#‘you like you brother a lot better than others do’ funniest panel of all time like he really got her with that one

[duncneydivorce]

The upcoming Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver series includes a promising bit in the preview that I have a lot of thoughts about:

“Above all, they are twins who look out for each other. So when Wanda receives a letter from the recently deceased Magneto that would upset Pietro, she burns the letter before her brother can read it.

But her choice drives them apart at the worst possible time”

It seems this series is going to take a more unconventional route where Wanda creates conflict between the two. Not that I think this is OOC, on the contrary, I think it’s a very interesting and often overlooked part of their relationship.

Pietro was always more imposing and vocal about it, but Wanda is equally as protective of her brother as he is of her. And she has made mistakes for this too just as he has.

But before I can go any further into that we need context.

After surviving a childhood of extreme racism and their saviour’s indoctrination (who also turned them into highly profiled criminals), the twins find themselves at the mercy of public opinion. Cap’s Kooky Quartet may have saved them from being convicted, but it’s not enough for them to simply do superhero work, they must earn the mantle of superhero (the idea of what makes someone a superhero and who get the be the verdict is already a very loaded notion that I won’t expand on but it’s worth being conscious of this here). In order to be accepted the twins are essentially marketed as the ‘American Dream’; a couple of impoverished immigrants who worked their way up to success, a pair of misguided misfits who needed the guidance of the all American Captain America. Their relationship with Steve IS meaningful and important to their ability to become heroes but it’s not because he ‘turned them around’, rather by simply giving them accommodation, resources and opportunities they’ve never had access to in their lives. But that’s not what the majority see, to them the Maximoff’s are a rehabilitation project that’s a testament to their society’s benevolence. It's a similar kind of rancid vibe as those mission trips in Africa. They are tokenized and tolerated only when the narrative forced on them feeds the white superamcist ego.

And most importantly, this tolerance is completely conditional.

While the two do have genuine fondness for their time on the team, their livelihood as Avengers cannot be divorced from this groundwork. In fact, multiple Avengers stories from their early days delve into the complicated relationship they have with this fact (and no this is not an ‘Avengers are cops’ rhetoric, joining the Avengers literally saved them from a more punitive judgement from the criminal justice system).

When Pietro voices very real concerns about this we see Wanda undermine him. When he learns of his wife’s infidelity her first reaction is to convince him to forgive her and move on. There’s another moment and for the life of me I can’t find the panel but after some brief reflection Wanda admits she may have been rash to dismiss Pietro as fanatic.

All of this does come from her love and protectiveness for her brother but it also comes from a very real trauma and fear.

Before I go on let me clarify, Wanda has never been a self hating minority. I mean the whole reason she called herself Scarlet Witch is because she was reclaiming a stereotype her persecutors used against her. Nor has she ever been an obedient damsel without independence. Since her very debut she has been a character with agency, while Pietro can be chauvinistic at times her relationship with her brother has always been the one of equals, and fighting for her autonomy (usually against literal demons) is one of the major recurring themes in her evolution.

That being said, it’s worth examining the conflicting self-repression that’s followed Wanda since the very beginning. She and pietro both understandably reacted in extremes and where he grew abrasive and restless, she could show a tendency to something akin to a model minority complex at times (remember her livelihood literally depended on advertising her as one at a certain point). There is room for a longer and more thorough analysis on this but to keep it brief and to the point I want to highlight specifically the way she has projected this onto Pietro. Again, the both of them have made their own mistakes, hurt themselves, each other and others for this, but while we have seen stories allow growth for pietro’s mistreatment towards Wanda over this, the inverse has been mostly forgotten. Until now it seems.

Wanda and Pietro have come a very long way and I trust Orlando to treat Wanda as a character who has made mistakes and who’s flaws lie in her compassion. His run was heavily dedicated to acknowledging the harm her actions have done to others in the past without letting it hold her back and acknowledging how she was victimised in those situations. What I’m more sceptical of is his understanding of where that trauma comes from, because there was no meaningful examination of this so far. Wanda is a displaced refugee with violent experiences of racism and poverty. The Avengers was more than a team to her, it was a sanctuary. An extremely precarious one. She was also like.. a teenager when this was thrusted on her. It’s completely reasonable that as she grew into herself she would struggle with respectability politics and would project this onto her brother who’s indignation often isolated himself.

I’m not expecting Orlando to write critical race theory or anything but since it seems an important part of the story will lie in addressing this particular contention between the twins then personally I feel what will make or break this series will be whether Orlando can communicate this. We know he’s AWARE of their heritage and origin and is consciously trying to include it in how they are represented in his work so I’m choosing to be optimistic but I guess only time will tell.

[celaenaeiln]

What's the deal with fanon Tim bc I read some comics with Tim and I've seen him in cartoons but all I see people talk about is "haha coffee addicted nerd who doesn't sleep!" and that just seems weird and wrong. Like my view of Tim has always been "he's a nice and extremely smart guy who sometimes pushes things a bit too far and maybe a bit set in his own ways/Batman's ways" but now I'm not even sure of that because I really haven't read THAT much (mostly seen him in other series) lol

No you're right!! Anon you're so right!!!

What the heck is up with fanon Tim Drake??

The thing about him not sleeping is actually true though

Detective Comics (2016) Issue #937

Batman: Contagion Issue #11

(I agree with Catwoman, Tim is so cute)

So I understand where the coffee addiction in fanon comes from but Tim's not actually addicted to coffee in the comics. I actually don't recall him mentioning coffee at all. At some point he might have but if he did, then those instances are so little in the grand scheme of things it might as well be called negligible if it's trying to be called an addiction.

But more importantly, Tim is so much more than that!! My favorite Tim Drake aspect of him is how sassy and sarcastic he is, it makes him so endearing!!

UGH NO ONE APPRECIATES HOW MUCH OF A LITTLE SHIT HE IS!!

Robin (1993) Issue #58

CMON CMON CMON LETS TALK MORE ABOUT THIS!!

Tim, you little shit, you know exactly what they say - cause you did it!!

HIS SELF-SATISFIED SMILE!!!

In all honesty I find Tim the funniest of the entire batfamily to read because he's so-he's so wholesomely quirky in a mean way. That's such as awkward way to describe it but reading his comics, you just can't get enough of them because he's just too funny!

At one point he has a massive fever and stuck underground with a bunch of weird kids and one of the girls is just like "please get better, please get some rest!" as she's wiping away his sweat and Tim has like no breath or energy at this point. But with the last remains of will power, he uses his breath to push one last question between lips.

Robin (1993) Issue #70

And as the audience waits in baited anticipation we get this-

Robin (1993) Issue #70

It's actually a very valid question and shows his detective thinking and yada yada yada but THE COMEDIC GOLD OF HIS TIMING!!

Like his situation and his question there's a massive gap that's almost incomprehensible about it all which is why it's so fantastic!!

The way he sasses batman is top 5 fav moments with him.

Azrael: Agent of the Bat Issue #91

Thanks @paladin-of-nerd-fandom65 for finding it again <33

But Tim overall is just like a normal kid. He's what authors tried to do with Stephanie but failed. They were able to make him relatable to the audience because the way he acts, it's so quirky but funny. Yes, he's a boy detective genius but he likes messing with people, he likes solving crime, he likes hanging out with his big brother, he asks for relationship advice, he can get insecure, he can get upset without acting cold, he gets tired, he gets anxious, he's determined, and he's super dorky.

Robin (1993) Issue #25

Like really dorky.

But what I think really defines him is this panel

Robin (1993) Issue #48

This scene is probably what explains him best. Tim is someone who ponders a lot. He thinks constantly all the time whether it's about cases or his personal life, he just goes over the choices he makes constantly because he's just soul-searching alot.

He always means well even if he's awkward about it and he's just a diverse personality overall. The fanon interpretation of his character doesn't really do him any justice because it doesn't address how funny he is or confused or just a likeable, real person in general.

[teeth-and-tea]

ANIME & MANGA I HAVE BINGED IN THE LAST MONTH: May 2021

I've Been Hunting Slimes for the Past 300 Years and Now Ive Maxed Out My Level: incredibly long name aside, cute af slice of life that suffers Same Face Syndrome. I'm still happy to watch it because of how feel good and fluffy it is though, Im probably gonna forget about it in two or three years tho. 8/10.

Don't Toy With Me, Miss Nagatoro: I found out this was a webcomic first and suddenly all the HORNINESS made so much more sense. A Femdom, Degradation, Humiliation, Dacryphilia Bullies to Lovers story disguised as a high school rom-com which, I'm not going to lie, misses SKEEVY CITY by mere inches on a regular basis. However, I'm a Dom/Switch and this entire relationship sets off my dom brain center like New York City just shy of midnight. So if you're into that sort of scene, this anime is for you. If not, it's still fascinating but you're probably gonna be a little put off by how mean the Girl!Bully is to the guy MC. Unless you find out something about yourself, in which case, congrats! Stay safe, sane, consensual, and learn about the traffic light system on top of safe words, I promise you'll have a better life in general after that. Still Ongoing, currently 10/10.

Fruits Basket: IM GONNA CRY I LOVE THIS ANIME SO MUCH???? The original anime came out when I was in... I think middle school and my parents were really strict on what I watched so I never got to experience the first wave and I never bothered to watch the show ever after I moved out of the house years later. However, now that I'm much older I honestly can say this is one of my favorite anime to date, and all the characters are charming, lovable, with their own problems that I can connect to or sympathize with, and I love the MC which is always a treat tbh. Except Akito. Akito can suck a sandpaper dick. I'm only on S2 tho so no spoilers! Anime 11/10.

Monster Girl Doctor: went in thinking it was gonna be a monster girl who's a doctor with a homoerotic assistant (her name is SAPPHY okay sue me for thinking it) and ended up watching the entire dubbed harem series. Honestly, I've seen worse and this one has consistent follow-through on interesting characters and backstory enough for me to shove aside the blatant under-monstrousness of the female monsters and the harem-ness of everything else. Dubbing is honestly really good, which is a treat, and the monster designs are not the worst and the MC is tolerable. Honestly, I don't mind having watched it! The mix of cgi and the traditional animation together work pretty strangely though, and it often doesn't flow super well. 7.5/10

So I'm a Spider, So What: Dubbed version which honestly isn't that bad. Took me a bit to get into it, but after realizing that it's got a mismatched timeline a la The Witcher, it made so much more sense. Heavily done in cgi, and you can definitely tell between the 2D and 3D animations, but not the worst in the world. I went in not expecting much but it ended up being an Issekai I can stand and even enjoy. On god has a decent story... with the spider. I'd be a liar if I didnt say I skipped some of the human parts just to get back to the best part of the show. 8/10.

Somali and the Forest Spirit: I'm so fucking nostalgic for this thing it makes me want to go and hug my dad. About a human girl under threat of being eaten with a monster-dominated world. Very obvious "humans fear what they don't understand" message but instead of the humans learning tolerance it's what happens when they get annihilated first so like, kudos for the mangaka for having the guts to do that. I cried like a baby regularly. It's really good, I watched the dub and ID WATCH IT AGAIN!!! 9/10.

To Your Eternity: Oh my god. O h my g o d. Fell in love on the first episode, ngl. About if an immortal being learned how to be a person from scratch. I love it. HOWEVER. Keep a box of tissues on you at all times because you're gonna need them. I'm only on EP7 because that's all that's out right now but just know. I love it. Not for everyone but certainly for my "what do we define as human and the human condition" ass. 12/10.

