#*ben wyatt voice* it's all about the interaction

[araekniarchive]

poetry is stored in the tags

#this is just me loving u all so much that i had to make a post about it #every single time one of u writes something so soft and heartfelt #whether you're quoting somebody else or not #my heart just. expands #*ben wyatt voice* it's all about the interaction #these are all from the last month #i wish i could do all the ones since i started this blog but i simply cannot scroll that far back. i dont have that kinda time on my hands #& i'm not sure laptop could take it. he began whirring angrily about 5 mins ago so i felt it was time to stop #theme: art #theme: love #theme: of course we will hurt each other #mine #webs #web weaving

[lightrotations]

someone make a gif set of Kai cupping Josie's face vs Kai touching Jo's face after he takes her magic

#Kai Parker #Jo Parker #josie saltzman #I am not skilled enough but...i need to see it! #*ben wyatt voice* it's about the detail #Also ok first of all the slowness of both of those interactions its both an intimidation tactic BUT ALSO #Considering this is a person who was not allowed to touch anyone and then to touch in such a calculated and precise way #Like both him and Jo/Josie know what his touch can do (first hand in different ways) #And this is the first time they've had physical interaction with their brother/Uncle in almost two decades #With an action that's meant to express love closeness intimacy a KNOWING of that person!! #Hm.. much to think about... #intimacy + touch

[dcmarvelshit]

“and Johnny still had thrum of nerves under his skin, he still hears a harsh voice in his ears, comments that make him shiver, and god, he feels cold - unclean.”

Characters: Johnny Storm, Sue Storm

Just a little interaction, Johnny had a nightmare and Sue finds him - it is choppy and mostly done to get a feeling of Johnny’s character 

“Johnny?” 

Johnny bolts up from his bed to look at his sister who poked her head through the door of his room, her eyes glimmering in concern. 

“Morning,” Johnny smiles, rubbing his eyes, “Did everyone wake already?” 

Sue furrows her eyebrows at Johnny, “Everyone is still asleep. It is 4 am Johnny.” 

“Even Reed?”  Sue huffed a laugh, “Even Reed is asleep.” 

“Huh.” 

Sue enters the room and sits on Johnny’s bed - placing a hand on his hand. Johnny looks at her nose. 

“Johnny, are you okay? Why are you awake at this hour?” 

“Thinking about a new show I was watching, you know it is. It was this new car show -” 

“Johnny.” 

Johnny looked away from Sue’s face and he felt her hands squish his in reassurance and he squished back. 

“Just...had a nightmare. Nothing to worry about. We all have nightmares.” 

“Doesn’t mean they are not important. What did you have nightmares about Johnny?” 

Johnny goes silent - visions of flames, screaming, and heat goes through his mind, and one more flash of a face (of a face that makes Johnny paranoid of every corner and person) - and suddenly, Johnny doesn’t feel like pretending to be okay.

 (but there is one thing he can’t tell her - well, a couple of things that he can’t tell her)

“Dying.” Johnny whispers, “You dying, Reed dying, Franklin, Ben, Valeria. Wyatt. Pete. MJ. My friends.” and softer, “Me.” (He stops himself from saying more, admitting more, admitting that he was the cause of the deaths, and that it wasn’t just deaths that he had nightmares about - not anymore.)

“Oh Johnny.” Sue brings herself closer to her brother and grasp him to a hug. He clutches her tightly to him. 

“My death was longer though,” Johnny babbles, encouraged by the comfort that his sister was giving (this hug, last time he had this type of hug was years ago), “Painful - felt more like a memory than a dream.” 

Johnny chuckled bitterly, “Felt like how did when I was in the Negative Zone.” 

He felt Sue stiffen. He just clutched her tighter. 

“You haven’t told us what happened in the Negative Zone.” Sue whispered. 

(I haven’t told you a lot of things.) 

“I don't think I am still ready to.” 

Sue burrows her face his neck, “That’s okay. Take your time. I am here, Johnny.” 

(Are you, Sue? Are you?) 

Sue pauses before she choked out, “I am sorry I wasn’t there.” 

“Not your fault.” Johnny releases his sister and looks her in the eyes, his hands on her shoulders, “It is part of our life now.” 

Sue sighs, “Yeah. It is.” 

Silence. The two just sitting in front of the other, together. (and Johnny still had thrum of nerves under his skin, he still hears a harsh voice in his ears, comments that make him shiver, and god, he feels cold - unclean.) 

“Do you want me to stay with you?” (Yes, no, maybe?) 

“Nah - go back to your room. I’ll be okay.” (No, I won’t - for some reason, it doesn’t feel like I will be) 

“You sure?” 

“Yeah.” (No, yes?) 

“Johnny.”

“Sue.” 

Silence. 

“Fine, but you better call me if you need me.” 

“Deal. Don’t go making me tea and pretending you made extra by accident to justify giving it to me.”

Sue huffed, “Fine.” 

“Sue.”  “I said fine, didn’t I?” 

Johnny just stuck out a tongue at her. Sue rolled her eyes before getting up from the bed. 

 Sue kissed Johnny’s forehead and smiled, “Good night, Johnny. Love you.” 

“Love you too, Sue.” (Love you, stay, love you.) 

She leaves, closing the door behind her. 

Johnny is left in the darkness. 

#Johnny Storm #human torch #fantastic four #sue storm #invisible woman

[the-princess-atta]

“I’m an essay-writing talent.” 

NAME: Dr. Laur Eaves  FACE CLAIM: Kristen Stewart PRONOUNS: She/her  BIRTHDAY: September 12, 1994 (Libra rising; scorpio moon)  SEXUALITY: Aromantic Pansexual  CURRENT STATUS: Taken 

Character Information

SPOTLIGHT: LAUR EAVES JOINS PRIDE UNIVERSITY’S LITERARY STUDIES DEPARTMENT 

Meet the youngest addition to Pride University: Dr. Laur Eaves, a former adjunct professor who has officially been added as a tenure-track professor for Fall 2021. Eaves holds a peculiar place in contemporary Western culture, as one of the few openly magick professors in a non-magic academic discipline. Many might recognize her name, her crisp, jargon-free style, and even key theories without realizing that she came from magic roots: specifically, the Enchantra Hollow located outside Swynlake. But it’s precisely these roots from which her best known theory of radical animality sprang. The seeds were planted as she studied Hollow lore and literature as a scribe-talent. “Hollows are already radically queer places compared to contemporary human spaces,” said Eaves. “But those ideas have not been static. As I dived deeper into my own cultural history, I realized I had to widen my scope to include exchanges between magic and non-magick communities. That’s what led me to pursue my degrees at Pride U.” 

Eaves quickly completed her undergrad degree in one year, aided by her natural affinity for scholarship; her PhD followed after, her thesis of which focused on radical animality in pop culture, like Adventure Time and Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts. Radical animality seeks to complicate boundaries between subject categories like human, humanoid, animal-- and even magick and mundus. “Radical Animality” draws heavily from queer theorists like Butler and Halberstam. 

“The ways we understand ‘magick’ and its expression is dependent entirely on an assumption that mundus is the fixed default category,” explains Eaves. “And that’s rooted in the same tired narratives that critical theorists have been attempting to deconstruct since the 1970s-- heteronormativity, colonialism, humanist essentialism. All my work does is center magicks and animal identities in the conversation.” Before her academic pursuits, Eaves had not interacted much with Swynlake’s town spaces despite the proximity. Her parents are both garden-talents; she describes them as “human-shy” and her own pre-Pride U past as “boring” and “nothing worth reading about...I was too busy reading myself.”  However, Eaves is eager to further entrench herself in Pride University as a new magick voice. 

“I think there’s a place for my perspective outside the classroom as well,” says Eaves. “I’ve been working the past year as an adjunct with other part-time faculty and grad students to establish a Union. We’ll hopefully win the election, and Pride U can not only attract new talent, but support them with the necessary resources.”

Pride University’s administration declined to comment on efforts to form a union. 

✓ Cerebral, decisive, confident 

✖ Pretentious, isolated, insert the Ben Wyatt “Actually it’s going to bother me if I don’t...” gif 

Character Suggestions

None

Current Relationships

Mocha Chino (best friends; sometimes they hook up)  Belle Acheron (she took one of Laur’s classes)  Suta Shere (professor friend)  Atta Orkney (fairy pals)  Sindri Dyrrson (fairy pals)  Ting-Ting Qin (friends through Mocha)  Phil Knightley (enemy) 

Possible Relationships

None 

Magical Abilities

Fairy

Scribe-talent; responsible for keeping the lore and history of Pixie Hollow safe. Speed reading. Eidetic memory. Can inexplicably pull all-nighters without any adverse risk to her health. 

