#lmk season 5 speculation

[nightmare-grass]

Lego Monkie Kid Season 5 Speculation:

In Journey to the West, there’s 4 celestial primates, one of which is the intelligent stone monkey, aka Sun Wukong, and another of which is the six eared Macaque. In Season 4 we get teased about MK’s origin story and why he’s the one able to pick up Monkey King’s staff and inherit his powers. It seems like either Sun Wukong or some other entity was messing with magic and created a new incarnation of the intelligent stone monkey, since MK was birthed from a rock just like Wukong was. MK is secretly a monkey in the guise of a human, and for most of his life even he had no idea because he blocked out those memories. I wonder if season 5 will deal with the long armed Gibbon and the red-cheeked Baboon, as well as revealing more of Wukong and Macaque’s past and MK’s origins and true powers?

[jedineedlove]

LMK VS Legend

The Guardians of Knowledge

I know that in the show these two are just call the guardians of knowledge,but after an interesting find I THINK I know who that actually are and if this is true it might make season 5 more interesting or not be effected based on the shows perspective, hope you enjoy.

LMK:

In the show these two dont get much screen time they are not given names either. They act as both guardians and keepers of knowledge. They have the physical and vibe of a celestial being. But they actually seem to be more librarians they say that knowledge is for everyone you just need a card. (Hilarious)

Their home the cloud seeming to be a magical /technological connected place out in a desert it’s very hard to tell its location the cloud glitch and the place has a lot of sand around.

These two look like giants but don’t have the size they have the coloring of demons but no horn or fangs but they could be hiding it. They wear what seems to be celestial armor but Azure wore some two along with Peng and Tusk. so there demos that wore them if they worked for the celestial realm.

Legend:

Who, I think these two are actually interesting I think they are Qiānlǐyǎn (Thousand-Mile Eyes), and Shùnfēng’ěr (Wind-Following Ears).

Does this seem similar to anyone?

It's very similar to the door of the cloud. Two brothers in a special pose holding golden weapons and wearing golden clothes, One is red while the other is green. "One is usually depicted as a green demon with large all-seeing eyes. He keeps a weather eye on the horizon, scouring the sea for sailors in need of the sea goddess’s assistance." that is the main physcill description of each of them. They don't wear the right headband but that could be explained because the image of the statue is from Taiwan, not China The two are normally depicted wearing "flowing clothing or open armor to show off their muscular physiques. Apart from their divine sashes, they are commonly shown wearing golden armbands, bracelets, and/or anklets, as well as a tiger skin at the waist." These traits appear to be consistent with all other examples I've seen. Some of these missing parts could been the show's decision. Remember I'm just speculation not stating.

Qianliyan is a Chinese sea and door god. He usually appears with Shunfeng'er as a guardian of the temples of the sea goddess Mazu. Qianliyan's sharp vision is employed to help protect sailors at night and during fog and other inclement weather.[12] In some accounts, he is capable of seeing everything in the world. Qianliyan typically appears as a green-skinned demon shielding his eyes from the sun's glare.

Shùnfēng’ěrThe god's role in helping sailors distinguish favorable winds also prompts the translations "Fair-Wind Ears"[3] and "Favorable-Wind Ears" In some accounts, he is capable of hearing everything in the world, no matter how quietly spoken, and was therefore also worshipped as a witness and guarantor of oaths and contracts. Shunfeng'er typically appears as a red- or brown-skinned demon cupping a hand to one of his ears.

Both demons depicted in art have a hand raised to a part of their heads or faces which is also similar to the Guardians of Knowledge Door mural.

History:

The brothers "Thousand-Miles Eye in the disguise of a lovely girl, lures men into a cave and then devours them. When With-the-Wind Ear sees this, he starts a fight with Thousand-Miles Eye, but in the end the two monsters pledge to become sworn brothers. Guanyin, seated on Mount Potala, orders the Dragon’s Daughter to tell Mazu to subdue the monsters. With the heavenly warriors helping her, she was able to defeat the two. After that, the two become her loyal servants. First, they help Mazu fight a man-eating lion, and subdue the Evil Dragon Monster Later down the timeline of their legend they would reach the JTTW.

JTTW:

That's right these two were in the JTTW you might have recognized their names in the being for t eJTTW readers if you remember them great for those who don't they were the ones that announced Wukong or just Stone Monkey at the time of birth they were sent by the Jade Emperor to find out why his place got set on fire from two laser beams. They are depicted as personifications of the Jade Emperor himselfs' own hearing and sight. That was why I was saying it would maybe be entering in season 5 if the Jade Emperor is gone and they are a part of him does that mean that they're gone?

But then again the show might not have gone that route they have changed a lot of the mythology of the original novel. They could have changed that as well I could not see the Jade Emperor personification of two of his senses living on the mortal plane and as kind-loving librarians or ones that play video games.

Notes:

That along with their origins and roles originally based around the sea why in a Desert and Why Librarians, I could see the show editors taking more of the JTTW versions and seeing the beings that personified ears and eyes they must be involved in knowledge right. They can see and hear everything in the world they must be knowledge-based beings.

Also, everyone else in the show so far has some sort of JTTW connection somewhere. The two must follow that formula.

But if I'm right then these two were literally the first ones to see newly hatched Wukong. So many questions.

Thank you

Hope you enjoyed :)

PS: how I thought of this well I was watching VR gameplay of

The Pirate Queen: A Forgotten Legend

And I saw the red and green statues of the two demons and thought "WAIT............ Hold up.........deja vu ......is that you?!"

[avatarpabu97]

LMK Theory and speculation

Ok! I think I know how some parts of the season 4 special or season 5 or whatever we’re getting is going to go.

Since the scroll plates clearly came from the realm of darkness or the realm of the dead. The noodle gang will probably make a journey down their to get Wukong’s plate fixed.

Which’s means they’ll probably end up back in the scroll. Maybe it ends up being special trials for the Noodle gang and that’s how they get the special matching outfits.

This means we’re going to see one particular memory At least since they based a set off of it.

The Dragon of East Palace

If the noodle gang end up being separated and they all get the golden weapons and save Wukong via trials of the scroll. MK’s trial maybe set in where Wukong got the staff. Which was originally a pillar that held up a river in the OG novel.

The box set even depicts Wukong mischief and his tea time with Ao Guang.

