#but i think it's high time to get back into gifmaking

[valerieofavonlea]

Sometimes you just need a hug from dad.

[kazoosandfannypacks]

Could u draw when penumbra from ducktales 2017 is shrunk down permanently and can’t be normal sized again and has to live the rest of her life as a tiny moon warrior goddess while webby takes care of her

You know what? I'm going to say something in response to this that I haven't said to a fanart request in a very long time: No.

No.

I don't usually like denying requests. I like the challenge of drawing something I wouldn't think to draw. I like drawing some favorite characters. I like making other people happy.

But honestly? I'm just tired of all this at this point.

Last week, you asked me for a fanart. And then you sent me the same ask five times, some of them even after I told you I recieved your ask and was working on the drawing. And you dm'd me about it. And after I responded to your sixth ask about it and told you it was in the queue, you asked how long until I'd post the drawing.

It seemed clear that you were excited about it. And yesterday I posted it. Where did that excitement go? Did it funnel into a reblog so all your followers can see the art I drew specifically for you? Did you respond with a comment, even just a "thx," or a dm or ask (since you're so fond of those) to show your appreciation? Did you even give me a like to show my efforts to please you were not in vain?

No.

Instead, you rushed right back to my ask box to make another request. Within twelve hours of recieving the art you'd begged so tirelessly for, you sent me four asks requesting another art, a more detailed one. Some of them don't even ask. They just demand.

What do you think an artist is? Is it simply a machine that lies idle until someone makes a request, then kicks into high gear, spits out a drawing at you, and then goes inactive until it gets another request? Do you think they delete every ask they get in their inbox, then go "oh, no, I've forgotten this drawing, if only someone had requested it seven more times!" Do you think we exist solely to supply your demand and respond to your every whim?

I'm an artist. I love drawing things. And embroidery. And painting. And making moodboards. And editing videos. And gifmaking. And writing. And poetry. And bracelet making. And baking. I love art.

But I also love my job. That's right, I work a real job in between drawing things for free for strangers on the internet. And I like to spend time with my family. That's right, I have family, and we have a good relationship, and I enjoy spending time with them. And I enjoy going to church and volunteering and working with kids and playing games and going shopping and driving to work and talking with my friends and watching tv and eating meals. And I do things I don't enjoy, too, like clean the bathroom, fold laundry, do dishes, clean my room. I am an artist. But I am also a human.

And I am a human who does not have time to keep responding to or deleting multiple asks begging for the same thing. I am a human who does not have time to make art on demand only to turn around and have even more art demanded of me without so much as even acknowledgement of the art I made. Not only do I not have time to do these things, I don't like to do them. I don't like being pestered by strangers to make art I don't want to make. I don't like not receiving recognition for my work. And I don't like to have to be the bad guy and set boundaries when someone is treating me like dirt.

I'm a human. I am not a robot. I am not a content-making machine. I have never once been a proponent of ai generated art, but you make me stop to consider if maybe it's a good thing that it exists, just so that no human artist has to deal with people like you who think they're entitled to our time.

Of course, I am still against ai "art," especially because there's something even better that you can do in order to get exactly the art you want: instead of yelling at a plagarism algorithm or harassing a tired human, just pick up a pencil and a piece of paper and draw it yourself.

You have an idea. You know exactly what you want it to look like. You can capture your vision in a way no one else can. Trace screenshots if you think you "can't" draw. Or just keep trying until you're good. That's what I did. That's what all of us artists did. We kept at it until we got good at what we did. Behind the fanart that you spent a week pestering me about because you were impatient is literal decades of practice that I put into my craft. It might be good for you to try it out for yourself, too.

And to everyone reading this and thinking "oh, no, maybe kazzy has had enough and I shouldn't request art from her and I was a horrible person" or anything along that lines: please do not think that for even a second!

I love art requests. I love when someone looks at my art, says, "I would love to see more art like this!" and asks me to draw something they love. It's a HUGE honor! And I do have a LOT of fun drawing things and stepping out of my artistic comfort zone, and I love every single person who sends me an ask for my drawing challenges. I love when you guys ask for characters I've never drawn before. I love that I don't have to worry about art block because I've got a well-stocked tumblr inbox. I love the service you guys provide in requesting art and helping me hone my practice. I even love when one of you sends multiple requests for a drawing challenge! You mean you like my work enough to ask me for multiple things you love? That's an honor!

Thank you all for all your art requests; they've helped make me the artist I am today!

And also. It doesn't really matter if you reblog. I love reblogs, and, yeah, I get a little disappointed when people don't reblog requests from me, but at the end of the day, your blog is your blog. You don't have to reblog everything I make you. You don't have to comment on it all. You don't even technically have to leave a like on all of it. As an artist, I just love to create things. But as a human? It's nice to recieve that validation.

(Especially with requests for incredibly specific things. There are a lot of people who will reblog my art in various fandoms, especially character or ship art, but sometimes the more niche stuff recieves less love. Which is fine! Fandoms are under no obligation to like every art they see! But I know from experience that when people request incredibly specific art that caters only to them, and they have very few reblogs on their blog of anything at all, I'm about to pour a piece of my soul into making something that is about to go unloved. And after a while, that kind of stings.)

The Tl;dr here? I'm not a fan of people who don't treat artists like humans, but I love nothing more than creating art for people who appreciate it.

[imsailorpluto]

True Beauty: Kang Sujin character reconstruction

They did out bestie so dirty in this drama, it's time to clean up writer's mess. I don't think Sujin ever deserved such overkill. Turning her into a villain way after the opportunity window closed was so pathetic. Massacring this heroine in such a cliché way calls for serious damage repair, so let's goooo.

Disclaimer: I'm not a writer and this is my first fic ever. English is not my first language, sorry for eventual mistakes. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.♡ the story sounds better in my head but what can we do Thanks @youlookprettywithoutmakeup for sending in a request for Seojun x Sujin content. Also a big thank you to the gifmakers who blessed us all with this inspirational seojun x sujin perfection!

