#going to my first comic con ever on Thursday and Friday | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

photogirl894 · 1 year ago

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Man, you guys, FanX Comic Con was seriously the greatest! Definitely an experience I'll never forget! 🥰💜 I had so much fun and got to meet some celebrities that I had been so excited to see! A couple of them were some of the best encounters I've ever experienced! I want to share some of the photos I got and tell my favorite parts of the weekend, so I'm gonna put it under the cut cuz it'll probably be long 😅

THURSDAY:

We got there that night and got to see Zachary Levi (Tangled, Shazam) perform his first ever concert, which was freaking amazing! I really hope he continues to do more music cuz he's such a great singer! We got to take pictures with him afterwards cuz we'd bought premium tickets for that. He told me he liked my eye makeup, too 🥰 (He has a black eye cuz he'd fallen and busted his face earlier that day 😫)

FRIDAY:

That was when I wore my Merida cosplay and I had a few people actually ask to take pictures with me, which was sweet 😊 A lot of them, of course, were with some younger girls. I loved it!

Sadly, the Mandalorian armor my husband spent a lot of time making wasn't staying together before we went, so he had to leave it, but he kept the helmet at least! We got a picture of it all together, though. (Though he later admitted it was probably good he didn't wear it cuz he figured he would've died from how hot he would've been in it)

We got photo ops with Ashley Eckstein and Katee Sackhoff, which were pretty cool! They both told me I made an amazing Merida and my husband told Katee "This is the Way" and she said it back 😆

I got an autograph from Jim Cummings and he also recorded a personal voice message for me in both voices of Winnie the Pooh AND Tigger 🥰 (and I'd only asked for Pooh) It seriously made me cry when I listened to it cuz Pooh Bear is my whole childhood and hearing his voice say my name was just amazing! 🥹

Then...this was the best part of the whole day (more like the whole weekend)...I got to meet John Rhys-Davies from Lord of the Rings!! 🥰😆 He's one of my favorite actors of all time (and the reason I wanted to go to FanX in the first place) First of all, we get up to the table, he says hello to me with a big smile, my husband takes his helmet off and John goes, "Oh no, put it back on!" We busted up laughing and he did, too. I gave him my copy of "Fellowship of the Ring" (the book) to sign and I told him how LotR has influenced much of my life and he's one of my favorite actors ever and he said I was very kind. Then, no joke, we go to take the pictures, he puts his arms around us and says, "All right, no fooling around, this is a serious picture" and then proceeded to TICKLE US!!!! 😆😆 He tickled us and then looked down at me as I was laughing and said, "Behave!" It was so unexpected and funny! Then after a minute, he turns to my hubby and says, "Now you, go over there", nudged him to the side and then turned and hugged me! I can't even tell you how happy I was!! 🥹 I told him that made my day and he hugged me even tighter! I'm not even kidding, I don't think any other celebrity encounter will ever top this! It was fun, sweet and funny; everything I wanted and more from the one person I wanted to meet the most! I loved John Rhys-Davies so much before and now, having met him in person, I love him even more now 🥰💜 This was literally a dream come true!!

SATURDAY:

I wore my Bad Batch getup as well as some new Lego Hunter earrings I bought the previous day 🥰

Got to go to the Star Wars panel they had with Daniel Logan, Carey Jones, Katee Sackhoff and Gina Carano and man, they were so fun and funny!

I got in line to ask a question and was literally TWO people away from the front of the line when they had to end the panel 😝 But that was okay cuz my question would've been for Daniel, so I just went to his booth later and asked him there! So I got to meet young Boba Fett himself, too! 😊 I asked him, "How often do you keep in touch with Temeura Morrison?" His answer: "Never. I hate that guy. He stole my character!" 🤣🤣 Then he told me they keep in touch often, Tem is very much his dad and they're probably gonna start doing cons together! "Once I get his ass off the island and back to the States," he added 🤣🤣 He was awesome to talk to and I'm so glad I ended up going to see him, cuz I didn't originally plan to. I was the last one in his line for a little bit, so I got to talk to him for a while. He was so sweet! He also appreciated my Bad Batch outfit, which I knew he would since I know he loves the show! We both agreed we can't wait for season 3! Then his autograph was so nice, too! He took the time to do the drawing for me and even left a kind little message. Then when I went for the picture, he said, "Come here and give me a hug!" 😊 He was absolutely delightful!!

We saw a lot of fun cosplay, got some fun merch and overall, just had an amazing time! I really hope to get to go again next year and I look forward to seeing what celebrity guests they get next time 💜

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kelmcdonald · 1 year ago

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Spooky Season is Here!

Hi everyone! And welcome to everyone who signed up for my newsletter at Rose Comic Con. It turned out to be the best Rose City Comic Con I've ever been to. If you're new here I'm making these comics:

Blue Moon is a werewolf romance gn I'm writing and Meredith McClarren is going to draw. I'm late on its script.

The City Between is my webcomic about werewolves in the future. It updates Wednesdays. The current story is called Shards of Reflection.

You are the Chosen One is a fantasy comic about 23 kids who got the same prophecy dream. It was posting on Fridays on my Patreon. But my editorial work has been piling up/overwhelming me lately. So it's on hold until I finish up some other stuff.

My day job is an editor at the manga company Seven Seas and the indie comic publisher Iron Circus Comics. I like folklore, fantasy, and especially like werewolves.

The big exciting thing this month is I've been helping my good friend and streaming cohost, Alina Pete, build and prep a backerkit campaign for the anthology they've been editing, Indiginerds.

Indiginerds wants to celebrate the ever evolving Indigenous culture. Organized by the ever talented editor Alina Pete, one of the co-editors on Iron Circus's wildly successful anthology Woman in the Woods, this book collects work from several indigenous artists and writers. From gaming to social media, pirate radio to garage bands, Star Trek to D&D, and missed connections at the pow wow, Indigenous culture is so much more than how it’s usually portrayed. Join this anthology as it examines balancing traditional ways of knowing and pop culture.

It will launch October 16th. If you want to be one of the first people to backer, you can sign up to be notified here. It's a great book and I'm excited for the world to see Alina's hard work.

This month, I'm also gonna start making comics that answer reader questions. If you have one post it here!

Also on full moons, I host a werewolf movie watch parties in my discord. Next full moon is October 28th. And at noon PST, we will be watching the 70s Japanese werewolf movie, Wolf Guy! If you'd like to join click here.

I'll also be doing my usual streaming

As always I'll be streaming art on Twitch. My schedule is currently the following:

Tuesday 8pm-10pm PST

Wednesday 8pm-10pm PST

Thursday 6pm-9pm PST (during the Iron Circus Geekshow)

Stop by!

Last month I was mostly keeping my nose to the grindstone except for selling stuff at Rose City Comic Con. Thanks everyone who stopped by and grabbed a book. I mostly took pictures of cosplay when I wasn't selling books. You can see them all here. But there are the highlights.

The leads of the Sabriel series by Garth Nix!

An excellent Claudia from Interview with a Vampire show

Nedry from Jurassic Park, complete with shaving cream dna holder.

And best for last, an older cosplay rocking a Granny Goodness from New Gods.

This month I got several of the backgrounds done for the video game I'm working on for Iron Circus games. I have two or 3 more settings to draw. But I'm gonna spend next month focused The City Between and the manga I'm editing for Seven Seas.

Speaking of manga, one of the favorite titles I've been editing for Seven Seas, Reincarnated into a Total Fantasy Knockout, is out now.

It's about a guy who is transported into a fantasy world and is turned into a hot girl. His best friend is also transported and the two have to stop a demonlord to get home. It's complicated by the fact that they are cursed to be attracted to each other. It's a deconstruction of both romance and fantasy tropes while talking about gender identity. It's a lot of fun!

This month I've mostly been watching Star Trek stuff. Particularly, Lower Decks. I appreciate that while Lower Decks is an adult comedy cartoon, it's humor doesn't come from one character being awful and abuse to other. That's a refreshing break from all the adult cartoons trying to copy Rick and Morty. I think the characters are just a lot of fun. Also, this season the little monster Moopsy has captured my heart (and my bones.) They need plushies of this little guy.

I also reread one of my favorite mangas, Pluto. If you are unfamiliar, Pluto is a retelling and modernization of an Astroboy story. It is a murder mystery as a robot detective looks into someone murdering the worlds most advanced robots. I decided to reread it because there was a question going around bluesky about what scenes from comics have stuck with people/"live in their head." For me it's a scene between Astroboy (or Atom as he is called in this book) and the scientist who built him, Dr Tenma, having diner.

Basically, this scene sticks with me because Atom was built to replace Dr. Tenma's dead son. This starts with Atom talking about his interests and how he happily did his chores. Everything Atom cares about isn't what Dr. Tenma's son cared about. Both of them realize over the meal that Atom is his own person and he can't replace Dr. Tenma's son. So even though Atom is the most humanlike robot ever made and is a grade scientific achievement, Dr. Tenma failed in his goal to bring back his son. And Atom is left is an impossible task. I think it's just such a well paced and laid out scene. In context, I think it's heartbreaking.

That's it for this month! Have a good one everyone.

#newsletter #comics #werewolves #artists on tumblr #pluto #moopsy #lower decks #rose city comic con

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sercophe-sinderwidth · 8 days ago

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Thursday & Friday

Okay so I'm out of ex-partners that are still maybe single (not that I'm complaining about multiple days). ANYWHO. Per their outfit and snazzy, glowing weapon, we go to Thursday's Comic-Con. It's my first time so they lead the way on this one, taking me from booth to booth and panel to panel. (Dare I say I was led by the hand). We even attend a few Star Wars themed events, and I try to not fade to black as the hordes of Acolyte viewers approach to sound off their opinions on the show's cancellation.

That aside (and speaking for myself) a grand time is had overall. Whispers of an after party circulate and shoot, YOLO as they said back in my day. We go. We eat. We dance. We play hide-and-seek tag with glow sticks in the dark and stub our toes on random furniture sets. If you are tagged, you must duel until your opponent is disarmed. When everyone is tagged and defeated, the lights come back on. We play three rounds and then chat on the porch a while before leaving altogether.

Friday, we spend most of the afternoon in the library. I find a comfortable nook and we gather the books we think would be interesting to act out and read aloud to each other. We check out the ones we liked hearing/seeing the most and grab smoothies on the walk home.

Then I don't see them till later that evening.

We end up going to a slam poetry event (yayyyyy). The talented individuals on stage bare their souls through the ever-flowing rhythms of the written medium. Just below their voices, soft jazz plays on the speaker system as an accompaniment.

In between performances and introductions, I rehearse internal sonnets - each with a new focus. My partner's eyes, their hands, their smile, their ears, their voice - always with the lilt of glee barely contained in whispers of 'I really enjoyed that one' or 'that was beautiful.' Fighting constantly against the corniness of repeating "you're beautiful" aloud. We suffice the two drink minimum, me with an overpriced strawberry lemonade.

At the end of the night, I buy dessert from a cream puff vendor on the walk to the car. The drive is a comfortable quiet, 50's music rattling through the oldies station on the radio. I catch my partner's eyes examining the city lights and street lit avenues we pass by. There has to be something more to say than "you're beautiful" but the redundancy seems lost on my drowsy brain all the rest of the way home.

If the drive lasted forever, "beautiful" would be my second favorite name for them. The first, something uttered only in the stillness of my mind after we part and say...

"Goodnight~"

#personal #if the ex wives come back series #ex partner for this one though respecting nonbinary #woooooo this one made me nervous lol #amandla stenberg

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neighbourskid · 4 years ago

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The Thing About Zachary Levi 2.0

(original date: 22 July 2017)

Two years ago, in July 2015, I wrote a blog post about Zac with this title. After watching half of that years panels and spending the rest of the weekend working at a teenager weekend of our church, I wrote this post. It had struck me again just how different Zac is from most "celebrities".

One year later, the message of that post was still full of truth. My thoughts on Zac hadn't changed one bit. They only got better. After only one day at SDCC, I tweeted out that blog post again, because it became more relevant than ever, since I finally made it to San Diego and had just met Zac for the first time ever. So I tweeted it out again, and two days later, on Saturday, I found myself standing in line for something I wasn't sure about, which then turned out to be a photo-op with Zac. I wasn't gonna say no to another opportunity to get a picture with my role model. Keep in mind, it was Saturday. Zac had already hosted a shit ton of panels, danced his ass off at the Dance Party on Thursday and probably on Friday as well with his more famous friends than us. His voice was gone. So I walked up to the space, stood next to him, and basically lost my shit, internally. He once again proved just how wonderful he is. Standing there he told me that he had seen my tweet with the post and read it. That alone basically knocked me out of my shoes. But then he went on and said that what I wrote, meant a lot to him. We then took the picture and I am to this day still surprised that I smile in it and am not tearing up. Which I did right after. I went to the restroom and cried. Just imagine what that does to you. The guy you most admire in the world, the guy who is your role model in faith, work and life in general, that guy telling you that words YOU wrote meant a lot to him? That fucking knocks you out of the park. Like, I was floored. Knowing that this post touched him? It means everything. Knowing that my words reached him means that whatever the hell I end up doing in life, will mean something to someone. And that's all I ever wanted. Everything that I strive for professionally, is being able to give back. He showed me that I can, that I am already giving back.

