#i follow a tag. they only show me the same 10 posts from that tag forever

[chiimeramanticore]

how do I get a normal tumblr dash bc mine rn is the absolute worst

[saintobio]

⊹★⋆ two wheels and a hot guy.

pairings. gojo satoru, fem!reader tags. 1k wc, biker boy x biker girl au, non-sorcerer au, crack, fluff, dirty jokes (?), satoru rides an s1k, biker!sukuna mentions, same au as my other fic. sparked by a random idea bcos why haven't we thought abt biker!gojo honestly? he would be so funny on tiktok if he was a biker boy lmao

You’ve all heard about Biker!Sukuna. That famous biker boy on biketok who has tattoos and rides a blacked out Yamaha R1. 

But have you heard about Biker!Gojou? 

Well… For starters, Satoru Gojou wasn’t a seasoned biker. 

In fact, he was more of a poser than anything, but you’d never catch him admitting that. His prized BMW S1000RR, the crown jewel of superbikes, was more about image than skill. The sleek, aggressive lines of the machine, combined with the prestige of the BMW logo, were all he needed to keep up appearances on TikTok. And he learned that appearances were everything, especially when Sukuna, with his obnoxious face tattoos and natural charisma, hogged the limelight (especially from all the girls!) with every post, even with a girlfriend already in tow. The sheer audacity of that scum was enough to drive Satoru up the wall. Fine, he had to admit. He was jealous of Sukuna’s popularity and the fact that he snatched a cute booktok girlfriend as his backpack. 

Suguru, his best friend and fellow biker, didn’t let him forget it either. As they stood by their bikes outside Barnes & Noble to spot booktok girls, Suguru glanced at Satoru’s liter bike and smirked. 

“Pretentious motherfucker,” he muttered, slinging a leg over his Yamaha MT-10, the less flashy but undeniably badass naked bike. Unlike Gojou, Suguru didn’t care about clout. The MT-10 was all about raw power and agility, the kind of bike a real rider appreciated. “You only got that thing because it’s a BMW. You gonna actually ride it for real one of these days?”

“Shut up.” Satoru rolled his eyes, adjusting his white Alpinestars riding gloves while holding his phone up to go live on TikTok. Starting with a 1000cc as a beginner bike wasn’t a very wise choice, but still... “People love the S1K, you know that.”

And let me tell you about Satoru’s favorite time of the day (or night). It was whenever he would go live, and the comments would pour in as soon as his stream started. That was when he could lavish in his social media presence the most.

user19463: Bro, when are you gonna show us some actual riding content?

anon875biker: All that thirst trapping. Bet you don’t even take that thing out of the garage. 

harleysRbetter: U punks R ruining the riding community! 

Gojou grinned at the screen, winking at both his followers and haters. “Alright, boomers, calm down. I’ll post some riding content soon. Don’t cry too much before then, yeah?”

r1.skn: Sir, can you do wheelies? 

Suguru found that comment hilarious, recognizing the username and knowing exactly who it belonged to—Sukuna. But Satoru’s competitive nature kicked in instantly while he continued to scroll through the comments. “Yeah, I can do wheelies. Ignore Sukuna, guys. Focus on me!”

msbikerluvr: Still looking for a backpack, Gojou? Lmao.

“About the backpack… you know, I’m just waiting for the right one. Applications are still open—” He was about to launch into another witty retort when a sound cut through the chatter of his stream—it was a deep, throaty rev that sent a shiver of excitement down his spine. Satoru’s head immediately whipped to the direction of the sound, just in time to see a flash of race blue zipping down the street.

There you were, riding a Yamaha R7, your black Dainese jacket hugging your curves as you leaned into the wind. The way you handled the bike, so smooth and confident, it was as if the motorcycle was an extension of you. 

“Damn, she’s hot.” Without a second thought, Satoru ended the live stream abruptly, “Gotta go, guys. Someone just stole my heart,” and pocketed his phone.

“Did you seriously just—” Suguru started, but Satoru was already mounting his S1000RR.

“Catch you later, Suguru!” he called, gunning the engine without even looking at his best friend. Soon enough, the 1000cc bike roared to life when he shifted into first gear, and he sped off in pursuit of the blue R7.

He caught sight of you at the next red light, the signal holding you in place just long enough for him to catch up. Thank God there was no sign of a biker boyfriend around when he pulled up alongside you, visor down, adrenaline still kicking him alive. He tried to get your attention by revving his S1K, and you turned your head slightly, barely acknowledging him as you pulled your visor up and revealed the prettiest eyes Gojou had ever seen. 

Satoru flipped up his visor too, then flashed his most charming grin. “Hey there,” he said, trying to keep his voice smooth and casual. Like it was a normal encounter. “You’re fast. I like that.”

You may have rolled your eyes, but he could tell you were smirking underneath the balaclava as you talked through the Cardo intercom linked to your AGV K1s. “And you’re obnoxious. I don’t like that.”

Oooh, she’s spicy. He laughed at the silly thought in his head, unbothered by your dismissal. “Come on, don’t be like that. I’m just trying to get to know the girl who stole my heart in the middle of a live stream.”

“Your heart, huh?” you teased, revving her engine just slightly. “Sounds like you’re more interested in what’s under my jacket.”

“Now that’s a baseless accusation,” he retorted, leaning in slightly. “I don’t do anything on the first night, you know. I usually wait until the second, after a nice dinner. I’m a gentleman like that.”

His remark made you snort, shaking your head at his boldness. “You’re a ridiculous guy.”

“But I’m also serious,” he added, his voice sincere despite the playful glint in his eyes. “Let me take you out, just dinner. No strings, no funny business—unless you’re into that kind of thing. I don’t mind that, either.”

Your laughter sounded like a sweet melody to his ears. “You’ve got guts, mister. I’ll give you that.” Has anyone told you how hot you looked while leaning into your bike? Damn. Satoru was distracted, checking you out for a moment until you spoke again, “Fine. One dinner. But don’t think you’re getting into my pants just because you ride a fancy bike.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” he promised, grinning from ear to ear.

The light turned green, and without another word, you revved your engine and took off with Satoru right on your tail. The chase was on, but this time, it wasn’t just about the thrill of the ride. 

For Satoru Gojou, it was about something far more exhilarating—winning the attention of the most intriguing biker girl he’d ever met. 

And perhaps, the biker boyfriend and backpack girlfriend content he’d been hoping to post on Tiktok may slightly change into a different direction than he expected. 

[neechees]

I am putting out a warning for the blog @/blktransdyke for very likely being a scammer, and is/was the same person behind the now deactivated blog @/raisedeyebrowemojii (who is also very likely a scammer) for the following reasons:

Usage of a very common story one particular scammer constantly reuses across multiple blogs (which i've talked about here before)

Several typical scammer red flags: Their blog has only existed since April 2023, and they started asking for money immediately. The blog only posted for the month of April and then did not post for months only to come back in January 2024, and start asking for money again

Their blog is sparse of anything denoting a personality, personal interests, friendly interactions with mutuals or followers, aesthetic choices and/or blog customization, and the only thing they reblog is also mentioned in their bio, thus indicating a falsified persona for a scam blog. (Ex: they say they are a lesbian, and so have a few posts about lesbianism, and the rest of the posts are almost exclusively fundraising posts)

Inconsistent information

Suspicious behavior on twitter, which was also noted and called out on twitter

Claiming to be homeless, but apparently rejected the non-monetary aid from another user who offered to house them

Claims to be "Indigenous" but then misuses the terminology of their alleged tribe (thus likely indicating racefaking for a scam persona)

No proof of their claims

Posting the same personal information as two other suspicious accounts while call three claim to be different people (& this is connected to the raisedeyebrowemojii blog)

& you know me, I always come with screenshots and proof. Image descriptions will be available in Alt text. (& please bear with me, some screenshots lead to imgur due to tumblr limiting images to 10).

First off, the suspicious story that is often reused by one particular scammer:

There's a scammer on here that ALWAYS uses the same story of:

Claiming to be trans,

claiming to be homeless,

Says they are homeless because they were/are being kicked out by a bigoted/homophobic/transphobic parent

Shows a screenshot of a IM or text message correspondence between them, and their alleged parent, where the parent is being abusive, and the messages always very concisely, very conveniently mention what is happening

Usually says they are disabled in some way (though before they would usually claim to be autistic)

The blktransdyke blog has all five of these things.

Im putting the rest under the cut because this is gunna get long, buckle in.

Secondly, inconsistent information, rejecting non-monetary aid, & suspicious Twitter activity (& this is also connected to the creation date of their tumblr account, which you'll see in a moment):

The blog blktransdyke uses two methods of recieving money, gofundme, which is linked on their main page and is run by someone named "Avalon Smith" (& we can assume this is the name they prefer to go by, because they have the tag "avalon speaks" on their blog), and this gofundme account says its based in York, Ontario. And the second is paypal, which uses a different name, which is "Ashton Jones" & the paypal url of "/ashtonjonesy". Below, the first screenshot on the very left, is a screenshot of the first post they made asking for money on April 14th 2023 while linking to the gofundme account, and then the second screenshot to the right is the blktransdyke's more recent donation post asking for money to be sent to the ashtonjonesy paypal account, and then here is a link to a screenshot of the gfm run by "Avalon Smith".

The consistencies are odd: and while one might think that "Ashton Jones" is an older name or a dead name, but if you search up "ashtonjonesy" in a search engine, you get two results: one leads to a post made by a now deleted twitter/X account with the url "blktransdyke" while using that same paypal (so we can assume this is the same person from twitter/X) and the second is ANOTHER twitter account, still up, that is completely different, also using the twitter url that is the same as the paypal username (/ashtonjonesy) who also claims to be homeless & kicked out by a transphobic parent, but says they have different pronouns than blktransdyke & seems to be transmasc, not a binary trans lesbian that blktransdyke claims to be. Below is screenshots of that.

But what's more troubling: the second twitter account @/ashtonjonesy on twitter/X says that they were 24 years old as of July 2021, while blktransdyke claims that they are 21 as of January 2024. So this can't be the same person using different names and twitter accounts, and yet curiously both are using the exact same story (both claim they are trans, homeless, and disabled & using a wheelchair), and both use the exact same paypals, while are apparently two completely different people. And again, we know that there is a scammer who repeatedly reuses the exact same story details across various accounts

And then, more concerning, that if you search up "blktransdyke" on twitter, while the original posts by the account are gone due to the account being deleted, you get results of various Twitter/X users retweeting the account blktransdyke's post, which was them asking for money. The bottom screenshots are related to the next point: highlighted in yellow you can see someone offering blktransdyke a place to stay, and they live in the same province, and the second screenshot, highlighted in blue you can see that on April 12th 2023, a twitter user accused them of being a scam. We can assume the blktransdyke account wasn't taken down yet that day due to this user encouraging other users to report them.

Recent tumblr creation date:

The oldest and first post made by the blog blktransdyke on tumblr was posted on April 14th, 2023. And as you can see, that was two days after the blktransdyke twitter/X account was accused of scamming. So the blktransdyke twitter account was accused of scamming, then was either deleted or self deactivated, and then the blktransdyke tumblr account showed up immediately after that while using the exact same paypal and story. Which brings us to the other half, which is

Rejecting aid

On this screenshot we can see in a retweet of what the original blktransdyke twitted/X account originally said in the post, and that on August 22nd 2022, they claimed they were still homeless, so apparently they didn't take up the person in Toronto who was literally offering them a place to stay on September 2nd, 2022 (which you can see in the screenshot above, on the second last tweet result to the right).

