Guys. The end is near. If you, like everyone else on the planet, tuned in earlier this week for the final trailer for The Rise of Skywalker (aka Episode 9, aka the end of the Star Wars saga), you’re probably pretty pumped for December 20th. If you are a true nerd (like me), you’ve already got your tickets for December 19th. Now, back before The Force Awakens was gifted to us (don’t @ me, I love it), Matt and I sat down and watched the first six Star Wars movies. But given the epic-ness of TROS (and the addition of Disney+ to my life), I’ve decided to take this year’s viewing one (or ten) steps further. Much like my now infamous MCU challenge, I’m issuing myself a Star Wars challenge. I will be watching all of the movies, plus three series worth of TV shows before I head to the theater to watch Episode 9. This is not going to be easy-mostly because I will only have about a month to do it. But I am nothing if not totally willing to veg out in front of my TV all day for the good of all mankind. Now, I don’t think my SW posts will be as in depth as my MCU ones, just because I’m going to be short on time, but I will do check-ins throughout the process to let you know how I’m holding up. And of course, I would love for you to join me on this journey through insanity.
Paid promotion for Disney. All opinions are mine alone. #CelebrateMARVEL
*For the record, I hope I have not quite reached middle-aged just yet, but yeah, close enough.*
My name is Falon and I’m a MARVEL-aholic. For those of you who have been around here for a while, you know my MARVEL love runs deep. Really deep. Obsessively deep. And you probably know I am a more recent MARVEL fan (meaning I came into this fandom as an adult). And you’ve probably picked up on the fact I’m a chick. Being an adult, female, new MARVEL fan is not always easy. In some ways, I feel like a false fan because I’m new to the game, but mostly, I just really love sharing my obsession with these characters with like-minded people (also, not gonna lie, I also enjoy forcing convincing other newbies to join the fandom with me!). And now that MARVEL is celebrating is 80th Anniversary (that’s more than twice my age, just to reinforce that whole middle-aged deal), it’s the perfect time to make new MARVEL fans, or for current fans to fully embrace their inner MARVEL-hood. (Because, let’s be real, sometimes as a woman in the fandom world, it seems easier to hide our inner nerds than try to prove them to others, but the great news is, we don’t have to do that anymore!) Amazon has made it super easy to let your MARVEL flag fly, with their one stop shop, www.amazon.com/marvel. I found so many things I love on this page, but these were a few of my standouts. Wanna buy these items too? Of course you do! Just hover over the picture and each item has its own link (I love technology).
One of the things I love the most about MARVEL, and one of the things that drew me in, was the fabulous collection of women in the MARVEL universe. It’s safe to say I love them all, but I think Captain Marvel and Gamora (from Guardians of the Galaxy, in case this is your first foray into MARVEL) are my favorites. Or maybe Black Widow and Okoye are my favorites. Sometimes it’s Wasp and Scarlet Witch. Honestly, it’s hard to choose just one. And how amazing is that, that there are too many strong women for me to narrow my picks down to just one or two? Truly, one of the best parts about being a new MARVEL fan is getting to go back and dive into eighty years of women who are their own heroes (all the while wondering where they have been all my life…right there, in front of me, in the comic store). Yes, please. My favorite thing about this MARVEL 80 Years of Comics Anniversary Shirt? It comes in women’s sizes! Woohoo! You guys know I am all about repping my fandoms in my everyday life. One, it makes me happy. Two, I love letting my inner nerd shine. And three, I’ve made some legitimate connections with strangers out in the world because of our fandom bond. So clearly I’m a sucker for the merch. Give me all the merch. And with MARVEL‘s 80th Anniversary Celebration, there is only one home for the merch. Amazon. Duh. Amazon’s MARVEL-centric landing page, www.amazon.com/marvel is the only place you need to go to find all your MARVEL fandom goodies. So trolling the www.amazon.com/marvel page left me drooling over many, many MARVEL items, but of course, the number one for me was the MARVEL’s Box of Super Heroes: The 80th Anniversary Notebook Set. These could not be any more made specifically for me. Notebooks! With MARVEL characters! The only problem is they are so cool, I don’t want to write in them. That’s a lie, I will totally write in them because