#...and then have June call them a couple AGAIN in the following episode

[ofswordsandpens]

it is a little funny, a little ironic, because as much as the Ember Island Players episode wants to be like "see?? you're silly for thinking zuko and katara's dynamic is romantic" it doesn't quite think through the in-world implications of the play because, conceivably, this play is built largely upon rumor, right? biased or purposefully distorted first, second, or third-hand accounts of the gaang and their journey? (and then of course, whatever artistic liberties the play writers want to take)

Because that all begs the question - why do the play writers think zuko and katara are together?? Like literally lmao was it just for the Drama of it all? Or do enough people in the avatar universe perceive Zuko and Katara to be a couple for it to be a far spread rumor?? Is June gossiping in taverns like "oh the fire nation prince? yeah he hired me to find his girlfriend. he had her betrothal necklace and everything"??

And how did the play writers (or anyone for that matter) even know that Zuko and Katara had shared a Moment with one another in the crystal caverns? Were there like, Dai Li Agents spying on them from afar? Watching katara huff and stalk around and yell at zuko then like five seconds later they see her cradling Zuko's face and they're just like "bro" "bro" "no way" "there's no war in ba sing se but we've got to tell people about that."

Then isn't it also implied this play is fairly popular in the fire nation? Like how many years after the war is the average fire nation citizen convinced that Zuko and Katara are an item?

[kitsuga]

Loading Screen. {Leviathan x Reader/MC}

Description: 

A fic in which Levi tries to express his feelings but MC makes the move. 

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

Tags: fluff, kissing, not beta'd, not edited, gender neutral reader, leviathan/levi x reader/mc, obey me!/obm/om, leviathan/levi

Word Count: 1,086

A/N: Written on: June 27, 2021 

I just felt like writing this one day for my best of all friends and I have nothing else to say beyond that, really. Also, nervous levi agenda thank you  

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

“Woo-hoo! Another series: done. Hurry up MC, I’m gonna start the next one!” 

“I’m coming, I’m coming.” MC called, rushing over to plop onto the floor-bound makeshift blanket fort with an arm full of snacks to restock their supply. “Don’t hit play yet!” 

“Too late! No time! Gotta play it now!”  

“Levi!” They whined, pushing him over and rewinding the previous 10 seconds they missed just to prove a point while he laughed. 

He bounced back up, pretending to have done it too hard and bumped into their side, causing them to fall over a bit as well. The two of them fought back and forth for a short while, laughing comfortably with each other until their new show’s opening ended—that was when they settled down. MC leaned their head against his shoulder, and Levi suddenly realized the position he was in and stiffened up; he started to get nervous and shy despite being in the same situation time and time again.  

Once the show actually started, it was easy for him to get lost in it and forget the warmth of MC cuddling up beside him, wrapping their arms around his waist and mindlessly feeding him snacks as time went on. As the episode came to an end, however, the cursed black loading screen reminded him once more of his (epic!) predicament. MC nuzzled against him for a bit before sitting up, noticing his nerves plain as day on his face in the very same reflection. 

“I think this one’s going to be good; what did you think about it?” 

“The premise is good but the executions a little slow. If they had used proper elements of a magical girl anime instead of trying to fake it and make their own, it would hold more attention of the viewers but instead they made it seem more like an off-brand mecha and that--” 

He continued on his rant relentlessly, MC wasn’t sure he ever took a breath within it. He spouted off a lot of explanations, most of which they picked up a few words from, but mostly just nodded in silence with a smile on their face. They looked content, happy to listen to him and pretty interested in what he had to say—whenever it was cohesive, at least. Their gentle smile is what caused Levi to pause and stare at them. 

“You know,” he started, “I’m glad you’re here. I’m pretty happy that you’re willing to do this with me.” His face started to heat up, and his face contorted to a pained look as though he were battling with himself to get words out. “I mean, I have no one else to do this with. I’m just--” 

“Aw, Levi,” they teased, a small smirk growing on their lips, “are you trying to compliment me?” 

“No!” A lie. “Let me talk!” 

MC threw their hands up in defense, nonchalantly twisting their lips to the side and eyes following suit as they pretended not to care. Levi took a deep breath before launching back into his speech. 

“I’m just, glad that you like me—and that you like me enough to sit here and do all that gross couple stuff with me, and that you listen to me even if you’re a bit of a normie and don’t understand the golden depth of my reviews, and--” he quickly started to spiral into a nervous, embarrassed fit and fidgeted with his hands, “and you know I just, I... I lo- lov- I lo-” 

The more Levi stuttered, the worse he felt. As his heart started to leap out of his throat, he could feel it breaking into pieces; this wasn’t how he wanted to do it. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. Now he looks like a complete fool—MC wouldn’t like him back after this! Even if they were already dating—they'd definitely want to leave after this, he certainly did. His eyes shot up from his hands to their own eyes as their hands covered his. Their smile was so gentle, he almost shattered into pieces under the sheer intense pressure he found himself under. 

“Hey,” their teasing tone replaced with something he’d describe as angelic, “if you can’t say it out loud, go ahead and use this.” 

It was only then that he realized they dropped his phone in his hands. They tilted their head and smiled even brighter, knowing just what would make him feel better. His hands shook as he typed out a text message to them at lightning speed, thumb now hovering over the send button; he closed his eyes shut tight as he hit send and groaned, throwing himself backwards and laying on the floor. He complained to MC that they insist on making his life difficult, when all he wanted to do was watch anime.  

‘I love you. I wanted to say it without stuttering, or in some cool like, shojo-style way since it was the first time, but I ruined it.’ 

Levi was almost too afraid to look at his phone whenever it went off. 

‘Sit up.’ 

Reluctantly, he did as he was told and had already opened his mouth to complain, apologize, deflect, anything he had to do to save face but instead of needing to save it, MC held it instead. 

Gently, they cupped their hands around his face and leaned in slowly, only kissing the tip of his nose. The small kiss was so full of affection, Levi wondered if he was going to cry; his body relaxed a bit, his face melting into their hold as he looked at them through his lashes and a pout on his lips to offset the look of love in his eyes and blush on his face.  

Words didn’t need to be said. He didn’t need to say it again, they didn’t need to say it to him. He didn’t need to ask them to kiss him again, they leaned in again and gave him a deep, loving kiss. When they pulled away, he stared at their lips until they leaned in again and again. His heart was racing and he felt as though he were on Cloud 9; he didn’t know what he did to deserve this, but he thanked whatever god may have had a hand in it. 

The anime played through episode after episode, long forgotten in the background; their love reflected on the black background between them. He’d definitely be able to tell them the right way next time. 

[reasonandfaithinharmony]

2023 writing gif-making round up

Rules (adapted for fic, gifs, art, etc.): Share what you made this year! It can be works you posted to Ao3, Wattpad, Tumblr, or anywhere else! You can share everything you made or just the projects you're most excited about. Thank you for the tag, @thisbuildinghasfeelings!

January

Um. Coming to terms with the idea of 2023? I dunno. But certainly nothing creative happened here.

February

Boyfriend → husband (Schitt's Creek) — A side-by-side comparison of how David refers to Patrick in season 4 and season 6. (Brought to you courtesy of a lovely text post by @jesuisici33.)

David questioning Stevie's motives (Schitt’s Creek) — A fun look at David's expressive face. 😄

March and April

An existential crisis. Or two. Or five. 🙃 Managed to finish absolutely nothing.

I did come in contact with a lot of 911 Lone Star content, however. Which explains everything that follows. Oops?

May

Marry me. (911 Lone Star) — Ah, my first gif set for this show. A parallel of TK referring to Carlos as his husband when he proposes, and then during their wedding ceremony.

Wedding → honeymoon (911 Lone Star) — Holding hands right after they first kiss as husbands. (Promo footage that didn't actually make the final episode cut). And holding hands poolside on their honeymoon.

Note: From here on out, everything in this list is for Lone Star, unless otherwise specified.

June

TK and Andrea helping Carlos get ready — A parallel set highlighting similar moments from Best of Men and a deleted scene from In Sickness and in Health

We almost forgot. Your boutonnière. — In which I attempt to put a couple pieces of unaired footage back together: the deleted scene with Andrea and Carlos + promo footage of what must be the same scene

Heart tutorial — Danielle Savre and Stefania Spampinato teach Rafael Silva how to make a heart sign with his hands at the First Responders Reunion 🫶

July

🤨 (affectionate) — Listen. I love this dynamic. Had to do the parallel set.

Nothing ever stays the same, Carlos. — A look at TK and Carlos' conversation in 2x04 in parallel with Carlos' wedding vows. The first set I wanted to do for Lone Star. Took me a while to get to it because I wasn't sure how to put it together.

August

TK needs you all to RSVP — My first attempt at this type of post. Incorrect quotes? Text post memes? I don't know what to call them, really. But it was definitely fun. And then it became the thing I did most often. Lol.

And if it never changes? // What if everything changes again? — A parallel set for me and ~5 other people, putting Tarlos in 2x04 side by side with Marcel the Shell with Shoes On

September

You're a menace to society *smooch smooch smooch* — My next incorrect quotes/meme post. And my contribution to ascribing cat-like behavior to TK.

I like him a normal amount — A fandom reaction gif, essentially. Courtesy of Joey Tribbiani on Friends.

Love is stored in humans finding out we can make heart shapes with our hands — Had to revisit the heart tutorial for Rafa. This time as one of the incorrect quotes/text posts.

When you can be silly and slutty with them — Oh, I had fun with this look at TK and Carlos' relationship. 😍

Pretty sure this happened at least once — In which we learn TK was seen trying to catch a frog outside the firehouse. Obviously.

October

Carlos is lit like an angel — Commentary on that beautiful moment from 2x02 where TK falls into Carlos' arms.

I put my emotions into my cooking. // This tastes… horny? — A playful and sexy look at Carlos in the kitchen with TK, and then heading upstairs… 😏

I adore you. Why are you like this? I’m going to kiss you with such fervor… — Oh, just exploring the Tarlos relationship dynamic with a text post and a scene from 3x18.

November

Unedited Gif Game (26 entries so far) — This has been very fun. I think it was good for me to have a bunch of low-stakes gif projects where I was not in charge. Lol. I will spare you individual links to each of them. But they should all be in the tag linked here. I will probably make this an ongoing thing, as long as it's not annoying everyone.

December

Episode vs. Promo: Yee-Haw (1x02) — Let's start diving into some more unaired footage, shall we? And let's start with some alt takes on that first make-out scene.

Missing moments: then and now — From an almost-kiss in 1x02 to an alt kiss from their wedding.

You're a miracle, TK Strand. My miracle. — A rather large close-up gif of that alt wedding kiss. Why? So we can see the teardrop that beads up under Carlos' eye.

Tags below the cut…

Tagging: @rmd-writes, @reyesstrand, @strandnreyes, @cold-blooded-jelly-doughnut, @carlos-in-glasses, @lemonlyman-dotcom, @birdclowns, @welcometololaland, @lizzie-bennetdarcy, @rosedavid, @heartstringsduet, @noxsoulmate, @chicgeekgirl89, @paperstorm, @tailoredshirt, @guardian-angle22, @swearphil, @carlos-tk, @three-drink-amy, @orchidscript, @danieljradcliffe, @lightningboltreader + open tag!

[telomeke-bbs]

OUR SKYY 2 x BAD BUDDY x A TALE OF THOUSAND STARS – INTO THE WOODS, AND WHO CAN TELL WHAT'S WAITING ON THE JOURNEY?

We're now at the halfway point of OS2xBBSxATOTS's four-episode arc, looking backward as much as forward. 😍

Because it's Khun Noppharnach in the director's seat, I think an uplifting ending for this little mini-series is a given (OS2 is ultimately a feelgood vehicle, after all). If he keeps to form he'll probably undercut it with something wistful and/or bittersweet at the end though (remembering how he closed off He's Coming to Me, Bad Buddy and Moonlight Chicken).

So with some reservation (caveat here: all predictions so far have been off the mark by varying degrees; you can never fully trust clues planted by Director Aof, as we all know) I think the following are likely:

There will be a play (I just don't know in what form); and

Tian will get Phupha down from Pha Pun Dao to meet his parents.

There are two tiny clips in the OS2 trailer that point to this.

The first, at timestamp 1.22, shows the red curtains opening and confirms in my mind that the play will have its premiere (unless this is from some OS2 eps that I didn't watch):

I'm not ruling out the possibility though that Tian will give in to Phupha and withdraw permission for Pran to use their story, because that would be a nice comment on how there should be limits around the way the BL industry packages and commodifies queer romances for public entertainment. But that might mean we get to see Korn in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, instead of a university version of ATOTS, and I'm not sure I'm ready for that! 😂

The episode slated for 7 June 2023 (I'm calling it Ep.3, though that may not be the official numbering) looks like it's going to be played around the "emotional growth in the wilderness" trope for both couples PatPran and PhuTian, with their struggles to find each other in the forest a metaphor for each couple's struggles to come together in agreement whenever conflict forces them apart, as they grow in their respective relationships.