Those Snow White Notes: A sports anime without any sports. About shamisen playing which is cool because I never realized how cool this instrument was??? Its neat af. OP1&2 are by Burnout Syndrom so know theyre fire. Gonna be real, its pretty alright, but not extraordinary. You can tell they were using the characters as archetypes rather than actually characters which kinda kills a lot of the emotional value you could've had, but I'm still gonna watch it. It doesn't make me cringe as hard as other sports anime tho so I consider it toptier in that regards but if you're a big sports anime fan you might be bummed out by it. Every single musical performance is INCREDIBLE tho. A solid 8/10.

Toilet Bound Hanako-kun: THE ART OMFG IT'S SO GORGEOUS. Listen, if you took coptic markers and gave them an animation budget with some manga panel direction thrown in there, that's this anime. It's beautiful. Gorgeous. I'm in love with the aesthetic every second. Story? Really good. Characters? I love the MC and his evil little twin brother asshat. Demons? Not super imaginative but I'm carrying on happy as can be anyways. Dubbing? A bit shaky at times but I found the voices charming if a little off for some of them. I'm already waiting for the second season with popcorn at the ready. 10/10.

Prison School: I watched this directly after Hanako-kun and it was like I got slapped in the face by sweaty unwashed titties and some fedora wearing schmuck's piss kink. No character is likable or redeemable. I finished it, but at what cost? 2/10 and only because a character shit his pants and I laughed.

Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle: watched this right after Prison School and it was NECESSARY tbh. Its so CUTE and honestly, im not even kidding you, the fucking funniest anime I've seen in months. I watched the dub and the VAs are having the time of their lives working on this anime not just giving it their all but literally just going ham. Its great. If I read this im sure id be bored outta my mind but the VAs giving it a joyous performance make it an insta fave for me tbh. 9/10.

Sk8 the Infinity: i watched the dub with my bro and I can confirm that its a spectacular show because we both loved it and we have vastly different tastes. Incredibly SUSPENSFUL AND STRESSFUL for an anime about skateboarding but we finished it in a single sitting tbh. The last episode is not dubbed for some reason but we still loved it. Like if Free! was less obnoxious but the only fan-service here is Joe ♡ a beefcake who owns my lesbian heart. I think there's exactly one named female character tho and I legit couldn't tell you what it was if there was a gun to my head. So, over all, 9.5/10.

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime: I'm going to be entirely honest, I went in thinking it was going to be a boring isekai of no value. I was right about the Isekai part. It was honestly pretty interesting and focused on nation building like you're playing civilization rather than the usual "Get Stronger" narrative or "Get Some Pussy" narrative most isekais take which is delightfully refreshing. Granted there are flavors of that in this which means it doesn't alienate the big isekai watchers out there, but it's not the whole dish and it doesn't make me want to cringe the same way others do. You've got a slime MC just vibing and building a nation of monsters nbd. Does lose points for making the female monsters more humanoid than their male counterparts but makes them back by only doing perfunctory fan-service and nothing that makes me want to cry... except the butt sumo episode but in fairness it was all a terrible dream. Literally, the MC refuses to dream anymore after that. solid animation, decent voice acting, decent story, made me realize how HUGE this is in the Light Novel community???? There's like 18 fucking novels and that's WILD. 8.5/10.

MANGA:

Spirit Photographer Saburo Kono: a one shot special by the mangaka of The Promised Neverland! Honestly a really delicate touch of both super creepy and really touching, and I'm not gonna lie I'm bummed that this isn't a bigger project but the single chapter makes it a good taste for their style. I've been wondering if I wanna read/watch The Promised Neverland and now I think I will. 10/10

Deranged Detective Ron Kamonohashi: from the mangaka of Hitman Reborn comes this Sherlock and Watson derivative! Not even 20 chapters out yet with a sort of spotty schedule, I honestly love it even thought it's exactly as you expect. HOWEVER. Kamonohashi the "Sherlock" character uses mental pressure to kill all confirmed murderers and it's up to Toto the "Watson" character to save all those people before Kamonohashi kills them! It's just recently introduced a "Moriarty" family of crime lords (not a big spoiler don't worry it was obvious) so the tension surrounding Ron's past is amping up rn. Personally, I think the art is GORGEOUS, the characters engaging, and the story quick enough to keep my interest. Most mysteries are solved within a chapter or two so you're not stuck 20 chapters into one locked room mystery which is just peachy tbh. RN, 10/10. If this gets an anime, I anticipate a legion of fangirls who ship the two main characters along with their many friends. I've been alive too long to believe otherwise.

Don't Toy with Me, Miss Nagatoro: Yeah I read the manga after I watched the show. A slower build than the anime, but it works for the format, if theyd done the same with the show then I don't think it wouldve done as well. Honestly? Cuter tbh but just as horny. You dont start really LEARNING about your character until like, chap 65 tho and no real "drama" happens until like 75. A good chunk of the chapters are like 8pgs so its a breeze to get through. I love these slow burn idiots of the century. 9.5/10 because you can DEFINITELY tell the mangaka does hentai too.

Yugen's All-Ghouls Homeroom: one-shot by the mangaka for Food Wars, it's no wonder there's this constant perviness from the MC, a guy who can see and exorcise spirits. Takes place at an all girl's finishing school with KICK ASS monsters tbh, kinda bummed its not longer. The MC? Blatant monsterfucker who is also a CONFRIMED monsterfucker???? Idk i vibe with that single emotion. Everything else is hit or miss. 7/10 for monsters and cool concept, lost points for the MC very pointedly being okay with admitting he'd wait for the teenagers to be adults tho. Creepy af. Could live without that.

Hell's Paradise: I finished the entire 127chps in 3 days and I was really enthusiastic about it 90% of the time thinking about how deep it was and then I actually thought about it and I ended up being very neutral about the whole thing tbh. The art is fantastic tho, but DEFINITELY deserving of the M rating. Tits. Tits everywhere. But not tits to be ecchi over, no, monster hermit tits on beautiful women-ish figures. Now generally I give that a pass but a huge theme in the story is that men and women are "no better than one or the other" but like, lady tits are what you see 99% of the time. Men tits are few and far between. I call bullshit on most of the "deep" themes is what I'm saying, so it's like the mangaka was trying for those deep thoughts but missed the margin a little too far for my preference. That being said, the MC is a married man who loves his wife which automatically makes him my favorite character so like... idk so many good things, so many misses, but overall really spectacular themes and imagery. Unique but classic all at once. It's getting an anime and I have NO IDEA how much censorship they're gonna be doing but they're going to be doing SO MUCH. Oh yeah, and one guy is a plant/human hybrid who fucks a 1000 year old plant-hermit which makes him a canon monster fucker. And one canon non-binary character who I, a nonbinary, actually like. So like... gosh I've got mixed feelings. 8.5/10.

Choujin X: From Sui Ishida, mangaka to the mega hit Tokyo Ghoul comes this brand new manga!... Of one chapter, lol. Not really binge-y because it's just the one chapter out right now but I'm already keeping my eye on it. The grasp on anatomy in the art is PHENOMENAL and you can see Ishida flexing his art skill which is great. Can't give a true rating but I'm giving it a tentative 9/10 because I'm excited to see more.

Shag&Scoob: technically not a manga, its an ongoing webcomic I binged an subscribed to in one day and I just think it deserves more attention. Starts off funny with "what if Scooby Doo had a gun" and has been led to "what if all cartoons are aliens that survive and receive their powers by the humans that love them in an epic war with Martians." On god, its good. I finished the current series in a couple hours so it's a breezy read, highly recommend it. 9/10.

To Your Eternity: Yeah I watched the anime and then finished all current 143 chapters in like 3 days. GOD IM WEAK. I don't buy physical manga unless I know I want to remember the story forever and I'm already budgeting for the current books out. Yeah, this is a good series. That being said, definitely not for the faint of heart or those who suffer under common triggers like suicide, molestation, death, etc. It's all framed as bad and necessary to the story don't get me wrong, but it's there and has lasting affects on the characters. Incredible story telling by the creator of A Silent Voice. Keep tissues nearby at all times. 12/10.

[9worldstales]

Loki & Thor in “Thor & Loki – Double Trouble” n° 4

So we’ve reached the last issue of “Thor & Loki – Double Trouble” and I’m gonna miss it.

To refresh everyone’s mind this comic is just a funny story that has no pretences to be serious about two brothers, Thor and Loki, who can’t get along and their meeting with their alternate selves.

I don’t know why the past month it wasn’t released, maybe since this number has Loki meeting with his Variant self they wanted to wait for Loki in the “Loki” series to do the same first? Or maybe there’s other reasons. Not a big deal.

Anyway the siblings have lost the orb that would allow them to go back home so they’re searching for it with Female Thor.

Loki has been characterized as very smart but overall doesn’t like to do physical work so when they start to search he wonders if they can use a chariot. No such luck.

Now a tiny personal peeve of mine is that they show Loki freezing and not the two Thors despite him being a Frost Giant but whatever.

Loki is clever enough to have on himself marshmallows to eat (of which he seems to be a glutton)

...and even if he asks for a ladder when they’ve to climb a mountain he’s shown as being the first getting there (he’s standing on top of it while the Thor are just climbing on the top).

Now, here is a bit confuse. Loki seems, for unknown reasons, to fall into the nest atop the mountain when Fjalara, a giant bird is about to be back. Female Thor says to hide so she and Thor jump in the nest as well.

Someone, we don’t know who, comments he wouldn’t have chosen to hide under her while someone else claims birds are sensitive so they shouldn’t upset her.

For unknown reasons Fjalara notices Loki who has just turned into a newborn bird so the two Thors ‘heroically’ catches their chance to escape. As Lady Thor wonders if they should help Loki Thor, proving he’s a ‘good’ brother, says ‘no’ because that’s the sort of sibling love they have.

Okay… this is not a story in which Thor will be the first to show care for his brother. Pity.

Though I get Loki is terrible but really, Thor is clearly not a good brother either so each has what he deserves.

At this point though, Lady Thor figures the bird is just Lady Loki who retransform back into a human and greets her.

Lady Thor blames herself claiming she should have known it was her while Thor is surprised there’s another Loki. Lady Loki asks them if they’re looking for the orb which of course she has but, although Loki confirms it he’s more interested in praising his female self which in return praises him back because LOKIS ARE THE BEST! Not only I agree but that’s how you do Variants of the same person and funny Narcissism right.

It’s a page and it’s perfect.

It’s clear they’re Variants of the same person, even more than the Thors and they don’t try to compete about who’s the better Loki but just shower themselves with appreciation. And despite this they don’t fall in love with each other.

Thor interrupts them and Loki realizes they should recover the orb but of course, as they’re the same, Lady Loki wants it too. An argument that again remarks how they’re the same person as they react the same and they’re equally strong ensues.

We don’t have a Mary Sue here, they’re the same so they’re equally strong as they keep on transforming trying to steal the orb in a battle that reminds me of the one in “The Sword in the Stone” between Merlin and Madam Mim.

Meanwhile the Thors wait and discuss on how they both find being Thor… ‘glorious’ though they seem to lack assertiveness.

Really, I wonder if this number has been done to parody the “Loki” series as well.

We’ve also a nice moment in which Thor admits he’d like to get along better with his brother… and Lady Thor tells him the Lokis get along very well with each other… until they’re ready to kill each other. That’s a subtle way of explaining the problem of being the same person.

They accept each other but the fact they’re the same stop them from completing each other and put them into competition as they want the same thing in the same time in the same way.

