#also it’ll just be easier to up the quality

[thewastes-clangen]

I forgotted to update you guys today. I think we’ll be moving to a biweekly update schedule since I’ve been struggling to find time to get a page out every week. So the next page will be next Sunday!

[mithrandirl]

i always get questions when i do a split gifset, and it's a deceptively simple process so i thought i'd try to show how i do it! i don't know if these types of gifsets have a more universally recognized name, but that's what i call them so that's what i'm going with.

i'm going to write this assuming you have a solid familiarity with photoshop and making gifs, but please feel free to send me an ask if anything is unclear. i use video timeline/smart objects so will be showing that (here's a great general tutorial on giffing with timeline). i will also be talking A LOT about gif dimensions, so first let's briefly go over the limits and theory a little bit.

a 1 column gifset can accommodate gifs 540 pixels wide

2 columns = 268 pixels each with a 4 pixel gutter between

3 columns = 177, 178, 177 pixels with 4 pixel gutters

i'm mostly going to talk about 2 column split gifs here (what i will refer to as 2x1 from now on - 2 across and 1 high), but the process is the same for 3 column (3x1) and so on (1x2, 2x2, etc).

so, why would you even want to make a gifset like this? i mean, let’s face it, generally, bigger is better for gifs on tumblr, and there are obvious incentives to 540 width gifs over 268 or 177/8 width, especially since the upload limit went to 10MB. but even 10MB isn’t much when you’re talking about high quality footage. gif making is a constant balance between quality (whatever that means to you: frame dimensions, sharpening, coloring, etc) and file size. split gifs are a cheat to that limitation >:)

i personally believe an untapped frontier of tumblr gifmaking is playing with dimensions and time. that sentence makes me sound like an old-timey sci-fi villain, but you get the idea: gifmaking is an art and there are many fun and interesting ways of exploring the medium. you can do a lot with 268 pixels! longer frame loops to gif longer scenes unbroken, bolder coloring on a wide shot you don’t want to pare down. and, a shorter x axis means the y axis’s bang goes a lot further on a buck. also just if you have a 2 column set but only 5 gifs so you need to make one take up 2 slots. there's a lot of reasons but the most important one is it's fun :) here are some examples of other split gifs i've made: x, x, x

this isn't so much a limitation, more of a shift in how you think about gifs, but it's important to remember that each gif should ideally be doing something still. when making split gifs, it’s easy to pick a wide scene without thinking about how it’ll be split down the middle, and then you’re left with a lot of something on one side and a lot of incongruous nothing on the other - or you're left with a person cut in half awkwardly in the middle. so while a split gif can still be a whole scene, you shouldn’t ignore the break and what it means to the bigger picture. now this is personal preference, but i like to play with the break and make it a part of the gifset. mirrored movement, subjects trapped on either side but still talking to each other, a bird flying from one side to the other. fun with frames! it can be another way of drawing attention to specific images/moments/feelings happening within the same shot.

SIMPLE SPLIT GIFS

to more narrowly define what i’m calling “simple split gifs,” it’s one set of frames split down the middle into two separate gifs that are meant to play concurrently, side by side.

first thing's first, crop your gif and uncheck delete cropped pixels if it is not already (very important). i'm cropping it to the 1x1 size, in this case 268x350. if you need to see how the full size will look, you can try it out with 536 first. but this one is pretty easy, this is the exact center of the frame (the left boundary of this crop is the center line) and both their heads fit within their respective 1x1 crop.

then color as you normally would. if your scene is very different one side to the other, it might be easier for you to color on a wider crop and then either crop again or copy paste your coloring to the smaller crop version. i do that with the 2x6s, but it's usually not that big a deal to color the 2x1s with just the small crop on your canvas at the time. this scene is very symmetrical, both in movement and colors, so i'm good.

now the fun part! once you've got one side how you want it, save/export as you normally would. at this point i also like to make a mental note of how many frames there are.

so i have 49 frames and it's still only ~3MB! this is just an example that i picked from my rotk fancy set, otherwise i probably would have made this gif longer.

then onto the other side, so i ctrl + z my way back to my smart object video timeline. to get to theoden i just drag and drop the smart object 268 pixels over. since this one is in the exact center of the image, it even helpfully guides me (this can get annoying if you are NOT giffing the center of the image fyi, but you can always manually go pixel by pixel too if you need to with your <- -> keyboard buttons. just always remember where you started and count accurately). i can never move around my smart object without hiding the adjustment layers on top of it, so you'll see me do that in this screen recording.

see how it corrected me when i dragged it a few pixels down by accident, and with all those pink guidelines? sometimes photoshop is good 😌

then make sure you still like the coloring, adjust whatever needs to be adjusted, but watch out! don't make any major changes because it still has to match the other side. and export again.

what we perceive as 1 series of frames chopped down the middle is just 2 separate gifs with the same frame rate. when tumblr loads the images, it will run concurrently in the post (even though it never does in the draft post 🙄). and that's it!

COMPLEX SPLIT GIFS

again i'm making up terms, but i call anything with more than 2 components a complex split gifset. i've tweaked some things in the process as i went along, but this is generally how i did the lotr series. these sets are basically just many split gifs with transitions. and here's where endurance becomes a factor :) there's a lot of prep done blind. but if set up well, it will be fairly easy to pull together by the end.

first i decide on my dimensions, using my upper bounds to determine how big i'm going to go. since lotr has very nice large file sizes, i can go pretty big without sacrificing much in quality. i decided on 3 rows of 350 pixel height gifs and it's worked well for me. that means my biggest gif will have a total height of 1050 pixels - fun! you could also do 8 rows, with two 2x2s or just a series of 2x1s that transition to 1x1s. there really is no limit to this except your imagination and source material.

i cap everything i'm going to use before i even open photoshop, then do all of them at once. uncheck delete cropped pixels, then i make my gifs! this is where i spend 90% of the time on this set. every gif should be the size of the smallest 1x1 gif (268x350 for me). i make all 10 into a fully colored, separate psd. (and then i usually go back through all of them a few times to get the colors to match better 😅) for the bigger ones (2x1: 536x350 and 2x6: 536x1050), i just crop them as if they were 1x1 but always thinking about how they will look when big. this gets tricky when i do the big one :) my lazy workaround for that is to basically make it twice: one cropped as it will be and one full size for me to color. then i copy and paste all the coloring layers onto the small one and voila, i know that the coloring in the upper right slice will also look good on the bottom left slice 1050 pixels away because i saw it on the full size version.

coloring is probably the biggest thing i'm thinking about with this kind of set. the whole idea is that these gifs are using the same colors, more or less, throughout each phase. even with the 1x1s, they're still part of a larger color concept, and they should (🤞) work with each other.

in a pinch, i like to eyedrop a color from one gif and add it as an accent to another. one of my 1x1s had a much more muted color palette originally, but i wanted it to have deeper blues and yellows to complement the 1x1 that would go next to it, so i added some gradients on lower opacity over it, color picked from other gifs i already colored.

i keep my coloring and the smart object in separate folders to help me in the final step of combining everything, and then i trim everything down to my lowest common denominator of frames. you might think you need to keep frames pretty minimal if you're doing 3 phases with transitions like this, but there's more room to work with on a small gif, in terms of file size. i usually do 30-50 frames for each phase, with the assumption that i'll be adding a transition on each side of each gif that will eat up some frames (i usually do 4-6 frame fade transitions). for the rotk set my final frame count was 129 and i never went over 8MB on a gif, so there's plenty of space play around with things :)

and then, combine! whatever order you start with, you are stuck with (unless you're getting even more complicated, but we won't go into that lol). for these sets i go small 1x1 -> medium 2x1 -> big 2x6. i like to think of it in phases from this point on. small is the first phase, then medium, then big. then i put in the fade transitions, chopping up the first phase gif so the last one will fade into it, restarting the whole cycle seamlessly. i'm just doing a quick and dirty fade here, but here's a tutorial if you want more explanation on transitions.

at this point i save this psd as its position, "top left" or whatever (usually it's a psb by this point too 🥲), just in case i need to go back to it. then i export this first gif and move on to the rest.

it's the same concept as a simple split gif: drag and drop the smart object to the new position, but now there are multiple phases to keep track of. folder organization has been key for me to keep everything straight. i move through the gifs in a backwards S, starting with the top left. but you could go any direction, just gotta stick with it and remember your counts. in my case, i'm always thinking of 268 pixels over and, for the 2x6, 350 up/down. it's a tedious process, but it goes quick (apart from waiting for photoshop to load each time you export).

i did this series as a color concept aesthetic kind of thing, so my theory was by using the same-ish colors throughout, that would save me in the end when it came time to export. there's only 256 colors max to work with on a gif, and that's usually what gets me over the 10MB limit. but as i said, i have never even gotten close to the size limit on this series. it's pretty hard to reach the limit on 268 pixels, but not impossible. (i did run into that on the emma set i did, and that was hell. but also not an impossible fix in the end.)

and that's it! if you try any of this and have trouble, i'm happy to help if i can but mostly this is a "click around and see what works for you" kind of process. and feel free to tag me on your split gifsets :) i love seeing them <3

[save-the-villainous-cat]

The hero didn’t even want to look at it.

