-based AUs, which I personally am not a fan of) but there's also been a lot of push for more inclusive content. I'm really happy by the amount of inclusive content that I see these days. Despite some pushback from non-queer fans that sometimes have an issue with queer subject matter (for example, trans characters) I think it's wonderful that artists of all colours, genders and sexualities are now proudly creating content they want to see, and not simply just what is 'in demand' from the fandom.

The message that I would like to share with readers of this interview is: stay healthy, stay happy, and most importantly, stay you. I also want to take this moment to tell them this - if you are considering becoming a creator, but you are worried about reception to your work, or that it might not be good enough, stop right now! Stop doubting yourself and just give it a shot! I was once like you, scared that my weird and niche interests and writing would be ignored or even mocked by the fandom because no one would like it. Had I not decided to take the plunge, my life would be so drastically different. I've made so many friends, fallen in love, and completely changed my life by creating fan content. It can be scary, but once you take the leap, you will find your feet coming down on solid earth without any danger.

Thank you for reading this interview. Further below are reminders and information about this interview and Charmseoul’s Fanlore project.

sugamins is still writing on her sugamins Archive of Our Own account today if you are looking for her works. Charmedseoul will not be sharing the author’s social media or contact information.

This interview is a part of the Top 50 Most Hit BTS Archive of our Own Works Project by Charmedseoul. The project documents the works and authors of the top 50 most hit BTS works on Archive of Our Own. All work for this project is done through Fanlore, which is run by the Organization of Transformative Works. However, Charmedseoul herself is not associated with Fanlore or OTW directly. All information documented through this project is done with full transparency.

Authors, works, and fandom culture must be documented for the future. Unauthorized and malicious editing of Fanlore pages will result in a termination of account. Charmedseoul and Fanlore itself protects fandom history’s participants and works. Personal opinion on authors and works may be posted on social media, but may only be quoted and paraphrased on Fanlore.

This interview was conducted through email from September 23, 2020 to October 25th, 2020 with sugamins’ consent and protections under Fanlore’s Identity Protection policies. Unauthorized reposting of this interview is forbidden. Quotation and screenshot share of this interview is allowed.

If you would like to authorize a repost please contact @charmedseoul on Twitter or @charmedseoull on Tumblr. Linking and sharing is appreciated. Translation and unauthorized repost of this interview is forbidden.

Thank you for reading. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask and I will do my best to answer them.

Charmed Seoul. Fandom Historian based on Fanlore.com. Twitter. Tumblr.

[lizacstuff]

Liza that 3rd fragman 👀 "if I was born a 100 times I'd fall in love with you everytime" Eda saying this is their last obstacle and nothing can separate them, serkan's "I'll be right back, close your eyes I'm here" If this isn't all a red flag for shits about to hit the fan then I don't know what is LOL (but also how cute to Edser look and them telling each other they love each other very much 😭😭😭)

That fragman is both the SWEETEST and the MOST OMINOUS thing I’ve ever seen. ALL AT ONCE.  

Friends... we’re gonna go through some things.  That being said, everything is going to be great. These writers have been solid so far, and I have faith they have come up with something really interesting to increase the longevity of this show. And I don’t know about you, but I’m prepared to go through some things if it means keeping Eda and Serkan for longer.  (I heart them)

This show is about Eda and Serkan and their love story, at it’s core it’s a comedy, it will all lead to happy things, but... yeah, buckle up! 

I have a lot of asks both about the fragman and last ep, so I’m going to answer a bunch under the cut. 

Anonymous said: The fandom theories about episode 28 have gotten so wild that I literally think the most shocking thing would be if they actually got married and were not separated (emotionally or physically). What if the earlier painful episodes were to make us believe that things couldn't possibly go right in 28 and it's a reverse psychology trick?

You could be right!  I like your thinking. I checked on twitter and I had to back away slowly. The juvenile temper tantrums were too much for me today.  

Look, I think it’s clear something big is coming. It has to, there has to be something that shakes up the show. Some of the theories are more upsetting and catastrophic than others, but the writers won’t do anything that dings either character or their love for one another.  Whatever happens will showcase the connection between these two and the chemistry between the actors, that’s the point of everything, and anything that does those things is gonna be a-okay with me. 

@jan31​ Hi Liza. Do you think we are going to see the wedding in 28 or they will leave it on a cliffhanger for next week. Lots of theories going round mainly cos of Neslihan saying new dimensions coming in episode 29, which could just mean married life etc. I have seen suggestions of memory loss, it's all a dream since episode one. I would personally love Eda to wake up like in episode one but for it to be a total turn around and she is the boss and Serkan the employee. Eda being robot yildiz appeals to me!!! I know it will never happen but leave me here with my dreams!!

I started the day at 90% sure they’ll be married in 28/29, but now I’m down to like 30% that they’ll get married in these episodes. I really, really want them to get married before whatever happens happens, because every scenario I can think of for this reset or starting again, seems like it would be better if they were married.  

However, the shooting spoilers from today, make me question that. Namely the videos where Hande appears to still be wearing the ring on her right hand. We shall see, that could be for many reasons. 

Honestly, though, I wouldn’t hate a memory loss storyline. Seeing one of them (and Serkan’s line in the trailer makes it seem like it might be him) lose their memory and have to fall in love all over again? There are worse fates for a shipper than getting to experience that all again but in a different way.  

