#even though the River was already my fav by that point. It’s so perfect for this moment

[karouvas]

“your affection is a promise you couldn’t keep” 🥲

[startwreck]

WizardWorld Chicago 2018

“I’ll never fly to a con.”

That was my self-imposed rule. See, I live in the Northeast US, so there are lots of major cities within driving/busing distance, and thus lots of cons, and other fandom-adjacent events, happen within a reasonable distance of me. (I realize this is a privilege, and one I’m quite grateful for.) Anyway, when I got into the X-Files fandom a couple of years ago, I was interested in meeting Phile Phriends / Tumblr Pals in real life, and in participating in fandom or fandom-adjacent events, which I have done (and have spent money on), but I told myself that there was no need to ever fly anywhere just for a con: the cost of airfare is too much of an investment, the talent’s schedules can change, and besides, there are a disproportionate amount of options that I don’t have to make the investment to fly to. So I thought.

When DD & GA were announced for WizardWorld Chicago, I had already committed to plans for the con weekend. I was a little bummed, but thought that it was probably for the best that I already had plans, because otherwise, I would have been very tempted to fly to it. Then, just a few weeks prior to the con, after hanging up the phone call in which my last weekend in August plans were postponed, I saw a note from Kristin @kateyes224 alluding to her intention to go to the con. She informed me that @sunflowerseedsandscience, who I had been hoping to meet earlier in the summer, would also be flying in for the occasion. I took this influx of information as a sign that I should get myself to Chicago for that weekend. I justified the cost by using airline and hotel points to subside the expense. I was going to fly to a con. The next few weeks were a whirlwind of madness at work, so I was very grateful to have the aforementioned pals, plus Carrie @carrie11 who would be joining us for her first con, in my pocket to countdown to the weekend with.

I flew to Chicago on the morning Friday, August 24, laughing internally at the absurdity of the situation all the way. I made my way to Rosemont, my eyes going wide when I caught my first glimpse of the convention center, and settled myself into the hotel room before heading downtown on the train to meet Carrie. There was a food truck festival right by the L station that I emerged from, and I realized that all I had consumed only an iced coffee so far in the day, so I remedied that. Carrie was nice enough to indulge in my desire to be a tourist, since I hadn’t been to Chicago proper in years. I had never made it to the Willis Sears Tower, so we did that, and she took some fun pics of Puppet Mulder. I think this is my fav:

We then did a bit of walking -- Grant Park, Lake Shore Drive path, Millenium Park, and the Chicago River, before the rest of the crew arrived and it was finally pizza time! Soon after Carrie and I secured a table at Giordano’s, Kristin, @sunflowerseedsandscience, and Amanda @all-these-ghosts arrived. I greeted them on the patio and had an epic reunion hug with Kristin in which we made a total scene and squeezed each other so tight while squealing that I choked on some of her hair. The five us then had a wonderful dinner that I don’t remember much about except that the pizza was amazing, the company was even better, and I’m pretty sure I was just still in awe that this was all happening. After dinner, we went to grab drinks down the street. There was Shiner Bock on the menu, so Puppet Mulder joined us and confused many of the staff. Amanda especially was tickled by Puppet Mulder, while I was fangirling over her (she wrote Then The Bomb, people!!!) Truly, the con could have been cancelled and the trip still would have been worth it for just hanging out with this crew:

