#GOT TICKETS FOR MANDY AND I

[mieczyhale]

[looking-for-satellites]

Bro is 2024 just me healing my inner child?

[maxwellatoms]

Hello Mr. Atoms, I'm an animation student in college and fan of your work. I got this assignment in which I need to ask questions to a professional in the area. Could you pretty please answer them? It'd mean a lot to me.

1- Are you happy with your career? How it's going.

2- What are your opinions, expectations and hopes about the independent animation industry that's developing?

3- What do you think about the advent of artificial intelligence? Do you fear for the future of animators?

4- If money wasn't a problem, would you still do what you do?

5- Any animators you admire and would like to mention?

Okey dokey.

1- Are you happy with your career? How it's going.

Not really, in that there seems to be no career left.

The animation industry swelled its numbers greatly before 2020. Almost immediately after that, corporate greed synergized with a pandemic to reduce animated programs and the number of people working on them to almost zero. It takes almost a year from beginning to end to make a single episode of an animated show (by the modern standard). There was nothing being made in 2020 and four years later, we''re not in a much better spot. It's going to be a long drought for (especially) Kid's TV Animation.

Recently, many of my former co-workers have hit the financial wall and can't continue, moving away after (sometimes) 20 years in the industry. I begin to wonder if I'm very far behind.

A "bounce back" a year from now would need to start today. There are still some animated shows being made now, but those are almost universally "library" properties. That means it's an existing I.P. (Intellectual Properties like Garfield/Mario/Batman/Star Wars) so as an artist you're immediately in that box. Depending on the property and the studio, it can be an unpleasantly tight box. I grew used to holding and maintaining the vision for a show, but it's less fun when it's not my vision. It's even less fun when you can't inspire someone to follow your vision because they've been so ruthlessly abused.

I'm pretty sick of how big media corporations treat their employees. If I inherit one more burnt out crew due to mismanagement, I'm gonna lose it.

Over a decade ago I fought hard to get board artists story credit for the episodes they were actually writing, and felt like I'd won a big victory for everyone. The second my back was turned, it all reverted.

Mostly... what is the point now? My career is/was developing ideas, crafting those ideas into a workable show, then managing teams of thirty to seventy people to produce a couple of dozen episodes per year. Studios actively do not want new ideas right now, and are actively searching for ways to eliminate what artists from the process. I'm not sure what my job would be under this new system, but it feels like they decided to hang onto the anxiety-inducing deadlines while removing anything remotely pleasurable from the experience.

2- What are your opinions, expectations and hopes about the independent animation industry that's developing?

It's the only way to get anything done, currently.

The current state of the industry is not sustainable. I (along with a lot of other animators I know) are trying to decide what's next, and pretty much everyone agrees that "you just have to make something".

It is (in that very specific way) a great time to be a young animator. The system was never going to treat you well anyway. If you can get something like a Hazbin Hotel happening without studio help, you can currently write your own ticket. I'm super proud of Vivsie, because that's a LOT of stuff to handle. I never had to handle my own marketing or drum up money to make Billy & Mandy happen.

There are opportunities there, but it's definitely "Hard Mode". The best idea is probably to team up with a few other people you like and like to work with.

Hopes? I hope that the young animators take over and make something new on top of the bones of the old industry, rather than just allowing that industry to patch its rotting hide with their collected works.

3- What do you think about the advent of artificial intelligence? Do you fear for the future of animators?

I suspect true AI might just peace-out like ScarJo in "Her", but we're not there yet. What we have now isn't Artificial Intelligence at all (though I do believe it may be the underpinnings of the Artificial Suconscious of what may one day become an actual Artificial Intelligence.)

The LLMs and "Generative AI" are (so far) a big dumb waste. They consume tons of energy and aren't great for doing anything creative. If you've sat down with Chat GPT for a creative writing session, you've probably run into the "out of the box" limitations which prevent it from talking about sex or violence-- which happen to be a major component of most stories.

Still, the technology has come incredibly far in an incredibly short amount of time. I imagine we're going to hit the point where we're being hazed by artificially generated political ads way before Generative AI can produce a consistent and usable character turnaround, so that'll be the test. Whatever the legal fallout is from this stuff over the next few years will set the tone.

Still, studios have a vested interest in pleasing their shareholders. Generative AI potentially has the capability of not only replacing swaths of money-eating artists, but handing that control directly to the billionaire studio heads. Mark my words: We're headed straight for billionaire-generated content.

I don't think the public at large will want to watch Elon Musk's fever dreams, so there's that. So law and general distaste might stave it off for a while, but I think there's just too much impetus for studios to continue to try to please their investors. "AI Art" is here to stay.

Eventually that will lead to millions and millions of bots generating millions and millions of songs and paintings and movies all day every day. Most of it will be utter trash. Right now (so I'm told) viewers are already burnt out, and will generally only click on what they already know. On Netflix, where there are twenty things you've never heard of and one you have, you're more likely to pick the thing that gives you comfort and gives you a guarantee you're not wasting your time. With exponentially more A.I. trash, how would you even begin to filter it out?

You'd need absolute control of an already existing distribution system. We currently have a few of those, and all of the media companies are desperately trying to merge with them to insure their own survival.

To me, the post-Gen-AI landscape looks a lot like old-school Cable, but with endless I.P. and fewer masters.

4- If money wasn't a problem, would you still do what you do?

The real question is, maybe, "What am I even doing?" These days I try to do a lot of gardening. I'm trying to learn new art skills, because suddenly twenty five years of experience managing, drawing, and writing isn't worth much. I recently worked on Jellystone until Zaslav lost 2.5 billion in the wash and had to find justification for his new yacht. The show before that? Also culled midway through to save money. The days of multi-year gigs seem to be over, and if I'm going to scrape by doing freelance, maybe I can do that somewhere else.

I'll always make art. I can't seem to help it. Ideas aren't my problem-- it's executing those ideas without the help of a structured pre-existing system. I honestly don't know if I'll ever be able to pull that off. My strengths are great, but were always supported by friends I worked with.