#bdrptask #raise ur hand if ud have a big fat crush on her #yeah exactly #also idk how to do self inserts so i just wrote what i want to have #lmfao

[neverlearnedtoread]

Shadow of the Fox

⭐⭐⭐⭐: anime but in book form, so you can feel morally superior to dumb weeaboos who only read subtitles (it’s me. im a dumb weeaboo)

Oh?? 👌😉😏

diversity!!!! vibrantly described japanese-fantasy setting. imo that should almost always be a selling point. sure it’s ‘bare minimum’, but its nice to see authors not go with the default

reads like an anime! *ben wyatt voice* it’s all about converting your enemies into friends along the way so you can fight a big monster when you arrive at your destination!

yumeko took a while for me to warm up to but was a great example of a female character who didn’t need physical prowess to be a leader; she was intuitive, quick-witted, and got people to trust her by being nice (and lying through her teeth. gotta respect the hustle)

the ending - what can i say? i like cliffhangers. besides this trilogy is gonna have Asian dragons show up at some point so there’s no way im letting go now

No.. ❌🤢🤮

lots of jumping around different povs- there’s yumeko and tatsumi and random third-person chapters with hidden players we don’t know anything about yet, so its hard to stay totally invested the whole time

reads like an anime - depending on who you are and what you like, this can be a good or bad thing (see selling point #2). if you’re not into anime or manga, and aren’t familiar with their tropes, this story could feel really disjointed - why team up with a guy who was trying to kill you a second ago? why trust a dude that shady? who is that mysterious guy, and why is he allergic to answering questions directly?

meandering plot - if you don’t like tropes such as ‘characters you meet along the way will join your party for fun’ and ‘random stuff happens on the road’, this book may not gel with your interests

Summary: Every thousand years, some asshole has bullied an all-powerful dragon into doing him a solid - and this millennium’s Dragon Bullying Season is coming up. Everyone is on the prowl for three pieces of an ancient scroll - the dragon’s calling card - hidden in temples across the world. Enter Yumeko - a half-kitsune, half-human who grew up in one such secret scroll-hiding temple; when her home is attacked, she escapes with the prize, hoping to stash it in one of the other temples - and crosses paths with a samurai looking for the very scroll she’s meant to be protecting. In a surprisingly baller move, Yumeko tricks him into escorting her safely to the other temple instead.

Concept: 💭💭💭

I’ll be honest, I read the words ‘fox’ and ‘kitsune’ and added this to my ‘to-read’ list, no questions asked. I love fox-spirits! They’re so pretty and sneaky. A few of the reviews I read of this book were pretty low, and the excerpt at the beginning didn’t fill me with a need to know what happened next, but I thought about the fox-mask on the cover and went ‘it has foxes; it’ll be fine’ and didn’t look back.

Some spoilers under the cut!

Execution: 💥💥💥💥

The beginning was kind of a drag, but once the two main protagonists came together, they countered each other’s more annoying traits - Yumeko’s naivete through Tatsumi’s eyes felt like a novelty, while Tatsumi the ‘No Emotions Allowed Train’ was a little more #mysteriousallure in Yumeko’s POV. I also loved the surprisingly nuanced perspectives on yokai - in Yumeko’s view, they were easy to understand, if overly wary of outsiders - but in Tatsumi’s eyes they had a ‘hidden, shadowy dangers’ vibe, which informed the way he acted around them.

Personal Enjoyment: ❤❤❤❤

Once I shifted into the mindset of anime-typical tropes, I thoroughly enjoyed the characters interacting with whatever crossed their path and learning more about them through quick-throwaway scenes, instead of big, backstory-revealing moments. Yumeko hiding things from everybody she meets and gradually tallying up a bunch of different lies was also fun - she’s not the most experienced at this sort of thing, but you can tell she has a knack for it (it’s barefaced confidence, and also knowing what people want to believe). I liked seeing a character that dealt in trickery and manipulation, but never out of malice - more often than not she did it for someone else’s benefit, and not only her own.

Fave Moment: Yumeko being like ‘i can sense an intruder in your very home!!’ and conjuring a rabbit to stun the emperor’s court into believing she has prophetic powers. live that hustle babe. we stan

Fave Character: Yumeko - but more specifically I liked Tatsumi’s POV of Yumeko. She’s quick-thinking and brash, with a great poker face, and it shows itself in its best light from an outside perspective. We can tell Yumeko’s winging it, but Tatsumi very earnestly thinking ‘how did she know?? that would work?? she’s incredible’ while battling his ~feelings~ was great fun for me to read about, like calm down bro, she’s cute and she got lucky it aint that deep

#shadow of the fox #julie kagawa #book review #bookblr #booklover #reading #books #shadow of the fox trilogy

[kikimora-apologist]

Ben 10 vs Green Lantern Death Battle

Now that it’s finally here, I want to get my thoughts out about this. Unfortunately, not many of them are good.

Positives:

Just having Ben in Death Battle at all is great. Samurai Jack, Goliath and the Ponies are the only other characters from Western Animation (Transformers originated in Japan, I think) to appear on the show, so it’s nice that they’re getting as much spotlight as other mediums.

The sprite animation was excellent. It was very fluid and there was even hand-drawn at times. They even created an entirely new sprite for Grey Matter, and the up-close shots were great.

The battle itself was action-packed and really fun to watch. Bits of humour were put into it too, like Hal using a Lantern fire hydrant to fight Heatblast. And as per usual, the episode itself had provided laughs courtesy of Wiz and Boomstick.

@twilightvolt Your brother did a great job! The voice acting for Ben was excellent, especially with the aliens. Way Big in particular sounded very much like he did in the show. However, the voice would fit a lot better for Teenage Ben than Kid Ben. I understand that they probably chose that version because it be easier to recognise, but the voices just don’t fit. Doesn’t make his voice work any less good though.

A kind of separate tangent, but it’s nice that RWBY is getting another fight with Weiss as a combatant. I’m not a fan of RWBY, but it’s nice to see another representative other than the main character Yang.

SPOILERS IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN THE EPISODE YET.

Negatives:

Ben lost the fight. This isn’t the problem by itself for me. Characters I prefer have lost their respective Death Battles before such as the Power Rangers, Classic Megaman, and Twilight Sparkle. The problem was the fact that he shouldn’t have lost in the first place, they didn’t research Ben fully, and that the reasons they did have for him losing were flawed. I’ll explain it in my other points, but it’s essentially a repeat of Bowser vs Ganon (Which Bowser wrongfully lost for reasons just as stupid as the ones here).

They had some major errors in the recap. They used a clip of Way Big fighting Malware when talking about him fighting Diagon (Which are two completely different characters. It’s like if Darkseid was called Doomsday or Freiza being called Cell), and said that “Overuse of the Omnitrix can horribly disfigure a users DNA” (This has never been stated before, not even as a joke or a rumour). They also credited Derrick J Wyatt as one of the shows creators, despite him just being an art director for Omniverse.

Not enough aliens were used. They stuck to aliens from the original series, with Alien X being the only exception. Some of them could have been used really effectively, like using Feedback and Chromastone to directly interact with the Lantern constructs, Nanomech being much more effective at hiding than Greymatter, having Toepick (a yellow alien who’s main power is creating intense fear), and just having Rath or Atomix being there at all.

They went against points and facts they had stated prior. They said that the Omnitrix could react to the speed of the Big Bang, yet Hal has no problem outspeeding its transformation time. They said that Alien X had no counter to time manipulation, despite the fact he could do it himself and even did so in the battle. The biggest one was them directly ignoring the failsafes of the Omnitrix. Even though they said that the Omnitrix will turn Ben into whatever alien he needs to survive, they have Ben defeated by Lantern scissors, which many of Bens aliens could have survived easily.

Hal won the fight by travelling back in time and attacking Ben before the fight started. Not only would this not work anyway for reasons I’ve already said, Ben would be aware of this due to the Sotobro Effect. This is “a ripple created in the timestream, that can be detectable by those whose abilities are powerful enough to perceive changes in the timestream”. As soon as Hal travelled back in time, Alien X would be able to sense it and stop him.

Alien X was extremely nerfed. A reality warper, with control over time and space, spends the majority of his appearance punching and kicking. They got his cloning abilities correct, but ignored the fact that a group of Celestialsapiens can make themselves strong enough to survive Multiversal and Omniversal level attacks. They have him almost kill Hal by slowly causing him to disintegrate, despite the fact that he can cause people to cease to exist in the time it takes to blink. They said that the only reason Alien X recreated the Universe was because he couldn’t stop it from being destroyed in the first place, but this is false, Ben was just unaware of what was happening. They also state that Alien X has no defence against mind control (He has three separate minds that act separately from one another), transmutation (He can already transform by himself, like that time he turned into a black hole) and time manipulation (which he can also do himself).

They ignored Hal’s biggest weakness, that he needs to recharge his Ring while Ben with Master Control does not. Alien X could have just trapped him in an infinite loop of time reversal until his power ran out. From what I’ve seen, Hal’s Ring can also be taken off his body relatively easily. Batman, essentially a regular human, can take it off. The Omnitrix has only been taken off by technological geniuses with prior knowledge of the device.

Final Opinion:

While I greatly disagree with the results of the fight itself, it was enjoyable overall. It was nice to see Ben in the spotlight and I hope it allows more Western Animated characters to join. And despite the outcome, people shouldn’t bully the creators of Death Battle about it. Yeah, they messed up, but they’re still people. It’s not the only time this has happened and while it does suck whenever it does, episodes like this are a minority. The majority of the Battles are better, and aren’t cancelled out by the bad ones. I hope that, like Batman Deadpool and Captain Marvel, Ben gets brought back against a new opponent with revised research. While Beast Boy is too outclassed, Blue Beetle would fit much better as he is evenly matched with most of Bens aliens.

