#SDCC@HOME

[cherrygeek]

"BABYLON 5" TEAM DISCUSSES BRINGING EPIC SCI-FI DRAMA BACK IN ANIMATED FORM FOR "THE ROAD HOME"

2023 marks the 30th Anniversary of the premiere of Babylon 5, and Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment is celebrating with the release of a brand-new animated film Babylon 5:The Road Home on August 15th.Cherry the Geek TV spoke with Babylon 5 writer/creator J. Michael Straczynski and director Matt Peters at San Diego Comic Con about the new film. Straczynski has wanted to bring the show…

[sha-woo]

Season 5 is now out and I originally planned to make a countdown but now they are all uploaded to the channel.

One song is not released, but I will have it out on Saturday ! I Will avoid social media until I get home from SDCC so sorry for the spam liking once I get back!

[graphicpolicy]

SDCC 2023: Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment Brings Four Highly Anticipated Original Animated Movies

SDCC 2023: Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment Brings Four Highly Anticipated Original Animated Movies #SDCC #SDCC2023 #SDCC23

Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment returns to San Diego Comic-Con 2023 with four panels showcasing the highly anticipated original animated films, Adult Swim’s The Venture Bros.: Radiant is the Blood of the Baboon Heart and Metalocalypse: Army of the Doomstar, DC’s Justice League: Warworld, and Babylon 5: The Road Home during the July 19-23 weekend. The Venture Bros.: Radiant is the Blood…

[flaptopfuture]

Here's a guide to the rarities and approximate drop rates of the Gravity Falls Doorables set of blind bags that are coming out soon! They're ROUGH!!!

TLDR, if you want more than the commons and maybe a rare, you're better off buying the SDCC set or singles (maybe all singles depending on how much they end up going for)

[shorthaltsjester]

watching the sdcc panel and i am just very :) about how sweet their answers to “what are some of the micro moments from the game that have stuck with you the most over the years?” are. taliesin saying what the fuck is up with that which was the first like The Party Gets To Know Each Other moments of c3. travis saying asking his wife if he could kiss her in campaign. marisha going way back to the cannonball competition in campaign one. ashley choosing the beauyasha date but also just the silly goat noise matt made. liam adding onto that to compliment matt roleplaying grass so well and then saying his favourite moment was writing a story for laura and reading it to her as caleb for jester. and then matt saying that was his answer, and that his favourite moments of the game are when they find ways to give gifts to each other whether tangible or not. and sam saying his favourite moments have less to do with the story and is more so when he can just. see his friends across the table from him. when marisha perches and when laura and ashley are (badly) drawing dicks and liam saying he loves when sam sneezes and ashley tells him to stop it and just. yeah. they Are an extremely popular online powerhouse, but i’m so happy that they’re also friends building a world together out of gifts to and love for one another.

like i Am so enamoured with the characters and the world of exandria but the moments when you can feel the love that those people have for each other reach out from behind the stained glass of their performances (to steal a metaphor from brennan lee mulligan) are so extremely special and i am endlessly grateful that they decided to share their silly little home game with the world.

[movyman32]

Kevin Conroy Batman TAS Interview

[felassan]

Some notes from today's new BioWare Blog post, which contained some new character insights and also gave some information on what is coming next and when:

Creative Performance Director Ashley Barlow helped to cast and direct over a thousand conversations in the game

Lucanis is bloodthirsty, calculated, and a workaholic. He was raised with high expectations and fears disappointing those he loves. To him, being an assassin is his only job and identity to be excellent at. He's constantly attuning himself to the kind of shifting terrain of every mission. There's a lot of love between him and Illario

As Zach is a comedian, he would easily find the humor in anything Lucanis was saying

Neve is a Shadow Dragons rebel who cares deeply about helping people and never leaves work half-done. Epler: " [she is] the working class hero trying to make her hometown better"

Emmrich is sincere, friendly, scholarly, sophisticated, eager to teach and learn, a well-meaning but oblivious academic, with a "hot nerdiness". He assumes everyone has an academic's curiosity so can be pedantic on select topics

The Mourn Watch are revered in Nevarra but odd at best and evil at worst outside of it

Nick: "I love the fact that the writers took Emmerich and explored the whole idea of death and the whole idea of necromancing by bringing kindness into it. I really responded to that and got into that and I know it sounds crazy, but it’s to not have this idea that death is vulgar or something to be terrified about, but something to actually engage with on so many levels. I just love the fact that the writers had the courage to do that in a game like this."

"Often Nick is just playing off of someone making a sound, and he takes it and internalizes it and gives it meaning and care, which is amazing to watch."

The world has changed a lot since DA:I

Harding has been leading teams through the wilderness while covering friends in battle

Harding loves her mom. She loves to write letters home and is always talking about her mother. She likes plants and raising plants. She has grown and is a veteran now, a trusted voice at the table

Footage of the full DA:TV @ SDCC companions panel should be available in a couple of weeks

Next month there will be a new roadmap, more looks at the game, and the reveal of the release date

[emphasis mine]

And this paragraph:

"Dragon Age: The Veilguard sees players embark on a perilous quest to face powerful Elven gods and stop the apocalyptic destruction they’re unleashing. You’ll step into the role of Rook, battling on the front lines alongside a deep and compelling cast of companions who together comprise The Veilguard, a group of heroes who have come together to stop the veil from breaking and bringing about the end of the world. Rook must become the unexpected leader who can rally and unite the group. Throughout the game, you can explore the detailed storylines of each companion, navigating love, loss, and complex choices that influence your relationships."