After a lot of back and forth with myself (and my bank account) I finally booked my flight and hotel for San Diego last February. I knew it was not gonna be easy, and honestly looking at it now, financially, I shouldn't have done it. But after everything that I experienced last year, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to go again. I promised myself that first day of NerdHQ last year that, if anyhow possible, I would never miss NerdHQ ever again, if I could help it. So now I'm here. And it has been the best three days so far. Again, one of the big reasons —beside my incredible nerd family that I have finally had the good fortune of meeting this week— is Zachary Levi. The Dance Party on Thursday was so amazing and it really felt like NerdHQ was still happening. It was an incredible night, I had a fucking blast, and I love every memory I have about it. Tonight, Zac one-upped it once again. The taping of SYFY Live from Comic-Con was amazing and great fun (even if my feet died like three times during it). After that, we headed over to the Hyatt for the auction. Honestly, it felt like coming home. It felt just like making my first steps into NerdHQ the year before. It felt so right. From the volunteers wearing the blue shirts, to Papa D hanging out in the background, to Dave Coleman being his awesome self, to Shekinah being the Queen Bee of Auction Items, to Zac. It was perfect. It really felt like NerdHQ. So much generosity was shown tonight. So much money came together for Op Smile. Nerding at its best.

Once again, Zac was just amazing. I lined up for a picture with him, because really, would I ever miss out on a picture with him? Hell no. Give me all the pictures. But, as usual, there's more to that picture than just a picture. In 2015, I discovered The Giving Keys through Zac. Naturally, I immediately bought one. A) because I love keys and necklaces and b) because I need reminders like crazy. That year, I got a key that said 'pray'. I had decided on that word because it was the one reminder that I needed the most at the time. I prayed from time to time, but I still always wanted go fight on my own. I was bad at asking God for help in difficult situations. Really bad. So I got this key, and everytime I ran into difficult situations, I felt that small weight around my neck and was reminded that all I had to do was pray. Every time my friends were having a hard time and I was frustrated that I couldn't do more to help them, I would look down at myself and see that word, and I would pray. I started subconsciously touching it or taking it in my hands in situations where I needed prayer or God's help. I started holding onto it while praying. The key did its job wonderfully and after a bit more than a year, I started feeling like I should give it to someone else. But I wanted it to be right. I wanted it to go to someone who would understand the meaning of it and appreciate it the way I did. Someone who would get it. I had a few moments where I thought yes maybe this person, but I was never convinced. I started wanting to get another key with a new reminder, but I was SO determined to give my first key away before I bought a new one. It didn't work out. At the beginning of May I finally caved and ordered my second key. It arrived on May 8th. On May 12th, FOUR DAYS LATER, NerdHQ put up the announcement video that the event would not be happening this year. I watched Zac struggle through that message, and then it clicked. It finally clicked. I knew with all my heart that Zac was the one person who would understand the meaning behind this key, the one person who could appreciate it the way I did, the one person who this key was meant for. The next day I sat down and wrote a letter and I wanted to send it to him immediately. Anxiety that the key would get lost in the whole madness that is overseas travel and post offices, stopped me. I decided that I would take it with me to San Diego and, should the opportunity arise, give him the key personally. If not, I printed the letter out and would just put it in the mail here.

I am so eternally glad that I made this decision to take it with me, because now it is in the hands —or better around the neck— of the person it rightfully belongs to. After we took the pictures (the silly one is perfect and I love you so much for it, Zac), I told him that I had something to give him, but it came with a backstory. He was okay with me telling it right now, so I did. I missed out on a lot of details that I mentioned now, because I was really nervous for some reason and I felt like all I did was stutter. But I got the gist across and handed him the key. And I really think that it will remind him whenever he needs it.

But it wasn't just the key thing that made this experience amazing. It was Zac's sweetness, his heart on his sleeve. Him demanding we need a silly picture, him calling me Spirit Animal, him reminding me that he sees me on twitter. Him just being his wonderful self.

Zac, brother, I love you so damn much. You are everything I ever hoped you would be and so much more. Thanks to you, I got to meet all these amazing people I can call my friends and family. Thanks to you, I got to talk to someone from Music Makes Life Better tonight and just have a great time. Thanks to you, I get to dance my ass off like I never would anywhere else. Thanks to you, I have a charity to give money to, a charity whose message and work I can believe in.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, a thousand times THANK YOU.

You are a rare gem in the crazy acting world. You make a difference. I thank God every day for your journey and your mission. You are a wonderful human being and I really hope you will never not see that you are loved. You are loved SO SO MUCH.

I love you, God bless you, and see you tomorrow at the Dance Party.

Thank you. For everything.

#blog post #import from old blog #zachary levi #nerdhq #sdcc #syfy live from comiccon #inspiration #that's my brother man

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harley-sunday · 6 years ago

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The Draw (11)

Summary: The whirlwind starts at the 2018 ACE Comic Con in Phoenix but you’re not sure where it will end...

Pairing: Sebastian Stan x reader

Warnings: Language. Smut. NSFW under the cut. Unprotected sex

Word count: 3855

AN: Sorry for the long wait, but I’m sort of counting on this chapter to make up for that! Also, there’s definitely going to be a part 12 to this, maybe even a part 13… I just don’t seem to be able to quit this little daydream of mine :) Hope you like this part, let me know what you think!

I don’t have a taglist, but if you follow Harley Sunday x Sebastian Stan you should see any update I post.

Masterlist

Sebastian’s text is short, but it brings a smile to your face nevertheless.

Headed towards premiere number three in Madrid. Rather be with you somewhere. -S

You type a quick reply.

Have fun! See you in 12 days. Xx

“I still don’t understand why I have to be wheeled out of here,” Nathan grumbles, shaking his head.

“Hmm,�� you agree, pushing the button to call the elevator. “Hospital policy, probably.”

“Well, it’s stupid,” he sulks, crossing his arms in front of his chest just as the elevator doors open.

“Jesus, what are you, five?” You flick his shoulder, “Just be glad it’s me who’s picking you up and not Mom or Dad. They probably would have wanted you wheeled out on a stretcher.”

“Probably would have asked if an ambulance could drive me home,” Nathan scoffs, but at least there’s a smile forming on his lips now.

“Probably would have had Aunt Carol live with you so she could take care of you whenever Sarah’s at work,” you snicker. “And she’d probably insist to give you a sponge bath every day-”

“Ew,” Nathan interrupts you, holding up his hand to stop you. “ Ew. Let’s not go there.”

“Better not,” you agree as you wheel Nathan out of the elevator and out of the hospital. It’s sunny outside and you can see your brother taking a deep breath after he’s been cooped up in a hospital for the last eight days. You steer the wheelchair to where you’ve parked your car and watch as Nathan gets inside before you return the wheelchair to it’s designated area.

“Alright,” you say as you sit down and start the car, “put your seat belt on, loser, I’m taking you home.”

The drive is short and quiet, both of you lost in your own thoughts. It isn’t until you pull up on his driveway that you turn to your brother and spill out what’s been on your mind ever since you picked him up from the hospital, “You guys are coming to dinner next week.”

“Ok,” he draws out, a confused look passing his face.

“Sebastian really wants to meet you,” you explain then. “He’s coming back from doing press in Europe and Asia and he has 2 days off so he’s coming visit, because God knows when we would be able to see each other again otherwise and, I mean, he knows Jake already right? So, it makes sense that he wants to meet you too and I would really like for you to meet him and-”

“Ok. Calm down,” Nathan says, holding up his hands. “Jesus. Just breathe in between the sentences, ok?” He laughs then, “God, you’re such a girl.”

‘Oh, shut up,” you reply, smacking his arm. You take a deep breath then, “It’s just,” you hesitate for a second, trying to find the right words, “it’s just important to me that you like him, ok? Because I really like him, but-”

“But you’re afraid your judgement might be off because you used to like Mark too?”

You sigh and simply answer, “Yes,” not even surprised anymore at how your brother put into words what you couldn’t.

There’s a sympathetic smile from your brother then, “He played all of us, ok? Jesus, Mom and Dad thought he was the best thing that had ever happened to you. Sarah and I thought you guys would get married one day. So don’t even think about blaming yourself for that.”

“Hmm,”

“Listen, we’ll be there, ok? And I promise not to be too much of a dickhead.” His smile disappears then, replaced by a more serious look, “It means a lot that you value my opinion of him, so,” he nods, “I got your back.”

“Thanks,” you smile back at him. But it’s you two and you were never really good at the sentimental stuff so you all but shove him out of the car next, “Let’s get you inside, loser.”

Your first day back at work seems endless and your mailbox is so overflowing that it feels like you’ll never catch up, but once it’s six o’clock you’re almost done, only a couple of emails left, and you decided to call it quits for today. You head over to Lauren’s, who invited you over for dinner.

Letting yourself inside with the spare key she gave you, you find her in the kitchen, making the lasagna her Nonna used to make and you can feel your mouth start to water, remembering how good it tastes. You hug her from behind, placing a quick kiss on her cheek, “Hey, bestie.”

“Babe!” She greets you enthusiastically while stirring the sauce to make sure it doesn’t burn. “How’s Nathan?”

“Good,” you reply while you grab a wine glass from the cabinet and help yourself to a glass of white, while you top up her glass. “He’s at home, resting I hope. Probably bored out of his mind.”

“Hmm,” Lauren agrees as she tastes the sauce before she adds a little more salt. “And how’s Sebastian?”

“Good,” you reply again. “He’s in Romania now, I think.” You count the days in your head, “Yeah, Romania today and tomorrow and then they’re flying to somewhere in Asia on Friday.”

“Oh, to be the girlfriend of a celebrity,” Lauren sighs dramatically, but then she turns around and smiles at you, “You holding up ok?”

“Yeah,” you shrug, “It’s weird. I mean, I’ve literally like what, known him for 24 hours in total? It just doesn’t make any sense when you think of it.”

“And why should it?” Lauren counters. “It feels good, right?”

“It does,” you agree.

“Well, that’s all that matters.”

“Tante!” Jake exclaims as he opens the front door.

“Hi, bud!” You give your nephew a hug and ruffle his hair, “How are you? How’s Dad?”

“Good!” Jake replies as he takes your hand and tugs you inside, “Come see the Lego I build!”

“In a minute, bud,” you say, letting go of his hand. “I’ll go say hi to Dad first ok?”

“Ok!”

You smile as you watch him bolt up the stairs to his room, happier than he’s been in a long time and you’re sure it is because his Dad’s out of the hospital and spending time with him at home. You make your way to the living room where you find your brother sprawled out on the couch, remote control in his hand, watching God knows what. You walk up to him and kiss his forehead, “Hi, loser.”

“You’re the loser,” he mumbles but he winks then and smiles. “How is my favorite sister?”

“I’m your only sister, Nathan,” you reply out of habit as you sit down in the chair next to him, but can’t help but laugh, “but I’m good. How are you?”

“Same old, same old,” he says with a dramatic sigh. He sits up then before he looks at you, “But I’m going crazy here. You have to help me!”

You laugh, shaking your head, “That bad, huh?”

“Daytime TV is so bad! You have no idea.” He points towards the TV, “Dr Phil, dude, wow. I, I can’t even.”

“When do you get to go back to work?”

“Monday,” Nathan says with a relieved smile, “I never thought I’d say this, but I’m so looking forward to it.”

“I’m sure Sarah does to,” you tease, “She deals with enough difficult patients at work and then she’s got you at home-”

Your brother is about to reply but it’s then your phone rings and you smile when you see “Mr. Smooth” flashing across the screen. You get up and tell your brother you’ll be right back before you answer as you walk out the back door and into the garden, “Hey, you.”

“Hi,” Sebastian says and you’re surprised at how tired he sounds.

“You ok?” you ask, worried now.

“Yeah, just a terrible jet lag from all the flying around,” he answers quietly.

“Where are you now?”

“Tokyo,”

You do the math quickly and realize it’s five in the morning over on his side of the world, “Couldn’t sleep anymore?”

“Nah,” he sighs. “What are you doing?”

“I’m over at Nathan’s. Sarah’s at work so I’m just checking up on him.” You lean against the back door, not sure you should say what you’re about to say next, but then deciding to throw caution in the wind, “I miss you.”

“Just a couple more days, sweetheart,” his voice is low and does things to you.

“I know,” you whisper.

“I like you,”

“I like you too,” you reply. “See you on Thursday.”

“I’ll be seeing you.”

Hugging the phone to your chest for a few seconds after he’s hung up you try to get your heart rate back to normal before you go back inside.

Tapping your fingers on the steering wheel you’re starting to get impatient and your eyes keep darting from the clock on your dashboard to exit doors of the arrival hall, willing them to open with your boyfriend walking out of the airport.

Your boyfriend.

You can’t help but smile when you think back to the night you spent together, heat rising to your cheeks when you remember what you did and how much you can’t wait to do it again. Pulling up the texting app on your phone you read the last text Sebastian sent you:

Just landed. Can’t wait to see you. Exit E, right? -S

Looking at the clock again you see it’s been ten minutes since you parked the car and you are about to send Sebastian another text, asking him where he’s at, but then the doors open and even though the baseball cap he’s wearing and the way he keeps his head down shield most of his face, your hearts jumps because you just know it’s him.

You watch him round the car, putting his suitcase in the backseat before he gets into the passenger’s seat. You turn towards him and smile, “Hi,”

“Hi,” he replies, taking off his baseball cap before he leans in, his lips brushing against yours.

You part your lips almost on instinct, an involuntary moan escaping you as he pulls back and looks at you with a smirk. Shaking your head you decide you’ll make him pay for it later and focus on starting the car instead, pulling out of the parking spot and onto the road, heading home.

He lays his arm on your headrest then and runs his fingers through your ponytail, twirling strands of hair between his fingers, occasionally tugging on them gently. You bite your lip to keep from cursing at how good it feels but of course he knows, because your breathing has turned ragged and you’re holding onto the steering wheel just a little too tight. He unbuckles his seat belt then and almost immediately you feel his warm breath hitting your neck, his lips leaving a trail of kisses from just underneath your ear to the base of your throat.

Swallowing hard, you try to focus on the road, thanking whatever God their may be that there’s almost no traffic this time of night.

