Lords of Kobol, hear my prayer...

Charisma Carpenter wrote a message speaking out against Joss Whedon in support of Ray Fisher who has been speaking out about his mistreatment by Whedon while filming Justice League.

While most fans are probably aware of what happened to Charisma during filming Angel, which has become infamous at demonstrating how unprofessional Joss was being by blaming her for getting pregnant, she goes into further detail about that along with things that we didn't previously know in how he mistreated her behind-the-scenes. From the things he said to her to how she essentially was blacklisted from getting any work until she played nice and made a public statement saying how she and Joss were cool now in order to get roles again. It's quite disturbing, really, especially with how common it is how this frequently happens within the entertainment industry with how creators abuse their power and are abusive towards others in the process, and Joss Whedon is no different. Charisma's support of Ray Fisher by recounting her own experience with Joss has led to support from others, including Amber Benson, who acknowledges the toxic work environment that Joss creates. I hope more former cast members make similar statements or show support.

I haven't talked much about my feelings regarding Joss Whedon, and that's mostly because after his ex-wife made that statement years ago I immediately stopped caring about him altogether.

I was someone who really liked Joss Whedon for a long time, and while I never placed him on a pedestal like some others did I felt that the intense hate he had gotten, especially around the time of The Avengers, was a bit over-the-top, probably because it's the Internet and people were constantly looking for the hate bandwagon to join in on. But I think my disillusionment started around that time, too, because even though some people kind of were kind of reaching in some instances I also understood where they were coming from and there were some very valid criticisms, but I was still holding onto this belief that he wasn't as bad as people were saying. I kept rationalized in my mind that he's human, he's fucked up badly in some cases (ex: the Charisma Carpenter situation), but I thought that despite these things he was a genuinely good person. However, the more I became aware of certain things the more the disillusionment started taking hold, and once his ex-wife made her statement that's when it solidified for me.

The disappointment in this revelation was strong, though oddly not unexpected since I subconsciously knew certain things I just wasn't allowing myself to believe that someone that I once liked and even admired to turn out to be a shitty individual, particularly one that tried to paint and present himself to the public as one thing (a self-proclaimed feminist) while proving not to follow through in his behavior. Perhaps I was foolish for hoping that none of it was true. It took a lot of reevaluating on my part, and examining how I viewed him before and why I did, especially with questioning whether I liked him as a person or thought I did because he created some of my favorite shows. It was probably my first serious "separate the art from the artist" revelation.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer was a formative part of my teenage years, and I will never stop loving it. And I still enjoy his other works too, because he can write incredibly well regardless. But much like with JKR, I have since divorced the creator from the work. Even more so because his shows were more of a collaborative effort with others, producers and writers and actors all working together, so I'm still able to appreciate the work despite who created it.

++ NEW HOBBIT PRODUCTION VLOG FROM PETER JACKSON! Bless this cast, bless PJ and the crew, bless these films being made. Just, bless. ♥

++ "THEY'RE TAKING THE HOBBITS TO ISENGARD (GARD GARD GARD GARD)", a.k.a. Orlando Bloom saying his final farewell to Legolas and Middle-earth, in the best possible way ever.

Seriously though, this is probably the most wonderful thing to grace the Internet, just the fact that they know of this video/meme and that Orlando be his goofball self (after having some drinks) and sing along with it after his last day of filming makes it all even more beautiful, if not just a bit bittersweet. Of course, with all these final days with the actors as they're finishing up pick-ups and reshoots and filming of battle scenes for the final film, it's going to be sad as they all file out one by one since this will be the last time ever that they will be revisiting Middle-earth. ;__; But at least we still have the rest of this year and all of next year for the promotional stuff to happen for the next two Hobbit films, so that's something to hold onto until it's officially all over.

++ Saw Much Ado About Nothing yesterday. Speaking as someone who has never really been into (or understood) Shakespeare that much, I rather enjoyed it. Leave it to Joss Whedon, and the brilliance of the vast multi-talented Whedonverse actors, to get me engaged in a Shakespeare play. Plus, Joss really has a nice house.

++ I also finally got to see The Silver Linings Playbook, starring Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper. It was a good movie, as many said it was. I originally wanted to watch it mainly for Jennifer, which she was fantastic in the role, but the overall story itself was pretty engaging too.

Joss Whedon talks Romney, and enlightens us on what to expect from this presidential candidate. Believe me, you'll want to watch this.

On a more serious note, to say I'm nervous about next week is quite an understatement. Just thinking about it makes me nauseous. I'm not entirely sure how everyone views the way politics are currently being represented nowadays, but I feel like everything has become so completely polarized. There's no in-between. It's either you're for human rights, or you're not. That's essentially what it's come down to, and if you think otherwise you're fooling yourself.

I've thought about making another post in the coming days before Tuesday to give my final thoughts on this particular election, but I'm debating whether I should or not since it might be moot by now.

Joss Whedon has officially signed on to write and direct The Avengers sequel

He has also signed a three year contract with Marvel, which will include not just the sequel but also developing a Marvel-based television series for ABC. Needless to say, this man will be quite a busy bee, not just with Marvel but with his own projects as well. Marvel seems to have a lot of faith and trust in him, and rightfully so. In my opinion, he deserves this kind of recognition and I'm very, very proud of him.

There's already some speculations on which of the Marvelverse should be adapted to the small screen. Which one do you think Joss should tackle? And which Whedon alumni do you predict will be featured in it?

There will be a 10th anniversary Firefly panel at Comic-Con.

With everything else that will be going on, this will no doubt be the biggest event of the entire weekend. Joss and his crew are considered rockstars at this convention, adding in a Firefly panel on top of everything else, I won't be surprised if the room will be completely packed and overflowing with Browncoats and other Whedon fans alike. It makes me sad that I won't be attending, since if there's one thing I would kill for would be to see and meet this man, and the entire Firefly cast, in person. One day, though. One day this wish will come true.

I'm mostly just looking forward to seeing the outcome of this panel, tbh. You know shenanigans are gonna happen, as they always do.

Speaking of which, is anyone actually attending Comic-Con this year?

For anyone going to the Supernatural panel, which will have Jeremy Carver and Ben Edlund, I really want someone to ask them intelligent questions. Like, actual legitimate thought-provoking questions that we need answers to, not to mention certain things that need to be properly addressed regarding the direction and writing on the show and the development of the characters. At other conventions the actors answer the best they can, but this is one of the rare moments when the writers/producers can actually answer such questions directly themselves. It's one of the reasons why I wish I was going because believe me, I have a shitload of questions that I really want to ask that only come up during online discussions and debates, but rarely, if ever, asked or taken seriously at fan conventions. So I find this to be a great opportunity to ask those important questions that we've hardly gotten a serious answer to before. Never mind that I really am interested to hear what Jeremy Carver has to say now that he's the new showrunner.