TW: angst, losing friends, mentions of bullying, verbal violence and family abuse

Seojun x Sujin angst

After Sujin moved to the States, the real truth behind that bullying video came out. It was never Sujin's doing, but she left all her friends believe what they wanted. Her life was pretty much crumbling down from the abuse back home and her parents' divorce lawsuit. It felt like the whole world turned its back on her. The final blow was when Seojun accused her of posting that bullying video of Jukyung. Then Jukyung facing her about it, too. Being the only one who's always had her friends' backs, she was hurting more than ever.

- Fine, Seojun, let it be me. Does it even matter? I'm the bad guy. Nobody trusts me. Not even you. I could bend over backwards defending myself for something I never did and it won't change a single thing.

- Something you never did? Get over yourself, Sujin. I know how you feel about Suho.

- Wait, do you seriously think I'd do something as disgusting as that because of a guy?

Seojun smirked hearing those words, shaking his head in disbelief.

- And since when do you think I have feelings for Suho??? Don't you know me?

- Obviously I don't.

They stood there, staring at each other in silence. Sujin's heart was breaking into a million pieces, but she wasn't showing any emotion. Seojun was cruel, even if he didn't mean to be this way. His constant hot and cold behavior towards Sujin confused her, but after he started showing interest in Jukyung, she gave up on him.

-Sujin, I went to Yongpa High, none of those girls knew a thing about the video.

- Wow, congrats! You must be proud of yourself. Trusting Jukyung's bullies... Seriously?! Like you don't know their queen bully is into you.

- Just like you're into Suho. I saw you two hugging.

- You saw that?!

- Yes! I did!

- Then you saw me crying like an idiot too. Great.

- Wait... What?

- I quit the music academy, okay?

- Are you crazy? Why would you do that?

Seojun stood there, his eyes wide in confusion. He couldn't believe his ears. How could she not tell him any of this sooner? After all they've been through. After all those moments she helped him get over their friend's death. Weren't they close enough now, why wouldn't she confide in him?

- You don't know everything, so don't act so smart. Besides, Suho isn't even my type, you pabo. He just saw me crying at the staircase.

- Then explain one thing.

All she could think about was how did she end up in this mess. Now all of a sudden he wants to talk to her? And he's acting all innocent about it.

- I have nothing to say to you, Seojun. Even your lousy accusations can't touch me. If anyone ever did anything bad then it's you chasing a taken girl.

- I wasn-

- Let me know when you stop projecting your problems on others.

- No, you got it all wrong, I don't have feelings for Ju-

- Stop it. I'm tired of this. I don't even care anymore.

He looked at her in silence, heart hurting as well. He couldn't admit his feelings to her like this, not now. He knew he did so many stupid things to catch her attention, but he didn't think it would backfire like this. He also knew something wrong was going on, but her stare was hurting him. He couldn't read her face at all. She looked cold. Serious. He felt like her eyes were literally piercing him.

- I did it. Okay, Seojun? I did all of it. Go spread the word. Oh wait, you did that already.

Frustrated and disappointed, she confirmed the rumors. She didn't want to fight back anymore. It was the first time in her life she considered giving up for a change. Like it mattered, she'd be moving to the States soon. She has already lost everything and everybody she hold dear. This was the last time two of them talked before she left Seoul.

She never told Seojun about her father beating her, she was ashamed of that. She also never told him her father was against her attending the music academy, she was scared that if she ever started talking about it she'd end up telling him everything. Suho was the only one who knew about her family situation, but only because he saw her bruises one time and asked her about it. He promised to keep her secret and she never confined in him again after that. All three of them have been friends since early childhood and she didn't want to do something that might push either of them away.

Sujin was always an artistic soul. She was great at pretty much everything once she set her mind to it. Her singing skills were always advanced, even before she started classes at the music academy. She outperformed almost all of her seniors. No matter the talent, she had to quit singing. Father's orders.

"Singing won't get you to medical school, you're only worth as much as your grades, don't show up home until you come to your senses and quit that idiotic nonsense of yours."

So she quit at the time only to save herself from unnecessary pain. She was done with covering her face full of makeup for school and popping painkillers like candy. It was much easier to quit, at least until her mom got them both out of that mess finally.

Her mom managed to get a divorce eventually. She swore she'd take care of her daughter properly this time, so winning the lawsuit against Sujin's father played a crucial role this time. And she won, which left her with their huge family mansion worth billions of dollars. Sujin's father got a restraining order from court, and after the lawsuit they never heard from him again. Her mom sold everything and they both moved to the States, where Sujin enrolled in music academy once more. Their life was pretty much comfortable, but they've always stayed humble.

Sujin knew she had to go back to visit her friends at Seoul at some point, especially since she was getting so many texts and calls from her two ex besties ever since she left. News on what actually happened and who was behind the video incident spread like fire and cleared all guilt off Sujin. Yet she couldn't get over the fact that all of her friends judged her so quickly. Sooah disappointed her a lot, she never backed her up, not even once. While Jukyung surprised her more than anyone. She was the only one who never believed Sujin did anything wrong, not even when Sujin directly told her it is her doing.

Even though she wanted to spend hours on the phone with Jukyung, and let her know about everything what happened, cutting everyone off seemed rational for the time being. Everything was still too painful for her and she needed more time to heal from the chaos. Falling into unhealthy patterns was no longer an option. Sujin's habits have changed drastically ever since she moved to the States. Volunteering as a math tutor and martial arts teacher was all she did when she wasn't studying. Her taekwondo classes took place in the early mornings, and math classes in the evenings. Slowly, it got her thoughts back in order.

It wasn't until Seojun texted her a whole month after moving that she felt that pit in her stomach again.

Seojun: I'm sorryx Sujong I shoudlvew known

- What's with this pabo? Ah, he's drunk again.

Sujin: Hey Seojun, I hope you're good. I know you've sent me that txt accidentally. Stay well and take care. Don't drink and ride that Ninja of yours, ok?

A few days passed until he finally responded back.

Seojun: Where r u, I need 2cu. Sujin: I'm out of the country, actually. Let's catch up over a video call one of these days, ok? Seojun: Naah, txt me whn u get back :P

She wanted nothing more than to talk to him, to hear his voice. She needed him to be there for her, just like she used to be there for him long ago. If going back there was ever an option, she needed to get better fist, on her own. Thoughts of being back in the city where it all went downhill made her extremely uncomfortable. Besides, her feelings for Seojun confused her, it was too much all at once. This time, she decided to let him go for good. Maybe next time their paths cross, things turn out different.

