Fantasy doesn't have to be all bloody battles and dark intrigue, there are plenty of ways to have fun in a magical world of fantasy, although you should probably keep a battleaxe and a few spells handy just in case.

It's a good idea to get your magical gear at the NeatoShop, where you'll find thousands of fantastic designs and free worldwide shipping on orders over $75!

People think the fantasy genre began with Tolkien

Tolkien On Pipeweed by Grafx-Guy

But it existed well before he took up the pen and sent the Baggins boys on their epic journeys

Straight Out Tha Shire by Aaron Morales

Fantasy originated in fairy tales

Fairy Bow by Purrdemonium

Where we first got a taste of a fantastic and magical place not unlike our own

Between Two Worlds by Olipop

Mark Hamill has been signing Star Wars photos and memorabilia for 38 years. I’m sure what he puts on them depends on the situation and how much time he has. Some of the bubblegum cards have surfaced with great jokes to go along with the autograph. Hamill no doubt has heard every Star Wars joke ever made, so there are more of these to be found. I particularly like this one.  -via reddit

Artist  Jirka Väätäinen (previously at Neatorama) took the liberty of imagining a few of the most famous Disney men as if they were real-life men. As a female Disney fan, I for one want to thank his efforts because these princes and paupers are all serious babes.

Prince Eric of The Little Mermaid even looks like young John Stamos and that somehow seems totally accurate. I can sure see how someone would want to be part of his world.

Via Nerd Approved

Quick -can you name all seven actors who’ve played Batman? There’s Adam West and Christian Bale and… were there really seven? Yes, but some of them were before your time. It started with Lewis G. Wilson in 1943 (pictured above).

Wilson was the first and youngest actor ever to play the adult Batman, and also the least successful. At 23, the unknown thespian donned the cape and the cowl in the 15-part 1943 Columbia serial Batman. While he looked the part of the dashing playboy, his physique was more Danny DeVito as the Penguin. One critic described Wilson as “thick about the middle.” Maybe that was why he wore his utility belt just below his chest. Critics also complained that his voice was too high and that he had a Boston accent. That, of course, wouldn’t be the last time someone complained about Batman’s voice.

Find out what happened to Wilson after his Batman role, as well as the other six actors who took on the part. Ben Affleck is not counted as one of the seven, because we haven’t seen him in action yet. You’ll find the roundup at Den of Geek.

Blade Runner is a groundbreaking science fiction film based on the groundbreaking Philip K. Dick novel Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?, and when the film adaptation was released in 1982 it changed the face of sci-fi forever.

Even though Blade Runner didn’t live up to expectations at the box office, this techno-noir thriller set new standards for sci-fi special effects thanks to the master model makers who brought Syd Mead’s concept art to life.

A gallery was recently uploaded to Imgur by minicity featuring rare photos from inside the Blade Runner Model Shop, showing the model makers hard at work on their amazing props, including the iconic Spinner police car.

-Via MakeZine

"Pika? Pika Pika. Pika!"

Okay, I admit that it sounded a lot better in the original Shyriiwook.

Cosplayer Nana Bear, whose vast repertoire includes Storm, The Riddler, Princess Bubblegum, and She-Hulk, offers this fresh and original take by combining two of the most dangerous creatures in the multiverse.

-via Nerd Bastards

Woody Harrelson has great range as an actor, able to convincingly play a farmboy from Indiana one minute and a full blown psychopathic killer the next.

They say inspiration often stems from our life experiences, and if Woody had known his father was a hitman it might have helped his acting career.

But Woody's dad left to live the hood life when he was seven years old, and Woody didn’t learn the truth about his dad until many years later, when he heard news on the radio about the murder trial of one Charles V. Harrelson.

Read more about Woody Harrelson’s Hitman Father at mental_floss

This is Sir Francis Bacon. As you can see, he is an adorable little Boston terrier. He is also quite the wonderful Nibbler impersonator. 

While few dogs will be able to pull off this look as well as little Bacon here, you can at least try to mimick the look since his owner was kind enough to add an Instructable on how to make your own.

Via Fashionably Geek

Bosses are generally the most iconic characters in a video game, and whether players succeed in taking them down, or lose a life trying, they’re not likely to forget those foul faces anytime soon.

Games that feature prominent boss battles can sometimes feature the most bizarre character designs for these big baddies, which games like Batman:Arkham Asylum, Final Fantasy X and Silent Hill 2 use to bring the story to a dark and wondrous place.

