#Tbh I think we should get one that’s more unique for tag purposes

[starswirly]

[ * Afternoon, OuterError Nation :] ]

[100hearteyes]

Hi, Mars. You seem to be quite immune to the evils and toxicity of Tumblr. It's something I often struggle with. How do you do it? Do you have any advice on how to cope with it?

Oh boy. That's a loaded question.

I think the main thing is that Tumblr isn't an essential part of my life. If I wanted to just leave and never look back, my daily life wouldn't be rocked by it. I am, thankfully (and I know I'm privileged for that), surrounded by a loving family and loving friends, and have a job that I love. Those are the things that fulfill me. Tumblr, as much as I love participating in it, is a bonus. Which means that — and this is going to sound way worse than I want it to — the people whose opinion I care about are (save for a few exceptions) outside of Tumblr. My support system is outside of Tumblr. This website isn't where I seek validation. It gives me comfort, because it reminds me that there are many, many more people like me in the world, and I can share the experience with other queer folk (especially queer women, because that is who I am), but it's not a necessity. I don't need Tumblr. That knowledge allows me to look at this very unique ecosystem from a different perspective. Although I'm smack in the middle of it, I usually feel like I'm on the outside looking in, which allows me to be impervious to a LOT of the shit that happens here. I have loads of filtered tags, too, and make sure to curate my experience.

There's another factor: I wouldn't say I'm self-absorbed — I'm more, like, nothing-absorbed. I'm constantly living in another world, which often leads me to being unaware of stuff — or the weight of such stuff — happening around me (and sometimes with/to me, hence the nothing-absorbedness). It's a double-edged sword though. On the one hand, it allows me to breeze through a lot of shit unaffected. On the other hand, I miss a lot of cool stuff. I jokingly say I'm the anti hipster — I only get into things once everyone else has moved on. But it's usually not on purpose and it's often a bummer, because I lose the chance to enjoy those phenomenons with people. Tumblr helps me in that respect, because it sometimes forces me to be aware — but even on Tumblr I'm none the wiser to a lot of stuff that's happening around me (e.g. the wegramchos phenomenon (plus Nacho's amazing smut), complete with The Hunner Podcast, which was HUGE when I was most active on Tumblr and I knew nothing about until a few months ago, all of three years later; or KL_Morgan's amazing fics, which I found out about wayyy too late; etc). Which sucks tbh. Being a journalist also helps me with that, because it forces me to be in the loop. It doesn't let me get too lost inside my head.

(Fanfiction is a whole other animal though. Even though I write mainly for myself, I do care about what everyone else thinks. But even then I have the shield of being ESL, which means people can't expect from me the same they do from writers whose first language is English.)

Anyway, after this barrage of me, me, me, here's my advice, if it even counts as such — try to build your support system (or a big chunk of it) outside of Tumblr. I know it's not easy, I know it's not always possible, I know this website is all some people have. I know I'm privileged in that sense. And remember that the (negative) opinion of someone who hides behind an unlinked username or a gray face with glasses counts for nothing. AND always curate your experience. Blacklist lots of shit; even minor shit. Blacklist everything that might affect your experience on Tumblr negatively. I'm here to have fun, not to be dragged down a depressing spiral of the world is going to shit. I know it is. I witness it at work every day. But here? Here I just want to share my love of women (and Clexa) with whoever will want to talk to me.

Tumblr should be a safe space for us all. We have the power to make it so, by way of blacklisting tags and unfollowing people. Use those tools. Don't be ashamed of avoiding the stuff and the people that bring you down. Make Tumblr a happy place, feed off it, but try not to depend on it. Your mental health is paramount.

I hope this is helpful!

[bluh-bluh-liveblogging]

Elite - First Episode!

So! Thoughts about the first episode of Elite that I just watched! I kind of… did not expect to enjoy this as much as I just did? The actors are great, I love picking up a bit of Spanish on the side (not a language I speak… like… at all xD) AND the filming is awesome!