I want an excuse to carry them everywhere with me. Right now they are sitting on my desk, just off to the right of my computer, and they are calling out to me. All the heart eyes for these beauties. The other item I absolutely could not resist from www.amazon.com/marvel was the Funko Advent Calendar: MARVEL 80th Anniversary. And yes, I already opened some of the boxes because HOW COULD I NOT. But then I was good and put them back in their homes, where they will live until December. At which point, I will be rearranging my bookshelf in my office to display them all because they are the cutest and I cannot get enough of them already. (And yeah, I’m definitely going to have to fight my kid for some of these, but I will win.) One of the ways I truly rock my MARVEL fandom in my middle-aged(ish) life is by displaying all of my MARVEL goodies in my office. Because I’m a grown up and have an office. Who cares if there are Funkos on all available surfaces? One way I love to display these Funkos from the advent calendar is by using levels. Since they are mini figurines, some of them could easily get lost in the display, so to create some height, I flipped over a vase to make a kind of shelf. Cap gets a place of honor because he’s Cap. Another way I display all my MARVEL madness is on my desk. My notebooks are within easy reach, and I placed some of my Funkos at various spots so I can see them while I work. Every once in a while I catch a glimpse of them while I’m typing and they make me happy. Whether you are an old fan, a new fan, a young fan, or a (not quite) middle-aged fan, the best thing about MARVEL is there is a place for everyone. I could not be more proud to be a MARVEL fangirl, and I am so thrilled they are celebrating eighty years of entertainment, and brilliant stories, and truly awesome characters. Here’s to the next eighty!
So I think I have sufficiently emotionally recovered enough to write at least this first blog post about Endgame. More to come after subsequent viewings, I’m sure. Just to touch on my initial reactions, after seeing the movie on Thursday night in a crowd full of people who cared enough to have tickets for opening night…it was the best movie-going experience of my life. Honestly. I did Harry Potter midnight showings (back when that was a thing). We’ve seen both of the latest Star Wars films on opening night. And this experience topped them all. The crowd reactions, the emotions, being surrounded by people who all love these characters as much as I do, it was incredible. I enjoyed the movie itself even more the second time, but the experience itself is never going to be the same as it was opening night. Which is the perfect segue (hair toss) into my top ten list…
I’ve been holding off on writing this because I honestly don’t know how I am going to eloquently express my thoughts on Captain Marvel without going off on a million tangents. You know, because my writing is usually totes eloquent. But the closer we get to End Game, the more I think about Captain Marvel and her impact on the MCU and I’m just so damn excited that I’m going to have to just word vomit all up in this bitch. Gross.
Okay, so let’s dive in. I have no shame in saying I went into this movie planning to love it. I’ve been prepared to love it since I first heard about it, and all the bullshit Rotten Tomatoes/fragile white man/Twitterverse stuff beforehand just made me more determined to come out of the theater raving. But then I was also scared that I was going to come out of the theater feeling like the movie didn’t live up to my high expectations. Luckily…higher, further, faster baby. I fucking loved it. I’ve already seen it three times in the theater, and I will one hundred percent see it at least three more before it leaves.
Unless you are in that weird one percent of the population who doesn’t watch Game of Thrones (seriously, why? Why?), you have been looking forward to April 14th since August 27, 2017. 2017! That’s insane. I refused to even waiting that long for Matt to propose to me (true story). So excitement about the new and final season of Game of Thrones doesn’t even begin to cover it. More like I am living for it. And all things worth living for deserve two celebrations in life: a theme party and a fantasy league. I hosted a GoT premiere party for the season six premiere, and would be again this year, however, I have a wedding on April 14th (I know, I know). So instead, I’m going to host a fantasy league for friends and family, and any members of our Drink Talk Fangirl Facebook group who want to join in. I designed the fantasy sheet as a printable, so you are more than welcome to print out your own copy at home and play along!
