#advanced users edition I guess?

[ao3commentoftheday]

if you hit the limit on the number of filters you apply and you don't mind a nerdy solution

Last week sometime, I reblogged a post about AO3 filters and added on a bit about where you could find them (if you use AO3 by searching, you won't see the filtering - two different processes)

Anyway, in that post, I said:

You can add a theoretically unlimited number of tags to your exclude [filter] list, but I think it’s possible to have a list that breaks things eventually. I’ve never personally hit it? But I bet someone out there has.

Several people in the notes on that post have indicated that they've hit the limit. If you're one of those people, there might be a way to un-break things?

So basically, my understanding of the issue* is that things break because the URL gets too long. Every filter you add makes the URL longer. And filters are based on fandom names, character names, etc. So when you're filtering a lot of tags and a lot of them are really long tags, well... Things break.

How do you get shorter URLs? Use shorter versions of the tags. How do you do that? Use the tag ID number instead of the text. Lemme give you an example!

Let's say you want to filter in/out works from the My Hero Academia fandom. Well, that fandom's full text tag is:

僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia (Anime & Manga)

Instead of choosing that from the dropdown or typing it into the Search Within Results box, you could use fandom_ids: 87784924 - a much shorter way of typing in the same tag.

AO3 has fandom_ids and relationship_ids and character_ids, and you can find them all in the same place: the RSS feed button.

When you click on that button, your browser will either open up a new tab or download a file. When you look at it, you'll see a whole bunch of code, but all you need is the part of the third line:

<id>tag:archiveofourown.org,2005:/tags/87784924/feed</id>

The number after /tags/ in that line is the ID number of that specific tag on the Archive. If you clicked the RSS feed button for a fandom tag, then it's a fandom_ids number. If you clicked it on a relationship, then it's a relationship_ids number, and if you clicked it on a character, then it's a character_ids number.

There aren't any RSS feeds for additional tags.

Once you have the IDs you want, you can combine them using AND, OR, and NOT (the all-caps here is important). Joining two tags with AND means that you want to include them both. Joining two tags with OR means that you want either one of the tags or both of them together. Joining them with a NOT means that you want the first tag but not the second tag - so you're including the first and excluding the second.

You can find out more about filtering this way in this newspost from 2013 (please note: things have changed since then, that's why my instructions for finding the ID numbers look different from those ones)

Not every fandom/relationship/character has an RSS feed but this is useful for those that do! And the best part is, you can also subscribe to the feed if you want a push notification every time that tag gets a new or updated work.

*based on a half-remembered conversation from 3-4 years ago, so I could be wrong on this one

[jadeshifting]

— THE HOGWARTS NEWSPAPER

˚　　　　✦　　　.　　. 　 ˚　.　　　　　 . ✦　　　 　˚　　　　 . ★⋆. ࿐࿔

i’ve had this in my script and my drafts for a while, but i saw @beatrixshifts mention on my tl that it would be cool so that’s why i’m posting it >:)

(also, I did not come up with the name of the newspaper, i got it from another user yearsss ago, so cred to them !!)

“The Daily Prophet and their flobberworm of a head reporter can keep their drama— we don’t twist our stories to fit some stale Ministry narrative.” — The Editor-in-Chief of The Puffinton Post

THE PUFFINGTON POST is a chaotic yet strangely efficient operation run out of a repurposed classroom on the third floor (which is lovingly referred to as The Quillery.) run by a rotating team of overachievers, gossipmongers, and one sleep-deprived layout wizard, it’s both a battlefield of deadlines and the social pulse of the school. the editors use enchanted Quick-Quotes Quills to speed up production, though it’s anyone’s guess if the quills capture actual facts or just the juiciest version of the truth

HOW IT’S RUN

the team is led by an Editor-in-Chief (usually a loud, opinionated seventh-year), assisted by a handful of section editors who wield red-inked quills like weapons. each week, they hold heated brainstorming meetings, where the room crackles with enchanted floating parchment and enough spilled tea (literal and metaphorical) to fill the Great Lake. submissions are open to any student, but staff writers get first dibs on big stories—assuming they can charm the editors, who love a bit of drama

THE NEWSPAPER TEAM

REPORTERS . scout the juiciest gossip, biggest news, and weirdest happenings on campus. practically unstoppable, they’ll dive into the Forbidden Forest for a scoop if it means landing the front page

EDITORS . ruthlessly revise articles and argue over headlines, aiming for maximum drama without ending up on a professor’s radar

PHOTOGRAPHERS . armed with charmed cameras that capture moving images, they often risk life and limb chasing Quidditch players mid-match or snapping Peeves in action

ILLUSTRATORS . craft whimsical moving cartoons or hauntingly detailed sketches, depending on the tone of the piece

LAYOUT TEAM . use advanced spellwork to arrange articles, images, and enchanting advertisements that sometimes wink at readers

SECTIONS & NOTABLE STORIES

HEADLINE NEWS . covers Hogwarts’ biggest events. Recent splashy stories include “Are the House-Elves Planning a Union?” and “Hagrid’s Pumpkin Patch: A Site of Magical Growth or Magical Mischief?”

QUIDDITCH CORNER . tracks team stats, with columns like “Is Gryffindor’s Seeker Actually a Golden Snitch Magnet?”

SOCIAL SPOTLIGHT . a slightly catty, endlessly entertaining rundown of who’s dating, who’s fighting, and who’s been caught sneaking butterbeer into the Astronomy Tower

MYSTERIES & ODDITIES . a deep dive into Hogwarts lore, featuring pieces like “The Hidden Staircase That Eats Shoes” and “Who Really Haunts the Fourth Floor Lavatory?”

OPINION & SATIRE . snarky takes on everything from new potion regulations to the controversial topic of house unity, with regular features like “Why Ravenclaws Think They Know Everything” (written by a Ravenclaw)

CREATIVE SHOWCASE . poems, short stories, and student artwork, like “An Ode to Dobby” or fine-tip pen sketches of the Black Lake’s grindylows

DISTRIBUTION

The Puffington Post is distributed every Friday morning via enchanted paper airplanes that zoom directly to breakfast tables in the Great Hall. the magic wears off if you take too long to read, so dawdling isn’t an option. prefects often complain about students reading under their desks during Charms, but professors secretly subscribe, too.

SPECIAL EDITIONS (every one is a chaotic affair, jam-packed with so much Hogwarts spirit you can almost smell the butterbeer stains on the parchment)

— THE VALENTINE’S SPECIAL : Love, Lies, and Lacewing Potions

this edition is dripping with enchanted hearts and aggressively pink margins, with stories like “Top 10 Secret Spots to Swoon Your Sweetheart” and “The Most Romantic Love Potions You Absolutely Shouldn’t Use (But Totally Will).” the gossip column goes full throttle, outing secret crushes (with questionable accuracy), while the Creative Showcase features poetry so sappy even Madam Pince has been caught dabbing at her eyes

— THE FIRST-YEAR SURVIVAL GUIDE : Sorting, Snitches, and Surviving Snape

released every September, it’s a crash course for newbies. expect practical tips like “How to Get the Moving Stairs to Chill” and “10 Ways to Not Cry in Potions (Impossible, But Worth Trying).” veteran students contribute anonymously to the “Unofficial Rules” section, which includes gems like “Don’t Look the Bloody Baron in the Eye” and “If Fred and George Weasley Offer You Candy, Run.”

— THE YULE BALL EDITION : Fashion, Feuds, and Footwork

a glossy, glitzy masterpiece with enchanted images of past Yule Ball outfits and step-by-step charms for fixing last-minute wardrobe disasters. the Social Spotlight section is essentially a pre-ball betting pool on who’s showing up with whom, while Opinion dives into debates like “Should Durmstrang Boys Be Banned from Stealing All the Dates?”

— THE END-OF-TERM SPECTACULAR : Grades, Gags, and the Great House Cup Debate

published in June, it’s part celebration, part roast. professors get “awards” (like Flitwick for Most Patient and Snape for Most Likely to Kill You with a Glare), and there’s always a cheeky exposé on house-point shenanigans. expect tear-jerking farewells to seventh-years alongside brutally honest year-in-review recaps, like “Was That a Troll in the Dungeon or Just Another Tuesday?”

EXTRA, EXTRA !!

— RIVALRY . there’s a (very one-sided) feud with The Weekly Wizard, a smaller Ravenclaw-run zine, though it’s been dismissed by most students as “too niche and painfully dull”

— BEHIND THE SCENES . the staff always keeps a stash of Honeydukes’ chocolate for late-night edits, and their mascot—a tiny enchanted quill named Zippy—flits around leaving motivational doodles on unfinished articles

if Hogwarts has a pulse, The Puffington Post is the enchanted quill jotting down every thrilling, bizarre, and scandalous beat

˚　　　　✦　　　.　　. 　 ˚　.　　　　　 . ✦　　　 　˚　　　　 . ★⋆. ࿐࿔

[lemotmo]

One of your asks mentioned the last time we were waiting for a delayed title, that was for 8x06!! There was even a fake title being submited in a site that allowed users to edit it.

Ah yes, of course! Confessions! Man, we had to wait soooo long for that title and turns out that some people had actually guessed it correctly weeks in advance. 🤭

It's so exciting! I really wonder what they are hiding with that title. It seems that episode 12 and 13 will be Eddie heavy, so I'm anticipating something big here! 🤞🤞🤞

[the-silver-chronicles]

Kinktober Day 22 & 31: "Breeding Kink" & "Aftercare" - For OTP: "Boa Lurking In The Bliss" (Silva Omar x Faith Seed)

Tagged by @socially-awkward-skeleton @imogenkol and @josephseedismyfather

Tagging @adelaidedrubman @raresvtm @derelictheretic @inafieldofdaisies @noodlecupcakes @direwombat @voidika @cassietrn @aceghosts @icecutioner @shallow-gravy @strangefable @statichvm @cloudofbutterflies92 @carlosoliveiraa @wrathfulrook @ladyoriza @la-grosse-patate @thewanderer-000 @omen-speaker @alypink @shellibisshe @josephslittledeputy @skoll-sun-eater @g0dspeeed @afarcryfrommymain @strafethesesinners @turbo-virgins and @florbelles + anyone else who want to join.

Prompt based on this kinktober post made by fellow mutual @starsandskies. While the main Kink of this post is "Breeding" and "Aftercare", you'll find it also includes ones such as "Praise", "Oral", "Biting" and a little bit of "Dirty Talk".

Hey everyone, here's my second and last contribution to Kinktober for this month. Here's a oneshot devoted to the main couple of the Far Cry section of The Silver Chronicles; Silva and Faith as you've probably guessed. From the mature tag and the title you can probably already tell that this oneshot (which will also be uploaded onto my AO3 as well) contains explicitly sexual content meant for 18+ users only. Minors Do Not Interact!

Here's a few warnings as to what this oneshot contains:

CW: Shameless smut, Minor angst, Cunnilingus, slight vaginal fingering, slight teasing, stroking a dick to erection (I don't think a handjob necessarily fits the context because Faith doesn't let Silva cum), P in V sex, unprotected sex, gentle sex, creampie, Silva's kind of unsubtle breeding kink and both women's obvious praise kinks. Includes a lack of contraceptives here (not the fault of either women, Kamski's flaw was that he thought Silva would be like him, miserable and single (neither words correlate nor share a connotation connection with each other here) and also doesn't take into consideration that majority of people don't think like him) and discussions of (getting) pregnancy. Plus the unspeakable horror of including the vaguest hint of a plot in a smut oneshot.

But also enthusiastic consent!