Gorgeous imagery aside – and there sure is a lot of it – I also loved the way the narrative was structured around the murder that is about to have happened. This is an impression absolutely unique to the first episode of this series because this is where we see the story begin and end before the unravelling of story threads from the middle to the eventual conclusion takes place.

This episode was meant to suck you in and get you interested and HOO BOY HOWDY it accomplished its purpose! (For me, at least.)

Regarding the murder mystery, I really liked how the various forward-flashbacks were tied in with the overall story to manipulate the viewer‘s interpretation of singular scenes (adding emphasis on likely future developments like the enmity between Nadia and Lu comes to mind) and it did not feel overdone at all!

Regarding spoilers, mind, I‘m still at the first episode and everything here is pure speculation. Mostly. I should maybe tag spoilers for the victim reveal?

Because, let‘s face it. It was obvious who would die in the end the very second this character made an appearance. At least to me.

Now, because this is what I invariably focus on, no matter what media I consume, let‘s give the various characters in the show a not-really-in-depth-because-i-am-just-talking-into-the-void-and-not-submitting-a-report review!

First of all, Samu. He is the obvious main character, sweet, cautious and just interesting enough to distract from his nice-boy image that… burdens him tragically? His decision to completely opt out of demonstrating his abilities in English during class is interesting and… so far, the only interesting thing he has ever done, except for a few nice, witty one-liners. Don‘t get me wrong, I actually like characters that are capable of… not starting drama every few seconds and the fact that he‘s seemed to be the sole supporter of his family makes him likeable? But I just know that he‘s going to have SOME bullshit going on and make decisions that will downgrade my tentatively positive opinion of him severely. I KNOW IT. Also, I… really don‘t like Marina for some reason?

Marina, then! She also follows the stereotype of the main characters love interest – the Girl That Is Not Like The Others. Which is not necessarily a bad thing! I just dislike characters that, in turn, are more attracted by the attractiveness of rebellion than the actual people who represent it for them.

(But I really liked her chemistry with Mano (?) in the two seconds they interacted.) (But that is the problem! UGH, love triangles…) I really liked that she‘s HIV-positive though! I loved how that was represented! That was apparently the big drama with the previous scholarship student though? I also like how she doesn‘t give a damn. But all in all, hm. Meh. Not my type.

Mano (?) - Samu‘s older brother who just got out of prison! And we still don‘t know exactly how! He‘s demonstrated so far: an astounding inability to sympathize with all and any struggles his younger brother has faced AND come on. That was one obviously placed camera AND YOU DIDN‘T EVEN HAVE THE GOOD SENSE TO COVER EITHER OF YOUR FACES COME TF ON WOULD IT HAVE BEEN SO HARD??? Also, flirting with the girl his lil bro is obviously dancing around already and hogging her instead of calling Samu? Seriously? That‘s just an asshole thing to do, no matter how much better you two seemed to get along, dammit!

Anyway. Then there‘s Guzman. I don‘t like him (yet). He‘s protective of his younger sister which, nice, would he not also completely ignore her wishes at the same time. His relationship with Lu seems built on the desire of the two powerhouses of the school to present a united front and also have some sex in bathrooms, but… are they actually happy together? Wait, wait. Are they even together openly? Nooooo, wait it was such a big thing that they were seen having sex! Hm. In that case, I don‘t get the nonchalance with which Lu suggests her boyfriend seduce another girl just to blackmail her. Are you that sure of his loyalty? Probably! Is that a really awful and manipulative thing to not only force a stranger but also your own boyfriend into? Yes!

But. I also know his type. He‘s the asshole with hidden depths that appear in fleeting glances only at first and then, when gradually revealed, make him your favourite character. I know that at one point I will be supposed to love him and I, a weak victim of viewer manipulation, probably will. I know how that one goes. (I still love Bellamy from The 100 with all my heart and I have suffered for it. Also only watched to the third season!)