Saturday morning, Kristin procured Starbucks and we all readied ourselves to be presentable for photo ops in the late morning. We met Carrie, Clarice @contrivedcoincidences6, and @albanyparkavenue in the lobby and headed to the convention center. The security line coming from the hotels was long but moved fast. At this point, I had only pre-purchased a dual photo op (and Saturday ticket) but while we were in line I accidentally-but-it-was-bound-to-happen-anyway purchased GA & DD autographs on the ticketing app on my phone. Oops! Once we got in and procured our wristbands, it was already time for those of us with dual photo ops to get in line, so we did. In the midst of a lot of line waiting, Kristin perfected Puppet Mulder’s hair (we decided on Season 4 / Paper Hearts classic floops aka Backstreet Bangs). Puppet Mulder also made friends with a tiny Supergirl, which Carrie captured in a couple pics, and my day was made. Soon, it was go time. I was to go first so that Kristin could do last looks on Puppet Mulder’s hair immediately before the photo. As we approached the final holding area, I situated Puppet Mulder on my right arm and was prepared to pose him in an arms-spread position using the armrods in my left hand (we had been practicing in line.) When it was my turn, I approached, and I was told by those in line behind me that Gillian gave an exasperated “Ohhhhhhhhh boy” while I announced “Puppet Mulder is here!” in an attempt to preemptively stave off any questions about who he was and prevent myself from having to make any awkward hand gestures like I did in Montreal. As we were getting in position I asked, “Can he get in between you? I don’t know that I want to be in it” since I didn’t really care about my face being in it, but also didn’t want to crouch down without warning and confuse everyone. But David insisted, “Ah, no, you gotta be in it!” to which I conceded “I do? Ok.” and stayed put. With that, the photo was taken, I said thanks, and moved out of the way. As the rest of the crew emerged from the Tunnel of Love Anxiety, we went around the corner to retrieve our photos, and I think everyone in the group was pleased with the results! I was pleasantly surprised by mine (even if Gillian is doing her nervous hands.)

I even bought a photo protector sheet after being called out by DD in Montreal for not treating our photo with the utmost respect and bending it a bit. After this ordeal, we realized that we needed drinks and to regroup, so we acquired alcohol (beer is a reasonable lunch, right?) and found a path of floor outside the main hall to make our own. We were joined by some more pals including @dahlia-ships, @observeroftheuniverse, and @perplexistan.

After this recovery period, it was time for Gillian’s autograph session. I had the pleasure of being behind Natalie for this and got to listen to Natalie give the most eloquent, heartfelt litany of thanks to one of her favs. Also, somehow margaritas came up and Natalie and I were like “Yesss we just drank before this!” so clearly my 20 seconds were much less profound, but here’s the rough transcript after that:

Me: Thanks for putting up with us. GA: This was one of my favorite photos of the day. Me: Aww, really?! GA: Yeah, it’s between this one and maybe one other. Me: Oh, what was that? GA: Someone had an alien. Me: Oh yeah, the big blow up thing? [Had spotted this in front of us in the photo op line.] GA: Yeah. Me: *nods* Thanks!

When I emerged from her booth and realized she inscribed “My favorite photo of the day” on the photo, I was both heart-eyed and in awe. See, I am a terrible multi-tasker and thus continually in awe of Gillian’s ability to have a conversation while simultaneously making a non-robotic inscription. Like, yeah, she’s pretty good at acting and contributes to humanitarian causes, but I’d like to give her an award for speaking and writing at the same time. Was this talent born from some crazy avant-garde theatre warm-up? Is this some kind of Mom superpower? Really what I’m asking is: Is there hope for me yet to learn this skill?

Anyway, after the crew got their Gillian autographs, some more drinks were procured, and then we decided to go wait in line for the panel (which was actually a solid 9 minute walk from the main hall.) At this point, I started bothering Kristin to come get a DD autograph with me before the panel, because I’m a bad influence like that. She was unprepared with what she would have him sign though, so we started brainstorming, and landed on possibly The X-Files: Earth Children Are Weird picture book that I had brought a copy of so that Kristin could do a dramatic reading. Since that was back in the hotel room, a few of us darted back to grab it (and to grab our leftover deep dish, which my growling stomach was very grateful for.) We brought the remaining pizza to the line-sitters, and at around 4pm, I successfully convinced Kristin to come grab a DD autograph with me. Shayla @thatredhead00 joined us and her tale of a DD interaction earlier in the day made me howl with laughter. We made friends with a couple of local guys in line, and I connected with a woman I recognized from a previous event, which was funny. Anyway, DD made it back from his afternoon break, the signing session began, and soon enough, Kristin went first with the picture book, and I globbed on to her convo. Here’s the rough transcript:

DD: [signing on the title page] What am I signing? K: The X-Files picture book! DD: [Turns to the front cover] Aww, it’s cute! [Genuinely, high-pitched] DD: What happens in it? K: They go camping in the woods. Me: And Scully’s parents are aliens. Me: Whoops, I gave away the twist ending. DD: Yeah, you ruined it for me. Me: Yeah, it was gonna take you so long to read… Me: Thanks so much!

