#one more post and then i wait for another month for S2 to start... FINALLY

[dalliancekay]

I'm just gonna write out what I think cos if someone sends me this again for the 113th time, I'm gonna snap. Look. Interviews (months!) before a premiere of something are tricky. You gotta be careful and VAGUE with what you say and what you want people to expect. Mostly creators focus on the themes in the first, maybe second episodes or so, trying not to give away much. Just the bare bones, what is already expected anyway. After all, they want you to watch it and go: "Ahhhh...." It was the same in S2 as well. (David describing in interviews how unmoored Crowley was in S2, how kind of disappointed etc and Michael how Az is also a bit disconcerted by not having a job, something big to belong to). But that's a description of - how we find the Ineffables in ep1, rather than describing the whole of Season 2 or their entire mindset. And there was a book first before the series and you must admit Aziraphale and Crowley are a bit different in the series than they are in the book. So caution was needed. PLUS their story has evolved again. It doesn't now end in the Ritz (I know it never really did for Neil and Terry who clearly wanted them to deal with the whole system somehow). The husbands have more trouble ahead. More details were added. We got more of their story, their journeys. Crowley doesn't change and is just waiting for Aziraphale to catch up with him - it's not much of a story, don't you think? Aziraphale is a naïve goody two shoes angel who has to realise Heaven is bad - is just so simple it's laughable.

And I'm sorry but Aziraphale has not lived a guarded life. He has lived a life of fear and anxiety with bosses who underestimate, belittle and laugh at him and think he's soft and rather pointless. Does anyone know what the question was that's answered?

Yeah, Aziraphale changes in S1 but they both do. Crowley throws out - we should do something. This whole Armageddon thing, I don't like it. He is so much a questioner of everything, isn't he. Why does it have to be this way. Makes no sense, what if... And generally, he doesn't have much to lose. If Hell wins, well, he knows what it's like. If Heaven wins, well, it'd be marginally better? Just about? If he survives to see it? Still sucks balls tho. So yes, David is right that Crowley NEEDS Aziraphale to see things his way and quickly. Cos EARTH.

Aziraphale knows the Earth came with a manual and an expiry date. He even told this so Angel!Crowley aeons ago.

So Aziraphale's journey (is not stopping believing Heaven is good and truth and light) is believing that he has choices. That he can change things. That the Plan might be Ineffable but it doesn't have to follow what he was told it must follow.

Crowley says, look, let's try, what do we have to lose. You like Earth as much as I do. And he gets Aziraphale to agree, they hatch a plan.

We watch Crowley come to love and trust Aziraphale through the ages after all he has been through. We watch Aziraphale to guard their little existence and carefully push at boundaries of what he thinks he can get away with. He wonders at what things are really like. What do they mean.

Their journey, is towards each other.

I don't know how they will smash the System before they fall into a tight embrace and never let go, but I know they will. Even if they have no idea yet that that is even possible. How could they.

And if I see one more post about how Aziraphale was backsliding and choosing his ‘faith’ over Crowley in the Final 15, I will set the internet on fire.

I can never decide if Heaven and Hell are more like mafia or like a dictatorship. Maybe a mix of both. Just cos they couldn't be killed, they were left alone for a bit. Didn't last long though, did it. They needed to be separated so they don't stop another go at destroying the little Universe project God started. I guess the Archangels are quite fed up with it.

Remember. Aziraphale and Crowley have nowhere to go. They never had. The best they could do was keep their little places on Earth. For themselves. For each other. Until they couldn't.

If you thought Aziraphale won't take the chance to have a tiny glimmer of an opportunity to destroy the fucking system in whatever way he can come up with (instead of what, being downmoted, having his memory erased too?), than you don't get him at all. Did he want to stay? You heard him say it. Was he allowed to? (No, really Metatron, nice chat but do fuck off for real now, I have a date with my demon). If you think Metatron wouldn't be back with a punishment for helping Gabriel than I don't know what to tell you.

Remember this?

And then they threatened the demon he loves.

ALSO Why do people keep bringing this back to justify their vague (or not so vague) dislike of Az (but, but Neil said "I think Aziraphale needs to learn") cos they think Az betrayed Crowley by leaving or something. The angel is just so stubborn. And he just won't listen to Crowley... right? /s You can see Aziraphale's struggles - he is a part of something he disagrees with and has no way out (Hell is not a way out btw) and tries to live in his existence in the little bubble with Crowley while being extremely careful not to have it burst. Until it inevitably does. Just as he always knew it would. But okay, if you want to have Good Omens be about a demon who figured everything out and is now waiting for his fluffy little angel to catch up and apologise to him (a million times) for being stupid so they can finally ride into the sunset, have at it. TL;DR - Heaven is good and Heaven should/could be good are two different things - Aziraphale is not an idiot; whether he still believes God is good/neutral/whatever and just the management bad or not is up in the air, we can't know unless we ask him, but it's definitely not so simple as - he needs to see it's bad, like Crowley did, end of story - The Ineffables HAVE NOWHERE TO GO. There isn't a secret third option where they can leave for and be happy if only Aziraphale opened his eyes - it's what the story is about - Crowley left Heaven for an even worse place. It would make zero sense for Aziraphale to follow his journey. Crowley is not free and doesn't have all the answers - I bet it has never occurred to either of them the whole System can be ever changed (we don't even know if it can be. The System is bigger than the UNIVERSE) - But I think that's what they'll do in S3

[piratecaptainscaptainpirates]

I first watched ofmd about 6 months after it came out which means the fandom had a little bit of time to develop some of its own ideas. Anyway. The absolute shock and confusion I felt after finishing s1 and finding out izzy had fans! I was like “wait what is there even to like about that guy?”. And then after thinking about it for a while I was like “ok I guess he is actually kinda interesting and it is pretty common for people to like the asshole antagonists” so imagine my disappointment when I came online and saw people trying to paint izzy as the rational good guy and Ed as out of control. And it’s still happening to this day! *sigh*

This rant brought to you by me seeing yet another meme implying Ed is acting irrationally and out of control in s1 and izzy is just the sensible rational guy trying to keep everything working smoothly. (God forbid ed meets someone he can have fun with and who actually respects the real him and experiences any amount of joy)

I was there, Gandalf. I was there like two years ago, lurking as this shift started happening, and it was something to see let me tell you what

I wasn't active in the fandom until just before s2 started airing, but I watched s1 for the first time right as the final episodes dropped, and I lurked around a bit. At first, in those early days, it truly felt like most people were on the same page. There was some racist shit (Ed eating soap was the big one back then) but on the whole the fandom's attitude towards Izzy, at least from my vantage point, was pretty uniform. Lots of "he's gay and homophobic" jokes. Lots of talking about how fucked up and wet he is.

And I remember thinking that the first posts I saw about how Izzy's actions were justified were satire. That was how uniform the fandom felt for those first few weeks. I was like, wow, that's kinda a fun thought experiment to try and twist things so Izzy's actions are justified. It's not for me but it's kinda interesting. And then after a while those things kept popping up and you realized they were serious. I remember it had gotten truly concerning by June that year, but it might've been earlier - I was just lurking around more around that time following hopes for the renewal.

Yeah, it's honestly really disappointing. I couldn't care less if someone likes Izzy as he is in canon - he's interesting in the same way a lot of antagonists are interesting. The issue comes in when they insist that their fanon perspective is the correct way to interpret the text and start writing fic and meta based on that premise, which becomes really racist really quickly. Izzy views Ed in a racist way, trying to push him back into a caricature of himself and talking about him like he's an animal, so when you take his word as gospel, the way you think and write about Ed is also going to be racist.

[all-thestories-aretrue]

I am about 1 million years late to this but thank you for the tag @graphitekayla!!!

Rules: without naming them, post 10 gifs of your favorite shows, then tag 10 people. I'm definitely going to break this rule; you can't give me the opportunity to gush about my faves and not expect me to name them all!!

If anyone has followed me for any length of time none of this will be a shock lmao.

Shadowhunters, and more broadly speaking The Mortal Instruments. My first real fandom!!! I cannot overstate the impact the books and show had on my life. I wouldn't be who I am without it. I have an angelic rune tattoo. Magnus and Alec are some of the first queer characters I remember reading about. I remember where I was when they kissed for the first time in the show. You stupid nephilim lives rent free in my brain. This show (and the books) truly set up the trajectory my life is on now, and I will always always remember it fondly. Even with all the drama and discourse.