“Okay,” the villain said. Despite the tears in their eyes, they were a little too calm for the hero’s liking. But they supposed they had always been the opposite to the hero when it came to stressful situations.

Usually the hero could deal with stress pretty well, they were a hero after all, but it was getting increasingly difficult to operate when neither time nor solutions were on their side. It was frustrating and the hero wasn’t used to losing.

“You have to break my femur now,” the villain said. They looked down at the wound and then at the hero who prayed this was a poorly timed joke. “Remember, it’s the strongest and thickest bone in the body, so you may need quite a bit of force.”

“I am not going to break your bones, I—” The hero wanted to throw up. They could see parts of the injury under all that rubble and they didn’t want to imagine how much pain the villain was in right now. The villain didn’t scream nor curse, they bottled everything up and let tears speak for themselves. They knew the villain was tough. But could anyone be this tough?

It was one of the villain’s qualities they admired oh so much but it was also something that seemed to doom them.

“It’s just one bone. I’d do it myself but the angle is shitty and you’re stronger.”

“No, don’t make me do this.” The villain grabbed the hero’s arm quickly and stared them dead in the eye. Their fingers dug into the hero’s suit but it was just a fraction of the pain the villain endured.

The hero panicked. If they had been any other person — hero or villain — they wouldn’t have hesitated to break the bone. But this was them. They didn’t want to hurt them, they didn’t want to break any of their bones.

“Listen, if we want to save my leg, you have to break it. We don’t have much time. I’m bleeding out and I need some fucking painkillers. I’m not gonna stay here so your hero-friends can arrest me.” Their face was pale and the hero’s tongue was heavy.

“I can’t, please, I cannot do that to you.”

“I’m just another villain on your list to cross out,” the villain said. They squeezed the hero’s arm harder and their eyes widened, as if a wave of pain had just hit them. They made a noise close to a grunt but again, they were hiding it perfectly.

“No, you’re not, you’re really not.”

“If you want to save my life, you’ll have to do this. You’re a hero, aren’t you?” The hero had no words left.

The truth was, they had had a crush on the villain for quite some time now and even though they knew rationally they needed to do this, they weren’t quite there emotionally yet.

“You should get a pipe. You crush the bone and then hopefully, it’ll be easier to pull me out. The angle should be better. I might pass out though, I’ll just…” They didn’t look as confident anymore.

“If we wait for my friends to arrive, they can help you, maybe I can—”

“They will arrest me if I’m not dead by then. I’m counting on you.”

I’m counting on you.

The hero’s fingers trembled. Breaking someone’s bone — they had never done that on purpose. And yet, they knew the villain was right. It seemed to be the only way out for them.

“I called you,” the villain said, “because I trust you. I need you. I’ll do you a favour in return, I promise. Just, please.”

The hero took the villain’s hand and pulled it close to their chest.

“I’ll do it,” the hero said.

“Great.” Unsurprisingly, the villain wasn’t happy. Their other hand was shaking and they looked already traumatised. The hero wished they could make this easier but there didn’t seem to be any options left.

“I’ll just have to tell you something real quick.”

“What?”

“I have a crush on you.” The villain stared at them. They didn’t look mad nor did they look annoyed.

“Wait. Really?”

“Yes.”

The hero just had to tell them. If this was it, if the villain would get captured or worse, if they died, they needed to know that the hero had crush on them.

They wouldn’t be able to deal with that for the rest of their life. So whatever happened now, the villain would live through it, knowing what they meant to the hero.

“This is really bad timing, darling.” Another tear ran down the villain’s cheek. They squeezed the hero’s hand.

“I know. I’m sorry. I’ll get the pipe.” The hero didn’t find one. Instead, they found a brick. None of them were particularly enthusiastic about that. “Okay. Again, I’m really sorry.”

The hero grabbed the brick with two hands.

“Wait.” The hero did. “I think I like you too.”

“That doesn’t make it easier,” the hero whispered.

“I thought you needed the challenge.” As answer, the hero let out something closer to a sob than a laugh.

What happened next would give them nightmares for the following decades.

[spotsandsocks]

Hiii spotty 💕💕💕

🎃 + dawn/sunrise

-❤️🪐

Hi Saturn, managed to use both words here and it got a little longer at nearly 1k. A little angsty but not too bad. Hope you enjoy. Thank for inspiring me.

“Wondered where you went.”

A quick glance over his shoulder reveals that Hen has that kind of look on her face. Buck looks away quickly, he’s not ready to talk but she already knows that, she’s Hen after all.

The unpleasant scrape of metal on concrete makes him wince as Hen settles down in one of the chairs they use up here. It’s clear she intends to wait him out.

“Don’t worry, no one else is gonna join us.”

That’s not the comfort she thinks it is because it only emphasises who isn’t going to be checking on him and they both know why he can’t and that if he could he wouldn’t need checking up on in the first place. Ironic huh.

The edge of the weather beaten brick beneath his fingers is rough and catches at his skin. The texture and prickle of pain gives him something to focus on other than the reason he’s hiding up here.

“Bobby says come down when you’re ready, but that you don’t have to be ready anytime soon, he said it’s ok to take a minute, it was a rough call.”

It was.

“Eddie said you’d be up here, told me to tell you he’d be here as soon as Chim is done with him, we thought, well he thought I should keep you company until he can.

How considerate of him. Deliberately relaxing his suddenly tense jaw and dropping his shoulders Buck breathes through the surge of anger Eddie sending Hen to check up on him generates. Hen wouldn’t need to be keeping him company if the company he should have after a call hadn’t been so fucking stupid that he needed a full check up and time to convince Chim and Bobby that a trip to the hospital wasn’t required.

“I’m fine.”

He can’t look at her while he lies, not that it matters much, Hen won’t believe him anyway, hell he doesn’t believe him and she’s a lot smarter than he is.

He hears her snort of amusement and she doesn’t even try to hide the sacrasam in her voice,

“Oh I can tell. Totally fine.”

Eyes fixed firmly on what little of the horizon he can see through the LA skyline, the changing quality of light makes it clear that sunrise is just around the corner, a new day is beckoning. It’s a new day that might not have had Eddie in it.

He shuts his eyes but that’s no help because he just sees it all again. The chain of events that rushed past him and led to the accident.

“How’s he doing?”

Addressing the question to the air he doesn’t need to see her face to know what expression is on it.

“It’s not actually as bad as it looked, most of the blood wasn’t even his.”

The words spark another memory and he uses techniques he’s been taught to fight off a fierce wave of nausea. He changes the subject. It’s easier that way.

“I like it up here. It’s quiet. Sometimes I come up and watch the sunrise when I can’t sleep.”

She lets him have a moment of peace then breaks it.

“He didn’t mean to scare anyone, especially you, you know that right?”

He keeps his eyes on the approaching dawn and stays quiet.

“It’s our job. You know that too.”

It is. He does. Doesn’t make it any easier.

“You’ve done the same. Worse even.”

Also true. Also unhelpful. He knows how to spell hypocrite with only four letters without her help.

“It’s going to be hard, you both knew that, but it’ll be harder if you’re not there when it matters. I know that much.”

Her words hit him hard. What if he hadn’t been there. What if they had moved to different shifts or worse stations. What if he’d heard about it later and it hadn’t worked out as well as it had. What if he’d always have to wonder if he could have saved his husband if he’d been there.

Well he was there and he’d stayed calm even if he’d been more terrified than he’d ever been. He’d done what they promised Bobby they’d do. Their job. He’d listened to his Captain, followed his commands. He’d done exactly what Bobby had said. He’d helped get Eddie out of the mess he was in.

It becomes a little easier to breathe.