PhuTian were arguing for most of Ep.2, and PatPran's mountain quest for signatures began in disagreement as well. So that's why they split up PatPran and PhuTian at the end of Ep.2 – it's going to be both a physical and figurative journey in Ep.3 to reunite these clashing personalities and move them to safer ground, both in Pha Pun Dao and within the context of their couplehoods. (And we the lucky viewers will get to see some of their relationship growth that wasn't in the original series. 😍)

Because of this, I'm convinced Phupha will relent and meet up with Tian's parents again. They're going to Bangkok for sure (or maybe Chiang Mai at least), since we see them in a clothing store (i.e., they're bound for an urban setting) at timestamp 0.27 of the trailer:

It looks like Tian and his mountain man have gone shopping for outfits to get prepped and presentable either for the stage premiere of their story at South Technology University, or for Phupha's meeting with Tian's parents as his official partner (or maybe both?). Though Phupha would have looked just as fine if they left him in his ranger uniform, in my opinion. 😍

As usual, nothing is confirmed so I'm not holding out too much hope that the above will actually materialize in said form. I'm also still sending out psychic entreaties to the universe for there to be a cameo from Director Aof and for Rang to appear. There's still time for these pleas to be heard! 😂💖

‌

[kooldewd123]

Okay, I wanna talk about the Pokemon anime for a second, because the way they've been treating the dub has been increasingly ridiculous and I need a place to vent about this and maybe try to spread awareness?

Long post, kinda rambly, sorry.

So I think most Pokemon fans are at least tangentially aware of some of the dub's problems. I know it definitely got some attention back when XY blew up and started getting attention outside of the usual anipoke sphere. You probably expect me to start talking about the soundtrack replacement here, but the much bigger issue at the moment is actually the release delay. Generally speaking, the English dub tends to release about 3-4 months behind the original Japanese release (XY actually had a good streak with only a 2-month gap up until the start of XYZ). It's not good, especially considering the standard set by Funimation for other popular weekly anime dubs, but at least it's consistent and we learned to just live with it. The Japanese episodes would release, the English side of the company would pretend they didn't exist, and English-speaking viewers either had to seek out fansubs or dodge spoilers for a couple of months. However, this situation has gotten much, much worse as of late.

The latest series, Pokemon Journeys (JN for short), aired its dub on Netflix. Netflix of course did its usual thing and released the series in batches every few months for people to binge. This is a problem for two reasons: First, JN just isn't a particularly bingable show. Due to the timeslot it originally aired in in Japan, the show is more episodic than any that came before, even the famously "slice-of-life" Sun & Moon. It works well in bit-sized morsels every week, but there's not usually enough connective tissue to feel satisfied consuming it all at once. Secondly, it destroyed the consistency I mentioned before. Instead of getting a new episode every week, we would get 12 episodes every few months, purely at the whim of whenever the hell Netflix decided to release them. It started out fine-ish, with about three month windows between releases to match the three months' worth of episodes each batch contained, but as the series went on, we started to see windows of four or five months between releases, inflating the dub delay problem to ridiculous levels. Today, June 23, the penultimate batch of episodes released, containing the grand finale of the Masters Tournament, where Ash defeated Leon to win the World Coronation Series. If you read that sentence and thought "huh, didn't that happen a while ago?" you would be correct. It aired in Japan all the way back in November, eight months ago. The first episode of the batch, Ash vs. Steven, is nearly an entire year old, first airing in July.

"Well," you might be thinking, "you said earlier that the English side of the company doesn't acknowledge the Japanese episode releases. If someone managed to completely avoid any news about the Japanese episodes, it's not as if they would get spoiled by the official English Twitter account, right?"

Right?

Note the timestamp there (I'm in EST). Not only did they release this Tweet on the same day the finals aired, they did it as soon as the episode finished. Even for the people who followed the Japanese releases and watched the episode with fansubs or even raw, this is so early in the morning for most of the English-speaking audience that anyone who didn't get up early enough to watch the episode live could potentially be spoiled from it. Granted, the Internet was ablaze with spoilers regardless, but the official account joining in on the spoilers when the people it's supposed to be advertising to have no way of officially watching the episode certainly isn't a good look. Surely they wouldn't do it again, right?

Right?

Following Ash's departure from the anime, the next series was called Pokemon Horizons (HZ). One of its core story hooks is a mysterious pendant worn by one of the main characters, Liko. In the two-part debut, the mystery deepened when the pendant activated, transforming into a never-before-seen Pokemon that the English Twitter account again highlighted, taking the wind out of the sails of what was supposed to be a really cool and exciting surprise.

At the time of me writing this, not only is there no news about when HZ will be officially available for a western audience, but the JN dub still hasn't even finished yet, and likely won't until Netflix decides it's time to drop the final batch of episodes in a few months.

And the weirdest part of all this? From the way they've been treating HZ, it feels to me like they want to bring the Japanese and English sides of the anime closer together, and maybe Netflix fucking up the release schedule beyond recognition ruined their plans. Both of the Twitter incidents show implicit recognition that there is a portion of the English audience following the Japanese release. And when they announced that Ash would be leaving the anime and HZ would take his place, they did so through a video with Japanese audio and official English subtitles, with a later HZ trailer even specifically mentioning the Japanese release date (both of these videos releasing on the English YouTube channel, mind you). Most of the HZ cast have names that remain the same or only slightly changed between languages (highly unusual for this series), even extending to side characters like Anne or Alec. So now we're stuck in this weird limbo situation where the anime feels like it's trying to be more accessible to the West, while in reality being the most disconnected it's ever been. I'm super curious to see if/how the HZ dub will try to amend this issue whenever it inevitably comes out, and where the marketing goes from here. HZ has me more excited about the future of the anime than JN ever did, and I truly hope the dub can live up to it.

I don't remember exactly what the point I was trying to make at the start of this is. Just please fix this shitty distribution situation Netflix got you in, TPCi.

[my-mt-heart]

Hey MT! Marketing anon again. I noticed a couple of questions around AMC not announcing Melissa’s return and their S11 Caryl crumb tactics—so I figured I’ll add more thoughts. Again this is just my speculation from a marketing perspective. Take it if it resonates, or leave it if it does not. ❤️

Here are my thoughts on the announcement: I’m sure they anticipate Melissa trending on her birthday and the premiere in June. So if they plan on making an official announcement, it may be near one or both days to help them generate more buzz. 

But I read somewhere that CP and the stand-in with Melissa’s description are shooting on May 11th. If Melissa is present on a location that isn't private, then I’m not sure how they’ll hide her from fans. So it's also possible that they'll announce her return before any unofficial photos can get out.

I’m sure AMC understands the damage it will do to their reputation if the photos come from anyone but them. Anyone—even Norman. I don’t believe they’ll allow him to post unofficial confirmation when they can rebuild some of our trust by announcing and “doing the right thing” first.

Here is my speculation on their marketing tactics: I think they understand that the situation is different now than in S11. Because if they didn’t, I don’t think we would have received a single drop of news about Melissa. The intentionally vague mentions of her from the cast/crew keep us generating buzz and building that hype. Which means they’re moving away from triggering fears to lean more into the audience's desires. And possibly gauging the reactions. 

I believe in March-April, they were building the level of awareness in the audience to take them from “she’s never coming back” to “Melissa is involved somehow”. Because the trust is extremely low, and they need to rebuild it first. Now most fans are starting to believe she’s involved somehow. So if they announce now, the reaction won’t immediately be disbelief or a demand for more proof. But fans will mostly get excited about the official confirmation and go into FOMO mode. 

I’ll elaborate. It is very possible they may lean on what we call Fear of Missing Out, aka FOMO marketing. Many companies use this technique. If they announce her return, I think the official trailer will follow shortly after. And if S1 episodes drop AFTER the official confirmation of Melissa’s involvement, then peer pressure will generate buzz for them—because we’ll see endless tempting (Caryl-centric) clips, stills, analyses, tweets, teasers, and edits on SM. 

At this point, whoever posts a picture or definitive news of Melissa instantly gets a boost in trust and reputation. I’m sure AMC understands the damage it will do to their reputation if the photos come from anyone but them. Yes, even Norman. I know they defended him from harassment (and not their female actresses *eyeroll*) in the past, but I don’t believe they’ll allow that boost to go to him when they can benefit financially from it first. 

If the announcement does come through before the show airs, it may be vague. It could even be a Carol teaser (which will make a stronger impact than a news blurb tbh). However they announce it, they'll try to maintain the "big surprise" element before she’s revealed on the show. And it may mean they're confident in their storytelling to hold Carylers' attention (because they could hide her till the last minute if they really wanted to).

I leave you with this: Please remember that your feelings are valid, and falling for these techniques only makes you human. Marketing is meant to appeal to the audience's emotions. It just sucks that there are unethical ways of utilizing it.

If you ever feel the urge to direct your ire at people connected to the show who are just trying to do their job or keep their job (or lost their job)—please remember that AMC is the reason we lost the Caryl spinoff. So they’re the ones that have to fix it. Getting Melissa and Caryl back is just the start. 

I hope this helps somehow. Caryl on. ❤️

Hi again :) Thanks for coming back to share more of your thoughts. I think a lot of this makes sense, and it would be nice if AMC started steering away from fear tactics because my guess is it's just going to backfire. Like you said, the trust is too low (for good reasons). And also like you said, it's unethical. Always has been, but especially after last year. Actually, it says a lot about what they think of S1 if they have to trick people into watching it xP

I hope AMC "does the right thing" by confirming Melissa is filming so we can stay hyped for S2 at least, but I completely agree it's just the start. I want riveting storytelling for Carol and Caryl, not just ploy after ploy.

[forensicated]

03x12 - Not Without Cause

TW: Some blood seen from a serious injury.

Final episode of series 3.

A young boy is loaded into the back of an ambulance as a woman sweeps glass from the street. June says she'll update the boy's parents as Yorkie takes details from the witnesses.

Reg brings more printouts and memos into CID as Roy watches in disgust and bins one. He hands Tom a fiver for a bet on a snooker match between CID and Uniform. Tom mocks him for not putting more up and he hands him an extra fiver and warns him not to tell Reg or Kite will find out and it'll all be off.

A little girl attends the police station because her tortoise, Terry, has gone missing. Reg snarkily suggests setting up roadblocks (!)

Jim and Mike arrest their suspect who shouts to the public that he's being kidnapped and he hasn't done anything and for them to call the police. From what is said in the custody room he claims that the toilet didn't work so he had to go in the garden outside a window as you do! He's really a flasher.

More officers add their bets in Tom's book - Bob is a fiver and Ted is £2 - and he's practically running into the canteen because he hasn't yet eaten.

Viv is not feeling well and drops her bag on the stairs. "Must be something I've eaten!" Her stomach turns more when Taffy takes his shoes off to check for athletes foot. She goes outside for some fresh air. "Ever since I came to London I keep catching things." Taffy sulks.

Ted spreads his charm as he leads a couple of giggling girls upstairs to give their statements on the flasher. Roy warns him not to spend all day on it and to get Dashers to help him. Mike is very embarrassed about having to question them about a man flashing them but Ted is calm and smooth and keeps making flirty eye contact with the one he is taking the statement from. "You've seen it all before, that's what you're trying to say isn't it?" he smirks, making the girls laugh. Later he manages to score him and Dashers lunch dates with them but Mike isn't so keen as they're not exactly the demure witness type he wanted. He doesn't want the flasher to walk out with a caution and Ted snaps that it's a nothing case anyway.

Bob asks Tom if he can locate someone for a follow-up statement. Whilst out and about, a Greek Cypriot landlord asks Tom to check into an elderly woman who is keeping cats which is not part of her tenancy agreement. "She's crazy!" he keeps warning him.

A woman reports feeling ill when she started to eat a chocolate bar that 'tasted funny'. She's hospitalised and luckily brought it with her. The doctor tells June there are no other reported cases of poisoning but she does suspect that the chocolate bar has been tampered with - there could be more out there. June reports the food poisoning to the station and Nick says he'll send Tom to meet her at the supermarket around the corner from the hospital.

Tom pushes the door open to the flats he's been asked to visit. He sees the cats as soon as he gets inside. Tom knocks on the door of the top flat and announces himself as police. His radio starts emitting static so he turns it off and then tries the old lady's door as no one answers. Behind the door is a boobytrap. A line is tripped and a gun goes off when the door opens, shooting him in the stomach.

Nick reports to Bob that he can't raise Tom so asks him to go down to the Supermarket to meet June as no one else, including the inspector, is available. Bob's Arsenal mug is out again!

Alec tries to get down to the rec room to practice his snooker but he finds it locked.

June reports to Bob that they've accounted for all chocolate bars except one. The girl on the checkout was having problems with her receipt machine and took the money without looking up at the customer so she can't tell them who they are looking for. Bob arranges for June to contact local radio to let people know and to have a car tour of the local streets warning people not to eat any chocolate bar purchased from the supermarket. He then takes the manager aside and suggests that it's someone on the inside due to the elaborate stocktaking they do.

Tom starts to come to in the old lady's flat and spots more cats around him and his jacket and truncheon on a settee. The kettle is on so the old lady has returned home and he now has a formerly white towel held to his stomach that is stained with blood.

Roy is sulking at being stuck on an observation with Jim. Soon after they spot a Bedford van and Roy starts to follow it whilst asking Jim to run the number.

Bob is shown CCTV of a staff member who the manager says is a loner and had a recent reprimand. He thinks it's most likely him but there's no evidence yet. Bob goes to check his car.

Tom begs the old lady to get him a doctor but she simply covers him over with an old jacket and doesn't speak.

Jim is told to change the radio channel to another. He does, only to be told that the vehicle is registered to the MET and it's another department doing observation. Jim finds it hilarious after Roy had been claiming those inside were thugs.

Bob finds evidence inside the supermarket workers car but is found searching it by the man who attacks him. Bob makes a chase through the store and out onto the road as Roy and Jim join in to help. Jim follows him through someone's house and up over a wall and along train tracks. Bob hurts his leg after he jumps down but he continues running after them. Roy waits at the bottom of some steps for the man to come down as there is no another way, starting to smoke a cigar. "Now you can come down now or they'll throw you down...." he tells him as the officers and suspects gasp for breath.

Brian looks for Tom but he's nowhere to be seen. The old lady brings Tom a cup of tea but doesn't answer his request for help - even when he knocks the tea out of her hand.