Okay now for the ONLY two Trigger Warnings: Minor reference to past religious and child abuse. These aren't the center focus of the oneshot and aren't explicit either, but these are something that are at the very least inferred (I hope that's the right word) to during Silva's POV thought process in the beginning, but not during the smut itself. I only make these warnings because it's better to be safe than sorry.

You may also notice Faith is a little different (possibly) personality-wise, and I imagine its because of being influenced by certain characters (like say... Sharky and the Drubmans (mostly Adelaide)) and this is set many months post-game and Collapse, and both she and Silva (plus Azriel) have taken shelter in Silva's prepper bunker, so I imagine at this point a certain level of character growth and change has occurred. I’ve also given a short personal explanation in the tags as well.

Author's Final Edit: I've been working on this nonstop for four weeks, at differing states in mind but refused to leave it unfinished, so apologies in advance if it's not that good or even a little rushed (as you can likely tell it's no longer October) than what I originally planned. Anyway gonna post this now and hope for the best.

I'll be sure to reblog this post with the link to the one that'll be posted on my AO3. Anyway, enjoy the fic under the cut:

Title: This Sweet Leisure

Series: The Silver Chronicles (Far Cry 5)

Character/s: Silva Omar (Deputy OC), Faith Seed, Azriel Omar (mentioned OC), Irene Neon (past referenced OC), Persephone Neon (past referenced OC), Elsa Omar (past referenced OC), Kamski Neon (past referenced OC), Tracey Lader (referenced) and Father Adam Omar (Barely referenced OC and thank the Gods, he's super dead).

Words: 7,734

Quiet moments had never been something Silva thought she could afford to enjoy.

She was familiar with various forms of quiet though. Many of which denied her comfort, including peace, or even leisure.

She had experienced a cold kind of quiet throughout her youth. It was tense and foreboding, a wordless warning hanging over their heads like the ill-omen of a guillotine. The only sounds allowed were the roaring winds of a wrathful blizzard outside and the slight clinking of plates and utensils shared between two quivering hermanas.

She had spent many nights as a child in a quiet that was always too quiet. That was the worst kind of quiet for Silva. Dread left her restless, sleep evaded her like the answers she constantly prayed for, haunted by anticipation as she listened for the recognizable signs of Father's approaching footsteps outside her bedroom door...

But the most familiar quiet she's known would be that of loss and mourning. The moments where silence would replace where there should be joyous laughter, or whispered promises, or the normalcy of conversation.

Where she expected a small form to run around the house once she exited her room, her little one's delighted giggles filling the room as her ginger bangs bounced from her enthused race... she found nothing and the heaviness would weigh down on her heart once more.

She would spend periods lamenting on each and every loss, whether it be family, friends, her amor or her beloved hija.

When trapped in this quiet, her mind would betray her... always following the same maze in the labyrinth of her thoughts, with each memory visited and revisited while she punished herself for the grave inescapable sin of not being strong enough, fast enough, doing enough.

Simply put, the quiet moments remind her of how no matter what, she'll never be enough to keep those she cared for. She found no escape through sleep either; her imagination was often the most cruel.

Punished by constant night terrors, which only grew more frequent from there.

Perhaps that is why she enjoyed the action, those fast-paced minutes that squandered on hours. The wars, the fighting, the very act of survival, the violence she despised, justifying her use of it as necessary and right.

The very same violence that took pieces of her until she was nearly hollow from the high. But at least she couldn't feel anything but the emptiness afterwards... distracted from the grief.

What a twist of fate that, at the end of the very collapse of society, all she could have would be quiet moments. For approximately seven years, she would have to live in the very bunker she had dismissed as a paranoid and needless precaution, even for the likes of Silva herself.

In spite of this, she had kept it well-maintained. At least to honor one of Elsa's lasting gifts to her.

And even though Elsa and Persephone were long gone from her life, Silva would be forever grateful of it since it had saved the last two of her most precious remaining loved ones; Faith and Azriel.

It was a rough few months at first, for herself especially, but they made it work. A routine had been set up, tasks given for each of them, and both Faith and Azriel seemed to have put aside their animosity, for the sake of Silva at least.

Silva, though prohibited from putting too much strain on her muscles, had recovered enough to do the laborious tasks that the other two were unable to do, as well as keep track of their inventory, rationing the power and water they were using, keeping track of the days by making calendars (at least enough so they have a fraction of an idea of when they should leave), keeping the only functional clock left out of Azriel's reach, general cooking and proceeding with Azriel's education (and ensuring her pequeño inventora utilizes the parts they don't need for her machinations).

Usually these tasks were completed with the assistance of both Faith and Azriel.

Faith utilized the knowledge she retained from the Eden's Gate to correctly double-check and correspond with the information Silva gave, as well as support a garden from within the bunker that gave them all fresh fruit and vegetables besides the preservatives, aided Silva in Azriel's education with subjects Silva had less expertise in and was the only person in the bunker with any specialization in medicine, besides Silva's apparently redundant strategy of "ignore the problem until it starts affecting you personally" or "only treat problem when close to the nearest convenient bandage, stitches or medic".

(Silva could admit Faith had a point about her reckless behavior).

Azriel's days were mostly spent assisting Silva, or Faith when the girl chose to stop detesting the other woman. She attended her "classes", whether it be academical or practical, so she'd be as prepared as she could be for whatever was outside the bunker doors.

Azriel's hobby in engineering proved to be handy, with Silva and Faith both stumped on the workings of such a subject despite their reliance on the bunker's generator and water filter.

They'd have their meals together, and would often spend time in the same living space once their tasks were done. When it came to nightly routines, Silva would bathe Azriel herself, and would share her own shower with Faith as to not waste water.

Those moments were strictly kept tame, given Azriel's close proximity from the bedroom and the necessity of the water. However, Silva didn't mind, as she and Faith got to be closer, with hands touching the places neither wanted others to see. Their scars were only for them to admire, neither holding shame nor judgement as they took care of each other.

After cleaning off, Silva would put Azriel to bed in one of the spare bedrooms she had claimed for herself as Faith shut off any non-essential power for the night, before both she and Silva retired to their shared designated master bedroom.

That was where the quiet became more prominent.

It wasn't so bad; sometimes one or both of them would be able to drift off. Other times, sleep would evade them, and they just enjoyed each others company, sharing stories and jokes, their voices barely above a whisper. Often they'd talk about the plans for the next day, perhaps wonder about the future... or even confess their own fears, quelling doubts. A peaceful quiet.

There were few nights when these fears took form as nightmares, interrupting their rests. Such nights were spent comforting the other in an understanding silence, few words exchanged while they found warmth in each other's arms. A comforting quiet.

But those night terrors were becoming far and few as the months passed, and Silva found herself cherishing the quiet as much as she did the time spent with her little family.

Though months passed, there was a slight change from the routine, one night where Silva rediscovered a quiet she hadn't experienced in a long while, and would revisit the following weeks.

Although sexual intimacy wasn't a first for either Silva or Faith, after the Collapse, they prioritized the ensured function of the bunker, recovering from their own physical and mental wounds and Azriel's well-being over their passion. It was the practical thing to do in that situation.

However, so much time had passed since the Collapse had occurred, and though the intimacy they did share was cherished and fulfilling, there was a familiar desire that burned patiently; the want to be connected, the need to be closer, to make the other sing with pleasure, and to share their love and affection through one of the few ways they could.

After Silva tucked Azriel in for the night, she had returned to the master bedroom. Shutting the door behind her, she turned to the sight of Faith awaiting her by the foot of their bed.

Silva shared a soft smile with her amor, making her way over to Faith to give a nightly embrace and kiss before bed.

Faith had stopped Silva with a hand on her chest, green eyes looking deeply into grey as the former herald tried to put her desires into words.

"I want you," she said softly, a noticeable shade of light pink across her face with eyes full of a need that stole Silva's breath away, "Tonight. I want you, and I want to make you feel good."

Silva felt a burst of exhilaration invade her body, her nerves lightened up with renewed enthusiasm. The feeling only increased when Faith delicately held one of Silva's hands and brought it to her soft lips.

The kisses she pressed down onto the faded scarred tissue sent tingling signals throughout Silva's body, a pleased sigh escaping her lips as her cheeks darkened into a blush. Faith gauged Silva's reaction, her gaze anticipating her answer and yet pleading all the same, lips brushing against her sensitive hand.

Silva responded with a loving smile, using her spare hand to cup Faith's face, fingers caressing the skin like light kisses as she brought her own face closer.

"Si," Silva had acceded, connecting their lips, feeling the thrum of Faith's enthused hum. When breaking off the kiss, the former deputy stated, "Under one condition."

Faith visibly wet her lips, tilting her head into Silva's palm as she asked, barely above a whisper, "And what would that be?"

Silva smirked, and Faith waited with bated breath on Silva's response (but if she hadn't been so focused on Silva's answer, she'd notice beloved's grey eyes shined with a flicker of silver), bringing her chapped lips to ghost along Faith's ear, and purred, "I'll make you feel bliss first."

Faith broke into a grin, and wrapped her arms around her lover's neck as both of their desires heightened, lips caught in a dance before Silva took the lead.

While their tongues communed and tasted one another, Silva's hands wandered, brushing over Faith's dress and squeezing at certain areas to bring out those small noises she never gets to hear in any other moment.

She settled both her wandering hands at Faith's hip and culo respectively, giving a squeeze on both that elicited a surprised yelp from her amor, though a giggle soon followed after.

Silva retracted from the kiss as her hands reached the hem of Faith's dress, "Let's get this dress off, mi querida."

Faith only nodded as her hands joined Silva's to slip the dress off from over her head rather smoothly, freeing her perky breasts for only Silva's eyes to see. She pressed her hands onto the skin, how good and warm it felt under her touch. Her thumb grazed over a scar just under Faith's rib cage.

Her attention was deterred however by her amor's impatient fingers unbuttoning her shirt.

Silva followed suit, unbuttoning the rest of her dress shirt and shrugging it off. She reached for the strap of her bra behind her, but Faith ceased her struggle when she pressed her hands onto Silva's clothed breasts.

"Arms up, darling," Faith directed, and Silva saw the glimpse of the herald whose reputation commanded fear and respect from her foes. It sent an exhilarating shiver down the former deputy's body, feeling a twitch in her lower body as she followed her amor's orders.

Faith pulled the undergarment over her lover's head, tossing it away. Silva didn't bother to chide about the messiness, figuring it to be a issue she'll deal with tomorrow. In the mean time, she was too preoccupied with giving Faith's greedy hands access to feeling her swell chest up. She let Faith grope at her breasts, hands wandering all over her exposed upper half. Even in the darkness, Faith accurately pinpointed every faded scar there was on this portion of the Omar woman's body.

From her healed cuts and slashes, to the closed scarring from past bullet wounds, to her shoulders; the left harbored old burns, while the right was less clearer, though the texture of the skin was notably a shade lighter, if only slightly.

Silva hummed from the touches she received, massaging Faith's breasts in return. Faith gaped in pleasure, and Silva jumped at the opportunity to reconnect their lips, tongue inserted back in, this time to dominate.

Faith moaned into Silva's mouth, and the reverberation spurred Silva on. Her hands moved to behind Faith, she pulled the other woman's body against hers, their chests colliding. Faith's hands gripped at Silva's back, pushing herself against her lover to chase after the pleasure of grinding their breasts together.

Silva slowly lead Faith backwards to the bed, letting the foot of the bed buckle Faith's legs into sitting down.

Without hesitation, Faith spread her bare legs to give Silva a peek at the lacy white lingerie underwear, embroidered with a familiar pattern, that she had adorned for this occasion. Silva got the impression that her amor had been planning this for some time.

