#mikael and jp

[jeypawlik]

Sketchbook Shoutouts - 43

Shoutout requests from my Private Collector folks! I don’t know who some of these characters are but it’s always fun to draw ones I’ve never seen before (except for Mikael and JP at the bottom, I could draw them with my eyes closed). Every month that someone’s pledged to my Private Collector tier on Patreon, they get an inked request that appears in my monthly sketchbook The request acts as mini commissions and folks can ask for their OCs, my OCs, or any kind of fanart.

[jeypawlik]

Have y'all read the webcomic I did with my partner "Dead City"?

The story follows Mikael (left) and JP (right) in a post-apocalyptic Toronto. After being alone for some time, the two happen upon each other, survive together, and fall for one another. Complete with a happy ending.

JP is a big guy and he's seen as handsome, smart and hardworking. And while he does likes to cook (because I like to cook), there's more to him than just that one quality.

Michelle and I really wanted to give him a lot of the spotlight. I have so much art of him here on tumblr to show off how cute he is and how much I love him and want to tell the world about him!

Dead City is complete, and was also turned into a big beautiful paper back omnibus this year, maybe check it out?

please, please create fat characters who are good.

who are strong, who are fast, who are desirable, who are hard workers, who aren't obsessed with food, who aren't stupid, who aren't villains, who get a happy ending.

create fat characters who are as amazing as the fat people you know and love in real life. representation in media does matter.

[topazcomics]

Dead City Omnibus Book!

Dead City books are HERE and up in the Topaz Comics shop! The complete story of Dead City is here in a big and beautiful omnibus. The book is a remastered version of the finished webcomic with new lettering and bigger pages. Now with 19 extra pages of concept art, short comics, sketches and extra art. Trapped in a hostile city full of danger, can two men overcome their differences and stay alive? How will their feelings develop when all they can rely on is each other? A zombie apocalypse has hit Toronto and Mikael and JP are alone in the city and struggling to survive. While they’re searching for food and shelter they fine something else as well. A heartwarming romance about two very different men learning to work together. As their time together grows so do their feelings in this slow-burn, slice-of-life comic that flips the common apocalypse story on its head. Special thanks to @byelacey & @bigbigtruck for their wonderful quotes on the back of the book!

[fancytyper]

I will forever be pissed that Bonnie Bennett didn’t get to attend the Mikealson’s ball in 3x14! She didn’t get to have a plot like Elena and Caroline, she didn’t get to put on a pretty dress and get her hair done and get glamed out. She didn’t get to have a fun magical night, didn’t get to be a princess along side Elena and Caroline. And why? Why wasn’t she there, what was she doing instead? Was she working on how to take down Klaus? Was she reconnecting with her long-lost mother? Was she flirting with her adoptive-brother? What?!

Why didn’t Bonnie get to be in one the events, the festivities? Why did Ester, the Original Witch, just want to meet Elena? Why not Bonnie, who is a Bennett witch, who is related to the woman who put Mikael away, who comes from the most well known, and powerful witch families in history, get to meet Ester. Why just Elena who can only offer Doppelgänger blood?

Why didn’t Bonnie get her Big Showstopper Entrance with all the guys (Damon, Stefan, Klaus, Elijah, Kol, Finn, hell even Matt) attention on her? Why didn’t she get to dance with one of the Mikealson brothers or Damon or Stefan or even fucking Matt? Why couldn’t she be called ‘ravishing’ or ‘stunning’ in her ball gown? Why couldn’t her focus be on how beautiful she is instead of that she’s the fix-it witch of her group.

It’s just bullshit that Bonnie never gets to showcase her beauty and loveliness, that her only reason for showing up is to sacrifice herself for a bunch of ungreatful bitches who act like her friend. Kat Graham is so fucking gorgeous and the only time we see that is in season 8, with two mediocre dresses and fun evenings that turn to hell two seconds later.

Honestly, the only reason that Bonnie wasn’t there (or never gets to be beautiful in a ball gown) is because JP didn’t want a black woman taking the spotlight from her two white women characters.

[clannfearrunt]

Heard JP Sven doing Ragnar the Red and while it still sounds fucking shit he did a better job making it sound like a song than Mikael did

[eikaskarch]

@fcmilybonded replied to your post “alSO i do not acknowledge the mikaelsons being from mystic falls. i...”

RAIDING VIKING BOYOS!!!! viking mikaelsons and mikaeldottirs!!!!

YES also v stupid of jp to think all of the kids wouldnt have been taught to raid and fight smh esther and mikael were bad parents but vikings !! they shoulda been raiding !!! hell we shoulda seen them using those old school tactics in the series smh

[jeypawlik]

Sketchbook Shoutouts - 40

Three shoutouts for my Private Collector gang, werewolf Jigen is always really fun and folks like my OCs enough to request them?! What a joy! Every month that someone’s pledged to my Private Collector tier on Patreon, they get an inked request that appears in my monthly sketchbook. The request acts as mini commissions and folks can ask for their OCs, my OCs, or any kind of fanart. [Image Description: One image with three black and white inked drawings. The first is of Jigen as a werewolf from the side with his arms behind his head, text reads “shoutout for frnz”. The second is Jan and Isabelle from the comic Touchdown playfighting over a football, they’re both smiling, text reads “shoutout for TLC”. The last is Mikael and JP from Dead City smiling at a cake that has candles on it, text reads “shoutout for Khiari”.]