My guess this is where MK either restores the Monkey King or has to prove his worth for the trials. Or he ends up just observing the events that transpired.

As for the golden weapons and the matching outfits the Noodle gang get I believe their enchanted items to help them fight Azure Lion and whoever else is the big bad for the next season or special.

Bonus:

Does this look like an egg to anyone else.

[anishenanigans]

Pspsppspspss hey I'm kinda curious about S5 stuff. I don't think I have the full context and I'm wondering why it a) took so long and b) has different animation

So the first 4 seasons were all animated by Flying Bark, but for some unspecified scheduling issues (commonly speculated to be caused by them working on the ATLA movie) they were unable to finish the animation for season 5. Thus, the animation was outsourced.

I'm guessing there was a period where no work was being done on the season at all due to legal/internal complications resulting from the studio change, which would explain it being delayed. By the time Season 5 comes out it'll have been a full year since the last episodes released, instead of the usual 6-7 month interval.

The studio handling season 5 is Wildbrain, a reputable company that's done very nice 2D animation in the past (eg Carmen Sandiego and the new Peanuts stuff). However. The work they did for S5 is... not great. Weird proportions, messy animation, overall very flat and stiff looking. To the point where people were speculating it was fanmade or a publicity stunt.

While people did voice concerns about how Wildbrain would handle the animation, most people (me included) thought it'd turn out fine considering Wildbrain's track record + them having Flying Bark's storyboards to work with. So I'm genuinely shocked that this is the end result.

I suspect the animators over at Wildbrain had to rush so the season could be finished in time to release alongside the corresponding wave of sets, so it's possible any future seasons they do will look much better. I'm sure they'll benefit from having more time and experience.

Anyway. I have a lot of respect for both animation teams, but I really wish the show was in the hands of a studio more qualified to animate at the level expected for LMK. The hand drawn animation was such an iconic part of the series and it's really frustrating that they were so quick to abandon it. Very unfortunate situation for everyone.

For reference: Season 4 trailer vs Season 5 trailer

Holding out hope that there'll be some moments where the animation still shines through. There are a few shots in the trailer that look pretty nice and I don't want to totally give up on it.

[mikesbasementbeets]

can't stop thinking about the alleged "time jump" now.... i'm trying to find the actual source of the widespread idea that there will be a several year time jump after the first two episodes... and from everything i can find it's like 99% fan speculation. there is ONE quote from ross duffer that is the only source every other article refers to as "confirming" the time jump in season 5 and it's this:

At least one aspect of Season 5 does sound like it’s written in stone. Given how quickly the show’s young leads are growing up, “I’m sure we will do a time jump,” says Ross. “Ideally, we’d have shot [Seasons 4 and 5] back to back, but there was just no feasible way to do that.

“So these are all discussions we’re going to have with our writers when we start the room up,” he continues. “Believe it or not, we’re still working on Season 4. We’re trying to finish the final two episodes, they’re so massive.”

... that's it. outside of that one incomplete and otherwise paraphrased quote, i can't find any other time or place they've mentioned it (please lmk and link if you find another direct quote on this anywhere else... istg i've watched a video of this interview but i can't find it anywhere).

what they have talked about in several places is the fact that they expect season 5 to be shorter than season 4, specifically because it won't require the same amount of build up that season 4 had (.............due in large part to the time jumps bwteen seasons......)

referring to season 5 in this the wrap interview:

Matt Duffer: They’re going from the beginning. There’s going to be less ramp up. And I think people will understand what I’m talking about when they see the end of this season. It’s like, we’re just going.

Ross Duffer: Yeah. Normally it’s like, oh, we get to revisit the characters in their normal lives and how they’re doing and what are their relationships like?

Matt Duffer: And they’re playing Dungeons & Dragons or whatever.

Ross Duffer: And then something happens, and then there’s an incident and it goes from there. There’s build up. There’s a lot of build-up and set-up [each season], and 5 is just going to be pedal to the metal from the opening scene. At least that’s what I remember from the outline.

and in the Happy Sad Confused podcast, they say this about season 5:

"We don't expect it to be super long, as long. And the only reason we don't expect it to be as long is because typically, or, this season, if you look at it, it's almost a two hour ramp up before our kids really get drawn into the supernatural mystery. And, you know, you get to know them, you get to see them in their lives, they're struggling with adapting to high school and so forth.... none of that obviously is going to be occurring in the first two episodes of this.... for the first time ever, we don't wrap things up at the end of four, and so... it's gonna be moving, I don't know if it's gonna be going a hundred miles an hour at the start of five, but it's gonna be going pretty fast. Characters are already gonna be in action, they're already going to have a goal and a drive, and I think that's gonna carve out at least a couple hours."

as far as i can tell (and as far as i can remember from when these came out back in july)... this is where the "two episodes" before the time jump association comes from. they never confirm when they would include a time jump, and outside of that one tvline quote from when they were still finishing season 4, they never actually "confirmed" anything. but everyone took that "i'm sure we'll do a time jump" and leapt with it

[that-thing-that-feeling]

Has someone made a list of who is/who isn’t available in May? It could give us an idea on who’s filming first. I think Charlie, Natalia, Winona, Noah and Millie are available and David is ready to film his Marvel movie at the same time. So basically the ones from the final shot of S4 minus Finn. I’d like this grouping, tbh. (Ik what the Duffers said about the S1 groupings but idt they meant for the whole season, maybe they just want the party/Jancy/Jopper again for a few episodes).

I have a whole “stranger things 5 filming date speculation” tag that has some of this, so I’ll try, but can someone help fill in the gaps or lmk if there are corrections to this:

Looks ready to film in May:

—We def know Noah is filming in May (and ig they all have the first 3 scripts).

—There isn’t any news rn about Charlie, Natalia, or Winona filming around then, so you’re right, they look available in May. Altho I’d love to see all three film something new before s5 begins.

—We know David starts filming the marvel thing in June and will film ST and that at the same time, so he should be available in May, altho will have a weird shooting schedule for the beginning of s5.

—Joe should be done with Fargo by mid April, so he should be available in May.

Most Iffy for May:

—Gaten is confusing bc of Sweeney Todd beginning in March.

—Finn is confusing too bc the Ghostbusters sequel supposedly starts in March but idk when it ends.