If Thor were to make an effort to tolerate and accept Loki more, they could instead complete each other and get along better. Lady Thor also point out Loki is trying to get the orb to bring Thor home (honestly I’m not really sold on this but it’s nice).

After a lot of time in which the Lokis are completely balanced Loki decides to give up. It’s not random, this series keep Loki as intelligent and quick witted and so what he does is part of a plan because, although this story took care to make the Lokis the same, the hero is the FIRST LOKI so he’s slightly smarter and he has a plan.

They don’t try to make Lady Loki the Mary Sue who can easily beat Loki with a hand tied behind her back or that always get things her way.

So, Loki claims, while remaining IC that he’s not going to waste his energy (with previous scenes confirming Loki doesn’t like to waste his energy) to try to get back a orb Lady Loki doesn’t know how to use.

To a confused Thor who asks him whats’ wrong Loki tells to keep quiet as he knows himself.

Lady Loki knows it’s a trick, she’s not dumbed down. However when Loki tells her not to do something she just can’t resist because Lokis always do what they aren’t supposed to do and both Lokis know but again, they can’t resist.

I mean, look at this page and at how it’s beautifully expressive.

And the funniest part is not only that Lady Loki did it but that Lady Thor didn’t want her to do it (even though she should have figured it was all Loki’s ploy to make Lady Loki do it) which Lady Loki took as an incentive because… Loki.

Thor asks his Loki what would happen now and Loki admits he has no idea in the same way he had no idea it would bring them there.

The result is they summoned a Midgard serpent again. Lady Thor echoes his again in a worried tone while Lady Loki admires the Midgard serpent.

At this point Thor gets they can cooperate and takes Loki’s arm telling him to get ready, to which Loki confirms he’s born ready and then Loki grabs the orb...

...while Thor makes them to fly away until they’re on the Midgard’s serpent back. At this point Loki turns the orb counter-clockwise so they can go home.

Lady Loki takes the loss of the orb well and says she’ll repay Lady Thor ‘for backing her up’ by doing something mean and unexpected. So yeah, they’ve probably the same kind of relation Thor and Loki had.

Anyway Loki and Thor are back home and back to the mess they left, which Thor again blames on Loki.

Loki admits he discovered by that experience Lokis could be annoying and stubborn and apologizes to Thor for the first time, because he doesn’t want to be annoying. Thor is surprised but they have a beautiful second in which Thor smiles at him, suggesting they should get back on cleaning so Odin won’t scold them and Loki agrees… for a panel.

In the next he’s already suggesting they could try something else rather daring he has been hatching, his new great plan. Basically Loki is showing that, although he doesn’t want to be annoying, he just can’t change.

In reply Thor says he’s very busy… but we know he’ll end up following Loki’s schemes again because Thor too can’t change.

And that’s the end.

And okay, I love this 4 issues series.

It was clearly a funny story, uncomplicated and meant to be funny without being judgemental.

Both brothers have flaws, both brothers can do better if they accept each other and cooperate and being exactly the same doesn’t mean you won’t argue or that you’ll be pleased with the other.

It also played the Variants right as, although they were Variants, they clearly were a Thor and Loki Variants and you would have recognized them even if they hadn’t introduced themselves and you had no idea a Lady Thor and a Lady Loki exist. Variants were well balanced among them and the story had a Variant triumph on the other only when it was fair (Lady Thor wins on Thor because that’s her place and Loki wins on Lady Loki because that’s his orb) and logic (Thor undervalued Lady Thor, Lady Loki was distracted).

Yeah, issues are addressed in an extremely light and not resolving manner, Lady Thor explains Thor deep down his brother cares for him and Loki understands he can be annoying and admits he doesn’t want tobut, for the sake of humour, they can’t change but that was the whole point of the story.

This title didn’t promise great resolutions and growth but just fun and I love it.

So really, read it, I wholeheartedly recommend it!

[skycruise]

Jared virtual panel Sunday 22 Nov 2020

As with Misha, tried to type as he talked as much as possible. I did get interrupted by a couple of brief phone calls & I’m sure someone will post a video later today, but for now--

--Just got out of the shower. Didn’t do his hair lol. It is SHORT Y’ALL.

--Been a hell of a week, we all know why. Series finale. Shed some tears, watched it at his house, everything came flooding back, was really emotional. Wishes he could see our faces. He feels the love.

--Top 3 episodes and why? Series finale is his favorite, he is a fan of storytelling & looking at SPN as a whole the finale wrapped up things in a way that were meaningful and poignant and “wonderfully frustrating”. #2, Sacrifice. Another moment of seeing deeply inside the boys but they were flipped Sam thinking he was dying vs Dean dying. #3 French Mistake, doesn’t know if any other TV show could have done that.

--Was pie in Dean’s face scripted? Yes and he got to do it a few times! When Sam throws the pie in Dean’s face there is a passerby looking on, that is Bob Singer. It being scripted didn’t make it any less fun.

--How were the first days on the set of Walker? Thank you for asking, it’s been awesome. Strange but incredible. Feels lucky and fortunate to be able to see his kids in the morning and and at night, proud of what SPN was and hoping to recreate some of that with Walker. Learned so much from Sam and wants to do that with another character.

--Bad hair days? Puts on a beanie. Never learned how to do anything with his hair. 

--Crossover between SPN and Walker, would Cordell and Sam be friends? Absolutely. Both trying to do their best in a weird world to make it a better place and hopefully ease other people’s pain. Sam and Dean found themselves in situations where there’s no perfect answer and Cordell deals with the same type of things.

--Fave Harry Potter book & movie & spell? Book--Deathly Hallows, Sorry, missed the rest! Oh Expecto Patronus lol

--Craziest/funniest bts moment? 2 moments, one where he was awaiting birth of first son Tom, scene where Sam is chasing Kevin around. Same situation where Jensen was waiting for twins--Jensen getting that call. Just a weird situation where something huge is going on personally while trying to act. Talks about Jensen not having his passport and it had to be all hands on deck to find Jensen’s passport and get him back in the states for the birth.

--If SPN all over again as a different character, who & why? Biggest part of him says he has to be Sam. He would be Sam again. But if he HAD to change he would be Lucifer. Mark made it seem like such a fun character to play. Also possibly Chuck, Rob was phenomenal. 

--Would love to do/have reaction videos for cast reaction to reaction videos. (Me too, Jared)

--Had a hard time thinking about who he was going to be without SPN 

--How did you start your acting career? Acted in middle/high school. Won a contest to be trophy presenter (pulls out surfboard award thing) at Teen Choice awards, met an agent & auditioned over tape. Was supposed to be premed in school but got Gilmore Girls.

--What is always on your Thanksgiving table? Turkey, as much as possible. Stuffing, pumpkin pie. Big Dallas Cowboys fan so would always watch Cowboys game and make awful turkey nachos (tortilla chips with Thanksgiving leftovers) that night

--How would Sam spend his time in quarantine? Giant library at bunker doing a lot of reading. Would probably use a pedometer to make sure he got his steps in for the day. Sam is an introvert.

--What country would Sam and Dean like to visit on vacation? Puerto Rico. Wishes Sam and Dean got their beach vacation that they had talked about. Not sure if the car could have gotten there. Maybe they could have found some floaties for it lol.

--Were any lines adlibbed or added by him and Jensen (finale)? Yes. In the barn scene when Dean tells Sam to keep going, it was written Sam said he couldn’t do it without you (Dean), Sam thought he should say it more similar to the pilot, which is what they did. First thing Dean said to Say was Heya Sammy and Sam was Dean? Sam thought those should also be their last words on the bridge. J2 tried to convey how they thought the characters felt in that barn scene especially. When Sam says It’s okay, you can go now, Jared thought Sam’s son should say the same to him at his death.

--Sam wearing Dean’s watch in the finale? Jared happy fan caught that. Jared thought it was something Sam would have kept and worn.

--Jared doesn’t catch the reference SamLicker81 lol. 

--Jared had a lot of time to think about Sam’s ending, at first he thought it was jarring but how do you feel about anyone’s ending? Would you ever be ok with your own ending? There was a finality to it that no matter what happened it would be difficult to wrap his head around. Once he digested it, he felt it was the best way to tell Sam’s story. Sam tried to live his life the way Dean would have wanted him to life his life. He tried to do what Dean would have wanted. If Dean had come back 20 years later and saw Sam hunting he wouldn’t have liked that, he wanted Sam to live his life. That’s what they all fought for, for whoever was left to live as normal a life as possible.

--Any other props end up at Jared’s house? Yeah he has some stuff. His stand-in Jason had got 2 picture frames for Jared and Jensen, got copies of the last call sheet along with their marks (red tape for Jared, blue for Jensen), and framed them. 

--Super excited about producing and acting on Walker, felt like he and Jensen were pseudo-producers on SPN but will be different on Walker, hopefully he can help guide the story in a way that’s best for the show

--Acting advice? Everybody is different. Acting is trying to be somebody you’re not...but don’t try to be somebody you’re not. Don’t try to be like another actor. Just be you and figure out what story you want to tell, remember you’re there to tell a story, commit to who you are and who you have been. There are things you’ve been through no one else has, so don’t discredit that.

--Fave song that reminds you of Sam? Carry on Wayward Son, especially having just watched the finale, it’s such a powerful song. 

--Pre and post COVID scripts? They can’t fire me now! Biggest deal with post COVID script was the mandatory 2 week quarantine. There were going to be a lot of beloved characters in Heaven with us but it was just a scene or 2 so they couldn’t really ask Rob, Richard, Samantha Smith, Jeffrey Dean to come sit in a hotel room for 2 weeks for one scene. The Heaven Dean deserved was filled with people but because COVID it ended up being just Sam and Dean.

--One thing he will miss the most? The crew/family. Life long friends made over 15 years. He grew up a lot on SPN, been through so much and so much history with those people. It’s so different shooting Walker right now because with COVID there’s less human contact. Misses human contact (with fans too).

--How did you prepare to shoot Dean’s death? How could you possible prepare to shoot Dean’s death? We shot it in September, I had known about since June or July 2019, had been reading the script since February. Lot of time spent on set was trying not to cry. Massive massive fight scene, shot for 3 days but 30 seconds on screen. One day for after Dean’s been impaled so they wouldn’t have to fight all day then get emotional. Was emotional about that scene, didn’t want Jared to get in the way of Sam’s story.

--Did Sam tell his kid about all the hunting stuff? Yeah of course, told him all about uncle Dean, why he was named after him, and the importance of taking care of himself and not spending his life saying goodbye to friends and family and then his son just wanted to get a tattoo.

--There are tons of shows Jared wishes SPN could have crossed over with. Would have been funny to cross over with Walking Dead, for them to see John and he doesn’t know who they are.

--First people Sam would want to see in Heaven? Obviously Dean. Bobby. Mom. Sully. Sam’s Heaven is mostly Dean. He wanted Sam’s wardrobe from the pilot because that was Sam’s happiest moment, going on the road with his brother. 

--If he had the chance to work with Jensen again (and he WILL he says, hopefully sooner than later)...Jensen has a standing invitation to come to Walker, but they will find something somewhere and it will be great.

--What weird or gross food do you enjoy? Jared eats everything and a lot of it. Except olives. Doesn’t really like chocolate despite his sweet tooth. Doesn’t like black licorice. Will try anything once. Loves spicy food.

