Fake YouTube End Screens

Not for real.

From a 2018 appearance at PAX:

MIKE CHAPMAN: When we do YouTube stuff, we usually have the Easter eggs at the end automatically since you can't click.
MATT CHAPMAN: We put a fake-out thing that looks like the next video is loading, so at least there's some sort of, like—
MIKE: "Oh, it's a secret!"
MATT: —you still have to find it. We're trying to preserve all that.

YouTube versions of Homestar Runner toons sometimes feature fake YouTube end screens, designed to give the false impression that the video has ended. These screens typically reference nonexistent videos that contain visual and/or textual gags related to Homestar Runner; they may also parody clichés of YouTube video titling, thumbnail design, and subject matter. These screens are followed up by Easter eggs, in the manner of post-credits scenes in film.

At first, the end screens spoofed YouTube's "related videos" feature, where after a video ends the player automatically presents a grid of twelve videos similar to what the viewer has just watched; the fake versions featured nine thumbnails. From email too cool (uploaded Aug 14, 2017) onward, videos began imitating YouTube's "autoplay" feature. These presented a single thumbnail at the end, covered with a dark gray matte, and featuring a header consisting of the words "Up next", a title for the video, and the name of the channel (homestarrunnerdotcom); there is an autoplay button with a radial wipe in the center, along with a cancel button beneath to stop the autoplay. In both cases, the end screens are not interactive due to limitations of the YouTube video player.

Only two of the "videos" shown in the thumbnails — Joystick Wagglin' with Videlectrix and Strong Mad versus Wind-Up Drinks — have actually been released. Coffee Town with Homestar + Mike, a concept which originated here, later was made into an actual video.

Related Video Thumbnails

Fish Eye Lens

Don't look for these so much.

The YouTube version of Fish Eye Lens was the first toon to make use of fake "related videos" thumbnails.

Space Track	Joystick Wagglin	Homestar Runner and a peasant
Senor Cardgage	orange laser beam	Puppet Homestar
Strong Bad	Bouncing Bubs	Pom Pom peeking

Halloween Safety

Don't look for these, too.

Some of these thumbnails use similar concepts as ones in Fish Eye Lens.

Joystick Wagglin	Broken Sword	Channel Surfing
Homestar and an archer	Puppet Homestar	Photo booth
"the worst"	Senor Cardgage	orange laser beam

sbemail 206

"Are you sure this is gluten-free?"

All but one of the thumbnails have been reused from the previous toons.

Photo booth	Senor Cardgage	Space Track
Puppet Homestar	"the worst"	orange laser beam
Joystick Wagglin	Broken Sword	Channel Surfing

Flash is Dead!

"The death of Flash is equivalent to a giant meteor heading straight for the Earth!"

The thumbnails in this toon are all new, although two of them are very similar to previously-seen thumbnails.

The End of Flash	Pow'd By The Cheat!	The New Style!
Still Dang Dancin'!	Plush Strong Bad	Puppet Homestar
Strong Bad ×4	Bouncing Peasant	Cool Stripes w/ The Poopsmith

Strong Bad Classics!

"Sounds unsavory..."

While none are specifically the same, most are derivatives of previous thumbnails.

ThnikkaQuest	Powdered!	Cool Stripes
Kaleidoscope	Homsar Keyboard Hoppin'	Joystick Waggling
"TOO CLOSE"	Coffee Town	6 Hours of F-Sack