Reg remembers how poorly Viv was that morning and tells Brian who sends Yorkie round with Taffy. Yorkie bangs on her door, shouting her name through the letter box. Slowly she makes it to the door and then has to run to vomit! They tell her it's about the chocolate bar and they're going to take her to hospital. She tells them it wasn't a chocolate bar at all - it was prawn vindaloo and curried veg that's done it to her. The chocolate bar is still out there.

Ted prepares for his lunchtime date.

Mike isn't quite so keen. "They're witnesses!" "We can say we bumped into them!" Unfortunately, Ted doesn't get to go on his date as Tom Penny is reported officially missing.

The old lady sits stroking one of her cats and ignores Tom's request for his radio. Instead, she stands up and sets up her boobytrap again. If anyone else comes to help him they'll be shot too.

Uniform guess that Tom is probably in bed somewhere with a woman with Ted not so generous, claiming he's run off with the betting money. Yorkie brings up that he's likely in an alley somewhere with Dashers telling him not to be so 'old'. Brownlow and Kite join the briefing and send everyone out to make inquiries for reasons of confidentiality whilst the afternoon shift covers normal duties.

A cat has made its way to Tom's lap and he sits stroking it whilst bleeding, unable to move.

The landlord knocks and shouts that the woman is crazy and he urinates on the door and threatens to bring his friends to do the same and kill the cats. Tom tries to shout for help but she puts her hand over his mouth so he can't.

Bob and Brian join Charles in his interview. Charles and Brian say that Tom is known to be illusive and he could be up to no good. Bob won't hear of it and reminds them he is missing. Brian says he wants to have every avenue covered. Bob suggests telling Wendy, Tom's wife but is told to only ask if he's been in touch, not to say he's missing. The elderly woman tightens the strings of her boobytrap and leaves him home alone. Bob calls Wendy and asks her to contact him if he gets home in the next half hour because he needs to talk to him.

Alec stops Mike and Ted to ask if they've seen anything and no one has as yet, with Ted reckoning he's with a bird somewhere "You would!" Around them officers are making inquiries and describing Tom to people to see if he's been seen.

Tom tries to struggle to get to his radio but he doesn't have enough strength left. He lays face down on the floor and painfully moans his wife's name. With no leads, Brownlow has to take Bob with him to tell Wendy her husband is missing.

A man asks if Brian can have a car moved but as it's not causing an obstruction he can't. The man asks if he manages to get the door open can he move the car and Brian says he can, as long as he doesn't use more force than necessary. The man breaks the window and moves the car out of the way with Brian helping him to do so after he points out that he doesn't have a key so how else would he do it?

The lad who poisoned the chocolate bar asks for a solicitor and bail. He says he guessed how much rat poison to inject. "In plain language, Mr Mercer, you didn't give a shit'" Roy tells him, writing his name outside his cell.

Brian has now gathered a crowd of people watching the car debarcle and the owners have now turned up which causes an argument about who did the damage and who will pay for it. Brian ends up arresting four people for a breach of the peace that he created!

Tony has found Terry the tortoise in the next garden where it just so happens a female tortoise lives!

The landlord, Demitri, who Tom spoke to earlier has reported to the station. He seems to know Roy already and wants to make a complaint against the old lady who is 'crazy' and has many cats. He tells him that he asked a police officer to talk to her. Roy knows him as a dodgy landlord who harasses his tenants. He also doesn't put two and two together about the officer going to speak to the tenant. Ken looks into it and can't find a record of a complaint so asks the man who he spoke to. He manages to get out of Demitri that it was a sergeant so Ken takes it to the incident room and tells Alec. They recognise the description of the tenant as a lady called Alice who is known to be a bit eccentric and arrange to go over to the house to look for Tom.

Wendy panics, especially when the Chief Superintendent is with Bob and realises what she's likely to be told. She rambles and insists that Tom calls her and lets her know where he is when he'll be late. Charles admits they don't know where he is and asks if she has any idea where he might be asks if there's a situation in the home that they're not aware of. She admits there have been other women but it was a long time ago and they're over it. She claims that Tom might have found out about her affair with Bob... (Well before series 1)

Yorkie and Taffy knock and call Alice's name softly. There's blood spotted on the newspaper in front of the door so Yorkie forces the door open - how does the boobytrap not go off?! They find Tom collapsed face-first on the floor and covered in blood. They call Bob at Wendy's house and tell him that he's been shot but they don't know anymore than that. Tom is rushed into surgery.

CID search Alice's house and find lots of bullets. Roy thinks she's done a runner but Bob says she won't leave the cats. She's had a very hard life and was captured by the Japanese in Singapore and her husband died in a POW camp.

Uniform laugh at Brian for having arrested four people and joke that he can't remember how to sign a charge sheet. Alec says they need to keep him away from the match tonight... right in front of Reg. "What match?"

Bob searches Alice's house with Dashers and Ted whilst they wait. Bob admires the simplicity of the booby trap.

"He has a way with women..." Charles murmurs about Bob as he and Roy share a drink after a hard day. He doesn't elaborate what he meant.

Out of theatre, Tom slowly comes round with Wendy at his bedside.

Alice returns home and Bob cautions her whilst Dashers and Ted look in her bags. She's got books on Guerrilla warfare and weedkiller that isn't for a garden as she doesn't have one. Her next step was about to be bombs! "Surely you weren't going to make a bomb!" Alice just sits quietly.

The pool match starts with Bob as referee. Carve-em-up Carver is playing for CID whilst Alec does a very good Steve Davis impression!

"Lose this match, Carver and you're back in uniform tomorrow."

Alec takes the first break with Roy teasing him that he's rubbish.

[kind-of-crazy-butthatsokay]

It's been a hell of a year for you, darling! So, please answer any or all of the following, if you would?

End of the year Asks

Song of the year?

Album of the year?

Favorite musical artist / group you started listening to this year?

Movie of the year?

TV show of the year?

Episode of tv or webisode that defined the year for you?

Favorite actor of the year?

Game of the year?

Best month for you this year?

Something that made you cry this year?

Something you want to do again next year?

Talk about a new friend you made this year

How was your birthday this year?

Favorite book you read this year?

What’s a bad habit you picked up this year?

Post a picture from the beginning of the year

Post a picture from the end of the year

A memorable meal this year?

What’re you excited about for next year?

What’s something you learned this year?

What’s something new about your place of residence (room, home, or general location) now vs the start of the year?

Favorite place you visited this year?

If you could send a message to yourself back on the first day of the year, what would it be?

Did you keep any New Year’s Resolutions?

Did you create any characters (in games, art, or writing) this year? Describe one

It has indeed been one hell of a year! Emphasis on hell *self-deprecating chuckle*

ANYHOW, let's get to answering all these questions. I can guarantee you I will have to pause this to switch tabs dozens of time s and look all kinds of things up before I'm through with this 😂

Song of the year? There's too many, really. Silver platters, Nightmare (Neoni), Twisted (The people's thieves), Mommy issues (Cloudy June), Enemy (Imagine Dragons), venting to strangers, Strut, Cinderella's dead (all three my Emeline), Liegen is Frieden (German song) just to name a few.

Album of the year is probably Unthinkable by Cloudy June. I love the shamelessly horny energy. The helplessly single part of me really digs it.

As for artists I've started listening to or have listened to a lot... Cloudy June, Emeline and Neoni. All young women with amazing songs. Big dick energy, I'm telling you!

Movie of the year would be Turning Red. Do Revenge was also hilarious! The school of good and evil shouldn't go unmentioned either.

Shows are definitely The Dragon Prince and Heartstopper. I've watched more, but these are actually from 2022 (I've reconnected with the Avatar series lately, both with Aang and Korra. Love that shit!). There's also that one DnD thing I've watched that's called fantasy high and I love it very much.

The best month surely was August because I had three weeks off of work and could visit a really good friend that lives a couple of hours away. That was the only time I actually felt good and at peace this year.

Something that made me cry? Honestly, this whole year did. It was one entire shit show and progressively got worse every time you thought it couldn't get worse. But I also watched a few good shows and movies that made me cry!

What I'm excited about this year is for my apprenticeship to be over. I hope that I pass my final exams without trouble so I can quit my job and get the fuck out of this miserable town. Hoping to get a year abroad in Ireland set up and then when I'm back move down to where the friend lives that I mentioned.

If I could send a message to my self at the start of 2022, I would tell me to get ready for one shitty fucking year and not to expect it to get better because it won't and the disappointment just makes it worse. But also that we made it through the hell because HAH I'm still fucking here *flips off 2022* thought you could break me, did you? Well, you though wrong, you fucker.

And as for the characters I've created. A lot of them 😂 most for DnD, which I got into this year and is one of the only good things the year brought. I've done so much character designing, you've got nooo idea. I love creating outfits and interesting faces and cool weapons for my little fantasy people. Nothing better than that ☺️

Phew, that's one long ass post. I hope you make it to the end 😂

I do earnestly hope that your year was better than mine and that you had many moments filled with joy and happiness 🖤

Feel free to tell me about your year with all its highs and lows

[weirdo-2000]

I posted 252 times in 2022

That's 214 more posts than 2021!

79 posts created (31%)

173 posts reblogged (69%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@zzoupz

@randompurplepanthergorl

@gayalienlover

@pastel-skies

@punkhomerkin

I tagged 53 of my posts in 2022

#waylon smithers - 5 posts

#the simpsons - 5 posts

#smiling friends - 3 posts

#roblox - 2 posts

#smoe - 2 posts

#degenerate artist problems :\ - 1 post

#pokemon - 1 post

#the internet fucking sucks i hate it - 1 post

#weirdo-2000 - 1 post

#why me - 1 post

Longest Tag: 138 characters

#even then a lot of adults don’t respect that and figure that just because they have authority over me means they can call me whatever they

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

ive said this before but i feel like i need to say it again…….

do NOT interact with me if youre a burnsmithers shipper.

why the fuck do you guys ship burnsmithers lol?? its weird and abusive. burns is canonically 104 fucking years old and smithers is in his early 40s. and if you even pay attention to the episodes then youll see the way that burns treats smithers. burns is a narcissist and constantly looks down on smithers, always telling him off for doing whatever. imagine if you were in a relationship and your significant other always talked down on you. that would feel like shit.

the art that people make of them is super weird too. like you cant even casually look up their names without seeing some weird af fetish art of them in maid outfits spanking eachother or some shit. burnsmithers is fetishized to the MAX for no reason. fr, you have hundreds, maybe even THOUSANDS of simpsons characters out there and yet you decide to ruin burns and smithers for everyone.

i see burns and smithers as funny little old men running a tiny little nuclear power plant, not as this gay couple who want to grind on them eachother. fucking weird as fuck.

if you ship this, get off ALL MY PAGES NOW. i dont want you and your simpsons fetish porn anywhere around me. and maybe consider seeing a psychiatrist.

maybe also consider shipping something ACTUALLY healthy such as smoe or something. just please for the sake of your sanity don’t ship burnsmithers.

that’s all i had to say. if you ship that, fuck you.

6 notes - Posted June 16, 2022

#4

the weirdo-2000 blog!

hey there, i'm addy! welcome to weirdo-2000, a blog that was created with no purpose at all. my pronouns are she\her, biological female at birth. please try your best to respect my pronouns because i try so hard to be feminine and everytime i get misgendered it really hurts and i think about it for months on end. the content of this blog depends on my fixations atm. my current fixation is smiling friends. i usually post stuff related to simpsons or other kinds of adult animation, but you'll mostly see other random shit too. got any questions? you can ask me in my askbox. got a submission? submit it! please note that i am NOT AN ADULT (under 18) and if i recieve any NSFW chats, asks or submissions i will block you, report you, and get the police involved. do NOT take any chances. i will not be telling anybody my personal info because i would like to keep it private. you can check out my other profiles at stuckinchernobyl.carrd.co if you're interested. i also have a sideblog dedicated to my webcomic if you wanna check it out inaplacebeyondfromhere.tumblr.com thanks so much for checking out my blog. a follow, repost or like will be much appreciated! hope you like what i post ╮(￣▽￣)╭

6 notes - Posted February 17, 2022

#3

most likely one of the best videos i've ever made. i plan to abuse smithers in lots of other fun ways soon 😈

9 notes - Posted January 29, 2022

#2

we were at the park because my siblings wanted to go sledding, and they had these snowmen that some local schools decorated and we spotted…kenneth. this is so cool lol

12 notes - Posted January 23, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

you guys. charlie is LITERALLY that kinda person who sits on a couch in his underwear, watches trash tv and eats an entire tub of ice cream. alone. by himself. at 2 in the morning.

86 notes - Posted April 8, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[billiejeanenthusiast]

Boobiegate masterpost

We know what they did this summer - and oh boy, was a it a wild summer that - unfortunately for us - stretched into autumn and beyond any reason.

I will first go over everything as it happened and then - because when you look back at everything you realise some timelines overlap - I’ll try to clarify some stuff and put it into perspective.

NOTE: I’m writing the dates from a GMT time zone point of view (aka. UK time)

So let’s start from the beginning. 

Briana breaks up with Brody Jenner after dating him for some random attention seeking period. (June-September roughly)

Here’s an article talking about that irrelevant relationship. https://www.yourtango.com/2020334835/who-brody-jenner-girlfriend-briana-jungwirth-louis-tomlinson-baby-mama Now let’s fast forward a bit to September. 

