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guzhufuren · 11 months ago

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love love LOVE your The Sign gifsets. im still a newbie in giffing lmao and your gifs are like reaaally pretty so i was wondering how you do your gifs? i really like how it's sharp and the colors pop up beautifully (only if you don't mind sharing ofcc <333)

bun this is the kindest thing you could have said to me, thank you so much <3 i wanted to write down my giffing process for a while in case anyone would find anything in it helpful, so thanks for giving me a push!

guzhu-furen's photoshop gifmaking process (kinda oriented on saving up time)

from

1. Downloading a video. i prefer to download video files instead of making screen recordings because the latter usually leaves watermarks/captions and makes image quality lower. i will not be linking the downloading websites themselves directly, but they are all easy to find through search engines if you know what to search for! i download ql dramas from:

youtube:

if the video you need is above 1080p quality, search for youtube4kdownloader

if the video is age restricted, search for 9xbuddy

both these websites work for normal videos too!

mkvdrama usually has 1080p episodes of most asian dramas.

dramacool also has downloading options in case the show is not available on other websites!

2. Screencapping (i learned it through this tutorial)

i screencap using KMPlayer. here is the installer i used, but you can find versions of this program on various websites and torrents too! install the program and proceed.

screencapping steps: open KMPlayer > press "CTRL + G" to summon the Frame Extraction window > set identical settings to these:

note which computer folder the screencaps will go to (it has a label "Extract to") > go to that folder on your computer and create a bunch of numbered folders there, for example ten folders named from 1 to 10, these would be our separate folders for ten gifs > write "1" or a name of another numbered folder after the backslash in "Extract to" bar in kmplayer > go the timestamp that will be the beginning of your gif in KMPlayer > press "Start" in the Frame Extraction window and press play on the video > when the moment you need to gif is over, press pause on the video and press "Stop" in the Frame Extraction window. great, you now have your folder of screencaps!

3. Importing screencaps to Photoshop

i use Adobe Photoshop 2023, but had used Adobe Photoshop CS5 for a long time before that, so you can use any version you have or find! it's available on various websites and torrents.

open Photoshop > Scripts > Load Files into Stack > press Browse in the "Load Layers" window that was opened

open your screencaps folder (and pin the KMPlayer Capture folder for faster future access) > pick the screencaps you want for your gif by clicking on the first one, and then clicking on the finishing one while pressing Shift on the keyboard > click OK and let them load for some time! i have 65 screencaps loading at the moment

when the screencaps finish loading go to Window > press Timeline > press Create Video Timeline in the opened sidebar > press three dots that will say "Convert to frame animation"

4. Sizing & making the base of a gif

next part will be automatic. i use actions for almost everything from this moment. download the basic action pack here and my additional action pack that we will need here. load them in your photoshop actions window (Actions > Load Actions).

play the Script action to create frames.

now onto sizing your gif. these are tumblr's width dimensions for 3 types of gifs

my gifs are usually 540 px in width and 640, 400 or 345 px in height. i added a 400 px action (Sizing 400) in the action pack, you can use it! or you can follow the steps by hand:

Image > Image Size > put in the height you want and add 4-6 pixels there (mine will be 406 for a 400 px high gif) > OK

now we need to crop the gif for it to fit tumblr's dimensions:

Image > Canvas Size > change Width to 540 (or 268 or 177) and take away the 4-6 pixels that we left in the previous step in Height

when you figure out which gif dimensions work best for you, record an action and use it to save up time!

after sizing use the action Smart Object. now we have the base of our gif!

you can move your gif left or right if you want! i will be doing this because i would like to show more hips in the gif.

press Ctrl + T > move the layer however you need (not in height though) > press Enter to save

i moved it to the right and my gif looks like this now:

5. Sharpening (i use Tan's sharpening settings explained here)

i added two sharpening actions in the pack, they are called Sharpen Spicy and Sharpen Spicy 12. you can use one of them or you can sharpen your gif by hand, i will explain how to do it below.

Filter > Sharpen > Smart Sharpen > 500% amount, 0,2 px radius > OK

Filter > Sharpen > Smart Sharpen > 17% amount, 10,0 px radius > OK (you can change 17% to lesser or bigger, depending how intense you want your sharpening to look. i use 17% for 4k footage and 12% for 1080 px or less videos)

to smooth the sharpening a bit i use Gaussian Blur (this is optional, you can leave the sharpening as it is if you want your gif to be sharper).

Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur > Radius 1,0 pixels > OK

now change blending intensity to let only a bit of the blurring effect stay (you need to change this by hand if you used the sharpening action also).

press Blending Options (the highlighted place) twice > change Opacity to 10%

this is what my gifs looks like with sharpening now!

6. Colouring (i learned how to colour the way i do through this tutorial)

to make it easier for you to learn i will share my blank colouring file. i created it to save as much time while giffing as possible, so whenever i need to colour a gif i simply duplicate all the blank adjustment layers to the base of my every gif and start colouring! once you figure out which adjustment layers work for you best, i recommend creating a blank colouring file too to save time.

if you want to go the easy way, open my colouring file and duplicate selected layers to your gif file by Layer > Duplicate Layer > insert gif's document name

if you want to learn by hand, create the adjustment layers that i will be naming in the process on your own, you can find them all in Layer > New Adjustment Layer

now we will use adjustment layers for our colouring from the bottom to the top! first, Exposure layer to add a bit of light to the gif. i don't always use Exposure because sometimes shots are bright enough on their own. i will, however, use it here. don't use it on your gif too much, because in the next few steps we will also be brightening the gif with other adjustment layers. i added +0,49:

next, Hue/Saturation layer. i use it in gifs with neon lighting to color correct overly bright colours. for example if your characters are standing in neon pink, you might want to lessen Saturation in Magentas and Reds to make the final gif less pixelated, and etc. i will not use Hue/Saturation on this gif, cause it doesn't need it.

proceed to the layer Levels. this layer usually does most of my colouring. click on the lowest white dropper in your Levels window:

now choose a light place on your gif and click on it with the white dropper. it works especially well if you use the white dropper on the lightened parts of face skin. you can play around by choosing different bright spots and seeing what works best. here is the spot i chose and the resulting colouring:

this is too light, so now we need to balance it out with the black dropper:

choose one of the darkest places this time and click it with black dropper! once again, you can play around and click different spot to see what works best. i will be clicking the highlighted spot and you can see what my gif will look like with this Levels settings

as you can see, darkest places became darker and other colours were corrected a bit! now, this is still too bright, so i will be decreasing the opacity of Levels layer from 100% to a smaller number:

i will have to continue in another post because tumblr only allows 30 pictures per one post in the new editor now and i'd like to explain everything in visuals. click to continue

#asks #mine #mygifs #photoshop #gif tutorial #userjap #userspicy #ondreamytracks

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yoiku · 1 month ago

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Did some changes to my pinned post with all the links. also a general update. Oh wow this turned out WAY longer than I thought i'll just put it under read more lmao.

Removed twitter/x entirely from the pinned post, It's really just one man's joke of a site, and i'd rather not have anything going on there. Really thinking about just deleting my acc there alltogether, but i'm still giving it a bit of time so more people can find me on bluesky. each time I retweet about being on bsky instead on twitter a few people see it and start following me on bsky, so there's still stragglers out there. But i'm no longer posting on twitter, i'm not even going to use it to announce stuff on other sites etc.

Another rather big change (at least for me) is the swap to Piczel from Picarto for streaming. I've been on Picarto since 2016, and the site continues to prioritise pointless things instead of the stability or quality of the service. while their subscription price has pretty much doubled from when i started. the facelift for the site was a good sign some years ago but the functionality stayed the same. and while I understand it to a degree from the business wiew, it does feel shitty that the admins and mods on the site favor the big name streamers. I think it would also be nice to show some love for the small fry who are often more actively streaming then the big ones. It's just so difficult to move from a place that's been your home for so long, I wish I'd done the move sooner. It's wonderful that more or less our entire little group is moving over so the most important thing, the people, will still be there. I have to also give praise to Piczel right off the bat. I've exchanged emails with the owner before, and they're genuinely a nice person. Offering a month of free premium to anyone who wants to try the site, and being fairly transparent about what's going on and what are the plans for the site. Not to mention that they were in the chat day one when we were testing the site, helping everyone with the setups and answering questions. I paid for my premium right away since I felt like returning the generous gesture of a free month, but they still gave me a code for a free month, lol. That's another nice feature, that the premium service is given as 30 day codes. while it's a recurring payment, it also lets you choose if the codes are automatically added, or if you want to manually activate them. I find it nice, because you can have a break if you feel like it, but you're not "losing" paid time for a premium. and you can choose to gift the code to someone as well. It's more consumer friendly. (and a bit cheaper than picarto's) While the new interface is going to take its time to get used to, the more I learn about it the more I prefer it. There are so many things that make it easier for streamers. I really appreciate it. Multistreaming on Piczel is crazy. it allows up to 16 streams which sounds like way too much, but the settings make it work better than it sounds. i've noticed that whenever there's more than 4 streams online in the same multi, the site defaults to setting the video players to a mode than only refreshes the picture every 10 seconds, which is much lighter for less than ideal connections/lower bandwidth. and it's really smooth to change between different streams and you can enlarge one without having to set it on fullscreen, if you'd rather just focus on one of the many streams. you can have some playing, some on the 10 second refresh mode or paused. At least for me it has been working very smoothly. Piczel is also mostly favored by nsfw artists from what i've gleamed, but the sfw/nsfw settings on there actually work unlike picarto of late, where putting a filter on did -nothing- and telling the staff about it nobody replied and the issue persisted.

And maybe my favorite little thing, I have a button on my stream to "share on tumblr" which makes it so much easier to remember to announce streams. Hmm, anything else to talk about? I think I'm slowly coming out of the worst of the depression, or at least I finally feel SOME movement in my mind. I'm not gonna lie the blorbo asks have been like a serotonin injection. feel free to send some any time! I will ruminate on questions that make me think more, but all will be answered.

I am still struggling with getting back on with the comic which annoys me to no end, but I'm sure it'll come as i start to draw more again. I am really trying to get commissions back up and going before the end of the year. I am planning on dropping my workshop days to 2 instead of 3 for at least 3 months, and i'm gonna take a 2 week break next month or december. so additional funds will be needed ;u; I'm incredibly dissapointed in the healthcare services atm, so much so that i've kinda given up for a while. I'm just gonna let those things move on their own if they will, since me trying to make things move hasn't done anything the entire year. It's all been wasted energy and pointless stress.

#shut up yoi

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thtpl · 4 months ago

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JIMIN’S ‘WHO’ MV LIGHT ANALYSIS by @tahtiplau.bsky.social (revised 23.07.24)

youtube

Hi there!

(This analysis is also available on thtplau.wordpress.com if you don't have Tumblr account and can't read to the end. Also some prior basic knowledge about BTS and Jimin will give you more insight while reading this.)

[In brackets and red are my thoughts and notes, otherwise it's descriptive text. The symbolisms used in the MV have several meanings, I chose the ones I thought relevant. This is simply my interpretation, not fact!

Some parts I wasn’t sure about and may come to change my mind about them later as my mind processes. Some parts I couldn’t figure out what would fit the best or I was at a loss.

I took into account the album’s songs and their lyrics as well. I’m not a native English speaker and my sources for explaining the symbolisms were not university worthy either – I did this for fun and my own enjoyment – and hopefully yours!

