#have some gifsets to posts oop

[jackietaylorsghost]

um hiiiiii.

[rin-tezuka]

hello to the previous anons

i am one of the fabled "ex-4chan tgirls." i spent 15 years on there. oops!

i will not be beating the "loser" or "virgin" or "jobless" allegations. but other than that, i liked to post anonymously. that was it. its more fun to post when someone cannot try to pwn you with something you said three years ago. there used to be a whole slew of sites like this (420chan! ch6! bubblebbs! sushigirl! old saovq!) & i liked most of them for this reason

some time ago you were able to start a thread about whatever weirdo topic you wanted (eg photography or linux windowmanagers or low budget eastern european pc games) & people would see it and reply, provided u were on the right board. no need to spend weeks/months ingratiating yourself in whatever community surrounds it before you "earned" permission to have a little chat. it was Nice, much kinder to my agoraphobia than most pseudonymous websites. then august 2014 happened, then 2016, then 2019, then covid,,,,,, ah well

there are multiple people on /lgbt/. a good number of them are bad people but there are different kinds of bad people. extreme social isolation makes you an asshole. i will not try to disprove this - tumblr alone is evidence of it. but you can be an asshole hikikomori and also read your lenin! or at least listen to audiobooks while playing runescape or whatever... i dont understand why people think these are contradictory.

consider also that 4chan has better word filters than tumblr (full regex support w/ the normal browser extensions). for a long time if u played ur cards right u could spend a whole day on your favorite midtier boards and not see a single racist or *phobe (at least til past few years when some sharty dork found a trove of botched surgery photos & i finally had to leave). vs tumblr or twitter where u always end up seeing someone trying to epically dunk on a screenshotted terf or whatever. ofc this has changed over time and i find it unbearable now - the people i actually wanted to talk to/read posts from have gradually left as the soyjakparty+groyper generations moved in. theres nothing left of interest to me there. also, im old now. but i would like for people to recognize that "ex 4chan" does not mean "uses racism to cope" or whatever, the same way "i use tumblr" doesn't mean "i make homoerotic marvel movie gifsets and/or will kill you if you imply transmisandry isn't the defining issue of our era." conversation websites have multiple people on them. 4chan has multiple boards. each board has multiple people on it.

that said /lgbt/ is an extraordinarily bad board. transphobia from other trans people is laser targeted in ways mumsnet users cannot fathom, as i'm sure you're all aware. i spent less than a year there and im still paying for it psychologically. occasional cute screenshottable post aside it is functionally a proana forum, except your therapist has no chance of understanding what it is. +like proana forums it is almost more accurate to think of the people stuck in it as victims rather than criminals. you cannot understand what that shit does to your psyche until you are the one suffocating in it. only "worth" going there if you are doing shulginesque n=1 research on selfharming with the computer, which is not something you should ever do. but /mu/+/jp/ 10-15 years ago were Not like that. (i miss u /bleep/...) long post sorry thank you for reading death to israel i will get drunk now yay :)

.

[bettyfrommars]

To my beloved I'm on Fire fam, I just wanted to give a heads up that the final two chapters won't be coming out until November, I'm taking a wee break to work on spooky monster stuff for October. BUT I do have some Halloween-themed blurbs for biker!eddie and reader coming soon to keep with the spirit of things (and I'm always taking festive, holiday themed requests).

There is also the biker!steve fic coming this winter, you can read a blurb of it here (our hot, flirty, messy boy)

Just in case you missed the awesome biker!eddie edit that @somnambulic-thing made, you can take a peek here

ALSO, in this gifset from the upcoming movie The Bikeriders, please note that the woman Tom Hardy has his arms around has the name "BETTY" on her hat 🥹🥹🥹

oops forgot to post the link to the gif lmaoooo I fixed it

[mdverse]

md's fun silly little top 10(ish) arts of the 2023!*

*pretend there's a fun cute doodled banner here (i was going to make one earlier and then i forgor)

doing a lil recap of my top 10 15 (it was supposed to be 10 and i could not narrow it down oops) best(? this is subjective as fuck i guess it's more like my personal faves) drawings of the year! *the crowd cheers* (it’s me I’m the crowd)

15: paradise by the dashboard light! i hate to rank her so low bc i spent ages on her but it seems i don't love the result that much anymore so :/ a for effort for me tho this was ambitious

14: cheer girl loml <33 not my best art technically by far but i went way out of my comfort zone for the background and the art style (for no good reason really) (i just wanted to do a comic book thing bc superhero vibes or whatever) (it did not come out the way i was hoping it would bc i think i got too frustrated) and we simply must acknowledge that. atog did things to me that i cannot explain

13: barbie meme brittana! not my best britt but truly sooo fun to work on. there's nothing quite like finding a fun rendering process and then never using it again (i don't even remember how i coloured this but i like it)

12: cowboy barbie brittana <3 they look good, they're about to kiss, cute outfits, pretty sunset, probably went overboard with the rim lighting, what's not to love? a banger, i think

11: i say a little prayer! i think the background is. questionable at best. but this is still really fun! i think i got possessed when i got to the uniforms bc goddamn they look good

10: klaine?? on this blog???? almost unheard of lmao i truly did not think i would like this one as much as i did. i'd consider ranking it higher if i wasn't constantly Unwell over brittana but again, i'm biased, and no one here should be surprised about that

9: pre-wedding kiss my beloved! with how insane i've been over this kiss it could perhaps be higher. i am gnawing on my desk as we speak i'm not even sitting at a desk rn

8: rutherchang x black swan!! ohhh u guys i don't talk about this one enough i think it's so pretty i don't even remember how i did the colours for it but rhgfdkngd?? love her, love pushing the glee x bts agenda, if any of u gifmakers are interested in making a mike chang x black swan lyric gifset i will love u forever

7: colour wheel challenge! busted my whole tiddies and ass for this one fellas. labour of love etc etc i think staring at the bright colours for so long made my eyesight worse and i'm ok with that

6: mistletoe brittana <33 easily the best instalment of this series by a long shot! recency bias (and also just. regular bias) made me rank her much higher originally but technically she is not the most intricate piece so she must sit down here