[comicteaparty]

May 4th-May 10th, 2020 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party week long chat that occurred from May 4th, 2020 to May 10th, 2020.  The chat focused on Dead City by Michelle Parker and Jey Pawlik.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

Comic Tea Party

BOOK CLUB START!

Hello and welcome everyone to Comic Tea Party’s Book Club~! This week we’ll be focusing on Dead City by Michelle Parker and Jey Pawlik~! (http://topazcomics.com/deadcity/welcome/) You are free to read and comment about the comic all week at your own pace until May 10th, so stop on by whenever it suits your schedule! Discussions are freeform, but we do offer discussion prompts in the pins for those who’d like to have them. Additionally, remember that while constructive criticism is allowed, our focus is to have fun and appreciate the comic! Whether you finish the comic or can only read a few pages, everyone is welcome to join and chat with us!

DISCUSSION PROMPTS – PART 1

1. What did you like about the beginning of the comic?

2. What has been your favorite moment in the comic (so far)?

3. Who is your favorite character?

4. Which characters do like seeing interact the most?

5. What is something you like about the art? If you have a favorite illustration, please share it!

6. What is a theme you like that the comic explores?

7. What do you like about the comic’s story or overall related content?

8. Overall, what do you think the comic’s strengths are?

Don’t feel inspired by the prompts? Feel free to discuss anything else that interested you!

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

I don't know how long these are in the queue, but wow, "infectious outbreak that focuses on characters coping with limited resources while self-isolating from anyone contagious" is hitting awfully close to home right now...

Miranda

1. What did you like about the beginning of the comic? I really liked how it jumped right in. It didn't feel the need to explain the outbreak, the history of it, what the symptoms are, etc. It simply showed a zombie, showed a non zombie, and the stage was set. 2. What has been your favorite moment in the comic (so far)? I think the Vending machine incident and Mikael ust straight up getting naked to take a rain shower. 3. Who is your favorite character? I like Mikael and his personality. He's just very blunt and to the point 4. Which characters do like seeing interact the most? So far there are only two, but their interaction, while simple, says a lot about their personalities and experiences with the outbreak so far. 5. What is something you like about the art? If you have a favorite illustration, please share it! Black and white is usually hard for me to read, but this one does it well. I love Mikael's freckles. 6. What is a theme you like that the comic explores? How people handle crisis 7. What do you like about the comic’s story or overall related content? It's so simple, but even with few words, you can tell a lot about the character's and where they've been and what's brought them to where they are now. 8. Overall, what do you think the comic’s strengths are? Drawing the characters to show without having to tell.(edited)

RebelVampire

@Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn) I looked out of curiosity. This was submitted January 13th. So it's a big happy coincidence.

Queenue

Oh man I love Dead City! It was nice to refresh myself on the comic since I last read. I will say, the artist handles black and white beautifully. This is such a great comic with such a limited palette (almost pure b&w with some spinkles of gray). The style reminds me of really great classic American comics, and I dig it a lot. And as an intimate character study of two guys struggling in a post-apocalyptic world, it is fantastic. JP is my fave character as I find him really relatable. Overall, I feel his and Mikael's relationship was well built up and realistic. All of those cute, quiet little moments between them really make this story. One of the major themes that I gather is that humanity endures, even in the face of the apocalypse. The end of life as we know it isn't the end of us, we can still thrive, and even fall in love when the world's falling apart. That's kind of a theme in a lot of zombie media, but Dead City really hits on this. While I kind of wish there were more zombies in the comic (lol), I understand that it's mostly a romance/character-driven story. But, it also tackles the issue of isolation in these types of situations in a really genuine way. You get the feeling that these characters are the "only two people in the world" and that they felt so profoundly alone before they found each other. That's powerful writing.

But it also knows how to use humor and light-hearted character moments to lighten the mood, which I like. I've never seen a piece of media in this genre that wasn't super dark and gritty and that's one of the things I love about this comic. And, I don't know if I can pick a favorite moment, but I do like their whole time spent in the suburban house just lazing about, drinking wine and trying on the previous owners' clothing.

RebelVampire

I like that the beginning of the comic begins kind of typical to a zombie story. Where character A meets character B but then oh no trust issues cause survival of the fittest. And then the story just completely deviates from it in a lot of ways. I really kind of like how it used the tropes to establish the setting quickly, before becoming its own thing. My favorite moment in the comic so far has probably been when Mikael froze and JP had to step up and take action against a zombie. I actually wasn't sure JP had it in him tbh, so for me that was a cool moment of just seeing another side to this character. I also liked seeing confirmation that nah, Mikael has been affected by the scenario and the whole has-it-together vibe isnt entirely accurate. My favorite character is probably JP if not for the fact I see myself in him a bit more just for the fact he never quite feels like he knows what he's doing and is just kind of winging it. Considering there's really only two characters, it's obviously JP and Mikael. Their relationship builds up in a very organic way that feels natural, so it's really enjoyable. As for the art, what I like the most is the attention to detail. Like Mikael's freckles, the fact JP's facial hair grows, etc. Those small things really just kind of give the comic that extra bit of polish that's really nice. As for a theme the comic explores, I think I enjoy most right now the human need for connection. Cause sure Mikael didn't trust JP at first (and possibly vice versa), and yet, are you really going to turn away perhaps one of the few ppl left? I think this story really captures that need for people to have someone else in their life.

