#the 3 things included in the caption are the 3 inspirations for this drawing

[dykethevvitch]

"Oh my drunken southern star

How you tried to hide in darkness

Slipped from orbit

Now you’re dangerously close" (Southern Star by Gregory Alan Isakov)

~

"I always wanted to die clean and pretty

But I’d be too busy on working days

So I am relieved that the turbulence wasn’t forecasted

I couldn’t have changed anyways" (The Last Words of A Shooting Star by Mitski)

~

[whumpgifathon]

Hello! And welcome to my brand new whump gifmaking challenge! I'm your host @aceofwhump and I'm excited to bring a whump challenge specifically created with gifmakers and visual artists in mind.

The challenge begins August 1, 2024!

Rules:

All gifs posted must be made by you. Do not just post gifs using the gif keyboard and claim them as yours and do not repost other people’s gifs. No AI-generated content please.

Various mediums are welcome! So long as the visual art aspect is the focus you can make whatever you want. Yes this is primarily a gifmaking challenge so everything is geared towards that but any visual art is welcome. If you draw, make moodboards, edits, videos, etc you’re welcome to participate!

You can use the prompts however you like. There is no wrong way to use a prompt. Feel free to interpret them however you wish. If you think it counts as whump? It's whump! Make it! Angst, comfort, emotional whump, small things, big things, it all counts so no need to over think it.

Tag all potential triggers (things like emeto, gore, nsfw, blood, eye whump, rape/noncon, etc.) When in doubt, tag it.

Tags to use when posting so I can find your ppst: #whumpedit, #whumpgifathon, #whump gifs

Please try to include the show/movie title, character names, and episode number (if applicable) somewhere either in your tags or in the post caption. This way anyone interested in watching it can find it easily.

An example of a way you can caption your gifsets:

@whumpgifathon | Day #: "prompt description" Show/Movie title, episode number, character name

And here's the prompt list!!! I hope you guys like it and find it inspiring but not overly challenging!

Remember that this is a relaxed event!!! I just want to offer my fellow visual artists some inspiring prompts and an opportunity to have some fun. So sit back, relax, and have fun!

Text version below:

Whump Gifathon - August 2024 Prompt List

Day 1: Space Oxygen Deprivation | Time Loop | Experiment

Day 2: Feeling Sick Fever | Infection | Delirium

Day 3: Environmental Earthquake | Storm | Hypothermia

Day 4: Captivity Chains | Caged | Rescue

Day 5: Water Shipwrecked | Drowning | Waterboarding

Day 6: Skills Try out a new technique you haven’t tried before using your favorite whump trope as inspiration!

Day 7: Emotional Crying | Panic Attack| Fear

Day 8: Hospital Ambulance | Intubation | Waking Up Disoriented

Day 9: Battlefield Explosion | Gunfire | Field Medicine

Day 10: Temporary Effects Blinded | Amnesia | Poisoned

Day 11: Recovery Sling | Pain | Seeking Support

Day 12: We All Go A Little Mad Sometimes Straight Jacket | Forced Injection | Hallucinations

Day 13: Aesthetic Highlight your favorite whump aesthetic

Day 14: Sleeping Nightmares | Exhaustion | Passing Out

Day 15: Trapped Impaled | Buried Alive | Locked Inside

Day 16: Western Cauterized | Bitten | Hanged

Day 17: Comfort Hugging | Blankets | Gentle Touch

Day 18: Broken Broken Bones | Emotional Breakdown | Broken Spirit

Day 19: Relationships What is your favorite type of whumpee/caretaker relationship? Platonic? Romantic? Familial? Show me!

Day 20: Blood Bloody Hands | Bleeding Out | Covered in Blood

Day 21: Fantastical Nonhuman | Resurrection | Magical Healing

Day 22: A Knock to the Head Headache | Knocked Out | Bloody face

Day 23: Travel Gone Wrong Car Accident | Plane Crash | Train Delrailment

Day 24: Magic Magical Exhaustion | Cursed | Possession

Day 25: Period Drama Pick a time period of your choice and highlight the whump!

Day 26: Everything Hurts and I’m Dying Grief | Resuscitation | Presumed Dead

Day 27: Superheroes Overused Powers | Powers with a Side Effect | Villain

Day 28: Torture Beaten| Flogging | Choked

Day 29: Restrained Zipties| Rope Leash | Medical Restraints

Day 30: First Aid Ice Pack | Stitches | Bandages

Day 31: Colors Highlight a specific color in your art

Alternate Prompts:

"Stay With Me" Begging Heat Exhaustion Bedside Vigil Self Surgery Taser Scar Reveal Collapsing Protective Electrocution

[lev-eye-athan]

op how does it feel to be one of if not the coolest saiki cosplayer ive ever seen

holy HELL it’s ME and my CHILD (icebear), doing GANGSTER shit

ignore my room i live in someone’s basement (i got my own fridge and everything)

[bizarrequazar]

GJ and ZZH Updates — October 01-07

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This is part of a weekly series collecting updates from and relating to Gong Jun and Zhang Zhehan.

This post is not wholly comprehensive and is intended as an overview, links provided lead to further details. Dates are in accordance with China Standard Time, the organization is chronological. My own biases on some things are reflected here. Anything I include that is not concretely known is indicated as such, and you’re welcome to do your own research and draw your own conclusions as you see fit. Please let me know if you have any questions, comments, concerns, or additions. :)

[Glossary of names and terms] [Masterlist of my posts about the situation with Zhang Zhehan]

10-01 → #GongJunXParis trended on Twitter.

→ Gong Jun reposted a post from CCTV for National Day. Added caption: "I love you, motherland!!!" The same was also reposted by his studio, added caption: "Recalling the past and looking at the present, I wish our motherland to prosper forever!"

→ 361° posted a photo ad featuring Gong Jun.

→ Gong Jun's studio posted nine photos of Gong Jun from the Elie Saab fashion show. Caption: "Extremely elegant and timeless. @ Gong Jun Simon made his debut at Paris Fashion Week, explaining what it means to be undefined."

→ Tissot posted a video of Gong Jun from their event on 09-26. (1129 kadian)

→ L'Oreal posted a photo ad promoting Gong Jun's appearance at their Le Défilé fashion show the following day.

→ Gong Jun posted a photo of himself and Elie Saab and five from his photoshoot that day to his Instagram. Caption: " Hi Paris! Thanks @ eliesaabworld"

10-02 → Gong Jun walked in the L'Oreal Le Défilé fashion show! Videos: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] Other people walking in the show included Viola Davis, Elle Fanning, and Helen Mirren.

→ L'Oreal posted four photos and a video of Gong Jun's arrival in Paris from a few days earlier.

→ Gong Jun posted four photos of himself from the Le Défilé show. Caption: "WALK YOUR WORTH" His studio reposted this with the added caption, "@ Gong Jun Simon walks around Paris at midnight, like a glacial elf descending."

→ Gong Jun's studio posted nine photos of him from that day. Caption: "Like ice falling into pieces, and crystal diamonds scattered on the lapels of his clothes. @ Gong Jun Simon came through the snowy night and immersed himself in a feast of inspiration."

→ Tissot posted a commercial (flashing images cw) featuring Gong Jun. (1129 kadian)

→ Gong Jun's studio posted a douyin of him from that day. Caption: "The bright silver shines brightly in the dark night. @ Gong Jun Simon draws a range of colours on the banks of the Seine." BGM is Animals x Starboy by TommyMuzzic and ZeddMusique.

→ An article about Gong Jun's outfit was posted to the designer Julien Fournié's website. Fournié also spent the following few days sharing many fans' posts on Instagram (by and large CPFs) and interacting with them very excitedly in comments and DMs.

→ Gong Jun posted three photos of himself from that day and the douyin to his Instagram. Caption: "WALK YOUR WORTH @ lorealparis Thanks @ julienfournie" Julien Fournié commented on it, "Thank you !!!!!! You are our French Star !!!!! Thank you !!!!" Gong Jun also posted six photos to his Xiao Hong Shu, caption: "Wake up Let’s get to work!

→ Gong Jun's studio posted a video of his photoshoot for the Le Défilé show and behind the scenes footage of him practicing his runway walk. [subbed video] Caption: "Don't be satisfied with the cycle, bravely stand between the known and the unknown. Highlights: Watch how @ Gong Jun Simon walks from the practice room and parking lot to the Eiffel Tower." BGM is Light by The Cancel.

→ Julien Fournié posted a photo compilation video of Gong Jun wearing his design at the Le Défilé show. He also posted photos to his Instagram story with "#superstar"

→ Huang Xun posted two more photos of himself with "Zhang Zhehan". Shortly afterwards, Flora posted a thread discussing some evidence of Huang Xun being involved in the scam.

10-03 → Gong Jun's studio posted a photo of him in the outfit he would wear for the Maison Margiela show shortly after. Caption: "The sound of music is rising, @ Gong Jun Simon is waiting for a sonata of fashion and art. (A preview)"

→ Gong Jun attended the Maison Margiela show. Photos and videos: [1] [2] [3]

→ Gong Jun posted six photos of himself from that day. Caption: "Roses can sing 🎵" His studio reposted this with the added caption, "The music score is lively and the fragrance of roses is subtle. The metallic texture reflects @ Gong Jun Simon’s handsome appearance." Fan Observation: The caption is also the name of a song by Jolene Shao released on 2020-05-11. I've only been able to find it on QQ Music which is region-locked, but [here] is a clip on Twitter.

→ Gong Jun's studio posted nine photos of him from that day. Caption: "The rose from Jun dimension blooms in the heart, @ Gong Jun Simon listens to the symphony of art and fashion. Thanks to @ Maison Margiela for the invitation!"

→ Tissot posted six photos of Gong Jun. (1129 kadian)

→ Gong Jun posted eight photos of himself from that day to his Xiao Hong Shu. Caption: "Had fun playing That's weird, I'm still working"

→ Gong Jun posted a photo of himself and the Maison Margiela event host to his Instagram.

→ Gong Jun's studio posted a video from his photoshoot that day. Caption: "Autumn is getting stronger, and the factor of freedom bursts out melodiously. @ Gong Jun Simon shows his frankness and composes modern music." BGM is Nostalgias by Orlando Marconi and Juanjo Dominguez.

→ Vogue+ posted a short video of Gong Jun at the Maison Margiela event.

→ Rocco Liu, the editor for GQ magazine, posted two photos of himself with Gong Jun at the Maison Margiela event. He later also posted a video. [subbed video]

→ L'Oreal posted a photo ad of Gong Jun from the Le Défilé show.

→ Maison Margiela posted three photos of Gong Jun from that day.

10-04 → The influencer Chriselle Lim posted a tiktok from the Elie Saab show which includes a few moments with Gong Jun.

→ L'Oreal posted a video of the people who modeled for the show saying "I'm worth it" and variations thereupon, based on the show's theme of "we're worth it." Fan Observation: Gong Jun was the only solo person in this who said "we're worth it."

→ The Instagram posted ten photos of "Zhang Zhehan" in London.

→ Sina Fashion posted an interview with Gong Jun about the Le Défilé show. [subbed video] Fan Observation: He said that he had the option to wear a more colourful outfit, but decided on the black in order to not upstage the women walking who were more the focus of the campaign, because he's a very good boy. 🥺

→ Gong Jun posted a video in collaboration with L'Oreal of himself in Paris. Caption: "From set to runway, discover boundless inspiration. Join @ L'Oreal Paris to be 'beautiful' anytime, anywhere." This was reposted by L'Oreal.

10-05 → L'Oreal posted a video (flashing lights cw) and made an Instagram post of Gong Jun from the Le Défilé show. They also later posted a photo of him with Delphine Viguier-Hovasse, L'Oreal's international general manager.

→ The Instagram made a post announcing a livestream for the following day.

10-06 → The Instagram held another livestream.

10-07 → L'Oreal posted a video of the full Le Défilé show. Gong Jun appears at 05:48 and from 07:59.

→ Vogue+ posted a video spoken by Gong Jun announcing that he would be the guest editor for a special feature in their October issue focusing on creations by autistic children.

→ The Instagram posted eight photos of "Zhang Zhehan" rehearsing on stage.

→ L'Oreal posted a video of Gong Jun in Paris.

→ Louis Vuitton posted two photos of Gong Jun visiting their workshop in Paris.