5: prom queen kurt! dare i say a girlslay on my behalf? i think i dare. every time i see it i think i should do more glosters (glee posters) and then i don't. i could tho they would be really cool (source: dude trust me)

4: churro kiss redraw!!! genuinely Not Sane over this! never have been, never will be! redraws are like crack to me and so is this kiss

3: furtana!! i neglected them for far too long this year but if neglecting them results in art like this i may have to do it again

2: heart kiss <3 if we're being really honest and vulnerable in the chat tonight i think this is technically my best of the brittana kiss screencap redraw things i've done this year? which i did not see coming but i guess practice means refining the process etc etc so. it makes sense ig. mwah to them <3

1: black or white gcv animation <3 it's not what i would call my best drawing (bc it's, yknow, not just one drawing) but it is what i would call the product of a very obsessive thought and some frantic art sessions. objectively it's the coolest thing i've done this year so it deserves the top spot. i'm proud of it i hope to glanimate more next year. also this isn't art but it's a relevant post that i still stand by months later

[yujeong]

hi ❤️ did you read siken's war of the foxes? ive really loved your vegaspete and crush comparisons

Hello my sweet anon ❤️

I did! I got caught up in other things and forgot to make a post about it, oops 🫣

It was amazing, I loved it so much. It didn't impact me as much as Crush did, but it was still beautiful and thought-provoking and everything I wanted Siken to give me.

And in regards to VP, first of all, I'm so happy you've loved my comparisons 🥺 I've made quite a lot of posts about the topic tbh hahah. This collection has only inspired one gifset so far, but I'd love to try making more posts based on it soon, if further inspiration strikes.

Sharing some of my favorite quotes, that are all about VP (Vegas, Pete, both), below:

"When you bang on the wall you have to remember you're on both sides of it already, but go ahead, yell at yourself."

"He's easy to desire since there's not much to him."

"What is a ghost? Something dead that seems to be alive. Something dead that doesn't know it's dead."

"Something's not right about what I'm doing but I'm still doing it - living in the worst parts, ruining myself."

"They weren't animals but they looked like animals, enough like animals to make it confusing."

"Love might be the wrong word. Let's admit, without apology, what we do to each other."

"Can I tell you something? No. There is something I have to tell you. No, you don't."

"The more you look at it the more you feel like you are looking into your own head, which is a strangers head, empty."

"It isn't fair, the depth of my looking, the threat of my looking. It's rude to shake a man visible and claim the results."

"There's a dream in the space between the hammer and the nail: the dream of about-to-be-hit, which is a bad dream, but the nail will take the hit if it gets to sleep inside the wood forever."

"There were gaps, of course, and sometimes overlaps: days too small to fill their slots, days too large for the day to hold them. And days, no matter what their size, that leaked into the next."

[mercymaker]

top 5 gifsets you've made!!! <3

Ask me my "TOP 5/TOP 10" anything!

Aaa, thank you, that's a really good one! Let's see...

The post-ATVS Malstarion set - probably one of the most significant gif sets in my arsenal, both from the technical standpoint (overlaying 3 gifs in one using different methods which made my computer creak and sweat) and its subject matter (and, of course, its relation to Above the Vaulted Sky, which is extremely important to me.

The 'beloved consort' Malstarion AU set - another challenging gif set from technical perspective BUT it was so worth putting in all of that work! It pushed me not only when it comes to photoshop, but I also went as far as modding a BG3 mod to replace an NPC with Mal for that blurred shot in the last gif. This also belongs to the sort of.. 'category' of more elaborate sets I've made for Malstarion like the set for Astarion's nice simple plan or the 'violent delights' set.

My Original BG3 Characters set - I really really liked the original set for the companions made by @onewingedangels and wanted to use that beautiful template and give it my own twist. With Anya's blessing, I went and played around with colors, finding the perfect combinations for me characters.

My 'cast intro' set for VENA CAVA - I am really happy with how it turned out! I wanted to translate the fact that it's very much a gothic vampire story into a set of gifs. And it was also a lot of fun dressing them all up for these little 'intro' shots. Now, I need to work as hard on actually writing and posting the fic, oops.

It's honestly a toss between the BG3 cast meme summary set and Lae'zel's reaction to Astarion romance - I was really just having fun with the footage and got some funny ideas that got me incredibly excited to make those! It's also when I started to seriously play around with colors and go a bit crazy!

Also, since all of these are for Baldur's Gate 3, I wanted to sneak in some honorable mentions from previous fandoms! These are a couple of my favorite sets from different media: the 'greatness' house of the dragon set, the teal Yennefer of Vengerberg set, the red Tissaia and Yen set, and my 'evil' Dany set from when the show decided to do all that and I needed some copium lmao.

[its-all-ineffable]

Somebody's going back through the BBC Sherlock phase lmao (same here though so thanks for bringing the good shit to those of us who don't wanna go through the tag)

I... yep. 🤭

I re-watched it the other week and it's now at the top of my current hyperfixations (I need to do another fandom focus post cause my priorities have shifted). Also, yay, a friend!!!🤗😍 I really want to talk to people about it but no one wants too...

I'm now on my 2nd re-watch of the show in as many weeks. Oops.

I forgot how good it was, like I love this show so much! I've fallen so deep that I'm considering changing my blog look for the first time in MONTHS from IWTV. I'm still debating.

You're welcome! Yeah, I did it a few days ago but I kept seeing hatred for the show/characters and it really upset me. But I've blocked some people and tags and am braving it again to find all the amazing art and gifsets and meta etc., so I'm happy to help!

(my face when I saw your ask and you reblogging and liking all my sherlock posts)

SEND ME AN ASK ABOUT BBC SHERLOCK

SEND ME AN ASK ABOUT AMC IWTV/THE VAMPIRE CHRONICLES

[television-overload]

Get to know your fic writer (no pressure):

1, 4, 13, 16, 22, 25 (add link if you want), 40, 54, 56

Ooh yay! Thanks for the ask! I think I copied these all over correctly. I was bored so I went in-depth 😂 Here we go:

1. Do you prefer writing one-shots or multi-chaptered fics?

I've been sitting here for like 5 minutes trying to figure out which I prefer 😂. I find myself coming up with multi-chapter ideas more often I think, really grand plots that I definitely don't have time to devote attention to. I also run into the problem of not knowing how to fill in between the parts that I do I have ideas for, so true multi-chapter fics are a rarity. I've had a few times where a one-shot turned into a multi chap, and THOSE tend to work better and are way more cohesive. One of my favorites is one I wrote for Star Wars (wrong blog, oops 😅) but both chapters were a lot stronger than my usual stuff, and it performed way better on AO3 which was really gratifying.