[source]

[theflashjaygarrick]

So you've heard about the DC Absolute Universe and you're wondering what it is all about.

While details about Absolute DC is still coming out, I decided it might be useful to make a breakdown of what we know so far (mostly from SDCC).

DC Absolute Universe Breakdown:

The Absolute universe is a new alternate universe influenced by Darkseid energy. It is a 'darker' universe where all the heroes have lost something key to their Earth 0 selves which leaves them as underdogs. While separate to the main universe it will link in through the events of the All In initiative. There doesn't seem to be many superhero teams yet, but a lot of iconic heroes have had their own solo series' announced:

Absolute Batman (By Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta):

The series brave enough to ask...what if Batman was an absolute unit. This is a Batman with no money and no status as the Prince of Gotham. Instead he is a construction worker and city engineer who has turned himself and his costume into an absolute weapon. He has an adorable French Bulldog and is also apparently blonde.

This Bruce Wayne never had a butler but there still is an Alfred in the Absolute Universe: Alfred "Penny", the grizzled and tired MI-6 spy. They seemingly meet for the first time when Bruce has already began his caped crusade against crime (and the series' confirmed big bad Black Mask)

Bonus: The Jim Lee variant cover gives us a better look at his costume's armoured texture and one of his weapons. He's seemingly more of a heavy hitter than the Batman we know.

Absolute Wonder Woman (By Kelley Thompson and Hayden Sherman):

This Wonder Woman was raised not in Paradise Island but rather in The Underworld. She has no sisters and no quest for peace. Instead she is the last of the Amazons who becomes a warrior and a witch, and eventually the Absolute Universe's first superhero. She is more heavily armed, carries a massive sword, and flies around on a skeletal pegasus made of iron.

Unlike her Earth counterpart who is notable for not wearing a mask, this Wonder Woman seemingly has two, including a rather demonic looking helmet. Also, her colour scheme is based less on the American flag and more on the idea of lava under rocks.

She also has a Jim Lee variant cover which suggests she also will have a lasso.

Absolute Superman (By Jason Aaron and Rafa Sandoval):

Superman is the member of the trinity we know the least about. He is supposed to be more alien (suggested by his glowing red arms and the fact the cape seems to be made of pure energy) and according to the solicitation is "Without the fortress... without the family... without a home" but honestly we don't know much more.

We do have some cool art though (including another Jim Lee Variant):

Absolute Green Lantern (By Al Ewing and Jahnoy Linsday)

Absolute Green Lantern is a "first contact" story and "reimagining" of the Green Lantern mythos featuring Jo Mullein, Hal Jordan, and John Stewart. We have some cool concept art of it including a redesign of Jo that suggests the lanterns might be in civilian clothing illuminated green.

Absolute Flash (By Jeff Lemire and Nick Robles)

This is the book we know the least about. All we really can infer apart from the creative team is that the Flash is presumably Wally West and that he appears to be more tortured character than in most other iterations.

(Shout out to Bleeding Cool for posting photos of the SDCC slides for people who weren't there)

[whateverisbeautiful]

♥️Reveling in Richonne - TOWL

#1: The Hand (1.01)

The level of excitement, anxiety, joy, and anticipation I felt just before pressing play on the TOWL premiere was so high. My Richonne was finally coming back. 🥹 And man did they just snatch my heart for an entire hour with their return. I already knew seeing them again would be euphoric, but it was even more than I could have guessed. And the TOWL premiere dives right in with a very emotional, wild, and impactful first few minutes...

When deciding on a deadline for having these RIR: Towl Edition posts ready, I figured today, July 22, would be a great kickoff day since it's the anniversary of when The Ones Who Live was first announced at SDCC. 👌🏽😊

I remember where I was the day I first saw the TOWL announcement in 2022. I was in the middle of moving to a new place and saw an article pop up on my phone with a picture of Andy and Danai hand in hand at Comic-Con. I was just happy to see them.

And then I looked down at the article’s headline and saw they were there to announce that there would be a Rick and Michonne miniseries. 🤩 I was already overjoyed by that, but then, my joy just skyrocketed even more when I saw that they were coming back specifically for a miniseries focused on Rick and Michonne’s “epic love story” with Andy, Danai, and Scott as co-creators and executive producers. 😍

I knew we were about to have an absolute feast with this show our captains cooked up - and feast we most certainly did. This 6 episode miniseries is a six-course meal. 🍽

And I think TOWL is excellent on its own and has a lot of widespread appeal but when I’ve seen people say The Ones Who Live felt like it was particularly for the Richonne fans, there’s also a very clear explanation for that: the show was made by three Richonne fans. Scott, Andy, and Danai…they’re us. 😋

And I am so grateful to them for the beautiful gift that is The Ones Who Live. 😌

So this first post is a bit longer because I gotta come out the gate extra and even offer up some thoughts on the TWD clips that they included just before the premiere starts. I really liked how it sets up TOWL and highlights the power of Richonne’s relationship. 

They start by showing the iconic pilot shot of Rick on his horse riding along the barren side of a freeway as we hear his voice say, “We tell ourselves we are the walking dead.”

And then they include the iconic shot of Michonne’s TWD entrance from season 2.

They then show a clip from season 6, just a few episodes before Richonne would be canon. In the clip, Michonne is on the patio with Rick (and his elevator eyes) as she helps him see, “We’re in here together.”