Anonymous said: Your response to the fandom drama anon was so good, it's exactly how I feel. While I don't know what the old posts that were like are (that's shady as fuck) I did see all the other drama go down and wow. The actresses def need to stay in their lane and some of the fans, hoooo boy, it's obvious they're young based off their reactions alone. Had to unfollow some people once I realized what they were like. Also some of the IRL shipping reminded me of col*fer stuff, reading into everything and blowing it out of proportion (which then gets picked up by paps....). But you're right in that at least the show related drama is tame compared to OUAT. But still, people being too careless even while they know the paps see everything and harass Kerem and hande (omg did you see the video of hande the other day stopped in the van and she looked so overwhelmed 😔)

You’re referencing this post here about yesterday’s drama. 

Today Neslihan made it worse by addressing everything and claiming she didn’t like all those Hande-bashing posts because... wait for it... she was HACKED. Oy. Hackers got in and went back two years to like gross posts about Hande? Sure, Jan. While I don’t believe that for a second, I guess that at least gives her cover with Hande so they can all pretend it’s true and move on so it’s not awkward on set.  But, yikes, she needs to consult a publicist, she took a narrative that was circulating in certain circles in fandom and made sure all her followers were aware. Not very savvy. 

As for the paps coming after Hande, yes I did see her in the car, she did look overwhelmed. Back off vultures!!! That’s why I think Kerem sometimes throws himself to the wolves so that doesn’t happen. She always handles them like a pro, but you can tell she’d rather be anywhere else on earth than talking to them. 

The pap stuff is worse than I’ve seen before, they’re like vultures circling for any conjecture (sometimes made up out of thin air) they can turn into a question and blame fans. OUAT actors dealt with nothing like this. Also I can’t believe they never ask about the show. Like after last week? They could legit ask about the sex scene which probably would have given them some angle on the actors that they wanted, (especially since it was too hot for Turkish TV) but they let that pass them by, and instead asked the same questions about being together that they never answer. Dumbasses. They are not only awful people, they are awful at their jobs. 

In Van, the paps pay off crew members for info, they always know more than fans. Also I don’t remember stars of my shows getting this level of tabloid attention before. Except for on Riverdale, Lili and Cole generated that level of interest, and while I didn’t pay terribly close attention to them, I feel like they rarely talked to the paps, were just photographed. Also I don’t suspected the CW of calling the paps on them, but I suspect either the network or production company of sometimes calling them on Hande and Kerem. 

Anonymous said: Do you think it’s weird that they didn’t touch the kidnapping at all in either trailer? They might not have filmed it in time for the 1st one but certainly the 2nd. And I’m definitely not complaining about the ones we got because its like a fairytale but the kidnapping was the cliffhanger...? 🧐 I think they should’ve just left the princes storyline at “he went back to his country” but then they didn’t so......

If they’d left his story at just going back to his country, then the Prince really wouldn’t have served his purpose. He was brought on to cause some sort of trouble, so they probably need him to cause the trouble before he goes, lets hope it ends with this kidnapping!

And to answer your question, yes, I do think it’s weird that neither trailer touched on it. On any other show I’d think it was a huge red flag, but on this show maybe not as much because  a) there’s obviously a lot of romance in this episode, it’s not crazy that they are focusing on that to draw people in with the promos  b) this show likes to do cliffhangers that end up being no big deal, that happens a lot.  

Who knows it could turn out to be a big deal that shapes the rest of the episode in some unexpected way (Eda’s captured the whole episode and she’s dreaming about wedding prep, or... who knows) but I think it’s more likely that they resolve in the first 5-10 minutes and then move on.  Since we know from the summary (not that I trust those) that Serkan goes on the bachelor weekend, it feels like the Prince is taken care of prior to that. I don’t think he’d leave her alone for a second if there was a chance the Prince was still a threat. Perhaps Babaanne is pissed he tried to kidnap Eda and tells them she’ll handle it herself???

Anonymous said: Semiha not being in the promo is highkey suspicious. The actress is promoting the episode lol. She's about to Evil Queen this wedding ceremony but you know what, I'm fine with whatever she has planned if they end up married at the end of the day. What's funny is that since a lot of fans these days will assume that there will be shocking negative plot twists, not actually having one here would be a plot twist so I hope the writers keep them together for whatever's next haha

You’re not wrong, at this point, having this wedding take place would be a shocking twist for all of us!  As for Semiha... hmmm... it will be interesting to see what her reaction is to Eda being kidnapped by her pick of suitor. Serkan Bolat might be the son of the man indirectly responsible for her parents death, but he would never hurt her. Take note, Grandbag!  

Anonymous said: Do you mind sharing your speculative scenarios?

After the trailer today, I don’t know if I can even remember some of them. 

Memory loss

Grandma forces Serkan to choose between Eda and his company/wealth,  he chooses Eda and they start over from scratch with nothing

Time jump

AU starting over, showing a different path they might have taken together

Dream

These actors playing different characters in a new story

I don’t think the last three are likely, but they did spring to mind after some of Neslihan’s teases. 

Anonymous said: So this show doesn't get like fantastic ratings (it actually seems to be on the lower end compared to all other dizis airing) but the social media engagement is off the charts. Why is that?!? Is the show just extraordinarily popular internationally? or that this is a "shipping" show? I'm floored by the numbers - its like no other show/fandom is even trying

The ratings were terrific during the summer. But to your point, it has a huge fandom both in Turkey and internationally, but it’s worth noting that most of those charts you see where it beats every other show in every imaginable social metric is just for Turkey.  