One of the best, hardest, most expensive parts of being a fangirl and embracing my inner nerd is the uncontrollable urge to buy all the things. Because nerd-dom is so popular these days, the merch is out of this world cute. And I need to buy all of it. I used to only rep my fandoms during fandom appropriate situations. If I’m going to see Star Wars, then I wear my Star Wars gear. If I’m going to Universal Studios, I wear Harry Potter. Etc. Now the nerdiness has spread, and I wear my fangirl goods all the time. There are some keys to dressing for your fandom without looking like a walking billboard for said fandom, and these are all “rules” I try to follow and recommend to all my fellow fangirls. However, the best thing about repping your fandom is that there are no rules. So read this and absorb, but in the end, do whatever the eff you want.
Falon’s Fandom Fashion Guidelines:
Accessories are queen. I was gonna write “king”, but let’s be real. Accessories are queen. I mostly stick to repping my fandom through my accessories. Of course I have plenty of fandom related t-shirts and even some sweatshirts, but for the most part, I keep it to jewelry and scarves. These are super cute yet subtle ways to show off your favorite fandoms. Most people will just see these accessories as another necklace or pair of earrings, but for those in the know, they will catch your fandom references, and hey, you might even make a new friend because of it.
Marauder’s Map scarf from Etsy, Harry Potter card catalog necklace from By the Book Boutique, Hogwarts is Home button from past Owl Crate box
Stick to one fandom at a time. Unless you are going to some kind of convention or nerd-dom extravaganza, I recommend picking one fandom to rep per outfit and sticking within that fandom. This has always been one of my pet peeves at theme parks. I hate when people where DC or Universal properties to Disneyland. I don’t like when people wear Disney stuff to Universal Studios. I think that has translated over to my fandoms. Each one is its own entity and it should remain somewhat separate. (I realize this gets confusing as Disney continues to buy everything on the planet, so the lines may blur, but for the most part, just pick one fandom per day and roll with it.)
Wonder Woman pin and Thor hammer necklace from Femme De Bloom, wood earrings from Vector Engraving, Avengers fabric from JoAnn
Wear only two fandom related items at a time. Again, unless you are attending a convention, the less is more rule is in effect. If you are wearing a Star Wars shirt, leggings, earrings, necklace, and scarf, it’s just too much. The point of this blog post and my angle on repping your fandom is that you should be able to do it every day and go about your normal life. In other words, you should be able to rep your fandom and still look professional and put together. So limit yourself to two fandom items per outfit.
R2D2 shirt from Target, BB8 wood earrings from Vector Engraving
Have fun and don’t be afraid to be yourself. I have had this Stormtrooper necklace for two years, and I had only ever worn it to Star Wars events. A couple of weeks ago I had meeting with a new couple whose wedding I am planning. Normally I would have reached for one of my other, non-fandom necklaces, but I decided to throw on this bad boy instead. I can almost guarantee that the majority of people I encountered that day just saw a silver necklace. And the ones who recognized it either didn’t care, or they loved it. I received a lot of compliments, and my bride even mentioned how much she loves my nerdiness. Win!
Stormtrooper necklace from Love and Madness
To reiterate, these are my guidelines for rocking your fandoms without being super over the top. You should wear whatever makes you happy and makes you comfortable. Don’t be afraid to show off your fangirlhood. Wear that shit proudly.
Product Links (these are not affiliate links, I just love these shops!):
You guys know I am all about repping my fandoms in my everyday life. One, it makes me happy. Two, I love letting my inner nerd shine. And three, I’ve made some legitimate connections with strangers out in the world because of our fandom bond. So clearly I’m a sucker for the merch. Give me all the merch. And with MARVEL
So trolling the 
The other item I absolutely could not resist from 
One of the ways I truly rock my MARVEL
Another way I display all my MARVEL
Whether you are an old fan, a new fan, a young fan, or a (not quite) middle-aged fan, the best thing about MARVEL