Can I start an indie cartoon with all of these cool friends? Sure, maybe. Most of those people have gone on to have other careers of their own and got used to being paid. Now nobody is getting paid and no one can pay anyone else. My immediate circle are all now middle-aged people with families and no jobs. Convincing them to give up a large chunk of their day for an idea that's not guaranteed to pay off is going to take some real effort.

I technically have fifteen years until I can claim my "retirement", assuming that still exists by then. That's a pretty big hole to fill with... I don't know what.

The difficult "What comes next" discussions at home are really just starting.

5- Any animators you admire and would like to mention?

There are a lot of cool animation people out there. I already mentioned I was proud of Vivsie. I was also reminded recently just how great C.H. Greenblatt and Mr. Warburton are. I know they're my friends. They're both just really upstanding, creative people who take good care of their crews.

The treatment of animation industry professionals by the studio system has been one of the most demoralizing and heartbreaking parts of this demoralizing and heartbreaking time.

---

So there ya go. If you want to look for someone whose attitude is a little more upbeat, I won't blame you a bit.

Wherever you are, I wish you the best of luck. For me, just climb up there and crush it. I would very much like to add you to #5 someday.

[thehelltingvilleclub]

Jerry Stokes - Champion Card Player and Professional Goober

Jerome “Jerry” Titus Stokes Jr. [10/02/80] [6'0. Yes, Bill is mad about this.] Secretary of Fantasy and Role-Playing Games AOL / Online Users: [XxLordxXxAtrocityxX] Theme Songs: Chronically Cautious - Braden Bales | Undone - The Sweater Song - Weezer | Polygon Dust - Porter Robinson Favorite Shit: Middle-Earth, Magic Cards, Percentile Dice, He-Man, Final Fantasy, Dragons, Tabletop Gaming, Conan, Studio Ghibli, Discworld, LARPs, Legend of Zelda, Earthsea, Yawgmoth’s Will, Gen-con, Xena, Aerith Gainsborough, Elfquest, White Magic

Therapy, check. Meds, check. Keys, check. Godsend Card Wars deck, check. EXTRA Card Wars deck in case some fucker tries to one up him, check... shit what is he forgetting *now*? It took him growing a backbone and his parents to finally get his ass to the doctor, but hey, at least he's here now, right??? right????? He's still trying to get Bill to come with him to the office to deal with his anger issues but it's like trying to climb Mordor bro; not gonna happen any time soon.

He's managed to make some new friends in the process, who knew?! Actually going to tournaments is so much more fun than just following Bill around all day--

I have the Power!

Jerry used to take Piano, as his parents tried to get him into as many extra curriculars when he was in elementary as they could to get him out of their hair (And.. hey, at least he learned something..?)

Because of this, he occasionally plays by himself on the practice piano he got as a kid, though usually it's just him learning soundtracks or transcribing the entirety the Ocarina of Time by ear.

y'know. normal everyday shit.

He has a habit of forgetting to trim his nails, however he keeps them relatively neat-- filed down and this dude actually showers and washes his hands like a maniac if he gets dirty, so it's not that bad. Plus, he's convinced it helps him pick up cards better without folding them.

Let's be honest, Jerry forgets a lot of things sometimes in his anxious scramble to get places. Including meals on occasion, which usually results in Josh jumping him as an excuse to get another snack for them both.

Would be willing to have his nails painted, absolutely, but will probably pick it off within the day as a fidget. Sorry guys.

Jerry met Matt at a Card tournament and they became rather quick friends-- and Matt whooped his ass when they played so he had to give the guy some props.

This dude gets the WORST bedhead and he barely does anything about it, just don't make fun of him if his hair is flat in the back please please please--

Jerry. Likes. Stripes. I feel like his mom dressed him up as the Girl who got sick with the Stripes once when he was a toddler cause he got covered in paint and it just *stuck*.

Jerry has also worn the same style of shoe and brand for the past 15 years he's not gonna start changing it now, fuckers

Can you tell he has a separation issue? no? then open your EYES.

This man absolutely gets ass his phone and aol are blowing UP like ALL THE FUCKIN TIME and he's so overwhelmed that he just ignores them all most of the time. most.

He ends up mostly subsisting off of tournament winnings and doing random odd jobs around the neighborhood, but at least it's enough to get him more cards and a bus ticket into Manhattan when he needs it.

Jerry still goes Bee-dee Bee-dee, he doesn't drop it entirely until post 2005-ish, when he meets Mandi. He DOES however, still use Buck as a nickname, cope. it's my world now.

cough uh he hates the feeling of underwear. those are basketball shorts. OOPS

god I love Jerry he's such a little dork

OKAY JOSHYBEAR IS NEXT Im gonna sob I also still have to draw May and Matt's cards...

fyuck

[zutaralesbian]

I think yet another reason Lip and Mandy was such a bad relationship is because Lip clearly always thought he was above her.

Mandy is the one actively encouraging Lip to go to college and better his life and get out of the south side. Other than that brief moment in S5 when Lip was trying to convince Mandy not to leave town with Kenyatta (which he only does after Ian pushes him to do so) Lip does not do the same for her. Possibly because he doesn’t believe she’s meant for better things.

Similarly to Fiona, Lip has always had a superiority complex over the Milkoviches. So of course he’d behave that way while attempting having a relationship with one of them.

The reason Ian and Mickey’s relationship works in contrast is because that element does not exist in their relationship. Neither of them think they are better than the other or put the other on a pedestal. I know Ian has said some unflattering shit about Mickey at times (a product of John Wells’ hate train after Noel left the show) but I don’t think he’s ever truly thought he was better than Mickey or that Mickey wasn’t capable of bettering his life. He got Mickey a job at the Kash and Grab when they were kids. After they’re married, he pushes Mickey to get a legal job and signs a lease for them to live together in a fancy apartment complex. Mickey also does not put Ian on a pedestal or cling to him as a ticket to a better life the way Mandy did with Lip. He does not want Ian to “save” him. He knows Ian is flawed-he just loves him anyway.