#death battle #ben 10 #ben tennyson #green lantern #hal jordan #blue beetle #rwby #weiss schnee #discussion #review #debate

[brokehorrorfan]

Event Report: Rhode Island Comic Con 2018

Rhode Island Comic Con takes place in the smallest state, but the show gets bigger every year. Its seventh incarnation took place November 2-4 at the Rhode Island Convention Center, the Dunkin Donuts Center, and the Omni Hotel in Providence, RI. While the congestion of people between buildings during peak hours is seemingly unavoidable, this year's updated layout across the three locations (all connected to one another) proved to be the best use of space yet.

When not browsing the massive vendor room full of cool geek memorabilia, I spent a good chunk of the weekend in the two panel rooms at the Omni, listening to various celebrity guests discuss their storied careers. Between the gregarious speakers, the considerate fan questions, the enthusiastic hosts (some of whom were celebrities themselves), and the overall energy of the convention, every one one of the eight panels I saw over the course of the three days was supremely entertaining. The first one I attended was with Tim Curry, who received a standing ovation from the adoring crowd, moderated by voice actor Charlie Adler (who worked with Curry as the voice director on The Wild Thornberrys). Curry proudly remarked that it has been almost exactly 50 years since he started his acting career as part of the original London cast of Hair in 1968.

Although a 2012 stroke left the beloved actor in a wheelchair, Curry is still quite sharp on the microphone. The audience went wild when he briefly broke into his sinister Pennywise voice from It as well as his smashing accent from The Wild Thornberrys. When asked about his thoughts on the new It, Curry defiantly responded, "I didn't like it very much." He shared anecdotes about many of his beloved roles, including The Rocky Horror Picture Show (his favorite scene is the floor show, "Because it was all about me. It was very sexy!"), Clue, Legend (for which the makeup took 10 hours to apply the first time), Muppet Treasure Island, and even The Worst Witch (he admitted to getting so drunk on an actress's homemade gin that he later had to re-shoot his big song). He also revealed a few fun facts, such as how he was almost in Alien as John Hurt's chest-bursting character, Kane, which is what eventually led to him being cast in Legend. "I just thought Ridley Scott was the most amazing director," he remarked. He also loved the script for The Silence of the Lambs and was interested in the role of Hannibal Lecter.

Four members of the Loser's Club from It (2017) - Jack Dylan Grazer (Eddie), Chosen Jacobs (Mike), Wyatt Oleff (Stanley), and Jeremy Ray Taylor (Ben) - reunited for a panel that evening as well. The young actors noted that they had immediate chemistry upon meeting before filming and that they are very similar to their characters, which was apparent during the Q&A as well. The camaraderie is palpable when the friends interact with one another with youthful exuberance. Everything except Taylor watched the original It before filming, although he's now coming around to horror movies. Although they were unable to speak much about It: Chapter 2, which just wrapped production, they noted how surreal it was to meet their older counterparts. Friday evening concluded with a rousing screening of the Rocky Horror Picture Show featuring a shadow-cast by local favorites RKO Army.

I anticipated kicking off Saturday with an Elvira panel featuring the Mistress of the Dark herself, but Cassandra Peterson was unfortunately feeling under the weather and was forced to cancel. Thankfully, the session's guest host, Brian O'Halloran (Clerks), was willing to become the subject of the panel instead. He discussed working with Kevin Smith at length. They are mere weeks away from shooting the new Jay and Silent Bob movie, which he promises will be fun and cameo-heavy. Not unlike his character from Clerks, an audience question about Star Wars sent him on a humorous tirade about the franchise. His personal top three Star Wars movies may surprise you: The Empire Strikes Back, Rogue One, Solo.

It was fun to see Danny Trejo - known for playing tough guys in the likes of Machete, The Devil's Rejects, Desperado, Heat, Con Air, and Sons of Anarchy - cracking jokes and being so jovial during his panel. "I play a badass, but I’m not," he remarked as he recounted some of his surprising upcoming projects: the live-action adaptation of Dora the Explorer, a comedy titled Grand-Daddy Day Care, and an AMC sitcom, Food & Familia. He shared stories about the conception of Machete, which dates back to Desperado and then Spy Kids, the time he autographed a living tortoise in tribute to his Breaking Bad role, and his recent branching out into the food (with his Trejos Tacos restaurants) and music (with his newly-launched label, Trejo Music) industries. Perhaps the most interesting moment, however, was when he shared the story behind his signature chest tattoo, which involved being worked on by the same artist in three different prisons after being arrested for armed robbery at 14. It's truly inspiring to see how he turned his life around.

The Office reunion panel with Kate Flannery (Meredith) and Creed Bratton (Creed) was among the most highly-attended of the weekend. It took place in the smaller of the two panel halls, causing a long line of fans to be turned away. Those who were lucky enough to make it into the at-capacity room were treated to a lively conversation that was as funny as watching the show. Flannery was vivacious, while Bratton, true to his character, was dry and straight-faced. In addition to recounting their favorite moments in the series' nine-season run, they expressed their willingness to return for a Christmas special or other such revival if the writers can find a way to make it work and the rest of the ensemble cast is on board.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show panel was an unexpected highlight. Barry Bostwick (Brad) and Meat Loaf (Eddie) needed no moderator; they were old friends having an open conversation with one another. The first 20 minutes were essentially a comedy routine, with Meat spinning a fictitious story about the origins of his stage name while Bostwick occasionally interjected with a question or a dry quip. There was nary a mention of Rocky Horror until they opened up to the crowd for questions. When asked about screenings during which the audience talks back to the movie, Meat was brutally honest: "I wouldn't go to that to save my life." He went on to say that he loved seeing fans dress up, but he found it disrespectful to the movie and those who worked on it to speak out during screenings. Bostwick was quick to add that he believed such screenings are why the film has had such longevity. Meat also relished the opportunity to roast the audience. The actors' remarkable rapport caused the panel to go long, but, since it was the last of the evening, no one seemed to mind.

Rhode Island Comic Con put together a worthwhile after-party on Saturday night. After 90 minutes of DJ Darth Fader spinning music, dancing, cocktails, and mingling with some of the celebrities in attendance - including James Murray (Impractical Jokers), Joey Fatone (Nsync), Bam Margera (Jackass), Bai Ling (The Crow), and Spencer Wilding (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) - it was time for Epic Rap Battles of History. The creators of the viral YouTube channel, Peter "Nice Peter" Shukoff and Lloyd "EpicLloyd" Ahlquist - took the stage to perform many of their fan-favorite rap battles live, full of energy and the occasional prop. They performed such favorites as Goku vs. Superman, Rick Grimes vs. Walter White, Terminator vs. Robocop, and Zeus vs. Thor, in addition to medleys with verses from various battles. They occasionally invited fans on stage to perform verses, and in the middle of the set they made their way into the crowd to perform a few songs, including a freestyle created on the spot by audience suggestion: Spider-Man vs. Christina Aguilera. Although they haven't released a new video in nearly two years, Shukoff and Ahlquist clearly haven't missed a beat. They concluded their hour-long set by revealing that they have a new video featuring Elon Musk coming in December.

Sunday kicked off for me with a panel featuring Impractical Jokers' James "Murr" Murray and Nsync's Joey Fatone. While no one was entirely sure what to expect, it was a standard - but highly entertaining - question-and-answer session, with Fatone essentially serving as moderator and occasionally offering his input. Fatone first bonded with the Jokers over their mutual love of Superman. He quickly befriended the gang, then appeared on the show before becoming the host of the Impractical Jokers after-show, After Party. Murr teased the upcoming Impractical Jokers movie, which is due in theaters next year. He said that it's a road movie, with a scripted beginning and ending, but the rest of the film features the guys pranking one another around the country. While Fatone revealed he makes a cameo in the film, Murr told the crowd that it features "the most embarrassing moment of my life," which left him in tears. He also shared plenty of fun stories from the show, including showing off his driver's license photo with no eyebrows.

Later in the day, the Stranger Things panel with David Harbor (Hopper) and Noah Schnapp (Will), and moderated by Clare Kramer (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), capped off the weekend on a high note. They have one week left of shooting the hit Netflix series' third season. They were unable to speak much about it, but Harbor called it "the most Spielbergian thing we’ve ever done," while Schnapp remarked, "It's even bigger than season two." Harbor revealed that we'll see more of Hopper's backstory as a Vietnam veteran and a New York City police officer, while Schnapp hinted that there may be a love story between Will and Eleven. Hopper also discussed his titular role in the upcoming Hellboy reboot. Filming in Bulgaria proved to be difficult, and the three hours of make-up each day wasn't a lot of fun, but he promised lots of practical effects and a storyline that would be closer to the comic on which its based. He also shared a funny story about a run-in with a wild bull during shooting.