—Sadie shoots O’dessa in May so I think she has the clearest conflict (but also Max might not be in early eps)

Not sure about these cast members, does anyone know:

—Are we sure Millie is done by May (I know electric state is done, but isn’t she filming something else)?

—I’m not sure when Caleb is done (I assume book of Clarence will be done by then, but does he have anything else) or Maya (I know she’s filming now, but idk when revolver begins)

—Jamie (I’m assuming he’s also ready for May tho)

—Eduardo, Amybeth (I assume they’re ready too for May)

~~~~~~

Also I wonder if they’re shooting out of order/by group.

I feel like they’ll def want everyone together for the table read; they always release promo abt that and would want it especially for the last season.

[mahalshairyballs]

Speculations about additional alters in the Moon Knight system

.

(I'll have to research more how late-splits happen for this).

This is definitely not a set headcanon, just something I'm exploring at the moment and I want to see what people think about it.

Thinking about how MCU!Jake becomes (closer to) 616!Jake led me to this yesterday. It's still very possible to do it with a simple character development arc, but there's something else that could happen in addition to that.

I've seen many Systems having one or more Little alters. The Marc System doesn't have any (yet), but it could happen. Maybe through Jake's growth, his inner contradictions would be too much to handle which would create a split within him. Creating an alter who would embody the immaturity, childishness Jake had, and the childhood he didn't experience.

So a new alter would be born, a Little of about 5-9 years old, taking in those aspects of Jake. Leaving him more at peace with himself, more able to control his emotions within their mindspace.

The Little alter would be...even worse than Jake ever was with his childishness. Since he's the concentrared aspect of it, and since he's a literal child.

I've heard that maybe the Marc system had a Little alter at some point in the comics? But I'm very not sure of that, and it probably was a one-off thing. Although if you know anything about that tell me about it in a comment or DM !

.

Another possibility is a split between Steven and Mr. Knight. Since I think that maybe sometimes Mr. Knight was a separate alter and not Marc in the comics? Same thing for this as for the Little though. If you know more about it lmk. Although I don't want to take Mr. Knight away from Steven like that.

Those could also be temporary splits. Like the Space Captain Marc Spector.

.

I was just thinking about how most Systems have more than 3 alters, and have Littles. Doesn't mean the Moon Boys have to do that too, but it's a possibility. I was also thinking about how it'd be a way to resolve Jake's contradictions, although his character development as is would still work to resolve it on its own. And how I've heard in passing about other potential alters they had in the comics. And how I might have too much content in my season 2, and stretching it out to a season 3 would give me space to introduce some more alters.

My speculations above is a cumulation of all of these thoughts.

.

I don't want any other alter that has been there all along hidden from Marc though. Jake is enough, Jake works as a secret alter. The others would need to be recent additions triggered by ~some stuff~

And I wouldn't go further than this with that. The Marc system never had a high number of alters, five alters would be the maximum I'd see in their system.

.

Anyway, very speculative, very not sure if I'll add that or not.

[hopeshoodie]

Ok so in light of the Independent article (see my tag #fusebox layoffs for more info), I’ve been trying to piece together the sequence of events that lead to FB Going to Shit™. 

All of the below is based on articles, tweets from the staff, and dates from screenshots. Especially with the Matchmaker stuff, I’m using the dates I personally accessed the stories- that might not be accurate to when they were actually released to an international audience, just when my phone updated the app. In hindsight, I’m not a great person to do this because I have a shit memory and don’t keep receipts, so if you have any corrections PLEASE lmk either in the dms or replies. 

In sum, the timeline appears to be:

1. Key players left Fusebox in early 2020. 

The one that people are probably most familiar with is David Gallopim, one of the artists who helped define the S2’s distinct style, leaving sometime before March 2020. He seemed to indicate that there was conflict over the new art style of S3, and released assets he’d designed of Harry in his own style (notably way prettier than Harry looks in-game). 

But probably more important to the direction of the company, Michael Othen, one of the co-founders and former CEO, left in July of 2020 (I had thought it was earlier in the year but according to LinkedIn it was July). It’s much more unclear why he left, but it’s notable because he was a huge force in making the game inclusive of LGBTQ characters. 

So all in all, not a great sign when employees who had a huge hand in creating the content and direction of a game that defined its success jump ship. Especially after the game was seemingly hitting its stride, with the host of Love Island (the TV show) doing a sponsored Let’s Play of S3 and projects in the works like Boat Party and CMM.

2. It seems like Fusebox‘s CEO/executives hired new management, either in 2020 or early 2021. Employees complain that the executives don’t understand what it takes to make a game and are pulling the studio in the wrong direction. It’s unclear if the newly hired execs had experience. 

Wil Stephens, the CEO/founder, has been with FB since its inception but also appears to have only founded game distribution ventures and not worked in any development or employment capacity. If that’s the case, maybe the complaints about lack of experience/knowledge about the mechanics of making games work are about him. If not, then some of the newly hired execs would likely be to blame. 

Paul Virapen, COO, was brought on in November of 2020. He’s worked with Disney’s gaming division, Big Pixel studios, Wooga. The quality of that experience is dubious since he headed up the ‘let’s make apps for Apple watches, it’ll be the next big thing’ department… Lol. Notably also, all of his roles had been in the executive/managerial realm, not the development teams, so the complains might have been about him. THIS IS SPECULATION, but I’m willing to bet that Virapen was a if not THE driving force in switching Fusebox’s focus entirely to matchmaker. All the studios he’s worked with have primarily produced and promoted Match 3 games, and he has a background working with big studios that produce games for large international audiences, not small studios making narrative games for limited audiences.

A new Manager of Finances, Ruth Erskine, was brought on in December of 2020

Rob Goddard, a new producer, was brought in January of 2021