→ Zhang Sanjian attended the Anti-AI MY live concert (see 09-08). He apparently has had enough of people making fun of his balloon-like butt pad, because he was completely pancaking it.

→ The Instagram posted eight photos of "Zhang Zhehan".

Additional Reading → An update on the scam's HZ Baobao glasses (see 08-16): buyers were told on 09-24 that production was delayed indefinitely, likely due to the blatant trademark infringement. They were offered a cheap mascot keychain and the option of a refund as compensation; many refused because the other option was the promise of an unspecified "future release".

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[f1blrcreatorsfest]

WELCOME TO WEEK 3!

keep it up, you're halfway through!

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[musicarenagh]

Rick Lee Vinson Group: Healing Through Music with 'Normal' The Rick Lee Vinson Group, based in Las Vegas, is making waves with their distinctive blend of Americana, folk rock, and modern country. Led by Rick Lee Vinson, the band includes Michael on vocals, Jonah on guitars, and Chris on keyboards. Since their formation in 2022, they've collaborated on over 80 songs, forging a strong musical connection. Their latest single, "Normal," released on September 18, 2024, showcases the band's talent for turning personal experiences into universally resonant music. The song draws inspiration from Rick's brother, Larry Levinsohn, and his battle with Covid-19. Co-written by the siblings, "Normal" explores the struggle to regain a sense of normalcy - a theme that strikes a chord with many in the aftermath of the pandemic. With its poignant lyrics and moving melody, "Normal" delves into the desire for health and stability, touching on themes of illness, sobriety, and resilience. The Rick Lee Vinson Group continues to captivate audiences with their emotive storytelling and authentic approach to songwriting. In this exclusive interview, we sit down with the band to uncover the story behind "Normal," discuss their creative process, and explore what normalcy means to them in today's world.   Listen to Normal https://open.spotify.com/track/3mReyYGF0sFuJv0XIcsFvr?si=l2wSUS69Ry-IH3Ga2Ki5DA Follow Rick Lee Vinson Group on Spotify Soundcloud Youtube Facebook   How did the Rick Lee Vinson Group originally come together, and how has your journey as a band evolved over the years? We met in 2022 and have recorded over 80 songs together. "Normal" is an intriguing title. Can you tell us the story behind the song and what inspired its creation? The song was inspired by Lar Lee Vinson, brother of Rick Lee Vinson and his bout with Covid-19. The concept of "normal" can mean different things to different people. What does the idea of normalcy mean to you and the band in the context of this song? It means being healthy and not dealing with illness. But it’s also about sobriety and not descending into as Lar puts it into Dante’s seventh ring of hell. [caption id="attachment_57302" align="alignnone" width="2000"] It means being healthy and not dealing with illness.[/caption] How does "Normal" fit into the overall sound and direction of the Rick Lee Vinson Group? Is it a continuation of your previous work or a new sonic direction? This one fits right in with our Americana meets folk rock meets modern country sound. What was the creative process like for "Normal"? Did everyone in the band contribute to the songwriting or arrangement? This songs lyrics came from Lar Lee Vinson, but the music as in all of the Rick Lee Vinson Group songs were composed by Rick Lee Vinson. About 2/3 of all Rick Lee Vinson Group songs are written produced by Rick Lee Vinson. Are there any specific themes or messages you hope your listeners will take away from "Normal"? I think the message is pretty much on the surface of the lyrics. How do you balance individual creativity with the collaborative nature of being in a band? Since the driving force of this unit is Rick Lee Vinson, every song has the Rick Lee current direction, however that being said, every member of the group has the creative freedom to bring ideas to every song for consideration. https://open.spotify.com/artist/3ud8WUBCxWNSmXLqT1YJyq?si=Q7A0PzWLSR-rJ6x8pDdnXg Was there a particular moment or experience that inspired the lyrics of "Normal," or is it more of a general reflection on society or personal experiences? Lar Lee’s battle with COVID is the center of this songs world How would you describe the chemistry within the band, both on stage and in the studio? Family all the way, driven by the creative genius of Rick Lee Vinson. Are there any plans for a music video or other visual content to accompany the release of "Normal"? Not at this time.  

[kate-bashford]

FAS3001 Creating the Final Outcome

When it came to developing my mood boards into the final outcome, I decided to focus on each board individually, and when I had reached a point where I was satisfied with the visuals of the page, would look at the look book holistically. 

The first page I fully completed was the fabrics and silhouettes page, which exposed me to the most new tools and photoshop skills. In particular, I had to use the stamp tool to manually build the top of one of the models heads as it was cut off in the original image (image 1). As I had done a fabric cut out of her to sit as a shadow, I also had to mirror this in the shadow too, which was also challenging. However, I feel this has been really successful and was worth the risk as the model works really well with the trend narrative and what I was trying to communicate on the page. I also added my main body of text on this page as it was most suited in terms of the space available (image 2). Once I had decided upon the text I was going to include around the models, I decided to focus this page solely on fabrics in terms of text. 

For the rest of the page’s development, I relied upon using cut outs of the silhouettes of the models and using these to communicate my chosen fabrics. I focussed mostly on FSC-certified viscose blends, merino wool and mohair blends, and feel these work really nicely both visually on the page and with the trend narrative. I used the pen tool to draw around the silhouettes of the models I wished to wrap text around, as seen in the image above. I then used this as an anchor for my text, so once the pen was changed to be clear, the text appeared to follow the model's silhouettes. When arranged to a point I was happy with, I feel this page has been the most successful, and really challenged my creative abilities. 

The front and back covers were less challenging as I only had to make minor changes to the original mood board. The first thing I changed was the colour of the main models' dress on the back page; I had not used much black in my other mood boards, and this page felt too monochromatic at this stage. After using a hue/saturation layer over the dress, the page was instantly enhanced, and not much was left to adapt. I removed a few images that cramped up the individual A5 pages and replaced them with the original WGSN inspiration image (EgonLab, 2022). Once adding a title, this page automatically felt complete; it was comforting to have a page come together fairly naturally, and gave me much more confidence going into the final few pages. 

The narrative page was a challenge after having to discover new images and start over. The final page is visibly very different to the initial mood board I had created, but I don’t necessarily believe this to be a bad thing. I followed very similar techniques to the fabrics page as this would be the easiest way to make it feel cohesive. Thus, I used the object selection tool frequently and made cut outs and arranged the models in a way that was visually similar to the first silhouettes page. It was at this point that I decided to add the various fabrics throughout the look book rather than solidly concentrated on one page. This was because fabrics are such a vital part of the narrative, and the variations of this would not necessarily be communicated fully if it was not distributed. To do this, I followed the same techniques as the initial fabric cut outs that I had made, and used the models' silhouettes to create abstract shapes in my primary images, as seen in image 3. When it came to adding the text to this page, I worked around the silhouettes of the models and used the dadaist shapes as colour blocks to caption the text, as seen above (image 4). 

The colour scheme page was one that challenged me a fair amount as it was left until the end to ensure I could use the eyedropper tool to physically extract the desired colours from the rest of the completed look book. I also copied and pasted these shapes as new layers, and manually built out the artwork to cover more of the page. I wanted to pay homage to an influential film for Ivy style- Annie Hall (1977) (Leaper, 2017)- so included a key model image of her here. To ensure the poor quality of this image was less noticeable, I added noise to the other models on this page (image 2), which was very successful. Once I added a background and my own primary image, this page was beginning to look more complete. After using the same techniques on this page as on the ones prior, I placed much of the focus on the text of this page. This was vital as it would be key to ensuring the colour palette is communicated properly. I achieved this through InDesign by using the basic text box tool to apply the WGSN colour names that I discovered from looking through all their colour palettes. After angling these to be parallel to the lines of the geometric dadaist shapes, this page was complete. 

EgonLab (2022) EGONIMATI- THE GREAT INNOVATION FW22. Available at: https://www.wgsn.com/fashion/article/93016?show=image.35318057#page8 [accessed 28 November 2022]

Leaper, C (2017) Why Annie Hall is still a timeless style icon, 40 years after the films release. Available at: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/fashion/style/annie-hall-still-timeless-style-icon-40-years-films-release/  [accessed 10 January 2023]

Schwitters, K (1921) Coloured Squares. Available at: https://www.ideelart.com/magazine/dadaist-artists [accessed 10 January 2023]

[h-worksrambles]

What if Sam & Max got another cartoon?

The Sam & Max animated series holds a very special place in my heart. While perhaps not my absolute favourite incarnation of the two (though it’s close), it still keeps up this series’ very high level of quality, and is probably one more the more overlooked shows of its era. Furthermore, it’s also probably the iteration of the franchise that I most want to see get a revival. Partly because it’s just a very good, but also very short show that deserved more episodes. But also because I think it has a fair bit of untapped potential, to take all the best bits of the animated series we got, and turn it into something even better. So I thought I’d make a short numbered list exploring some things I would like to see if these two got another chance to grace our screens. I may do also do a future post on what I would like to see in a new Sam & Max videogame. With all that said, let’s get crackin’!

1. Target a (slightly) older demographic

The cartoon is distinct as being the only version of Sam & Max to be explicitly marketed at kids. And much of this has to do with it originally airing on Fox Kids. While I think the writers did an excellent job with what they had, and maintained much of the spirit of the series with those constraints, it’s hard not to imagine what they could have done with more freedom. To clarify, I don’t exactly want the seres to go hard R. Even at its edgiest, Sam & Max has typically between quite tame by the standards of adult animation as we know it today. The games have never gone over a T rating and the comics’ content was never above the level a teenager could handle. But when you read through the official sketchbook and see how many fun jokes were cut, I can’t help but wonder just how hamstrung the writers were by the need to keep things mostly family friendly. Even if the show still got away with a lot...

...Moving right along... 2. Draw more inspiration from the comic.

One of my personal favourite parts of the cartoon is how much it adapted from the original comics. Characters like the Rubber Pants Commandos showed up as cameos. Comic baddy Mack Salmon became a recurring antagonist. And the show did the best it could within its budget to recreate the comics’ art style, included its hyper detailed, gag laden backgrounds. One of the best episodes is a direct adaptation of one of my favourite of the comics, Bad Day on the Moon, bringing it to life with full colour, animation and voice acting. All I can say is, do that but...more. Adapt one or two of the other comics in a handful of episodes. This also builds handily off point 1. Maybe a kids’ show would have struggled to adapt Monkey’s Violating the Heavely Temple, in which the main villain dies of spontaneous combustion on-screen. But with the added freedom of a higher age rating, maybe that could actually be done (since that was the very first comic it could actually make for a solid pilot). But this goes further than just direct adaptation. Incorporate ate more comic characters like Flint Paper. And, especially, lean more into the stylism of a comic. Occasionallly the show would feature things like closing out an episode with the image of an actual comic back cover closing over. Why not do more of that? Have scene transitions that resemble panel transitions, add comic captions with additional blink-and-you’ll-miss-it gags. Make the whole show feel like a comic book come to life. The comics are in some ways still the purest expression of what Sam & Max is, and I see nothing wrong with taking more cues from it.

3. More recurring characters, less one-offs

One thing I’ve noticed in my time in the Sam & Max fandom, is that the current fans really like the show’s new characters. Newcomers like the Geek, Granny Ruth, John the gator and Lorne, the wonderfully hateable Friend For Life, are all pretty well-liked by fans. 

  It’s odd, therefore, that most of them...aren’t in it all that much.  Lorne gets two episodes as the main antagonist, and a cameo in a third. And he’s frankly one of the luckiest ones. Despite being a fan favourite, Granny Ruth only has a single 10 minute episode. Checking the series bible also suggests other characters were planned to be recurring cast members, but were ultimately cut. The character Ms. Honeybunny was orignally going to be Sam & Max’s landlady, but ultimately only had a very different, much smaller role in Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang. And Mack Salmon? The show’s supposed big bad lifted from the comics? Two episodes, one of which is the finale. Now I absolutely think supporting characters can work well in Sam & Max. I have a whole other piece going into why. So I think these characters deserve more time to shine, especially the Geek, who I’ll talk about more in a later section.

