december

December 31, 2024

Things I enjoyed in the month of December:

Rachel Gillig's, Two Twisted Crowns:

His hands were cold as he pulled me from the water. [...] I did not know his face. But he knew mine.
"Elspeth Spindle," he said quietly, his eyes—so strange and yellow—ensnaring me. "I've been waiting for you."


If One Dark Window is the gothic progeny of Mervyn Peake and the Brontë sisters, Two Twisted Crowns is its Arthurian twin.
Steeped and stirred in archaic legends that beckon you on with riddles and crypticisms, where barren bargains are struck between dark knights and witches in the wood, and women save themselves because no else bloody well will, it bears all the classic markers of The Once and Future King. 
There may be no mystical blade nestled in stone, nor an exact Pendragon heir to dislodge it, but there is a wilfully ignorant monarch and his brutish son (see: Uther Pendragon and his son, Sir Kay) to menace the heroes of the story, whilst finding the time to hunt their subjects for the "cursed" magic they hold within in (see: Uther and the fae).
At the heart of the story lies an abused prince who's fate is tied to a long dead, uncanny monarch with... suspect intentions (see: Arthur Pendragon and possibly Merlin), and his bride to be, a golden girl of fierce will and a heart to match her mate (see: Guinevere), both surrounded by a chivalric order of stygian knights who dually protect and harm the realm (see: Lancelot and the Knights of the Round Table).
The landscape is that of gloomy, sharp-edged regality and the dark, mist-laden woods that encircle it (see: Brocéliande), harbouring an ancient horror who blesses any who enter her home with madness and inescapable death (see: Morgause/Nimue). A lake barring entry to any unwilling to cross its depths in order to reach her watery domain and pass through her sylvan doorway to another realm where time moves differently and mortals can live eternally (see: Nimue, Lake of Diana/Diana's Mirror, Isle of Apples, Avalon).
The comparisons are endless, and not only in the physical but in the ligneous patronymics Gillig gifted her leading characters:

Yew > the trees of the Ynys Afallach, aka. the Isle of Apples (the Blessed), where the entrance to Avalon rests and bargains of sacrifice are made > Ravyn, the Spirit of the Wood, and the Twin Alders Card (the Excalibur of the story?)

Rowan > found on Ynys Afallach, the spiritual centre of the old religions, a place of healing and power > Elm and the Kingdom of Blunder

Hawthorn > the Holy Thorn of Glastonbury (Avalon, possibly), a symbol of both death and life, said to be impervious to harm > Ione and her Maiden Card

Spindle > not Arthurian but the Sleeping Beauty myth applies: a maiden pricks her finger on a spindle and a great curse befalls the land > Elspeth and the Nightmare Card

And then there's the eponymous Twin Alders themselves, trees of prophecy and surrender said to grow in dank, boggy areas bewitched by evil spirits, which in some ways encapsulates the entire story.

There's no prophesied version of Gillig's curse-cradled tale of persecution, revenge, and settling of debts that doesn't conclude with sacrificial blood; someone has to die to free the land, someone has to find the last Card and cut the deck.
But there's only one who truly knows where the Twin Alders card is: The Nightmare, Taxus, The Shepherd King.
The monster we've been waiting for.


"Listen closely. The journey to the twelfth Card will three barters take. The first comes at water—a dark, mirrored lake. The second begins at the neck of a wood, where you cannot turn back, though truly, you should."
The Nightmare's gaze shifted to Ravyn. His words came out sharp, as if to draw blood. "The last barter waits in a place with no time. A place of great sorrow and bloodshed and crime. No sword there can save you, no mask hide your face. You'll return with the Twin Alders...
"But you'll never leave that place."


Introduced to us as more presence than substance in the first book, he acted as both lure and trap for the reader: he was a puzzle to solve, a secret to unravel, a question to answer. 