2. Critical Role, specifically C2. My first true obsession after the decade long Shadowhunters debacle. I stumbled into it to learn how to play D&D (which I now know is a controversy in and of itself lmao). But my friend @midnightellis wanted us to start a game, and I needed a way to learn that wasn't reading the books, so I started C2. It took 11 or 12 episodes, but then I fell in love. I spent the next almost year watching the entirety of C2 which culminated in visiting them to watch the finale together. I was extremely jetlagged. It was basically 8 amazing hours of nonstop crying. I have zero regrets. Except for the fact I still need to get the tattoo I had planned rip. One day!! I promise!!

3. Arcane!!!! A brief interlude between Shadowhunters and CR. There was about 4 months were I was OBSESSED and watched the entire show like 3 times back to back. I have many thoughts and feelings about Jayce. The show is also just so visually stunning. I cannot wait for S2 to drop in November!!!!!! I know nothing about League but I do really love this show.

4. House. Iconic. What else needs to be said? House is very much a comfort show for me; great to rewatch during the winter. I've watched the entire thing almost three times now, and even got my mom hooked lol. It was fun seeing all her reactions to everything before I moved.

5. If I had known what fandom was when this was airing, I truly would have been all over that shit. But I was 8 and didn't have access to the internet. Aang/Katara def my first otp lol. I did, however, ignore a friend that was over at my house to watch the finale, I believe. I definitely told them to go play so I could watch the show uninterrupted. Needless to say, they were not thrilled with that. I'm 90% sure it was the finale now, but I could be wrong about the episode. ATLA is also another comfort show that I could watch over and over again.

6. Shadow and Bone. I am still SICKENED this got canceled. Genya and David are the ultimate romance, and no one will convince me otherwise. I almost stopped reading when I found out his fate. I was devastated. Everyone in this show is also very pretty. I can't believe we won't get a s3.

I'm going to stop here because this is already long enough, and tbh I'm not sure I actually have four more shows. I can only be obsessed with one thing at a time, and the current obsession is Path of Night. And that does not seem to be waning any time soon.

Edit: Lost should 100% be on this list. I think I've watched it at least four times. My family and I watched it live as it was airing when I was a kid. And it still is one of my favorite shows. I know people got beef with the ending but I truly didn't mind it. Even if it's bad or whatever, I think Lost is still 100% worth watching. There are so many little hints and clues that I pick up something different every time, and each character death hits just as hard.

I'm going to tag: @gelatinouscute, @peppedstep, @midnightellis, @discordkittenterumi, @im-a-vampire-now, @zeena-athena , @syntia13treeman , @sapphicfugue , @dr-thumbs-brand-new-spot

If you want to do this :)

[kinopioa]

Unfair Squid Abuse Pre Movie Part 2

Observations of S1: https://www.tumblr.com/kinopioa/720614514310201344/squid-abuse-in-pre-movie-spongebob?source=share

This post will cover S2 Unfair Squid Abuse. Note I said unfair, as situations that are heavily pushed on by him are that karmic enough to warrant it don't count as "unfair". Minor sass and scoffing is NOT a good enough reason for extreme violence or psychological abuse

S2 Ep1A: Your Shoe's Untied;

This is fairly minor, but Spongebob's antics end up heavily disrupting work, to where Squidward ends up being engorged by misfired Krabby Patties.

Speaking of, weird to make an ep later about him never having a Krabby Patty

Abuse Gauge: Diabeetus

___

S2 Ep2B: Bossy Boots;

Immediately realizing corporate nepotism, Squidward warns SB to be firm and not let Pearl boss them around, only for the sponge to be charmed at first by Pearl's tacky outfit. Forced to also wear said uniform, Squidward is publicly humiliated, then charged for ripping off the getup

Admittedly SB was inconvenienced as well, if not more, something unique as Squidward typically is either solely abused/inconvenienced, or if suffering together, is worse off

Abuse Gauge: Costumed Rage

___

S2 Ep3B: Bubble Buddy;

Minding his own business, Squidward is forced to cater to SB's notoriously obnoxious whim for Bubble Buddy's order, even taking multiple jobs to do it. Worse, it was all for nothing, as the Sponge skimped on paying. Spongebob basically was Zoe/Rocco from Sesame Street in terms of gaslighting everyone

Hey wait, this means Squid can run the grill

There's some minor mind numbness as Bubble Buddy is revealed to be sentient somehow

Abuse Gauge: The customer is always wrong

___

S2 Ep4A: Dying for Pie;

Being forced by policy to find a gift for SB, Squidward is fooled into buying explosive pies. While the initial explosion is karmic enough, the Octopus is scared into thinking SB ate the rest of the pie, and so spends the rest of the day fullfilling SB's wish list. Only to find out he didn't eat the pie, and gets a faceful of the rest, causing a nuke point blank

Ouch

Abuse Gauge: Explosive Emotion

Note: What was he eating here?

___

S2 Ep6B: Squidville;

The ep starts with SB and Patrick messing around with a reef blower, which wrecks Squidward's yard and house. Having enough, he finally moves out to a gated community...only to find his routine extremely boring after a few days. In the end he cracks down and launches himself out of that community with a reef blower

This ep focuses more on another aspect of Squidward suffering: psychological. SB-129 similarly shows him being unable to accept null existence, here he suffers from similar lack of companionship (note, of scenes of him interacting with other octupi, none are positive)

It exposes a char flaw; He has no friends, except for the ones that destroy his house

Abuse Gauge: Well, his house was destroyed. Again. As well as realizing cruddy life choices

___

S2 Ep13A Shanghaied;

*Is thrown in hell cuz he was mad an anchor ruined his house*

Abuse Gauge: Temporary Damnation

___

S2 Ep14B Frankendoodle;

Besides getting pranked in the beginning, Squidward is straight up beaten up by Doodlebob

Abuse Gauge: Finland'd

___

S2 Ep20B Squid on Strike;

Several things

-Mr. Krabs ridiculous penalties

-Getting trampled by a crowd. Twice

-SB's incompetence

But the worst is that despite not being responsible for literally dismantling the Krusty Krab, Squidward recieves the same punishment as SB. This slightly ties into how SB rarely takes responsibility on his own cuz the show generally twists it in his favor, or has it so multiple suffer/be wrong alongside him. See: S1 "Employee of the Month"

___

Notes;

-Compared to last season, there aren't that many eps Squidward is directly malicious and rubbing it in Spongebob's face. The most you have is "Squid's Day Off" (which he gets punished for), and the S2 Christmas special (where he gives up most of his possessions)

-"Pretty Patties" and "Grandma's Kisses" he insults SB, but loses relevancy in the plot extremely fast. A neutral result despite his jeering

-With "Band Geeks", despite him lying to Squilliam, he ends up effectively winning in the end

[cheesy09]

MAJOR SPOILERS FOR MLQC CHAPTER 36

Y'all know who it's gonna be, right? I'm not ready 🥲

Upto the very end, he's been exchanging his life for hers. Plus, the parallels 😭💔

Kiro's soft affection never disappearing 😔 My heart... 🤧

WHY DO THESE TWO GOTTA BREAK MY HEART LIKE THIS??? 😭💔

[strangerthings4theories]

Billy Is Going To Find The Byers

IMPORTANT: If you haven’t read my post “The Demogorgon Is Billy’s Dark Reflection,” please check it out, as it goes hand in hand with this one. Thanks :D

A few months ago, we all got our first look at some of the new characters for S4. I checked them out with great interest. 

“Lt. Colonel Sullivan... military dude in Hawkins... cool, makes sense. Victor Creel... ooooooh, played by Robert Englund, betcha he’s gonna be one of El’s predecessors. Eddie Munson... damn, he’s super sus. Argyle... Jonathan’s new bff, who delivers pizza for--”

I stopped.

And freaked. OUT.

Argyle delivers pizza for Surfer Boy Pizza.

Surfer Boy Pizza.

SURFER BOY PIZZA.

A whole constellation of dots connected, and I knew IMMEDIATELY where this is heading. Let’s walk through it step by step... starting with the inception of Stranger Things itself.

The Duffers love the movie Jaws, to the point that they give it pride of place in their list of inspirations. Hell, Stranger Things probably wouldn’t have existed without it. Initially, as a homage to the movie, the show was set in a Long Island beach town called Montauk. The setting didn’t change until the Duffers began pre-production:

They began by scouting locations on the northern tip of Long Island, but the community - so integral to the script - didn’t look as they had imagined, and its distance from New York City made the idea of anchoring the production there unfeasible. A new approach was required. (Worlds Turned Upside Down, p 25)

After that, they rewrote the script to take place in Indiana, and “Hawkins was born.” 

