#and let me please stress how happy Iain seemed to be there

[eclecticmuses]

Here’s my breakdown of what happened at C2E2!

I spent Friday attending professional panels for the comics industry, which probably deserves a post of its own, but I don't think anyone is interested in me talking shop. But Saturday was devoted to Agents of SHIELD stuff with Iain and Liz. I had an amazing time and so many awesome things happened. Truly it was the best con experience I’ve ever had and, as @bigfunnywords (HEY Tumblr finally let me tag you!) said, I lived my best life. I'll try to do the tl;dr version but this will probably get long.

Putting the rest behind a cut for your scrolling convenience.

So first thing in the morning I met up with some cosplay friends of mine and also the lovely @whatlighttasteslike and @nanorii, and we went straight to Iain's autograph line. We were pretty near the front. I think we were all highkey nervous but trying to stay chill. I forget which one of us went first up to his table--I think it was my friend Karen--but Iain saw that she was dressed as Jemma, then saw me and my other friend right behind her also dressed as Jemma, and he got REALLY excited and was like "omg, look at all of you, you’re great, come here! I want to take a picture for Liz."

So yeah, that's how we ended up on Iain's phone. Friendly reminder to myself that that actually happened.

I've kinda blanked on some of what we talked about when it was my turn to go through, because I was so nervous, but I thanked him for how they depicted Fitz's recovery from his brain injury in season 2. I have a chronic stutter, and while that is nowhere near a TBI, there's some similarities when it comes to difficulty communicating, and I appreciated how they showed that. Ironically, I don't think I stuttered at all while I was talking to him (small mercies), but whatever. Then he signed my artwork, which he loved (I'm still laughing at his "I concur!" and arrow on the painting Liz signed last year). Then he shook my hand and I went off to the side to wait for the rest of the Tumblr gang.

While we were waiting, Liz came out to her table, and @nanorii told me to turn around--Iain was pointing and waving for me and my friends to come back over so he could show us off to Liz (and he was excited AGAIN). So that happened too. Good times.

We got in line for Liz after that but staff said we probably wouldn't make it through before their panel, so we all went and got in line for that. It got delayed a bit because during the panel before theirs (Stan Lee), the projector started smoking and they had to evacuate the room. Yikes. As a result, Iain and Liz's panel had to run short, but it was excellent. I know it’s online and you’ve all seen it now, but they're both so funny and it was really nice to see how well they get along with each other. So many good one-liners. So many good giffable (?) moments.

After that, we went back to Liz's line. The first words out of her mouth when she saw me was "that is a REALLY expensive jacket!" (Bahaha she knows.) Me: “Wanna know how much I paid for it?” Liz: “Yes and no!” She boggled when I told her how much I got it for (waaaaay below retail price), we commiserated over the Murder Heels and she complimented the flats I got to replace them, and she told me I looked awesome (yay!). She really liked the Science March art I had her sign (both she and Iain screamed a little when I gave them their copies to keep). OH--and I told her that I was the artist whose work she tweeted back in January without knowing who'd done it, and she yelled a bit. I love her, she's so nice and genuinely excited about everything.

I also got to see @whatlighttasteslike give Iain and Liz their fandom message scrapbooks, which was so sweet. That’s her story to tell, but they both looked genuinely touched to receive them, and I was so happy. We did good! And wasn’t Liz’s video message lovely?

Photo op time! Iain was like "Simmons!" when I came in and I asked if he was cool with hugs, but I still can't believe I actually did that. I think it turned out okay.

I should mention at this point in time that in the morning we'd learned that one of the booths on the con floor had a live capuchin monkey, and we were like SOMEONE NEEDS TO TELL IAIN. So when I went back for my duo photo op, I was just outside the booth curtain when THE MONKEY ARRIVED. So, I got to see Iain take photos with the monkey, which I know we’ve all seen by now too. It was sitting on his shoulder and kinda beating him on the head with an empty plastic bottle, but even though he was kinda like “uh help” he looked SO thrilled. When the handler came to take the monkey back, both Iain and Liz gave it scratches and they were all smiles. Best reason for a photo op holdup ever. Honestly I feel blessed to have witnessed it.