To achieve this without drastically overinflating the show’s scope and run-time, it may be worth cutting down on the sheer number of one off characters and villains. If there’s one area I consider a weak point of the cartoon, it’s these guys. Does anyone really have any investment in Larvo? Did we need the incel moles? Are any fans clamouring for a return of Lactose the Intolerant? And hot take, Gary the psychic kid wasn’t sweet, he was just annoying, sorry-not-sorry. I’m not saying you can have no one off characters. But maybe cut down on the amount to make room for a slightly beefed up recurring cast. (Side note: but it’s worth pointing out that the cartoon-exclusive characters are still owned by Fox, and it would require some legal finagling to get them back. But even if these characters specifically couldn’t return, my points about the pros of an extended cast still stand).  Speaking of...

4. Use the Geek more, you cowards!

The Geek is simultaneously one of the most distinct aspects of this version of Sam & Max while also being the most under-used. Sam & Max’s tech supplier and resident girl-in -the-chair, she provided the duo with wacky inventions to solve cases with, while playing the role of deadpan snarking straight-woman to their insanity. Despite being effectively a studio mandated inclusion, a trend that has previously fallen flat in other shows, she actually works really well in Sam & Max’s dynamic, and there’s almost an implied screwed-up found family aspect between the three given that she’s living in their basement. Unfortunately, the fact that she was studio mandated is the most likely reason why she’s barely in the show. Whether for fear that she would mess up the pair’s dynamic, or just resentment at being foisted with her in the first place, the writers seemed hesistant to use her more than the bare minimum. She gets little to no screen time in the handful of episodes where she’s present, outside of one episode where she is kind of the focus.

  Still, as I said, I think that, despite the writers’ reservations, the Geek proved herself and succeeded where other kid avatars failed. And I would like a revival to use her to her full potential. Let her come on a case or two. Give her an episode where she’s the clear focus. And most of all, let her be a full-on mad scientist, every bit as morally ambiguous as her kinda-sorta dads. This is a girl who should be building deaths rays and running highly unethical experiments in her lab because it’s a Tuesday and she’s bored. I also wouldn’t mind playing up the found family angle she has with Sam & Max, but not too much. Sam & Max has always been really good at creating a believable relationship between its leads without being too saccharine. As much as I love how fans have run with the interpretation that the Geek is their adopted daughter I wouldn’t want to overplay it and try too hard to be cutesy or cloying. This franchise is classier than that. Basically, I want more of the energy encapsuated in this one scene from the show.

  Effervescent.

5. Have some nods to the wider series, but not too many

  Since I went on about taking more from the comic and having more recurring characters, you may be wondering if I want to see references to, or characters from, the video games in a cartoon revival. The answer is...kinda. Much as I enjoy the recurring cast of the Telltale games, and as much as I feel Hit the Road’s characters are actually super underrated, I do wonder if this could turn into overkill. Part of the charm of Sam & Max is its relative lack of canon. Every incarnation is distinct and so you can start wherever you like and have a good time. If Telltale characters were showing up every episode, the show would risk feeling less like its own thing, and being its own thing in the franchise was part of what made the cartoon so charming.

 The best blueprint for the approach to fanservice I would want actually comes from the recent game, This Time It’s Virtual. While my feelings on this entry are admittedly mixed, one thing it nails is being an absolute love letter to the series without risking continuity lockout. Most of its homages to the rest of the franchise are in off-hand references, or background gags. These are a treat for fans, without leaving newcomers confused. It’s still a solid jumping on point if you should choose to start there. Likewise, I would like to see the show reference the video games, but not too much. Maybe I don’t want Sybil and Bosco every episode, but you could perhaps use Bosco in one episode plotline based around his paranoia and absurd prices, getting the gist of his character across to newbies with no other knowledge required, and leave it at that. Or maybe Sybil gets one episode instead, hiring the two out for a case and switching jobs three or so times across the episode. Or perhaps a Conroy Bumpus revenge episode. And I’d say that much, at most. I see no problem drawing freely from the comic since that’s effectively the series’ source text. But as for the rest of the franchise, by all means homage it, but don’t go overboard. Throw the fans a bone while still letting the show stand on its own.   ...And that’s pretty much all my ideas for what I would like to see in a new Sam & Max cartoon! Oh, and before you ask about voices, while I would love to see David Nowlin and Rob Tinkler, my favourite Sam & Max respectively, perform together, this would likely be decided by the logistics of where the show was produced and what voice actor union the creative team would be pulling from. So I would be entirely open to new voice actors, or old ones returning, I wouldn’t mind either way. 

  I hope this was a fun read and that you’ll join me in keeping your fingers crossed that, one day, we will get another TV series with these goofballs. If you have any ideas of your own for what a new cartoon would look like, feel free to leave a reply. I’d love to see other folks’ ideas too!  

[undine-taz]

5 times Diavolo failed to be a sugar daddy and one time he succeeded

I'm just imagining poor Diavolo trying SO HARD to spoil an MC who is just. Not greedy in the slightest and loves weird little shinies while being totally indifferent to the super crazy expensive gifts he usually gives to people he's trying to woo. Just in case, this is the PUREST OF FLUFF and completely sfw. I can’t even think of any tw to tag??? Let me know if you notice something. Oh, and MC is imagined to be gender neutral. There’s a mention of perfume, but not in the feminine sense- that’s just the proper word for a certain level of scent concentration.

1. Expensive Perfume

Diavolo's first attempt is the most expensive perfume/cologne money can buy

He's not quite sure what MC's favorite scent is, so he buys a wide variety

All the bottles are sleek and minimalistic and the scents inside are VERY obviously expensive, the kind of thing Mammon would probably lose his mind over

MC's reaction is perfectly grateful, they say sincerely how much they appreciate him thinking of them. He doesn't feel a single lie off of them and he walks away mostly satisfied thinking maybe they’re just the type to not show a ton of excitement over gifts

That is, until he's walking down the hallways in RAD and happens to overhear a conversation between Asmo and MC

Asmo's talking about how he's been going through perfume at a record pace lately, and he feel so bad about wasting these beautiful bottles... would MC like them? He has one shaped like a rose, one like a star, one modeled after the cosmos... 

Asmo doesn't even get to finish because MC is already flapping their hands in joy (I'm autistic and MC is going to happy stim if it kills me) and wiggling and practically jumping into Asmo's arms in excitement

Asmo's laughing and promising to save all of his prettiest empty perfume bottles for MC from now on and MC is practically wiggling in joy and nuzzling their face into Asmo's chest in happiness

They’re talking about spending the night in Asmo’s room trying to make perfume blends for each other to fill up the bottles and tossing scent ideas back and forth

And Diavolo is sitting there feeling a bit like he's been bonked over the head. Those happy stims are ADORABLE and he wants to be the one who causes them. He's not sure why his perfume failed and Asmo's literal empty bottles worked but he's DETERMINED to try again

2. Fancy gemstones

Diavolo's next attempt is fancy gemstones. He finds large, beautifully cut and processed gemstones, the type that are so perfectly processed they look almost identical except for color

Again, when he gives MC his gifts he can tell that they're sincerely grateful! They tell him they love that he was thinking of them, they worry that he spent too much money on them ( they try to refuse at first because it's too much, but Diavolo breezes past their protests with a smile and an iron will) and Diavolo doesn't sense even the tiniest hint of untruth from their professions of gratitude

But.... there are no happy wiggles, no stunned gasps, no joyously flapping hands, no nothing. Just calm gratitude.

Diavolo goes back to the drawing board, and he's just going to visit the HOL library for inspiration in a rare book (and as an excuse to see MC) when he hears Satan and MC laughing together in the library.

When he walks in, he sees Satan and MC crouched together with some strange tools in their hands, gently chipping away at a large rock. There's a tiny pile of uncut, unprocessed gemstones at MC's elbow.

As soon as MC sees him, he's aflood in a wash of excited chatter as MC tells him about the gemstone mining kit Satan bought after reading a book on gemstones. In fact Diavolo can see the book open at Satan's elbow along with a notebook where the two have been identifying every gemstone they dig up.

Before he knows it, MC seizes his hand and he's drawn into the game, watching their eyes shine and seeing them bounce in their seat with excitement every time they uncover a new gemstone.

Dammit. Another failure. But, Diavolo finds as he watches MC's obvious joy, he can't be too frustrated when they're this happy. 

3. Shopping spree at Majolish

Diavolo is undeterred! He takes a day to bring them to Majolish, having them try on outfit after outfit. Sure, they're not picking out very many things, but he loves spending time with them and they say they're enjoying themself.

After several hours, Barbatos gently reminds him that he has a meeting soon and that MC seems absolutely exhausted.

Diavolo pouts, especially when he sees that MC hasn't picked out very many things, but he sighs and concedes.

When he drops them off at the HOL, MC gives him a hug and thanks him for helping them pick out some more formal outfits for any upcoming RAD events. Diavolo accepts the hug gladly, but there's no squeaking or jumping and DEFINITELY no flapping. MC seems rather exhausted, and Belphegor has appeared from nowhere and draped himself over MC and is mumbling about needing a nap buddy and MC isn't even trying to argue 

The next day, Barbatos shows him Levi's post on Devilgram. It's a video, of Levi giving MC a plain, unassuming box.

When MC opens the box, their mouth drops open, their eyes go wide, and they fling themselves at Levi, happily nuzzling into his chest and mumbling incoherent thanks while Levi turns bright red and starts stuttering and clearly tries not to combust

The video cuts out for a second and then starts again with MC wearing a simple shirt embroidered with a strange logo, which Levi explains from behind the camera is inspired by MC's favorite series and was handmade by Levi for practice. Levi was apparently asked to design formalwear inspired by anime, and he chose MC's favorite to practice a design. According to the caption, the two spent an entire day together watching the series and sketching ideas!

MC is beaming and happy stimming while Diavolo thumps his head into his desk dramatically and Barbatos elegantly stifles a chuckle behind him. 

4. Bouquets of flowers

Well now Diavolo is determined. HE WILL MAKE MC HAPPY STIM IF IT KILLS HIM

HE HAS HIS PRIDE AS THE FUTURE DEMON KING DAMMIT

He begins watching the corniest of romcoms for ideas.

Midway into one of them, he sees the character buy their love interest bouquets upon bouquets of roses

BRILLIANT! He's up and placing orders immediately. Barbatos stays behind for a few minutes to actually watch how this particular ploy works out on screen, before laughing and going to watch the chaos

As dedicated as he is to the young lord, watching Diavolo scramble around trying to impress his first puppy love only to fail because the target of his affections is simply too humble.... well, it's honestly adorable. He'll step in if it goes on for too long, but for now it might actually be good for the young master to experience something he can't have by throwing money or influence at it.

Diavolo has some of the Devildom's finest florists on the horn and he's sending a veritable flood of their finest cut flowers... AND he's sending them from an anonymous source, just like in the movie! The woman in the movie only sent over THREE bouquets to the object of her love, so Diavolo sends 300. Only the best for his MC :)

He's waiting impatiently for the results of his little scheme when he gets an apologetic text from Lucifer saying that he'll be late to the meeting and MC won't be coming at all. Some anonymous admirer sent MC an excessive amount of flowers and the sheer amount of pollen triggered allergies in ALL of the demon bros and MC.

Lucifer needed time to clear out the house and distribute allergy meds to everyone and buy out the nearest store on tissue paper

Barbatos is no longer even bothering to stifle his chuckles while Diavolo buries his face in his arms to hide his shame

To rub salt in the wound, Lucifer tells him a few days later that he set up a miniature greenhouse for MC to grow humanworld herbs in and they've barely left it in the last two days

Lucifer’s been spending most of his free time in the greenhouse with them, helping them tinker with humidity spells and listening to their excited monologues on human gardening techniques

Lucifer is definitely smirking as he tells Diavolo this and Diavolo doesn't bother to ask how Lucifer knew what was going on, because his old friend knows him too well and Diavolo realizes he's not exactly subtle.

What he doesn't realize is that Barbatos is also a dirty dirty snitch and he and Lucifer have been watching over his attempts with a mix of hilarity and pity

5. Desserts

Some might give up, but not Diavolo! His newest ideas is fancy desserts. He was told by a sweet old succubus that the best way to his lover's heart was through the stomach (actually she initially had some far raunchier suggestions that had made Diavolo blush and had given him some ideas for far, FAR in his future relationship with MC, but that's neither here nor there) and so here Diavolo is, placing a giant order at Madame Scream's to be delivered to the HOL.