I avoided looking at any analysis by others before doing mine, so these are my thoughts. Only one I saw was by revelEVERafter on IG. It was about the other side of the street being lit and colorful, and the other being dark and void of life (when the camera pans around near the end). Also thank you @shr-mooon.bsky.social for first pointing out the “pause” text in the end and giving me the tip of slowing down the video.

Essentially, I understood the MV to be a journey through passion and love from childhood/early teenage years to adulthood. Love can transform you and your life.

I think the MV goes through the whole album like a story. The protagonist I use in my analysis is Jimin, with the assumption that he has written about his own experiences.

LET'S START!

In the starting scene we see a night street and a flyer comes up which says “WHO IS!! Tornado of love”. There’s also “1995’s TOP love song!!” On the right of the street is a lighted sign “The cinema COMING SOON” [The paper poster is like a weather forecast or a movie poster of what is to come in Jimin's life.]

We see Jimin walking to the street, he stops and a burning car drives by (driver side is burning).

[There is a lot of cars in the MV. I believe that in this video, cars symbolize moving on the road of life.

Fire is an important symbolism in this video. Fire may signal transformation and symbolize an individual’s transformation or transition. Fire can also symbolize passion.

This is the start of Jimin's love story.]

Jimin walks closer to the camera and we see a TV on the road, displaying an image of a person walking to the right. There’s a timer and marking ‘SP’ and 'play’. There's a heart behind the person and text (can’t read it). The TV is also partly burning.

[I believe the TVs/screens in the MV symbolize a heart. This one is burning and the figure inside is walking – there is passion in this heart, but no urgency, it’s strolling through the street of life right now. The passion here could be about a dream or a goal, or a desire for love.]

[(SP) in video = Standard play. Will have the highest possible video quality, and it’s the one usually used. LP in video = Long play. Runs slower for more recording time, but for lower video quality.) ]

Behind Jimin is SLOW DANCE records shop, Ryan vintage clothing store and a pizza store. More to the left is a video rental.

Jimin dances with four women on the street, all dressed somewhat masculine or unisex, leather jacket, camo pants, boots etc. (This is just my impression of the clothing.)

[I believe this might be Jimin's first tries at dating and having an interest to acquiring romantic love. I'm basing this on the shops we see on the street behind him at first.

Ryan Vintage is an actual vintage and thrift shop. Slow dance records also exists.]

Scene changes to Jimin walking to the right, and a burning shopping cart goes by. There’s a TV in it with a heart and a running man. (Are those trash bags under the TV?)

[A shopping cart can symbolize abundance, choice and the promise of fullfilment.

Things are now changing in Jimin's life and the desire and passion in his heart grow stronger, everything is accelerating and changing here. He's running after his goals. I believe he has found a crush or is in love now.

I would take the trash bags (if they are those) to mean that some of his passion is wasted, on the wrong track, or not appreciated? Oh god if his heart is sitting on a burning pile of trash...]

A crow sits on the dumpster and takes flight. Workers with safety vests and helmets are behind Jimin, with packages, cones, ladder etc.

[I believe the crow here signifies a change in the narrative at this point, or a change soon to come in Jimin's life that was set in motion. Crows can symbolize death/REBIRTH and change. They can also forebode change as in “winds of change” - a TORNADO.]

Six male dancers join Jimin. Afterwards four of them go to the right and three to the left. Jimin dances with the two remaining until they too leave to the right. Jimin walks to the left and scene change.

[My guess here is that this could be BTS in their trainee days and the workers are staff. (Unfortunately the dancers, their choreos, clothes and their numbers didn't become clear to me here or later. I might have to think about them at a later point again.)]

A text blinks on the screen “Auto calibration.”

On the right is a burning yellow car, the shopping cart with the TV falls on it. There was a teddy bear next to the car, it flies off because of the cart. On the TV is a heart without the man now. The TV falls on the ground.

[Calibration can be needed if there have been changes or there is suspicion of faulty readings. So maybe something that was previously misunderstood now clears out.

It's also noteworthy that later, the 'SP', 'PLAY' etc video markings appear on the bigger screen and not in separate smaller TVs anymore. Before, love was a smaller part in Jimin's life and appeared just on the screens, whereas now it's become his actual life... Hence the calibration.

I believe the teddy bear represents childhood and innocence here and it coming to an end. I think this time period is either when BTS debuted or the time shortly after.

The direction Jimin had in his life is now completely changed, caused by his heart (the TV dropping on the burning car) and perhaps the realization of his dreams becoming finally true. (Jimin worked extremely hard during trainee days to debut as part of BTS. If you haven't you should also read the lyrics of Jimin's song 'Rebirth'.)]

In the back is the sign Oasis in green. On the right of it “Just call my name out loud, when ever you need me”, on the left of it a sign “Closer than this”.

A woman comes from standing under the Oasis sign and Jimin walks to her. On the brick wall is again a sign “the cinema coming soon.” The number seven is on the left side in green writing.

[This building represents Bighit/Hybe building. The number seven on the wall represents BTS. Jimin’s song Closer than this and the lyrics together gives me the idea that he has now revealed his feelings and received some back.

All of these things form Jimin's Oasis, a safe place and a light in the dark for him. The person he next dances with comes to him from under that Oasis/safe haven.

The poster for 'the cinema' appears suspiciously often and in mvs like this, things probably don't get placed there "at random." Either it simply means all the media that Bighit and BTS have put out as shows, mvs, etc, OR maybe it's a hint about something new coming later, relating to Jimin's story.]

Jimin dances with the woman, we see another cinema sign on the street.

A crowd on the left is revealed. Some of them look scary, without shirts, a bit intimidating, some just stand. Someone in the crowd has a sign (can’t read it). There's an ambulance next to the crowd with the lights on. In the back of the crowd, it looks like a man is comforting a woman under his arm.

[The crowd represents the public, media and outside people; judging, rejecting, just standing there and not reacting, being sad/dissappointed. It really looks more like a mob, not very friendly. I think this crowd and the ambulance pose as threats that Jimin's love and passion and especially Jimin himself have to face. (Injury, critics, judgement, other's opinions, threats of violence etc.)]

The dancer kind of hugs Jimin and then pushes him to the left and now he dances with five guys. The crowd is again shown in the back, another sign with a picture of a blonde woman and “Who”.

[Everyone wanting to know who they date, but in idol culture in kpop that’s a scandal and big ‘NO’ to do. I think the changing camera angle signifies that the threat is there, constant but greater at times. (Why is there only five guys now with Jimin? Just choreo reasons?)]

Six women join Jimin and the guys, and the angle changes to the Oasis background again. They dance and the groups change sides. Jimin dances with the blonde woman, then the dancers leave in different directions.

A screen falls in front, with the text “Keep going>>” and “WHO” with red, and a picture of eyes. We see the burning yellow car again. The previous TV with the heart is gone.

[Again, I believe the TV screens have represented Jimin’s heart and love. This screen is now filled with a person. I either understand the text here to mean “this is not the right person so keep going” OR to “keep going with this person,�� depending if the message is directed at us the audience, or Jimin. (He's definitely teasing us with the 'who'.) From now on there's no more screens. Except the one we're watching.

I'm not giving guesses who it is on the screen, though I know the popular opinions and do have one myself. You can form your own if you wish, though it's not any of our business really. But now he's made a mv and a song about it, so...]

Scene change. Jimin walks on the safe sidewalk and the dancers pass him by. In the start it reads “REWIND” “LP” and the timing of around 1.32.05 comes up and starts counting down. The scene doesn’t go backwards, however.

[Reminder: (LP = Long play, longer recording time, lower quality)

This baffled me, but I came to the conclusion that maybe it means that for a long time, there was love but it didn’t necessarily get to shine it’s brightest yet. The video quality also drops here.

We usually rewind when we want to get back to the beginning or want to review something. I would also see this as the 'SERENADE' part - there's slow dancing, nice clothes, a restaurant and a movie rental - it's a DATE! Jimin is low-key dating/in a relationship.]

Jimin first 'bumps' (interacts) into a woman who briefly grabs/touches him(?), then pauses next to another woman, and a crow flies of from a car hood now. [Again pointing out a change/rebirth incoming, this time it's going to be huge (the tornado).]

He keeps walking and does a small dance with the blonde woman from before, then turns to the camera. [He interacted with three dancers, so maybe third time's a charm but in what? Again the dancers and choreos I didn't get it.]

Jimin starts walking on the street, off the sidewalk. The ‘LP’ and counting numbers disappear before Jimin steps on the road and ‘PLAY’ starts blinking. Behind Jimin a tornado starts, lifting cars and other things, then a rainbow static comes up across the screen briefly.

[After this 'long play' period, Jimin walking on the sidewalk and playing it safe, maybe going back-and-forward with his relationship while dating or taking time to think about his relationship and keeping it secret from public knowledge, Jimin steps on the road of life again and here comes the Tornado of Love™!

So the love he’s had for so long is now finally in BLOOM.]

Jimin keeps walking towards the camera, between two cars. Behind, the tornado destroys the sign with a picture of a man and letters “(c)hter” (hater? cheater?) and illuminated text ‘closer’.

Sparks/fireworks fly off on the sides, also especially near the ‘bliss’ sign.

[The all transforming Tornado of Love™ sweeps out haters and fears in Jimin’s life (or he doesn't care anymore) and sends off sparks and fireworks. Now, fireworks can symbolize freedom and unity, the ability to overcome adversity and also symbolize having found your true love!

Something wonderful changed and it brought freedom and/or true love! I would go with both, hence the BLISS!

(I’m also still hoping for a song called ‘Bliss’ from Jimin, kkkkk)]

12 dancers join Jimin in front of four cars. The cars have headlights on but they are idling. Firework-like sparkles keep shooting off in the back. Street lamps and a car fall in front of Jimin and the dancers.

[A yellow bicycle is on the left side of the street and another one on the right side with a darker color. A bicycle is a symbol of hope and progress. The color yellow is often a symbol of optimism and happiness.]

The camera pans 360 degrees, and the dancers have left when it comes back. Jimin walks towards the four cars. There are drivers in them.

[Jimin was finally living his best life and enjoying it, but now Jimin’s life is standing still, the cars are waiting to move again on the road of life.

He’s going to the military service. (There are four cars, so maybe they represent RM, Tae, Jimin and Jungkook going at the same time and putting their lives on hold?)]

Jimin walks past the cars, away from the camera and a screen static with the text “PAUSE” comes up for a second.

[The love story we’ve been told is now in ‘PAUSE’ mode.]

The mv ends and we get the smeraldo flower, 'Who' logo, a dash of rainbow color and the text ‘PLAY’.

[Smeraldo flower is a fictional flower and originates from BTS’ previous album lore in Love Yourself era, and essentially symbolizes ’feelings that couldn’t be delivered’ or ’the truth untold’. Please look up the lore if you haven’t, there’s plenty of information about it online.

When we get the Truth Untold and the answer to ‘who’, the story will continue again, it’s not over.

His heart is now waiting and it's definitely taken.]

END NOTES:

This is not facts, just my intepretation of the mv.

I tried to make this not about ‘who’, but simply about the story told in the MV. 😊

I’m sure I missed a lot, I didn't even try it with all the car brands, colors.... So many things. What annoys me the most is that I have no revelation about the dancers yet.

