When The Wendigo Met Hannibal - MCM Birmigham 2018 (Mads Mikkelsen)

Back in May when I visited the UK just a few days after my arrival I noticed that Mads Mikkelsen would be attending Comic Con and as a huge Fannibal I had to go meet him in person, he's such a great actor and Hannibal is one of my favourite series ever and I really enjoyed his recent appearances in the Marvel and Star wars Universe so this was an opportunity not to be missed. I'm writing this months later but my brain still can't process that I met him in person, it was all so quick but he was so charming and cool.

I had just a week to prepare for this con and nothing to wear, I knew that I wanted to dress "Hannibal Style" but had left most of my wardrobe back in Thailand, seriously I only had one pair of jeans and one skirt packed in my suitcase and a few jumpers I had left behind after my winter trip so I rushed out to H&M to check out the sale section and luckily found a few things I could use for a Wendigo outfit. I also rush ordered some black lenses which I ended up not being able to see properly out of but they really added to the look I was going for so I persisted. Luckily my antlers I made many years ago were still in tact and I found a Hannibal style tie I used as a belt to keep the jacket in place. Finally I added my rosary beads I got from my trip to Palermo (where Hannibal was filmed) to complete the look and although it wasn't perfect I was quite pleased at what I managed to put together and received some nice compliments from my fellow Fannibals.

Meeting Mads was just a complete blur, I was so nervous but it was very calm and so charming and signed my poster I got from Hannibal's first panel at San Diego Comic Con which he mentioned he was sad not to have been able to go to then afterwards I went to get a photo with him and completely forgot to take my flower crown out of my bag for him to wear, the picture is really embarrassing to you can see just how nervous I was but he of course looks dashing as ever!

After the blur of meeting Mads we decided to check out the rest of the con and it was surprisingly quiet compared to all the cons I've been to in the past and I ended up not buying anything which is really unusual for me but finally seeing Mads in person was just so amazing and brought back all my Fannibal feels, it was definitely one of the biggest highlights of my visit back to the UK and I'll never forget it.

Who would you love to meet from your favourite series?

Love & Antlers

Cate

xoxo

The Geeky Girl Tag

This geeky girl tag has been floating around the interwebs for a while now so I thought it was about time I did it myself and hopefully share some things about my geek life that you didn't know before. I definitely identify with the word geek and I think it pretty much encompasses all aspects of my life and I totally wouldn't have it any other way. The most important thing is to be happy, so keep the things that bring you joy close and forget about everything else because they just don't matter!

What is your must-have tech gadget?

Probably my iPhone as I do everything on it from taking photos to talking with friends as well as planning my days and general adulting. My phone is especially useful when I'm travelling as I can use maps, google translate etc. to help me out when I get lost.... also Pokemon Go!

Which house do you belong to in Hogwarts?

I'm not into Harry Potter at all *shock* and I did try to get into it but for some reason I just don't really feel anything towards it and maybe it's because unlike a lot of the Potter fandom I didn't grow up with it HOWEVER I did one of those house quizzes a while back and it said Slytherin which is kinda ironic considering I'm deathly afraid of snakes...

Who is your favourite Doctor?

Eleven is probably my favourite, I really enjoyed the series back then and I think it was the first time ever in all the years of Doctor Who that I would actually look forward to watching it but unfortunately my new found love for the show kinda disappeared when he died and I did try to continue to watch it after he left but it just wasn't the same and lost a lot of its fun element that I had grown to love. That being said I am looking forward to seeing what the new Doctor is like and hope she will breathe new life into the show. I also have to give a special mention to Tom Baker who's my Dad's favourite Doctor as we've met him quite a few times at cons and he's always such a joy to talk to, he really is a character and completely embodies who The Doctor is.

If you could have dinner with any fictional character, who would it be?

What is your gaming system of choice?

I used to game a lot back in the day but I found it to be far too addictive and detrimental to my daily life so I gave it up and now I only really play Pokemon Go. I guess out of all the systems I've played my favourite would be the Nintendo 3DSXL or even the classic Gameboy as I really enjoy the portability of those systems and I'm kinda nostalgic about them, also Nintendo make the cutest games!

If you had a super power, what would it be?