"Shall I tell you the story?"
"What story?"
"Ours, dear one."
I sat up straighter.
"There once was a girl," [the Nightmare] said, his voice slick, "clever and good, who tarried in shadow in the depths of the wood. There also was a King—a shepherd by his crook, who reigned over magic and wrote the old book. The two were together, so the two were the same:
"The girl, the King, and the monster they became."


He's the Merlin of the tale, the Mordred, too; both characters of immense druidic power, synonymously devoted to their cause and harmful in their execution.
The Nightmare bartered his soul to create the twelve Providence Cards, sacrificing his family, his mortality, his body for boundless power and now finds himself, literally, in the hands of a girl of no great consequence, no notable skill, an entirely mundane human he must inhabit in order to stay "alive".

He's a parasite, a virus, and, without hyperbole, fucking fascinating, as all the morally grey tend to be. And as much as I enjoyed the first book, his lack of physicality in the story, his slick rumble existing only in the background, wasn't enough for me, I wanted him unleashed and at the forefront of the story.
Rachel Gillig answered this plea and she did so without wavering.
And this is where I truly believe she levelled up her storytelling, by accepting that the characters you begin your story with aren't necessarily the ones who should continue to spearhead the plot.
Elspeth and Ravyn are perfectly acceptable main characters, they fit with perfect ease into the requirements of earnest, doe eyed heroine with moxie and brooding, emotionally closed off but a total simp for the heroine hero. You cannot fault their performance, but this is actually what I greatly struggled with in the first book: they didn't hold my attention, I wasn't excited to be in their company, and, personally, it diminished the unfolding of events.
But from the moment The Nightmare took possession of Elspeth's body, the second their roles reversed and her body became his, physically and narratively, the story took flight. It may be her skin he's wearing, but with a clever eeriness, Gillig manages to convey that this is Taxus, and Taxus not quite alone. I can't entirely explain how she does this, how she commands the switch with such easy authority, but not for one moment did I jolt when Elspeth's mouth opened and The Nightmare's words slithered out.

This trading of places greatly improved the story, to be privy to how he moves, how he thinks, what the plans he poetically pinched at Elspbeth with in the first book finally meant. It opened up a whole new world for the reader to sink their teeth into, whilst also providing Ravyn a character to spar with instead of solely mooning over Elspeth - he still does, but now he's at war with himself, which subsequently makes him far more interesting.
The same goes for Elm, who I mostly dismissed as an affable version of the abused brat prince stereotype; I enjoyed him in the first book but ultimately he provided very little to the plot other than something pretty to look at, an antagonist for Elspeth, and a direct connection to the King. But yet again, by Gillig bringing him to the fore and writing from his perspective, the mask of the feckless spare was shed like the snake skin it always was. Elm's brilliant; funny, brave as fuck, emotional, fearless and fearful, warm, stalwart; he's the man you want at your side at any time of the day and he'll be there, no questions asked, just with perhaps a few goading, sarcastic comments to soundtrack the journey - the brat prince never truly goes away.
For some, this type of character wouldn't appeal; too overwritten, too good, too expected, but personally I take an intense amount of pleasure in reading about someone who's inherently pure of heart. Not boring, not earnest, not cloyingly sweet or unbearably po-faced, but someone flawed who hasn't been broken by their past. Someone with charisma and depth of character.
That's Elm. He's not the brat prince, he's the sunshine prince, and who better to match him than Ione Hawthorn, the yellow girl with dirty ankles and a heart of fucking sunlight.
I've thought it since the moment she touched that Maiden Card: this should've been Ione's story all along.
Emotionless, cuttingly beautiful, manipulative Ione. She draws the air from any room she walks into, her every word a fresh cicatrice to the skin; she's a smokeshow who looks like she'd burn the kingdom to the ground with the raise of a perfectly arched eyebrow, when all she really wants is the life they stole from her returned.
I was very almost disappointed to discover she had no ulterior motivation, no grander scheme than her own self-serving one, but the more the story progressed and the more time she bandied words back and forth with Elm, the greater my desire for her to simply win grew. After the abuse, after the loss of her autonomy, and the continued shackling of her liberty, I needed her to win. And I needed Elm at her side as she did so.


