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Happy June! It is Pride Month, a time where we celebrate the creative works, societal strides, and overall brilliance of LGBTQ+ activists, artists, collectives, characters, and trailblazers who have shaped our world. Of course, this extends deeply into pop culture entertainment, from the LGBTQ+ icons who changed TV, film, music, and more to fictional characters who resonate deeply with fans, cementing a permanent place in their hearts. When it comes to dissecting and celebrating entertainment, indie podcasts and YouTube vloggers continue to reign supreme.

Both mediums are a way for fans to ensure that their analysis, joy, and thirstiest of thoughts are heard. More importantly, entertainment podcasts and vlogs with LGBTQ+ hosts provide their needed perspectives on representation and thematic choices in media, whether they are tied to their specific identities or not. So, to celebrate Pride Month, we want to show these creatives a lot of love.

LGBTQ+ Led Nerdy and Pop Culture Centric Podcasts

Midnight Mass (Hosted By: Peaches Christ & Michael Varrati)

Brilliant host Peaches and filmmaker Michael are a podcasting match made in heaven with a deep affinity for cult movies. The pair dives into different aspects of a film, focusing on actors, genres, or perhaps a specific creative along with special guests. There’s lots of great analysis and laughter to be had with this biweekly podcast. 

Cerebro (Hosted By: Connor Goldsmith)

Cerebro is a podcast about Marvel’s the Uncanny X-Men. Each episode, Connor focuses on a specific character from the franchise alongside a guest. As we know, there are so, so many X-Men characters that he’s got plenty of material to mine from! 

That S**t We Do Like (Hosted By: Bianca & Niq)

This chaotic delight of a pop culture podcast is all about, well, that s**t that Bianca and Niq like, even if it isn’t popular among the masses. They dig into things they love (or love to hate) and talk about its relevance and impact. 

The Queer Archive (Hosted By: Skye & Brenna)

Doctor Who fans rejoice! Skye and Brenna expertly break down episodes of the famed sci-fi series, examining it from a queer and feminist perspective. Doctor Who is heading in what seems to be an increasingly (and delightfully) queer direction, so we are sure that this duo will have lots of thoughts as we head into this new era.

Gaylords of Darkness (Hosted By: Anthony Hudson & Stacie Ponder)

There’s no doubt that queerness is a big part of horror, for better or worse. The Gaylords of Darkness podcast traverses through the dark world of horror, touching on everything from mainstream hits to indie works that lurk in the recess of fans’ minds. 

The Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey Podcast (Hosted By: Talia Franks & Lucia Kelly)

Yes, there are two Doctor Who podcasts on this list because why not? The Doctor does have two hearts, after all, so they deserve a double dose of love. And this podcast has a lot of love (and valid critiques) to give, with two nerds coming together from different time zones to chat about all things Doctor Who.

Podcast Style YouTube Channels with LGBTQ+ Hosts

That Gay Jedi

Would this truly be a Nerdist list without a Star Wars offering? That Gay Jedi is all about covering Star Wars, but they also dig into Marvel and Stranger Things, too. We love their brilliant content, effervescent energy, and insightful roundtables.

Zack Cherry 

When it comes to deep horror analysis, especially for the Scream and Halloween franchises, no one does it quite like Zack Cherry. His insight into everything from a killer’s rationale to glaring narrative holes in a franchise will make you want to watch films ten times for closer inspection. Generally speaking, Zack is a horror whiz 

Rowan Ellis 

Rowan’s video essays about pop culture, history, and representation from a queer viewpoint are well-crafted and extremely thoughtful. There are lots of great recommendations in her shorter vids as well as some wholly unique topics of discussion, like the “tragic potential of queer zombies.” 

The post 9 Queer Podcasts and Vlogs That You Should Support appeared first on Nerdist.

Realms of fantasy collide sometimes, and the meeting of The Lord of the Rings and Magic: The Gathering makes for quite the mash-up. As part of Magic‘s Universes Beyond Our Own line, which brings in characters and settings from outside Magic‘s Multiverse, Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth puts a J.R.R. Tolkien-inspired coat of paint on the beloved trading card game. Nerdist joined Wizards of the Coast and other outlets for a virtual preview of Tales of Middle-earth with senior art director Ovidio Cartagena. He took us through the gorgeous set of The Lord of the Rings Magic cards, sharing insight into the design and gameplay. We’ll take a closer look at some Lands, a special Legendary Creature, and Starter Kit cards.