I love this because in reminding Rick that they’re alive and breathing right here and now and have the room to make ASZ home it shows how Michonne was the one who helped change Rick’s motto from “We’re the walking dead” to “We’re the ones who live.” It’s one of the many ways she changed his life. 😌

They show some Say Yes moments, and you know I love that Richonne episode down. Seeing them use clips from the beloved 7.12, I remember just marveling over how years ago we were so excited just to get a single episode focused on Richonne and now we were gearing up to watch a whole miniseries dedicated to them. 🥰 Never getting over that blessing.

Rick says, “We’re gonna lose people, maybe even each other” as the clip ushers in its first gut punch of the hour by showing Rick and Michonne at their son Carl’s side after he reveals he’s been bit. 🥺

They also show Rick telling Michonne “You can lose me” in the Say Yes van and her saying “No.” We’ll talk about it more in a later post, but just as many of us suspected - Richonne cannot in fact lose each other and live on the same. While losing each other is and was physically possible, in every other way losing each other made them lose the most crucial parts of themselves.

Then they show Rick in his final TWD ep, preparing to blow up the bridge as his voiceover tells Michonne “If it’s me who doesn’t make it, you’re gonna have to lead the others forward because you’re the one who can.”

We see Michonne scream his name as Rick blows up the bridge and then they show our sweet older Judith as Rick says “Making a future for Judith, it’ll be worth it.” And I always love that 9.05 shot of Judith because of how it incorporates Rick, Carl, and Michonne with the holster, hat, and sword on her back. She along with RJ is an embodiment of their legacy and the future Richonne believed in.

Then they show Michonne slaying a walker as she says “We can make it. I’m not giving up.” And it just all really hammers home the resilience of Richonne and their love and partnership. They’ve been through so much, built so much, and lost so much, but they still stand because of each other and the family they created. 

After they give us some CRM insight with clips of Jadis (😒), they show scenes of Michonne and Judith’s last conversation where they both decide Michonne will go and look for The Brave Man. I’m glad they included that because some viewers really tend to forget that Judith urged her mom to go look for her dad and Michonne left not as an act of abandonment, but as the ultimate act of love for her family.

The TWD clips ends with Michonne saying “Okay baby girl I’m gonna try” and Judith saying “Go get him.” I love that even with everyone else thinking they were crazy, Michonne and Judith never stopped believing Rick was out there. (And RJ was believing too. 🥹 But I'm getting way ahead of myself lol)

And then --- the show we’ve all been waiting for begins and the TOWL premiere has a devastatingly poignant teaser. 🥺

I like how The Ones Who Live's opener connects to the last of the TWD clips because Michonne tells her baby girl she’s gonna try and then we hear Rick’s voice start the show by saying, “I tried. Please know I tried.”

It moves me how much Rick and Michonne have been trying for each other while apart. And it’s crushing to hear Rick say 'tried' in the past tense as he now debates no longer trying anymore since he's learned he can’t be with his family again or else risk putting them in harm's way.

After years of waiting to finally see what Rick has been up to all this time, they immediately let us know it has been an excruciatingly painful existence for him without his family. 😢

gif cred: @perryabbott

I like how the shot opens with Rick facing away from the camera as he stares out the window at a cold industrial view. Rick facing away from us almost gives this sense that we know him but we also don’t fully know him anymore. He’s been through a lot we haven’t seen.

The vintage TV delivers news of a massive attack in the background and similar to the destruction on the television, Rick also feels destroyed by the CRM and at his lowest here. 

gif cred: @nerd4music

Then I love how before we even see Rick's face, we see him holding one of his phone sketches of Michonne. This show did a great job of immediately setting up the way Richonne’s love would be at the center of every scene in this story.

This shot of Michonne on the phone let you know instantly that the love between Richonne is still so alive and important to Rick and the miniseries. It’s also painful because it’s like Rick is finally accepting that those little drawings really could be the last he ever gets to “see” her after fighting so hard to believe he would see her again for real one day. 

And it’s very symbolic to have him look at Michonne on the phone and then see his own reflection in it. They’re one. It’s also significant that the first we see of Rick’s face is through a reflection. Again he’s him, but he’s not fully him rn. Just a reflection. And the part of him he misses most is his other half - Michonne. 

gif cred: @richonne4life

One of the tragic aspects of these two soulmates being separated for so long is that Rick and Michonne were not the type of couple who needed absence to make the heart grow fonder. Like they didn’t need to lose each other to realize how special their love was. When they were together they were fully aware of the gift their relationship was in their lives and they treasured their love deeply and out loud.

So being apart has only heightened what Rick and Michonne already knew full well which is that they are the love of each other's lives. They’re everything to each other. They knew it back then. And they know it still now, even after being away from each other longer than they’ve been together. 

It’s such a big deal for Rick to look at this phone in this moment as he contemplates ending it. I noticed that anytime Rick thinks he’s about to die, he thinks of Michonne. It's as though he’s eager for his last moment of life and his last thought to be of her so that he can end on some semblance of a positive note.

When he’s on the bridge in TWD 9.05, Michonne is his last hallucination. When he later chops off his hand and fades out of consciousness he dreams of her. And here when he contemplates dying by his own hand, he looks at this image of her just before. It makes me think of that TikTok that went viral about a man saying his last breath will be his wife’s name. That is definitely Rick’s mindset and I love that Richonne’s love runs that deep. 

Rick looks out with tears in his eyes - just sadness personified - and then he stares at the shard of glass in his hand, contemplative, before putting the glass to his neck. The acting Andy does in this moment is incredibly powerful and painful. I know award shows disappointingly tend to completely sleep on the performances from the TWD cast but truly to me he secured every award nomination just within his first few seconds of being on screen.