Silva wouldn't disappoint.

Though that pattern did look familiar-

Flowers. Of course, Silva noted in mild amusement.

Faith closed her legs together and dragged her underwear down, shimmying the flower-patterned lingerie down to her ankles, kicking them off to the floor. She opened her legs once more, displaying her nude, bare self for Silva's eyes to feast upon. The sight made Silva's crotch felt uncomfortably restrictive, but she restrained herself from taking her pants off and making love to Faith there and then.

Silva wanted to draw this out; she wanted Faith to feel the greatest heights of this high until she was fully satiated, as well as for herself too.

Caressing her amor's face, Silva's eyes lingered down to Faith's wet folds awaiting her, the light brown bundle of curling hairs layered at the top, and asked, "May I?"

Faith gave an eager and affirming nod, and Silva descended down to her knees until she was face to face with the younger woman's lower lips. Putting her amor's legs over her shoulders, Silva circled two fingers around her labia to stimulate more wetness and gather it onto her fingers, while her other hand's thumb gently brushed against her clit.

She heard Faith's breath hitch above, which made Silva temporarily halt, her eyes meeting green to wordlessly check on her pareja. Faith met her lover's gaze and returned an assuring nod. Silva took a breath and continued to tease her amor's slick pussy and clit, feeling a tug of pride within herself when she heard a soft airy sigh come from above.

Satisfied with the slickness, she inserted one finger inside, earning her a gasp and small moan from Faith. She massaged her index inside the warm insides before inserting a second finger to join the first, curling and gently twisting both as she proceeded to press a bit firmly on Faith's clit with her thumb.

Spurred on by the sounds of Faith's heavier breathing and soft moans, Silva gave a trail of kisses along both of her thighs, perhaps lightly sucking at the flesh to leave a mark or two where no one but both of them would see.

She carefully twisted her two slick-covered closed fingers to face her and opened them up in a V-shape, spreading her amor's vagina.

Silva leaned closer, breathing in her scent. The pungent tangy musk tinted with a hint of earthy sweetness to it. A floral scent really; not like the acrid sweetness of the Bliss though. That had long since been washed away.

Without wasting another moment, she pressed her tongue flat against Faith's vulva, licking it in a glide upwards until she reaches her clit.

Faith tasted like honey, with a hint of sourness that reminded Silva of yogurt. It was something surprising to discover; how different the taste was. She'd expected a metallic taste and bitterness not unlike coffee when she first went down on Faith, as she had remembered Irene's being, and the few women she had brief relations with holding a similar taste, but had been pleasantly unprepared for the flavor.

She continued to lap up the slickness, proceeding to explore with wide licks that swished around the folds of her amor's vulva, enjoying the sweet little noises she drew out and the feeling of Faith's legs shaking over her shoulders.

Silva hadn't expected Faith to cross her legs to pull her mouth closer, but the Omar woman held no complaints. She focused on flexing her tongue deeper inside, licking every nook and cranny.

Silva felt Faith's hand furl into her dark hair to keep the former deputy where she was, grinding herself against her lover's tongue. Silva hummed her appreciation into her amor's pussy, the vibrating sensation provoking a whimper out of Faith.

Feeling her lover's tongue retracting, Faith almost expressed her dissatisfaction with the lack of contact until Silva's lips enveloped around her swelling clit, lightly sucking as her tongue gently circled around it.

Faith choked out a cry as she felt Silva's two fingers re-enter to massage at her sensitive flesh. Lips parted, her moans didn't escape quietly, though it didn't discourage Silva from her relentless efforts to bring about Faith's high.

Silva heard Faith murmur out words incoherently yet consistently (though that may be due to the thighs squeezed around her head canceling out most noises), though was unable to inquire about it as she felt Faith's legs tense around her.

She had enough time to glance her eyes up to see Faith slightly arch her back before she felt the inner walls of her vagina constrict and spasm.

Silva had half-a-mind to have her mouth open when fluid squirted at her face. She lapped up the sweet sticky fluids as Faith rode her high out.

Leaving soft rewarding kisses around her amor's sensitive flesh and thighs, Silva began crawling up to trail her kisses along Faith's waist and stomach. She peppered her breasts, collarbone and neck with special attention, sucking on the skin to leave little marks.

She kissed along her jaw, face and settled on her lips. Face to face, Silva admired the flushed yet blissful expression that resided on her amor.

Breathing returning to a regular intake, Faith opened her green eyes to gaze into Silva's adoring ones.

"You look so beautiful right now amor," Silva complimented, lightly tucking a loose hair behind Faith's ear.

The Seed woman licked her lips, the smile on her face joined by a light blush from the praise. And though Silva meant what she said, she still had the need to confirm.

"Was that good for you, mi querida?" Silva asked softly, searching for any hint of potential discomfort from the young woman below her. Faith blinked at Silva, maybe touched by the concern, maybe in bafflement at the question. Though she proceeded to bring her head up to rest against Silva's own.

"It was wonderful. You ate me out so well my sweetheart," Faith assured with a pleased sigh. She proceeded to bring her lips to the shell of Silva's ear and whisper, "Now why don't you take those pants off? I can't be the only one naked here."

Silva gave an affirmative nod and obliged to Faith's request. Scooting to the side of bed, she pulled down her loose night pants, kicking them off at her ankles. She went to remove her boxers next, but Faith slipped up behind with wandering and electrifying hands that danced across her front.

Faith peppered light kisses along her neck, and softer ones to her old burn scars, which Silva appreciated. One stray hand palmed over the bulge throbbing against her boxers, massaging the member, earning a shameless moan from Silva.

"You're so good to me, Silva. Always accommodating. Putting my needs before yours," Faith revered warmly, massaging the stretching bulge that began to tent up at her boxers, eliciting a low groan from Silva, while Faith stated, "You're so full of love. And I'm happy to be someone you share it with. Which is why I want to make tonight special for you. To give my own love back to you, in the most intimate act together."

Silva bit at her bottom lip as she felt herself get harder at Faith's words, the kind and adoring words flustering the woman. She felt Faith reach into her boxers to pull out her erect cock. Freed from its confines, Silva didn't try to suppress the moan that rose in her throat when her amor curled one hand at the base and began to pump.

Precum leaked from the tip, and Faith brushed a thumb over it, spreading the slickness around the head. She reached down to gently massage at her scrotum to further tease her lover, receiving a choked yelp that morphed pleased groan. Satisfied with her work, Faith tugged at the boxers, with Silva pulling it down the rest of the way.

"Now for what I promised," Faith purred sultry, intertwining her hand with Silva, leading the compliant woman to crawl further onto the queen bed with her.

With both now bare and their hearts beating with a thrill, Faith took initiative, placing a halting hand onto Silva's chest to halt her approach and lightly push her down backwards.

"Can you sit for me?" Faith requested, flashing sweet honest pearls at her, and Silva nodded affirmatively as she followed suit, sitting down with her legs splayed out, her cock proudly pointed up as Silva's eyes traced ever bit of Faith's body.

She swallowed on nothing, wishing she could count the stars to mark a number down of how much she had been so unbelievably lucky to have not only meeting Faith, but get to be with her. And to keep her and Azriel safe, a small relieved voice spoke up, though it didn't last, You never were able to do that with anyone else.

Silva almost frowned at the thought, and briefly closed her eyes. What happened wasn't my fault. I did all I could in those moments, she reminded herself, defending against the guilt, just as Faith coached her.

She opened her eyes when she felt Faith's hands grasp onto her shoulders, her legs at both sides of her hips. Her wet entrance hovering above Silva's leaking head, though Faith paused as she cupped Silva's face into her hands, the next words she spoke sending a spike of pleasure through her veins, "I want you inside me."

Heart fluttering at the proclamation, Silva wanted nothing more than to obey, to be inside her amada and feel how she clenched around her, to murmur little praises into her skin as she just enjoyed having her amor in her arms. However, through the haze of love and lust, she had a realization, "I don't have condoms. I don't think there are any down here."

"Nor birth control," Faith informed her, green eyes gazing down, and Silva wanted to kick herself for not noticing when she did stock checks, "I checked the infirmary; it just wasn't included amongst the stock."

Silva could take a guess why. The infirmary had been an additional room inserted by Kamski himself without her permission. Though she was grateful now for his foresight, she felt an annoyance towards Kamski's paranoia overstocking the infirmary with supplies for illness, injury, surgery and even birth delivery, but was flippant about her chances of finding a new partner that he was he convinced her contraceptives wouldn't be necessary. By Jannah, why did I listen to him?

She brought a hand over one of Faith's own which still had her face cupped, thumb brushing at the knuckles. While Silva certainly wasn't against the idea of unprotected sex, especially if Faith gave her consent, under normal circumstances there would be a world with safety nets to fall back on if they decided to risk it.

However, they were stuck in a bunker, while luckily stocked for more than three people with food, medicine and other resources, it was without the contraceptives to avoid the high-risk results of the act.

She would love nothing more than to make love to Faith, to be inside her, to join her on the brink of their own bliss and just release. However, she knew of Faith's reservations, not to the act itself, but the potential consequences of said act.

Instead, she suggested, "If you really want to do this, I can try the pulling out, which does comes with risk. But we don't have to, we can do something else..."

Silva quieted down when Faith pressed a finger to her lips, shushing wordlessly. Faith smacked her lips together as she gazed at Silva with sincere affection.

"I appreciate that you're thinking of me, but there's no need to fret, my lotus flower," Faith said with a fond smile, running a hand through Silva's long dark hair, her green eyes full of a devotion Silva's doesn't believe she's seen on her before, not even with Joseph, not this intense and self-assured.

"But I made my mind up about this weeks ago," Faith informed her lover, an adoring smile blessing her face, "I want to feel you. And more importantly, I want you to feel good. I know you personally dislike the condoms. Not only that, but I know you'd rather not pull out. And yet you do those... all for me. And I'm flattered. Which is why tonight, I wanted to do this for you. No contraceptives... even if they ideally should have been optional... and no pulling out either. And whatever comes after this... I'm okay with it."

Silva blinked, not expecting this from Faith. Although she wanted nothing more to accept her words at face value, she still had to make sure, "What about what you told me? I thought you didn't want to risk-"

"I know what I had said. It was something I took time to think about too," Faith acknowledged, but her tone changed to something more impassioned, "But... my time spent with you and Azriel has made me reconsider. I know you. I trust you. Of all the people I was lucky to fall for, I'm glad it's with you. Because you won't abandon me. You'll be with me, through it all."

Faith's hands glided down to behind Silva's head and neck, bringing her beloved's face closer to her chest, adjusting Silva so her ear was to the skin.

"You hear that?" Faith asked above, her heartbeat thumping in a swift measured pace, and Silva only nodded, still a little lost until her amor explained, "That's my excitement at the thought of us giving in for tonight. Of us quivering and trembling in ecstasy, on the toe-curling edge until I milk you dry. That's what I want, but most importantly, I know that's what you want to do."

Silva felt herself burning up; from her head being in Faith's bosom? The lewd description she'd never expect Faith to use (Had she rubbed off on her somehow? The Drubmans and Sharky? Or had she always had this side of her? came the discord of thoughts) until this occasion? Or the admission that she not only knew of Silva's concealed desires, but wishes for her to act on them too?? Perhaps it was a combination, but Silva wasn't entirely sure.

Silva lifted her face to look into Faith's unabashed green eyes, finding no hint of doubt in those beautiful orbs.