Magic: The Gathering‘s The Lord of the Rings Land Cards

First, let’s look at the basic lands. In Magic: The Gathering, lands represent locations under the player’s control.

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You’ll notice all of Magic‘s land cards feature characters in this The Lord of the Rings collection—well, the silhouettes of them. Cartagena explained it’s to represent the different paths the characters in The Lord of the Rings have to traverse. Here, the land serves Magic‘s gameplay, but it also represents the journey at the heart of Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy. The cards are meant to show the epic nature of Frodo’s quest to destroy the ring.

Character and Creature Cards in Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth

The design team wanted to incorporate familiar characters and creatures into Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth. Beyond the names and creatures you’d expect, this extends to creatures such as Bill the Pony. The loyal and brave steed is a Legendary Creature, so you could have Bill the Pony as a Commander if you so choose. Cartagena made sure to point out the pans that are part of Bill the Pony’s pack; it’s a nod to Samwise’s cooking and one of the many Easter eggs in the set.

With Tales of Middle-earth, players can join the fellowship and fight on the forces of good, or they can serve the Dark Lord Sauron and spread shadow across Middle-earth. The Magic cards featuring The Lord of the Rings characters we know so well have different spins on them, though. Sauron is one of the cards in the Starter Kit, and though someone asked Cartagena how he was going to illustrate Sauron’s eye, he said he understands the eye as more of a metaphoric thing. So, his team designed a unique look for Sauron. And with Frodo, they wanted a more heroic look, something that reflects the many years that pass between him inheriting the ring and embarking on the journey to destroy it.

The Starter Kit has two pre-constructed 60-card decks. Get a preview of some of those cards, including Sauron and Frodo, below.

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Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth Release Date and Magic Card Offerings

Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth has two launch windows in 2023, June and November. The June 2023 release (prerelease June 16-22, available everywhere on June 23) includes a starter kit, jumpstart boosters, regular boosters, a prerelease pack, a bundle to get your journey going, and more. And on June 26, a special Secret Lair release will feature a drop based on Ralph Bakshi’s 1978 The Lord of the Rings animated film.

We’re not the only ones who got to preview these The Lord of the Rings Magic cards, though. Frodo Baggins himself, Elijah Wood, took a look at the deck. And his expressions say it all.

But they aren't the only people we met with. We traveled to Middle-earth, to talk to one very special fan… #MTGxLOTR pic.twitter.com/reUw7PfGWY

— Magic: The Gathering (@wizards_magic) May 30, 2023

Finally, no, they didn’t forget about the importance of food in this story.

Click To View Gallery

The post Flip Through These Gorgeous THE LORD OF THE RINGS MAGIC Cards appeared first on Nerdist.

Yellowjackets is a big success for a lot of reasons. Even before cannibalism came into play, the show’s mysteries surrounding that strange symbol and what exactly went down in the wilderness hooked people in. And, having a stellar cast didn’t necessarily hurt either, with stars like Melanie Lynskey, Christina Ricci, and Juliette Lewis in the mix. The hive began buzzing even more for season two, especially after finding out that Elijah Wood was joining the fun. So, who is Elijah Wood’s character Walter Tattersall in Yellowjackets? Let’s get into what he does in season two.

In the first episode, Misty notices PuttingtheSICKinforensics, a fellow Citizen Detective who is a little too good at deducing things. He specifically starts posting some solid theories about Adam’s disappearance. Misty, who uses the name AfricanGrey, downvotes his comments with annoyance and tries to brush off his theories as nonsense. She is, after all, quite busy with the Natalie conundrum.

In episode two, Misty asks for help with figuring out Natalie’s case. Elijah Wood’s still-unseen character offers to help if she will stop s**tting on his Adam theories. She rejects his help but, later in the episode, she gets a clever letter from PuttingtheSICKinforensics. He says he has a potential witness in Nat’s disappearance and offers her a chance to pretend to be an FBI agent alongside him. Of course, we know who this person is by now because we saw (and heard!) Elijah Wood at Misty’s job. He rolls in his elderly “mother,” who is a new resident, and locks eyes with Misty. 