After the photo ops, we all started to go our separate ways. After awhile of walking the floor (looking for the booth with the monkey, actually), me and one of my cosplay friends ended up near the autograph tables again, saw that hardly anyone was in Iain's line, so we decided to go and say hi again.

It was really nice; we got to chat for about five minutes or so. He was drinking a beer when we came up (LMAO) so the conversation between us, Iain, and his handler went like beer > beer at cons > party cons with more alcohol > no Iain this is not a party con > DRAGONCON. I think me and his handler actually warmed Iain up to considering DC (he asked if there were more costumes at DragonCon, and said it sounded interesting), though when I told him that Brett had attended last year, he was like “mmm nope sorry I don’t think I can do it.” (What a troll.) Then we talked about the monkey some--Iain said he had actually met it before the photo op and fed it cheese popcorn, and honestly I don't think I've ever heard anyone sound so delighted about something. I told him the show is stressing me the hell out but he’s so good at playing evil, and he just laughed and said it’s been fun to do. After that he watched his handler tease me about where I live and where I'm originally from in Alabama (he's from Birmingham as well) (”do you live in Montgomery on purpose?” “No.”) (Iain was like lol whaaaaaat). Then some other people came up so we said our goodbyes, he gave us each a high five, wished us a safe trip home, and that was that.

So that was basically my experience. I am SO glad I was able to attend, and that I got to see and hang out with so many awesome people--my cosplay friends, the new friends I made through them, the Tumblr gang, and also @jsimmonss and @msdevindanielle who I got to say hi to! Also @bigfunnywords and @pobmmm deserve a special shoutout for being the best enablers and cheerleaders ever. YOU ARE ALL LOVELY. Truly, this was the best weekend, and I still can’t believe it all happened.

(And if you actually made it this far in reading, I salute you.)

[holbyconfessional]

Casualty S32 Episodes 8-14

Finally got caught up.  Since this is SO historical now, I’m going to put the whole lot under a cut, save dashboards!!!

Casualty S32 Episode 8

I found the COTW here pretty heartbreaking, the elderly couple with the woman dying from COPD.

Connie finally confirms to Ethan that the patient she's been discussing with him is herself.  And then proceeds to blackmail him about his role in Scott Ellison's death, in order to force him to perform an off-the-books emergency embolectomy to save her arm.  Great leadership skills!

Alicia passed her driving test, despite being a shockingly awful driver, already responsible for several accidents.  Nice.

Casualty S32 Episode 9

Nosy and unpleasant Louise has discovered Sanosi.  It gives her an excuse to be rude and aggressive to Dylan, lots.  But, don't forget folks, we're supposed to like Louise because she always does the 'right thing' in the end - in this case, spiriting Sanosi off Dylan's boat, just in time to save the day as Connie goes barrelling in, expecting to find something.

Lily is jealous of Iain and Sam's easy relationship.  She can't see that Sam is 'a lad' and Iain is so much a lad that he barely hit puberty, and frankly, she's never going to get the grown up relationship she wants from him.

A return of the transgender morgue worker, which was good - I like her.   And most of all, I loved the chat between her and Max, where he tells her all about Zoe, and how she left because she was afraid of happiness, and how he thinks about what his life with her would have been like every day.  It broke my heart a little.  You don't get chemistry like theirs every day, and I wish she hadn't left - him or the country!