Teleportation because it would save me so much time and money on air fares and I could see all my friends and family whenever and wherever I wanted. Seriously I think I've spent more of my life in airports compared to anywhere else in the world but I love travelling so much so that probably won't change any time soon.

What is your favourite fantasy world?

This is a tough one because they all have their perks and their flaws so I'm not sure I could pick one overall favourite. My tastes are so diverse to as I've always loved futuristic settings, seeing travel between solar systems, aliens and artificial life but I also love worlds with mythical beings, magic and epic adventures on horseback. Maybe I'll just pick the MCU because it has the best of all worlds with Asgard, Guardians of the Galaxy and Captain America hehe!

If you could be any fictional race, what would you be?

X-men

Star Trek or Star Wars?

Star Wars!!! My Dad has always been a huge fan of Star Trek and I remember watching The Next Generation a lot as a kid but for some reason I never really got into it and found it kinda boring but I will admit I am enjoying the new movies although I haven't really gotten into the new series... Star Wars will however always have a special place in my heart, I grew up with it, I relate to it, I love the characters and every time there's a new movie I always get super hyped!

List your top 5 geektastic movies or TV Series.

Game of Thrones

Blade Runner

Wall-e

Sailor Moon

Supernatural

List your top 5 favourite video games.

Katamari Damacy

Animal Crossing

Ace Attorney

Professor Layton

American McGee's Alice

If you haven't done this already I tag you & make sure to link me to your answers in the comments!

Love & Lightsabers

Cate

xoxo

The 'Game of Thrones' Tag

Game of Thrones is a pretty big obsession of mine which you if you've been following me for a while you probably already know. The next season won't be out until 2019 so I've no idea what I'm going to do with my life during the long absence especially now I've finished reading all the books and have no idea when George will drop "The Winds of Winter". So I was browsing the internet and found this Game of Thrones tag on Underland to Wonderland and thought it would be fun to share and pass on to my fellow Thrones fans.

** SPOILER WARNING!! I've watched all the current series and read all the books so if you're not that far in and don't want to know what happens then skip this post! **

Which season did you start watching and what got you into it? 

I had heard about this great new fantasy series but wasn't sure what it was so I tuned into the premiere out of curiosity and was instantly hooked! Strangely enough the show didn't really start to get popular until much later in the U.K. I even remember having a conversation with Finn Jones at a convention after season one had aired about how sad it was that it wasn't more popular, little did we know how much things would change in just a few months... 

Books or TV Show?

The show was my first glimpse into this world but as soon as season 1 finished I devoured all the books. There's aspects of both the books and the TV show I love and hate so I can't chose a favourite but I'd definitely recommend any fan of the show read the books and vice versa.

You are born into one of the noble houses, which is it?

HOUSE STARK! I mean it's pretty obvious that I just felt an affinity to this house since the very beginning, maybe it was my love for wolves that started it all but I think I hold a similar moral code to House Stark (and stubbornness) so they just feel like family to me and I see a lot of myself in the characters to especially Sansa and Arya.

If you could have one of either a Dragon or a Dire Wolf, which would you chose and why?

This is tough because both would be pretty cool to have, I'd love to fly around on a dragon but I'd also love to warg into a giant wolf. I'll have to go with my heart though and pick Dire Wolf but I definitely wouldn't say no to a pet Dragon.

What has been the saddest death for you?

Any Dire Wolf death is heartbreak for me but I think the saddest human death for me was Hodor, everything about that scene just broke my heart...

Out of those dead, or presumed dead, who would you bring back and why? 

I'll probably go for characters I liked but didn't really get the chance to know so Renly and Robb, I think these two characters would work pretty well together and I would have been curious to see what the realm would have been like under their reign.

Who were you most happy to see killed?

Stannis Baratheon, I've never been a fan on his and after what he did to Shireen he got what he deserved and I'm glad it was my girl Brienne who served him justice even though it was somewhat ambiguous on screen. Of course Walder Frey needs to be mentioned to as it was done in such a badass way GO ARYA and of course another person on her hit list I have to mention now because he's the arsehole who started this whole mess Littlefinger. 

Who do you think would make the best spouse?