It’s one of those lightning in a bottle situations where you get the right property and the right actors together at the right time and magic happens.  And, for sure, the number one reason is the shipping. Shipping drives fandom engagement, and a fantastic ship with a juicy, fun, tropey love story is what this show offers. It also offers up two extremely attractive, talented, likeable leads with off-the-charts chemistry (plus the added speculation about an off-camera relationship that has intrigued more than a few fans, tabloids and gossip sites and fueled interest) who have done a good job of building the fanbase through their social media engagement. Plus the timing is part of it as well. I don’t know about you, but this show hit the spot during this pandemic and the horror of 2020. We all needed this escape. 

Anonymous said:Do you think something happened in the writers room after the backlash of 25 and fan disappointment after Ayse's announcement? I feel like a switch flipped and now we're in fanficland with how much good content we've gotten in these last two episodes. Like I thought maybe they should wrap up the series soon before the characters got completely off the tracks but they may be finding their groove now and I'm interested to see what their next twist is after they can write out Balca/Seymen.

I don’t know about a switch flip, this show has been fanfic land since the first episode!  The tropes! That is how I described it to multiple people when I first started watching: an AU fanfic come to life.

As for the writing changes, no, I don’t think backlash after 25 affected 26 or 27, because 26 was already 90% shot, and 27 already written. However, I assume they themselves could tell that 25 got just too dark and had strayed pretty far from the DNA of the series. While I didn’t think it was bad, it was not fun to watch and this show ought to be fun to watch. 

Let’s hope, however, that the backlash affects future episodes in that they know what works... and what doesn’t.  The last two episodes definitely felt reminiscent of the first batch of episodes. Light, funny, romantic. If they can keep that tone... I’ll be thrilled.

Anonymous said: i didn't realize how much i missed "together" edser until watching 27.. it's been so long since they were "officially" together and we also had such few episodes of it.. ppl have been comparing it to 12 and while in some ways i agree, edser are always so different here than they were there. 12 was them navigating their new relationship.. they were more shy and finding their footing.. here they are very much established, as they should be after knowing their love for so long in comparison to 12!

Yes, it was lovely. You know I’ve preached a lot about how even though Eda and Serkan were broken up, they’ve still been together all this time. And it’s true, but there is something about them truly being together that is magical. We never got enough of that the first time around (a writing mistake in my opinion) and they’re so good together it’s lovely to watch. 

Anonymous said: Serkan not asking for help from Balca when asking his team for help with the marriage gifts preparations and refusing her offer of help when she asked made me so happy. Good job Serkan! He's learning! She's not trustworthy!

Yes, that was a good moment. And he was eyeing her very warily when she offered. The thing I don’t understand is how has no one caught on that she’s working with Babaanne? That entire office is filled with nosy people, has no one remarked on the number of times Balca has gone up to the office or they’ve disappeared for lunch at the same time? Come on Leyla! Come on Melo! Notice these things!  

Anonymous said: Fingers crossed that we finally make progress towards getting rid of Seiman & Balca now that all the girls were drugged and Eda was put in the car in the last episode. Unless Seiman has a change of heart and takes Eda back inside before anyone wakes & the guys get there then the show has to address it. Although I do not think Balca is going to back down unless Serkan straight up tells her he has zero interest in her and never will. Totally fine if that happens in the next episode.

Will Balca backdown even if she’s humiliated like that? She’s so delusional I’m not sure. What I am sure is that she’s dangerous. This came in before we saw the other two fragmans that have no mention of the kidnapping. Hard to picture how that is so easily resolved. Unless she frees herself (which seems unlikely in her groggy state) or maybe Melo’s future boyfriend is able to stop it before they get far?  Or I don’t know. I just know that I want to see Serkan lose his mind and all the other characters see Serkan lose his mind and then I want it to be over. LOL.

Anonymous said: As much as I am loving everything Edser, I cannot wait for Seiman, Balca and Grandma to be gone. And I am even more annoyed to think that the show might try to redeem all 3 characters. All 3 of them are truly awful people and no need to waste air time trying to make the audience think any different. Just my opinion...🤷🏻‍♀️. Show please finally expose those 3 for the psychos they are and get rid of them.

Bye bitches!  I don’t think there’s any redemption for Balca and Seiman. They both have poisoned/dosed people, hard to come back from that.  And there is no need to redeem them because neither is compelling enough to be a long-term character. But maybe Granny, we probably will see a redemption arc for her. 

Anonymous said: i know you were worried a few weeks ago that with ayse leaving as writer, we probably wouldn't have the same sort of comedy as previous episodes... but istg the whole kiz isteme scene, especially with chef alex, had me almost crying with laughter. especially when serkan off the cuff just goes "well if that's an option..." to everyone misunderstanding alex "wanting" ayfer for 2 nights and then eda ready to beat him with the flowers he bought her... comedic gold lmao.

SO GOOD! I was thrilled to see that sort of comedy, the sort of comedy we’d come to expect, from these writers. I think it bodes very well indeed!  

That scene was amazing. I know Neslihan said that much of it was improvised. Probably that line from Serkan (since Serkan is SO out-of-his-mind in love I’m not sure he could even joke about having Eda only two nights a week! LOL) was improv from Kerem, and Aydan asking about the other nights, and Seyfi bringing up the weekend. And Eda’s very Hande-esque “Ser-KAN.” 

I just love rewatching that scene and checking out everyone who is breaking character and just losing it. Cagri most of all. He’s blurred aback there but you can see Ferit spends the whole time laughing or trying to stifle a laugh. Reminds me of Cagri in the scene in 18 when they’re watching the security footage he was losing it in that scene as well. 