Aside from the fact that she is gorgeous and the archetypical bitch, except also super smart, I can‘t say too much about Lu yet. Except that I ship her with Nadia, not that THAT is ever going to happen, I guess. Idk I kind of like her. In her capacity of being a huge asshole, that is.

Nadia! HOLY SHIT I LOVE HER!!! SHE IS THE BEST! And holy shit, the hijab thing was a biiig gun to pull out in the first episode, but when else, also, good demonstration of institutionalized prejudice and discrimination! (I was so mad, good job! Well, fucking awful that this is a thing that needs to be represented, but good job! And her statement about them restricting her based on their own dumb opinions and NOTHING else and how this is her belief and nobody is forcing her to wear it? YES YES YES GOOD GIRL! Screenshots from that scene were what convinced me to give this series a shot and holy shit, it was delivered so well!) I can‘t even say anything meaningful here, I just??? love her??? She is sassy and smart and NOT interested in the drama (which will change VERY soon and hoo boy is she going to seduce the SHIT out of Guzman while also falling in love, but I don‘t even mind. That much.)

Then there‘s Christian. I… really don‘t care for the second-hand embarrassment he keeps subjecting me to? And his attitude towards drugs and alcohol? And… uh… almost everything else? BUT! He handles all of the abuse directed at him with the same charm and grace that at first seems absolutely moronic but is soon (him walking through the school naked) revealed as an iron-hard sunny attitude? And I respect that. A lot. I will probably come to respect this dude even more as the story evolves, but I still don‘t like his character-archetype. But that‘s fine!

Also, Carla and this dude! Waaaaait did she only hook up with Christian because her boyfriend who‘s name I forgot was into it? She did not seem all that comfortable afterwards, which hints at QUITE the different power dynamic in that couple than is expected of them! I am very curious!

And! Ander! OMG he is SUCH a sweetheart! Sorry, I still think that getting high and making a dating app profile is dumb, but HE IS GAY and hooking up with Omar and he! Is the cutest! And only deserves good things! Please let him be happy!

Omar, for that matter… hm. He looks very tired. Also, why is he selling drugs? He‘s… Nadia‘s brother? I‘d like to see more of their sibling relationship tbh but… hm. Don‘t know what to think about him yet, but the drug thing kind of is a turn-off for me? I really hope to get to know more about him though, especially if he IS going to have a thing with Ander!

And I have many more thoughts about this and I really look forward to watching the second episode at some point in my life (which… uh… might happen sooner or later, but since my method of choosing stuff to watch includes maths and does not include personal opinion… probably later?) but now I‘m getting hungry and am going to eat something instead of screaming some more into the void.

[reelybadfnafocs]

EDIT: Wow Okay so I scrolled down and this was already reviewed? It was in the inbox though, so I have no clue what’s going on. Tumblr is a really good website. I guess y’all get second opinions from me haha.

I hope y'all are open!

I guess we are! Hey it’s Mod Bright, sorry this took so long.

I have this entire story worked out and it’s loosely based on something from my childhood- a local museum would do over night things where you’d dress up as a dinosaur and there were two teams and it was kind of like hide and seek/laser tag. You had the predators (t-rexes, raptors and pterodactyls) and the prey (stegos, trikes and brachios)

That actually sounds super fun and I am so jealous. It’s also a really unique concept, too!

Name: Ridley

Species: Velociraptor

I love you Ridley and would die for you. If I was reviewing this a year ago I’d probably bring up the name rule but honestly? Ridley’s a good name and kids would probably remember it. The only weird thing that I think some people might point out is parallels between your Ridley and the Ridley from the metroid series, but tbh that doesn’t really matter. Name good!

Job: During the day, she’s just a normal raptor. She “hunts” the herbivores and shows off parts of their anatomy like their teeth and sickle claws.