Several key operations positions were filled by existing employees being promoted to management- 2 as far as I can tell. But as a whole it seems like December 2020 was a huge shift in leadership for the upper management while a lot of the other teams expanded but kept their old players as well.

3. At some point in late 2020- mid 2021, the executive team made the decision to switch LITG’s focus from a narrative pass-based game to a Match 3 incorporating romance narrative cut scenes. In early 2021, Fusebox teased more content to come while releasing S3 (seemingly referring to Matchmaker and not S4). In the interim between S3 endings and Boat Party’s release they put out an interview confirming the new game will be Match 3 but did seem to indicate that the plan at that time was for Matchmaker to be a side project with a different development team and not replace the main game. Notably, the LITG writers and artists were reassured that their roles will continue to exist (according to the independent article) as they’re working on S4.

3. In September of 2020, Matchmaker became briefly available in the US. That’s when I first downloaded it, at least. It would be added/removed from the google play store multiple times before having a unilateral release in July of 2021. 

Throughout 2020, Matchmaker is available to Asian audiences solely with LITG S1 getting rolled out in incremental updates. 

Eventually, Beanie Quinn is released (March 2021)

LA Noir is released (May 2021)

Seduction Games is released (late May or June 2021- I got the update and played it June 3rd, but hadn’t opened the app for a month or so. It might have come out before then, which is unfortunate for this timeline since it’s so inextricably linked to the open letter and layoff dates)

LITG S2 is released (only like 20 levels of it) the same month- June 19th for me. Notably, all of these stories are only released to an international audience, with the UK and USA still not having access to the app.

4. At the same time, Fusebox’s internal affairs are pretty quiet from 2020-2021, at least on social media. 

S3 comes out in 2020, Boat Party comes out later in the year and finishes in 2021. Post S3 in October of 2021, a survey goes out gauging player interest in new art styles and representation, which was pretty in keeping with past actions and seemed promising for S4. 

Boat Party features a promising cross promotion implementing irl brands into the game. It’s unclear if enough money was made from this on FB or the sponsor’s end to make that strategy viable, but that might’ve impacted management’s outlook for the profitability of LITG.  

Fusebox teases more content for the summer on Instagram, and then follows up and confirms it’ll be a proper season.

5. More key players leave in early 2021

Ed Sibley is still listed as Narrative Direction on LinkedIn, but he’s not credited as a writer on Season 4 (he was on 3,2,and 1) and started work with NetSpeak games in May of 2021, so we can assume he left around then or at least transitioned away from Fusebox then.

Fred Francis, another writer who had been on the team since S1, turns in his resignation ‘weeks’ before the layoffs were announced in late June. So we can assume he made his exit sometime early June or late May.

6. Prior to the release of Seduction games in May/June, staff expressed concern about the biphobia in Seduction Games. No sources have given a specific time when this took place. They were reassured that the problem would be corrected prior to release, but then the story was released as is to an international audience in June. The article released by the Independent is unclear- there might have been discussion prior to the open letter where staff expressed concerns and then were reassured before the game going live. OR the open letter might have been the first expression of concern by the staff. I tend to think the former, and the open letter was a response to Matchmaker going live with Seduction Games anyways, but I have no proof for that. On May 24th, 31 employees sent an open letter of concern regarding the problematic content in Matchmaker. This letter isn’t public, so we don’t know the scope of the employees' concerns or who the employees were.

7. To resolve the situation, a meeting between the staff and at least the COO (likely more than just him though) was held sometime after May 24th. Allegedly, Virapen was disrespectful to the employees who had questions, refused to answer, and ended the meeting early before any resolution was had by closing his laptop and leaving the room. At least 4 HR complaints were made in the wake of that meeting, we do not know the nature of those complaints. 

8. Some time mid-July (maybe July 26th? A writer tweeted about their job ending soon on that date), employees were made aware that the LITG app would move into ‘sunset mode’. It’s unclear what was communicated, but it seems as though S4 will be heavily delayed or cancelled altogether and no future seasons would be made. Writers begin to post about looking for work on Twitter

9. June 30th- The majority of Fusebox writing staff announce on twitter they’re out of work. In addition to the entire writing staff, unity engineers and producers are also let go.

10. July 5th - Fusebox executives respond to an article by MCVUK with a statement asserting they were “consulting with [their] employees on a proposed change to its business model” that would focus on producing Matchmaker content. They also expounded that the move was to secure “cash injections and and continued support from respected investors across the media and gaming industry”

11. July 6th- Fusebox announces that S4 will be delayed from the summer release date and that there is no fixed release date. 

12. August 2nd- three jobs are posted to Fusebox’s careers page on their website, one being Head of Narrative Content. In the job listing, it specifies that they’ll be maintaining existing properties as well as new ones, and that because of the co-development model (re:fusebox outsourcing Matchmaker to another studio) the new Narrative Lead must collaborate with external content creators.

Hopefully posting this timeline gives players a better understanding of how radically Fusebox has changed in the course of 2021 (and how royally they screwed over the people who made LITG what it is). Again, please let me know if you have receipts showing dates are different or things to add. 

[forevfangirlwrites]

I love your how to handle fame series and I totally get if you’re six of writing for this AU but if you aren’t I’d love one with them making the relationship official like Annabeth telling Percy he can post a picture of them for the first time or her telling him she wants to make it official and post on social media and Percy just being happy to tell the world that she’s his and vice versa

CONTINUATION OF: PART 9

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6 , Part 7,  Part 8

If Percy ever decides to pick up the memoir business again, the entire thing could be about the past two days, which have downright been the weirdest, most surreal days of his whole life.

On second thought, maybe he wouldn’t be able to write it because he’s spent all weekend trying to compartmentalize it and it still feels like a blur.