Anonymous said: i'm scared - I think they are really about to give us all of these happy EdSer scenes only to have something happen RIGHT before the wedding ceremony due to Babaanne. Based on the last episode, I don't think there's any chance of a breakup (knock on wood) but what if Serkan gets arrested, goes to jail for 2 years, and we get a time jump?

This was sent before the last two teasers, so yes I think something is gonna happen. We shall see!  I don’t really think Serkan going to jail for 2 years is in the cards, at least I hope not!  Besides if Babaanne did that she would have no hopes of ever reconciling with Eda, so that seems unlikely she’d follow through and leave him there for so long a time. 

Anonymous said: With the last week's sex scene, they did a lot of fade outs but the scene was basically still there so it wasn't much wasted effort for the actors. But for what they're teasing in episode 28 - idk how they can get away with showing them in the shower at all if Serkan lifting Eda with her clothes on had required blurring? Is Eda dropping her robe even pushing it? It's intriguing indeed.

Great questions. We’re 36 hours from finding out (well I'm longer than that because I wait for the English subs, hee hee) All I know is I want to see these scenes.. one way or another! 

[sometimesrosy]

The actors changing opinions because of personal things is not unprofessional, but the EP doing it is? This was J history why he is not allowed to change? You always be strong with the "stick with the canon" so you have to acept that you are at mercy of the only person can make or not canon and half way was clear he was not going to make it. You, now just sound like a entitled shipper that did not got her way. At least before you had a consist line of thought, now u just bitter like all BLfandom

I’m having trouble following this.

What is BL?

I have been following the story. Yes.

People are allowed to change their minds about things. Yes.

But once it’s canon, you can’t erase canon. Writing something as a story and then telling the audience that it wasn’t there doesn’t change the fact that canon was there.

If you pretend canon isn’t what you wrote and just ignore the story that you’ve written, you’ve failed your story. Your story failed.

If you don’t EXPLAIN and SHOW why the story you wrote changes, then. your story sucks. It fails.

If he wanted Bellarke to NOT end up romantic, he needed to address why it didn’t happen, not just pretend it was never in the story at all and Bellamy didn’t matter to anyone and the three people closest to him just suddenly changed personalities to allow his ending to happen the way it did. That was a failure, but he could have told a story that hung together anyway. He didn’t. 

As a writer, you have A RESPONSIBILITY to your story. That means you have a responsibility to your audience... not to give them what they want, but to follow through on the story you’ve created and wrap it up in a satisfying manner.

It’s true that in tv that contract is a lot weaker than it is in other shows, mainly because it goes season by season and the genre often tells disconnected situational stories like sitcoms or procedurals. That makes tv a less trustworthy medium for following that contract with the audience. 

I would have followed a non bellarke story if they had created a consistent reasoning for the change in the direction, but they never did, they just waved everything away.

THAT is a failure in storytelling.

Clearly it’s the story he wrote. It just contradicts everything he wrote the six season before. And I actually have MORE of a problem with Clarke becoming “the bad guy,” than I do with bellarke never achieving a conversation about their feelings for 6 seasons. 

I also have a problem with the transcendence storyline even though it has nothing to do with bellarke or even Clarke’s character, but is actually just a really bad, cheap, hackneyed deus ex machina ending. Even WITH a bellarke ending i would not have been satisfied with that. It would have disappointed me because it’s a lame storytellling choice... but it wouldn’t have been a failure of story on its own.

All in all, it was a bad deus ex machina ending, an oddly structured final season which lacked the central backbone of the narrative (clarke and bellamy and their relationship,) a rather insulting end to Bellamy’s character, with no resonance to his death in a show that makes you cry for a dude you just met 30 minutes ago, but couldn’t manage a travellers blessing for the secondary lead, then the rest of the season practically gives a lobotomy to Clarke, who becomes just a psychotic killer after six years of consideration and trying to save everyone, after a season and a half where she dealt with and grew from her “anything for madi” psychosis, after Bellamy saved her life and she said she wouldn’t forget him and what he meant, and their entire relationship was reduced to “so much for together, (little hint that is not resolution, that’s tossing away the central narrative with NO reasoning.) Turning Clarke into the bad guy, telling us that the person who pulled the lever in MW had done the wrong thing by stopping the Nazi allegory, and wanting us to feel the way the Nazi’s felt by killing Bellamy is. HORRIFIC. It is a reversal, not a subversion, of the hero story. Six years of Clarke as a hero, and at the end, the story said, “no she’s not.” And then deemed her unworthy, and the megalomaniac cadogan who left all his followers but the most superior to die in leaky bunkers, and sentenced his own son and ex wife to a radiated planet, and kidnapped Bellamy from out of the blue, and tortured Octavia, Clarke and Madi... is ACTUALLY the guy who is RIGHT in the story? And then to kill off all of humanity and sweep them up into this miracle transcendence in the sky? NOT of their choice. To basically kidnap them into this alien conglomerate because these assholes on the battle field listen to Octavia for ONCE, and Clarke isn’t worthy and deserves to die alone as the last of the human race because she stopped the megalomaniac too late? AND THEN, to pretend that the death of the human race is a HAPPY ENDING because they are glowing groots and Clarke gets to live out the last of her years on a beach with the ghosts of her friends and they’ll never have children and humanity is just OVER?

Like. 

That ending offends me. His narrative choices are offended. His plot devices are cheap. The reversals of Clarke and Bellamy’s characters are unearned and a betrayal of the story we were watching and the heroes he created.

Believe it or not it’s not actually about bellarke. It’s about the MESS of that last season and how it failed so utterly shockingly at EVERYTHING.