Still, you can tell their love for Jaws lingered. Hopper’s truck looks like Martin Brody’s:

Meanwhile, the Demogorgon was inspired by the shark, and the show isn’t shy about that fact. In S1, when Nancy explains her theory for what the Demogorgon is, she likens its bloodlust to that of a shark:

In the final episode, when Nancy, Jonathan, and Steve are hiding from the Demogorgon in Will’s room, the Jaws poster hangs prominently in the left side of the frame:

Furthermore, the Demogorgon’s behavior emulates that of the shark. Like Nancy points out, it hunts alone, emerging from the Upside Down (*COUGHTHEOCEANCOUGH*) to pick people off one by one. And though we don’t see its full form until the end, its presence haunts us throughout, infusing the story with dread.

Okay! So the Duffers originally set Stranger Things in a beach town, and the Demogorgon was inspired by the Jaws shark. Cool. What does this mean for us?

Everything.

Think about it. The Byers have moved to a new town. We aren’t sure where they went, but in S2 Bob suggested Maine. Maine is on the East Coast, not far from Long Island.

And as you can see, it has hundreds of miles of beaches.

If the Duffers have any sense, they wouldn’t drop the Byers in another town like Hawkins. That would be redundant and hella boring. Instead, they would seize the opportunity to explore a new setting with a different feel. Not an inland town surrounded by woods and farmland, but... oh, idk... a beach town.

On top of that, the Byers’ move gives the Duffers the perfect opportunity to return to the show’s roots. Finally, they can bring Montauk to life.

If that’s what they’ve done, and the Byers have moved to a beach town, we’re headed for prime Billy territory.

Billy OWNS the beach. In the context of the show, we get our first glimpse of a beach in his mind, for God’s sake. And he’s deeply connected to water as an element. He’s a surfer, lifeguard, swim instructor... need I say more?

He’s also likened to the Demogorgon - the monster inspired by the shark in Jaws.

I’ve already discussed the similarities between Billy and the Demogorgon. Those were fresh on my mind when I read Runaway Max for the first time. So, when I read this paragraph where Max describes the Camaro, I freaked out (I do that a lot):

Once, for two weeks back in April, I thought that Camaro was the coolest thing I’d ever seen. It had a long, hungry body like a shark, all sleek painted panels and sharp angles. It was the kind of car you could rob a bank in. (pp 12-13)

It’s a motherf***ing equation, y’all. Billy (by way of his Camaro) = the Demogorgon = the shark in Jaws.

And the Byers have just moved to a town where the local pizza place is called Surfer Boy Pizza.

A name like that doesn’t make sense unless they really are in a beach town.

Hence why I completely lost my shit when I read about Argyle. When you take all the evidence together, it looks like the Duffers have set up a situation where, figuratively, our heroes will think they see a shark in the water (aka the Demogorgon). 

But they’ll find out it’s not a shark. It’s a surfer boy coming back to shore.

Hints and leaks have confirmed this idea so far. The Stranger Things social media accounts teased the following exchange last year:

“What if it’s the Demogorgon?” “It’s not the Demogorgon.”

Just a couple weeks ago, we got our first photo of the Surfer Boy Pizza delivery truck (credit: strangerinsidebr on IG). And the writing on the side is telling.

The writing in the center doesn’t say, “Surfer Boy Pizza delivered hot to your door.” It says, “Surfer Boy delivered hot to your door.” The ‘pizza’ is way off to the side.

They’re making a joke, guys. A fuckin joke.

“Surfer boy delivered HOT to your door ;)”

Jokes aside, the potential for Billy’s intro scene is so CLEAR and VIVID that I took a stab at sketching out how it could happen. Obviously I don’t think it has to happen this way; the writers have plenty of wiggle room. But it illustrates the kind of scene I have in mind:

Episode 3: “The Survivor”

All this time, hints have been building that Billy is still alive. Creepy things keep happening that remind us of Will trying to communicate from the Upside Down in S1 (flickering lights, people feeling "haunted" by his "ghost," etc). At the end of the episode, a thunderstorm rolls into the Byers' beach town. Will and El are together at home, probably alone. As it's raining and thundering, strange things begin to happen that frighten them. They get a creepy phone call; the power goes out, but only at their house; etc. Remembering that horrific night three years ago, Will races to the window to look out. El follows him. Through the rain, they see a form swaying toward the house. Terrified, Will wants to leave, but El stops him. "But El, what if it's the Demogorgon?" "It's not the Demogorgon." They back away from the door and wait. To their shock, the chain unlocks by itself. The door opens, and their visitor walks in, looking like a drowned cat with a nosebleed. Billy.

God, I’m freaking out again just writing all this out lololol. I need to go lie down. 

BILLY’S COMING BACK, BITCHES. 

Peace.  ✌️

»»————-　✼　————-««

The “Billy Is Alive” Meta Series (So Far)

Billy Is Not a ‘B’ Character In Stranger Things

The First Rule of Analyzing Stranger Things: The Upside Down Is Symbolized By Water

The Lifeguard And The Rip Current: Our First Big Hint That Billy Is Alive

Why Haven’t We Seen Dacre On Set?

The Demogorgon Is Billy’s Dark Reflection

Frequently Asked Questions

For updates, follow the hashtag #billy is alive meta

[stillgeekingout]

it’s time once again for my time-honored tradition of recapping my year. I always say I’m not gonna make it unbearably long and it always gets longer. as always this is mostly for myself and no one is obligated to read. reflections on 2022 lezgo

started the year with covid. so really, it can only go up from there

that being said, being quarantined allowed me to finish a story I’d been working on for 3 years (and maybe someday will actually post somewhere despite how niche it is bc I’m v proud of it)

spent most of the first part of the year intensely preparing for wedding

GOT MARRIED! it was great! I love my wife! I loved having a big party with all my friends and her family came from London and we just had a really nice time! selfishly I loved the speeches, I loved hearing everyone I love say nice stuff about us lol. I go back and forth on if the amount of work we put into it was worth it bc it really kinda wrecked me for a bit there but like, it did turn out beautiful and very Us so now that I’m out of it I guess it was worth it. but I would not recommend that amount of DIY to anyone hahahaha #wifecity

we had a second wedding related party in london over the summer and I got to meet a ton of people from ingrid’s life which I loved! and my family came to london and all our sisters got to hang out together :)

honeymoon in france! it was very nice despite being very chaotic at the end

went to atlanta two times and miami for the first time despite having always lived in fl (and st augustine and tally to see a play and tampa where ingrid befriended azizi the penguin)

concert year for real. did not get to see twice (and I would’ve seen lucius if it worked out) but I DID see bleachers (even tho I was very sick lmao) (not contagious but I was miserable), aly & aj, the chicks, and muna!!!! (ps my love for muna is so so strong this year) (pps we made a friend at aly & aj and now her and her partner are our friends)

full year of porch garden had its successes and failures. two hurricanes and two freezes in one year didn’t really help but I’m learning more things about how the sun works on my porch throughout the year and that’s helpful (one of those two hurricanes had my name)

in general working at a plant store for 8 months of this year taught me so much more about plants! I love plants I can’t wait to have a real garden

a lot of really upsetting political stuff but let’s not go into that

ok but speaking of politics I became so much more into socialist alternative this year lol I would join if it wouldn’t mess with ingrid’s visa application (us govt if you see this no you didn’t)

speaking of politics again I think I have gotten better at having actually productive conversations with people bc I’m trying to focus more on local policies etc

didn’t watch as much new tv this year but I did finally watch russian doll, also our flag means death & a league of their own both came out this year and were great. oh and heartstopper was cute and several shows I like had a good s2. when did abbott elementary start? I’ll mention that too

got another new roommate & she is cool :) she also has a gf (now fiancee) in england who stayed with us for the summer lol it’s a trend

we played a variety of dnd: my sisters/family, murder mystery that shannen & I planned, a lil mini game with our roommate and ex roommate and shannen... didn’t play a lot of times but when we did it was fun

I won’t say I kept up with yoga but I kept up with intermittent yoga

I read dracula lol (I’ll put goncharov on this same bullet point cause it entertained me a lot)