Casualty S32 Episode 10

Elle and Marty.  Here is where I amuse myself with my outraged old lady rant...  Now, I'm not a single mother of three boys, but I'm pretty sure if I was, I wouldn't be having men over to shag in my house unless I was sure that a) it was a solid relationship, and b) they had met my kids in a low stress environment.  I don't deny the fact that Elle has a right to a life, including a love life, outside her role as a mother, BUT, as a mother, her kids need to come first when managing such a life, and part of that means setting an example.  In this day and age where kids learn WAY too much of their sexual knowledge from porn, I'm not sure it pays as a parent to model anything like a promiscuous lifestyle, and for her kids to come in and find a complete stranger in bed with their mother... Well... You see where I'm coming from.  On the flip side, I may not be an Elle fan, but anything that highlights any sort of relationship chances for us older women, in whatever orientation, then I say, you go, girl!

But, also in the story.  I don't know how old Blake is supposed to be, but isn't he a bit old for the 'if Mum gets a partner, I'm afraid she won't love me any more' thing?  I don't know that much about teenaged boys, but it didn't ring entirely true for me.  Going with the chilli powder being nothing more than a practical joke would have sat with me better.

Dylan. I feel really awful for him right now, as someone who doesn't forge relationships easily, he was clearly really attached to Sanosi.  Of course, he did the right thing, he's perfectly right that Sanosi could never have the life that he dreams of when always on the run and in hiding, and it was perfectly valid that Sanosi wouldn't be able to see that, and would only see how Dylan had let him down.  With Dylan's own history of OCD and mental health problems, I will be interested to see where this development drives him.  I am always happy for more Dylan on the screen.

Connie. Right, so her tumour is malignant.  Worst possible news.  And she's still burying her head.  I'm all for not rushing storylines, but I think we need to move on this one, folks.  I love Connie, and like Dylan, I am happy for her to have screen time, but dragging this storyline out much more risks losing its momentum, and for it to just become boring.   IMO!

COTW, I'm still not sure why the girl was put into care.  As a mother, if there is any risk that your partner might in any way hurt your child, don't you ditch the partner and keep the child, rather than ditching the kid??!!  I know that jury was out as to whether partner hit mother, but surely all the more reason?  Incidentally, I do appreciate how hard it is for some people to escape from domestic violence, but the mother didn't seem like an utterly downtrodden victim to me.  Comments welcome from folk who may know far more about it than I do, and no offence meant if I've shown ignorance.

Casualty S32 Episode 11

So, there's a new F1 called Rash, who pukes when he gets nervous and makes lots of mistakes.  

Lily and Iain's relationship is a little strained after her jealousy toward Sam, and Lily wants to apply for the project in Hong Kong, but after Iain comes back round and stops giving her the cold shoulder, she self sabotages her presentation so she doesn't have to make a decision.   Everything I've just said is wrong on so many levels.  I think the way Iain treats Lily is pretty vile.  He has a right to be angry over the ketchup/Sam incident, but not to give her the cold shoulder every time she doesn't behave according to his doctrine.  He's just a spoiled little brat.  And as for self sabotaging for a man, well, need I say more about the stupidness?!!  Still, good for her for finally making the right decision, even in the face of Iain's grand and embarrassing karaoke gesture!

COTW continues the theme of unhealthy relationships, with the love triangle of man leaving partner for her best friend.  Wake up, best friend, like that dude was ever going to be trustworthy!  Proven by his about face at the end.  Good for the woman to turn him away in favour of supporting her friend.  Who is still her friend, despite the attempt to run off with her man?  I'm all for sisterly support, but even I think that might be going a bit far...

Casualty S32 Episode 12

'I know what you did'!  Perhaps a wee bit childish of Max, but pretty serious overreaction from Ethan!  I hope this Scott Ellison guilt won't be everlasting, because although in reality, I'm sure it will stay with him forever, as a viewer, it's a bit like flogging a dead dog...

I was intially pleased when it was announced Sam was to return to Casualty.  And happy to see her for her first couple of episodes.  But tonight has helped to remind me just how annoying she could be.  I mean, she threw Iain's phone out of a moving ambulance window!!  In WHAT UNIVERSE could she possibly imagine that this behaviour might be acceptable??!!!  Phones aren't 50p, and people rely on them (rightly or wrongly) to live their entire lives!  I can't even begin to articulate how disgusting I think her behaviour was.  And Iain more or less let her get away with it.  Euch.