[crmsndragonwngss]

I've been thinking about this since I answered the ask about gifmaking a little while back, and I've been kind of unsettled about it since. Not because I don't like sharing my process, nothing could be further from the truth, but because I realized that that process isn't entirely accessible. So here I am again with an alternative way to make gifs that's infinitely easier, way more accessible, and just as valid as the other way. I wanna stress that. Anything you put time and effort into is valid and worthwhile. No time spent on doing something you enjoy is ever wasted, not least of all anything creative

That said, this method is considerably more limited. I made gifs this way for years before my brain was quite literally hijacked by an idea I could not get out of my head and I had to learn to do it the fancy way. I was also intensely annoyed at having to rely on my shitty internet to make gifs, and I probably would have made the switch at some point regardless just for that lol

I would also like to stress that this is not necessarily a tutorial any more than the other post was, it's simply a couple of resources and more or less how to use them. Like I said in the other post, never download and install anything to your device without doing your own due diligence first!

details under the cut

So first, you need to get the video. If you're on mobile, your device should have a screen recorder built in. Use that, and be sure to turn on Do Not Disturb so you don't accidentally capture any notifications! Once you've recorded your video, you can use your device's native editing ui to trim and crop the video and adjust color. If you want effects like slow motion, I like Splice on iOS. The big thing is that it doesn't watermark your videos, but it's also just a pretty good app overall for video editing. If you're willing to pay for it, it'll also allow you to make gifs right there in the app, but it's subscription based and the price is absolutely outrageous, so I don't recommend doing that when you could just use a free online converter

Which brings me to the next step: ezgif. You probably know this one, most everyone does, I think, but if you don't, here's the basic gist of it. Select Video to Gif and upload your video there. Be sure to trim it down to seven seconds or less, or else you'll never be able to get it down below 10mb. On the next page, change the size of the gif to 540xAUTO (for Tumblr), then change the frame rate to 20 or 25. More frames means a smoother gif, but it also means a bigger gif, so play around with it to see how the frame rate affects your gif. I don't think there's really a huge difference between 20 and 25, so 20 should be sufficient. If your gif is still too big, you can select optimize and try to compress it a little. The lowest compression level is 5, so start there and go up by fives until you're satisfied. If you get the gif below 10mb and it looks bad, then you should go back and trim your video length down further and try again. After that, simply save the gif to your device and upload it wherever!

PC is more or less the same, you just need to get a third party screen recorder. You can actually use ffmpeg to screen record if you'd like (I don't have the command line for that, however, and at that point, you should just go ahead and use yt-dlp instead to get a high quality video). If the command prompt is too much, you can just use a screen recorder app instead. I like 2-Click Screen Recorder. Again, you can actually use ffmpeg on that video to create frames and then upload those to ezgif, but if you'd still rather go from video to gif, then use CapCut or a similar video editing software to trim down your video to seven seconds or less. From there, the process with ezgif is exactly the same as it is on mobile

And there you have it! Easy mobile gifs! While I do really encourage you to try the "fancy" method of making gifs, this is still a great alternative, and you can make some pretty good gifs this way. Here are some of mine I made this way before I switched:

[daisymae-12]

weekend WIP game

thanks @welcometololaland for this fun game (the perfect way to spend my saturday night 😂) and @kiwiana-writes for the tag ❤️ I only have one art WIP right now so I opted to do the writers questions !!

Rules: List your WIPs below (if you only write one fic at a time, feel free to include future WIPs/ideas!) then answer the following questions. Then, tag as many people as you have WIPs (or more). (questions for artists/gifmakers here).

1. WIP List: ok this question made me actually label my WIP's because they're all just titled "Fic #1", "Fic #2" etc in my google drive 😅

Roommates/College AU

5+1 bestfriends to lovers [Alex accidentally keeps friendzoning Henry lmao]

Supermarket meet-cute (but not cute because Henry manages to piss off Alex)

Fake Dating/College AU [inspired by how my husband and I met]

Vampire Henry

Artist Alex [Bea commissions a gift for Henry]

Canon Divergence from Kensington

Roommates AU ft. stardew valley

Coffee Shop AU

Canon Divergence from Lakehouse

Neighbours AU

Fake Dating/High School AU [also inspired by how my husband and I met lol]

2. Which of your WIPs is currently the longest?

Fake Dating/College AU !!

3. Which WIP do you expect will end up the longest?

Fake Dating/College AU - it's the only one so far that I've made an outline for because I think it'll be long-ish 😂

4. Which WIP is your favourite to write/the most enjoyable to write? Why?

Right now it's my Vampire Henry fic ❤️ enjoying it because I'm not struggling too much to write it - and the ideas have been coming easily 😌

5. Which WIP do you find the most intimidating to write? Why?

ooo probably the two canon divergence ones? mostly because they'll probably be the fics with the most angst - yikes

6. Which WIP do you experience the most self-doubt about. Why?

gosh - all of them? I haven't published new fanfic in over 6 years so it's definitely been nerve wracking even sharing snippets over here for wip wednesday 😅

7. Which of your WIPs will you seek out a beta/sensitivity reader for? Why?

Maybe for the longer fics? I'm not sure if I will! We'll see if I ever get to writing anything long enough 😬 I am sort of warming up to the idea of google doc cheerleaders? I dno, I'm such a slow writer though so it might stress me out 😂

8. Have any of your WIPs been struck by the curse of writer's block?

yess the Roommates/College AU - this was the first rwrb fic I started all the way back in June LAST YEAR 😭 I wrote bits and pieces of the first two chapters and still haven't picked it back up since 😩 I've also hit writer's block with the 5+1 - I thought this would be the first fic I'd publish for rwrb AND the first fic I'd ever finish but I got triggered when writing one of the scenes which shocked me because I didn't expect it to? I'd even say this fic is light-hearted but yeah I had to stop. Hoping to finish writing that one after Vampire Henry though !!!