[foofynono]

Here I am, back again with more color wheels! This time we missed Anime Arizona but we procrastinated buying the VIP tickets... Oh well...

·      PINK:

o   Zim—Invader Zim (2001-2003)

o   Billy—The Misadventure of Billy and Mandy (2001-2007)

·      RED:

o   Dagget--Angry Beavers (1997-2000)

o   Moxxie—Hellava Boss (2019-)

·      ORANGE:

o   Alpha 5—Might Morphin’ Power Rangers (1993-1999)

o   Rodney—Squirrel Boy (2006-2007)

·      YELLOW:

o   Raz Aquato—Psychonauts series(2005-)

o   Kanchome—Zatch Bell! (2003-2006)

·      GREEN:

o   Grey Matter—Ben 10 (2006-2008)

·      LIGHT BLUE:

o   Orthopox—Destroy all Humans! series (2005-)

·      BLUE:

o   Kaos—Skylanders series (2016-2018)

·      PURPLE:

o   Chilled—Dragon Ball Super (2011)

 Listed below are YouTube videos were these characters were first introduced, WARNING: VIEWER DESCRETION ADVISE-if you see "offensive" in the title, that means it's not meant for children.

  PINK:

o   Blah Blah the Clown— “Why Clowns get Stressed” (Aug 20th, 2019)

o   Dorian Ditsen--“Angry Office (OFEENSIVE)” Sep 20th, 2015

o   Darlene— “Darlene is Spiritual” (Aug 11th, 2003)

o   Cathy--“A Day with Mom” (Nov. 29th, 2015)

·      RED:

o   Katie Killjoy��Hazbin Hotel (Oct 28th, 2019)

o   Lord Mingworthy— “Normal British People (OFFENSIVE)” May 30th 2016

o   Blitzo--Helluva Boss (2019-)

o   Bryce Tankthrys— “The CEO” (Jan 12th, 2016)

·      ORANGE:

o   Jurgen Klausvonschwitz— “Fashion is Blind (OFFENSIVE)” Feb 28th, 2016

o   Blame— “Thug got Secrets (OFFENSIVE)” Jun 25th 2017

·      YELLOW:

o   Sebastian Hernandez--“No Parents! (OFFENSIVE) May 30th 2016

o   Grandpa— “Grandpa Hates Valentine’s Day” Feb 13th 2015

·      GREEN:

o   Bobby Worst--“The WORST Villain (OFFENSIVE)” Sep 28th, 2018

o   Karen— “Karen Vs. Cathy (NOT FOR KIDS)” Jul 12th, 2020

·      LIGHT BLUE:

o   Helen Brownstein— “Hall Monitor Helen (OFFENSIVE)” Nov 8TH 2015

·      BLUE:

o   Sam— “Sam’s NOT have it! (OFFENSIVE)” Feb 15th, 2016

·      PURPLE:

o   Felix— “Sleep Paralysis Demon Haunts Youtubers” (Oct 1st, 2019)

·      PINK:

o   Hawk—Seven Deadly Sins (2014-2021)

o   Verosika Mayday—Helluva Boss (2019-)

o   Marinette Dupain-Cheng—Miraculous Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir (2015-)

·      RED:

o   Rei Hion/Sailor Mars—Sailor Moon (1992-1997), Sailor Moon Crystal (2014-2019)

o   Ladybug-- Miraculous Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir (2015-)

·      ORANGE:

o   Darkness—Kono Suba (2019-2024)

o   Bennett—Genshin Impact (2020-)

·      YELLOW:

o   Fwench Fwy—“Fwench Fwy”-Chikn Nuggit (Jan 22nd, 2021-)

·      GREEN:

o   Cerebella—“Skull Girls” (2012)

·      LIGHT BLUE:

o   Killua Zoldyck—“Hunter X Hunter” (2011)

·      BLUE:

o   Xingqiu—"Genshin Impact” (2020-)

·      PURPLE:

o   Shantae—"Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse” (2014)

*stock photos used*

[got-a-new-recipe-for-poundcake]

Yes I made another OC, I have like one more and then I think I'll take a break

Template by @jimothy-hopkins

Art by me

Birthday: June 6

Grade During Main Story: 11th

Hobbies: Wrestling, Video Games, Weight Lifting

Sexual Orientation: Bisexual

Favorites:

Color: Lilac

Food: Street Tacos

Album: Take Off Your Pants And Jacket

Movie: National Lampoon’s Vacation

Artist: Gorillaz

Song: Josie

Class: Gym

Carnival Activity: High Striker

Outfits:

Background: Grew up in Bullworth Town, with a mother father, and two younger siblings who are twins. Has always been interested in sports. Got into Bullworth on a sports scholarship at age 14. Was treated terribly by Juri until she beat him in a wrestling match. Started dating Ray the year before Jimmy showed up. Was made fun of for her weight by the bullies at first, when she punched the ever living shit out of one of them they shut up real quick.

More About Louis: She is one of the Jocks with a driver's license, thus driving them places quite frequently. She is one of the students who doesn’t smoke, but she does drink alcohol a lot at jock parties. Most of the time she is very chill. Is a big pop punk and punk fan. Got tickets to The Warped Tour 2005 at Three County Fairgrounds. Very much is feared by other students on campus, except the little kids because she will defend them. Though others would disagree due to her looks Louis is actually in great shape, and works out a lot. She isn’t the brightest naturally, but she very much works hard to keep up her grades to keep her scholarship.

Relationships:

Jimmy: She’s pretty chill with him, once asked him to help her get a gift for her and Ray’s anniversary.

Gary: He put a tack on her chair and she put him in the trash.

Russel: Is actually very chill with him, and doesn’t patronise him like others do. The other reason the bullies leave her alone.

Derby: He heard about how tough she was, and refrains from making fun of her for being on a scholarship unless Bif is around, or it's behind her back.

Bif: She doesn’t ever engage with him in fights because she respects his title as Glassjaw Boxing Champion (until Jimmy came along).