As for the story's overall content, what I like the most is just how un-zombie of a zombie apocalypse this is. Sure we see them, but overall they aren't the focus. I also like that the zombies aren't treated as like this OP always have to worry about thing. One line that super sticks with me is Mikael noting the zombies got slower cause they're, ya know, dead and rotting. So I like that there is this hope that maybe it won't be a forever thing. As for the comic's strengths, again, probably the premise where it's a zombie apocalypse but that is so far from the focus it makes it really unique and stand out.

Comic Tea Party

DISCUSSION PROMPTS – PART 2

9. Do you think JP and Mikael’s relationship will be able to last, or will the situation of the apocalypse get the better of them? In what unexpected ways do you think their relationship will be challenged despite the situation?

10. JP and Mikael’s backstories are both decently vague, so what sort of theories do you have surrounding them? Do you think we’re in for a shocking truth bomb that may drive a wedge between the two?

11. Given what we know about the world at the moment, do you think the apocalypse will last forever, or might things get better someday? What do you think will happen if JP and Mikael run into more survivors?

12. What story moment about the harsh realities of survival hit you the hardest? In contrast, what moment about human connection hit you the stronger? All in all, what do you think the comic says about connecting with other people, even in survival situations?

Don’t feel inspired by the prompts? Feel free to discuss anything else that interested you!

RebelVampire

I think JP and Mikael's relationship will last. But, what I think will challenge their relationship is the idea that maybe the apocalypse won't last forever, or things won't always be super dire. Cause I think that forces them to reexamine who they were as people in the past and talk about that a lot more than they do at present. At present I get way more of an impression they're living in the now, so once the past and future can be relevant again, I think that will prompt some interesting discussions. I don't have anything concrete at the moment regarding background theories. However, I do think there's a dark edge to Mikael somewhere in there that will make JP go "I'm not sure if I like that." Given my opinions above and it being mentioned the zombies aren't as fast as they used to be, no. I actually think we're already seeing the signs that as long as humanity can whole themselves up somewhere and implement proper containment procedures, things will get better. As for more survivors, I actually don't forsee that being an issue anytime soon. And if they do meet other survivors, that is when I expect something super bad more zombie apocalypse like will happen cause humans are the most trustworthy bunch in this genre. I think the moment for harsh realities of survival that hit me the strongest was really when they realized they had to move and couldn't stay in one spot forever due to factors beyond their control. It's really hard to leave a place you feel safe, so that hurts the heart that they really didn't have a choice. As for the moment of human connection, it was when the freezing scene happened and Mikael was upset someone he knew was a zombie. Cause I didn't get the impression they were super duper close, and yet that hurt was too real. As for what the comic is saying, I think it's a message about how regardless of situation, we need to feel connected to others - even more so in survival situations.

Comic Tea Party

DISCUSSION PROMPTS – PART 3

13. What are you most looking forward to seeing in regards to the comic?

14. Any final words of encouragement for the comic?

Don’t feel inspired by the prompts? Feel free to discuss anything else that interested you!

jestershark

13: I think seeing JP and MIkael's relationship change and grow over the course of the comic has been a delight so far and I think it's going to continue to be interesting into the future. 14. I wish more people were reading it! It's definitely got all sorts of hooks...

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

I've loved reading Dead City! I really like how this story feels like... progress? Like a lot of zombie survival stories are about the protagonists slowly falling apart as more of them get picked off, but this felt... hopeful. Like, the two get better at surviving as time goes on. Especially given how JP & Mikael's relationship is such a major part of the story. The fact that they can find love in the zombie apocalypse shows that there is hope for humanity after all.

RebelVampire

I am most looking forward to them dealing with more zombies actually or survivors. Unfortunately, resources are gonna become scarcer as time goes on, so I'm interested to see how they change to deal with that. My final words are that this comic is super unique in its storytelling and, to me at least, is a beautiful story about human connection and how there is always hope even when humanity is struggling

Comic Tea Party

BOOK CLUB END!

Thank you everyone so much for reading and chatting about Dead City this week! Please also give a special thank you to Michelle Parker and Jey Pawlik for volunteering the comic and creating it! If you liked Dead City, make sure to continue to support it via some of the links below!

Read and Comment: http://topazcomics.com/deadcity/welcome/

Jey’s Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/jpawlik

Topaz Comic’s Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/topazcomics

Topaz Comic’s Shop: https://topazcomics.com/shop/

Topaz Comic’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/topazcomics

[hellsbellschime]

I believe the twitter excuse from JP or narducci was that Mikael was significantly weaker since the other side was currently falling apart

Oh LOL is that how that’s supposed to work? It would have been nice had they explained that in the show.