9. Which WIP has your favourite OC? Tell us about them?

ooo so far the only fic with an OC is Fake Dating/College AU but I can't say more without spoiling 👀

10. Which WIP is the sexiest?

Everything is such bare bones atm, so I truly don't know 😂

11. Which WIP is the angstiest?

Probably Canon Divergence from Kensington 😅😅😅

12. Which WIP has the best characterisation (in your humble opinion)?

Hoping the characterisation is ok on all of them but right now they're all so short still that I can't pick one out 🙃

13. Which WIP has the best scene setting (in your humble opinion)?

Gosh I am BAD at this - will probably end up being the Coffee Shop AU because cafes are my second home but we'll see 😅

14. Which WIP have you worked the hardest on?

As of right now - been working the hardest on Vampire Henry fic but I anticipate it'll be outdone by Fake Dating/College AU - that one will take me a long time to write based on the outline I've done 💀

15. Which WIP do you have the highest expectations for? Why?

ahh I'm not sure! Maybe Fake Dating/College AU? I can already tell that fic is going to be my baby and I hope everyone will like it too

16. Do you dream about any of your WIPs?

Not really but I do daydream about them in the shower 😂

17. Do any of your WIPs have particular complexities that your other fics don't?

hmm not sure since everything is still quite bare bones so I'll answer this next time !

18. Which WIP is the funniest or has the most humour?

Right now - Vampire Henry 😅 but not really ??? but yes the most in comparison to everything else so far LOL

19. Do any of your WIPs contain outside POVs or a deep dive on a character other than the main ship? How are you finding that process?

Nope but I do want to write a fic with an outside POV one day!

20. Tell us one thing we don't know about one or more of your WIPs.

Vampire Henry fic will probably be the first fic in a series 😬 I have ideas for a sequel OR extra scenes that will be ficlets 🥰

Yay that was so much fun! Love reading about everyones wip's but no pressure ❤️ @myheartalivewrites @heybuddy-drabbles @read-and-write- @suseagull04 @gwiazdziarka @adreamareads @sprigsofviolets @cultofsappho @anincompletelist @lizzie-bennetdarcy @notspecialbabe @littlemisskittentoes @happiness-of-the-pursuit @affectionatelyrs @heartitinthesilence @inexplicablymine @raysletters @tintagel-or-cockleshells @hgejfmw-hgejhsf @sherryvalli

[yuki-tsunodas]

thank u peach @astaom im so sorry i forgot abt this whoopsies

1. do you make your bed? no lol

2. favourite number? don't really have a favourite number but i like even numbers in general, if i was forced to pick a number i'd pick 20, but more often my feelings towards a number are linked to who drives with that number LOL

3. what’s your job? in 2 weeks time i will start being a uni student :') studying something in the performing arts!

4. if you could go back to school, would you? cannot say anything about uni yet but . high school was academic hell im never going back (even though i had a lot of fun)

5. can you parallel park? nope i can't even drive LOL im old enough to get a license but i have actively refused to get one because i think i would be a road hazard

6. do you think aliens are real? i have no opinions but probability says yes so i'll say yes

7. can you drive a manual car? refer to question 5 LMAO

8. guilty pleasure? uhh. genuinely idk. and if i had anything considered a guilty pleasure i dont think i would be sharing it on tumblr lol

9. tattoos? don't have any, but i'm planning to get at least one when i'm older (which is a horrifying prospect because i am deathly afraid of needles)

10. favourite colour? don't have a specific one because i feel like each colour has its own vibes, but if forced to pick probably orange green and blue (i have specific shades of orange and green in mind). im ignoring black white and brown because my art/graphic design brain doesn't switch off and those are neutrals to me

11. favourite type of music? rock (very broadly, i like fall out boy and day6 the most), kpop (i have a love hate relationship with it), whatever pop music sounds good to me (i currently really enjoy chappell roan), musical theatre

12. do you like puzzles? i like solving problems in general -- that's how i treat design and gifmaking. also i play stewardle and driverle (f1 wordle) regularly

14. favourite childhood sport? loved swimming and badminton as a kid...probably still count as a kid now so my current favourite sport to play is floorball

15. do you talk to yourself? a concerning amount. i talk so much that at least 3-4 friends have told me to start a podcast

16. tea or coffee? neither. it seems like caffeine is my enemy because anything with caffeine in it tastes bad to me LOL

17. first thing you wanted to be when growing up? pretty sure i wanted to be either a ballet dancer or an artist as a kid

18. what movies do you adore? i'm so not a movies person...but movies ive watched more than once (an achievement) are the cars series (my favourite is cars 2), og avengers (my favourite mcu movie), age of ultron and civil war. also shoutout to spirited away, ponyo and howl's moving castle for having a special place in my heart. most recent movie i've watched is how to make millions before grandma dies and it was amazing i sobbed watching it. it's a thai movie but blew up so i went to check it out and it is incredible.

not gonna tag anyone cos i got to this so late lol

[actuallylorelaigilmore]

i’ve had people in my notes lately reviving a lot of my edits from the doctor blake mysteries, and that’s been fun because tdbm is one of the fandoms i reread my own fanfic for recently (and i wrote so much of it, my gosh). but then i realized somebody was looking for an outtake video from the show, and i couldn’t remember if i might have a copy along with the series itself, so i figured it was worth looking through my collection--and then i couldn’t find the show! 

i have multiple storage drives where i keep videos for gifmaking or rewatching (or future watching, now that corporations like to blackhole existing series before i get to them) and i looked through all of them yesterday, and as far as i can tell, i no longer have copies of tdbm. i know i must have had them before! because i did make gifs! but there’s no evidence i ever had them, now. 

idk if i deleted the show once i decided i was done with the fandom, or if they only existed on an old computer of mine--i’ve had a couple die in the past and been left computerless for long stretches, right in the middle of gif projects. but if past me got rid of my high quality copies, current me thinks that was really dumb, because recent developments have made it a lot harder to find good downloads...especially of niche shows or shows that aren’t still airing.

and since reading my old fanfic convinced me that i do want to go back to the doctor blake mysteries someday, to finish out WIPs and fill prompts i’ve saved for all this time, it’s disheartening to not have the show waiting for me in my hoard of other old faves. (i stepped away from tdbm for a reason, but i realized as i reread my fic that i would be able to enjoy it now, since what i still love about it is completely untouched by what poisoned it for me.)

anyway, now i’m trying to cobble together copies of all the seasons and desperately hoping the versions i’m able to find will be watchable quality. really pretty versions may be too much to hope for? but if i can get the show at all, i’ll consider that a success.