--Advice for people with anxiety? One thing that’s worked for him is just accepting that it’s not going anywhere. If you’re trying to get rid of anxiety you’ll frustrate yourself. Talks about Eddie Vedder saying he sees his demons as somebody who’s riding in the car with him. Take care of yourself. You got this.

--Grateful for you guys, hope to see you soon.

[ninja-go-to-therapy]

Strapped to an Operating Table

@badthingshappenbingo​

Prompt: strapped to an operating table

Fandom: Ninjago

Character: Echo

Trigger Warnings: mild torture

Echo woke up strapped down. 

How did he get there? Who did this? What… what happened?

A light, brighter than he ever could have imagined, sat above his face, blinding him even when he squeezed his eyes shut. 

He debated calling out. But no, that would alert his captors that he was awake, and he was certain that he didn’t want that to happen. 

He wanted to believe someone was going to come for him. But he’d lived on that tiny island his entire (rather short) life, he’d never interacted with anyone other than his father (even if he had a burning feeling sometimes that he had). The feeling didn’t matter. No one knew he existed. Or at least… no one was supposed to.

How did they find out about him? Who were they?

A door opened and shut, gentle. Echo held his breath, clenching his fists so tight that his whole arm could have very well fallen off. He wondered what would happen if it did.

Whoever it was that had come in immediately approached him. Echo couldn’t see them very well, both from his position and because of the light. He couldn’t tell if it was a boy or girl, but it didn’t matter. All that mattered was that he was deeply, deeply afraid.

They opened his chest panel. Right away, he wanted to tell them to stop, or to demand answers, or even to fight them off and escape. But his words died in his throat, and his limbs were tied so tight he would have lost circulation if he were a human, and he was just too… too Echo, to do any of that.

He had never had a problem with the fact that he was a replicate of Zane. His father was a lonely old man, it made sense that he would want some sort of companion. Days were filled with hearing all about his father’s and Zane’s days in Birchwood Forest, and Echo felt he’d grown to know quite a bit about him. If they were ever to meet, he liked to think they could be something akin to brothers.

The point was, however, that while Echo was made to be just like Zane, he most definitely was not. Zane was strong, he knew how to fight, and defend. Echo was built to comfort.

His captor’s hands hovered over what was inside his panel. He couldn’t help crying out, because that was where everything was. If the wrong switch were to be flipped, or the wrong wire cut, he could die. Or worse.

Terror flooded his systems, and he went rigid.

“Fascinating…” he heard, but only barely. It was the only warning he got before they began to touch. They poked and prodded at everything, every switch, every wire, and they may as well have been holding a knife to his throat. He was vulnerable, he was exposed, and he was so, so scared.

“What are you doing?” he stammered, and the fear in his voice was so prominent, but he couldn’t just sit back and do nothing as this happened.

“Don’t worry, little nindroid, you’ll find out.” and it was a girl’s voice, smooth as honey. She sounded… nice, even. But nice people didn’t kidnap, and nice people didn’t strap people down. She was most definitely not nice.

“Don’t touch that!” he screamed when he felt her hand brush against his memory switch. He didn’t want to forget, he couldn’t, if he forgot he would lose his mind.

“And what does it do, exactly?” she asked. There was that same honey tone, but different. Darker.

“It—it’s my memory switch,” he replied, honest. He was far too scared to find out what would happen if he didn’t answer, so the words tumbled out in a rush. 

“Is it now?”

“Don’t touch it,” he practically begged, “please don’t, I don’t want to forget, please.”

“Does it know how to shut up?” he heard from the doorway. He clamped his mouth closed.

“Even if he didn’t, it wouldn’t be a problem for long.”  the girl above him said.

Echo wanted to keep quiet. He wanted to keep quiet and stay as unharmed as possible, but with a comment like that, his heart plummeted and he didn’t really see the point anyway.

“What does that mean—what are you going to do to me? Why?” he wanted to beg to be released, but deep down, he knew it won’t get him anywhere. Nonetheless, he went through his flurry of questions, scared and probably digging himself deeper and deeper, and he felt like a child but it didn’t matter because, in all technicalities, he was a child. 

“Zane’s not nearly this talkative.” the girl across the room grumbled. Echo wanted to defend himself, tell them that under normal circumstances, he really wasn’t talkative. But it wouldn’t do any good and he couldn’t shut himself up no matter how hard he tried.

If nindroids could throw up, he was sure he would.

“Get over here,” the first girl said, assumably to the other girl across the room. “Here, you see this wire? Yank it out for me, would you?”

Even with the warning, Echo couldn’t hold back a scream. She gripped the wire, yanking it with little regard for carefulness. It hurt more than anything had ever hurt before, and one of the girls was laughing, like it was the funniest thing she’d ever seen. He was pretty sure this was what it felt like to be gutted.

“Stop!” He cried, sparks emitting from the wound. “Please, I’ll do whatever you want!”

“He broke a lot sooner than I expected him too,” the one who’d laughed said. “Real one would have lasted way longer.”

“It doesn’t matter, UV,” so that was her name… “Once we’re done with our new friend here, he’s going to help us capture all of them… and then you can tear Zane apart piece by piece.”

“That sounds fun!” UV said, plunging her hand back into his chest.

“I—I won’t! You can’t make me!” Echo yelled.

“I’ve found that silence gives one a lot of time to reflect.” The nameless one said. “UV?”

UV laughed, more sadistic than the first time, if that was even possible. Her hands wrapped around his voice box right as dread wrapped around his entire being.

“No! No, no, no, please no!” He screamed, but his pleads were cut short when she ripped it right out. His voice died in a glitched scream, and if he’d thought having a few wires ripped out was bad, this was awful.

The pain was overloading his systems. It burned like fire, or maybe lava. If he’d been human, he would have bled out by now, he was sure.

Just kill me, he wanted to say, just make the pain go away! 

“That’s better.”

He was helpless. They were going to make him hurt Zane. They were going to make him do horrible, horrible things.

Just let him die, just let him die, just let him die.

“Now then, where was that memory switch?”

He thrashed. He thrashed as best he could, what with how securely he was tied down. He didn’t care, he just couldn’t let them make him forget.

“Hold still, you brat!” UV yelled, and the other girl patiently held him down. She was strong, but he wasn’t surprised. She sounded like the kind of girl who was stronger than one would expect. Like she liked to hide it.

“Help our friend get all this off his mind, would you?”

“With pleasure.”

PLEASE NO—

[carriagelamp]

April 2020 Book Review - Quarantine Brain Fry Edition

This month of quarantine was much more challenging for me that last March... I suppose because we’re really in the throws of it, and the “extended spring break” feel has worn off. Between general World Anxieties and the incredible challenges of trying to adapt my work into an online setting, my brain has been absolute mush -- and I have a feeling I’m not the only one. Most of my books this month are either very easy reads (comics and children’s novels) or rereads or both! Honestly, I’ve been playing a lot more Animal Crossing than I have been reading...

So the theme for this month of reading? Treat your brain to a rest, and go reread that favourite comic or picture book or graphic novel from when you were a kid. We don’t have libraries or book stores at the moment, so dig deep into your shelf for something you love that you haven’t touched in a while. Here’s what I read:

Ghost Hunters Adventure Club and the Mystery of the Grande Chateau

I’m going to start with best and most unexpected book that I read this month (although this is actually a New Book and not a reread, so maybe it’s a bad start). It’s a Hardy Boys parody novel, and yes it’s by the Game Grumps. The only reason I even found out it existed was because my brother heard about it and we decided that this would be our next Sibling Read Aloud. It made a great read aloud. I was rather skeptical at first, but it was genuinely very clever and very, very funny. There characters were fucking delightful, as they bumbled their way through the mystery, and we ended up accidentally reading almost half the book in one sitting because we couldn’t put it down once we got to endgame. If you like satire and Classic Youth Mystery then do yourself a favour and give this a go. I am desperate for a sequel.

ISHI: Simple Tips from a Solid Friend

A picture book that was recommended to some of the local elementary children who are dealing with isolation from school and their friends. Its beauty is in its simplicity. It shows Ishi, a very simple white stone, experience challenges that it must then find ways to cope with. Things like loneliness, feeling empty or scared, being sad... all things children (and adults, I very much appreciated this little story) may be experiencing. This is definitely a picture book, not a self-help book, but it’s still very encouraging and makes me want to go and create my own Ishi. There’s a reading of it is online, and if you’re feeling like having a solid stone friend reassure you, I would recommend going to listen to it!

Bone 1-5

So, the first in my long list of books that I reread: I’ve started rereading the Bone series for the first time in years. Hands down one of my all time favourite graphic novel series. If you haven’t read Bone, it’s a classic and one of the best example of American graphic novels imho. It’s about Fone Bone and his cousins who, after being driven out of Boneville by Phoney Bone’s money-grubbling stunts, have found themselves across a desert and in a strange, fantastical valley where nothing makes sense. The three of them get drawn into the strange mysteries and adventures of Thorn, her grandmother, and the village of Barrelhaven. Such a perfect blend of beautiful art, comedy and off-the-wall cartoon-level hijinks, as well as really intense, dark adventure and tension as the story unfolds.

Also created this sequence, which may be the funniest two panels ever drawn in a comic

Here Is Greenwood v1

A charming ‘90s manga from my stash that I decided to reread. Honestly one of my favourite feel-good mangas, because it’s such a simple, pure, good-hearted slice of life without some of the gimmicks that other manga use. It’s about Kazuya starting at an all-boys school partway into the year, and moving into the school’s dorms. The entire book is just about him being constantly pestered by the well-meaning characters that share the dorm with him. It’s just goofy and fun, and has the fantastic aesthetic of a good ‘90s manga. Also, it was one of those books that, while technically not ~queer~ was also ~queer enough~ for my deprived teenage soul.

Blood Of Elves

The fourth book of the Witcher series that I’ve finished. I’ll be honest, not my favourite. I really enjoyed the beginning, the whole espionage thing with Dandelion, and then Ciri with Geralt, the Kaer Morhen witchers, and Triss. That was all really fun. It felt like it dragged a lot more though after Ciri joined Yennefer... And yet I love Yennefer as a character, she is hilariously snide and clever and really sweet with Ciri. But it felt like a scene that could have been done in a couple chapters took up half the book. Maybe that’s just because, as I said, my brain was mush and I couldn’t deal with it. I have the next book and as soon as my brain doesn’t look like chicken noodle soup anymore I will be starting it!

The Mouse and the Motorcycle

You know I love a good animal adventure story, and this is one that I adored as a child. The story of Ralph, a young mouse living with his family in a rundown motel, and how he and a young human boy discover that they can understand each other through a shared passion for vehicles... in particular a red toy motorcycle. There’s just something heartwarming about Ralph racing around a motel on a tiny toy motorcycle that runs when he makes motorcycles noises. I’ll have to find the second one as soon as libraries are open again.

Kit: The Adventures of a Raccoon

Another animal adventure story from my childhood, although this one is more of a chapter book than a true novel. This is a book that I’ve been lowkey hunting for years and finally came across in a school library. It’s a more realistic look at what a raccoon’s life is like, from birth to adulthood. Rereading it, it’s not a particularly exciting book and wouldn’t have otherwise stood out to me, but there’s still something that calls to me. It’s very gentle and makes this raccoon’s growing and learning feel very soft and compassionate, even if there are tragedies and death.

A quick edit because it was only just now that I realized that this is a Canadian lit book! Always exciting to discover that a favourite is Canadian!