[incorrectmmr]

I made some voice HCs years ago, but here are mines!!

Lucia:

- Yasuhisa Furuhara as Sosuke Ezumi/Go-On Red (Go-Ongers)

- it's 85% accurate but I think is the closest thing to his voice in my mind.

- It's so interesting that you say Childe's voice is similar to Lucia, because when I was trying to find Genshin counterparts for NH, I also did compare the 2 at some point. I think they're noth family oriented, and love their family, especially siblings :')

Levy

- Yoh Kamiyama when his singing voice is deep and smooth.

- 100% accurate this is EXACTLY his voice in my mind!! The easiest voiceclaim ever.

Kaim

- Suwabe Junichi as Artem Wing (Tears of Themis)

- My first voiceclaim for him was Simon Cowell, only bc I was pressuring myself to find one lol💀

- I didn't know that Erwin's eng voice is J Michael Tatum, so it's funny to imagine Kaim in his place 😭

Mefy

- Marina Inoue as Armin Arlert (Attack on Titan)

- or Nana Mizuki as Alois Trancy (Black Butler) when he's cheerful and still acting innocent

- okay tbf it's not the voice I hear when I read his lines, but it fits imo. 30% accurate?

- I think Wanderer and Mefy are quite similar in character, in which they want to be the most powerful.

Oswald

- I totally agree that Sousuke reminds me of Oswald too!! But Asahi Azumane's (Haikyuu!!!) JP VA Yoshimasa Hosoya is more accurate in my head.

- I'd say this one is like 100% accurate!

Mikael

- Actually, I think I agree w/ yours...but it could also be Kaim's—

- I'd say for his voice in my head, it would be like 70% accurate. I can't describe it but there's still something missing...maybe if his voice was more 'smooth'?

Noel

- Nana Mizuki as Alois Trancy (Black Butler) BUT when his voice is deeper and during a serious/sad scene. I can't find it on youtube anymore though...

- but if his voice was lower and more monotonous, it would definitely fit him. I'd say 95% accurate.

- Albedo and Noel? Hm, never thought about that before, but I wonder how I didn't! Both trying to learn more about the world, and while Noel isn't a synthetic human, he is considered robot-like because of his apathy. Both abandoned/left alone by their parents/parental figure :'(

Ricardo

-Yuichi Nakamura as Kuroo Tetsuro (Haikyuu!!!) especially his iconic laugh 😭

- 100% accurate again for me!

Lucas

- Bill Shirley as Prince Phillip (Sleeping Beauty)

- It took me such a long time to find, but I think it's like 80% accurate.

- I was so close to putting Howl's Japanese voice as my hc, but I finally figured out that I was looking for a 'prince like' voice, so I looked through the Disney Princes' voices.

Kurt

- Maxey Whitehead as Sealand (Hetalia)

- sounds a bit too young for Kurt, IK, but I'd say it's like 70% accurate to his voice in my head.

- My first voiceclaim for Kurt was this random kid on BTG, probably where I got Simon Cowell for Kaim too 💀

----

Just a disclaimer that I'm not 100% sure on Genshin lore, but I think I got their general stories down?

I was wondering what you'd think the boys' voices would sound like

character voice claims

ooo i love this one!! i worked hard on this lol this is all just my opinion, as per usual, so if anyone has different ideas i'd love to hear them!!

on a more solemn note, this is gonna be short. something came up in my relationship and i think we're on a break?? idk, all i know is i miss him and my heart hurts lol

genre: other

cw: none

Lucia

❧ the brothers all share one voice trait in common: they got that pretty boy, kinda whiny, a little bit voice cracky, breathy kinda voice

❧ he has a voice similar to childe (genshin impact): it's confident, clear, and has the qualities listed above, very much pretty boy and prideful

Levy

❧ usually has a clear and calm manner of speaking, but when he gets flustered or embarrassed his voice cracks and his tone shifts like crazy

❧ he has a voice like byakuya (danganronpa: trigger happy havoc): smart, know-it-all tone while also still having that easily annoyed tone, only i think levy's voice would be slightly less deep

Mefy

❧ he has 3 main manners of speech that can switch up at the drop of a hat: chipper, mean, and bored; and he's very good at controlling his tone level

❧ he has a voice similar to wanderer (genshin impact): condescending while light and airy, but with less rasp; our boy drinks water frfr

Oswald

❧ deeper voice but definitely not corpse deep, and he manages to not be very loud; he speaks in a soft, indoor volume, it's very dreamy

❧ he has a voice similar to sousuke yamazaki (free! series): i can't not hear ian sinclair's voice with this character, but ignore that and you get the picture; it's deep and suitable for a big tall man, but not overwhelmingly scary

Kaim

❧ he's got a total high class, almost cocky tone; one sentence out of this man and you know he's intelligent and classier than you. so it goes without saying that

❧ he has a voice like any j michael tatum character, i especially picture sebastian michaelis: prim and proper while still being cocky enough to show some personality