September 23rd

So on September 23rd we’re flooded with articles about Brody and Bri breaking up and Bri getting back together with her “on-again off-again (boy)friend Nick” and the biggest surprise “BRI IS ENGAGED”

So the story is: 

Bri ended her relationship with Brody because “they were moving too fast” and he had “already met Freddie” 

She then gets back together with her on-again, off-again bf Nick Gordon 

She, her family, and Nick go on a “whirlwind” trip to Las Vegas (MIND YOU IN THE MIDDLE OF A PANDEMIC) 

Bri and Nick get engaged during those Covid inviting few days in Vegas (September 21st- September 23rd) 

Articles drop about how they’re engaged and she’s broken up with Brody (Sept 23rd) 

Bri, family and Nick all share a huge amount of Vegas pictures of them in love, Bri’s ring, Bri and Nick being a couple (pictures obviously taken before Vegas to hopefully make someone believe that this in no way is a whirlwind engagement after just knowing each other a few weeks. Did they convince anyone? Well if you are convinced - I’m worried for you) 

Here’s the tmz article:https://www.tmz.com/2020/09/23/brody-jenner-split-briana-jungwirth-engaged/ Here’s some pics of them we were all subjected to while they were in Vegas. And Nick’s new public profile when it just got made. Was he trying to start an influencer career and say goodbye to being a firefighter? Was he trying to get a night job taking off that all firefighter gear for money? Magic mike was a big movie after all….Who knows.

September 28th

At first the engagement pictures on Nick’s IG were just him and Briana and he used the #/shesaidyes. After a few days and probably after they realised it would be a smart move to acknowledge her kid she claims to have too (👀) he deleted those and on September 28th posted new pictures with a new caption and new # of course. This time “theysaidyes”.

The pictures are below.

But, moving on.

As soon as the engagement news drops, we have Nick - our “good-guy firefighter” making a new and public IG account, flooding it with pictures where he professes his love for Bri and soaking up the d-list association fame.

So in the coming weeks we get a lot of Nick, Bri and their families on IG. They post a lot about being constantly together.

What was the most interesting they really pushed the “dad” image on Nick. He was constantly posting about Freddie and even in Bs or Tammi’s stories he was always seen interacting with F the most.

Then after it seemed like the new fiancees had settle into their soon-to-be married life and everything seemed rosy for them - we get hit with the whammy BOOBIEGATE.

Because hell hath no fury like a sugar daddy scorned.

October 15th

On the 15th of October celebtm a gossip site, posts the next picture and caption on IG:

Basically, they’re saying a guy - his name unknown yet - contacted them to tell them how Briana scammed him out of money she borrowed to get a boob job. Specifically 5k USD. He claims he filed the case in court and it’s dated January.

They ask if anyone else has similar receipts or anything about her and that they’re investigating and will be writing a story. And the comments have a lot to say about Bri.

October 19th

4 days later on October 19th celebtm posts another IG update about how they have the court filing and how their article is in progress.

October 21st

2 days after the last IG post celebtm finally posts their article - on the 21st of October

https://celebmagazine.com/louis-tomlinson-briana-jungwirth-sued-over-boob-job/

(It’s on the web still - if it ever gets deleted let me know I have screen recordings of it)

The article is accompanied by this (below) IG post:

Also on this day we get Briana and Nick deactivating their IG profiles. Nick still kept his personal private IG and the only person who stayed public is Tammi.

October 22nd

A day after the article dropped there’s another IG post with the following picture and caption. Apparently, Sugar Daddy shared his receipts - specifically AmEx - with celebtm.

October 26th

On October 26th celebtm posts the second part of the article. It’s messier, with a more confusing timeline than the first, but tries to “spill” more details on Sugar Daddies relationship with Briana and her life in general.

Also by now we know his name - Michael Strauss. An investor in Warwick club in LA.

https://celebmagazine.com/louis-tomlinson-baby-mama-briana-jungwirth-double-life/

(Again this is the link - if the article gets taken down and you want to see it - DM me)

October 27th

Then a day later we get another IG post - no new article - just more excerpts from what the Sugar Daddy told celebtm.

Then it’s quiet for a few days and when you think this can’t get even more trashy - low and behold the circus that is called October 29th.

October 29th

So after a few days of silence celebtm strikes again, but this time they bring in TV’s most loved judge - Judge Judy. Apparently the TV show was willing to take this litigation and air it as an episode.

As always, they post an IG post and a caption, and the article mentioned in the IG caption below is basically an article written for clicks about Louis and Harry because they saw the larrie part of the fandom was getting them clicks. I’ll leave the link to the article here for documentation purposes, but honestly there’s nothing in there worth giving them clicks for. Not a thing. The title of the article is “A Complete Guide to 1D Members Louis Tomlinson and Harry Styles’ Rumoured Relationship”

Article: https://celebmagazine.com/louis-tomlinson-harry-styles-relationship/

November 6th

We see the sudden return from social media exile of Bri to IG. She’s back - with a post and the description ironically saying “I’m back”. I refuse to post it because does anyone really want to look at her face-tuned selfies? 

November 9th

Then after weeks of radio silence, the return of Bri to IG, we get what is apparently the - very underwhelming - like Bri’s boobs to Sugar Daddy who never got to see them - conclusion to this Sugar Daddy drama. This following article which is basically a letter from Michael to Briana telling her how he’s giving up on the lawsuit, taking this as a life lesson and how he hopes no one else falls for her scams. Article below:

https://celebmagazine.com/michael-straus-briana-jungwirth-open-letter-to-one-direction-louis-tomlinson-alleged-baby-mama/

(Again this is the link - if the article gets taken down and you want to see it - DM me)

And of course - the article is accompanied by an IG post by celebtm.

So, here we currently are. After watching that circus show no one wanted not paid for (well except the Sugar Daddy, and he didn’t even get to see the thing he paid for - so sad.) we’re in November and the Jungwirths and company are back to their carefree posting on IG. 

Current status:

The lawsuit seems to have been dropped. 

Everything seems to be in process of being swept under the rug.

Nick - the loving fiancee - is back to IG too. All of his happy, loving pictures with Bri still up (some deleted) - so we must assume their love survived Boobiegate.

As for overlapping timelines:

The timelines overlap mostly during the months March-October with it being said Bri dated Brody, but was also taking money from Boobie Daddy who was helping her during the pandemic, and was later also apparently starting a serious relationship with Nick.

What actually went on - I don’t know. And I’m honestly not interested to find out. This is being mentioned just so anyone coming across this post knows that yes - you didn’t read it wrong - the timelines do overlap with different people saying different things and Bri being tied to all three men at those times without any real clear timeline for the relationships.

So far this is all there is to this mess. If there’s more - I’ll do a part two or addition.

I’d like to end this with saying - these masterposts are 95% just me making them for myself because I forget stuff, and so much goes on in the fandom that if I want to keep up with it all, I need a nice timeline for things. I’m posting this for anyone wanting to make sense of this circus too or just to put it into a timeline. I did fact check all the dates, posts, IG pics, links and so on - but mistakes can happen - if there is one feel free to let me know.

[kanmom51]

JM JK timeline.- my observations how they grew over the years - 2017

Disclaimer: these are my own opinions and conclusions.  Feel free to disagree, but hate or aggression will be unacceptable.

2017 - part 2

12 Feb 2017 – “You never walk alone” preview show.  Who’s JM’s little cutie? 

14 Feb 2017 – JM Twitter post –  the boys with matching jackets.  I know. I said not Twitter, but sometimes rules are made to be broken.

17 Feb 2017 – Hobi’s birthday.  JM to JK: “stop coming to our room at night.” There’s something about JM throwing JK under the bus time after time.  It’s like he enjoys to see JK squirm.

22 Feb 2017 – Gaon Chart K-pop chart – JK ushering Hobi to another seat, so that JK can sit behind JM.  JM turning around see this, rolls his eyes and smirks.

24 Feb 2017 – KBS Music Bank comeback - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4_ASZuLeVk&t=156s  

Another one of my favourites.  A perfect example for both boys hesitance, wanting to touch, but just not getting there. 

 JM putting arm behind JK, but holding on to wall behind, and then matter of factually laying it on JK’s shoulder.  

JM micro touching, or brushing JK’s hand with his thumb.  

Prior to JM brushing JK’s hand with his thumb, JK’s hand is heart signing to JM. 

The minute JM moves his hand away, you see how the expression on JK’s face changes, then he rubs his hand where JM touched him.

24 Feb 2017 fan meet – are they in actual F… sending flying kisses to each other?

25 Feb 2017 MBC music core comeback – JK moving Hobi aside, so that JK can stand behind JM.  JK being JM’s number 1 fanboy.

26 Feb 2017 – Wings – you never walk alone fan sign.  Really JM? What was that neck grab and what exactly were you doing there????  No, I don’t believe he kissed JK’s neck, but it sure was ‘out there’, so much so that Jin was in total shock when it happened.  JK was surprised by it, and I think that even JM was shocked by his own actions waling aimlessly in what seems like the wrong direction .

28 Feb 2017 Run BTS episode 12. This one for me was cringe worthy, at some points I felt like an actual intruder.  JK the detective and JM the prisoner.  JK whacking JM on the behind (remember JK is the younger – how bold).  JM’s private dance for JK.  I know the episode was mostly scripted, but I seriously think JM was surprised by that smack to his behind.  Also, the way JK was looking at JM when he was dancing all heart hands for him.

12 March 2017 - Wings tour Santiago Chile

Santiago day 2 – JK suffers from exhaustion.  As he is taken back stage to a treatment room, JM is the one to race after the team into the room.

JM is in the treatment room when the cameras come in.  He is standing there, and later, as the other members are walking in, JM is by JK’s side, helping the medical team lift up one of his legs.

The rest of the members come in together to see how JK is doing, and when the medical team suggest to take off JK’s pants, all the members leave the room.  All except for JM, who stays there with JK the whole time.

JM leaves the room only together with JK, after he feels better and is able to walk out of the room on his own two feet.

Wouldn’t you expect RM, being the leader and all, to be the one by JK’s side? Or J-Hope maybe?  Wouldn’t that have made more sense under the circumstances? Why JM?  

Because, clearly JM is the one JK feels closest to, the one he can be himself with freely, the one he doesn’t feel embarrassed or needs privacy from.

JM may not have been a family member, but he was the closest thing to it.  JM to JK is and was his home, his safe place, and most certainly the one to be by his side when he was in distress.

March 2017 BTS Live trilogy episode the Wings tour in Santiago Chile & Brazil.  

March 2017 BTS Live trilogy episode the Wings tour in Chicago.

April 2017 3rd Muster dvd – the muster was at end of 2016, but dvd was released in 2017. During photo shoots they are being posed by the photographers.  Yes, there will be authentic moments between them, but sometimes it’s hard to tell what’s real and what’s being directed.  That’s why I don’t always like to add these to my timeline.   Even so, they were so cute, so I couldn’t leave this one out.

3rd April 2017 – BTS Front row live entertainment interview – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UotjcB_X4ag . What happened there?  

This one intrigues me. I watched and re-watched the full interview several times, and for the life of me I can’t see what happened there between JM and Hobi that triggered JK’s reaction?  JM’s placating look at JK, like telling him nothing happened… this one is used a lot to create the JK jealous narrative, and to be honest, I really don’t know what happened there. When JK turns back, JM looks into the camera with an uneasy gaze.

After that, most of the time, JM looks lost in his thoughts, not happy.  Towards the end they are asked what artist they would want to collaborate with, and Suga’s answer makes them all burst out in laughter, all accept for JM.  When he is asked and answers, you also see he is unhappy.  You can easily see something is bothering him.  JM just wasn’t his happy own self.  He looked pensive.  BTS did several interviews and had a concert that day, so maybe he was just tired or wound up, but he just wasn’t acting like himself.

April 2017 - Bon Voyage 2 Hawaii

Highlights of the highlights: The but checking and identifying (are we taking skinship to another level, are we??).  

JK getting drenched at the beach, JK getting drenched period. Lol.  

JK gobbling down piping hot Pizza so JM can eat. 

JM playing footsies under the table with JK, all while sitting opposite V.  

JK edging JM to come along calling him “Aegyo” = “Baby”.  J

M making sure JK doesn’t go hungry, buying him food with his own money.  JM taking care of JK. 

JK and JM on same team – the joy… Spending the day together and just being happy. 

 Did JK really lose the game on purpose so he can be in the room with JM? 

The amount of times we hear Jimin-ssi in every kind of cute and flirty way JK can say it…

Bonus:

22 April 2017 JK Vlive – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5n8y3D0Z9pM . 

JK doing everything to get JM back to his room while playing loud music. 

JK’s face lighting up when JM returns to his room. 

JK telling JM he looks handsome without makeup.  

JK pissed off when V comes in too, saying “why is everyone coming?”.    

When V touches JK’s ear, JK pushes him away.  

JM moving off camera to fix his robe, and JK not taking his eyes off him.  

V putting his foot on JK’s back (this is something I have seen V do a few times, it’s not a gentle touch, to me it feels more like asserting dominance), and JM pushes him off.    

And what exactly did JM mean when he said he has no talent for games but “I was quite good at it a year ago”?  Only to be followed by the stare, OMG, the stare.  Why, oh why did V have to ruin the moment, eh?

22-23 April 2017 Bangkok concert. Flirting on stage, attention to each other.

24 April 2017 Eat Jin Vlive with JM and JK - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqxX_UGXSlY .   

Jin complaining why JM doesn’t hit him like he did JK, so JM hits him too. Lol. JM stealing the steak JK cuts for himself, while JK lets him, smiling.  The way JK just lets JM get away with anything, even interfering with the ultimate ‘ship’ - Jungfood. 

3 June 2017 – J-14 magazine interview - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7rXl8uuUTY&t=306s .  from 3.33min. to 4.37min especially.

Wtf was JM up to there????? It looks pretty dubious, especially when you look at the faces on the two of them when it was going on.  Up to your interpretation.