Claims of Indigeneity & inaccurate terminology:

This one is more minor compared to the other evidence listed here, but in blktransdyke's bio, they claim to be "Inuit" & "Afro-Indigenous": the problem here is that "Inuit" is the plural form, its uncommon that Inuit refer to themselves as this in the singular pronoun because it is grammatically incorrect and an actual Inuk would know that, and instead will use "Inuk" to refer to themselves, but blktransdyke says they are "Inuit". So this terminology is inaccurate coming from a person claiming to be "Indigenous". & just in case they change it, here is a screenshot if their current profile description. Moving on,

Posting the same information as another blog

This is where things get more wild. I have reason to believe that the now deleted blog @/raisedeyebrowemojii ("Jay") is and was a scammer who befriended multiple people to gain trust, and that blktransdyke is the same person as them due to the information that both blogs posted. A couple things to note here is that 1. Raisedeyebrowemojii claimed that they were suffering due to a terminal kidney disease, 2. ALSO stated that she was escaping an abusive situation, was a lesbian, was homeless, and was victimized by a homophobic/transphobic parent, and 3. Had not posted anything since June 2023, before eventually being deactivated. Some of the users "Jay" befriended worried that she may have died due to this apparent kidney disease (which you can find in the tumblr search if you look up that tumblr username). Now, I can't find any paypal that "Jay" posted, but they DID post several other links allegedly that were being used for their donation posts

In this post, graciously saved on webarchive for your viewing pleasure, on May 16th 2023, @/raisedeyebrowemojii claimed that they needed a mattress, and also linked a patreon for allegedly their "best friends'" and "caregiver's" cat, named Trouble 📌. Put a pin in that, we'll come back to it. Below is a screenshot of that post where they linked the patreon. Notice that it's a brown, striped tabby cat. And here is the patreon link (which is still up) that the @/raisedeyebrowemojii blog linked for their "best friend's cat" that was apparently meant to be used to fundraise for their day to day life bills. It doesn't have a lot of patrons or followers. Below is a screenshot of the link I gave for webarchive talking about fundraising for the mattress, and the cat patreon.

Also note, that neither this post by raisedeyebrowemojii nor in the patreon does it link to any other site for content on "Trouble the cat". It vaguely mentions a private Facebook page, but doesn't give any links.

And the blog @/blktransdyke posted this video as well as THIS video, and in both videos, they claim that this brown, striped, tabby cat is their "best friend's cat" 📌. Below are screenshots showing its the same cat, including the same black and yellow blanket.

So both the blogs @/raisedeyebrowemojii AND @/blktransdyke posted a cat that looks very similar: it's brown, a tabby, and striped, and both said that this cat was their "best friend's", and raisedeyebrowemojii said that this cat's name was "Trouble" & referred to them as "Trouble the Cat" in the linked Patreon allegedly belonging to their "best friend". Except here's the bigger problem.

Trouble the Cat is already an existing open, publicly available facebook page with 27K likes and 42K+ followers, and it has its own YouTube page, tiktok account, and Instagram. And if you look at the far top right video on the second screenshot showing the youtube channel, it's the exact same video that appears on the blktransdyke tumblr page. It's the exact same brown, striped tabby cat, in the exact same grooming position, on the same black and yellow blanket, with the same thumbnail, and the exact same caption.

So both Raisedeyebrowemojii AND blktransdyke posted the exact same cat that allegedly belongs to their "best friend", and both of them claim to be homeless, trans, disabled, and being kicked out by a transphobic parent.

& if you go to the links, the official trouble the cat's first instagram post was made on December 23rd 2022, its oldest youtube video was posted on December 23rd 2022, and the facebook says it was made on March 30th, 2021, HOWEVER, the account says they've been active since 2008, but made a post on November 15th, 2023 that said they'd been hacked and made a NEW account, and furthermore, on November 7th 2023, they ALSO made a post saying that multiple other accounts were trying to impersonate them. So, side note, this account could have been hacked by the scammer.

The raisedeyebrowemojii linked that cat patreon on May 17th, 2023, and the oldest video that the blktransdyke posts of that cat is on January 6th, 2024. Both therefore, could have plausibly and likely did, steal these cat videos because all accounts of the troublethecat social media accounts existed BEFORE either raisedeyebrowemoji OR blktransdyke posted them. I find it highly unlikely that both of these blogs had the exact same "best friend".

And if this was true and that this really WAS raisedeyebrowemojii's "best friend" and their cat, then why didn't raisedeyebrowemojii blog link to the other official troublethecat social media accounts, especially since they were so popular, and they claimed they were using this patreon for fundraising for bills? And why didn't the official social media accounts ever say anything about raisedeyebrowemojii's patreon if they were "best friends" trying to fundraise? Surely, an account with 42K followers would have more than a few willing patrons that could have helped their alleged situation.

Therefore, neither raisedeyebrowemojii OR blktransdyke are actually affiliated with this highly popular social media account of "Trouble the Cat" and BOTH of them stole from this account to scam, and both accounts wrre/are run by the same person.

[damienns]

My GIF Making process: Screen capturing using MPV player, Organizing files, 3 Sharpening settings, Basic Coloring PSD + Actions set

This is a very long post so heads up.

I’ll try to be as thorough and true as much as possible to the way I make my gifs (I already use Photoshop Actions which I’ve long since set up but now for this tutorial I’m reviewing them to show you the exact steps I’ve learned to create my gifs 😃) and present them to you in a semi-coherent way. Also, please bear with me since English is my second language.

First things first. Below are the things and tools we need to do this:

Downloaded 4K or 1080p quality videos (let’s all assume we know where to get these—especially for high definition movies and tv series—so this post doesn’t get removed, okay? 😛)

Adobe Photoshop CC or the CS versions can work as well, but full disclosure I haven’t created gifs using the CS versions since 2020. I’m currently using Adobe Photoshop 2024.

mpv player. Use mpv player to get those frames/screenshots or any other video player that has a screen grabber feature. I’ve used adapter for the longest time but I’ve switched to mpv because the press to screenshot feature while the video is playing has been a game changer not to mention ultimate time saver for me. For adapter you need to play it in another video player (like VLC player), to get the start and end timestamps of the scene you want to gif which takes me ages before I can even open Photoshop.

Anyway! Please stop reading this post for a moment and head over to this amazing tutorial by kylos. She perfectly tells you how to install and use mpv player, both for Mac and Windows users.

One thing I have to share though, I had a tough time when I updated my MacOS to Sonoma since MPV is suddenly either duplicating frames or when I delete the duplicates the player seems to be skipping frames :/ I searched and found a solution here, though it didn’t work for me lol. My workaround for this in the meantime is decreasing the speed down to 0.70 then start screenshotting—it’s not the same pre Sonoma update but it works so I’ll have to accept it rather than have jumpy looking gifs.

Now, after this part of kylos’ tutorial:

you can continue reading the following sections of my gif tutorial below.

I want to share this little tip (sorry, this will only cater to Mac users) that I hope will be helpful for organizing the screenshots that MPV saved to the folder you have selected. Because believe me you don’t want to go through 1k+ of screenshots to select just 42-50 frames for your gif.

The Control + Command + N shortcut

This shortcut allows you to create a new folder from files you have pre-selected. As you can see below I have already created a couple of folders, and inside each folder I have selected screenshots that I want to include in one single gif. It's up to you how you want to divide yours, assuming you intend to create and post a Tumblr gifset rather than just one gif.

Another tip is making use of tags. Most of, if not all the time, I make supercorp gifs so I tag blue for Kara and red (or green) for Lena—just being ridiculously on brand and all that.

Before we finally open Photoshop, there's one more thing I want to say—I know, please bear with me for the third? fourth? time 😅

It's helpful to organize everything into their respective folders so you know the total number of items/frames you have. This way, you can add or delete excess or unnecessary shots before uploading them in Photoshop.

For example below there are 80 screenshots of Kara inside this folder and for a 1:1 (540 x 540 px) Tumblr gif, Photoshop can just work around with 42-50 max number of frames with color adjustments applied before it exceeds the 10 MB file size limit of Tumblr.

Sometimes I skip this step because it can be exhausting (haha) and include everything so I can decide visually which frames to keep later on. You'll understand what I mean later on. But it's important to keep the Tumblr 10 MB file size limit in mind. Fewer frames, or just the right amount of frames, is better.

So, with the screenshot organization out of the way, let's finally head over to Photoshop.

Giffing in Photoshop, yay!

Let’s begin by navigating to File > Scripts > Load Files into Stack…

The Load Layers window will appear. Click the Browse button next.

Find your chosen screenshots folder, press Command + A to select all files from that folder then click Open. Then click OK.

After importing and stacking your files, Photoshop should display the following view:

By the way, I'll be providing the clip I've used in this tutorial so if want to use them to follow along be my guest :)

If you haven't already opened your Timeline panel, navigate to Windows > Timeline.

Now, let's focus on the Timeline panel for the next couple of steps.

Click Create Video Timeline, then you’ll have this:

Now click the menu icon on the top right corner then go to Convert Frames > Make Frames from Clips

Still working on the Timeline panel, click the bottom left icon this time—the icon with the three tiny boxes—to Convert to Frame Animation

Select Make Frames From Layers from the top right corner menu button.

So now you have this:

Go and click the top right menu icon again to Select All Frames

Then click the small dropdown icon to set another value for Frame Delay. Select Other…

The best for me and for most is 0.05 but you can always play around and see what you think works for you.

Click the top right menu icon again to Reverse Frames.

I think Photoshop has long since fixed this issue but usually the first animation frame is empty so I just delete it but now going through all these steps there seems to be none of that but anyways, the delete icon is the last one among the line of feature buttons at the bottom part of the Timeline panel.

Yay, now we can have our first proper GIF preview of a thirsty Lena 😜

Press spacebar to watch your gif play for the very first time! After an hour and half of selecting and cutting off screenshots! 😛 Play it some more. No really, I’m serious. I do this so even as early (lol) as this part in the gif making process, I can see which frames I can/should delete to be within the 10 MB file size limit. You can also do it at the end of course 🙂

Now, let’s go to the next important steps of this tutorial post which I’ve numbered below.

Crop and resize to meet Tumblr's required dimensions. The width value should be either 540px, 268px, or 177px.

Convert the gif to a Smart Object for sharpening.

Apply lighting and basic color adjustments before the heavy coloring. I will be sharing the base adjustments layers I use for my gifs ��.

1. Crop and Resize

Click on the Crop tool (shortcut: the C key)

I like my GIFs big so I always set this to 1:1 ratio if the scene allows it. Press the Enter key after selecting the area of the frame that you want to keep.

Side note: If you find that after cropping, you want to adjust the image to the left or another direction, simply unselect the Delete Cropped Pixels option. This way, you will still have the whole frame area available to crop again as needed and as you prefer.

Now we need to resize our gif and the shortcut for that is Command + Opt + I. Type in 540 as the width measurement, then the height will automatically change to follow the ratio you’ve set while cropping.

540 x 540 px for 1:1

540 x 405 px for 4:3

540 x 304 px for 16:9

For the Resample value I prefer Bilinear—but you can always select the other options to see what you like best.

Click OK. Then Command + 0 and Command + - to properly view the those 540 pixels.

Now we get to the exciting part :) the sharpen settings!

