#but I still have all of January to write more! plus February as I’m posting these

[lesbiansanemi]

I finished the Meryl/Milly and Clara/Ashildr fic today! Yippee!!

[writing-for-life]

2024 Roundup

Thank you all for being here!

It’s that time of year again—the recaps are flooding in. Ruuuuuun! 🤣

First of all: Thank you everyone who connected this year—you are all so appreciated, no matter if we are mutuals or not 🖤

I’ll give you a little selection of the posts that people loved most in 2024, plus a few related thoughts about what happened during the fandom year (I always do, so if that’s not your thing, you know what to do 😉)

And what a year it’s been for the Sandman fandom—lots of complicated feelings. For me, they start straight off the bat with this (I’ll get to why later)…

So let’s have a little look at:

Art

Here are the art posts you enjoyed most in 2024:

1. Dream by Vince Locke

2. Dream by Frank Quitely

3. Dream and Death by Mindy Lee

March Mania

My partner in crime @tickldpnk8 and I ran our first fandom event: March Mania. In a Tumblr fandom mostly interested in the show and shipping, it was so much fun to reconnect with the source material and feature the amazing original artists, and I still want to send the biggest “Thank You” to everyone who took part—you know who you are! 🖤

If that’s still not enough art for you:

You can find all my art curation posts via the #sandman art (all art, including my own somewhere) and #sandman x art (official artists only) tags on my blog.

[Speaking of art: I post art for all Sandman characters. However, if you look at the top posts squares on my blog, you’d think it’s only Dream. It’s both funny and a bit sad. You can use my character library to get started, but please, please support all the amazing artists and writers on here who create for more characters than just “the two” by checking character tags on main. You’ll only find the underappreciated characters if you go into the weeds yourself].

Fics & Poetry

I’m a professional writer. However, I’d never written fanfic before 2022. But I had a Sandman idea that wouldn’t leave me alone, and I clobbered it all together during NaNo ‘22 and published on a weekly schedule in 2023. It was a slow start (people on Tumblr are apparently a bit weird about OCs), but it’s really picked up since. I’m grateful for the little community I built around The Light of Stars, and writing its sequel “The Pillars of Creation” also kept me busy in 2024. It still has me in a tight grip right now (if all goes well, I’ll finally start publishing in January/February, yay!). But my writing in 2024 mostly belonged to canon characters, and these fics/poems were what you liked most:

1. Lupē (short vignette, Calliope x Morpheus)

2. Requiem (poem, Death & Dream)

3. Ode to Death (poem, Death)

Honorary mention: Dream’s Therapist [a fun little project I started just because I honestly think he needs one. Many of you seemed to agree, because you liked it more than all the other fics and poems of ‘24. This is the episode you liked most, but I personally don’t think it’s the best one—it’s just the first 🙈]

And again, if you’d like to read more, you can find all my fics and poetry here.

[Another annoying side note 🤣: The work of fic-writers gets shared so much less than that of artists and meta-writers. Even less if you don’t write reader fics, smut or for one of the big ships. I had this conversation with many other writers, and it’s the same for most of us, to the degree that people will ask us for the next chapter and tell us how much they like our fics, but never, ever share them. So maybe that’s something we can all improve on in 2025: If we like something, we’ll share it?]

Meta-Analysis

The Sandman is one of the few stories that hasn’t left me alone since my teenage years, despite having books and bookshelves clogging up literally every available space of my house. I find something new in this work all the time, and I just love taking the fine tooth comb to it.

And the next one is tricky for me, because in 2024, three of my metas took off a bit for certain reasons:

1. The Endless are not their Opposite—they only define it

2. The Truth of Mankind is also Dream’s

3. Only Hope calls you out like that

And at the time, the creator reading and acknowledging my thoughts meant something, simply because the story always meant so much to me—I’m not particularly susceptible to parasocial relationships or putting people on pedestals. But that doesn’t mean that I didn’t feel a sense of anger and disgust on…

July 3rd

The Tumblr Sandman fandom has been limping for some time now because it’s mostly a show fandom. After such a long time with hardly any news, many people simply move on and get their shipping needs met somewhere else. As someone who is mostly interested in the source material/comics and literary/meta-analysis, it never worked like that for me because neither characters nor stories are replaceable for me. But NG turning out to be a piece of shit was definitely the death knell for an already dying fandom—I could actually show you stats to make a point, but I won’t because I want to keep the demarcation lines clean here: None of this should ever be mostly about fans being disappointed or “losing their comfort show”, or whatever. We didn’t lose anything. Those women did. And I personally think every new fan should know about what he did so it doesn’t happen again. Plus, the structures that enable the abuse of power and, more importantly, keep people like this in power, will never be brought down if we pretend they don’t exist. But whether someone can separate the art from the artist is entirely up to them, and no one owes anyone an explanation. Emotional processing is hard, not every personal thought needs to be aired publicly, and our actions matter far more than our words. That’s all I’m going to say about it—my first post on the matter still stands.

Community: The Sandman Book Club

The news awkwardly coincided with having just founded the meanwhile biggest Sandman community on here. And despite everything: I love what my co-admin @tickldpnk8 and I have put together to reconnect people with the source material. We’re always happy if new people join and participate (it’s a community, not a blog 😉).

Fandom Thoughts

There was a lot of stuff in between (we got a S2 sneak peak!)—the same old fandom discourse is one of them. But if I have one goal for 2025, it’s that I want to maintain creating the space I’d like to see.

So in that vein, I’ll be honest and tell you what I lament most: It’s the transition of fandom into a consumer space. As someone who is more of a creator and sharer, I want to keep doing my bit because I love doing it. But I’d lie if I didn’t admit that my well felt fairly empty at times, and that my energy is a bit drained at this point. Investing energy into a limping fandom while others openly stated they would “only come back when S2 starts because there’ll be more engagement” felt strange, and I freely admit it annoyed me at times. It’s just a way of thinking I don’t get—are we primarily fans, or are we primarily chasing clout?

And speaking of engagement:

I often see beautiful art and wonderful poetry that has under 10, or even 0, notes. And it breaks my heart a little that so many people don’t share/reblog anymore. Because every time I reblog someone’s underappreciated art, I see the notes of those posts go up because my blog is connected enough to kick off a chain of engagement, even if it’s not always earth-shattering. You can do that, too. But it won’t happen if you only like. Reblogging is not for social clout—I personally believe that’s a fundamental misunderstanding when it comes to fandom. I see it more as saying Thank You for a gift someone gave us, and to make sure that more people also receive that gift.

Because artists/writers give their gift to fandom. Making others happy and connecting over it is the whole point!

And I’d love to see fandom turning into more of a gifting culture again. These pockets exist, so I’m not saying it’s not a thing anymore. But I also see a growing culture in which people only consume and at best engage in a TikTok/Insta-type manner by giving a like that holds no real thought. I get not everyone is a creator. But if you’re not, your gift could be to share and engage more thoughtfully. It doesn’t have to be with everything—it already makes a difference if it’s only the stuff you’d like to see more of. That’s my fandom wish for 2025…

I’ll see you all on the other side—much love to you, and may only the best come your way 🖤

[andithiel]

End of year wrap up

I am so super late to this, but I’ve done this in the last few years and I think it’s a nice tradition to look back at the accomplishments I’ve achieved. 2022 was a very bleak year writing wise, and I’m happy to say that I’ve slowly started to get my mojo back a bit. My AO3 wordcount for 2023 was 36,936 words, but I’ve also posted some shorter things on tumblr, and I actually made a spreadsheet to track my progress and tally all my written words, including those that get deleted and also those not yet posted, and according to the spreadsheet I wrote 10k more. I still have a lot of WIPs hanging around in my drive, but I’ve managed to finish some of them, and I feel like I have more energy and excitement to finish some more, so, here’s hoping that 2024 will be the year that I actually end up with fewer WIPs at the end than at the beginning (something I tried back in 2020, before the world went up in flames).

Under the cut is what I published in 2023:

January 

Fading in Love (locked to logged in users) (Drarry, Explicit, 5k) I wrote this as a belated birthday present for @sassy-sassy3, it’s an 8th year secret relationship with a lil’ sprinkle of magical theory regarding the Dark Mark. 

February 

I decided to try a few prompts for HD Candyhearts and ended up having a lot of fun with them: 

Second Date AO3 tumblr (Drarry, Teen, 1,3k) with an insecure Draco after having spent the night with Harry.

The microfic Taste the love (for the prompt Sweet treats)

How deep is our love? AO3 tumblr (Drarry, Teen, 762 words) featuring established Drarry bickering and absolutely ridiculous Valentine’s cards.

The secret language of flowers AO3 tumblr (Drarry, Teen, 2k) featuring the classic tumblr post the fuck you bouquet.

Pillow microfic with Draco being a little shit

Charm me 8th year drabble FWB/secret relationship sort of vibes.

March

Take that ride (Drarry, Teen, 1,6k) I finally managed to write a fic idea that’s been scrambling around in my brain for ages. I wanted to create a mood and a feeling with this and I’m so happy with how it turned out.

I also wrote a short fuck or die drabble that I’m super proud of: Let me show you  

June

Hold back the tide (Drarry, Teen, 2k) Another idea that’s been with me for years that I finally got out (despite not having written the fic that preludes this).

October

Thunderstruck (locked to logged in users) (Drarry, Explicit, 8k) My god, my beast, this fic resisted me and to top it all off I got covid right when I was about to finish it. I struggled with this so damn much, also wanting to create a vividness that doesn’t really come natural to me, but I’m so happy with how it came out in the end. Plus I got to collab with the amazing @fictional who, as usual, knocked it out of the park with her glorious art.