2 June 2017 – Ceremonial first pitch at baseball match – Hanshin Koshien stadium - JK and JM’s jersey numbers – coincidence or not?

12 June Festa 2017 BTS BangtanTv –  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWA6f7g7NUQ&t=2s.

JK’s intense stare at JM, when JM joined the others in with the others when they were laughing at JK eating everyone’s food but not ordering any for himself, which causes JM to immediately stop laughing.  

Poor JK being blindsided when it was pointed out that the only one he bought a birthday present for last year was JM.  Oops. (why oh why JM did you throw him under the bus like that??? You were curious? Really???? JM keeps doing this) Poor boy was so embarrassed.  Hobi was the one to actually save him, stating how generous JK has become lately giving away his things that he didn’t need. JK never answered the question. 

27 June 2017 BV2 special commentary live – JK getting all flustered when asked to explain the difference between BV1 and BV2.  JM looking at him, enjoying every second.

4 August 2017 - KBS Music Bank Singapore.  JK not loving on Taemin.  The way he turns around the minute JM and Taemin interact, and the discontent look on his face…cold.  He’s not a happy camper.  He glancing in the direction a couple of times, but he is mostly turned away from them.   And when JM runs up to slap Taemin in the butt, JK sees this, averts his head, and just keeps walking off the stage.  He is clearly upset. Besides the obvious faces he makes, not waiting for Jimin when walking off stage is not something he usually does. Was it jealousy?  Was it just a disliking of Taemin specifically?  And if he dislikes Taemin, why is that?  We can’t know. 

OK now, I know I said that I won’t be doing Twitter, but this one I felt I had to (again, oops):

On the 6th of August 2017 JM posted a photo he took during their Hawaii trip (BV2). Why take this photo, and why post it?  Do I really have to ask this question?

29th August 2017 the famous, or infamous People Now “arrest me” interview -  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgGxcMndEk8 .  

I couldn’t find the actual date of this interview, but it was uploaded end of August 2017. I really enjoyed this one.  Everyone talks about JK’s “arrest me” JM mishap during this interview.  The members reactions are to die for.  

Can someone tell me please what Suga told JK in Korean before they moved on?????  

Also, JK’s reaction when JM said he wanted to collab with Suga (watch from 7:58min), was like:

 W H A T  in  T H E  actual F U C K???. LMAO.  

Summer package 2017 – released August 2017.

JK and JM being all playful by the pool.  JK letting us know how adorable JM is to him when he is swimming doggy style in the pool.

The one that stands out to me, though, is the ‘dream catcher necklace saga’.  Felt a little uneasy to see that one, like I was witness to a lover’s tiff.  

The boys were given a budget each to purchase themselves a gift.  They are taken together to a gift shop, where they check the merchandise out and each buy themselves a little souvenir.  When they all sit down to show each other their gifts, that’s when this moment happens.

JK takes out his gift. I once again want to emphasize, this is a gift he bought with his budget for himself.  He explains it’s a dream catcher and says he will put it in his room.  

JM, sitting next to him, takes it from JK and says: “this is a necklace Jungkook-ssi”. 

JK blurts out adamantly that he won’t hang it around his neck.   

This is when things get awkward, because you can see JM is clearly upset, throws the necklace back at JK and says: “OK, then”.

JM has a dream catcher necklace around his neck too, and when it’s his turn to tell what gift he bought himself he takes the necklace off and gives it to V, saying he bought the gift for V, who had a nightmare last night.

After JM’s mini tantrum JK, who previously adamantly professed he will not put it around his neck, does everything he can to put the necklace on, finally turning to JM to help him put the it on, which he does.  

Later on, while sitting for the personal interview, with the necklace around his neck, he tells us how from now on he won’t have nightmares.

What did I get from all that?

Clearly JM was pissed at JK’s reaction.  Why?  JK clearly bought this by himself for himself. 

But did he?  Was it something he chose for himself, or was it something JM suggested to him?

JM also bought a dream catcher.  Was that a coincidence?  For some reason, I don’t think so.  

My theory is that the dream catcher is something JM suggested or wanted JK to buy for himself, and JK reluctance to wear it offended him.  JM clearly bought the other dream catcher for V.  Perhaps he wanted both his boys to have one, and to him, JK’s comment felt as a rejection.

The way JK reacted to JM, his immediate change of attitude towards the necklace, trying to put it on, when only a second earlier he said he won’t put this around his neck, shows how attuned he was to JM, how he immediately realised he did something wrong, something to upset JM, and how he tried, in his own way, to atone for it, by wearing the same thing he but seconds ago rejected.

This brings me back to the point I made about the boys relationship, and them finding the balance. A perfect example to how there will still be conflict, but how JK realises, immediately, that he had done wrong and what he has done wrong, and immediately sets to right the wrong, hence to restore that balance.

JM throwing the necklace at JK.  Also, notice the editor’s remark.  JM’s anger is obvious not only to me.

To be continued... 

[creechurfoundincheckerboardvoid]

I only started following you because of my salad fingers phase and you had a crossover comic featuring him, but now the lore of dhmis is enticing and I have no clue where to start. Can you- can you pwease explain it to me?

-dysrix anon

ok got it!!! no problem!!!!!

(before i start rambling excessively i just gotta say that's different to hear lol, i think the majority are around for the puppets and just tolerate mr sally's presence)

OK SO. dhmis is a webseries that started in 2011 as a short film made by a couple of college kids who wanted to say something about not imposing rules on how creativity should be expressed, because art school is kinda just Like That. that video was put on youtube and went really super viral and all the Reaction Video People were a "so scawy 😥" whiny baby about it. the creators wanted to make a series but left the idea alone because it was a lot of work and also expensive (puppetry). then in 2014 they were commisioned to make 2, they did, and then tony the talking clock (emphasis on those last three words) became a tumblr sexyman and a bunch of everyone started shipping him with sketchbook (who they called paige) and humanizing them and it was just this whole thing. anyway thanks to them the creators made a kickstarter to fund the rest of the series and it actually worked out, too. so i'd like to thank the clockfuckers we would not be here without you. i hope you fucked your clock. anyway then over the next two years the last four episodes came out and they were epic and gamer and increasingly Kinda Horrifying (three still messes me up a bit but none of the others ever scared me, it's just more weird than anything. in a very good way) and the last one, six, came out june 19th 2016 (which was father's day, and it hasn't been father's day june 19th since yesterday, and it won't be again until 2033), and it was awesome. then september 13th 2018 wakey wakey (thirteen second long trailer) happened and everyone lost their shit and then sundance film festival in january 2019 where they pitched that pilot they made around (and seeing as the pilot as we know it is almost certainly a lost media now, those very low-quality cam leaks on youtube are possibly all that remains). then in july 2020 they started making the show and well you know Plague Was A Thing That Happened so it was pretty quiet for a while and then august 30th 2021 they announced they finished filming and then february 25th there was a clip continuing the pirate joke and saying they were finishing lines and then late may wakey wakey disappeared aND THEN YESTERDAY FLY HAPPENED AND

and the reason i'm finishing that particular tangent very quickly is that i am now realising you were likely asking about the lore of the story itself. and not its process of existence

well

SO NO ONE KNOWS WHAT IT'S ABOUT.

there sure are a lot of ideas out there!! and i have definitely got my own ideas which i don't really talk about ever because they're honestly a bit too rude to the media theory (which i hate - a lot - but also which a lot a lot a lot of other people really like. so it'd be mean)

ANYWAY THE BASIC SUMMARY OF THE WEBSERIES is there are three puppets and they're yellow guy and red guy and duck and they all live in a house together and every episode some object in their house comes alive and sings to them a lesson about an abstract, basic concept like yknow creativity and time. so it's sort of meant to resemble something like sesame street at first. but these sentient objects (who are usually called "teachers") are kinda Really Fucked Up and the lessons go wrong really fast and usually end in uhhhh murder. also their life is a lie and it's like puppet matrix and roy, yellow guy's dad, really does seem to be the guy pulling the strings behind it all. man it's like thirty minutes total on youtube i don't want to spoil it TOO much in case you ever decide to check it out lol. oh wait. oh wait you asked where to start

well you start there!!!!!!

ALSO there's a bunch of lost videos and that one puppet interview and a collection of little things around miss becky's instagram or mr joe's twitter that all just weaves together with the main thing to make A Web of Story and it's awesome. i'd be glad to tell you all about that too if you ask!!!! i'm very normal about all this that's why i have lists and notes and a handful of rambly word document essays about this everywhere

ok i'm done thanks for coming to autism hour with creech

[cryingin2d]

Make it make sense.

I've been silent for the last weeks because i don't want to deal with how skam france dissappoints me again and again. Now with the one and only reason i started watching the whole skam series: Maya and Lola.

I read Shirley's apologies, and i couldn't help but notice the comparison she did with Maya and Lola to Tina and Bette's break up.

And, as a fan of both franchises myself. I'm gonna try and make you pals understand why this comparison is INCORRECT. So you can have more arguments.

I know a lot of you haven't even watch the show, but i thing that even if you aren't gonna watch it, use this information.

So if you are still watching TLW, just know that i'll be talking about seasons 1-5. Spoilers.

What is The L word?

TLW is a 2004's series created by Ilene Chaiken, that follows the life of a group of queer women and their relationships.

Who are Bette and Tina?

Tinna Kennard and Bette Porter are a couple in the show. In season 1 is mentioned that they were together for almost 7 years until then. They were a BIG DEAL in the show. Always a favorite, even when some awful things happened. They also have a child together, Angelica.

Bette alone is an interesting character. She's been an art dealer, a dean and almost a senator in TLW generation Q. But irrational and sometimes self centered, but we're gonna talk about it later.

Tina is... a case. Her character wasn't really developped on the show, out of being the lover of x. She's on the cinema bussiness, but that was one of the only things we got to know. Until at the end of season 6 we got to know some of her traumatic past on the tapes.

Bette and Tina Throught the series

They're a mess. The break up and got back together a lot of times, they got married at the end of season 6 and everyone was happy... Until we got to know in TLW Generation Q that they got divorced.

Here's when the problem starts.

Shirley said >This<

"Like many viewers at the time, I was saddened by the end of the long-standing couple formed by Bette and TIne. But i never looked at this plotline or the showrunners (lesbians themselves) as homophobic or missrepresenting".

Now, im gonna explain you why this is incorrect.

Tibette did have Reasons to break up

As i said before. Tina in Bette were a mess as a couple. It was always open the option of them not being together at the end.

Some of these reasons are:

Cheating: On season 1, Bette cheated on TIna. On season 3, TIna cheated on Bette twice. Also, Bette cheated on Jodi, her lover on s4 and s5, WITH TINA.

Selfishness: The way Bette and Tina were selfish with each other was always an issue on the show. It got better with time when we talk about Bette. She went from just thinking about herself to (sometimes) thinking twice before hurting anyone else.

Impulsive decisions: On season 3 and 4, Tina and Bette fought over Angie's custody. Bette ended up kidnapping Angelica, and at the end it wasn't a big deal, Bette didn't get any punishment for it.

Some other things that happened that we can consider:

Bette cheated on Tina after she had a miscarriage, and tried to justify it saying that "she needed that" and Tina wasn't giving that to her.

On season 2, Bette called Tina while she was in new york to ask her if she could cheat on her (she didn't, tho).

I said it but BETTE KIDNAPPED ANGELICA.

Tina was still in love with Bette even when she was with Helena, even when she was with Henry, even when Bette was with Jodi.

When we compare Tibette to Mayla we have to think about something really big. Which, didn't ever happened. Maya and Lola had problems.

We were in front a relationship without communication. They talked about it, but never really had the talk, so talking about their unexistent communication is useless.

Maya runned at every sign of something bad happening. As an example, when she fought with lamif and stayed a whole episode at June's. Or, in season 7 when she left almost at the end while she was in a drama with Lola.

Lola is pictured as a clingy girlfriend, and Maya doesn't like that. But rather than talking to her, she told every problem she had with Lola, to June. A character we don't even know if it's gonna be there in season 10.

The point is, we can't compare a relationship with LACK OF COMMUNICATION, to a relationship with bumps throught the whole road. Mayla doesn't even have the same story as Tibette does. It is not correct to make a comparison, unless, you know... Shirley was really trying to make this an adult show. Now comparing a teen show to an adult show.

I hope you pals got it. I really love both shows and both ships. But we need to see some points without the fan lenses. I'm on the "this season was useless" side, and not happy with the comparison Shirley made. So i tried to make you pals get the point and be as informed as i can make you.

Hope you're having a great day, please stay safe.

[nautiscarader]

2020 in animation - recap

So, 2020. 

Yeah, I have to say I’m not entirely satisfied. Would not recommend, 1 star. 

But I would be willing to bump it to 1.5, if only because of one factor: the animation. 

Because I have to say, this was the best animated end of the world so far! And if there was something that kept our spirits up, it was the cartoon industry!

Just like last year, I should preface this by saying that this is highly subjective selection. Even when one is confined to their Hobbit holes for better part of the year because of *waves hands* everything around, 

day still only has 24 hours, so I have missed a few shows. (I should also apologise for omitting a few major ones last year, like Milo Murphy’s Law S2, Ducktales, or She-Ra. This is why I started keeping a track this year). I’m sure I will catch up with those I missed this year some time in the future, but for now, let’s see what this year has gifted us with.

And right from the start, January opens the race with very interesting propositions. We were still riding on an incredibly high wave from last year, with Infinity Train season 2.

This one focused on Tulip’s mirror, and pushed the season towards a much darker and complex story, diving deep into one’s personal journey and identity. There were tears, math, deer, and cops being murdered. Brutally. 

t was followed by two newcomers: The Owl House and first season of Kipo and The Age of the Wonderbeast. Both of them would dominate first half of the year, with The Owl House’s traditional, week-to-week airings, and Kipo's seasons appearing in  June and October.