Never dropping her gaze, Elm brought Ione's hand to his chest—pressed it into the soft fabric of his doublet. Adding the slightest pressure, he ran her fingers down his abdomen, wiping the black paint off her skin. He did the same with her other hand, his clothes absorbing her stain. "I'll take you wherever you want to go, Miss Hawthorn."


Statement Ammended: this should've been Elm and Ione's story all along.


Ione didn't rush him. She was too busy memorizing his face. Running her fingers over it. Searching, measuring.
[...]
"The way you're looking at me," [Elm] said, cupping her chin, "terrifies me."
"Why?" She ran a hand down his neck, his chest, the line between his abdomen muscles. "Did no one ever love you before, Elm?"
"Not like this." Closer. He needed her closer. "There's never been anything like this."


And the Nightmare's, of course.
Having them take charge of the fate of Blunder and its citizens led the story in a far more eerie and, dare I say it, legendary direction. This twin half to One Dark Window felt like a tale from long ago, crooned around hearths in the narrowing days of Autumn just as Winter curls its bitter fingers into the atmosphere. It's ageless and hushed, and perhaps a little shortly run.
I immensely enjoyed Two Twisted Crowns, it's a story that feels almost mine at a cellular level (my love of the Arthur myths and gothic, monarchical fantasy knows no bounds), but the last few chapters and especially the ending felt a little... neat, a little too nice, and the lyricism Gillig lured us in with at the beginning of the duology fell, almost immediately, victim to the plot. This disappointed me, as someone who's endlessly in awe of how anyone can take the finite number of words in the English language and distort them in such a way to make them seem new again. Those first few chapters of unnerving poeticism were a genuine joy to read, and I was hoping they would at least make a return for the story's coda.
Alas, this was not meant to be, and though it may not irk many, I was also left with a nagging feeling of "why don't I feel wrung out, why did this feels too easy?".
I'll make it clear now, I am not an advocate for "someone must die in order to make the plot believable", that's lazy, shock-jock writing, in my opinion. Plus, it's fiction, for fuck's sake, you never have to play by the rules of life in that fantastical ball-pit; you could end your Grimdark romance with the MCs turning into cannibalistic unicorns if you wanted to and no one would care as long as it made sense! Thus proving my point: characters should only die if it makes sense to the story (I'm looking at you, Bardugo. If you hurt any of the Ninth House gang, we might have to break up). HOWEVER. If nobody dies, you do have to come away from the ending feeling like you worked for it, that the conclusion wasn't a tidy bow to bunny ear up but instead a harrowing knot to pry open until your nails are broken and your fingers bloody, which is was not how I felt at the end of Two Twisted Crowns.
Perhaps because the slow reveal of the Nightmare's wretched history softened him, taking him from cursed creature to fallible human, it diluted the tension he previously provided (in two minds about this, I kind of wish he'd stayed ambiguous) and relied on the King and his abhorrent son to take the stage as prosaic villains.
Maybe it actually was losing Elspeth after all to the backroom of the Nightmare's mind for the entirety of the story, and thus her unfettering unsatisfying with so little time to enjoy it.
Or, possibly it was that the ending left nothing behind, not even a morsel for the reader to chew on when there's so clearly a banquet of potential to be plated.
Whatever the answer, it did add to the overall feeling of puzzlement I experienced whilst reading the duology, as if I'd spent the entire time waiting for the penny to drop, for the greater reveal to be unburdened, for something to make me do that thing where I hold my breath like an asthmatic idiot while I get the shit shocked out of me.
Is this a "me" problem? Have I read so much at this point that even beautifully written stories of rote no longer service my needs? Am I jaded? Or did the story simply... wimp out at the end?
Because it's in no way the landscape of the story, the characters, or the plot, they're all of the finest quality and I would, without question, love to return to the world of Blunder. Any time Gillig gets the urge to write more, I'm there, fully strapped in for whatever occult, fog-soaked nonsense she bids us welcome to. The likelihood of this happening, however, is slim to none because the story does feel inarguably finished, but because of its Arthurian undercurrent there will continue to be an inescapable symmetry found of history repeating itself: a family tree reborn time and time again; a curse covering the land; a slumbering Once and Future King, who, when the realm is in distress, will wake.