Slightly different COTW in the former abuse victim ambushing then manipulating the paedophile into holding up a store.  I think the storyline was all kinds of uncomfortable, from witnessing the psychological damage to the victims, shown in the evidence of Ocean's self harm, and the fact that she feels the only think open to her now is to mount a personal vendetta on abusers, by deliberately seeking them out through chat rooms, and attempting to force their arrests through other means.  I think the fact that she didn't seem to understand the gravity of what she had done, in terms of the safety of innocent bystanders (collateral damage?) spoke volumes to the degree of psychological trauma that she had experienced. And that is not even mentioning the presence of the paedophile himself, a father to two young children.

The other COTW was the homeless man, who had been picked up for a one night stand by someone of some seeming privilege.  I'm not sure what this story was designed to highlight - perhaps a seasonal reminder that homeless people are rarely homeless by choice, but rather caught in a cycle that try as they may, they're unable to break.  Perhaps this could have been a more powerful story if it hadn't been chosen to play against the far more hardhitting paedophile case.

Casualty S32 Episode 13

It's about time we got some closure on the Robyn/Glen storyline.  I rather enjoyed the huge flashback/fill in the gap section of this episode, I'm not saying I was ever a massive Glen fan, but it was an interesting and refreshing change.  I felt a little bad for him at how badly people treated him - on the one hand, I know he walked out on Robyn at the altar, which is an unbelievably shitty thing to do (he should have done it before 'the day' ;-)), and I really dislike people's propensity to 'know' what's best for other people - by and large, folk should have the right to make up their own mind; but regardless of all that, I think it's safe to say his heart was in the right place, and there was of course a little more to it than your average jilting.

Robyn 'He's here to hold his daughter.  Who was here to hold me through all of this?'  Selfish, selfish person, surrounded by family and friends, support on every side - Charlie and Duffy giving her and her daughter a home, everyone rushing round to be there for her at every turn.  I shake my head at her.

On the plus side, lots of 'Dee Dee' in the flashback, which was a winner. I like the mention of his past drunken reveal to Zsa Zsa about his crazy family.  Do we know much about his crazy family?  Has it been covered before?  I'm dredging my memories, but coming up blank.  If anyone does have any recollections, do tell me...

One thought I do have about this episode, which is likely highly controversial - as a non-religious person, why is Robyn getting Charlotte christened?  I could understand (although not really agree) if Robyn was a churchgoer herself, but why do it since she's not?  To cover bases?  I think that's rather missing the point of religion, no?  (This taken from E12, where Max says he doesn't know why she's doing it as she's not religious and neither is he...)  Now, I could continue talking about my opinions on this for some time, but I don't want to get soap boxy, so I shall desist.  Plus side of this part for me?  Yay, Lexy!

Casualty S32 Episode 14

So, last episode wasn't merely closure for the Robyn/Glen storyline.   Because Glen is back.  As a porter.  Short or long term, I wonder?   After all, we know his tumour hasn't been cured, although it's at bay.   Ah, well, we'll see.  Still, lots of chances to see people be unnecessarily mean to him.

Thank goodness Connie has finally started her chemo.  Ethan in charge of the ED, fairly unsurprising that he should initially make a hash of it, only to save the day!  I liked that he took Connie there, then went and collected her afterward, though.

COTWs, young boy looking after younger brother suffering from CO poisoning.  I really hoped they could stay together.

Priest with a tattoo trying to remove it because he thinks his new congregation won't like it.  Is that a thing?  I thought priests only felt guilty in the eyes of their god?  After all, if he was comfortable enough to get the tattoo in the first place, why on earth would other peoples opinion matter that much??!!