"I want this. You want this. And we won't be unprepared," Faith assured, nuzzling her head into the nook of Silva's neck, hands residing at her back, "We have an abundance of supplies with everything needed for a full-term pregnancy, and the infirmary is ridiculously prepared with instructions and instruments ready for when the day comes. I know this is selfish... but I want to make something beautiful with you. To carry the culmination of our love within me. No more holding yourself back... take a leap, love. Put yourself first for once."

Silva chewed at her bottom lip as she felt her cock grow stiffer at the idea of succumbing to her base desires, and to join Faith through a union of their raw bodies, rutting into the warmth of Faith's inner walls until she released herself into her amada's womb, until she was sure Faith was pregnant.

Faith got her attention with a small kiss on the lips, green eyes staring straight into Silva's souls as she said her next words with utmost seriousness.

"I know how I sound, saying all these things to you, but here and now, I want you to understand that ultimately... it's your call, my lotus flower. If you don't want to risk it, I'll respect your decision. You're not obligated to do this, not even for me. I can do something else to have you reach your own high if you'd prefer," Faith offered, one hand reaching down to Silva's hard cock, stroking at the shaft, earning a pleased trill, "If you want to proceed, you already know I'm all for it. If you don't, I'll be happy with whatever decision you make. It's up to you."

Silva was grateful that Faith was willing to wait for her consent. She took the opportunity to think about it. She found Faith's points to be valid; they had an infirmary with information and instruments at the ready, the bunker was well-supplied, Silva has the experience to take care of Faith and their not-yet conceived child, she knows Azriel would be thrilled for a sibling and she had Faith's approval. Hell, she wanted to do it.

I want to do it, Silva realized, an anxious energy buzzing within her, I want to have a child with her.

Silva met Faith's gaze once more. Her bright grey eyes scanned Faith's green, and her hands moved up to rest on her amor's waist as she said, "I want to do it."

Faith's eyes blew open, delight filling her face, "Really? You mean it?"

Silva gave Faith a smirk that sent a shiver of exhilaration up the other woman's spine, "Si. Now mi amor, how do you like the sound of me cumming into you tonight?"

Faith's only response was a resounding, "Yes."

With a gentle tap from Silva, Faith proceeded to lower herself until her entrance met Silva's tip, grinding their sex together, the sensation causing Silva to gasp agape while Faith husked out a wanton groan.

Silva couldn't deny her own heart's elation at the feeling of Faith's slickness making contact with her own precum, mixing and leaking down her shaft.

Faith sunk until she enveloped the head of Silva's cock. The former deputy groaned at the sensation of Faith adjusting to her, her walls stretching and clenching around her. Faith masked her own moan as a pleased hum, hand bringing Silva's head to her collarbone.

Silva planted more kisses and small bites to decorate her skin as she delicately maneuvered Faith past her cock's head and down the shaft. Her amada rocked tenderly, rasping out breathy, needy moans as Silva's cock stretched her pussy.

Both women's breath hitched when Faith reached the base of Silva's cock, the latter once again adjusting to the former. For Faith, it felt warmer, and she felt fuller with Silva inside compared to when she wore the condom. Silva could feel her amor's slickness and heat, how she pulsed within her, how wonderful it felt to have Faith's walls clenched around Silva. It felt right.

Both held each other close, until Silva's knees rose up until they were behind Faith's back. She grabbed hold of her amor's legs, gaze bor into her green orbs, a determined look not unlike what Faith saw during the Reaping gracing Silva's features.

"Are you ready?" Silva asked one last time, giving Faith the chance to back out. Faith gave a thrilled, "Yes", her green eyes begging for more. Silva proceeded to ask, "You remember what word to use if things get too much for you?"

Faith nodded once more, recounting, "Tulip."

Silva gave a confirming nod, "That's right. Buena chica. Now stretch out your legs and lay back for me, mi amor."

Faith did as instructed, stretching her legs out and, with Silva's guidance, she locked them around Silva's waist. Faith proceeded to lean back onto the support of Silva's thighs.

Silva hooked one hand under Faith's culo, giving it a teasing squeeze as she leaned forward to bring her other arm around Faith's back. The former herald hooked one hand at the nape of Silva's neck while her other gave herself some support from behind, grasping onto Silva's leg to anchor herself.

She gave Silva an affirming nod to go ahead, and Silva tested the waters with a small thrust with a rock of her hips. Faith gasped out a lewd noise, and with another thrust, she let out a pleased hum at the contact, and as Silva thrust again and again at a steady pace, Faith began to pant out long, wanton moans while Silva breathed out grunts and husked out her own impassioned moans.

Silva continued to thrust into Faith as her amada continued meeting her thrusts with enthusiastic rocks, the wet sound of skin slapping against each other all that filled the room.

"You feel so good," Silva murmured in a drawl, and as she rocked her hips up into Faith's slick velvet walls, she let out a surprising growl, "Mierda, you're coño's perfect for me, Faith. I need to fill you up... I need to get you pregnant."

Faith let out an enthused titter, her gut recoiling with warmth like the hammer of a gun, and she teased, "Yeah? Is that what you're going to do, my lotus flower? Rut into my bare, unprotected pussy raw until you cum? Spill all your seed into my empty womb until I'm all nice and full? That's fucking hot. You're so sexy whenever you speak your mind. Gets me really wet."

Faith gasped as she felt Silva's thrusts quicken in pace, causing her body to rock from the jerky movement. Though Faith was not displeased by the change as her content moans and her sweet gaping features indicated.

Images flashed within Silva's mind while her sharp eyes lingered on Faith; the flat of her stomach swollen with life for Silva to cherish both with the hold of one hand. Her bouncing breasts full of milk, perhaps more swell and more sensitive than before. Silva was also fascinated by what Faith's stretch marks would look like, during and after the pregnancy, the beautiful markings long-lasting evidence of their joyous union. She remembered only briefly being able to admire Irene's post-birth marks a few days after Persephone was born.

Silva could feel herself reaching her end, she knew in the way her breathing grew strained, and her cock became stiffer and hotter. It was a familiar sensation, but here it was special, as nothing was stopping her from filling Faith up fully now.

"Faith, look at me, querida," Silva drew Faith's green eyes to retain direct contact with her grey, "That's good, mi amor. I'm glad to see your beautiful face. This is a moment in our bond I want to last. I'm close. I'm so close now. I'm going to cum inside you. And I'm going to get you pregnant. I want to hear you tell me you want it. I need to hear it."

So close to coming undone, Faith refrained from breaking their shared contact as she husked out, "I want this. I want to feel you cum inside me. I want to be full with your seed. I want to be pregnant with your child. I want all of you, Silva."

Silva felt herself tighten and her resolve to hold on break. With little strength, she wrapped her arms around Faith as her amada tightened her legs around Silva's waist, both pulled their sweaty bodies close to each other. Both clung to one another as the only lifeline, as Silva gave one last rock of her hips and their sexes spasm.

Faith's walls constricted and clamped around her cock in a creamy coat and milk up all that she unloaded inside. Faith wailed out a moan while Silva shouted in ecstasy. She gave a sparse few weaker thrusts, and felt Faith's walls throb followed by her amor cumming once more.

Both refrained from separating, catching their breaths within each other's arms, fingers playing with hair, breasts pressed against each other from each heave of their chests, basking in each other's mind-buzzing afterglow.

The embrace lasted until Silva lightly pressed a kiss on Faith's soft lips before she removed herself out of Faith, her member deflating and spent for the night. She laid Faith down on the blanket of the bed, who was recovering from the intense pleasure she experienced twice. With limbs still interlocked, she laid beside Faith's prone form.

"Thank you," Silva told Faith, the latter humming in question, dreariness weighing on her half-lidded eyes, so Silva elaborated, "For this. For letting me hold you, and kiss you, and taste you, and... make love. You made me feel so good. Tonight was just perfect."

Faith giggled, green eyes gazing into Silva's grey with adoration, "Of course, honey. You did amazingly too. I noticed you had a lot more enthused determination. Not that you hadn't before but... there was a more primal feel. I liked it."

Silva felt her face heat up from Faith's appraisal, feeling her cock twitch. It hadn't gone unnoticed by her amor; Faith bit at her bottom lip as she commented, "And with our new goal, we'll be doing this again for the next few nights, I'd hope."

Silva felt an excitement burn at the thought of doing this again, though it reminded her of some things she should do to help.

"I'll need to go get a new blanket from the linen cupboard since..." Silva trailed off as she looked at the damp spot, "...yeah. But in the meantime, we should have your pelvis raised a little higher to increase the chances of conception."

Silva couldn't recall where she gained that information from; whether it had been something Kamski had somehow brought up in conversation for whatever reason or something she had learned while reading for any information from the old medical textbooks they could scavenge to help Irene during her pregnancy with her firstborn.

Regardless, Silva grasped a pillow and placed it underneath Faith's lower back, to raise her hips slightly above. Satisfied, Silva asked, "While I'm out, is there anything you need? Snacks? Water? A cloth to clean up?"

Faith shook her head, but made a small grunt as she tried to clear her coarse throat, "Water, please."

Silva gave a smile, caressing her amada's face before getting off the bed, "I'll be back in a jiff, mi amor."

Silva peeked out of the room, searching for any signs of the familiar orange-streak across the dark hair of her hija, hoping she was still asleep in her bed and not awoken by the noise, even if their rooms were fairly dense.

Spotting no signs of her fellow night owl, Silva exited the room, and made her way to the linen cupboard for the new blanket, and then dashed to the kitchen to get Faith's water.

With the glass filled and blanket over her shoulder, she made haste back to the master bedroom.

Closing the door behind her, she made her way back to Faith back on the bed. She placed the blanket down by the foot of the bed while taking the chance to admire her nude form. Though she noticed how Faith's hand was placed below her stomach, lost in thought.

Silva got onto the bed with a creak, breaking her amor's attention train of though and bringing her attention back to her.

Offering a smile, Silva didn't immediately inquire, instead tapping the glass of water, which earned her a soft gaze of appreciation.

She helped Faith lean up from the bed, and passed the glass of water to her. Once her amor's throat was satisfied, Silva had Faith temporarily hop off the bed so she could remove the ruined blanket (which she placed by the door for tomorrow) and laid down the newer, softer blanket.

Once the bed was ready, both Silva and Faith crawled back onto the bed, huddling close. Neither put back on their nightwear.

Silva brushed her fingers through Faith's light brown hair with enthusiasm and adoration in her heart. Faith snuggled into the crook of her neck, one finger tracing aimlessly at Silva's back.

"Are you alright, amor?" Silva asked softly, concern rearing its head once more, though she had a fraction of an idea of what Faith would be thinking about.

Faith glanced her green eyes up at her, briefly holding contact before she nodded.

"Just thinking?" Silva pried gently, observing how her face made those little quirks, subtle twitches, halting furrows and the way her lips open partially before closing again.

Faith responded with a small and affirming hum. The vibration's contact against her skin, although short, eased her hammering heart.

"Want to talk about it?" She finally asked, swallowing any remaining nerves as she discerned Faith's expression towards the question. Does she have any regrets? came the question she was worried for the answer of.

Faith hadn't replied immediately, stewing in the silence as she gathered her words, and said, "I'm just... coming to terms with this. Wondering... maybe a little worried. I've made quite the spontaneous decision, no different than what I've done before."

From the top of her head, Silva could only recall three that she could be referring to; leaving home with Tracey, joining Eden's Gate and helping Silva and Azriel in their goals.

"Are you having... regrets?" Silva asked hesitantly, but knew it was important.

She was a little surprised when Faith snorted incredulously at it.

"No... not that at all. It's a choice I'm not backing down from," she answered fully looking up to her, bringing one hand to cup the side of Silva's face with tender affection, slowly nuzzling their foreheads together, "I'm just a little nervous is all. This is a new and rather big step I would never have considered in my life before meeting you and Azriel. But it is something I want to experience, as long as you're with me."