Obviously Jon Snow is top of my list not just for the obvious reasons but because he has a good strong heart and I would feel totally safe with him and Ghost at my side but another honourable mention has to go to Samwell Tarley I mean look at how he takes care of Gilly and the baby even though he has no real obligation to, he's a really good guy which is somewhat rare in the world of Game of Thrones.

Out of all methods used to kill on the show, which would you rather use to kill and which to be killed by?

No brutal death for me please, I'd probably go out Olenna style by dropping a bombshell then drifting off in to a poison induced "forever sleep" BUT the method I'd chose to kill people by would probably be dragon fire...

Tell us your favourite quote from the show.

If you're a Game of Thrones fan feel free to do this tag and link it to me in the comments!

Love & Longclaw

Cate

xoxo

Bangkok Comic Con 2016

The weekend after Thailand Comic Con was Bangkok Comic Con held at BITEC which lucky was not to far from where we live so knowing Game of Thrones would have a big presence I decided to bring along my Daenerys cosplay and see what Asia thinks of her.

I think I had the most photos taken of me than at any other con I'd attended before and everyone was so sweet and kind in fact one of the people who worked at the HBO Asia booth let me jump the queue to try out the Oculus Rift which I had previously tried out the the Game of Thrones Exhibition in London so they could take photos for their social media which was pretty cool.

Another amazing thing that happened was that I won a T-Shirt at the Marvel booth for answering some trivia correctly about the new Civil War movie which C.B, Cebulski (a talent scout for Marvel) very kindly signed for me THEN my niece won a goodie bag in the Powerpuff Girls contest! So after all the excitement we decided to get some food and if there's one thing Asia does right at cons its food I absolutely loved all the themed food at the Fox booth and had to get myself a Cookie of S.H.I.E.L.D and Hydra cupcake, my nephew also got himself a chocolate zombie grave that had a little shovel as a spoon which I though was a nice touch.

The cosplays were once again absolutely AMAZING! A lot of the people from last weeks con came to this one to and although I was too tired to stay to watch the cosplay contest I did check out all the photos of the winners on their Facebook and I'm in awe!

One of my favourite cosplays had to the the T-Rex though it made me so happy with it's little armsand the kids loved it to, we're all big Dinosaur nerds here!

So that's it for con season in Bangkok I had an absolute blast and I can't wait to go to more, the amazing costumes everyone was wearing has definitely motivated me to work on my own cosplay skills and create something special so who knows maybe next year I'll be a contender...

What is your dream cosplay?

Love & Dragons

Cate

xoxo

Thailand Comic Con 2016: Cosplay, Concerts & Collectables

I recently attended Thailand Comic Con held at the Siam Paragon and IT WAS AMAZING! I've been attending cons all over the U.K and even San Diego for the past decade now but Thailand Comic Con felt like a whole new experience to me the cosplay was out of this world and I loved the concerts, there was such a happy upbeat vibe and not once did I feel tired despite spending nearly 10 hours there!

I had planned to wear my Kamen Rider Gaim outfit months before the con and then a few days before I was set to leave the UK I heard that Boys and Men were attending and that I'd get the chance to meet Yutaka Kobayashi one of the main stars of Kamen Rider Gaim I knew it was meant to be, not alot of people have heard about Kamen Rider in the UK but it has been a big thing in Thailand for many years and although I'm only a recent fan of the show it has been something I've been aware of since I was a kid and it was kinda exciting to be surrounded by many other fans.

I honestly can't wait until next year to do it all over again and I'm already planning on making an epic cosplay to enter into the contest, it was just the perfect day and a great introduction to what cons in Asian are like.

What international conventions would you love to go to?

Love & HENSHIN!

Cate

xoxo

A Crazy Fandom Idea That Became a Reality...

I was once again nominated by dePepi for the Free Spirit Award and the topic she gave was one that I've been meaning to write about for the longest time and as Winter is Coming it's the perfect time to discuss one of my most proudest creations my Direwolf Scarves.

Believe it or not there was a brief moment in time where Game of Thrones wasn't really heard of and during that time there was absolutely no merchandise available to buy aside from T-shirts with the logo on a Stark contrast to what it is today. I had been making these fox scarves for a while and one cold night I thought to myself why not make a Direwolf scarf so I asked my Nan who is the master knitter if she could help me make one and a couple weeks later Ghost was born...