(YouTube Link)

PlayStation Access breaks down the 7 Most WTF Bosses In Video Games, including those who scarred our minds (PyramidHead), those who blew our minds (Sin) and those who messed with our minds (Scarecrow). (Contains some NSFW-ish material)

-Via GeekTyrant

Pippi Longstocking is a redheaded powerhouse in pigtails, and although she looks a bit like the Wendy’s girl her superhuman strength and self sufficiency prove she's not your average nine-year-old.

And yet she has been left by the wayside in the world of pop culture, deemed outdated and unworthy of a reboot in an age when they’re making movies about everything from board games to sharknadoes.

(YouTube Link)

Thankfully Clint Howard and Funny Or Die heard our pleas for a newfangled Pippi reboot, and he wants to bring Milla Jovovich on board to play a grown up Pippi in Pippi Longstocking: Crimson Justice. Sounds like a worthy reboot to me!

-Via Nerdist

George Lucas caught a lot of flak from fans when he decided to add a bunch of CGI scenes to the original Star Wars trilogy.

He caught even more heat when he decided to do away with the original versions in favor of his updated editions, leaving future generations thinking Jabba looks like this:

(Image Link)

Unless you’ve scrutinized all three versions of the original trilogy you probably didn’t catch all the changes Lucas introduced into each film, because there are so many it's hard to keep track of them all.

(YouTube Link)

Film fan Marcelo Zuniga has created a set of exhaustive side-by-side comparison videos showing all the changes made to the original trilogy, including the updated Hutt horror.

(YouTube Link)

See Every Change Ever Made To The Original Star Wars Trilogy here

Sometimes it’s hard to teach kids their ABCs and make the lesson stick, since they have a hard time remembering all 26 letters of the alphabet much less the rest of that cute little song.

Kids need something to help them visualize each letter, imprinting it in their minds for life, and what better way to leave a permanent mark than with a bit of terror?

(Vimeo Link)

David Lynch created the perfect video tool for teaching your kids the ABCs back in 1968, the appropriately entitled experimental film The Alphabet.

Blending surreal animation with nightmarish visuals and a “catchy soundtrack” that features the sound of David Lynch’s daughter crying, The Alphabet is a visualization of a time when Lynch's wife's niece "was having a bad dream one night and was saying the alphabet in her sleep in a tormented way."

Looks like she was learning her ABCs the Lynch way- through her nightmares!

-Via reddit

Who was the first character cast in the Harry Potter movies? If you guessed Hedwig, you're right. And that's not the only fun fact about magical and otherwise imaginary creatures from this great TopTenz list. 

Here's another great trivia tidbit -adorable little Gizmo from the Gremlins was originally supposed to become the antagonist, but Steven Speilberg decided (rightly) that fans would prefer to see the adorable little creature as much as possible in the movie and wouldn't want to root against him. Just imagine what a different movie it would be if little Gizmo was the enemy.

It’s easy to sing along to your favorite songs, never really paying much mind to what the lyrics are actually saying.

But if you listen a little closer you’ll find that many of your fav rock & roll hits are chock full of raunchy and wrong.

(YouTube Link)

My Sharona sounds innocent enough, but when you discover that The Knack’s Doug Fieger wrote the song for sixteen-year-old Sharona Alperin when Doug was around 25 years old it kinda sheds a different light on the lyrics.

"When you gonna give me some time, Sharona?" How about when I've graduated from high school, you adult pervert.

(YouTube Link)

But My Sharona is part of a rock tradition of singing about young gals, and songs like Ted Nugent’s Jailbait, KISS’s Christine Sixteen, and Stray Cat Blues by the Rolling Stones all feature lyrics about underage girls. It's enough to make you wonder- can't rock stars find good women their own age?

See Jailbait Jamboree: Top Ten "Inappropriate" Songs That Were Somehow Hits at Dangerous Minds

You’re a law enforcement officer on the rough and tumble world of Edo, where every crime is punishable by death. This is how you dress to intimidate.

Is it effective? Well, it was enough to intimidate Wesley Crusher. That tells you everything that you need to know.

Alyssa Favreau of Quirk Books rounded up screenshots from days when the costumers were feeling just a bit too creative. Here, you can find the most outlandish outfits from Star Trek: The Next Generation.