Relief flooded Silva's mind, washing away any lingering presence of the ugly guilt that tried to form.

"Besides, I liked tonight as much as you did. And I loved how you were too," Faith said as she "walked" two fingers all the way up Silva's chest to her lips, seductively brushing both over her lover's bottom lip as she leaned forward with a whisper, "And I'd hope to see more of that side of you last a few rounds in the night to come."

Silva joined her lips with her amor's, an unbridled smile curving up once again. I've been doing that a lot more recently, she noted, in spite of the sorrow she still feels for the loss of the world above.

Though that's not something she'd focus on as of now. She had better priorities she needed to attend to.

Disconnecting their lips, Silva replied, "I'll let you hold me to those words. In the meantime... want to just snuggle until sleep takes us?"

"Yeah," Faith snickered, eyes drooping lower as she cuddled closer into Silva, "I won't refuse such an offer like that."

Silva wrapped her arms further around Faith, as she just cherished this moment of holding onto her amada diente de león.

Faith dozed off first, and though Silva was not far behind her, within the dark of their room, she whispered into Faith's hair, "We're going to be okay. I promise, mi amor."

With nothing else to say until tomorrow, she let out a content sigh as she dragged the soft blanket over their exposed bodies, and sunk into Faith's slumbering embrace. Finally finding a quiet to look forward to.

[A/n] Finally it's over. I can move on to the tag stuff I've missed.

[Skit #1: Faith: "How might Azriel take the news of a possible new sibling?" Silva: "I wouldn't worry about it. She'd probably be more thrilled at finally being taller than someone for once."]

[Skit #2: Kamski: "Alright I've installed a functioning infirmary into your doomsday bunker in the scenario we'd have to bunk together during a disaster." Silva: "...Not thrilled but ok." Kamski: "It's prepared for injuries, illnesses, surgeries and any pregnancies in the unlikely case we have others bunk with us." Silva: "That sounds good and all, but what about contraceptives?" Kamski: "Don't be ridiculous Silva... no one's stupid enough to fuck in a bunker during a disaster and neither of us are getting lucky enought to change our single status any time soon." Silva: "Hurtful but sounds legit." Years later... Silva: "Once I die, Kamski when I get my hands on you, you motherfu-"]

[auxiliarydetective]

↬ OC Verse Trading Cards

Here it is! The reason (well, one of the reasons) for why I've been so inactive lately. I saw this super cool trading card template by @squea and @buttertrait and thought it was super fun, so I wanted to make something similar for my mutuals and myself. And, as you can see, I rediscovered my love for art deco on the way, so it's very art deco lol

You can find the template to make your own cards here - and I explicitly encourage you to make your own, because I was kinda hoping I would get to see cards of you guys' OCs and we could collect them all in a binder like this one. It would be really fun! (The number next to the name is the power level btw - I wanted to imitate a set of Star Wars trading cards I used to collect as a kid) Make sure to @ me when you do and tag your post with #ocversetradingcards!

I tried to make the template as accessible as possible so that even beginners should be able to use it without any issues. So, I color-coded the layers!

The red layers are ones you shouldn't touch. They make up the main frame of the card. The orange layers are ones where you can play around with the colors, but that's for advanced photoshop/photopea users. The green ones are the ones where you put in text! Edit those freely. Blue ones are ones you have to select and move as a batch - if you don't know how to do that, check below the cut ^^

You'll need to download these fonts:

Park Lane (name & power level)

Market Deco (main text font)

Artisual Deco Black Italic (blog url)

Below the cut, you'll find a tutorial for the template and a list of the image resources I used - Quick info for everyone, including the more experienced Photopea users: Save your image at 50% quality. The template is a big file and the exported image will also be pretty big if you don’t save it at a lower quality. 50% is what you can see above and I think it's a nice size-quality ratio.

Tutorial Time

Opening the File

Step one: Get either Photoshop or Photopea. Photoshop costs money, Photopea is free and runs in your browser. Take three guesses which one I use. Yeah, it's Photopea. As such, this tutorial will be Photopea-centric, and I also have no clue what the Photoshop interface looks like, so I can't really help you if you work on Photoshop. But I'm told they're essentially the same, so...

Step two: Download the fonts listed above from the links in this post.

Step three: Click on the link above to go download the template. It's a bit of a big file, so I put it into a zip file for you. Don't worry, you don't need a special program to open it. Photopea will do that for you.

Step four: Open Photopea. Click on "File" -> "Open..." and select the "TradingCardTemplate" zip file.

Step five: Click "File" -> "Open..." again and select the zip files for the fonts. This will import them to Photopea. There are also preview images included in at least one of the zip files for the fonts, so just close the windows for those projects when they pop up by clicking on the little "x" next to their file name. You only need the "TradingCardTemplate.psd" tab to be open in your Photopea window.

Great! Now you're all set to edit!

Editing the name, power level and blog url

I decided to group these together because they function essentially the same way

Step one: Select the typing tool. It's the little "T" symbol in the toolbar on the left side of your screen.

Step two: Select the layer of the text you want to edit. The blog url one is in plain view. For the name and power ones, you need to open the corresponding folders first. They're the green layers in the folders!

Step three: Click on the text you want to edit. It's easiest to aim for the middle, that way you have the least chances of missing. The typing tool is a bit finicky with that sometimes, especially if the text is small.

Great! Now you can use your keyboard to delete the placeholder text and replace it with your own! The power level will only fit two digits and picking "00" will look bad. Your OC should have at least some power. They need it to breathe.

Changing the size of the name text

As you might be able to tell, the basic text size only works for fairly short names. So, you might have to make it smaller for your OC's name to fit

Step one: Enter your OC's name as described above.

Step two: Select the text as you would anywhere else in your browser.

Step three: Above the little tag where it says "TradingCardTemplate.psd", there's an options bar. You'll find a box there labelled "Size" with a box that says "150px" and a down arrow next to it. Click on the down arrow and a slider will pop up. Play around with that slider until your text has a good size. Then click on the checkmark.

Step four: Switch to the transformation tool. It's the cursor with the directional cross next to it, at the top of your left-hand tool bar. Move your text so that it aligns well with the left side of the frame but make sure it's below the middle.

Step five: You now have to select two layers at once. The text layer and the frame for the name tag. Do do that, either press and hold your control key on your keyboard while selecting the other layer or toggle the control key using the on-screen keyboard at the bottom left of the toolbar. If you use the toggle, don't forget to untoggle it after.

Step six: On your horizontal toolbar above your project window, click on the icon that's a horizontal line with two boxes centered on it.

Congrats, your text should now be centered!

Adding in your OC picture

Step one: Open the "Picture" folder and select the layer beneath "Add picture here". This will make sure your picture will be in the right spot. Also make sure to click on the eye next to the "Pattern" layer tag to make it go invisible.

Step two: Select "File" -> "Open & Place..." and pick a nice image.

Step three: Once the image has been imported, make sure you change the zoom percentage to 100%, that way the image doesn't look pixely or weird. Click on the checkmark.

Step four: Resize your image so your OC fits nicely into the frame. The image should fill the entire space inside the frame and can stick out as much as you want.

Step five: Right-click (or press and hold, if you're on mobile) your image' layer and select "Clipping Mask".

Perfect! Now your image should no longer stick out of the frame. Feel free to adjust your image's coloration, brightness etc. by selecting "Image" -> "Adjustments" and your preferred action.

Changing your stats bars

This works the same for each bar and I tried to make it as simple as possible.

Step one: Open the corresponding folder.

Step two: Select the set of three blue layers together. You can do this by selecting one layer normally, then selecting the other two while holding your control key or while having it toggled using the built-in on-screen mini keyboard at the bottom left of your screen. If you use the toggle, don't forget to untoggle it after.

Step three: Switch to the transformation tool (the one at the top of your left-hand toolbar, it's a cursor with a directional cross) and move your layers. By moving them to the right, you'll reveal more of the gold underneath the overlay. More gold = higher level of the corresponding stat.

Great job! Now adjust the bars to your liking.

Saving your project + card image

To save the project: Click on "File" -> "Save as PSD". This will download the current project under the same name as the file that you downloaded it as. So, it will be called "TradingCardTemplate (1)" or something similar. Make sure you change the name in your files so you know which is which. Alternatively, you can also change the name of the project by double-clicking the little square that currently says "TradingCardTemplate" and type in your new name. If you save again now, it will show the new project name! Make sure to save your project if you want to be able to recover it and/or work on it later!

To save the card image: Click on "File" -> "Export as >" and pick your preferred image file type. I suggest JPG for best results. Make sure to turn the quality slider to 50%, then hit the save button. This will download an image file of your chosen type, under the same name as the project name. To change that name, refer to the bullet point above or go to your files :)

Advanced: Changing the BG color of the pattern

Step one: Select the pattern background of either the name tag, power score or picture and turn it to 100% opacity.

Step two: Color-pick the current background color of the pattern.

Step three: Click "Image" -> "Adjustments" -> "Replace Color..." and click on the colored rectangle in the new pop-up. Replace the default color with your color-picked color. Now use the Hue, Saturation and Lightness sliders to get a new color that you like. Note down your slider values for later so you have them for the other elements.

Step four: Color-pick your new color and select the corresponding solid background layer. For those layers, click "Edit" -> "Fill..." and make sure you have "Foreground" and "Normal" selected, your Opacity is 100% and you have "Preserve Transparency" checked.

Step five: Don't forget to turn the opacity of your pattern layers back down to 60%.

Congrats! You have your colors changed! Repeat this process for the other two patterned elements.

Extra advanced: Changing the card's background color

NOTE: I DON'T recommend this. You can do it, but it's a lot of work.

Step one: Select the background layer and change its color to the new color you want. You can do it with the "Hue/Saturation..." adjustment, with the "Fill" edit as described above, or whichever way you want. Color-pick your new color.

Step two: Open the smart object PSDs for the frames for the frames for the picture, the name tag, and the power counter by double-clicking on the preview image of the layer.

Step three: Select the lowest colored layer of each and change its color to the same as your new card background color. Click on "File" -> "Save (Smart Object)". Close the project windows.

Step four: Open the folders for the various stat bars and select the "Color Overlay" layers. Change their colors the same way you did for the other layers. Warm colors and high-saturation colors will most likely not look good here and you might need to find a different way of making the stat bars look good. Playing around with the "Brightness/Contrast" adjustment layers above might help, but I can't promise anything. This is the main reason why I don't recommend changing the card background color. The stats bars are adjusted to the background color.

There we are! Either your card looks very pretty now or you understand why I don't recommend this. Either way: Good job!

Resources from Freepik:

Corners by tartila Power counter frame Picture frame by pch.vector Stats bar by tartila Pattern

Taglist (we're bringing out all fandoms today): @starcrossedjedis @oneirataxia-girl @daughter-of-melpomene @bravelittleflower @box-of-bats @fluffle-system @wheresmybloodynauglamir @nanukanal @supermarine-silvally @cody-helix02

[designation-zi]

Between the Absolute Solver “program” being able to do things like literally alter reality and make weird organic / bio-mechanical substances, it being called “robo-witchcraft”, and Solver users actually being referred to as witches by Alice I’m becoming less convinced there isn’t some sort of supernatural element at play here despite Liam’s claim it’s just really advanced technology

Like, idk, I guess I could excuse the telekinesis, duplication stuff as advanced tech since it’s based off an editing software, and the regeneration abilities it grants as some other form of nanites, but the fleshy, organic, eldritch stuff is what really throws me for a loop lol

(Then there’s also the fact if you pause the beginning of episode 5 on Cyn’s broken visor screen the AS seems to reveal itself to her in the trash heap like some sort of entity wanting a deal in exchange for her becoming its host)

[cindylouwho-2]

RECENT SEO & MARKETING NEWS FOR ECOMMERCE, March 2024

Welcome to my roundup of SEO and marketing news and useful resources for ecommerce businesses, March edition. There is a lot going on with Google, and some really strong marketing pieces this time around, so let's get right to it.