There’s something so viscerally vulnerable about this moment as Rick stares at the glass really wondering if after everything he’s been through and overcome, it’s really come to this - meeting his demise by his own hand with a little piece of glass.

Plus with how resilient Rick is, it’s like we see this massive internal fight to go against everything in him that’s a survivor and actively choose to stop surviving once and for all.

My heart just instantly broke from this teaser because while yes we know Rick won’t go through with it, to know that he was even in the headspace of this makes me hurt for him deeply. To think he was ready to potentially just go out, alone, depressed, never seeing his family again and them never knowing he was out there, feeling like a failure. It’s extremely dark.

gif cred: @vidco

Throughout his time on TWD, Rick’s journey has been as much a mental battle as it has been an external battle and as we saw in the TWD pilot, Rick is extremely perseverant but without his family, he is not opposed to just ending it.

And now, he's tried so hard for so many years to get back to Michonne and Judith, he stayed alive off the memory of family and the hope of being with family again - But once he realized it was no longer an option unless he risked putting the ones he loves in immense danger, that was it for him. In this moment he no longer sees the point in living if he has to live without his wife and daughter. 🥺

I found it powerfully poignant to have a show called The Ones Who Live begin by having Rick about to take his life. It shows that for Rick, there’s an asterisk on that motto because he feels he’s only 'the one who lives' if he gets to live with Michonne. It’s either ‘the ones who live together’ or nothing at all for Rick. 

So he nearly goes through with this attempt. Even draws some blood on his neck...but then he stops. Thank goodness. 🙏🏽 He sucks his teeth and sighs as he stares at the shard of glass looking defeated but also resolved that he can’t go through with it. Not like this.

Through this teaser, we instantly get his state of mind. He can’t end it all but he’s been in so much pain that it feels like the only way through is to die. It’s utterly tragic. 🥺

And I truly feel like part of why Rick couldn’t go through with it is because he and Michonne genuinely are one. So his life is not just his to take.

So long as Michonne is still out there and her heart is still beating then his heart still has to beat too, even if he has to die in other ways to somehow go on without her. We’ll also learn more about why he doesn’t go through with it in his heartbreakingly romantic last letter to Michonne, but we’ll get there. 👌🏽

So then we see the back of Rick again as he ends the night accepting his dreary fate to live but truly as the walking dead from now on. And I really like how the show explores the dark and damaging side of having to tell yourself you’re the walking dead. As well as the dark side of being 'the one who lives' even when everything in you wants to quit living because now you have to live without those you love.

When Rick gave the speech about his grandpa and them being the Walking Dead in TWD 5.10, Daryl responded saying, “We ain’t them.” Rick agreed with that because so long as you have family you aren’t the Walking Dead.

But that’s the thing - Rick hasn’t had his family for years and so he really did have to become the Walking Dead. But as he’ll say at the end of the series (jumping way ahead again, I know lol) he thought he was alone, but he wasn’t. His kids and wife especially were still believing in him and still loving him out there.

I like to think that just like Michonne could feel Rick out there with all the love he was emitting from afar toward her, Rick too could feel all the love she was emitting to him and it kept him here a bit longer. And thank goodness for that because my beloved Rick Grimes' story deserves a bright positive ending, not one this dark and depressing, after everything he's been through. 

As the teaser ends and Rick stares into the CRM void, I like the score. The music almost feels like a menacing weighed-down heartbeat which is fitting.

And then there's the beautiful title sequence, which I adore the music and every Richonne image during the theme song. I like how it starts with Rick and Michonne in each other's arms from season 8, letting you know that while the teaser was very dark, there is light coming and that light is called Richonne.

(Also, I really wanted Rick to see Michonne in her corset armor during the show but since he didn’t, I’m glad there’s at least a gorgeous image of the two of them together during the theme song that includes her in the armor.)

I also liked the way the first ep just shows Rick under the title since it’s a Rick-centric episode and then the second episode has just Michonne under the title for the Michonne-centric episode. All and all, this whole opener was a very impactful way to kick off the show and set the tone for what Rick has been through and become in the years he's been away.

All the chatter from certain parts of the audience who thought Rick would move on and even have a new family in the Civic Republic was immediately dispelled because those speculations were always a ridiculous misunderstanding of the character. He found his everything in Michonne so of course he’s still as in love with her now as he was the day we last saw them together in season 9. Just like Michonne still stayed in love with him.

I love that they both refused to move on from each other and operated as in love as ever. And because they held onto that love, even when it felt like all was lost, that love was able to return to them. 👌🏽

So next, we get into some action as we’re taken to 5 years after the bridge. We see Rick and his iconic walk as he stands in the forest with other consignees. And it was such a joy to see him back on screen and know we were finally going to get the continuation of his story. 🙌🏽

gif cred: @vidco

Rick holds a CRM hatchet, which also feels symbolic because it’s similar to one of his signature TWD weapons, but it’s marked by the CRM showing they’ve in many ways attempted to claim him. 

Rick is also the only consignee with a leash, clearly illustrating that he’s a lil different than the rest. He’s the one who doesn’t want to be here and will try to escape if given the chance and the CRM knows this about him. Along with attempting to claim him, this leash makes it feel like the CRM is also attempting to tame him like he's a defiant animal.

gif cred: @nerd4music

As Rick looks around and takes a breath you can tell he’s fully made up his mind about what he’s about to do with his most extreme escape attempt yet.

gif cred: @andy-clutterbuck

Rick runs to take out walkers and again seeing him back in action is such a sight for sore eyes. He’s still got it. 👌🏽 However, because he looks all healthy and strong I think some can miss that Rick is still very much in mental disarray from battling the psychological torment of being taken and trapped all these years. Like he might look normal and fine (and I do mean that in all the ways 😇) but he's not mentally healthy right now.