[beautifulwhensarcastic]

Santa here again 🎄☃️🎅

I had intended to ask a bunch of get to know you questions but time got away from me. Instead I'll be sending an ask a day until I reveal myself

btw I am loving all of your festive works you have brought back. Really helping to get me into the holiday spirit.

As a gifmaker which trends do you love and which do you wish would cease to exist?

As a writer what trope do you love and what trope do you wish would cease to exist?

As a denizen of tumblr which trend or meme do you love and which do you wish would cease to exist?

Ah, Santa, you caught me at a bad moment. I'm currently down with a flu, I have awful fever. So me answer won't be as elaborate or coherent as it would on my better day.

I don't think there are any gif trends that I hate. I'm always in awe of what others create - their ideas and execution. What irks me is when the gif is too fast, lol

I'm a sucker for most fanfic tropes. Friends to lovers, enemies to lovers, fake relationship, snowed in, one bed, etc. I'm not much into high school fics (with rare exceptions), college fics. I also personally dislike crossovers where characters from various universes merge. I like characters being thrown into foreign universes, but without them meeting characters from those worlds.

As for memes, I never get them 😂 There will be a meme making rounds and I won't know wtf is going on. I learn months later. So can't even have an opinion on memes.

[iressails]

helloo it’s your santa again!! thank you so much for your response, it’s giving me tons to work with which I love ❤️ 

I firstly just want to point out that this paragraph “I do love a tragic romance. I love a queer tragic romance. I need my characters to be absolutely crazy in love and making bad decisions because of it. Mutual pining!  Anything Jane Eyre 2006 also works (because Ruth Wilson AND Toby Stephens).” was so real, you have amazing taste and I have major respect for people who like heartbreak 👀 

you make points about how typography is used in a gifset and I find myself agreeing - it can be beautiful but sometimes even I reblog things without reading what’s on them just because it’s too hard to make out, which probably takes away from the purpose of there being text on the gifset? but such is the medium we’re working with I guess!

true that gifmaking puts you in touch with your more creative side; as someone who loved to engage with artsy stuff when I was younger I’m glad I have this small little hobby to keep in practice. I'm very happy you can come back to it too after such tedious and important work ✨

anyway, I have some more ‘out of interest’ Q’s for you! Is there anything you’re looking forward to doing/seeing this month? Any pressing opinions you currently have? Thoughts on coming to the end of this year?

have a good day!

-ccss anon ☃️

Hello again. Heartbreak is like the best icecream in my book. Better when they do eventually get it together, much to be said for happy endings too.

Gif has it's limits, for sure. But where else do you get to shape and bend time and colour and tell story and change reality all at the same time? It is a great hobby because you get to look at things a different way, an artistic way that we aren't really afforded in most contexts you know? Really high barrier to art, but gif, sort out your process and it just... gives. Creativity is so important to living well, too.

I agree with you though it can be beautiful, after all that I have seen some amazing examples where the text draws your eye in just the right way and it's a smooth read.

Onto your questions. Do you mean on the gif front or otherwise? I do love seeing what people have come up with for the end of year sets, like the summary gifsets.

Generally I'm looking forward to going to see friends after christmas and for the new year. There's some end of the year summer holidays too over December and January and not being at work, which is great. Hanging out for those to be honest. Every year I think it's been a tough year, but it really is like that for everyone I think over the last few pandemic ones, for sure. What about you?

[cuntylouis]

i find my own gifs on iwtv twitter all the time, it's infuriating. some of them post the link back to tumblr blogs in a reply to the initial gif, but those get seen by no one, but most just steal them (and those are big accounts as well). i hate these people. i've never seen a fandom steal and repost stuff so much as i do in this one.

It's really irritating. I guess maybe it's so common on twitter partially because tumblr is more established as a platform for gifmaking with communities built around it and twitter has less people making gifs (at least if we're talking about gifsets of shows and movies) and lots of twitter users don't seem to see gifmaking as a form of art? I remember seeing in a different fandom one big twitter account was called out for reposting gifs without credit and they got angry and defensive and basically said 'anyone can make a gif', and that definitely wasn't the only time i've seen someone on twitter expressing that opinion. Like fairly many people seem to think editors just put a video into some automated gif maker and it spits out a ready high quality gif or something, and don't realize it's something that takes a lot of work and every gifmaker has their own recognizable style. I've been making gifs for like a year now and i think i'm still a total beginner. Whenever you see a nice gif (or any kind of edit) i can guarantee the maker has put a lot of work and skill and time into making it and if you're going to post it on another platform without asking them first including a credit should be the default

[nongnaos]

This or That, BL edition

Tagged by @icouldhyperfixatehim thank you! And once again, I wrote this up then saved it, completed, in my drafts and forgot about ever publishing it.

crying in the shower or making out in the shower [something to know about me is I have severe health related anxiety and seeing people get steamy in a shower where they are likely to slip and fall just... 😰]

give cute boy line ID or stalk his IG [i like seeing the soft little looks that privacy grants. Also Semantic Error ending scene? Ideal. Also TMS2 pining.]

share his earbuds or share his closet [warmth and its so cute!! i go feral every time!]

manga or manwha [i read neither but so many amazing bls have been adapted from both]

long dangly silver earring or dark leather cuff [i love both but i don't think I've seen much of either in bls??]

time loop or reincarnation [the untamed, my love]

blue engineering smock or red engineering smock [i don't particularly like the colour blue (sorry) but also: pran <3]

kisses at the beach or kisses in the mountains

cactus or chili plant [what? does this mean something i don't understand?? I guess chillis???]

fairy lights or spot lighting [sparkly twinkly tiny 😍]

ghost boyfriend or vampire lover [i hyperfixated on vampires as a child. Was it a good choice? In some aspects. Do I still sleep with my shoulders bunched up around my ears for fear of a neck attack? Yes.]

hard sub or soft sub [this is about subtitles, right? Am I naive? Softsubs are surely better for gifmakers..]

stray cat or … actually that’s your only option [my current cat was a stray feral baby and I'd take so many more if I could]