November

The Potter Malfoy bathroom war of 2007 (locked to logged in users) (Drarry, Explicit, 8k) Another fic that’s been with me for some time, although “only” a year. I saw the prompt for last year’s Suds when claims had closed, so I tried to forget about it but it wouldn’t leave me. I had so much fun writing this, I love writing Harry and Draco bickering and fighting with each other when we as readers know it’s basically their form of foreplay. 

December

When it’s exactly twelve o’clock that night (Drarry, Teen, 6k) This was also a fic one year in the making. I started writing it to post on last New Year’s Eve, but I couldn’t finish it in five days (to my own astonishment), but I’m happy it got to marinate for a while because I added a scene with Scorpius that I’m very fond of.

I wasn't tagged by anyone and I'm sure people have already done this, but if this means you get another tag, consider pointing me to your own year wrap up so I can see it! @sassy-sassy3 @fictional @mystickitten42 @uncannycerulean @goblinmatriarch @phdmama @crazybutgood @dragonbornphoenix @wo2ash @rei382 @nv-md

[the-bi-space-ace]

Quick update!

First! I’m gonna start tagging posts with spoilers here on out with tbb spoilers and tbb s3 spoilers and tbb season 3. Covers all the bases, ya know?

I didn’t avoid spoilers at all for season 2 until the finale but this time I want to go into each episode with zero indication about the content. It’ll make the episodes more fun for me to watch and I want to soak up as much fun as possible.

I’m also going to speed run S1 & S2 and I have some ideas on a few posts about themes etc that I’d like to talk about! (Probably heavily focusing on Echo & Crosshair bc of course I would.) I might even throw in some hopes for S3 because ohhhhh boy am I excited.

I’m also going to really buckle down and get The World Tumbles Down ready so I can start posting it the first week of March. I’m already done with the first four chapters, which I know doesn’t seem like a lot but it’s over 30k words already and there’s still a lot left to write! It’s super plot heavy and I’m really proud of my progress so far so I hope the wait is worth it 🩵

I have quite a few fics planned for 2024 and I’m going to spend as much of this next month as I can writing which means I probably won’t post fic in February even though I was planning to - that could change but as of rn this is the plan. A lot got put on the back burner bc I started a new job in January and with the stress of moving to a new city in October plus having to find a new job I was dead tired and really low mood-wise. The sun is staying up later in the day which has helped my mood improve (thankfully). All of that was really just to say that you can expect some new stuff from me soon lol.

I’m excited for this season and I was very positively impressed with S2! Expect some chaotic ramblings from me in the next few weeks 😅

[itsbenedict]

Alright, so- two months into the year, how much of my ten-item list is done?

Finish the first case of Justice/Arcana and revise the draft

Finish the SakuraPetalFantasy walkthrough portion of Datasouls (not with the whole combat toy situation, just the rest of it)

Do 24 TFJ recaps, two per month

Work through all the exercises in Genki 1 and 2, and catch up on WK reviews.

Date someone. I feel like I look decent and have a lot of desirable qualities that would make this not too hard to accomplish, but I have to put effort into looking or it’s never going to happen on its own. (I am unfortunately of the gender that doesn’t typically get asked out and has to take the initiative.) It’s gonna be tricky since I’m a weird person with weird life priorities and finding someone who’d actually be happy partnering up with that long-term is a tall order.

Actually get that standing desk walk-while-working workflow set up and establish an exercise routine that I keep to for more than half the year

Release a functional version of that Fire Emblem content authoring tool

Replace grody old kitchen sink that has weird white stuff growing out from inside the handle

Finish the games I’m still playing through from this post

Find some new source of income reliable enough to pay the bills without making me work more than 20 hours a week. (I’m a programmer, this is hypothetically doable.) Freelancing/contract work maybe?

One at a time...

I've done a few updates to Justice/Arcana, and have pretty much all the art assets I'll need done. There's a bit of a writing roadblock at the moment but I just need to take some time and work it out.

I did a handful of enemy icons for Datasouls but otherwise didn't work on it

Did four recaps, staying on course

No Japanese practice yet

No dating yet. From what I hear, there are no good dating sites anymore and it's all just swipe-right hookup apps, which are no use to me. I've written a date-me doc but I still need to have some nice pictures taken for it.

I ordered a new under-desk elliptical that you can actually stand on, and it just arrived, but I haven't set it up yet. I've been exercising regularly, though!

Made a bunch of progress on Medallion Works, such that the map editor is now bare-minimum functional.

No sink amelioration yet

Played most of those games- still need to get through The Sekimeiya, though. That one is long and dense.

Contract work for the company I quit has been manageable, but isn't quite paying the bills on its own- I made $3600 in February, which- setting aside probably half of that for taxes and other bullshit expenses- covers mortgage payments and utilities but not food and other purchases. And I'll be doing less and less work for them over time, as they get their environment stood up and running smoothly. That's still going to have to be replaced by real employment of some sort sometime this year, but not a concern just yet.

Overall, January and February were a bit more scattershot than I'd like- January was a whole lot of travel and finishing up stuff at work, and February still had a bit of work getting in the way. Plus I didn't really focus on any one thing, so nothing's fully checked off yet.

March... I think I need to focus on getting J/A's first case done, since it's in the home stretch. That and a couple recaps, and probably dealing with the sink situation if I can.

[bobbyinthegarden]

February Reading Wrap-Up

Doing my own little review of all of my February reads in the style of one of @isfjmel-phleg‘s posts (in no particular order)

Alec by William di Canzio 

I did a whole review for this one, so I don’t feel the need to add much in terms of commentary. 

The Gilda Stories by Jewelle Gomez

I’ve actually got a whole review in-coming for this one, which I’m in the process of writing, as I read this book as part of my 2023 Reading Challenge for the Vampires category. I gravitated towards this book because I am a big fan of genre bending, and this has that in spades: it’s historical fiction, it’s queer romance, it’s eco-feminist fiction, it’s sci-fi, it’s everything. No regrets, I had fun, more thoughts in-coming.

The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K. LeGuin  

This is the second book in the Earthsea series. I absolutely adored A Wizard of Earthsea when I read it in January, and bought the second book immediately after finishing the first and it didn’t disappoint. I’m not going to write a whole review for this book, so I’ll just lay my thoughts down here. I love Tenar so much, she’s such a great character to spend 250 pages with, the story is mature and timeless, the world building is great and the prose is beautiful, plus it was great to see Ged again, and see what’s he’s up to. No notes, highly recommend to everybody. I’ve still got four other books in the series to read and I can’t wait.

Return to the Secret Garden by Holly Webb

I understand that I’m not the target audience for this book (the audience in question being like 7-13 year old girls), but man, this book was a slog to get through. I mentioned above when I was talking about The Tombs of Atuan that Tenar is such a great character to spend 250 pages with, and I cannot say the same about Emmie (the protagonist of this story). I have a whole review in the works for this one, but the long and short of it is that this book is basically just less interesting rehash of the original book, and I did not enjoy it.

All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot

The whiplash of reading Return to the Secret Garden and then immediately following it up with All Creatures Great and Small was quite astounding, in the best way possible. James Herriot (the pename of Alf Wright) is an incredibly compelling writer and relays his experiences of veterinary practice in Yorkshire in the 1930s with wit and charm. I feel like I learnt a lot from this book, as he is able to balance storytelling with technical language about complex medical procedures very well, but the book is also really funny at times, I was genuinely laughing out loud at the parts with Ticki Woo. I’ll probably read the other books in the series too, once I can get around to them.

Ghost World by Daniel Clowes

This isn’t a book as such, but a serialised comic book which has since been released together as a graphic novel. I was very into the Terry Zwigoff film adaptation when I was a teenager, and I did read the comics before, but many years ago. They’re extremely edgy. I’m quite difficult to shock, but there was some jokes that really made my mouth drop at times. Others have drawn similarities to The Catcher in the Rye and I completely see why, teen angst and alienation are major themes in both works. It’s pretty depressing and (like I said) edgy, so definitely not for everybody, but I do think it’s good.

The Secret Garden on 81st Street by Ivy Noelle Weir and Amber Pedilla  

Got a whole review coming for this one too. I definitely liked this one more than Return to the Secret Garden. The art style isn’t really my aesthetic, but it’s cute. There are things to like here, though I have very mixed feelings about Colin’s portrayal, and the book really feels like a PSA about mental health sometimes. Like I say, I’m going to write a whole review soon, and I’ll explore my thoughts in more detail then.

I also bought some self-published comic books from some other tumblr users this month, which I thoroughly enjoyed, they were:

Tender is the Night by @thequeenofbithynia

Really wonderful 1920s inspired short comic about butches in love. Was a nice palate cleanser after reading Alec (I highkey actually enjoyed it more than Alec though) with absolutely gorgeous art and illustrations, Andreas’ art style is beautiful and 100% my aesthetic. Here’s a link to where you can buy it is you’re interested.

Signals by @wuntrum

Really cool semi-relgious horror story about a girl who becomes obsessed with and begins to worship a radio tower after she becomes convinced that she can feel the word of god through electrical currents. Really cool, plus the art is also amazing. It kind of reminded me a bit of Serial Experiments Lain (which is an anime from the 90s that I really like). And here’s a link to where you can buy that one too.

[phantasieandmirare]

I haven’t posted any of my 2023 Book Journal since February-ish, so here’s the September update (right before my October spooky-book marathon kicks off). Descriptions and explanations under the cut:

Page 1: Table of Contents + # of Books

Using the colors of books to make a more decorative approach, and I’ll finish filling in Table of Contents (and actually add page numbers) as we come towards the end of the year. My black pen likes to bleed with the colors no matter how long it’s been since I wrote it so I’m not too thrilled about that, but I still like it and it’s giving me a better idea for next year.