I've always wanted to write a true masterpiece where readers are anxiously awaiting the next chapter, like so many I've read, but I don't know if I've ever gotten there yet. Maybe a few when I used to write NCIS stuff on fanfiction.net.

4. Where do you find inspiration for new ideas?

Songs, a lot of times. They hit me in the feels. Sometimes a line in a fic I'm reading will spark an idea, something I haven't thought about, a new interpretation of an existing scene from the source material. Gifsets, Tumblr meta analysis, movies I'm watching. So many places. I feel like half of them come to me when I'm at work, which is very inconvenient. The aforementioned Star Wars two-shot was half written on the bus ride home from work in the notes app on my phone. I've written several in the aftermath of particularly good or bad episodes/movies. Fix-it fanfic is always great, I feel like I need to write more of it.

13. What’s a common writing tip that you almost always follow?

I haven't done this for very long, but lately in my adulthood (as opposed to my teenage fics *shudders*) I've actually been pretty good about writing out an outline and going back to edit later. I used to just spew everything in a word doc and barely go through it before posting, but now I reread it to death, mostly to make sure it flows well. My outlines are, shall we say, extensive. The Star Wars fic I'm working on now had 20 chapters outlined and it totaled over 20,000 words. I've basically storyboarded the whole thing and then I go through and convert that to actual scenes. Important dialogue moments I want to hit are included, cause I know I'll forget them if I don't write them as they come to me. It helps me to be able to see the big picture, so that I don't give up on the project halfway through. But for spur of the moment fics or most one-shots, I still mostly write as I go. Occasionally if I have a thought that I want to make sure to include in a later scene, I'll just tack it on at the bottom of the doc and delete it once I get to that point and I put it in writing.

16. How many fic ideas are you nurturing right now? Share one of them.

They're scattered all over the place so that's a good question that God probably only knows the answer to. Some are barely even ideas but take up a line or two in my notes app on my phone. Some probably live only in my brain, forgotten until something triggers me to remember that I was thinking of writing it 😅.

I'd love to do something with @irish-trish 's prompt to fill in the scene from NCIS "She mentioned you at the funeral, I could see what she felt." It sounds right up my alley, but there's a Star Wars fic week coming up in September that I want to actually do on time this year, so I can't allow myself to shift focus to NCIS quite yet 😭

Other than that, I want to write a second chapter to my X-Files fic "Field of Dreams" where Mulder gets to play catch with his son. I really loved writing that fic.

22. Are there certain types of writing you won’t do? (style, pov, genre, tropes, etc)

Nothing spicy. I don't think I'd ever write in first person unless it was in the form of a letter. Other than that, I think I'd do pretty much whatever. It's just a matter of what I have the skills for I think 😂

Not a fan of AUs, except canon divergence, obviously. To me, the way the characters meet is so integral to who they are that it can't be changed much or it just doesn't feel like them. I've read maybe one fic that changed how characters met (Mulder and Scully) but that was the result of time travel and all sorts of things that warmed me up to the idea, plus the characters as we know them were still there. Alternate universe in the truest sense. I got distracted, what were we talking about?

25. What fic do you wish you got more of a response on?

The two fics I think of as my comfort fics, ones I found really peaceful and natural to write, would have been nice to see get more attention. I've been writing on and off for like a decade now (😳) and I've only ever really had one fic truly pop off in terms of kudos and comments. Which are literally my life blood 😂. But a lot of my older stuff I look back on and I'm like, yeah, that wasn't that great.

My Star Wars (Obi-Wan and Satine) one shot "this could be such a dream" I found really emotional and relaxing to write. I was kind of surprised it didn't go very far, but it was part of a weekly challenge thing so I suppose it makes sense in a way.

To get back to the TV shows I write for, though (since that's the focus or THIS blog), I really really loved my X-Files fic "Field of Dreams", in large part because I love that movie which inspired it, and I love a domestic, peaceful and content-if-not-happy happily ever after for Mulder and Scully. The movie itself makes me cry and feel so many feels, and I thought the connection to Fox Mulder was a really good one.

40. If someone were to make fanart of your work, what fic or scene would you hope to see?

I would welcome anythinggggg, that is my dream!! I haven't really written anything I'm super proud of yet in the NCIS fandom that I feel would warrant art, but maybe someday! I'm working on a Star Wars "Sound of Music" type looooong fic rn and boy, the amount of work I've put in, I would die if someone were engaged enough to be inspired by it.

54. What’s your favorite part about the fanfiction writing process?

Honestly, I get so excited to post it. I hope people will enjoy what I've written. I've read so much great fanfic, that I just want to contribute my 2 cents to the fandoms. Getting comments (as rare as it often is) literally makes my day and makes it all worthwhile to me. Any form of engagement, interaction here on Tumblr, that's what I strive for. But I also write for me. Exploring ideas I've never seen done before, filling in gaps in the fandom, I love it. Those comfort fics I was talking about, I love to just go back and read. It doesn't really matter, in the end, if they touched other people like they do me. I like them and that's what matters. The fics I'm not so proud of? I've been transferring them over from Tumblr and fanfiction.net anyway because some of them have received really lovely comments and people might enjoy them despite how I feel.