2. Sharpen

First we need to have all these layers “compressed” intro a single smart object from which we can apply filters to.

Select this little button on the the bottom left corner of the Timeline panel.

Select > All Layers

Then go to Filter > Convert for Smart Filters

Just click OK when a pop-up shows up.

Now you should have this view on the Layers panel:

Now I have 3 sharpen settings to share but I’ll have download links to the Action packs at the end of this long ass tutorial so if you want to skip ahead, feel free to do so.

Sharpen v1

Go to Filter > Sharpen > Smart Sharpen…

Below are my settings. I don’t adjust anything under Shadows/Highlights.

Amount: 500

Radius: 0.4

Click OK then do another Smart Sharpen but this time with the below adjustments.

Amount: 12

Radius: 10.0

As you can see Lena’s beautiful eyes are “popping out” now with these filters applied. Click OK.

Now we need to Convert to Frame Animation. Follow the steps below.

Click on the menu icon at the top right corner of the Timeline panel, then click Convert Frames > Flatten Frames into Clips

Then Convert Frames > Convert to Frame Animation

One more click to Make Frames From Layers

Delete the first frame then Select All then Set Frame Delay to 0.05

and there you have it! Play your GIF and make sure it’s just around 42-50 frames. This is the time to select and delete.

To preview and save your GIF go to File > Export > Save for Web (Legacy)…

Below are my Export settings. Make sure to have the file size around 9.2 MB to 9.4 MB max and not exactly 10 MB.

This time I got away with 55 frames but this is because I haven’t applied lighting and color adjustments yet and not to mention the smart sharpen settings aren't to heavy so let’s take that into consideration.

Sharpen v1 preview:

Sharpen v2

Go back to this part of the tutorial and apply the v2 settings.

Smart Sharpen 1:

Amount: 500

Radius: 0.3

Smart Sharpen 2:

Amount: 20

Radius: 0.5

We’re adding a new type of Filter which is Reduce Noise (Filter > Noise > Reduce Noise...) with the below settings.

Then one last Smart Sharpen:

Amount: 500

Radius: 0.3

Your Layers panel should look like this:

Then do the Convert to Frames Animation section again and see below preview.

Sharpen v2 preview:

Sharpen v3:

Smart Sharpen 1:

Amount: 500

Radius: 0.4

Smart Sharpen 2:

Amount: 12

Radius: 10.0

Reduce Noise:

Strength: 5

Preserve Details: 50%

Reduce Color Noise: 0%

Sharpen Details: 50%

Sharpen v3 preview:

And here they are next to each other with coloring applied:

v1

v2

v3

Congratulations, you've made it to the end of the post 😂

As promised, here is the download link to all the files I used in this tutorial which include:

supercorp 2.05 Crossfire clip

3 PSD files with sharpen settings and basic coloring PSD

Actions set

As always, if you're feeling generous here's my Ko-fi link :) Thank you guys and I hope this tutorial will help you and make you love gif making.

P.S. In the next post I'll be sharing more references I found helpful especially with coloring. I just have to search and gather them all.

-Jill

[speakofthedebbie]

you (read: i) asked so you shall recieve: radioapple fic recs august 2024 update!!

the following are the ones from the last post w/some minor changes (think: misspellings and even more osas praising) (sorry for the re-tags!!):

Bedtime Rituals to Try out Before the Next Angelic War by @miribalis

just yes. thousand times yes. so basically my boy luci has some sleep troubles and that somehow leads to a qpr with al look its been a while ok just read it

Managerial Liberties by the same fella

these two tags explain it pretty well

something that sticks out to me about this is that charlie is actually (reasonably) cold to adam and like. im actually surprised with how little ive seen that. i mean i dont think id be exactly buddy-buddy with my besties killer either. only 4 chaps as of writing but already looking to be a radioapple classic. has the same vibe as bedtime rituals, but it is NOT a sequel

devils don't fly (don't expect me not to fall) by @corgiss

also just yes. basically a really not cool joke evolves into a blossoming romance because why wouldnt it. (man if i had a nickel for every radioapple fic that had a masquerade that was sabotaged by the vees- *gets shot bc i cant mention osas yet*)

i’ll hold you close (i’ll stay the course) by the same fella

the entire time i was just going "yas king! put that egotistical flatscreen in his place!!". basically luci reminds the overlords who he is and vox shows he can be more of a threat than he lets on.

ykw fuck it just the entire series (i didnt mention i would give anything to not give a shit (but i do) and my perfect rock bottom (my beautiful trauma) because the first one sounded a lil too angsty and ive gotten enough of that from other sources [pointedly glares at Quietly, It Slips Through Your Fingers, Love {also coming up later!}] and the second is (mostly) smut

Of Saints and Sinners by the forever amazing @morningstarwrites!! (if you see this i have a serious question: is this your first time ever writing a fic? because how do you get so much right the first time- [not even beginners luck could explain this level of skill])

if youre even half the radioapple fanatic i am and havent read this, literally what are you doing?? i could sing its praises until my death bed but ill hold off so i can explain whats happening. basically after burning down a meeting room several times, luci and al make a deal ("not a deal!", luci laments to the void): they will attempt to be civil and maybe even friendly, with some daily compliments sprinkled along the way, and by the end luci will owe al a favour. whats the favour? read it yourself dammit! seriously, 10/10, i foam at the mouth every friday

Quietly, It Slips Through Your Fingers, Love by Starlit_Rainfall (no tumblr in sight, so AO3) (i. urgfgh. what happened. i was just smiling over the fluff while crossing to go to school. where did it go. where did it gooooo)

if thats anything to go by, the last few chapters have been rough. the fluff feels so far away that i cant even explain what happens. luci was waxing poetic about swimming in maple syrup for al, i remember that much. lilith is particularly an asshole even tho we havent seen her yet (or maybe we have. idr, mightve chatted with al) also emily is there (fallen) and has a lil smth to do with als and liliths deal. if you read it, warning for the gut punch of angst that starts chap 32 "She/Her" (though the chapter before that, "Should Alastor Know By Now?" ends pretty rough too)

Freely We Serve by @romanaxe

i dont remember how i managed to stumble upon this but im having a great time. basically alastor is a new sinner fresh in hell (but time doesnt matter and the whole cast is still here) and thinks "what better way to gain power than be the personal assistant of the heartbroken king of hell!" features a 6-7 (rosies words) year old charlie and a morally dubious lilith (also i loved eepy al X3)

A Family Forged in Hellfire by Green_Ghostwriter (once again, no Tumblr, so AO3)

this ones a bit newer (10 chaps), is so far mostly exposition and the slowburn pot hasnt even been put on the stove, but as just a hazbin fic in general i see the potential. basically its a 1920s(30s?) au where heaven decides little charlie doesnt deserve to be raised in hell and is sent to earth with a "foster" family where her actions in life will determine witch realm she will return to after death. her "parents", al and mimzy, are given false memories so they can claim the girl as their own and gee i wasnt kidding when i said it was a lot of exposition. erm honestly explaining anymore would tech be spoiling so go read it!!

The Red Thread That Binds Us by @scun-gilli

{{future me prefacing this by saying i have no idea where i was going with yesterdays thought process, all you need to know from it was im on chapter 27. also scungilli your comment is making me very worried 😟 well theres no mcd tag so im sure itll fine, right? RIGHT, SCUNGILLI??}}

basically its a king x kings guard au where al and luci grow up together and only grow closer after a. certain life event for al (its fine guys trust :)) [she said, like a liar]) then al is sent off for royal guard training school (ik its not called that i forgor 😭) but dw he comes back. just watch out for graphic depictions of injuries (i think thats this fic) angst and a sneaky eve bc radioapple fics are allergic to happiness (or maybe im not looking hard enough lol) (also im really tempted to make the friendship bracelets they had 👀)

somewhere down the line by kj_crwm (AO3 link)

this one starts off as human!alastor/lucifer but by the middle(?) its just regular radioapple. basically al is encountered by luci while finishing off a job who agrees to keep quiet. luci just keeps on showing up, reveals hes the devil to which al us just like "lol ok" and eventually they get in a relationship (ooh lala 👀) but they break up after saying some hurtful things to each other (oh nono 👀) with luci promising al they will never cross paths again. if you watched the show then well. you know that doesnt happen 😂 most human!al radioapple have al summon him (no hate to them) so this was an interesting change of pace

new recs below!! ↓↓

Alastor and Lucifer do whatever the Hell this is (series) by Vagabond_Sloth (personally asked, no Tumblr, but they might make one 👀)

i know this is radioapple fic rec post but... *cough* Husk and Angel do a Romance for some soft huskerdust *cough* anyway- basically, a perplexing flower arrangement leads to a blossoming something between the resident radio demon and king of hell. seriously, its some good shit, and the author is really nice!

A Compliment A Day by @decembercamiecherries

spinning this around in my head at all times

basically, a classic "charlie makes al and luci compliment each other as a bonding excessive" but it does not disappoint (check out her other three radioapple fics too)

a lovely night (lalaland is that you??) and pancakes, small talk by @mirotic_chess (X Twitter account)

in a lovely night they do a lil dancey dancey and in pancakes, small talk luci makes some pancakes!!

Sin and Sentiment and Time On My Hands by demon_fawn (supposed Tumblr leads to a dead end)

oh my god future debs here and i am so fucking tired of doing these descriptions but. um. the plot for sin and sentiment def seems very interesting and time on my hands is an incomplete (but good!) attempt at radioapple week. hmm not sure if they still post bc the most recent update was july 12th

honestly just every radioapple fic by @otoshigo (i think ive read all but Forbidden Fruit of the Poisonous Tree)

if you look underneath the little island that is radioapple, on god otoshigo is one of the creators holding it up. all 19 (yes, 19. we eatin good tonight [excluding forbidden fruit]) of their radioapple fics are fantastic, buuut if i had to recommend anything specific: A Guide to the Care and Maintenance of the King of Hell (fuck count furfur!) and The Devil's Trip to the Big Apple

not to continue the trend, but basically anything by @thief-of-eggs (even the singular huskerdust) but personal recommendations: Trust and Hair Pets and Let Me Be Your Shelter (sickfics 🔛🔝)

idk if youll catch me doing the descriptions for these anymore shit was exhausting

tagging time!!!! (i want to end it all)

[flyingcatstiel]

I’m currently reading superbat fics (sorry, destiel, stony and dinluke, I’ll get back to you some day) and I’m having great time with commenting and authors replying to me. It’s a whole new fandom experience when I can read fics just for personal enjoyment, without planning fic rec lists. So much easier to comment, wtf. Anyways, I’m following 4 superbat identity p*rn fics right now, and it’s glorious. What a feast. My favorite trope, so many interesting ways to explore it. Happy holidays to all superbat writers but especially those 4 WIP writers🎄

ETA - here be some recs

ETA, March 2024 - HERE BE SOME UPDATES!

@pinkb00bsocks asked about those 4 WIPs. Here they are! The usual disclaimer - there are plenty of excellent superbat WIPs going on right now, but I've limited spoons and these are the ones I currently enjoy.