“Cap says you handled it well. Did your job. He’s proud of you.”

“I’m proud of you too.”

He turns his back on the sunrise because it’s not Hen’s voice this time. His eyes fall on the grazes on his cheek, the deeper cut on his forehead that Chim has treated. He notes every one of the bruises forming on the skin that’s visible and knows there will be more under his clothes that he’ll check later. He looks tired and worried and he’s still far more beautiful than any dawn Buck has ever seen.

Hen’s vanished. It’s just him and his husband, dealing with the aftermath of their first real trauma since they got together.

“Am I forgiven?”

He doesn’t answer just crosses the rooftop to him as fast as he can and holds on, probably too tightly judging by the small sound he makes but Eddie hugs back just as tightly regardless.

“You did your job. Nothing to forgive.”

Eddie kisses his cheek softly, the tension in him vanishing. He sounds relieved.

“So did you, I’m glad you were there.”

He’s not ready to let go yet, and Eddie understands that, so they stay there a while longer, holding each other both remembering the day they shook hands and agreed they could maybe have each other's back.

Today wasn’t the first time they kept that promise and it won’t be the last, it will be hard for them both but they belong beside each other and Buck wouldn’t have it any other way. No matter the cost.

[seraphmaws]

hi ^-^! Can you do a tutorial on how to make this icon? I would like to learn :3

https://64.media.tumblr.com/64eb5472b1d49fc941ccefbae558846e/cb2b70c34ebba0a7-b4/s1280x1920/d9e44a125324b309a533a1e56be842355046d740.gifv

Hello! I apologize in advance for my poor explanation skills, and also for how convoluted this process can get 😭 But I saw this as a worthy challenge, so here’s how you too can make a gif icon where the character comes out of the frame like this and this:

This is going to be very long so the full tutorial is under this cut!

Programs I use: IbisPaintX and Procreate*

*full disclosure, procreate is exclusively for iPad and costs 10 USD. however every thing I do in procreate you should also be able to do in Photopea

1. First things first, after finding the gif you’ll want to use, you’ll need to download each individual frame. By importing it into either procreate, photopea, or any program that’ll allow you to view individual frames, you’ll be able to save each frame

A note about gifs: The best gifs to use are ones with less frames due to the fact you’ll be editing the individual frames. Not to say you can’t use gifs with higher frame counts, however it is much more time consuming the more frames there are

2. Next you’ll have to remove the background from each frame. You can remove the background by hand, but I like to use this website to help make things a bit easier. Just pop your frames into it and download each one

It is unfortunately not always accurate and often misses things on images where the background isn’t clearly defined or is lower quality, and you most definitely will have to do touch ups on your frames For example here, for some reason, the first two frames (on the left) were left with a semi transparent gray background and in the image in the middle, you can see sizable areas where the website missed. And also as of recently there as been practically invisible dots it leaves where the background once was that stroke filter picks up some how. You’ll need to hit each frame with the magic wand tool or similar to remove these dots if you plan on adding strokes

3. Now add all your frames into your program and stick them in a folder. Then, reposition the frames on top of the image mask you are using (in ibis, make sure all frames are visible and select the folder before repositioning the frames, in other programs, you should just be able to select multiple layers and move them that way). Once you’ve repositioned them, duplicate the folder then select clipping on the bottom folder like shown in the right image (I know I forgot to duplicate the folder then 💀)

4. Now here’s where the tedious stuff comes in. Make sure you number your frames, because it’ll help you out a lot. In the top folder, erase the bottom part of your gif that you want to be in the frame (I’ll call this the clipping layer) but keep the top where you want to be coming out of the frame intact (this’ll be the overlapping layer). Repeat this process for all of the frames

Note: Try to use a simple shaped frame for these kinds of icons. However, if you choose to use something with a more complex shape, be weary of where you erase! You will need to be more precise with shapes like these depending on where you want things to go

And if you haven’t edited the frame itself, you should do so now

5.5. After that, you can leave things off there and skip this step if that’s what you’re going for! However, if you want to add things like strokes, it’ll get a lil more complicated

Firstly, I duplicate my clipping layer and then select stroke (both). You can also use stoke (outer) or whatever your program has, but this is my personal preference. I then duplicate that layer and keep applying stroke till I get what I want (if you use stroke (outer) duplicating your layer isn’t necessary). I think merge my stroke layers together, but I keep it separate from my main frame

That way I can duplicate my stroke layer and add it to my overlapping layer. Then I erase the unnecessary parts shown on the left. You may need to clean up the stroke on certain frames or reapply it depending on the position of things and what you’ve erased and what not. It takes a lot of trial and error. You can also apply the stroke before you make your overlapping layers, however when I was making this graphic I fucked it up in the process of making this tut and had to remake it so that’s what I did the second time around 💀 if you were wondering why I didn’t just do that in the first place, now you know

6. Now it’s time to export your layers as a psd and import it into procreate/photopea! You’ll now have to merge your clipping layer into your image mask then merge your overlapping layer on top of it to create one layer. Repeat this for all the frames and you’ll be finished!

Tada! Now you can add filters and whatever else if so desired. And that’s my process for making these kinds of graphics! There’s definitely an easier way of doing this but that’s just what I’ve got figured out for now. Don’t hesitate to ask any questions for the things that make zero sense lol

[quibbs126]

And this here is today’s attempts at drawing Transformers, specifically TF One

I had this idea when I started today, since I knew the faces and noses were giving me trouble yesterday, to try this paintbrush style. The logic in my brain was that the movie was made in 3D, so logistically a more lineless style should work better, right?

I do admit, I think that the lineless style works far better in terms of the eyes and noses being the right shape, but I also admit my lines are probably a bit too soft and I may need to darken them. As well as get something good for the actual thin lines, since the paint brush on its own feels too thick, even at the lowest size

And you know what, since we’re here, does anyone have any Procreate brushes they can suggest for this sort of style? Right now I’m just using Flat Brush, but I wonder if I should use something else

Anyways, so this canvas was supposed to be more D-16, but partway through I figured I should try someone else to draw as well, so I decided Orion, so we could have the yaoi

Honestly my big problem with Pax here is that I don’t have a good comprehensive reference for him, while I can get by just fine with D-16. These were about the best I could get, and that last one I only got because these other two weren’t cutting it

I need high quality references of these characters, or at least specifically their faces. And I’m gonna need even more if I plan to draw Megatron and Optimus as well

But yeah, Orion’s here, and I was also having trouble getting the correct colors for him, because I’m stupid and used to flat colors. D was pretty easy considering he’s just greys, and a yellow tinted grey works just fine there as a grey (though I do admit I’m struggling with his eye color), but I feel like blue tinted Orion looks too blue by comparison. But I don’t know how to give him his proper face coloring without it being the same shade as D-16

I feel like my words aren’t making sense. But just get that Orion colors are a struggle. And still are, because I still don’t think that other grey is the right color

Also Orion has a significantly more complicated helmet than D, so that’s fun

I really wasn’t planning on Orion taking up so much of the space, but I needed to actually practice how he looked so that I could draw him easier. I had numerous attempts at D-16 prior, I could sort of understand his look, but I was flailing in the dark on Orion and needed the practice

I think another problem is that I don’t make him wide enough. But sue me, my character designs usually don’t have their bodies that wide/their heads that small. I’m working on it

I capped off this canvas by just deciding to make a small doodle of Orion kissing D, since why not and also I was too lazy to think of anything else to add

Where do we go from here? I have no clue, but hopefully it’ll go good

[sensgrave]

"How the hell did cupid get bullets?"

I really appreciate the love I got on the prologue, and decided to add in some extra stuff to it rather than a timeskip. As I said, this is going to be a really slow burn.

Prologue 1 here.

Prologue part 2? - 1.3k, SFW - plans for reader x graves (though I may write side drabbles if desired), I'm hoping to try and ramp up the quality. MDNI, zero tolerance for minors being around - nothing particularly triggering, swearing I guess? I've indented dialogue to make it easier to read, since I figured colours would be a bit too distracting. Don't feed my work to AI, yadda yadda. Also I figured I'd start chucking a different gofundme per chapter in this section, just as a little fun positive thing. I've picked this one today.

You walk along the aisle, taking a seat that’s facing towards the closed cockpit. Buckling yourself in, you feel the vibrations of the cabin door slamming shut, the small ding of the seatbelt sign, and the rumble of the engine coming to life. Looking out below, you see the area you once called home become smaller and smaller. Trees turned to twigs as the plane slowly began to ascend into the sky.