(Side note: I really love the look of this whole night scene with the deep blues and fiery reds. The budget was doing its thing in TOWL. 👏🏽🔥)

gif cred: @nerd4music

So Rick runs far enough that the leash pulls him to the ground. A soldier yells at him and he says “Sorry. Trying to find my axe.” Look at our cute little liar. 😋

And then the show gets right into the wildness by having Rick put a belt around his arm and proceed to chop off his own hand. It’s insane😳.

It's also very reminiscent of when Negan nearly made Rick chop off Carl’s arm in the season 7 premiere. Chopping his own hand off in these woods was more doable for Rick than had he had to chop off Carl’s arm because it’s his family he cares about far more than himself.

As Rick prepares to do the chop he repeats “This is how” as in this is how he gets home. It hurts my heart that he feels this is the only way.🥺

But it's really moving to see that he’s willing to do something this intense to get back to his love. Also, this is 5 years after the bridge, so this means that even a half a decade later Rick was still as determined as ever to break free and get back to Michonne.

The people I watch with and I had a whole discussion on whether chopping the hand the way he did was daftly executed by the show considering it’s such an extreme thing to do in this situation where Rick was never going to successfully get away bleeding out like that with CRM soldiers so close by.

But my argument was that the 'ill-thought-out' element of this escape plan is part of the point.

For 5 years atp, Rick has been isolated from all love and warmth and is deteriorating mentally day by day. In this extremely damaged state, he’s not thinking straight, and cutting off his hand is a last-ditch effort that shows he will try absolutely anything, sound or unsound, to get back to Michonne and Judith.

Yes, he possibly could have just cut off the thumb or hacked at the leash but the extreme approach Rick took also conveys that he’s not all there right now and he’s as desperate as he’s ever been to finally break free and go home. It also informs us that his more sane escape attempts haven't worked and so now Rick Grimes is willing to try the insane stuff to get back to his family.

Think about the mindset he has to be in to go against natural human instinct and chop off his own hand. It’s crazy, but it immediately lets us know that even the most impractical solutions are now what it’s come to for him. 

gif cred: @nat111love

So basically, if it seems super reckless for him to do it this way, that’s the intention imo. He’s so worn down and off mentally from his debilitating circumstances that he’ll do anything whether it’s the wise thing or not, he doesn’t care anymore. Anything to get back to her.

The traditional saying is 'asking for her hand in marriage,' but here we see Rick, the ultimate lover boy, be like 'What if I literally give my hand for my marriage.' If there’s one thing TOWL made perfectly clear it’s that Rick and Michonne have crazy love. 💯

And while yes his escape plan could have been more thought through, my baby Rick did show some smart thinking by putting the ax in the fire to make the chop easier so you gotta give him that. 😌👌🏽

After he cuts off his hand this horror music plays as Rick proceeds to make a run for it. He has to lean behind a tree dazed as he bleeds profusely.

It’s crazy because the last time we saw Rick in a full episode of TWD he was bleeding out and now here he is intensely injured again and going through the wringer. I was so eager for whenever this man would finally get some much-deserved rest. 

gif cred: @twdfranchise

Rick then has the strength to take out a walker and cauterize the wound by plunging his arm into the fire inside it. This whole thing was an effective way to show early that one; Rick is built different and two; this man will endure literally anything to get home. And home is very much not a place but his wife and daughter.

So then he tries to make a run for it as CRM soldiers near closer and I honestly think with this being his fourth escape attempt this was really a “go home or die trying" attempt. Like I think Rick knew that dying tonight was a very real possibility.

The soldiers knock Rick down and he lays on the ground defeated and drained as he stares at the burning corpse of a walker that’s certainly meant to reflect how he feels as well. Almost like the burning desire to go home has officially consumed him and taken him out.

Feeling like a corpse himself, Rick fades out of consciousness as soldiers approach. And then we get to enter Rick’s lovely mind and see where he goes when at his wit's end.

And y’all, these first two TOWL scenes to analyze were pretty hefty, dark, and depressing, so it’s time we get to something lighter and happier to dive into. And what’s better and brighter than Rick’s beautiful dream world with his beautiful dream girl? 😌👌🏽🌟

[oklotea]

What are your opinions on the evil queen as a Mother?

Shit mother

I have no idea why some people (specifically on eahtok) think that the evil Queen is actually secretly a much better mother than what we give her credit for!!!!! I mean!!!! Are we seeing the same character here????? Trust me, she is NOT THAT MUCH BETTER than snow white. Heck, the two of them are similarly horrible in so many ways!!!

EQ wanted Raven to follow her evil footsteps despite Raven clearly not wanting that, EQ constantly assumed she knew Raven better than SHE did, and just all around, taking as much autonomy away from her daughter.

But yknow what, I'll give this old lady the benefit of the doubt. I'm sure that deep inside of her, she truly does, GENUINELY love her daughter. That she wants the both of them to bond and be together. Live in the same world together. To be close. She also just wants her to be mold her into something she really isnt.

If I remember correctly, in the back of raven's exclusive sdcc doll, EQ wrote her a letter, about how much she loves her daughter. And how she wanted to take over the entirety of the fairytale kingdom, and shape it into her own, all for the sake of Raven. So she didn't have to live through the same pain she did. Because she loved her. She loved her so much.