Like one really long day.

And you’d think, given the magnitude of the events that had occurred, he’d remember it better.

CHB had been the first to report the news, courtesy of that lady shoving a mic in his face, but the interview had really sealed the deal. Zoe Nightshade is acclaimed for reporting facts not fiction in the celeb news world, so going on her show to talk about it had been the best way to get the right version of the story out there.

All he remembers about the set are the hot lights, the white couch (that he was immediately worried about ruining) and Annabeth by his side, holding his hand.

Overall, it had been good. The entire thing had been premeditated by Annabeth, who had started off the interview explaining how they wanted to go public on their own terms instead of someone else leaking it, but that they still wished to keep their personal lives private.

Percy had also kept to his premeditated script, saying he’s a barista from New York, and shifting the dialogue (as Annabeth called it) to their meeting.

After the interview Annabeth had given him a big hug and told him it was a success.

But then…..oh then, came The Notifications™.

As if he didn’t already spend too much time on his phone, he’s been glued to it all weekend.

“It’s going to be rough,” Annabeth had said with the same worried face that she had when the talk about going public had come up a month ago.

And Percy knows, right, he’s been in the service industry and knows how people can be jerks. He knows there’s going to be backlash.

Maybe that’s why Annabeth had rented a beach house far down the coast and been by his side constantly the past two days.

He glances over at her, leaning back on her comfy wicker chair with her feet propped, reading a book. As if she can tell he’s looking at her, she puts down her book and turns to face him.

“What’s up?’

Her long legs look golden in the sunlight filtering through the light curtains and she’s practically glowing with the beach air wafting through the open window.

Long story short, she looks beautiful.

Focusing his brain from the detour it took to admire her, he shakes his head.

“Nothing…just wondering how I got here.”

She picks up her cup of tea from the table beside her. “What do you mean?”

Leaning back against the headboard of the bed, he stares at the high planked ceiling.

“I don’t know…just everything. I mean for one, I’ve never seen so many pictures of myself…even my mom’s albums would have a tough time competing…actually, they might still win now that I think about it.”

Annabeth chuckles at that. And while it’s true his mom has an absurd amount of pictures, him and Annabeth have been plastered a fair amount on various articles and social media. He’d kept his Instagram private, but his Twitter hadn’t stopped blowing up.

“And I’ve never had this many people talk or…speculate about me.” He drops his gaze from the ceiling to once again land on her. “Like, it’s the most hate I’ve ever gotten…”

The inevitable comments on him being a gold digger, though expected, had been hard to see. It stung a little to think people thought he was anything other than hopelessly in love with his girlfriend.

But no one had been more pissed than Annabeth and it had taken kisses from him to distract her.

He sees the same anger and worry start to flare up now, her eyebrows already creasing together, and rushes to complete his thought.

“But it’s also the most support I’d gotten.”

Luckily, an overwhelming majority of Annabeth’s fans had been super supportive of them. One picture in particular, one of them standing at the red carpet staring into each other’s eyes, had gone viral and “Percabeth” (as people were dubbing them) had been number one on trending for a whole day.

So many people not only calling them cute, but also describing him as hot. Percy had almost laughed out loud when he’d first read comments gushing about how attractive he was. (Take that, Nancy Bobofit, who called him ugly in middle school.)

“It’s just really crazy I guess, I never expected this from my life.”

He really should write a memoir. Other people need to know how almost comically absurd his life is now. (It would start with riding the subway to school every day.)

Annabeth sits up in her chair, still wearing the frown from earlier.

“Do you regret it?”

She asks calmly enough, but he can see the worry behind her eyes and the fear creep into her tone. He slides off the bed and walks to her, sitting on the footstool she’d been propping her feet on a second ago.

“Not at all.”

Reaching for her hand, he raises it to her lips, keeping eye contact. She needs to know that he’d take it all if it means he gets to be with her.

The day after the interview, Annabeth had told him to pick out a picture of them to post on her Instagram. And though it had immediately become her most liked picture, it wasn’t just fan service. The smile on her face when she posted it had made Percy’s heart melt even more.

Because the truth is, despite everything, it feels so good to call her his in front of the whole world.

Annabeth smiles, pulling their intertwined hands close to her and resting her cheek against them.

“Good.”

His phone vibrates and he can’t help but look over. Annabeth smiles, amusedly. “Who is it?”

He reaches for the device, unlocking it with a swipe. “My mom.”

“What’s she saying?”

He smiles as he reads the text. “That her friends are blowing up about this.”

Annabeth chuckles. “Don’t worry, it’ll blow over soon.”

Almost automatically, he opens up Twitter. It’s become a bad habit over the past two days.  “Well, we have been trending for a while…”

His sentence veers off as he checks the trending tab. Number one this morning had been a kpop star whose birthday was today and “Percabeth” had been second.

But now number one was…Jogan Paul, who had apparently been caught in some money laundering scheme and become the center of all public outrage. Number two was still the kpop star and number three was #ultranatural.

“Percabeth” was nowhere to be found.

“You’re right…we’re not trending anymore, some other guy, Jogan did a—”

“Money laundering scheme?” Annabeth finishes and he looks up from his phone to see her smile over her tea.

“Yeah…everyone’s talking about him….and then it’s a k—”

“Kpop idol? Yeah, it’s P-Dawn’s birthday,” Annabeth finishes again.

Percy stares at her.

Annabeth, after posting the Instagram photo, hadn’t checked her phone almost all weekend, letting him look at everything going on.

So how could she know all this? He’s pretty sure she hasn’t checked her phone in hours, instead working her way though her book.

“Yeah…” he continues, still confused. “So we’re not trending anymore. This Jogan guy really messed stuff up…”

Annabeth shrugs, still smiling. “That’s how it goes, people move on from things quickly.”

He nods. He knows this. And personally he’s glad that they’re not the main topic of conversation now. It feels like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders. He puts down his phone with a smile.

“Yeah, it’s fortunate that this guy messed up, really took the eyes off of us.”