You walk along the aisle, taking a seat that’s facing towards the closed cockpit. Buckling yourself in, you feel the vibrations of the cabin door slamming shut, the small ding of the seatbelt sign, and the rumble of the engine coming to life. Looking out below, you see the area you once called home become smaller and smaller. Trees turned to twigs as the plane slowly began to ascend into the sky. A short while later, you’re able to take off your seatbelt. Walking towards you was the only other passenger besides the pilot. The driver walks up to you, boasting a folder with a simple iconography, featuring a rook inside a spade. Really? Putting the pieces together, someone thought they were being clever and symbolic – but it came off kinda smug and pretentious. Despite that, it still felt slightly clever enough to briefly humour you.

“This is just some preparation that’s been organised for you. I’d suggest looking through it, it’s pretty much your itinerary for the next few days. Has a bit of extra paperwork too, if you chose to continue beyond the interview. Also, a rough layout of what areas are strictly relevant to you. Venturing into other places without the proper clearance is generally cause for alarm, and you’ll likely get your ass handed to you. If you’re lucky, it’ll be verbal – so I’d also suggest keeping that on you.”

What the fuck does he mean by THAT? Maybe it’s governmental work?

“Doesn’t it seem a bit silly to give me a map if it’s such a top secret layout?”

“You’re not a threat at this point in time.”

Ouch.

It was a feeling that could only be described as ‘ominous embarrassment’. This is the most you’ve spoken to the driver from earlier, and finally take in his appearance. Average height, with a lean build. There’s some medium length locks framing his face, parted down the middle. He looks down at you, with an expression so lacking you’d think he’d never experienced an emotion. Brown eyes, but he’s wearing clear contacts. You wonder how he’d look with glasses. As he speaks, you notice a slight stubble – and a pair of very neatly manicured brows furrowing in your direction.

“Well?”

Fuck. Wasn’t listening.

“Oh I agree completely.”

There we go, saved it.

“So, you agree you might have questions?”

Goddammit.

He lets out a small chuckle, eyes slightly crinkling at the corners with a faint hint of a smile. Thank god, he’s amused. Making a terrible first impression on the people around this company is not the way to go. Considering the perks so far, you find yourself increasingly nervous for the interview – the desire to actually be able to do your placement here grows, adding to the pressure. He’s in a basic black suit, with a slightly stuffy black tactical vest over the top. A small, embroidered strip of grey fabric sits across the left of his chest, reading ‘Smithstone 1-4’ just above his breast pocket. He takes a seat in the chair across from you. Finally coming back to earth again, you ponder on anything you might potentially want to know.

“So… what kind of deal is this? You guys working for the government?” – the most obvious question. He shifts slightly in his seat, answering with a simple “Something like that.”

Alright, not great in terms of detail – but it’s at least something. You press further.

“Why the big plane?”

“Boss uses it for a few things already, mostly meetings and other stuff. He figured it was simpler putting you in it, rather than dealing with anything commercial.” He answers, very matter-of-factly. “We’re not typically a first choice, so we don’t get many applicants. Most students have us as a backup, not as the main option. So forgive us, this is a little new for everyone involved.”

Huh.  job’s turned from creepy, back to intriguing.

“D’you like working here?” You wonder, figuring if he’s been put in charge of you, he’s probably a safe bet on getting a feel for this place.

“It’s good. Can’t complain. We’ve got great benefits, a decent salary, and a pretty good work-life balance. The only catch is the life part. You do get space to do stuff on your own time, but we’re all kind of restricted in how much movement we can make. You’ve typically gotta stay in the nearby area, and there’s not much around in most places we go. The work certainly tests you though.” It seems promising, the words sounding genuine. “Any more questions?”

This is another question I absolutely should’ve asked earlier. I hope it doesn’t sound rude.

“What’s your name?”

“Oh. Probably should’ve introduced myself. I’m Jessie, but we usually just go by last names. It’s not mandatory though, just how the vibe is.”

Jessie Smithstone, huh?

“Well, it’s been nice to meet you, Jessie.”

“Nice to meet you too.” He responds, running a hand through his hair. He figures it’s time to leave you to read through the folder on your own, accepting the hint to move to a different chair without you even noticing. Seems like the employees have pretty good instincts.

The documentation is some standard non-disclosure agreements, just not to talk about where you’re going, where you’re interviewing, what you’re interviewing for, not to discuss anything heard (or overhead) while you are present, and the potential ramifications for doing so. There is a footnote with these at least, ‘If you require assistance in understanding these, we do have legal advice available to help you go over this contract.’ – that’s nice at least. Care certainly has been put into fully understanding what you’re getting yourself into, but you’ve yet to be enlightened on what the fuck is this kind of company?

The rest of the documents is as Jessie said – a map labelled with any landmarks you may need to find your way across the large… building? It couldn’t really be called that. It’s almost like a compound. There are quite a few sections shaded off, with a key in the corner explaining that these sections are restricted. Each relevant point of interest is labelled with a star, and several paths are outlined between these sections – providing you a set of routes for wherever you needed to go and where you absolutely shouldn’t. An itinerary explains where you’ll be staying, in a small set of quarters, at the west wing of one of the buildings. You’ll be touching down, unpacking, and being given a tour before dinner. After that, you’ve got a few hours to do what you wish around the place – or choose to go to bed. The next day will be your interview, starting at midday – and deliberation will occur in the afternoon. You’ll be given the outcome on whether there’s a contract to potentially accept, or having to go home. You’ve still got the option of declining the contract, but that’s been put off the table. This could be the opportunity of a lifetime, and ‘No.’ isn’t an option for you. Not out of lack of choice, but out of want. The seatbelt fastening sign dings to life, as the pilot explains you’ll be landing shortly.

[luvergirl-866]

pookie, when do you think the next chapters will be out? absolutely no pressure ofc! and hope you're feeling better!

i’ve been getting a few asks abt this (i will be replying to all my anons soon, probs tmrw!) and i felt like i should give yall a little update on my conundrum—

so, it turns out i really struggle writing angst haha! like really struggle. i have chap 8 about 1/4 of the way done (keep in mind it’s supposed to be a long chap) but now i’ve started writing this scene that i’ve been envisioning in my mind since i started the series and i realized i hate the whole chapter so far. i think the reason it’s been so hard for me to write it is because how i set it up from the beginning was bad. it’s basically just unrealistic and not the type of angst i wanted to incorporate at all. this is also my first time writing angst so that would explain some of my troubles 😩.

sooo, i’m starting over the whole chapter, like completely rewriting it. i’m going to get a good portion of it done tonight, and my hope is it’ll be easier to finish once i get a better setup. (my fellow writers will understand 😭)

so yeah, i know it’s been so long and im so sorry! i rly hate leaving yall high and dry. but just know i just rly wanna give yall some quality writing, and unfortunately this time that’s just gonna take some patience on both ends :/

[dozing-marshmallow]

Would it be alright of I request some headcannons for Chris x co-host reader? Where the reader enjoys the show/challenges the show puts the contestants through just as much as he does? Thx!! 💕

P.S. I really enjoy your writing!

Hi there! Absolutely! And thank you so much, I’m so happy to hear that you enjoy my writing! 😊 Enjoy!

CHRIS MCLEAN X CO-HOST READER HEADCANONS

Regardless of how high your reputation was, this was still Chris’ show; you were lucky to be on it. 

If he thought you were hogging the spotlight for too long, he wouldn’t hesitate to interrupt you mid sentence.

Alike the man in question, you had your humble introduction, and screen time explaining the concept of Total Drama to the audience alongside him.

You quickly became famous for interjecting Chris towards the end of his explanation of orders to the campers, with filthy suggestions that poured more weight on their behalf.

Wouldn’t help when you covered your lips in pretend apology.

Unlike Chris and Chef, who chose to eat in the separate tent away from the contestants, you went out of your way to eat in the mess hall, same time as them to rub it in their faces the better quality of food you got in comparison to theirs.

Some of the nicer contestants like Owen and Beth begged endearingly for a share, whilst some of the daring contestants such as Duncan and Leshawna spat curses on you.

Needless to mention, you never let them have that slice of heaven.

There was an episode where Chris let you have complete control over the challenge and whether or not it was a reward one.