And... I believe that. I do. I can see how that could be true. It's a sweet sentiment. But also. With her actions, she ended up hurting so much people. Including her own daughter. Raven wanted to be free from her destiny, but she didn't want to control everyone else. She didn't want her best friends to lose their home. She didn't want the destiny system to be toppled over only for another unhealthy system to take it's place.

And also, I wouldn't be surprised if what EQ wrote in her letter was only part of the truth. Yes, it could be true, to give her daughter a better world to grow up in, was a part of the motive, but I wouldn't be surprised if she also just wanted to take over the world because of a lifetime of pain.

Soooo yeah..... Shit mother. Until she learns to accept her daughter for who she is, and allow her and her friends to live for themselves under NO ONE'S RULE. NOT DESTINY. NOT HER. maybe I'll begin to like her as a mom.

[freefromthecocoon]

I'm not gonna try to make you not feel things you might be feeling, but I am gonna give you some context of a certain writer of a certain "interview." More below the cut.

AW has a pattern folks and she also has a bias. We have seen this many times before with different antis. AW is no different.

First of all some screenshots from 2020.

So this is strike 1.

Strike 2 is that she likes to put words in people's mouths. Also in 2020, she wrote an article based on a podcast she listened to with Cudlitz as the guest. I have screenshots of that article and today's article.

Now the first line of the 2020 article (AW's words not Cudlitz):

And the first line of the 8/30/24 article (again her words and not Zabel's):

This is tremendous amount of wishful thinking from AW remember she is an anti.

And the exact quotes from the 2020 Cudlitz article, which she gleaned from a podcast (Cudlitz did not see Caryl as romantic at the time, but he sort of straddled the fence in these quotes):

Again he straddles the fence, but he didn't say anything particularly offensive to me.

Now for the actual context of what Zabel reportedly said.

There are two different quotes in this screenshot. Let's assume that both quotes are about Carol and Daryl. This sort of goes with the idea that Norman doesn't want to "just throw her against a tree." I really do believe that Season 2 will be about Carol and Daryl's healing journey. They have to heal from their traumas to move forward as a couple. I think that might be what Zabel is alluding to. The second quote is quite amazing to me. Particularly, "AND WHAT IT SEEMS TO WANT TO BE" What does it want to be Zabel. It has been hammered home repeatedly that Daryl and Carol are friends, besties, soulmates. There is only the progression to romantic canon that can be assumed from that statement.

Everyone's feelings are valid as I have said, but before making any rash decisions, I would revisit everything Zabel said during and around Tribeca and SDCC. Because what AW is trying to portray is not what we all witnessed. Melissa trusts Zabel as do I.

So keep calm and Caryl on everyone!

[thelioncourts]

You may have answered this elsewhere, but what are some of your favorite Jam moments, either in videos or in print? :)

oh, god, there are so many. I'm going to forget all of them, but !

s1 interviews where they talked about texting each other pictures and sam had his photos on live and jacob thought it made him incredibly interesting and they would update each other as they got new fangs in the mail.

their zoom auditions that landed them the roles, the deciding factor really wasn't how they acted as lestat and louis, but how they interacted as themselves with one another.

their date to the vampire boutique to buy vampire things and they bought candles they were supposed to light together but sam, ever the forgetful husband, lit his way before jacob and jacob was Disappointed.

speaking of ever forgetful husband, the reddit q&a where jacob was like 'oh sam is trying to get into the writers room' like the husband that knows everything or when asked about their first scene and sam said one thing, then jacob corrected it, and sam commented back like 'oh yeah jacob is right.'

jacob's teeny tiny teasy pics of sam from sdcc 2022 before any of us knew just how much they were going to ruin us.

"most fulfilling partnership...cREATIVE partnership"

when they got out to the main sdcc 2022 panel and sam was so nervous and jacob gentle started rubbing his back and they looked at each other and sam put a hand on jacob's thigh and AHHH

sticker shop date

l.a. date where they went to universal

walks along the beach in san diego

meeting in the rehearsal room all masked up and whatnot

eric's "the only difference between these two and their characters is that I've never seen these two fight"

jacob saying that sam's hair is really cool when it's put up

sam on ep2 of the iwtv podcast saying that when he met jacob he knew it would be really easy to fall in love with him...

jacob's one interview where he said that the coffin was comfortable when there were two people in it and associating sam's bday with valentine's day

jacob crying as hard as he did during the s1 finale because not only was it the acting, but it was also the acknowledgement that he would be losing this with sam in some way

prague dinner dates every single night........

taking delainey paddleboating in prague

the entire s2 finale reunion and how the mics were cut so they could have that moment, how they didn't really discuss it, how they just know each other as they do and it was them, and it was real

the tv insider jenga game where jacob was like 'what's my favorite snack?' and asking sam and then going 'why am I asking you?' but sam still answered anyway

when they walked up to each other at the s2 premiere for the first time (don't talk to me about it)

the entire s2 premiere, I am not allowed to Speak

the 92ny screening and every teasing little interaction they had on that stage, GOD

the interview where they talked about their dinner in prague and sam chose it as his last meal if he could choose one, even though he didn't like the food that much, but --

how sam said that filming s1ep5 it was so hard to see jacob as he was but jacob tried to alleviate his problems with it and so they have fun videos of jacob spinning and also sam took home his prosthetic eye

the locket bailey made with both sam and jacob's pictures in it and she showed sam and he was like 'oH MY GOD CUTE'

seine river walk, my beloved

clubbing in paris that I'm legally not allowed to talk about

swapping contacts, like who does that, why

sam saying that there's no one he would rather be nude and bleeding with

the paleyfest 2022 interview where bailey was talking about how sweet they are and jacob made the CUTEST face and then was like 'sam. are we best friends?' in the most giggly way and sam was just. so fond, so 'yeah, we're best friends'

in jacob's interview with autumn where she was like 'I tried to get sam to sing when...' and jacob just. fully knowing 'he's not going to do that' in the most deadpan way

the s2 premiere cute interview clips where jacob just goes and lays down and stares at sam (?????)