In addition to the numerous celebrities mentioned above, Rhode Island Comic Con's exceptional guest list included Hayden Christensen (Star Wars), Gwendoline Christie (Star Wars), Kiefer Sutherland (The Lost Boys), Jason Patric (The Lost Boys), Lance Henriksen (Aliens), Tom Felton (Harry Potter), Natalia Tena (Harry Potter), Zachary Levi (Shazam), Tom Welling (Smallville), Michael Rosenbaum (Smallville), Alan Tudyk (Firefly), Finn Jones (Game of Thrones), Billy Boyd (Lord of the Rings), Tony Danza (Who’s the Boss?), Levar Burton (Star Trek: The Next Generation), Michelle Trachtenberg (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Dylan McDermott (American Horror Story), Michael Rooker (The Walking Dead), Sarah Wayne Callies (The Walking Dead), Laurie Holden (The Walking Dead), Jenna Elfman (Fear the Walking Dead), Zach Galligan (Gremlins), Morena Baccarin (Deadpool), Ice-T (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit), Billy Zane (Titanic), Dee Snider (Twisted Sister), Jason David Frank (Power Rangers), and many more.

Although all comic conventions have slowly become more of pop culture expos and celebrity autograph shows over the years, Rhode Island Comic Con stays true to its roots by inviting many comic writers and artists. This year included Deadpool co-creator Rob Liefeld and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles co-creator Kevin Eastman, among others. I had the pleasure of meeting Eastman, who graciously signed one item - complete with a quick sketch of a Ninja Turtle - for free for everyone throughout the weekend. He was very personable, striking up a brief conversation with each fan who waited in line. In addition to dozens of comic creators, aspiring artists were invited to have their portfolios reviewed.

While the headlining guests were the main attraction at the Dunkin Donuts Center, I was very excited to see an It (1990) display, curated by John Campopiano, writer-producer of the upcoming Pennywise: The Story of It documentary. The crown jewel of the collection was one of Tim Curry's actual, screen-used Pennywise costumes, of which fans were allowed to take photos, but he also had many editions of the film and Stephen King's novel from around the world, among other memorabilia. I was disheartened to hear, however, that two props were stolen from the booth during the event, and as a result the collection will no longer be displayed at conventions. I hope the missing items surface, because the display was a real treat for Stephen King fans.

Impressive costumes - from movies, TV, comics, anime, cartoons, video games, wrestlers, pop culture figures, and mash-ups - could be found walking around the showroom floor throughout the weekend, but many of the best cosplayers competed in a costume contest on Sunday evening. Everyone's efforts were extremely impressive, but the cosplay celebrity judges ultimately awarded the winners in three categories. Eleven from Stranger Things (complete with a Demodog) won for beginners, a group dressed up as Mighty Morphin Power Rangers villains shared the prize for intermediate, and a female Pennywise from It (2017) was selected for the master class. But it was a couple dressed as The Sorceress and Battle Cat from Masters of the Universe who were awarded Best in Show. It was a fun way to end the weekend.

In addition to the celebrity guests signing autographs and taking pictures, celebrity panels, cosplaying, and hundreds of vendors with anything a pop culture nerd could ever want, Rhode Island Comic Con includes exclusive merchandise, fan panels, film screenings, geek speed dating, kids activities, live tattooing, and more. It's impossible to experience it all in one day, so I recommend springing for the weekend pass when next year's event rolls around on November 1-3, 2019.

Click here to see all of my Rhode Island Comic Con 2018 photos.

#rhode island comic con #cosplay #rocky horror picture show #stranger things #tim curry #pennywise #danny trejo #impractical jokers #barry bostwick #meat loaf #the rocky horror picture show #david harbour #noah schnapp #event report #article

[gabriellapatterson-blog]

That was legit-ness

AN: Thanks @wyattschreave​ for the RP. 

I sat in bed staring at the ceiling as I waited for something to happen, anything, please. Bed rest was going to do me more harm than good as I would soon die of boredom. Almost like someone had heard my dread there was a knock at the door.

Rose stood from where she had been doing some needlework and rushed herself over to the door, “O-oh Hello-o Prince Wyatt!” She said stuttering again. I wonder how they allowed her to work as a maid when she’s so shy. A smile spread across my face as I heard the name Wyatt. Thank goodness someone to talk to.

“Hi Wyatt! He can come in Rose!” I projected giving my permission. The maid then held the door open sneaking out of the room herself to leave us privacy.

Wyatt poked his head into the room, his eyes shut tight, “You decent?” He asked which caused me to snort.

“Yes I am decent come on in.”

He then opened his eyes and came in with a smirk as well as a covered plate. “I hope the other guy that was in the fight looks worse than you.”

I sighed in relief at the joke, thank goodness Wyatt wasn’t going to be stiff about this. I needed humour every once and awhile, “Oh thank goodness you're in a joking place. I made one with your brother and I dont think I've ever felt air more suffocatingly awkward. And as a matter of fact I did successfully tackle someone during the event. They probably weren't as beaten up as me in the end but they did seem fairly scared when I grabbed their gun.” I said the last part quite haughty. Still proud of my attempt.

He smiled a bit but raised a brow as I finished my story, “I see you didn't go down without a fight then. As expected. I'm kind of scared to ask what you did once you were armed though.”

I chuckled a bit at the anticlimactic end, “I ran. I may not go down without a fight but that doesn't mean I'm not a coward at the end of the day. Also you should sit I hate having too look up at people,” I suggested and pat a spot on my bed.

He cleared his throat, “Uh, maybe I like when people look up at me.” He replied as he frantically looked around for anywhere else to sit. Finally, he spotted a chair and moved it over to be beside my bed. I held him a chuckle at his total panic of sitting on my bed. What, does he not know how to sit on a bed? Does he have hemorrhoids? Am I just too repulsive to sit on the same piece of furniture with? Or am I not decent enough? Maybe they gave the selected like really crappy beds and he just doesn’t wanna sit on my bed? Honestly, I have no idea why he would panic so much at just sharing a bed. “But I'll be nice today.” He added before sitting down and revealing his covered plate had toast on it.

“You seem happier when this is at the breakfast table.” He explained which was true.

I chuckled, “Ben did say he likes to loom over you. Maybe you like doing the same to others to make yourself feel better like a bully victim being a bully. Granted Natalya and I left you plenty of shoes to pick from to fix that, but thank you for your niceness today.”  I stated then moved onto the toast.

“Glad you noticed. I don't see why its not there everyday its like the bread is good then you can do anything with it eat it plain or put all kinds of jams or curds. It's really the best breakfast food/snack. Plus it doesn't require utensils in chinese traps.”

“I only brought strawberry jam, but it's warm bread if that makes it any better.” He then noticed that I wasn’t fully sitting up, “Uh, do you need help sitting up?” He asked.

“No I should be able to stack some more pillows behind me to get me up straight. Though when moving my foot with the sprain does not stay lined up with the pillow so if you could move that for me while I get the back pillows that'd be great.Though, I will warn you......I'm not fully decent.. my ankle is exposed so you may have to shield your eyes from its lewdness.” I joked at the last part.

He rolled his eyes and clicked his tongue before putting the toast down on my nightstand table, then stood to go move the pillow. “It’s a rule Hazel and Layla came up with, okay?”

“Asking the selected if they're decent first? It seems silly to me, I don't think most people just lounge around in their underwear. It would be chilly.” I replied.

“And I don't mind the one flavor either, the toast itself is amazing as is and with additives.” I added.

He snorted, “It’s a rule that predates the Selection. We all had a bad habit of barging into places when we were younger of it was just our rooms...and it wasn’t really a problem until we almost walked in on Hazel changing. She pushed the door back before we entered and almost broke Ben’s nose.” I couldn’t help but to burst out laughing thinking about that encounter. The stress, the speed, the slam.

“I can't even begin to imagine either side. All of my siblings are girls after all so if we're changing it doesn't really matter where. Though I suppose its equivalent to my dad having a secret knock so we'd know it was him. Speaking of facial injuries, you okay there?” I asked since he had a scar on his cheekbone that was not there before the attack.

He passed me the plate of toast then reached to his face to touch the scar seeming like he had forgotten about it. “oh, yeah... it’s alright.” He replied then took a moment before adding, “You should’ve seen the other guy.”

I chuckled at bringing the previously mentioned joke back, “At least your takeaway makes you look cool, you could pull off a wicked pirate look for halloween. I'm just stuck in bed for an eternity with a pillow under my foot and thread in my hip.” I complained.

I took a piece of toast and stared at it for a moment, “I'm not sure if I should start with jam or try it plain first?” I mumbled as I weighed pros and cons.

“I've heard some people like being stuck in bed for eternity. But as for the toast, plain is no fun.”

“Not me. It's too boring plus I can't go on any runs or go swimming or do anything but look at a ceiling. It's truly exhausting I would talk with Rose more but she seems reluctant to come out of her shy shell so it doesn't really work.”

I then smirked ready to address the toast comment. I faced him and matched his eyes, “Oh really? After the lessons I assumed you would always be on the plain and safe side of things.” I teased before reaching for the jam.

He scoffed, “And you say I'm rude?”

“I was not rude. Just simply making a claim off of your previous actions. Whereas you do things like leave conversations without saying goodbye, snicker at people, and that mocking-” I gestured once more to his eyebrow area, “-Eyebrow thing.” Just as I complained about the eyebrow thing he did it again.