The Owl House, a strong contender in "What will be the Next Gravity Falls?" contest, invited us to a world full of magic, mystery, elongated owl demons and some dark secrets. It has also created a milestone for Disney, introducing an LGBT couple with characters of bisexual Luz Noceda and lesbian Amity Blight. Their Grom dance has risen to the top of my animates scenes, polling very closely to the unforgettable Kataango.

On the other hand, Kipo has taken us to the post-apocalyptic world filled with mutant animals, revealing that despite the end of the world, our old vices and animosities have survived in underground burrows, and we have infected the overworld of giant doggos and suit-wearing frogs with them. 

Kipo did not pull any punches regarding commentary about our society, at the same time giving us hope in the form of the main protagonist, who was able to spread friendship and understanding amongst the mutes, as well as the humans that had to survive. And in the world that we have found ourselves in, it was a pretty darn good lesson.

February would bring end to two seasons of airing cartoons, Big Hero Six season 2 and Miraculous season 3, as well as another newcomer that won the hearts of fans: Glitch Techs, with its "second" season arriving in August. And while in my opinion he show wasn't as good as the other two new titles, I am clearly in minority, as the show about Ghostbuters-like team of game console technicians gained huge popularity... though not enough to keep the show afloat. As of writing this, it is currently in limbo, which is a shame, as the second set of 10 episodes finally added some much needed ongoing story.  

in March, another show from last year ended - Steven Universe Future. As we have expected, it tackled slightly more mature themes, showing how much Steven needed that therapy we have wished him, telling an important tale of finding one's worth and one's self. its ending might not have been as explosive as those of the original show, or the movie, but it left Steven’s story as open as an open road, and deep in our hearts, we all knew it would look like this.   

March was also the time when majority of western world caught the coronavirus, and that caused quite a turmoil with the movie and animation industry. One of the first victim of changed schedule was Disney's Onward, which was released on-line on Disney+ quickly after its theatrical release.

I have mixed feelings towards “Onward”. For such interesting promise, I think it made a few questionable and down right boring turns, though the unorthodox message at the end of it was its strongest point, and it was one I haven’t seen in a while, so it was worth watching just for that.  

April was relatively quiet (aside from more end of the world stuff); brought us third season of Ducktales that spread throughout the year, while May gave us final, fifth season of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. 

To my eternal shame, I missed on this show when it premiered, and due to the lockdown, I binge-watched the previous four right in time for powerful and explosive season 5. And even though Catra and Adora finally gave us exactly what we needed, some fans felt slightly unsatisfied, calling for a movie, like the Steven Universe one to be made. And I’d be all for it, the rest of universe needs saving from the Horde! Also, cats in space - hilarious. 

May also revealed a new player on the streaming field: HBO Max, who surprised us with new Looney Tunes Cartoons, much more in the spirit of the legendary originals than the often-criticised Looney Tunes Show from 2011-2014. And in my opinion, it did; one could feel the same fluidity in animation, dedication to slapstick, and synchronisation with music than in the very first cartoons with Bugs and Daffy.

HBO Max would, however, return in June with first of series of Adventure Time original movies called "Distant Lands". The first centred around BMO, with second one - Obsidian giving us a glimpse into Bonnibel and Marceline's lives.

Distant Lands allowed people to revisit the odd, odd world of Ooo and learn about its colourful inhabitants, taking turns to seeing their past and the future, an, as usual, showing us that post-apocalyptic world can teach us valuable and meaningful lessons.   

Just in time for full lockdown in our burrows, aforementioned Kipo season 2 premiered in June, together with another cartoon movie, this time featuring We Bare Bears. While their movie wasn't anything to write songs about, it was exactly like the show, providing some wholesome content right when we needed it.

And just in case you needed more wholesome adventures, Craig of the Creek's second season ended, and its third season began, reminding us of HOW COOL LIFE WAS WHEN OUTERNET WASN’T SCARY AND WE COULD STILL WALK OUTSIDE FOR FUN AND NOT TO HUNT TOILET PAPER.

Just like last year, July was not dogs' days, but frogs'. Amphibia season 2 started raining on our heads, but unlike last year, its schedule wasn't a daily one, spreading the episodes throughout the Summer and early Autumn, with its second part arriving in February of 2021. There were more roadtrips, more mysteries and MORE MARCY.

August was equally strong: aforementioned Glitch Techs "season 2" premiered, offering better and more plot-heavy episodes than the first ten episodes. Unfortunately, the show's future is unclear; the uneven divide of plot between the seasons probably contributed to the show not being renewed. 10 new episodes apparently are written, but await in sleep mode, until Nickelodeon remembers about it.

HBO MAX picked up Infinity Train for its third season, after being derailed by Cartoon Network. And if you thought that killing a mirror cop was shocking... then this season has pushed the limit of what can be shown in modern children's cartoon to a frightening degree. The schedule was once again, weirder, with first five episodes airing on the day of the premiere, ending with a cliffhanger (literally) that only contributed to the shock factor and made us wait anxiously for its conclusion. It was bold, it was dark, it was memorable. 

And just like Glitch Techs, Infinity Train waits on a side track, unsure if it will be picked up, or will it be abandoned and left as a canvas for graffiti artists.

However, to end the Summer, a truly amazing TV movie has arrived on Disney Plus, where we came back to good, old Danville and could witness Candace against the universe. The new Phineas and Ferb movie brought back the glorious memories of this fantastic show, with the same humour, writing, abundance of catchy songs and a surprisingly deep moral.

In September we have seen the start of Big Hero 6 season 3 and a odd change of format. Instead of standalone 22-minute episodes, the show now consists of two 11-minute segments. In opinion of many, this weakened the stories, forcing them to be more comedy-oriented, and shortening the potential emotional drama. Still, it gave us funny, short stories, but they did clash with the two previous season, not to mention the movie.

However, if that wasn't up to your taste, Ducktales season 3 also started airing, and continued its first part up until December with more action- and plot-driven episodes, including the Darkwing Duck crossover, serving as a pilot of the spin-off. 

Later in December fans have learned that Season 3 will be its last, which broke the hearts of many duck fans; however, it seems that the season has been written as the last one in mind, and the news of the ending was known to the creators, which gives us hope for a kick-ass finale somewhere in 2021.

Miraculous New York, telling arguably one of the most mature storylines, opened the "Heroez" world to some new characters and new opportunities, with two more specials, taking place in Shanghai and Brazil, meant to air somewhere next year. AND I DO HOPE WE WILL SEE MORE LOCAL FOOD VENDOR SUPERHEROES LIKE HOT DOG DAN. 

October was the month of two season 3's: Carmen Sandiego and Kipo. In case of Carmen, as it is usual with Netflix, the "season" was only a half-one, with just a handful standalone episodes, and just a dash of more ongoing plot. 

For Kipo, however, season 3 was the end, and what a glorious one it was. Fans were saddened to learn of it, but Kipo was always imagined as a 3-part story, and it showed. The finale proved more than satisfying ending to the plot, elevating Kipo to one of the smartest cartoon characters we should all try to aspire to.

In November, Distant Lands: Obsidian aired, focusing on everyone’s favourite candy/vampire couple, and the long and complicated love between Bonnibel and Marceline. And as usual, it showed us that relationships are not always as straightforward as we would like them to be, but with enough music and teamwork, no enemy is big enough. 

For the next new show, I’ve waited with the most amount of excitement and anxiety. Because while I was completely fine with other reboots and re-imaginings to take creative takes, new Animaniacs, (airing on Hulu) had to be perfect and had to be the lightning that struck twice. 

And sadly... it wasn’t. It was still good, but some people criticised (incorrectly imho) the amount of political topics, while I mourned almost total cast-ration of additional characters, aside from Pinky and the Brain. This truly weakened the possibilities it could have had. It was still very good, but you can feel that some of the original charm was lost, due to these odd, odd limitations. 

December brought us a new original Apple TV movie, Wolfwalkers. A beautifully animated folk tale of friendship and social divides, and how short-sight can cause the collapse of both arguing sides, reminding me very much of the intelligence and heart of original “How to Train Your Dragon”.  

We’ve had to wait two years for the return of arguably one of the most wholesome shows out there: Hilda. Second season dived into deeper mysteries that permeate the rich and colourful troll-ridden land, we saw the return of some familiar characters, and introduced a whole new storyline, that ended with a surprising cliffhanger. Still as wholesome, but now with a tiny bit of Police incompetence. Also Twig, lots of Twig.   

Just like Onward, Pixar’s highly anticipated Soul aired on Disney+, telling a very mature story about finding one’s purpose in life, what that purpose actually means, and whether it exists at all. Beautifully animated, with fantastic soundtrack, it was a stunning tribute to creativity, and it never dumbed down its profound, open message about following your dream.   

And just if you thought that Soul was going to be 2020′s last note (pun very much intended), right before the year ended, DC Super Hero Girls concluded its first season on a rather anti-climactic two-parter. That being said, the season, running from March of last year, was packed with short, bite-sized, funny stories, taking interesting spins on existing comic book characters. For a comic book noob like me, it was perfectly fine, and I can’t wait for the second season next year. 

And so, we have reached the series finale of humanity. 

2020 ends in just under a day. What will 2021 bring us? I do not know, and if the animated shows of this year have taught me anything, is that the future is an always open book, full of worries and challenges, but also opportunities and possibilities. 

...

And in reality I was too lazy to check any news sites about upcoming projects.

[gra-sonas]

CW viewers first met Nathan Dean as Jackson on the hit "Vampire Diaries" spinoff "The Originals." However, his werewolf stint on the series wasn't his first foray on TV. The actor starred in over 300 episodes of "General Hospital," later scoring roles on shows like "Bunheads," "True Blood," and "Once Upon a Time." Between his notable TV appearances, Dean appeared in movies such as "Teeth," "The Roommate," and "Pet."

Luckily for CW followers, the network frequently features actors from past projects in new endeavors, providing fans with plentiful reunions. After a successful run on the vampire show, Dean scored a leading role as Max in "Roswell, New Mexico." Sticking true to his supernatural roots, Dean plays an alien deputy (the outer space kind, of course). Early in Season 3, the CW greenlit a Season 4, with filming on the horizon.

Looper spoke to Nathan Dean in an exclusive interview, during which he dished on Season 3 of "Roswell, New Mexico," what he really thinks about UFOs, and what it was like working on "The Originals," "Once Upon a Time," and "True Blood."

Do you have a favorite moment with the cast on or off set?

I mean, I think this past year was probably just our first day back, being everyone was so locked down in the pandemic and just the fact that we were able to come back in October. I remember the first [day] we were trying out all these new COVID protocols. We had to wear masks. We had to do the thing, but just to see our crew again here.

I mean, the crew we have here in New Mexico is such a family to us. And being able to be on set, we had a day zero, and a day double zero, and test days. And the first day back was just the crew and me. And it was just so wonderful to see everyone again and realize it wasn't necessarily the apocalypse, the end of the world like we all thought, and we're back. We're back, and everyone was good, and everyone was very conscious of being healthy and staying in the bubble that we had, and just to see their faces again was fantastic.

The series recently changed showrunners. How do you feel about the new direction? And can you tease anything that fans might expect from Max's character arc this season?

Yeah. We did. I mean, Chris Hollier is our showrunner now, and he was a producer for us the last couple of years. And when he took over, we tried to move not only Max, but I think every character, into a more adult, mature way of operating. We spent a lot of time in Season 1 in particular, but Season 2 as well, flashing back to high school. And we all had a high school outlook on each other. And moving forward, we've been able to mature the characters, I think. And this year is a great year, I think, for Max in particular, because he has to literally look himself in the eye and become the person that he was meant to be instead of someone he used to be.

Were you a fan of the original "Roswell" before snagging your role on the series?

I had never actually seen it. I mean, I don't watch a whole lot of TV, and I was familiar with the show, and I knew the book series. So yeah, when we decided to reboot this thing, it was really, really cool to see the support that we got from the original show. And we've had some of the people back. Shiri [Appleby] directed episodes for us. Last year we had ... Jason [Behr] was back for a little bit. And it's just great to know that we're in this family. It's not like no one saw us as trying to take it over or rewrite history. We're just embracing the history that's already there and just building on it and spinning it into a modern world. So yeah, their support was wonderful, and we're excited to have more of that going forward.

What direction do you hope Max goes in the future?

Well, Max spends a whole lot of time this season having to look himself in the face — literally questions a lot of things. We've done a lot in the past, the high school flashbacks and this and that, but I think this year, not only for Max but for all the characters, we see this maturation happen where you're no longer looking backward into who they used to be. Now this season, we're finally looking forward to who we want to be. And I think Max and Joan embody that dynamic, but yeah, you see it with Michael, Isabel, Maria, Liz. You see every character really take a step forward this year, and that's a credit to our showrunner and to our writers for trusting us to take that leap and move the show, looking forward instead of looking back.

Are there any particular adult storylines that you're excited to maybe see him tackle or that you'd like to see him tackle?

Well, I think it's his relationship with Liz, really. We ended Season 2 in a pretty bad place. I mean, Liz runs off, Max goes all arsonist on her, it's a little bit of an immature response to something. You just have a temper tantrum and light everything on fire. But I think this year, yeah, we really see Max and Liz move forward in a way that is much more mature and adult and respectful. And they, I mean, obviously the elephant in the room is, "Well hey, you blew up all my stuff." "Yeah, sorry." But how do you come back from that? And I think we see them take a step forward in a big way this year, and I'm excited for people to see that this year because we haven't historically had a very adult relationship, and now we're moving towards that.