Be wary. Be clever. Be good.


Potential. So much untouched potential.
This might drive me a little crazy.
And The Knight and the Moth isn't out until May '25.
...
*wails in Wollstonecraft*

.............................................

Tay Rosen, Are we ruining everything?:

I feel this in my bones.
The all-encompassing, exhaustive information overload of the internet is simultaneously a gift and a curse.
The endless lists, and reviews, and recommendations constantly being thrust in your direction. "Read me! Pick me! [Insert random famous person] says I'm a modern masterpiece!
Which is fantastic, because the work's essentially being done for you, but it also overwhelms and deprives us of the joy of discovery.
I don't go out much, a total homebody-socially-anxious-hermit, but I did recently venture to my nearest Waterstones to take a wander through the stacks, and I found it... disappointing.
I was aware of practically every author, every book on display. My family would pick a novel up and ask me if I knew it, and the answer was almost exclusively "yes".
No surprises, no revelations, no happenstance.
It made me feel really quite depleted, when before going to the bookstore was a time of comfort and excitement, and I truly believe it ties directly into what Tay Rosen's expounding: research is the death knell of discovery.
Sweeping statement, of course not true for everyone, but in my case?
The shoe fits and it fits with disquieting ease.
...
Bloody hell, I need to get off the internet.
internet computer GIF


Ps. Feels like this Trev Cimenski poem relates:

Your absent is present,
Like saying goodbye but walking the same way.

.............................................

Rivals season one:

Romp seems the only appropriate word to used when speaking of this adaptation of Jilly Cooper's work of privileged fuckos railing each and everyone of themselves, in more ways than one.
No other word could do just to this beyond silly, 80's set, sex for every meal, plot line rat king of a show.
...
And I bloody loved it.
This is a story that is in no way trying to be anything other than what it is; no higher meaning, no hidden subtext, no life lessons slapping you around face.
It's simply - and I apologise for this turn of phrase but it feels necessary - a rollicking good time with naked tennis and lashings of overpriced champagne.
And Aidan Turner has a moustache, so there's that.
image
(If I didn't have a 'stache kink before... 🥵)

Could I live without an almost forty year old man - even if he's hot as fuck; hello, new Gomez Addams fancast! - panting after a twenty year old girl (eighteen in the book, btw. Extra ick)? Uh, yes, it fairly gave me the shuddering icks.
image

Could it have done with some narrative reeling in? I'm going to be generous and say only a smidgen. It's meant to be messy storytelling, so it's due a pass but at some points the story was a casualty to its own chaos.
Was Danny Dyer being my favourite character cause for an endless amount of WTF-face occurring? *nods confusedly* I don't know how this happened, it's Danny fucking Dyer, but truly, I adore him in this. Such a sweet, sweet cinnamon roll of a man who knows how to "eat".
And was the best part of the show the bromance between these three?
#rivals 2024 from DAILYFLICKS
#tvedit from yes, I too can love

Yes, it was.
Give me all the non-toxic platonic guy love, please. Preferable in a bowl so I lap that shit up like custard.
Which I'll be doing with season two when it arrives... probably next year? Who knows, I don't care when, just please deliver more of this ridiculous, romping goop into my system, it's the endorphin hit I desperately needed.
...
Also, my man Tennant hamming it up like the Shakespearean thespian he is:
image

He very rarely plays the villain and that's fucking criminal.
Give the man another Emmy for the spectacular c*nt he served in this!

.............................................