56. What’s something about your writing that you pride yourself on?

I hope I'm improving on descriptive language. I want to bring out emotions in my writing, and I think there's been definite improvement since I started. I'm also thankful that I have a grasp on grammar and spelling and all the typical writing conventions. That can be a turn off to a lot of readers if it's a complete mess, so luckily I was always a pretty harsh editor throughout my schooling 😅

Get to know your fic writer

[donghyuckkies]

cc year in review - every month of 2022

rules: link your favourite and/or most popular post from each month this year (it’s totally fine to skip months) and tag some ccs you love! i was tagged by @woosanmas @coupsnim @hwiyoungies and @minghao-s thanks for the tag besties <3 i was kinda all over the place this year as usual and some months i made a lot and some not so much haha anyway let's have a look~

january [24 total] ↳ most popular ⨳ fave 1 2 despite this month having both 17daysofseungkwan and the start of 17daysofdino i didn't actually make a lot? at least not as much as i expected to lol i can't remember much from this month i guess i was busy haha anyway that jun grfx is easily one my all time personal faves, i'm so proud if it <3

february [6 total] ↳ most popular ⨳ fave damn i somehow made even less this month sdlkfgjsdfg also second month of a dino gifset being the most popular.... i see....

march [12 total] ↳ most popular ⨳ fave 1 2 ah march, a month without dino gifsets so seungkwan rightfully takes the top spot <3 also the month maniac came out and fucked me up real good lmao many hanji sets follow

april [21 total] ↳ most popular ⨳ fave 1 2 this month was wild cuz i got promoted at work, moved into my own place, and then caught covid lmao

may [34 total] ↳ most popular ⨳ fave 1 2 3 ok this month was HUGE cuz we had attacca/hot release as well as 17daysofseventeen. so far this is the month i made the most content in and honestly? i really like how all of it turned out :) also funny story about the seungkwan hot gifset: i made that set real quick since the mv came out 30min before i had to leave for work so the caption was more me just frantically typing than me freaking out over how hot he looked lmao

june [9 total] ↳ most popular ⨳ fave must have been burned out from the previous month cuz i sure didn't make a lot in june haha

july [13 total] ↳ most popular ⨳ fave 1 2 i think these were months when i was usually busy at work with training new staff and didn't have time to make much content </3 i did like what i made tho

august [15 total] ↳ most popular ⨳ fave 1 2 3 idk how i managed to make this much content when i was on vacation for a week (to see seventeen and chill with @neonunau and @softhyungkyun <3) but here we are haha this was also my most popular post of the year! seungkwan supremacy!

september [9 total] ↳ most popular ⨳ fave another pretty small month... seems to be the trend this year oops </3 anyway this hanji grfx is another all time personal fave :) and jun solo! so good!

october [51 total] ↳ most popular ⨳ fave 1 2 3 4 5 6 uhm.... i apparently lost my damn mind this month guys.... FIFTY ONE posts.... to be fair the majority are requests <3 but also i saw dpr in concert and came home a changed person lmao and then i also started stanning pentagon this month and lost my mind over hyunggu a bit... OH AND IT WAS SPOOKY MONTH had a lot of fun getting creative with those sets! wild times....

november [31 total] ↳ most popular ⨳ fave 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 made a fair amount of content this month too, and dino once again is the most popular haha i made some of my personal fave gifsets this month, probably cuz i changed up my colouring and sharpening a bit. a good month over all :)

december [32 so far] ↳ most popular ⨳ fave 1 2 3 4 pretty chunky month so far, mostly cuz i'm making sets for any mv in my top 25 that i haven't already giffed. low-key upset that my most popular so far is my seventeen season's greetings edits, considering i personally hate the styling for the pink eros concept lmao

alright besties, we made it, another year just about done. hope you all enjoyed the content i provided, and if you didn't then feel free to unfollow? why are you even here? lksdfjdsfv oh right i'm tagging: @neonunau @wonwooridul @softhyungkyun @woozi @shuatonin and anyone else who wants to do this~

[nerice]

rating (roasting) my novel titles

(((saw a post like that abt films n thought it would be funny. here's plot synopses also plug plug hehe))))

nerice/black cat story: 3/10 functional but is literally a placerholder title. i hate it here

the rise of azra: 5/10 no points for creativity and spoils the ending but at least its accurate!

lighthearts/nighthearts: 10/10 biased opinion but i am right. superior aesthetics in the soulless department and fun to abbreviate & works perfectly for the two narrative arcs. god tier

shadow revenge: 7/10 sounds like a random YA novel unfortunately but will make you go OOOOH!!! Fuck. at the end when shit clicks & is elevated thru that. also teen me's first novel title i have to like it <3

dream game: 12/10 im a liar i still like lhnh best but THIS TITLE !! is my favourite !!!! the endgame the dream game of winning of succeeding (everybody was hurt in the process) nd specifically on the lucie/faye front (dream games..) IT DOES SO MUCH AT ONCE. impeccable

melody of the doomed: 7.5/10 motd is one of my favourite abbreviations so while the full title is very basic, writing an entire book for the sake of the cathartic linn/faye rematch & titling it like that is so sexy of me

long lost flame: 8/10 THERE IS SO MUCH WARMTH IN IT !!!!! everyone is finally going home and recovering what they lost. i am soft for it, even if i have the sneaking suspicion it was sparked by a hamilton quote gifset (unknowingly) back in the day f.

bonus round: novella, offcanon & au (no placeholders)

white crown: 6/10 sounds very good but has very little actual plot relevance past a single rune/ash thruline. oops

reefair: -2/10 this used to be an oc last name. repurposed into a short story collection title. the point ???????

甘さ: 1(0)/10 LOOK AT LEAST I GET TO BE DISCREET ABT IT. would prefer to find a proper title at some point though if i come up with one for this before qs romnov im killing myself

platinum road: 4/10 but a 20/10 to me song reference title that has simply the perfect vibe and mouthfeel to it despite making absolutely no sense. also very easy to typo as #platinum toad, unfortunately lol

dark maiden: fml/10 as a standalone title it is atrocious. the song line applies to faye but any synopsis makes it sound like it would be about sky. awful we hate that; HOWEVER i am whipped for this song my lifeblood my everything my magnum opus one day ocmv and therefore. it is what it is <3

3 kingdoms au: 5/10 what it says on the tin. would be more upset if 3kau wasn't such a cute abbreviation

the great escape: 9/10 another Basic Music Reference but IN CONTEXT it is perfect <3 abbreviates beautifully, goes so well w tge minor/the quiet place on the side. that album sponsored the screenplay & there is no question abt this being the rightful title of it. taking off one point bc the guy doesn't even escape at the end lol as if i'd let him

rich girl pride: 10000000/10 ultimate perfect title for a qs hsau we stan. i take no criticism thanks for coming to my oc talk

[kookjinnies]

i'm not sure if you noticed or if you care about this sort of thing but if you do, i just wanted to let you know that the yoongi gifset you reblogged is a compilation of gifs (by different creators, some have watermarks) that are from the cc's twitter & reposted on here without credit. no need to post this ask btw 💌

oops thank you for the heads up. will also message ppl who rb’d from me :( i didn’t see the diff watermarks ughh

[nerdgatehobbit]

5/16/24

It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these- well over a month, I think. Oops. Well, first off, I have finished the Belle Mirrorverse book; it was darker than I expected but I think it did a good job of putting a new twist on the 1991 film.