Is there anyone you'd love to see appear on the show?

I mean, I would love to have Jason [Behr] back, I would say. I mean, he wasn't with us for long last year, and it was just great to see him and learn from him and watch him work. So I would love to see some more of the 1940s flashback-y kind of stuff, learn some more of that. We have a little bit of that in season three. We have some of that, which is a lot of fun, and yeah, I mean, I'm always in for that.

I love flashbacks, other time periods, different things that shows do. Is there a time period that you'd love to see the show tackle in flashbacks?

Yeah. I mean, we get into it this year, more of the ... Because the crash was what? 1947, I believe. We get into that a little bit more, and that's always fun. I love that time period. I love being able to play in that arena, and hopefully, we get some more of that in Season 3, and hopefully, going forward in Season 4, we'll have some more of that as well.

Have you been able to direct yet?

I have not. I haven't tried. I haven't asked to. Actually Maria, Heather [Hemmens], who plays Maria on our show, she directed this past year. And I know Michael Trevino, who plays Kyle, he wants to get into directing. So hopefully, we'll have him this coming year. And I haven't looked to direct on this show. I would love to direct a short film or something like that, but on this show, I'll leave our show to the professionals. I'll find directing somewhere else.

"Roswell, New Mexico" actually films in New Mexico. How do you think that choice has positively affected the feel of the show?

Oh, it changes everything. I mean, New Mexico, I don't know if you've had a chance to come out here, but New Mexico is such an amazing place. I mean, they call it the Land of Enchantment for a reason. Growing up in Texas, I've driven through New Mexico a million times, but I never stopped. And when I finally got here and just took it in, I mean, the sky is huge out here. The air is different out here. It's everywhere you look: the sunsets are incredible. It informs so much of the show.

And also, having crew from New Mexico, having a local crew out here, you see it on our show, the turquoise, just the style, the whole thing. But we see that every day. That's just the people that we work with, and to be able to film here, I think, informs so much of what it is to crash land in this crazy place. And yeah, I don't think we could pull this off anywhere else. This is such a wonderful place, and yeah, we're very lucky to be here.

Speaking of crash landing, New Mexico has been a hotbed for reported UFO sightings for years. Have you ever seen anything weird yourself, or have you heard stories from other cast members or locals?

I haven't heard any abduction stories, but it's definitely ... we get on set every time there's an airplane or an airline will report that they've seen something weird. We're the first ones to know about it. I mean, the skies here are crazy — there are times when you look up in the clouds, you're like, "Is that something? I don't know." But yeah, I mean, we have all that here. We're very much in it, but yeah, I have not personally been abducted yet, but I'm hoping for it.

Fingers crossed? [Laughs] So in June, the government released a report confirming that they can't explain 143 UFO sightings, which is a wild revelation. Do you think that there's any credence to the idea that these might be actual extraterrestrial events, or do you think there's a simpler explanation to all of that?

I mean, I think it definitely it could be. I'm not writing it off. When you hear, you see videos, you can see video of Air Force pilots, and there's something on their radar that you just can't explain. I don't know if it's aliens. I don't know if it's probes or some sort of drone that someone sent out, I don't know. But it wouldn't surprise me if it was true. I mean, I think the universe is too big of a place for us to be all alone here. And if aliens are going to come somewhere, you should come to New Mexico because it's awesome and we're waiting for you.

So would you be team "Leave the aliens alone and let them do their thing," or "Let's initiate contact and see what happens"?

Oh, I would love to initiate contact. I would love to. I would love to go on a spaceship. I would love to go explore that. I think if ... There are all these movies, "War of the Worlds." There's all this stuff that imagines aliens are going to come here and destroy us. If you're going to travel all that distance, you're not looking to destroy anybody. So I think it would be a really interesting conversation. I think we would have a lot to learn from an advanced civilization that traveled all this way. I think we would have a lot to learn.

The series tackles a ton of critical social issues like immigration, ICE, and domestic violence. Have there been any of those subjects that particularly resonate with you and that you're proud of the show for homing in on? And is there something that you'd like to see them do in the future?

Well, for me personally, I mean, I'm a cop on the show. That's been a huge debate over the last couple of years, and this season, we get into the good and the bad of that. We see the good sides of it and what it can be, and then we also can see the bad side.

And for me personally, that's been something that I think we've talked about a little bit that I'm very happy with. And also, I mean, everyone just went through this huge pandemic. We can't ignore that. So that's something, when our character of Kyle, who's a doctor — what he's had to go through — I think that's one of the things that makes our show relatable and makes our show ... we're not shying away from the cop controversy. We're not shying away from the things people had to go through with the pandemic.

We're willing to talk about it. And thankfully, we have such a great platform to do that with this backdrop of aliens and all this stuff. We can really home in on the human aspects of that world, given the fact that we're an alien show. It makes talking about the human stuff much more, I think, palpable. And yeah, that's something that we've always done. And going forward, we'll see what the world has in store for us the next year or two, and we'll talk about that, whatever comes up, we're here for it.

Several other actors from the "Vampire Diaries" universe have also come to "Roswell." What was it like working with Riley Voelkel and Steven Krueger again — and getting a chance to work with other "TVD" alums, like Michael Trevino and Kayla Ewell?

It's great. I mean, CW does a great job of keeping the family together. Working with Trevino is fantastic. He's a great guy, and I've known him for a long time. Same with Jason Krueger and Riley. I've known them for a long time, and just to have those familiar faces around is always nice, but it's fun too then to see these people who, we come from this vampire-werewolf world, and now we're in this alien world. It's fun to see that transition and get to see what else they can bring to the table.

Definitely. So you've been a werewolf, you've been a vampire, you've been an alien, and you've even been a fairytale character. Do you have a favorite? And do you gravitate more toward shows with supernatural undertones, or did it just sort of happen that way?

It just sort of happened. I mean, I would say for me, my favorite is always just being a human. That seems to be the hardest job to get, but no, I mean, it just sort of happened. And it's fun because, like I was saying, having a backdrop of something supernatural highlights the humanity.

I mean, if you have this ... There are aliens, and there's this, and there's that, but then you have these human moments, and those are the ones that you hold precious because sure, you can throw people around and you can jump out of trees, and you can do all this crazy supernatural stuff. But at the end of the day, it's about the human moments. And I think that's what supernatural shows tend to bring out the most.

"Roswell" isn't your first time being on a CW show. You also starred in "The Originals." What was it like working on set with Phoebe Tonkin and Joseph Morgan and the rest of that cast?

Oh, they were great. I mean, we were out in Atlanta, and I mean, geez, that was like five, six, seven years ago now.

Really? That long?

Right? Crazy. But it was great. I mean, every set is going to be different, and we were in Atlanta for "The Originals." And so we had the Atlanta crew there, and we got to know that city a lot. And then moving out here to New Mexico, it's a completely different landscape. It's a completely different setup.

Thankfully it's nice to always have the familiar faces, but yeah, we have a New Mexico crew, and this platform is totally different because we're not talking about supernatural witchcraft and this and that. We're talking about sci-fi. We're talking about aliens. We're talking about all this other stuff. So I mean, they're both different. I mean, I loved Atlanta. I will always love Atlanta, but yeah, I'm just grateful to be out here in New Mexico now.

Is there anything you wish that Jackson did on the show before your storyline ended, and how do you feel about your character's first ending and then getting to meet Hope and Hayley again at the end?

I think that was a really sweet way to go out. Jackson was always a passenger on that ship. The story was about the vampires and about Phoebe's character, and Jackson was always just sort of a bystander. So, to have that kind of closure with Hope at the end and have that moment, it was nice. I think Jackson serves his purpose. The story wasn't about him, but yeah, it was nice that they brought me back, and I was able to have that moment.

To that end, "The Originals" birthed the backdoor pilot for the "Legacies" spinoff. Would you come back for something like a flashback episode if given the opportunity? Or are you happy with where it ended up?

I'm happy where it ended up. I think "Legacies" is on its own journey now. And I know the actress who plays Hope, and I know that they're on their own path. Jackson doesn't really have a place there.

The great thing about the entire "Vampire Diaries" franchise is its deep roots in history, culture, and folklore. Do you have any favorite storylines, time periods, or pieces of folklore that the show tackled throughout its run?

Yeah, I mean, I think when I was doing the vampire/werewolf stuff, it was fascinating to learn so much about where those legends came from. The origin stories of, you have, what was it? Vlad the Impaler was one of the first people thought to be vampires and these horribly dark stories that gave rise to these myths and legends.

And it was really, really fun to just learn about all of that and to learn the history of where these myths come from and why they're so compelling today. I mean, why do we still talk about this stuff? What is it that draws our attention to it? So it was just fun to learn, I mean, from an intellectual standpoint, just get into the mindsets of people that may have thought these bloodthirsty sorts of things. It was kind of wild, and yeah, it was a lot of fun to learn about.

You had a stint as James in the last season of "True Blood." Was it difficult coming on so late into such a beloved show? Were you nervous, or did you feel welcomed right away? And what was your biggest takeaway from that series?

I definitely felt welcomed. I actually knew Deborah Ann Woll, who played my love interest off the top. I knew her from way long ago. We actually go way back. So I was familiar enough with the cast and crew. They welcomed me in. It was weird coming in at the end of a show because they had been together for seven years at that point, that cast.

And stepping in, I got to see a lot of the heartbreak and the sadness of it coming to an end, but I was grateful to be a part of it. And I learned a lot from Stephen [Moyer] and from Anna [Paquin], and it was a great environment. I wish it had gone on longer, but I was grateful for the year that I got there.

You played another classic fairytale character in "Once Upon a Time" as Hansel. What was that experience like? And how do you feel that the show handled its own spin on the Hansel and Gretel fairytale? And do you have any fond memories of that set and that cast?

Well, I love that set. I mean, actually, our current showrunner, Chris Hollier, was one of the writers on that show. And I was in a situation this year similar to the one I was in when I was on "Once Upon a Time" — getting to have this dual life, this secret life. And I like the direction that they went on "Once Upon a Time," it was a lot of fun, but it was a great crew. It was a great cast. And it was fun to play a little darkly twisted version of a fairytale character. You think fairytales, you think happily ever after, but yeah, I didn't have one of those kinds of characters on that show, and it was really fun. It was very fun to play the dark side of all that.

Is there any other franchise that you'd like to break into? "Star Wars"? Marvel? Anything like that?

Oh, any of it, all of it. Yeah, sure. I mean, I would love to, Disney+, they're doing a lot of great stuff with Marvel and with the "Star Wars" franchise. And I mean, I would love to be any part of that because Marvel's just awesome. So, that would just be fun, but "Star Wars" is cool because it's a time period in and of itself. They really have created this out-of-time universe that there are spaceships, but they also have lightsabers, and they're sword fighting, but they're flying through the galaxy. So it's this weird mashup. That would definitely be fun. I mean, I would love to get into any of that.

Would you want to play an alien? A Jedi? Or a Sith?

Ooh.

That's the real question.

Maybe a Sith. I don't know. Yeah. I think that would be fun. Yeah, yeah. You just don't have rules at that point.

I feel like the Jedi don't follow any of their rules either. [Laughs]

That is true. They have a lot of rules, they just don't listen. Yeah.

Is there anything else that's upcoming for you that you want to talk about?

I don't know. I mean, right now, I'm just focused on Season 4. We get started in a couple weeks. I'm curious to see how we springboard off of Season 3, because Season 3 is wild, and I hope people enjoy it as much as we did filming it. So I'm excited to tackle Season 4, and then beyond that, we'll see if we get to Season 5.

We'll be lucky to do that, but yeah, I mean, there are always projects. There's so much happening in the world of TV right now and in film, and there are so many different avenues that you can take. We had actors on our show that were directing their own short films this past year that were doing all this. So there are tons of avenues for it. And I'm just focused on Season 4 right now. I'll be doing that for the next six months, and then beyond that, we'll see. We'll see what comes down the pipe.

Is there anything else about the show or anything else you want to add?

No. I mean, not really. I mean, I think I'm excited to hear feedback and to hear what people think about the different, the Jones, Max difference, this sort of dichotomy that we have in Season 3. I'm excited to see what people think about that and what that reveals going forward. And then, yeah, again, I'm excited to see these characters take a step forward in terms of their maturity with each other and respecting each other and Liz and Max finally figuring it out and finally getting on the same page for the first time. So that'll all be fun. That'll be fun looking forward.

Definitely. Well, congratulations on getting a new season before the current one has even popped off. I love seeing that.

[woah-were-halfway-there]

The Sweetest of Them All

A/N: just another little bonus part of the AFTR universe that I came up with out of nowhere. Also, I left this as third person instead of second. Enjoy!

Word Count: 3.2k

Y/N has never been a big fan of Valentine's Day.

To her, it was overrated and expensive. But, she'd be lying if she said she didn't love the fact that it gave an extra reason to love on Auston a ridiculous amount. Sure, she did that every day, but to be fair, she loved how the title of Valentine's Day added a bit more fun and excitement to something she'd normally do any other day. It felt different for some reason, so even though she didn't love the so-called holiday, she still tried to plan something special for it every year.

Admittedly, she and Auston almost got competitive about it with trying to one-up the other with affection. They didn't care about gifts. They cared about the time they spent together and the thoughtfulness behind it.

Usually, it was Y/N that came up with something ridiculously sweet for Valentine's Day to do for Auston. However, this year, he had her beat.

For some odd reason, Y/N woke up very early that day. Maybe it was the baby waking her, or perhaps it was her internal clock saying sleep was no longer necessary. But, regardless, she was awake much earlier than usual. She also knew Mia wasn't awake or else she would've heard her, so she took that time to lie back in bed and relax for a few minutes on her own.