(carry on people if you’re reading this I apologize in advance) I joined a carry on discord after lurking on the fandom for years and it has been... idk. interesting. I like the people a lot. I am really not a fandomy person and so being around it All The Time has made me like the books less lol just from exhaustion. I did mute all the fandom related channels tho and that’s been a better experience though I still debate if it was worth it. but I keep not leaving bc I like the people lol. also it led to some fun gift exchanges (I made a very elaborate puzzle game insp by shara wheeler) and me doing (a lot of) goattober so I got some hand lettering done

related, wrote my first (and probably last) fanfic that wasn’t about my or shannen’s OCs. it was about agatha wellbelove and I’m glad I did it but overall I don’t think I like writing fic (which makes sense, I don’t really like reading fic either)

I’m gonna give infamous a bullet point why not (I just really like having access to be able to message writers I like about their writing) (hype for gwart)

speaking of, rainbow started posting on instagram more and I started commenting more and now I have deluded myself into thinking rainbow and I are friends :)) she posted my embroidery and called me “a very generous reader” what else am I supposed to think

continued torturing ingrid with black midi memes

went to a friend’s wedding and had complicated feelings

ingrid and I made a bunch of playlists with characters that exist only in the playlists. I got very attached to the characters but I had to stop bc it was getting to the point where I couldn’t listen to music without trying to connect it to one of them

spent a lot of time and money (and wedding gifts) to make our apartment really nice and I love it now! we have decorations and art and lamps and nice kitchen things and I just love it. despite a brief very annoying time when we had a leak in the ceiling it’s been a v good year of our apartment. now I just need to save up for new couches lol bc our couches are. not great.

we hosted some parties at our house (gay wrath, halloween, painting night...) and just generally are trying to hang out with a variety of friends!

I spent the summer working outside which was horrible and I got sick a lot. also I just generally had not great health this year and kind of came to terms w the fact that my weird body stuff is a type of chronic illness (related I had to deal w depression several times this year boooo)

a lot of coworkers I liked left my old job and then I left too (but not before asking for / getting a raise which I’m proud of myself for even if I did it right at the end bc it led to my coworkers getting raises too)

new job! I work at a college and it’s great! I have a work son aka the flamboyant 19 year old theatre kid disaster who I have taken under my wing, I like my supervisor a lot (just found out she might be leaving us but ahhh not thinking about that), I helped run an art project for a really big event in our department and it went well, and I’m just generally feeling good about the direction of my Career for the first time in a really long time!

midnights & loneliest time on the same day

we had a nice family thanksgiving and a nice family christmas even though I am increasingly nervous about the opinions that some of my family members hold (I had a PAID WINTER BREAK)

the hazers absolutely bombed and made me regret being so emotionally invested in marbles (but also pinkies redemption)

actually muna gets their own bullet point because the take me away video still haunts me. between the singles and self titled album and concert and stupid jokes they brought me so so much joy this year. hashtag greatest band in the world

we filed ingrid’s immigration papers!!!!! now we just have to wait until like mid 2024 and maybe she’ll get her green card

saved it for last bc I’m excited: I started plotting a book! like a for real, I am gonna try to actually write and publish it, book. it’s a retelling of cinderella which I do believe was always my fate (the only other book I’ve ever seriously tried to write past the age of like 10 was also tangentially about cinderella) and I really love the idea and I’m really nervous but excited to write it. it’s gonna have friendship and queer joy and socialism and aspec wlw romance and crafting and language learning and florida inspired nature! been doing a lot of research and planning and going into the woods to take pictures of trees. it’s been fun and I really hope to write a lot of my first draft this year!

anyway I had a really good year overall when I stop and think about it, even if I spent a lot of it stressed or dying in the heat or worried about money. I am hoping for a fulfilling, relaxing, joyous 2023 full of friends and nature and a nice home and creative projects. and I wish the same to everyone <3

[multimetaverse]

HSMTMTS 2x12 Review

Second Chances was a lacklustre finale for an uneven season. Let’s dig in!

Earlier this week I re-watched S1 in preparation for the S2 finale and the contrast between the two seasons is jarring. In almost every way S2 has been worse and after seeing this finale I’m less optimistic that Tim will be able to fix the long list of things that have gone wrong. Tim has said in some of his interviews today that pretty much all of S2 was written before the pandemic and that they didn’t have to do as much re-writing as people might think due to the stringent safety measures Disney put in place. Of course, that removes an excuse for the bad writing we’ve seen so much of this season as according to Tim what we saw of S2 is largely what he envisioned minus big crowds and background dancers.

 Across his many interviews today, the one consistent point is that Tim does not have any real plans for future seasons; things like Ricky’s endgame he hasn’t decided on and he can’t even guarantee the summer season the finale sets up due to the weather in Salt Lake. I do think a S3 is an almost certainty given the show’s popularity but I’ll take Tim at his word that he truly doesn’t know if they’ll be renewed since it seems to be a new Disney tradition to wait until seasons are done airing before making a renewal decision (the same thing happened for the popular and well received Mighty Ducks: Game Changers which got a silent renewal only after all of S1 aired). That being said as poor of a season finale as Second Chances is it is also a terrible potential series finale. In large part it goes back to his lack of planning, he wants to keep all options open but in doing so Tim is crippling the show’s ability to deliver any pay offs or tie up loose ends.  

The one mostly well done plot line this season was Portwell which got a happy ending tonight as they canoned. The only good thing about the big brother angst was that it was so insane that it had to be addressed and sure enough it was and Gina got her first kiss with a guy she really liked. If Tim is to be believed the reason we didn’t get an on screen Portwell kiss was not because of their age difference or covid concerns but because he felt that everyone’s first kiss was different so he wanted it off screen so viewers could fill in the blanks themselves. Tim’s line of reasoning is profoundly stupid. Imagine if they had Jamie show up and he and Gina talked off screen and Tim tried to claim that because everyone has a different relationship with their own siblings that he wanted the audience to fill in the blanks as to how their conversation went!

Still we saw great character development on Gina and EJ’s part as both really grew from the people they were in S1. As Tim noted, EJ bringing Gina back in 1x10 was kind of the set up for this story line. The only thing missing was a brief Portwell scene sometime in eps 2x01-2x04 to set them up. The consistent development they got from 2x05-2x12 is unlike any other ship on the show; only Rini exceeds their development. 

Unfortunately I don’t think that will last in S3 because Tim will always favour Ricky over EJ and if he wants to do Rina he’ll dispose of Portwell before doing so. I was surprised that they never bothered to have Ricky and Gina have a conversation about Gina’s S1 confession. It was a huge mistake to have Gina pine over Ricky for half the season and it was no surprise that Gina’s story line got instantly better once she stopped interacting with Ricky. Tim has made clear in interviews that he’s still interested in the possibility of Rina which makes his poor writing of them even more bizarre. What conclusions are the audience supposed to draw from the Rina story line this season? That Ricky never cared that much about Gina? That it’s totally fine for the show if they don’t interact for 6 eps in a row? That Gina has moved on? I’ve said before that a wiser man than Tim would recognize that doing both Portwell and Rina will do tremendous damage to the show and he should pick one and not do the other. Of course he’s not that smart but it is wild how he’s accidentally written their story line to make for a perfect end to Rina. 

Second Chances was great and is the only part of the finale that would have been well suited to being part of a potential series finale. 

The Rini closure was a sad inverse of their S1 opening night confession. They’ve fallen so far from being the it couple of the series and I fear Tim doesn’t actually know what to do with them now. He really needs to decide if he’s tearing down that treehouse for real. 

The less said about the Valentine’s chocolates the better but at least Gina and Nini are cool again and Nini can explore her budding music career with Jamie’s help. Tim repeatedly said in interviews that the scripts about Nini’s music career were all written before Driver’s License came out and I think he understands that the audience is just going to see the show as copying from Olivia’s life. 

The wildcats just deciding to drop out of the Menkies was a lame cop out. Tim has said he always meant for that to happen though they were originally going to compete at the Menkies then drop out (presumably that’s where we would have heard Lily singing Home). Somebody should have mentioned the $50 000 prize money which the East High theatre department could surely use after Miss Jenn and Mr. Mazzara burned it down (remember that story line that had no consequences?). And that NYU scholarship could have been life changing for one of them and yet no one even brought  it up once this season. 

I did like the twist that it was EJ and his dad who got Mazzara into Caltech. He’d be a fool not to take it but I’m glad he confessed to Miss Jenn. She’s had a really rough season and I hope she redeems herself in S3.