I’ll probably read my library books next, although for Reasons I’m going to wait until the 25th to read Night Watch. Lately, I’ve also been using the library to skim the ER TV series (AKA only watching the special features because I’m a wuss). I’ve taken a handful of screencaps that I might end up posting here.

Confession time: I skipped an episode of the new ATLA show because I’d heard about the changes to Bumi’s characterization and I did not want to see it. Which was extra frustrating because I like Utkarsh Ambudkar from his role on CBS Ghosts and I think he would have been great as a more cartoon-faithful version of Bumi. So I’ve scheduled a weekly Jay post for this summer. Back to the new ATLA show: it was a mixed bag for me but I will probably watch the next seasons.

While I have no plans to watch Bridgerton, I clearly have not been immune to the pretty gifsets, especially when they feature Simone Ashley’s character. Similarly, I’ve enjoyed some fan content of The Owl House but right now my media backlog is big enough I’m not likely to get around to it any time soon.

Movie-wise, I rewatched Love & Friendship on the 4th and BATB 2022 on the 5th. Because I needed some comfort movie content. I ought to watch some movies I haven’t seen, like The Mummy, Sense & Sensibility 2024, or Chess in Concert. Hopefully I’ll have made the time to watch them by the end of the summer.

I’m still greatly enjoying Static Shock, Leverage, and The Librarians. They’re all fun shows with great characters and interesting storylines. My posting priority has been Static Shock, but I might end up posting more The Librarians content over the summer. Side note: I’ve learned that ER actor Eriq La Salle directed an episode of The Librarians so that’ll be fun when I reach season 4.

There’s been quite a bit of overlap between Leverage, The Librarians, and Star Trek so far, with more on the way. I know Jeri Ryan is about to be a reoccurring character on Leverage, for example. There’s also some XWP overlap, which would be surprising given that XWP was filmed on the other side of the Pacific except I’ve already seen overlap between Disney-era Power Rangers & Stargate.

On the other hand, I’m not really into ST TNG despite being at the start of the third season. I guess I’m primarily a ST DS9 fan. I don’t know why the show isn’t clicking for me, but it isn’t. Maybe it’s just that I’m more into the other 3 shows and I don’t have the bandwidth for a fourth? I feel bad because I know it’s an important show to a lot of people but it’s looking like I’m not going to be one of them at this point. It’s extra frustrating because I do like the characters but the show as a whole just isn’t gelling for me and I don’t understand why.

With its upcoming 20th anniversary, I’ll probably schedule a daily SGA post throughout July. I might similarly get Power Rangers off my back burner for August. Part of me does want to check out the newer seasons, but my to-watch pile is massive enough without adding them. Especially since the end of August will see the return of The Rings of Power.

I think I need to do these posts more regularly, otherwise they end up sprawling like this. This spring has been a Lot, though. Hopefully everyone’s summer will be calmer.

[wearecrowley]

9 & 11 - gifmakers year in review

sorry I missed this yesterday! <3

9. Did you notice a mistake in a gifset you made once it was posted? Did you fix it or prayed no one noticed?

funny story, I made part 2 of my good omens crack series in the dark, late at night, and posted it without checking the gif coloring with my laptop's brightness on normal setting. I didn't think about it until the next day I noticed it was overly bright and washed out. I figured nbd because it's the only set I've made that looks bad in that way... then it became my most popular gifset, and remains so. oops! I haven't corrected it, because I figure it's far too late now, but I learned to check things in the light before posting them!

11. Did you have a gifmaker block or felt uninspired at some point in this year? Could you get over it?? How?

I prevent myself from getting uninspired by choosing an episode at random and scrolling through it quickly until something catches my eye. A more methodical approach would be more effective for not missing things, but the randomness keeps me interested and allows me to gif whatever I feel like without pressure.

[superbatson]

tagged by @wirypsychiatrist (technically; he opened it up for anyone to fill out and i love an excuse to talk about myself lol)

what book are you currently reading?

i have a tendency to read a few books in different formats so in print it's the matzah ball by jean meltzer (yay hanukkah romance!), in digital it's shazam & the seven magic lands (a reread bc i remember so little of it since the run ended in 2020), and in audiobook it's autism in heels by jennifer o'toole.

what’s your favorite movie you saw in theaters this year?

elvis, obviously. it's so good i saw it twice in theaters!

what do you usually wear?

lately i've been really dressing down bc i have literally nothing to do so it's just like a t-shirt and sweatpants. maybe i'll throw a sweatshirt on over the t-shirt if i get cold (which usually happens at night).

how tall are you?