Mikael

❧ another prim and proper yet still cocky guy, only he is much worse at hiding his emotions with his tone

❧ he has a voice similar to the actor dan stevens (downton abbey): i can't decide if his voice would be deeper or the same pitch, but he's definitely got that snarkiness in his voice while still having a charming air to it

Ricardo

❧ he's got a cocky, deeper pretty boy voice and i hate him for it. it's the kind of voice that immediately gets anyone hooked on him, and he definitely knows how to use it

❧ he has a voice like flynn rider (tangled): i hate to say that, i love flynn rider, but they share that charming, cocky, carefree tone, very casanova of them

Noel

❧ one of the lightest pitch voices, on par with mefy, which really hints at his youthfulness and even his naivety, but even still you can hear exhaustion in his voice from how much he's been through

❧ he has a voice similar to albedo (genshin impact): breathy, light, monotonous, and blunt. very pretty boy but without the whiny, voice crackiness the brothers share

Lucas

❧ does it even need any introduction

❧ he has a voice similar to howl pendragon (howl's moving castle): personally, i thought christian bale's voice was too deep and didn't match how howl looked, but why not apply that decision to our lovely lucas as well. may as well say it would be a higher pitch though, just to be safe

Kurt

❧ a child, his voice is so youthful and full of the voice cracks, and therefore

❧ his voice is similar to rowley jefferson (diary of a wimpy kid): don't call me, don't come by my house, we're done

[maevelin]

Hey Maevelin I've read a lot of your KC metas being KC fan and I think youre spot on with your authentic criticism. I like youre neutrality too and I wanted to ask you do think that KC was sort of random or in the beginning was it properly executed? Thank you

Hey back! 

You got me in a KC mood so this may end up long as per usual with me. Sorry in advance for my ramblings but here we go.

There is a difference between something coming out as random due to lack of quality writing when it comes to nuances and introductions and more so when it comes to handling the secondary characters and plot stories with care or lack of it and another thing all together of something coming out as random because it was unplanned.

One things that I am known for is my good memory. Back in S3 of TVD everyone thought that Klaroline was unplanned and later on the writers and especially JP tried to make it seem so especially when we were nearing the spin-off and afterwards when the KC fandom and the writers went in direct confrontation. As if either way that was meant to matter and the fans were meant to be grateful for and not criticize anything because the writers had done to the fandom a favor we didn’t deserve when it was the other way around. The spin-off’s creation owed a big part of its creation to Klaroline and the KC fandom the writers got advantage of over and over again while treating it with disrespect; a story that kept repeating itself for as long as TO lasted and even for the new show that was created out of it based on the media attention that KC kept providing and still provides occasionally with all the bait and switch JP is known for.

Getting back on KC though. One of the things JP hated was that she didn’t create it. She let it in Caroline Dries’ hands because she didn’t care and honestly she didn’t care much for the Originals either way. At least not in the way the fans did. This was why when the time came to create the spin-off you had only but a few Originals in. Kol was killed for no reason because somehow he was deemed too dark for the dark mature show. And to add insult to injury in the episode of his death they also had him referencing NOLA when they never meant to make him part of that show because what a crime for the fans to support something the writers don’t approve or want when everything are things THEY created in the first place (the nonsense and immaturity of it all makes my head spin). Rebekah was barely in the backdoor pilot and that as an afterthought. Finn, Esther, Mikael all dead. Stories retconned. The writers that got hired for that show did not belong to the genre (check gossip girl etc) and worse of it some of them that had no experience in writing shows hated Klaus’ character with a passion (and were hired for Klaus’ show). And all of the sudden a show about the Originals that was gained and built on the fans’ love for Klaus (born from Klaus, Joseph Morgan, the TVD Originals AND YES Klaroline too as JP had admitted in one of her interviews “KC gained Klaus his show”) became a show about a hated and rejected character like Hayley was and diapers that demanded the mythology and lore to be demolished and everything to become OOC.

Let us backtrack it a bit and connect all the pieces for anyone that is not too bored doing it and reading me speaking about it. Back in S3 of TVD Joseph Morgan who played Klaus loved Klaus and also let us face it loved having a job. He knew his character was gaining traction and he also knew the show and the writers in question and most of all the network he was working in. To exist in CW you need to be part of a popular ship. We can pretend as much as we like but we are talking about light entertainment and trash shows that thrive on media attention born from shipping. The most successful shows in the CW are those that have successful flagships. The characters that survive are those that are part of successful ships. Ships like Delena, Olicity and so on secure a show’s longevity and success.

Joseph Morgan back then knew that they would kill his character in the end. There was only one way for him to stay afloat in the universe and keep his job and the character standing. A ship. So he kept nagging and insisting for one. JP had humorously said so too back then. And granted I am a cynic but I will also give it to the guy that he also wanted, and for good reason, to give more layers to his character and expand his acting and make it more challenging and a love story could add more layers to his story, his characterization, etc. Nothing wrong with that. 