The World and All Its Hedgehogs by Ginevra_Benci [M. 8,007 word count, WIP, 4/?] To investigate illegal arms sale taking place at a tropical resort hotel, Batman goes under cover as a vacuous billionaire Brucie Wayne and Superman takes a part time job as a porter. They didn't coordinate this, they don't know each others civilian identities. Every time they talk there are at least 3 different conversations going on and it is glorious. Also, so much lust. ;)

(Also, check out Interviewing & Counceling series by the same author. Clark is having a superhero identity crisis and Bruce is there to catch Clark gently as he spirals down. It has one of the softest identity reveals in superbat fics. ETA - the series is now complete, it has 5 parts and 18k word count. Awesome ending to the softest identity reveal story)

Watching Our Stars Align by ClarkeStetler [M, 28,840 word count, WIP, 7/14] There's a dating/chatting app only for superheroes and all identities are secret. What could go wrong? Bruce and Clark get matched under their new pseuds, and same happens to Tim Drake and Conner Kent. Now fathers and sons gotta navigate complicated relationships that come with secret identities and judging your coworkers hastily while talking heart to heart to anonymous superhero. The identity porn part happens through DM, which just happens to be another favorite trope of mine. [The story is going strong, it has 10/14 chapters now and a wonderful tangle of 3 secret identities!]

(Love) Triangles Have Multiple Centers by frozenpotions [T, 27,281 word count, WIP, 4/10] This fic wastes no time getting playboy billionaire Brucie Wayne and pining-after-his-coworker journalist Clark Kent together. After that, first time uneasy partners Batman and Superman gotta solve a case and their civilian selves gotta deal with the realities of their one night stand. Complicated doesn't even cover it! [The fic is being updated and Clark and Bruce are being put through new trials, 6/10 chapters]

A Favor for a Friend by RedFive [Explicit, 18,286 word count, WIP, 4/7] Omega verse fic with alpha playboy billionaire Bruce Wayne and omega journalist Clark Kent. I'm fascinated by dominant, flirtatious, sexually ravenous alpha Brucie Wayne who moonlights as a stoic, covered in scent blockers thus unclear second gender, Batman. Meanwhile omega Clark, due to being Kryptonian, is much less ruled by his second gender. That is, until he meets Mr. Wayne. This fic has so much lust and tension between the two. Does accidental heat triggering counts as a soulmate mark? I'm gonna count it like that. [The fic has entered the finish line, only a chapter or two are left to finish this wild, explosive, life changing story of two people who were meant for each other. 8/? chapters, 44k word count] The fic is now complete!!! 9 chapters, 56,153 word count. (Also, there's this new TV show about two gay dudes, and istg, they look like Bruce and Clark from this fic. I'm not naming it here because I don't want to highjack the show tag with superbat post, but go and check the tag on tumblr)

*****

And a special shout out to two identity shenanigan WIPs that are not actively updating but are absolute must reads.

ship-to-ship combat by pomeloquat [M, 62,737 word count, WIP, 12/13] OK, so, for me personally, this is the ultimate identity p*rn fic across all fandoms I've read so far. This fic has one of the highest amount of secret identity pairs in superbat fics. There's the usual pining silently Batman/Superman, then there's Clark dating Bruce, Superman saving Bruce Wayne from peril, Clark Kent chatting with Batman. And the cherry on top is Clark writing Bruceman fanfic which is basically a RPF of his two friends, Batman and Bruce Wayne. Which leads to an internet friendship with a fellow fan, who is, you guessed, Bruce. This fic has great reflections on fandom and shipping culture. But the very beating heart of this fic is about how easy it is to lose something you wished to have but were afraid to ask for. The fic, at 12/13, is technically a WIP, but the main reveal is already done, and it is glorious. ETA - THIS IS NOT A DRILL, the fic is finished and the last chapter is a super meta cherry on a top of delicious, layered superhero identity and fandom shenanigans parfait. 13 chapters, 76,7k word count.

10 Things Every Brucie Fan Needs in Their Life by pomeloquat [T, 8,956 word count, WIP, 5/10] The main premise of this fic is hilarious and yet so, so right. Bruce Wayne is promoting himself as a nation's boyfriend instead of a playboy, and is making bank out of his wholesome, PG rated merchandise. The chapters of this fic tell continuous story but they also can be read as separate vignettes, so there's really no cliffhanger. This fic is so soft and fluffy, it will heal your soul. Also, Superman has celebrity crush on Bruce Wayne. Batman is amused.

[something-tofightfor]

Liminality: Part 10

Pairing: Frankie Morales x Female Reader

Word Count: 8,702

Rating: We'll go with a soft NSFW; there's smut but it's not explicit.

** This chapter also contains the 'body horror' portion of the blanket warning, as there is explicit talk of Frankie's monthly transformation **

Summary: It's time. The night of the next full moon means tagging along with Frankie - and Will - when they head to the camper.

Despite only knowing each other for a short period of time, Frankie's willing to show you the most dangerous part of himself and you're more than ready to let him.

But there are other things hiding in the Green Swamp ... and they're much more dangerous than he is.

Author’s note:

This is the chapter that I've been waiting to get to for a REALLY LONG TIME. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do. (This would have been posted HOURS ago, but my power has been out all afternoon even though it's SUNNY OUT.

Please feel free to come and talk in my DMs about it if you want. I'm always here.

Masterlist (for the journal entries and all of the other 'extras' + previous chapters)

Frankie was restless in the days leading up to the next full moon, and there was no hiding it.

He wasn’t rude or mean, and he didn’t distance himself from you - but he did treat you just a little differently. And you didn’t mind at all.

You especially didn’t mind when, on the night before he was set to change, he nearly dragged you down the hallway and into his bed and spent what felt like an hour between your thighs.  He made you come twice with his mouth, Frankie’s moans mingling with yours and sending vibrations through your body that followed the waves of pleasure. 

But when you pushed him away, protesting that it was too much, he went willingly. Frankie’s head popped up and his eyes were bright, the evidence of your arousal glistening on his lips. “You alright?” His voice was husky, the man pausing long enough to take a deep breath and flick his tongue out to get a final taste. “You sounded like you -”

“I am.” You shivered, nodding. “Come up here, Francisco.” He did as you asked, though he didn’t immediately lay next to you. Instead, he kissed his way up the center of your body, turning his head to suck one nipple briefly into his mouth before releasing it and pressing his lips to the base of your throat. “Is this how you always are this time of the month?”

“I don’t know.” He took a breath and then lifted his head, meeting your eyes. “I’ve never been with anyone the night before. Never … trusted myself.” Your heart broke for him, but in the same moment, you understood exactly what he was saying. This means he trusts himself with me when he’s this vulnerable, too. It’s not just tomorrow. “Why? Did I do something wrong?” 

“No.” Cupping your hand against his cheek, you shook your head slowly. “You’re just … more enthusiastic than usual. Couple more minutes of that and I wouldn’t have made it through you actually fucking me.” His lips quirked up briefly, but he kept quiet, still watching you. “And I really want to be able to enjoy that for as long as possible.” 

You could feel him pressing against your leg. 

Even though you knew how much going down on you turned Frankie on, it was still a point of pride for you to have evidence of it. Because he’s got so much else on his mind right now, too. Urging him to close the distance with the curl of your fingers beneath his chin, you met Frankie’s lips with your own. 

It was him that broke away first, Frankie’s teeth closing around your lower lip as he pulled back - and quiet words following moments later. “You could have told me to stop.” 

“I didn’t want you to.” Laughing, you dragged your fingers through the curls at the base of his skull while he settled in next to you. “I just need a couple minutes right now to breathe, and then I’ll be good to go.” He murmured in agreement, one of his arms wrapping around your midsection, but you and Frankie stayed quiet otherwise, both of you breathing heavily. 

He and Will were picking you up the following afternoon. The three of you were going to head straight to the RV, making sure that Frankie had plenty of time to get settled in before the sun set. He wanted to be the one to show you the routine, and you were on board with it. Because if I’m going to do it again, I need to know exactly how to help him. 

“Can I tell you something?” He kissed the top of your shoulder, pausing to give you a chance to reply. 

“Of course.” Turning toward him, you moved your hand so that it rested against his bicep. The new position allowed him to trail his fingertips over your lower back, the motion soothing. “What’s going on?”

“I’m worried about tomorrow.” Worried? Why? “It’s … I had them record me changing once, because I wanted to see it from someone else’s perspective, and it’s …” He winced. “I’m worried that you’ll be disgusted by -”

“If you don’t want me to watch you shift, that’s fine. It’s up to you what you show me.” You spoke quietly, keeping your voice even. “But it’s not going to change anything, Frankie.” Leaning in, you kissed him, letting your lips linger against his for long seconds. “Me being in your life isn’t only about being around for the best parts… and I’m not just talking about your wolf.” 

You meant it - you needed Frankie to know that you didn’t expect him to sugarcoat things for you, no matter how terrible they were. But only if he wants to include me. “Thought I had to put a ring on someone’s finger for them to be around for better or worse.” He’s joking, but … shit. That is what I just offered to do. He paused, saying your name and waiting until you pulled back enough that you could meet his eyes - and see that he was actually amused - to continue. “There’s a lot of bad shit. Shit I haven’t told you or showed you or -”

“We’ll get there.” You squeezed his arm, nodding without looking away. “We’ve only known each other a little while, there’s still plenty of time. This just … circumstances forced a few things a little early, and now we’ve got to deal with them.”

“Sure as fuck did.” He grinned, some of the tension breaking. But it was only a momentary reprieve, because the worry settled back in his features a few seconds later. “I really don’t want to scare you away, and this might. You can tell me it’ll be fine all you want, but until -”

“Until I see it for myself, neither of us are going to know what’s going to happen.” You nodded, chewing on your lower lip. “Frankie, I don’t want this to be more stressful for you than it already is. That wouldn’t be helpful at all.” 

“I keep thinking about the fact that tonight might be the last night I get this with you.” He closed his eyes, letting out a long, shaky breath. “And I don’t want … that would be fucking awful.” You didn’t reply right away, instead letting his words sink in. 

He wouldn’t have said anything if he didn’t truly think that there was a possibility that he’d lose you. And the thought of losing you wouldn’t have been so terrifying to him if he didn’t feel strongly for you. Shit. 

“It won’t be.” You brought your hand up, running your knuckles over the stubble on his cheek. “At least not by my choice, ‘Fish.” You were certain of that - of the fact that whatever he showed you the following night, it wouldn’t change the way you felt about him, at least not in the ways he was concerned with. “You’re asking me to trust you tomorrow, right?” He nodded, narrowing his eyes. “Then you need to trust me, too.” 

Your hand slid back, fingers curling around the back of his neck before you urged him closer. Please trust me. “I do.” He nodded and then kissed you, exhaling through his nose without pulling away. “I’m sorry.” 

“I don’t need an apology, Frankie.” You spoke against his lips, taking the lower one between your teeth at the end of your sentence and tugging. “You have nothing to be sorry for.” He sighed, the hand on your back sliding down to your hip and squeezing. “But…” You traced over the curve of his lip with the tip of your tongue, the ends of your fingers delving into the hair that curled against the nape of his neck. “I do need you to fuck me right now.” 

You weren’t usually so blunt with him, because you didn’t need to be. But he needs a distraction. And he needs to know that I want him. “That’s what you want?” You nodded, humming as his mouth returned to yours, Frankie pushing you backwards and then letting some of his body weight rest on you. “Good.” He rocked his hips forward, grinding against your thigh. “Me too.” 

Frankie swallowed your reply in a deep kiss, and for the next few minutes, you let your mind wander. You knew that sex as a distraction wasn’t the best call - but rationalized it as necessary in that case when he finally pushed up and away from you, reaching for the bedside table and the condoms there. The following day was going to be stressful, and the more relaxed both of you were when the sun set and he changed, the better. 