Page 2: January-June Calendar, all filled in

Where I’ve been tracking what books (or webcomics, or Fanfiction, or substack subscriptions) on each day.

Page 3: Month View

Same concept as the calendar page but with the actual book titles. I read enough in September that I ran out of page space so I added a flap, which I want to experiment more with next year to create added space and add more fun designs to a page.

Page 4: Reading Charts

I’ve had a couple of months now where I’ve gone off the chart, and using the different colors I think really makes this section pop in a satisfying way, plus there’s still plenty of space for my charts once the year ends off.

Page 5: Fanfiction

I’ve only gotten around to really focusing on one long Fanfiction this year and ( @ravenyenn19 ’s Dealing with Our Demons) but I’m hoping to focus more on it and fill this section in, I’m still really happy with how I got it to look like AO3’s search page.

Page 6: Webcomics

Like I said in February, this page is meant to look like a computer desktop, with the pictures of each Webcomic printed to look like an icon (complete with cursor). Now that it’s more filled in I think it looks really good, and if I still have a ton of empty space near the end of the year I’ll probably make certain comics look like open tabs to fill it out.

Page 7-8: Reviews Sample

I haven’t quite updated my diamond book count since it takes time and focus to get them just right (and they still like to fall off on me sometimes), but I still like the added colors to make them more personalized to each book.

Page 9: Soundtracks

Back from last year with a slightly less ambitious concept while still capturing what I was going for, I also added it so that the line of each song that most reminds me of the book fits into each section. I’ll fill in with book cover icons near the end of the year.

Page 10: Quotes

An idea I had that I was worried I couldn’t pull off but has only gotten better the more I fill it in, I take my favorite quotes from the books (not all, but many) that made me emotional (like the first line of Chalice of the Gods), or made me laugh (the Titus Groan quote for example), or were just really well-written or impactful (most Sanderson lines) and write it on the page in the color of the book’s cover with the title and page citation. I really, really like how this page looks and right now I have the next two pages after it saved so that I can keep going, and if I still have a ton of blank space left with the second half then I’ll do something fun then.

[awritingcaitlin]

February Wrap-Up

February simultaneously felt long and short. I saw a post saying how January and February of this year have both felt like 5 years a piece. I somewhat agree with this assessment. Yet, at the same time, in the whirlwind of packing and moving that I’m in, I feel like February flew by!

💜Regarding Me💜

So, I mentioned moving! Because we will be moving this summer and I am very excited about that fact! I am less excited about the process of moving but it has to be done. We’re used to it and we have a pretty extensive system. But it takes time. The last month has been a lot of figuring out what we’re getting rid of, packing boxes and loading them into the storage pod; and otherwise prepping the house for staging and then selling.

We have 30 boxes of books. THIRTY! And they’re all stacked neatly in the storage pod. That’s not even all the books, since we left some out for staging (and to read obviously). I estimate it’s probably another 2-3 boxes of books alone.

Aside from books, I’ve packed lots of knick knacks, some extra dishware, board games and puzzles, and other stuff that can sit in storage for several months.

The timeline is a bit of a long one. We’re loading a storage pod full of about a third of our stuff so that way the house looks roomier (which will help it sell). This has the added bonus of less of our personal belongings out when people come to look at the house. We have to do this before they take pictures and it goes on the market, so that’s why there’s such a rush now.

We’re going to look at houses to buy next month. We’ve already met with a realtor (on both ends). There’s lots of moving parts. We won’t get our second pod until a few weeks before we actually move, which won’t be until July probably.

So when I’m complaining about moving for the next several months… this is why.

💻At the Keyboard💻

I have done tragically little writing this month. See the above moving shenanigans for the reason why. I’m diving back in to Heist, but I haven’t actually done much revising. I have outlined all of Draft 3 though! I have some new direction for a couple of the main characters and I’m excited to get it onto the page (when I get there.)

I’m also starting to work in Scrivener, which has some really neat features, and about a billion more that I’m learning. It’s a reasonable learning curve though. And it’s nice to have all my notes for the project all in one place. (Well, plus the notes I make on my phone since Scrivener for Android isn’t a thing yet.) But those get inputted into the Scrivener file relatively quickly.

So while it’s slow-going, I’m hoping to keep plugging away at it through March and actually start proper revisions next month.

In addition to Heist, I finished workshopping TBW with a couple of critique partners this past month. I have a lot of cool ideas for revisions, some major, some minor, some a bit in between. There’s a lot of questions about the book that I still have to answer for myself.

But I’m liking the direction it’s going. But it needs to rest for at least another month before I dive back in.

📚From the Bookshelf📚

I’ve been reading Light From Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki. I’m really enjoying the narrative entrenched with music, a setting I’m semi-familiar with, demonic bargains, multiple POVs, and so much more! I’m about halfway through the audiobook, which is fantastic. Super enjoying myself. I’ll do a proper review when I finish it.

And with that, I’ll sign off. Until next month!

[twatkcox]

[#2024]

As this year ends, another one comes. Anyway, here are some of the notable things in my life that happened in 2023:

TWATKcox’s tenth-anniversary post was supposed to be published before the end of January. In fact, I’ve been working on a timeline-like post of the blog’s history (including its Tumblr counterpart and its spin-offs, plus some of the notable events in my life) since October last year, but I was only halfway through this extensively lengthy post that I decided to hold off on it for now and work on a different post, which only features the blog’s history and my blogging activities throughout its decade-long run. The timeline-inspired post will have to wait until at least next year.

I created some new banners for all of my blogs. Yes, The Quirk Concept and Literary+Fanfiction will have their very own set of banners for the first time.

As I’m preparing to resume my weekend rituals once again, for the first time in almost three years, I decided to buy some new pairs of black slacks (my old ones no longer fit on me as I’ve gained some weight in the past three years), a pair of new canvas belts, a new black cap, and a pair of black walking shoes (which I bought at Decathlon). Later, I decided to buy a new watch (bought at Mr. DIY back in May) after the old one’s battery died.

The SIM card registration bill was signed into law since 4Q 2022. All subscribers must register their SIM cards until the end of April. I managed to register my Smart SIM last February, and my GOMO (Globe) SIM last March.

My Vivo Y53 from 2018 (my second smartphone) started having problems with its battery. I’ve noticed that while the device is connected to Wi-Fi, the battery drains rapidly, thus the need to have it repaired. Well, the phone’s battery finally gave up on me after five years of use, and the only way to power it is through plugging it to a charger. I decided to have it fixed, since I still loved that phone and I could probably use it as a secondary phone/music player (it didn’t last long, though, just for five months). Lately, I was planning on buying an entry-level smartphone, even though I still have a mid-range smartphone, the Motorola Moto G 5G Plus, which is my primary phone since last year.

In February, my first mall-hopping trip for this year (my second since the pandemic) took place in the North Avenue malls (SM City North EDSA, Trinoma, Vertis North), and I managed to buy some second-hand manga books during my trip. SM North EDSA’s The Block is undergoing a makeover, and the layout on the upper floors was changed. Also, I get to see the Unified Grand Central Station (it was actually called North Triangle Common Station) from the Sky Garden (still in SM City North EDSA).

I finally decided to create a GCash account, mainly to buy load for my GOMO SIM (there are no load options outside of the GOMO, GCash, and PayMaya apps), and eventually, as an e-wallet payment for online shopping apps. Within an hour, I managed to sign up and verify my account without any problems. I eventually applied for a GCash card later that year and got it after a few days, With the GCash card, I can withdraw my funds at any ATMs whenever needed. I haven’t tried using it for in-store purchases yet, but maybe one of these days.

I finally resumed writing stories by March, focusing on the upcoming Literary special that I’ve been working on since 2017. At the same time, I’m fully committed to writing a bunch of stories, poems, and fan fiction for the Lit+Fan blog that I created back in 2020.

I discovered another awesome coffee shop (Cafe Luca), in addition to the ones I discovered (and visited) since last year. They have some ice blend (frappuccino) and espresso, plus a variety of non-coffee drinks, food, and desserts. It was actually more of a restaurant than a cafe, with a refreshing ambience and a wide, breezy alfresco area surrounded by plants and a few trees.

In May, I bought a new bag, a cross-body/sling bag that is a little smaller than the previous one (the old bag strap’s dog hook snapped and I initially wanted to have the it fixed). Although all of my things somehow fit inside the bag, it feels incredibly crowded inside. I later bought another bag, a larger one, online.

I decided to get a new pair of glasses from Owndays, as my old pair is starting to strain my eyes. I’m having a hard time seeing things with that old pair, which I’ve been wearing for nearly fifteen years. Can you believe that? Well, that should improve my extremely poor eyesight without the need to leaning my way through the computer screen or squinting my eyes to see everything clearly, but once I take it off, my vision is getting a lot more more blurry than ever, like there’s a thin layer of smoke even though there isn’t. Luckily, my (blurry) vision retuned to normal after a few months.

For the first time since the pandemic, the Pinoy Otaku Festival is making a comeback, via POF 2023: Shizen. The event’s theme is about environmental awareness. It is actually part of the Four Weekend Plan, but I wasn’t able to announce the concept until the event ended. Well, that was fun, though I kind of wished Pixel Hero was at the event too.

I bought a new wired selfie stick (I tend to call it a monopod for some reason) at a Mi pop-up store (Fairview Terraces), replacing the one I bought from Bavin five years ago due to the frayed (but still useable) cable. Regarding the latter, I still managed to use it during POF 2023: Shizen, mainly for selfies with cosplayers.