And then one day JP gets all excited (so to get him off her back? lol) and tells him YAY! We have a GREAT idea you won’t believe but you are going to love! We will give you the love interest you have been begging us (and annoying us) for. And there you go enter Klaroline. Which they added -admittedly- a bit bluntly/awkwardly but on the other hand there was the barest of hints in 3x09 with the camera zooming up and down Caroline as Klaus called her Tyler’s “Pretty little girlfriend”. Directing when it comes to intentions is always important in the CW shows. Of course for an audience like the one in TVD that expects everything to be spelled out even in the foreshadowing and given the exposition the TVD writers were known for anything unexpected comes out as WTF moment and given how much hated a character or a ship is or how much another character and another ship may be this results in rejection or adoration and certainly in ship wars.

So we got 3x11 and Klaroline. And it really was no surprise given the situation that the first thing Morgan did was get in twitter and start promoting KC as much as he could. Just moments after 3x11 aired.

Did KC start a bit randomly? Maybe. It is not as if I’d expect anything better or a more intricate writing from these characters.

Did it happen fast as a story? I don’t think so. Not in TVD given the fact that as a show it was built on Stefan and Elena that they start their epic love story in the pilot, share their first kiss in the very second episode of the show, declare their love in the speed of light and have their first sex scene in the tenth episode of the show.

How about Klaroline being unplanned though? Of course it was not planned in the way Stelena and Delena ever were. Let us get that out of the way. But what of Caroline’s ships?

Let me remember that after 3x11 aired just a few days later the promotional pictures for 3x14 came out. Which meant that by the time 3x11 had aired and before people got interested in Klaroline 3x14 was being filmed or was already filmed but for sure the scripts were already written for it. Scripts that had Klaus saying to Caroline that he fancied her and there was flirting and building up a ship. So you tell me how the writers didn’t plan Klaroline from the start. When 3x14 was meant to be the original pitch for the spin-off in the network. There was a certain hype in the internal promotion of that episode in the network. That was the first taste they gave the network and basically said watch this is what we can do. 3x14 is still considered one of the most important episodes of TVD (to which there had been a lot of preparation for) and one of the most successful and popular that was basically the untitled backdoor pilot for what the Originals were meant to be (as a collective for building a show on them) and what TVD was all about. From the way the Originals reunited, to their infamous shot in the stairs, to the intrigue, the warfare. Right down to the romance (Klaroline, Rebekah and Matt (which no one spoke of how unexpected that was btw) etc), the magic, Esther as the villain, Finn as the antagonist, the blood tree with the Viking names, with how the TVD triangle was presented, the dance, right down to the hints they had given for Damon and Kol but later took back. For such an important episode nothing is left to chance trust me. And episode they were planning before 3x11. Klaroline was a big part of that episode that was set in motion before 3x11 aired. So let us get the fake pretenses out of the way because I am tired of them. (Also let me point out here that for an episode that was meant to be one of the signature episodes of TVD we saw exactly what JP was all about…her racism was showing big time…Bonnie was suddenly missing in an episode where a witch like her should be in her gown in the front and center but you see the trademark episode of TVD was whitewashed down to the last moment of it. Shocking right?…said no one ever…)

Anyway do I believe that Klaroline as it ended up being was planned? No. I think they meant it as a fluke. Something to fill air time for when Trevino due to his contract would be gone. Since Forwood had being doing relatively well back then. You know KC was meant to serve as an obstacle no one would particularly bother with aside from it being a fleeting thing. And a way to give more attention to Klaus and the spotlight to the Originals too. I think it was meant to do its short circle and if the network would not be interested in the Originals for Klaus to die by the end of S3. Something that Joseph Morgan and Claire Holt were fighting against as they were the ones that fought for getting a show for the Originals. They fought for the spin off and we all saw what happened with it and especially with Claire. And who ended up signing first even before Joseph. Goes to show how much JP had the Originals’ best interest in mind (Yes, that is sarcasm.)

But plans and what not Klaroline took them by storm. They hadn’t expected such popularity. Something to rival even Delena. Something from secondary characters that did not want to bother that much with and something that JP didn’t create. If KC was her baby I assure you her treatment of it and of the fans would have been much better. Especially since later on she tried to copy paste it and replicate it but couldn’t make anything work.

So if I think Klaroline was well executed. Tricky question LOL...I am always defending Klaroline. Subjectively and objectively to a degree but that does not change that Klaroline was still part of a certain work that lacked certain things.

In the midst of chaos that TVD was I’d say yeah for the most part but that doesn’t say much.

Let me be honest here. Klaroline never reached the potential it could have had. i used to be bitter about it. And I felt that I was cheated out of something awesome but later on I realized it was just as awesome exactly because it was left unfinished in the way it did. Given the alternatives as we saw them later on. 