I feel like you should clarify more what ‘hunting’ the herbivores means on a character profile? Like, does she walk around? How are these ‘hunting’ times scripted? Stuff like that. Not only would it give more immersion, it’ll clear up a few of the doubts I have (like, are there big animatronic dinosaurs walking around or are they enclosed? Are they all centralized in one room? What’s the full extent of their movement during the day if they’re walking around?)

Purpose: Education; she demonstrates how raptors communicate and how they hunt down their prey with their claws.

Good! Educational baby.

Creator: James Martin; another character of mine who runs a small (but successful) archaeology company.

Location: Extinction Education Museum

Heck yeah.

Where: On the main stage in the predators room. So the entire dinosaur tour is set up like a tunnel. You entire the museum and you have the gift shop and information center to the right, straight is fossil displays and children’s area and to the left is where you start the tour. You start with the smaller herbivores like parasaurs, dodos and pachycephalosaurus. (Some animatronic, some statues) You move onto the biggest room with the predators and big herbivores, then flying dinosaurs and end with some aquatic dinos. The exit takes you into the main lobby.

This is so cool and I’m living for it. In my head it’s kinda like the intro to that one Disney ride (Stitch’s Great Escape) but with a LOT more animatronics, so that’s a pretty spectacular image.

Age: 4 years

Haunted/not: No, but programmed to “hunt” during overnight tours

Again, it’s worth detailing what ‘hunt’ means here!

Skill: Tracking; she’s motion and sound sensitive, so if you’re too loud or you’re moving too much she’ll know. She

You forgot to finish here, RIP. If you wanna send in an ask or submit something finishing this section you can! The tracking is kinda weird, though- why would she need to be motion and sound sensitive if she’s ‘hunting’ other animatronics? I’d assume these events would be scripted. You’re onto something, though!

Appearance: Dark green with light blue strips and dark tan spots; yellow eyes that glow in the dark

Spooky, I love her.

-

Copy/pasting in an ask with extra context:

For clarification on Ridley’s age: Ridley the character is 6, but there’s an old model that’s no longer in use due to new discoveries about Velociraptors. And yes, her claws and teeth are made of an extra soft silicone to make them flexivle. c:

Nice!! I like this detail.

-

Overall the concept is good, it just needs a lot more work to be the best it can be! Good luck developing Ridley further!

[thepallas]

HOW I RUN MY BLOG:

SPEED:  Umm pretty slow I’d say. Depends on how busy I am with uni stuff and if I feel inspired. I’ve noticed that if the thread is new I tend to respond faster (wellp probably because I’m kind of more excited about the thread and I don’t want to disappoint the rp partner), but after few replies it takes longer. My inspiration is a very unreliable thing. It comes and goes, so that’s why sometimes I reply quickly, sometimes after few ages.. and sometimes I would remember some old rp and post a reply to it, even though it hasn’t been touched for months.

REPLIES: Well, I try to match the length, but often my replies happen to be longer. And !!! if I wrote 5 paragraph reply because I got way into it, you don’t have to make your reply as long. It’s fine. I know that I like to get into the details way too much sometimes, especially when I really like the whole plot/idea and I don’t require others to force themselves to write more than they want. (As long as it’s not two sentences to two bigger paragraphs). Oh, and it would take me a bit to get to know your muse and get used to them if we haven’t talked before, so the replies probably won’t be as detailed.

STARTERS: I’m always open to them! Send me something from the post that I’ve reblogged, tag me somewhere. Also, you can message me and we can try to plot something, though it can be hard for me to think of a plot for our muses if we haven’t interacted before or if I’m not accustomed to your muse. That’s why I prefer others to write the starter.>> It might be hard to come up with interesting ideas for me sometimes and I don’t wanna mess it up, like I said, especially if we haven’t interacted. Ofc I can also try to to write it if you wanna, though it will probably take longer.