“I do not.” He retorted then seemed to notice he was doing the very thing he claimed not to do. He frowned to try and make his eyebrows both go down to a not mocking level. “-do it mockingly. It's just a facial expression.” He added to try and save his defensive I do not.

“a facial expression-” I paused to cross my arms defensively, “Of. Mocking.”

He rolled his eyes, “What am I mocking? It seems insensitive to mock a poor injured young miss.”

“See more mocking right there. Now you're mocking the fact that I'm injured, previously you were mocking my...Idunno gesturing or previous statement. See here let me try then you'll see how mocky it is.” I threatened and mimicked his stupid eyebrow thing.

He narrowed his eyes and replied with a voice saturated in sarcasm, “Oh no. I feel so mocked, how will I ever get over such a thing.”

I leaned over to try and play punch him but ended up putting pressure on my injured hip, “Ow ow ow ow ow bad idea on my part.” I replied as I tried to fix my position.

He frowned and leaned forward as he tried to figure out how to help, “What? What's wrong?”

I couldn’t help but to take advantage of the situation, now that he was leaning forward I could reach him and land my light shoulder punch. “Haha! ow still but I accomplished my goal. To reach you I tried to get more on my right side but that's where the stitches are so the pressure was bad. Fortunately, for me you leaned forward.” I explained with a grin on enough pain medication that that previous interaction didn’t hurt me too much.

He blinked then leaned back in his chair, “You're crazy. Start being more careful.”

I chuckled lightly, “I will. Though, it's not like I planned to lay on my stitches I had the full intent of just reaching over to hit you. It just played out that way and you happened to lean forward so I seized my chance.” I then started to spread some jam on my toast, “I've actually been pretty well behaved with my injuries this time. When I was 13 I broke my leg and refused to stop trying to go for jogs. Didn't work out well for me.” I added.

“You don't sound like a smart 13 year-old.”

“I'm not smart as an 18 year old. But at 13 I did have a little less of a brain. Ot drove my mom crazy since she's a doctor so she'd be trying to be a mom and a doctor when it was broken and go into a hyper care mode. She'd do it whenever we even got a cold too, she's probably losing it that she can't be my doctor currently. Your lucky that you don't have a doctor parent to micromanage your recoveries.” I added with an eye roll thinking about my mom’s drama whenever any of us got as light as a scratch.

A smile tugged at his lips, “Sounds like you wish she was here to micromanaging your recoveries.” He replied. Why does he think he can tell me how I feel? I mean he’s right, I do wish she were here. But that smirk like he’s some genius know it all is the most aggravating thing.

I scoffed and played the defensive, “Nope. Being injured without her is good practice for adulting without her. Though I do kinda have her here in a weird way.” I wasn’t going to let that smirk win. But talking about her made me remember a book that sat on my bed to my left.

“I was actually very glad to find this in the library, it's one of my dad's poem books. I haven't been allowed to read them before though so it's also a bit sneaky to have one. But my mom is mentioned in several. He's highly romantic.” I warned about the romance part.

He perked up and looked at the cover of the book, “Your dad's a poem writer?”

“Yup. He always wanted to be one but he didn't actually start writing well till he met my mom apparently. He’s a stay at home dad though for most of the time since mom likes to spend most of the day at the hospital and there are 4 children including me so dad would stay home and take care of us and write about mostly my mom. He wrote about me and my sisters every once in awhile too but I don't think he published them. Mostly they were out of angst of us refusing to eat our vegetables.” I chuckled.

“Do you like to read?” I asked after all he had perked up at the mention of my dad’s profession.

He laughed at my vegetable comment, “I do. Though I've never fully submerged in the art of poetry.”

“is your dad any good?”.

“Well, as his daughter I'm required to defend him to the grave and as a reader I also have not really read a lot of poetry so I'm not the best judge so after weighing those too I'm going to go with yes. He's an excellent poet.”

He nodded acting like he had a deep understanding of what I said, “You seem like a very good judge for that.” he replied before reaching for the book.”Let's see what I think with my super unbiased opinion.” I can’t decide if he’s opinion would be biased in favour of or against his poetry.

I pulled the book away from him, “Wait I don't wanna lose my spot and I don't have a bookmark.” I looked around for something to shove in the pages and ended up pulling a petal off of one of the flowers Ben had brought me to put in it. Then I handed the book to Wyatt, “Here. Do you know how poem books work?” I asked.

He then opened the book to the page with the petal in it, “It's a book. It has words. They happen to be poems.” He then gave me a presumptuous smirk which I was very glad I would get to crush, “Am I getting it right?” He asked.

“You and your brother both seem to have a strong tendency to be smug.” I replied and reached over to lightly pinched his cheek. He, like a drama queen, pulled back from the light, little, tiny, cheek pinch to rub his cheek like I had laid a full on punch on him.

“Yes you are technically right but you're also wrong. Poem collections are just collections of the poems. Poem books tend to have a story that follows a plot and each poem tells the story. Such as this one seems to be about my mom and dad in college. You can still just read a random poem from anywhere in the book and you'll get the author's style and what was going on in that segment since poems should still be able to stand alone. However, you'll miss the overall picture of the book.”

“Okay, I didn't know they'd follow a story. I guess that means your parents met in college.”

“It really varies from book to book but if it says collection it is certainly not in any order of a plot. Otherwise it’s likely to be a story but it could just be a collection under a different name. And yes they did meet in college. Mom had to take an english class required to graduate. They got married in the end of their first year since there both overly romantic doofs who decided to go straight for marriage.” I chuckled a bit at the last part.

He chuckled himself, “So that means you consider yourself to be more reasonable?”

I considered for a good long minute. I liked to think I'm reasonable. I’m for sure more sane than Emma, “hmmmm...nope. I'm just not afraid to admit that we're all doofs. If I were a more reasonable person I probably wouldn't have signed up for the selection. Are you a reasonable person?”

He thought for a moment and half folded his legs so that one leg had his ankle resting on his knee, “What would you say?” He asked.

“I'd say you are about as reasonable as a person who thinks "admiring a wall" is a valid excuse for lurking.”

Ah there it is again, the death glare, so sorry mother I lived through the attack but this is where I die. At the hands of a glaring Wyatt. “It was a joke!” He replied defensively. He sighed, “I’d say I’m reasonable if you take that away. Depends on my mood. Also on what you consider reasonable.”

I looked away from him with a tsk click of my tongue, “The boy is in denial of his true nature. Can't even accept that he's unreasonable like the smart and mature me.” I twirled a section of my hair in my finger as I spoke.

He rolled his eyes, “Everyone suffers from a certain lack of reason at some point in life.”

I chuckled, “You're right. Honestly, you seem like more of a reasonable fellow to me. I'm pretty reasonable myself in most cases as well. To defend myself on joining the selection being an unreasonable act of mine I did it for free breakfast from my friend so that makes it more reasonable.” I added the second part to defend myself.

“Get a free meal at the cheap price of joining a competition with thirty-five other girls to see who gets to marry a prince. Smart choice.”

“get a free meal at the cheap price of more free meals and meeting some new people. Seems smart to me.” I said then took a bite of my toast and held it up as exhibit A, “Free meal.” I added covering my mouth as it now had toast in it.

He smiled, “Okay, I guess you win.” HAH defeated, Schreave!

I smiled proudly before swallowing, “Would you have joined the selection?” I asked then went red as I realized all of the problems with my question and was met with a skeptical look from Wyatt,, “Had Ben not been your brother or the royal been a girl unless you swing the other way which is totally okay by the way…” I mumbled off, “...it would explain the musicals and the hair.”

He looked offended by my comments, woops, “There’s nothing wrong with my hair!”

“It's just very....elegant I suppose. In a way I'm not used to seeing straight males have theirs.” I said and fwooshed his hair bounce. “It's just would have made some sense had you been gay. Actually you didn't answer the question, are you gay? I'd still be your friend either way. Just checking.”

“I’m a strictly into girls kind of guy, sorry to disappoint. Didn’t know well groomed hair and appreciation for musicals was strictly left for gay people though.” He grumbled.

I chuckled, “I'm sorry for offending your hair and taste. Musicals are fine. I'm not super into them but thats just because my dad hates them and would never let us go so I've never actually heard them and should not judge.”

“They’re good. It takes a different type of story telling than normal albums. More direct. You’re dad made you miss out...though in all honestly, I didn’t get into them until I was older.”

“really? Maybe you could show me one. In return for me showing you the best poetry of the best you can show me a musical.”

He looked back down to the book in his hand, “Let’s see how good this is and I’ll consider it.” He then flipped to a random page, “Lets judge an individual poem first.”

He then smirked as he read over it and stood up from his chair holding the book in one hand and the other in the air as if he was contemplating life. One of my eyebrows raised curiously as I watched him, “My darling. My sunshine. My light.” He paused to turn his hand and shift it in the other direction, “You shine, you dazzle, you glow.” He then paused to clench his fist as I began to hold in laughter, “LIKE THE LIGHTS OF THE EIFFEL—”

I couldn’t take it anymore and had to burst out laughing, “This is some intense poetry spoken with real passion.” I replied through my laughter as I held up my own clenched fist to mimic his.