Justin: She finds it very annoying whenever he hangs around the jocks.

Gummy: Gummy is her friend, and roommate. She will give her discounts at the record store, and Louis also encourages her to confess her feelings to Dan.

Lefty: Is pretty chill with him due to his friendship with Luis, gets annoyed by the secondhand smoke.

Earnest: Thinks he’s an annoying little twerp, and tried to sabotage him during the election.

Thad: Is very shocked he’s Dan’s brother, was pretty mad at him about the Mandy posters.

Ted: Got very annoyed by the lesbian jokes he was making at her, and told him to cut it out. He actually listened to her and now they’re chill.

Damon: Respects him a lot, and they are sometimes workout buddies.

Bo: They are pretty friendly with each other and will go to the carnival together.

Casey: Was pretty annoyed at how much he was hitting on her her first week at Bullworth, and still isn’t very fond of him.

Dan: They are pretty close, she hangs out with him a lot after both of their respective practices.

Juri: Very much does not like him due to his misogyny.

Kirby: They work out together a lot and unlike others she actually sees how tough he is.

Luis: She and Luis are on very good terms and she very much enjoys company. They both think it’s funny how similar their names are.

Mandy: Although Mandy made fun of her at first, Louis comforted her once after she made herself sick in the girls locker room and they’ve been friends ever since.

Bob: Probably her favorite jock, both of them hang out a lot.

Zoe: Both of them have immense respect for each other.

Bailey: They are very close, and Louis is always happy to hang with her.

Ray: Everyone is shocked that Ray has a girlfriend. Louis will defend Ray from people bullying him, which sadly causes people to make fun of him even more. Louis talks about him somewhat frequently, and her friends always question what she sees in him

OG Inspiration:

Lauren Zizes

Amerie

[konaiiro]

wip: Summer '12 - Mandy Milkovich

A wip I cooked up a while ago which has been sitting in drafts. Planning to clean it up and finish it soon.

s2/s3 of Shameless from the perspective of Mandy.

Looking back, summer of 2012 had been something special. Something was in the air they breathed; in the beer they drank and in the joints they smoked. It was unescapable and ever since the leaves began to yellow later that season, she had craved that feeling like an addict. They didn’t have a 12-step guide for this kind of heartache; grow up or eat shit was the method around here. Both Ian and Mandy hadn’t been children for long, adults before they reached double digits, so maybe that summer was the years they missed out on - shoved into that crazy couple months before senior year. 

It wasn’t perfect but it was theirs and it was fucking everything. 

Ian Gallagher was the first boy to call her beautiful. Not her ass or her tits, but all of her, everything that made her Southside trash and maybe one day something more. When she thought back, she always liked to believe he also meant her soul. Maybe that’s why the next years hurt so bad - souls don’t heal the same. 

Admittedly, she had first been drawn to him by what some would call chivalry; it was in short supply around these parts. Watching his messily cut fringe and freckled cheeks in history class, the boy shockingly oblivious to it all, Mandy saw someone worth looking at. Ian didn’t look at her like she expected, he didn’t really look at her at all. Normally it took less to get a man watching, but just in case the boy was dense, she shimmied up her skirt before she tracked him down. 

The next week was a blur. Childishly, it had hurt being pushed away. It was embarrassing and humiliating, but worst of all, it hurt to think a good guy like Ian wouldn’t want anything to do with her. When she got home, tear-stained, to the questions from her brothers, the accusation just rolled out of her mouth. Milkovichs don’t cry. Milkovichs aren’t pussies. It somehow was worse to tell her siblings that someone didn’t want her, that she wasn’t worthy of someone who was good for the sake of it. The facade cracked when the ginger-haired boy found her outside her house, a piece of the puzzle clicking into place. 

She had been surprised when Ian said it, but in the end, it didn’t matter. Mandy would want him in any way he would let her. 

It was from then on that she saw the light of the Gallaghers, like a beacon buoyed out in the dark ocean. She was merely swimming towards something to keep her afloat. Mandy didn’t understand everything, like the unmeasured love to each other that the siblings had. She understood the devotion though - her kind was bloody and raw and destructive, because when there is a war on, you don’t get to question what you are fighting for. 

She had been stupid enough to draw her attention to Ian’s older brother. He had that smile that made sure you knew he was trouble, a cigarette falling from his lips, but at least he was looking back. 

He was known around the neighbourhood, always had been. First, sneered as Frank’s son, then as the delinquent street rat they all were, but it changed around middle school. He was the smart one, the one destined to go somewhere, the one lucky enough to have a ticket out of here. Mandy never believed the rumours, she had a fair share of her own to know that lot of them would be complete horse shit. She should’ve though, she really should have listened when they talked about Karen Jackson and the Gallagher boy’s take-no-prisoners attitude. It would’ve saved her time and heartbreak and the crushed hope that maybe Lip would take her with him when he inevitably made something of himself. 

No, she should’ve known from the start. The man was smart enough to know he was brillant but too stupid to realise he was also human like the rest of them. Nothing would've been enough for Lip and she had figured out at a young age that ass and tits only got you so far. Ian’s brother was an asshole and could be so fucking stupid but by August, Mandy had fallen in love with him. It was the kind of teenage, heatwave inducing love that she doesn’t think she’ll ever completely get over. Scars on her soul, and all that. 

Those sweet months between grades had been something like a dream. Fightclubs for both the local teens and the local robots. Weed so potent that Ian and her would discuss a life past the age of twenty five - West Point bound for him. It was another reason she loved Ian, he wanted to be something more. He gave her hope she desperately needed in the house of horrors she grew up in, in the neighbour they both did. He also talked about this boy he liked. The irony was not lost on her now that they both were chasing men who made themselves believe that they only wanted their bodies, but never their souls. Too bad they gave them anyways, laid their wishes and dreams out in hopes that something would become of it. Hoping that these men, boys really, would take a look and find something shiny and worth their time. The two of them - begging for something more, accepting what they got.