Of course, not all the eyes. Annabeth’s fans will still talk about it, but now the media has something juicer to report on.

“Yeah, fortunate,” Annabeth repeats, lifting her cup again to take a sip, but she can’t hide her smile.

Something about this feels…

“Did you know about this?”

Annabeth just takes a sip of her tea.

Peering over the cup, she replies sweetly, “Did you know the season finale of Ultranatural is on tonight?”

And that’s all the answer he needs.

(So he naturally responds by picking her up and tossing her in bed, letting her laughs bounce off the high ceilings as he wraps her in a hug, thinking that there needs to be a whole chapter in his memoir about just how smart his girlfriend is.)

A/N: As I said in the beginning, this is the continuation to the last chapter in the how to handle fame series. Thank you for sending in the prompt! It’s been a popular one and I had a whole storyline for it (though I did include the insta pic :)

When I came up with this plotline I just couldn’t get the idea out of my head that Annabeth would totally mastermind the entire thing and make sure that their relationship didn’t get too much heat.

Plus, let’s be real, news moves fast, and their relationship, while a big thing, isn’t the only thing going on the world for people to talk about. And stories that spark outrage blow up more than two people dating, so I tried to keep this as realistic as I could.

Part of the reason it’s taken so long for this is because I truly wasn’t sure the best way to tackle this whole thing while still staying true to reality as best I could. So when I thought of the Annabeth planning out this whole thing I thought it was fun and cute and went for it. I mean this entire series has taken off in a way I had truly never imagined.

A lot of people had requested the whole going public thing and how it would play out, so I really hope you guys liked this! (And thank you anon for sending in the prompt I used to post this :)

(Also a lot of references to things that have happened semi-recently so lmk if you’ve figured them out, not that they’re that hard lol)

[neitherever-nornever-goodbye]

Number Five Fic Recs

I have spent days reading Five fics since season 2 aired, so I decided that I might as well start jotting them all down for anyone’s interested. It’s a long list, here we go xD

Completed

1.  Blood and Steel by @e-vasong, T, 6900 words

Diego gets shot. Five is evasive. There is a bit of an emotional reckoning, and neither of them are even vaguely equipped for it.

2.  Carry Him by ClaraCivry (Kat_Of_Dresden), not rated, 2422 words

`Five times Five's siblings carried him, took his weight.

Some hurt Five, some fluff, but mostly Hargreeves being worried and looking after him.

3.  Small Changes by calypso42, T, 3509 words

“I need to ask you something.” He set down the large stack of books he was carrying beside him. Klaus glanced at a few of the titles - Consciousness in the Brain - Memory & the Role of the Hippocampus - Soul vs. Matter: A Comprehensive Look at the Origins of Sentience - and grimaced.

“Are you… having an existential crisis, or something? Because I am possibly the worst person you could go to for that.”

...

When Five goes to Klaus to ask him something about his powers, Klaus doesn’t think much of it. At least, until he realizes that what he thought was simple curiosity was actually deeper than that, leading to a revelation about Five himself.

4.  Strike A Violent Pose by @ford-ye-fiji, T, 1268 words

And here he was, limping along with a twisted ankle, going to save his siblings from certain doom yet again.

5.  You are not alone by my_monster_are_real, T, 4259 words

Five doesn't like to be taken care of, but Allison doesn't care.

6.  They Could Care Less (as long as someone’ll bleed) by @ford-ye-fiji, M, 2835 words

Number Five is cornered once again by commission agents, but this time with his family.

-

Diego and Klaus learn something about their littlest-oldest brother.

7. Didn’t Give Me Time to Say Goodbye by rookflight, Gen, 1769 words

After dealing with the second apocalypse, Five takes time to think about everything that’s happened. Klaus seizes the opportunity for some quality sibling bonding.

8.  With Two Arms by karcheri, T, 3345 words

What it comes down to, really, is that Five had been too eager for results. Once it became clear to him that there was a connection between his powers and his energy level the obvious course of action, as he saw it, was to test this information. The hypothesis was this: higher energy levels = stronger powers and the easiest way to get more energy is to eat more. Pretty simple stuff. Too simple.

or Five times that Five starves himself and one time that he gets called out on it.

9.  Number Five The Monster Under The Bed by Kraeyola, T, 5460 words

It's easy to forget sometimes when you look at Five; small lanky body, little boy-scout shorts, and a perfectly pristine uniform. A smooth youthful face that's always wearing a too-serious expression for someone (supposedly) so young. Not that the siblings don't respect Five as an equal, it's just... well. It's hard to take him so seriously. Especially when he gets mad and makes such an adorable pouty face.

It's why they find it so difficult to deal with reconciling Five to the boy they (thought they) knew, to the boy they're seeing standing right in front of them. But you can't really blame them, can you?

After all, it's hard to believe things without witnessing them first hand.

There is a monster under the bed and it's in the shape of a thirteen-year-old boy.

10.  Nonlinear theory for dummies by Inkjade, Gen, 4786 words

After forty-five years of fighting, it's kind of hard to know how to stop.

11.  Vital Signs by aye_of_newt, M, 3524 words

Sometimes, it's difficult for Klaus to tell if someone is alive or dead.

When Five shows up, covered in blood after killing the Board, Klaus panics.

12.  Not with me by Claracivry (Kat_Of_Dresden) Gen, 5681 words

They never asked if any of that blood was his.

Five is bleeding, and he is also giving up.

AU to 2X07, with hurt Five because after all that boy has been through...

13.  Nothing’s Going on (and that’s the problem) by briegretful, T, 5231 words

(Directly after the season 2 ending, except everything's normal and everyone's still around) He did it. Five saved his family. They landed in 2019 and everything, somehow, worked out.

He's not sure how to deal with that.

or

Five struggles to deal with not having an apocalypse to stop, and his family tries to help him.

14.  A New Life by BirdInTheCave, T, 3884 words

Allison had convinced Ray to come back to 2019 with her and her family and after a month of being cooped up in the house with the other Hargreeves plus their own unconventional guests, Ray suggests they spend some time alone. He's still struggling to fully comprehend the new world he's stepped into but he's determined that with Allison at his side he can get used to anything. Allison can't find a reason to say no. She should have said no.

Luckily for her, Five will always be there for his family, now that he's back.

15. Side Effects May Vary by CivilBores, T, 6565 words