He moves closer then, kissing the corner of your mouth, his hand still in your hair, trying to take out the hair tie without getting it tangled up. The next kiss lands on your mouth and before you know it you’re kissing him back, turning your head ever so slightly to meet him, but your eyes never leaving the road. You smile into the kisses because he keeps pulling away, teasing you, and you keep finding him.

His eyes stay on you and you try your hardest to keep yours on the road, but God, he’s too much and an idea forms in your head when you see there’s a rest stop coming up. You put your blinker on and steer towards the exit, a self satisfied grin on your face. Sebastian looks at you in confusion when you pull over at the far end of the parking, where there are no other cars in sight, but you don’t give him any time to ask questions, already unbuckling your seat belt before you turn towards him and breathing a low, “We’re doing this now.”

You meet him halfway, sitting up as much as you can, your mouth crashing against his, your hands tugging at the hem of his t-shirt, pulling it over his head before you shower his chest in kisses, quickly making your way down. His hands are in your hair again, pulling you up for another kiss, his teeth pulling on your lower lip, a need to the kiss that tells you he wants this just as much. You break contact just long enough to pull your own shirt off before you push him back against the passenger’s seat and straddle him, feeling his erection pressing against your already wet core. You grind down and a groan escapes him as his hands grab your hips, pushing you against him, his mouth finding yours again the stubble of his beard scratching your skin.

You fumble with the button of your jeans, arching your back, lifting yourself off of him to rid yourself of the piece of clothing, taking your soaked panties down with it. Your hands find the hem of his jeans and you undo the buttons before pushing down the fabric, your hand in his boxers now, taking out his already hard cock. You lick your lips at the sight of him and you run your thumb from the base to the tip, pumping a few times then to make him even harder.

He groans and tugs on your hips so that you’re now directly above him. He watches you through hooded lids as you lower yourself, taking him in slowly, not bothering with a condom because honestly, it never even crosses your mind to do so and you both got tested since last time, so you know you’re good.

You let out an involuntary shiver at how good it feels to have him fill you up and your mouth finds his, hands in his hair as you take him all the way in, staying still for just a second as you get used to him again. You rest your forehead against his, slowly grinding your hips, letting out a moan as he fills you up even more.

His hand slides in between you and starts rubbing your clit, which in turn makes you throw your head back as you start riding him for real, setting a steady pace that you know will get both of you there quickly. You feel his mouth on your nipple, gently biting and tugging and you can feel your release coming close, your voice barely a whisper when you say, “Seb, I’m- fuck!”

He releases your nipple, tongue licking his lips, “I know.” His fingers pinch your clit, a wicked grin on his lips as he watches you, his voice dangerously low when he says, “Come for me, sweetheart,”

It sends you right over the edge and you let out a loud, “Oh fuck,” as your orgasm washes over you. You feel his hands on your hips again as he helps you keep up the rhythm he needs to follow you. You lean forward, kissing his shoulder, gently dragging your teeth towards the base of his neck when you feel him tense up and you steady yourself, groaning at him, “ Let go, babe,”

He trusts harder then and you hear your name roll of his lips almost breathlessly as he releases himself inside of you. You bury your face in his neck, panting, and feel his hands caress your back as he holds you against him, whispering a quiet, “Fuck, sweetheart, I missed you,” in your ear.

“You sure you don’t need any help?” Sebastian asks, hands on your hips, his chin resting on shoulder as he watches you chop the potatoes.

“Very sure,” you reassure him, whimpering a little when he lets go of you. You smile as you hear him take out plates from the cabinet before he sets the table, still amazed at how easy it is between you two. Earlier today he admitted he feels very at home in your house, before shyly adding that he feels that way wherever he’s with you and it made your heart melt.

“Seb?” you ask, “Tell me you schedule again?”

He replies from the dining room, “Flying back to L.A. tomorrow, then back to New York on Wednesday.”

“Right,” you reply softly. You continue, louder then, so he can hear you, “How long are you staying in New York?”

“At least four weeks,” he says as he walks back into the kitchen. He leans against the counter, hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans, “Why?”

“I don’t know,” you shrug. But of course you know, because this is what you’ve been meaning to ask ever since he came back. You take a deep breath in attempt to calm your nerves and look at him, “We have an office in New York at work, and I,” you hesitate, “I asked if maybe I could work from there every now and then and-”

“You want to come to New York with me?”

You’re not sure about his tone of voice and so you quietly add, “Yes. If that’s ok for you?” You try to smile, “I mean, if it’s too much or too soon, I totally get it, I just thought that maybe it would nice to spend some more time together, but-”

“It would be really nice,” he interrupts with a smile. Taking your hand in his to make you stop fumbling with the tea towel, he pulls you towards him, his lips on yours within seconds.

You throw your arms around his neck and deepen the kiss.

“Ew!”

You pull back quickly, shocked to see Jake standing in your kitchen, a look of disgust on his face. His parents are right behind him, with Sarah smiling at you and Nathan making a gagging sound.

“Hi, bud!” you say a little too enthusiastically, straightening your dress even though it is not wrinkled whatsoever.

“Hi,” Jake replies with caution, his eyes darting between you and Sebastian. “Why were you kissing him?”

“Jake,” Sarah hisses, a hand on Jake’s shoulder.

Your brother just snickers, “Yeah, why were you kissing him, tante?”

“Why didn’t you just ring the doorbell like any normal person would?” you shoot back at your brother.

He shrugs, “Would ruin the surprise, wouldn’t it?” He walks up to Sebastian then, holding out his hand, “Hi, I’m Nathan.”

“Sebastian,” he takes your brother’s hand and shakes it, before he introduces himself to Sarah and then gives Jake a high five.

“Why don’t I help you with dinner?” Sarah suggests, dropping her purse in the corner. She looks at Nathan, “Will you take Jake outside? Maybe offer Sebastian a beer while you’re at it?”

Nathan just nods before he grabs two beers and a juice pouch from the fridge, calling out for Jake to follow him.

You look at Sebastian, “Go! Sarah and I will finish up here.”

“I’ll go tell them dinner is ready,” Sarah offers.

You nod and watch as she makes her way outside, leaving you alone in the kitchen for a moment. You wonder if your brother has behaved himself and worry he might have been too harsh on Sebastian but then you hear laughter as they come inside, and see your brother smacking Sebastian’s arm in a playful manner and your instantly reassured.

Jake sits in between you and Sebastian at the table and you can tell he’s still trying to wrap his head around the fact that the Winter Soldier is sitting next to him and apparently likes to kiss his aunt. You try to get something out of your brother during dinner by throwing him a few pointed looks, but he just shrugs and keeps eating.

"Tante?” Jake asks as you’re in the kitchen together, because you’ve asked him to help you serve dessert.

“Yeah, bud?”

“Dad told the Winter Soldier,” he hesitates then, before he corrects himself, “I mean, Sebastian. Dad told Sebastian that if he ever hurt you he would kick his ass.” He giggles when he says “ass” and it makes you laugh too.

“Well, it’s nice that Dad’s looking out for me, don’t you think?” And it really is. You remind yourself to thank Nathan later, because it tells you that he’s taken you seriously and did what he said he would do.

“Yeah,” Jake agrees. “I told Sebastian that you deserve to be happy.”

“Ah, thank you, bud,” you say as you give him a hug, “that means a lot.”

“So,” you draw out slowly as you finish the last of the dishes. “How was your talk with Sebastian?”

“Good,” Nathan simply answers.

You hit him with the tea towel and give him a pointed look, “And?”

“And,” Nathan mimics your tone with a grin, “He’s good people.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” Nathan puts his arm around you and pulls you close, “but you knew that already, didn’t you?”

“Yeah,” you agree, “I just wanted you to know as well.”

You wake up before Sebastian does and as you cuddle up to him you glance at the clock and see you still have three hours left before he has to leave. You don’t want to wake him, not really, but you also don’t want to spend the next couple of hours just cuddling and so you softly kiss his cheek, before you move down to his jaw, his chest next and then down to the hem of his boxers. You can’t help but smile when you see how his body reacts to your touch and there’s a moan escaping him when you cup him through the fabric. “Morning,” you say, looking at him from in between his legs.

He looks at you through hooded eyes, not fully understanding what is going on just yet but then you pull his boxers down and take him into your mouth and suddenly he’s wide awake, “Fuck, sweetheart,”

You hum contently, the vibrations instantly making him hard and this time you decide to just give him what he wants instead of taking it nice and slow. You set a steady pace, using both your hands and mouth, and it isn’t long before you feel his hand on the back of your head, keeping you in place as he bucks his hips, making you take all of him. He’s close and you hollow your cheeks, giving him the friction he needs to come.

After you’ve swallowed his cum you draw back slowly, kissing your way back up until you find his mouth. You smile against his lips, your hand still on his cock, stroking it languidly as your tongue traces his lips.

By the way he grabs you you can tell he’s about to roll you over, probably to return the favor and so you pull back, “No.”

He looks at you, surprised no doubt.

You just look back at him, whispering a quiet, “It’s about you today, Seb. Consider this my going-away present,” smiling when you feel his cock twitch in your hand.

#The Draw #Sebastian Stan Imagine #Harley Sunday x Sebastian Stan #Sebastian Stan x reader

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neighbours-kid · 5 years ago

Text

CCXP 2019

Or: How Zachary Levi Continues to Be a Blessing

Had anyone told be at the beginning of this year, that I would be going to a comic con, and that I would be meeting Zac again, I’m not sure I would have believed them. But as it so happened, I found out on the last day of early bird sales that Zac would be coming to Cologne to the first ever CCXP on the European continent and I…..I bought tickets immediately.

The last time I saw the man was two years ago in San Diego, where he was hosting SYFY’s Live From ComicCon, which was one of the most amazing weeks of my life. Back then, I finally met so many of my wonderful nerd friends that I had talked to over twitter, and even though NerdHQ was not happening that year, we had a great time around the convention, supporting Zac, dancing our asses off at his parties, going to the auction, and all the other cool stuff we did.

Then last year, I was in New York for six months, during which Zac was filming for Marvellous Mrs Maisel in the city, but since I was busy, and New York is ginormous, I never ran into the man.

I was so excited for Shazam to come out, and just following Zac’s experience with that over twitter and instagram, getting glimpses of the press tour and the conventions he went to over the year, and I was just so happy for everyone who got to see him, for my friends who got to see him again, and it honestly never occurred to me that there is a possibility I could be among the people to see him this year too. I never even considered it.

And then the news came, and I don’t think I really ever hesitated in booking that trip, buying those tickets. I went over my finances real quick, but that was that. And to my luck, or well, thanks to Someone upstairs, I even got to work during my Spring holidays, earn some money, and now that the con is over and I have all my numbers, it honestly pretty much exactly evens out. I spent no more, no less, than the money I earned in that week. Which is incredible all in itself.

When the time finally came to pack my things and hop on a train to Cologne, I was very excited, but also somewhat nervous. It had been quite a moment since I last travelled alone (the last time being my stay abroad in New York, where I had been for six months), and even longer since I had met Zac the last time. But the five hours on the train to Cologne went by unproblematic and I felt great when I arrived at my airbnb. My host was lovely and very forthcoming, and I immediately felt very welcome in the city. I didn’t spend much time at the room, however, and quickly made my way up to the Koelnmesse, where the CCXP was located.

It was Thursday, the first day of con, and it was actually rather empty when I arrived. But that did not particularly bother me, since I am not too fond of big crowds anyway. It gave me a nice opportunity to walk around the grounds in peace, look at the booths, the artists, the exhibitors. I bought some Tony Stark art, sunglasses, some Marvel shirts and a Gryffindor sweater. I took my sweet time just breathing the space in, letting myself relax and fall into the comfortable pace of being at con. In the evening, I went to see a screening of Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman, followed by a Q&A with Michael Uslan, the producer. I’d never seen the movie before, and am honestly not that interested in Batman, but it was really great, and Michael was utterly interesting to listen to.

During my walk home after the panel (which happened because I took a wrong tram and stranded myself somewhere I didn’t intend to be), I somehow found some public wifi and happened upon Zac’s instagram stories. It suddenly dawned on me that we were in the same city again, and that, theoretically, I could bump into him any time. Which, to be honest, I didn’t really know how to wrap my mind around.

I slept good that night, even though I did wake up the next day earlier than expected. But I was exhausted, in a good way. The way experiencing wonderful things makes you tired at the end of the day.

Friday brought with it some more specific plans. I had a photo-op with Ben Barnes first thing, and then wanted to watch some panels (Mark Pellegrino, Fast and Furious, Ben Barnes) spread all over the day. When I got to the con, I went straight to the photo booths to stand in line for my picture. Ben Barnes is a very lovely human being. He was so happy and excited to be there and to meet everyone, and just had a great energy. I had bought a Punisher shirt the day before, and had decided to wear it that day. When I walked into the booth, the first thing Ben did was make shooting motions at me. We talked for a moment about the city and the con, which was really lovely. I think that word really describes Ben very well. Lovely. He is lovely.

After the picture I walked over to where I could collect the print-out, took it over to somewhere I could sit, and just revelled a moment in the feeling of having a great time. Then I looked up to where the signing booth was, and I saw him. Zac was sitting there, signing things for the people in line, a big smile on his face. He was engaging and his joy was contagious. He was his usual passionate self, and I sat there watching him for a moment, and I just had this one thought: “Shit.”

I had not planned on having Zac sign anything. While the con in general was pretty reasonably priced in my opinion, the prices for some of the photo- and signing-ops were rather expensive. I had already booked a picture with Zac for the next day, and I thought that would be enough, I didn’t need him to scribble on anything. But as I was watching him, I couldn’t help myself, and I got up immediately, walked over to where they sold the tickets, and without a second thought bought a ticket for him to sign something. For some reason that morning I had packed my Shazam action figure, and now I knew why. I continued watching him interact with people until it was time for me to get in line too, because watching him was just so…..captivating, in a way. I had already pretty much seen everything of the con, so I didn’t even feel like I was missing out on anything.