Calvin and Hobbes: Homicidal Psycho Jungle Cat

Calvin and Hobbes, yet one more bullet to add to the list of Comfort Comics that I’ve pulled out to keep my mind entertained while I can’t quite process Proper Novels. I doubt there’s anything I can say about Calvin and Hobbes that hasn’t already been said. You’ve either read these books already, and are nodding along with  me, or you haven’t and therefore are not a human being I can relate to.

Spy vs Spy

I dug out some of the old Spy vs Spy comics we had as kids. They’re basically falling to pieces, but it was fun -- like so many other books on this list -- to revisit something so familiar but which I haven’t looked at in years. These were a very odd experience to reread, because on one hand Spy vs Spy comics have such a simple, goofy premise it’s hard not to just grin and laugh while you read them, but also like... yup they sure are old and kinda ~problematique~ eh? Whatcha gonna do.

The Twisted Ones

The read aloud my brother and I did before Ghost Hunters, although we technically finished reading it at the very end of March, but too late for it to make that book roundup post. Look, I’m not going to defend myself here. Yes, I’ve read an obscene number of Five Nights at Freddy’s books. The first one of this series The Silver Eyes was honestly better than I would have expected. This sequel was not as good, unsurprisingly, but the main character is still so fucking bizarre, so different than the sort of protagonist I would normally expect from a series like this, that I can’t quite bring myself to stop reading them. And when I had a moment of Realization, about what might be in store for the third book, I genuinely screamed at my brother who was reading at the time. So yes. Somehow this youth horror is better than it has any right to be -- not good but better than it should be -- and yes I will be reading the third the second the libraries open again.

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

Another reread! This was a book I got as a birthday present when I was in... probably preschool? It’s a cross between a large picture book and a chapter book. It’s essentially a “novelization” of the original Disney movie, and it has such cute art to go along with it. Winnie the Pooh has always been a favourite of mine, and reading this old book was like a warm hug. Makes me want to see if I can get my VCR set up so I can watch that old movie again...

Frog and Toad Together

A friend found someone reading this book in a very asmr-style on youtube and recommended I listen because they found it super chill. And they were right! It is ridiculously chill. I’ve never read a Frog and Toad story before, but it’s really just a very cute old book that immediately launches you right back into grade one.

The BFG

This is my first time reading the BFG and it has all of Dahl’s usual charm and quirkiness. A young girl gets plucked out of an abusive orphanage by the Big Friendly Giant, who brings her to the terrifying Land Of Giants... all of which are bigger and crueller than the BFG, and who have an appetite for human flesh. It was quick and fun, and it’s always hard not to fall in love with Dahl’s sweet characters, especially this big eared, dream-catching giant.

[thestagthatlovedthewolf]

This last weekend (+Thurday and Friday) was Comic Con Portugal, and I have things to share!!! This was the first time in Lisbon (better said, Oeiras, as they kept repeating because the “mayor” wanted some points), which to me worked much better because I do not have to spend money in hotels or long distance trains... The space was huge and outside, so it was very good they changed it to September :) But in terms of the organization, they really need to decide better who they put interviewing people, there was one guy that was just really bad, and I know Joe Reitman can’t do them all (but his with Dolph Lundgren was so great - he was just so happy and excited), but can’t you bring in Mário Augusto to do some of them (not just the Disney panels).

First of all to the Americans, there will be this short movie making some festivals in the US, called Sleepwalk by Filipe Melo, and I want to tell you if you have the chance, check it out!! It’s a beautiful story inspired by a comic I read either last week of 2017 or first one of 2018, I had gotten it for my Dad as a Christmas present; I’m not sure if the comic has been translated, but the movie is fully in English and the story is very related to America.

Continuing on what I got to watch, I watch The Passage!!! Probably my favorite thing of the all Comic Con, I’ve been hearing about it since the episode “Red Queen” of The 100, and then all the press Henry Ian Cusick has been doing for it - I was very curious and I was blown away... The show did not look like something I would like, I just wanted to look at Ian (and I must say seeing him in a big screen is pretty awesome), and his performance was great, but then the story is really interesting and they leave open so many questions in the pilot, that I’m intrigued. But the best thing was the girl’s performance, Saniyya Sidney was adorable and so funny in all the interviews I had seen, but she was great in the show - she was fun and sweet, she could also really hold herself in moments of emotional pain... Really looking forward to January and the rest of season 1 (and still hoping that this show does not mean the dead of Marcus Kane, because it’s not good enough to forgive that).

Also watched the pilot of Outpost and Siren, which I know has been out in the US, they were okay, but did not intrigued me to continue watching. Also watched the movie The House with a Clock in Its Walls and it was not great - the story was not that good... and the acting from the kid was not excellent, and Jack Black was not a funny character... so I would only advise if you’re in love with Cate Blanchett - she was very good!!

This part is over and I want to talk a bit about the panels. Dan Folger (Jacob from Fantastic Beast) is one of the funniest people ever, he just couldn’t stand still and he would get up and yell at nothing, and tell jokes - he has a podcast and he’s going to put both panels he did in there, so check it out :) It probably won’t be as funny as with the visual, but still pretty good.

Then my favorite Dichen Lachman (Anya from The 100 and in the picture above), she was so sweet and nice, and I was really close to the front, so I could really see her!! And I really love the way she talks about Anya, it seems to be a character she really enjoyed playing, and she really wished that there could have been more, she feels that it’s a character with a lot of unfinished business and she would like a “Grounders” prequel. She also talked a lot about Reileen from Altered Carbon, so I’m starting the show now!!

Nicholas Hoult (the Beast from X-Men), he was so sweet!! He hugged a girl and she hadn’t asked, she was just wearing one of those free hugs signs and he just offered and it was the best thing - the girl was just so shocked!! And he talked about Skins a lot, because that show was huge here!! And I think he said one of his favorite scenes to film was when they stole Chris’ body and drove across the town - they did not close the streets, so they saw funny reactions to driving with a coffin through the streets

Then Dolph Lundgren (Ivan Drago from Rocky IV), he was just so awesome!! His stories about Rocky were just so excellent!! And him sharing stories about his own life was just so good - did you know he has a degree in chemical engineering? I’m super excited for Creed 2!!

Finally, Elyes Gabel (Rakharo from Game of Thrones), but sadly there was only one Game of Thrones related question, everything else was Scorpion talk, which I know nothing about...

These were the actor panels, which I feel that are the ones that people would want to talk about. If you have any questions about one of them or want more details, send me an ask!!

I also cosplayed this year, only in the weekend (the other two days just used fandom shirts - The 100 and Star Wars), I went with Drusilla Blackthorn from The Shadowhunter Chronicles, specifically from The Dark Artifices - she’s my favorite character of that particular series, and overall in the entire Shadowhunter world, she’s the one I most identify with, the way she talks about her body rings so true and it’s not something I normally see in media, especially fantasy. And then on Sunday, Clarisse La Rue from Percy Jackson and she’s my favorite - I LOVE HER!!! And these two girls, dressed in Hogwarts uniforms, actually asked to take a photo with me!!!

And to end this very long post, here are some of the things I bought!!! First the tote bags (Indiana Jones and Star Wars) were free, being given out by the channel “Hollywood” during their awesome concert of movie music (also a Mission Impossible tote bag, but I gave that one to my dad)

Saga (Volume 8) by Brian K Vaughan and Fiona Staples, it finally came out here!!! I’m so excited to read it!!!

I actually got some fanart this year, this “Leia and Han” one is so beautiful and I regretted not buying it last year :) And it’s by an artist going by Little Black Spot - they have a website, www.littleblackspot.com!!!

Then these two beautiful stickers - Leia and Poison Ivy - by Inês Barros (inesbarrosillustration in instagram). If you follow me, you’re probably a asoiaf fan, and if you like Sansa Stark and/or Daenerys Targaryen, check her out, because she has these beautiful prints of them!! (I really wished she had some of Arya - I found no prints of Arya at Comic Con...)

Two Daredevil comics and they were 6 euros each!!! 6 euros, guys!!! 12 total!!! That’s was so cheap.... they are in Brazilian, which I do not love, because it’s confusing at time, but I’ll take it for the price. Also they have Elektra and Medusa!!!

Three mugs - they are not all for me... I saw the Battlestar Galactica and I had to get it for my brother (BSG has so little merch...), and then they had a deal of three for 20 euros (one is 8 euros) and I was taken... The Winterfell one is obviously for me - it’s so beautiful!!!, and the Batman and Superman one is for my dad

Then I wanted some Lost merch, because I’ve just been deep into the show lately. There wasn’t much, actually two POPs - cheaper than usual - Kate and Jacob, but I only get POPs for characters I really love, and while I have a few favorites in Lost, the only one I would consider buying is if they ever make a Penny one, because I LOVE her so much!!! But I got this Dharma pin with all the stations!! It was between this one and a Dharma beer pin...

And then a Martell pin, because I lost the one I got last year... and my Stark one was feeling alone. I need everyone to know where my allegiances lie :)

Also got a lot of Japanese food for my brother, but by now he has eaten everything!! (And one of the drinks, he didn't even remember to let me take a sip...)

This post is actually done now, to conclude this it was an AMAZING for days, and my favorite was definitely Friday!!! Not too many people, or too little, Saga came out, I watched The Passage and I had the panels with Dan Folger, Nicholas Hoult and Dichen Lachman!!!

[my-little-yellowbird]

Fangirl Asks...

I know, I know.  This has taken me 5-ever to complete.  Thank you to @bbcshipper , @elasticmonk , @fourteen-teacups   @thatginchygal and @like-an-officer-and-a-sergeant for tagging me in this fandom questionaire.  I really enjoyed doing it, and got kinda loquacious with my response.  This is definitely worthy of a Reaad More break!

@bbcshipper asked:

1. How much do your real life friends/family know about your fandom life?  My family knows, or think they know.  Friends, nope.  They know I’m a fan, but have no idea of the extent of my madness.  I hold back with “normals.”

2. Have you ever embarrassed yourself fangirling? I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about.

3. What’s a recurring theme of fanfictions of you OTP that you find annoying/dislike?  Live and let live, and all, but I avoid nun smut.

4. What are some prompts/ideas you might want explored more in fanfic? (asking this one for some ideas, hope that’s okay!)  I love  fluff, of course, but I really enjoy fics that explore the real-world, ordinary problems and compromises that come with marriage.

5. What’s the meaning behind your tumblr name?  There’s an Everly Brother’s song of the same name, and my Grandmother used to sing it to me.  I commissioned an artist to make a stained-glass yellowbird and its become a sort of talisman.  

6. Favorite moment(s) with your OTP?  The hand kiss, the misty road, “What’s she like?” the so-sexy almost kiss in the tent, Teddy’s birth (I know. Don’t @ me. I complain about the story arc, but I’m not heartless)

7. How far would you travel to meet your OTP in real life?  If I were to meet them IRL, I’d have to pretend I was someone else.  I’m not good with worlds colliding.

8.Do you have a playlist for your OTP? (again, looking for ideas!)  Sorry, not really.  I’m terrible with playlists.  There was an old Youtube video featuring Pink and Nate Ruess of “Just Give Me a Reason” that gets to me.

9. What about your real life would shock your OTP?  Shelagh might find it odd that Patrick looks remarkably like Mr. Birdy.

10. What have you learned from being a part of the fandom?  I’ve learned a great deal about how different people cope with anxieties.  