SEO: GOOGLE & OTHER SEARCH ENGINES 

Google launched both a core algorithm update and spam updates on March 5, with the spam update ending on the 20th. Core updates now include the Helpful Content algorithm. In early observations, Etsy and Reddit both picked up visibility in the UK. 

The Helpful Content algorithm updates late last year destroyed a lot of sites’ Google traffic. Avoid the things they had in common.  You can read the full study here. 

Ecommerce sites were some of the biggest losers in Google visibility in 2023, with Amazon, Walmart, eBay, Etsy, Target and Best Buy in the top 10 of sites whose Google appearances slipped. 

New to Google SEO? They’ve revamped their SEO starter guide for people like you. And if you are more advanced and want to learn how to optimize your website product pages, this is a good overview. 

This lengthy article on backlinks for ecommerce websites covers pretty much all the angles, including the really difficult ones. 

Reminder that if you want to rank on Google for a search term, you need to look at what is already ranking, and make decisions based on that content. [video and transcript] This works for most search engines, not just Google. 

Yes, Google crawls “high quality” content more often. I used to refer to this as Google thinking the page is “interesting”, so I guess I will need to change my wording...

While Google sends the most traffic to websites, people spend a lot more of their online time elsewhere. Market where people are, not just where your stats say they came from. 

Sadly, Google has stopped providing caches of website pages in its search results. While you can still see the caches of some pages by using the Google search Cache:[page link] as in cache:https://cindylouwho-2.tumblr.com that will eventually stop working as well. Bing still provides caches, but unfortunately both it and the Wayback Machine do not crawl often enough to give really recent results most of the time. 

Missed Google news in February? Here’s your update. And just in case you are really behind, here is January. 

Not Google

Unsure if your website has enough good backlinks? Bing Webmaster Tools will now tell you if you don’t. 

Yandex - the top search engine in Russia - was sold by its Dutch ownership group to a consortium in Russia. 

SOCIAL MEDIA - All Aspects, By Site

General

A US study of social media use found that the most popular site was YouTube, with 83% of adults using it. Two-thirds of American adults use Facebook, while TikTok is up to ⅓ of the US population. 

Because they do change periodically, here are the latest image and video sizes recommended for the top social media platforms. [infographic]

Bluesky is now open to everyone - it was previously invite-only. 

Facebook (includes relevant general news from Meta)

Meta has introduced several changes to its Ad options, applying to Facebook and Instagram. 

Meta had a great 4th quarter in 2023, with revenue, users, and earnings per share up. “Fast-growing upstarts Temu and Shein, which originated in China, have been pouring money into ads on Facebook and Instagram. Li said on Thursday that revenue from China-based advertisers accounted for 10% of sales for the year and 5 percentage points of growth.”

Instagram

An updated post on Instagram's algorithm and how it works. 

Instagram is still beta testing longer Reels for some users. 

If your account is a brand account, you can now run ads on Instagram with coupon codes right in them. (Some Facebook users can already do this.)

LinkedIn

Among other recent changes on LinkedIn, the algorithm is now looking to boost important content longer than just the first day or two after publication. 

Pinterest

Pinterest has its own stats package, called Pinterest Analytics, but only for “Business” accounts. They show how many people clicked on the outgoing links, how many people saw your pin on their screen, and much more. Here’s everything you need to know. 

Reddit

Reddit successfully launched on the stock market this past week, but questions remain about how this will change the site. 

Google is paying Reddit to scrape its content through the API instead of from the web. 

Snapchat

Snap was a little later than most tech companies doing layoffs recently, waiting until February 5 to let 10% off staff go. 

Threads

Threads is so new that the algorithm is bound to change a lot in the next year, but for right now, here is how it works. 

TikTok

There is an overwhelming amount of info out there on the US attempt to either ban TikTok or force its sale, and much of it is incomplete, so I will let you Google to your heart’s content if you want to learn more. If you are relying on TikTok to drive sales, this would be a good time to make sure you diversify your promotional strategy. 

You can now track trending terms on TikTok through the Creator Search Insights section. “Creator Search Insights will highlight frequently searched topics, which creators can organize by category (for example, tourism, sports, science) or tailor to their content type with the “For You” option. Additionally, creators can filter for “content gap” topics, which are highly searched but have relatively few videos on TikTok covering them.“

TikTok may be testing a photo app, which would obviously compete with Instagram. 

Twitter

What? Twitter may have lied about its Super Bowl ad performance? I’m so not shocked. 

Tumblr

Tumblr will be selling data access to AI companies. 

YouTube

This is a pretty decent article on YouTube SEO. 

(CONTENT) MARKETING (includes blogging, emails, and strategies) 

Small and micro-businesses need an email list. An email list is:  

portable (unlike most social media followers or marketplace buyers) 

is available to almost everyone, as we all need at least one email address if we are online

less susceptible to the whims of algorithms (unlike SEO, marketplaces, social etc.)  

I keep seeing people argue that no one opens emails, but the chart in the article above is proof that is still wrong. (My blog email list averages close to a 70% open rate, depending on the topic and the time I send it. My jewellery email list - which I hardly ever send to - still has an over 30% open rate. My click rates are well above the industry averages, usually 30 to 40% of all recipients for the blog list. These are much better numbers than social, and astronomically better than my clickthrough rate on Google and other search engines.)

Gmail and Yahoo both changed how they handle bulk emails such as newsletters in February. Here’s what you need to know on the basics, including authenticating yourself so your email gets through. 

Find out how to get people to read all the way to the end of your content. 

Get ready for April marketing with 5 topical ideas. National Handmade Day is April 6. 

We should all think twice before deciding to use AI to create content. “Circa 2024, generative AI does not produce new ideas or even develop its own conclusions. Rather, it regurgitates information that it has indexed.” Not convinced? Here’s another article. “AI-generated content represents the literal “average of everything online.”

ONLINE ADVERTISING (EXCEPT INDIVIDUAL SOCIAL MEDIA AND ECOMMERCE SITES) 

Google Ads can now be tracked in Google Analytics 4. 

Both Google Ads and Microsoft Advertising were up in the 4th quarter of 2023. 

STATS, DATA, TRACKING 

Google Analytics 4 tracks organic traffic differently than the previous version. Here’s how to figure it out. 

BUSINESS & CONSUMER TRENDS, STATS & REPORTS; SOCIOLOGY & PSYCHOLOGY, CUSTOMER SERVICE 

I’ve probably posted this specific article before, but it is worth another read: how to communicate with customers.  For example, “Mirroring your customer’s tone lets them know you’re on their side. If a customer is formal, for example, hold back on the LOLs. If they’re more casual, relax your tone.”

According to a US study, Generation Z is skewing the traditional marketing funnel. “Per Archrival’s data, 77 per cent of Gen Zs and 79 per cent of millennials in the US are actively seeking style inspiration at least monthly, with almost half of those looking for style inspiration on social media. When asked where they learn about new brands, products and experiences, video reigns supreme: YouTube is the most popular platform with Gen Zs, followed by TikTok, then Instagram.”

Trend alert: bag charms are back. 

IMAGES, VIDEO, GRAPHIC DESIGN, & FREE ONLINE TOOLS

Almost all of these 12 video tools are free, and some can be used on your phone. 

MISCELLANEOUS

This is an older piece, but it checks out: IKEA Hacks for Craft Show Displays. A few of these could be done with non-IKEA items. 

Want to stay up-to-date on a nearly daily basis? Follow me on Bluesky or on LinkedIn, or become a member of my Patreon.

[mysticstarlightduck]

10. Has a piece of writing ever “haunted” you? Has your own writing haunted you? What does that mean to you?

35. What’s your favorite writing rule to smash into smithereens?

Thank you so much for the tag, @starlit-hopes-and-dreams!!!!

10.Has a piece of writing ever “haunted” you? Has your own writing haunted you? What does that mean to you?

Well, in the negative sense of "haunting", I guess I am haunted by bad backstory ideas I've scribbled on a blank document at nearly midnight and that I look back at and physically cringe at the thought. But that's it - I try to write with the mindset that there isn't any bad writing, just things that can be edited later on. That has helped me a lot with my issues with perfectionism!

Now, in a positive sense of "haunting", when I get an idea I'm really, really excited about writing and thinking about, that idea follows me throughout the day - and if I'm lucky it'll grow into a writeable concept and spawn more of those ideas! So it's like a nice, curious little ghost "haunting" the back of my mind and giving me exciting new ideas to work on throughout the day! Lately, that spot has belonged to Augustus & Harriet's love story arc from my WIP Enchanted Illusions, and Evangeline Daemitya's backstory (+ family lore) from the same WIP.

35. What’s your favorite writing rule to smash into smithereens?

I'm not sure about which writing rule I love to ignore because my writing process is as chaotic and messy and weird as it gets - sometimes a rule that may be useless for one moment in a specific story might become my lifeline later on in the same WIP. It really depends!

However, I do know which writing tropes I love to smash, obliterate, and subvert in my stories though! (Disclaimer - My dislike for these tropes is based on my personal opinion and feelings towards them. If any of you like these tropes, that's okay too!!)

To name a few:

The Bad/Absent Father Trope - Look, I love writing some family drama as much as the next writer, but this trope has been overdone to the moon and back, especially in fantasy stories. So instead, I like to give my characters good and present father figures instead, dads who are a part of the characters' lives and want to keep them safe.

Evangeline's backstory was written with the main intent of subverting this trope - her main parent has always been her dad, who is very loving and present in her life - and is actively a part of it - having raised her basically by himself.

Miscommunication - By this, I mean miscommunication that wouldn't actually happen if the characters were being themselves and not just tools to advance the plot - especially if the plot depends on that one miscommunication to cause a big falling out with no other reason than the author wanting it to happen. I don't vibe with that.

Dark and Edgy Magic User who also happens to be an Awful Love Interest - I have a personal bone to pick with this one after some books I've recently read. If I'm going to write someone with the powers of darkness or death or the supernatural as a love interest, you can bet I'm making them secretly or openly be the dorkiest most supportive, "weird little gremlin energy" partner one could ever hope to meet. Yes, they may be chaotic murder hobos when it comes to defeating bad people/killing their enemies, but damn if they're not cheering on and being hopelessly in love with their SO! (Gomez and Morticia style!!!!) - just out of spite for the things I've read. This got very specific - I say as I look to my OC Augustus, the necromancer who fell for a (supposedly) normal girl who is also deeply weird herself. 👀

[princeorion]

Playpals: Unit 001 Special Edition Bad B*tch

Subscribers and Patreons get full non marked versions along with two textless versions

"You always need a pal in life. Playpal, by Cybelnetics."

The finest in cybernetics, a work of nanotech art, there can be

no finer companion made than Playpal, by Cybelnetics.

The ultimate in cybernetic personal assistants, Playpal represents the next leap in artificial companionship. Playpals feel just like a real person thanks to our advanced crystalline unimatrix Cybelnetics Nanoliquid. Playpals act just like a real person, emulating perfect human emotion regulated and maintain thanks to their patented Cybelnetics AI for complete safety and control you expect from Cybelnetics brand CPA's. And like all Cybelnetics brand CPA's, they are fully functional for whatever task you require, within regulations. Their Cybelnetics AI constantly analyzes everything about their owners with their advance sensor suite to optimize themselves in whatever fashion that is required. No more need to manually create profiles, Playpal does it for you! And of course, any existing Cybelnetics User Profiles can be imported via your Cybelnetics personal Cloud.