“I’m sure this is the intensity your father wrote it with.” He then cleared his throat and kept his fist extended, “IN THE CITY. OF. LOVE.” He gave a dramatic pause and looked to the ground, “If you were a city... you would be Paris..” He looked up and gave a smoldering look to a spot in the air, “because…” he squinted at the book, “Love surrounds you.” He finished then reread the poem.

“I thought light surrounded you?”

“No no she is the light.” I explained. The applauded him for his truly majestic reading.

“I'd love to hear another he has non plot related collection in the back of the book if you don't want spoilers.” I suggested.

He gave a small bow and walked back over to his seat, “Let’s see... “ He flipped to the back and read through some of them until he finally raised an eyebrow, “Oh, this one’s interesting…”

“'I’ve raised one well enough then came another two daughters now gifts from their mother.” He said reading the first few lines normally. Oh, this must be about me. Since two daughters would be Riley and I.

He then gave me a pointed look before continuing, “Unfortunately at the ripe age of three, their teacher miss Miranda Lee taught the younger to sing…” DAD NO.

Wyatt was clearly holding in laughter as my cheeks turned darker and darker shades of red, “For little over a month now, I have been unable to think. All I hear is that horrible tweet. Itsy bitsy spider, it never ends. Her singing is like—” He had to stop as he started laughing. He tried to speak through the laughter, “the sound of a microwave beeping as it stops. It alarms you! And you wish it to stop but it simply will not shut up!” He stopped for longer now as he burst out into laughter.

I turned to grab a pillow from my bed and chucked it at him, “Don't laugh! I was three what do you expect! I mean that daughter was three could have been another one of us, maybe I'm the eldest or maybe it's not based on real life!” I hissed defensively.

He ignored me and cleared his throat to speak again this time with a fighter voice and another clenched fist as he looked up to the ceiling like he was looking to the heavens, “ITSY BITSY SPIDER I WISH I COULD CRUSH YOU—”

He chuckled as he looked back down to the book, “Dang, your dad is harsh.” He smiled as he looked down at the page and finished the poem, “but unfortunately, you’ve taught me the struggles of fatherhood.’

I snatched the book from him, “You can't read it now till I've read through the rest of them. And I was three can you honestly expect a three year old to be an amazing singer?” I rolled my eyes, “No you can't. but you can expect them to be annoying and bother their father.” I answered my own question and crossed my arms in fury.

He plopped back down in his chair and just smirked the whole time, “so you admit it  was you?” He grinned like he had won something which just made me more embarrassed.

“Sure. fine. yes. It was me I drove my father crazy with itsy bitsy spider when I was three. Apparently, I liked the hand motions a lot but couldn't sing the key. Happy? You probably were a worse singer than me at three anyways.” I attacked.

“Wow.” He chuckled and leaned back in his seat with his arms up in defense. “Low blow from Patterson, but it’s a miss.” He said and leaned forward on his knees. “I‘ve always been a great singer.” I bet he’s fibbing to win.

“You've been known to lie and say things like youre a wall admirer to get out of a situation. Prove you aren't lying then, Schreave.” I replied and crossed my arms proudly since I had caught him in his lie.

He tensed up nervously, “I’m not going to sing in front of you.” HAH I WIN!

“Liar liar pants on fire.” I smirked as I had won this.

He got kind of flustered but glared again at me, “I don’t need to prove it to you.” He then crossed his arms defensively, “I’ll live without your validation.”

“Eek. Damn Wyatt, back at it again with the murderous glare.” I referenced with a slight shudder.

He laughed, “Shut up.” A grin then spread across his face as it seemed an idea hit him, “I’ll sing if you sing itsy bitsy.” What a prick.

I huffed as I thought. On one hand I’d be able to catch his lie, on the other I’d have to face public humiliation. “Fine. There's no harm since either I prove I can sing and I'm better or you get caused the pain of my fathers poem.”

I then took a breath in and started, “tHe ItSy BITSY sPiDeR wEnT Up THe WaTeR SpOUT!”

He laughed, “Down came the rain and washed the spider out.” He finished and decided to throw in some hand motions shoving the spider in my face.

I scoffed at his showy move. Sure his lines were better but thrusting his spider motions into my face was extra. I grabbed his hands and lightly squeezed them, “Crushed the spider.” I said referencing my dad’s poem.

His eyes widened at the sudden contact but he smirked, “See? There's your dad's passion.” Suddenly, he seemed to realize how physically close we now were which caused his face to turn red and his body to freeze.

This just caused me to want to tease him more. I moved closer to him keeping our hands still together, “Oh no, is something wrong? You seem a little broken.” I chuckled and booped his nose.

He tensed up more but finally was able to speak up again after the nose touching, “Don't do that.” He scoffed. Though, it wasn’t my fault Wyatt had an upturned nose that seemed to call for booping and that his reactions led to humourous hysteria, I had to consider his feelings as well and if he wasn't a fan of contact I really would have to stop.

I giggled and held up my hands in surrender, “Sorry, your brother makes funny faces when he's scared to death, you seem funny when you're embarrassed by simple human contact.” I chuckled a bit at my commentary.

He grumbled, “No I don't.”

I crossed my arms, “You do too! Your face gets all red and you tense up. Why don't you like other peoples contact anywho?” It seemed like a weird thing to be particular about. Don’t most people crave human contact?

His ears were still red and he avoided eye contact with me, “It's not that I don't like it. I just prefer my personal space, nothing wrong with that.” I suppose that makes sense. But I couldn’t let Wyatt off the hook that easily.

“Wow, I had no idea the tops could turn such a cherry red.” I exclaimed with a smirk about his ear tips.

He glared at me and stood up with dramatic flare. Yet again like a drama queen. “I will leave and take my toast with me.” It’s technically my toast since he gave it to me but I get the threat.

I decided to match his drama, “No no no. I'm so sorry oh dearest wisest Prince Wyatt uh-I-dont-know-your-middle-name Schreave. Please don't take the toast I'm injured. Please kind prince show mercy.” I begged with a dramatic pleading look in my eyes as I gazed up at the prince who could provide me the only love I would need for my eternal life, toast.

His eyes were still narrowed into a murder glare but he sat back down. “Tad too dramatic.”

“Sorry, just trying to truly lament my deepest apology. I am related to a poet after all. Do you expect me not to be dramatic?”

“Poets are also supposed to be sensible.”

“I am too sensible.”

“I require proof of this.”

“A non sensible person would be walking around on a hurt foot, Since I am sensible I have stayed in bed. Proof. Game. Set. Match.” That doesn’t really mean you’re sensible, just that you aren’t insane, Gabby. Maybe he won't notice though.

He seemed to listen intently to what I said but snorted at my last phrase, “How many games were we playing right now?”

“I think just the one of am I sensible, though can Wyatt really sing may have been another overlapping.” Though, that already had its conclusion.

“Game. Set. Match... are those volleyball terms?” He asked ignoring my comment.

“Technically but it's more commonly used for Tennis. Do you not watch sports?”

“Oh. Tennis. Right. I’m good at watching, not terminology. I understand baseball and soccer. Tennis is more up Aran’s alley from what he’s told.” I was supposed to teach Ben tennis. Whoops guess that won’t happen for a while.

“I knew those terms sounded familiar though.” He paused and let out a long sigh, “So close to getting it right.”

“Do you play baseball and soccer or are you just a fan of watching?”

“You were the girl that Ben taught how to play baseball, right? He’s not the only Schreave who knows how to play. I played soccer too, but I’m better at aiming with my hand than with my leg.”

We talked for a bit longer about sports before I suggested we play a game. I hadn’t satisfied my competitive drive in forever since I’ve been stuck in this bed. I suggested darts and we looked around for where we would even put a board before Wyatts eye caught a picture on my nightstand table.

It was from my sixth halloween or so. Mom, dad, and I were in the picture since Riley took it. I was dressed up as a very fat and glitter cupcake.

“Is that one of your sisters?” He asked with a smirk as he picked up the framed photo. Shit. I can’t give him anymore amo than I’ve already given him today.

“Yup sure its my little sister Mae can I have it back now?”

He seemed suspicious of my reaction, “Why? How old is she?” Why what? Is something wrong.

While my brain focused on why he would say why my mouth slipped and I provided the honest answer that Mae was only a little over a year old.

He raised an eyebrow and turned the frame like it was a piece of evidence, “Why does she look like a 6-year-old cupcake then?” God I’m an idiot.

“Ah-umm did I say Mae? No no I must have meant Eliana my eight year old sister definitely Eliana for sure is what I meant.”

“This girl looks too young to be eight. Actually, she looks like you now that I take a good look at it…”

I huffed, this lying was taking up too much work, “Fine, you figured it out sherlock, it's me.”

He gave a fake pout, “Why would you hide that important information? You were quite the cupcake.” He said as he stared at the photo. Why was he so into it? Oh yeah he loves photography.

“It wasn't my best costume okay. I just was in a phase where cupcakes were my thing. And I'm going to accept that as a genuine compliment so thank you.” It wasn’t my best plus I was a truly ugly child. Lots of baby fat, very little photogenicness.  