Speaking of the Four Weekend Plan, I somehow managed to begin this year’s T4WP with a visit to Drip’n Cafe and end it with a mall-hopping trip to Manila (including stopovers in Valenzuela and Caloocan). And then I decided to add a fifth weekend, which is all about reviving my interest to write stories once again, for the first time since the pandemic started.

Twitter (now called X) is starting to get worse. The automatic post sharing from WordPress and Tumblr to that problematic social media platform no longer works. As a result, I’m forced to manually post links to my recent blog posts to my Twitter account, making sure that I replicate the ones posted on the Facebook page.

In May, I decided to write some new stories to be included in the upcoming literary special, as I’m not impressed with how some of the finished ones turned out to be (the plot in these finished works are incredibly messy and awful, not to mention cringey in general). In addition, I’m planning to combine two of the stories into a lengthy one. Of course, a couple of the finished ones will be retained, but these will be subject to minor revisions and possible additions.

The first post in the TWATKcox@10 series (a series of posts celebrating TWATKcox’s 10th anniversary in cyberspace) was published. At the same time, I also started replacing the banners in all of the posts (the ones that have them, of course) which took me a few months to accomplish. I’m also doing the same for its Tumblr counterpart.

On first week of June, I decided to download the Lazada app in hopes of searching (and buying) some of the stuff that I couldn’t find in physical stores. At this point, I’m increasingly frustrated trying to buy certain stuff, as some stores only carry the same, boring stuff. Heck, I could even buy almost everything on the app. Speaking of which, I bought three anime shirts, two new phone cases (for my two smartphones), and two long fingerless gloves (in black and gray), spending more than a thousand pesos on these items within a week. And while I’m there, I also download the Shopee app as well, where I bought three pins from Pixel Hero, as well as a cotton kimono-styled jacket.

On the first week of July, I joined Threads, a potential alternative/replacement to Twitter, two days after it was launched. At the same time, I’m planning to delete my Mastodon account since I never used it much (well, I’m still deciding on it). Regarding my Twitter accounts, I’m keeping them up and running for the time being.

For the first time, in September, I managed to attend two events in a single day. Yup, the Manila International Book Fair 2023 and the Best Of Anime 2023: The Reunion were held at the same venue, SMX Convention Center Manila. The Best Of Anime event was the second otaku/anime event I’ve attended after POF 2023: Shizen.

I celebrated my birthday with just a simple feast (and two cakes). Nothing special, really, though I decided to spend the following weekend at a cafe in Lagro as a special birthday treat to myself.

I get to attend the Ozine Fest Halloween Special (the third otaku event I attended for this year) at the Fairview Terraces. I bought some nice souvenirs, including a small Pochita plushie and a book by AJ Bacar (Sskait). I decided to skip the second day of the event for some reason, though I sort of kick myself for not going.

I’ve been looking to update my wardrobe since 2019, but I only started buying black anime shirts (mostly online), plus a black twill over shirt, a couple of button shirts, and a jogger pants (all from Uniqlo), black linen shirt (from H&M), a Kimono jacket that I bought (from Shopee), and some plain black and maroon shirts (online). Plus some pairs of red, dark red, and black socks (also from Uniqlo).

Our accounting office had a Christmas party at Music 21 Plaza in Timog Avenue (Quezon City). I managed to enjoy the event but I didn’t feel like singing at all.

We only had a simple feast on Christmas and New Year’s Eve. After all, at least in our family, there’s no point in cooking a lot of food when there’s only the four of us, and not all of us are heavy eaters.

Anyway, I was hoping for things to go back to normal, and we’re already heading to that. But I can’t really expect things to happen the way I want. But before I lose hope, there are some things and events worth looking forward to:

Chinese New Year 2024 (a mall-hopping trip in Ayala Center or Rockwell/Circuit Makati with a stopover in Binondo, Manila)

TWATKcox’s 11th Anniversary Post

Pinoy Otaku Festival 2024: YUME (Robinsons Novaliches Trade Hall)

TWATKcox Literary Post Special (tentative)

#TheFourWeekendPlan Y3 (coinciding with POF 2024: YUME)

10000+ Word Autobiography (tentative)

Manila International Book Fair 2024

An All-Black Birthday Celebration

My First Novel (I’m currently juggling between several drafts at the moment)

Several mall-hopping trips and visiting new (and renovated) malls (including Mitsukoshi BGC, Gateway Mall 2, GH/Greenhills Mall, and the newly-renovated SM Sta. Mesa)

And my plans for 2024?

Buy a new phone, preferably with the same specs as the Motorola Moto G 5G Plus. I’m aiming at Xiaomi or Honor, probably Samsung (or maybe other brands). I’m also considering buying a tablet, if I can find one that has better specs and/or of great value.

I’m definitely going to work on my very first novel. So far, I’m progressing a little, but hey, a progress is still a progress.

I’ll definitely need to reorganize a lot of stuff in my room, as well as the files on my PC. Might probably prepare for a possible storage upgrade (a large capacity hard drive, maybe) since I’ve downloaded tons and tons of stuff since the pandemic, not to mention that the hard drive’s three years old already.

Updating the banners on some of the posts, as well as the ones on the Tumblr site.

I’ll probably need to buy some drawers. Or some shelves.

Read a lot of books, especially manga and light novels.

Create an artwork. The canvases I bought since 2020 are still blank and could probably use some creative scribbles and drawings... or whatever.

I might need to readjust my body clock, as I tend to fall asleep at times (mostly after dinner). Probably the combined effects of disturbed circadian rhythm and sleep deprivation in the recent years.

Maybe I should try to be kinder to myself, since I tend to say and write a bunch of negative stuff (mostly about myself) nowadays. I need to keep my sanity intact, for the sake of my own happiness.

xxxxxxxxxx

2023 wasn’t really that kind to me, at least for the most part. But for some reason there are some good things to be thankful for. Well, despite the good things that happened, I still considered 2023 as the cursed year, ever.

Yup, another year has passed. And another year comes. It’s a never-ending cycle, don’t you agree? But I hope that this year will be a lot better than the previous one.

[cbrownjc]

Not trying to be a downer here, honestly, but I don’t see the strike being resolved until after October 2023. After Q3 is over, and we are well into Q4. Because by then, I think the major studios' profits will not only take such a big hit that the studios’ Boards of Directors will begin putting pressure on their CEOs to get things resolved asap (or else they might be ousted) but . . . no way are we going to be going into an election year with so many major strikes happening. The Dems for sure don’t want that, and will probably get involved to pressure the studios to bargain in good faith more as well.

If this is the case, then the issue now comes down to how much location shooting the show still has to do. And when those locations will be available and the productions can get access to those locations from the local governments, particularly in Prague. The reporters in Prague might already know that availability of the locations in question might not be available again until Spring/Summer.

And, if that is true, then that is completely out of the hands of the production. And they might actually have to scout and find a different location if production can’t resume again until November of 2023 or something like that.

I know many think they could have gotten production of Season 2 done faster, even before the strike hit, but that really isn’t the case. And that’s because of when Season 2 was officially green-lit, which was at the end of September 2022. October to December 2022 was spent writing the scripts for Season 2, as well as starting preliminary location scouting. And as you have hopefully all seen from the WGA strike no, writers in the industry do NOT write scripts for shows in advance. 

So while Rolin Jones likely had Season 2 outlined already, that outline was only in his head, or something he kept to himself. No actual scripts for it were broken and written. And no, they couldn’t just use the material that was cut when they had to rewrite Season 1 in a month, because it wouldn’t have already been structured to fill the 8-episode order Season 2 had. There were ideas from those old scripts that probably got carried over into the new ones, but they were basically breaking and writing all of Season 2 from scratch.

Anyway, so yeah, October to December 2022 was spent scriptwriting and early location scouting. 

January to the end of March 2023 was spent doing pre-production work and securing the locations needed from the local governments. Not to mention the stuff that was going on behind the scenes with trying to work around Bailey’s scheduling conflicts (which ultimately didn’t work). 

All of that is why shooting didn���t, and couldn’t, start until April of 2023. There was honestly no time for them to have started production at any point before April 2023. 

Quality-wise, we were always going to get Season 2 sometime in 2024, given the post-production work that was going to be needed to be done. But it likely would have been late February 2024. Now? Well, I’m sure there is some post-production work that is going on and what has finished being shot. But even that can’t be 100% done since none of the actors are available to do things like ADR. However, when they resume shooting, after the strike, I think RJ and the other writers, as well as the ep directors, will know rather quickly what reshoots need to be done when production starts up again. So that is at least a plus.

However, at the moment, and even with all of that? If the strikes go on for as long as I suspect they will, then . . . I’m sorry to say that we probably won’t see Season 2 released until November 2024. At least if they want to go back to Prague and finish shooting there. 

But I can also see AMC telling them to find a different location that is more readily available and finish shooting ASAP. Even if it means recreating some of the Prague locations on a backlot or something. This, in all honesty, is what I suspect will happen if the Prague locations do become unavailable until the Spring of 2024. Because I think AMC will be willing to push the premiere date of the show to late Spring 2024, but not later than that.  Especially if the strikes do end in the late fall of 2023. They are NOT going to hold filming up waiting on a location, no way.

👀 really hope the Prague Reporter is wrong there… (just like last time) 😩

https://x.com/a_savagegarden/status/1692551788430254336?s=46&t=j-jWlLWHXdEtJEqNzqyzRA

[shai-manahan]

Hello, everyone! With the way the variations are exponentially increasing in Chapter 2′s second part, I am opening more slots for beta testing! It will be available for around a month, though I will still post a reminder a week before the deadline.

Here is the link!