“In spirit of the summer camp, I’ve decided on a gardening challenge.” You explain to him,“Each contestant will pick a seed to plant, and they will be given no instruction to what their seed will need in order to grow, so if they’re really stumped, they may be allowed to get a look at their respective seed guides or swap out their seed...in exchange of answering ten questions correctly. These questions can be about anything ranging from humanities to math. For that process, we’ll have them locked in a glass chamber with an easily accessible separate compartment above them filled with all attainable enemies of gardening. Fruit flies, mosquitos, lacewings etc.” 

You pause to look at Chris, seeing how he’s catching on where it’s going by his restless face expression,“For every question they answer wrong, the hatch will open automatically, slowly. First team that’s able to have all members grow something will win.”

“Wow! Okay, that’s a really good challenge idea. I’m surprised I didn’t come up with that!” Chris commended you, before he broke out into laughter,“It’ll boost the ratings for sure!” He notices your ready tray of seeds and begins reading out the labels,“Talipot palm... Raspberries... Potatoes... Tomatoes... Hey (Y/N)...” he finds you already beaming at him,“This is a guess...but don’t a lot of these seeds need at least a month to grow?”

“Exactly.”

Also known as the episode of which they do not speak of.

You never understood how in spite of that, you were still the more favourable host to the contestants.

Maybe because you weren’t as self centred as Chris?

Either way, you used every figment of hope to remind them that you aren’t there to make anything easier.

And you remained that way, up to where the show was supposed to be over, had it not been for Owen deciding to gamble his luck and kicking off a new game.

“Owen’s definitely lost his win now.” You comment wearily.

“Tell me about it.” Chris yawns,“I’m so bored. Wanna get back to the lodge?”

“Say no more.”

Long story short, you basically called it- not only did Owen lose his money, but thirteen other contestants got tied with him.

Given the situation, Chris declares a new immediate season, where you would be cued to open an empty briefcase for the producers to have someone edit wads of cash in.

However, you accidentally open up the wrong briefcase, this briefcase storing a pack of water snakes that slithered out onto the planks and into the lake, causing the contestants of the future season(apart from Izzy) to scream and frantically swim their way onto land.

It was a ridiculous scene, but what can be done? You and Chris laugh as the final episode of the season comes to a close.

You’re already looking forward to what happens next! And you have a good sensation the contestants feel the same.

[fawcetttweets]

Your tweets are absolutely hilarious and I have *literally* audibly laughed at every single one of them!

You also made me want to read the comics which was on my to-do list anyway but now it shot up to "must do ASAP"

Take care of yourself and do your PT*, we can and will wait for you to be well enough to post <3

*I am a physiotherapist so I mean it double!

-Jay

Thank you so much!! I’m so so glad you like them and that you’re reading the comics! Honestly most of the stuff I know is from reading fanfiction and tumblr posts. Fake fan, I know, but reading comics is really hard for me for some reason.

Also, I don’t think I’m gonna bother with sticking to a schedule anymore. My good days are far too unpredictable and I have other things and passions I want to work on on those days. I don’t wanna stress myself out and start making bad quality stuff or drop the whole blog because it’s too overwhelming. I’ll just try to do a post whenever I’m able to!

I have a few full posts written out already but it’ll still take a while to convert them into tweets. I’d like to find some way to make it easier for myself but I only know the one website which is pretty inefficient.

I do have a post lined up for tomorrow, though! Be prepared, it’s another pig migration post because apparently people aren’t bored of it yet, yippee!!

[buggyjuggie]

Johnshi (before confessing) but one of them got hit with a love potion making them obsessed and kinda delusional (however you want to perceive it!)

──★ ˙ ̟Johnshi but one of them got hit with a love potion

First of all here’s some context and ideas so it’ll be easier to understand:

* Kenshi/Johnny got hit by the potion right after Kenshi lost his eyes and Sindel got to the laboratory.

* The potion was made by Shang Tsung he meant to grab a different one but by accident grabbed the love potions.

* The love potion works like this: once the two people that you desire to make fall in love are hit with it the first person they see, will fall in love with.

* The potion can only be broken if both parties effected confess they’re feelings.

* If they do not confess the symptoms of the love potion will get worse. It’ll start from plain ideas and thoughts about the person to a want to be near them to almost 24/7 thinking about them.

* Shang Tsung wanted to make a love potion more powerful and destructive but he was busy with figuring out tarkat businesses and left it to sit.

* The potion in itself is less like a curse and more of a test/psychological mingling. It doesn’t effect people who are not in love or don’t already feel some sort of attraction already. Meaning it makes the person affected feel things but when the confessions are told it has to be done with actuall love and not just for the convenience of the person affected.

「 ✦ If Johnny got hit by the potion ✦ 」

* Johnny’s main love language tends to be quality time.

* One of the ways he tries to win over Kenshi’s love is by inviting him to different events (movies, walks, anything)

* Because of how outgoing Johnny naturally is neither Kenshi nor anyone really suspects anything.

* What people do suspect is Johnny’s sudden clingines to Kenshi.

* It doesn’t matter where they are or what they’re doing Johnny will have his hand somewhere on Kenshi.

* Kenshi at first finds it weird but overtime gets used to it and doesn’t think much of it.

* Because of the way the love potion changes him Johnny can get jealous REALLY easily.

* Even if it’s someone who he knows is only a friend he will either stare at them for an uncomfortable amount of time or somehow insert himself into the conversation/activity.

* They both know how to make food: Johnny’s specialty is desserts. Baking is his strong suit and he uses that to impress Kenshi and spoil him with anything that he desires - mochi, dango, dorayaki and so on.

* If Johnny is first to confess it will either be one of two scenarios:

1) Over a romantic date either in a restaurant or home cooked food. The date is full of romantic gestures until Johhny and Kenshi are slow dancing and Johnny finally tells Kenshi that he likes him.

2) By accident. Johnny is pretty bad at hiding his emotions so over time Kenshi starts to notice signs after a while its an indication of the love potion getting stronger. Kenshi finally ends up confronting Johnny about eveything because he’s afraid of getting used and Johnny trying to explain himself let’s his words slip and out of panic kisses Kenshi, to which Kenshi reciprocates.

「 ✦ If Kenshi got hit by the potion ✦ 」

* Kenshi’s love language tends to be acts of service and gift giving.

* By acts of service i mean taking care of Johnny’s injuries, training with him.

* When they were roommates at the Wu Shi Kenshi helped Johnny with cleaning , he also trained with him for as long as Johnny wanted.

* And with gift giving it’s usually small stuff but still with lots of meaning.

* Kenshi gave the sword that he carried before getting Sento to Johnny as a token of his appreciation. He also bought him a display for it.

* Usually Kenshi’s gifts to Johnny tend to be related to japan or history.

* They both know how to make food: Kenshi can cook more than Johnny so somedays he will prepare food for him sometimes Japanese other times American and so on.

* Yes Kenshi is an introverted individual but over time he begins to also show signs of jealousy and possessive.

* One of the ways he does that is by just intimidating anyone that he doesn’t like. Either by showing off his katana or making the other person leave by using his telepathy.

* If Kenshi confesses first it’ll be in a quiet place either somewhere outside the Wu Shi property when the moon is shining, giving a full speech and a declaration of love to Johnny.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

I love these gay bitches so much you don’t understand. I hope this turned out good. Also i got sick that why i was able to get this one out also faster.

Hope you enjoyed reading :3

[novafire-is-thinking]

Looking for volunteers…

As some of you know, @cyber-streak-2 and I have been providing the fandom with quality incorrect quotes for a while now.

I’ve had a lot of fun with it, but since I’ll be cutting down on my fandom activities for a while, I won’t be able to help with incorrect quotes more than once a week.

Styx and I are looking for a few volunteers who can fill in for me and suggest characters for quotes.

Responsibilities and requirements below:

Responsibilities:

Styx will DM you a handful of incorrect quotes sometime during the day, depending on its availability. Usually, this happens sometime in the evening (MT-EST USA).

The message will appear as follows:

Sometime before the next day, you will evaluate the quotes and suggest characters that fit each quote.

I recommend copy-pasting the full message into a separate app (iPhone Notes, Google Docs, etc.) and brainstorming over there. It’ll make your life easier if you can see all the quotes in front of you as you work, and it’ll also help prevent mix-ups on your end.

My preferred brainstorming setup:

When you’re finished matching things up, you will send back your suggestions in the following format:

Anubis will look over your suggestions, and it’ll thank you if it’s satisfied. If not, he’ll ask if you have any other suggestions for [quote #x].