Story is king to me. Not the audience and not the writer. The story unravelled in season 7 and he tried to stitch it back together with a different, really bad story. I never would have watched that show.  I would have dropped it a long time ago. It felt like a betrayal of the story. 

[scream-into-the-voiddd]

this looks like fun! [I can’t seem to find the og poster but i got it from @lizzaroona]

September 1st: Favourite s1 episode?

Honesty a super hard pick, and i think there are better episodes in the season but the one i go back too most often is ep 10 “The Sear of Selene” 

It just has some of the best character moments (for me) and is truly funny and interesting. And has some real insight into Donald and Dewey’s feelings about Della and her being gone. we saw glimpse of this in ‘dime chase’ and ‘woo-woo/Atlantis’ but here we actually see the pain Della left in her wake. And what it means going forward. 

Plus stokeulse is a big sweet boi and i love watching him and Donald ‘re-connecting’ speaking of witch it is also the frist time Scrooge and Donald have a form of re-connection to 

“just like old times ah lad”

look at that face.

its a strong ep and lead the way for bigger ‘emotional hits’ down the line (the last crash of the sun chaser)

September 2nd: Favourite triplet?

I don’t really have one as they are all fleshed out and well rounded, that being said I am looking forward to more of Huey this season. But i don’t have a fav.

September 3rd: Favourite member of team magic

Webby, but i don’t know if that counts as she is main cast so i see her more often then any other Team Magic characters. The girl is fun and filled with so much love and she is to be feared. and I love her faults to she is awkward and hyper-fixated on Mcduck history to the point that its scary. and is a fun loving social shut in.

She is just so multifaceted and complex that i love her with all my heart.  

September 4th: favourite three caballeros 

I am bias on this one as i love José Oliveira (the og José) and anything involving that funky little parrot makes me happy. But in DT17 I do love that there is elements of that Og Jose in his characterisation

like in s2 ep 4 

when he calls over and hugs Donald (so sweet), and that he knows how to claim Donald down so fast (by making him dance and then getting him to sing) and to my knowledge he is the only one to do this in the whole show not just once but twice, so it shows that he has a deep understanding of Donald that most just don’t, and i have always loved that about their friendship.

plus from what i can tell from that ep as well it was Jose’s idea to meet up and he planned the trip (as he payed for it) so the fact he made arraignments for Panchito, Donald and THE BOY’S (+ scrooge) shows how much Jose really loves his friends, and plays an umbrella as an trumpet.       

September 5th: favourite ep of season 2

This was a hard one as most of the eps knock it out of the park, but i’m going to have to go with, ep 16 “the Duck Knight Returns” its just such a good ep and has so many wonderful layers to it, and i was actually caught of guard with the final Jim Starling twist. like i can’t even remember the lat time a twist hit me that hard (i got side swiped) I actually had to sit in silence for a solid minute or two and then watch the whole ep again.

they wasted no detail big or small in this ep (like that Jim was already wearing an unbuttoned DW suit and had the hat in the box next to him, or the sound drake made being thrown into the bathroom just like og DW, and the meta jokes and the animation, the whole ep just went so hard) 

and it was a really fun way to ‘pass the torch’ from one actor to another, especially playing with the idea of someone just not being done with the character yet and not wanting to let go, (as a lot of audiences have that issue, with re-boots and relaunches, and especially when a version of a character has an unfinished story left, think Andrew Garfield’s spider-man for e.g.)

i could honesty talk forever about this ep but i’ll spare you all.     

September 6th: favourite hug? 

Honesty its a three way tie...

1) Scrooge and Della when she first comes home. Just they way he scoops her up like a kid and holds her tight, makes my heart full. 

2) this one with Louie, just the mother son embrace was really earned here. 

3) and this one with Jose and Donald, its rare we see Donald so happy to see anyone (who is not his family) and just how naturally he ran into his arms was so nice. And Jose dropping his umbrella right away show how he knew what was coming. Plus i am a big fan of men showing their love and friendship in sweet fun ways like this, so a win for non-toxic masculinity here.   

September 7th Gizmoduck or Darkwing duck?

this is a hard one as i do like both of these hero boy’s and i have talked about how they have conflicting views of their own success through the other (basically, Drake has is personal life together, but Fenton has his hero life together, and i think it would be a point of envy for both characters) And I love Fenton and Drake for different reasons, but at their core they are somewhat the same just two people who want to help others for no other reason then it is the right thing to do.

And i Love what the show has done for both characters but...I will have to give it Drake by a fraction of a hair (feather?).

As unlike Fenton I only needed one ep to be 100% on board with Drake and i know everything i need to know about him from that. As DW had a whole ass show for a reason and that one ep showed it. As Fenton is a wonderful character and he is a very well done character, but one of his defining traits is that he is all over the place (like in his life, work, the way he specks ect) but that can get messy from time to time as it can be hard to be ‘on board’ with someone with no clear ‘goal’ persay (they did cover most of this in “who is Gizmoduck” but some of it still lingers now that can be a tiny bit jarring at times) But like that is SUPER Neat-picky, tho. 

And Drake has that chaotic feral energy that Fenton just don’t have (Fenton has more Bi panic energy), but Drake also has tired dad energy (like how he growls at GD in moonvation and when he calls to LP before the set explodes) and i love that about him. 

Get this man his Gosalyn already so he can be the dorky dad he is destined to be.     

September 8th: Favourite duck cousin?