That summer had been something incredible, regardless of the heartbreak or maybe because of it, she wasn’t sure. They didn’t know it then but they would never be those two stupid highschoolers again because by the time they caught up with each other, they would be haunted by things out of their control.

It was the summer before Ian ran and Mandy stayed. It was before the bipolar caught up to him and Mickey was not fast enough to catch the man before they both crashed. It was before Kenyatta and Milwaukee and men with sharp smiles and kind money. It was before everything went to shit and the two of them would come out the other side of that storm very different people with only their beating hearts to prove that they still loved each other dearly. 

Every time the weather got warmer, she would let herself think back for a moment. Reminisce about the good, the bad and the ugly; Ian, Lip and the special type of scars that were left behind. Those months were packed to the brim on her battered camcorder SD card, now lost in her childhood bedroom like everything else that summer held - the last taste of teenage-hood they would never get again.

[lilliesthings]

I saw it as Gideon feeding is own ego, with a protege of his own after being one to Max. He definitely was someone who could read people well (i mean he was a PROFILER). He found a young gifted man who didn't have anybody and paid attention to him and convinced him to join him in his career. I believe he tried to do the same with Ethan since they mentioned he was at the academy at the same time, but Ethan dipped to become a jazz musician. Gideon had the power to push Reid through the processes of joining theBau and Reid was essentially his pet project. Reid got someone who wanted him around and Gideon got praised for scouting him and their department running smoother than ever. Ultimately Gideon didn't really help Reid through anything, and then abandoned him with a letter instead of actually saying goodbye to him. He KNEW how much that would hurt someone like Reid and did it anyway. He set up a chess game and never showed and made him seek him out. (tw for MCD) Though, to be fair, it is surmised by some that they changed the script at some point, possibly due to Mandy's demands at the time. It's been said the original intent was for Gideon to have committed suicide and that Reid was supposed to have found him there along with a note. Which would have been WORSE, obviously. That all playing out just as Reid was also finally sober and had no other parental figures in his life, it would have been even more devastating.

I'm not looking forward to them bringing back someone with a connection to Gideon on the show, and without Reid being there who was arguably the closest person he had in the seasons he was on seems kind of dull. Then have Rossi bring him up, someone we only ever saw him talk to in flashbacks of their youth. He left the show in 2007 and died in 2015 I'm tired of Gideon. Are they going to just rehash Gideon drama forever?

Tbh, to me, it was Gideon assuaging his own guilt towards Stephen.

Gideon is a flawed flawed man, and a running theme they seemed to have with him is that while he takes those actions, with no malicious intent, he can't foresee their terrible consequences : the 6 agents, Elle in the Fisher King, Reid in Revelations, and in the grand scheme of things, bringing Reid into the FBI thinking he's doing right by him, which didn't turn out so good depending on how you look at it. When the consequences really catch up to him, he seems to be in way over his head and can't follow through. He didn't show up for his son to the point where Stephen thought he wasn't wanted (and was quite detached at the news of his death, in a striking contrast to Spencer). But Gideon is also compassionate and he genuinely cares, he bought Reid these tickets for his birthday, he walked him through that (not) date, through his first kill, told him he was proud of him. For me at least, the reason they gravitated toward each other is that for awhile they filled a void in each other's lives of the absent father and the distant son, and it was his way of compensating for abandoning Stephen. But I also think he cared nowhere as intensely about Reid as Reid cared about him, and even that too was not out of malice (which makes it kinda more sad)

He was right to leave, and he was wrong in the incredibly convoluted way he did it. He could have answered Reid's calls, he could have sent a text saying that he's safe but he's leaving, hell he could have MAILED that letter, because people loved him and were clearly worried for his well being and whereabouts at this point. But to make someone doing the whole guesswork of going to a cabin in the middle of the woods to fetch a letter? That looked bad. I would have had a heart attack. 

I admit liked him a whole lot as a character, I particularly enjoyed seeing him walking in circles in Hankel's bathroom telling himself that he did the right thing. I genuinely like watching character's fuck ups play out, but I agree that Gideon at this point seems so detached from the show, and without Reid there either to act unhinged at the mention of him ... eh ..... we'll see I guess.

[theguildawards]

Hello guildmates!

The Nomination Period is now closed! Below the cut you will find a complete list of all the fanart nominations received for The Guild Awards this term! The mobile-friendly version can be found in a Google Doc here that has the complete list!

You can find the list of all the fanfiction nominations here!

If you do not see your nomination, or you find issues with the links, please reach out to us as soon as possible!

We are going to give you 2 weeks time to enjoy all of the pieces nominated for this term! We strongly encourage that when you view a work of art or read a fanfiction, please reblog or leave a review to let the creators know how much their work and talent is appreciated!

The voting period will begin November 15th and end November 29th midnight PST!

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Message one of the mods directly: @sassybratt9791 @phoenix-before-the-flame @kiliinstinct​ @ratretro  @phoneboxfairy

Thank you to everyone who nominated for making this term absolutely wonderful and happy voting!

[please reblog to help spread the love of these amazing creators!]

FANART

Best Action/Adventure

“we illuminate the dark” by @flamedork (tumblr)

“Mirajane” by @pencilequipped (tumblr)

“Freed Day” by @moxiepoxart (tumblr/TW)

Best AU/AR

“a quick art for an AU” by @4stralfairy (tumblr)

“erza redesign” by @mousecracker (tumblr)

“Accidental Freed AU/backstory” by @intelligentbiscuit (tumblr/DA)

“Fairytail Next Generation” by @hollie-artz (tumblr)

“Dragon Erza” by @ace-of-fairytail (tumblr)

Best Canon

“Juvia piece” by @pencilequipped (tumblr)

“Happy Nalu Day 2023” by @likubears (tumblr)

Best Angst

“foolish remains of a hyacinth” by @heartonxions (tumblr/IG)

“queen of fairies” by @nalunalu (tumblr)

Best Dark

“Untitled” by @heartserion (tumblr)

“Monster” by @acnologias-ass (tumblr)