I think one of the reasons that Klaroline was saved -somewhat- quality wise (relatively) was because Klaus in TVD was straightforwardly the villain (no sugarcoating and bullshit to suddenly justify his crap in the expense of the plot and the other characters and even his own character) and both Klaus and Caroline were secondary characters. The focus thankfully was not on them. That meant that the usual crap Julie threw to the characters (especially female ones) and the ships she works with were not thrown in to Klaroline. There was not much screen time for JP to mess the ship up and most of the control for it was left in Caroline Dries’ hands. Of course the chemistry Joseph and Candice had was spectacular and that always helps but it was like catching lightning in a bottles. KC was more or less a ship that served its purpose as a characterization piece for both Klaus and Caroline when it came to them as a ship and their individual characters. Klaroline did not affect the plot that much -if at all- but did wonders for the character development of Klaus and Caroline. We saw more layers, depths, nuances and things that belonged to the particular vampire genre that were missing from the show in certain ways. Everything just clicked. And there were also controversial scenes given to them that they would never dare give to anyone else that added to the complicated web of everything that Klaroline was. It was raw and demanded a more intellectual approach to fill in the blanks. What I loved about Klaroline was that it was not brimming with exposition. Not everything had to be spelled out. Which is always good. More is less in many cases. Some may feel that less is undeveloped. And I’d agree up to a point that Klaroline’s development was cut in half because of reasons that had nothing to do with Klaroline and the writing to pander to those reasons lack consistence, respect and logic. Otherwise up to the point Klaroline was worked with I’d say that things were generally executed decently. Of course even back then JP kept KC for the sweeps and the promotion so the pace was jarring many times with KC being absent even for up to six months until the KC fandom was needed for the ratings and the media circulation. But I am also a believer that good things come to those that wait and quantity does not necessarily mean quality. Klaroline in the end had substance, something that TVD was known for lacking but I am also honest enough to admit that a lot of that when it came to Klaroline was created by the potential it had as a ship. What could have been and would have been ended up being the pillars that kept the KC fandom going and was better that what was in the end which is something that applied to everything TVD ever did. And by everything I mean...everything. Not a single thing excluded. 

So overall if I take a step back I think that Klaroline was the ship of dreams in the way that dreams made it float. Klaroline was all for the potential. Of what it was promised to be. Of what it could be, what it could have been. The kind of ship that in the hands of capable writers would have left history but in when it came to the TVD writers we unfortunately were left with wasted potential but even so it still held on to shreds of quality that many things from TVD were missing. Because in comparison I believe that despite the wasted potential Klaroline as it was was still far better than most of the things TVD ever worked with. And that speaks volumes. (I am not even including TO in because that’s just a joke at this point.)

Klaroline was built on interesting tropes and subverted certain tropes too. While Delena for example was based on the bad boy/antihero - good girl trope Klaroline was based on the enemies to lovers trope with one part of it being the villain and the other part being the kind of female character that didn’t regress but found agency in the ship something that was denied from every other female character TVD had. The fact that Klaroline also belonged to the golden writing age of TVD before the quality went to shit was a blessing in disguise as was the fact that they dropped the ship when they did.

I honestly believe that we dodged a bullet. As weird as it may sound. Given the mess TO proved to be, given what JP did with TVD once Kevin was completely out. I’d say that even though they cut Klaroline in mid development given what followed then we were particularly lucky. Better wounded and saved than completely and utterly destroyed in the core.

[topazcomics]

Sorry for the delay in comics, Michelle and I caught a bug that's been going around. Welcome back to Dead City where JP's worrying about his boy.

You can now pre-order Dead City Volume One at the Topaz Comics STORE! Pre-orders are open until November 16th!

Dead City: A zombie apocalypse has happened and Mikael and JP are left in the city trying to survive after most of the population has fled. A slice-of-life post-apocalypse comic. Sometimes you find love in weird places. Like when you’re trying not to get eaten.

Latest Page | Read from the beginning

If you pledge $1 on Patreon you get access to Dead City pages 2 weeks early.

Patreon | Ko-fi | About us

[carmen-berzattos]

yk i was just thinking...klaus elijah rebekah mikael and esther all have christian/jewish names even though they were born pagan vikings?? that's so anachronistic!! they shouldn't even refer to the whole family as mikaelsons since vikings used patronymics surnames meaning mikael esther and dahlia should have a different surname (also mikael mikaelson sounds rlly dumb lbr). also hope should be called hope klausdóttir (daughter of klaus). looks like jp didn't do her homework smh

Listen I know you guys love to complain about this, but honestly, how hard is it to imagine they adopted a modern surname to blend in/make things easier? 

Re Christian names: I think Elijah is the only name that biblical actually. And I imagine they were plenty of influences since they were born a solid 900 years after Jesus, so it isn’t impossible to imagine some blending of cultures and names and so on. I imagine much like Christianity was influenced by pagan rituals, the reverse is also true. Alas, the show gets a lot of things wrong and weird about language and historical time periods and whatnot but the names have never been an issue for me. 

[maslue90]

Meet You At The Light | Desirée Dawson from Alexander Farah on Vimeo.

A bittersweet and heartfelt portrait of a young woman and her diabetic father. Performed by Ishaval Gill and her father Kamaldevinder Gill.