5’4”

what’s your star sign?

gemini 💕

do you go by your name or a nickname?

my name lol. i mean, family/close friends/teachers have called me "rach" but usually i just go by my name. i don't have any real unique nicknames.

did you grow up to be what you wanted to be when you were a child?

lmao no, absolutely not. as a kid i think i had dreams of being a singer so that didn't happen. (neither did the author dream but that really developed in my teens.)

are you in a relationship? if not, who is your crush if you have one?

lmao i can't even make friends let alone date, ofc i'm single. i have too many celeb crushes to list here but irl i still kinda have a crush on this guy from high school (i've liked him since i was in 9th grade oop)

dogs or cats?

cats, obviously

if you draw/write, or create in any way, what’s your favorite picture/favorite line/favorite etc. from something you created this year?

my favorite gifset i've posted this year is definitely my "elvis + capt. marvel jr references" set not bc it's, like, my best set or anything, but simply bc it's like My Brand boiled down to a single gifset. i know i have a lot of interests but elvis (the man & the movie) and shazam are some of my biggest special interests so that set feels like a perfect representation of my faves. and i did really love getting to point out all the capt marvel references they made in elvis, it was a lot of fun. (now if only i could do a follow-up with fotg making elvis references. the movies are from the same studio, it's gotta happen!)

with fics, i felt like i was kinda lacking this year in terms of quality/quantity but i did enjoy some of the little caswen (hsmtmts) stuff i posted. the sneaky bunk sex one is my favorite.

what’s something you would like to create content for?

i really wish i could join my fellow elvis stans in writing imagines (for elvis, austin, or both) but i'm so uncomfortable writing in that format that i hardly ever do it. it's like i write them with myself in mind but i don't want to isolate my audience bc of that. yet the few imagines i've written in the past (for various fandoms) have gotten good responses, so idk. maybe i just gotta ignore my insecurities and write some freakin' imagines. there are a few ideas i've wanted to write for a little while now...

what’s something you’re currently obsessed with? 

idek i'm like between obsessions at the moment. i've kinda gotten involved in the santa clause fandom lately bc of the disney+ show (i've posted about it on my main) but idk if i'd call that an "obsession". maybe i'm just still holding onto elvis and shazam, at least for as long as i can until they probably become irrelevant (aka post-award season and post-dc reboot).

what’s something you were excited about that turned out to be disappointing this year? 

my children's literature class. i thought i was gonna have a blast getting to read kids' books but i wound up getting stressed out over having to read multiple books a week (which was fine when it was picture books but not when it was novels). i did get to read some good books for the class but somehow i wound up liking the other class i took that semester, american government, more.

what’s a hidden talent of yours?

i think i'm a pretty good singer? idk if that's considered a "hidden" talent but i don't exactly like to sing in front of people (i only do it when home alone or in the shower) so i guess it is kinda hidden.

are you religious? 

nah. i like judaism from a cultural perspective but i don't really agree with a lot of their religious beliefs. (i mean, like, with god and the kosher stuff and specific holiday practices, etc.)

what’s something you wish to have at this moment? 

a job that i enjoy

i tag: also whoever wants to do this. feel free to say i tagged you 🙂❤

[wen-kexing-apologist]

@respectthepetty YESSS you caught it too! The difficulty with using screen shots is that I don't have the gifs to be able to show that he is almost signing out of order. Although I think, if my memory serves correctly, grammar in ASL at least is time first and then you can kind of just put the word order in however you want after that. But I haven't taken any formal ASL classes so I definitely could be wrong there. And this is MTSL so it could totally have a different grammatical structure.

But that was part of what I meant when I was saying in the post above that Li Ming's emotions are running faster than his brain and he's losing his signs/taking longer. That NAME/SAY order was definitely on my mind with it. RTP, you seem to know ASL in some capacity so if you continue reading the rest of this post, just know I am operating under the assumption you know all this already.

I think when I watched this scene:

I took Heart to be saying, you scared/surprised/startled me because that sign looks much more similar to me to the ASL sign for AFRAID than it does to the ASL sign for WRONG. Though obviously MTSL and ASL are not equivalent.

This is the ASL sign for AFRAID

and the ASL sign for SURPRISE:

ASL sign for WRONG

Side Note: Shout out to Bill Vicars, if people are interested in learning any ASL, you should check out Lifeprint

God, naturally I can't find a single fucking gifset of Heart's fight with his mother or of Li Ming signing "he's deaf" to Wen at the mall, but this is the ASL sign for Deaf.

and the MTSL one looks like two fingers moving from the ear and pressing to the lips.

(edit: GAAAHHH I HAD THIS ALL WRITTEN DOWN BEFORE WHY DID IT NOT POST PROPERLY??????)

Ok oops this is turning into an index of ASL/MTSL similarity signs.

Still can't find gifsets of it but based off the hand gesture Li Ming is doing here:

WORK seems to be similar between MTSL and ASL

And in this same scene, we see Heart sign what Li Ming translates as HOME

Compared to HOME in ASL:

Oh! Another fun one, this is the sign for CANDY:

Edit: Are you fucking kidding me, I had a whole thing typed up after this and it disappeared. ANYWAY:

Not the same sign, obviously Li Ming is not saying CANDY here but it's still a fun similarity.

Also! the fact that SAY in MTSL is basically the same as HEARING in ASL.

Edit: The sign for BEFORE also appears to be similar in ASL and MTSL

Ok, really at this point I should just take all of this and put it on a separate MTSL/ASL Index post cause I keep finding sign similarities.

ASL for LEARN:

And what Li Ming signs when asking Heart what he wants to study in university.

DISCLAIMER TO THOSE READING: I am a hearing person with a minuscule knowledge of ASL. My intention of making this post is not to teach anyone ASL, that is not my job and I should not be doing it because I am not Deaf nor am I fluent in ASL. I am simply identifying signs I recognize. ASL is a beautiful language that I do hope to one day be able to learn properly because it is, personally, a very important language to me. I invite any Deaf or CODA people who may be reading this post to give me any critiques, or if anyone with actual knowledge of ASL, not my self-taught knowledge, identifies any more signs from the MTSL in Moonlight Chicken to ASL I would be incredibly interested to see them!

Heart's Vocalization Thoughts and Feelings

Hello and welcome to another round of Moonlight Chicken Posts That Literally No One @respectthepetty Specifically Asked For:

Heart Edition Round ?? i've lost count.