In Yellowjackets episode three, Misty accepts his offer to stage an interrogation. She wants to find Nat but she also wants to keep this guy busy so he won’t think about Adam anymore. Misty meets him on a boat and he is thrilled, revealing that he jumped at the chance to work with the incomparable AfricanGrey. He knows exactly who she is and, well, she knows his name is Walter Tattersall. It turns out the witness that Walter has to interrogate about Natalie’s disappearance is Randy, aka Jeff’s best friend who absolutely knows that Misty is not an FBI agent.

Walter does a chaotic and hilarious “interrogation” with Randy with earbud assistance from Misty before releasing him. Misty lies about being friends with Adam’s mother and that what he is posting would hurt his mother’s heart badly, explaining why she downvoted his comments. Walter admits that the elderly woman isn’t his mom and just used her to get in the door. He says he did all of that because he’s a bored Moriarty looking for his Sherlock. Notice that he did not say Watson. Moriarty is a formidable foe and intelligence match for Sherlock Holmes. Interesting. It seems their investigation into Natalie’s kidnapping is just heating up, thanks to new information bringing them one step closer to Lottie’s purple people. 

The next episode, Misty and Walter head towards that random route where Lottie’s group lives. During the ride, Walter insists that he thinks Misty is interesting outside of the Yellowjackets stuff. During a food stop, we find out that Walter was hit by bricks (literally) and got a ton of money in a settlement. Hilariously, we see that they are truly two of a kind as they go through similar nighttime routines.

In episode 5, Walter and Misty arrive at Lottie’s compound, where she briefly reunites with Nat, who tells her to go away. Misty is confused that Lottie is 1) no longer in a Swiss mental institution and 2) is the leader of the purple people. Misty is upset that her super sleuth skills didn’t pick up on Lottie’s activities and Walter tries to be supportive by telling her to move on.

Of course, Misty thinks Nat’s genuine words are a lie. Walter points out that her friendships are complex. He brings up that the story about Adam’s mother is a lie based on his research. He knows that she lied about Adam and likely killed him to assist a friend because, well, she has the traits of a serial killer. (He’s not wrong.) He says he still likes her but Misty immediately cuts ties with him, making him leave. 

The Adam storyline pales in comparison to a cult community, eyeless man, and that weird symbol. But it is still a big part of adult Shauna’s storyline.  

What Is Up with Walter Tattersall on Yellowjackets?

We know his name and that he’s a Citizen Detective with interests in hacking and forensics. But Elijah Wood’s character Walter is still mostly a mystery on Yellowjackets, even after the finale. His sleuthing caused Misty to leave him in the dust… but he came back. Yes, we got more of Elijah Wood and his hilarious character Walter Tattersall in Yellowjackets.

Walter Tattersall shows back up in episode 8. He’s at his lavish home putting together an impossibly intricate puzzle when he gets an alert that Adam’s body has been found. He then emails the Wiskayok department to let them know that he has information that may be relevant to the investigation. Uh oh. Walter then grabs his clothes, including a purple jacket that he uses to infiltrate Lottie’s compound in the finale.

We spent much of the season thinking that Walter would tell on Misty and her friends, but instead he does the opposite. He uses the aforementioned email to lure Kevyn and Mustache Cop to Lottie’s compound. Walter clevery kills Kevyn and planting evidence to blame the Adam and Jessica’s deaths on him. We also presume that Kevyn will also take the posthumous blame for Natalie’s death. They did have a romantic relationship at one point, after all. We see Walter embrace a tearful Misty at the end to comfort her.

Will Walter Tattersall Return for Yellowjackets Season Three?

We know that Yellowjackets is greenlit for season three. Of course, Misty will come back for more mysteries but we don’t know what will happen with Walter. It seems the pair are heading towards a relationship but Walter could also be a one-season-and-done type of guy. Perhaps he wanted to “solve” this case and move on with his life, which is smart considering the constant shenanigans that come with being close to Misty. However, Misty could use a really good friend/possible romance in her life after so much loss and tragedy. So maybe we will see Elijah Wood as Walter when Yellowjackets returns.

Originally published on March 31, 2023.

The post Who Is Elijah Wood’s Walter Tattersall on YELLOWJACKETS? The Strange Citizen Detective, Explained appeared first on Nerdist.

The MCU is full of superheroes and supervillains. It also features monsters, living planets, robots, Celestials, and gods of every sort. But the Marvel Cinematic Universe would still be pretty empty without its many, many critters, both Earth and alien alike. With so many to choose from, though, which ones are the best? Whether they’re lovable pets or highly advanced beings, these are the top 10 animals in the MCU.