For those keeping score at home, this brings my record of accidentally-but-lovingly making fun of DD to his face at con autograph sessions to an even 2-0. Interestingly enough, I’ve been to two of his book signings and complimented him (well, his writing) at both of those. Not sure what gives.

Anyway, we decided that we needed more drinks before the panel so grabbed those and then made the journey back to where that was. Our pals were already seated, and the question line had already started forming, so Kristin and Shayla hopped in that while I took a seat with the crew. The panel was perfectly fine in person. Per usual, a few cringey questions (thanks Natalie for letting me squeeze your arm through these), but also a few great questions and responses. Kristin got to ask her question (and, as predicted, Gillian couldn’t remember specifics, and the morgue scene in “Ghouli” was David’s answer, but it was still nice to hear it.) Other highlights included a thoughtful question and response from Gillian on how the show might have been different if written from a more feminist perspective. Also, there was a fleeting moment when I thought the tell-all book was going to be spoiled, plus the infamous “Who tops?” question. All in all, not bad at all, though this was the first panel I’ve attended with just the two of them, so I admittedly don’t have any equal comparison points. Soon enough, it was over, and it was time to drink (more!) with Philes. All of the aforementioned crew from the day joined, plus Amanda, @datanullyx, @redscully, @xfilesgeekery, and @anicepieceofash.  We started in the hotel bar but, in the interest of cost savings, eventually procured liquor and ordered (more) pizza and moved to our hotel room. There were lots of hugs and snuggles, lots of loudly wondering “What is my life?”, platonic handholding, one human/puppet makeout session, an impressive demonstration of Kristin’s ability to sleep through anything, and some amazing cheesecake brownies . As the evening got late, Puppet Mulder even changed into his red Speedo (and put on his to-scale legs.) Needless to say, it was a night both wonderful and strange. Here’s some of the crew at the after-after party:

I feel so lucky to have gotten to spend time with everyone I met or re-met this weekend, and if I start calling out the specifics of why you’re all so great, I’ll make myself cry, so I’m going to stop here. If you’ve read all of this rambling (whether you were present or not), I’m very impressed. Thanks to everyone who shared in this weekend with me from both near and far, and thanks to Gillian and David for giving us an excuse to meetup.

I said I’d never fly to a con, but I’m so glad I did.

Author's note: I always hate writing these because a) it means it’s over, and b) I can never fully capture the awesomeness that is meeting up with fandom friends. Also, I have a shit memory, but jotted down notes about stuff right after it happened on Saturday, so hopefully I’m not misconstruing anything too terribly. If you were present, feel free to correct me!

[lia-snow]

My 10 Fave Babes of All Time

Tagged by @faecakes​. Thanks! (I loved your selection btw~).

I think I did this one a while ago but I took the chance to make this my first drawings of the year :pp to start warming up again ww. These are in no particular order.

1. Horokeu Usui (HoroHoro) / Shaman King.

Horo was probably my first masive 2D crush. I obsessed over him like a psycho lol. I learned every single little thing about him (and I mean trivial stuff like... the exact numbre of frame, page and volume for his first appearance xd), the meaning of his name, the name of his techniques (which were in Ainu). Oh, and also, SEIYUUS! Horo started my obsession with making seiyuu connections x) (I was never really fan of Ueda Yuuji, tho). And I really admired Horo... I felt he was like my soulmate, my perfect husbando. So, based on priority right, he should be like my #1 bae :')