Howie was acting so weird tonight and last ep that I have a hard time believing he was really so awed by Kourtney’s talent rather than feeling guilty for helping to steal the harness. The harness is another useless plot device; there are no consequences for Lily stealing it, she’s not caught, East High pulls off another version of the transformation off screen, and then East High withdraws from the Menkies anyways. Doubtless the harness will eventually come up to serve Rily angst. 

At least Lily was straightforward, I’ll give her that. She has such an odd way of speaking, almost child like. As awful as it is there is potential for a forbidden/secret romance story line with Rily. It really does not speak well to Ricky’s character that he’s so easily fallen for Lily’s act when he has no reason to trust her and she never apologized for making fun of Big Red during the auditions or making Ashlyn feel insecure during the dance off. 

The one way in which S2 was drastically better to S1 was in regards to the Seblos story line. Clearly Joe being bumped up to regular made a big difference. We got the first same-sex kiss between two boys and the first love song sung by one boy to another in Disney history and that is a legacy to be proud of. Of course, there was still some Disney censorship such as Carlos and Seblos being unable to use the word gay in the same ep that focused on Carlos singing In a Heartbeat to Seb. 

S1 of HSMTMTS had a clear direction, the wildcats would have to try and come together to stage High School Musical and Ricky and Nini would have to decide if they still had a future together while Gina and EJ had to work on being better versions of themselves. It was simple sure but it worked very well. There was a lot of heart but also a lot of humor and the show never took itself too seriously. What has S2 had? Beauty and the Beast was hardly the main focus of the cast or the writers and the central couple that S1 was built around is now broken up either for a long time or for good. There was a lot less of the meta moments that jokes that made S1 such a hit, for far too many eps this season the show took itself way too seriously. Hell even the lighting this season was darker than in S1. 

Olivia Rodrigo’s team had complained in a recent article that Olivia wouldn’t be able to potentially tour until fall 2022 due to her contractual commitments which is a sign that they think a S3 is very likely though I wonder how late S3 filming would have to start to keep her occupied until late 2022. There’s no confirmation of this but I thought it might be worth keeping an eye on; a post on r/hsmtmts by someone who claims to have a source working on production says that the plan is for S3 to be a summer theatre camp possibly with Camp Rock renditions and the plan for S4 is to jump 6 months ahead to the final semester of senior year and end with Ricky, Nini, Big Red, and Kourtney graduating from East High. They also say that part of the delay in the S3 announcement is a conflict between Tim and Disney executives. Tim wants to move production to LA and film on sets as it’s easier and cheaper while the Disney execs still want some on location shooting in Salt Lake. Again this is all unconfirmed but if it pans out it will represent a major shift in the series. 

Regardless if Tim wants the show to remain successful he needs start planning out what he wants to happen. He should not assume he’s getting more than 4 seasons. If the series gets a S3 but then is suddenly cancelled then how would he want all the main story lines to wrap up? And if they make it to S4 where does he see it ending? The graduation of the current juniors is a logical series ending point but if Tim wants to do something different he needs to start thinking of that now. I can’t say I’m excited anymore for S3 but I do really hope that Tim and his writers can turn things around and that will only happen if they recognize what they did wrong and learn from their mistakes. 

Until next season Wildcats

[viscountessevie]

Ok so I’m glad I’m not the only one upset by Ruby’s recasting, and maybe it’s because I prefer continuity in shows, but even if they’re going with a time jump I don’t want them to recast Florence and Will. They really did Ruby wrong in s1, they took other creative liberties from the books they easily could have given her more of a role.

I want to give Hannah a chance but she doesn’t have the same likeness to Ruby it’s just gonna feel off

Shoutout to the GC esp Zara, Belle and Trivia @jeanvanjer @sophiamariabeckett @hptriviachamp for the great points and discussion on the kiddos! And thanks to Tessa @margoshansons and Lav @sweetestviscount for the final look and approval! 

Related to these posts: Frannie Casting Post 1 | Post 2

Okay so hello anon, while I do agree with all the parts about Ruby and Frannie but I do have to set the record straight about Florence and Will!

These children are minors and if production wants to do a time jump for the Book 4 to 6 of it all, I damn well hope they recast Flo and Will because:

1) They do not look the ages (21 for Hy/Flo and 23 for Greg/Will) they are supposed to be in 1824

2) For their seasons, their characters would be fully grown adults (Hy would be 22 and Greg would be 26). While I loved how HP had the kids growing up, they never had explicit scenes to the degree that Bridgerton does. I would not be comfortable seeing them be in sex scenes in their seasons. Mainly because I saw them growing up on the show and associate them to be the babies of the family. So unless it's completely their choice to continue (if they are their characters' ages if we even get to their seasons), I think they should definitely be recasted.

Also it's worth mentioning some people have been weirdos about Flo since the show aired and so honestly I wouldn't be surprised if Will and Flo step away from their seasons.

As the GC says: PROTECT THE CHILDREN AND DON'T BE GROSS ABOUT THEM!

***

Now that I've cleared that up, let's talk about the Hannah and Ruby of it all.

So in S1, what I understand is Ruby was doing her movie, A Banquet (which I highly recommend yall to watch this is exactly how I knew she'd kill WHWW's storyline and season) so the production schedules clashed so she couldn't be in it more but then again I imagine they didn't give her a lot of scenes so it was okay she was in two productions at the same time.

What I'm pissed about is they didn't guarantee her a storyline in S2 - yeah okay whatever CVD you wanted to give her a bigger storyline but obviously you didn't act fast enough that she decided to find another job still - and so she took her chances and auditioned for another Netflix lead and SHE GOT IT!! I was SO proud of her like get that coin and role to shine in sis!!

Unless it was Ruby’s choice to leave cos she was getting shit screen time (I mean when they wasted it on a single season character like Cousin Jack and LW’s stupid operations both of whom had zero impact on the season) I don’t blame her for leaving and respect her wishes. But if it’s really Shondaland fucking up and not giving a shit about Ruby, then shame on them for dropping the ball, dropping her and going with the easy option of recasting. 

Now for S3 with Frannie’s debut coming up with Benophie’s story, obviously they NEEDED to give Ruby and Frannie more of a real storyline and I being a clown thought ‘Oh wait Lockwood and Bridgerton are both Netflix shows, they can work out a joint production schedule to let Ruby work on both!’

Also if I’m not wrong Lockwood started production shortly after announcing Ruby as the lead so they have a couple of months of shooting ahead of S3, Ruby would have been free by the time S3 started shooting so why didn’t they bring her back??

Two good things I’ll say about Hannah’s casting is that she is gorgeous (so Michael being shook by her when he first sees her and her being a diamond makes sense - it made sense with Ruby too but Hannah looks A LOT like Daphne aka the diamond benchmark of the show - I’ll talk more about their similarity later) and while she does look a tad older than Frannie’s 16 next season, I hope this means she’ll be coupled with the older 5 sibs and not be a baby with G&H anymore! (Also wifey @/sophiamariabeckett does this mean we’ll finally get Fran on mag covers uwu?) 

So I mentioned Hannah looking a lot like Daphne and by extension Phoebe and not to mention she’s exactly a month younger than Pheebs. I have a feeling that she had auditioned for Daphne before this recast and she must have stood out in some way for the casting directors to keep her in mind still. So that gives me hope about her acting. I just hope we don’t have another miscast with the Bridgerton siblings - one is enough (no I’m not going to name them but IYKYK)

Other than that, Ruby fit Frannie’s vibe, age and looks better for me than Hannah does so I won’t comment on Hannah after this until I’ve seen her act as Frannie. I don’t have much to say on her right now and I honestly cannot judge until I’ve seen her act. That’s all I have to say about the casting news so only talk to me about Ruby’s Fran or Book Fran until S3 drops then I’ll revisit this. 

Thanks everyone for reading til here and for the anon for sending this ask, just be mindful of what we talk about regarding the kiddos!! They are still minors and should be protected!

[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.

[thatgirlonstage]

What will your next fanfic be about? Are there ones that you have on the back burner?

Lmao it's adorable you think I have this like. Neatly planned and organized that I definitely know what I'm posting next.

I have two kinky erotica one-shots that I have a good amount written for, one JJK Sukufushi pwp and one 5+1 porn-with-plot Elena of Avalor fic (...I started a rewatch and Esteban promptly broke my brain, it's. been a thing). Barring that I bang out something short on tumblr or twitter (like my most recent fic, keep the king) in like an hour, or something else doesn’t unexpectedly overtake my life, one of those will go up next.