INBOX: It’s always open! I love when people wanna know more about my muse. Same goes for various memes, symbols, prompts, etc. Send me whatever and it will make me smile for sure. Though, please don’t think that I’m ignoring you if it takes me longer to answer. I try to post the answers as quick as possible, but it depends on how busy I am and some questions are not so easy to reply to, no matter if it’s a meme or a starter.

SELECTIVITY: Umm.. I don’t think that I’m selective.. or at least I’m trying not to be. I am often too shy to approach someone myself, so I’m glad when others do. Though, I personaly tend to approach muses who I can imagine having some kind of relation to Pallas. For example Varus has a direct relation to him (at least in the old lore). Same goes for other demons or Ionian characters since he had spent most of his life in Ionia and has been imprisoned there. Also some Noxians... people related to the spirit world  and so on.. Well you get what I’m talking about... the reason is that it’s way easier to think of a plot for characters like that. Yet Pallas travels/used to travel a lot, so encounters with any other characters are possible and I’m more than happy when someone approaches me despite the character. Just in that case it will take longer to my muse to get used to yours since he is yet to form an opinion and the situations probably wouldn’t be usual to him.

When it comes to other things... I’m rather selective when it comes to smut (other forms of nsfw content are always welcome and will occur in my rps). That’s because I’m not really comfortable in writing it or at least I could write it to the certain point.  I can try to go more into it but only if we’re developed a close relationship between our muses... and if I trust you enough. I dunno. That’s just the way it is. For now it’s only Varus (ask-arclight-varus). Pallas can be extra flirty and would fuck whoever he wants. I can’t ignore that part of him, so like I said if, for some reason, our rp is moving ‘into the bedroom’ I can write it to some extent. Later, we can either skip it to the next morning or I dunno. In short, if you only want to write about our muses having sex, then you came to the wrong blog. Sorry. xd

Hmmm also not sure if it should go here, but I don’t want to change my character just to get along with yours. Yes, if he wants something, he can act and lie to get his way, but despite that he has his beliefs and all of that stuff, so won’t be surprised if he will be rude, too proud about himself, confused by your muses words/actions or would generally respond not the way you would expect.. but I guess this is common sense, since everyone’s character is different. The more important thing is when it comes to the implied (romantic) relationships.. it’s most likely that he wouldn’t be interested in your muse romantically, but no one’s stopping them from trying lol. When it comes to any kind of ships please message me.

WISHLIST:  OOOOhh Gosh there’s a lot of stuff I wanna do. I really want to build relationships with him. Any kind : platonic (he needs buddies), familial (I doubt that demons know their every biologically related relative... And family doesn’t have to be biologically related after all), rival/enemy relationships.. anything really. I’d love to see him interact with more characters. There's a couple of posts where I’m talking more about ships that I’d love to build and specific characters that I’m thinking of → X Y←. Also, I’d love to roleplay different stages of his life. He had lived for ages and he had changed a lot, experienced a lot of stuff.. So I’d love to see people interact with smol young Pallas when he was just discovering the world, a bit older when he was getting hang of it.. to him during the peak of his power when he was the most powerful, cruel, dangerous and careless.. during the days of his imprisonment to the times when he was free again (no matter if he’s dating Varus or not. there are different aus for that). AAaahh just imagine the stories we could write. Especially, if your muse is immortal or so, imagine them playing a part in his life when he was still very young and then them meeting after ages. Or even if your muse is mortal (with the help of au) they could be a somewhat unique human that would interest him in any way.. maybe your muse would be the human who would explain him what is friendship or the one who only enhance his hatred for humanity. *sighs* just imagine.