But I think I’ve had enough of analyzing for a while and would love to hear your thoughts. Do you agree on my analysis or disagree? What did I miss or misintepret?

Sincerely,

Tahtiplau

Revised on 23.07.24

#bts jimin #jimin muse #who by jimin #analysis #music video #Youtube #bts #park jimin #jimin smeraldo #who is my heart waiting for?

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vikenticomeshome · 8 months ago

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Cyberchase: How It All Started (Episode 1)

This comic was later renamed to Cyberchase Web Adventures Episode 1.

When I make posts about certain Cyberchase characters or important events, I sometimes show panels from the prequel web comic "How It All Started", which was released online in December 2001, a month or so before Cyberchase premiered. I have restrained myself from just posting the whole thing, since I don't own it.

However, it is no longer available on the live pbskids.org website. It is available through archives, but there are some difficulties in tracking it down due to missing images in some places. Additionally, even when it was available on the live pbskids.org website, it was free for all to view, so posting it here wouldn't hurt anyone.

The best way to enjoy the web comic is through the FlashPoint Archive Project. This is because the webpages used simple animations in some places. Essentially, each comic page is treated like a tradition animation cell. They have a background layer, and then the webpage places images on top of it that can be exchanged for one another. This produces simple three-frame animations for things like flashing lights or repetitive arm and eye movements. This isn't something I can easily reproduce on Tumblr, since it isn't like posting a single animated GIF. There may be some round-about way to convert it (i.e. take video of the webpage animating and convert it to GIF), but I'm not going to do that. So, this will just be still images. There is no author or illustrator credited for this. The webpages mention a copyright of 2001 for the Educational Broadcasting Corporation, but I don't know if they actually assembled the content in-house, or if Nelvana or WNET did it. I just want to make sure that everyone is aware that I do not own this. I am presenting someone else's creation here, in an unedited form.

There is one other thing I should point out. When the comic was originally released in 2001, it has a certain framing to it.

However, in 2002, the Cyberchase website got redesigned, and the comic was changed as well. Some animations were removed, some images were replaced with lower-quality images, and some assets were altered to fit in a new frame. They started calling these webisodes to fit in with Cyberchase Web Adventures, which included an original Poddleville story and one about Hacker trying to knock over Tikis in Tikiville.

I prefer the original framing, and I dug into the archives to find as many panels with the original framing that I could. However, I was unable to find the original framing for a few pages. It may be possible for someone with better Photoshop skills to try to put the assets back in their original forms. I'm not that person, but the assets are on the Internet Archive and the Flashpoint Project for anyone who wants to try. In those cases, I will use the new framing. All of the images necessary to understand the story are intact. However, there are some special cases that I will note when we get to them.

Anyway, my plan here is to show the panels, transcribe the narration and dialogue, and make some commentary at the end. So, let's begin.

Narration: Cyberspace... A place where time and space are one... A place where the lines between reality and imagination no longer exist... A place where anyone can go and anything can happen.

Narration: Throughout Cyberspace there are thousands of places called cybersites, each very different from the other, and all under the watchful eye of their thoughtful and peace-loving leader: Motherboard.

Narration: The heads of several cybersites gather for an important meeting with Motherboard to discuss the future.

Narration: Motherboard tells everyone that all is well, and reminds them that peach and harmony are the key to the future.

Dr Marbles(?): Together we are strong

Assembled Heads(?) of Cybersites (Ava of Symmetria, Sheriff Judy of Sensible Flatts, The King of Happily Ever After, Zeus of Mt. Olympus, an unknown character, Ollie Nollie of Solaria, Lucky of R-Fair-City, and Two-Headed Sam of Castleblanca): To Motherboard

Editors note: Motherboard is absent from this panel during this version of the comic. I'm not sure if this was supposed to be a shot from Motherboard's POV, or if they just wanted to wait another page before showing her. That speech bubble is so far away from Dr. Marbles, that I wasn't sure if he was even the one saying the line. Maybe they were implying that Motherboard was speaking through the screen behind Dr. Marbles, even though it doesn't have anything on it.

The second version of the comic adds a screen with Motherboard to the background layer, implying that it was supposed to be her saying the line all along. This is confusing.

Narration: Motherboard exists in a vast, hi-tech computer center known as control central.

Narration: Motherboard is the brain of the giant computer system that oversees all of Cyberspace.

Narration: The brilliant Dr. Marbles is responsible for keeping Motherboard's parts working smoothly and efficiently at all times.

Dr. Marbles: Your memory is now optimized, Motherboard.

Narration: Needing an assistant with a high level of intelligence, Dr. Marbles assembles a cyborg who calls himself The Hacker.

The Hacker (thinking): Hmmm, someday I'll take over all of Cyberspace!

Narration: Wanting an assistance of his own, Hacker makes a robotic Cybird he names Digit.

Digit: Yoikes!

Narration: One night, while Marbles is away, Hacker removed the Encryptor Chip from Motherboard... ...and hides it inside a secret vault.

The Hacker: Without the Encryptor Chip, Motherboard cannot function. Ha-Ha-Ha!

Digit: Stop! You can't do this!

Narration: Digit needs to figure out the combination to the safe so he can replace the Encryptor Chip inside Motherboard before it's too late!

Digit: This is definitely not going to be easy!

Editor's Note: And then, we play "Crack Hacker's Safe". This game still exists on the pbskids.org website almost 25 years later. It was done in Javascript, so it survived the death of Flash that took out most of the rest of the Cyberchase game library. Feel free to pretend that Digit is the one pressing the buttons for these panels. Make up dialogue if you wish.

Narration: Congratulations you did it!

Narration: With the Encryptor Chip safely back in place, Motherboard tells Hacker he has to leave.

Motherboard: Your hostile actions cannot be tolerated, Hacker. You are no longer welcome here.

Narration: The power is drained from Hacker and he is placed inside a remote-controlled Cyberpod.

The Hacker: Someday... somehow, I'll return. And when I do, I'll take over all of Cyberspace!

Dr. Marbles: Page down, Hacker. Your file is closed!

Narration: Hacker is banished to the farthest reaches of The Northern Frontier.

The Hacker: NOOOOOOO....!

Narration: Neither Motherboard nor Dr. Marbles realize that Hacker has taken Digit with him.

The Hacker: I'll be back! Ha-Ha-Ha!

Digit: Yoikes Lemme outa here!

Narration: Check out webisode 2... ...and find out about Hacker's Evil plan ... and what happens to Digit!

Editor's Note: So, we have the narration inviting us to watch webisode 2. Normally, you would expect the alt text attached to the web page to match the text for the image, so that if someone was unable to load the image, they would still get the text. The alt text is: "Tune in next week and find out about Hacker's evil plan and what happens to Digit!"

This leads me to believe that there was a different version of this image back in 2001 that had narration that was either the same as the alt text, or more similar. However, it appears that that version of the image was replaced, and the original version was not archived.

That's the end of the comic, so let's get to my commentary.

So, what do I think about this comic? I enjoyed reading it. I like the idea of The Hacker's schemes to topple Motherboard starting before the main virus. I find it a bit odd that he was able to remove the Encryptor Chip without either Motherboard or Dr. Marbles being alerted instantly, since it is an essential part.

I suppose Digit was already a good guy at this point. Otherwise, he would have looked the other way, Motherboard would have ceased function, and we wouldn't have gotten the show at all. Now, Digit never being a bad guy is a controversial idea in the fan community. If he was always against The Hacker's evil plans, then it removes the idea of him being genuinely bad and having a change of heart later. I'm also not sure why The Hacker took Digit along after he foiled his plans this first time. Perhaps Digit was able to hide this betrayal from him at the time. But then, who else would have known about The Hacker's secret vault, or the fact that he stole the Encryptor Chip?

It is questionable how much of this is still canon. The Hacker's origin story in particular has been expanded in the years that followed. The modern story talks about him wanting to help Motherboard, and then turning evil later. Meanwhile, this original origin story had him turning evil immediately. At this point, they had not even created the young Hacker that we see in flashbacks, since he only appears (from birth) in his final form.

The show has also animated a flashback of Dr. Marbles exiling Hacker in the same cyberpod. But then, we got Season 5 Episode 6 "The Flying Parallinis, where his banishment involved being trapped on top of Mount Wayupthere until the Parallinis accidentally released him. Both items may have been ret-conned in Season 12 Episode 8 "Hacker Hugs a Tree", when we see him banished via portal. He is also alone in that episode, so he didn't bring Digit along with him in that version of events.

Also, can we go back to the board room with the leaders of a few of the Cybersites?

This was early days for the show, so they only had so many characters created. Now, Zeus makes sense. He is the king of the gods on the Mt. Olympus Cybersite. The King from Happily Ever After also makes sense. Judge Trudy makes sense, I suppose. Back then, we only really knew her and her sister, Sheriff Judy, from Sensible Flatts. This was long before Sensible Flatts had a separate mayor.

Ava from Symmetria is an interesting choice. She runs the factory that produces the symmetrical objects, but is she also the head-of-state on that Cybersite? We don't see anything on that Cybersite other than the factory, so maybe the site really is just the factory.

I'm surprised to see Two-Headed Sam here. We know he runs the Cryoxide factory in Castleblanca, but this isn't really an Ava situation where the entire site is just one factory. Is Sam also the head-of-state across Castleblanca? That would explain his monopoly on the Cryoxide business, and it is a concerning conflict of interest. This was before the mayor we all remember from the Halloween Howl.

Ollie Nollie was the cart driver on Solaria, and Lucky was the cab driver on R-Fair City. I get that Solaria is mostly a vacation resort, and R-Fair City is an amusement park. But it's still weird to me that these two would be the heads-of-state over there.

Does anyone recognize the character in the top right? I can't find any reference to him.

Edit: I was looking back at S01 E21 "Less Than Zero", where we see a meeting of the Cyber Council. They used the same room, and the characters are in much the same arrangement. Our mystery character is replaced by the Mayor of Poddleville. The Mayor of Poddleville is easily the most senior member here, due to his place in the pilot. So, I'm a little surprised that he was the one character to change between "How It All Started" and this episode.

We also get Lachesis, one of the three fates from Greek Mythology, seated across from Dr. Marbles. I'm not sure why only one of the three fates gets a seat at this table. Why would Olympus get two representatives on the council?

#cartoon #cyberchase #2000s #nostalgia #pbs kids #2000s childhood #web comic #how it all started #cyberchase web adventures #cyberchase how it all started

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theflyingfeeling · 2 years ago

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I was so excited about UMK this year but now that all the songs are out I'm so disappointed and I need to process this somehow, so...below the cut is my (cynic) review of the songs this year, I wrote this for me but you may look ✨

Keira: No Business on the Dancefloor

I hadn't heard of her before, so I had no idea what to expect. She sings well, but there's nothing too special in the song. Songs similar to this advance to the ESC final every year, but I don't think this one's interesting enough to do that. (Also, I'm scared to even ask but can someone explain the line "swing it like Harry Potter" to me? I haven't read the books nor seen the movies, what did he ever swing? His broom? His peepee? lol)

Benjamin: Hoida mut

I don't know, man... There are songs that imply sexual content without being explicitly sexual that do it better than this one. The lyrics sound immature, in parts (maybe less so in the English translation), and I'm not a fan of how some of the words are stressed/emphasized. Not a huge fan of Benjamin's singing voice either, and he is definitely the weakest singer in the whole bunch.