Hawaiian shirt or blue shorts [Pat <3]

evil ex-girlfriend or predatory fujoshi [i don't think I've come across evil exs very often yet (and not in bl but in Love and Leashes they handle the abusive ex story soo well and I still can't stop thinking about that movie) but I really dislike fujoshis]

suit jacket or leather jacket [love a leather jacket more than anything]

high school or university [idc too much either way but as I age I do appreciate slightly older stories. gimme more actual adults pls!]

kitchen drama or office drama [Old Fashion Cupcake, does it even count? Who cares... 😍😍]

forehead kisses or cheek kisses [look no one accidentally goes into a forehead kiss, they're so intentional. Also I'll never be over the atots airport kiss]

Viki or GaGaOOLaLa [I've not used gaga yet and I pay for viki but I had trouble with it so much at the beginning so i refuse to pick it]

Japanese arthouse depth or Korean high concept [i googled these to make sure i understood and honestly it confused me more but i watch a lot of korean tv so.. 🥴]

pink milk or yakult [the sheer amount of Yops and Frubes I was forced to consume as a child has made me repulsed by any kind of yogurty milky drinks]

censored Chinese BL or trashy Thai pulps [i want all of it, i want to be consumed by the love of a chinese show and also be able to laugh and relax at a pulp]

body swap or dead body [if wei wuxian was once dead does it count?? Also Wen Ning, my baby..]

sexy or story [we should be allowed both, but also I'm not too pushed either way, like Love In The Air is all steamy and virtually no story while The Untamed is allll plot and I still love both of them. Enrichment in the enclosure, to me, is having things of each and having things with both]

back hugs or lap sitting [😳]

piggybacks or cradle carry [head and ankles generally intact]

[cuddlybitch]

hello hannah ✨ I love that your kdrama journey is in 3 acts and that crash landing is what brought you back, it was such a quintessential kdrama (it just had a bit of everything between comedy and angst and the stakes of the romance were high and the actors were great and the secondary characters were fun and memorable etc) mine started much more recently, the first kdrama I watched was either strong woman do bong soon or weightlifting fairy kim bok joo on netflix in 2019 (I had heard of weightlifting fairy on here but I couldn't really remember the title and since both of them have a name + something about strength in their titles i was confused about which one was the right one so I watched both and then just kind of kept going! )

since you make gifs, what was the first kdrama you giffed and the one you giffed the most? also do you have a preference between watching shows as they air or once they're completed?

your kdrama secret santa 🎥

Oh yeah, I did not expect how much of a rollercoaster CLOY would be. I was laughing and crying each episode, and yes, the secondary characters, not just the main leads, were amazing. I think I love it a lot as a drama cause of the stories involving the rest of the ensemble, and their beautiful relationships with the leads.

I still cry thinking about the last ep of how Se-ri named her new skincare line after the ladies she met at her time in NK. T______T and of course the baby ducklings T___T

Weightlifting Fairy!!! Ultimate comfort show. I just feel warm everytime I watch it!!! Strong Woman is also on my list cause I loooove Park Bo-young and now Park Hyung-sik, but unfortunately it's not available in my Netflix right now. Someday I will watch :'))))

The first kdrama I giffed was Crash Landing on You... but I only made 1 gif for that show at that point, so I think my true entrance into the kdrama fandom was Hospital Playlist. I'm not sure which series I giffed the most, but based on filenames, I think Vincenzo is the one.

I think I prefer to watch show as they air now, instead of binging once completed. I find that most of kdrama fandom move on quickly to the next show, so it's harder to participate in fandom if you're not watching while it's airing. As a gifmaker, it's also harder to find interactions with my creations after the show has completed (unless it's one of the more beloved shows).

But I think I also get invested in shows more if I'm watching it live cause it gives my thoughts and feelings time to marinate and develop during the 5 day break I wait for the next episode. I think when I binge a show, I just inhale the show and don't give myself time to think about it aside whether I liked it or not.

How about you, kdrama secret santa? Do you prefer on air or binge after? xDDD

[trope-appreciation-tuesdays]

My dearest Tumblr Friends,

I’ve been putting this off for far too long, so here goes.

I’m not sure how many of you may know this, but TAT has been around since 2017. 2017! Can you believe it? That’s five years. Five years, 260 weeks, and over 13,000 posts, to be exact, and I’ve been around for every single one of those 5 years, 260 weeks, and 13,000 posts.

I know the issues I went away for a bit to ponder are polarizing with many a strong opinion on all sides, but I think we can all agree that 5 years is a very long time. A lot can change in five years: a community, for one, and a blogger for sure. I am certainly not the same person I was 5 years ago, and I think that fact is starting to show. My personal squicks and triggers were beginning to interfere with my ability to run this event as the open and honest space it deserves to be.

That being said, it is with a heavy and yet relieved heart that I am announcing my retirement as the custodian/moderator of TAT.

I do want to make one thing perfectly clear to anyone who may feel this is not the right decision to make. Stepping down as moderator of TAT isn’t about me cowing to anon hate or the discourse in the community previous events generated. This is about me, the person who runs this blog, who is ready to hand the reins over to someone else after 5 years at the helm of an incredible project that was imagined up by a fellow whumper. An event that was entrusted to me 5 years ago and transformed into one of the longest running and, if I may be so bold, one of the most popular events in the community.

What it all boils down to is that I am ready to move on. I’m ready to focus on other things like my writing (I want to try my hand at writing a novel!) and gifmaking. I want to take a step back, hang up my spurs, tuck up beside the fire and enjoy the fruits of the community I’ve helped build. I want to retire.

One thing has become very clear to me over the course of the last year or so, and friends have even pointed this out to me on more than one occasion. I haven’t been happy running TAT for a while now. In the words of Marie Condo, it no longer sparks joy. I was canceling the event more and more and you guys deserve better. TAT deserves better. It deserves a moderator who is excited about tropes and who isn’t on the verge of a burn out. (And I am dangerously close to that precipice.) I want to be able to enjoy tropes again. I want to write them and read them for fun and comment on them, not because I have to, but because I want to. And so, I think my tenure as moderator has come to a natural close. I want to step aside on a high note, and 13,000 posts seems like a pretty good high note to me, don’t you think?

I think TAT has a lot of life in her yet and I don’t think it should go away just because I have made the decision to step down. I was thinking I could possibly rename the blog to archive the previous posts so that the TAT name could be reused and someone new could take over. I would only ask that it be made clear that I am no longer affiliated or providing input for the blog and the owner would be free to do with it what they will. If anyone is interested, please contact me over DM to discuss. The askbox will remain closed.