11. What’s the best thing about your fandom?  My friends.  

@elasticmonk  asked:

1. What was your first fandom?  Call the Midwife is my first true-blue, throw-yourself-into-it fandom.  

2. What’s your favorite thing about your main fandom now?  People get me.

3. What is your main fandom?  Turnadette (sorry--do people actually have others?  jk)

4. Who is your favorite character of all time?  I can’t think of one, honestly, but I’ll say Molly Weasley, because of the next question.

5. What three quality’s do you think you share with your favorite character (of anything)?   Molly Weasley is devoted to her family, not afraid to love them and not let them get away ith nonsense,  and brave enough to stand up for right.

6. Where would you like to see your OTP vacation and why?  I’d like to see them at the beach in Torquay.  If Shelagh could wear the yellow swimsuit with the white band across the top, that would be ideal.  In fact, if they could live out any of my fics, I’d be a very happy bird.

7. What’s your favorite gif from your fandom?  I don’t know how to post an annotated gif mid-post, so I’ll just describe it.  It involves tiptoes, dancing, and a giant hand sprawled across a tiny back.

8. What’s your favorite picture from your fandom?  NGL

9. Who was your first OTP?  I guess I shipped Jo and Prof Bhaer as a kid?  

10. When did you start your main fandom?  I lurked through 2013 and into 2014.  I was very wary of the internet world, so when I finally identified myself, my palms were sweaty!  (My very first post was my first fic ever!)

11. AU or canon complaint fanfiction?  Canon-compliant, but I will read AU if it’s done in a way that sheds a new light on the characters.

@thatginchygal  asked:

1.  What was the first fanfic you ever read?  I can’t remember the first Call the Midwife fic I ever read.  It was all such a blur!! But...I think the first ever fic-like thing I ever read was a published Star Trek novel by A.C. Crispin, entitled Ishmael.  It was a mash-up of Star Trek and Here Come the Brides. So, so right.

2.  What was the first fanfic you ever wrote (if any)? Not Listening

3.  Your last text message is the title of your next fanfic.  What is it (and a brief summary)?

“I got you a glow stick.”  It was for a candlelight march.  I wonder...now i may have to do some research into marches in London in the early 1960′s...Or reinterpret that text for an altogether different purpose...

4.  Do you keep your fandom interests a secret from your RL family/friends?

No, it’s not a secret.  At least, not generally.  My feeling is, I have nothing to be embarrassed about, so if they want to see, then go look.  If they have a problem with anything they see, that would be on them.  Fortunately, their respect for my  right to have something just for myself--added to a little bit of fear of what they might find--keeps them away.

5.  What is one of your favorite scenes between your OTP?  I think Im going to pick the almost kiss in the tent.  It’s SoMarried!! and very sexy.  But you know, add about 100 more scenes and I’m good.

6.  Do you have a playlist for your OTP?  Sorry, no.

7.  Why do I suck at coming up with these questions?? You’re better than I am!

8.  Would you want to live in the ‘world’ of your favorite fandom?  Maybe visit?  Probably not.  I’m content to watch from here.

9.  What is your favorite piece of fandom merchandise? Oh, this is so easy.  I have the companion books to the series, a boatload of Nonnatun Holiday cards, my Yellowbird stained glass statue, but what I love the most are the crocheted Yellowbird my friend Soph made me, and the Yellowbird Christmas card Mushy sent me this year.  It’s framed!

In the fall of 2015, a group of lucky Nonnatuns went to a CtM panel that featured Heidi Thomas, Stephen McGann, Jenny Agutter, Emerald Fennell and Dame Pippa Harris.  A week later I recieved this promotional post card in the mail:

I have to admit, I was a little teary when I saw it, mostly because I was so touched that in the midst of their own fun, two friends had me in their thoughts.  They told the panelists about me, and how their show had helped to build friendships.  Everyone signed messages to me on the back.  I’m pretty sure HT’s message included an invite to tea.

10.  Have you ever drifted away from a fandom only to be sucked back in (perhaps by a new season or change of storyline)? Not really.

11.  Do you prefer canon-compliant fanfic or AUs?  Definitely Canon-compliant.

@fourteen-teacups asked:

1.  How did you come to join your first online fandom? Blame Call the Midwife.

2.  If your first fangirling obsession pre-dates access to fandoms, what was the show and/or your OTP?  In college, a friend was a huge Start Trek fan.  By default, I got interested (alas, not obsessed).

3.  If your OTP came to visit you in your town (in present day) where would you take them?  We have a lot of parks suitable for camping.  I could take them there to see a lovely site, then bring them back to my house for a nice cuppa and fresh sheets.

4.  What three things do you have in common with your favorite character?  

5.  What prop would you most like to have from your favorite show? (I borrowed this question from a behind the scenes CtM interview.)  The photograph of the cricket team on the surgery mantle and Shelagh’s long-lost sunflower brooch. 

6.  Same question but for an article of clothing.  I want the Tan Overcoat of Love.

7.  Where would you like to see your OTP go on vacation and why?  See Elasticmonk q6

8.  Do you have a) multiple OTPs; or are you b) a one-OTP-at-a-time person?  I have a great appreciation for many OTP’s, but for me, there can be only one.

9.  In question 8, if you answered a) list your top three OTPs; if you answered b) what was the OTP you dropped for your current one?

10.  If you lurked in your fandom before joining (or even if you didn’t), is there a fellow fan whom you consider “famous” in the fandom that makes you fangirl whenever they comment on your posts?  I was desperate for @this-unruly-heart to notice me!  One day she messaged me asking if I was the one who wrote a "Letters” fic that she loved. 

11.   Was there a particular person who was especially welcoming and/or helpful when you first joined your current fandom?  Many of the Nonnatuns of old that were supportive of my early efforts have moved on to other things, but the boost they gave to my confidence was immeasurable. Oh, and Sarge, too!

@like-an-officer-and-a-sergeant  asked:

1. When did you start taking part in fandom(s)?  I dipped my toe into the Star Trek fandom back in the late 1980′s.  A dear friend was a huge fan, and her enthusiam was contagious.  Sadly, she died in December 1988, and I had to leave fandoms behind.  Then, in 2005 we moved away from the very close world we had built, and I was lonely.  I started to look around for period dramas to watch and stumbled upon North and South.  I was unbelievably grateful it wasn’t the old Civil War mini-series, and I started to read everything I could find.  I came across C-19, and found fanfic as I now know it.  As much as I enjoyed it though, I wasn’t ready to participate as anything other than a lurker until Call the Midwife came along.

2. Which fandoms? Sorry, I think I answered that in th eprevious response

3. How long did you stay? Ibid

4. Did you write fanfics?  Yes, although sometimes I need a kick in the butt to make sure it doesn’t become a past tense thing.

5. Any memorable funny event in your fandoms?  So many ridiculous things have happenned here.  Hiatus Challenges, Limericks (!!!), Twitter responses (remember when HT used to answer our questions? Flat/house! Names!), Nonnatun Holiday Card Exchanges...It seems that the funniest things would come out of nowhere.

6.  Did you get long-time friends? (even as Real People)?  Definitely.  There are people I have met here that I feel I know as well or better than people IRL.  And one poor soul has had to bear meeting me in person and somehow still continues to be my friend.

So here are my questions.  

How has fangirling made an impact in your life?

What makes fangirling most worthwhile to you?

What have you learned about yourself by being a part of a fandom?

I tag: @elasticmonk @thatginchygal @fourteen-teacups @like-an-officer-and-a-sergeant  @lovetheturners @hihereami  @pellucidthings @gabolange  @missouiser @ilovemushystuff @it-is-bugs @crinklybrownleaves @majsmom   @missbergmans @miss-ute @snoopctm @mg-bsl381 @turnt4turnadette @cooldoyouhaveaflag @eatapinkwafer @weshallc @westcoastwilma @skerri @beatrix-franklin @alice1nwond3rland @sincerelygeertje @silentkw @flyingnonny @anamarialujan @purple-roses-words-and-love @bloghey131313 @poplarpatience @soibhanmannion @kaguyahime1224

and anyone else who sees this. My fingers are tired.

[tessatechaitea]

Cerebus #14 (1980)

This is what happens to Cerebus because he still hasn't taken my advice to stab everybody he meets before they become a huge annoyance.

I'm not suggesting everybody stab everybody they meet so that they'll never have to deal with any non-stabbing drama because then everybody I meet would be trying to stab me. That sounds like a bad social contract. A good social contract is to not talk to anybody at all in public unless they work in the service industry and also maybe don't make such aggressive eye contact with people on the street? I'm just trying to get from Point A to Point B with as little human contact as possible. I wouldn't mind interacting with people except for one huge problem: most people are way more terrible than they realize. And the more enthusiastic and social a person is, the more likely that they're the real life version of Red Sophia or Elrod. On a similar note, I really love this thing where we're all wearing masks. Now if we can just develop a virus that spreads through eye contact so we're all forced to constantly wear dark glasses, I'll be pretty fucking happy about the state of the world. I mean I'd be happy with the state of the world in regards to what I have to deal with when I go outside (which is people trying to talk to me and looking into my eyes). I don't mean I'd be overall happy with the state of the world which is fucking terrible because a bunch of assholes think teenagers telling them they can't say retard on the Internet is worse than Donald Trump and the GOP's self-serving style of governing where they think taxes shouldn't be used to make the country better but should just go back into the pockets of corporations and Wall Street pricks and other politicians and the already extremely wealthy. Also, a lot of centrist Democrats think the same way. They're only more acceptable because they mostly aren't racist, sexist homophobes. Now that all the snowflakes have stopped reading and went to hug their guns in consolation of my mean Internet words, I can get to the review. In "A Note from the Publisher," Deni claims this is the funniest issue of Cerebus to date. Since it's Cerebus' first visit to Palnu, I'm not even questioning her claim. It's almost certainly true. Dave Sim's Swords of Cerebus essay is a textual stroking of Prince Valiant creator Hal Foster's dick. Sim's mostly talking about Foster's art style but he obviously decided to mimic some of Foster's story telling style as well. See, Prince Valiant was a continuous story that ran (or has run? Is it still going by his son or grandson or something?) for decades, a story which chronicled the life of Prince Valiant and, eventually, his children. Cerebus is a comic book that didn't run for as long but whose continuing story was easier to follow and had a drunk aardvark as the main character. So there are some similarities there, right? This was also the first issue of Cerebus after going to a monthly schedule. Dave Sim would now have to do 300 issues instead of the 150-something he had been planning. Ha ha! Sucker.

This would have been a most opportune time for Cerebus to start his stabbing people upon meeting them practice.

I knew at some point I was going to have to admit this so I might as well begin with it: I don't think I've ever sat through an entire Marx Brothers movie. It's possible I have but I just don't really remember because it happened so long ago. But I need to also reveal this: I loved Groucho Marx as a kid. I've revealed before that I had a grandfather fetish as a child. I loved hanging out with old men and I loved watching old men on television. Going in Style was one of my favorite movies and I simply adored Art Carney. I also loved The Shining because it was about a young kid who got to hang out with one of my other favorite older guys, Scatman Crothers. Groucho Marx in You Bet Your Life fit into the old guy category. I don't think he was as old as the oldest men I loved but, as a young kid, he certainly seemed ancient. I think the duck that dropped down when somebody said the secret word helped a lot. But I would watch reruns of You Bet Your Life whenever I found them on television because it was like hanging out with an old man, my favorite pastime from around four to ten or so. As for Groucho's movies? I've definitely watched parts of some of them as I stumbled on them on television and realized he was in it. But I've never made the effort to start one from the beginning and watch it all the way through. I should probably rectify that. Cerebus has wound up in Palnu thanks to a short diversion in a comic strip that appeared in The Comic Buyers Guide. He wound up marooned on an island with Lord Julius' son, Lord Silverspoon. Upon being rescued, Lord Julius decided to reward Cerebus for saving his son. I don't have the issue of Swords of Cerebus with that story so I can't comment on how annoying Lord Silverspoon almost certainly was. Cerebus' reward is to be put in charge of Lord Julius' security forces and granted the title of "Kitchen Staff Supervisor." It doesn't make any sense because Lord Julius invented bureaucracy. He realized the only thing that can really keep a leader safe is to make sure that nobody else knows what the fuck is going on.