The response to this silly little idea was overwhelming, I had never initially planned on making them to sell (as with most of my crafts) but I got so many requests that I had to call up Old Nan again to help me make a bunch more to sell. It was such an amazing time I was so happy when one of the crew that worked on Game of Thrones bought one and when none other than Syrio Forel sent me a DM on Twitter telling me he loved my scarves I was over the damn moon.

After that I decided I had to make the rest of the pack to so spent all my time seeking out the perfect yarn for each of them as I wanted to make each one unique so then came Shaggydog, Grey Wind, Summer, Nymeria and finally Lady.

Then SDCC happened! My sole mission for that con was to get to the Game of Thrones signing and give Kit Harrington and Richard Madden one of my scarves and I still can't actually believe how goddamn lucky I was to actually do that because it wasn't even a certainty that I'd get a wristband and as I was lining up to go pick my token out of that bag and seeing the disappointed people walk away without their wristbands I was sure I'd meet the same fate but the gods were in my favour that day as I got one of the last wristbands they had.

Seeing the happy faces of all the Game of Thrones cast and GEORGE R.R. MARTIN put me on a high I still feel now, it was like the ultimate seal of approval. Then came London Comic Con and meeting Isaac Hempstead-Wright who was announced the night before I left for the con so I had no time to make a scarf and as awesome as my Nan is she wouldn't be able to knit one for me in a few hours so I instead gave him mine and to cut a long story short I woke up one morning to find my inbox full and this photo the top trending topic on Reddit!

A couple months after that I visited Belfast Comic Con and met the littlest Stark and of course gifted him with a scarf to which he (and his mum) seemed to really like, there is no better feeling that seeing their happy faces. The only people I have left to give scarves to are Sophie Turner and Maisie Williams so I hope I'm lucky enough to meet them someday. I have to admit since finishing my "Direscarf" collection I feel a bit lost on what to make next, I had so much fun making these and they've brought me so much happiness and confidence maybe I'll have to start work on some dragons scarves next...

Love & Knitting

Cate

xoxo

The Free Spirit Award was created by UNOTAKU and Marvelously Mismatched

• Write about the topic your nominator gave you
• Place the Free Spirit Award button somewhere in your post
• Nominate bloggers (no requirements or limitations, so you can nominate just one or 10, or millions)
• Give your nominees a new topic to post about
• Have loads of fun!!!

Once again I'm breaking the rules because I'm lame and can't think of a good topic but I will open up the tag all of you so feel free to discuss your thoughts on this topic or the other topic and pass the tag on or even tag me again because I really enjoy doing these kinda personal posts xoxo

#LFCC: The Game of Thrones Edition

London Comic Con is always full of some great Game of Thrones guests, last year I met some awesome people and this year I met even more awesome people, in all honestly I haven't met a single person from Game of Thrones I haven't liked they've all been so friendly and so much fun to talk to, I always try to sneakily get some info on the next season from them but they're good at keeping quiet although someone who shall remain nameless accidentally mentioned Kit Harrington being in the Belfast area so do with that information what you will...

Dorne is a new addition to the show so we got a couple Sand Snakes, Nymeria (Jessica Henwick) and Obara (Keisha Castle-Hughes) and a last minute addition of Doran Martell (Alexander Siddig) to the show who was such a nice guy and very excited about what's to come as am I because we're way beyond the books now and none of us has any idea what's going to happen next.

Sunday I dressed up as Daenerys (again!) because Iain Glen was going to be there and I thought I could get a cool photo with him and as I stepped up to the photoshoot he gave me a smile and an approving nod haha! Then I rushed off for a photoshoot with one of my favourite ladies ever Rose Leslie who I did meet very briefly at SDCC but never really got the chance to speak to. On my turn in the photoshoot she said how amazing I looked and how pretty my dress was, to which I replied how gorgeous she was and the result was this awesome photo of us, which is quite possibly my favourite Game of Thrones photo ever!

After meeting Rose in the photoshoot I then made my way upstairs to the Game of Thrones signings and get a few more signatures for my map of Westeros and of course I had to get myself an Ygritte Funko (even though I'm cutting down on my collection) because she's awesome and I love the little bow and arrow they gave her.