I got in line, Shazito in hand, and just continued to take it all in. Benedict Wong was sitting next to him, also signing, also blasting music from his speaker, also being so very lovely. I can’t quite recall if Ben was also there, but he might have been. Or maybe it was Mark Pellegrino. I can’t remember.

As the line started to move, I started to get giddy. Would the man even remember me? I mean, it had been two years. Sure, we had interacted a bit over twitter, but that was that. And honestly, I didn’t expect him to. He meets so many people all the time, why would/should he remember me?

The line moved further, a staffer came to take our names for Zac, so he would write them properly. The person in front of me moved up, and I think that was when I started smiling like a big idiot. Zac turned to talk to Wong while the person in front of me was taking her stuff and moving away, so I stepped up to the table while Zac wasn’t looking. The staffer put the post-it with my name on the table, which got Zac’s attention, and he turned to look at me. If a facial expression can be described as “lighting up like a candle” then that is what his face did. Recognition. Big smile. Oh hey you! Gets up, walks around the table to where he could step closer to me, and squeeze-hugs me for a solid half minute at least.

Why should he remember me? Well, I don’t fucking know, but he did. For some reason. And honestly, it’s just so very him, so absolutely typical. Anyway, he sat down again, asked me how I was doing, how I was enjoying the con. We were having a lovely conversation, he signed my Shazam figure (which I presented to him with the words, “I have a butt for you to sign”), and when he felt he couldn’t possibly stretch the time any longer by carefully signing his name on the plastic butt, playfully jabbing at Wong about the music, asking me about Switzerland and where I was from exactly, he got up again, walked around the table, and gave me another hug. Once he let me go, I told him again, just how very happy it made me to still see that golden chain around his neck, and he smiled, telling me that there would come a day he would give it away, just like I did. But I knew that already, and it doesn’t change anything about how it makes me feel. As I was walking away, he asked me if I was around the other days, with genuine interest, and I told him I’d see him again for a picture the next day, which got me another one of those smiles.

It is save to say that when I walked back to a table to sit down and take that all in, I was just….blown away. Again. Just like the last two times I met him. Zac is just an inherently good person and I’ve never really met anyone who gives a shit as much as he does. I really haven’t. He has made every single time I met him a very special experience that I won’t ever forget. The man just knows how to make you feel seen and heard.

I think it took me a moment, to get up again from where I was sitting, and remembering what I wanted to do next. I was still just looking at the figure in my hand with the signature on it, and trying to remember everything that had just happened. Once I did get my mind back to the present, I went around the whole con again, looked at some more booths, bought some more things, and ultimately went to the Mark Pellegrino panel. I don’t watch Supernatural and I am not actually entirely sure I’ve ever seen Mark in anything, but I knew of him, and was interested to see what kinda person he is (—actually, I just checked. He was on two episodes of Chuck and was also in single episodes of some other shows that I watched).

Mark’s panel was fully moderated, but it was nevertheless very interesting. They did talk mostly about Supernatural, Mark’s time on set and how it was working with Jensen and Jared. The panel ended with Mark singing the first verse of Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin, which was honestly very beautiful. The man can sing.

Mark’s panel was followed by a quick appearance of Idris Elba and Jason Statham, who were interviewed quickly, presented us the newest trailer for Hobbs & Shaw, and we then even got to see some exclusive footage, presented by a video message from The Rock. After that, I wandered around the con for a bit more, before I went back to the panel room to see MinaLima, the studio that did all the graphics design work on both Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts. Their work is incredibly interesting, and it was wonderful listening to them talk about their experience working on those films and just their whole process. Utterly fascinating stuff. I stuck around after that to see Ben Barnes’ panel. He was, again, very lovely. He talked a bit about Punisher and working with Jon Bernthal, but also got to answer some fan questions from the audience, which I always think is a lot of fun, because it immediately makes a panel so much more personal and interesting.

Going back to my airbnb that night I was elevated. I had a wonderful day, I saw Zac again and had a lovely time with him, and just saw some great stuff all around con. I had talked to some woman who recognised me from the signing booth, bought some more Iron Man things, and also another Harry Potter sweater. But, obviously, Zac had been my absolute highlight of the day.

Saturday was a lot more unplanned than Friday. I had the picture with Zac mid-afternoon, but other than that, I didn’t really have much I wanted to do. There weren’t really any panels I was interested in, and I had already seen pretty much every thing at the con. So I decided to get myself a coffee and a croissant, and just do some people watching. I saw a cosplayer, dressed as a Stormtrooper, hanging out with a Luigi and Mario, taking pictures in front of the kid’s bouncy castle. He also had a red balloon tied to his back, from the IT 2 booth.

Once I got bored of just looking at people, I face-timed the whole con, then found out Zac would be doing an interview in the glass box and maybe come out and talk to some people, and made my way over to that area. Zac arrived, did the interview — which was lovely and you all can find here — and then quickly came down to us and gave high-fives, since he didn’t have much time because his photo session began immediately after the interview. The photo session, that I had to line up for. Once I was in line, I got that giddiness again, that I already felt the day before. I was thinking about what I wanted our picture to look like, what kinda pose I could make him do — I had some ideas, but I couldn’t decide — and watched how the people in front of me came out after the picture, big smiles on their faces. That’s Zac for you right there. Meeting him won’t leave people unchanged.

The line moved forward, and I could see into the booth, watch how the people in front of me took pictures with Zac. So many lovely pictures, big smiles, silly poses, pointing at funny shirts and great cosplay. The usual, you know. When it was my turn, the staffer managing everything told me to go in, Zac’s friend put my bags on the chair for me, and I went in. And there he was, dancing to his music, having a grand old time. And again, just like the day before, he looked at me and his face lit up like a candle, a big smile on his face, another Oh hey, Alex! with that joyful recognition that I just don’t really know how to deal with.

With a c’mere he put his arm around me and squeezed me tight, leaning into me, and we both looked at the camera. He stayed close until the screen showed the picture and he deemed it perfect. And it was. None of the poses I had thought of before in line could’ve ever come close to what I had now. He asked me again, just like the day before, if I was enjoying myself, then gave me high-fives and started dancing again, waiting for the next in line. I took my stuff, left the booth and wandered over to the photo collection booth in a daze. Once I had the picture in my hands, I sat down somewhere, just staring at that photo. I think I must’ve been staring at it for a very long time, in a sort of disbelief, remembering the other pictures I had of us, and how none of them even compare to this. It’s perfect. Absolutely perfect.

I took a picture of it with my phone, and sent it to my friends who knew that I would be doing that today, and also changed my twitter profile picture to it. The next time I checked my phone, all my friends who knew the man started flipping their shit about how adorable this picture is. They were delighted and joined in my joy about this picture. I have treasured every moment I got to spend with Zac up until now, and I will treasure this one too. It makes me so incredibly happy, I can’t even begin to tell you.

I left the con pretty soon after that, since I had already seen pretty much everything, and didn’t really have any interest in the panels of the day. But before I left, I stopped by Elbenwald again, buying a Gryffindor scarf for myself, because I knew that if I didn’t, I would ultimately regret it. I made my way back to my airbnb in staggering heat, relaxed for a moment, and then went out again, deciding that I would do some touristing around the city. I went over to the cathedral — which is absolutely stunning, you guys, it’s just gorgeous —, explored the place around it, and took a bit of a walk by the water. I sat in the shade for a while, watching the people, watching the water, and just revelling in the good feeling of experiencing cool things and going interesting places, until I could feel the exhaustion of the heat and the walking. So I slowly made my way back, decided to cross the river over the bridge by foot (and saw all the love locks), and just took my time, breathing in the summer air and the freedom that came with it. Summer has always been my season, even though I bitch about the heat too much, and with it comes a feeling of freedom and opportunity that I always miss in the colder months.

I got home earlier that day than I did all the others, since I didn’t stay at the con, which usually closes at 9pm. And despite the heat, I slept wonderful, which, considering the day I’d had, is not a surprise at all.

My plan for Sunday looked like this: arrive at con by opening time, go to the very first panel immediately, and sit in the panel room all day until Zac’s panel at 4:30pm, sneaking my way into the front row when people leave after the panels before that. And that is exactly what I did. Lucky for me, the panel room had a bathroom and a snack bar, so I had everything I needed.

I went to the first panel which was a Game of Thrones “double feature” with first Mark Spindler, from the VFX team, having a presentation about his work, and especially creating the dragons like Drogon, and his experience working on the HBO show, and then with Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, who was interviewed, but also answered some fan questions. It’s save to say, that the panel room was absolutely full to the brink. He was the star of this con. Nikolaj is an interesting guy, even though I felt like the panel over all felt a bit awkward. But I’ve had that impression with all the moderated panels, so maybe it’s the language barrier between English speaking guests and native German speaking moderators. Who knows.

After the Game of Thrones panel, a lot of people vacated the room, and I was able to make my way into the front row immediately after that. I went to the bathroom, got myself some nachos, and settled in for a day full of panels. I cannot even begin to tell you how much my butt hurt after that day. But anyway, after Nikolaj, followed a panel with cosplay stars from all over the world, talking about their craft and their experiences, with some fan questions in between. After that came a Batman 80th Anniversary panel, with comic artists Ivan Reis, Joe Prado, David Finch, and Brian Azzarello. I am not particularly interested in Batman, but it was quite fascinating anyway.

I watched with a very pleased grin how the crew started clearing away chairs on the stage until only one was left, which gave me the very confirmation I had been waiting for: Zac would self-moderate his panel, which meant fan Q&A all the way, like he usually does it, like he loves it. I had been worrying all through the con, watching most other panels be moderated, that his would be too. But I was glad to be proven wrong. Vanessa came out to introduce our man, and when he came out, the energy in the room just changed to something akin to what I felt at NerdHQ. Lots of love. (He also, before even sitting down, before even fully arriving, spotted be in the front row and went Oh hi, Alex, how you doin’? straight into the microphone. I may or may not have felt some emotions about that.) Vanessa manned the microphone, and Zac went in full swing, already spreading so much joy just by being there.

His panel was absolutely lovely, as they always are. His energy is palpable, you can just feel his passion and love for this kind of stuff, and it just oozes out of him. He answered question after question, went on tangents and down rabbit holes, laughed and sang, joked and entertained both himself and us. He was talking about going to conventions at some point and came to talk about NerdHQ, during which he enquired who had been to the event before, and managed to phrase the question, “Besides [Name of Girl who asked the question which I can’t remember I’m so sorry*] and Alex, who’s been to NerdHQ?”, which again, emotions. But anyway. I had been looking out for Vanessa all through the panel, always holding my hand up to ask a question, and finally got to ask one. When I got up, he greeted me again with name and everything, and at that point I was just taking it. I asked him about his dream. He had been asked that question two years ago at DragonCon, and I asked him how it was looking, if he was still working on that, if anything came to it, or if he abandoned parts of it. I just wanted him to talk about his plans for life a bit. And he did. He gave a long, wonderfully beautiful answer, and honestly, the man’s eye contact is super intense, and it just meant the world to me that he took the time to elaborate on his ideas and plans and wishes and dreams. I just wanted to show everyone in that room who exactly I knew Zac to be, and he delivered. I have not found any footage from that panel online yet, but if I do, I will link it here as well.

(*This is me not remembering the name, and not Zac. Zac knew the name. He always knows the names.)

After the absolute high of that panel, I thought nothing could go wrong. I would make my way to the train station, where I would get my bags that I had already brought there in the morning, then I would board my train, and just relax for five hours on that journey, until I would be home around midnight. Well. As, apparently, per usual, that did not happen. Just like so many other trips I had, this one ended in absolute disaster as well. My train in Cologne got cancelled, I got sent around from one station to the other, ultimately ended up in a completely over filled train, had to change trains five times, had to sit on the floor in one of them, and finally arrived back in Bern at 1.30am. No busses or trams were running at that time anymore, getting a cab in Switzerland is one of the most expensive things you can do, and Uber or Lyft does not exist here. So I had to walk. From the train station, to my home, with my no-wheels sports bag, and all my other bags. I arrived home, completely drenched in sweat, absolutely exhausted, with shoulders so tense and overworked that I had bruises the next morning, at 2.30am. I was just so done.

But, I don’t want to dwell on such a negative note, and finish this post with some more words. I am so grateful that I get to experience such cool things. I feel so incredibly blessed to be able to go to these conventions and meet such amazing people like Zac. I feel so humbled by it, and I am eternally grateful that I got to meet Zac again and make such great memories, yet again. I’ve been following this man’s career for seven years now, and I don’t regret a single minute of it. I found him during a time where I was only just becoming the person I am today, and it is save to say that he had some formative influence in that. It’s save to say, that because of his example, I am a better, kinder, more unabashedly passionate person today than I was before. God has used Zac to inspire me, to show me things I never thought possible, and to keep reassuring me that he has plans for me. And I am so incredibly grateful for all of that.

Going to Cologne, going to CCXP has been a wonderful experience for me, and should Zac make it back there again, the chance is pretty big that you’ll find me there as well.

But for now, I am back home, and remembering all these beautiful moments with fondness, and revelling in the knowledge that somewhere, sometime in the future, I’ll likely get to do something like this again.

Until then, I’ll be here. Writing. Remembering.

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thebigreylotheory · 6 years ago

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Star Wars Celebration 2019 Chicago Thoughts & Review

Annnd, we’re back. More or less. I think we left our good health in Chicago. I have a fever, so I apologize if none of this makes sense (but arguably it should make just as much sense as I normally do.)