Oh, see? I suppose I could have just read a few more panels and realized Lord Julius explains it himself.

As Kitchen Staff Supervisor, Cerebus' job is to keep assassins from assassinating Lord Julius. Aside from that, he was pretty much free to do whatever he wanted. Unless he only thought he was free to do whatever he wanted and whatever he wanted was whatever Lord Julius was manipulating him into wanting. Lord Julius is a master of getting people to accidentally do the thing they didn't think they would ever do that Lord Julius also didn't want them to do but actually secretly did want them to do. Basically anybody who has recently spoken with Lord Julius is actively doing Lord Julius' bidding, whether they know it or not. For some reason, Cerebus decides to take on the role of Kitchen Staff Supervisor even though it's the most boring thing he's ever done in his life. At least it's entertaining for the reader because nearly every line out of Lord Julius' mouth is a solid gag. And since I haven't really seen any of Groucho's movies, I can't say how many of the gags were stolen outright! I have to assume it's all new material and only Groucho Marx parody. Some people, in an attempt to never be fooled by anybody, never believe anything at all. I am not one of those people. I believe everything I hear until somebody slaps me and yells, "How can you believe that obviously falsified tripe, you fucking moron?!" Assassins try to poison Lord Julius and Cerebus tracks them down to an underground group trying to free the city from the clutches of Lord Julius. When the assassin, Cerebus, and Lord Julius wind up in the same place, Cerebus outs himself as a spineless centrist.

The Centrist loves to believe that not taking sides is the only logical conclusion to any matter that doesn't seem to immediately affect their lives.

Some people are probably wondering how that previous caption is a negative criticism. "Um, yeah. Seems about right. If it doesn't affect me, why should I offer up an opinion!" And yet when a situation exists where one side is full of abusive and manipulative people controlling the reins of power and the economic purse strings of the country and the other side is being bullied, cheated, and abused by that side, not taking a side is siding with the powerful and the abusive. Even if your life hasn't been affected. Of course, Cerebus doesn't need to take a side here. I mean, he does take a side: he sides with the people who have all the money. But he doesn't really care is the point. You'll see he retains this philosophy of rich people winning every argument later when he's Pope and gives out his wisdom that "God loves rich people which is why they're rich and hates poor people which is why they're poor." Pretty much the philosophy of evangelicals in the U.S. Cerebus survives the battle with the assassin and then gives Lord Julius some free advice about running the country. So Cerebus kind of does agree with the assassin but also the assassin wasn't paying him anything so he deserved to be thrown five stories to his death. Lord Julius says, "You can rest assured that I'll give the matter all the attention I feel it deserves." Is there a better way to tell somebody to shove it than that? It's so elegant! In Aardvark Comments, Dave Sim answers a letter on how to go about self-publishing. And so his role as Independent Comic Book Publishing Mentor begins! In his list of things you'll need to get together to successfully publish your own comic book, he kindly leaves out "talent." Obviously Dave understood how to go about getting something published but he also put in the hard work and had the talent to produce a comic book that began well above mediocre or average. I can't imagine a lot of self-published books began at this high of a plateau. And even if they were eventually capable of Cerebus quality, how long are readers going to give them to get there? Probably not even two issues, would be my guess.

The Single Page had a comic called "Sex Education" by April. I thought the first two panels were cute.

Cerebus #14 Rating: A+. As with Elrod and Red Sophia and The Cockroach, Lord Julius' first appearance is a banger. Dave Sim never once falters with Lord Julius' repartee. Solid gags throughout. Sim really is a master of dialogue and, to think, it only gets better.

[oddieodelia]

Forsaken: UK Shadowhunters Con Recap

Hi all! So I went to Forsaken this weekend, if you don’t know what that is, it was a Shadowhunters con in London with Maxim Roy (Jocelyn), Jon Cor (Hodge), Kaitlyn Leeb (Camille) and Joel Labelle (Alaric).

It was so much fun, and since it was their first con/they’re not the main cast it was so small, nice and chill. They were all so down to earth, humbled and overwhelmed that we came to see/speak to them. They each had two panels (one on each day) and a full guest panel, I’ve managed to write up most of what I can remember below. Obviously there’s a lot I haven’t captured, but highlights/best moments are under the cut!

A lot of things we discussed were personal/non-Shadowhunter related, if you just want to read the bits to do with the show, just read the bits that have been bolded.

Kaitlyn

Camille will not be appearing in 2b

We were meant to get a scene set in the 1800s when we saw the flashback photo of Camille/Magnus/Ragnor. The scene was meant to be at a ball, and Camille tells Magnus about her dalliance with that short lived Russian. However unfortunately due to budget constraints the scene got cut. 

Another scene that got cut: initially at the beginning we were meant to see a scene between Camille/Raphael that was all in French. As she doesn't speak French she spent a while learning the lines and the accent. She nailed it by the time they did the table read, but after that the scene got cut.

When discussing ships that would never work, she said Camille/Alec. We agreed that would only happen if she did an encanto on him. After discussing for a while Kaitlyn said that to get back at/hurt Magnus for sending her to Idris, when Camille breaks free she'll encanto Alec.

If Camille wasn't such a lying cheating bitch she believes Camille and Magnus could've had a future, because deep down they do and will always love eachother.

Kaitlyn has a few projects coming up: she's continuing with Heartland, a Netflix show coming up (Slasher 2 I think she said?), and another show that also stars Paulino Nunes.

Her favourite scene to shoot was the first scene with Simon and Raphael.

She loves her scenes with Magnus because she loves working with Harry. After Harry, her favourite person to work with is Alberto.

Hardest thing to shoot/skill she had to learn whilst being on Shadowhunters was learning to speak with fangs in her mouth. She was pretty bad at speaking, but at least she was better than David. David was awful at first. Trying to do anything (e.g. pouring the bloody marys) whilst she had the long nails was very difficult too.

Another hard thing to shoot was the graveyard scene. Avery was born 5 weeks prior and shooting went till about 7am. She was also wearing heels which isn't easy on grass/mud.

She initially auditioned for the role of Izzy. They then brought her back to audition for Camille, which she got after one audition.

If she could play anyone else in the show it would be Magnus because his character is amazing, but if she's talking about a character she could physically play (e.g. a female) it would be Izzy.

On who is the biggest mother hen on set? Kat. Not in a particularly maternal way, but she always makes everyone - especially new cast members - feel welcome and part of the Shadowhunter family.

Kaitlyn loves British TV. Fave shows include Downton Abbey and Keeping Up Appearances. She also loves the Royal Family and Kate in particular.

Her comfort movie/movie she's seen the most is Monster In Law. She loves Jane Fonda.

One place she'd love to visit? Somewhere in Africa to see safari. However she'd have to wait till Avery is a little older as the flight is so long.

Her favourite animal is an ostrich. She'd love a pet ostrich, she'd name it Betty.

If she could dress Avery up as a Disney princess it would be Pocahontas. For Halloween last year she dressed her up as a gypsy bride, and her friend's son was the gypsy groom.

She loves being a mother cause it makes her feel like a wonder woman. Being able to juggle so much and look after another being is so fulfilling.

Her mother was her role model growing up, so she wants to be the same for Avery.

She doesn't really get starstruck, but when she was on Total Recall she had a moment of being starstruck when she saw Colin Farrell. Her husband joined her at the premiere and when he saw Jessica Biel he totally freaked and asked for a photo. 

Joel

Firstly Joel is like the funniest dorkiest man ever. He reiterated many times that if he does 'make it' and become a super famous actor in the future and becomes a douchebag, he wants us to call him out on it. He wants to always stay down to earth like he is now.

Joel is an actor and a stuntman. Trying to break into acting was difficult: casting directors would see his stunting resume and not really give him a chance. Luckily he's now seen as both and has a few different projects coming up. He's currently doing some work on Fargo.

He initially auditioned for the role of Meliorn, but that then went to Jade. They brought him back a few times and he then landed the role of Alaric.

He loves working across Isaiah, they were both such fun on set. Joel really wanted to pull a prank on Isaiah (saran wrap the toilet bowl in his trailer) but was scared Isaiah would kill him.

He was super freaked when he first heard that Isaiah was cast as Luke. 'That's the Old Spice guy??!!' but got over it pretty quickly. Secret: Isaiah literally is the Old Spice guy in real life.

Joel doesn't really get starstruck, but he once was at the craft table making a sandwich and Gary Oldman was next to him making a sandwich and he didn't know what to do with himself.

His favourite scene on Shadowhunters was when he kidnapped Clary/Simon and put them in the car, because he actually drove the car afterwards. He was told to 'drive safe but make it look dangerous'. He told Kat/Alberto to buckle up and just sped round the corner, as they hadn't buckled up they flew across the seats.

As a stuntman and professional skydiver he's broken like every bone in his body. (Don't quote me on this, but it was like his arms 3 times, every finger, both his wrists and all his ribs on one side?) He was actually in a coma once too. One of his arms has like metal and screws, it always beeps when he goes to the airport in China.

Though he's got a few projects he still professionally skydives and is going back to Toronto to do so very soon. He promised Dom that he'll bring him skydiving soon.

He didn't steal any clothes from the set because Alaric's clothes were 'so lame'. He hated on his dip dye plaid shirt.

He wishes he could've had more fight scenes. As a stuntman he would've loved to have more fight scenes and done all the stunts himself. If he could've redone his death scene it would've been a dramatic battle death.

He didn’t really prepare for the role/read any werewolf lore when he got the part. He feels if he prepares he tends to over prepare and just mess up. Acting is meant to be like real life - in real life we don’t prepare everything we say and have set lines, acting should be as natural as possible. You just have to learn your lines, hit your mark and listen to what others are saying to you.

He'd love to play Aladdin in the live action version. (Someone then started the hashtag #JoelLabelleForAladdin)

Actors he looks up to? Denzel Washington and Shia LaBeouf. (The first because he's an incredible actor, the latter as he's so famous yet his personal life is not in the limelight. Shia is a very 'normal person'.)

Worst/most embarrassing thing that has happened on a set? He was on Reign and was part of a battle scene outside where they all had to run/charge forward. He tripped over a log and fell pretty much into a really expensive camera and completely broke it. He's super clumsy on set and has knocked over/broken many props too.

He was so flattered and humbled about this weekend. It was his first con and 'one of the best things he's ever done.' Speaking to his family about it, his mother and sister were like 'why? why would people want to come and see and take photos with you?' his sister sent him a whatsapp like 'why, you're ugly'.

Jon

Firstly Jon is super poetic and everything he said was just so wonderful, quotable and long winded, so I probably won't be able to capture everything that was said. Like not from the panel, but his autographs took so long. Maxim and Joel were totally making fun of him and were saying he was writing poems for everyone. Every autograph had a little message, he was such a sweetheart (mine said 'you have a wonderful smile').