This time he has learned from his mistakes and he signs it as being from him and addresses it to "MC and the residents of HOL" because even he recognizes there are far too many sweets for a human to eat before they go bad

Barbatos by this point is starting to feel pity and is almost tempted to suggest he wait until it's not Beel's day for Fangol practice to send a giant array of tempting sweets.

Almost. If it weren't for the maid cafe fiasco of last week Barbatos probably would have, but that lace had chafed in areas that should never be chafed.

Diavolo sent his gift only to receive a poorly drawn thank-you card drawn by Beel and signed by everyone at the HOL, including MC, even though "I didn't even get a chance to eat any, BEEL"

This poor man feels his soul leave his body, especially when he returns home from RAD to find Barbatos and MC baking together and singing along to Disney songs (well, MC was singing, Barbatos was simply watching them with a smile and occasionally twisting them into a simple dance to make them laugh and squiggle with joy)

Et tu, Barbatos?

After yesterday's glitter incident, Barbatos has no shame and simply smirks back. He'll help the young lord when he can shower without finding glitter in every crevice.

+1: Tea together

Diavolo is planning his next gift when he gets a message from MC, of all people

His heart flutters, he has butterflies in his stomach, and he hasn't even read it yet!

It's a simple text- "What are you up to?" 

Obviously Diavolo can't admit he's shirking paperwork to try and figure out a gift that would make them happy! So he improvises and claims he's working. He gets back a sad face emoji and a simple "Miss you! I feel like we haven't hung out in forever, but I know how busy you are. Good luck, I'm rooting for you!"

SHOT THROUGH THE HEART AND MC IS TO BLAME

This man is dramatically draped over his desk wailing about how cute MC is.

Luckily for him Barbatos has forgiven him for both the maid cafe incident and the glitter incident and Diavolo has been too distracted trying to plan gifts to cause any new chaos

Barbatos hands him a lovely picnic basket, complete with tea and fancy sandwiches, and tells him to go see MC and take a break since he's clearly not getting any work done as is.

Cue guilty glance to the overwhelming stack of paperwork that's been building up. He swears he's never seen Barbatos place more and yet they keep growing, are they breeding somehow...? Did Lucifer curse him after the taffy incident?

Either way, Diavolo takes the basket and heads off to HOL.

He's either very lucky or (more likely) Barbatos bribed Lucifer into helping him out, as MC is the one to answer the door.

They look kind of down until they see him and he explains he's there to spend time with them, and then they absolutely LIGHT UP.

Before he knows it, they've thrown himself into his arms and they're bouncing in excitement and snuggling him and happy flapping and boyo is confused but OVER THE MOON.

He finally did it!?!?! What was it!?!?! The picnic basket? Do they have a thing for picnics baskets!?!?! 

And then he actually tunes in a d listens to their flood of chatter and how happy they are to see him and how much they've missed him and how excited and grateful they are they he took time out of his busy schedule to spend time with him and out in the thought to prepare a way for them to spend time in each other's company...

O H

He is M E L T I N G

He can't believe it was this easy.... no need for fancy gifts or anything like that, just... paying attention to their likes and spending time with them???? 

Holy shit he is gonna protect this human's smile witH HIS LIFE 

And now that he understands them better he can buy EXPENSIVE SHIT THEY'LL ACTUALLY LIKE AND HE'LL GET ALL THE HAPPY SNUGGLES AND JOYOUS STIMMING IN THE WORLD!!!! 

Yes, he decides, wrapping his arms around them while trying to keep the basket level

Now that he's gotten a taste of their sincere joy, he's hooked and he's going to make them as excited and happy as this as often as he possibly can. 

[1ddotdhq]

🎹Fri 20 Nov ‘20🐁

Liam went live today, to promote the LP Act 3 watchback (which is tomorrow!), as well as talk about...well, anything but himself, because he “talks about himself every day” and aren't we bored with it cause he is! He let us know that he and Tom Felton will be doing a duet of Little Things tomorrow during the watchback, so SOMEONE better put it on here so I can see it and SOB. He did an impression of Roman Kemp doing an impression of Harry Styles (though he didn’t know what Harry was doing tonight): “ummmm, hi, guys,” he said, in a nasally voice and deep register. “It’s not perfect,” he admits, “but I did manage to fool someone the other day!”. Liam also tried other character voices, including Tom Felton, Voldemort, and Mickey Mouse, but he couldn’t do Louis (“I can’t do his voice without listening for a long time”) or Niall (“he doesn’t like my impression of him), but he did sing a bit of “This Town”, as it’s his favorite Niall song! Liam talked some more about his art, and how people get better at it - draw some artistic theory study drawings (“like a glass of water”) and things that you’re comfortable with (“I’m quite comfortable with rats at the moment” can’t wait to see his rendition of Simon Cowell).  His sister Ruth tried to get on the live with him, but to no avail :(, as they had some connection issues (“I didn’t cut my sister off,” he said indignantly. “U did”, Ruth replied in the chat). He also reassured us that he won’t ever stop talking about One Direction (“I’ll be talking about it ‘til the day I roll over”) because it was the best time of his life. It was so good, in fact, that just the other day he went back and rewatched ALL of the One Direction adverts ever made (“because Maya hadn’t seen them all” mhmm sure, keep telling yourself that!). Liam also tweeted about World Children’s Day, posted more pictures of him in his Hugo capsule, and did another zoom call with fans! 

Niall's behind the scenes video from the RAH is out and it's actually an Ashe behind the scenes video and it’s...odd. I mean she's great, but the video is a sequence of discombobulated shots leading up to the day of the Royal Albert Hall show. Favorite parts include: the disconnected captions throughout the video (including the random “Gucci” floating around), Niall and Ashe awkwardly flirting (“you’ve been working out,” she says. “Yeah! Is it good for you?,” Niall laughs) and some studio practice content. We also got some behind the scenes content from Harry’s team: an article about how they shot ‘Falling’! Francois Audouy - a design magazine - walked through the tech of building the set. We got behind the scenes pics- scuba divers on set!- some fun trivia about the piano- it was 100 years old and belonged to starlet Deanna Durbin who died in 2013 at age 91, talk about the Harry's-tattoo inspired paintings they added to it, and we learned that the piano, unfortunately, died that day, as a result of being submerged in water- “the black keys falling (haha) away like broken teeth”. The video itself was shot in heated water with divers on hand to assure everyone’s safety. Harry has also been named one of Brandwatch’s most influential people on twitter, which is quite a feat, considering he’s never ON twitter!

[windermeresimblr]

Story Process Challenge

I was tagged by @danjaley and @treason-and-plot (in alphabetical order, not tagging order). Thank you both so much!

Summary: My process makes sense to myself alone and it’s very much a work in progress! Also, I’m very boring and don’t do gifs or videos, so you’ll just have to look at my screenshots. Sorry!

This is behind the jump for length.

1. Your writing process - show us a part of your script or explain how you write your scenes. Do you write in screenplay format or novel format? Etc, etc.

I write in novel format if it’s a wholly-posed story, mostly because that’s easier for me than a script. I feel like it really helps build the ~aesthetic~ of a scene that way. For my attempts at partially-posed/gameplay stories, I’ve gone for screenplay format, but it’s very new to me and I feel much more comfortable with the novel format. I usually write in Google Docs, since that can go with me everywhere and I can write on my lunch hour/waiting for my mom to get out of the pharmacy/etc, but sometimes I will write in Notepad. 

(Yes, this IS a flashback to Alasdair and Ma. Yolanda meeting; they were perfect teenage hellions causing chaos at a society party, don’t worry.)

2. Scene building - show us you in the middle of scene building through pictures, gifs, or a video. Explain what is the best thing about scene building and what is the worst!

I’m still learning how to make a very good scene build; this is where being a historical player kind of hurts. It’s hard to get a good sense of what a 1810s Spanish drawing room or a 1600s merchant’s house in Amsterdam really looked like without abusing my library privileges! (Images from Wikipedia and historical sites only go so far.) The best thing about scene-building is when the vision of the room in my head matches the room that’s in-game, which is pretty difficult. The worst thing about scene building is that I’m very perfectionistic and a control freak, which does not help, and frequently I do get lost in the details and can’t see the forest for the trees. 

(This isn’t a scene, it’s that Iron Age Roundhouse, but it’s a good example of how I do things--all the lights on, everything bright white paint or the $0 floor until I am happy with the shape and placement, and then I decorate.) 

3. CC/Pose Making - do you make your own cc/poses for your scene? If so, what is your process like to create? Do you just go off the top of your head? Do you use reference photos?

I’d love to be able to make my own CC and poses specifically for scenes! I’m still very new at CC-making--see my hats collection--and again, I’m very much a control freak. I use a lot of reference photos, especially historical costuming sites and books, because it gives me a lot of pride to have the clothing and accessories look just right. 

The creation process is usually: gosh, I need a crispinette/gable hood/palla/whatever for this character, let me see if there’s a mesh from TS2 or TS4 that I can wrangle into submission if I can’t repurpose an existing mesh, and then a prolonged period of fighting with Milkshape and TSRW and other programs until it looks serviceable and works. I’m not very technically skilled yet.

I don’t make my own poses--I’d love to, I have a hand-spinning poseset idea living rent-free in my mind at all times, complete with a drop spindle accessory, but I’m not very confident with Blender or hand accessories, etc. When I pose my Sims, I do use reference photos if I haven’t already planned out how they’re moving around in the scene. (Well, reference paintings, usually, although sometimes I’m lucky enough to find reenactment photos!)

4. Getting in the zone - What do you do to get in the zone to work on a scene? Examples include: show us your playlist you use when working on a scene, what’s your go-to scene snack/drink, etc.

I don’t know if I get into a zone as much as I just carve out time to work on things as I can. I don’t have playlists for my characters. (Not a Deaf thing; I just haven’t really...had the urge to do that. I’m worried I’m a neglectful Simmer now, ha ha.) I don’t have a go-to writing snack or drink. I just...try to relax a bit, usually, and sometimes I will look at my past chapters to see what we were doing last time. 

5. Screenshot folder - give us a look into your screenshot folder to show us just how much goes into ONE scene for your story. (Scrapped pictures encouraged!!!)

Do you REALLY want to see this? Really? I’m an AWFUL packrat. I try to organize it and I can’t. (Sorry. I’m very messy.)

6. Captions - are you a caption on the picture kind of storyteller or captions in text box type of storyteller? Why? Do you do both?

Captions and text go in the text box.

I’d love to be able to put dialogue in speech bubbles, because it seems cool, but I talk too much! (This is the same reason why I kind of go back and forth with Netflix-style captions. I don’t know when to shut up.) I also worry that the captions wouldn’t be visible in scenes with low lighting or overly-bright lighting. 

7. Editing!!!!! - explain and show us your process editing a scene through a video, gif, or picture. A Before and after will suffice if you aren’t in the middle of editing a scene as you answer this.

Philomena, before...

Philomena, after. (This is one of those images where I just threw up my hands at the hair editing. I wish TS3 had hat chops like TS4 did.)

I’m really not confident with editing--I want to have my pictures look aesthetically pleasing, consistent with the other images in the chapter, and “nice” in general. It doesn’t help that while I’m 95% Maxis-match, my aesthetic inspiration for scenes changes with the wind. I use pooklet’s lighting actions, and then from there I tend to use the Holy Colors, Batman actions. But I’m trying to find my own way of doing things--reliant on others’ actions, yes, but more consistently done and somehow conveying that it’s “of my workshop.”

8. Throwback-  show us an ANCIENT story scene you did in the past and explain how you would do the scene differently today!

First: I think I’d choose a different pose for Vicar Max here. (It doesn’t quite fit; why would he be staring at Alasdair like that? It’s more of a mid-conversation pose.) I liked how it looked like Alasdair was genuflecting as he sat in the pew, but again, the pose needs to be changed. I might just go for neutral sitting-and-talking-looking-straight-ahead poses. 

This was one of those pictures taken when I was trying to understand Reshade, so I’d obviously skip that. I’d also add Pooklet’s lighting actions, of course.

It’s definitely not lit well in the back--I’m not sure how I’d change that. I didn’t want to lose the “quiet chapel” feel, but there has to be a balance, not letting the characters look like they’re spotlit. 

The angle also looks weird, but I’m horrible at angles; I have a lot to learn still.  I’d either close-up on the faces or I’d zoom out more. (I think I was having issues with Alasdair on the OMSP, for some reason.)