I know I said above that I’m dangerously close to a burn out, but that does not mean I haven’t enjoyed every single moment of running this blog. Or of interacting with the amazing members of this incredible community. I am going to miss seeing those 100+ asks in my askbox every week. I’m going to miss getting that first glimpse at the limitless creativity and infectious enthusiasm you all have for whump. This has been an incredible 5 years and I can’t thank you all enough for all the support, love, and understanding you’ve shown me over the years.

I will forever be grateful to you all for making TAT so incredibly special.

Yours in whump,

Marie

[number5theboy]

41, 28, 11, 1

What are your top 3 favorite sets you’ve made?

Okay, I feel like I've answered this quite recently, but to play along.

Five as the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse: This is a new one, and it's really dear to my heart. Because I'm me, I really love all the literary reference the writing tosses at Five (....with varying subtlety. this one was not subtle.), and this was a kind of gifset I don't usually do because it takes me a long, long time. But it turned out really pretty, with a nice layout and colouring. I think it's the first gifset I ever drafted that, once finished, made me smile at my own work. I'm really, really proud of this one.

Allison & Five: I'm salty that it's been three seasons and this gifset I made that cut them together to actually talk to each other, with dialogue adapted from the comics, is still more than they've talked in the show. I don't understand the show's unwillingness to have these two interact, I really don't. Which is why I love this gifset, and I'm quite proud of how I made different scenes look like they could be the same one, it was a fiddly one with colours.

Five in the show and Five in the comics: I think I will always love this gifset. I'm actually currently working on either a part two or just a complete remake of this with more instances that parallel the two versions of Five. But as I have made clear before, I love Aidan Gallagher's physical acting, and getting to connect that back to the original comic version is soooooo fun. Some good fucking casting right there.

What is that one set you made that just won’t die?

My tribute to the high numbers, the lost Hargreeves, the last set I made before S2 dropped. That really spoke to people, and every few weeks I get a little influx of notes and people going 'how dare you op' in the tags, which, as you surely know, is one of the biggest compliments a gifmaker can receive.

Have you ever posted a set, regretted it and immediately deleted it?

I have not, actually! I spend a long time giffing, so y'all get everything I make, even if it flops.

What is your least favorite part about your gif making process?

Fucking sharpening lmaooo. I'm using an oldass version of Photoshop Elements (Elements!!! The thing you use for photos, not even gifs!!!!! If I click on an explanation link, it sends me to an expired page on a browser that literally has been taken down!!!!), and so I sharpen every single image by hand. Yup. I really do that with my life.

[mercymaker]

can I ask you for advice? how do you make colorful hotd gifs without them being so pixelated? I tried but it just looked way too grainy. I'm wondering whether it's the place I downloaded the episodes from (it's 1080p still)? can I ask you where you download the episodes from and how you sharpen/color your gifs please 🥺

Eyo! I try to work with as high quality as I can possibly get my hands on. For the hot d gifs, I use 2160p footage. I get most of my stuff off tor, if you want direct links IM me or send an ask off anon so I can get back to you with those.

These are my Smart Sharpen settings:

Pretty standard, most gifmakers use this. Back in the day I would just roll with only this because I kinda enjoyed the crispy vibe (I've been swimming in the gifmaking waters for over a decade oofe). But these days, I think since the dimensions and the quality are much higher, just slapping a sharpen on makes everything look noisy and grainy, so I usually duplicate the gif frames and apply an additional Gaussian Blur layer (that I then change the opacity of to 60-80% depending on the scene):

I work with smart objects + timeline animation nowadays so these apply to those. Back in the day I'd write scripts to apply actions to all my frame layers, but we don't do that anymore.

As for coloring, I tend to just color the scenes from scratch, starting off with Curves and Channel Mixer and then building on that. I might make a video on my process sometime or do a lil stream or something (if anyone would be interested anyway).

I tend to be not that great with written tutorials anyway (e.g. this very ask lmao), but there are some fantastic guides out there that can give you a general idea on where to begin. Like this one from Becca, or this one from Jagoda, or this one from Ava. I usually don't follow tutorials step-by-step, but rather see how other people work to pick up new things to try or optimize my own processes.

And as a final note, keep in mind that a lot of the top-notch beautiful gifsets that people on here make are the result of a ton of trial-and-error. So, just play around, have fun and let yourself fuck up a couple of times. You'll get there!

[kbsd]

not sure if you’ve answered this before, but what’s your process look like when you make an amv? i’m just curious and in constant awe of ppl who can make videos like you do :)

hello all!!! i have answered this before and i have a vid help tag with other asks i’ve gotten about stuff like this! but i’ve gotten several more messages along these lines so i’m just going to answer a bunch of them together (under a cut since i love to ramble about editing lol). i do just wanna say i’m definitely not the authority on video editing and obv everyone has their own techniques!

edit: i just finished typing all this up and it’s SO long so sorry in advance LMAO god bless anyone who reads this entire thing

so i work in news tv and we have a very specific workflow for writing scripts, sourcing video, producing, and editing. i’ve just applied that to making amvs! for every video i make, i copy the song lyrics into a google doc and adjust them to match the song i’ve cut (i often will trim songs for time and/or content purposes). then i start planning! i’ll mark down what clip i want to use for each lyric next to that line, and any sound bites i want to use (with episode numbers!). i’ll color code between video and sound bites and lyrics, so my scripts end up looking something like this (for my honeybee amv):

doing the planning ahead of time makes everything much easier when it’s a video that spans the whole show or involves a lot of sourcing, like honeybee or sports analogies. that way when i get to the actual editing process, i already know what i’m going to do and have a game plan. for videos like happy ending or believe it or not, where i’m mainly just pulling from a few episodes, i can just plan it in my head as opposed to writing it all down, and produce as i edit. obviously i do make in-the-moment decisions while editing—sometimes a shot doesn’t work the way i thought it would, or i go where the video takes me—but planning ahead definitely helps. i know some people use spreadsheets as well, with columns for lyrics, video clips, and sound bites if applicable. once you find a system that works, it actually goes pretty quickly.