Will Simpson the Game of Thrones storyboard artist was also there so I got myself another beautiful print from him, he also remembered us from Belfast Comic Con and I asked him about Bangkok as I noticed him on the guest list for the last comic con they had there and he told us some amazing stories, I'm so happy Bangkok has a con now hopefully I'll be there to check it out next year.

Last stop on my Game of Thrones Comic Con experience was the talk which was attended by Daniel Portman (Podrick Payne), Finn Jones (Loras Tyrell), Keisha Castle-Hughes (Obara Sand) and Carice Van Houten (Melisandre) who unfortunately had to cancel the next day when I had my photoshoots because she was ill so I hope she felt better afterwards as it was kinda hellish and hot that day in the con. The cast was due to start filming on the Monday after the con and of course no matter how hard we tried we got nothing from them about what was to come apart from one word from the script "Game" haha thanks Pod! Daniel Portman is a funny guy and it definitely fuelled my want for an Adventures of Brienne and Pod spin-off. They're such a great cast and I'm so excited to see what's coming next season because for the 1st time ever we're totally clueless about what the heck is coming, it's kinda scary times but one thing is for sure is that these guys will totally do an excellent job of bringing these stories to life.

What are your hopes for the next season of Game of Thrones?

Love & Dragons

Cate

xoxo

#LFCC: Meeting Hayley Atwell AKA Agent Carter

Ever since Peggy's introduction in Captain America: The First Avenger, I have been obsessed with this lady. When I heard about the one-shot debut at San Diego Comic Con I got there first thing to get tickets but unfortunately with the craziness that was Game of Thrones I missed out on seeing it BUT to my delight she returned with her own whole series and OMG it is the best thing currently on TV and I cannot put into words my love for this lady. I was thinking of skipping London Comic Con this year to save some cash but as soon as Hayley Atwell was announced as a guest I knew I had to go, unfortunately tickets quickly sold out for the weekend and just as I was about to admit defeat my awesome Dad knowing my love for Peggy got us a pair of gold passes so of course I cried...

I've been doing this Captain Carter outfit/cosplay thing since SDCC in 2013 so I thought I would do a mash up of past outfits seeing as I wouldn't have time to make a new one and even though I said I wouldn't do a con in heels again I had to wear the Peggy shoes because they're THE shoes she wore in the show. I was very excited but nervous to meet her and add heels into the mix and there was a very real chance of me falling flat on my face (Fun Fact: when I first met Kristian Nairn AKA Hodor I tripped and fell into his desk... so glamorous!). My first encounter with her was at her photoshoot and I honestly felt so faint and giddy waiting for my turn but thankfully I didn't fall over and when my turn came her eyes lit up and she said she really loved my outfit and I looked fantastic and all I could manage to say to her was a very squeaky "THANK YOU!" before skipping out of the photobooth.

When I met her again later at the signing I had no idea what I said to her or what we spoke about I was just in a complete daze but there was so many things I wanted to say to her like how much I love her, how grateful I am for her for speaking up about representation and equality and how much she's influenced and made me want to be the best person I can possibly be but I was so damn stunned I think I just said thank you a million times while grinning like an idiot but at least I didn't cry or fall over so that's something...

At the end of the day Hayley gave a talk and when she first came of stage she spotted me in the hat pointed at me grinning and gave me a wave then preceded to tell us all about her dubsmash adventures in SDCC and how she took a 5 hour flight to Altanta to make a 9 second video with Chris Evans (if you haven't seen it go forth and watch the madness it's amazing!) then as soon as it was done flew back to LA and how much fun they have on set pranking each other. Most importantly though she spoke so eloquently about the importance of Peggy and her role as a feminist working which almost made me cry because she just gets it and she's not afraid to speak out, it was just everything I love about her and it made me so happy, Peggy is definitely paving the way for more female led roles and representation in the superhero worlds and this is what I've always wanted, it's so warming to hear that Marvel are really taking these issues seriously and not just brushing us off. It's not everyday you get to meet your heroes and Hayley Atwell is definitely one of mine, she's a beautiful human inside and out and I wish her all the best and I can't wait to see more of her and Agent Carter soon.

More blog posts on London Film & Comic Con coming soon so keep following

Love & Lipstick

Cate

xoxo