Robin Packalen: Girls Like You

Robin was the very reason why I was so excited about UMK this year and, consequently, the reason why I'm so disappointed in this year's competition overall. I had such grand expectations for him, perhaps unreasonably so; I just really wanted him to have a great song and be sent to ESC and do well there 😔 However, having listened to the song on Spotify (i.e. without the mv), I have to say that the song isn't terrible. It's actually quite catchy and uptempo, and in my opinion the vibe in the music video doesn't quite match the vibe of the song. So IF they manage to compile a live show that brings out the good qualities of the song (because there are some!) and IF/when Robin's voice brings the song into life in the live version (because it certainly doesn't do so in the studio version), I think we MIGHT be able to ignore the weaknesses of the song (such as the tacky lyrics; then again, there have been and will be songs with even worse lyrics in the ESC every year, this one wouldn't even be the worst eh?)

Lxandra: Something to Lose

Not memorable at all (I couldn't even recall the name of this song without checking it). Really not my kind of music, not a fan of that kind of singing technique at all. If you're gonna do a ballad in the ESC, it needs to be bigger and stronger than this one.

Käärijä: Cha Cha Cha

Without having seen the live show for this, I must admit I'm also one of those people who are ready to send this to Liverpool. That is not to say I love the song, although it is the only one that evokes any kind of (positive) feelings in me. I don't know, maybe I feel pretentious jamming along to this song because I don't go to bars safe for Samy Elbanna acoustic gigs and BC tumblr meetings and I've never been drunk in my life? 😂 Still, it was the first song that I nodded my head along to and that brought a smile to my face (for some reason the line "toinen silmä jo karsastaa" / "one eye keeps turning crossed too far" always cracks me up). I'm just a little annoyed because people (mostly at the Finnish eurovision discussion board I've been reading) keep praising this song to the extent that I think it's a little over the top, saying stuff like "this is the best UMK song ever!!" and "this is the new Lordi!!" but like...it's not?! Or is it me who's in the wrong here? 😟 I don't know, maybe I should just lower my expectations and accept that I'm not gonna get another "Dark Side" out of UMK any time soon...

KUUMAA: Ylivoimainen

Another song that is praised a lot and I'm not quite sure why. Again, it's not a bad song, but something in it just feels...off. I think it's partly because I'm not a huge fan of Johannes' vocals/singing voice, but also because of the lyrics. I understand it's about the ecstasy one feels when falling in love, (and I want you to know that I'm saying the following even though I know y'all think I'm crazy) but instead of romantic, the lyrics seem sort of...obsessive? Every single line in the song is so desperate to the point that it makes me feel a little anxious. Yes, I also understand that song lyrics and poetry tend to exaggerate things and that none of this is to be taken literally, but even so, it doesn't evoke the feelings in me that it's probably intented to. If someone told me that "there's nothing left for me but you" I wouldn't feel enamored, I'd feel...sad? Because what if a day comes that we break up and you don't have me anymore, then what? You'll jump down the balcony? I don't want to be the only thing that's left for you, come on, there's gotta be something else in your life too, I can't handle this pressure! And with the sort of melancholic, yet upbeat melody of the song it feels kinda distressing and I almost feel like I can't breath when I listen to it. Then again, I've never been in love myself, so what the fuck do I know? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Portion Boys: Samaa taivasta katsotaan

Well 😂😂😂😂😂 In Finland we have this thing called junttidisco, and this is it. I have good reason to believe their other songs are like this too (I've only ever heard two of them), so what the hell were you expecting? 🤣 This is the only song that made me really laugh out loud (with Käärijä it was more like a sensible chuckle), but not necessarily in a good way. The lyrics in the verses are so cringe, although I did love the bit in the chorus about Kimi Räikkönen 😂 The worst part is that I'm not sure whether this is intented as a parody or if they're actually serious about this. I want to believe it's done tongue in cheek, in which case I appreciate them not taking themselves too seriously.

To conclude, I don't really give a fuck who will advance to Liverpool, but I guess if we absolutely must send one, then let it be Käärijä, assuming his live show will be fit for ESC. And despite having a horribly boring, mainstream, flavourless song, I still want to put Robin as my 2nd favourite, because I want to believe the live version of the song will be much better than the studio version 🙏

#behold a whole lot of shit takes and wrong opinions. click 'keep reading' at your own risk ✨#am i STILL gonna have to make those robin cupcakes?#(prayer circle i'm not gonna have nightmares of KUUMAA chasing me down an endless highway)

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artcalledmusica · 4 months ago

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stayarmytinyzenmoa-l · 3 years ago

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Without a Trace [Ch. 8]

Vigilantes AU TW: Language, Graphic Depictions of Violence, Descriptions of Blood, Minor Character Death, Gun Use, Knife Use, Electrocution Genre: Drama, Angst, Light Comedy Pairing: ATEEZ x Reader Y/N Pronouns: Not Specified Word Count: 5.4K Summary: Vigilante work has been outlawed, thus sending nine prominent vigilantes either into retirement or into lower ground and, while some abide by the law, a few continue on. Then, one day, a greater threat forces these vigilantes to come together once again, regardless of the law.

(8/11) [First] | [Previous] | [Next] [Main Masterlist] | [Without a Trace Masterlist]

Notes: IT'S BACCKKKKKK I'M SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG JSDFHKDJFH school's been a bitch and I may or may not have taken more series than I can handle so I'm gonna try to zero in on some and crank them out ahaha Disclaimer: Please remember that this is an AU and a work of fiction, obviously the idols mentioned/written about in this story would never partake in these actions. The idols mentioned in this work are meant to be seen more as face claims rather than the actual idols themselves.

“This is insane, this is absolutely fucking insane,” you paced the Warehouse, phone in your hand, and opened to Twitter. It’s been a few days since the event, and Hongjoong had told the group to lay low while the Internet went into full uproar due to the events at the Grand Central Bank. Unfortunately for the group, Bambi and his entourage escaped, but fortunately for them, there were reduced casualties and the Bank didn’t lose anything, courtesy of a certain Park Seonghwa standing on a rooftop.

Posts of low-quality photos and videos circulated on every social media you could think of. Twitter, Weibo, Tumblr, Reddit, everything above and between, the grouping of vigilantes was known throughout the world. Words of encouragement, shock, and worry were paired with these posts. There was a large number of people praising and a fair amount denouncing your actions, but that was to be expected. More people were surprised by the members more so than the action, and you didn’t blame them. When was the last time you and Wooyoung worked together? The last time Yunho donned a mask and uniform? You were sure that Jongho had been inactive since before the ban too. A team of nine, everyone wondered what you were all capable of.

At this moment, the room was populated by eight members of this hastily put-together group. Everyone was present save for Hongjoong, who was busy in some other room, slamming the door behind him and thus telling everyone to leave him alone for the time being. Meanwhile, as they awaited their next move, everyone had been running through the media with a fine-tooth comb, trying to deduce what the general public thought about them and how they’d dodge the authorities if necessary. But right now, as you scrolled through Twitter, the hashtags and the tweets are all in rampant support of this group? It was insane

“They love us…” you shook your head with some disbelief, but your wide eyes that seemed to shine with excitement betrayed you. It felt like the first time the Aces started. It was almost too good to be true. After being so vehemently denounced, here you were, being lauded again as if you’d never done anything wrong. It was all a bit hypocritical, actually, seeing all of the responses. Just yesterday you saw a tweet calling you a bitch for beating up a sex offender, but who were you to comment on someone who was terminally online?

“We’re back! Are we back? I’d say we’re back!” Wooyoung cut into your thoughts and it was clear that he could barely sit still going through Twitter himself. “This is insane! I thought we’d be out of the game forever but look, everyone’s excited! Holy… wow, this is crazy, I can’t believe they actually missed us. I was sure that everyone would riot when they saw us show up.” Wooyoung continues to scroll through the tags with a huge smile on his face. He pauses on a video that caught you and him together. “Eh, I guess my form’s a little off, but no one noticed so I guess it’s fine,” he adds with a breathy chuckle.

“I’m surprised everyone’s so excited,” Mingi looks over Wooyoung’s shoulder to see his phone. “Maybe it has something to do with the Charlatan.”

“Maybe,” Yunho shrugs. “The police have done jack shit toward catching him, and now a group of vigilantes came back to figure out who this person is, of course, some people would be jumping for joy.”

“Yunho’s got a point, unfortunately,” San walks into the Warehouse, cleaning off his gun with a cloth before holstering it back. “And, even worse, our declaration of war has been solidified,” he says.

“Yup,” Yeosang shakes his head.

“No, I mean our declaration of war has been solidified,” San repeats. “There’s no way they’re letting us off the hook now. (Y/N) and Jisung just beat the shit out of some of their men. We’re in public action now, we’re done for if we screw this up.”

“Oh shit,” Mingi digs his hands in his hair. “We are so screwed now,” he takes deep breaths. “Look, I have people I care about outside of this whole vigilante thing, do you think he knows? Does he know who we are?” Mingi starts to hyperventilate.

“Alright, let’s all calm down,” Jongho speaks up. “Deep breaths, we’re careful. Too careful, sometimes. Did any of us keep things in this warehouse? Or did any of us upload any information on Hope’s servers? I know I didn’t, I wasn’t active enough to need one, at least.” The room falls silent. This was the original hub of all vigilante activities, it was only natural that it would have too much information, but when it came to the group standing in it right now?

“No, I didn’t like the idea of uploading anything on this server,” Mingi answers.

“I didn’t even know there was a server,” San shrugs.

“I’d only track my weapons, nothing else,” Wooyoung adds.

“I had my own system,” Yeosang shrugs.

“I didn’t, I’m not technically a vigilante,” Seonghwa turns his phone face-down on the table.

“I’ve always been a private person,” Yunho shrugs. “I keep people on a need-to-know basis, and those three, Outro, didn’t need to know.”

“I know Hongjoong had always been private about his things too,” Seonghwa mutters.

You, meanwhile, stayed silent in this whole exchange, listening to everyone and putting everything into account. You, personally, never uploaded anything to Hope’s server, something the genius had put together as a sort of Vigilante Watch program, every single one was connected throughout the city and, should anyone turn on each other, they’d had proper countermeasures. The server had always been secure, Yeosang had even mentioned if there was one hacker who was greater than him, it was Hope. Part of the legendary vigilante group Outro, they pioneered vigilante work and perfected it. Hope’s server was proof of this, maintaining data on every vigilante and providing support, but it was always a two-edged sword. Along with keeping general updates of names, affiliations, and utilities, it kept track of personal data alongside it, including family names, actual names, marital status, everything. The intention was that if any vigilante suddenly went missing, one of the members of Outro would break the news. Personal data was only ever visible to those three, and it stayed like that for a long time. Then, the vigilante ban came into full effect, and Hope shut down the server, closing it and deleting all the information stored in it for good. It was as if every single document or file relating to vigilante work simply never existed. You never uploaded anything on it.

But Giselle did.

“There’s data on the Aces there, all four of us,” you finally said. Again, the group fell quiet. Giselle was always the makeshift leader of the group, she made the decisions, she made the calls, and she kept the Ace’s profiles updated. At the time, you realize, it was a good idea. You all had things to lose, some more than most, so it only made sense that you’d partake in the Vigilante Watch program. You didn’t think it’d come back to bite you. You finally looked up, crossing your arms in the process. You couldn’t read any of their expressions, except for Yeosang’s, who was terrified.