HONEST NOTE: Amh, well, always feel free to approach me, I’m friendly to everyone. I am patient with replies and I beg you to also be patient (because mine can take forever x.x). If you’re missing a reply and you’d like me to write it faster or I dunno if you’re just wondering if I’m going to reply, please message me. There’s a high chance that it just got lost in the drafts, I’ve missed the notification or I simply forgot about it. If you remind me, I will try to focus on it. :) Also.. please please please, if I take long to reply to your ask/starter/rp/whatever, don’t think that I’m ignoring you on purpose. Heh and one last thing is that I’m always open to talk. Not only about rp, but also if you just wanna talk with someone (doesn’t matter if you wanna vent or share your excitement), feel free to say Hi. ;3c

TAGGED BY:  @deathlygaze TAGGING: @ask-arclight-varus, @deus--irae (or your other blogs), @feuerliebhaber, @zaun-s, @messiahofthevoid, @sxlemnity aaaaa and anyone who wants to do this. (Dunno if you guys had done this already tbh)

[kurogoesinthedas]

Replies regarding yesterday’s situation under the cut

@kaninenkung said: I'm sorry you're getting so much shit. Your character is not a placeholder and it's unfair to tag him as someone else. You've posted so much wonderful content of Fael and I love reading/seeing your updates and learning more about him. Take care.  

Thank you ♥ 

Anonymous said: Yo you had every right to be pissed about that whole situation it's rude and that should have just kept their mouths shut about that one post and left it at that artists have to go through to much shit it's only fair you get to vent every no and then

Anonymous said: Honestly, I'm 100% with you on your frustration. I have a friend who has similar aesthetic tastes to me and our friends are CONSTANTLY comparing our characters. It really pisses me off and kinda hurts my feelings b/c, sure, they might LOOK similar, but that's where it ends. I also have another friend who PURPOSELY designs some of her OCs after mine. Maybe I should be flattered, but it's like: Umm, no. Make something of your own. So, yeah, I feel ya, I'm sorry you have to deal with twats. ❤️

Anonymous said: sorry you have to deal with this bs it's so uncalled for :/ people compare my characters to others as well despite me insisting otherwise

@procrastinating-smartass said: I am v v proud of you for standing up for your art/characters❤❤❤ I'm so sorry you have to go through this bullcrap from people on Tumblr though ): You don't deserve that, you're too wonderful of a person to be receiving as such. I admire you and your art dearly and it really hurts me to see how much all of this bothers you... I hope at least the number of people who do this just stop and realize what it is they're actually doing and that it's not at all okay  

Thank you so much for your support guys ♥, and tbh I’m sick of seeing also other artists’ deal with this, people should start learning instead of throwing tantrums because “!!11! entitled artists!!!11!”. None of this is about constructive criticism, like someone would think. Even if “all lavellan look the same” like that person said, if I was designing a character for a tv show or something and it looked too similar to something else that’d be a problem, yes, but OCs are purely self indulgent? So why should we be “understanding”??? And still, there are OCs that might share similarities to others (hey, DAI’s CC is great but can only go so far), but unless people were just making very minor changes to the default faces, I don’t see how you would think they’re all the same. Especially because those who draw them have their own ways to make them unique >:/

@the-iron-bullshit said: Fael doesn't looks ANYTHING like Fenris. At all? With the light skin and the vallaslin that are GREEN and don't look like Fenris' markings. Besides not glowing and looking like a totally different person. People are dumb. Fael is beautiful.

Anonymous said: But... fael doesn't look like fenris... I'm confused, how do people mix them up?

Anonymous said: Literally the only things Fael and Fenris have in common, visually, is hair color and... Being an elf????? Like???? How can ppl????

Anonymous said: I'm so sorry people are pulling that whole "colour blind" schtick so hard that they're mistaking Fael for Fenris, even though they only have the white hair in common. Then again, I think the ppl who mix them up are the ones who think Fenris is also legit white. But like, you don't deserve to have to see their nonsense. Fael is gorgeous, and in no way looks like Fenris, I love him a lot

Anonymous said:idk how anyone with half a brain could mistake fael for fenris??? they look literally nothing alike besides having white hair, it's not even the same style >:/ sorry you have to deal with such nonsense     

Anonymous said: How?? does he look like Fenris?????? Uhm what? This is not Fenris at all!! How in the fuck would they think that? Just because of his white hair? Dude, do they KNOW what Fenris looks like? Apparently they don't. So rude. I'm sorry this happened. 