Some info before you proceed:

The testing will occur within a specific channel on the discord server, but if you wish to test separately, that will still be possible. It’s not something I highly encourage, however, as it will be difficult on my part to keep track.

If you’d applied before and weren’t selected, you may opt to fill in a new application, though I do have a couple of people in mind to contact.

I expect full honesty when you provide feedback. That’s how I’ll be able to improve my writing and the game itself, so please never hold back in case you are accepted.

The first route I’d like to be tested would most likely be available within January, but please ensure you’d be able to participate around February as well, in case some delays happen. 

This particular update will not be released to the public until the other route is done, so please refrain from sharing links once accepted.

You can back out of the role any time you wish, but I also reserve the right to remove a highly inactive tester. If, by any chance, you get busy by the time I seek feedback, do inform me so I can make adjustments, and it’ll all be good.

In any case, if you do enjoy reading a murder mystery and an action thriller with a dash of weird hallucinations happening all over the story’s setting (plus maybe a few explosions and conspiracy stuff) then this is for you! I’m trying to balance the plot and its focus on the characters, so there’s that to consider.

Bear in mind that this is also a story that gives attention to the concept of grief, family issues, loss, death, and corruption, and might not be suited to some people’s tastes.

That’s all and thank you!! Feel free to ask any questions.

Reblogs would be deeply appreciated as well!

[bailey-writes]

So You Want Your OC to be Jewish

So you’re writing a story and you want to make a Jewish character—great! I’m here to help. I always want more Jewish representation but I want good Jewish representation, so this is my attempt to make a guide to making a Jewish character. What are my credentials? I’m Jewish and have been my whole life. Obligatory disclaimer that this is by no means comprehensive, I don’t know everything, all Jews are different, and this is based on my experiences as an American Jew so I have no idea, what, if any, of this applies to non-American Jews. 

If there’s anything you want me to make a post going more into detail about or if there’s anything I didn’t mention but you want to know please ask me! I hope this is helpful :) Warning, this is long.

Jew PSA

If you are Jewish you can use the word Jew(s), e.g. “She’s dating a Jew.” If you are not Jewish you cannot use the word Jew(s). This is not up for debate. Non-Jews calling us Jews has a negative connotation at best. Don’t do it and don’t have your characters do it.

Basics, Plus My Random Thoughts that Didn’t Fit Anywhere Else

A confusing enduring issue is, what is Judaism? It’s a religion, but some Jews aren’t religious; is it a race? A nationality? A culture? A heritage? The only constant is that we are seen as “other.” There’s a lot of debate, which makes it confusing to be Jewish and as such it’s common for Jews to struggle with their Jewish Identity. However many people agree that Jews are an ethnoreligious group, aka Judaism is a religion and an ethnicity.

Temple/Synagogue/Shul = Jewish place of worship. Shul is usually used for Orthodox synagogues.

Keeping kosher = following Jewish dietary rules: meat and dairy can’t be eaten together and you can’t eat pork or shellfish. Fish and eggs are pareve (aka neutral) and can be eaten with meat or dairy (but again not both at the same time.) When eating meat it has to be kosher meat (e.g. kosher Jews are allowed to eat chicken, but not all chicken is kosher. I know it’s kinda confusing I’m sorry.) Kosher products in stores will have symbols on them to identify them as kosher. If someone is kosher they’ll probably have separate sets of utensils/plates/cookware/etc. for meat and dairy

Shabbat/Shabbos/Sabbath = holy day of the week, day of rest, lasts from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday. Depending on observance Jews might have Shabbat dinner, attend Shabbat services, or observe the day of rest in its entirety (making them shomer Shabbat)

Someone who is shomer Shabbat will refrain from any of the prohibited activities. These can easily be looked up but include: working, writing, handling money, cooking, and using technology.

Bat/Bar/B’nai Mitvzah = tradition where a Jewish boy/girl becomes a man/woman. Celebrated at 13-years-old for boys, 12- or 13-years-old for girls. Girls have Bat Mitzvahs (bat means daughter in Hebrew), boys have Bar Mitzvahs (bar means son in Hebrew) and twins or two or more people having one together have a B’nai Mitzvah. They will study for this for months and then help lead services and, depending on observance level, read from the Torah. The ceremony is often attended by family and friends and followed with a celebration of sorts (in America usually this means a brunch and/or party.)

Goy/gentile = non-Jew. These words are not slurs, they are literally just words. Plural of goy is goyim and is a Yiddish word, plural of gentile is gentiles.

Jewish holidays follow the Hebrew calendar, meaning that according to the current solar/Gregorian calendar the dates of our holidays are different each year.

Jewish law recognizes matrilineal inheritance. This means that Jewish law states your mother has to be Jewish for you to be Jewish. This is because of reasons from biblical times that I can explain if you wanna come ask, but as you can imagine is a bit outdated. While Orthodox Jews might embrace this idea and only consider someone Jewish if their mom is Jewish, many Jews are more flexible on the idea (and yes, this does cause tension between Orthodox Jews and other Jews at times.)

Judaism =/= Christianity

Some people think Judaism is just Christianity without Jesus (some people don’t even realize we don’t believe in/celebrate Jesus so newsflash, we don’t) and that’s just wrong. Yes both religions share the Old Testament, so they also share some history and beliefs, but the entire ideologies of the religions are different. In brief, they are similar in some ways but are not the same.

What seems to me to be the biggest difference is that Christianity (from what I understand) has a heavy focus on sins, more specifically repenting for/gaining forgiveness for your sins. In Christianity you are born tainted by original sin. In Judaism we believe everyone is born pure and free from sin and everyone is made in God’s image. Judaism has some concept of sin, but doesn’t focus on them and instead focuses on performing Mitzvot (plural, singular form is mitzvah. Direct translation is “commandment” but basically means good deed or act of kindness. It also relates to the commandments, so following the commandments is also performing mitzvot.) Examples of mitzvot include anything from saying a prayer or lighting Shabbat candles to helping a stranger or donating to charity (called tzedakah). One of the main tenets of Judaism is tikkun olam, which directly translates to “repair the world” and means exactly what it says on the tin. Instead of focusing on being forgiven for doing bad Judaism focuses on doing good. The only day we focus on past wrongdoings is Yom Kippur, one of our most holy holidays, discussed below.

Holidays

Rosh Hashanah – The Jewish New Year, occurs around September and lasts for two days, though Reform Jews often only celebrate the first day. Day of happiness and joy, celebrated by eating sweet things for a “sweet new year” (often apples dipped in honey) and circular challah to represent the end of one year and beginning of another. Also celebrated with services and blowing the shofar (rams horn.) Some spend the day in prayer and/or silent meditation. Possible greetings: chag sameach (happy holiday; can be said on almost any holiday), Shana Tovah, or happy new year (which is what Shana Tovah means, some people just say it in English.)

Yom Kippur – Day of Atonement. Occurs ten days after the start of Rosh Hashanah. One of if not the most solemn day for Jews, but also the most holy. The day is spent reflecting on yourself and any past wrongdoings and atoning. The day (sundown the night before to sundown the day of) is spent fasting, a physical way of atoning. We do this in hopes of being “written in the Book of Life” and starting the year with a clean slate. The shofar is blown at the end of the holiday. Most Jews will end the fast with a grand meal with family and friends. Most common greeting is “have an easy fast,” but happy new year is still appropriate.

Sukkot – Celebrates the harvest, occurs on the fifth day after Yom Kippur and lasts seven days. Celebrated by building a temporary hut outdoors called a sukkah and having meals inside it, as well as shaking palm fronds tied together (called a lulav) and holding a citrus called an etrog. Very fun and festive holiday. Possible greetings include chag sameach or Happy Sukkot.

Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah – Some Jews (mostly Reform Jews and Jews living in Israel) combine both holidays into one day while some celebrate them as two separate days. Either way they occur immediately after Sukkot. Shemini Atzeret is similar but separate from Sukkot and features a prayer for rain; Sukkot is not mentioned in prayers and the lulav isn’t shaken but you do eat in the sukkah. Simchat Torah celebrates finishing reading the Torah, which we will then begin again the next day. It’s a festive holiday with dancing and fun. Some Temples will roll the entire Torah out and the children will run under it. Appropriate greeting for both would be chag sameach.

Rosh Hashanah through Simchat Torah are referred to as the High Holidays.

Chanukah – We all know about Chanukah, celebrating the reclaiming of the Second Temple and the miracle of the oil lasting eight days. The most represented Jewish Holiday there is. Unfortunately it’s one of the least significant holidays for us. Occurs around November or December and lasts eight days and nights. Celebrated by lighting candles in the Menorah each night with a prayer and kids usually get gifts each night. Also celebrated with spinning tops called dreidels, fried foods like doughnuts (sufganiyot in Hebrew; usually the jelly filled ones) and potato pancakes called latkes. Greetings: happy Chanukah or chag sameach.

Tu B’Shevat – Birthday of the trees, basically Jewish Arbor Day. Minor but fun holiday, sometimes celebrated by planting trees. Occurs around January or February.

Purim – Celebrates how Queen Esther of Persia defeated Haman and saved her people, the Jews. Occurs in Spring. Festive holiday traditionally celebrated by dressing in costumes, eating sweets, and giving tzedakah (it’s also technically commanded you get drunk so woohoo!) Whenever Haman’s name is mentioned you make a lot of noise, booing and using noisemakers called groggers. Greetings: happy Purim, chag Purim, or chag sameach.