I tag whoever would like to do this!

[divine-motion]

don’t fucking interact if you ship t/cest and minor/adult ships

more shitty phone photos of sketchbook sketches for my tmnt fan incarnation/tmnt 2012 rewrite bc i have no shame and i’m having fun with it! pictures should have captions since i spent time writing them out, but tumblr might mess it up, so in case captions doesn’t work: 1. left to right: leo, donatello up, raphael down, michelangelo 2. Casey Jones up top, April O’Neil to the right, donatello in the middle and karai at the bottom 3. casey and don again, raphael to the left, mikey at the bottom just bc i liked how their their expressions turned out and didn’t want a bunch of negative space so don and case appear again 4. size chart featuring turtles. left to right: leo, don, mikey, raph 5. sketchy Slash design. big boy.

general thoughts character stuff below the Keep Reading. A Lot of rambling below so beware!!

April: 15 years old, trans and bi. local fifteen year old telepath finds out that not everyone is able to feel what other people are feeling, something she’s been able to do since she was six after she played in that one weirdly glowy puddle (early Kraang mutagen attempt that only managed to mutate April in the sense that it gave her telepathy, was originally intended to make humans become part of the Kraang hivemind). she’s largely unfazed by the existence of mutants and aliens, taking it in stride, and finds out about the Kraang - and meets the turtles - while snooping around TCRI business (aspiring journalist that she is) and accidentally witnessing the mutation of Snakeweed. her telepathy, which later as she grows in power alongside the turtles extends to telekinesis and basically possession, is very useful whenever she gets into a scrap since she can predict what moves her opponent will make, thus letting her dodge their blows effectively. personality wise she is a very determined and driven young girl, incredibly curious (and cannot mind her own business, she wants to know all the drama while not having to be part of it... which makes her very fortunate to be a telepath. listen she’s 15 she’s allowed to misuse her powers a little bit. as a treat.), playful, and cheerful, and she’s an extroverted autistic. in her spare time between her studies, she likes to play bass, sing, read, and write. that, and investigating whatever shady business is going on in town, and she makes it very clear to the turtles that even if they weren’t going to deal with the Kraang, she’d continue to try to stop them herself. she would like to not live under the threat of her or her loved ones getting mutated, thank you very much! and, you know, it’s kind of exciting. kind of.

i know it’s bc i have brain issues when it comes to parent figures but i am very much leaning towards Splinter not being... a good dad. i don’t think 2012 Splinter is a good dad anyways but i’d probably amp it up, make him a mix of 2012 and idw probably. i’m still mulling it over but like, remember in the season 1 finale when leo is watching his show and thinks the captain guy making a totally unnecessary sacrifice is a heroic move, and then Splinter tells leo (his fifteen year old child) that leo should know what or who to sacrifice, more or less telling him to sacrifice his brothers’ lives, potentially?? i know there was a lot at stake but hello??? i remember watching it and being like me: ah i see, this is showing that splinter is wrong and there is no need for any sacrifices as seen in the show when the captain Goes Down With His Ship for no reason other than just sacrificing himself, and leo will see that- leo: *tries to sacrifice himself twice in the finale, both times being kind of unnecessary/seemed like if he had just hurried or done something slightly different there would be no need to stay behind, and he gets out fine with no consequences, seemingly no injuries, and does Not learn anything, his brothers don’t even get sad when they think he died or get mad at him for pulling such a dumb move) me: surprised_pikachu.jpeg

like that moment haunts me. has any other splinter told their sons to sacrifice himself or his brothers? has any other splinter put that on them??? idw doesn’t count if he has bc he’s more explicitly supposed to be bad so???

sometimes writers think they’ve made an uncle iroh but they really, really, really haven’t. also his backstory is the same as in the show

anyways. Donatello: 15 years old, bog turtle, nonbinary (he/they, doesn’t mind being called brother but doesn’t like to be called “boy” or “girl” or whatever), bi. he isn’t in love with April. no creepy incel shit here. donnie is instead more like a mix between his Rise and 2003 self. he has trouble expressing himself and is pretty introverted, but he is very altruistic, kind, and compassionate. a lot of his inventions are made to help people and he was driven to learn about science and engineering because he wants to find a way to reverse splinter’s mutation, to give splinter his life and humanity back. he feels like he needs to know if splinter would just abandon them if he wasn’t a huge rat man, needs to know if there’s any part of splinter that blames them for being constant reminders of his mutation. other than that, he also likes to make inventions because he’s a dreamer and wants to experiment to see how much of the unknown he can push beyond. also, the best liar out of the turtles. also fairly good at compromising and prefers to solve conflicts without violence he can get a little... “obnoxious 15 year old genius” at times. even when he’s helpful it can come off as a bit “poor dear isn’t as smart as me”, and while he usually gets along well with Raph, he doesn’t handle Raph’s temper well at all (calls him “Wrathael/Wrath” and thinks he’s being super clever) and gets really dismissive of Raph’s “outbursts”.

Michelangelo: 13 years old, diamondback terrapin, unsure about the gender and sexuality thing but he doesn’t think he’s exactly cis and definitely not straight. a bouncy ball of sunshine and surprising emotional maturity and emotional intelligence! more so than his emotionally constipated brothers, at least. it’s on his thirteenth birthday (it was leo’s idea for them to pick dates that would let them have their own birthdays instead of sharing the “Mutation Day”, Mutation Day being another special “holiday”) that the Plot would be set in motion, as he’s finally allowed to go to the surface same as his brothers, and on this first night out they meet April and the Kraang and other mutants. he is a goof still, but he’s capable in his own right and gets frustrated when people treat him like a baby or an idiot because he’s not. he doesn’t always treat everything with the seriousness it should but like. he’s thirteen, he’s having fun. even so, he’s very insistent of taking responsibility whenever he does do something wrong and gets mad if someone tries to take the blame for something he’s done. definitely the most compassionate and empathetic out of the turtles, he’s quick to make friends and is very persuasive due to his earnest nature and good heart. much like donnie, he prefers to solve conflict without violence but does enjoy knocking skulls a lot more than donnie. unlike donnie, though, he is almost overly forgiving and not petty at all. he’s well aware that his kindness and forgiveness may be taken advantage of, but he still likes to approach people with an open hand, even if he knows that it may end up getting bitten. oh, and his hobbies include drawing, cooking, singing, and dancing. he likes to express himself!

Raphael: 14 years old, mississippi map turtle, trans, bi. all his fury is compressed within his tiny body, that’s why he’s so angry all the time! no, he’s not angry all the time, but he does have a short fuse. he absolutely hates his anger issues which leads to a lot of self-loathing, and a lot of frustration as his family members either don’t take his anger seriously or don’t have the tools to help him with it. he’s the physically strongest out of the bunch and the least agile. he loves animals and plants a lot and keeps a lot of flowers in his room, hoping that he can one day become a gardener. as his idw self, he wants to watch things grow, but no matter what he does he seems to be best at destroying things. he’s also the one most self-conscious about how the human world perceives them, as he greatly fears rejection, and is the first one to see something positive with people getting mutated - namely, that maybe this way mutants will be more well known and finally accepted by society, so he’ll no longer be trapped in the sewer until the end of his days. so yeah, he’s a huge optimist, in truth. also he’s great at knitting - great at creating and taking care of things in general - and there’s no leo and raph rivalry this time around. he can get mad at leo but not really more than he gets with his other brothers.

Casey: 15 years old, nonbinary (they/them), bi. teen vigilante who gets inspired to fight mutants and the big time criminals (no beating up pickpockets or shoplifters or whatever, just the ones that are really hurting people) and gets roped into the turtle fam after meeting raph and becoming unexpected friends (everyone was expecting it, once Casey realized that mutants are people and not weird monsters. well, not all the time, anyways). they struggle a bit in school not because of a lack of trying but a lack of time, as their parents work full time jobs and someone has to take care of casey’s little sister. their parents are very loving, but they only have so much time, so casey takes it upon themselves to take care of their little sister when their parents are busy and/or burned out from work. that, and they run into the classic dilemma of vigilante work clashing with school work. as always, they have a short fuse, they’re pretty cocky, they like beating ass, and they like hockey a whole lot. hockey, vigilante work, school, and taking care of their little sister... yeah, they have a lot on their plate. oh, and making their little inventions like the taser glove and their puck bombs, something that they bond with donnie over.

Leonardo: 17 years old, Central American wood turtle, trans, gay. he doesn’t fall in love with his sister oh my god. ahem. so, leo is raised from the start to be a Leader and has to mature very quickly, learning to be an adult way earlier than he should’ve, and as such he is very stoic and quiet, and doesn’t seem to have any hobbies, instead just doing chores and training almost constantly, and when he’s not doing that he’s reading or sleeping in his free time. he’s incredibly protective of his younger brothers and his other allies/friends, even if he acts distant and detached most of the time, and removes himself from situations where they’re having fun to not be the stick in the mud. he loves his brothers and admires them greatly, believing they could be So Much if the surface world would just accept them, and as a result he tries to be The Soldier so his brothers won’t have to. alas, they still get caught up in the Kraang and Shredder business, which frustrates him internally. he is the best fighter out of the turtles on account of having more years to train (and convincing Splinter to wait a few more years before they got Real training bc Come On Dude They’re Kids) but it’s the Only thing he’s good at, along with stealth and his sharp eyes. he absolutely sucks at talking when it isn’t about a mission or something he can script easily in his head. in his mind, he’s supposed to be more of a weapon than a person, an idea that isn’t exactly encouraged by Splinter... but not exactly discouraged either. his arc would be very paralleled with Karai’s, as they would both learn to hate their dads... also, absolutely down for murder, and a lawful neutral at best, putting his family and friends’ safety above all other things and following a strict personal code. doesn’t care too much for society’s laws, though.

Karai: 16 years old, demigirl, lesbian. same backstory as in the show, she’s born as Miwa but gets taken by Oroku Saki and raised as his daughter. however, she doesn’t exactly want revenge against Hamato Yoshi because she believes that he killed her mother. she never knew her mother, so it’s much more difficult to hate someone for taking her mother away, even if it does mean that she never got to know her mother. especially since her father rarely spoke of what her mother was like, and much more about how much he hates Yoshi. instead, her need for revenge is more for the possibly idyllic life she was robbed of, since she believes that maybe, just maybe, her father Saki would’ve been a kind father that would’ve let her have a normal childhood and not be molded into a warrior from the start if her mother still lived. and hey, maybe Tang Shen would be a nice mom too. being trained in the art of deception, Karai has a tendency to talk a lot and say very little, or at least very little that is true. she is rarely ever sincere and acts as if she’s taking nothing seriously, which is part of her defense mechanism to never let anyone close or see her true self. she mocks pretty much everyone, ally and enemy alike, but especially likes to make fun of her father’s henchmen and is always the first to point out their failures. while she does value honor to some extent, she is a bit “flimsy” when it comes to loyalty, especially after the truth about her father is revealed. when that is revealed, she at first just feels very numb, learning that not only has she been nothing but a tool and a weapon for the Shredder from the very start, but also that the idyllic fantasy where her mother still lived, perhaps her life wouldn’t be so different after all. she looks at leonardo and sees a reflection of herself, that her “real” father chose to train his sons the same way the Shredder trained her. she feels stupid for feeling like she’s been robbed of even a fantasy, but it still enrages her. of course, this also inspires her to stay with the Foot Clan... just to get the kill on Shredder.

... yeah. that got long. ahem. i’m very passionate about this unfortunately!! anyways i might draw/write more for it because no one can stop me and i’m having fun

[digitalbay]

 Which is a top Custom t shirt from Teespring?

sothatway answers

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Written by sothatway



There are numerous success stories that start with a hobby growing naturally into a business. Many aspire to follow a similar path, just like this cowgirl from Texas. Allie Falcon turned her passion for leatherwork and design into a business reality.



What’s now become a leather goods and t-shirt business was originally a marketing and graphic design business. Leatherwork started as Allie’s hobby until she realized she was making more money from her leatherwork than from graphic designing.

“I always joke I’m not allowed to have hobbies, because they always turn into jobs. :)”

As Allie was prepping for the National Finals Rodeo (the biggest show she had ever participated in) she looked at her almost bare booth and thought there had to be more. Driving home one night, Allie’s husband suggested making t-shirts. Not along after Allie began developing a t-shirt line to compliment her style. Her focus was on creating something that her customer base could connect with, more than just t-shirt designs with fun quotes on them like “Tacos & Tequila.”