No matter what kind of companion you need, Playpal is that and everything in between. Make sure to

preorder your Playpal at your authorized cybernetics dealer today, and make sure to ask about Cybelnetics

grand launch giveaway. You could win one of 6 special edition Playpals, with the grand prize being:

Unit 001 Bad Bitch Special Edition

She's ready for action, just make sure you

can handle the beast. This wolf won't let up,

and she likes to play rough.

Unit 001 is the first serialized unit, packed with

more advanced upgrades and technology than any other

unit. She is the ultimate Playpal, and she could

be the ultimate companion for you, if you're

lucky, and brave.*

(*It is recommended to keep Unit 001 Bad Bitch Special Edition at 100% Submissive Mode at all times. Unit 001 is highly aggressive, any levels below 40% constitute 0% Submissiveness on normal retail Playpal models. Cybelnetics is not responsible for harm or injury resulting form unauthorized actions.)

This and another project are another two projects I've made that are intended for my subscribers and Patreons. Still working on some demo stuff for the other one. Both, if you can guess from the tone of this one, are intended for a mature audience. I was concern given I've made it clear I work strictly PG-13, but since I've opened subs I can put that content behind a paywall, maybe make a special tier. I don't work strictly PG-13, but I never upload any of that stuff. These two series though will dabble in it. Playpals can be more implied and not seen, but the other series is not. I'm still on the fence about this. I'd still like to keep things clean, but I also like making compelling stories, which the unnamed series has alot of. Dunno, depends on the reception this gets I guess.

Special Thanks for my Patreon backers: The Black Pharaoh

Null

Tacocat598

[thedawnofcrime]

I am giving in to corporate pressure*

*whoops never mind

I hate to say it, but I think it's time I learn how to use Adobe Animate. They know perfectly well their shit subscription model is one of the only viable options for animators, but I don't really have much of a choice until Procreate Dreams is released. I SO want to do more advanced work, but through a single-layered timeline program like Procreate, that isn't really possible. Even with Dreams, most studios are unwilling to move over from Animate CC to options like ToonBoom or OpenToonz, despite being far more user-friendly.

Edit: As I am writing this, I realize OpenToonz exists, so I guess I've got a bit more time. Fuck Adobe :)

[angxlictexrs]

basic info: cis, she/her, 21, 🇲🇽

eo, i'm angxlictexrs and i welcome you to my blog! i'm just your average tumblr user trying to not succumb to the horrors soooo

before you decide to stalk/follow/interact:

this is my main blog! and, as you can see, it's a bit of a mess (yet i love her for it).

i speak both spanish and english (and a bit of french, sometimes) so be free to interact in whichever language you prefer!

i come by from time to time to reblog or interact with fandom stuff, so don't be surprised if i suddenly reblog a lot and then disappear for months!

btw, i'm a serial reblogger soo if that's something that bothers you, sorry in advance!

but i also mostly queue, so if you see me reblog a bunch of stuff constantly, that doesn't mean i'm actually active.

i sometimes post one or two cringey posts of my own so be prepared for that i guess.

my blog has like a shit ton of fandoms so be my guest, i guess!!

i'm trying to organize my blog and keep it at least a little bit neat so this post will sorta function as a vessel for my (main) tags! sooo i'll be constantly editing this part.

but also....

i'm open to friends and asks! so if you feel like it, you're free to send me a DM or an ask (anon or not). i'll make sure to answer them as quickly as possible!

don't be afraid to send me your thoughts or anything you wanna share!!

but tumblr is no friend sometimes, and eats or doesn't send me notifications, so please don't be mad if i don't reply!

tho i will ignore/block you if you get creepy!!

D N I : minors (i will post nsft content from time to time), terfs/swerfs, racists, xenophobes and bigoted people in general

anyway....

currently watching: succession / the last of us / ...

currently reading: balún can��n / the song of achilles

currently obssesed with: wuthering heights / mitski / persuasion / battinson, robert pattinson('s filmography) / the batman (2023) / portrait of a lady on fire — portrait de la jeune fille en feu (2019) / succession / pedro pascal / web weaving + parallels / ...

[wuorija]

Personalize Your Social Media Presence: Showing the Magic of iFoto AI PFP Maker

Hey there, fellow social media enthusiasts! Have you ever found yourself scrolling through your feed, admiring those sleek, stylish profile pictures that make you think, "Wow, I wish I could pull that off too"? Well, guess what? There's a tool that can help you lift your social media game without breaking a sweat. Enter the iFoto AI PFP Maker – your ticket to changing everyday photos into stunning profile pictures that scream personality.

Think about it. We all have that one picture that's perfect but just lacks that little something. Maybe it's a color scheme that doesn't quite match our style, or perhaps we want to try something entirely different. That's where the iFoto AI PFP Maker steps in like a hero. It's like having a magical photo booth in your pocket, ready to transform your images into any style or theme you can imagine.

Let's explore into the nitty-gritty of what makes this AI-powered tool so special. First off, it's incredibly user-friendly. You don't need to be a Photoshop wizard or have any advanced photo editing skills to use the iFoto AI PFP Maker. Just upload your photo, choose the style you want, and voilà! You've got a brand-new profile picture that's uniquely you.

Now, you might be thinking, "What kind of styles can I expect?" Well, the options are virtually limitless. From vintage to futuristic, minimalistic to abstract, the iFoto AI PFP Maker has got you covered. It's like a digital playground for your face. Plus, if you're not quite sure what you're looking for, the AI can even suggest styles based on your preferences.

But what about the quality, you ask? That's the beauty of AI technology. The iFoto AI PFP Maker ensures that your images look sharp, crisp, and professional, no matter the style. It's like having a high-end photo studio at your fingertips, without the hefty price tag.

Now, let's talk about personalization. We're all about expressing ourselves online, aren't we? With the iFoto AI PFP Maker, you can create a profile picture that truly represents who you are. Whether you're into the latest trends or prefer a more classic look, this tool allows you to put your stamp on it.

But here's the best part: the iFoto AI PFP Maker isn't just for profile pictures. Imagine using it to create memes, animated stickers, or even custom avatars for your favorite games. The possibilities are endless!

I know what you're thinking – "Is it worth it?" Absolutely. The iFoto AI PFP Maker is a game-changer for busy users who want to stay ahead in the social media game. It's fast, efficient, and incredibly affordable. Plus, the AI technology is constantly improving, so you can expect even better results as time goes on.

So, what are you waiting for? Why settle for a generic profile picture when you can have a personalized masterpiece? The iFoto AI PFP Maker is your secret weapon for standing out in the sea of social media users.

Remember, your profile picture is often the first thing people see when they come across your social media account. It's your chance to make a great first impression. With the iFoto AI PFP Maker, you can be sure that your profile picture is one that speaks volumes about your unique personality.

So, go ahead and give the iFoto AI PFP Maker a try. Who knows? You might just find the perfect way to showcase your style and catch the attention of your followers. After all, isn't that what social media is all about?

[fronzennews]

Direct Your First Movie with This Free AI Video Generator

Have you ever dreamed of directing your own movie but felt overwhelmed by the technicalities and costs associated with video production? Well, guess what? The landscape of video creation has transformed dramatically with the emergence of AI video generators! One standout tool in this new era is Frames, developed by the innovative startup Runway. With this AI video generator, you can effortlessly bring your cinematic ideas to life. Let’s dive into what makes Frames unique and how you can start making your own videos today!

What is Frames?

Frames is not just another AI tool; it’s a digital canvas that lets you direct your scenes simply by describing them. Imagine sitting in a director’s chair and calling the shots, but without needing a crew or extensive film knowledge. This AI video generator enables you to create professional-looking clips in a matter of moments. You’ll be amazed at how accessible video production has become! How to Get Started with Frames To jump into the world of Frames, follow these simple steps: - Set up your account on the Frames platform. - Select between a free basic plan or one of the premium subscription options. - Enjoy your first taste of video generation with the included credits!

Creating Engaging Videos with Frames

Making videos with Frames is a breeze. Here’s how the process typically unfolds: - Describe Your Scene: Instead of simple text prompts, describe your scene like a real director, specifying angles, lighting, and action. - Choose Your Model: Select from different models like Gen-3 Alpha Turbo or Gen-2 to fit your preferred style. - Upload Media: For even more precision, upload your own images or clips to guide the AI's creativity. - Generate Your Video: Sit back as Frames generates a short cinematic clip based on your specifications. You can select the length from 4 to 10 seconds. Features That Elevate Your Video Making Frames sprinkles extra magic dust on the video creation process with features like: - Dynamic Camera Movements: Create engaging visuals through various camera movements. - Custom Presets: Save your favorite settings as presets for future projects to streamline your workflow. - Helpful Guides: Utilize prompts and examples provided by Runway to enhance your scene descriptions.

Comparing AI Video Generators

While Frames shines with its unique scene-description approach, other AI video generators also have their unique strengths: - Synthesia: Perfect for enterprise training videos with AI avatars and text-to-video features. - Luma Dream Machine: Known for creating life-like videos from text or image prompts. - HubSpot's Clip Creator: A user-friendly tool that turns text into editable videos with ease.

The Perks and Pitfalls of AI Video Generators

AI video generators come with remarkable benefits: - Efficiency: They save time and cost in traditional video production. - Focus on Creativity: Automated tasks let you concentrate on storytelling. However, be aware of certain limitations: - Free plans may have watermarks or limited credits. - Fine-tuning may be necessary for brand tone consistency.

The Future of AI Video Tools

The advancements in AI video generators like Frames, Synthesia, and Luma Dream Machine mark a revolutionary step in video production. Instead of replacing human creativity, these tools enhance it, empowering anyone to produce high-quality videos effortlessly. I can’t wait to see what comes next! The future looks bright with AI creating more user-friendly and sophisticated tools. Ready to unleash your creativity? Start exploring the world of AI video generators, and you might just find your inner director! Please leave a comment below if you have any questions or insights about using an AI video generator. If you found this article helpful, why not share it with your friends? Let’s spread the word about the amazing possibilities of AI in video production! For more exciting content, visit FROZENLEAVES NEWS and stay updated on the latest trends and tools in video creativity! Read the full article

[vapehk1]