Allison crosses her arms. “Five,” she says firmly, “when was the last time you slept?”

“I don’t know,” Five says honestly. At Allison’s expression, he quickly adds, “But it doesn’t matter. I don’t know what it’ll take for all of you pea-brained idiots to realize that.”

“We may not be as intelligent as you, Five,” Allison says, “but at least all of us are smart enough to know how to take care of ourselves.”

OR

A week after the world is saved, Five convinces himself that he is still experiencing lingering side effects of paradox psychosis. His family has something to say about that.

16. The Walls Kept Tumbling Down by @ingu, T, 64888 words, 8 chapters

It started small.

There was a nagging ache in his chest, phantom pain from where the bullets had pierced his flesh, in the overwritten timeline that never will be.

(the one where rewinding time doesn't miraculously resolve mortal gunshot wounds)

17. Stay by maddienole, T, 6027 words

Five had saved his life once, many months ago. Maybe it was time for Klaus to return the favor.

18. Growing Pains by kakashi_mole, Not rated, 10520 words, Fiveya (personal fave, angst too much)

Number Five remembers his first kiss

Notes:    

Takes place after Season Two. A Five-centric fic. Some teenagers get growing pains, some don’t, but the last “cycles” of pain usually occur around age 13.

19. Another Cog in Murder Machine by @ford-ye-fiji​, T, 2463 words

Five finally gets the breakdown he deserves 

20. Sorrows Like Thunder Clouds by Emotionally_Detached (Yeah_Toast), T, 6953 words

He makes it. He time travels and makes it through another apocalypse.

He makes it, but his siblings don't.His siblings don't make it, except he's in his own childhood and they're still here, alive and thirteen and he can fix things.

He will fix things

On Going

1. “I’m Too Tired” by beastboy12, T, Chapters 2/?

A slight re-telling of the barn scene. Five manages to save his siblings, but at what cost?

In which the author takes a throw-away line in season 2 and runs with it.

2.  And We All Turn To Ash by @golden-redhead, Gen, Chapters 1/?

Seconds, not decades. 

The blue glow pulsed between his fingers and he pulled at the familiarity of the feeling, pulling until time and space bent under his touch, parting as he struggled to squeeze himself through just enough to jump and change the course of history. 

The energy, familiar but somehow different, courses through his body and then he moves, for a few precious seconds existing within the time and yet outside of it. 

-

a.k.a. Five is so, so close to getting them back home and making things right. And then he isn't.

3. Tangled in The Hanging Tree by TiredPigeon (TwistedSkys), T, Chapters 2/?

The timeline is still messed up, obviously. There is still so much work to do, still so much to fix. His siblings have questions and concerns, and they want answers.

Five just wants his nose to stop bleeding.

(Post-season 2, but I have no plans to speculate on season 3, so consider this fluff.)

Five is tired, his family is starting to notice.

 Thats all for now!

@tomatojuicem apologies for making you wait ;)

Lmk if theres something wrong with the link Notes: All these fics posted after season 2 aired, but not neccessary related to season 2

[deadmunds-ghostbee]

Wait Anthony falls into the lake in Episode 5?????

Yes. Tatler uses the still for two articles. I don’t remember in which, but for one of the articles the website didn’t change the name of the stills they posted. So when you try to save the still or open it in its own tab you can see that its name has ‘205’ in it. The other stills in that same article are the old ones whose episodes we already know. So the pink dancing still has 204 in it and the first ball has 201 in the name. That’s how I confirmed it if you want to check it yourself.

Episode 5 tracks pacing wise (esp since I personally think they’re pushing back the marriage to after episode 6 so the pacing isn’t the exact same as season 1) and in the zoom Charithra said “something funny happens to someone very serious” in episode 5.

Idk if any of this stuff counts as half-spoiler, so I won’t put it in the main tag.

But now that we’re getting so close to the drop and people have screeners i urge y’all to lmk if there’s any kind of speculation you want me to tag. I won’t post spoilers until after the drop, but it’s good to be safe. (Also pls no one come into my ask box with spoilers either 😂)

[aioinstagram]

Riverdale season 2 Riverdale season 2: The Black Hoods identity is revealed but viewers arent … is Trending on Friday December 15 2017 http://www.aioinstagram.com/riverdale-season-2-riverdale-season-2-the-black-hoods-identity-is-revealed-but-viewers-arent-is-trending-on-friday-december-15-2017/

Metro says: Riverdale season 2: The Black Hoods identity is revealed but viewers arent Den of Geek UK says: Riverdale season 2 episode 9 review: Silent Night, Deadly Night

Top 2 articles about Riverdale season 2:

Riverdale finally revealed the identity of The Black Hood killer in the midseason finale, but many viewers reckon theres more to this tale than meets the eye. After ravenous speculation on who could be the mysterious killer, the latest episode This could be the quot;realquot; Black Hood, or it could be someone else – a private investigator or law enforcement official perhaps – keeping tabs on the Lodges behaviour now that Ronnie has been fully indoctrinated into the family business. Hell, it could

Trending Images of Riverdale season 2 on Instagram:

This Riverdale season 2’s photo Trending 1 on Instagram, Photo credit to Instagram

Description: —*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ why’d you leave me – the reason for my mf depression – ac: cc: (??? PLEASE lmk!!) – #omgpage

This Riverdale season 2’s photo Trending 2 on Instagram, Photo credit to Instagram

Description: block him too [#omgpage] [ac : @aestheticdany] [cc : @oml.baddiesx] [dt : @beronicasfate] [shakes by @afterlvst] [#rivervixengrp] this literally took 3 hours to render in ae it better not flop >:(

This Riverdale season 2’s photo Trending 3 on Instagram, Photo credit to Instagram

Description: So true • Credit:@riverdale._.fangirl • • • • #riverdale #riverdalecast #riverdalescenes #riverdaleseason2 #riverdalestrong #riverdalefandom #bettycooper #bughead #betty #jughead #jugheadjones #veronica #veronicalodge #archieandrews #archie #archiecomics #cherylblossom #cheryl #varchie #tonitopaz #kevinkeller #josiemcoy #lilireinhart #cole #colesprouse #camilamendes #kjapa #madelainepetsch #vanessamorgan #caseycott

This Riverdale season 2’s photo Trending 4 on Instagram, Photo credit to Instagram

Description: Jughead Jones damnnn ~ dt: @bettsxjug ~ sorry group, i forgot to add logo

This Riverdale season 2’s photo Trending 5 on Instagram, Photo credit to Instagram

Description: riverdale dark times ~ Dt: dobrexdalia & lilixtom

This Riverdale season 2’s photo Trending 6 on Instagram, Photo credit to Instagram

Description: “Okay” ~ I picked my side ~ (it is not a plot twist) Any hate will be deleted or blocked ~ ib: idk remember

This Riverdale season 2’s photo Trending 7 on Instagram, Photo credit to Instagram