Mx. RTP may have gotten me hooked on red/blue through clothing but my first and truest love will always be lighting so I need everyone, but especially Professional Life Ruin-er Formerly Known as "Petty" (you're my best friend now, sorry I don't make the rules), to understand that this specific lighting ruined my life. Like on a cellular level, my body is a wasteland, my mind will never recover. Stepping in from the outside world, from Heart's world, Heart's life, Heart's home in to the rich, red, warmth of Li Ming's world, Li Ming's home. I've said it before, but I'll say it again, if my memory serves me correctly we never see Heart in warm lighting until the end of Episode 4, and we definitely don't see Heart in red lighting until Episode 5. Up until this point when Li Ming and Heart are together, there is always blue lighting on them, and especially when they are in Heart's home there is always a blue wash on the whole scene. So finally, finally we get red lighting babyyyyyy, fuck yeah!

Ok, sorry, I'm normal again.

Initial thoughts going in to the actual scene are as follows: 1. Stripes, my beloved! 2. Heart is so head over heels for Li Ming it's ridiculous.

Anyway, I love the small little smile that Heart has on his face here when Li Ming is essentially giving him an 'I told you so' to Heart about asking his Mom. I know that Li Ming sees Heart earlier on in the episode, but he isn't present for the conversation between Li Ming and his mother so regardless of whether he knows that Li Ming talked to her, I don't think he knows the specifics. But he follows this comment up with "You're smart. You can persuade her." Obviously he knows that something happened because Heart's mother has never listened to her son before, why would she start now?

So! Much! Red! Lighting! They are in love your honor. I am so grateful for every moment we get to see of Li Ming and Heart alone together having fun. They may be on the edge of adulthood, but there is still so much repressed youth in them that has been dying to get out and can't because it's been contained by parental shame, by the need to work to survive, by the nature of generational gaps and unsuccessful attempts to protect your loved ones.

When Heart and Li Ming are by themselves (with the exception of the post confrontation mental breakdown session in Ep. 5) there is so much joy between them. And look at Li Ming, he is so proud of himself here, for successfully persuading Heart's mother to let Heart leave the house. They don't have to sneak out anymore, Heart's parents are finally starting to understand that they can't make their son problem go away if they just keep Heart cooped up.

Once again like father-figure uncle like nephew, Li Ming has found himself a love interest that is also obsessed with the family cat. Honestly, this cat is living the dream, all he has to do all day is be held for approximately 30 seconds and get fed a fuck ton of treats. So far this scene is just very cute, Heart taking in his surroundings, attaching himself immediately to the cat, absolutely bathed in red light. And there is something so simple I love about the set up this moment brings to the important turning point that immediately follows...

Heart's holding the cat with both his hands. He can't text or sign.

Side Note: I am curious if Thai sign language has finger spelling.

And here we go! Heart speaks, not just vocalizes, it's not an exclamation of surprise, it's not a shuddering breath, or a sob. It's not a squeak or random sound Heart makes because he can't hear how loud he is being. Up until this point, every time we have heard a sound from Heart it has been unintentional. This is the first time we hear Heart speak. And importantly, he doesn't have to. He doesn't have to say anything. There isn't anything urgent, nothing that would require a sound to get Li Ming's immediately attention. He doesn't need to say Jimbo's name, literally right before this he looked at Li Ming and pointed to the cat. He could have ended the acknowledgement there. But he doesn't. He speaks. And he absolutely does not look at Li Ming while he does it. He keeps his eyes trained firmly on the cat in front of him.

I stole this gif from @earthpirapat because I don't know how to make them, and because I need anyone who reads this to see Li Ming's reaction in this moment. He is also looking at Jimbo, because he, like the audience, believes that Heart is going to end his acknowledgement of the cat's name by pointing to the cat. Li Ming is content to watch his friend play with his cat, and that's all he is expecting. Until "yyim-" tickles his ear, and Li Ming's head snaps straight up to Heart's face. You can tell how surprised he is at the way he pulls his head back a bit more to really look at Heart. To make sure that what just happened is actually real when he says "bo".

And I think it's important to know that Heart does not really seem hesitant to speak. He just...does it. What he is hesitant to do is look at Li Ming. He waits a full two seconds after he's said "Jimbo" to look up from the cat he is holding in his arms.

But he has nothing to worry about because when his eyes go to Li Ming, what does he see?

A puppy dog of a man, radiating excitement. Li Ming is beaming. It's funny to me a little bit that the thought has never seemed to cross Li Ming's mind that Heart, who only went deaf three years ago, is actually able to speak. But nevertheless he is thrilled.

"You can speak?" he asks, and he's chuckling a little and pausing and you can see all the gears in his head turning as he signs because it's like his whole worldview just got rocked. And GOD I love this moment so much because from the second that Heart speaks Li Ming's eyes never leave Heart. Or if they do it is literally an unconscious thing that is happening when he's trying to remember his signs. Heart puts Jimbo down and Li Ming literally folds his body in half, to follow Heart's movement, bends over to tap him on the shoulder. "Hey, you can speak?" he says again.

"Yeah? Can you speak again? I want to hear." he asks, and he's baffled. He's losing his signs. Like he is signing successfully to Heart, sure, but it's taking him much longer to create his sentence than it normally does because he's still in such shock over what just happened. That Heart can speak, that he heard his voice. His brain cannot keep up with his emotions.

The face of a man verrryyyy skeptical that his voice would be that exciting for anyone to hear.

"I"

"Want"

"To Hear"

"Your Voice"

I have no thoughts. I have no notes for this. It is just an incredibly powerful moment to me in furthering Li Ming as a safe zone for Heart, as someone trusted and precious. Each sign is deliberate. This is a deliberate request. This isn't a question built on surprise, "wait wait do it again" this is specific. "I want to hear your voice"

Look how pleasantly surprised Heart is. Look how happy, how bewitched he is in this moment. A few weeks back, I wrote a post analyzing Heart's communication. At the time I wrote it, I was doing a lot of speculating about Heart and his ability to talk and what it meant for the character if he could versus if he couldn't. The tl;dr version was me essentially wondering how much agency Heart has over his own isolation. Is he capable of talking and chooses not to to test the people around him, maintaining control of his own isolation, with speaking as a lifeline, or because Thai is a tonal language did he lose the ability to speak because not being able to hear might impede his ability to make distinct tones. Either way he has the ability to talk, it's a matter of whether or not he could be understood if he did vocalize his words.