Honorable Mention

These lovable—and in some cases not-so-lovable—creatures just missed the cut:

Howard the Duck (Guardians franchise), Blurp (Guardians Vol 3.), Alexei the Pig (Black Widow), Abilisks (Guardians franchise), Irina the Cockatoo (Iron-Man 2), Fenris the Wolf (Thor: Ragnarok), every Gus the Goldfish (Moon Knight), Murph the Cat (Spider-Man: Homecoming), Orloni Rodents (Guardians franchise), Sparky the Dog (WandaVision), Rocky the Owl (Hawkeye), Señor Scratchy (WandaVision), and Valkyrie Flying Steeds (Ragnarok).

They all tied for 11th. Any MCU animal we didn’t rank that you think should have been included tied for 12th.

(Note: This list only applies to the MCU proper. Sorry, animals from the Netflix and ABC shows. We still love you.)

10. Goose (Captain Marvel)

When it comes to the MCU’s alien animals, appearances can be deceiving. No one better exemplifies that than Goose the (not really a) cat. This adorable and dangerous Flerken helped save Carol Danvers, Nick Fury, and the Skrulls in Captain Marvel, but Goose would have earned a spot on this list for just being so damn cute. Unfortunately we can’t rank this intergalactic kitty any higher after what she did to a trusting Nick Fury.

9. Alligator Loki (Loki)

Alligator Loki answered one of mankind’s oldest and most important questions: can you turn any animal, no matter how fearsome and terrifying, into a beloved one if you put a tiny little crown of horns on their head and feed them wine? Yes. You can. That is also reason enough to earn a spot on this competitive list.

8. Ant-thony (Ant-Man)

We were tempted to simply include all of the ants from the Ant-Man franchise because they’re all great. But one loyal insect’s heroics clearly elevated him above the rest. Scott Lang’s flying carpenter ant/spy/steed/friend Ant-thony holds a special place in the MCU. We will always remember you and your sacrifice, #247.

7. Tawaret the Hippo Goddess (Moon Knight)

A gigantic, delightful, helpful, friendly, compassionate Egyptian hippo goddess with style and pizzaz? And she’s only number seven!? That’s not an indictment on Moon Knight‘s most wonderful denizen of the Duat. It’s the biggest compliment we can give to everyone ranked above her.

6. Lylla, Teefs, and Floor (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3)

For this entry we wanted to hire Sarah McLachlan to record a Lylla, Teefs, and Floor specific rendition of her classic “I Will Remember You.” Unfortunately we were told to “stop emailing her about this.”

But that won’t stop us from honoring Rocket’s original friends, the greatest cybernetically-enhanced otter, walrus, and rabbit to ever live on any world.

5. Cosmo the Dog (Guardians of the Galaxy Franchise)

Cosmo is a very, very, very good dog and anyone who says otherwise is a monster. Looking at you, Kraglin! Even if you didn’t mean it that wasn’t very nice.

4. Indigarrian Goats (Thor: Love and Thunder)

If we had to personally fly around space with Toothgnasher and Toothgrinder we would definitely not include them on our top 10 animals list. That’s just too much screaming for any mortal to deal with. But the amount of time we spent with those hilarious goats in Thor: Love and Thunder was perfect, so they rightfully take a spot near the top of our rankings.

3. Morris the Dijiang (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings)

What this rotund, friendly magical animal from Ta Lao dimension lacks in eyes it more than makes up for in wings and lovability. And also extra sensory perception. Trevor Slattery’s unlikely (not hallucinated) pet also helped save the day in Shang-Chi and the Ten Rings, which elevates him into the top five easily. It has nothing to do with Morris being sensitive and us not wanting to upset him, we swear.

2. Lucky the Pizza Dog (Hawkeye)

A golden retriever with one eye who loves pizza and is a remarkable judge of moral character is in the running for greatest dog ever, not just in the MCU. Obviously only a truly remarkable animal could have kept Hawkeye’s Lucky from garnering the number one spot.

1. Rocket Raccoon (Guardians of the Galaxy Franchise)

Rocket Raccoon might be the best freaking character in the entire MCU. Ain’t nobody like him ‘cept him. And that includes being number one in our hearts.

The post The 10 Best Animals in the MCU, Ranked appeared first on Nerdist.