“‘You’ve become a beast’ ‘I know’” by @phoenix-before-the-flame (tumblr)

“A Mouth Full of Ridicule” by @firapolemos05 (tumblr)

Best Humor/Parody

“NaLu Winter Wonderland 2022” by @imnothereokuwu (tumblr)

“They’re guilty😔” by @lav3nder-bees (tumblr)

“Why As a Man, Are you Blond” by @butcherza (tumblr)

“Barbie Movie Tickets For Phantom Buddies” by @imyourcoopid (tumblr)

Best Kiss

“Guilty Pleasures” by @bluessom1 (tumblr)

“don’t interrupt the master’s meetings” by @castkorb (tumblr)

“Luvia” by @watcher-ofthe-sky (tumblr)

Best Romance

“A Fairy Tale of our own making” by @nalunalu (tumblr)

'Love and Other Fairy Tales’  by @heartonxions (tumblr)

“Gruvia Week” by @goodnightlover (tumblr)

Best LGBTQ+ Romance

“lucy + cana <3” by @heartserion (tumblr)

“Untitled” by @annluvazzel (tumblr)

“fraxus week day 5 - guilty pleasures / indulgences” by @lav3nder-bees (tumblr)

“Shadowlight Week Day 2: Thrill/Undress” by @oryu404 (tumblr)

Best Character

“Juvia piece” by @pencilequipped (tumblr)

“Lucy Heartfilia - Fairy Tail” by @lumen-anima (tumblr)

“when the hard work pays off (Aries)” by @burilingo (tumblr)

“Natsu Dragneel” by @anushpaint (tumblr)

“Thunder Dragon King Laxus Dreyar!!” by @wispzoa (tumblr)

Best Duo/Pairing

“Untitled” by @doubleragnarok (tumblr)

“fairy tails only(?) 2 two card mages” by @ace-of-fairytail (tumblr)

“Summer Fraxus” by @wispzoa (tumblr/TW)

“a quick art for an AU” by @4stralfairy (tumblr)

“Fight!!” by @castkorb (tumblr)

“The Blue-Haired Found Siblings” by @jerzaworms (tumblr)

Best Group Depiction

“Anniversary” by @love---mandy

“some crime sorciere pastels” by @jerzaworms (tumblr)

“Team Thunderstorm Naptime” by @pencilofawesomeness (tumblr)

“hehehe team shadowgear make brain go brrr” by @moonylilies (tumblr)

Best Manga Coloring

“Juvia”  by @shuvia-lu (tumblr)

“Mashima's Twitter doodle" by @zelkams-art (tumblr)

“Sun vs. Moon” by @krn02-12 (tumblr)

Best Redraw 

“I believe in you” by @imnothereokuwu (tumblr)

“Redrawing one of my favorite frames” by @sherlismyfather (tumblr)

“Cryptid Mode” by @pencilofawesomeness (tumblr)

“Jackal” by @misquitz (tumblr)

“Nalu Gruvia Jerza Redraw from Mashima’s Art” by @gymjunkie412 (tumblr)

Best Overall

“Please, accept him” by @phoenix-before-the-flame (tumblr)

“And so the lion fell in love with the lamb” by @bluessom1 (tumblr)

“Happy Gajeel Day" by @butcherza (tumblr)

“Night sovereignty” by @crowind1 (tumblr)

[feathersandfoxtails]

I got to see Mandy Gonzalez in concert last night!! I had bought the ticket back in July and didn’t realize I bought one in the front row??

Her set list was so much fun:

And she also threw a Prince song in there.

I love her voice and it was just her and a piano except for the last two songs, where she had a local choir join her.

She talked a lot in between songs and is just hilarious. Like she talked about finding green makeup everywhere while playing Elphaba and how she wouldn’t play that role again. Then sang “It isn’t easy bring green” before “Defying Gravity.”

So much fun. I adore her 💜

[ashheartrph]

PREVIOUSLY. ASHHEARTHELPS, OFMIIDNIGHTSRESOURCES. OFWILTCDSUNFLOWERS. ASHYBUGHELPS. THORNSMANIPS. MAGICIANGIRLMANIPS.

"WITH THIS LITTLE COBWEB POTION, YOU'LL FALL INTO DARK DEVOTION. IF YOU EVER LOSE AFFECTION, I CAN CHANGE YOUR WHOLE DIRECTION." - THE HEX GIRLS, I'M A HEX GIRL.

Ashheartrph is a roleplay resources blog ran by Ash // Ashheart. I am 21+ and go by she / her pronouns. Re-established in April of 2025. On this blog I will share roleplay resources that I make for roleplayers. All content made on this blog is made in PHOTOPEA. I do not know how they will look in Photoshop or other editors.

WHY I REMADE :: My previous rph blog was terminated by tumblr staff out of the blue. I got no emails explaining why they did it. I also sent staff four support tickets and they still did nothing to reinstate my blog. So I remade my blog and the next day the blog could not receive private messages. Sent staff two support tickets and they did nothing about it. So here I am on a new blog! All content I uploaded onto my previous blog are still on my deviant art & payhip.

All of my content is free, donation based, or pay what you want. MY DEVIANT ART IS HERE. MY PAYHIP IS HERE. && MY KO-FI IS HERE. Please consider donating to my Ko-fi if you like what I do on this blog.

Do not steal my content. Please credit me if you use something I've made. You can do this in multiple ways. You can :: reblog the post where you got the content from, tag me in a post, or link to the content on your blog / card / google doc.

MY ASK BOX IS CURRENTLY OPEN!

WHAT I DO:: 

Roleplay Icons. :: I currently have requests for these open, but they will be capped at 3. I am highly selective with who I will make rp icons of and what sizes I will make them in. If I cannot find resources of the show, movie, manga, manhwa, you want icons for I will have to decline the request. I also will not make icons for anything horror based. 0/3.

Psd Colorings. :: Feel free to suggest characters, celebrities, shows, or movies for me to make psd colorings based off of.

Psd Recommendations. :: Need help finding a psd coloring for your muse? Or want to know how a certain psd will look on them? Hit up my inbox and I'll post a few psds for you to check out.