The bed felt incredibly empty, given that Auston was with the Leafs in Washington and wasn't expected to be back in Toronto until late that night. Frank was a good cuddle buddy alternative, but sometimes the Goldendoodle just wasn't enough when Y/N was missing her man. Of course, this was one of the days when she missed him a lot, so she took that as an excuse to text Auston and at least get this so-called holiday kicked off.

Y/N Happy Valentine's Day, Aus 🥰 can't wait to see you tonight

She wasn't expecting him to message back right away, seeing as it was only 7:30 in the morning, but much to her surprise, he did.

Auston Happy Valentine's Day, babe 💕 Can't wait to see you either. Did the flowers for Mia get delivered?

Y/N Yes, they got here last night. They're beautiful. I set them on the kitchen counter, so once she's awake and we go downstairs, she'll see her little V-Day gift from you

Auston Perfect. I got part of your Valentine's thing with me right now too. Ready for it?

Y/N Is it going to make me cry?

Auston Probably

Y/N Great. Hit me with your best shot

She stared at her phone screen for a moment, expecting it to light up with the notification of an incoming FaceTime call from her husband or a picture, but instead, he sent her a link. But not just any link, it was the link to the video recording of a new Spittin' Chiclets podcast episode that was over an hour-long called 'Love Day: Part One.'

Confused, but also insanely curious, Y/N then leaned over to grab her laptop from the bedside table and got into the most comfortable position her growing baby bump would allow so she could watch the video like that. As soon as she was about to press play, her phone buzzed with another text.

Auston This was filmed a couple of weeks ago when the Chiclets guys were in Toronto. They interviewed at least 10 different guys in the league at different times, and they're kind of long, which is why there's more than one part. Just watch the intro, then I'm the first interview. Mitch is on part 2 if you want to watch that as well, but yeah... call me when you're done 💕

Still unsure of how to process what was going on, Y/N just shook her head and followed the link.

The video started with Biz, Whit and Rear sat all-around a table, each wearing a different red, white or pink shirt with heart-shaped balloons positioned behind them. Empty bottles of Pink Whitney sat on the table, acting as vases for bouquets of roses, making Y/N roll her eyes and chuckle at how far these guys would go for good product placement. But, she kept watching, and unsurprisingly, Biz was the first to speak.

Biz: "For Valentines Day this year, we wanted to do something different. Something more soft. So, we're going to tell, well, I guess, show some love stories."

Whit: "Bet you all didn't know that some of the greatest love stories to ever be told have happened to some of the guys that play in the NHL. Don't believe me? Guess you'll have to listen to find out what they are."

Rear: "We asked some players to come in and talk to us about their relationship stories and give as many details as they were willing to give. And let me tell you, they were great. To start us off, we have Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs telling us his fairytale romance."

The video then clipped to a shot of Biz sitting next to Auston in what Y/N assumed was the hotel downtown that the Chiclets guys were staying at. Auston wasn't dressed extravagantly or anything, just wore a grey hoodie, black pants, and his signature Raiders snapback.

Y/N immediately recognized his outfit. She remembered Auston coming home in those same clothes early one afternoon after he did some running around downtown with Mia, and started thinking of how not once did he mention doing anything for the podcast. He kept this very on the down low, and Y/N was excited to see how it would all play out.

Biz: "Alright, with us today, we have none other than the Leafs number 34, Auston Matthews. Welcome back to the show, Auston. How ya doin?"

Auston: "I'm great. Thanks for having me. How are you guys?"

Whit and Rear: "Good."

Biz: "Great, real good. Now, Auston, you know what you're here to talk about, right?"

Auston: (chuckling) "You're acting like you didn't spend the last week blowing up my phone until I agreed to do this."

Biz: "Amazing! You do know. So, here's how it's all going to go down. We've got a list of questions about your relationship with your significant other. Your obvious better half. And are going to take turns asking them so the people listening at home can get a bit of insight on your, and I quote, iconic love story. Why don't you give us a little summary of your relationship before we dive in?"

Auston: (hesitantly) "Sure, okay. So, my wife Y/N and I have been married for almost two years now. Our anniversary is at the end of July. She accidentally forgot it last year, which I haven't let her live down. Y/N, babe, this is your six month in advance warning that our anniversary is indeed coming up again this year… She's going to hate that I mentioned that. We, uh, we've been together since my first season in Toronto, so for a pretty long time now, and it's been amazing. We have a daughter, Amelia, but everyone just calls her Mia unless she's in trouble. She just turned two on January 25th, and we have our second baby on the way. They're due to be making their grand appearance in late June. We also have our firstborn, Frank, the Goldendoodle. Can't forget about him. But, yeah, that's my little family."

Whit: (nodding along with Biz and Rear) "Fair enough. Now, how and when did you and Y/N meet exactly?"

Auston: "We met on the night of my first NHL game back in 2016. She was at that game."

Biz: "Oh, yeah? Was she there for a reason?"

Auston gave him an unimpressed look.

Biz: "What?"

Auston: "You know why she was there!"

Biz: (shrugging) "Our listeners don't. C'mon, refresh my memory. Was she there to cheer someone else on?"

Auston: (shaking his head) "Yeah. She, uh, she's a cousin of one of my teammates, so she was there with their family to watch him during our first game."

Biz: (grinning widely) "What teammate?"

Auston: "The one out in the hallway keeping my daughter occupied while you keep being annoying and asking me questions you already know the answer to."

Everyone laughed at that, including Y/N, as she shifted onto her side, being mindful of her growing bump that seemingly became more noticeable each day, and got comfortable as she braced herself for what the rest of this interview would entail.

Biz: (still laughing): "Just to clarify for everyone who still doesn't know, he's talking about Mitch Marner."

Auston: "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up."

Rear: "I take it that Mitch and Mia get along really well? I haven't heard a peep from her since you came in here."

Auston: "Oh, she loves him. Yeah, that's her Mitchy, alright. Him and Steph, who you will hear all about once Mitch comes in here, are Mia's godparents and some of her favourite people."

Whit: "That's awesome. And how was that at first, though, being romantically involved with one of your teammates' family members? Sounds like grounds for some chaos, if I'm honest."

Auston: "It sure made meeting the family a bit more nerve-wracking. I'm just kidding. No, it was fine. It was definitely a little awkward at first trying to figure out how I was going to tell Mitch that I wanted to date his cousin. Like, he and Y/N are very close. Always have been. And the last thing both me and Y/N wanted was for Mitch to be uncomfortable. He did handle it really well, though. It's because of him I was even able to get to know her in the first place, which I'll never be able to thank him enough for."

Rear: "Now, you're a pretty private guy. You post the odd picture of your little family from time to time. Y/N is rather private, as well. So, really, no one knows your guys' story other than those who have lived it with you or watched it unfold. I'm sure many people will jump right on the chance to listen to this, seeing as you and Y/N are one of the most beloved couples in the NHL. But, what exactly made you want to come on here, give a bit of insight into your private life, and talk about it all?"

Auston: "Well, for one, Biz would not stop asking me to do it. Literally kept calling and texting me for days until I finally agreed."

Whit: "Shocker."

Biz: "Hey, now."

Auston: (chuckling) "That and also I figured, why not. I love my wife, and I love our little story. It's nice to think back on everything that's happened and see how it all got us to where we are now. With all the ups and the downs, its uh, it's been an amazing ride for sure, and I wouldn't change it for a thing. Also, it's for Valentine's Day. I haven't told her I'm doing this, so when you guys drop the episode, I'm just going to send it to her without much context."

Whit: "Do you think she'll cry?"

Auston: "Absolutely. I know this kind of thing would make her tear up regularly, but those pregnancy hormones have got her bad. Without a doubt, she's going to call me crying once she's done watching this."

Y/N scoffed as he said that and grabbed some tissues to wipe away the waterworks she already felt coming on.

Biz: "I've met Y/N many times now. The first time being back in what, 2018?"

The screen then showed an old picture of Biz sitting in a restaurant with his arm wrapped around Y/N's shoulders, both smiling widely as they held up their drinks, with Auston seemingly moping off to the side a little bit. Y/N chuckled at the image, instantly thinking back to the day she first met Paul Bissonnette and how wild it was before the photo faded away and showed the guys again.

Biz: "Yeah, it was when she was in Scottsdale visiting you during the summer. Great girl, completely out of Auston's league."

Auston: "Hey!"

Biz: "I'll never forget you sassing her when she commented on how hot Arizona was, with her being Canadian and all, but damn she was fast putting you in your place by calling you a, what was it?"

Auston: (grumbling) "Desert Boy."

Everyone burst out laughing again, except Auston, who just rolled his eyes and sighed dramatically.

Auston: "Whatever. She sasses me all the time when I complain about the snow, but the one time I do it back, I get called a Desert Boy and can never live it down."

Biz: (still laughing) "Ugh, amazing. Okay, moving on because we don't have much time and can probably fit in like two more questions. So, Auston, tell us how you knew that Y/N was the end game for you. How did you know that she was the one?"

Auston: "Oh, man. I don't even know how to explain it. Growing up, you see all these movies and shows, or read books where people always find someone who is their soulmate. Their perfect match. And I never knew what the feeling of finding that person was because I had never experienced it. My mom would tell me that when I did find that person, I'd know. That it'll be such an intense feeling, and to be honest, I didn't believe her. Until I met Y/N, I know that sounds cheesy, but it's true. The first time I met her, something drew me in, and I knew I wanted to get to know her better right away. Mitch spoke so highly of her, so did the other guys on the team that had already met her and over the first couple of months of us knowing each other, I saw what they meant. She quickly became one of my best friends ever. When we started dating, I saw more of how good a person she is, which attracted me even more. She is so selfless and caring for everyone around her; it truly blows my mind. I had never seen my family welcome a girl I introduced them to as quickly as they did her, and I trust their judgment the most. But even if they didn't do that, I know they would have accepted her regardless because, honestly, I probably seemed like a lovesick idiot. I still do. Y/N became this significant light in my life that I knew I wanted to be there forever. I began thinking about what it'd be like spending the rest of my life with her. Then it became something that I knew I needed. I can't imagine my life without her, and I never want to. She makes me so happy and has given me more than I could ever thank her for. I'll never understand how I, of all people, was the one to capture her massive heart, but I do know how lucky I am."

As he spoke, the screen showed a little picture slideshow of Y/N and Auston over the years of their relationship. It started with one that Ema took the first time Y/N had ever gone to Scottsdale. Y/N was sitting on the edge of a pool, and her legs dipped into the water. Auston stood between them as he wrapped his arms around her middle and leaned against her while looking over at where Ema stood taking the picture. The next one was from a Christmas party where the two were under a mistletoe as Auston leaned Y/N back and was kissing her cheek as she laughed and held onto him for dear life. There was a picture of them with Auston's family, one of them with Mitch and Steph, and another of Auston with his arms around Nate and Mya, Y/N's younger brother and sister, as the three smiled at the camera and Y/N was in the background looking confused.

The last few pictures were a bit more recent. They showed Y/N holding Frank as a puppy, a maternity photo of her and Auston posing when she was pregnant with Mia, and one of them on their wedding day with Mia and the rest of the gang. Then, the slideshow concluded with a very recent picture of them taken just a couple of weeks prior at Mia's birthday party, where Auston has his arms wrapped around Y/N from the back, showcasing her growing belly. At the same time, she leaned against him and glanced over her shoulder at him lovingly. The photos then went away and showed the guys again as Auston finished speaking.

Auston was right. Y/N was full-on bawling by that point.

All the guys were smiling as Auston finished saying his thing, but were soon interrupted by a knocking noise followed by a door opening.

Mitch: (offscreen) "Wait, no! Don't let her in!"

Mia: (also offscreen) "Daddy!"

Mia then came into the frame as she ran towards Auston, not caring about what was going on or who was there. Auston was quick reacting as he smiled widely and scooped Mia right up into his arms, making sure to place multiple kisses on her cheek as she giggled and squirmed in his hold, while Mitch became visible too and shrugged.

Auston: "Hi, mini. I missed you. Did you have fun with Mitchy?"

Mia: "Yeah! Where's mommy, daddy?"

Auston: "She's at home, baby girl. I'm almost done, then we can go get a Timbit while we wait for Mitch to be done. Sounds good?"

Mia: (knuckling at her eyes, tiredly) "Mhmm."

Rear: "This is adorable."

Biz: "Hi, Mia."

Mia: (shyly while hiding against Auston's chest a bit) "Hi, Biz."

Whit: (laughing) "Okay, I think we've kept you long enough now, Auston. Is there anything else you and Mia would like to say to Y/N?"

Auston: "Yes. Happy Valentine's Day, babe. I love you so much, and I'm sorry I'm not there right now. You're going to hear a lot more from me on actual Valentine's Day, but for right now, I think that's just about it. Mia, can you blow a kiss to the camera so mommy can see it and say 'happy Love Day!'"

Mia: (blows the kiss) "Happy Love Day, mommy!"

Auston: "Can you tell her that you love her?"

Mia: "Love you!"

Auston and Mia then waved to the camera and said bye as the clip faded out, and a new interview of another NHLer began playing.

Y/N's heart felt so full. She couldn't stop crying over how much she loved her family and how badly she needed to hear something like that. Life had been particularly hard on her as of late and seemed to keep throwing her curveballs, but this, this was exactly what she needed. To be reminded of how loved she is and that she genuinely is never alone.

She then grabbed her phone to call Auston and remind him of how much she loved him, that day and every day. The two talked for a few minutes before Y/N was pretty sure she could hear Mia waking up. After saying their goodbyes, Y/N found herself thinking about how, regardless of how she feels about the actual day, this was a Valentine's Day she will never forget.