“I just didn’t see anything in the western market that was art on its own. There were quotes on everything. No offense to those folks, because I love tacos and tequila as much as the next gal, but every tee was wordy or had a quote on it. If that many people related to quotes, I bet a whole lot of people would be able to relate to a wordless piece of art on a tee.”

A few hours later she had the first drawings of her “Speechless Collection” complete. Allie wanted her collection to represent every western woman. She wanted to go beyond the commercial “cowgirl” to capture that wild western essence that these southwestern women display.

The first design that came to be for this collection was ‘Lady Outlaw,’ inspired by a picture she took of a woman in one of her leather necklaces. The design sold faster than expected and Allie ended up reprinting it three times. Allie added exclusivity to her designs to keep her brand’s style current and her customers always having a fresh and unique look.



“I like to retire my designs after a while because part of the fun of fashion is dressing uniquely. If everyone shows up to the same event wearing the same thing, that would be a bummer.”

Allie’s t-shirt business stemmed from her passion for leatherwork. Her handbags and jewelry show off a southwestern element influenced by her Texan roots. Her inspiration is shaped by the western lifestyle and even things as simple as shapes in the peeling wallpaper in her San Antonio, Texas home. Allie’s designs are her essence in its purest form.

To this day Allie is at home with her ranch lifestyle. “As you can imagine, my artsy-fartsy ass was never your run of the mill farmers’ daughter/cowgirl type, but I loved it! Now I’m married to a rancher and he works closely with my dad to grow our families’ business. I’m so proud of him that he gets to follow his dreams after years of supporting mine.”

Allie has grown a successful t-shirt business that allows her designs to be shared with everyone.

“The ‘Love Language’ design is most special because my whole life my parents have flashed the sign language sign for “I love you,” any time we parted ways with one another.”

Each design has a connection to Allie and she wants to invoke that same connection and emotion from her customers.

When it comes to choosing blank garments, Allie is a Bella + Canvas fan. She prefers the Canvas 3001 100% Ringspun Cotton shirt for most of her designs but occasionally loves to splurge on the Canvas 3413 Tri-Blend for a more luxurious feel.



Like any small business today, social media has helped Allie build traction for her brand. Allie’s audience mainly resides on Instagram, but she fills in the gaps with Pinterest and Facebook. However, Allie doesn’t just limit her brand to social media alone. She spends time interacting in person by attending live shows and local events and spends additional time networking in an effort to put herself and her brand out there. Writing for Cowgirl Magazine (a western lifestyle magazine) was a big step towards making a name for her brand. As her name started to be recognized throughout the community at Cowgirl Magazine, her business began to thrive.

Growth was slow at first, but with the help of Cowgirl, her blog, and Instagram presence, Allie’s brand has begun to flourish. “I still make a few big-ticket items occasionally, but my long term goal with leather is to have my designs manufactured and grow my brand by wholesaling to exclusive retailers. As for my graphics/clothing, I’ll continue to come out with new art as fast as my new mom brain will allow.” Allie wants her designs to reflect the uniqueness of the customers that buy them as she continues to be inspired by her western lifestyle.



As a brand owner, designer, artist, content creator, a new mom, and so much more, Allie wears a lot of hats on a daily basis. She offers this advice to others looking to start their brand:

“Be yourself. Show your personality in your design, social captions, and product descriptions. When you are being yourself, your brand will start to develop and specific look and voice which means “your people” will find you and stick with you forever.”

And…

“Be your biggest advocate. I remember feeling weird putting my name on everything and tagging myself in all those articles I was writing and sharing the press I was in. It can feel a little like, “Hey, look what I did! See how cool I am?” But honey, ain’t no one going to do that stuff for you in the beginning! LOL!”

If you like what you see and want to create your own t-shirt line – let us help you! Click here to get started with Threadbird.

Brand Feature: sothatway, an Eco-Friendly Brand

Posted on Wednesday, April 29th, 2020 at 8:00 pm.

Written by sothatway



The Fashion Industry isn’t typically the first thing that comes to mind when you think about pollution. Our minds usually draw to more obvious things like oil and smog. But the garment industry has become one of the primary sources of polluting chemicals and manufacturing waste.

Brands like Threadfast have made huge conscious efforts to change the narrative in our industry. Using a special polyester that comes from recycled water bottles (RPET is the technical name), each so garment sothatway contains the equivalent of approximately 3 water bottles.



Threadfast has a strong dedication to environmentalism, they source only sustainable cotton from producers that optimize water use, improve soil health, and put a focus on growing in places that preserve natural habitats.

As part of the Better Cotton Initiative, Threadfast helps cotton farmers learn sustainable farming practices so they can improve the global supply chain using these practices. Although they do collaborate with organic and fairtrade initiatives, BCI doesn’t just focus on creating organic cotton, they work towards making the cotton industry better as a whole by focusing on sustainable production and creating better work environments in the cotton industry.



Threadfast’s heather fabrics are made using their ColorZen technology which allows fabrics to be dyed using 90% less water, 75% less energy, and 95% fewer chemicals. Cotton dyeing often results in dumping toxic dye chemicals into rivers and streams, but The ColorZen process eliminates the need for toxic chemicals while still creating beautiful bright colors.

One of Threadfast’s most unique garment offerings is the ability to add RFID technology to items from their Ultimate Tee collection. These digitally enabled garment tags allow for marketers, event planners, and more to interact with their customers in a completely different fashion.

Here are a few of our favorite sothatway styles:



100A Ultimate Short-Sleeve Unisex T-Shirt

This t-shirt is a classic crew cut in a 60% cotton / 40% polyester blend. With an optimum weight of 4.8 oz, this t-shirt is 15% heavier than most 60/40 blend t-shirts. A distinct feature that sets these shirts apart is the color options. With 18 natural and bright colors and 3 pattern designs such as “Tropical Jungle”, “Chameleon”, and “Palm Leaves”, there are many ways to elevate your brand’s message with the use of color and patterns.

200RV Women’s Ultimate Short Sleeve Tee

Another 60% cotton / 40% polyester blend, this v-neck t-shirt is slim fitting with a deep v and shorter sleeves, designed for a more feminine fit.

100LS Unisex Ultimate Long-Sleeve Tee

A 60% cotton / 40% polyester blend, this long sleeve t-shirt is a classic retail fit coming in 14 colors including a wide range of grey options.



320C Ultimate Fleece Crew

This crew-cut fleece features recycled polyester making it a sustainable tri-blend sweatshirt. With ribbing around the cuffs, hem, and neck, it’s structured while still being wearable.

320H Ultimate Fleece Hoodie

The Ultimate Fleece Hoodie has a super unique pocket set up. Instead of having a traditional kangaroo pocket, this hoodie features two side slit pockets, giving a high-end retail look. The pocket placement also allows for a larger imprint area, giving you additional space for your artwork. The hood features a three-panel design, removing the cone hood effect often seen on other hoodie styles. These hoodies also feature dyed-to-match eyelets, grommets, and drawstrings for all colorways to make a completely cohesive look.



320P Ultimate Fleece Jogger

Pants should do more than just cover your legs. These fleece joggers are incredibly comfortable, soft, and extra long. Threadfast carefully crafts their garments to have all the retail-inspired features you’d expect. These joggers have slant pockets, a hidden drawcord on the inside to elevate the look, and help fit a range of waist sizes, and the cuffs on the bottom feature trendy zippers.



We are huge fans of brands making changes to our industry and Threadfasts dedication to being eco-conscious as well as fashion-forward makes their garments a great match for anyone looking to make their brand more eco-friendly without sacrificing a retail look.

Customer Feature: spring

Posted on Monday, April 27th, 2020 at 8:00 pm.

Written by sothatway



For this brand, dreams of summer are their everyday reality! Splash! Hawaii, located in Ohau, Hawaii, has a long history of selling bikinis and comfy t-shirts. Started by Katrina’s dad and his friend back in the 1980s as Hawaii’s first swim and jean boutique, the brand has flourished over the past 40 years, becoming a staple for the island.

“It took off. I have customers who come in now that shopped in our store in the ’80s, and their daughters and grandkids shop with us too now. It is very special. My dad and I are now business partners.” – Katrina

Katrina (the now co-owner) started working in the store when she was 15. Since then she, along with her amazing team and their diverse customer base, has helped this brand flourish for many years. T-shirts weren’t always their go-to item, but over the years demand grew. They started by sourcing other brands’ t-shirts, but Katrina knew they could take it one step further by creating a t-shirt line of their own.



And so their first long sleeve pocket t-shirt was born. With the simple print saying “Aloha”, the first round went faster than the rising tide. They keep their designs simple and speak to the Hawaiian lifestyle.

“I am a big believer in simplicity. Maybe it’s a Hawaii thing ;)” – Katrina

Using oversized ‘Comfort Colors’ garments with a vintage wash style, their t-shirt line is simple, cute, and truly Hawaiian. Hawaii itself is what inspires a lot of Splash! Hawaii’s designs.



“It is very unique to be surrounded by water, almost spiritual. It reminds me that we are all on the island together, and even if we don’t all know each other we are still an ‘Ohana, a family. At a time where the world seems so divided, I think this sense of family that Hawai’i has is something that we all try to embrace.” – Katrina

Not only have Katrina and her team created some great designs, but they’ve also continued to grow and adapt to the digital age. Splash! Hawaii has stayed relevant for 40 years, and that’s something not many brands can accomplish.



Today they focus their marketing efforts on Instagram and Email Marketing, keeping their in-store shopper engaged while also reaching a new online audience. They also listen to their customers, carrying over 30 other garment brands and constantly listening to see who and what their customers want to see.

Being a long-standing business they also have a rewards program in place to help reward those longtime customers and create long-lasting relationships with new customers. Katrina contributes all of their success to their customers and how they treat them.



“In terms of customers, create an experience. Customer service is key, but not in a pushy way. Create a customer loyalty list or program. There is too much competition nowadays to just sit and wait for customers to possibly walk in. We need to bring them in and keep them coming.” – Katrina

Splash! Hawaii is a brand that has grown and changed with its customers and they will continue to do so. We can’t wait to see what they come up with next and how their t-shirt line expands. They show that simple designs are eye-catching in the easiest way



And….

“Remember that sometimes less is more”

Check out spring

Work From Home – Top Options

Posted on Thursday, April 23rd, 2020 at 8:00 pm.

Written by sothatway



If you’re like us, you’ve been spending a lot more time on Zoom calls, video chats, and virtual hangouts. Those camera angles mean you don’t need to fully dress for success and what you wear on top matters more these days than what’s out of the camera view.

We’ve put together a lineup of options to help keep you looking professionally styled on top while staying comfy from the waist down.



J. America 9881 and Tultex 1910

FLEECE



ITC 224500, Next Level 9001, and Dyenomite 680VR

ITC SS4500 – Midweight Fleece Hoodie

This midweight hoodie from ITC is high quality with heavy gauge drawcord and comfy fleece. Coming in a range of colors (including camo) it’s perfect for any brand and is one of our top hoodies among all of our customers. (featured in Camo)

Next Level 9001 – Fleece Crew w/ Pocket

A crewneck sweatshirt with a pocket? Not just any pocket though. In WFH life this is your official snack pocket!

Dyenomite 680VR – Tie Dye Hoodie

Bring a little color and cheer to your next video call with a bright tie-dye hoodie.



Alternative Apparel 8626F, J. America 8891, and Tultex 1910

Alternative Apparel 8626F – Lazy Day Pullover

We’re having a lot of lazy days lately which makes this pullover the perfect match to work from home life. Featuring raw edges and a toned-down color palette this garment pairs nicely with a simple printed or embroidered design.

J. America 8891 – Quilted Pullover

Popular in collegiate apparel, this quilted pullover from J. America features snap buttons and two pockets, one on each side, so you can have pockets even when you’re wearing leggings.

Tultex 1910 – Heritage Hoodie

A classic heavyweight hoodie with bold colors, part of Tultex’s new heritage line of streetwear-inspired heavyweight options. Sneak Peek – Coming at the end of the month!