Full list

Thumbnail	Description	Introduced In
10000	Coach Z and Strong Sad on the Race Track in outer space, beginning to float away due to the lack of gravity.	Fish Eye Lens
10001	A photograph of a CRT television displaying Swordquest: Earthworld. The Videlectrix Guys appear in the lower-left corner, alongside the title "Joystick Wagglin' with Videlectrix".	Fish Eye Lens
10002	A second "Joystick Wagglin' with the 'Trix" video, featuring Haunted House: a framed picture of The Videlectrix Guys next to a four-switch Atari 2600, a Spectravideo Quickshot third-party controller, and a copy of the game. The caption reads "Joystick Wagglin' with the 'Trix". This would eventually be expanded into an actual video.	Halloween Safety
10003	A third "Joystick Wagglin' with Videlectrix" thumbnail: a photograph of a CRT television displaying a single oversized green pixel with the caption "GOOD GRAPHICS". The Videlectrix Guys again appear in the lower-left corner by the title.	Strong Bad Classics!
10004	Homestar Runner and a peasant from Peasant's Quest Online? standing in The Field with snow on the ground.	Fish Eye Lens
10005	Homestar and an archer from Peasant's Quest Online? floating in the sky.	Halloween Safety
10006	A tiny Strong Bad walking up Senor Cardgage's head.	Fish Eye Lens
10007	Homestar standing in an older style Field, with an orange laser beam in place of his head (which is now on the ground). Homestar's hat is missing.	Fish Eye Lens
10008	Puppet Homestar and Mike Chapman sitting in front of a curtain with a cup of coffee. The caption reads "COFFEE TOWN WITH HOMESTAR + MIKE, episode 6".	Fish Eye Lens
10009	Puppet Homestar and Mike Chapman again sitting in front of a curtain with a cup of coffee. This time the image is mirrored and a black evil beard and eyebrows are crudely edited onto Mike. The caption reads "COFFEE TOWN WITH HOMESTAR + MIKE, episode 3".	Halloween Safety
10010	The same image of Puppet Homestar and Mike as before, with the caption "Coffee Town with Homestar + Mike" Episode 12. However, the name of the show is covering Mike's face.	Flash is Dead!
10011	Puppet Homestar and Mike Chapman sitting in front of a curtain with a cup of coffee. The caption reads "COFFEE TWON WITH HOMESTAR + MIKE, episode 16". The entire picture is color-negative.	Strong Bad Classics!
10012	Strong Bad in front of a red-yellow gradient. In place of his legs are several more torsos that continue off the screen, some of which have extra arms, resembling a centipede.	Fish Eye Lens
10013	A small Bubs hopping over the Compé's keyboard on Strong Bad's desk. Bubs is leaving a bouncy, dashed white line behind him, à la Where U Goin' 2?.	Fish Eye Lens
10014	A peasant from Peasant's Quest Online? hopping over the Compé's keyboard on Strong Bad's desk. The peasant is leaving a bouncy, dashed white line behind him, à la Where U Goin' 2?.	Flash is Dead!
10015	A small Homsar hopping over the Compé's keyboard on Strong Bad's desk. Homsar is leaving a bouncy, dashed white line behind him, à la Where U Goin' 2?.	Strong Bad Classics!
10016	Pom Pom peeking out of a stylized human brain.	Fish Eye Lens
10017	Bubs and Coach Z in The Field. Coach Z is wielding a broken sword. Bubs is wearing a bobble hat.	Halloween Safety
10018	Homsar is surfing on a giant remote control. This scene takes place in the basement of the Brothers Strong, but the couch is missing.	Halloween Safety
10019	Pom Pom and Marzipan posing for a Photo booth portrait decorated with bells. Marzipan's eyes blink once.	Halloween Safety
10020	Pom Pom and Marzipan posing for a Photo booth portrait decorated with bells. Marzipan has The Cheat stuck in her throat, and her hair is now misaligned from her head. She has two mouths, one in the correct position and one where The Cheat's eyes should be. Both are frowning. Again, Marzipan's eyes blink once.	sbemail 206
10021	The King of Town and The Poopsmith posing with a caption that reads "the worst".	Halloween Safety
10022	Homsar and F-Sack in The Field as an explosion occurs in the background. This is a reference to the "meteor", which Strong Bad compared Flash's death to.	Flash is Dead!
10023	A thumbnail drawn by The Cheat reading "Pow'd by The Cheat".	Flash is Dead!
10024	A Powered by The Cheat drawing displaying the words "Powdered by The Cheat" and a bottle of "talc".	Strong Bad Classics!
10025	Pom Pom is seen on blue gradient without a head and his eyes moved onto his body. White text above him reads "The New Style!" This variation resembles Baby Pom Pom from high school.	Flash is Dead!
10026	A cross-eyed dancing Bubs on a gray floor against a purple polka-dotted background with text above him reading "Still Dang Dancin'!"	Flash is Dead!
10027	A real-life plushie Strong Bad in a room with a Martina Navratilova poster in the background. This plushie was first seen as a "stunt double" replacing the Strong Bad puppet in some quick shots in Dangeresque: Puppet Squad, and was first shown clearly in a Tweet by @StrongBadActual.	Flash is Dead!
10028	Four Strong Bads against a blue gradient with one of their arms extended.	Flash is Dead!
10029	Multiple light brown, blue and white diagonal stripes. Text above reads "Cool Stripes w/ The Poopsmith".	Flash is Dead!
10030	Multiple light brown, red, blue and white diagonal stripes. Text above reads "More Cool Stripes w/ The Poopsmith".	Strong Bad Classics!
10031	Shark Tooth Bubs dressed as The Thnikkaman standing in front the old man in Peasant's Quest.	Strong Bad Classics!
10032	An arrangement of multiple Marzipans, woolen hats from A Death Defying Decemberween and Telebision remotes, reminiscent of Happy Dethemberween.	Strong Bad Classics!
10033	An extreme close-up of Strong Bad's face with the words "TOO CLOSE" written at the bottom.	Strong Bad Classics!
10034	F-Sack from Flash is Dead! cast against a white background, captioned "6 hours of F-Sack".	Strong Bad Classics!