VOOPOO Argus Pro 2 Review: Metal Leather Outdoor Aesthetics in a Vape Mod

Hot off the press from VOOPOO is the all-new Argus Pro 2, a state-of-the-art device that's set to take the vaping world by storm. This latest release is not just another addition to their lineup but a significant leap forward, boasting an advanced built-in battery. And guess what? We've been lucky enough to get our hands on a prototype sample, giving us an early taste of what this beast can do! Argus Pro 2: At a Glance Parameter Specification Size 127.4 x 35.5 x 29.8 mm Battery 3000 mAh (Built-in) Input Voltage 3.2-4.2 V Power Range 5-80 W Charging Voltage 5 V/2 A Resistance Range 0.1-3.0Ω Capacity 5mL (Standard Edition) / 2mL (TPD Edition) Compatible Coils All PnP X coils Diving into the Details When you look at the Argus Pro 2's specs, it's clear that VOOPOO has pushed the boundaries. The built-in 3000 mAh battery is a powerhouse, perfect for extended vaping sessions. The size is quite handy, fitting comfortably in your hand, yet it packs a punch with its 80W max output. This is a significant upgrade from the Vmate's max of 25W. The PnP X coil compatibility means you're not short on options for your vaping experience, either. How to Use the Argus Pro 2 Using the Argus Pro 2 is a breeze: - Install the Coil: Just pop in the coil at the bottom of the pod. - Fill 'er Up: Lift the lid on the filling port, and fill it up with e-liquid. - Atomizer Time: Slot the atomizer into the mod. - Vape Away: After letting it sit for five minutes, you're good to go. Adjust the airflow by rotating the pod to suit your preference. Function-wise, you've got a user-friendly menu accessed by the "+" and "-" buttons, a lock/unlock toggle switch, and a 5V/2A charging support. The GENETT chip is a smart touch, offering real-time data like battery level and vaping duration. Plus, you can keep your device up-to-date with software upgrades from VOOPOO's website. Personal Experience In comparison to the DRAG X2, the Argus Pro 2 feels more upscale with its leather surface – it's got a great grip and an ergonomic design that feels just right in your hand. The gradient color gives it a classy yet business-like look. Its 3000mAh battery is a real endurance champ, making it a reliable companion throughout the day. The vapor production is generous and satisfying, thanks to the PnP X platform. The only downside? It's a bit noisy during draws, and I do miss the convenience of draw-activation like in disposables. Pros and Cons of the VOOPOO Argus Pro 2 Pros: - Upscale Design: The leather surface gives it a premium feel, and the gradient color adds a touch of class. - Ergonomic and Comfortable: Fits perfectly in your hand, making it easy and comfortable to use for extended periods. - Powerful Battery: The 3000mAh battery offers excellent longevity, ideal for day-long vaping without frequent charging. - Impressive Vapor Production: Thanks to the PnP X platform, the vapor output is both abundant and rich, providing a satisfying experience. - Versatile Power Range: With a power range of 5-80W, it caters to a wide variety of vaping preferences. Cons: - Noise During Use: The device can be a bit noisy when drawing, which might be a distraction for some users. - Lack of Draw Activation: Unlike disposables, it requires the use of a fire button to activate, which might be less convenient for some users. - Heavier Build: While the sturdy build is a sign of quality, it does make the device heavier than some of its counterparts, which might not appeal to everyone. https://youtube.com/shorts/4xHBArZGkh0 Safety First Despite the noise, safety isn't a concern with the Argus Pro 2. It's equipped with all the essential protections like overtemperature, overcharge, and short-circuit safeguards. With a silicone cover for charging port protection,  it's quite suitable for outdoor use. So, vape with peace of mind! Maintenance and Cleaning Tips To keep your Argus Pro 2 in top shape: - Wipe away any liquid condensation regularly. - Keep the device-to-atomizer connection clean. - For leather care, avoid corrosive substances and clean gently. User Guidelines Remember, this product isn't recommended for certain groups like minors or pregnant women. Keep it away from water and extreme temperatures, and use it responsibly. If you're not using it for a while, charge it periodically to maintain battery health. And please, don't try to take it apart – leave that to the pros! Warranty Information The Argus Pro 2 comes with a three-month warranty, covering you for most manufacturing defects. Just make sure to register your product on VOOPOO's website. Keep in mind, though, that user-induced damage isn't covered. Final Thoughts The VOOPOO Argus Pro 2 is a solid choice for those looking for a powerful, well-designed vape mod. It's user-friendly, safe, and offers great performance. Its heavyweight might not be for everyone, but for those who value quality and durability, it's a winner. Whether you're a seasoned vaper or just starting out, the Argus Pro 2 is worth checking out. Happy vaping! 🌬️💨 Where to buy VOOPOO Argus Pro 2 Read the full article

[letterlock]

hi - so, i don't have an actual solution to your problem right off the bat, but i do have a long history of trying (often unsuccessfully) to get Windows and Linux to coexist in one way or another. usually Linux is happy to work with Windows, but i've never had a good time as soon as i needed the opposite.

while i can't solve your exact problem, i can give you some places to look for a solution and some possible other approaches you can try.

option zero - a completely uninformed guess at something that could be the problem:

something i've noticed, but not looked into enough to tell you why, is that Windows seems to prefer having unallocated space in particular places on a drive, like 1MB at the beginning of the partition scheme, sometimes some in between partitions. something deep in my memory is saying this has to do with MBR vs. GPT schemes, and so wouldn't be relevant anymore, but just the other day i had to fuck around a bunch to make a Windows boot usb for a pc i'm building for a friend, and the tool i found that finally did the trick put a 1MB unallocated space at the beginning of the usb... go figure. all i'm saying is that if it were me, i might look closely at places that mention things like this, because in general Windows laughs at universal standard compliance, and cannot be trusted to follow the rules that any other OS does.

option one - change your search parameters:

you may have already tried this avenue, but the first thing i thought of is that your problem sounds like the kinds of things one often runs into when trying to dual-boot. i couldn't entirely understand if that's actually what you were trying to do, or if you just wanted to view/edit/access drives and partitions from various OS'es, but i think some of the problems may be the same regardless.

if one takes a look at the Arch Linux Wiki page on dual-booting with Windows, it immediately becomes apparent that Windows hates the mere idea of sharing its drive with anything else. Windows has a uniquely unhinged way of handling booting and disk management in general. it loves to be completely opaque on what its doing and why, with lots of names that don't describe what the actual thing is ("scan and fix this drive", "secure boot", etc.). at the same time, it has some unflinchingly rigid expectations for how partitions are laid out, and will flat out refuse to even partially support any other setup. i would recommend looking through that Arch Wiki page and doing some searches on dual-booting to get some ideas of what Windows expects and how to set things up that way.

option two - change your partitioning tool:

i love love GParted. it was the very first thing i ever used back when i first installed Ubuntu 8.04 in 2008. it's approachable, informative without being draconian, and, for the most part, it Just Works (tm). it does, however, make a few guesses behind the scenes at how things should be set up from time to time, as a necessary cost to make it accessible to more users.

to make sure you're actually doing what you want to do, i'd recommend trying to boot into Linux and using a different tool to do your partitioning. specifically, i would recommend using fdisk. fdisk has a terminal ui ("cfdisk"), and if you're coming from a gui like GParted, its going to be a fairly similar experience.

it's a smidge more advanced, and you're going to have to jump into the terminal (i don't know your familiarity with Linux, so i don't want to assume you're comfortable with the terminal), but it will give you a better idea of whether GParted is doing something weird or if the problem lies elsewhere.

it's important to note that cfdisk doesn't create any filesystems if you create a partition with it. for that, you'll have to use mkfs after the partitions are created. it's more terminal work, but if you manage to make the partitions with cfdisk, it should be fairly straightforward.

option three - i'm a linux user, you knew this one was coming

dump that sucker. or - at least - silo your computers. this experience might be a good excuse to ask "why am i trying to make this work? in the future, is it likely to become easier or harder to make Windows play nicely with Linux/OSX?"

i don't know your financial situation or current access to computers, or even what use case you have for Windows vs. other operating systems, so i don't want to come across as preachy or as evangelical here. you know your needs best, and i'm the last person who should be telling anyone not to hammer away at a problem that i seem to be the only one in the universe that cares about, that's how i spend many evenings.

with that said, my life got a lot easier when i decided to just have a separate little computer for Linux. i bought a cheap used NUC, and later upgraded it to a better mini-pc. since then i have completely ditched Windows (the straw for me was Recall, but I already had one foot out the door for a few years prior). the experience i gained trying to daily drive for a bit with the mini-pc gave me the confidence to take that step. i haven't looked back at all.

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whew. hope something in there turns out to be helpful.

if you need to copy files from Windows drives or do anything else concrete in order to be comfortable switching fully, and want to reach out for help or with questions, please feel free to hit me up! :^)

So I've recently been finally getting around to something I've wanted to do for a few years: switching to Linux.

To safely test out this process before applying it to my main tower machine, I decided to first do the switch over on an old Mac Mini which had a lot to gain from this as it was stuck on an outdated and unsupported version of MacOS.

But of course this all involved shuffling around a lot of old data and making sure everything was backed up. And here's where the story begins.

I backed up the Mini's MacOS install to its own partition on an external backup drive shared by my Windows tower machine. Once done, I shrank it to only the used size( which was complicated in its own right for reasons I'll explain shortly,) and then wanted to move it to the end of the drive so I could expand the Windows partition back out to fill the unused space.

Problem #1: MacOS's Disk Utility is so stripped down and lacking in functionality in the name of gloss, it literally cannot work with unallocated space on a drive in any way. You cannot see unallocated space, and you cannot create it. Want to shrink or delete a partition? It automatically creates a new one to fill the space whether you wanted it or not. Want to make a new partition in unallocated space without wiping the whole drive? Gotta use a different OS to make a dummy partition first and then replace it in Disk Utility. And the real problem… Want to move a partition? Can't.

Problem #2: Windows's Disk Management doesn't know what HFS+ is and refuses to work with it. Windows can't even read the Mac backup partition, let alone move it. But wait! I can use EaseUS Partition Manager! …Aaand most of its essential functionality is locked behind one of its multiple paywall tiers, including the ability to work with non-Windows filesystems at all.

But what about that new Linux install on the Mini?

I run 'sudo apt-get install gparted', a FOSS program, and in less than a minute I've already got it moving the partition. No hassle. No BS.

And if this whole thing doesn't just sum up the operating system trio, I don't know what does.

[earhartsease]

some things most abled people don't get about wheelchairs are

1) if someone's using a wheelchair for most/all of the day, the wheelchair needs to be custom fit or it does terrible damage to your body

2) and that means they're expensive - like minimum £3k and up up upwards expensive (a custom fit powerchair can cost £20k) - mine has powered wheels and the chair and wheels together were £7.5k, and it took me a year to save up and sell stuff and fundraise to get it, and another year to raise the money for the powered wheels once I realised I couldn't push myself unaided

3) these kinds of wheelchairs are not mass produced - and being made to measure means you can have to wait up to a couple of months for a new chair to arrive (or for a repaired chair to come back)

4) and wheelchairs wear out - like cars or bikes or any form of transport that takes a hammering over time, eventually the frame or the axles or the electronics give out

so if you're dependent on your wheelchair to be able to go out or do anything at all, you have to be thinking ahead and somehow saving up for when your wheelchair needs repairing/replacing, or hoping for grants and fundraising to get you there come the time (a decreasing likelihood in these times of fucked economy when everyone's belts are tighter)

I'm partly mentioning all this because in some countries (like the US) if you're disabled and on state benefits, you can't have more than a certain amount of money saved up (an amount that wouldn't cover a new wheelchair) - but I'm partly writing this to help abled people understand what a financial trap we're in as wheelchair users, dependent on small companies who manufacture our chairs, needing to plan in advance to replace our chairs every few years, depending on how hard they get worked, and it's not like when you don't have a car but you can walk or get public transport - for most of us, without our wheelchair we can't function and may just be stuck in bed

it's very unusual these days to be able to get mobility aids paid for by the state even in countries that used to do this - here in the UK many doctors still haven't caught up with how impossible it is to get help from the NHS or the government towards our mobility now (as compared to just a few years ago), and doctors frown on us for getting hold of our own wheelchair, they can treat us like we'd bought pescription meds online, like if the wheelchair wasn't Officially Sanctioned then we obviously don't really need one and so on

I guess I'm wanting to say: be mindful of how important and hard-won our wheelchairs are, treat them and us with respect, and perhaps be prepared to help your wheelie friends find funds towards a new chair when the need arises please

edit: I wanted to add that of course loads of people who need better wheelchairs are stuck using whatever they can afford, and they equally need support and respect