Other things to know:

If you’re busy when Styx sends the quotes, don’t feel pressured to respond; you don’t even have to let it know you’re busy. As long as you send your suggestions/ideas before the morning of the next day (6am EST), you’re free to answer him whenever you want. Styx is chill like that :)

If you can’t think of any character(s) that will fit one or more of the quotes, say so. The only consequence is that there will be less quotes.

If the quotes are published, and you realize you or Anubis accidentally mixed up the characters, don’t hesitate to DM, point it out, and state exactly what changes should be made. It’s happened plenty of times with me, and Styx hasn’t hesitated to change the quotes, even after they’ve been published.

If you think of multiple characters that fit a single quote, feel free to suggest them too.

Multi-character formatting examples:

If you can think of a way to correct and/or improve one or more of the quotes, send back the full quote(s) with the completed changes incorporated. This makes it easy for Anubis to just copy and paste the updated version(s):

Requirements:

Must have a solid grasp of the main characters’ personalities in MTMTE + LL, preferably with a grasp of some characters from the rest of IDW1, TFP, and EarthSpark. Knowledge of characters from TFA, G1, and Beast Wars is appreciated for the sake of additional variety, but not necessary. No Rescue Bots, RiD15, or Cyberverse, please.

Must be able to communicate concisely. Styx does best when there’s little-to-no ambiguity in the wording of character suggestions and all other messages. (No need to be me or an Ultra Magnus. Just be willing to confirm or reword things if asked.)

Congratulations and thank you to anyone who’s read this far. 😎

If you’re interested in doing this, please DM me with which day(s) you’re available, and we can discuss other details. I’ll answer any questions you may have.

I know this may seem like a lot, but it’s easy and fun once you’ve been doing it for a little while. I’ve gotten a lot of good laughs out of imagining which characters would say which things.

[merakiui]

Omg please please write about pediatrician floyd with milf Mc. My brain won't be quiet until I get more.

Pediatrician Floyd who knows just how to put your child at ease when they come in for a check-up or to get any shots. He always wears such a bright, friendly smile and he bends down to their height to talk to them softly, promising them that it’ll only be a quick prick and then it’ll be over. He has colorful character bandages that he’ll use, and he always makes sure to give the children he sees a sticker for being such brave souls. He’s so very genuine and everyone loves how kind and sweet he is.

Floyd’s very good at dealing with kids despite not having any of his own. He’s never talked to you about anything outside of your child’s health, but even so you’re nice to talk to. Sometimes he’d like to ask you out on a date, but it’s been years since he went on any and he wouldn’t even know where to begin with flirting. He’s quite the cowardly eel. Floyd finds himself smiling even more when he’s standing beside you and the both of you are chatting about how everything went well with the check-up and there aren’t any concerns from him. He learns little facts about you through your child when they happily talk about their mommy. He learns you’re a single mother, you’re always tired because you’re working a lot, you’re the “best mommy in the world” because you “make the most delicious meals and give the best hugs.” Floyd falls for you even more with every tidbit he learns.

Sometimes he wonders if you’re into twins. It would be easier to charm you if he had Jade to bounce off of. But then Jade’s also…Jade and perhaps you like someone a little more truthful when it comes to mannerisms. Not that Jade’s deceptiveness is a poor quality. But Floyd thinks you deserve upfront honesty. It’s what he’d want in a long-term relationship. Still, if you were into twins you’d never have to work again. Both Floyd and Jade make a lot of money, so if you were with them you and your child would be set for life. Of course Floyd also knows that money shouldn’t be used to buy someone’s affections.

Sometimes he wonders if you’d want another child. Maybe your kid could use a sibling. He knows just how lonely and boring it is when his own sibling isn’t around, so perhaps a sibling would be good. And this time he would be there to help you through every process. He’d never make you a single mother again. Other times he wonders if you’d ever be open to a relationship with him. He doesn’t know the full story behind why you’re a single mother and he doesn’t want to bring up any bad memories if there are any attached to it.

He’d give you the world because it’s what you deserve. But then he also wants to give you good dick, and so both are essentially the same, no? Floyd is so infatuated with you that he catches himself scribbling in his notes about you—recording the facts he’s learned thus far. He writes your name out with his surname and smiles at how nicely the two fit together. If you became Mrs. Leech, he’d make sure you never had to worry or struggle again. His parents would adore you and your child. They’d also be more than happy to see you rounded with more children and so would Floyd.

Maybe he’ll start with a simple dinner date. Boring and cliché by his standards, maybe. But he wants to show you that he’s a good candidate (the only candidate) and so a dinner date is perfect for getting to know someone through pleasant conversation. The next date (if you agree to it) can be something a little more lively. Perhaps he’ll take you and your child to an amusement park and pretend the both of you are a couple and parents to your happy, eager child as they excitedly point at all of the rides they want to go on. And maybe someday in the future he can propose and tell you of just how much he loves you.

For now, though, he’s just the friendly pediatrician you bring your child to.

[aois-amaterasu-painting]

Natalie Music interview excerpt (March 2017)

[...]

Interviewer: Regarding the arrangements, it seems that very few songs on TRACES VOL.2 were significantly changed. Was there a particular reason for this?

RUKI: I was conscious of avoiding unnecessary rearrangements that might feel off to fans. Deliberately changing something wouldn’t sit right with me personally. On the other hand, songs like Taion or Ito, which felt quite outdated, were tweaked slightly. It’s more about re-recording to improve the quality—both in terms of skill and sound. For example, Cassis is one of our more popular songs (laughs), but I didn’t want it to continue spreading with the quality it had back then.

Uruha: It's become easier to listen to overall. While there aren’t major changes, there are quite a few minor tweaks, like adjustments to chord progressions or scales.

Aoi: It's a bit self-praising, but I think we’ve done a great job with the arrangements. It made me realize once again how good these songs are.

REITA: I hadn’t listened to some of the older tracks in ages, so revisiting them felt fresh. The tuning is also different from what we use now, so it was difficult to re-record them. Our live setlists still feature mostly intense songs, but for this album, I think each track has been properly crafted and has a strong sense of conviction.

Interviewer: Regarding the lyrics, some of these songs were written over a decade ago. How does it feel to sing words you wrote in your twenties?

RUKI: That's right… Love songs, in particular, change as your feelings evolve with age. The way you perceive time is completely different. Back then, being in a relationship for about a year felt like a really long time (laughs).

Interviewer: In Ito, there’s a line that says, “It’s almost a year and a half since we started dating.” That kind of expression feels very youthful, doesn’t it?

RUKI: With how I feel now, a year and a half goes by in a blink (laughs).

Interviewer: Do you recall how you felt back then?

RUKI: I don't mind singing those songs, but during recording, the engineer was laughing. He was like, “So cheesy” (laughs). These days, I don’t write lyrics like that anymore. It's a bit Nishino Kana.

[...]

Interviewer: Could you each tell us your favorite track from TRACES VOL.2?

Uruha: Probably UNTITLED. It’s a track with a balance of band sounds and electronic elements, about half and half. The mixing approach this time really matched the song, making it very pleasant to listen to.

Kai: For me, it’s WITHOUT A TRACE. I feel like the acoustic guitar sound came out much richer in this re-recording—even though it’s someone else’s part (laughs).

REITA: Compared to the original, D.L.N feels a bit more refined now. Back then, everything was coming forward, but now we’ve been able to organize it better.

RUKI: Ito for me. The original was made when I was too young (laughs), and I had this lingering feeling of, “What’s going to happen with this song?” …but the arrangement naturally took on a more mature direction, which I really liked.

Aoi: I’d say reila. For the interlude, we ended up using a rough take I played at home. It was something I played casually in my room, but I couldn’t surpass it later in the studio—it was just one of those happy accidents. Recording can often feel very mechanical, but this time, I felt like I was able to cherish those moments.

Interviewer: The 15th Anniversary performance, Dainippon Itan Geisha ‘Boudouku Gudon no Sakura’, at Yoyogi National Gymnasium on March 10 is fast approaching.

RUKI: The setlist is already finalized. Now it’s just a matter of refining the details.

Interviewer: I heard there was a song request voting campaign. How much were the results reflected in the setlist?

REITA: Of course we took it into consideration!

RUKI: Consideration is all we’ve been doing.

Interviewer: It’s interesting that the GazettE is performing under the concept of Dainippon Itan Geisha, which was the band’s initial theme.