For the back burner… oh, god, so many things.

I have three fics planned for next Mermay, two of which are short (a Critical Role M9 fic that will not take much work to finish, and would’ve been done this year if Our Flag Means Death hadn’t seized me by the throat and consumed my life, and a TAZ: Ethersea fic, which I have planned out and I’m just waiting to write out and publish closer to the month). The third is a longform Witcher geraskefer fic that I uhhhhh sort of promised would be published this past May, but then grad school and ofmd happened and it Simply Was Not Finished. But I am very much hoping to get it done for next year.

There are two BNHA fics — one dabihawks, one postcanon future fic that I was writing for Banned Together Bingo and didn't finish in time — that I have a shit ton written for but may or may not ever see the light of day due to starting them before/during the first war arc and now they’re really not canon compliant anymore, and I’d have to do a lot of work to make them a more deliberate canon divergence, and just… idk if it will ever happen. Also because, frankly, ime BNHA fandom sucks to post fic in. Your fic just gets buried in the first ten minutes and I feel like the comments to kudos ratio is particularly bad. So I’d be doing a shit ton of work just for nobody to care about it if I bothered to share it.

I do fully intend to write another TAZ: Balance fic about Lup to turn Without Mercy and Without Blame into a triptych that covers all the birds. I lost part of my drafting for that unfortunately so it's just getting up the energy to rewrite it. Also in the vein of incomplete series, I will not feel done with in the quiet of his mind until I have at least written the forest kiss and "get away"; and I would be absolutely remiss not to do an epistolary Charon/Hermes fic for The Many Layers of Life and Death. None of those things are imminent, but they've been percolating in my head long enough that I think I will eventually get to them, it's just anyone's guess when.

And then there’s the WIPs.

Both The Way You Said I Love You and Written in Sand I have substantial swathes of the rest of the fic written for. For WiS, at this point, I’m waiting until I’ve chipped away and finished the whole fic so that when I finally do come back, I can just post chapters once a week and not go on another years long hiatus. For TWYSILU I’m just blocked on part of this specific chapter and I need to get back to it whenever my brain stops hating me about it. They 10000% are not abandoned and will not be, I am just slow.

I did not. Uh. Intend to post a single chapter of If I’m Not Back Again and immediately stop, but. Life. The current plan for that one is that I’ll write more when Good Omens S2 drops.

And if you go REALLY far back in my Ao3 you’ll find The Green Hunter, which I honestly make zero promises for, that one’s on an “if inspiration strikes” basis.

The only unfinished published fic I have that definitely will not be finished is Long Lost, and even that isn’t abandoned as such — whenever I finish WiS, I want to move over to a significant rewrite of Long Lost to scratch the Voltron itch without being forced to engage with canon. But WiS is the priority.

[fandomlit]

relief (five hargreeves x reader)

requested by anon “hey, I saw that your requests were open so I wanted to request something with Five. I saw a post a while ago about how in S2 all the siblings get a warm reunion with each other, but Five doesn't. So I wanted to ask something where Five has feelings for the reader and she was stranded for some months in Dallas, and when he goes to find her she is happy to see him and gives him a tight hug which makes Five get emotional because it's been so long since someone showed such affection towards him <3″

summary when five arrived in the 60s, his first priority is to track down you and his siblings. and when his siblings prove to be just as difficult as they were in 2019, finding you is truly his only relief.

warning swearing

gif cred belongs to @thisgameissonintendo​

after getting a rundown of where all of his siblings were from elliott, five couldn’t resist pulling his wallet out of his pocket. carefully, he pulled out the tattered photograph he kept in one of the pockets. he showed the picture to elliott with a shaking hand.

“what about her? did she drop?”

elliott furrowed his brow before nodding. “yeah. yeah, with the big guy.” he pulled out another file and presented it to five. as he opened it, elliott explained, “she’s working at a coffee shop just down the street.”

five smiled to himself, looking at the picture elliott had managed to snap of you. it was of you at the shop, smiling at a customer as they talked. god, he missed that smile. “of course she is.” he looked up at elliott. “where is this shop?”

“uh, well, she’s not working today,” elliott explained. “the shop is closed while the owner’s out of town. you’ll have to wait another day or two.”

five felt his heart drop. “you don’t know where she lives?”

his host shrugged desperately. “she’s a teenager. i don’t know.”

five sighed. he looked back to the smiling picture before closing the file and picking up diego’s instead. “then i should find the rest of them first.”

it was five’s second day going into the small shop, praying to himself that you were working. he gazed around after entering, but your familiar figure was nowhere in sight. he almost groaned, but instead sighed to himself before taking a seat at the counter.

“coffee,” he said simply to the waitress when she approached. “black.” she nodded curtly before scurrying off. he looked up blankly, staring at the decorated walls as he allowed his disappointment to settle.

“very funny.” five’s head immediately snapped up when he heard the voice. and his heart leapt back into action as he watched you open the kitchen doors, plates of food balanced in your arms as you backed out, smiling at someone inside. she shook her head at them before turning around. 

five watched as she trotted over to a table, speaking kindly to a mother and her two children as she set down their plates. you looked exactly as he remembered you; kind, gorgeous, and steady hands. you didn’t even flinch when one of the kids almost spilled their milk cup, catching it quickly before the contents could slip. the mother thanked you gratefully and you nodded before turning around. five assumed you felt his eyes on you, because you looked over at him just then and stopped in your tracks.

your bright eyes widened, your mouth slightly agape as you met the desperate, familiar gaze of the young assassin. five stood from his seat as you made your way over with determination, throwing yourself into his arms before he could say anything.

five let out a breath that was shaking with relief as you gripped onto him like he could disappear.

“it’s actually you,” you whispered into his uniform-clad shoulder.

“yeah,” he said, his voice soft and weak. he didn’t even bother masking the exhaustion that leaked through his tone. your touch made him absolutely vulnerable, and he finally allowed the weight of the entire situation to sink in as you held him desperately. he had never felt more tired in his entire life. “im so sorry, y/n. you shouldn’t be involved in any of this.”

you pulled back, still gripping his arms as you smiled at him. “five, im a trained assassin who’s been in the commission longer than you have.” you brushed some hair off of his forehead tenderly. “i can take a little time travel.”

“i know you can,” he smiled. to refrain from kissing you on the spot, he instead looked around the quaint shop. “how’d you end up here?”

you pulled away from him finally, moving back around the counter. he took his seat again as you spoke, “well, after i dropped, i didn’t really have a place to go. luther left me after a day or two, so i started looking around for a job and a home. and when i found this place..” you looked around with a smile before settling your gaze back onto five. “well, i figured you’d need a cup of coffee when you got here.”

“and i do,” he assured. you gave him another smiled. god, he missed you.

“the owner is a very sweet woman,” you continued. “she offered me a place to stay and a place to work until i could fend for myself. you know, ‘cause technically im a teenager, or whatever.” he offered a chuckle. “and i haven’t seen any of your siblings since. well, i’ve seen klaus in the news.”

“yeah,” five sighed. “what the hell is that?”

you shrugged helplessly. “i don’t even know, hargreeves.” you giggled as he rolled his eyes. 

as you continued to tell five of your experiences in the 60s, he found himself finally able to relax. times were tough, and he’d have to work it all out after this, but for now he could relax. you were there, and that was enough.

[dreamsmp-au-ideas]

Aw, heck, can I get emotional about Phil, Bad, Skeppy, and Sapnap in the future?? Because that sounds like a whole entire recovery and character arc for Phil right there. (This became a long post oops)

Like, Phil has been dragged through hell ever since Ranboo came back. He's trying to deal with the fact that Ranboo wasn't actually dead and came back at all, and then trying to help him avert the literal apocalypse, grappling with the fact that after putting Tommy and Tubbo in the foster system to get them a better life they ended up getting abused, and all of that before he even spends literal years falling in love with Kristin!! And then right after he comes back to the present, he has no time to process anything, it's just time to go kill Dream and save Tommy and Tubbo.

So then, he gets separated from his kids again and is alone with this Sapnap guy, who apparently works with the time travel guys trying to kill them but is not himself trying to kill them anymore, which is. Sure. Phil will take what he can get. And lost in the future, Sapnap finds Bad and Skeppy, who he thought were dead, and they have this big tearfelt reunion and Phil wants to be happy for them, he does, but instead he just feels tired. He wants to see his own family. He wants a happy reunion with the people he misses.