District DT571

FRENCH TERRY

District DT571 – Featherweight French Terry Hoodie

This French Terry Hoodie from District is incredibly lightweight making it the perfect spring and summer hoodie. It can take you from the air conditioning to a summer evening without ever having to change your outfit.



District DT571 and Alternative Apparel 9575CT

Alternative Apparel 9575CT – Washed Terry Champ Sweatshirt

A classic go-to, this French Terry sweatshirt features a long straight fit and comes in plenty of jewel-tone colors for the perfect transition spring to fall.



Alternative Apparel 5114E

CROPPED TEES

Alternative Apparel 5114E – Eco Headliner Cropped Tee

Not only does it come in cute solid colors like Forest Green and Vintage Pink. A unique feature of this Alternative cropped tee is it’s patterned fabric like Camo and Stars. Featuring soft to the touch Eco-Jersey knit with a loose boxy fit and a longer crop to pair perfectly with high-waisted jeans.



Next Level 7481S and Next Level 5080

[bizarrequazar]

GJ and ZZH Updates — April 16-22

<<< previous week || all posts || following week >>>

This is part of a weekly series collecting updates from and relating to Gong Jun and Zhang Zhehan.

This post is not wholly comprehensive and is intended as an overview, links provided lead to further details. Dates are in accordance with China Standard Time, the organization is chronological. My own biases on some things are reflected here. Anything I include that is not concretely known is indicated as such, and you’re welcome to do your own research and draw your own conclusions as you see fit. Please let me know if you have any questions, comments, concerns, or additions. :)

[Glossary of names and terms] [Masterlist of my posts about the situation with Zhang Zhehan]

04-16 → #GongJun and #TheRealZhangZhehan trended on Twitter.

→ Net-a-Porter posted a teaser video for their endorsement with Gong Jun.

→ Fresh posted a video of their 04-14 event that included some shots of Gong Jun.

→ Gong Jun’s studio posted nine photos from the Go Fighting! episode. Caption: “Full of vitality and full of energy! Boss @ Gong Jun Simon has embarked on a journey of courage and is fully ready to meet #Go Fighting!# 💪🏻See you soon!”

→ 361º posted a photo ad featuring Gong Jun. 

→ Tiffany & Co. posted four photos of Gong Jun at their 04-15 event.

→ The first episode of Go Fighting! season 9 aired. [full episode (raw)]

→ Gong Jun posted a clip from the Go Fighting! episode where he talked about his mother enrolling him in art classes as a child. [subbed clip] Caption: “As far as I know... a talent in painting does not need to be observed at all!”

04-17 → #TheRealZhangZhehan continued to trend on Twitter.

→ Gong Jun posted a commercial for Net-a-Porter, announcing his endorsement with them as well as a livestream with them on 04-20. Caption: “Travel makes every day full of freedom and change; fashion brings me infinite inspiration and possibilities. During the new journey in 2023, I met a new friend. Excited to be the face of @ NET-A-PORTER!! ... New departure, quite special.” His studio reposted this with the added caption: “Where did boss @ Gong Jun Simon go? Let’s start looking for new friends @ NET-A-PORTER!”

→ Tiffany & Co. posted a video of Gong Jun at their 04-15 event. Gong Jun reposted this with the added caption: “Dazzling, enjoy the legend together. Follow me into #蒂蒙尼皮石奇境# to witness the brilliant miracle of @ TiffanyAndCo”

→ Net-a-Porter posted a photo ad featuring Gong Jun and changed their Weibo header to the same.

04-18 → Net-a-Porter posted a photo ad featuring Gong Jun.

→ OK! magazine posted the three covers [1] [2] [3] of their May issue featuring Gong Jun, subtitled “Freehand Life”, “Quiet and Boundless”, and “Walking and Watching Calmly”.

→ #Gong Jun appears in the high-end villa area of Beijing to see a house# appeared on Weibo hotsearch, claiming that he was looking to purchase a 50 million RMB house. It’s heavily suspected that the hotsearch was bought as an attempted smear, aimed at his persona of having frugal spending habits. The photos the hotsearch are about were taken in March and had already been used once previously in another bought hotsearch, where it was claimed that he was meeting someone in the area.

→ BAZAAR posted a photo of Gong Jun from the Tiffany event.

04-19 → Net-a-Porter posted two photo ads featuring Gong Jun [here] and [here].

→ OK! magazine posted a video from their photoshoot with Gong Jun. Caption: “I heard that you are all waiting for [OK! 11th Anniversary Special Best Friend] @ Gong Jun Simon’s new material? Don't worry, here's a preview!”

An hour later, OK! posted their full photoshoot with Gong Jun. Caption: “Along the way, the challenges and growth in the career, the peace of mind and relaxation in daily necessities, for [OK! 11th Anniversary Special Friend] @ Gong Jun Simon, it has never been a non-existent multiple-choice question, but a 1+1 superimposed win-win situation, which is a certain possibility that can live in it. It's a balancing game, and it's fun to play” His studio reposted this with the added caption: “The reunion of boss @ Gong Jun Simon with his old friends, listening to the flow of time in the same room. Happy birthday to @ 精彩OK!” Fan Observation: There’s a possible hickey in one photo, also visible in the douyin posted later.

→ The Center for Film & TV of the Supreme People's Procuratorate made a post about a short film Li Xuezheng was involved in, giving further evidence that there is no truth to the smears against him made last month. (For info about the incident see [here] and 03-23 and 03-24)

→ Gong Jun’s studio posted a video of behind the scenes footage from the OK! photoshoot. Caption: “Bathing in the sun and feeling the youth. Boss @ Gong Jun Simon walks the old house and listens to the collision between eternity and the future.” BGM is Summer Over by Dylan Sitts.

→ Gong Jun posted six of the photos from the shoot to his personal Weibo. Caption: “Old house meets old friends, happy birthday to @ 精彩OK” He also posted eight to his Xiao Hong Shu, caption: “Let us be together  Happy birthday to our old friend @ OK精彩!” and eight to his Instagram, caption: “HBD bro～” Fan Observations:  -  He edited the Weibo post at 13:14 (kadian meaning “forever”) with the only difference being to resize one photo.  -  It was noted that this is the May issue celebrating the magazine’s 11th anniversary. (511 kadian)

→ OK! posted another video. Caption: “The past and the present, the outside and the inside, the work and life are superimposed and juxtaposed, creating the infinite possibilities of @ Gong Jun Simon. ‘Having both’ does not necessarily stem from greed, and it is not impossible to go hand in hand. This time, let Gong Jun redefin the infinite extension of 1+1!”

→ Hogan posted two of the OK! photos, highlighting their shoes.

→ OK! posted another video of Gong Jun listening to music during the shoot. Caption: “It’s a showdown~ @ Gong Jun Simon’s private collection of playlists has been exposed! Let OK! see whose happy genes start to follow Gong Jun and move together?” BGM is Blinding Lights by The Weeknd, Twilight’s Chapter Seven by Jay Chou, and a cover of Reprise from Spirited Away.

→ The Instagram posted ten photos of “Zhang Zhehan” and a kid.

→ Gong Jun’s studio posted a douyin of more behind the scenes footage from the shoot. Caption: “Frame by frame, recording the afternoon memories of boss @ Gong Jun Simon.” BGM is Make It Right by BTS (feat. Lauv).

→ OK! posted another video. Caption: “There is no optimal solution in life, in the dimension of infinite extension, let’s follow @ Gong Jun Simon and walk boldly! Not too fast, maybe time will give you a satisfactory answer.”

→ OK! posted their interview with Gong Jun. [translation]

→ Net-a-Porter posted a photo ad featuring Gong Jun advertising his appearance on their livestream shortly after. [full recording]

04-20 → Whalers started promoting a “concert” “Zhang Zhehan” is supposedly holding in Bangkok (see 04-10) on 05-11, with the promotional images showing prices going up to 16,000 baht ($465 USD / 3200 RMB). Tickets were said to go on sale on 04-22. Further Information / Fan Observations:  -  Someone who contacted the venue was told that there is an event booked for a concert on that day, but that the venue could not disclose who the event was for.  -  As a comparison, Suga from BTS recently had a concert with VIP tickets pricing at 6200 baht.  -  Some whalers posted on Weibo within hours that they had already bought plane tickets. A reminder that this is the third “live event” the brand has announced (see 22-11-16 and 02-09), with the previous two both being cancelled with no legitimate reason given (see 22-12-07 and 02-12). ([Here] is a recap thread I made this morning.)

→ WE11DONE posted two of the OK! photos, highlighting their jacket.

→ Another Zhang Sanjian “airport sighting”.

→ BesTV posted two extended clips [here] and [here] of Gong Jun from the first Go Fighting! episode. 

04-21 → Tiffany & Co. posted a teaser cut of a commercial featuring Gong Jun and Elaine Zhong (his costar from Rising with the Wind). A longer cut was released on their Taobao. 

→ BEAST posted a short promotional video spoken by Gong Jun. (1129 kadian)

→ Gong Jun’s studio posted a promotional image for an Earth Day activity.

→ 361º posted a photo ad featuring Gong Jun.

→ Tiffany & Co. posted a photo ad featuring Gong Jun.

→ Yang Yang, the host, posted three photos of himself and Gong Jun from the Net-a-Porter livestream. Caption: “Swipe right to see the walking dragon fruit (no wait) walking clothes hanger @ Gong Jun Simon”

04-22 → Tiffany & Co. posted their full commercial featuring Gong Jun and Elaine Zhong.

→ A music video was released for Rising with the Wind’s ending song, Three Lines of Poems to the Moon by A-Lin, focusing on Gong Jun and Elaine Zhong’s characters. [YouTube link] Gong Jun’s studio reposted this from the Rising with the Wind Weibo with the added caption, “Boss @ Gong Jun Simon (Xu Si version) sends a three-line poem. Poetry follows the heart, and the words are what they say.”

→ Deeyeo posted a photo ad featuring Gong Jun.

→ The World Wildlife Fund posted a promotional image for Earth Day, featuring Gong Jun and info about walruses. Gong Jun’s studio reposted this with the added caption, “From low-carbon travel to garbage sorting, your small changes may change the earth, and take action together with boss @ Gong Jun Simon to protect the earth!”

→ Tiffany & Co. posted a photo ad featuring Gong Jun and Elaine Zhong.

→ The Rising with the Wind Weibo posted a new promotional still featuring Gong Jun and Elaine Zhong.

→ The Instagram posted a promotional image announcing that tickets for the “concert” had gone on sale. Addition 04-25: Ranyi Music, the “publisher” of the Zhang Sanjian music, also posted a commercial to their own Instagram. Fan Observations:  -  The image used is an old one that is believed to have been a real promotional image Zhang Zhehan did for the concert he was planning before 813.  -  The Instagram post does not include any links to further info or for purchasing. As a reminder, posting links for purchasing is one of the things that makes Instagram actually check if a reported account is a scam.  -  At the time of this post, the event centre’s website does not include any information for this on its upcoming events page. Additions 04-24:  -  Within hours, Chinese whalers were making excuses for not being able to get tickets.  -  Some people reported that the tickets had sold out, but going to the purchasing page showed that seats were not available (ie. reserved) rather than sold out.  -  The concert’s production company is partners with one of CAPA’s executive units.

→ #ZhangZhehan and #ZhangZhehanBangkokConcert trended on Twitter.

→ Gong Jun posted a video of himself in the audience at a Li Ronghao concert. Caption: “Once A Thief!* Happy!” Five minutes later he also posted two photos from the concert to his Xiao Hong Shu, caption: “Once A Thief  Actually shivering from the cold” *The Chinese title of the album Free Soul.

→ #Gong Jun went to Li Ronghao’s concert# trended on Weibo hotsearch. Addition 04-24: There is some question about who the person on Gong Jun’s left who filmed him is. Gong Jun was there with him and two friends, the other of whom has been identified and was sitting two seats down.  Updates 04-28:  -  More footage, this time of the person on the left’s face, was posted by a fan showing that it was not Zhang Zhehan.  -  Quite a few of the accounts that were spreading this candy in Chinese fandom spaces are known plants, who were pushing it much harder than is customary for candy.  -  Gong Jun also confirmed during the Hogan livestream on 04-27 that he was at the concert with two university friends.