“That’s why you and Jisung made it on his list…” He says.

“Once he got me, he probably would’ve headed for Giselle…” you shook your head. “I think Jisung’s on his way over to her right now,” you added. He said he wanted to go far, and that was far. “You have to understand, we had things to lose. A lot. We needed to be part of this watch,” you defended. No one could argue. “I don’t think she put any other data on there, aside from the fact that we worked with Aegis a lot.”

“Yeosang, do you think you can access Hope’s server? There has to be some remnant of it if the Charlatan got to it, right?” Yunho asks. Yeosang turns his laptop around.

“It’s what I’ve been trying to do for a couple of days now, but Hope’s code blockers are strong,” he says. “Not to mention there’s a lot.” He grumbles. “I think it’d be faster to just ask him, but since Mono kicked the bucket, he and Agust went into hiding. If it’s this hard to crack his code, I can only imagine how hard it would be to find him,” he crosses his arms. He flips his laptop back around. “But I should be able to get into it… I think. (Y/N), do you have any idea what Giselle put in it?”

“Basic things, our names, family members, specialties, weapons, our addresses too… I think after the incident Jisung put in where Giselle’s care center was, mostly because Mono recommended it to us. But I can’t think of anything else,” you shook your head.

Yeosang listened carefully, scrolling through his laptop as you spoke, his eyes were focused and his thumb between his teeth. His eyes scanned left to right as you spoke.

“Everyone, listen up!” Hongjoong announced and Yeosang shut his laptop. The group stood around the table in the center and Hongjoong spreads out a number of files. You pick one of them up.

“Professor Jung?” You ask. The professor of Criminology school profile was in your hands. It had the list of classes he taught, his publishings, class averages, and anything you could think would be on a professor’s file. The file in Seonghwa’s hand next to you was his records with the police department, the cases in which he was asked to assist in specifically.

“At the end of the robbery, I was approached by the Professor, he asked a favor of us specifically,” Hongjoong explains. “He wants us to work in conjunction with the police force.” At that statement, whispers started to arise.

“I’m in favor,” Mingi says.

“Me too,” Wooyoung nods.

“If we’re coming back, let’s do it the right way, no more skirting around the law, we both have common goals, right?” Mingi adds. “If we cooperate, we could amend the law and get back to what we do best.”

“Plus, I wouldn’t mind a paycheck,” Wooyoung huffs.

“I’m going to have to disagree with you both,” Yunho spoke up next to you. “I of all of you know how fine print contracts work, for all we know they could arrest us as soon as the Charlatan’s captured.”

“I hate to break it to you two, but some of us have lengthy records on us, not to mention warrants for arrest,” he glances over to you and you nodded.

“I don’t know, I think we should discuss it more before making a concrete decision,” you spoke up. San had a point, of the group you were sure it was the both of you with the most to lose from this deal if it went south. You weren’t too fond of having to go through legal procedures either, why wait when you could deal with a problem right then and there? But, then again, Mingi had a point. If you did everything right now you could all be in the good light of the authorities, something vigilantes had struggled with before. It would be a step in the right direction. You were nearly certain, though, that they wouldn’t just let you off with a slap on the wrist for your crimes. Hell, San and Seonghwa are basically murderers, there’s no way they’d just let them off the hook. Not to mention that Yunho could be convicted for treason if his clientele list was ever made public.

“Professor Jung assured me that our work would be kept under lock and key,” Hongjoong says.

“Bull shit,” you shook your head. “We’re already in the public eye, to suddenly go under wraps would make people suspicious.”

“That’s what I was thinking,” Seonghwa sighs. “Although I understand where Wooyoung and Mingi are coming from,” Seonghwa taps his hand on the table. “Just being in this group, I can tell, will influence my current and future clientele,” he shakes his head.

“If I may,” Jongho, who’d been silent, speaks up now. Everyone’s attention diverts to him. “I think that the consequences of working without police protection would be greater than the restrictions we’d have if we agreed to cooperate,” he says. “Disregarding the murder charges on some of us, if a disaster were to occur indirectly because of us, it could be worse for us in the long run.”

“Everyone, if I could have your attention on the screen here,” Yeosang is next to speak. All throughout the screen were various articles. He taps on one of them.

‘Professor Jung Jaehyun speaks against the Vigilante Ban.’

Yeosang taps another one.

‘Professor Jung Jaehyun on the benefits of vigilante justice.’

Yeosang chooses another article, an excerpt this time.

‘Professor Jung comments that since the first appearance of vigilantes, crime rates have significantly decreased city-wide despite the rise in taxes. In his words: ‘What are taxes in the face of public safety?��’

“Whatever he’s planning, it seems to be with good intentions,” Hongjoong says. “He hasn’t shown any bad ones in the past, at least.”

“A professor who’s interested in vigilante work? Sounds to me like we’d be his guinea pigs if anything. We’re giving him an opportunity to observe our work first hand,” San comments. “This has to be some science experiment of his.”

“I doubt that, he’s very devoted to his work with the police force, he’s even been actively working on the Charlatan case,” Yeosang says. He taps another window and a video appears.

‘Dr. Jung Jaehyun on the Charlatan Case.’

“Play the video for us, Yeosang,” Seonghwa says.

“Yup,” Yeosang steps aside.

“Dr. Jung, I’m Kang Taehyun with Capitol Times, you’ve just told us that you’re working with Precinct 127 to catch the Charlatan, what is your stance on this issue, and do you have any plan at all?”

“Well, as I’ve said earlier, the Charlatan is considered to be Public Enemy #1 at this moment, a majority of the police force is being focused on this case. Obviously, I agree with this sentiment. The Charlatan has proved that they are behind the mass disappearances and serial killings around the world and due to a majority of the cases being focused here it is our police force who will take charge of dealing with them. I personally think they’re cowardly, hiding behind their mask and screen, and I will stop at nothing until they are behind bars. As for a plan, that is something the police force has specified to keep confidential for now, but please understand that we are working on this case.”

“Stop the video,” Hongjoong says. “Let’s do a vote already. The majority wins, no complaints. Who’s in favor of working with the professor and by extension the police department?” Hongjoong, Wooyoung, Mingi, Yeosang, and Jongho raise their hands. You hummed. Everything that you’d been presented so far and everything you understood pointed in the direction that the deal would only be beneficial. You rose your hand too and San scoffed.

“Oh, grow up, Choi,” you glared.

“Oh, well… What the fuck?” San rose his hand too. Seonghwa rose his hand with a shrug, following the majority. Yunho shook his head but eventually rolled his eyes.

“Hongjoong, call the professor. Tell him that we’ll only cooperate if we get to draft the contract ourselves, I’ll be in charge of that specifically,” Yunho says.

“I’ll schedule a meeting with the professor and give him the bare bones of our plan, I’ll only tell him what he needs to know,” Hongjoong nods. “Yunho, I expect that you’re coming with me?”

“Of course,” he smiles.

“Then, let’s go over it,” Hongjoong places a map on the table after pushing aside Jaehyun’s files.

“Phase One: Set up. (Y/N), I want you and San to play the waiting game. Sorry about this, but you’re going to have to play bait again, the Charlatan has to focus on you, you’ve escaped his grasp twice now. I’m having San go with you since it would look suspicious if you were found alone.”

“Think Mingi would be mad if we had some of these?” San hands you a cup of coffee.

“I don’t think so,” you took it and sat on top of the desk. You were both stationed in Mingi’s office. Looks like the reporter had been hard at work from the article spread in front of you and the stack of files off to the side. Capitol Times was a location chosen from careful planning. You couldn’t wait in any of your homes, that’s something you didn’t want the cops to know about unless they had to. The patrol cars were stationed at inconspicuous places throughout the city, something that the professor had assured. After his discussion with Hongjoong and Yunho, he agreed to have the police stationed at areas of high activity for security purposes, they have been all instructed to follow the Mastermind’s orders. San leans next to you, one hand in his pocket while he blows on the styrofoam cup.

“So, what made you change your mind?” He asks, his shoulder brushing with yours each time he rose the cup to his lips.

“Tired of hiding in the shadows, I guess,” you shrugged. “Aren’t you? Maybe you could get back your lost trust in them, I don’t know.”

“They did love Aegis,” he says. “The perfect, law-abiding vigilante,” he sighs. He looks at his reflection in the mirror in front of him, a suit loosely hanging on it, ready for whenever Mingi had to attend a press conference.

“Not used to it anymore?” You asked.

“Hmm?” He looks at you. You tapped the shield strapped to his back. “Oh, that thing? I’m surprised Yunho had it.” You leaned back, looking at its design. There was a clear welding mark from where it had originally snapped in half. You knocked on it.

“Yunho must have reinforced it with something.”

“He did, it’s heavier now,” he readjusts the straps across his chest holding it up. Your eyes drifted to the ‘A’ on his wrist cuff, then you looked at the one on your shoulder. You didn’t think you’d be working with a team again so soon.

You look out the window.

“Seonghwa, you’ll be our failsafe. Sure, there’ll be cops crawling everywhere, but I know I can rely on you if not them. There’ll be an apartment complex across the street from Capitol Times, station yourself up there and be ready to fire when necessary. Your target is anyone wearing the Charlatan mask, am I clear?”

“Crystal clear,” Seonghwa mutters, wiping the lens on his scope clean. He holds the rifle at eye level, looks through the scope, and shakes his head, adding on another lens. He clicks his tongue now and adds another lens. One more for good measure. “Crystal clear.” He repeats, he could see you and San clearly through the lenses now. He points the barrel downwards, looking at the foot traffic in front of the newspaper company. No one suspicious so far save for the undercover cops. They could be less inconspicuous, if Seonghwa didn’t memorize their faces before he’d have taken the shot already, could they be any more obvious? He shook his head and surveyed the area again. White suits, charlatan masks, and weapons were the three things he was on the lookout for.

“Unfortunately, the signal tracking Yeosang’s been working on isn’t going fast enough for the professor, so now the plan is for (Y/N) to get targeted and taken to the Charlatan’s headquarters. (Y/N) as soon as you get there, report back, we’ll track your watch until we lose signal, just in case. I’m sure you can handle yourself, plus, you’ll have San with you so I’m not too worried.”

“Looking forward to getting kidnapped?” San asks, trying to lighten the mood.

“Not much, I’m not fond of ropes,” you shake your head.

“Yeah, I remember you saying that,” San smirks into his cup and you nudge him harshly.

“Yeosang’s listening, don’t mention that,” you grimaced.

“Yeosang, do what you do best. You’re in charge of CCTV, the best access point’s in the police department, I’m sure you’ll be fine though. No one’s idiotic enough to arrest you while you’re working with them to catch the Charlatan.”

“Sorry, Hongjoong, but I can’t take any chances,” Yeosang sat in his flat surrounded by screens. He’s a hacker, it’s good for him to have at least some secrets. He looks at the screen with you and San specifically and leans back on his chair, sipping some of his juice box while he listens in on your conversation.

“Oh, I’m very aware of your past relationship,” Yeosang cuts in after pressing a button. “I have that information on all of you, so don’t feel too special,” he teases.

“Got anything on Hongjoong?” San asks jokingly.

“Guy’s been single his whole life.”

“Fucking loser,” you chuckled.

“Hey, now, Seonghwa’s been single his whole life too,” Yeosang laughs.