Passover/Pesach – Celebrates the Jews being freed from slavery in Egypt. Occurs in Spring and lasts eight days. The first two nights (some only celebrate the first night) are celebrated with seder, a ritual meal with certain foods, practices, prayers, and readings from a book called the Haggadah and often attended by family and friends. Most famous prayer/song of the holiday is the four questions, which ask why that night is different from all other nights and is traditionally sung by the youngest child at the seder. The entire holiday is spent not eating certain foods, mostly grain or flour (the food restrictions are complicated and differ based on denomination so look it up or ask a Jew.) We eat a lot of matzah during Pesach, which is like a cracker kinda. I personally hate it but some people actually like it. Greetings: happy Passover, chag pesach, or chag sameach.

Tisha B’Av – Anniversary of the destruction of the Temple. Occurs in Summer. Very sad, solemn day. Some celebrate by fasting from sunrise to sunset. Not the most widely celebrated holiday. Some also commemorate the Holocaust (also called the Shoah) on this day as it was the destruction of a figurative temple.

Denominations

There are a bunch of denominations in Judaism, we’ll go into it briefly.

Religious denominations:

Reform/Reformed: This is the least religiously observant level. Often Reform Jews don’t keep kosher or observe Shabbat, their services on Shabbat will use instruments. Reform Jews probably attend services for the high holidays at the very least and probably had a Bat/Bar Mitzvah. Might say they consider themselves more culturally Jewish. Their Temple/Synagogue will be the most “liberal”—aka have more female/diverse Rabbis and a more diverse congregation. I’m Reform and my Temple’s lead Rabbi is a woman and we used to have a Rabbi who’s a queer single mother.

Conservative: More religiously observant and more generally traditional. Might keep kosher or observe Shabbat, but not necessarily. Services likely won’t use instruments (not supposed to play instruments on Shabbat). Most likely had a Bat/Bar Mitzvah, but girls might not read from the Torah, though this depends on the congregation. They do allow female Rabbis, but in my experience it’s less common.

Modern Orthodox: Very religiously observant but also embrace modern society. Will keep kosher and observe Shabbat. Men will wear kippot (singular=kippah) and tzitzit under their shirts. Women will cover their hair (if they’re married), most likely with a wig, and wear modest clothing (only wear skirts that are at least past their knees and long sleeves). Emphasis on continued study of Torah/Talmud. Parents will likely have jobs. Might have larger families (aka more children) but might not. Services will be segregated by gender, girls won’t read from the Torah publicly, and female Rabbis are very rare. Children will most likely attend a religious school. Will attend shul services every Shabbat and for holidays.

note: there are some people who fall somewhere between modern Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox, or between any two denominations really. as you can imagine people don’t all practice the exact same way.

Ultra-Orthodox: Very religiously observant and not necessarily modern. Will keep kosher and observe Shabbat. Men will wear kippot or other head coverings and tzitzit under their shirts, and are also often seen wearing suits. Women will cover their hair (if they’re married) with a wig or scarf and wear modest clothing (only wear skirts that are at least past their knees and long sleeves). Emphasis on continued study of Torah/Talmud. Men might have jobs but might instead focus on Jewish studies, while women most often focus on housework and child-rearing. Don’t believe in contraception (but this is kinda nuanced and depends). Will often have very large families because having children is a commandment and helps continue the Jewish people. Might be shomer negiah which means not touching members of the opposite sex aside from their spouse and some close family members. Services will be segregated by gender, girls won’t read from the Torah publicly, and there won’t be female Rabbis. Children will attend a religious school. Will attend shul services every Shabbat and for holidays.

Ethnic denominations (the different denominations do have some differences in practices and such but tbh I don’t know much about that so this is just the basics):

Ashkenazi: Jews that originate from Central/Eastern Europe. Yiddish, a combination of Hebrew and German, originated from and was spoken by Ashkenazim and while it’s a dying language it’s spoken among many Orthodox Jews and many Jews of all levels know/speak some Yiddish words and phrases. Majority of Jews worldwide are Ashkenazi.

Sephardi/Sephardic: Jews that originate from the Iberian Peninsula, North Africa, and southeastern Europe. Ladino, a combination of Old Spanish and Hebrew, originated from and was spoken by Sephardim. It is also a dying language but is still spoken by some Sephardim. After Ashkenazi most of the world’s Jews are Sephardic.

Mizrahi: Jews that originate from the Middle East and North Africa.

Ethiopian Jews: Community of Jews that lived in Ethiopia for over 1,000 years, though most have immigrated to Israel by now.

Stereotypes/Tropes/Controversies/Etc.

There are so many Jewish stereotypes and shit and I ask you to please be mindful of them. Stereotypes do exist for a reason, so some people will fit stereotypes. This means your character might fit one or two; don’t make them fit all of them. Please. Stereotypes to keep in mind (and steer away from) include:

All Jews are rich.

All Jews are greedy.

All Jews are cheap/frugal.

All Jews are [insert job here]. We’ll go into this more below.

All Jews hate Christians/Muslims/etc.

All Jews are white. 

First of all Ethiopian and Mizrahi Jews exist, many Sephardi are Hispanic, and today with intermarriage and everything this just isn’t true.

All Jews have the same physical features: large and/or hooked nose, beady eyes, droopy eyelids, red hair (this is an old stereotype I didn’t really know existed), curly hair.

Many Jews do have somewhat large noses and curly hair. I’m not saying you can’t give these features to your characters, but I am saying to be careful and don’t go overboard. And don’t give all of your Jewish characters these features. As a side note, it is common at least among American Jews that girls get nose jobs. Not all, but some.

Jews are secretly world elite/control the world/are lizard people/new world order/ any of this stuff. 

STAY AWAY FROM. DO NOT DO THIS OR ANYTHING LIKE THIS. If you have a character that’s part lizard, do not make them Jewish. If you have a character that’s part of a secret group that controls the entire world, do not make them Jewish.

Jews have horns. If you have characters with horns please don’t make them Jewish.

Jews killed Jesus.

The blood libel. Ew. No.

The blood libel is an antisemitic accusation/idea/concept that back in the day Jews would murder Christian children to use their blood in religious rituals and sometimes even for consumption (did I mention gross?) Not only did this just not happen, but it’s actually against Jewish law to murder, sacrifice, or consume blood. Yes these accusations really happened and it became a main reason for persecution of Jews. And some people still believe this shit.

Jews caused The Plague.

The reason this conspiracy exists is because many Jews didn’t get The Plague and the goyim thought that meant it was because the Jews caused it/cursed them. The real reason Jews didn’t get it is because ritual hand-washing and good hygiene kept them from getting it. Sorry that we bathe.

Jewish mother stereotype.

Ok, listen. I know stereotypes are mostly a bad thing but I have to admit the Jewish mother stereotype is not far off. Jewish moms do tend to be chatty and a little nagging, are often very involved in their children’s lives, and they are often trying to feed everyone (although they don’t all cook, my mom hates cooking.) They also tend to be big worriers, mostly worrying about their family/loved ones. They also tend to know everyone somehow. A twenty minute trip to the grocery store can turn into an hour or two long trip because she’ll chat with all the people she runs into.

Jewish-American Princess (JAP) ((I know calling Japanese people Japs is offensive. Jews will call girls JAPs, but with a completely different meaning. If that’s still offensive I am sorry, but just know it happens.))

This is the stereotype that portrays Jewish girls/women as spoiled brats basically. They will be pampered and materialistic. Do these girls exist? Definitely. I still recommend steering away from this stereotype.

Names

Listen. Listen. There are some names that Jews just won’t have. I won’t speak in definites because there are always exceptions but you’ll rarely find a Jew named Trinity or Grace or Faith or any form of Chris/Christopher/Christina etc. Biblical names from the Old Testament? Absolutely Jews will have those names they’re actually very common.

I’m in a Jewish Sorority. My pledge class of ~70 girls had five Rebeccas and four Sarahs. Surprisingly only one Rachel though.

When it comes to last names I have two thoughts that might seem contradictory but hear me out: a) give your Jewish OC’s Jewish surnames, b) don’t give your Jewish OC’s the most Jewish surname to ever exist.

By this I mean I would much rather see a character named Sarah Cohen or Aaron Levine than Rachel Smith. Just that little bit of recognition makes a happy exclamation point appear over my head, plus it can be a good way to hint to readers that your OC is Jewish.

On the other hand, please don’t use the most stereotypical Jewish names you’ve ever heard. If you have five Jewish OCs and one of them is Isaac Goldstein then fine. If Isaac Goldstein is your only Jewish OC I might get a little peeved. There are tons of common Jewish surnames that are recognizable and easy to look up, so don’t revert to the first three that come to mind. Maybe it’s just me, but I find it yucky, for lack of a better word.

Jobs

We all know there are certain jobs that are stereotypical for Jews to have. We’re talking lawyer, dentist, doctor, banker type stuff. To an extent these stereotypes exist for a reason, many Jews go into those careers. Do not make these the only careers your Jewish OCs have. Stereotypes might have reasoning behind them but it doesn’t mean they aren’t harmful. If you have multiple Jewish OCs some of them can have these careers, but not all of them. I do know a lot of Jewish lawyers, dentists, and doctors. I also know accountants, people involved in businesses (“mom, what does Brad do?” “he’s a businessman” sometimes there just aren’t more specific words), people involved in real estate. I don’t actually know any bankers personally, and with money and stuff being one of the most common and harmful Jewish stereotypes I would suggest steering away from that.

These are common fields for Jews, but Jews can have literally any job. Please feel free to get creative. And if you have more than one Jewish OC you can think about making one of them a Rabbi, but DON’T do this if they’re the only Jewish OC. Please.