RUKI: Whether it’ll be interesting or not is something we won’t know until we actually do it (laughs).

Interviewer: Is performing Dainippon Itan Geisha at this time a continuation of the the HERESY LIMITED -Redefinition- tour held in 2014?

RUKI: Yes, but it’s more about wanting to do something that would delight the fans—something with impact. So it’s not about wanting to go back to the past. A lot of our current fans don’t even know the old us.

Interviewer: But wouldn't there be many fans who want to see it precisely because they don’t know that side of you?

RUKI: Well, it’s not just the fans from back then, but also people who’ve kind of romanticized the past.

Uruha: Back then, we were doing everything with this wild, carefree attitude. But now we can’t really do that, so it's a bit nerve-wracking. There’s pressure on us, even from ourselves.

Kai: When we first came up with this, we were like, “This is going to be so much fun!” But we're the ones setting the bar too high because of the expectations we have for ourselves (laughs).

Interviewer: Recently, additional five performances were announced as part of the nationwide HERESY LIMITED TOUR17 15th Anniversary Dainippon Itan Geisha ‘Boudouku Gudon no Sakura’.

Kai: Thanks to everyone, the Yoyogi performance sold out. We also wanted to do more because there are people who couldn’t make it to Tokyo. So we decided to add these shows.

Interviewer: The GazettE is celebrating its 15th anniversary, and you seem like a lone, steadfast presence unaffected by the ups and downs of the music scene.

Kai: Do we really come across that way? (laughs)

RUKI: I’ve always thought of us like that. We’ve never wanted to follow trends. For example, during a period when many other bands were actively performing overseas, we deliberately didn’t go. Back in the days when people talked about the "Neo Visual Kei Boom," I was like, “Don’t lump us into that.” and, "What the hell is neo?" Depending on trends for survival can lead to undesirable outcomes.

Interviewer: Like what?

RUKI: Simply put, when a trend dies out, so does everything attached to it. Besides, our stance has never been about mingling actively with other bands. Even back in the day, we didn’t get along much with the bands we shared the stage with. The five of us just stuck together (laughs).

Interviewer: Is that still the case now?

RUKI: Yeah, pretty much. I'm not a very sociable person to begin with (laughs). Even when we share the stage with other bands, we don’t do things like taking selfies together (mimics taking a picture).

Kai: We can’t even bring ourselves to exchange CDs.

Aoi: When we’re invited somewhere, it’s their space, and since everyone’s enjoying themselves, I want to avoid any blunders (laughs).

REITA: But when people talk to me, it makes me happy (laughs).

Interviewer: I see, so you’ve maintained this stance (laughs). Finally, as you approach your 15th anniversary, could you reflect on the band’s journey and share a closing thought?

Uruha: Revisiting Dainippon Itan Geisha itself is a pretty elaborate reflection. Looking back at our past songs, there are parts where I’m impressed with my past self, and parts where I think I was doing some silly things. There are parts I’d like to go back to but can’t, and there are all sorts of emotions, right? That’s life. I have to somehow channel that into my present self and express it as something cool in front of over 10,000 people. It can be tough, but I’m enjoying the process of looking back right now.

Kai: If I had been asked to "look back on my past" previously, I probably would have only focused on the things I regret. But maybe because I’m getting older, lately I’ve started to see parts where I think, "I did a good job." I’ve come to realize that even though I didn’t fully understand what I was doing back then, it all connects to the present. I think that’s one way of growing up.

REITA: Looking back on the past… You can’t measure a band’s goals in terms of distance, right? Of course, we have specific goals like "Let’s make an album." But we don’t have a clear goal for our activities as a whole. Whether we’re running, walking, or resting, I think it’s okay as long as we’re moving in a way that keeps us mentally healthy. So, it’s all about time—the time until it ends. I still don’t know if it’s the time I’ll die, or what the "end" will be, but… I guess I’ll understand the goal at the end. I hope we can cherish the time until then.

RUKI: For me, I’ve always been reflecting a little on the past and trying to use it for the next step. That’s how 15 years have passed. There are moments when I think, “What if I had been a bit more serious back then?” But I also feel like everything turned out as it was meant to, so I don’t dwell too much. Overthinking doesn’t lead to anything good (laughs). Our stance has always been to keep stacking up the things we want to do.

Aoi: I’m the same as everyone else. Since we’ve been seeing the same scenery as we move forward in our activities, it’s no surprise that we think the same way (laughs). There’s been so much that’s happened, but I’m just grateful that we’ve been able to continue working together for 15 years.

[ecargmura]

PokeToon Episode 16 Review - Childhood Friend Charcadet

What a perfect way to end a season of PokeToon. Wow. They really did save the best for last because this was such a fantastic episode. The storytelling was splendid and the visual effects were amazing. This is legit the best episode of PokeToon and a masterpiece of an animated Pokemon media as a whole.

Basically, the story is about two Charcadets that lived peacefully in the wild—I’ll describe the first Charcadet as ‘Charcadet’ and the second one as ‘Shiny Charcadet’ just so it’ll be easier to differentiate. One day, Charcadet encountered a lost Rotom Phone and saw a recording of a Pokemon tournament, implying to be the Academy Ace Tournament, and became enamored with what it saw. When encountering the phone’s owner, a boy named Yuto, the Charcadet is challenged to a battle for the device. When it lost to his Shroomish, Yuto makes an offer to come along with him as he could see potential in its strength. Charcadet accepts the offer and leaves Shiny Charcadet behind to fend for itself.

The storytelling was brilliant in that it doesn’t have a lot of dialogue. The main characters are two Charcadets that later evolve into both Branch Evolution. Because they’re Pokemon, they just use Pokemon-speak and body language to communicate. A majority of this story lacks dialogue, yet the body language totally made up for it. I can easily tell one Charcadet was mischievous and the other was timid. Their personality changed once they evolved, as a sign of growing up, but how they changed is also different. I love that this story is actually based on a little story you can find in the in-game library about Charcadet fighting a Gengar and choosing the future it would take to stop it. Yuto tells this story to Charcadet as his family has been housing the Auspicious armor for generations, apparently.

Despite this being a seventeen-minute short, it gives a lot of details regarding each character and the small amount of details that make them feel whole. Charcadet starts off mischievous and cheeky, yet it evolves into a noble and composed Amarouge. Shiny Charcadet, timid and very shy, evolves into a Ceruledge that held a grudge for being abandoned. In all honesty, Amarouge wasn’t a very good friend with the way it just up and ditched Ceruledge when they were in their first stages. It didn’t even think about his friend in its childhood and when it did remember it, it was only once until it showed up in the tournament.

Yuto, the trainer, actually has a lot of character too. When he first met Charcadet, he sends out his Shroomish despite having a water-type in his party. It’s to show that he’s not willing to hurt it and that he is a kind and thoughtful person. He doesn’t even capture Charcadet after defeating it. All he did was ask if he wanted to join him to get stronger, to which Charcadet did. I love how small details about him shows off that he is a rich boy like his backpack and his poise. He’s also a good trainer because he spends time with his Pokemon, training them and evolving them and even caught a Rufflet that Charcadet fought. Props to the creators for giving him a Quaxwell. The Quaxly line definitely needs more love.

The animation was superb. Studio Colorido needs start producing their original works or do anime adaptations because the way they animate is seriously amazing. If they’re able to make quality action sequences like the Amarouge vs Ceruledge fight, who know what else they’re capable of if they’re given larger projects! Just to let you know, this is the animation studio that also did previous PokeToon shorts like Blossom’s Dream and animated a majority of Twilight Wings.

The ending is definitely one that brings in a lot of thoughts. Shiny Charcadet never really wanted a trainer and as a Ceruledge, I think wandering around with Gengar and the group of Bronzor it met at an abandoned building was a nice conclusion. Like the book Yuto read to Charcadet, the story is ultimately about the future a Charcadet chooses. Charcadet chose to be with Yuto and evolved into Amarouge while Shiny Charcadet evolved into Ceruledge and then when realizing its friend was content with the life it was living, it decided to walk its own path. Besides, the end credits show that Ceruledge is living a peaceful life befriending other wild Pokemon. It kind of shows that not all Pokemon want to be captured or have a Trainer. I feel like it would be too typical if the ending had Ceruledge join Yuto.