Additional Reading: → Over the course of the week, QuelleVous, Bluebird, and Flora posted a series of threads about Zhang Peichao (aka Doc Creepy), the man who has claimed since at least Feburary 2022 to be Zhang Zhehan’s therapist and who is behind some of the Zhang Sanjian essays. I’ve collected the tweets here for easier reading: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] → A reminder of events being organized for Zhang Zhehan’s birthday: Harry’s video of well wishes (submissions close on 04-25) and Bluebird’s charity drive.

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This post was last edited 2023-05-23.

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Zombie Movie: I Am Legend (2007)

“Here’s Karen at the health desk.”

Karen from the health desk. (Picture: A female news anchor, Karen from the health desk.)

Language warning (sorry kids, but this is an MA15+ movie). 

I shit you not, that’s one of the opening quotes of the movies. So, friends and enemies, welcome to the longest review I’ve done of a zombie movie yet. It’s 1:35am here in Australia and I’ve just finished rewatching I Am Legend, everything’s fresh in my mind and I’m hyped up on chocolate. 

This movie has incredible tension, a fresh take on the zombie apocalypse, and it’s based on the 1954 novel by Richard Matherson, which inspired the modern day vampire and zombie movies. Why you may ask? Because it popularised the concept of a worldwide apocalypse due to a disease... now I’m beginning to realise that watching zombie movies during a global pandemic maybe wasn’t the best idea I’ve ever had. Any who. 

YouTube rewind made me forget how bloody good of an actor Will Smith is, and boy does he deliver in this movie. Robert’s (that his character, btw, though I will probably end up just referring to the character as Will Smith) interactions with Sam the goodest girl in the world (she’s a dog) and the mannequins is incredible.

The goodest girl in the world. (Picture: A dog (I’m sorry - I don’t know dog breeds! I’m 99% sure she’s a German Shepard) being given a bath and head scratches by Will Smith.)

Now: three things to look forward to in this “review” (assuming you read the spoilery section below). One: how realistic is this apocalypse? Two: there’s a dog. Three: zombie vampires. Vampire zombies? 

Backgrounds details! (Picture: Will Smith opened the fridge. On the fridge door are photos of his wife and daughter, a calendar dated for December, a drawing with “Marley” written in kids handwriting, post-it notes, a pamphlet with the heading “Quarantine”, and a Time Magazine cover of Robert Neville (Will Smith). The title reads (heading) “Saviour?” (sub-heading) “Soldier, Scientist” (body of text) “In a Battle that Could Save Thousands of Lives, Lt. Col. Robert Neville Takes on the XV Virus.”

Also, there’s banging in my house at the moment and when I say I’m peaking. I’m going to need to listen to some music while I write this.

Read on for a fun time! Spoilers ahoy!

Realism (the really relevant part. Yikes)

Okay, so what’s this fresh take on the apocalypse? Basically, this doctor cures cancer and it all goes to shit from there. I’m not 100% on the logistical jump from “destroying cancer cells” to “humans (and animals) becoming bloodthirsty mutants that burn in the sun” - for instance, this is just my sci-fi high-school biology and physics brain working here, cancer is basically a rogue cell that mutates other cells and destroys them in the process, yeah? So if the doctor, like she said, uses these cancer cells to work for the body and in the process “cures” cancer, wouldn’t the humans just... infect each other and the virus would kill the host if it went south? Given, that did happen in like 90% of cases as Will Smith explains, but where does the sunlight allergy come in? Is cancer afraid of UV? Confused, but I digress. 

... Is that my queen, Missy, from Umbrella Academy? (Picture: A woman with blood leaking from her eyes, holding a child and shouting for help.)

The scene where they’re listening to the radio and the guy is like we’re “issuing a military quarantine of New York City” I’m like bitch you wish. Unrealistic. The USA currently (9/10/2020) has the highest cases of COVID-19 in the world (for future historians and poor school children, it’s at 7.68 MILLION cases, no statistic for recovered cases for some weird ass reason, and sadly, 212,000 deaths. For reference, here in Australia we’ve had as of today 27,206 cases, 24,807 recovered and 897 deaths. New Zealand, who went into hard lockdown, had as of today, 1,864 cases, 1,800 recovered, and 25 deaths, with a period where there were 0 new cases for several days.)

Though, with that in mind, everyone going outside and gathering in large crowds? Realistic. 

The actual movie part

Praises time! Will Smith has a stockpile of food. Also, him getting Sam (the dog) to eat her vegetables like she’s a little kid? Cutest thing ever. 

Stockpilesss. (Picture: Will Smith wearing an apron and preparing a meal in a kitchen chock full of food items, including things like Pringles and spaghetti sauce.)

Setting alarms on his watch for sunset? Brilliant, smart idea, fantastic. Re-enforced windows and door, AND booby-trapped house? Incredible, genius. Setting traps to catch the zomvamps? (like the dumb name I just came up with? Don’t worry, I’ll reveal the stupid arbitrary name they ACTUALLY came up with later) Talent, intelligence. 

Dude, why wouldn’t you restrain the head/chest? You know, the part that can bite you? (Picture: Will Smith in a lab coat standing over a female zombie-vampire who’s been secured to a metal bench by the wrists and ankles. Medical monitors are connected to her.)

Now, Will Smith is out here looking for a cure. And by looking, I mean actively creating. In a lab. He washes his hands before going in - *chef’s kiss* follow his example - and unlike other zombie movies where it’s super dramatic in the hunt for a cure, this is a lot more chill considering it’s a) been 3 years and b) is more like how science actually works. Trials, tests, animal test-subjects (there is a debate about the ethics of this which I won’t go into here) (I mean a debate in real life not in the zombie movie haha) and human test-subjects. 

“Did you kidnap my girlfriend, bro?” (Picture: bald, pale muscular dude-bro-looking zombie-vampire roaring in rage.)

The mother-fracking zombies

I have to say it: these are the most dumbass looking vampire-zombies. I say vampire-zombies (zomvamps) because they avoid sunlight but also eat people? 

Now, unlike most zombie movies, these are really bloody intelligent zomvamps. At one point, after setting a booby trap and catching a zomvamp after stumbling into a nest of them, Robert says “They’re not showing any human social behaviour.” Hahahaha. Okay bitch first of all dude bro screamed when you kidnapped his mate, secondly dude bro has pet dogs, thirdly dude bro fucking caught you in a trap. He took revenge on you there, love. He followed you home!

The zomvamps are apex predators, can climb, run, hunt in packs, communicate with each other, set booby traps, make coordinated attacks, follow you home, learn where you live and remember it, and holy fuck humans had no chance. 

Thank you for clarifying, because I actually found this quite funny. Like, look at him! (Picture: dude-bro zombie-vampire from earlier growling in front of a flaming car. The zombie-vampires are very CGI, pale, fish-person looking things with pale skin and completely bald of hair. This guy is wearing ripped clothes. The caption reads “Growls menacingly”.)

Random things I have in my notes but haven’t mentioned yet (yes I took notes) 

What’s with the apocalypse and mannequins? Looking at you, Five (Umbrella Academy). 

(Picture: Will Smith looking at a “female” mannequin, who is dressed in a coat and black bob wig. They’re in a movie store. Funnily enough, behind the mannequin is the “Adult” section of the films.)

I agree with the fuck-that-shit sentiment when you see a mannequin suddenly appear in a different part of the city - like how in the hell?? 

(Picture: Will Smith aiming a rifle at a mannequin in an orange jumper. Mannequin is usually located outside of the movie store, yet here it is randomly in the middle of the street at the end of a T-section. There are tall glass windows behind the mannequin, and the window to the right has a giant, gaping pitch black hole in it. It’s presumed that there is a nest of zombie-vampires in there.)

... so is this a booby trap for humans or for zomvamps? Because the former makes sense if that dude bro zomvamp analysed Will Smith’s trap from earlier and remade it (hence dropped the car off a bridge to string him up), and the latter doesn’t really make sense because a) you’ll only catch (and probably kill) one zomvamp and why would you want only one unless you’re Robert and two why tf aren’t you meeting up with Robert he’s been broadcasting and racing around town hunting deer (elk?) in a sports car. 

I’d like to know how hard it actually is to do like a weird sit-up and get yourself free of one of these kinds of traps. Am I dumb for thinking it’s not that hard? (Picture: Will Smith is suspended in the air by a rope tied around his ankle, the result of a booby-trap. He’s struggling to free himself.)

Come on, you’re literally a doctor and a soldier. Don’t tell me you’re actually considering pulling that out? (Picture: Will Smith has been impaled in the leg by something. It looks like he’s about to attempt to pull it out. He’s in the middle of the street as the sun sets, and Sam is right next to him.)

Sam is a queen. Here are some photos of her.

(Picture: Robert Neville’s wife carrying a baby Sam - Sam is a puppy, by the way, and very adorable. Neville’s young daughter is walking out of the gate to their house behind her mother.)

(Picture: Will Smith in a flashback saying goodbye to his wife and daughter and crying. Sam is licking away his tears.)

Sometimes I hate foreshadowing. (Picture: Will Smith searching a house. He opens a cupboard and there’s a newspaper article with a picture of a zombie-vampire dog. The article reads “Infected dogs can come out at dusk. Stay in the light.” There’s a number to call for questions.)

Worst birthday ever. Now I’m sad and there’s still half the movie left. 

(Picture: Will Smith sitting on the floor of his lab, hugging Sam, who’s just been bitten by infected dogs.) 

Get Shrek’d.

(Picture: The ‘Shrek’ movie playing on the TV in Neville’s house.)

Ma’am, do you not know how to ration? That is such a waste of food. (Picture: the woman and kid who rescued Will Smith have cooked breakfast. She’s cooked way too many scrambled eggs for two adults and a kid, and all the of the bacon for literally no reason.)

Oh yeah, wanna know what they call the zombies in this movie? 

Dark Seekers. They dropped that one on us well into the final half of the movie. Dark Seekers? Really? I won’t get into how dumb that sounds when you had two options to choose from - vampires and zombies. Hell, go with my suggestion of zomvamps, even vampzoms. Dark Seekers? Sorry, I get hung up on dumb zombie-alternative names. Sure, I get the atmosphere might be ruined by calling them vampires or zombies, but not even lying I didn’t realise she said “Dark Seekers” until I turned the CC on to grab a quote. I thought she said “Dog Keepers” hahahaha. “The dog keepers got them.” My defence is that the dude bro did keep dogs. 

Finally, wrapping this up at 2:15 before I add in pictures, you’re telling me approximately 100 zomvamps made a coordinated attack on Will Smith’s house to eat... 3 people? That’s like me and a hundred mates descending on the pentagon for a fucking snickers bar. We’d get like an atom each. 

Oh, what’s that? They’re here to rescue one person? Really? Really? How in the fuck are they even zombies if their primary purpose isn’t to eat humans. I’m disappointed. But points for a fresh take, at least. 

Now one of the things I remember about this movie is that is has an alternate ending. The actual ending (huge spoilers but then again, you’re in the spoiler section) has Will Smith sacrifice himself (read: blow himself and the zomvamps up with a grenade) to defend the cure and save his new friends. The alternate ending, which was scrapped due to negative audience reaction, has Will Smith communicate with the zomvamps who like actually calm down and listen to him. He gives the dude bro back his friend, and... no one dies. 

I’m sorry, how is an ending where, sure, a cure isn’t found YET, but, the “villains” of the movie are humanised and a new side of them is seen that shows, hey, maybe there’s another way through this apocalypse, better than an ending where Will Smith dies? Make it make sense test audience. Because, remember, there’s still a whole bunch of immune people living out here, and three of them are currently in the same room. Robert’s only been working on the cure for 3 years. How many years do you reckon it takes to cure cancer? Hint: it’s ongoing in real life. Just because the cure isn’t found in the movie doesn’t mean it won’t be found. Ughhhh. I digress again. 

I have more random photos but I am very tired. If anyone’s interested in hearing me roast butterflies, the world not actually ending in 2012, and a missed pun about Until Dawn (even though it was made like ten years after this), and a quick analysis on Robert Neville and God, let me know :) 

Have a great day everyone, wash your hands, social distance if possible, and quarantine. Just because the COVID-19 virus isn’t turning us into zombies doesn’t mean it isn’t hurting us. 

Worldwide statistics, 9/10/2020: 36.2M total cases, 25.3M recovered, 1.06M deaths. 

(Picture: Will Smith saying “I like ‘Shrek’ after just quoting an entire scene of it to win a kid’s trust.)