So, Celebration 2019. It was the best of times, it was the coldest of Hoth times.

Twas’ a far cry from SW Celebration Orlando 2017, where I remember the humidity being awfully thick as we lined up for the Episode 8 panel at 3am.

I obsessively check my weather app regardless. Therefore I happened to see the snowflake symbol predicted for Friday, April 12th. Thankfully, it didn’t snow Friday for the Episode 9 panel, but believing it was going to snow prepared me for the real snow on Sunday. I packed coats, snow boots, hats, and gloves.

I know the snow was mostly a fluke thing. That Chicagoans had previously packed away their coats for 60-degree weather. Just saying, next time Celebration is in a northern city, I really hope the date is moved to May or June, where there’s no chance of snow AT ALL. I was prepared, but I witnessed several small children, no jacket, absolutely shaking from the cold. It upset me. Babies shouldn’t have to suffer for their love of Star Wars.

Right, so with the weather being the major con, here are my Celebration 2019 pros:

The Thursday Celebration Store and Exhibit Hall (no pun intended) warm-up day. This year it really felt like a perk of having a 5-day badge. I was glad, instead of the event fully launching into panels, we had a day to explore the venue and become familiar with the area. I’m a planner, so I like knowing exactly where I’m at and where I need to be ahead of time.

Kudos for actually being able to get into the Celebration store this year! I don’t know what the problem was in 2017, but that line, seemingly, never moved. This year, we were in line for a little over an hour and got everything we wanted.

Additionally, the employees of McCormick Place were well-prepared and very helpful compared to some of the people we interacted with in Orlando. In 2017, some employees kinda had the unfortunate attitude of you-bunch-of-Star-Wars-dorks…we didn’t experience any of that at McCormick Place. In our experience, everyone at McCormick place was very kind and eager to assist.I would definitely go back given the right weather. I would go so far to say that they were happy to be hosting Star Wars Celebration.

I know some people will disagree, but I’m a fan of the lotteries. In Orlando, it was frustrating, if not a little risky/unhealthy, to wait in line in the dark, not get in, and then walk around sleep deprived all day. With the lottery, I liked knowing and being able to have a relaxing Celebration and maximize the other panels we attended.

Day-by-Day breakdown:

Thursday:

Got some goodies. Caps has had his eye on this ROTJ poster for a while.

Found Indiana Jones for my brother Revan/Devan.

Went to the Chicago Art Museum, it was entirely awesome.

How ‘bout those helmets and crossguards, boi?

Friday:

I was so stoked that I naturally woke up at 5am. Just kept thinking to myself, wow, I’ve been a fan of the sequel trilogy since 2015 and this is the last few hours where I don’t know the title or have a feel for what could happen. *commits to memory*

We were thrilled to be chosen for the Galaxy Stage live stream. For TLJ, we ended up watching the trailer on the phone, cause we didn’t know that The Star Wars show also streamed it in the Exhibit Hall.

Too many words for my reaction, I’ll have to make a separate post.

Afterwards, we went to 20 years of Lego, Star Wars Hasbro, The Music of Star Wars, Predicting the Future with Star Wars, and ILM Making Solo.

Also tried out pinball which was super fun.

Saturday:

Bringing Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge to Life panel! Aka Josh Gad trying to break in.

We’ve been planning to take a family trip to Disney World this fall, so this pumped us up even more.

Then we tried to get into the Del Rey Books and Marvel Comics panels, but they were already full. At the time, the reservations on the app were not working for me. I had to update the app twice.

Ultimately, we went to the Sisters of the Force panel. Stories about kids fighting cancer and bullying really touched my heart. I was trying not to cry.

We missed out on the Funko panel in 2017, but thankfully this year we got in. They tortured us with designs that were never released.

Also, Reylo art always sells out...always...

Sunday:

The Mandalorian panel was fired up. I don’t typically watch a lot of tv, I’m a movie person, but I will be getting Disney+. The Mandalorian trailer was phenomenal. Looks like they put a lot of thought and care into creating a live-action series that feels Star Wars-y.

Then my introvert self was overcome by having our photo taken with Ian McDiarmid, especially after his laughter and surprise appearance in the Episode 9 panel. I was scared to death of him (hello! HE’S THE EMPEROR, people!) (and I’m afraid of everyone anyways, I’m high anxiety) but he was so nice and such a gentleman and if you have the opportunity I recommend a photo-op with him. This will be on our Christmas card this year.

After that, we when to the ILM Model Shop panel. AND, even though we left 30mins early, we didn’t get into the Romance Those Ships Also Belong in Star Wars panel. Which I thought was wonderful from a certain point of view. I had actually told Caps, 3-4 days before, that the best thing that could happen was: the panel would be so packed, and the line would be out the door, that we wouldn’t even get in and then EVERYONE would see how many people like BOTH Star Wars and Romance. And my wish came true! Probably the first time I ever grinned ear to ear for not getting into something. Caps was more upset about not getting in than I was. He kept apologizing that we didn’t get to be with “my people.” But thankfully the panel is up on Youtube now and, perhaps, there will be more panels like it in the future due to popularity.

So, our last panel of Celebration ended up being Anthony Daniels Droidography. Which was great, because we had missed out on seeing Anthony in 2017, too. Anthony has such a positive energy. He and Warwick were hilarious together.

I can’t believe it’s been a week ago now. What a whirlwind. It was a long drive between Georgia and Chicago, so I need a few more days to recover.

#star wars celebration #star wars celebration chicago #star wars celebration 2019 #reylo #fangirling #my star wars diary

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nalyra-dreaming · 6 years ago

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So I always post a recap, mostly for myself 🙂 (for later^^), but I hope you will enjoy as well! (Got a kiss from Will there and Hannibal didn’t kill me! – Win win!!) 🙂

I arrived on Wednesday afternoon this time, planning on working on Ravage stuff that evening with Romina, but we ended up with Electra and room service instead, which was awesome. (Thank you soooo much for the little firefly man dear!!!)

Thursday was Ravage ToDos then and London – going by Fuller’s on the way

getting my daughter a Harry Potter „Hedwig“ (as requested^^)

and dinner at the Michelin-star „Aquavit“ (Skandinavian Restaurant – the Blood Pudding was DELICIOUS!)

and then Pinter’s Theatre, watching Martin Freeman’s performance.

(We tried to catch him at the Stage Door, but he came out after 2h(?) and we left after 1h in the snow, because you know, Mads and Richard wouldn’t go so well with pneumonia^^).

Friday I spent a LOT of time trying to catch all the Fannibals I saw, say hi and invite them to sign „my Mads“ – bought back then for the German Comic Con 2016 (when he canceled) this has now been utterly filled up with Fannibal love from all over the place! (And Evalie brought her Will! It’s the same one from the meme photo you might have seen btw^^)

(And I had him sign it, too :))) Picked up lots of beautiful things from the con, but they’re mostly in the big package still and on their way home.

Opening ceremony had standing ovations, driving home the fact, that these people were actually there!

Truly amazing.

Meet and greet was fun but short, they only did a few minutes each.

Still enough time to realize a few interesting things about them, Scott being really aware of what we put on the table for example and interested in Radiance (looking through it ) and trying the Hannigram smarties that @TheCakeIsPeople brought, Aaron loving that people liked the Go-Getters and his other projects so much, Jeremy very unsure at that point still (Twitter feed later showed he always said the same things^^) but very deep and elaborate answers already, Richard interested in where everybody was from and commenting when he knew the place, Mads on beer 4 (afaik) at our table and a bit brisk, recognizing fans he met before, talking swedish with the Fannibals there and refusing to put on the bite mask we had laid out (as decoration) on sight^^^^. Darn. 😛

On Saturday I had 5 (!) photo ops, group with Romina, Aaron & Scott, 2 Mads and a Mads and Richard one. I took the cardboard to the photo op with Mads and we had to redo the photo 4 times, because of the glare :))) (Starfury put them all up for digital download, wohooo) and he was amazed by all the signatures on it!! Also – really life size 😛

The other was with something for the Kickstarter, I can’t show you yet^^.

Richard didn’t really pose that day, he was very stiff, hands in his pockets, standing to the side – we wondered if he maybe had a bad con experience before. (That was different day 2, yeah, good job Fannibals!!). Unfortunately you cannot see the “I’m fine” on my shirt, that’s what I was pointing at^^

Panels from noon, with Aaron and Scott being their usual hilarious selfs, Mads kind and witty (even though some of the questions were really… ugh. Disgraceful – someone asked him if he got „excited“ in the sex scenes for Polar(!) and someone else told him he didn’t have a fashion sense (like what the actual fuck?)).

Richard had an introduction interview with Sean on the first day, with only a few audience questions. Again, I think he was a bit … IDK, careful. On Sunday he did an open panel and was way more relaxed there as well! And he is SO WITTY and intelligent! And much more good looking in person than on screen somehow. Like really. A bit scary. :))

Mads is very nice, smelling lightly of cigarettes (well, duh^^), it was funny to watch/experience the poses he switches through for photos^^. Very easy to ask and stand next to. My hands were shaking nonetheless^^.

Aaron and Scott gave me one of the best hugs ever, I already had my pose with them from last time and told them so, just wanting a hug 🙂

Signing was fun, Mads and Richard, with Mads signing my three books (not showing you Ravage yet!), and I showed him the scene with the illustration of „Will pushing Hannibal in a wheelchair, at Bedelia’s dinner“ – because he had said in his panel that Will would have really enjoyed having the upper hand in S4, pushing Hannibal around in a wheelchair(!!). AND I FUCKING WROTE THAT. (Not actually in „A blackish red hue“ (at least the Ao3 version! (The book version has that scene)) but the image has created for a scene EXACTLY of that (and then adapted into the book, with permission of the artist(!)). I just…. I WANT TO SEE THAT, DAMMIT!! He said „Very good call“ :))) And then personalized it to me <33

Also, at that point he knew about the cardboard cutout being from the GCC, so they must’ve talked about it backstage! And I asked him to sign it all over his own face which he did, grinning.

And he’s finally on the LA Times ad, completing it.

AND on the sword sheath, checking all the signatures and commenting on them. He wanted to know where it was from and I explained and he was amazed. (Since he and Richard signed so small (in comparison to Eddie Izzard^^), I was able to put Scott, Aaron and Jeremy on it as well – you can’t see Scott here because he didn’t press that hard, his signature is above Aaron’s).

Oh, and Mads didn’t know that Hannibal got an Emmy nom that year we put up the ad in the LA Times – he was surprised and asked me which ones and of COURSE I’d had forgotten. Hope his team relays him the info via the tag on Twitter^^.

Richard just grinned a bit when I told him that the book is my S4-8 and that it starts at the Motel. He had an interesting expression on his face, I can’t really describe it, maybe a „would’ve sported dimples if he actually had them“, you know. Amusement-tinged. Also very interested in the signatures on the sword sheath!

Life goals. :)))

I had dinner in the bar late afternoon (the London Pride ale is very good imho^^), and then the cosplay contest was on and Noah won, yay, as flaming Chilton!!! They put up the incredible Wendigo-Cake there, from KitchenConjurer – it was cut up the next day, because Mads wasn’t at the cosplay contest.

Don’t remember what I did after the cosplay, lol. Ahem. 🙂 I think I went to my room because I was exhausted. ^^ All the nerves shot from the photo shoots and signings^^.

Next morning were more photos – another with Richard (and a little red dragon by PersephoneSiren!!!!!), who was so much more relaxed that day, and one with Jeremy – who was a bit bewildered by my ask to give me Bunny Ears – and THEN went and did the same expression Hugh Dancy and Joe Anderson did!!!!!! ROFL. Amazing!

Incredible panels followed – I would invite everyone who hasn’t to read through the Twitter transcript tweets – Aaron and Scott gave Mads a run for his money – aka he never stood a chance :))))

And then they went and cut the ear and nose/chin off the Wendigo cake and Scott kissed Aaron with its lips and you should have seen Mads’ face :))))) Hilarious! ❤

Jeremy is a panel revelation(!), I would pay REAL money to have him, Richard and Hugh on one stage, talking. These three must be so extraordinary together. (They already are separately, just saying… that would be like an intellectual orgasm).

Had to queue early and so I went and got my autos from Aaron and Scott and Jeremy then, who were soooo sweet and appreciative. And Aaron smiled when he saw the Go-Getters DVD, gave the DVD inside a little pet and signed it to me with a very sweet personalization.

Can’t wait for his new film btw, because the Go-Getters is hilarious and you should definitely watch it!!!!!

Another bar visit for food and ale and then the closing ceremony. Already.

It’s been almost 5 days and yet the time flew.

I cried.

And then I went to my room and packed up everything, creating an impromptu bubblewrap-suitcase. Went through fine, fortunately.

It’s been incredible and I will gladly come back no matter the guests (though these were incredible of course!), who knows maybe I can go to FFT3 if/when it happens as well, and I hope I manage some meat-ups. I met more people than I can remember, spent some very precious times in deep discussions on not so easy subjects, which I love and which is so, so, SO important.

If you’re reading this – thank you for doing so!

And if I met you there – thank you for making my weekend. Because the guests is one thing, but meeting you guys…. that is incredible.

I hope you enjoyed this 🙂

Feel free to ask if you have questions!

Personal RDC5 recap So I always post a recap, mostly for myself 🙂 (for later^^), but I hope you will enjoy as well!

#fannibals #hannibal #london #personal #pictures #rdc5 #recap #mads mikkelsen #richard armitage #aaron abrams #scott thompson #jeremy davies

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acehotel · 6 years ago

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“Patience Is A Vulture”: An Interview with Creative Growth Artist Ray Vickers

Ray Vickers thinks it’s “un-American not to have a pet.” It just is. The Oakland-born and bred artist also wants you to know about the exact Thursday he was born, his 120-pound dog named Ace (maybe our favorite dog name to date) and his popular series of dead rabbit illustrations. For this edition of Inside Job — a monthly artists’ series led by LAND Gallery’s Sophia Cosmadopoulos — Vickers chats about his nine years at Creative Growth, his artistic process and all the animals that he’s taken care of.