List of Autoplay Thumbnails

Thumbnail	Video Title	Description	Appears In
10000	Breakfast Unboxing w/ The Exact Same	The Exact Same next to a box of Cheat Commandos...O's. The thumbnail is cropped, leaving the tin can underneath the cereal box out of frame.	too cool
10001	Strong Mad versus Wind-Up Drinks	A Strong Mad figurine on a table with some wind-up drink toys. This video was released on Instagram the same day.	Squintmojis
10002	Puppet Strong Bad Let's Plays those Terrible Old Games	Puppet Strong Bad next to the "real-life" Lappy 486, which is displaying the Handheld Games Menu with Homestar Quiz highlighted.	Characters from Yonder Website
10003	Clapping Party 1080p - 10 hours	A screen from Clapping Party, a video game first seen in the email slumber party.	Haunted Photo Booth
10004	Calling Internet Customer Service with Gunhaver	Puppet Gunhaver on the phone.	Dangeresque Puppet Squad: The Hot Jones Hijack
10005	Falling Asleep Great with Character 1 from Yonder Website	Character 1 of Characters From Yonder Website gestures to a bed.	The Next April Fools Thing
10006	Meeple Grove Market: Annihilation	Several meeples of the main characters are shown amidst a blasted field and some fire.	Trogdor!! The Board Game
10007	The Cheat Commandos Arbor Day Special	A Puppet Stuff version of Cyclops Homestar stands in front of a small village. Several Cheat Commandos figures are in his mouth.	Mr. Poofers Must Die
10008	Eyeball Barf 10 Hour Loop - Deep Relaxation/ASMR	Storybook Strong Mad continuously vomits eyeballs into a bathtub.	The Homestar Runner Enters The Spooky Woods
10009	Strong Bad's Folding Chair Dungeon (all 2.47 episodes)	Strong Bad stands in the wrestling ring from yes, wrestling, holding a microphone.	Cheat Commandos...O's
10010	Some Internet Kid Unboxes Large Bean Plushies	Puppet Homestar sits at a table staring at a plush of Large Bean and wearing a trucker hat. His eyes are skewed.	Halloween Hijinks
10011	Hallrunner Speedlong Runplay - 16 HOURS! DENNIS%	The Hallrunner box art, slightly rotated on a black background.	Disk 4 of 12 - FriendlyWare
10012	Peasant's Quest CGA full playthru - CYAN TROGDOR?!	A CGA-colored version of a screen from Peasant's Quest. Rather Dashing and the Kerrek are at some trees and Kerrek tracks. The text prompt is filled in with ">find better graphics".	Disk 4 of 12 - World Games
10013	Top Ten Things You Missed in the Peasant's Quest Trailer	Rather Dashing looking around, in a scene from Peasant's Quest Movie Trailer.	Email parenting
10014	Why You Should NEVER Say 'Boat Take' in Public	Strong Sad in his room, holding his hands to his mouth. He is surrounded by "shock" lines.	Email parenting
10015	Homepage Shared Cinematic Universe REVEALED	A collage of Main Pages 1, 20, 8, 15, 16, 19, 21, 26, and 18. The last has Eh! Steve! visible. The word "REVEALED!!" is superimposed.	Email parenting
10016	Cow Lamp & Bunny Slippers: A Brief History	A 3D image of the Cow Lamp and Homestar's bunny slippers.	Cool Things
10017	Sweeter Cuppin Cakes	Sherlock, Eh! Steve!, and The Worm as cuter versions of themselves.	Disk 4 of 12 - Vampire's Castle
10018	TOP TEN PILES! (You Won't Believe #7)	Puppet Homestar makes a pile of objects.	2022 Costume Pack Now Available
10019	Simple Car Care the Jibblies Way	Rocoulm crouching on a car engine	The Show: Ween Edition
10020	Tofu Homestar and the Cobblestone Kid (unaired pilot)	Tofu Homestar and the Cobblestone Kid in front of a cobblestone path, the latter of whom is holding up a ham.	Front Facing
10021	Jack 'em Up Kid Interview Goes ON the Rails??!!	The Announcer interviewing Homestar at AWMPSCE	Back To A Website
10022	Next Level Chicken in a Pan!! (Wait Until You See the Glass of Milk!)	A single piece of chicken in a rusty pan with brown sauce dribbled over it, sitting on a dining room table with an empty chair nearby	Email robots

Fun Facts

For Fun Facts about individual end screens, see the articles for the toon they appear in.

Remarks

• Several concepts reappear in multiple thumbnails:
  • Homestar and a character from Peasant's Quest Online?
  • Coffee Town with Homestar + Mike
  • Joystick Wagglin' with Videlectrix
  • A character hopping over the Compé's keyboard on Strong Bad's desk and leaving a bouncy, dashed white line behind it, à la Where U Goin' 2?
  • Cool Stripes w/ The Poopsmith
  • Play on words of Powered by the Cheat.
  • Numbered lists

Fast Forward

• Joystick Wagglin' with Videlectrix was expanded into a full YouTube video titled Joystick Wagglin' with Videlectrix: Halloween Edition.
• Episode 86 of Coffee Town with Homestar + Mike was live streamed on Instagram.
• Strong Mad versus Wind-Up Drinks was released on Instagram, and later compiled in Social Media Crap Compilation 3.

See Also

• Fake Error Pages
• The fake thumbnails in HomestarRunner.com: PAY PLUS!