I’m going to have to go with Gladstone, because he is a HUGE prick, but in a way he is not fully aware of. He is generous (he literally offers the boy’s a bucket of diamonds, just because they came by)    

And I love that half hazard nature about him, he is true neutral, things just happen to him and for him and he just takes it, and that is actually really interesting, (don’t get me wrong i love Fethry, Della and Donald) but Gladstone is such a wild card in the duck/mcduck family when compared to everyone else that its a nice change of pace from the rest in a way (all of them good hearted and well meaning people) I generally have no idea what he might do when presented with an actual problem/ choice, so to see that will be fun and this crews take on Gladstone in that regard.

As i think out of all the cousins he has the most growing/changing to do.      

September 9th: favourite ship?

Ok here is the thing.

in general fandom 

I don’t really have any strong feelings about most ships one way or the other. I think a lot are nice and I enjoy seeing others enjoy themselves and all the wonderful art and time they put into it. That being said out of all my years of being in fandoms I have had a grand total of 5-10 ships i am super passionate about and that is over the span of 10+ years. 

and one of the things i love the most about ducktales is how much it focuses on family love and pure platonic friendships (for both kid and adult characters). And that makes my ace heart happy.  So basically I’m saying is I have no strong feelings about most ships in general beyond “aww” or “man i love how much the fandom loves them” and “that is some great art/ fic / creative output I’m happy for them.” 

But with that out of the way, the question at hand.

I’m going to have to go with Donald and Daisy, as from a writing sand point it was so well done and sweet and cute. And it gave a new perspective on a relationship that has been around for 70+ years, so that was impressive all on it’s own, and it is going to be a loving, interesting relationship going forward.

September 10th: Favourite season 3 episode  

I am going to assume that this is out of the 7 eps so far (duh), which again is hard cause this show is just so damn good. But I would have to say it is ep 6 “Astro B.O.Y.D”

now cue story of me as a kid in 3...2...1...

when i was a kid, I was obsessed with Astro boy, i was maybe 6 years old and i loved it. I was a relatively poor kid so in the early/mid 2000′s i would get a lot of my reading/watching materials from my local library. This included 4 VSH tapes of Astro boy episodes for the 80′s series and i would watch the 2003 anime dub on Saturday mornings TV (one ep a week if that), The library also had the first 2 vols of the og manga that i read so many times that i could probably re-sight it from memory. anyway, the reason i love astro boy so much was because it gave me a feeling i had not felt in my young life before that point, even if i did not full understand it at the time.

Its a feeling i still can’t fully put into words, but i will do my best. Astro boy goes right for the heart in every way possible, but it always twist the knife when it goes for, grief, regret and longing agony. specifically when in looks at lost love, usually platonic love (Tobio and Tenma e.g), the feeling these story’s gave me was the complexity of pain that losing love can bring, but it is most effective because it is through the lens of a child (astro/ tobi) and an innocent, loving child at that. The child is (somewhat) untouched by the tragedy (via memory loss) but is still shaped by the love that was put into them, despite the grief's overall out come (the abandonment of said child). So the feeling is a bitter-sweetness that comes from a place of innocents but also personal understanding of the self Astro was made by Tenma, but he was not what tenma made him to be (his lost son) but astro became his own person who loves and is loved by others, and is a whole person on his own outside of what he was made for (and is in a way still A son to tenma just NOT Tobi). and there is that sense of a child just wanting to be heard and understood for who they ARE and not what others what them to be, regardless of their “potential” (in other words personal choice’s and passions that the child actually wants for themselves)

I just love Astro Boy ok...and i never get a chance to talk about it, so i thought i would here, as this list was foolish enough to give me an opening.

Moving on to the DT17 ep.

The Astro Boyd ep. hit all of these notes, the longing agony of lost love (Gyro and Boyd) the regret that came from Gyro for boyd’s creation.

Boyd’s innocents and loving nature coupled with his wants and identity not being fully understood (gyro thinking he is evil, Fenton wanting him to be a hero, Akita having him be a tool and Tesuka thinking he is just a mindless robot) and just wanting to be seen for what he truly is “a defiantly real boy” and he gets that conformation from Gyro at the end!

and Gyro has is own actualisation, about his own grief, after thinking his love was “misplace” for years on end in a way that made him shut down his heart almost completely. Only to find that he was right to let himself love and that love is actually what helped Boyd help himself. Gyro in essence realising that both him and Boyd are not mistakes or failures but two people who lost the one they loved (each other) and have finally found a way back to each other so they can both begin to fully heal.    

So it was a good episode *wipes tear away from eye*

September 11th : favourite villain?

I don’t really have a favourite villain as the show don’t tend to focus to heavy on them and when they do it is somewhat short lived, (like Magica in season 1 and Lunarus in season 2) and since this season has a group of villains (FOWL) and not just one main one like the last 2 seasons, I have a feeling that one of the up coming FOWL members may take the top spot later down the line.  

but if we are going off the one i find most entertaining...

I’m going to have to give it to

Magica she is played as scary, funny and damn relatable on occasion (the funzo scene), and i am never disappointed to see her. I think she is very different from comic magica in a lot of ways, but i enjoy this version for different reasons. And i think this magica has room to grow/ change (for good or for worst). So safe to say i am looking forward to the first ep in the line up.  

September 12th : favourite character?

why must you make me choose...

seriously all of the characters major or minor is shown in a way that makes them feel very real and well rounded even if they have very little screen time. for god sake the ottoman empire guys get character development (one left the show to pursue acting and they fight with scrooge in the moonvation). So this is not an easy pick to say the least.    

but I will be judging it by the one i ‘get the most out of’ so to speck....

and I have to say its a tie...