Creative Growth is an Oakland-based non-profit that serves artists with developmental, mental and physical disabilities, providing a professional studio environment for artistic development, gallery exhibition and representation.

Ray Vickers: Did you know patience is a vulture, ain’t that how it go?

Sophia Cosmadopoulos: I think the saying is patience is a virtue.

RV: I think it’s vulture. And if I found your phone and gave it to you, that’s called a good samurai?

SC: It’s whatever you want it to be. Is that some pepperoni on your drawing?

RV: Oh my goodness [brushes it off]. I told my mom and sister last week, a few days ago, if I see someone, a man, doing a horrible crime, I would take my belt off and spank him. If I see a man doing a crime, I would whoop him. I would hit him with his belt in my right hand and take my belt off and whoop him with my left.

SC: So a double whoop?

RV: Yeah, so what questions you got for me?

SC: Well, would you like to start off by introducing yourself? RV: I’m god. No, I’m not. I am Ray Vickers. V-I-C-K-E-R-S, period. We are in Oakland, California. I was born and raised out here, lemme see, about 31 years. I am 31. Been on this earth 31 years. I lived in Hayward years ago for a short period. But I have been in Oakland pretty much all these years.

SC: Yeah, I grew up out here too. But in San Francisco.

RV: It’s freezing out there, huh? I heard because it be by the ocean.

SC: It is definitely foggier. But now I live in New York where it gets really cold. Have you ever been out there?

RV: No, I can’t really travel because of my pets. I got my two dogs and I got my lizard. And nobody can really feed my lizard his worms. I have a bearded dragon and I feed him mealworms — they are about an inch. My mom will hold my lizard but she won’t feed him worms. So nobody will feed my lizard worms, nobody will walk my dog, he’s nine, he’s 120 pounds, he’s strong. So he used to pull me when I walk him, but he doesn’t pull me no more. So I take his leash and I put it around my waist and I take the leash and I put it around his neck, you know, a chain collar, but he doesn’t really pull me like he used to. His name is Ace.

SC: And what is your lizard’s name?

RV: Jax. J-A-X. He turned a year old on April 19, 2019. I got him when he was small but he’s still growing. He has autism, he don’t like changes. I kiss him on the lips. He don’t like changes. I chilled with him yesterday for about an hour, but I didn’t have time for him on Tuesday or Wednesday. So I picked him up yesterday and he was mad at me because I couldn’t hold him on Tuesday or Wednesday and he tried to bite me. But I told him, if he bite me, I am not going to feed him. It took about 30 seconds and he calmed down. Then I picked him up and I put him, you know, to chill in my pocket for a little bit. I let him sleep. I can pick him up and he can be on my shoulder, chilling with me.

SC: I have never heard of a lizard with autism.

RV: Yeah, it happens. They can have ADD, ADHD, all that.

SC: When did you first start coming to Creative Growth?

RV: Almost nine years, I believe. I come here four days a week: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday. But Tuesdays I am here from 9:30 to two o’clock because I leave to do my dog walking job, walking my friend’s dog for an hour. She’s a German Shepherd mix. She’s not big, she’s medium, she’s still strong. I leave today at 2:45, I do a dog walking job. But since the time change, unfortunately I don’t get home till about close to five o’clock, where it’s almost dark and dangerous. I hate to be out in a dark period. You know, I have a big dog and I have pepper spray but I still hate to be out in the dark, because that’s when a lot of badness happens. So I leave here every Tuesday about two o’clock on the nose. I am here four days a week.

SC: Can you describe an average day here at Creative Growth? RV: It has its days. It’s good. It’s like, me? I have autism and I say and do stuff without thinking, but I know how to control my impulsiveness here. Like if I saw you talking to somebody, I wouldn’t walk up behind you and talk to you, because I know how to control my ADD and everything. I wouldn’t just butt in and say something because I have R-E-S-P-E-C-T.

SC: And can you describe your artwork to me?

RV: I just draw whatever is in my head. Something simple, nothing fancy. I do dead rabbits that a lot of people like. I don’t know why people like them, but they do. They sell quick.

SC: When did you start making work about dead rabbits?

RV: Well I was watching TV and I had a freezer in my room. I was watching TV and I had a step, kinda like a stairway thing, a step stool, and it fell on my freezer, and my freezer had a dent in it and I looked at the dent, and I automatically thought of a rabbit. But the real part was, I was watching a show called Heroes, I don’t know if you heard of it, but about 30 seconds later, after the commercial, they showed a guy on there killing a rabbit. It was weird because right before that happened an image of a rabbit popped in my head on my freezer. So I started drawing them, and then everybody liked them. So I started making them out of wood and everything and on paper.

SC: And who is killing those rabbits?

RV: It varies. It could be those teddy bears killing them. Because you know those rabbits with the red eyes? I love animals, don’t get me wrong, but you know those rabbits with the red eyes? It scares the holy guacamole out of me. I ain’t gonna lie, it scares the crap out of me. The rabbits with the red eyes? That’s scary. I took my chances with petting a pitbull on the street more than once, I haven’t been attacked by one. But the rabbits with the red eyes? Wowee. I ain’t petting one of those. It would bite my fingers off.

SC: And what’s your process when you draw them?

RV: I just draw them, I just use the main colors, red for the blood, pink is for the ears — no, wait — pink is for the stomach and a purplish color for the ears. I use a hot glue gun to bring out the whiskers. When I see a rabbit with red eyes, it scares the crap out of me, I don’t know why. The next time I see a rabbit, I will leave it alone. As long as it’s cool with me, I am cool with it. Because I have ADD and everything — my mind, it never stops processing everything. Like September 11th happened on a Tuesday. There are just certain things that I can’t forget. I was born on a Thursday, August 20, 1987 and I still remember that I was born on a Thursday. And the 1989 earthquake, you heard about that one? I was two years old and I remember when that happened. There are just certain things I can’t forget, it’s like a gift and a curse.

SC: How long have you been working on your art?

RV: I was drawing as a kid. I was drawing Sonic the Hedgehog and stuff like that. But I didn’t start coming here till like about almost nine years. I was just at home with my leopard gecko. I was just at home watching TV playing PS2 with my leopard gecko on my shoulder. I was just sitting there watching TV with nothing to do and I heard about this place here and I started three days a week. Now I go here four days a week.

SC: Do you like going to exhibitions at Creative Growth or at outside galleries?

RV: Yeah I don’t go to all of them, just certain ones. I always say, if my work ain’t in it, I don’t come.

SC: What are your goals for your art?

RV: I want to go big, you know, platinum? Nah, just to sell, but I would never be cocky if I was rich because the most money I ever had, probably was about one thousand, three and a half, four years ago here. But I am not cocky with money or nothing like that. It’s like I am good at certain things, but I don’t be bragging about it.

SC: What do you do outside of the studio?

RV: I go to Comic Con. The next Comic Con I am going to is August of this year. I remember the first time I was there about three or four years ago, I was there from like 9:40 in the morning to literally 3:00pm. I walked around the whole day, never did sit down. What happened last year was, all I ate was a crummy little bag of trail mix peanuts. That’s all I had. I collect action figures. Like, when people say I’m too old to collect action figures — I’m 31 — they’re probably jealous because they ain’t got the money like I do. Because I’m 31 and I probably have 300 action figures.

SC: Wow, that’s amazing. Can you tell me a little bit more about yourself and how you grew up?

RV: I was born and raised in Oakland. Never knew who my dad was, real mom died when I was 16 and I couldn’t cry because I never lived with her, I was never close. So my main focus was watching Spiderman and cartoons in the 1990s and then going to Comic Con. I used to have a leopard gecko, now I have a bearded dragon, a bulldog and a Newfoundland.

SC: It seems like you’re a real animal guy. What’s your favorite animal?

RV: My favorite reptile would be a bearded dragon, still my favorite reptile. I like snakes too. Any animals, I am all for — any animals. I was learning something the other day — that caterpillars, I think it was in Australia — no, London, that caterpillars can actually make silk like spiders and they can silken up houses and trees and cars and all that kind of stuff. A monarch butterfly can fly 1,100 feet in the air. An armadillo’s shell is literally pretty much bulletproof, and they can actually give people leprosy. I was learning a lot of stuff on the animal shows.

SC: You’ve told me a lot about your lizard, what about your dogs?

RV: Both my dogs get along fine, but the bulldog, I actually found her four years ago by the bus stop. And I couldn’t leave her there, and I promised myself that I wasn’t gonna bring home another dog, because I had a Pomeranian, but unfortunately she had to be put to sleep because she kept having seizures. So I ended up bringing home the bulldog. I walk my dogs. I just walk, if it’s raining, I’m still walking. I don’t mind walking, because I walk everyday for an hour. Yeah, because today I got my two hour and fifteen minute walk in today. If it’s hot, cold, rainy, I’m still walking. Now if it’s thundering and lightning and hailing, I ain’t crazy. I am crazy, but I don’t get struck by lightning. I ain’t trying to get struck by lightning. I don’t wanna be in a coma for six months sitting on my ass. I would miss a lot in six months, I would be missing all my shows, my dog would be missing everything.

SC: That’s right, I heard that you have rescued a lot of animals, tell me about that.

RV: Yeah, the smallest dog I ever saved, like almost four years ago? Her name is Clara, our teacher Mady has her. She was real, real, real, real small when I found her, lemme see, that was about almost four years ago. She was probably not even bigger than my shoe. I found her by the bus stop and that’s when I had my long skateboard. And I couldn’t leave her there, she was with another dog, so I picked her up and brought her on the bus. And when I skateboarded here, she was in my backpack, because I never really fall, and then I said Mady, I got something for you, so I reached in my backpack and got it for her. I have rescued about four or five dogs total. I am good with animals. I hate to see dogs roaming the streets. Even this past Tuesday I was walking home, there’s this one dog and I thought it was a boy so I named it Homeboy, but I just found out this morning that she’s a girl, so I gotta change her name to Homegirl. She’s a chow mix. Whenever I see her, I always give her food.

SC: Do you ever bring your pets to Creative Growth?

RV: No. Well, my lizard is autistic, he doesn’t like changes. He’s only used to me. Like if anybody else try to hold him, he gets kind of spicy. But then if I hold him, he’ll come chill with me for like three to four hours. I be chilling with him. I got a thousand pictures of him. It’s un-American not to have a pet. Everybody should have one. I go to PetSmart. My mom says she’s allergic to snakes but she’s not, she just doesn’t like snakes. So if I could get a snake, a long time ago, I would have, but my mom doesn’t like snakes.

SC: Any last words, Ray?

RV: Patience is a vulture. And, if somebody tells you you are a horrible artist or you’re too old to do this or that, don’t listen to them because haters are gonna hate. And as Stan Lee would say, “Enough said.”

#yes #interview #creative growth #sophia cosmadopoulos #artist #art #ray vickers #ace new york #ace hotel new york #ace nyc #ace hotel nyc #new york #oakland

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alaska-riversong · 6 years ago

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FanX with David Tennant

Last weekend I had the opportunity of a lifetime; a chance to meet my idol not once, not twice, but three times. I finally have the time and opportunity to sit down and write about my experience last weekend so I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. I’m sitting here looking at my pictures and yes, I am drinking my “David Tennant in my Dreams” tea from Adagio Teas. It’s my process, don’t judge me.

Anyone who knows me knows that I adore David Tennant. Many people have questioned my sanity as well as my life choices regarding this, but I do have my reasons. While David doesn’t have the body of Chris Hemsworth, the dreamy sky-blue eyes of Tom Hiddleston, he does have magically majestic hair, deep soulful golden-brown eyes, a smile that lights up the darkest corners of the universe, and a very talented left eyebrow. David is also a talented actor and has an enormous range where he can play comedy, drama, and anything in between with equal ease. He has played a bouncing puppy-like world-class lover in “Cassanova”, a grumpy disgruntled lethargic detective in “Broadchurch”, everyone’s favorite Doctor in “Doctor Who”, and a truly evil narcissistic villain with no moral compass in “Jessica Jones”. But the main reason I adore David Tennant is that even though he is a successful and brilliant actor, he is genuinely nice, and a very decent human being who treats his fans with respect and dignity and is truly a humble and gracious individual. If you have the opportunity to meet him, I highly suggest that you do. You will not regret it.

Believe it or not, I have tried to find anyone who has actually met or interacted with him, that either doesn’t like him or has something negative to say about him. So far, the only negative thing I’ve heard was from his co-star Freema Agyeman (Martha Jones) in Doctor Who that complained that David and John Barrowman had farting contests in the Tardis. In the grand scheme of things, while it’s a little gross and juvenile, I don’t find that to be overly bad. He is loved by all of his co-stars, his directors, and has been known to be a man with very little ego and very easy to work with.

It would take too much time for me to write down absolutely everything that happened at FanX (the official name of the Comic-Con I attended), especially if I went over every detail of each of the 3 times I met David, so instead, I will give you an overall experience of all encounters and highlights. I had a photo-op on Thursday, an autograph signing later that afternoon, another photo-op on Friday morning, and David’s panel later that afternoon.