Templates. :: I make all kinds of templates :: Promo templates, character templates, dash icon templates, and rp icon border templates.

Master lists. :: Could be lists of anything. My favorite names, cat breeds, ect.

Pngs.

Headers.

Dash Icons.

Screencaps. :: I will not be taking requests on these, as I can only take screencaps from videos on youtube.

Gifs. :: I will not be taking requests on these. I'm still learning how to make gifs. Occasionally I might post a gif set or gif pack here though.

Manips. :: I will be highly selective when it comes to taking manip requests. If you ask for manips of people deemed highly problematic, I probably won't accept the request.

Promos. :: Requests for these are currently closed, but I might open them at some point.

Url Recommendations. :: Need help coming up with a url for your blog? Hit up my inbox and I can help you out with that.

Aesthetics & Moodboards.

Rp Memes.

TO DO LIST :: 

Make gifs of Laura Spencer in Vanessa and Jan & The Lizzie Bennet Diaries.

Make gifs of Grace Phipps / Gracie Gillam.

Make gifs of Molly Quinn.

Make gifs of Nicole Fujita.

Make gifs of Meghan Trainor in one of her music videos.

Repost my Yugioh! Masterlist post.

Make a Supernatural Masterlist post.

Make rp icons of Seju in What Does The Fox Say.

Make rp icons of Harley Quinn in Harley Quinn in Paradise.

Finish another gif pack. (I have multiple I'm working on for my own use.)

Post one psd coloring or template.

Make Rp Icons of Mandy Moore in Grey's Anatomy.

Make Rp Icons of Demi Lovato in Grey's Anatomy.

Make Rp Icons of Felicia Day in Buffy The Vampire Slayer.

ROLEPLAY BLOG MASTERLISTS :: 

Yugioh Roleplay Blog Masterlist.

Supernatural Roleplay Blog Masterlist.

Naruto Roleplay Blog Masterlist.

MY CURRENT MASCOTT IS MELISSA BENOIST. 

[densi-mber]

We Swear It’s Not Real

A/N: Thanks to @mashmaiden for the scenario! Set at the end of season 7, but AU in that Kensi and Deeks are not already together.

***

“Ok, so I think that should be the last thing until the actual wedding,” Kensi announced, double checking the expansive color-coded list placed in front of her.

“Sweet.” Deeks peered over her shoulder on the way to Kensi’s fridge. “Wait, was there always a dove release on the itinerary?”

“Yep.” Kensi made a face. “Kat says it’s regal.”

“I could debate that, but it would be futile,” Deeks said. He came back from the fridge with a bucket of cut fruit, and offered it to Kensi. “Did I tell you Kip has some extra tickets for next weekend? You want to go?”

“Oh no, we can’t go then. We’ve got Kat’s wine tasting on Saturday,” Kensi reminded him. “Sorry.”

“Right,” Deeks sighed, like it was perfectly reasonable. “I didn’t realize that wine tastings were a part of wedding preparation. And requires the entire wedding party.”

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure that’s just a Kat thing.” Kensi paused to roll her eyes. “You know how over-the-top she is.”

“Oh, I know. The the whole show ponies thing was kind of a clue.”

Deeks smiled, sending a quick text to Kip.

Pretending to be Kensi’s date to Kat’s wedding had seemed easy enough when she first presented the idea. Given her chronically terrible dating history, she hadn’t felt like explaining the complete absence of a plus-one at any of Kat’s events. Or worse, be set up with every available male by her well-meaning friends.

Deeks wasn’t exactly entangled himself, so after a very small amount of consideration, he’d agreed to be Kensi’s fake date for Kat’s wedding season. He’d even thought it might be fun, and certainly would give him ample reasons to tease Kensi.

What he hadn’t anticipated was just how much time they’d spend together, pretending to be a couple. It was their undercover roles as Melissa and Justin on overdrive. Because as ridiculous as it sounded, Kat, Mindy, Mandy, Tiffany, and Tiffani scrutinized them far more intensely than any Russian spies ever could. If they were holding hands, kissing, and just generally exuding an air of absolute bliss, one of the girls noticed.

The hardest part though, was pretending that he didn’t enjoy it. He enjoyed every kiss, snuggle, dance, or moment when he got hold her hand. It made him feel like he was cheating, even though Kensi encouraged it.

It was an awful kind of torture. One he kept coming back for more over and over again.

***

They ate dinner together, which seemed an increasingly regular occurrence neither of them bothered to question. Tonight, Deeks threw together a stir fry and rice; since he’d started coming over more frequently, Kensi’s kitchen stayed better stocked.

“Thanks for cooking and cleaning,” Kensi said from her position at the table. He’d gladly have cleaned a thousand dishes then deal with sorting through the pile of invitations in front of her. Though he’d probably end up helping out anyway.

“No problem. I’ll see you in the morning,” he said, leaning in to kiss Kensi before he headed for the door. It wasn’t until he was halfway down sidewalk that he realized what he’d done.

He’d kissed Kensi. And it wasn’t under any pretense related to the wedding or a case.

He’d kissed Kensi, like it was the most natural thing in the world.

***

Deeks went into work the next morning with serious misgivings. Kensi hadn’t texted him at all since he left her apartment last night. He debated calling her immediately to apologize, but chickened out and ended up pacing for most of the night.

He walked into the bullpen, still uncertain what to do. Kensk was already sitting at her desk when he entered; she looked up briefly, her expression giving nothing away.

“Hey.”

“Hey. You’re in early,” Deeks noticed, testing the waters. She didn’t seem angry at least. Though maybe she was just waiting for the right moment.

“Yeah, well, I’ve been slacking on paperwork with all the wedding stuff. So, I figured I’d knock it out today before Hetty gives me one of her notes,” she explained, eyes tracking her computer screen as she typed.

“Makes sense.”

Setting his bag on his desk, he logged into his own laptop. Silence settles around them as they both quietly worked. A good 20 minutes passed, and Deeks realized he would need to broach the topic since Kensi clearly wasn’t.