The voice acting in this animated short was superb as well. Charcadet, and later Amarouge, is voiced by Yuki Sakakihara. I think this is the first time I’ve seen him in Pokemon, but he’s a rising star in that he’s known for his role in Hypnosis Mic as Jyushi Aimoto. Yumiri Hanamori voices Shiny Charcadet who later becomes Ceruledge. I think her take on Ceruledge is a nice difference from the Ceruledge seen in Horizons as Hanamori gives it an androgynous voice. Hanamori is known for voicing Sagiri from Hell’s Paradise. Yuto is voiced by Soma Saito who has been in Pokemon before. He was Trace in the eighth episode of Pokemon Evolutions and voices Cress in Pokemon Masters.

This marks the end of this year’s PokeToon season. Hopefully, there will be more next year or when Gen 10 comes! For now, I’ll do my best to review the older episodes of this season and the previous one! But seriously, I want every Pokemon fan to watch this episode at least once in their lives. It’s such a beautiful episode. If you have watched it, what are your thoughts on the storytelling and on the ending?

[starryjkoo]

Jikook Travel Show + Solo Music Timeline Theory

Alright so I’m slowly losing my mind in the current fandom environment + I think this Jikook drought is starting to mess with my brain so I’m going to share my delusional and increasingly desperate timeline for the Jikook show + their solo music. It’s mostly baseless and probably inaccurate BUT I think it could make a LITTLE sense…

So it looks like they built a mini era for Taehyung and Fri(end)s around the extra content he prepared before enlistment. I actually told someone I thought all the small content drops were building up to a bigger project — AND I WAS RIGHT — so this totally validated my baseless theory and here’s what I’m thinking.

I wonder if they’re going to use the travel show as promotional content for Jikook and build a mini era around it like they did with Fri(end)s. I think this would be an especially good idea considering Jimin mentioned he wasn’t able to prepare as much as he wanted before enlistment. I’m assuming maybe he wasn’t able to film a lot of extra content outside of his music and MV (especially based on iirc THs(?) quality over quantity comment).

But that’s okay! Jikook can’t go on any variety shows to promote but they actually have a whole variety show of their own they could use to promote themselves instead! It would definitely make Jimin and Jungkook trend (at least within the fandom) and put them somewhat in the public eye. I think it’s also the perfect content to bring a portion of ia & casual fans back who would then be able to catch their music announcements easier (which is one of the points of promoting).

BH could be saving the show for a content gap considering it’s not really time sensitive, but I still think it would be smarter of them to make the most out of the show and let it serve multiple purposes and promote Jikook. They don't have a lot to work with, so they should make the most out of every piece of content they have imo.

Point two - I could see them using it for FESTA as well. Obviously Jin returning is going to be the big huge mega amazing FESTA event, but I’m wondering if they’re going to want to have some extra content for ARMYs to consume. It would make it so Jin wouldn’t have the entirety of FESTA resting on his shoulders either. So if they don't have something else already prepared, the travel show would work great.

AFAIK it’s the first proper unit project in CH2 and it’s going to definitely have some OT7 vibes. I’m sure Jikook are going to talk about the group, missing the other members, what they want to do when they’re all back together — stuff like that. The other members might even make cameos (YG talked to them on the phone when they were in NY, I’d be surprised if they didn’t video call TH at some point, and there’s always the possibility that vminkook filmed something together in Jeju).

It’ll probably also be a bit nostalgic for everyone who misses BV and ITS and might have some throwbacks to previous BTS vacations — which is perfect for FESTA month! I think with BTS being ia it would be smart to cater to ARMYs who are probably going to be especially emotional and missing BTS as well as remind those who have started to drift of that bond and partial OT7 dynamic that drew many in to begin with. I think this sort of content has been something ARMYs have been really deprived of so it’s definitely going to be a big deal imho. It’s the most CH1 like content we’re getting so far in CH2.

If they don’t release the show during June, I could still see them dropping the teasers/trailer during FESTA. That alone would bring a lot of excitement and hype and add to the festivities and would be a great time to advertise the show.

Also, Jikook described it as a gift, and FESTA is the perfect time for those so…

If they don’t release it for FESTA (or possibly just tease it) I still think it makes a lot of sense as a summer release for several reasons.

For one, the first part of the show was recorded right when JK released Seven. We know that JK is likely releasing more music this summer so that would actually tie in perfectly. One of my biggest desires for the show is to hear them talk a little bit about their thoughts and feelings on their solos careers (unrealistic I know lmao) but if they reference that at all, it ties even better into new music releases. Especially if they reference or talk about Seven right before JK releases another summer single (or album) around the same time period. It works really well for either of them tbh!

The first half of the show is also going to have summery vibes because of when it was recorded, so releasing during the summer is sort of fitting. This is also the sort of content I think we historically got around summer/fall?

So all of this suggests a possible timeline where we get both Jikook’s music and their show in the same possibly 2-3 month time period around the summer. Fri(end)s only had a two week gap between HOTS so we know they aren’t worried about spacing these projects too far from each other, however I would hope they’d have more sense then to have Jikook’s music overlap or be too close together 😭 I don’t think we could handle the akgae wars if that happened 😭

Anyways, we know for sure that JK is dropping something in the summer based on his comment during his live (he might just have been referencing the show, but I’m pretty sure most of us took it to mean music). But as far as Jimin, we don’t really have any hints about when his music is dropping that I’m aware of unfortunately? But I could see summer making a lot of sense actually!

I can’t remember the exact wording he used but I remember him telling ARMYs that his next release would be something lighter. And during his documentary screening he listed out all the things that he knows ARMYs would like to see from him. I think if he’s going for something lighter that caters more towards ARMYs interests and expectations summer would be a very smart and fitting month to release (and it depends on how he wants to market and promote it — are we going for charts with remixes, or is it going to be just one version no CDs kind of deal — because if it’s the prior, summer would fit better imo).

Anyways, we also do know Jimin filmed something at the hot springs… and I mean… water… wet… hot springs… (shirtless??)... I mean… that could be pretty summery actually right? 🥵

Still he could land in May or September (I don’t think it’s going to be as late as October but possibly. They could tie it into his birthday and if JK released in August it would still fit the travel show theory).

I think this theory also makes sense because the way they were talking in that live before enlistment they sort of made it sound like their content was to tide us over until Jin was back. Obviously there’s no way for the three remaining members to release their projects before Jin returns (nor would that even make a lot of sense to begin with) but if you think of it as them keeping us busy until Jin has time to prepare his album it works actually!

Jin is going to need time to prepare and record his album, MV, and whatever other promotional content he had in mind + probably rest a little. This gives him that time while keeping ARMYs busy, and you know this is just a nice big free gap of time to drop projects whereas when Jin is active (and then JH) it’ll be a bit busier and probably more complicated to organize.

It also would work because JH definitely has plans for when he gets out of the military, so by the time JN1 comes out and has been promoted (maybe he’ll even do a single first and then an album) JH will be back and have had some time to rest and probably prepare whatever he had in mind. Some people have speculated that he might do a mini tour which actually would fit perfectly but I’m not sure how much of a stretch that is. If anyone could do it though, it would be JH!

So yeah, enlisted members all releasing and finishing off their big projects pre-JN1 just makes sense as 2seok will then take over and have the attention on them. I could be wrong, but it kind of fits nicely in my mind lol.

The big question mark is Namjoon because honestly I thought he would be one of the first members to release with the way he was teasing something but now I have no clue. He also said that it was going to have different vibes than indigo iirc so I don't know if he would want to release in the fall/winter months again or if he would actually want to go for a summer release too. I still think the Jikook thing could work even if he releases in summer, it might just shift Jimin to releasing more in the fall.

Anyways, first few months of 2024 we were in Taehyung era, which led into HOTS era which will last until May, which leads into June FESTA and Jin’s return. JK will have an era in the summer, and if we slot minimoni into summer & early fall it would pretty much perfectly cover all of the empty time until JN1 which is followed by JH return and project. I just think it fits nicely.

That still leaves a lot of space in 2025 but I think that would be better for 2seok to cover, and if the JH tour rumors are true that would actually be perfect (please don’t make me wait until 2025 for Jimin 😫).

Like I know this timeline isn’t actually surprising or revolutionary because most people kind of expected all of this to drop in these months lmao because it’s not like there’s actually a ton of time left, but applying some sort of logic around it helped me I guess 😞 All the uncertainty makes it seem like I’m never going to see Jimin again (at least we know JK in the summer) and I need to gaslight myself into having some sort of expectations otherwise every day is too dark.

Hoping some of this is right but don't come @ me if it's not lol 🤡😩