One of the best things about a Con is finding other people who share your passions for a particular fandom franchise. I was able to geek out about Star Wars, Firefly, Star Trek, Harry Potter, Doctor Who, and David Tennant (who has been in 3/5 of those fandoms). Most of Thursday was spent standing in line with other fans of David Tennant, and as much as I hate standing in line I really enjoyed talking to other people who loved him as much as I did. We swapped stories about how we discovered him, our favorite role he’s played, and whether we’ve met him before. We also swapped stories of our knowledge of him and his roles, what we adored about him, and what we were looking forward to when we met him. Half of the crowd dressed up in a variety of costumes from Doctor Who or other projects David has been in, and we acknowledged each other’s efforts and creativity. It was a glorious validation of adoration for a skinny Scottish bloke. David’s lines were the largest, most crowded, and most excited lines in the entire Con. There was also quite a bit of squealing (not from me) but from others.

If you’ve read my dissertation about my first meeting with David, you’ll remember me saying something about time being one of the most precious things an individual can share with you. I have met 4 celebrities in my life, 3 of them (David, Catherine Tate, and John Barrowman) were extremely rewarding and enjoyable because the celebrities actually focused time and energy (even though it was only for a few seconds) with me as an individual fan, the other celebrity just wasn’t into it. There is a scene in “Galaxy Quest” where the actors of the show are at a Comic-Con and most of them are not happy to be there, just signing things in an assembly line, and ignoring their fans. There are some celebrities that do this, but David is not one of them.

One of my favorite things that happened while waiting in line was being able to observe David interacting with other fans to see how he treated others. How a person treats others, especially when they think no one is watching, is a great barometer for who a person truly is. Here is what I observed: David treated every fan with the same dignity, graciousness, energy, and humility. EVERY … SINGLE… ONE!!! He did not give his fans a half-hearted cookie-cutter greeting, he gave each fan (or group of fans) an excited high-pitched individualized greeting that let them know that he was just as excited to meet them as we were to meet him. He looked everyone in the eye or at least tried to as some were reduced to hysterical giggling and couldn’t bear to return his intense gaze. When it was your turn to be in his presence he was completely focused on you, even for the brief amount of time you had with him. If you made the attempt to interact with him, he made the effort to interact with you and did not let the handlers (employees at the Con whose job it is to move the crowd along) bully him or you. Every fan got their moment with David. He did not avoid contact with his fans especially in the photo booth; he shook hands, he put his arms around them, he held hands, he made funny faces and goofy poses, and genuinely looked like he was having a good time. He was game to do any crazy pose or situation as long as you requested it and it wasn’t overly inappropriate. There were only two instances when I saw his countenance fall from his jovial demeanor; both times happened when he was not interacting with anyone directly and when he thought no one was looking. The fall in countenance was not necessarily a change in mood or demeanor but rather a relaxation or break in activity. He did not seem tired, angry, or upset it was simply a pause so he could take a deep breath and continue the energy. As an actor, he is trained to react, and nobody has better facial reactions than David Tennant. He rarely has a stoic expression (unless he’s playing Detective Alec Hardy in Broadchurch), and the myriad of natural facial expressions that came across his face while dealing with several uncooperative pens was extremely entertaining. I wish I could have taken a video of it.

The Con was set up so that the celebrity guests could travel between the photo ops and autograph areas behind secured walls without having to interact or be seen by their adoring fans. David, however, chose to be seen and traveled between events amongst the unwashed masses. Other celebrities would come out behind the magic curtains and wave at their fans, but I don’t remember seeing anyone traveling in the common area between events. If you’ve ever watched him in Doctor Who or seen David move you know he tends to run and is very fast. I honestly believe David doesn’t have a slow speed. The man is 6’1 with a 7ft stride and can cover great distances quickly, he is very fast. There is always a security detail around David because of his popularity, this detail is usually made up of handlers who may or may not know much about him and aren’t exactly trained in security, they are simply human barriers to keep the fans from tackling David. I saw David, surrounded by about 6 individuals in FanX Security t-shirts traveling between venues and it was quite comical. The first time he was doing a slight jog, but moving briskly while the handlers were running to keep up with him. The second time he started off in a brisk walk that swiftly turned into a jog, that basically left the handlers scrambling behind him as they realized their charge had outrun them and he was left unprotected. As the crowd cheered, David smiled and waved acknowledging their adoration when he passed by.

My first interaction was a photo op. All I wanted in this photo was an opportunity to the nearest equivalent to a hug I could get. I wasn’t nervous, but I was excited. When it was my turn, he looked me in the eye, smiled that glorious smile and gave me a very high pitched and excited “Hiiiiiiii, how are you?” I honestly can’t remember what I said or even if I responded coherently. He held his right arm out welcoming me to stand beside him and like a moth to a flame I snuggled up to his side. David takes thousands of pictures with his fans, smiling for most of them, and he has a fake smile that he uses to save his face from going into permanent paralysis and a genuine smile. Knowing this, I wanted to say something to him that would entice him to give me a real smile. I wrapped my arm around his tiny waist (to put things into perspective I have an 18-inch reach and my arm was slack with my hand on his waist), and he put his hand on my back. I squeezed just a little to see how huggable he was and I was not disappointed. For a skinny guy he is extremely huggable and cuddly and if you take a good look at both photos, he is leaning into me. Before the picture was snapped I said something to the effect of, “I flew all the way from Alaska to see you on stage in London as Don Juan,” or at least that is what I intended to say. I honestly believe he gave me a genuine smile because of it. After the camera flashed David turned to look down at me, I also think he even squatted a little to be more on my level, touched my right forearm as he very deftly moved me in front of him to escort me out of the booth and said, “Oh wow, thank you for coming so far, I really appreciate it.” He was still looking me in the eye as I was excited and babbling something about it being the best experience and best performance I’d ever seen. All of the above was only in the first encounter. The encounter lasted maybe 10 seconds but it’s something I will never forget because he was kind, he was gracious, he was humble, and was genuine.

My second interaction was an autograph later that same day as the photo. I got in line an hour early for the very first autograph session at 4:30 but didn’t get up to the front of the line until the 7:30 session. You could purchase a $100 autograph or you could purchase a customized autograph for $130 where he would personalize an autograph on something you brought, or on one of the stock photos available on the table. I brought one of my tickets from Don Juan for him to sign. For those who don’t know how this works, when you buy your ticket for a personalized autograph you tell the person you buy your ticket from exactly what you want him to write on the item he is signing and they put it on a sticky so he can have the proper spelling and make the line go faster. I simply wanted him to dedicate it to me and sign his name. After the fact, I realized I could have had him write sooooo much more… maybe next time. My sticky note just said, “To Cindy”. When it was my turn, he looked at the sticky note and very excitedly (and again high-pitched) said, “Cindy, Hi there.” Hearing him say my name in his Scottish brogue and then look me in the eye was just unreal. I beamed like an idiot and reminded him again that I came from Alaska to see him on stage. While looking me in the eye he replied, “Oh, well thank you, I’m so glad you came…” he looked at the tickets and continued, “Great seats too. Thank you for coming Cindy.” I’m sure I babbled something about how much I enjoyed it but I was only focused on what he was saying.

I was a little disappointed in myself for not saying what I truly wanted to say to him but I knew my time was limited and I knew I wanted this experience to be positive for both of us, so I strictly kept to the topic of his stage appearance of Don Juan. What I wanted to tell him was that seeing him on stage in Don Juan in 2017 was the first time I had felt true joy since my mother and sister died in 2016. I wanted to thank him for giving me an opportunity to see him on stage and finally allowing myself to feel something other than despair. I also wanted to tell him how happy it would have made my mom to know that I got to meet him and to find out that he drinks Diet Dr. Pepper (which he happened to be drinking while signing autographs). I knew that if I even attempted to say anything like this I may not be able to hold my composure in his presence and I didn’t want to be that fan that cried. I also knew it would dampen the jovial atmosphere that David tends to generate. Maybe someday when I have more confidence or time I will tell him. But for now, I was happy for what little interaction I had. He said my name twice, he looked me in the eye, he interacted with me as an individual and gave me a gorgeous smile. All in all, it was a great experience.

Thursday was really exhausting, and it was very hot at the Con. I had brought 2 Donna Noble related outfits to wear and had worn the first one on Thursday. The second one was the long gray dress-length shirt and purple cardigan with jeans from “Silence in the Library”. Because it was so hot and because my gray dress-length shirt was long enough, I decided to go as pants-less Donna (no mas pantalones). I wore a sign on my back that read “Donna Temple Noble, Best Temp in Chiswick, Sometimes she forgets…, If found, please return to: Wilfred Mott, Sylvia, The Doctor.” I don’t think David saw it but a few other people did and even recognized my costume. I even had one brave teenaged girl tap me on the shoulder and said, “I don’t know if you know this… but there’s something on your back” (this is a reference to a Doctor Who episode “Turn Left” not the sign on my back). It totally made my day and justified my costume choice. I also added an Alaskan element of a scarf of forget-me-nots, Alaska’s state flower and something that is very integral to the storyline of Donna.

My third and final interaction with David was a photo op first thing Friday around noon. I knew I wanted a pose with my sonic screwdriver and this time I remembered to bring it in with me to the photo booth. When David saw me, he said “Hiiiiii” again in a high pitched excited voice but this time it was slightly different. The way it was pitched indicated to me that he either recognized me from yesterday or recognized that I was attempting to dress as Donna Noble. I’d like to think he recognized me from yesterday, so that is what I’m going to assume. Again, he held out his arm to welcome me to stand beside him. I held out my extended sonic screwdriver to him and he took it looking me in the eye asking, “Oh, do you want me to hold it?” I somehow blurted out the concept that I wanted us to hold it together, to which he very happily complied. He placed it in my hand and then wrapped his hand around mine, he then wrapped his arm around my shoulder and pulled me close to him. He was sooooooo close to me I could feel his body heat and when I realized I was close enough to kiss his neck I internally whimpered (at least I hope it was internal) and fought the urge to just nestle into the crook of his neck. You’d think that a man that tall and skinny would be hard, stiff and immovable as a tree, but you’d be wrong. He was soft, squeezable, and for the record, he snuggled into me, not that I was complaining by any means. My suspicions of him being a cuddler and a really good hugger are somewhat confirmed but I believe more research may be in order… for science. I don’t remember if I said anything after the photo but I do remember him handing back my sonic screwdriver, looking me in the eye, smiling, and thanking me for coming.

Seriously, how can anyone not love this man after an interaction like that???? Remember, he interacted with everyone he came into contact with, with the same enthusiasm, energy, humility, graciousness, and kindness. He is a human being worthy of the adoration and passion his fans give him. You cannot say that about all celebrities, but David is worthy of the time, effort, and money that so many people eagerly spend on him.

No, I did not have the forethought to smell him. I was too busy trying to remember to hold my stomach in, look him in the eye, breathe, and try not to say something stupid to remember to inhale his presence. After the pictures were taken I do remember feeling the sense that he probably smells of sunshine, joy, and the wishes made upon shooting stars. Sorry, I really wished I had taken a big whiff of his essence, but I do know he was very pleasant to be around. Maybe next time I will get to sniff him. Rest assured, there will be a next time.

#David Tennant #fanx SLC #this was posted for my friends on facebook #who don't know a lot about DT #so sorry for some of the obvious narrative #I was too lazy to rewrite the story for tumblr #if you ever have the opportunity to see him #do it #so totally worth it #no wonder so many people love this man #he had his hand in my hair #I wish I could have done the same to him

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cosplayinamericablog · 2 years ago

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I knew it was gonna happen sooner or later.

You can't go to that many cons without picking up something and y'all know about the dreaded con crud from before. I did everything I could to limit by expsoure. I always wore a mouth covering except for eating and drinking. I try not to touch anybody, instead, I do bumping elbows. I don't even touch food with my hands! Y'all should see me eat pizza with napkins! I don't check out room parties, lobbycon or dances, in fact I usually retreat to my hotel room to study (I'm back in school, online courses). After every convention, I get tested - usually at the public health kiosk around Austin.

I definitely have close calls in the past months. Twice I swore I caught something, but both tests came up negative. So when I felt a bit under the weather, I didn't think anything of it. I just went to my testing center and got swabbed again. This time it came back POSITIVE. My heart sank….

I posted on social media that if you interacted with me at the con to get yourself tested and personal messaged everyone who I remember talking with. I spent the next 13 days in a spare bedroom sleeping and coughing my way back to health. I suppose the vaccination and booster helped? I heard about folks who went through much more than what I went through.

So this was May when I caught it and we are in September now. Since then I’ve attended four conventions of different sizes and I have changed the way I do cons now.

First of all ever since last year I’ve had ....not panic attacks but moments where I think to myself, there’s way too many people here...and perhaps I should leave. Usually I’m in the dealer hall when this happens and I usually have to go outside for a bit. Now in general, there usually is an outdoor spot where cosplayers gathered and I figured since outdoors are deem to be better circulation and I do spend my time chatting with photographers and cosplayers that I would change my habits a bit.

Starting at Anime Expo, I stayed outside on Saturday and Sunday. On the less busier day - Monday - I went inside. At Emerald City Comic Con, I did the same thing. Thursday and Friday I was indoors and Saturday I was outdoors

I understand your experience with COVID is subjective and your mileage will vary but I feel more comfortable in this manner. I also don’t have such an issue at smaller conventions even though COVID can still be there. After some thought, I decided to just stay in Texas for cons for the rest of the year. I’ve done eight cons so far with five of them out of state, I think I’ll just lay low for a bit.

(Me at Anime NYC 2021)

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cozycornergamin · 6 years ago

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Going to Rhode Island comic con!

My boyfriend and I will be going on Saturday (hes working comic con on Thursday, Friday, and Sunday) I know I'll be cosplaying most likely as my bnha oc Yama unless I can get red sneakers and a good wig to cosplay Deku!

I am excited since this will be my first convention ever!