“Hey, um, I’m sorry about what happened last night,” he started, and Kensi frowned. “You know, the uh, the kiss. I wasn’t thinking.”

“Oh.” Kensi shrugged, focusing on the brushing some crumbs off her desk. “I didn’t even notice.”

“Really?” Based on her refusal to look him in the eye, he sincerely doubted that.

“Yeah. I mean, it’s just a habit right? And we’ve kissed so many times by now, that it’s no big deal anymore,” Kensi continued, letting out a nervous chuckle that approached cackle.

“Yeah, no. You’re completely right,” he agreed, and Kensi looked up sharply. “It meant nothing.”

“So no reason to apologize.”

“Exactly.” They stared at each other, neither breaking away until Sam and Callen came in, bantering as usual.

He swore a hint of disappointment flash across Kensi’s face in the second before she turned away again.

***

A/N: In direct contrast to my recent story, Kensi and Deeks apparently have all the time in the world in this fic.

Part 2 to come.

[goldenpinof]

hi! was wondering if you can share info about dnp's new talent rep (and how the old one was if its okay to talk about) ^^ i've recently reconnected with the fandom through social media platforms, for the last few years i only followed them through their youtube uploads and the ocassional major news here and there. so im completely out of the loop with stuff like this. thank you so much!

hi! i'm not the best person to answer any of this, i'm so sorry.

about new management, it's InterTalent and i know only what's on their website and on google in general. as i'm typing this, only Phil has a page but Dan and dnpgames's business emails indicate that both dnp are represented by InterTalent now. which is super exciting!

about Above the Fray (they have a new website now). i'm not sure what you wanna know? if it's about why they left their previous management, then it's probably related to how Dan's tour was organised (allegedly, in my opinion!), among other things. you can see how stale Phil's career became, idk how much it depended on his manager but it's quite obvious ATF wasn't big enough for dnp and their potential. we unfortunately saw how Dan's team, including one of his managers, was unable to communicate with promoters. not to mention added shows that weren't properly planned and the cancellation of some of them. Iceland deserves a special mention: it got cancelled a month before the show. and we kinda found out about it before Dan (or his promo materials weren't updated in time and he didn't check it). he posted about available tickets with Iceland listed and in a couple of hours the show's page went down and people started getting emails about its cancellation. 2 days later Dan posted the news and apologised in Icelandic!! and also threw shade at people he worked with. it was a huge moment. i forgot how bad it was, so tragic (wad.iceland tag if anyone wants to cry over it with me again).

they left in the end of June/beginning of July 2023, i suppose. a couple of months without managers, Dan started following people who work at United Talent, and today it's October and we are with InterTalent :))

if you wanna know more about ATF i'll have to redirect you to Mandy (@alittledizzy). i'm also linking her posts about the company (the ones that show up in the search anyway. i'm sure there are more asks about it but i don't know how to find them, sorry). if you have specific questions you can ask her because my knowledge is limited :)

[didntyoubelieveinme]

the gimme danger analysis just for you @mangle-my-mind 🫶🫶

One of the most important things to me about this movie is how they paint curt and brian’s relationship. We see their entire relationship from an outside perspective. The most we get is clips of more private moments (such as their vacation). While we can get an idea from certain details, we will ultimately never truly know how their relationship was (and maybe that's why they make me indescribably sad).

With that context in mind, I can talk about the scene itself. In this performance you can see just how upset curt is. It's ultimately a message to brian, and my god they picked the song so well with lyrics like “there's nothing in my dreams/just some ugly memories/kiss me like the ocean breeze” it reflects their relationship so well ughh.

A detail I noticed is that near the end of the song, while curt is physically grieving, the crowd still cheers and dances. And it's not like I expect them not to dance to music but it almost adds to how private this moment is meant to be—the crowd is seemingly unaware. They take this as a performance and entertainment, the true message is only understood by those it was meant for, giving you this sense of intrusion.

There's something about seeing how distraught curt is that reveals just a bit more about the two of them. It could be easy to dismiss their relationship as shallow or something purely sexual but the details we’re given makes that a bit harder. When you see them hugging on the vacation clip (and brian giving him the pin), curts genuine shock and disgust as the cameras start flashing after they kissed, curt still going to tommy stone’s show, or at the very least buying a ticket (which is such a devastating detail), brian and his emo montage after curt leaves, brian coming to watch curt perform one last time, and other things i'm too tired to name

Some other details I loved was how on the roof with arthur, if you look closely at curt’s chest you can see the marks where curt scratched himself when singing. As well as after the show when mandy goes to hug curt (which is the cutest thing btw trauma buddies 😋) mandy lies when curt asks if she saw brian. I always wondered why, but simply assumed she was attempting to spare his feelings somehow (though i'm not 100% with that one)

I got a little carried away with this but i hope it makes sense 🫶🫶

[twenyonepilots]

hiii there. longtime follower. i bought tickets to my first top concert ever (!!!) at one of the hometown shows in october. starting to think about an outfit for the show. i went all out in costume for tswift, but think i just wanna wear merch for top. i’m not really interested in buying any from their official store.

would you happen to know of any independent creators who make their own merch that you would recommend?

first love that ur a swiftie too being a fan of both taylor swift and twenty one pilots is SO underrated these days!! tbt to 2015 when mandy lee from misterwives opened the hometown twenty one pilots show then went across town and performed with taylor on rep tour that same night!!!

sorry im just now seeing this but hopefully you still have time to order stuff

i couldnt find a ton of fan merch? but i did find a few and ill link them below!

thought these were simple, affordable and really nice i wish twenty one pilots had simple/cool merch still like they did back in r@b/vessel era

this shop had a couple of cool merch items from this era that could work!

i really wish someone would just recreate their old merch and people used to but i guess it got taken down i was looking for that cream shirt with the blue log cabin or they had this shirt with a floating brain that one was sick where did they all go??

anyone that knows where to get some cool unofficial merch please drop some links!!