You did come a third time that night - but it happened almost 30 minutes later - Frankie’s orgasm triggering your body’s response, which was no less intense than it had been earlier. And instead of pulling out immediately, he held you close for a long time after, his face pressed to your neck. 

It was almost impossible to tell because of your ragged breathing, but you could have sworn you heard - and felt - him speaking against your skin, Frankie’s hold on you secure. You didn’t want to put him on the spot, so you didn’t question him about if he’d spoken - or what he might have said. 

And instead of continuing your earlier conversation, you and Frankie simply climbed back into bed after cleaning yourselves up, his arms wound tightly around you from behind. It was you that said goodnight first, sleep already creeping up on you thanks to how exhausted your body was. He spoke his reply directly into your ear, the arm around your body tightening - though his voice was low. 

He fell asleep before you, the worry gone and his body relaxing as soon as his breathing evened out. You weren’t far behind him, but  you took the time to link your fingers together against your stomach, his curling against yours, even though he was already snoring softly. Nothing is going to change. It can’t. 

You fell asleep holding his hand and with the comforting feeling of his body pressed against you from behind … and neither of you moved until morning. 

— 

Will and Frankie showed up to get you early, but you were already packed and ready to go by the time the SUV pulled into your driveway.

After putting your overnight bag into the trunk with both of theirs, you climbed into the back seat, taking a deep breath. “Hey, guys.” Will said hello in return without looking at you, already backing out of the driveway, but Frankie turned to look into the backseat, his eyes bright beneath the brim of his hat. “Francisco.” 

You could tell he was nervous; you could see how rigidly he was holding himself. At your tone of voice, he relaxed marginally, lips twitching upward into a small smile. “Hey.” He paused and you reached forward, squeezing his arm. There’s no reason for you to be so nervous. “You ready?” 

“I am. I brought snacks, because -”

“We’re going to stop before we get to the RV.” Will looked back at you in the rearview mirror, arching a brow. “Couple fast food places right off the freeway. And there’s stuff in the camper, too.” Frankie reached up and covered your hand with his, but then turned to face forward, settling back and against the seat. “It’s about an hour drive, so you should get comfortable. ‘Fish always picks the music, so sorry ‘bout that in advance.” 

That got a laugh out of you and a groan from Frankie, but it also lightened the mood, which seemed necessary. “I also brought headphones.” You cleared your throat, settling back against the seat. “Just in case.” 

Will’s laugh filled the interior of the car, but it was drowned out when Frankie spun the volume dial on the radio - and then started to sing along. Maybe this is going to be OK. 

— 

After you got to the RV, the three of you sat inside with the door open, eating. It was a little before 6, which meant that you had just over an hour before Frankie needed to start getting ready. 

As the minutes passed, you noticed the change in mood, though you and Will kept up a steady stream of conversation and Frankie tried to do the same. Will seemed anxious, while Frankie’s nerves became more and more apparent, the man repeatedly removing his hat so that he could drag his fingers through his unruly curls over and over. 

It was difficult to watch - and you made a mental note to ask Will later if that behavior was normal, or if Frankie was acting differently because you were there. Either way, it didn’t matter, because as soon as you were done eating, Will stood up, wiping his hands against he front of his pants and clearing his throat. 

“I’m going to head up into the trees.” He looked between you and Frankie, taking and releasing a deep breath. “I’ll be down as soon as you head out, ‘Fish. Don’t forget the t-”

“The tracker. I know.” He nodded once, his tone sharp. “I’m good, Ironhead.” 

“I’ll be watching at sundown, but not before.” Will said your name, waiting until you’d shifted your attention to him to continue. “I will not let anything happen to you.” Do you really need to say this? It’s just going to - “Frankie made me promise to say that to you while he was still here. I don’t think you have anything to worry about, but -”

“I’m not taking any chances.” Frankie straightened up, reaching out to take your hand. “Not with you.” There was nothing else to say, and so you just nodded, the two of you waiting until Will gathered his things and headed out the RV’s door, closing it behind him. And then when it was quiet, you watched Frankie carefully, waiting. 

You wanted to let him explain things in his own time, and in the way he wanted to - and that meant not leading him. Taking the opportunity to look around the small space, you grinned at the sight of the photos that decorated the walls.

“We figured that since this belongs to all of us, it should look the part.” Frankie stepped toward one of the bulletin boards, pointing. “Took this on our first deployment together.” His finger moved down and to the right, jabbing at a shot of the five of them that looked much more recent. “This one was from South America.” 

Stepping closer, you took a better look at the picture, which was of them sitting on a patio together, the cheerful lights strung above them illuminating a wooden table that was littered with cans and bottles, but keeping the background in shadows. “Before everything?”

“Before Lorea, yeah. That was the night we agreed to help Pope.” Frankie sighed, lowering his arm. “Was pretty much the last good night we had before everything went to shit.” 

“At least you didn’t come home empty handed after everything you guys went through.” He laughed, but the sound was bitter, Frankie backing away from the photos and turning to unlock a crate that was sitting on the other side of the room. 

“Yeah, the money’s a nice little consolation prize.” He bent down, pulling a folded blanket and a notebook out. “Especially now that I have to deal with this every month.” He reached back in, pausing before he withdrew his hand. “I know you brought your gun, but I’m going to need you to carry this one tonight.” 

He turned back to face you, holding out a revolver and a holster, his expression serious. “Why?”

“Because you need to have something that’s got silver bullets in it, and if you used your gun, you’d have to explain why you’ve got them in there already.” You hadn’t even thought of that, but it made total sense. That would have been a mistake on my end. “They still carry when they’re with me. Ironhead’s got a gun of his own up there. This one’s a backup, but he’ll be looking to make sure I gave it to you.”  

“Of course.” You took it from him, undoing your belt and sliding the holster onto it. “Anything else?”

“The notebook’s to keep track of the time the change starts, and when I come back.” He scratched the back of his neck. “Ironhead’s focused on numbers, so leave that to him tonight. I don’t know what the fuck they do while I’m out there, but I’m sure he’ll fill you in.” You nodded, swallowing before you took a step closer to Frankie. “The blanket’s because I get naked before. I didn’t the first couple times and I ruined my goddamn clothes, so now I just …” He shrugged. “Take ‘em all off.” 

“Do I bring it back in once you’re gone?”

“No. Whoever’s out here usually just moves it underneath the awning on the side of the RV so that I have a little privacy when I come back. If it’s rainin’, yeah. Bring it inside and then set it out again right before sunrise, but otherwise …” He shrugged again. “C’mon, let me show you the rest of it. We’re running out of time.” 

For the next thirty minutes, Frankie showed you the rest of the inside of the RV, carefully explaining the measures that they’d taken to protect themselves - and him. He showed you the tracking device and the app they used to monitor it, the map of the area that he tended to frequent - a peaceful place that was about fifteen miles south of the camper near a small creek  that gave him plenty of space to run. 

As the time ticked down, you could see - and feel Frankie’s demeanor change. Not only did his words come out faster, but you saw the way his body moved - fingers flexing more often, his wrist twisting back and forth by his side as he explained things to you. 

You stayed close, though, listening to him and asking questions. You made it a point to touch him, even briefly, every so often just so that he knew you weren’t going to shy away. I wouldn’t. Ever. A little after 7, he stopped abruptly, straightening up and turning to look at you. “I need to go outside.”  

“Of course. Do you need me to leave while you get undressed?” 

“It’s nothing you haven’t seen before.” That got a smile out of him - and a laugh out of you, but as you stood back and leaned against the edge of the dining room table, you stopped laughing. He methodically removed his clothes - starting with his shoes and socks and then moving to his shirt, the man taking everything off and tossing it into the chest that he’d pulled things from previously. “Keeps my scent hidden. Seems like a good idea with this other wolf running around.” 

You agreed, murmuring the words back to him. “You said your senses are heightened now, right?” 

“They are.” He nodded, reaching down to unbutton his jeans, slowly sliding them down and over his hips. “Soon as I go outside it’s going to … I don’t know how to explain it. Explode, maybe?” Frankie looked back over his shoulder at you, smirking. “You smell amazing right now, by the way.” That took you by surprise, as did Frankie’s wink before he faced forward again and then stepped out of his jeans, bending down to scoop them off the floor. 

You couldn’t help the way your teeth clamped down on your lower lip when he straightened up, rolling his shoulders back before reaching for the waistband of his underwear - the only thing he had on. Your reaction to the sight of his body was instinctual and because he’d just admitted that everything was heightened, you knew he’d sensed it, too. 

Frankie gave you a much longer than necessary glimpse of his bare ass before he leaned forward and picked the blanket up, wrapping it around his shoulders. “When we go outside, we’re gonna go and stand in the middle of the clearing. Will’s going to be able to see everything, so…” He spun to face you, and for the first time, you saw true worry in his eyes. “I’m going to say goodbye to you in here, if that’s alright.” 

“More than alright.” Closing the distance between you, you reached for Frankie, taking his face between your palms. “It’s going to be fine.” He nodded but didn’t say anything before you kissed him, moving in as close as you possibly could with him holding the blanket closed around himself. 

You knew you had very little time - and when Frankie stepped forward, backing you up and against the closed door, you realized just how little. 

He’d never kissed you quite like he did then. 

What started out with you in the lead quickly shifted to something more, his mouth hungry against yours, Frankie’s hips rolling forward and keeping you pinned against the wood. You felt him growl into your mouth - the sound needy as his tongue stroked yours, and you moved a hand into his hair, yanking his head to the side as you let out a moan that only made him inch even closer. 

The desire was bleeding from his body. 

Frankie was trembling against you, and you had no idea how he managed to keep his hands off of you and firmly holding the blanket. But it’s a good thing he did because him touching me now is … He broke the kiss, but instead of pulling away, Frankie lowered his head and nosed along your cheek and then your jaw before dropping his head so that he could nuzzle against your neck. “What are you -”

“The way you smell right now is fucking …” He groaned, and you felt him press an openmouthed kiss to your pulse point. “Nothing like it.” Dragging your fingers through his hair as he took a deep breath, you closed your eyes and inhaled too, trying to see if there was anything different that you could sense.

He still smelled like Frankie - faint cologne and clean sweat, a hint of laundry detergent from the blanket - and even though you knew what was going to happen in only a few minutes time, you still didn’t feel any differently about him. 

The motion of his hips stopped as you felt his chest expand with a few deep inhales, followed by Frankie pressing a lingering kiss to the side of your neck before he nipped at it with his teeth and straightened up. “Couldn’t help it.” He raised a brow, meeting your eyes. “At least this time I can blame the wolf.” 

“We should go outside.” Rubbing your thumb over his cheek, you tilted your head to the right. “I don’t want you to cut it too close.” You saw uncertainty in his eyes for a few seconds but then he nodded, closing them and stepping back.

You moved away from the door and then pulled it open, walking down the few steps that led to the forest floor. He followed, but was silent - and didn’t break that silence until you were about ten yards from the RV.

“Flip the snap on that holster.” He swallowed, shifting back and forth on his feet without looking away. “But don’t put your hand on the butt. I don’t … know how I’ll react to that.” You nodded, wetting your lips. “I’m not going to get mad if you look away. This is all new for you.”