#Rhode island comic con #ricc #bnha #bnha cosplay #bnha oc #boku bo hero #boku no hero cosplay #boku no hero academia #bnha deku #deku midoriya #midoriya izuku #izuku #bnha izuku

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star-veil · 6 years ago

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Full Comicbook.com Star Wars SDCC Panel Schedule

full credit

THURSDAY, JULY 19TH

The Clone Wars 10-Year Anniversary Celebration

11:45am – 12:45pm

Room 6BCF

Executive producer Dave Filoni and panelists look back on 10 years of the Emmy Award-winning series that expanded the Star Wars universe and introduced countless fan-favorite characters to a galaxy far, far away.

The 501st Legion: Star Wars Villainous Costuming

8:00pm – 9:00p

Grand 1 & 2, Marriott Marquis

An introduction to the creation of fan-made villain costumes from all 10 Star Wars movies and beyond. Legion members from the Imperial Sands and Star Garrisons will provide an overview of the creative process that brings Stormtroopers, Tusken Raiders, Boba Fett, or Kylo Ren from the silver screen into reality. Dean Amstutz (ISG membership liaison) will discuss the membership journey, from initial interest through final approval. Kevin Weir (Imperial Surplus Armor and KW Designs owner) will relate his process for working with armor parts. Howard Smart (ISG member) will speak about small prop and soft costume construction. Sean Fields (Star Garrison member) will discuss 3D modeling and printing. Todd Mullin (ISG commanding officer) will moderate the panel and a Q&A session after the presentation.

FRIDAY, JULY 20TH

Hasbro Star Wars

1:00pm – 2:00pm

Room 7AB

Members of the Hasbro and Lucasfilm teams will discuss the popular Hasbro Star Wars line. Attendees will get an in-depth look at Hasbro's latest action figure offerings. Word on the Holonet is there may also be a few surprises.

Disney/Lucasfilm Publishing: Stories from a Galaxy Far, Far Away!

2:00pm – 3:00pm

Room 7AB

Michael Siglain (director, creative: Disney-Lucasfilm Publishing) and surprise panelists share previews and exclusive announcements about what should be on your must-read list from Star Wars publishing.

FRIDAY, JULY 20TH (CONT'D)

The Science of Star Wars

4:00pm – 5:00pm

Room 7AB

Ever wondered if lightsabers could one day be a reality? Curious about which Star Wars droid NASA would take into space? Is there a form of fuel that could keep The Resistance out of reach from a First Order fleet? Expert panelists Kim Steadman (systems engineer, NASA-JPL), Emily Manor Chapman (systems engineer, NASA-JPL), Kieran Dickson (editor, CometTV.com, MGM Studios), Fon Davis (Star Wars production designer), Travis Langley (editor, Star Wars Psychology), Steve Huff (fight choreographer and weapons expert), Eliot Sirota (VFX expert), and host Jenna Busch (creator, Legion of Leia) act as your Bor Gullet into the mind of Star Wars creators and break down the science behind a galaxy far, far away. Q&As, surprises, and giveaways will follow.

The Women of Star Wars

5:00pm - 6:00pm

Room 7AB

For the past 40 years, the Star Wars galaxy has expanded at a remarkable rate. Behind the scenes, creators have worked to round that galaxy out and to maintain cultural relevancy by appealing to new fans from different walks of life. Authors E. K. Johnston (Star Wars: Ahsoka) and Zoraida Córdova (From a Certain Point of View) join writer Nicole Dubuc (Forces of Destiny) to discuss the impact of a more inclusive Star Wars, from the writers to the actors to, of course, the characters you know and love.

FRIDAY, JULY 20TH (CONT'D)

Star Wars Tourism: Visiting the Galaxy Far, Far Away on Earth

7:00pm – 8:00pm

Room 7AB

From the deserts of Tunisia and California to the glaciers of Norway and the coast of Ireland, Star Wars filming sites are the new travel destination. James Floyd (contributor, Star Wars website and Star Wars Insider), Ash Crossan (host, ET Online), and Charla Teeters-Stewart (director, Imperial County Film Commission) will help you learn about where to go, how to get there, and how to get the most out of it with your fellow Star Wars fans.

Star Wars Mock Trial: The Court-Martial of Poe Dameron

8:00pm – 9:00pm

Room 7AB

The Legal Geeks and the Rebel Legion Sunrider Base present the mock court-martial of everyone's favorite X-Wing ace, Poe Dameron. Based on the events of The Last Jedi, Poe stands accused of disobeying General Leia Organa and leading a mutiny aboard the resistance flagship Raddus against Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo. Lawyers for the prosecution and defense, including a U.S. Army JAG attorney, will take on Poe's case in front of United States Magistrate Judge Mitch Dembin. Participating attorneys include Steve Chu, Thomas Harper, Christine Peek, and Megan Hitchcock. With Rebel Legion members Rachel Williams as General Leia Organa and Marcus Holt as Poe Dameron.

SATURDAY, JULY 21ST

Star Wars Declassified: How a Galaxy Far, Far Away Impacts the World

2:00pm – 3:00pm

Neil Morgan Auditorium

Hosts R. A. Rayne and Kris Koller are joined by voice actor Eric Bauza (TMNT, LEGO Star Wars), Troy Manning (SoCal 501st Troop), Dan Madsen (Her Universe, Star Wars Insider) and J. C. Reifenberg (Scum & Villainy Cantina, Hughes The Force) to discuss how Star Wars and its fandom have impacted their personal lives, their professional lives, and society as a whole. What does Star Wars mean to your life? The panel will also participate in a Star Wars trivia contest against the audience with prizes to be won!

Ladies of the Legions: A Conversation about Women, Costuming and Star Wars.

7:00pm – 8:00pm

Grand 1 & 2 Marriott Marquis

Five members of different Star Wars costume clubs discuss the basics of Star Wars costumes for women and challenges faced within the community. Speakers include Lesley Farquhar, Carrie Ann Caranci, Kristina Gundersen-Rudmann, Wendy Starling, and Regina Vail. Followed by a Q&A with the attendees moderated by Lesley Farquhar.

SUNDAY, JULY 22ND

Cartoon Voices

11:45am - 1:15pm

Room 6A

Animation voice director Mark Evanier gathers another stageful of the top actors who speak for animated characters to demonstrate their skills. Appearing will be Elle Newlands (Adventure Time, Final Fantasy), Kiff Vandenheuvel (Star Wars Forces of Destiny, World of Warcraft), Vanessa Marshall (Star Wars Rebels, Young Justice), André Sogliuzzo (Transformers: Robots in Disguise, World of Warcraft) and Dino Andrade (World of Warcraft, Batman: Arkham Asylum). There will also be a few surprises, and the actors will destroy a much-loved fairy tale with a live, unrehearsed reading.

Powerful Young Women in Disney Comics

12:30pm - 01:30pm

Room 23ABC

Disney Comics presents a look at recent and upcoming comics showcasing powerful female characters from Disney and Star Wars. Oh My Disney's Michelle Lema leads a discussion with panelists Delilah S. Dawson (author, Star Wars Adventures, Star Wars Forces of Destiny), Amy Mebberson (author/artist, Disney Princess comic strips), Cecil Castellucci (author, Moving Target: A Princess Leia Adventure), Jody Houser (author, Star Wars: Forces of Destiny), and Katie Cook (author, Tangled: The Series comics) discuss the growing importance of female characters and authors in the comics industry and the making of comics for kids.

COLLECTIBLES

Attendees at San Diego Comic-Con will find a vast amount of Star Wars collectibles at numerous booths, though the convention will mark the debut of multiple all-new products.

Over at the Funko booth, attendees can snag the exclusive Star Wars: The Clone Wars Cad Bane Pop! as well as a Solo: A Star Wars Story Stormtrooper Pop! Loungefly will debut two all-new backpacks, one modeled after a Porg and one covered in a print inspired by Jabba's Palace from Return of the Jedi.

Speaking of Return of the Jedi, Gentle Giant will be releasing a 1:6 bust of Luke Skywalker from the film to celebrate its 35th anniversary.

Hasbro will be adding figures to its Black Series, including Han Solo with a Mynock and an impressive set which contains Kylo Ren and Rey from their conflict at the end of The Force Awakens on Starkiller Base. Doctor Aphra will be inducted into Hasbro's vintage-inspired series while Chewbacca will get a Forces of Destiny figure, which is accompanied by Porgs.

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skimcasual · 6 years ago

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I’m back from fanime 2018. o_o fanime is all the way in California so .. I consider I’m extremely lucky to go to fanime every time I go, and every time I go I think “this might be the last fanime I go to”. This was my third year being part of fanime.

This fanime I feel like I did a lot of the stuff that I’ve always wanted to do but could never find the guts to do? Namely, organizing a meet up (comics breakfast at Peggy Sue; it was really nice and it was fun to chat with other people who were at that animecon who had books or wanted to make books) and reaching out to three different people to invite them out to eat (I was turned down by all three of them LOL but at least I tried)

This is also the first time I’ve been LOUDLY PRESENT with my romantic drama on webtoons at an anime convention and the reactions were so good.

(the banner on the left, and advertising cards on the right that were free to take for whoever wanted)

From what I’ve felt from going to anime conventions all over the US, there’s a way higher percentage of people who read comics on webtoons in California in particular compared to other states. Like on the east coast maybe 1 out of 5 attendees use webtoons – in California it’s like 3 out 5 people use webtoons and the other 2 out of 5 know one or more friends who use webtoons & often tell them about some comic they’re reading on webtoons they’re excited about.

So I was kinda hoping that I could get a good reaction for the comic at fanime of all places o.o I’m also looking forward to the reactions at anime expo since Webtoons has a headquarters in Los Angeles. Btw I’ll be at table i08 there at AX2018. Anyway.

All weekend long I heard lots of young sounding girls reading the banner out loud to their friend(s).

And a lot of them were subscribing the comic right then and there on their phones and really that was such a highlight of the entire weekend, every hour a few people would do this, so I’m really glad I had this giant queer girl banner printed and on display like that for young girl readers to see and to follow the comic.

At TCAF where I first had this banner on display, the reactions were a lot more more muted because there just wasn’t a ton of people who used webtoons who were also attending TCAF (TCAF is a book convention focused on western indie comics, and not an anime convention). That and I think the percentage of attendees that identify as queer is way higher at animecons than at TCAF………….. or something.

Anyway thanks to the banner, all weekend I was hearing excited young women remarking about “romantic queer drama” and “OMG IS THIS YURI” so it just felt.. very.. satisfying? I guess. It was cool to be able to provide that experience of encountering a comic that people were excited to read. So exciting that people would show me how they subscribed on their phone.

I gave out all 500 business cards I brought to promote the comic, and sold 10 copies of the printed book (I thought I might sell 3 or 4 copies to existing readers, but 9 out of 10 sold to new readers who never heard of the comic but really liked the inside pages & that it was a story about a girl falling in love with another girl)

My one regret about this weekend is not bringing more pottery, but also.. between preparing for TCAF and drawing the comic, there hasn’t been a lot of time to go into the studio before fanime, so it was simple math that I’d only have time to produce half the number of cups I could have produced if I wasn’t working on the comic. I do like making pottery but it was critical before TCAF to put all of my energy into making and marketing books so that it had a fair chance of succeeding.

At zenkaikon I had a lot of fun talking about Miss Kobayashi Dragon Maid but at fanime I ended up talking more about Noragami and Steven Universe… I was looking forward to meeting more Kobayashi fans but fanime has so many good artists that I was one of many who had a print about Kobayashi. It was both a surprise but a relief because I think Kobayashi Dragon Maid s a cute show that should have lots of fans.

Not a lot of people had seen Land of the Lustrous which was a surprise o_O I thought everyone was watching this show but I guess nobody likes 3D cartoons??? not sure. I only had a couple interesting discussions about that show and I expected to be talking about that show all weekend…

(I splurged and bought all six volumes of Land of the Lustrous at kinokuniya San Jose on Tuesday before flying back to check them out.. and a few other books I had been putting off buying. I finished volume 1 while waiting at the airport.)

I’m also going to remember fanime for being fevercon,,,,,,,,,,, because I had a fever the entire time I was there. I was feeling myself getting sick Thursday morning (itchy throat) and then by Friday afternoon I had a full on fever and runny nose. I also booked a weird flight home and ended up sleeping at San Diego airport to catch a connecting flight at 7am after arriving there from San Jose at 10pm LOL sigh I thought if I ever go to San Diego it would be to attend San Diego Comic Con for the first time. ..and not to camp out on the floor at San Diego airport to catch a 7am commutor flight lol. I may never go to SDCC, who knows.

I don’t think I’ve ever been this sick at an anime convention. Fatigued sure, but never full on having a fever and feeling very woozy. It was doable (I was ready to close the table and go nap somewhere if it got bad) and it added to that surreal feeling I usually have about being in California all the way from New York.

I didn’t get any street passes at San Jose airport nor at San Diego airport.. I got a couple when I landed in NYC though. Note to self, yes it was totally doable to spend the night at an airport with a sleeping bag but don’t do that again.

Overall it was a really nice weekend, and a good one for You Were Always By Me, and it was surreal and awesome to be part of fanime again. I don’t know if I will be able to go back next year because I might forget to apply or may be unable to afford it… but I’ll try. Online shop here. Patreon here.

fanime 2018 will also be remembered for: wow I got to meet so many people from twitter! That was neat & I sold out of the diary comics. Most conventions I only sell a couple copies of the diary comic so that was a nice surprise! I want to make the next book planned and nice.

Also fanime 2018: lol the “How To Wear A Hanbok” comic did not want to sell. It was my best seller at TCAF………… A lot of people at fanime mentioned they seen it on tumblr though which is cool because I put links to all my comics on the bottom of that post so I have tried my best to get my time’s worth. lol so thank you for reblogging everyone so that I can reach a few more readers.

#fanime #artist alley #blog

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