jacob talking about (during s2) how grateful he was to film with sam and how it felt like home and it was comfortable

the video with delainey where they go through several of the episodes and analyze scenes and they spent way too long giggling about bdsm and just reminiscing

the way any and everyone talks about them, it's so not normal (compliment)

I'm sure there are hundreds more, I'll add to it as I think of things

[misconceptionmistress]

World Saving Deserves A Reward

Pairing: Joaquín Torres x female reader (no use of Y/N) Synopsis: Joaquín is back from another mission, and you want to thank him for always being out there trying to save the world. Word Count: 880 Warnings: smut (seriously this is 18+), little to no plot, just porn, blow job (cause I'm on my knees for him)

Just some Joaquín smut with like 0 plot. I wrote this all on one day entirely on my phone and briefly proofread (sorry if there are mistakes/if it sucks). All the SDCC photos/videos/promos got me back in my feral for Danny era. Legggooooooooo

You card your fingers through his hair as you straddle his lap on the couch. His hands are resting on your hips, and you're happy to have him back home. 

“I missed you so much, amor.” He says, and you lean down to press your lips to his. 

“I missed you, too, Joaquín. It’s not the same when you’re not around.”

“I wish I could be with you all the time, baby… you know I do.”

“I know, I know… you’ve gotta go save the world with Captain America” you say with a laugh, and he smiles up at you.

“Don’t I deserve a reward for that?” He asks, quirking an eyebrow. 

“I don’t know, do you?” You tease before kissing him again. You kiss lazily, your tongues tracing each other as you re-familiarize yourselves with the intimacy you’ve been missing while he was away.

You feel him twitch against your leg, and you grind your hips gently down on him. 

“Hermosa, you’re going to be the death of me.” He says as you part from a kiss.

“Just showing you appreciation for your world saving skills.” You reply with a grin, grinding against him as his head falls back on the couch and he lets out a small groan.

"How do you always manage to get me hard in an absolute instant?" he asks, his brown eyes catching yours, darker now as the lust begins to take hold.

"A talent for sure." you say softly in his ear and then bite gently on the lobe before trailing kisses down his neck.

Your hips continue to move on him, and you feel his hardness pressing tantalizingly against you.  "I wanna suck you off." you whisper in his ear and his entire body shivers. "That okay?" "More than okay, amor." he says as you lean back, tracing your hands over his muscular chest to the hem of his shirt before pulling it over his head and tossing it behind you on the living room floor.

He's looking up at you with pure adoration as you pull your top off as well. You know he likes looking at your breasts, and this moment is all about him. Your hands trail over his chest, tracing lightly over his nipples as he sucks in a quick breath.

You slide off his lap, grabbing a pillow for under your knees, and position yourself in front of him. "You're so perfect." he says, running a finger along your lips. You suck his finger into your mouth for a moment as you unzip his jeans. He helps you tug them down his thighs along with his boxers, so you have easy access to him.

His cock bobs up against his stomach, and you reach for him as he moves his hand up into your hair, holding loosely. You lick slowly across the head of him before wrapping your mouth around his girth and start to move your mouth up and down. You take as much of him as you can, enjoying having this control over him.

When he’s in the field and on missions he has to be dialed in constantly. You love being the one that gets him to let go. You feel so lucky to be the only one that gets to see this completely relaxed version of the man you’d do anything for.

“Ángel...” he mutters, gazing down at you with lust hazing his gaze. You start pumping a hand up and down his shaft along with sucking on his tip. His hand snarled in your hair tightens, and his other grabs for your free hand that is resting on this thigh. He slides that hand along his leg, directing you to fondle his balls.

"Yes, like that." he moans. His noises are one of your favorite parts about getting him off. He’s not always overly vocal, but when you go down on him, he turns into a mess.

You run your mouth and tongue down the underside of his cock and back up before enveloping him once again as he groans. You look up at him, meeting his eyes. His pupils are blown in pleasure his hips are rising off the couch now, meeting your fervor as he chases his orgasm. You let him thrust up into your mouth, trusting him to do what feels good for both of you.

"Mierda. Voy a correrme." he utters, and you know he's close. You love when he's so gone to the pleasure that he gets vulgar, no matter what language he's speaking.

"Let go for me, Joaquín." you say, pulling away momentarily before going back to your touching and sucking. 

His salty release bursts on your tongue as he groans and swears above you. You still until he tugs on your hair, letting you know he's all good, before pulling your head free and swallowing what is in your mouth. 

“Thank you, mi sol. Te amo.” He says as you move to sit back on the couch with him. He shifts his pants back up and reaches over to caress your cheek with that blissed out smile you live for plastered on his pretty face.

“I love you too, Joaquín.” You say, snuggling against his bare chest as you both relax into the cushions.

[nalyra-dreaming]

soo like, what is the verdict so far on any makeout scenes between Lestat and Gabrielle? Because the way I see it, I don't really see them diivng deep into... that. They avoided the weird lover/daughter situtation with Louis and Clauida and turned it into daughter/sister.