I got a pretty quick reply from @littlederxxnged with a link to this Tweet quoting P'Aof and Heart's voice:

And if this quote is real, if the reason Heart doesn't speak is because he lacks the confidence to, this makes the scene all the more important and all the more wonderful for me. Because it's showing us, the audience, that Li Ming makes Heart feel confident. Li Ming makes Heart brave.

And I love that I don't get a sense of fear from Heart in any of this. Surprise? Yes. Confusion? Yes. Skepticism? A bit. Hesitation? Absolutely. But it doesn't seem to come from a place of fear. Heart is not afraid of using his voice around Li Ming, and he is never afraid of what Li Ming's reaction will be. He certainly has no idea what Li Ming's reaction will be, but it shows how much trust these two have built in one another, that Heart feels safe enough with Li Ming to test his voice.

I don't know if Heart will speak again the show. I don't care if he does. Speaking is not his primary language anymore and he doesn't owe his voice to anyone. I just want to establish that before I say I find it so much more special that Heart says his own name, rather than Li Ming's here. Why? Because the way I interpret Heart's character at this point is a man who is far more certain about what he wants out of life, now that he is able to live his life again. We get to hear Heart's name, we get to hear Heart speak for himself.

Something really cute about this moment as well is Li Ming's reaction. "I heard you just say your name!" I love that he signs to Heart what he heard. I love it so much. We know that Heart is hesitant to speak, and it takes him a second to get the word out, and I'm sure he can feel the vibrations of his vocal chords when he says his name, but he can't hear it. Li Ming is SO obviously happy, so obviously thrilled.

But this is about Heart, Li Ming's feelings have nothing to do with it. Okay, Li Ming's feelings have everything to do with it for Heart. But Li Ming's initial, gut-reaction response to hearing Heart, hesitantly say his name, is to hype the ever-loving FUCK out of that boy.

"You're great! You're awesome! How can you speak? You're so great. I'm happy." and GOD Heart can't even hear him say it. Li Ming isn't signing here, I mean he is very obviously happy, and very obviously showering Heart in praise. But Heart cannot hear him. For most of the hug he can't even read Li Ming's lips. But the pride, the joy, the excitement is so palpable. He's jumping up and down, you don't really need to hear his words to feel how happy he is about what just happened.

He pulls back "How could you do it? I'm happy. Can you see? I'm so happy," He is talking so fast. He is talking so so fast. He cannot contain himself. But he has integrated himself so much into Heart's life, that despite the fact that he is fully forgetting to sign here, he is touching Heart, he is jumping up and. down with Heart, he is showing Heart how much being trusted with his voice means to him.

Sweet baby angel, you are talking so fast. He sees a bunch of words coming out of your mouth but does not hear what you are saying. And he looks confused because he definitely did not anticipate this strong of a positive reaction to just saying his name. Especially when you consider he isn't confident in his voice. He looks confused because he almost certainly did not anticipate this outcome.

(Ignore the subtitles on that second picture, focus on Heart's smile)

Does Heart owe us his voice? No. Did we ever need to know if he could speak? No. Does this moment hit particular hard after the confrontation scene last episode concerning the use of the term "mute" in reference to Heart. Absolutely. We saw how much it hurt Heart to learn his mother refers to him as mute.

We know Heart has to beg Li Ming to even tell him what she said, Heart can see how much Li Ming hesitated to deliver that blow. He saw how strongly Li Ming was standing against his parents, he's a smart kid. He might not be able to follow the full conversation cause it's happening quickly, and they are shouting which fucks with lip shape to read lips, and Li Ming and his mother are both facing away from him. But he knows his mother said something bad, he knows Li Ming defended him.

It is so so so so so SO important to me that Heart decides to speak in this moment. That he uses his voice casually, to say a cat's name, in private, with just the two of them.

Heart's voice is not a commodity, it's not a novelty. It's a gift. And Li Ming treats it as such. Heart is being vulnerable with Li Ming. Heart hasn't spoken to anyone in three years, and when he does speak in front of Li Ming for the first time Li Ming literally cannot contain his joy. I love how many times the camera cuts to Heart's face in this, to show us to tell us that Heart loves this. That he is surprised by it, but that he is more than happy to speak again, that he is smiling the whole time because he knows how important it is to Li Ming. Because it's important to him too.

If you finished this whole post, congratulations you have won an invisible medal.

[ivashkovadrian]

do you have any favourite sydney x adrian quotes?

GAAAAAAH how to choose!!!! HOW!!!! TO!!!! CHOOSE!!!!!!

"You're my flame in the dark. We chase away the shadows around each other." (my heart!! MY!!!! HEART!!!!)

"As long as we're together, that's how we'll be. No trembling. No faltering. We're unstoppable."

"I'm not dangerous," I breathed. He brought his face towards mine. "You are to me."

"But when I touch you, your aura … it smolders. The colors deepen, it burns more intensely, the purple increases. Why? Why, Sydney?” He used that hand to pull me closer. “Why do you react that way if I don’t mean anything to you?”

"Because I’ve got a lot more terms of endearment to use. Honey pie. Sugarplum. Bread pudding." "Why are they all high-calorie foods?"

"I’m not a warrior or a goddess,” I said at last. Adrian leaned closer. “As far as I’m concerned, you’re both."

"Love is..” An old memory with Adrian came back to me, and some of the turbulent emotion I always carried within me these days welled up in my chest. It was stupid, feeling so lovesick when he’d been gone less than a day, but I couldn’t get him or the ways he described love out of my head. “...a flame in the dark. A breath of warmth on a winter’s night. A star that guides you home." (I AM NOT CRYING I AM NOT 😭😭😭😭)

"Escape plan number thirty-one: We'll get in my car and won't stop until we're somewhere safe."

"Relax, having kids is years away. But can you imagine? Your brains, my charm, our collective good looks... then add in the usual physical abilities dhampirs get. It's really not even fair to everyone else."

"An image of Sydney's face appeared in my mind's eye, calm and lovely. I believe in you. My anxiety faded. I took a deep breath and met the gazes of all those watching me in the room. Who was I to do this? I was Adrian Ivashkov. And I was about to kick some ass."

oops that became longer than anticipated 😏😏 i just love them, ok 😭😭