And Bad notices, and Sapnap explains that they accidentally got dropped into this time, and so Bad immediately offers that they can stay with him and Skeppy until Phil finds the rest of his family.

And for once, Phil is surrounded by other people who have, like, emotional stability and maturity? Bad and Skeppy just have normal, stable jobs that they enjoy, and they have two little dogs, and Sapnap fits right in with them, and Phil doesn't have anyone else he needs to worry about anymore. He's doing what research he can to find where everyone else ended up, but Sapnap just tells him that most of what they can do is wait for clues. They might not even appear for days, weeks, months.

And when Phil inevitably breaks down because of it, maybe because Bad, Skeppy, and Sapnap do this domestic little family thing that makes Phil think of his own family, he... doesn't have to hide it? Everyone else is doing well and so they're able to catch him when he falls and comfort him, and listen when he vents, and take care of him when he needs it, which Phil... can't actually remember the last time that happened? He ends up telling them everything, all the way from dealing with his own wings/powers as a kid to worrying about all his own superpowered kids to losing Kristin.

And like. It turns out Sapnap, Bad, and Skeppy are really good listeners. And also good advice-givers when it comes to "Please stop bottling everything up oh my gosh that's like 30 years of trauma I promise you will not die if you talk about it every once in a while."

And the four of them legitimately start developing into a healthy family unit! Phil gets a job in the future! He and Sapnap are obviously still looking for the others, but it's not consuming Phil's every waking thought. Maybe we decide that Phil arrives earlier in the future than everyone else, like Klaus, I think, in the show? So he has all this time to go through a whole arc before the others show up.

So that means Phil starts noticing when Bad is distracted more, spends less time at home, starts mentioning that he always has work to do somewhere else. He, Skeppy, and Sapnap all watch as Bad tries to introduce them to the Egg. And all the Eggpire stuff starts happening, and Phil gets to watch Bad recruit more people, gets to watch Red Skeppy, gets to watch and try to help with all this stuff happening. And by the time Phil starts realizing that this isn't something they can fix on their own, he and Sapnap finally find someone else from the family appearing a few towns away. And it's a combination of Phil finally getting the chance to see his family again, and knowing they can probably help with the Egg thing, so Sapnap and Phil tell Bad to hang tight, it'll be okay, they just need to go get this family member and then they can come back and keep helping.

(And then they come back to Skeppy missing and Bad a full-on egghead but this ask is probably long enough now so)

Phil’s arc in s2 is just one huge healing arc and character development. He gets to heal with Sapnap, Bad, and Skeppy. God.

Yeah, he’s the first to land in the future. Both him and Sapnap are the first and so they wait the longest but with that time comes healing.

Then we get Phil noticing that there is the Egg to worry about and both him and Sapnap go and find out that another family member is just a few towns over. Either Fundy or Tubbo most likely.

Also, I would love to hear your ideas about Phil and Sapnap coming back to Skeppy missing and Bad being an egghead. Please tell me your ideas.

[experiment-000]

My Top 10 Ships of 2020

It's been a weird year but I've seen other people doing this. Plus this year I've been way more into gen fics (love a bit of found family especially in clone wars and marvel) than anything shippy. So I genuinely don't know what imma put on here aside from two ships for sure. Sorry this post is super long idk how to do the below the cut thing and I've had this app for 5 years...

10) Viktor Nikiforov and Yuuri Katsuki - Yuri!!! On Ice

It was a real toss up between this, supercorp, kanera and wolfstar cos they're all very integral ships to my fan heart but this son because of the Yuri on Ice fandom's rebirth this year. I've never stopped shipping this, never stopped reading fanfic of them for any extended period of time, they're still my most bookmarked ship on ao3 (although I think now star wars - all media types may have overtaken them for fandom). They were one of the first things I watched where the queer ship I loved became canon and I can't wait for the film (and hopefully someday a season 2). Heck I even made my mum watch Yuri on Ice with me so I think that says it all.

9) Edelgard Von Hresvelg and female Byleth - Fire Emblem: Three Houses

My first fire emblem game was fates when I was like 14 (and finally gay awake lol). I was so disappointed that I had to be with a guy character because the only female option was kinda creepy and also I wouldn't get the character of kana. So when three houses came out I was so happy because finally there were beautiful incredible female characters my female byleth could romance (I'm so sorry mlm you deserved so much more than you got). I got the game as soon as it came out (had to search a lot of shops let me tell you) and started on black eagles. I was actually kinda disappointed back in 2019. I didn't like the explore the monastery bit (still find it kinda tedious) and the battle mechanics weren't quite the same as fates (no pairing up?! Aka my main battle technique for protecting the weaker units). So I got like 20 hours in and put it down. Came back to it in lockdown and finally finished it! I'm so proud of myself I virtually never finish games. And I fully fell in love with the useless lesbian edelgard in the process. When I started back playing in 2020 I was like eh I wish I'd picked a different character to romance (like shes an emperor that's morally very shady) but then the romance stuff started with edelgard and I fell the heck in love.

8) Cory Matthews and Shawn Hunter (and Topanga Lawrence) - Boy Meets World

Disney+ was released in the UK this year and I finally got the opportunity to watch boy meets world in its best quality (aka not on YouTube). I watched it back when I was like 12 or 13 and it's such a nostalgic show for me. Watching it again I still absolutely adore it (and my bi ass was low-key crushing on Shawn especially in chick like me - I'm 18 btw and I got so scared for a sec but rider strong was 18 when chick like me came out so it's fine woah). And of course now I see the possibilities of the beautiful Cory and Shawn relationship like they were so bromance it was basically romance and throw in topanga it's the perfect ot3 (but I'm also fine with just Cory and Shawn or just Cory and Topanga). Read some good fanfic for them this year. My favourite was one about Shawn stealing makeup and stuff and exploring gender (need more fics like this I'm biiii).

7) Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes - Marvel Cinematic Universe

I rewatched all the MCU films this year too. And got really into Peter parker whump and irondad. Plus my eternal obsession with identity and relationship reveals of course led me from Spiderman identity reveals (and found family cuteness) to stucky coming out. Especially when it involves the internet and social media. Not my favourite ship but it's been significant to my year due to the sheer amount of marvel stuff I've read.

6) Satine Kryze and Obi Wan Kenobi - Star Wars

I rewatched clone wars in prep for season 7 and wow Satine's death was sad and sudden. She first appeared in S2 E13 I think and just the sheer sexual tension of their bickering. "The sarcasm of a soldier. The delusion of a dreamer." Just ugnnhhh my bi ass can't take much more of this. And Anakin just sipping his wine in the background grinning. And I fully believe korkie is a Kenobi.

5) Commander Cody and Obi Wan Kenobi - Star Wars

I am very much an Obi wan multishipper. I don't really have a favourite but I fully believe he was with satine and Quinlan in his life. I don't think be would've actually done anything with Cody because of the whole superior officer thing. And this probably isn't even my favourite Obi wan ship - that honour probably goes to quinobi or obitine. However the most popular ships in the fandom are codywan, quiobi and obikin. No offence to anyone who ships these they're just personally not to my taste, but I can't stand quiobi, and obikin I find only slightly more tolerable and I think that's just because there's so much obikin content so if I like the concept of a fic that happens to be obikin I'll read it. I'm just not a fan of the mentor/student relationships. So I generally favoured the codywan fics when there was shipping involved meaning I read a lot of them this year. Needed that nice fix it content post season 7.

4) Zuko and Katara - Avatar: the Last Airbender

Again I am a multishipper I have nothing against zukka it's cute. But I'm a zutara shipper first and foremost because when I first watched avatar I was like 13 and denying my gayness and gayness in general so I shipped the straight things and the straight things only. Most of these ships I stopped shipping - dramione, spuffy, some my little pony ones which we don't talk about. Zutara stayed. (I have nothing against any of the things I used to ship I just stopped shipping them so much/shipped new things more). I've continuously shipped zutara since I first watched avatar even if I didn't necessarily spend that much time on it it has always been here as one of my favourite ships. It has such good fanfic I swear including my favourite ever fanfic from any fandom - love thy enemy. Plus like the black games (reread this for the millionth time this year), a delicate subterfuge (which I read for the first time this year and damn it's so good) and so many more. With the avatar resurgence this year I haven't actually rewatched avatar aside from my normal random episode every now and then when I feel like it. But there's been a lot of avatar on my dash from people I follow getting into it and people I followed for avatar returning so naturally I returned to the fandom and read quite a lot of fanfic. I also read just a lot of avatar gen fics which were great at the whole found family thing I've been so obsessed with this year.