“You’re going to let me see?” Your eyes widened. “Frankie, I thought -”

“I am.” He rolled his neck out before he tilted his head back and looked up at the sky. “I need you to know everything.” He winced and shuddered, his eyes shut. It’s happening. “Step back.” His voice was lower than usual, and when Frankie opened his eyes, you saw that they were lighter, his pupils wide. “And if it even seems like I’m going to -”

“You won’t. But I know.” You tapped the gun, smiling at him. “It’s alright, Frankie.” He wrinkled his nose, and you watched as the blanket twisted in his hands as he tightened his grip. “I’m right here.” 

The clearing was silent, and though it should have bothered you to know that Will likely had a gun pointed at the two of you, you were entirely focused on Frankie. You wondered what the beginning of his change would look like - if it would start slowly or happen all at once, resulting in the man in front of you disappearing as he became something else. I’m going to find out. I - 

“Don’t…” He groaned, stomping one foot and gritting his teeth. “Don’t run. Turn away if you need to, but please don’t do anything that might make me chase you.” Oh, Frankie. You knew it was dangerous, but you didn’t even try to stop yourself from taking the few steps forward that were necessary to put yourself directly in front of him. “What the fuck are you -”

“Stop worrying about me.” Placing your hand flat on his chest - palm over his frantically beating heart - you stared directly into his eyes, which were already more gold than brown. “Focus on what you need to focus on, Francisco.” He went still, but then nodded, his gaze flicking down to your mouth and then back up. “I’m not afraid of you.” 

Leaning closer, you kissed him on the cheek and then backed off, knowing that you were already pressing your luck. 

“You might not say that in a few minutes.” I doubt it. He dropped the blanket suddenly, exposing his entire body to you - and for the first time since you’d met Frankie, you looked at him with something other than want. 

There was no real way for you to describe what was happening except to say that it looked like everything was stretching. The bones in his arms and legs were elongated, as were the ones in his hands, which forced his fingers to curl inward toward his palms. Even Frankie’s chest seemed to expand, and you watched in disbelief as the shape of his body changed, breath catching in your throat at the sight in front of you. He’s got to be in so much pain. 

Frankie stayed quiet, though, and when you looked up and met his eyes again it was you that made the first sound. A gasp tumbled from your lips before you brought a hand up to cover your mouth at the sight of his face. If not for the tangle of curls on his head and the lingering furrow between his brows, you wouldn’t have even known it was him, because it wasn’t a man’s face you were looking at - it was that of a wolf. 

He bared his teeth as he fell forward and his hands hit the ground, but the only noise you heard was the grunt of the impact. You had no idea how he stayed silent. No matter what he’d said, the process of changing had to be painful, and you were almost certain that he’d lied to you about the way it felt in order to spare your feelings. “Oh, Frankie.” 

It slipped out before you could stop it, but he didn’t even acknowledge your words, and though you assumed he’d heard you - his human ears had become the pointed ones of a wolf - you had no way of knowing for certain. 

He dug in with his hands, leaving a few gouges in the earth, but when you watched his shoulderblades shifting beneath his skin for the final few seconds before dark fur sprouted from his body, you finally looked away, needing a second to compose yourself. 

You were crying; you felt the tears tracking hot down your cheeks, but it wasn’t because you were afraid of him. Instead, you were angry for him, upset that every 30 days, he had to relive the transformation twice in the span of twelve hours. Nothing could prepare me for that. Not a goddamn thing. 

A whining noise drew your attention again, and when you turned your head back toward Frankie, you gasped a second time, lowering your hand. 

The man you knew was gone - and in his place was the largest wolf you’d ever seen, sitting on his haunches and staring at you with its head tilted to the side. “Hey, Francisco.” Reaching up with one hand, you wiped away your tears and gave him a smile. “Look at you.” 

You took a few seconds to do just that, your heart thudding in your chest at the sight of a werewolf, not even ten feet from you, after years of searching. He was much bigger than you’d imagined; the top of his head reaching almost to the center of your chest, and his shoulders were broad, mirroring the man in human form. 

He pawed at the ground, and you watched as he scented the air, never looking away from you. You wanted to move closer, but didn’t want to spook Frankie, so you cleared your throat and took a breath, giving him a smile. “Can you understand me?” He nodded and then blinked twice, but he stayed put. Fucking weird. “Will you come closer?” Wetting your lips, you laughed, the sound nervous. “Only if you want to. I -” 

He moved as you spoke, rising and then slowly trotting forward, but stopping before he was close enough for you to touch. Even in the slowly darkening twilight, you could see that his wolf mimicked the way Frankie looked as a man, and you wondered if that was the case for all of them. 

Shaggy fur in a deep chestnut threaded with gray covered his entire body, but his face was lighter, especially on his cheeks and snout. With a genuine laugh you leaned closer, biting your lip at the sight of his cheek. He tilted his head to the side, staring at you, and it was easy to read his curiosity.

“The patches in your beard.” Reaching up, you tapped your own face. “You’ve still got them.” For whatever reason, seeing that was what tipped you over the edge and put you truly at ease. Because he’s still Frankie. “Even as a wolf, I’d know that handsome face anywhere.” He whined again, ducking his head, and when he looked up, you could have sworn he was smiling. Good. Good, he can see… I’m not afraid. “That looked like it hurt, Frankie. But thank you for letting me watch.” 

Crossing your arms over your chest, you stared at the wolf in front of you, fighting the urge to reach out and touch him. 

You didn’t know how he’d react to that - had no idea if anyone had ever touched him in that form, or if he even wanted anyone to. Why wouldn’t he? You felt oddly calm, even though your heartbeat was still elevated, and as you eyed Frankie, you realized that Ashley and Alec hadn’t been lying about the size of wolves. He’s huge. And if the other one is this big, too… I’d stand no chance, especially if he was attacking me from up close. 

“Am… am I allowed to touch you?” Gritting your teeth, you swiped at your face with one hand. “Fuck, that’s a stupid question, I just -” But apparently, it wasn’t, because Frankie rose to all fours and took another cautious step toward you, putting himself within arm’s reach. You had no idea what to do, and so you held out one hand toward him, proud to see that it was almost completely steady. 

He moved his head, turning toward your outstretched hand to sniff it, and then you moved on autopilot, stepping forward and lifting your hand so that you could slide it between his ears, fingers curling into the fur there. It’s not as soft as it usually is. You still grinned at the feel of it, your other hand moving to the side of his neck and stroking downward. 

“You’re gorgeous, Francisco.” Humming as  he stepped forward again, nudging your hip, you kept going. “And you’re fucking huge, and if I didn’t know it was you, I’d be …” You sighed, stroking his fur. “You’re intimidating, even when you’re just sitting there. Thank you for not scaring the fuck out of me.” He nudged you again, rubbing the side of his face against your hip, and then without warning, he broke away from your touch and circled around your legs, head lowered. “You still don’t like compliments, even when you’re like this, hmm?” 

His head shot up and you somehow knew that if he were human, he’d have rolled his eyes. But when he took a seat in front of you again, you took a deep breath and crouched down, bringing yourself closer to his eye level. 

The two of you stared at each other for long seconds, and the longer you looked, the more of Frankie you saw in front of you. The wolf sat proudly, though his head was tilted to the side as he eyed you.There was warmth in his gaze, along with a sense of calm that you hadn’t expected with how nervous he’d been only minutes earlier. 

He’d given you permission to touch him, and so you did, reaching out and stroking the fur along the side of his face and then down his neck, following the motion of your hand with your eyes. He repositioned his paws, inching marginally closer, and at that your smile widened, a barely there nod of your head accompanying it. His fur lightened as it got closer to the ends of his legs, and you were surprised to see what looked like a black smudge atop the left paw. He must have had that one when he was bitten. “Frankie, have you ever…” You touched it, looking up. “Your tattoo, it’s….” 

He lowered his head further, and when you felt the press of his wet nose against the back of your hand you finally moved it away, letting him see. The noise he made in response was almost startled, which made you laugh, and forced you into a sitting position, giving you a chance to look up at him. 

He straightened up again and stared at you, blinking slowly, and then Frankie extended a paw and rested it on your knee, the movement cautious. You reached for it, lifting it slowly, and when you pushed gently on his toes, you saw the true size of his claws, as well as noticed the fact that his paw itself was massive, and much larger than your palm. You wondered if he was considered small for a wolf, and then wondered if Ashley would allow you to see any of her pack during a full moon so you could compare. 

“Frankie, the fact that you’re like this with me now …” You met his eyes again, taking and holding a deep breath. “This is incredible. You’re incredible.” He ducked his head again but it didn’t last long, because he drew his paw from your hold and then moved forward, lowering his head and sniffing at your bare arm. You felt it moments later - the warmth and wet of his tongue as he licked the back of your hand. “Oh. Oh, ok…” 

You moved then, raising both arms and putting them around his neck, turning your head so that you could bury your face in his fur. If you hadn’t been certain before, that moment made it clear that you loved him, wolf and all. How could someone not love him?

Frankie let the weight of his head rest on your shoulder, and you head him whining, the sound loud - followed by the press of his paw against your other leg. He’s trying to hug me back. Oh, Frankie. 

He pulled away first, but didn’t go far, and even though you stayed mostly still when he started, your eyes widened as you felt him nosing at your neck, his breath hot against your skin. Shit. He’s… 

Frankie licked your neck twice, and then rubbed his face against it, whining loudly as he backed off. But that time, he took a playful stance, his tail wagging back and forth and his ears swiveling as he watched you, tongue lolling out of his mouth. 

“Oh, you’re in a good mood now?” He nodded again, agreeing, and when you pushed to your feet, he stretched, front paws out and that half of his body lowered while the back end remained upright, tail still moving from side to side. “You need to go, don’t you.” He set his paws and then shook his body, yipping out a reply to you at the end of the movement. “Then go, Frankie. Run. Have a good night.” Stepping forward, you reached down and found the metal chain around his neck, trailing your fingers over it until you found the tracking device. “I’ll keep an eye on you. We’ll keep an eye on you, alright?” 

He barked then, turning his head to the right and then looking up, and you knew it was looking for Will, even though he likely couldn’t see him. He barked twice more - the sound carrying, and then Frankie backed away further, putting distance between you. 

Part of you didn’t want him to go. You wanted him to stay in the clearing with you all night. But you knew that he had to, that he needed to run and stretch his legs and let the wolf’s instincts take over for the few hours that it could. And it would be selfish of me to ask him not to do that. 

“Be safe.” You said his name, crossing your arms. “I’ll see you in the morning, alright?” He whined, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, though he stayed in place. What is he waiting for? You watched him closely, Frankie turning his head to look up, and even though you weren’t sure, you spoke again. “Go ahead. It’s not going to scare me. Let me hear you.” 

Your permission had been what he was waiting for, and only moments later, Frankie sat and tipped his head back, letting out the loudest, longest howl you’d ever heard in your life. It didn’t scare you, because you knew it was him, but the sound was chilling, and somehow different from the regular wolf calls you’d heard previously. And it’s different than last month’s, too. It sounds … fuller. 

He howled a second time, and you couldn’t take your eyes off of him, watching as he held his position, nose pointed toward the sky and his broad shoulders set. It was an incredible thing to see - and it would have still been incredible even if it wasn’t Frankie that you were watching. But the fact that it is him… it’s more special. 

The howl trailed off, and Frankie rose to all fours again, turning away and toward the woods to the south. At the edge of the clearing, he stopped and looked back, pausing long enough to howl again - that one long and low, almost sad. 

And then he was gone, disappearing through the trees and into the gathering darkness. 