Yiddish

So I mentioned Yiddish earlier. Like I already said, it’s not a very widely used language anymore but there are some words and phrases that are still used by a lot of Jews (in America at least.) Here’s a list that is absolutely not comprehensive:

Oy vey = oh no

Shvitzing = sweating (but not just a little bit. Shvitzing is like SWEATING)

Kvetch/kvetching = whine/whining or complain/complaining

Mazel tov = congratulations; this is the same in Yiddish and Hebrew

Chutzpah = nerve or gall (e.g. “He’s got a lot of chutzpah for breaking up over text like that”)

Kismet = fate; I just learned this is Yiddish

Bubbe and Zayde = grandma and grandpa

Schelp/schlepping = drag/dragging, can also mean carry or move (e.g. “I had to schlep the bag all around town” doesn’t mean they literally dragged it)

Schmutz = dirt or something dirty (e.g. “you have schmutz on your face”)

Schmatta = literally means rag but can be used to refer to ratty blankets or clothes

Plotz = collapse (usually used in the sense of “I’m so tired I might plotz” or “she’s gonna be so excited she’s gonna plotz”)

Schmuck/shmendrick = both mean more or less the same, a jerk or obnoxious person

Shtick = gimmick, routine, or act (can be used like (“I don’t like that comedian’s shtick” or “he always makes himself the center of attention it’s his shtick”)

Spiel = long speech, story, or rant

There’s so many more so look them up and think about using them, but don’t overdo it. A Jewish person isn’t gonna use a Yiddish word in every sentence (or even every day or every few days.)

Israel

In my community at least it’s very common that by the time your college-aged that you’ll have been to Israel at least once.

Israel is a controversial topic within the Jewish community and in the world. It’s sensitive and complex. I really, really suggest not getting into it. Just don’t bring it up because no matter what you say someone will be unhappy. Just don’t do it.

Ashkenazi Disorders

Ashkenazi Jews have some sucky genes (I’m Ashkenazi so I can say this, you cannot.) These sucky genes cause certain disorders to be more prevalent for us. Children only get the disorder if both parents are carriers of the disorder, so Jews usually get genetic testing done before having children. If both parents are carriers the risk of the child getting the disorder is high, so parents might reconsider or have some indecisiveness/fear. Some of these are:

Tay-Sachs

Cystic Fibrosis

Canavan Disease

Familial Dysautonomia

Gaucher Disease

Spinal Muscular Atrophy  

Fanconi Anemia

Mucolipidosis IV

Niemann-Pick Disease

Torsion Dystonia

Bloom Syndrome

Ashkenazi Jews also have a high prevalence of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, which increase the risk of breast and ovarian cancer in women and increase the risk of breast and prostate cancer in men.

Crohn’s Disease, Ulcerative Colitis, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, and Lactose Intolerance are also very prevalent

In a dorm of like 40 Jews, six of them had Crohn’s.

Ways to Show Your OC is Jewish

Wears Jewish jewelry, e.g. Star of David (also called Jewish Star and Magen David), Chai symbol (means life), jewelry with Sh’ma prayer, or hamsa (but beware this symbol is used outside of Judaism).

Mentions their temple, their Rabbi, having a Bat/Bar Mitzvah, going to Hebrew School, Shabbat, or a holiday coming up.

Have someone ask them a question about Judaism.

Have someone notice they have a mezuzah on their door. 

Most Jews will have a mezuzah on the doorframe of the front door of their house/apartment, but they could even have one for their dorm room or whatever. It’s traditional to kiss your hand then touch the mezuzah when walking through the door, but most Jews don’t do this every time, at least not most Reform or Conservative Jews.

Have them call out antisemitism if you’re feeling spicy

The end! I hope this helped and if you have any questions my ask box is always open!

[limerenze]

the pucey family - adrian pucey

not an ‘adrian pucey x reader’ fic

masterlist

Summary; the pucey family, as told by me

Word Count; 1.7k

A/N; i doubt anyoneeee cares but it’s 2am(when i started, it’s now 4am and i just finished)

and i’m bored so this is adrian’s family that i headcannon in my brain that i use for his background in all my fics (if his family tree comes up) explained!!

these details are the ones i use in my own fics and u will find them mentioned and sprinkled throughout my adrian stories

i am sharing it because this is how my brain works and i put so much thought into it and there’s absolutely no way any fic i write will need this much detail about adrian’s family life- so it would be such a shame for me to be the only one to every see it.

i think ive said this before but i have no idea if adrian has like a fanon backstory thats widely accepted among adrian stans, but these are just my headcannons (some of which are developed by other headcannons ive read) and it’s all for fun- plus it helps me when i’m writing my adrian fics! so!

this is heavily based on/inspired/developed by this post by @lilyswh0re,

i started this when i was writing invisible string and i developed most of it in the writing process of that but it’s been adjusted and developed since

Date Written: January 12, 2022

also this is unedited

Adger Pucey was born October 18th, 1948 to a wealthy pureblood couple.

Marce Gray was born February 6th, 1951, again- to a wealthy pureblood couple.

And in June of 1970, Adger (age 22) and Marce (age 19) were married as per an arranged marriage.

It wasn’t that the Pucey and Gray families forced the two into marriage. However, it was not uncommon in the pureblood wizarding world.

They two were both in Slytherin house at Hogwarts and although Adger found the younger girl to be sweet and sometimes annoying, he grew to love her.

As a first year, Marce had a terrible crush on the older boy- and as she grew up she grew out of it. And she was dumbfounded when her mother brought the subject of him up during her seventh year.

“He’s still unwed, you know?” her mother told her one day in the summer of ‘68. “He’ll need to marry someone like them. And soon, i expect”

“You mean someone like us, mother?” Marce replied while sipping on her tea. “You’ve never been too gifted in subtlety”

After a snarky comment about being respectful to your mother, the two women seemingly dropped the subject.

However the Pucey and Gray family played Adger and Marce like puppets on a string.

And it worked.

The two met just a few weeks later and began to fall in love, and the families acted as if the two youngsters had done it all on their own.

So yeah. It was an arranged marriage. But Adger and Marce didn’t have an inkling of knowledge about it, of course.

And they were far too busy dancing and laughing and kissing during their wedding to notice their parents sly smirks at eachother from across the luxurious banquet hall.

They had a spring wedding. Spring of 1970. It was June, so it wasn’t a true spring wedding. Truthfully, the couple couldn’t settle on a season.

Adger wanted a summer wedding, but Marce had her heart set on a spring wedding since she knew what a wedding was.

And so they compromised.

Just as they always did, and how they always continued to do.

Adger and Marce Pucey were happy together.

And on October 2, 1992- Marce gave birth to twin baby girls.

Hazel Fia and Maeve Nola Pucey.

The two were wild. Absolute menaces. And to make it worst, utterly identical.

Both strapped with long, wavy jet black hair. Eyes of fiery coal and wicked smiles.

The couple didn’t know what to do with them, and couldn’t even think about having more children until the twins of terror would learn to tone it all down.

And that was a terrible mistake.

Because 5 years later, on January 16, 1978. Their baby brother was born.

Adrian Vance Pucey.

Adrian was- appearance wise, unmistakably a Pucey. Through and through.

His hair just as jet black, his eyes just as dark and intimidating.

However, unlike the twins- Adrian was calm. He was calm and contained, even as a baby.

The Pucey couple saw it as a blessing.

Some good karma for having to manage the twins for all those years.

Adrian was a blessing.

But alas, all good things must come to an end. Because as soon as the terror twins noticed that their baby brother was no longer fragile and made of glass- their chaos began again- at the expense of little Adrian’s peace.

And all the time and energy Adger and Marce had spent- keeping their daughters safe and at bay, was now being put into insuring that their daughters didn’t torment or harm their angel of a son.

And after all the crying and the arguing and the mess that the 3 Pucey children started.

Adger and Marce swore they wouldn’t have another child.

And it wasn’t until after their youngest daughter was born- would that become true.

Because on June 30, 1984- the Pucey family was completed with the addition of Lilith Dale Pucey.

Lilith was as if someone had taken, Hazel, Maeve and Adrian and mixed them together in a magic pot.

She had the same wild and wavy black locks. The same exact dark pits for eyes.

And all the Pucey children had one more feature in common that the couple hadn’t noticed until Lilith was born.

They all had the same pink hue that was permanently flushed over their high cheekbones- clashing with their translucent skin.

A trait that was undoubtedly inherited from Marce.

Growing up, Adrian tried to channel his older sisters energy to give Lilith even a fraction of the childhood he got. But he couldn’t.

You see, in the fall of ‘84, the Pucey twins were off to Hogwarts. Adrian was only six years old, Lilith only a few months.

They weren’t around to torment the baby as often as they did Adrian. And no matter how much Adrian tried, no matter how badly he wanted to want it. Adrian loved Lilith. And all he wanted to do was protect her.

Adrian missed his older sisters when they were away. He went from dealing with them everyday of his life to cherishing the few and far between time he got to spend with them.

June would roll around and they would step off the train, clad in green and silver- trunks trailing behind them. And Adrian would be there waiting for them. Lilith safe on Adger’s hip in the chaos of Platform 9 3/4.

And the second he caught a glimpse of them, he was gone. He was bolting towards them and not stopping until he collided with their legs.

And the twins would smile with glee, tears threatening to leak from their eyes as they hugged their baby brother they missed so dearly.

It was summer of 1989 when Adrian got his Hogwarts letter. He knew it was coming, of course he did- but that didn’t make it any less exciting.

The pressure Adrian felt that summer loomed over his head like a grey, stormy cloud.

The pressure to be sorted into Slytherin. To don the green and silver tie that his entire family did before him.

And that grey cloud didn’t go away until he was sitting on the stool with the Sorting Hat on his head.

Adrian was far down on the list of first years to be sorted. And he watched as each of his classmate’s faces broke into a smile when the hat called out their house.