Jon's read all of the main TMI books and seen the film, he wanted to have his own take on Hodge. He wanted him to be seen as like an older brother/uncle, someone who was close to the Lightwoods. He wasn't a Lightwood though, and he's not part of the Circle, he's just somewhere in between, on his own.

He thinks Hodge felt so guilty after what he did, he was just so surprised and like 'oh no what's happening' when Valentine just took the cup from him.

His favourite Lightwood to work with was Alec, because he gets along really well with Matt.

If Hodge hadn't died yet, Jon would have loved to have done the scene from the books with Sebastian.

He can't say anything because of NDAs, so we don't know if Hodge might be able to come back. Perhaps in a flashback with Jace and Alec?

If Jon could play a superhero it would be Batman. Jon has a few different projects coming up, most recently he filmed a pilot for the CW. It's an adaption from a YA novel, I think he said something about mermaids? They don't know if they'll get picked up or not but from what they've heard, the pilot is being very warmly received.

If Jon wasn't an actor he would just be a writer. He talked a lot about his book and short stories and gave advice to writers. He started writing his book when he was 19 and every now and then he goes back to it and rewrites bits. It's been finished for years, he just always changes bits and doesn't want to publish it yet. When he does publish it, it will be free and proceeds will go to charity. He said he thought about going to an editor or publisher but he doesn't want restrictions. With acting, he is just an actor who is told what to do - by the script, directors, producers.. etc. Writing on the other hand is something personal and truly where he can be free to do whatever he wants.

Jon talked about his mother a lot. She was a 16 year old single mother and daughter to a priest (I think he said, or granddaughter?). He was originally meant to be put up for adoption but once she had him she couldn't let him go. She went to the prospective parents and apologised that she couldn't give him up. She's basically his biggest constant and role model in life, and why he cares and admires women so much. He got really emotional and choked up and I thought I was about to cry. The whole room was just silent.

Jon and his mother moved around a lot when he was younger so he was always the 'new kid' at school. That's how he ended up acting - he once joined a drama class and realised acting was a way he could almost deflect any of the mean things people said about him/how he could make others laugh. He felt like as the new kid he always had to prove himself to others.

So obviously his name is Jon Cor - when he was bullied his nickname was Jon Apple Core, his nickname from friends was Jonny Hardcore.

He talked a while about gaming (unfortunately I can't really remember the games he talked about) but he was saying how he appreciates games as an art form. Some games have beautiful storylines and are way more than just *sings Super Mario theme song*.

He laughed and talked about some of his past projects, including Saw. He said it was such a fun and crazy experience, there was one scene where he was just handcuffed to a chair for a while, whilst his co-star was hung above him. They took her down every few takes and made sure she wasn't hanging for too long, but she still became numb from the waist down and had to go to hospital.

Jon’s all time favourite band are The White Stripes. He also absolutely loves The Doors.

Maxim

Obviously the first thing everyone talked about was Jocelyn's death. Similarly Maxim talked about NDAs so can't confirm or deny if she'll be able to come back at all.

She found out about Jocelyn's death after shooting 2x02.

If Jocelyn were still alive she would've loved to have had more scenes with Isaiah. Following the books, Jocelyn and Luke would've eventually gotten married.

Isaiah is also a great kisser. As on screen kisses are so mechanical they’re often pretty awkward, so it’s always a pleasant surprise when you find an actor who kisses great on screen.

Her favourite episode is the pilot. There was just something so magical about the first episode, everyone was so excited to film and to be part of such a huge project.

Her favourite scene with Kat is the one from the pilot where Jocelyn gives Clary her stele.

She loved the World Inverted episode, she'd love to explore that again. She said when her and Alan were dancing, he kept saying that they should kiss. 'Alan is so in love with me!'

She thought everyone was so great in the AU episode, she though Isaiah was hilarious and Emeraude did such a great job with nerd!Izzy.

Her best friends on set were Alan and Jon.

Maxim only did one audition and got the role. She filmed her audition on her iPhone in a hotel room and got it straight away. (Joel was so amazed, ‘one audition? ONE audition?! one audition on an iphone???’) She submitted her video on a Thursday, got told she got the role on Sunday, flew out on Tuesday and started filming on Thursday. 

Though Jocelyn and Maryse had a rough relationship, Maxim thinks Jocelyn would totally approve of Clary's friendship with Isabelle. She wouldn't judge Izzy on her parents' mistakes, and be happy that Clary has someone so strong to show her the ropes.

On Climon/Clace: Jocelyn would approve of Climon because she knows Simon is like the nicest and sweetest boy who would treat Clary right. (As Maxim she totally does not ship them though). With Clace she at first wouldn't approve as she never wanted Clary to get involved with a Shadowhunter cause she'd be scared he'd turn out like Valentine, but in the end would approve. She'd realise that Jace is a good person who will treat her right and protect her.

She said that Alberto is so much like Simon and is the nicest, sweetest boy. She once asked him if she could adopt him. She wants a small Alberto that she can carry around in her pocket.

When the younger actors were filming the flashback episodes, Maxim spoke to the actress portaying young!Jocelyn. She gave her more physical pointers such as how she moves and how she fights - she held the blade in one hand which was unfortunate for the younger actress as it was super heavy. (Maxim said after the day they shot the flashback in the park where Jocelyn kills the demon from the lake in the park she could barely move her arm.)

She feels like she was the mother hen on set, though she's not particularly serious herself. She played pranks and scared people too. She wanted to hide in Dom's bathroom and jump out at him but she was scared of what he'd do afterwards.

Speaking of pranks, she said her best one ever was on a film that was shot in Mexico. One of the actors was kinda drunk and like asking them to all go out at like 3am when they had a call the next morning, so the next day they told the director/producer. They hired two guys to act as cops and pretend that he did something wrong and would get arrested, they staged a whole argument between the cops and director in Spanish (the actor doesn't speak it so was just standing there scared). They convinced him he was going to get arrested and wouldn't be allowed back to Canada. This lasted two hours.

She also pulled a pretty harsh prank on her mother. Her mother always used to buy the lottery, and one day when she was out she asked Maxim/her husband to write down the numbers for her. Maxim and her dad decided it would be fun to pretend she won a lot of money, found her ticket and wrote down 5 of the 6 numbers. Her mother thought she had won like $250,000 dollars and was totally freaking out, then they told her they lied.

Maxim is a scuba diver. She’d totally recommend scuba divers to go to Belize.

She loves British music. Currently she’s loving Adele, Ed Sheeran and Coldplay.

And finally just a few notable thoughts that came up in the group discussion with Maxim/Jon/Joel (Kaitlyn had to leave early to fly back to Canada):

Which character would win a THG battle? Everyone agreed Alaric would die pretty soon, it was a toss up between Jocelyn and Hodge though (brains vs. brawl)

What weapon would they use in a THG fight? Joel said a machine gun. Jon said a pen, because the ‘pen is mightier than the sword’. He then went on a ramble about how he’d just do small things like steal Maxim’s toothbrush and slowly make her think that she’s going insane. Joel and Maxim pretended to fall asleep as he discussed his plans.

Favourite colour? Maxim and Joel both said blue. They think perhaps because it reminds them of the sea/sky respectively (scuba diver/skydiver). Joel’s is red.

What crazy colour would they dye their hair (in real life or for a role)? Joel - blue (because it’s his fave colour), Maxim - platinum, Hodge - purple (perhaps for a punky dude who steals things? Again, he went on a roll and Maxim/Joel just started laughing)

Spirit animal? Joel - pig (I’m so lazy), Maxim - dolphin, Jon - lion

And that’s about it for my write up. It’s 11:30 and I’m super tired, hopefully this all makes sense! I wrote half of this whilst on the tube home from the con, so if there any grammatical mistakes I apologise. If I think of any more I’ll update this, feel free to ask me any qs! And check out my forsaken tag, I’ll upload more photos later.

If you’ve made it this far, thank you for reading! xx

[rhythmbastard]

Status Quo Sunday INVANDED ATLANTA!

MOMOCOOOOON! The show actually happened! I played it, and people liked it! It's my first out of state con that I performed at, and I hope to do much more into the future, especially since I now need to know what do for future shows, and how to expand my setup and performance for the next one. Momocon was awesome, and reminded me a lot of PAX East, but with WAAAAY more elbow room. Most of my time there was spent on Magic stuff: I joined the Magic League to earn free cards, and got to catch a couple of the MtG Events. As it turns out, the people from Magic The Gathering really like my music and love the podcast I'm a part of Voice Of All! This was a picture I took with members of the Magic Story staff, Kelly Digges, Alison Lurhs and Michael Yichao after the Magic Story Panel: In the front is a cool guy named Wil, who made them sign Test Of Metal, which is where a millenia old plansewalking dragon notroious for his ruthless scheming says something tastes like "goat balls" and calls planeswalker Tezzeret, a very talented engineer, "Tezzy". Yeah, it might rival "Mills College Anime Club" for most embarassing thing I've read. Anyways, you can read up on the Magic Story panel on my Tumblr. You can also watch this video where I revivemy Dovin Baan voice:

MAGFEST VERSUS Magfest did its own version of Nick Arcade. Nuff said. INDIE GAMES You know what's awesome? A con where you can play a shitton of indie games! What's better than that? Playing all those indie games without having to wait so much! Some favorites: Use Your Words- Created by BrentalFloss, this is a game in the vein of Jackbox Party Pack games, where you use your cell phone as a controller to type in responses to the prompts. The main difference is that it's not focused on getting the right answer, but giving the funniest response. There's also "Decoy" answers that add a bit of guesswork to the mix, to discourage you from picking what would be an answer that would get less points. The retro 60's TV Show art style looks appealing and contributes to the overall "kayfabe" the game is going for. There's a lot of overlap, but priced right, this could solidly fulfill its own niche. Rise Of The Metronomicon- Dubstep Fireballs. It's a rhythm game with RPG Elements. Think Amplitude, where completing a measure grants you an attack or spell. There was only a demo setup at Momocon, but there were hints of a deeper system going on. The soundtrack features the likes of Ben Briggs, DJ Cutman, Mega Ran, and Jimmy Urine from Mindless Self Indulgence. You're not getting big names here, but I enjoyed the tracks they did have. I'm holding off until it comes for consoles, but you can get it now on Steam. Distance- Easily the most polished game there, Distance barely had an empty seat all weekend. Distance is a driving/platformer game where you drive A FLYING CAR? It looks great, and while there are a couple spots where things get sticky, it's still in Alpha with a ton of new features being added regularly. There's hints of a story toward the end of the demo, but the three levels I got to play presented a satisfying experience that I might be tempted to speed run.   Grid Masters- Sometimes people will remember the weirdest games, and I'll be on that shit. For me, that game is Mega Man Battle Network. Grid Masters plays out like a fighting game with that setup, but instead of the randomness of the "cards", you get abilities on cool downs like a MOBA.The demo was setup in an acrade cabinet, which helped sell the fact that it's a fighting game. Still some tweaks to be made, but definitely worth keeping an eye on! Brawlhalla- I've seen this game everywhere, but never got to play it. Basically it's a free tro play Super Smash Brothers, but with even simpler controls. You choose from a variety of interesting characters who's official lore could only disappoint you, and you try to knock the other characters off the platform. Like I said, Super Smash Bros., but it also is a little floatier in the way Tekken is where you can juggle characters if you're good enough. I got it off Steam, and looking to put some more time into it. ANIME FESTIVAL ORLANDO RUMBLE 2017!  It's back! via Blogger http://ift.tt/2qDp5mn