Glen Brogan's ode to Daria, the OG teen pessimist:

All five seasons are on Prime and I really need to rewatch them before they disappear.
Someone make me do this.
I'm an apathetic, executive dysfunctional nightmare.
Which is apt for the show but fuckkkkkkk me it's annoying state of being.
Procrastinating Mtv GIF


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Bob's Burgers catch-up:

There's nothing really to report here other than it's on season fifteen, it's still incredible, I continue to fail at choosing a favourite character, and I hope it never ends.
...
That's all.
If you've never watched the show, I very much recommend you rethink that decision.
For your mental health.
And burger puns.
And general chaos.
Gifs from Bob's Burgers

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Gustavo Rinaldi's dragons:

These are beautiful and full of quirky, textured whimsy, but the thing that really tickles me is the idea of big, scary dragons just hanging out, blowing bubbles, having human thoughts like "can I fit a lightbulb in my mouth, would it make me the first human glow, and should I let the intrusive thoughts win and, y'now, do it?"
Maybe it's my nostalgic love for Elliott, but this seems way more fitting to me than the eternal grumpitude of the stereotypical, overgrown, winged lizard of fantasy yore.
adventurelandia: “Pete’s Dragon (1977) ”

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Watching the Classics:
Robin Hood: Men in Tights

Oh. Wow.
Wow, wow, wow.
This did not age well.
Not even Cary Elwes could save this mess - that I used to adore!, not even him.
Mel Brooks? What were you thinking?
Men in Tights anyone? Don't worry SFW - GIFs - Imgur

Ps. In my head, Marian's chastity belt was way bigger, but it's still hilarious when the Sheriff of Rottingham drills her.


Muriel's Wedding

Even as a kid, I could never understand why everyone thought Muriel was ugly.
Not "the ideal"? Fuck that, but sure, okay.
Not Hollywood gorgeous? Fuck the patriarchy, but fine, whatever.
But ugly? Have you seen Toni Collette smile? It's like getting blasted by the fucking sun. And her laugh? Infectious as hell.
Ugly my ass.
muriel's wedding GIF by MIRAMAX

Ps. I love this movie, it's perfect, Australian humour is a caustic daydream.


The Notebook

You wanna know the secret to watching this movie?
Turn it off before the end.
Right about here:
ryan gosling hug GIF

You'll save yourself a sob-induced migraine and earn a whole bunch of mental health points.
Y'welcome.


Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit

It's the best one.
I might catch some backlash for that statement because The Wrong Trousers is a maniacal classic, but I stand by what I said.
You can't top Aardman riffing on classic horror movies with twitching, unhinged, howling bunnies and a shapeshifting whodunnit.
You just can't.
It's perfection.
a stuffed bunny rabbit with big eyes is sitting in the dark


Silver Linings Playbook

Oh.
This actually sucks.
How did I not notice that before?
#Silver Linings Playbook from My Favorite Movie Scenes


Clueless

I'm 99% sure that 78% of my vernacular was shaped by this piece of cinema perfection.
And the percentage my sisters and I can fit the phrase "Way harsh, Tai" into any conversation is 100%.
Way Harsh Tai GIFs - Find & Share on GIPHY

It's always relevant.
I pity non-millennials, we had the most quotable shit.
cher curtsy clueless gif


Dash & Lily

This has become a yearly tradition.
It's like You've Got Mail for teens but way less catfishy.
Four years later and I'm still bummed Netflix cancelled it, but at least it exists; it's so rare to find new Christmas media that doesn't suck, let alone become a seasonal must, but these two? I love these two epistolary, grumpy/sunshine, Christmas babies with my whole ass heart:


Labyrinth
(1. This is my favourite behind scenes photo in existence. 2. I was today years old when I learned Labyrinth  and Legend were filmed next door to each other. ... *goes supernova*)

A Boxing Day tonic, when your spoons have been depleted and only Bowie and his goblin brood harmonising over babes and power and voodoo can replenish your cutlery drawer.
...
And then you learn this is happening:

Something you've wanted and pondered for decades (sequel or prequel? Who could possibly replace Bowie? Who'd do the music? (This might be my biggest concern because no one makes music like he did, who could possibly capture that duality of catchy songs kids will sing along to and just genuinely great tunes that stand alone? As my sister put it, the Labyrinth soundtrack without the movie sounds like a Bowie concept album) Darker or the same tone? Is Mads Mikkelsen too old, now? Sam Reid could rock the shit out of this but would they be brave enough to cast him? Could Sarah be the new Goblin King and it's Toby's turn to solve the Labyrinth? WOULD DOING MORE BE A COMPLETE WASTE OF TIME WITHOUT JIM HENSON AT THE HELM?! ... This is basically all I think about, ever, if I'm being honest), and you're immediate response is:
Schitts Creek Comedy GIF by CBC
Do You Have To Schitts Creek GIF by CBC
I Cant Take This Pop Tv GIF by Schitt's Creek

Oh god, they're gonna ruin it.
Not that they could, because if it's horrific I can simply erase it from my brain and continue my never-ending love affair with the OG, but ughhhhhh, I am not getting my hopes up!
Not after the avalanche of shit media Hollywood's been foie gras-ing down our necks for what feels like eternity.
I refuse.
...
*is secretly hoping I get proved wrong*
...
Please, please, please, please, please.


The Muppet Christmas Carol

This is the greatest Christmas movie ever made.
Disagree?
the muppet christmas carol GIF
(The bunny has always stressed me out. Someone adopt him, ffs!)

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Taryn Knight making radish's appealing:

Radishes taste like watery dirt and unsalted butter is a waste of milk.
...
But I want this guy for my wall.
a pink radish with green leaves has a smiling face on it

.............................................

December in Decrescendo:

I did, in fact, start making cover images for the playlists, which mostly involves choosing a colour and pushing buttons on Procreate until a smooshy, mark-making mess appears.
S'fun.
...
lilliputty giphygifmaker emo relatable babygirl GIF

⬆⬆⬆
This is a very important gif that I couldn't find anywhere. So I made it. Badly.
Want more? I now have a Giphy account.
I will be slowly filling it up with the internet's pop culture failures.
You're welcome.

.............................................

Gabriella Szendrey:

Pleasing.
Oh so very pleasing.
Especially the ribbon.
It's makes my synapses wriggle.

.............................................

The Bikeriders:

Not gonna lie, this started really well but descended quickly into a narrative snoozefest, but something that never wavered was Jodie Comer and her endlessly compelling performance.
It's no secret that I'm mildly obsessed with her and truly believe - acting-wise - she can do no wrong (Villanelle really was a pitch perfect performance on her behalf), so I'm perhaps a tad biased, but I swear, from the moment she started speaking in her mildly suspect accent, I couldn't focus on anything else.
She does that.
It's frightening.
And I'll never, never look away.
Jodie Comer GIF by Focus Features

However, I wouldn't waste much time with this one, it's for Austin Butler simps and Tom Hardy translators - this man has no bloody idea how to talk anymore, Bane broke him and Locke sealed the deal.
But if that's your thing, by all means, watch to your stan-ing heart's content.
I think I'll watch Killing Eve for the millionth time instead, though; observing Comer and Sandra Oh circle each other like murdery, horny koalas (lesbian koalas are a thing. As if I couldn't love them more) is way more fun.
killing eve gifs | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs | Tumgik

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The Tiny Angry Witch:

*witchy dunking*

Tonight Show Omg GIF by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

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Rewatching Siren:

Genuinely believe this show deserves way more credit for featuring a polyamorous relationship between the main MCs, and trans mermaids.

Why isn't this talked about more?
Nobody does this!
mermaidsandsirens | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs | Tumgik

Also, that ending will haunt me for fucking ever.
There should be a rule that if you cancel a show, you have to end it with a feature length episode.
Make it legally binding or pay for my goddamn therapy.
Siren

Ps. The CGI in this show kicks major ass for something with such a small budget. It puts some major blockbusters to shame *cough* Marvel *cough*.