Donald Duck

I love him ok. He is very small and very angry and he will fight god(s) for his family safety. Anyway, I have always love Donald Duck shorts and everything else he shows up in he is always my fav.

I have always been able to relate to Donald as i too have a bit of a disability that makes it hard for people to understand be (in writing) and i have a ‘voice issue’ that makes me different from everyone around me. So i really understand the feeling Donald have and the anger that comes from being misunderstood in the most basic ways. Its not fun

So Donald has always been important to me in a sense,  

The thing about Ducktales 2017 that i love is that it fleshes out Donald’s already established characteristics, by giving them context (e.g. using his outbursts to protect the boys). this gives him something that me has been missing (in animation) for awhile now, and that is how functions outside of himself.

what i mean by that is that Donald is kind of unique when it comes to the Disney sensational 6, unlike the rest is/ can be

-selfish

-cowardly

-rude/ mean spirited

-a loser

these things are what make him different to the rest but in animation for a while he has been shown by himself (without his family or even Daisy) so all of the above characteristics are not “diluted” or held to any standard outside of Donald’s personal misery.

So he can be super selfish and an all around ass cause, yeah, if your life was one pain after the other no matter what you did and you were all on your own all the time, then yeah, your going to be a miserable little shit.  

But by reintroducing the boy’s and giving him a more defined role (father/ solo care giver) at least at the start of the show, it gives Donald a reason to “fight off” his less than noble parts of his personality. It also makes his action have more weight as everything he does or fails to do effects the boy’s. So that makes him more appealing overall as what he does (or doesn’t) do now matters, and all the tragedy in Donald’s life are also given weight (Della being gone for 10 yrs, and what that did to his relationship with Scrooge) so his pain is now REAL and even tho he is funny and reckless, he is now a person with flaws and failings but also victory's (getting Della back and his family being close again) and dreams (the three caballeros and his relationship with Daisy)

I do love this little Rage machine  

the other fav is

Drake Mallard

(maybe I just like single duck dads? idk, lol)

I have already talked a bit about his intro ep,

but as of right now i am more in love with the potential i see in the character. As we have not really seen to much of him like maybe 4 ep’s total. But Drake is the character i am most hyped to see more of (and the people who are around him, Gos and LP etc.)  

as i find him really interesting and he is (ironically) one of the more “normal” people in the show as a whole, He is not rich (high society rich anyway) he is not an explorer, not a scientist, he don’t have a ‘crazy’ backstory (like Gyro in Tokyok) and he doesn't have a direct connection to Scrooge himself (he never worked for him directly, and is not a family member)

so he is just a random guy, who thought “I’m going to do this crazy shit just because a handsome pilot man said i could if i wanted to”

and honestly that’s cool.    

he is fun and goofy in an engendering way, and his ego is the right amount of controlled (ish) but still over the top. the character is full of story’s that can be taken from the og show and mixed in with the new show (like his intro ep),

Drake is a just fun to think about, and how his world relates to the world of ducktales in general, as they were separate for such a long time, so seeing it come together in a new way is super existing.

I was already blown away by his last solo ep I can’t wait to see more of him (and his how he will be with his Gos, and how that adventure will unfold)  

September 13th Favorited actor/ actress 

now this is just an unfair question, this is a star strutted cast and everyone is amazing. There is a pop culture icon and a Disney legend in the cast (and the fact your not 100% sure which one’s i’m talking about proves my point)

So i am going to cheat a little here, I’m not going off the actors and actress themselves per say but rather I’m going to talk about my favourite performance in the show.

I judge this on two things

1) how much the act ‘disappears’ into the character (as in i don’t see the human person when there talking, even if its still just their normal voice)

2) I can’t see (/hear) anyone else being able to do the role

So on those two things in mind i will have to go with.

Paget Brewster

she just plays Della with this fun life to her, she can switch on a dime from crazy adventurer to comic foil to herself and then have moments of deep self refection. And she had to carry the introduction to the character all on her own, as Della was isolated, so if she didn’t sell Della to us (the audience) then the whole mystery/ build up to Della would have fallen apart. So that was not easy but she pulled it off (with great writing as well).

and she was/is amazing as Della, she is just awesome and I love listening to her and how she plays Della.

September 14th Favourite song

Oh for me it hands down has to be “not good enough” I love a good Bond ballad and Ben kills it. Plus it plays a big part in the episodes theme’s for LP,

its perfect, it fits the story, character and the parody.   

September 15th: Favourite scene from favourite episode.

well out of my top 3 episode (that i have already listed) I’m going to not talk about ‘the dark duck returns’ as there is a scene in there that i will talk about later. my favourite scene out of the other 2 episodes i have picked, i would have to go with...

The ‘Defiantly real boy’ scene from Astro BOYD

(i have already talked about my love for Astro boy and this ep in relation to that)  what i love the most about this scene is that not only did Gyro and Boyd ‘find’ each other again, but they found themselves again.