“Seonghwa? Seriously?” You looked surprised. “Geez, I don’t even know where to look, where’s the camera?”

“You’re not supposed to know where it is, Ace,” Yeosang replies.

“What’s so shocking about Seonghwa being single? He’s basically married to that rifle he carries around,” San laughs. Yeosang looks over to Seonghwa’s screen, watching him wipe down the rifle for what had to be the twentieth time.

“I can confirm that,” Yeosang replies.

“Still, though,” you responded. “Kind of strange for…”

“For what?” San asks, tilting his head. A devious thought crosses Yeosang’s mind and he pressed the button off to the side.

“What is it, Yeosang?” Seonghwa’s voice is clear.

“Shh, shh, just listen,” he connects the line to yours.

“Nothing, forget I said anything,” you waved your hand in front of San and the other continues to laugh.

“Say it! You have to now!” San eggs you on.

“Ugh, leave me alone, San! I’m just saying that in his line of work I’m surprised he’s never met anyone.”

“(Y/N) you can say Seonghwa’s attractive, you know,” Yeosang teases.

“It’s not that!”

“So he isn’t?”

“He is! It’s just—” You’re cut off by San gasping. “Oh, shut it! Are you saying he’s not attractive?!”

“Objectively, I guess he is.”

“You’re not wrong, (Y/N), you’re not wrong,” Yeosang shrugs.

“It’s weird talking about a co-worker like this, is all, plus, I kind of live with him right now since my apartment’s in shambles so it’s even weirder,” you grumbled. Seonghwa shook his head with a small smile. Yeosang connects his line to Seonghwa’s.

“You should say something.”

“What’s this? Playing matchmaker? You must be bored,” Seonghwa checks the clip on his rifle, making sure it’s full.

“When you’re sitting on your ass for almost eighteen hours a day, you tend to get bored,” Yeosang smiles, disconnecting yours and Seonghwa’s lines.

“Wooyoung and Yunho will be stationed a couple blocks down, as soon as you get Yeosang’s signal, follow whatever car they take, and if things get messy, you both step in and offer support. Your primary objective, alongside with Mingi and Jongho, is to ensure that there are no casualties.”

“Anything?” Wooyoung asks.

“Nothing yet,” Yunho stares at the screen on his lap.

“In that case, I’m taking a quick catnap, yeah? Wake me up when something happens,” he reclines his seat and closes his eyes. Yunho makes sure he’s really asleep before switching back to the contract. The professor was strangely accepting of their terms, anyone would be suspicious of it.

‘Condition 1: Our identities are kept secret.’

‘Condition 2: Until the Charlatan is captured, any warrants for arrest will be suspended.’

‘Condition 3: The police support the vigilantes, not the other way around.’

‘Condition 4: Once the Charlatan is captured, we go our separate ways.’

Four conditions of theirs in exchange for one from the professor. It was suspicious, to say the least, all the professor asked for was that none of the officers assigned to the case would be harmed. It feels more like a hindrance, actually, as if it were drawing away from the Charlatan. He could understand the sentiment, but at the same time, he was questioning the intent. Yunho adjusted the rearview mirror, spotting the patrol car stationed in the alley behind them and ready to move out on signal.

“What are you planning, professor?” He wonders aloud.

“Jongho, your positioning is important. I’m going to tell the professor that you’re stationed with Seonghwa, but I want you by the precinct. Take care not to be noticed. I don’t want to doubt our new ally, but you know how things like this go, right?”

Jongho did exactly that. Seated at the café across the way, he flipped through the notes on his iPad while keeping an eye on the precinct.

“Jongho, don’t respond, just listen. I’ll wire you into the CCTV for the precinct,” Yeosang explains. “I’ll be busy monitoring the others, so can I trust you on this? Tap the lid of your coffee twice for yes.” Jongho did as he was instructed before picking it up and drinking some of it. He adjusts his aviators and watches the CCTV feed on the tablet. Everyone was running around, operators constantly in contact with field officers, a couple people monitoring their own views of the scenes, and the professor, standing in front of the precinct’s own security cameras, monitoring the whole event. Jongho tugged at his collar, the uniform underneath it remaining hidden as he dims the brightness.

The professor, huh? Jongho focused on his screen the most. Although he was in favor of working with the police, he was still skeptical about the professor. His name rang a bell, but he couldn’t figure out why. Why did his name raise red flags in his head? Jongho opened his notes app, scrolling through the various files. If he was suspicious, the reason why would be in at least one of these, right?

“Mingi, that leaves you. I need you to be on standby with a car. Officers will be too cautious, I know you won’t. Park by the office and wait for further instruction.”

Mingi tapped the steering wheel anxiously. It was his idea to use the office, and for whatever reason, he was worried about the future of his employment there. He had told Ryujin at the front desk to let you and San in herself if he wasn’t in the office at the time, but once the Charlatan breaks into the office, anyone would be suspicious of him and of them. He should’ve thought this through more before setting you and San up, maybe it wasn’t too late? He’d get you both to wait down here instead.

But you needed to be in a closed area to avoid casualties, of course, just his luck. He looks up at where the office would be. Still no activity. He wondered if it was still too late to back out, it was too risky, he didn’t want to put you in a bad position, you’d already had enough trauma with playing bait. To be honest, he wanted to scold Hongjoong for even asking you to play bait again, he must have had a lot of nerve to say that. But, he was right, the Charlatan couldn’t pass off an opportunity to try to get you again. Still, he couldn’t shake off the guilt. The way you sighed when Hongjoong told you your role, the way you clenched your jaw when you nodded, anyone could tell that you didn’t want to do it. If only they could’ve waited a little longer for Yeosang to pinpoint the mask’s signal location, they could’ve avoided this. How much did they have to appease the police anyway? He understood the severity of the case, of course, but there was a fast way to do things and then there was a right way too. He’s yet to find out which this plan was. He pressed on the knob of his watch. His intuition hasn’t been wrong yet, he could tell, something bad is about to happen, and he had to tell Hongjoong now before it was too late.

Then he heard something click behind him.

“Stay vigilant and on your guard. There’s no telling when the Charlatan will strike. When they do, put up a fight, we can’t just let them take (Y/N) without a scratch.”

The sound of the window shattering had you and San on your feet in seconds. There was only one of them this time, thank god, but their build was huge, easily towering over you and San. In their hands was a pair of gauntlets. The lackey bumped their fists together, electricity beginning to flow between them.

“Oh shit, those were Elektrode’s!” You pulled out your knives. Elektrode was a villain back before the ban, he was finally apprehended by the members of Outro and his equipment was stored in the Warehouse for monitoring. You and the Aces had one run-in with him and you all got out with heavy injuries and a need to repair uniforms.

“From experience, those are not ones you want to get hit with,” San pulled the shield from his back.

“Yeah, no shit,” you shuddered at the memory of being caught between those gauntlets.

“‘Scuse me,” San rushes ahead of you, holding the shield up and blocking the first blow from the lackey with a loud clang. Electricity sparked around the shield and rebounded back to the intruder and the lights above you flickered until their fuses blew.

“I’ve got the back,” you jumped on the desk, aiming the knives for the lackey’s critical points. The lackey turned and caught two of the knives, immediately twisting and burying one into San’s thigh.

“Shit,” San grit his teeth when the lackey squeezed his fist, electricity coursing through the gauntlets, to the knife, and shocking San. He stumbles back, the nerves in his leg spasming and paralyzing until he falls. The lackey reaches for you, holding the gauntlets on either side of your head. You took a shaky breath, preparing yourself for the inevitable shock when a bullet pierces through the lackey’s head. Seonghwa wasn’t supposed to kill the Charlatan’s lackey, he was supposed to injure them, he wouldn’t slip up like that, Seonghwa doesn’t make careless decisions like that. You stumbled forward and leaned out of the window, spotting Seonghwa across the way, but he was more focused on something else. The only reason why Seonghwa would deliberately disobey orders was to get someone’s attention, after all. Then, the crackling sound in your earpiece confirmed your suspicions.

“We have a problem! Oh my god, what the fuck, what the fuck, someone patch in!” Yeosang’s frantic voice was opened to all channels.

“Cypher? It’s Spades, we can hear you, what happened?” You pressed on the earpiece, tossing your first aid kit to San, who was still massaging his thigh.

“I knew this shit was rushed, fuck, why isn’t anyone going after them?!” Yeosang shouted in the earpiece as if no one could hear him. San pulled his out, holding it further from his ear.

“Cypher, we can hear you loud and clear!” San shouts back.

“Mastermind! Mastermind?! What the… Hongjoong! Say the signal already, dammit! Hello? Why isn’t anyone listening? Can anyone hear me?”

“What’s going on with the channel?” You looked out, trying to spot the police station.

“Fuck, signal jammers… Radiohead, he’s got her. Fuck it, to whoever can hear me, head out now!” The hacker falls silent as if to wait for someone’s response. When no one responds, he only shouts in annoyance. “Someone head out now! They got Mingi!”

General Tag List: @vickylamore @kazooms @sehunnies-hunnie96 @yangsrose @bat-shark-repellant @nakakapagpabagabagenthusiast @raeincitizen @here-aeth @lune1897 @gaiyofanfiction @jaeminsespresso @umbralhelwolf @morningsunandnightsky

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Unable to be Tagged: @mizzdivagirl7-blog @elwiwiwi

If you want to be added to either tag list or removed just send me a reply to this post, and ask, or a DM and I’ll add you as soon as possible!

#ateez #ateez x reader #ateez fics #ateez x you #ateez x y/n #ateez vigilante au #hongjoong x reader #seonghwa x reader #yunho x reader #yeosang x reader #mingi x reader #san x reader #wooyoung x reader #jongho x reader #my writings #without a trace

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nerdynatreads · 2 years ago

Photo

☆☆YouTube | Tumblr | Instagram | Storygraph ☆☆

book review || Ocean’s Echo by Everina Maxwell

video review || ARC Reading Vlog -- Ocean's Echo

A much-anticipated new book and it did not disappoint! ⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the beginning, I like that we’re dropped into this society and forced to put together pieces as we follow the characters. By the end, I found this was a pretty well-developed world, with a strong sci-fi quality to it, that sometimes made me think of Mass Effect. I really liked that the people of this world were edging into a more evolved group via their telepathy skills. It made me intrigued from the beginning and the relevance of it in the political plots made for some high stakes.

The start of the book felt very focused on establishing our characters. I liked Tennal from the start. He is a rebellious mess, who’s desperate to escape his own mind, but also terrified of any commitment. I could help but liken him to Mariner from Lower Decks. Surit, on the other hand, is pretty gruff and grumbly at the start, but lordy, he’s gotta sweet interior, which we often don’t see from his words or thoughts, it’s in his actions.

It was a ride to see these two get to know one another and slowly develop from fake comrades to friends to something more. There are small moments and actions that showcase their feelings becoming more than platonic. This is so slow-moving and definitely a lot lighter in regard to romance, but still, I loved every little moment between them. I was so taken off guard at how much I’d grown to care about each of them by the end of the book.

Slowly, the underlying politics that run throughout the book began to become a more prominent plot point. At the halfway point now and I both felt like a lot had happened and not a lot had happened, meaning the pacing was pretty odd. However, I was hooked when this started building up the political scheming more and exploring the imbalance of the society and the injustices that the readers were subjected to. This area was where the action really kicked up a notch and the ending? Oh, it was punchy and leaned a lot more into the sci-fi elements that had been hinted at previously.