3) Catra and Adora - She Ra and the Princesses of Power

Catradora is canon! They kissed! What more is there to say. Arguably they should've been top but I never shipped them that much since I was always very much a multishipper when it came to she ra so yes I was very happy it became canon because we actually won for once but also I've never read much fanfic for them etc. But they are very much a dynamic I love and watching she ra all again in prep for season 5 I really enjoyed the build up of their relationship. The other two only go above because Buffy is my favourite show ever and damn there's some good fuffy fanfic and Aphra and Tolvan is both fresh in my mind and star wars owns me. Would love some catradora fic recs btw if anyone has them tho.

2) Buffy Summers and Faith Lehane - Buffy the Vampire Slayer

I didn't realise it was last year that I got super into them but according to my ao3 bookmarks it was lol. 2020 I swear it's lasted an eternity. I got into them about a month before lockdown (which feels like another lifetime). I've loved Buffy since I first watched it when I was 13. It's arguably still my favourite TV show. I've been through a lot of ships for Buffy - bangel to spuffy and now fuffy. I still think angel and her were a beautiful ship back in season 2 and especially in the angel episode I will remember you. But faith and Buffy had so much chemistry in season 3 - she would've been a fresh start for Buffy and the amount of fix it fics I read I swear. My favourite has to be one where they met in LA during Anne and how that changed everything feat Buffy's internal homophobia.

1) Cheili Lona Aphra and Magna Tolvan - Star Wars

I read Darth Vader (2015) and Doctor Aphra (2016) for the first time at the end of 2020 (got a comic subscription which has served me very well already I've nearly finished the star wars canon comics). Just to see canon queer ladies in star wars was so magical for me as a queer lady. I didn't think star wars would be so overt yet as to have a queer kiss in canon (even if it's in the comics) and especially not with the main character of arguably their main comic series. Now we just gotta hope that we'll get it in live action someday soon. They weren't the ship I consumed the most content of in 2020 but they were the highlight of my 2020 because star wars did that and I finally found out about it

Honourable mentions: Vivian and Elle - Legally Blonde, Candace and Vanessa - Phineas and Ferb, Stevie and Alex - Wizards of Waverly Place, Xander and Spike - Buffy the Vampire Slayer (I actually don't ship this but damn some authors are good - this was the ship that made me realise I don't need to like a ship if the author is good enough to write it well), Eli Vanto and Mitth'raw'nuruodo - Star Wars (started reading the books last year but finished this year and only started with fanfic this year), Villanelle and Eve - Killing Eve, Kanan and Hera - Star Wars, Barriss and Ahsoka - Star Wars, Remus and Sirius - Harry Potter, Kara and Lena - Supergirl (let's hope this becomes canon next year!) (Those last four are ones I've shipped forever some of my og ships but nothing particularly big has happened for me this year with them so)

I got Disney+ this year so rewatched a fair few things from my youth and though hey my obsession with that character may have been a little gay.

[ravenadottir]

masterlist: ❝noah❞

noah, 25, librarian, ‘shhhh’

he really left an impression on me, and despite of his route be so painful and sad, at times, i still love noah’s personality, history and character. like i said before, he’s a loveable lad with a hateable route.

there’s a lot to be explored, and that’s one of the main reasons on why i have deep feelings towards him! from start to finish, his character went through too much, and many inconsistencies were made.

another reason to write and just to appreciate him so much.

‘hold the line’: “hold the line” is a song by toto. a band that gets noah very critical of a specific song, during the dialogue about music, back in the villa. the lyrics are very clear, and i don’t think a noah story would be completed without a toto song somewhere. this is perfect since it talks about waiting around for someone. 

noah and sophia will have their journey told in the villa, as well. every moment they could’ve shared and couldn’t, or the bumps on the road they both had to face, will be featured in this piece.

the pos-villa will follow up, and his story will be in a much slower pace, since they didn’t have that time before. more characters from his personal life will be featured, like his siblings, parents, exes, hope, sophia’s ex she had to dump because of noah, among others.

|chapter 1 |chapter 2 |chapter 3 |chapter 4

|chapter 5 |chapter 6 |chapter 7 |chapter 8

|chapter 9

headcanon surname: (pffff, no idea. we don’t have his ethnicities down, so that makes it hard. it was “davies” until i found out he’s half asian)

oc’s sheets

sophia, the oc / clover m. / luke m.

one shots

‘blake’s persuasion’ (what blake said to convince him to switch to her)

‘a new choice’ (if noah had chosen mc over hope)

’by the pool’ (if we could choose the boy we talk to, during the shannon-jo confrontation, instead of bobby)

‘romford’ (a meet cute after the villa, after a few months the show ended, involving a recently single noah, and mc) |premise

moodboards/edits

teen / outfits

headcanons’

quarantine I / quarantine II 

siblings / siblings’ names / dirty headcanons: riding

holidays’ pt II / valentine’s day

gary x noah x mc / general / general vol. 2

noah as clark kent

noah as a boyfriend

more random (?)

alphabets

non fluffy / fluffy by ellinor

guide/tips

how to get (and endure) his route

asks/posts/theories

my personal opinion on noah / my opinion on nope

he fucked up / was he loyal?

why the boys thought mc and noah would end up together

hope’s choice / his ethnicity / his ex priya

if he found out mc wanted to sabotage nope by kissing him

what bobby caught nope doing

if noah was endgame and mc participated on a new operation

why do i stan noah?

the song ‘hold the line’ was foreshadowing

could hope and noah make it work eventually?

when did he realize he liked mc?

who does he truly like, mc or hope?

first conversation between the li’s and mc, what would noah respond?

their family reactions to his journey

their dynamics if seb was on s2

is he and mc still together?

i’m still mad at his route

first time i almost gave up

when i got the pool scene / my official finale

what i would change on his route

mc about him taking hope in his arms after finding out about jakub

every time he glanced/looked

is it normal to like noah and hate his route?

noah’s route as wandavision gifs

the best people to couple up on his route

nope: why they stuck together

[meangirlsx]

// (don't know if a post like this has been made but even then here's my version ¯\(°_o)/¯)

Imagine this 💭! It's early September.... you're sitting in your room or classroom (if school starts around or before September 7th for you) or workplace scrolling through Instagram and you see IT ༼⁰o⁰；༽ !!!!

A new post from the official JATP Insta account but it's different than their usual ⁉️⁉️

Staring you in the face is a post of what appears to be a black square and nothing else. Then it happens...a video starts playing and you scramble to turn the volume on as quickly as you can!

The opening of 'This Band Is Back ' begins playing and the video slowly changes to the animated Julie and The Phantoms logo from the show's intro. You hear the 3 himbo's voices as usual but there's something different about it today and you aren't sure what.

That is until you hear HER 😳🎵🎵...the amazing Miss Madison Reyes is joining in with the singing and you are momentarily stunned in shock 😲.

All 4 actors sing the song in harmony... it's beautiful. Just when you think everything is over, the image changes again and the words

** The Band Is Finally Back ** (or something along those lines) ominously stares back at you.

You can't believe your eyes and after all the long months of waiting and trending by the fandom on numerous occasions you aren't sure you can trust what you're seeing (˘･_･˘). You rush from an one cast Instagram page to another and they've all posted the same video as you've just watched.

THIS IS REAL AND YOU ARE LOSING YOUR MIND. (((;ꏿ_ꏿ;)))

It's then that you're Discord alerts beginning pouring in and it finally sinks in as your fellow Fantoms hear and react to the same news as yourself...Julie and The Phantoms S2 has finally been confirmed 🥺!

(╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻

You unlock your phone to take a screenshot of the posts to memorialize the moment ಥ‿ಥ and to go freak out with your mutuals on Discord and the realization hits you when you finally see today's date!

It's SEPTEMBER 10th 2021 (・o・)... it's 1 year to the day since JATP first premiered in 2020 during a pandemic when many of us needed something like it in our lives (◍•ᴗ•◍)❤.

It has come full circle and the very thing that came into many Fantom's lives when they needed it most & changed everything for them has finally been given the chance to continue doing that with more seasons! It's a moment, a day & an experience the fandom is never ever going to forget \(･◡･)/ 🍞❤️🍞 \(･◡･)/.

JORGY WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO ME

Where's Anna Sitar when you need her? If this isn't how it happens, ✨ I don't want it ✨ except if it happens sooner than September that would be fantastic