2. Hinata Hideki / Angel Beats!  &  Kuga Aki  / Kamisama Dolls.

I'm putting them together because they're both special characters to me for the same reason: I knew Kimura Ryouhei because of them, and I loved him from the very beginning. Coincidentally, I started watching Angel Beats and Kamisama Dolls at the same time, and the contrast between these two characters, voiced by the same seiyuu, made me fall in love completely. They're both so different. Hinata is a bright, loyal, energetic boy while Aki is this manipulative, rude, meticulous, violent guy (though he's also super calm and indifferent about certain things). Hinata had me loving his voice changes whenever he was put into ridiculous and funny situations while Aki got me melting becasue of his manic laugh. I love Hinata & Aki both as characters, not just because of Kimura, but they're the perfect examples of why KimuRyou is my fav seiyuu <3 <3

3. Kise Ryouta / Kuroko no Basket.

Oh boy..... my love for this man burns like a thousand suns bursting, ISTG. He's too pure too good to pretty too shiny too precious for this world. Ok, I admit... Kimura Ryouhei is partly at fault here lol. Kise actually reminded me a lot of Hinata and I liked him from the start too, but soon I started loving every single little thing about him. He's introduced a little as an arrogant dude but soon enough comes to change after his loss against Seirin (I loved it when he cried sddsffg). He's like the cheerful, carefree member of the group, but he also shows so much determination, strength, and even selfishness. But I really think he's the most admirable of the Generation of Miracles. And he's so pretty I wanna cry everytime I see him, sob.

4. Judal / Magi.

Yes, the Kimura Ryouhei syndrome continues... but I swear it's coincidence(?). Judal caught my eye since I saw him in the opening (that sequence when he's falling, grabs a white rukh and turns it black it's mesmerizing), but when he was finally introduced in the show, I WAS DOOMED FOREVER. Goddamn, I loved his personality. Even if he's a little bit of a psycho, I loved his childish arrogant attitude. He's like my twisted son ♥ Except... not really a son, because... he makes me feel things 6//6 (???). Aahaahgsdjhk yes yes ok, I love his design, really, L O V E   I T ♥ ♥.  His long braid, those beautiful ringed eyes, the makeup on them, the necklace and bracelets, that crop top, those abs, DAT WAISTLINE  aksjdhjkashdkjhgasgasd ⁄(⁄ ⁄ ⁄ Д ⁄ ⁄ ⁄)⁄ He needs his own manga, there's just never enough Judal in my life.

5. Nozaki Umetarou / Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun.

I've said this before, but it me. Nozaki is me, I am Nozaki (except I'm not tall and handsome lol). Looks cold, mostly serious, suuupr dense in some subjects (specially about love and romance), zero experience in love... but somehow still makes love stories! His shoujo manga is terrible haha but he's surprisingly popular as mangaka in spite of that x) I bet if I were to draw a manga it would be as ridiculous as his (or if my comics serve as an example... well, there ww). He has this stoic aspect, but he makes the most idiotic faces when he gets excited too~  I think Nozaki is more socially skilled than me but we're both awkward anymway(?) xD. He's my spirit animal ♥ 

6. Netherlands & Finland / Hetalia.

Ah, my time in the Hetalia fandom... feels so distant :') Italy was my fav at first but then I started roleplaying Fin (the first chara I ever roleplayed) and my love for him kept growing from there. He was just too adorbs <3 I got to know a lot of super nice people, both on the internet and irl, because of him. Also, back then I listened to lot of metal music, and I always pictured Fin as a secret metalhead xD And then Netherlands... I don't remember exactly how I started liking him, I remember they released the chara design, stuff happened, and then there I was cosplaying the dude. Hahaha ah, even though I loved Fin, I couldn't identify with him cause he's super cute,  happy and lovable; but Netherlands was more like me~ Stoic, cold, tsundere. Over time, Netherlands became my favorite over Fin, but they're both special.