“Oh yeah you did say you liked photography since you gave Ben the...album. Was it quite a fire album?” I asked chuckling a bit remembering how embarrassed he was that I had asked if he made the songs or not.

“I told you it's still not finished... and it's probably not that impressive, but Ben's fond of you girls, and claims to enjoy going through my pictures,” He let out a small chuckle and rubbed the nape of his neck.

“So it's a fun project. One day he'll get to go back and flip through it thinking "wow, I actually invited 35 girls to come and fall in love with me."

“I'm sure that'll be a wild memory. Mine will probably be along the lines of "wow can't believe I got all that free food. Miss it now"” I then did a disappointed snap that normally goes along with people being like gosh darnit.

He shrugged, “You never know what'll happen.”

“Oh right I do have a backup plan. Maybe you'd be willing to help with it?” Oh wait he’s going to get the wrong idea. A backup plan that’ll allow me to stay at the palace for the free food that he would help me with? His thoughts will definitely will not be accurate to my actual plans.

“Uh...what?”

“Oh right more context. I have a plan so I can stay and get unlimited food without marrying anyone. Bens agreed to help. I hide in a pantry. There's so many in the kitchen that they wouldn't notice. Then I can eat the good food for free all the time.”

“So your plan is moving into the pantry and maybe going through another cupcake phase, stealing those all the time?”

“Hey!” I then held up my hands in defense, “I said nothing about cupcakes. You probably had a childhood obsession anyways. Probably more embarrassing than cupcakes.” I huffed.

“I’m sure you were a lovely cupcake fanatic, I’m not judging you.” He said with an amused grin, “I can’t say I was ever obsessed with a dessert, however.”

I glared at his grin and scrunched my nose before moving closer to get a real good look at his mocking. “There it is again.”

He raises both eyebrows, clearly playing innocent, “What?”

“Oh great now you've gone and made it doubly worse. You're mocking again. Amused smile, now the eyebrows.” I couldn’t help but smile though as this back and forth was fun for me at this point.

He laughed a bit, “Anything else on your list I should stop doing?”

“That's all I can thin- oh wait. At breakfast. Every morning, when I unfold my utensils you don't say anything but I feel the mocking in the air. Stop making the air foul.”

“Oh, so I’ll just-” He paused and closed his eyes, “-avoid looking at you at all times. Will that stop the air from becoming foul?”

“No then the air just becomes awkward. Also you can't avoid looking at me, I'm too eye catching,” I paused to pose with one hand on my hip and the other on the side of my face, “Kidding of course.”

He opened his eyes and rolled them, “Yes, of course.” He then pretended to hold up an invisible camera and said, “click.”

Going along with the picture joke I replied, “Oh no, you can't take pictures of me for free. Now you're in debt to me. I'll have to think of a way you can pay me.”

“I didn't take an actual picture.” He replied which made me roll my eyes, he must really think I’m stupid.

“I know. I was joking. I have eyes. Still even an imaginary picture has a deep cost. You'll really have to work your way out of debt.”

He thought for a moment, “You know, that toast was made as an extra request to the most expensive chef in the country. It’s not part of your regular meal plan as Selected. You’ll really have to work your way out of debt unless I pay for it…”

I scrunched my nose as I had been played, “Fine. I'll ignore your debt if you ignore mine on the toast. Deal?” I said before I offered my hand for a business shake.

He looked down at my hand first before shaking it, “Why'd you have to look first? Were you scared I had one of those prank buzzers or something?”

“I’ll have you know, Ben fell too easily for those when we were little.” I wonder if he has trust issues now. Ben I mean. From all of the Wyatt shocking.

I chuckled, “Like how easily you feel for Natalya and I's shoe prank?”

He gave a flat look, “That was just weird and uncalled for.”

“It was funny and you know it. Don't try and deny it.”

Suddenly his voice raised so a high pitch one trying to mock me, “Oh Wyatt,” He paused for a dramatic hand gesture, “Please admire this wall with me.”

Fine I’ll mock him back. I lowered my voice, “Leave me alone, Gabriella. I need to sit in my room and be angsty with my tennie tiny feet. Rude statement rude statement, death glare.” I then did a death glare of my own to push my point which was met with a sincere and much more chilling death glare from Wyatt.

“Why do you keep saying my feet are small! My shoe size is 10.5—perfectly average for a 6 foot guy!” He broke.

I gasped, “You have six feet? I had no idea.” I joked avoiding the question.

“I said foot not feet. Basic grammar, Cupcake.” He replied not taking any of my humor. The nickname cupcake would have been nice had I not known it was intended to be an attack on my pride.

I rolled my eyes as I tried to think of a painful nickname, bigfoot? Glarey mcglare boy? Rude boy 2.0? Mixtape album rapper? “Fine, I'll give you that, wall-philic.” I said pulling back to my oldest insult for him.

“I make a joke one time and there’s no escaping it now, huh?”

“I dress up as a cupcake one time and there's no escaping it now, huh?”

“You admitted you had a childhood obsession.”

I grumbled as I knew he was right, “Fine I guess that's a different situation. I'll let the wall stuff go.” I agreed.

He gave a proud cocky smile as he had won but his wristwatch interrupted us with its beeping. “I’ll send a dart board with a maid for you to use later, but I have to go now.” Thank God I’ll have something to do. Though, I felt a bit sad that Wyatt was leaving. I had been enjoying our conversation even the dramatic poem readings.

“Oh, well thanks. It was nice of you to stop by, and to bring the toast.” I would have walked him out but considering my circumstances I had to remain in bed.

He shrugged and stood up, “I heard you were trapped in here and was wondering what would really hold you back from breakfast.”

“Oh yeah, have you been missing your meal neighbor? No one to embarass you in front of your family. Unfortunately I have to eat up here. But it was sweet of you to come visit.” I chuckled a bit at my own comment of embarrassing him.

“See? I can be a good person. You just have to be nice.”

“I am always nice. Anyways, good luck on whatever it is you set an alarm for.”

“Meeting. Hopefully we'll figure who was behind this soon.” He gave a small smile before he waved goodbye and walked to the door. I gave a wave goodbye myself. I had almost completely forgotten about the attacks while I was talking with Wyatt. It was weird that something which had been stopping me from rest was so easily forgotten during a simple conversation.

I sighed as the door closed and I was left alone. I adjusted some of my pillows and took satisfaction in my moment alone. I hadn’t been alone in what felt like an eternity, though I’m sure Rose is rushing her way back to my side.

I close my eyes and decided to use my time to try and sleep. Maybe with the attacks not pounding at my mind I would be able to get some quality sleep.

And I did. That is, until the end of my dream. Ben and I were on a romantic date. Walking, holding hands, talking. Until finally he leaned in for a kiss. It felt even better than the ones he had been giving me. But when I pulled away it wasn’t Ben who I had kissed. It was Wyatt looking down at me with that horrible, smug, amused, cocky grin. He just replied with a simple reference,

“That was legit-ness.”

I shot up in my bed covered in sweat as I tried to gather my thoughts. What the fuck was that dream?

[aion-rsa]

Rutherford Falls Review: Peacock Series Learns From Pawnee’s Mistakes

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This review contains no spoilers and is based on the first four episodes of Rutherford Falls.

Rutherford Falls, the new Peacock comedy from Ed Helms, Sierra Teller Ornelas, and co-creator Michael Schur, owes a lot to Schur’s previous series, Parks and Recreation. Not only does Rutherford Falls have its mind on civics, community, and bureaucracy, it also aims to have a lived-in quality, with a focus on world-building. In the four episodes screened for critics, Rutherford Falls makes a concerted effort to give every member of the upstate New York community a name and a voice, much like the citizens of Pawnee.

Another quality that the fictional Rutherford Falls and Pawnee have in common is their complicated histories with native communities. However, whereas Leslie Knope shrugged and resigned herself to the fact that that the murals in city hall showcased horrific treatment of the Wamapo tribe, the characters of Rutherford Falls are taking a long, hard look at the relationship between town founder Lawrence Rutherford and the Minishonka Nation, the indigenous people with which Rutherford brokered a lopsided deal. Rutherford Falls examines the voices that we allow to shape our perception of history, and the voices that are frequently left out.

Ed Helms stars as Nathan Rutherford, a descendent of Lawrence who has dedicated his life to preserving his ancestor’s history as it relates to his hometown. Nathan runs the Rutherford Falls Heritage Museum with obsessive zeal, cosplaying as his ancestor in self-aggrandizing short films and giving tours to local school children. Nathan’s best friend is Reagan (Jana Schmieding), a member of the Minishonka Nation who, after receiving two master’s degrees from Northwestern, has returned home to run her own museum, a resource-strapped “Cultural Center” inside of the Running Thunder Casino, which the tribe owns. Though the friends have great admiration and respect for each other and their respective endeavors, they are put at odds when the mayor of Rutherford Falls threatens to move the statue of Lawrence (“Big Larry”) which sits in the middle of a busy intersection and causes frequent car accidents.

