Berserk Buttons

Welcome back to Fanundrums, fellow fans! This week we’re going to take on a fun new topic: berserk buttons! (Edited to provide link to TV Tropes, which is where we first heard the term. Enter at your own risk. It's a rabbit hole.)

As in, what makes a character go from mild-mannered to HULK SMASH!

Precisely. For example, in Leverage, every one of the main characters has a berserk button. For Nate, it’s sick children. For Elliot, it’s children being in danger or messing with his food. For Parker, it’s orphans. For Hardison, it’s messing with Lucille (his van). For Sophie, it’s questioning her talents as an actress and a grifter.

In general, if you hurt a child in Leverage, you’re going to get slammed. Hard. By very scary, talented people.

Basically, don’t mess with kids. And don’t be a dishonest insurance company, because that’s Nate’s other button. So why are buttons important?

Well, berserk buttons reveal a lot about a character. They show values and personality. For example, you can learn a lot about Nate by the fact that he gets angry over sick kids, and you can see how he’s different from Sophie, who loses control if you call out her skills. You can see that Nate has a soft spot (maybe from a past event) regarding sick children and that Sophie takes pride in her skills.

Gravity Falls: Shake it Off parody

Greetings, friends! For your enjoyment, we present to you Allison's excellent parody of Taylor Swift's Shake it Off, Gravity Falls style. Allison did the heavy lifting on this piece, though I made some few suggestions. Have fun!

Gravity Falls Shake It Off

Dipper:

I stay up too late,

Got Cipher in my brain,

That’s what people say,

That’s what people say.

Mabel:

I go on too many dates,

But I can’t make them stay,

At least that’s what people say,

That’s what people say.

Dipper:

But we keep cruising,

Can’t stop, won’t stop moving,

It’s like I’ve got this sister by my side,

Saying it’s gonna be all right.

‘Cause Bill Cipher’s gonna play play play play play

And Gideon’s gonna hate hate hate hate hate

Baby, I’m just gonna shake shake shake shake shake

Shake it off, I shake it off.

The rift is gonna break break break break break

And our Grunkle is a fake fake fake fake fake

But I’m just gonna shake shake shake shake shake

Shake it off, I shake it off.

Mabel:

I’m always kind and sweet,

I do hundreds of good deeds,

And that’s what she don’t see,

That’s what she don’t see.

Dipper:

I’m fighting on my own,

Trusting no one as I go,

And that’s what they don’t know,

That’s what they don’t know.

Mabel:

But I keep moving,

Can’t stop won’t stop grooving,

It’s like I’ve got this brother by my side

Saying it’s gonna be all right.

‘Cause Ford is gonna play play play play play

And Blendin’s gonna hate hate hate hate hate

Baby, I’m just gonna shake shake shake shake shake

Shake it off, I shake it off.

Fans’ hearts are gonna break break break break break

Gotta make my birthday cake cake cake cake cake

But I’m just gonna shake shake shake shake shake

Shake it off, I shake it off.

I, I shake it off, I shake it off

I, I shake it off, I shake it off

I, I shake it off, I shake it off

I, I shake it off, I shake it off

Bridge

Soos:

Hey hey dudes,

Just think, while you’ve been getting down and out

About the monsters and the dirty dirty secrets of the town,

You could have been getting down,

To this sick beat.

Dipper:

Grunkle Ford wants me by his side,

Mabel’s sad, but I’m just gonna shake it.

Bill:

AND THE NIGHTMARES COMING HERE ARE GONNA MAKE IT WEIRD

WON’T YOU COME ON OUT, FALLERS, WE CAN SHAKE, SHAKE, SHAKE.

Dipper:

(Yeah, oh)

‘Cause Bill Cipher’s gonna play play play play play

And Gideon’s gonna hate hate hate hate hate

Baby, I’m just gonna shake shake shake shake shake

Shake it off, I shake it off.

The rift is gonna break break break break break

And our Grunkle is a fake fake fake fake fake

But I’m just gonna shake shake shake shake shake

Shake it off, I shake it off.

I, I shake it off, I shake it off

I, I shake it off, I shake it off

I, I shake it off, I shake it off

I, I shake it off, I shake it off

I shake it off, I shake it off

I, I shake it off, I shake it off

I, I shake it off, I shake it off

I, I shake it off, I shake it off

Psychosuperwhogravlock

Welcome to a special edition of Fanundrums, anticipating tonight’s episode of Gravity Falls, and combining our love of all sorts of fandoms, as usual. This is taken from a Facebook conversation Allison and I had last week, after writing the last post, and we thought it would be fun for our loyal readers to see some Behind-the-Scenes stuff.

Discworld Avengers part II

Hello, everyone! I hope you enjoyed your hiatus, but we’re back with some more fandom conundrums for you. We’re here to keep our promise and deliver on the second part of our Marvel Avengers/Discworld City Watch comparisons.

Who do we want to start with?  

Let’s start with Cheery Littlebottom.

*GIGGLE. Guffaw. Synonym for laugh heartily* Which is what Vimes did when he heard her name. After she left his office, of course. (She’s a Dwarf, by the way).

Because Vimes would never damage his reputation by laughing in front of a prospective employee.

Allison Goes to Comic Con

So this week on Fanundrums, we’re talking about Comic Con. Specifically the Salt Lake City Comic Con, which Allison attended last week.

Yep! I had the opportunity to make my Comic Con debut this last week in Salt Lake City. Kiersty wanted to hear about it, and we figured we’d tell you folks too.

So, Allison, let’s start off with this. What was your favorite thing about the Con and what was your least favorite thing?

Well, that’s a tricky thing. Overall, I’d say my favorite thing about the Con was the atmosphere. There are so many nerds there! And they all want to celebrate being nerdy! Sean Astin made a comment in his panel (I loved that panel) about how the nerd quotient at Salt Lake is high. We’re not a commercial Comic Con; we’re a bunch of nerds who want to enjoy being nerdy together. The result is a feeling of camaraderie between the nerds and it was exciting! The worst part was the crowds. I don’t like to have that many people around me, bumping into me, breathing my air….

Agreed. I have rarely felt the kind of community anywhere else that is present at fandom events. So, let’s maybe continue by talking about what you did. Panels, cosplay, etc.

The Ankh-Morpork City Watch as the Avengers

Welcome back to Fanundrums! This week, we’re talking about Discworld and the Marvel Universe. Specifically, the City Watch and the Avengers.

Because, let’s be honest, there’s too much in both those worlds to cover in one post.

Which is why we’ve spent probably … I don’t know how many hours geeking out over both of them, separately and together. Here, we present a small, specialized portion of our geeking out for your enjoyment.

Welcome!

Welcome to our blog, Fanundrums! I’m Kiersty.

And I’m Allison.

You may be wondering why we asked you here tonight… (or whatever time of day it happens to be when you read this.) Well, allow us to explain.

It’s because we’re geeks and we like to talk about it.

Basically. Well, that was a short explanation. Let us specify which geeky things we enjoy talking about. The short answer is “everything!” The long answer is… longer. Supernatural, Gravity Falls, Dr. Who, The Dresden Files, Star Wars, Discworld, hmm, what else… Agents of SHIELD, Sherlock, Kim Possible, LOTR, Marvel Universe, DC Universe, Merlin, Phineas and Ferb, Warehouse 13, Psych, etc.

As you can see, we adhere to many different fandoms.