Winner: Grand Jury Prize, Best Music Video - SXSW 2022 Winner: Audience Choice Award, Best Music Video - SXSW 2022 Winner: International Grand Prix & Best Music Video - Kinsale Shark Awards 2022 Winner: Audience Choice Award, Best Music Video, South Asian Film Festival of America 2022

With Harinder Saini, Balinder Johal and Shrey Vyas. Featuring Alisa Lindley, Katrina Kwan, Ruvarashe Marikano, JP Padda, and Ameliya Jagpal. Produced with the co-operation of the Union of B.C. Performers.

Writer/Director: Alexander Farah Cinematographer: Farhad Ghaderi Produced by: Shyam Valera, Kashif Pasta Exec. Producers: Katherine Koniecki, Martin Glegg Production Co: Wallop Film, Dunya Media Casting: Kara Eide, CSA and Kris Woznesensky, CSA Production Designer: Charlie Hannah Art Direction: Mona Fani 1st AD: Tamara Black 1st AC: Mikael Bidard 2nd AC: Soloman Chiniquay, John Fleming
 Steadicam Op: Peter Park Gaffer: Terrance Azzuolo, Michael Yeung
 Grip: Ron Okinawa Wardrobe Stylists: Madison Cannell, Pooja Patel Hair/Makeup Artists: Charmi Khetia, Aratrika Das Production Assistant: Kevin Kim Sound Design/Mix: Eugenio Battaglia Colourist: Sam Gilling Film Scan: Peter Hagge at Filmhouse VFX Support: Lucas Hrubizna


Special thanks to Lecily Corbett, Tug Phipps, Met Post NY, The Gill Family, Ian Garrett, Gillian Pyper, Phillip Wong, Sydney Robertson, Julie Lajeunesse, Christine Ackerley, Justin Karasick, Maria Crisa Cardente, Myriam Farah, Sydney Robertson, Salar Pashtoonyar, Meysam Motazedi, Minhal Baig, David Findlay and Francis Arevalo. 


This video was created thanks to the generous support of the MVP Project, a joint initiative of RBCxMusic and the Prism Prize (administered by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television).

[klarolinedrabbles]

I have a feeling that JP lies whenever she opens her mouth. I still remember an interview somewhere in Season 1 of the Originals, where she stated that they wanted to have Davina resurrect Kol instead of Mikael and had the whole script already planned out but than Nate got the lead for that Supernatural spin off and they had to write around that, only to find that the backdoor pilot would air the same night as the episode with Kol and Fans would get confused by a Nate Buzolic double feature

so they had to can it and resurrect Mikael instead?! WTF?? Not only does she practically say that fans are too stupid to seperate two roles, she also openly blamed Nate for Kol’s ‘failed resurrection’ and her plans beeing spoiled!! If it were actually because of Nate, then WHY was he practically non-existent in Season 4 and 5, where it was clear that he was free and willing to play the role???? I really hope Legacies will epically fail becaue JP doesn’t deserve another audience to mess around!!

Oh yeah, sure she did, wanting Kol back when she did that. I mean, I’m not gonna sit here and like cross my fingers for something to fail. Those young actors, and the crew doesn’t deserve that. But whatever apathy this show gets, and whatever chances of a decent following she blew by being the type of show-runner she is, is a bed she made and should have to lie in. Quite frankly a show-runner like that doesn’t deserve that many good things show-wise. That might be harsh, but I’m not saying it about her as a person, but as a show-runner.  

There’s no show to run without an audience to watch it. And JP is just a nightmare as a show-runner, who doesn’t value those audiences, and if you don’t have it in you to do that, then maybe don’t be a show-runner.

[magnusrosen-blog]

Vi har haft en underbar långhelg från i onsdags.

Musikaliskt sett har det varit helt hänsynslöst och underbart 😍

  • Uppträdande för äldre med Göteborgs Stad

• Invigning av stans Rock klubb Sticky Fingers• Lir i Lammhults folketshus

•.Uppträdande på Mölndals kråkas marknad 

• Jul uppträdande på Fröken Trulls på Orust 

Ett färgsprakande program med klassisk musik från 1700 talet, folkmusik från 1800 talet, blues, jazz influenser, funk, rock, hårdrock. 4 olika band och med 4 olika repertoarer.Enligt mitt sätt att se på det hela är musiklivet som ett fyrverkeri, helt ljuvligt 😍!

Musiker denna långhelg har varit med:Nikolas Gialtrinos , Jan jp persson, George Keczan, Karin Blennermark, Helge Hanssen, Mikael Erlandsson, Zenny Gram, Anna-Mia Bond, Denis Siret Yurtsever, Urban Ward, Magnus Rosèn. För Live musik uppträdanden boka via mig eller Jeanette Johansson magnusrosenkontakt.jeanette@gmail.com

Eller någon i bandet.

Ny facebook site:https://www.facebook.com/MagnusRosenBand

www.culturemeetsindustry.com

www.magnusrosen.com

#magnusrosen #bassplayer #mannebass #manneinstrument #manneguitars #ebs #drstrings #kråkanskeog #lammhultsfolketshus #you #göteborgsstad  #love #peace #understanding #thesea #sun #nature#zennygarm #helgehanssen #mikaelerlandsson #annamiabond #denissiretyurtsever #georgkeczan #karinblennermark #nikolasgialtrinos #janjp