You waited a solid minute and then deflated, dropping to your knees and covering your face with both hands. You were overwhelmed - there was no way around it, and since you knew that he probably wouldn’t be able to hear it, you started crying again, shoulders shaking. 

It had gone much better than you’d imagined it would. Frankie had seemed at ease with you in way that you’d never expected, and despite your tears, you weren’t scared or upset at what you’d seen. It made you sad, of course, but you were convinced even more than you had been earlier that you had nothing to fear from Frankie, even when he was a wolf. 

It was still almost a slap in the face to have learned just how large werewolves were, and exactly what your relatives had expected you to face in order to complete your revenge quest. Frankie’s gentle behavior was, as the guys had said, somewhat misleading, because the others wouldn’t be like that, especially around someone that they didn’t know. And the Chaos wolves are especially dangerous for someone that’s accustomed to a wolf they know. 

Reaching up, you rubbed at the side of your neck and then reached out with your other hand to touch the spots in the ground that he’d disturbed, fingers trailing over the claw marks and then coming to rest in one of his pawprints. A wolf the size of Frankie could easily overpower an adult human. A wolf the size of Frankie without the self restraint of a former Army Special Forces helicopter pilot could do it before the other person even knew what was happening. “Fuck.” 

You hung your head, shaking it back and forth. Yes, you had a better idea of what you’d be up against when finding a Chaos wolf, but it made the odds seem so much more stacked against you. “You alright?”

You shot to your feet at the sound of the voice, your hand automatically going for the gun on your hip as you whirled around. Will stood a few feet away, both hands held up with his palms out and a smirk on his face. Jesus. “You scared the fuck out of me, Will.” Your heart was racing, fingers frozen just above the butt of the gun.

“So let me get this straight.” He lowered his hands and then crossed his arms. “‘Fish turns into a goddamn wolf right in front of you and you’re fine. Two minutes after it happens, you’re petting him … and I’m human an’ ask if you’re doin’ alright, and you go to pull a gun out on me?” 

“I…” Wrinkling your nose, you winced. “Yeah, that’s kind of fucked, isn’t it.” Both of you laughed then, and you rubbed at your face before you said anything else. “I don’t even know what to say. That was … that happens every time?”

“Every time.” He stepped past you and reached down, picking the blanket up. “He’s quiet now, though. First few times, he screamed.” 

“He said it didn’t hurt, that it was just uncomfortable.”

“He’s a fucking liar.” He folded the blanket with precision, and then moved back toward the RV, motioning for you to follow him. “His goddamn bones grow and move. His face changes shape. I didn’t go to college and study the fuckin’ supernatural, but … the way he screamed at the beginning? I can guarantee it hurt. And it might be something he’s more used to now, but …” 

“Yeah.” It made you feel worse, but you couldn’t fault Frankie for lying to you. “So what now? He won’t be back until morning, right?” 

“Right.” Will stuffed his hands into his pockets, shrugging. “So now it’s a whole lot of sitting and waiting. We’ve got internet and TV inside. I can take you up and show you the view from the blind. We can stay out here… it’s up to you.” 

“We should probably go inside.” You rubbed at your neck again, nodding. “That way you can show me what -”

“Look.” He stepped forward, laying a hand on your shoulder. “The hardest part is over. The rest is just waiting for him to come back.” Will’s smile was small but genuine, his blue eyes bright in the single overhead bulb beneath the awning. “We’ll check his location a couple times, and update the guys once just to let them know everything’s good, but aside from that?” He tightened his fingers against your arm and then let go. “It’s just a typical night.” Unless something goes wrong. 

It was unspoken, but it hung between you. Everything’s going to be fine. Closing your eyes, you let yourself listen to the forest around you - the faint sound of bugs and the breeze, along with the hooting of a far-off owl reassuring you. Alright, Will. “Got any beer in that fridge?” 

He surprised you with a laugh, but only moments later, Will was gesturing for you to head inside in front of him. “Sure fuckin’ do.” 

— 

 Both of you dozed off a little before midnight, the TV playing some action movie from Netflix in the background. 

You woke up a few hours later, Will snoring quietly on the couch next to you, and when you stood, he didn’t move. He must have had a long day. You covered him with a blanket and then headed over for the laptop that had Frankie’s tracker displayed on the screen. 

He was still far south of where you were. For a minute or two, you watched the motion of the dot that signified his position as it moved East along the bank of the creek, wondering what he was doing and what he was feeling. 

By the information that was also on the screen, you saw that there were still hours until sunrise - and when Frankie would return. The thought of laying back down - that time on the bed instead of the couch - wasn’t appealing, and so you decided to go outside and enjoy the darkness for a little while. It’ll relax me. The sounds and the smell, and … 

Slipping your shoes back on, you grabbed the gun - but not the holster - from where you’d set it earlier and headed for the door. “Where you goin’?” Peering back at Will, you saw that he’d opened his eyes, one hand rubbing the sleep from them. “It’s -”

“Just outside for a few minutes.” Tightening your hand on the door handle, you smiled. “Need to stretch my legs, and I didn’t want to risk waking you up.” 

“Take the gun.” He cleared his throat. “Just in case.” You held it up so that you could see it, and when Will nodded, you went through the door, closing it softly behind you. 

You looked around, eyeing the circle of light that was provided from the ones strung above you and then sank down onto one of the chairs near the firepit. Moments later, you set the weapon down on the ground beside you. You couldn’t see much of the sky through the trees, but the moon was bright, and it was only when you stifled a yawn with one hand that you looked away, humming as you rubbed your eyes. 

You and Will had gone over a lot while you sipped your beers, but the thing you took away from his companionship was that the nights spent waiting for Frankie were usually very uneventful - and that being there with someone was a welcome change of pace. 

He filled in the logbook and then let you flip through the previous entries. While you clicked around through Frankie’s previous location records, he stepped outside to call his wife. They had a routine, and the fact that you were one of six - seven if you counted Yovanna - people that were included in it wasn’t lost on you. 

You’d also skirted the topic of just how close you and Frankie were. And based on Will’s posture and facial expressions, you had an idea that he was well aware of exactly how serious it was between you. That was fine with you - he was one of Frankie’s closest friends, and since Pope was also aware of where things stood, you figured that the others weren’t far behind because even though they didn’t know you well, they did know him. 

It scared you more than a little that things were moving so quickly, but you didn’t regret letting it happen that way. “Not with you, Frankie.” With a sigh, you pulled your phone out and opened your photo album, swiping through and finding one of the pictures of the two of you. You were both grinning at the camera, Frankie’s arm around your shoulders, and one of your hands holding onto his, fingers linked. 

You didn’t know what you were going to say to him when he came back and was human again, and you hoped that whatever you did manage to get out, he believed. Because I’m sure he’s still worried, even though he saw that I really wasn’t afraid of him. Sighing, you flipped back to the actual camera and then swiped to take a video, reversing the view before you pressed record. 

“Hey, you.” Staring at the screen, you thought for a few seconds. “It’s been a while since you left, but I just … I know you might not believe me when we talk next, and I wanted to tell you a couple things that I’ve been thinking about all night.” You stood and took a few steps further away from the RV, trying to be mindful of the fact that Will was likely sleeping, and the window above the couch was partially open. “I wasn’t crying earlier because I was scared. I wasn’t crying because I was … disgusted by what I saw.” 

You stopped moving, looking off to the side and then back at the phone. “I was crying because I’m upset that you’ve had to deal with this alone. I’m upset that you have to downplay how much it hurts to become the wolf every month. I’m just … I couldn’t do it, Frankie. Before I saw you tonight, I had no idea. Everything I thought was wrong.” 

You meant the transformation, but you also meant that you’d been wrong about werewolves in general. “I hope you’ll believe me when we talk, you know? I don’t want you to second guess this or me or the way I feel about you.” Because I don’t. 

You went quiet, staring at the small screen, and with the absence of your voice, you realized that the woods around you were silent, too. You didn’t hear insects, and the owl from earlier was quiet. But we’re deep in the woods. There’s always noise. You looked away from the phone and then back at it, your hold on the device tightening. Unless there’s a predator close by. 

It could have been anything - a panther, a bear, a bobcat - but the same instincts that led you to Florida told you that it was something else… and that it was watching you. And it’s close, because it wouldn’t be quiet otherwise. You had the RV between you and the forest on one side, and thanks to the phone’s camera, you could sort of see what was happening behind you. But I want to turn around. I want the RV at my back, and … 

“It’s important that you know this, Frankie.” Your voice shook and you winced at the sound, your eyes moving over the phone screen as you peered into the darkness displayed on it. “I wouldn’t lie to you. Because I …” You trailed off at the sight of a pair of glowing eyes flashing on it from somewhere behind you, but they blinked out moments later. Whatever it is is big. “Frankie there’s something behind me.” You whispered the confession, fighting back tears. “The gun’s by the chair, I don’t have it on me and … fuck. I’m sorry. I fucked up. I’m so sorry.” 

It wasn’t him - you could sense that it wasn’t him, and the eyes - though you’d only seen them briefly - were a different color than Frankie’s. And even though it was all the way across the clearing and in the woods, you knew that you wouldn’t have time to get from where you stood to your gun before it made it to you - especially if it was as big as or bigger than he was. 

You had one play - and likely only moments to attempt it. “If this goes bad, Frankie … at least you’ll know what it looks like.” You flipped the camera and then spun so that the RV was behind you and you were facing the darkness… and  then you opened your mouth and screamed. 

“Will!” 

—    

[mikuni14]

The last 2 weeks have provided me with amazing experiences from the BL series fan community. Moments when several series with very active fandoms are aired at the same time are very rare, and with the end of 2 series this week, I'm already mourning this wonderful, one-of-a-kind experience.

I have been camping in the following tags for many days and each one is different and unique: Love For Love's Sake I can't put into words what this show and fandom has given me. The number of absolutely insane analyses, meta, touching declarations of love to this series from moved viewers, and beautiful gifs is staggering. The series is excellent, the audience's reaction is also wonderful, it was such a great experience. Which doesn't surprise me, because it was people's reaction to real ART, which is always something special. The series itself is 10/10 for me in every category: love story, plot, actors, emotions, my investment in the story, quality, execution, even the "heat", because even though there were no love scenes, the guys were able to convey that they are very into each other 🥰

Dead Friend Forever I also enjoy the fandom experience immensely, the tag is full of great analysis and meta. The plot is so interesting and full of surprising twists and turns that there is always something new to discuss and come up with wild theories. The series is still ongoing, but for this moment it's also perfect for me and 10/10: love story (hehe), plot, actors, emotions, my investment in the story, quality, execution, also the "heat" (hehe).

Pit Babe I rate the fandom experience as *chef's kiss*. Tag is also full of interesting analyzes and meta, amazing gifs of Way. The fandom is generally very cheerful and unhinged, which is GREAT ✨ But what's most interesting is that if someone who didn't know Pit Babe checked the tag now, they would never guess who the main character and main couple of the series are (and this doesn't only apply to tumblr!). I find this incredibly funny 🤡 I'm not that interested in the series itself, so I won't rate it. I treat it as pure fun and entertainment, so I have zero expectations for the finale, especially since, of course, I've already stumbled upon possible spoilers. Personally, what I will take away from the entire series is my deepened love for Nut and a fascination with Way, whom I want like little girls want a new Barbie doll.