Peacock has touted the fact that Rutherford Falls has “one of the largest Indigenous writers’ rooms on television,” with five Native writers on staff. The show also features one of the largest Native American casts in recent memory, as well as nonbinary characters. It’s a shame then that so much of the first four episodes focuses on Helms, a clear weak spot. Surely the series needed a big name to attract attention, and a former Office cast member starring in a series hosted by a streaming service that practically exists just to house The Office makes sense on paper, but those that find Helms’ misguided nice guy schtick annoying likely won’t warm to him here. 

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The Office is Great But Maybe Try Something Else for a Bit

By Nick Harley

Nathan is certainly necessary to the story, it’s just that perhaps he didn’t need to be a main character. While there’s value, both comedically and narratively, to Nathan realizing slowly that he may be on the wrong side of this issue, and history, when his efforts are championed by pathetic, white supremacist characters like one portrayed by Paul F. Tompkins, Nathan seems too unrealistically blind to the larger issues for someone who is shown as otherwise being friendly, thoughtful, and accepting. Nathan would have been better served being the sympathetic antagonist versus the top-billed star.

Rutherford Falls’ real juice comes from Reagan’s interactions with Terry Thomas (Michael Greyeyes), a fellow Minishonka Nation member and enterprising CEO of Running Thunder Casino. Terry is a driven family man who takes a special interest in Nathan’s loud, foolish campaign to save his ancestor’s statue, and he and Reagan share a hinted-at history.

 The fourth episode puts the focus on Terry and is far and away the best of the bunch. Structured around an interview Terry is giving to Josh Carter (Dustin Milligan), an NPR reporter investigating the “Big Larry” dustup who looks poised to be this series’ Ben Wyatt, outsider character, we learn about Terry’s origins and watch as he systematically dismantles Josh’s notions of what a Native person’s priorities should be. In a single episode, Greyeyes makes Terry the series’ deepest, most complicated character and proves he’s an incredible foil for Reagan. Hopefully the remainder of Rutherford Falls’ episodes move away from Nathan and more toward this pairing.

The ambition, timeliness, and necessity of Rutherford Falls’ story cannot be overlooked. These are tricky subjects and themes for any series, and especially for a comedy. While the initial episodes can be light on the jokes in favor of laying the groundwork for the remainder of the season, there are still some laugh out loud zingers (like when Nathan suggests that Reagan just leave a note after they damage a government building, and she replies “Vandalize public property and leave a note — ah, to live that white dude life.”) 

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Hopefully as the show progresses, it will be able to better balance the narrative ambition and the comedy. First seasons of comedy series are tough, just look at Parks and Rec. But with a unique, distinct point of view and real diversity behind the camera, Rutherford Falls is well-suited to carve its own path and be Peacock’s first genuine hit.

All episodes of Rutherford Falls will be available to stream Thursday, April 22 on Peacock.

The post Rutherford Falls Review: Peacock Series Learns From Pawnee’s Mistakes appeared first on Den of Geek.

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#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

[proofthatihaveaheart]

March Fic Recs

I’ve been waiting for this day all week because I read so many good fics this month and I just wanted to share them already. So let’s get this show on the road! 

[2 Borderlands, 8 Brooklyn Nine-Nine, 3 The Adventure Zone]

Borderlands

The Crimson Raider Reporting by ccaaii, SimulatedStars, snufflyphoenix (gen, 2k WIP): New York City; 1923.There's a crackdown on vice and Roland and Mordecai, two reporters for The Crimson Raider, are convinced the Deputy Chief of Police behind it is in fact Handsome Jack, notorious gang leader of Hyperion. Across town Maya, a policewoman working under Deputy Chief Johnson, has the same theory. Gaige is a young anarchist who is friends with the Deputy Chief's daughter who ends up in way over her head. They end up allying with The Firehawk and The Slab King to take down Handsome Jack, hoping to expose Johnson in the process. [I normally don’t rec WIPs but this fic deserves way more love so here we go! The Borderlands characters and themes translate beautifully into 1920s Prohibition Era New York. The premise they’ve set up is so intriguing and so good and honestly you should all go read it and leave comments.] 

The Five Times Mordecai Asked Moxxi to Run Away with Him by snufflyphoenix (Mordecai/Moxxi, 1k):  And the one time she ran away without him. [Would you like a dash of sweetness with your pain? Then read this fic. It captures the progression of their relationship beautifully.]

Brooklyn Nine-Nine

all that laughter crumbling in your chest by philthestone (Rosa, Amy/Jake, 8k): Amy kind-of sort-of dies, and everything falls apart. Rosa observes. [Amy fakes her death for a case and most of the squad doesn’t know and it hurts. Really great job at capturing the hole Amy’s absence leaves and I love me some Jake angst.]

Beach House Revelations by EveningRose (Jake/Amy, 7k): The first time the whole squad went to the Beach House, they discovered a new side to Holt. This time, Jake discovers a whole new side to Amy. Specifically, Four-drink Amy comes out to play and Jake isn't sure he's going to survive this night because it might just be the death of him. [This fic is a pure delight - lots of cute and funny moments both between Jake and Amy as well as with the rest of the squad. Honestly I was smiling and laughing the entire time. It’s really good.] 

don’t be fools, thinking this is the last you’ll find by elsaclack (Jake/Amy): Jake and Amy on their first official date, after the restaurant. [This is so cute and good!!! Like I 100% accept that this is what happened in canon. Also the writing is really good and honestly I love every line but there’s this specific nugget that made me melt:  If his dad was made for flying planes and his mom was made to be a living sant, Jake Peralta was made to kiss Amy Santiago. Like how good is that amirite? Also the ending but I won’t quote and spoil that. Please read the rest now.]

i could listen to you all day by startofamoment (Jake/Amy, 3k): “You should arrange your shirts by color and pattern.” “Uh, hello? Earth to conscience, these are all blue plaid shirts.” “Wrong. That one over there is a navy tartan, and that other one is a periwinkle gingham.” “So like... blue plaid.”  B99 + Conscience/Soulmate AU: in which your conscience has the voice, thought process, and moral compass of your soulmate. [Really cute, honestly I was smiling the entire time with my hands clasped against my chest, it was such a delight.]

just let the pain remind you hearts can heal by elsaclack (Jake/Amy): Missing moment from the sleepwalking verse between eating Chinese and Charles visiting where Amy tries to organize her dishes and Jake worries about her. [My heart is melting. I love this - just all the touching, the bits of angst, the concern from Jake and the stubbornness in Amy, the sheer love on display, everything here is lovely. If you enjoyed sleepwalking, you need to read this. If you haven’t read sleepwalking, then WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH YOUR LIFE GO READ IT NOW!!! and then come back for this + the other fics on this list.] 

she shoots, she scores (like, every time) by peraltiagoisland (Gina, Jake, with sprinklings of Gina/Rosa and Jake/Amy), 6k): AU where everything is pretty much the same except- Gina Linetti is amazing at basketball. And by amazing, I mean there's a high possibility a witch cast a spell on her such that she never misses a shot. This skill of Gina's comes in handy during Jake and Gina's childhood- as well as when Boone challenges the Nine-Nine to a basketball match. [This is just a really fun, cute fic with on-point character interactions! Read if you want to smile and laugh. Also the fact that it’s basketball just makes it even more amazing, but then I’m biased, I used to play.] 

Untitled by littlegreenwomen (Rosa gen, 2k): Jake and Amy have a housewarming party, Rosa is stressed, and Ben Wyatt is quoted. [Basically Rosa runs damage control at their housewarming party. I love these disaster children and this fic - it's very fun and cute and true to their characters.]

we want to live by each other’s happiness by philthestone (Jake gen with Jake/Amy and Jake&Rosa, 19k): Erskine tilts his head. “Why do you want to fight?” Jake could say a million things. “I’m Jewish.” [Jewish Captain America AU starring Jake Peralta. Sometimes you read a fic that is so good and so important that you wish everyone would read it because it’s that GOOD and HUMAN. Beautiful characterization and writing with an important message at the very core of it. Honestly I could go on and on about how much I loved it, but I’ll let you read it for yourselves. I will say this: if I could, I would put this on required reading lists everywhere because I think everyone’s lives could be improved by reading this fic, regardless of whether or not they watch B99. One of my top 3 B99 fics for sure!] 

The Adventure Zone

Morning by stargayzing (Carey/Killian, 1k):  TAZ Lady Week Day 6: Fluff, Warmth, Beginnings. [Pre-relationship fluff where Carey and Killian take care of a duckling. It’s really cute and it made me laugh. These two dorks <3]

We End by Coming Home by patster223 (Sloane/Hurley, 900): It begins with Sloane’s cheek pressed against the cold metal of their battlewagon, as she stares at the bright halo of sunlight bouncing off of Hurley’s curls. (That’s not truly where they begin, but the tight cinch of the sash around Sloane’s waist makes it hard for her to remember many beginnings. She has to make due with this one.) [aka how to break my heart in less than 1000 words. Gorgeous and sad.] 

When All This is Over by droosy (Gen of THB, 700):  Our boys think about the future. [Character studies of the three boys and what they want when this is over. It’s beautiful and poignant, and left me with such a bone-deep contentment. My heart is so full of feelings about this found family.]

#fics recs #brooklyn nine nine #borderlands #the adventure zone #monthly fic recs #because i wanted a tag to collect all of these in one place #now that it looks like i really will be doing these every month