Anonymous said: Ugh sorry people are still doing that. I don't know how people keep mixing up Fael with Fenris, aside from the fact that they both happen to have white hair and be elves they literally look nothing alike...

I mean, I would think people who love Fenris so much would know what he looks like. Would at least be able to tell that his skin is brown and the “facial markings” so many people confuse with Fael’s are only on his chin and forehead. While you know. Lavellans have them all over the face. But hey.  Honestly, this reminds me way too much of that situation with the shippers of that particular ship hijacking dorianxinquisitor posts to make it about them...

Anyway, thank you so much again for your support and kindness, you’re all wonderful ♥ 

[fadedtoblue]

Recap of the Defenders panel at SDCC 2017, Part 1

OH HEY Y’ALL. I’m still alive, thanks for asking, though I might as well be DEAD bc of the INSANITY that was that panel today. I really appreciate you all sitting through my incoherent, flail-y live posts (so many exclamation points! Yet also not enough!) and I loved reading the all caps commentary in my notes. I know everyone wants more details so I’m going to try my best to recap the happenings as thoroughly as possible, though I think I’ll have to split this into two parts and save all the juicy first episode stuff in Part 2. Anyway, let’s begin!

First of all, I want to point out that I was repping my girl Elektra all day and hustled my ass up to the sixth? Seventh row? by the end of the day, which was fabulous. 

These are the important details you were waiting for, right?! Ha ha I kid. 

Anyway, the panel started a little past 5:15pm, and like last year’s Luke Cage panel, they throw up a Defenders branded countdown clock to get the room hyped...not that we need it, but it’s effective and everyone is cheering. Marvel is always good at putting on a show for their fans :). The Defenders title card shows up on screen and segues into an introduction of Jeph Loeb (who needs no introduction!). He geeks out over the fact Defenders is in Hall H and it’s the first time a Marvel Television show has been in that room! He also starts a little bit with the crowd about surprise guest stars and the road to getting to the Defenders show. 

Part way through, however, he gets interrupted by the Director of Programming at Comic-Con, who surprises him with an Inkpot Award. I’m not entirely clear on what it is, but it seems like a tremendous honor and Jeph is genuinely shocked. We give him a standing O and I’m kind of tearing up tbh -- this guy IS Marvel Television and I’m incredibly appreciative of that!

After this quick detour, Jeph tries to get things back on track, and we kick things off with a surprise visit by the Punisher himself, Jon Bernthal, who looks incredible as always. 

Raucous cheers, as expected, and a bit of chatting about Jon and the Punisher show. Jon made a lovely little speech about reprising the role of Frank and gave a shout out to the men and women of law enforcement and the military as well as the comic book fans, and how he hopes they got it right.

Then of course, the moment we were all waiting for: a sneak peek at footage from The Punisher! I’ve seen a few posts that have already gone into some detail about the contents of the clip but the most striking thing to me the very specific sense of style we got from the footage -- the content of the footage pulls heavily from the foundation built for the character in Daredevil but Punisher the show definitely feels like its own beautiful, unique thing. I was flipping my shit at the incredible scene that kicked off the footage -- Frank, alone with a guitar, plucking out a song, which is intercut with flashback footage of Frank teaching Lisa how to play the same song on the same guitar, and you see the anguish on Frank’s face and the demons he’s trying to exorcise. The footage of Frank laying absolute waste to the Dogs of Hell, cartel, and random money guy (I confess I can’t really remember what this guy’s deal was) -- it was visceral, unrelenting, and also a touch of humor (particularly in how they shot the latter two scenes). Frank was fully suited in Punisher armor, so I imagine this happens pre-shaggy haired Frank.