Description: Extended Promo of 2×09 “Silent Night, Deadly Night” _ Follow me @bugheadr for more!

This Riverdale season 2’s photo Trending 8 on Instagram, Photo credit to Instagram

Description: Hawt couple Dt; my grp (forgot what it’s called) Ac: forgot Cc: me Tags: #jugheadjones #veronicalodge #varchie #suitelifeondeck #sprousehart #charlesmelton #cherylblossom #colesprouse #bughead #bettycooper #lilireinhart #riverdaleedit #kjapa #riverdale #camilamendes #madelainepetsch #vanessamorgan #bugheadedit #suitelifeofzackandcody #omgpage #dylansprouse #riverdaleseason2 #cheronica

This Riverdale season 2’s photo Trending 9 on Instagram, Photo credit to Instagram

Description: love it . . . #riverdale #season2 #cherylblossom #madelainepetsch #redhead #nickstclair #bettycooper #lilireinhart #archieandrews #kjapa #jugheadjones #colesprouse #kevinkeller #sheriffkeller #mayormccoy #ponytail #vanessamorgan #tonitopaz #theserpents #josieandthepussycats #blueandgold #newepisode #archiecomics #riverdalecw #riverdalefans #charlesmelton #southsideserpents #riverdaleseason2 #riverdalepost #blackhood

[neitherever-nornever-goodbye]

Number Five Fic Recs

 part 2 

So here we are again. Part 1 is here

Note: All these fics posted after season 2 aired, but not neccessary related to season 2. SFW, angst. ANGST.

Completed

1.     don’t waste your time (or time will waste you) by rosewitchx

Teen And Up Audiences, Gen, 4408 words

He was an old man. He is sixteen. Ben dies next week. How does he know that? “I think I broke it,” Five stutters, and for the first time in her short life Vanya sees absolute terror in his eyes.

- Or, Five travels back again.

Something goes wrong.      

2.      It Does(nt) Matter by MYSTERYstew

Teen And Up Audiences, Gen, 4732 words

It’s a familiar feeling, being lifted up by Luther and tossed around like he weighs nothing (to Luther he certainly does), it was a favorite move of Luther’s as a child. Nostalgia is not what Five feels, he’s too busy flailing as Luther throws him over the railing.

or, Five fails a jump

3.      Like an abyss by fridayyy

Teen And Up Audiences, Gen, 7861 words

For the second time, Five has to (gets to?) grow up.

4.     Five and Dave’s Life Changing (Life Saving) Field Trip by @neuronary

Teen And Up Audiences, Gen, 1728 Words

The little boy, who Dave could now see was not as little as he’d first thought, shoved a tin mug at him. “Drink this.”

Dave drank. It tasted sickly sweet and slightly citrus-y. “Who are you?”

“Five.” The boy’s scowl deepened at Dave’s confusion. “Klaus’ brother.”

Or, Five saves Dave’s life to stop Klaus from moping. From Dave’s perspective, a very grouchy, sleep-deprived twelve-year-old kidnaps him and he finds it much more entertaining than he should.

5.      you from yesterday by questers (sieges)

Teen And Up Audiences, Gen, 4972 words

The difference between who his siblings once were versus who they are now.

6.      Delusions of a Practical Nature by KnightNight7203

Teen And Up Audiences, Gen, 3/3 chapters, 5045 words

This wasn’t how today was supposed to go. He was supposed to get through the next layer of his equations, finally narrow down the limits he’s been searching for for the past month and a half. But maybe he should sit down with his family more often. For the first time in a long time, he feels something akin to peace.

In which Five doesn’t always have to make it through an apocalypse alone.

7.      Five and Diego Take Ukraine by yawarakai

Not rated, Gen, 1718 words

It’s definitely her. She’s around fifty, and striking – Diego can see where his brother gets his features. Light skin, grey eyes, hair dark and straight, slim. She’s a carbon copy of the boy standing before her.

“Da?” Five’s mother asks warily.

On Going

1.      Power and Control by @golden-redhead

Teen And Up Audiences, Gen, 1/?

“What are you saying?” he asks faintly, even though he can already see where it’s going, can sense the threat hidden between the words, recognizes the cold glint of her eyes as she leans in closer, her lips stretching in a sickening smile.

“I’m sending you back to where you belong, Number Five. Back to where we first met.”

Back to the apocalypse, hangs in the air between them, unsaid and yet clear as day. 

-

a.k.a. Five, his siblings and an offer he can’t refuse.

2.      Rare Birds Series by Cryptix23

An alternate 2019 brings with it new problems and new dangers.

The two sets of Hargreeves children mix like water on a greasefire. It’s hard to tell which group is unhappier about the situation – the Sparrows, trying to navigate the minefield of their new siblings’ many traumas, or the Umbrellas, trying to carve their place back into a world that forgot them.

Plus the whole saving-the-world thing hanging over them all.

Whether they like it or not, they’re going to have to learn to work together.

 Alegna’s note: this series is absolutely amazing, action packed, enough whump and angst ashakdhks

3.      The Colors of Sky and Rain by @ingu

Teen And Up Audiences, Gen, Chapters: 4/?

Five knew that they never stood a chance.

From the moment the Handler had given him a time limit, Five knew, deep down, that they weren’t going to make it.

But he had never thought that he would be the reason they failed.

(the one where Five gets himself kidnapped before he meets up with Luther in the alleyway and throws a spanner in the works for everything thereafter)

4.      Creeping Towards Extinction by VIKAN

Teen And Up Audiences, Gen, Chapters: 1/?

“I don’t know man,” Diego says, frustrated. “I’m not a doctor, or a space-jumping expert. All I know is that he pushed himself too far, but he said he was fine- or would be fine with some time and rest.”   Five frowns. Did he say that? He doesn’t recall that conversation. He’s not sure why he would say something like that to Diego, either. It doesn’t feel like he’s getting better in the slightest. If anything, he’s probably getting worse—

“Then fucking say that!” Diego snaps loudly, startling Five. “For God’s sake, Five, I’m trying to help you over here! You think I’m having the time of my life sitting here and watching you like this?” Or, Five takes a moment to catch his breath in 1963, and manages to lose it all over again in 2019. (Spoilers for Season 2— specifically, 2x10 and (speculatively) beyond)

Alegna’s note: this fic hurts. Prepare yourself

5.      think me fondly (when we’ve said goodbye) by darkesky

Not rated, Gen, Chapters: 1/10

As he fell to his knees, one arm still wrapped around the Horror as if that could contain it, he clawed at the board until it budged. And when it did, he flipped to the back, uncapped the pen with his teeth, and scribbled it down as fast as possible.

How to Help My Siblings (and Maybe Stop the Apocalypse) - Stop Five from time traveling - Help Vanya learn how to use her powers - Tell Vanya she has powers (??) - Help Klaus curb his addiction before it gets out of control - Spend time with Luther, Allison, Diego - Stand up to Dad - don’t die this time

—

Time traveling has never made sense, and Ben is the only one sent back in time after the first apocalypse.

Lmk if theres something wrong with the link ;)