I just... don't want to see that lol. That part was the hardest part of reading TVL for me in otherwise good book. I'm all for messed up shit, I am deep in the trenches here, but I would rather not see Lestat pass tongue with his mom, even if he doesn't really see her as 'mother' as much after the turning anymore

:)

I... must admit, I want them to go there (sorry^^). I mean, Claudia & Louis was a good call, imho. Interestingly enough the movie touched on the canon relationship there.

Gabrielle and Lestat... share a more-than-likely-inappropriate relationship already when they're still mortal. The lines are already a bit shoddy there. And I think this show, which digs its societal commentary fingers into abuse after all, will go into that as well, maybe literally.

The vampire aspect then threw off the human morality shackles, and I really... cannot see them skip that, tbh. Not after that comment by Rolin at SDCC 2022 already :)

So, I ... do expect makeout scenes at the very least. If more? Maybe not. But like with Antoinette on the couch maybe, definitely, not the least because the show already opened up parallels between Antoinette and Gabrielle, too.

It will be very interesting to see what other things will call home.

[emeryhiro]

Hi. I love your analysis of the episodes and the trailer. I love what we got. But I don't quite understand why Daryl says that he and Isabelle talked so that the three of them could go to America. If she wants Daryl to stay, she manipulates him. If Daryl is angry and cold with her. where did this family "three of them together" come from. It's weird and destroys all my expectations for Caryl.

Hey Anon😊

Thank you for the kind words 🩵

Unfortunatly I can't give you a sure answer but I'll share and explain my opinion/thoughts on it.

I agree with you on the fact that this line feels out of place and doesn't really make sense in terms of where the story and characters are going.

To put it in simple terms I think this is just Daryl trying to have his cake and eat it too. But to be more specific, I believe that as he starts to see the cracks in the Nest's system, he'll also start to realise the danger that Laurent is in, and we can't deny that he cares for the kid and feels a sense of responsibility for him because he knows Laurent wasn't raised for that world and wouldn't really make it long without Daryl around to teach him.

We also know for a fact that Daryl wants to go home, cast and crew have said this many time, and Norman even said it again yesterday in their SDCC IGN interview (timestamp 2:15).

So we know that Daryl want's to go home, that he doesn't think he'd ever be happy in France, and that he can't stay in France, but we also knows that he can't leave Laurent behind while he's in danger, he's not that guy, especially with Genet's impending attack which Laurent would never survive.

If he can't leave without Laurent, his next best option is to take Laurent back to America with him and away from all conflict, somewhere where he knows he can get what he wants (being with his family), keep Laurent safe, and give him a regular childhood in the commonwealth. At the same time, however, he also knows that as long as Isabelle is alive, Laurent wouldn't leave her, and also Daryl wouldn't feel right separating a child from the only biological family he has left. Which is how I think he came to the conclusion that the best thing he can do is to take both of them.

I dont expect his plans for the "three of them together" to go anywhere. I think that's just Daryl being naive and overly pessimistic about what he can achieve.

Regarding how he feels about Isabelle, I know that he can sense he's being used and manipulated but it's now too late for him to get out of this on his own, he's now emotionally invested in Laurent and can't bring himself to leave him, which is what Isabelle wanted all along. I've mentioned this a few times before, and I'll say it again, I believe that the longer he spends away from Carol the more he regresses into his old self, and that version of Daryl would have accepted this treatment from Isabelle becasue he wouldn't have believe that he deserved any better. We see this same pattern of behaviour develop between Daryl and Leah when he was in the woods, searching for Rick, and away from Carol for years. I know there's a lot more to both these situations which I may write it's own post about instead of making my response here unberably long to read.

Once Carol and Daryl are reunited, he'll start to think clearly again, because firstly, Carol would see right through Isabelle and never stand for or allow the manipulation, and secondly, once Daryl see's Carol again, there will be no more distractions, he's mindset will heal and completely shift, and like always Carol will be his number one priority, not Laurent, not the Nest, and definitly not Isabelle.

Yes, he'll still want to help/save them, but never at the expense of Carol and her safety. I expect that there will be some conflict between Carol and Daryl, or as Norman describes it, some "bickering like an old married couple", which I guess would revolve around:

The two of them finally being reunited and having the chance to leave without further risk, and

Daryl feeling guilty about leaving before he resolves things at the Nest and making sure that Laurent is safe and set.

However, untimetly I think the choice would be up to Carol and Daryl would follow her no matter what she decides. And in her true selfless nature, Carol would never leave before helping the people that Daryl cares about, especially if she see's him so torn about it.

And also hypothetically, even if the 3 of them did make it back to the US/Commonwealth, Isabelle would never be able to manipulate and abuse Daryl again, not while he's around and empowered by Carol and the rest of their family.

~~~

I hope this makes sense, and that I explain myself well, I know I sometimes have the habit of getting carried away 😅 I completely understand your frustration, I sometimes feel that way myself but in circumstances like this where something seem's out of character I personally just try to both look at the bigger picture and delve into what I know about the character.

Please feel free to let me know you thoughts on what I've said, even if you agree or diagree, or if there was anything else you'd like to discuss. I always enjoy these discussions and seeing different persepctives🩵

[felassan]

also:

Ali Hillis during the SDCC panel: "[Harding] loves her mom, she loves to write letters home, she’s always talking about her mama’s soup and stuff like that. She likes plants, and raising plants" [link]

Harding loves adventure, animals, plants, nature, her mom, her family, writing letters home, her friends, and soup. a Fereldan girl 🥺🥺