With a setting in the military, the writing matched by being pretty stiff and formal, with a really proper tone to match, except when the author dives into the telepathy, then it edges into a more flowery, romantic style, that I much preferred.

This is stony sci fi fanfic change my mind

Oh damn, this ending was pretty punchy, DEFINITELY went harder into the fantastical and sci-fi elements that had been hinted at previously. The writing around the final fight was probably the most beautiful of the book and I was pretty close to crying.

The way this story wraps up is satisfying while also not really being the end of this world’s story. There’s definitely more to occur, but it’s a natural ending point for the book.

As for characters, I was so taken off guard by how much I’d come to care about Tennal and Surit by the end. This definitely was a lot slower in regards to their relationship, with much more focus on the main plot, but that didn’t mean I was squealing at these two finally realizing their feelings.

4 / 5 stars

#book review #ocean's echo #ocean's echo by everina maxwell #everina maxwell #queer sci fi #queer sci fi books #book recs #Book Recommendations #book recomendation #sci fi book recs #sci fi book recommendations #bookblr #booklr #book tumblr #booktube #booktuber #book youtuber #studyblr

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rose-lord-of-simps · 4 years ago

Note

Can I make a request your headcanons for everyone reacing to hearing that Luke got into a fight with a lower level demon and won? Chihuahua Luke, and completely platonic ofcourse

YES PLEASE THANK YOU- Okay, for some reason I can’t find this ask on my phone’s notifications so if there are typos, I apologize, I’ll be doing an editing check on my phone after posting. So I’m sorry if you sent this forever ago and I’m only getting to it now!

The Obey Me characters reacting to Luke WINNING A FIGHT- YES- GO CHIHUAHUA!

New datables included!

Lucifer

Excuse me

WAT?

He did...

What?

He’s not dead?

Are we sure?

We’re sure?

okay.

Honestly I feel like he is the most shocked.

Tiny chihuahua Luke, fought a demon... and won?

He hears it was a lower class demon and has to ask “How lower class?”

Will most definitely tease Luke about being a chihuahua but secretly is super impressed.

Wants to give Luke a head pat and say good job but doesn’t.

Didn’t tell Diavolo to ask Simeon what kind of comfort items Luke likes.

Totally wasn’t the one who got Luke a new bed, fluffy blankets, pillows galore, and stuffed animals of all sizes as a good job present.

Totally not.

Mammon

Confusion?

Luke knows what fighting is?

SHOCKED

Too shocked to even talk.

Doesn’t care why the fight started

Kind of just wants to hunt down the lower level demon and ask them how they managed to make Luke fight them

Slightly scared of Luke now but wont admit it.

Levi

Miraculously was walking by when the fight started

Recorded everything on his DDD

Had to hold himself back from laughing at the entire thing so that the audio quality could be good

Wished he had popcorn

Was shocked Luke knew how to get violent but thoroughly enjoyed watching a demon get beat up by this tiny little chihuahua.

Satan

His immediate reaction is just

“wait why were they fighting?”

What got cute baby Luke- to fight a demon?

Asks Levi for the video

Is now inclined to teach Luke how to throw a proper punch.

Admits he underestimated the chihuahua

However, that doesn’t stop him from laughing his booty off at how the Demon runs away from a screaming Luke in Beel’s arms.

Asmo

Surprised like-

He didn’t even brake a nail?

Watches the video of what happened with Satan and is laughing the whole time.

Kind of proud of Luke.

Tells Luke he saw a video of the fight and congratulates him

Also asks how he didn’t brake a nail.

Beel

Was there for the whole thing.

Had to keep Luke from chasing the Demon

Didn’t react immediately though, kind of just watched for the first few minutes

Then pulled Luke away from chasing the demon down.

Impressed but are Luke’s fists okay?

Takes Luke home and tells Simeon, the Purgatory Hall resident adult no Solomon doesn’t count, what happened.

Belphie

Would just smirk and say

“knew it.”

Had a feeling Luke knew how to at the very least defend himself

Helps Satan and Barbs teach Luke how to properly throw a punch.

Offers to help Luke get a punch in o Lucifer if he ever wants to.

Sees this as new potential for being annoying for Lucifer.

Diavolo

Honestly thrilled.

One less thing to worry about is lower level demons harming Luke now!

Has to fill out paperwork about it now

But congratulates Luke on his win

Is honestly kind of tempted to throw him a party

Had Levi send him the video of the fight and made sure to watch it with Lucifer later

Happily asks Simeon what kind of stuff Luke likes as comfort items for Lucifer.

Finds it cute how Lucifer wants to give him a present.

Barbatos

A little concerned for Luke’s safety because

Are higher demons going to come and see how much they can rile him up until he fights now?

Watched the video Levi took later though and shamelessly enjoys watching Luke get angry at this demon.

Finds Luke fighting to be a funny concept.

Helps Satan teach Luke how to properly fight.

Solomon

Stops whatever he is doing.

Lets the information sit in his brain and process for about 5 minutes before giving Luke a high five

Tells him good job and congrats on the win

Proud of Luke

teases Luke endlessly about it though

Simeon

Kind of mad at Luke because he isn’t supposed to be fighting anyone at all

But also knew Luke would be able to obliterate the lower class demons and isn’t surprised.

Secretly proud of Luke for standing up for himself.

Doesn’t easily excuse this though, he can have his presents from a mysterious source who he totally doesn’t know is Lucifer but he has to clean the whole Purgatory Hall.

Most definitely teases Lucifer about getting Luke all that stuff.

One of two people to figure out it was Lucifer who got Luke everything because, If it were Diavolo he would of given Luke everything openly. The only person who would ask Diavolo to ask Simeon about what Luke likes would be Lucifer.

Luke

Most shocked he won after Lucifer.

HE COULDN’T JUST LET THE DEMON KEEP TALKING!

What else was he supposed to do?

BAKE HIM A CAKE!?

NO!

He has celestial realm magic too ya know!

He just chooses not to use it because then he is gonna need THE BIGGEST nap

Has no regrets.

Got to snuggle up in his new bed with his new stuffies!

Bakes something for Lucifer as a thank you gift

Bonus!

look while I was writing this I started thinking about fluffy Luke and Lucifer having a sibling relationship and it’s making me cry so I gotta keep going-

“Lucifer, may I come in?”

“Yes chihuahua?”

QUE THE AGGRESSIVE LOVE

“I’M NOT A- no. fine. I made you poison apple pie! I hope you enjoy it you demon! Thank you for the gifts you never sent me!”

“Your welcome for absolutely nothing and I don’t like sweets!”

“That’s why It’s not too sweet! I put cinnamon and stuff in it so it wouldn’t be super sweet because I know you don’t like sweeter things!”

“I’ll enjoy it chihuahua!”

“I hope you do you lousy demon!”

STORMS OUT OF ROOM AND TAKES AN ANGRY NAP IN HIS NEW BED!

EATS THE PIE WITH A FROWN BUT LOVES IT!

A/N

Hope you enjoyed! Sorry again if you sent this a while ago and I didn’t see it until now. I was using Tumblr on my computer because sometimes I just prefer it, and noticed the ask in my inbox. I hope you liked it! This was a lot of fun to make! Thank you so much for the ask!

#obey me #obey me shall we date #obey me mammom #obey me headcanons #obey me lucifer #obey me leviathan #obey me asmodeus #obey me belphegor #obey me satan #obey me beelzebub #obey me luke #obey me barbatos #obey me diavolo #obey me solomon #obey me simeon

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kbsd · 4 years ago

Note

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

render and export! :)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

#i typed this all up at 4am so i'm just scheduling it to post sometime today #ask #vid help

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catharsistine · 3 years ago

Text

To Write A Good Villain

TW: loss of control, hallucinogenics, dr*gs, sc*rs, venom, bl*od, death, defeat, s*x, god, volcanoes, pr*dtors, m*rder, j*alousy, smoking, ab*se, cheating, sl*very, oppression, servitude, vampires, destruction.

Technically, I'm here on Tumblr as a writer. So. It's time I contributed my itty bitty bit.

Many things make a good story. Some claim it is world-building, some think it the cast of protagonists, some the vivid descriptions. All of those elements, however, will seem lacklustre, if your story does not have a good villain. What use is an MC with glorious superpowers or magic, if there is nothing to oppose them? Can there be any victory without a great evil?

In real life? Perhaps. In any fictional world? No. The readers tune in for awesome conflict, so we writers must provide, and enjoy ourselves while doing so.

So what does make a great villain?

Before we explore that, let us review the types of villains. Most important to remember is that a villain need not be human. In literature, there can be many types of discord:

- Person Vs Self: Often used as a compelling subplot, this kind of conflict is valid when a person needs to do something that is opposed to their inner self, something they find morally, emotionally or intellectually repulsive. Eg; A scholar forced to indulge in activities that are unscientific, like smoking when they know it is bad for their health. A pacifist who is forced into a war situation and must commit murder to save their own or their family's lives. A person seeking enlightenment struggles with jealousy when their guru finds a new favourite. (IMPORTANT: Feeling conflicted due to one's morals is acceptable. Hating oneself due to a mental disorder is not. Please do not use mental illness as a plot point.)

- Person Vs Person: Often used as a primary plot point in standalone stories and movies, this kind of conflict is valid when a person bears a personal grudge or hatred toward another. Eg; A wrestler hating someone who defeated them in the ring through sabotage. A child-hating the murderer that orphaned them and their sibling. A person hating their lover who manipulated, gas-lit or cheated on them. (IMPORTANT: Ensure that abuse and abusers are not romanticized, that the healing journey of the character does not lead to them forgiving their abuser. Forgiveness is not a prerequisite for closure. Please do not encourage abuser-abused relationships.)

- Person Vs Society: Often used as a primary plot point in dystopian stories and movies, this kind of conflict is valid when a person aims to fight against a law or a government that systematically oppresses them. Eg; A womon fighting against the law which considers them as lower-class citizens. A PoC fighting against slave laws. A member of the working class rebelling against the bourgeoisie. (IMPORTANT: If you are not a minority, do not presume you are qualified to tell their story. Our stories belong to us alone, and taking away from us the privilege of sharing our trauma when we feel comfortable enough to do so is the worst kind of representation. Please remember if you occupy a position of power, you have no right to speak on our behalf. Already we are often silenced, do not participate in that further if you claim to be an ally.)

- Person Vs Machine: Often used as a primary plot point in science fiction stories and movies, this kind of conflict is valid when any man-made object gains enough intelligence to be considered sentient and becomes a threat to humanity. Eg; A machine that acts as a maid desiring to be free of the bonds of its servitude. An AI which does not have empathy and value for human life. A robot that attempts to destroy mankind. (IMPORTANT: These conflicts are often intricate, and can be spun anyway. Perhaps a human tries to teach a robot to love, and the result is embarrassing in a comedic way. But do not try to equate people on the asexual and aromantic spectrums, people with mental illness or people with severe trauma to these AI. They are extremely discriminated against. Please, do not contribute to the stigma.)