as for sourcing clips themselves/finding clips within episodes, i talked about that here and kind of here. the short version is that transcripts are a must, and the supernatural wiki is hugely helpful by cataloguing all the hugs, prayers, phone calls, etc. in the show. gifmakers that tag episode numbers on their posts are your friends. it gets easier the more video you make—that’s another huge reason i make the google docs for each video (even the ones i plan in my head, i end up going back and making a loose script with episode notes just for reference). if i can’t remember where something is but i know i used it in another video, i can easily reference past scripts!

i also cut all my videos in the same project in premiere pro, so i can flip between them easily. instead of checking a past script, i can just go to the video sequence itself and copy the clip i’m looking for! this was especially helpful when i match cut together the 5x18 and 4x22 wall slam shots for my bestie video, and then stole it from myself for honeybee hahaha. at any given time i have at least 8 sequences open:

because of the sheer volume of videos i make, it’s worth it for me to download the entire show—i have all 327 episodes in HD, plus deleted scenes. if you think you’re only going to make a few videos, i’d start with scene packs. you can usually just google “destiel [or whatever ship/character you’re looking for] scene packs” and there will be any number of ones you can download. if you need other specific scenes, you can always download/torrent individual episodes or screen record netflix (that’s what i did before i got HD download links). i’m happy to share my links if you DM, but be warned it’s a lot of disk space (about 500GB on my hard drive). someone also compiled every destiel scene, downloadable here.

having every episode already loaded in premiere for all my projects also makes it a lot easier to source clips. once i use a clip in a video, i’ll put a marker on the episode file, so that after a while i have most of the important scenes/lines marked to easily find them. to give you an idea, this is my episode file in premiere for 12x10 lily sunder has some regrets (markers at destiel scenes, the car fight, hot girl cas, etc.). markers are the green tabs along the bottom:

premiere also lets you color code and name markers, so ONE DAY i will go back and color code them all. the ones above are all the same color, but in a perfect world, i’d have a myraid—for destiel shots like hugs, touches, looks; for important pieces of dialogue; for action shots; etc. but for now this works ok for me, so that’s a project for another time!

between detailed scripts, one giant premiere project, markers, the wiki, and my own memory, i have so many points of reference that i can usually find any clip i need in about 2 minutes max. sound bites are often harder to start out, or tiny specific shots i haven’t used before, and that’s when i turn to tumblr gifsets or beloved mutuals to crowdsource. but if you’re as obsessive about marking/keeping neat scripts as i am, it gets easier and easier with every video you make. that’s part of why i’m able to cut videos together so quickly. (also i want to stress i do this for a living and have to produce/edit a new piece for my show every day so i’m used to it. and compared to constantly updating content/sources and news that changes every day, 327 highly documented episodes that never change are much easier to handle hahaha)

this is all great for me since i make so many videos and plan to continue doing so, but if you’re only making a few, this level of work isn’t worth it imo. really it’s all about developing a system that works for you. whatever you do with episodes/sourcing, though, i cannot recommend planning things out in a script ahead of time enough. 

everything i just mentioned is producing, though. for the editing process, i usually do it in this order:

music first. any parts i want to cut, i make sure it all sounds smooth

then soundbites. i usually try to weave them into the lyrics—i have characters talk in breaks between lines or instrumental sections as much as possible. i’ll sometimes go so far as looped/extending an intsrumental part to make room for the soundbite i want there lol. if i do have dialogue over a line, i do the sound mixing/levels at this point as well to make sure everything is audible/one doesn’t overpower the other. (also i always include the video that goes with these bites when i drop them in, and decide later if i want to show the character speaking or have other clips cover the dialogue)

once i have all the audio locked in, then i bring in all my other video clips. sometimes i edit completely chronologically, sometimes jumping from section to section—it depends on the song or how i’m feeling

double check sound mixing. i usually listen to my videos through a few times, with headphones and without to make sure it’ll sound good no matter how people watch it

once i have picture and audio lock, i go through and color correct my clips. i’m basic and just use lumetri color in premiere, and usually just play with brightness, saturation, temperature, and tint until i like it

render and export! :)

i always have several audio tracks, but i try to keep my video tracks condensed. i’ll drop clips on a V2 level, and edit a section there, and drop the whole chunk down to V1 so i know it’s finished. that way when i leave and come back i can know where i left off/what’s done/etc. to give you an idea, this is the timeline for my what the hell video:

i always render as H.264 with high bitrate, and make sure to check “render at maximum depth” and “use maximum render quality” for the best quality. i’m sorry, but i don’t know what the equivalent options are in final cut, imovie, kdenlive, etc. i post on youtube mostly so i don’t have to sacrifice quality, but usually just using a lower bitrate will get you under the tumblr file size limit and it’ll still look good.

as for the anon who asked about “polishing”: first of all, thank you!! second of all, it’s in the details. all of this is a matter of taste and my own insanity, but here are some little things i always try to do:

after i color correct, i blur out any credits from the starts of episodes. i use gaussian blur for this, but really any blur tool works

as much as possible, i avoid clips where we see a character’s mouth move but don’t hear the words. in tv/film we call it “lip flap” and i just think it looks messy. also i’m trained to avoid it at all costs at work hahaha. it’s more for serious videos that this matters a lot to me (e.g. i think i did a really good job eliminating lip flap in my happy ending amv)—for comedy videos i don’t sweat it as much

i put audio fades on the start and end of every single audio clip i use, even if i don’t think i need it, to make sure everything sounds smooth

i use markers for timing, especially in action-y videos like what the hell. i’ll put a marker on the clip i’m using at the exact moment a punch lands, and in the song on the beat. if i have the magnet/snap in timeline tool on i can just easily snap them together instead of having to spend time finagling it

this is such a small thing but i dip/cut to black for a tiny bit at the start and end of every video. this way if i post with tumblr video player, there’s black between the loops, and it gives you a beat before the video restarts. i do this even on videos i post on youtube, just because i think it looks nicer/more professional

this is 1,500 words so i’m going to stop myself before i pull something. if you have follow-up questions feel free to ask and i’ll continue to add them to the vid help tag, but any more questions about sourcing clips or my process in general i’ll just link this post going forward. anyone who made it this far, i am sending to a telepathic kiss. thank you for reading and happy editing!