Anyway, everyone is THRILLED with the footage but we can’t linger too long -- we have to move onto the main show!! Jeph introduces the cast one by one, and though there’s a bit of difficulty getting everyone in the right spot (the girl setting up the name cards ended up switching them in backwards order -- whoops!!), they manage to get these beautiful people out there and smiling for the crowd!

Left to right: Charlie Cox, Krysten Ritter, Mike Colter, Finn Jones, Sigourney Weaver, Elodie Yung, Deborah Ann Woll, Jessica Henwick, and showrunner Marco Ramirez.

The first major announcement Jeph drops once the cast is assembled is the official announcement that Iron Fist is starting production on Season 2! He very specifically name drops Misty Knight in connection with Colleen Wing, heavily teasing a Daughters of the Dragon tie in for S2. No other details shared but Finn Jones is visibly delighted and shares a high five with Krysten and a hug with Sigourney!

After this announcement, we pretty much get started on the panel, and Jeph goes down the line and does a combination of introducing the person + asking them some questions about their role (my memory is probably the most spotty on this part, so I’ll try my best to summarize the key details). 

Showrunner Marco Ramirez was basically asked about his experience putting together the Defenders.

Jessica Henwick discussed the journey of Colleen’s character on Iron Fist and how that carries over into The Defenders.

Deborah Ann Woll talked briefly about the experience of filming two shows at the same time -- they specifically mentioned that in at least one instance she was filming Defenders during the day and Punisher by night. She joked about going to Rosario and begging her to share how she does it.

Elodie Yung (look at how adorable she is, I can’t even you guys) talks more about where we find Elektra in The Defenders.

Sigourney Weaver is an absolute class act and clearly everyone loves her. She speaks briefly about what a fan she is of the previous shows and how she’s enjoyed working with everyone. They’ve been purposely very evasive about the background of her character, though she does specifically touch on the nature of her and Elektra’s relationship, which she describes as being one of the most unusual things she’s ever experienced. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?? I don’t know :p.

Okay, my memory starts to fail me on the next few, but I’m pretty sure Finn sticks to talking about his journey on Iron Fist S1 and how it picks back up in The Defenders.

The ladies wouldn’t stop cheering for lady killer Mike Colter. I can’t really remember the substance of what he talked about, but it focused mainly on the relationships he’s built between him and other characters, as well as how much he’s enjoyed working with the other actors.

Krysten Ritter is positively gorgeous and ugh, I can’t remember what Jeph asked her. I have this sense that it was probably about Jessica Jones having to work together with other people because everyone has asked her about it already :). 

Charlie Cox talks about being the risks of being the first show out of this group of 4. I just realized the man in the beginning yells “My wife loves you!” and I’m fairly sure my husband was thinking the exact same thing LOL.

Now at this point, I’m starting to shoot another video, thinking it’s going to be some more banter or something -- Jeph talking about the cast behind the scenes and screwing around, and then Charlie pipes up “I think we should just show the people some stuff.” At which point everyone cheers, while Jeph mock protests, which prompts Sigourney to stand up about it too, which prompts more cheering.

Now at this point, we were probably all thinking, another full length trailer? Maybe some exclusive clips? And then Jeph says something along the lines of, “We have a clip to show you that’s about the same length as the first episode of the series. Tonight we’re showing you the first episode of the Defenders.”

AND THE ROOM FLIPPED ITS COLLECTIVE SHIT. It all happened so fast that my husband was literally trying to tear the phone out of my hand while I live blogged my post about the first ep (Marvel snipers are real) and now I have to stop and put it, and reaction to the full length trailer, which they debuted after we finished the eipsode, in another post!!!

Also tagging everyone that left breathless comments asking for more details in my notes: @matt-and-elektra​, @protect-frankcastle​, @msdevald​, @darkphoenixgoddess10​, @dmcreif​, @emillarke, @wallahlesbian. MORE SOON!