- Person Vs Nature: Often used as a compelling subplot, this kind of conflict is valid when a person is pitted against fauna and flora in a vulnerable state. Eg; A captive who has escaped their bonds only to come upon a harsh landscape. A person with severe allergies visits a place that is opposed to their disposition. A person with a grudge against a famous wild animal who bit off their leg. (IMPORTANT: In many such stories, a trend is that a character comes across a hostile tribal group. These tribes are portrayed only the negative attributes of certain PoC cultures. Doing so is blatantly racist and highly offensive. Please refrain from representing us in such appalling ways.)

- Person Vs Fate/Supernatural: Often used as a primary plot point in fantasy and YA stories and movies, this kind of conflict is valid when a person is threatened or working against a force that is outside nature. Eg; A person coming across a magical artefact belonging to a god, and the devil's henchmen are after it, but it has bonded to them. A lower-level employee working in a tampon factory accidentally discovering their boss is a deadly vampire. A person falling in love, only to discover their partner is heir to a clan of selkies, and their younger sibling plans on overthrowing them. (IMPORTANT: Oftentimes, the villains are given physical and cultural attributes exclusive to PoC and their culture, like the antagonist having dreadlocks or enjoying food that lies outside white cuisine. Please realise that is racist.)

How to create a proper villain:

1. Motive.

Arguably the most important factor in a villain is motive. Their end goal must be reasonable(depends on their moral compass), achievable(depends on their means), and must cause moral conflict in the protagonist.

Eg; Due to childhood trauma, a villain feels weak and unsafe in their own skin. Adopting a terrifying persona, they seek to control everyone around them, and by extension, the world, through a potent hallucinogen. Considered worthless until they design a new identity, the villain is only considered a threat when they overthrow a monarchy/gain obscene amounts of money/create a giant machine. The MC knows that the villain is wrong in their actions, but understands that their henchmen are drugged, and must choose a different course of action than brute force to defeat them.

2. Power/Skill

Expanding on the earlier point of a goal being achievable, a villain must have the capabilities to obtain the prize they desire. If they perform actions outside their means, the entire premise becomes boring and unrealistic. Unless the villain is playing pretend for a future plot twist, humble the antagonist before they get out of hand.

Eg; A machine cannot destroy the world if they do not have an intricate base code if they are not linked to machines around the world. An animal cannot be famous unless its existence is questionable unless it is more mythical than real unless it possesses some quality (a missing tooth, a scar across their eye) that the others of its breed do not have. Kindness cannot be a source of a moral dilemma if it is not shown in many actions of the protagonist.

3. Appearance.

Contrary to popular belief, the way a villain looks contributes greatly to their story. If the appearance of an antagonist does not match their other attributes, the villain may fall flat and feel one-dimensional.

Eg; If a person comes from humbler beginnings, them wearing designer clothes is not feasible. A wealthier person should at least maintain the appearance of being well-groomed, but a few things out of place, such as a tie clip, messy eyeliner, or stubble are acceptable, perhaps due to lack of respect for themselves, or mania from unfulfilled desires. If a plant is secretly venomous, let insects keep away from it. If a werewolf is known to violently transition, let them have a feral look in their eye, larger canines and stronger jawbones.

4. Presence

Outside of appearance, the overall vibe of the villain is of the utmost importance. Their aesthetic instils fear, inspires awe, which is one of the primary things that cause audiences to secretly root for them. Their smooth delivery of scathing, savage lines makes us fall in love with them. Having a stellar, scary presence amplifies whatever the villain does tenfold.

Eg; If a villain wears a daring dress, different from the style of their era, it will make them seem much more impressive. Fresh after a murder, if they have blood splattered on their face, it will make the ghastliness of their actions more resounding. If they're haunting little children, having grotesque features instead of sharp ones will terrify the kids more, and the readers.

5. Backstory

Why did the villain become a villain in the first place? This is perhaps the most important question when it comes to antagonists. Not only do backstories help us understand the villain's motives and reasons better, but readers may also root for them if they glimpse a part of them reflected in the villain, making the tale more painful to read.

Eg; If a bully has been abused at home, it explains their actions. If a villain was in a situation where their body was not theirs, their actions may be born out of a desire for control.

Things to avoid:

1. Do not make them a caricature. Avoid toxic and dull stereotypes such as "catty ex-girlfriend", "sex-crazed womon", "evil old pr*dator" etc. Not only are these caricatures cartoonish and overused, but they also make a villain hollow and lifeless. Villains are humans too, give them quirks, bad habits and things they enjoy, beliefs of their own. (Eg; They enjoy watching cat videos, smoke or bite their nails, enjoy mixing drinks for fun, and think God is a hoax.)

2. Avoid coding them as PoC or LGBTQ+. If you have a diverse cast of various races, ethnicities, sexualities and genders, then it is completely alright to write another such character as the villain. However, if your only minority character is the villain, that is highly problematic.

3. A backstory does not equate to sympathy. If the villain's actions are extremely reprehensible, including and not limited to; r*pe, g*nocide, ab*se or s*rial murder, please do not try to redeem them. Understanding someone's motives is wildly different from making the audiences sympathize with them. Do not romanticize their flaws.

4. Lastly, humble them. A villain will always entertain the audiences if they suffer a bit too. Instead of constant angst and pain, add lighter moments, moments where they stumble, trip, are tired or bored. This would make their eventual death/defeat burn even more, and the audience will definitely mourn the loss of a wonderful antagonist.

Like a volcano, a true villain leaves ashes in their wake, but their fire forces the protagonists to solidify into stone. Let their actions echo into the age.

#writers on tumblr #writeblr #writing #writer #writing tips #writing advice #am writing #tumblr writers #writing community #villians #antagonist #evil #backstory #writing tricks #writing help #okay im done

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yuzusorbet · 4 years ago

Photo

Translation of Kikuchi-san's book. A friend shared the earlier parts of the Chinese translation with me, so I decided to start from the beginning. Little Yuzu is too adorable. :))

Chapter 1, part 1. On the balance beam, a special boy.

If there are natural inborn qualities, then for Yuzuru, that would be the "ability to attract people".

Yuzuru came to my clinic for the first time when he was in elementary school 2nd grade; he had sprained his ankle because of jump training. When his ankle healed, he started to come for "torso training class" that I conducted.

The Yuzuru exercising in the gym, and the Yuzuru talking non-stop in the clinic, are like 2 different people.

Firstly, his body movements are completely different from the ordinary child. His body posture is very good, and there is a flow in all his movements..... Perhaps these are also the special qualities of a figure skater.

For example, his running. Usually when children want to run fast, even if the posture is good, the legs will make uncontrolled heavy steps. But Yuzuru ran lightly and rhythmically. And it didn't slow down his speed. The way he ran gave a gentle and graceful feeling, there's always something that draws your attention. "What an interesting little fella," he left a deep impression on me.

But, in my training class, he wasn't so enthusiastic all the time. Although he was working hard at figure skating, he often slackened for training in the gym. Like running with not much power, or being sluggish with exercises, I often had to hold up the shinai (t/n. light bamboo sword for kendo practice) and roar at him. When I did that, Yuzuru would yell, "Waa~~ no!!!!" and start running to escape. Chase battles like this between us were always going on. (t/n. so funny!)

Another area that made me feel "this little fella is really interesting" was during circuit training. This is a way of training by combining a few different items like running, hurdles and simple jumps. It is an effective exercise for the respiratory system, so I often get the children to do it.

That day, the last item was walking on the balance beam.

For Yuzuru with his well-developed motor nerves, he walked across the beam too easily; this was uninteresting to me. "What? You simply walked across? What sport are you training for? Don't you have to show beauty? So do it!" I gave ridiculous instructions like that.

He started to walk on the beam while making figure skating poses. Standing around watching him were some children who were quite mischievous. To be made to do figure skating poses and movements in front of everyone, normally you would feel that you're being made fun of, and feel conflicted.

However, Yuzuru confidently and naturally showed signature figure skating moves in front of his peers. In this sport of figure skating, if you feel embarrassed by the movements or the costume, you will not be able to keep going. Especially for a boy.

But Yuzuru is like the main character that draws attention, in the good sense of the word. And in his posture and movements, there is some power that strongly attracts you.

Watching him do all those skating poses, "Ah this child must really be in love with figure skating, from the bottom of his heart," I thought.

How much do you love what you are doing? Not just for figure skating, but for any situation, that is the best short-cut that leads to progress.

Chapter 1, part 2. Growing kids are "good at making requests"

Yuzuru trained at Konami Sports Club, Izumi Ice Rink (the current Ice Rink Sendai); after training, he came to my clinic, it's something he had to do everyday.

If there was a problem with any part, I would treat that part. If there was no pain anywhere, I would do a massage for him and taping. Besides this, he also participated in the 'Sunday night training' in the gym, so I saw Yuzuru almost every day.

Initially he was quiet and spoke few words, but before I knew it, he had already become very talkative. But most of what he said were related to figure skating.

"Axel is like this, Loop is like that," he would be telling me endlessly as I was treating him. I had no concern for figure skating at all, so I could only say, "I don't understand all these things you are saying!" "Be quiet and receive the massage properly!" But still, he went on and on by himself. From that time, in that child's head was figure skating only.

We saw each other almost daily, but I had never heard him say "I want to play" or "I want to stop skating", these sort of complaints.

When Yuzuru was in lower elementary school, I think because of a large amount of figure skate training and also the thought that it's a girl's sport, he told his family, "I want to play baseball," but he had never said such things in front of me. (*notes by me, not from the book: In his autobiography, Yuzu said whenever he told his parents he felt like playing baseball instead of skating, they always said OK but he himself never made the switch in the end.)

Elementary school students will naturally talk about TV games and manga. But at that time I never heard him talk about these topics. I heard him say he watched TV, so I asked him what programme. Turns out, he was just watching a video of Plushenko's performances. And he watched it over and over again everyday, until the video tape was worn out and could not be played anymore.

Yuzuru came to my clinic after training ended, always at night. I had to extend the opening hours of my clinic. Everyday, my clinic was open until late, waiting for Yuzuru to come over.

"Sensei, tomorrow I will come again after training, is that alright?" requested this 3rd or 4th grade child, looking very apologetic.

If parents asked me this, I could still refuse in some way, but to an elementary school kid, I could only reply, "Okay! I will keep my clinic open and wait for you, just come over."

To a child working hard, I wanted to give a helping hand in any way, I guess it's quite natural to have that thought. And without me realising, I started to look forward to his arrival each time.

From here we can also see, from that young age, Yuzuru was already very good at making requests.

But it was not only Yuzuru who was working hard. From his home to my clinic, he came by car. Bringing him here always, was his father.

And also, I heard from Yuzuru himself, that his mother and sister worked on his figure skating costumes, sewing on glittering crystals one by one, late into the night.

After hearing this, all the more I wanted to support him.

2004 October, All-Japan Novice B Championship that elementary 3rd and 4th grade students participated in (9-10 years old), Yuzuru competed in this for the first time and won the championship. As a skater, he was growing well.

Not only Yuzuru, the children who joined the Sunday night torso training class were all "good at making requests", all full of enthusiasm, they made me want to support them from the bottom of my heart.

(t/n. awww........ Kikuchi-san is really a kind and soft-hearted grandpa.)

Translated by me from a Chinese translation by QuailAries@weibo, much thanks to her. Please consider buying the Japanese book to show your appreciation: HERE. I have just placed my order.

(pic: screenshots from gif by redfar@tumblr)

#Akira Kikuchi #Yuzuru Hanyu #update: I amended some parts after reading the original Japanese book #but no major differences in meaning

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