Boyd turned back into the real boy Gyro ‘made’ him to be (the boy Gyro always believed he was/could be) and that not only was that ok, but the best way for Boyd be himself. Thus his reclaiming of the word Boyd, he is still ‘the same’ but now has a clear sense of what it actually means to himself, mixing both 2BO and Boyd into one. With the love given to 2BO by Gyro and the life experience he has had as Boyd, so Boyd didn’t have to change everything about himself to be complete he just needed to understand that he was loved for being himself and to get confirmation that he is what he believes himself to be a ”Defiantly real boy” (T-T)

as for Gyro, he realised that his love, care and idealism (as he put it) was not misplaced (on Boyd), as when the little boy he loved so fully seemingly turn on him, that broke his heart and his spirit in a way that just would not fully mend. (thus his cold and rude behaviour through out the show so far...) But when Gyro fully embraces his idealism and loving side again (by embracing Boyd) he realises that he can bring his true feeling to the surface again as it was never a mistake for him to do so. thus why he embraces Fenton as an equal, by calling him Doctor and showing the respect he actually always felt for Fenton.

They found themselves through each other, and it melts my heart (T-T) 

September 16th: Favourite moonlander

Penny.

September 17th: Favourite Beagle Boy

Black arts Beagle,

I mean he is the reason we have Duckworth back so thats got to count for something.

September 18th: Favourite scene of your favourite ship

I have to say its this little moment here...

Donald spent the whole episode wanting to impress this woman (Glamor), but after spending time with Daisy decided that Daisy’s dignity was more important then his Big Break. And Daisy returns in kind like ‘yeah i shouldn’t be treated this way’ and its just really sweet. It also got Daisy noticed and most likely jumb started her career and Daisy (again) returned in kind (most likely) by having the three Caballeros perform on stage right after.

so its a small but very insight look into the new dynamic Donald and Daisy are going to/ do have in this show.

[plus this screen shot was funny to me,

i think it has meme template vibes]

September 19th: Favourite scene of  your favourite character.

oh my, where oh where to take this?

every character in this show is so good so this is just hard man....

but I will go with “The Duck Knight returns” one of my favs, and honesty i could talk about this episode all on its own (and I just might after “Lets Get Dangerous” airs)  but for me one of the scenes that really stuck out to me (that others have not really touched on) Is when they have the “meeting” with Alister, Jim, Scrooge and Dewey and then Drake comes in (and then immediately gets his shit wrecked by Jim).

As a film student, I feel this scene on a personal level.

the old(er) man who knows nothing but wants to take control.

the Pretentious “artist” that thinks “making it dark” makes it meaningful.

the person who pretends they know what there talking about but is to stuck in their ways to really change their mind.

and a child or child like understanding (its more common then you think)

(tho i would place LP in the audience position, which is the point of this scene) This scene hit me where I live, and is a really good commentary on Corporate meddling. As there are three ‘battles’ happening in this scene

1) Scrooge Vs Alistair

this acts as a money vs art argument, that is seen all to often in movies and shows, as I can guess we can all name at least one movie or show that has the “the record studio is changing your sound its not authentic...”

but Dt 2017 shows the other side to this and asks

authentic to what? like its one things when its your own creation but what if its was someone else's (like a reboot)  

is it better to be authentic to what was before (the og material), or is it best to take a new direction because its more ‘comfortable’ for you to do (fits your style / sensibility's)

thus leading to

2) LP Vs Dewey  

or a young audience vs the older audience, now Dewey and LP don’t really clash in this ep per say but, they act as a more “aggressive” views on audience backlash now they are Not Malicious but they do act as conflicting presences. Dewey (understandably) doesn’t get why it has to be dark and gritty, or what was happening at all as Alistair is going for a high concept film, but guess what, kids aren’t always great at picking high concepts up (at least not right away) and they can be easily bored by it, if its not engaging in a way that can appeal to them.  

and LP as an older audience member does know what the show/ movie is “meant to be” so seeing these high concepts added in a way that is not in the sprit of og material can be unnerving. And high concepts can miss the point or main message/style of the og material to the point that unrecognisable (*cough*Live action, Titians *cough*).

both of these points are legitimate concerns for audiences to have, as if something is so different its not unrecognisable then why not just make something original? and not draw a comparison.

and if your main audience is meant to be younger, they how are you going to engage them in way that matters to them or in a way they can understand (youth culture or ‘young truths’ i.e. things kids deal with/experience when growing up)          

speaking of which

3) Jim Vs Drake

this one is kind of the mix of the pervious two, or nostalgia vs update? (i can’t think of a better word),  

Jim is so determined to be in the spot light that he is willing to ‘throw away’ is morals (as seen at the end), his ‘artist integrity’ no longer matters as long as DW gets to come back, he just wants some sense of being back that it doesn’t actually matter how (*cough* Teen Titians Go*cough*), so he losses a big part of what made it DW to begin with and not because he don’t care about DW but because he places his value of it in one spot (himself as darkwing)  

as Drake on the other hand. understands that changes need to be made but he knows the movie is off base (he says so himself later), but he puts the value of DW in more then himself, as he has felt it be bigger then what was just on screen (Jim) and has carried that with him here. And since he is set up as an ‘enemy’ here (Jim jumps him) new is seen as an enemy as well, but he literal gets attached for just existing, so yeah not a great move by Jimbo there, and due to nostalgia (both in and out of the show due Jim starling/cummings) most may not of have pick up on it right away.

so yeah, this is an underrated scene and i wanted to talk about it a little as it sets up the rest of the episode.  

September 20th: Favourite friend group 

hmmm....

I have a feeling that this is going to change after the new wave of episodes (i like how team hero is shaping up) but for now i will have to say team science. They just have a nice balance of personalities and ability's, plus they the most team (ish) as they literally have to work together (most of them)

huey, gyro, fenton, manny and lil bulb

and all have their own style and smarts

Manny and Lil blub don’t even talk but they have big personalities and now with the addition of Boyd this little group feels well rounded.

I love them nerds