Adrian did not break into a smile, not at first.

No, when the Sorting Hat called for the boy to be a Slytherin- his shoulders dropped in relief and a breath he didn’t know he had been holding was let out.

He thought about how cool it would be to be in one of the other three houses. But Adrian knew it simply wasn’t logical.

So, he didn’t smile until he looked over at the Slytherin table and saw his older sisters clapping and screaming and whistling.

He couldn’t miss them. Not when it was the loudest roar of cheering that any of the first years got.

Even a few students from other tables were cheering, Adrian recognized them as his sister’s friends.

Adrian cheeks were bright red- rather than their normal soft pink, as he walked over to Slytherin table.

His sisters gave him a bone crushing hug before he took his seat and a few of the other Slytherin students shook his hand.

And for the five years after that until Lilith would be sorted- all the thought about was ensuring she had as warm of a welcome as he did.

The twins would be long graduated by the time Lilith would start at Hogwarts so Adrian knew it was up to him.

Adrian got everything sorted with his Slytherin house mates on the Hogwarts Express in the fall of 1994. Adrian’s fifth year.

“Listen, twats” Adrian started with his dormmates. “My sister is going to be sorted during the feast. And you lot need to make as much noise as possible”

Miles Bletchley and Terence Higgs shared a glance.

“Why?” Cassius quirked. They all knew Lilith, they loved Lilith. And of course they would all cheer her on.

“Because she’s nervous as bullocks and I had to convince her to sit anywhere else but here so I can plan this” Adrian sighed. “Will you help me?”

Adrian didn’t know what he would do if they said no. His entire plan was based on them saying yes. And they did.

“Of course we bloody will, isn’t that right?” Graham answered for the group, to which they all nodded.

So that was that, and it didn’t take much convincing for the remainder of the Slytherin Quidditch team to be on board.

And Adrian knew with that small fraction of Slytherin house cheering as loud as they could- the rest would follow suit.

Just hours later, Professor Mcgonagall stood before an army of first years with a scroll as the entire school watched.

“Pucey comma Lilith!” she called out and Adrian watched intently as his little sister emerged from the crowd and walked up the stairs. He could almost see her hands trembling.

She didn’t hide her nerves well as the hat was placed on her head. And she definitely couldn’t hide the shocked expression when it shouted out “Hufflepuff!”

Adrian was stunned. He could’ve sworn the hall was silent, but from across the room he could see members of Hufflepuff house standing to cheer her on.

It wasn’t until Cassius nudged his shoulder did he notice that Lilith was looking in his direction. And from the corner of his eye he could see Graham and Miles standing to cheer and clap as well.

They were getting strange looks from the other Slytherin’s, but they couldn’t care.

And Adrian didn’t either. So as he watched Lilith walk over to the Hufflepuff table- he too rose to his feet.

He brought two fingers up to his mouth to blow a sharp whistle between them and the five Slytherin boys cheered louder than they ever had for little Pucey.

They cheered louder than all of Hufflepuff house combined. And they didn’t stop cheering until Dumbledore had to intervene and put a stop to it so the sorting ceremony could continue.

The Pucey family was as tight knit as they came, and the love they had for each other was immense.

Sometimes they were bad at showing it, but they all knew.

They all always knew.

-

author’s note: OH MY GOD???? THIS WAS TOTALLY SUPPOSED TO BE A BLURB/HC LIST AND INSTEAD IT BECAME THIS???

I DONT KNOW I AM SORRY OKAY IM NOT GONNA TAG MY TAGLIST BC ITS NOT REALLY A FIC BUT HERE U GO ANYWAYS

to sum it all up LMAO (that should say Lilith not Lillian bye it’s 4:34am)

[siderealscribblings]

I posted 481 times in 2022

187 posts created (39%)

294 posts reblogged (61%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@ladyserendipitous

@lilyellowink

@frostedpuffs

@markrial

@ladynoirist

I tagged 120 of my posts in 2022

#writeblogging - 10 posts

#my writing - 10 posts

#mwd - 6 posts

#mending warped designs - 6 posts

#rift wars - 3 posts

#thanks! - 3 posts

#ladynoir fic - 3 posts

#guilt anger and anxiety babyeee - 2 posts

#thank you! - 2 posts

#the rift wars - 2 posts

Longest Tag: 126 characters

#i have been meaning to reply to this with something more profound but i am mentally exhausted from work so gonna keep it brief

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

When you find a promising fic but see “Character Bashing” in the tags

28 notes - Posted January 22, 2022

#4

Sometimes when the burnout is real and I’m fucking sick of writing the same tense, awkward relationship I hand Chloe the mic. 

29 notes - Posted October 20, 2022

#3

Mending Warped Designs: Deconstruction Site

Paris, France

Nino slid a box off the top shelf, kicking the closet door closed as he dragged the box over to his desk in a study he shared with Alya. There were few things that made him nervous these days; being nigh invincible meant that the world was running out of things to seriously hurt him with. But sitting around while Alya was on patrol without him always set his teeth on edge.

Maybe it was just a reminder that his shield had its limits.

"Where the hell did I put that stupid DVD…" Nino muttered, rifling around the box for a movie he promised Chloe he had tucked away somewhere. If he had to go back out to the living room and admit that it would be easier to rent it on the internet, he would never hear the end of it. And the last thing he needed was to give Chloe one more thing to needle him over.

The fact that she was still crashing with them made things all the more complicated.

He liked to think he and Alya were on the same page about the direction their life was going; college, marriage, careers, and kids (maybe). But Chloe, as she always did, seemed to complicate things to the point where the map he had in his head no longer worked for them. Or maybe he was just pushing off responsibility onto Chloe so he didn't need to worry about where he stood with Alya.

Rifling around in the box, Nino paused as his hand landed on a worn newspaper clipping stuck to the underside of a picture frame. He could see his younger self, smiling with his arm wrapped around Rena Rouge on one side with a bony black arm jutting out from behind the frame on the other. Carefully, he tried to tug it out, wriggling his hand gently to avoid ripping it in-

"Did you find it or do you owe me thirty euros plus the cost of Zoolander on streaming services?"

Rip!

Chloe's voice over his shoulder startled Nino and the newspaper came apart in a sudden rip with a Chat Noir's disembodied arm dangling off the corner of the page.

"Ooh, hope that wasn't important," Chloe said with a wince as Nino fished the other half of the picture out of the box. It was an old pic taken around the time they were sixteen, fresh off an Akuma fight and looking happy to be alive. On the other side, Ladybug had her arm wrapped around the waist of a weathered-looking Chat Noir.

"It used to be," Nino said, laying the torn picture on the table and lining it up as best he could. "Hasn't been for a while, I guess."

Read More...

30 notes - Posted February 23, 2022

#2

Just had a thought of Luka and Kagami having a competition on who got told the worst lie back when they were dating Marinette and Adrien

Luka: she told me she had to cancel our date last minute because she had to go christmas shopping with her mom. It was June.

Kagami: he said he couldn't go to my archery competition because he had dinner with his dad.

Luka:...ok you win.

Luka: Marinette once told me that her cat was on fire and I believed her for half an hour

Kagami: Adrien said that he forgot that he was meeting someone for a movie.

Luka: That doesn't sound so-

Kagami: We were at the movies

31 notes - Posted August 24, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

We stay grinding; we stay winning

35 notes - Posted November 2, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[emmettdixonownsmyheart]

Okay time too rant!

So I did the research,

This wasn’t my theory saw it on tumblr and then Twitter.

Lachlan arrived in Australia feb 18th. So they must’ve shot 5x09, 5x10 in January and 5x11 in February. This means that Emmett either dies in the next episode. If they killed him off or, were all just freaking out for no reason. Krista said season 5B “takes a dark turn” and Jaina says “Not everyone will survive.” But assuming it’s Emmett feels wrong especially since Krista said she loves Tremlett and they just read great script for them. I’m pretty certain that “great script” doesn’t mean “Emmett dies”

Lachlan is still in Australia as of March 6th so he will probably be out for 1-2 more eps. I’m going to assume that maybe episode 5x11 isn’t as positive as we’d hoped. This is why Lachlan went to Australia because maybe, maybe Tremmett is on a break before getting back together.

There is no way they killed Emmett off if he doesn’t die in the next episode. Because surely they had to film him dieing and you can’t do that from overseas. Plus where would the time go? Lachlan still seems pretty active posting s19 behind the scenes to.

We know he was on set for 5x12 due to the couch photo of Travis and Vic? Or maybe that’s in the next episode? Anyways I’m almost certain that the reason Lachlan is in Australia is not because he’s been killed off. Especially since Travis looks fine in the promo photos of 5x11 and 5x12 and Lachlan’s hint about the next episode was fire, drama and popcorn....

Hoping (popcorn) is Tremmett related 🤞

Also, Emmett dieing wouldn’t necessarily be dark....it would be more sad. They didn’t tease Deans fealty as dark. now my other thought is maybe he gets injured and is in a coma? Emmetts the perfect character to mess with because he’s well liked but not the main cast. Now I’m going to say this as well. I’m thinking the “Dark Twist” of season 5B is about Vic’s mental health and wow is that going to be monumental to explore. You can fight me but, I really wouldn’t mind if that killed off Theo. I personally don’t like him.

ALSO! Jaina has steered us wrong a million times! Honestly her “spoilers” drive me mental. Cause half of them armt true. And honestly...maybe just maybe it’s almost 12 am and I’m over reacting

I’m going to try and sleep now. Wish I didn’t stumble across this theory especially cause I have school in the morning.

But def going to write a sad Emmett in a coma fic.

[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.