7. Furukawa Nagisa / CLANNAD.

My precious child. The purest girl ever created. A National treasure, istg. She's not the type of female characters that I usually like, but somehow she got me from the start. She's too adorable, sweet, innocent and good. She's just too good!!!!!!! She's always caring for others, always supportive of her friends, and tries her best even though she's phisically weak and lacks confidence. She's so strong and admirable, she makes my heart melt. CLANNAD made me cry rivers and hit me hard when... well, when After Story happened. She's the type of character that I want to protect from all evil. I also LOVED Nakahara Mai's performance as Nagisa, btw. I kept watching her scenes over and over just to listen to the cutest voice akjshd <3 I really love this child ;//;

8. Licht Jekylland Todoroki & Lawless / Servamp.

Well, as you would expect x) It's probably obvious that I love them both so hard. And I want to clear up for the records that it's not just because I love them together, or the homo hints flying all over the place between them. I love them both as separated characters. I really admire Licht. His resolution, his unbreakable spirit, his attitude, the hard worker he is, his strength, his pure innocence about the things he loves, his vision, his badassness, his frankness, his creativity...  He's a gem, the type of person I could never be :')  ALSO, HE'S HOT AF. Lawless is so beautiful. He deserves the universe. I feel him more in a spirital way. How he lost faith in everything, how meaningless lives seemed to him, the vicious cycle he was in. But the fact he's able to change that (with Licht's help) is truly touching and praiseworthy. He made a deep impression in me. Ah, and of course, his flamboyant personality! He's such a dork ahah xD I love his nerdy side, his energy, even his bragging. And the fact that he can literally go from hotdamn vampire to cute hedgy in no time is amazing xD ♥ Also, his voice.... yeah, you know this by this point, but the fact he's voiced by Kimura Ryouhei makes him even more perfect than he already was (everytime I listen to the Drama CDs, I literally have to go back and listen to his lines again because kjahsdjkg perfection in my ears). So yeah, I love my boys ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

9. Morgiana / Magi.

Ah, Morgiana ♥ ♥ The ultimate example of the type of female character that I like. She's strong, kind, determined, tough, has a strong sense of justce, needs no one to do shit for her, BUT she's not arrogant, aggresive or extravagant herself. She's quite, starightforward and helpful. But she's also soooo adorable and cute!! The way she puffs up her cheeks when she's mad, her smile, the little tears on her eyes when he was encouraged by Hakuryuu, her happy face, the way she dances around wearing that exotic outfit... man she is gorgeous, she's amazing, she's a goddess. And dem kicks, THE KIIICCCKKKS, god she's a BADASS. She seriously became like a prototype of my perfect gurl. No kidding, after her, everytime there's a badass fem chara that I like, I call her "a Morgiana". And I know she's probs being "controlled" by Sinbad in the manga right now, but I cried when she said she has come to love herself because of all the time she's been with Alibaba. I'M SO PROUD OF HER <//333

10. Special mention to: EVERY KIMURA RYOUHEI CHARACTER.

Agh, I just.... it's amazing how without a miss, characters voiced by Kimura always become my favourite. I always love them, for one reason or another. I mean, I have other seiyuus I love too (Kaji Yuki, Nakamura Yuuichi, Ishikawa Kaito, Sugita Tomokazu, Kamiyan....), but I don't always like their characters. But with Kimura, I ALWAYS do. I don't know all of his roles, obviously, but here's some that I absolutely love:

Takakura Shouma [Mawaru Penguindrum]  |  Yagami Riku [Prince of Stride]   Nishimi Kaoru [Sakamichi no Apollon]  |  Atou Touji [Tokyo Ravens]  |  Hauser [Nanatsu no Taizai]  |  Izuminokami Kanesada [Touken Ranbu]  |  Wakamatsu Hirotaka [Nozaki-kun]  |  Fujimoto Takatora [Aoharu Kikanjuu]  |  Kimata Hayato [Meganebu]  |  L-elf [Valvrave]  |  Furuya Chihiro [Sankarea]  |  Bokuto Koutaro [Haikyuu]  |  Shimotsuki Shun [Tsukiuta], etc....

- Special mention 2: Jorah Mormont, Eddard Stark, Jon Snow. Because I love GoT, and these are my favs, but I can't draw real people ww.

I’m tagging @pastenaga​, @stars-glow-for-you​, @adeslowmoqueen​, @rhomilch​ & @reimeijennoir​~ Feel free to do it if you want uvu/ Don’t worry guys, you don’t have to draw the charas to do this www Actually, you don’t have to write anything about them either lol my hand slipped(?)