.............................................

Jackson Howell aka. beachghost:

Endlessly obsessing over Jackson Howell's work.
It's like the illustrative definition of Pastel Goth Vaporwave.
pastelgothgifs-blog on Tumblr

.............................................

Arcane season two:

It's. So. Fucking. Beautiful. I. Can't. Stand. It!

...
But I'm not happy about that ending.
I'm trying not to be a total sad-sack about this, because the show really is an outrageous display of artistic talent (story-wise, animation-wise, acting-wise, etc.), and it's Christmas, ffs, but I'm unshakeably disappointed over how the finale played out.
Not because it was bad, per se, but because it fell into a few narrative traps I'm, personally, not fond of:

1) Ultimate sacrifice over worked for redemption - so much more interesting to see a villain/morally grey/good but traumatised and does bad things character redeem themselves in life rather than the other.

2) Resurrecting characters only to lose them again - just... why? I'm too emo for this shit.

3) Queer-coded characters without payoff - this one's not really a problem (it would be if it were queerbaiting, which it's not), but a personal gripe because I'm greedy and if you're gonna throw a ship in my face, at least have the decency to sail it.

I won't go into details because spoiling anything about this show is a disservice to new viewers, but I will say that for such a visceral story that never pulled its punches, these two instances, whilst not enraging, did underwhelm my overall emotional state at its denouement.
I mean, sure, I was thrilled (the fight scenes are indescribable), in total wonder (JayVik ruining my life one cel at a time), and cried my face off ("Ohana means family. Family means no one gets left behind" 😭), but I'd much rather have been palpitating and shedding tears over something... a shade different.
A colour more hopeful and rewarding.
A little less "that's it? That's how everyone goes out? After all that?!"
image

I'm going to need to watch it again, and maybe a few more times after that, and see how I feel.
Maybe it'll feel less unjust when I know what's coming?
That could happen.
It's definitely happened before (see: One Day).
Ack! I refuse to be sad about this, I will not exit stage 2024 pursued by the animation bear-woes, I won't do it!
Fanart will make everything better, I'm sure of it:

Xin Yingzong

polarts

Maria Dresden

Gretel Lusky

Marion Bordeyne

Joy Ang

Sil Chibi

Kherl

Jae Liu

hansoeii

kidovna

02png

Hannah Bluish

Emily aka. millyillus

Man Luo

Amiko

SEIORAI

Woranan Churjai

Kibu

crystal aka. artzy_dragon

waterlouper

Maria Yakovleva

CHAN

Luz Tapia

aleikats

okayloki

niclepto

Juliette

And how it should have ended:
haedyllic

a painting of two people standing next to each other in a dark room

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Reviewers Choice: The Best Books of 2024 by Reactor:

Some I knew.
Some I didn't.
One I'm getting my grubby paws on as soon as bookishly possible:

"... a punk-rock murder ballad..."

a puppet is standing in front of a sign that says yes yes yes yes yes .


Sidebar: The hypocrisy of posting this after commenting on Tay Rosen's video isn't lost on me, but hey, I'm a work in progress and I really like lists, so...
Nobody's Perfect GIFs - Find & Share on GIPHY

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Lucracia Ray's Shut Up Froggo Juice:

Gonna need a punch bowl.
Kermit Drinking GIFs - Find & Share on GIPHY

Kermie would never, though, not the world's only cinnamon roll baby girl poor little miaow miaow frogger.

.............................................

What We Do in the Shadows sixth and final season:

...

Goodbye, I love you, it ended perfectly.
Thank you for the wild ride of vampiric fuckery, it's been such a blast.
Sad Good Luck Bear GIF by Boomerang Official - Find & Share on GIPHY


Fanart:
ILLUSTORY

.............................................

SSEBONG and the vibe I'm going into 2025 with:

Godspeed you sprightly resolution makers, I'll be rotting in bed with a book.
Happy Pop Tv GIF by Schitt's Creek

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