Last Twilight Another wild fandom experience lol I practically didn't visit the tag of this series at all, but I spent the last two episodes there in full camping mode, in a tent and cooking coffee after coffee over the fire 😄 Fans have once again soared to the heights of perfection, writing amazing analyzes and meta responses to the crap of the last episodes. The criticism was precise, justified, systematized, methodical and accurate 👩‍🎓 As with LFLS, it was an intellectual experience. The fans provided better entertainment than the series itself lol

The Sign hmm, for several weeks the tag has been dominated by BillyBabe, which is not strange because only this couple is responsible for BL aspect in this BL series 😄 I rate my fandom experience with The Sign in two categories: "until episode 7" full of amazing meta, analysis, beautiful gifs and enrichment for me as a fan, overall 10/10 and "after episode 7" which I spent mainly on… liking BillyBabe's photos and videos . Which is ok, because, well, I do like them a lot 😉

Two of the above series have already ended, although fans are still present, two more are ending this week. That's why I would like to take this opportunity and say THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart to all the fans, those who wrote emotional entries, deep and thoughtful meta, funny posts, created beautiful gifs, analyzed endlessly the smallest details and posted photos and videos of their favorite actors. You all made these last few days so interesting and fun. I hope there will be more days like this in 2024! 🥰

And now I'll only have DFF…

[cowboylikeyouu]

i always love when people have some kind of "get to know me and my fandoms :)" post pinned on their blog, so here‘s mine:

i‘m a german law student, but i like to ignore that fact bc it‘s kinda depressing lol. my favorite activity is to ignore most of my responsibilities and doomscroll on tumblr & tiktok while listening to the same 5 songs over and over again and drink too much coffee ^^

i watch a lot of movies and sometimes i write stuff, so feel free to follow me on letterboxd and ao3 ;) [and if you speak german maybe check out my fanfiktion.de for my german fics :)]

you can yap to me about literally everything, i love love LOVE talking to random people on the internet about random shit!! but here are some of my favorite fandoms and my fav characters & ships from them if u need inspiration :P

marvel (mcu mostly)

favorite characters: CLINT (comic & fanfic version, literally my favorite character of all time i love him to death), tony, nat, bucky, maria

favorite ships: WINTERHAWK (they’re my everything), stony, nat/maria/pepper, kate/yelena

x-men

favorite characters: wade, charles, storm

favorite ships: poolverine, cherik

harry potter

favorite characters: hermione, remus, harry (especially in post war drarry fics), draco, minerva, sirius, fred & george

favorite ships: drarry, wolfstar, romione, deamus, linny

good omens

favorite characters: crowley

favorite ships: do i really have to answer that?

star wars

favorite characters: luke, han, leia, (i‘m an original trilogy girly i‘m sorry), obi-wan, din djarin (pedro pascal is the literal loml can you blame me??7

favorite ships: dinluke <3333333

IT

favorite characters: richie, beverly

favorite ships: reddie, benverly, mike/stan/bill

sherlock bbc

favorite characters: mycroft

favorite ships: johnlock, mystrade

other stuff i’ve seen and really like:

10 things i hate about you (my fav movie ever), little women, httyd, fight club (i have to mention this bc one of my favorite things ever is to annoy straight men by saying that fight club is the gayest movie to ever exist), how i met your mother (my fav show ever), our flag means death, most pixar & disney movies, starkid musicals!!! especially avpm & co obviously, knives out & glass onion, orange is the new black, grey‘s anatomy, shameless, she-ra, bojack horseman, the last of us, hamilton, cats, and so much more, just ask ^^

i post on here about everything i‘m currently obsessed with bc i really don’t want to make separate blogs for separate fandoms, but if you’re only interested in a specific thing just search my page for some of the tags i tend to use :)))

[bruhstation]

can't quite tell when casa tidmouth is set but given how much work has to be done online these days, who do you think would be tech literate v tech phobic? I can see thomas trolling on twitter and james endlessly posting on insta while gordon can barely open his emails and gets furious when anyone brings this up (edward has no idea either but he's willing to ask and learn. and he loves cat memes.)

casa tidmouth is set in the summer of 1999! though their fashion sense and architecture are more leaning to the 60s and 70s due to gold dust shenanigans. there are computers ofc so the cast use the internet

the younger ones are the most tech literate, like thomas and percy. if modern websites were around during the 90s thomas would be trolling people on twitter. he loves seeing people seethe. especially gordon. his opponent would give him well thought out replies and thomas would just reply with a stupid reaction image or “not reading all of that”. he tried doing the same on a subreddit only to get jumped there

percy likes browsing youtube! and blogging about his life on various social medias! he posts pictures of the railway and his friends from time to time. “been getting into yoghurt lately” “does anyone remember that show about talking tugboats” percy doesn’t have a large following but his internet circle likes him because he’s nice and positive. also he and thomas love spongebob youtube poops so so much it pisses gordon off

james would post instagram selfies. correct. he uses way too many tags like #railway #girl #boy #nonbinary #hottie #selflove #selfie etc etc but he gets 10 likes at max on. he has to deal with thomas_a.billington commenting “idc” under his posts almost every week

the older bunch of the cast don’t really use the internet that much. especially edward since he’s got books for the things he need help with. he doesn’t know how account verifications work so he gave up on social media. he’s very online on goodreads and online bookstores though. edward likes history videos. asmr too. the ones titled Gentle Rain - Rain Sounds For Sleeping, Concentration, Healing - 99% Works [10 Hours]. toby’s the same except he’s more casual

henry and gordon would struggle with opening and replying tonemails (edward too but he’s patient and doesn’t even use the internet that much). the latter especially to the point it pisses him off. “we should use letters like normal people” gordon says. he also doesn’t touch social media because “it’s beneath me” but we all know he struggles with it and is most likely to get baited into entering heated debates so he had to restrain himself. he does like cat videos. they’re cute. cooking channels too. he’s a bit embarassed about it though

henry founds himself stopping by forums like yahoo answers or quora every once in a while and even got into arguments with housewives about taking care of plants. gordon gets dragged into the mischief and encourages henry to fight back. show them who’s the boss in petunias and roses and dahlias. “do NOT lose. this is a matter of pride and dignity” the forum then got locked after 500 replies and henry gave gordon the silent treatment for 24 hours after he gained post internet argument clarity

tldr this is thomas’ relationship with his coworkers online

[whoishotteranimepolls]

Poll analysis part 3

Well I haven't done one of these in a while because I've been focusing on the nicknames and funny tags post But we are definitely due for another one because I've definitely noticed a change and behavior. Plus we've had a lot more and fandoms requested so that might be a contributing factor.

Let's start with the unhinged trio. Think we're due for a lineup change there. It used to be JJK, Black Butler and Dorohedoro. However the latter two only go crazy over a certain character.

Jujutsu Kaisen definitely still deserves its spot There's a reason I picked them to be the first fandom to get a Nicknames and funny tags post in fact they need an update Desperately because you guys are still up to your same old unhinged antics. I've just been busy with other fandoms (one piece) that say even more outrageous crap in the comments

Now One Piece I think you guys took that nickname and funny tag post as a challenge to be as unhinged and creative with your tags as possible because every time I think you all can't possibly get any worse. Someone puts a tag that's even crazier and now I have to update that post with more tags and new characters again.

Now the third spot of the unhinged trio should probably go to Trigun because you guys can't stop talking about Wolfwood's slutty Catholic titties and Vash's snatched little slutty waist. Plus someone has sent a match up request of their weapons no less than three times even though the rules plainly state no weapons so I think we definitely qualify for unhedged trio territory.

My Hero Academia You guys only showed up for the bunny girl and I get it. She's hot. Or to crap on endeavor, that's about it.

Attack on Titan. I finally have found proof of life. The fandom might be in a coma, but at least there's a pulse I thought that fandom was dead but someone or group of people is sending in quite a few requests for that fandom.

And now on to Naruto my problem child fandom. I am not kidding You're the fandom that refuses us to send in photos, but will throw a tantrum if it's not the photo from the correct era of the anime even though I have no clue what you're talking about. Normally when people don't like the photo with any other fandom a dozen better photos of the character will randomly appear in my inbox. Not with the Naruto fandom. I get 10 hate messages saying it's from the wrong era of the anime and I should know that. But does anyone send me a better photo from the correct era of the anime? No. Well actually that's not entirely true the a few times this fandom has sent in replacement photos it's from when in the anime I know the characters are still 14 I've done way too much research into when in canon characters turn 16 and what particular character design/outfit marks that in the timeline for this particular show because of how much I feel like I can't trust this particular fandom as a whole to follow rules. So, remember people I can't read your mind and you are the only fandom that wants to throw a fit over photos like this. Plus the few times I have tried to address the issues with the photos and try to fix the problem you guys want to get combative and very aggressive in the comments. Plus I swear you all are allergic to rules because at least 70% to 80% of requests relating to your fandom have some sort of issue. Whether it's trying to bend the rules or just outright breaking them to massive formatting problems. No other fandom causes me this many headaches. So please for the sake of my sanity do better

Sorry about that. I needed to rant about my problem child fandom maybe now they will start behaving.

When it comes to formatting there is a group of about three people that made requests either everyday or every 2 to 3 days and it was the max amount of request/matchups they could do in a single day according to the rules. They did this the entire time the box was open so they had their formatting down to a science. So basically any fandom that these people requested a lot of had really good track records for formatting and not trying to blatantly break the rules. So One Piece, JoJo's, Attack on Titan and Avatar/Korra all have very good track records right now

But with most fandoms they do a pretty good job of following the rules. No one is as bad as Naruto. Now there are some common issues and major incidents I've had so I'll go ahead and list them below

The common issues are just forgetting to put the name of the show or spelling, but Google can normally figure that out so that's not a major problem or people submitting a character that is video game only and not part of the anime adaptation. Persona, pokémon and Tekken are The worst offenders when it comes to this. Other major issues that come up frequently are with character ages? But it's normally with characters that look like they're adults. So I really don't hold that against people. I'm just guessing that people didn't realize they're actually teenagers but hopefully that will not be as much of a problem but since I dropped the age down to 16.

Now recent issues I've had to address were formatting issues where it was bad enough that I couldn't make it out due to dyslexia. Trigun has tried to submit weapons no less than three times even though that is blatantly against the rules. Like I mentioned earlier Naruto likes to submit photos from when the characters are 12 to 14 that doesn't fit the rules especially when photos are available from the correct age range that do follow the rules. So those are the ones I use no matter how many times they throw temper tantrums. Dungeon Meshi has submitted a 14-year-old and Soul Eater submitted a 13-year-old and said they were 16 in the request. So they lied. Luckily someone told me so I was able to delete those polls quite quickly, but now I can't trust anyone. So if you ever wonder why it takes so long for me to empty out the request box this is why

Oh but good news, no one has submitted a request since I've closed the box I basically consider that a miracle because the last two times there have been people that have not cared that the box is closed. So let's keep it that way please. I don't mind questions, just no requests. The box is closed I still have like 150 more individual messages that have multiple poll requests on them to get through before I open it again

Well that's going to be all for this post again. And I hope at least someone found this entertaining or informative or at least something. There will probably be another one of these in the future

[lady-phasma]

It’s me again 💝

I’ve been in the Hotd fandom since the show first aired but got really into it once adult Aemond showed up . I’ve dabbled in a bunch of what I call creator content, fics , imagines even editing videos … I just don’t seem to find my people or I have people and they talk for awhile but then ghost . I try not to stress cause I get it we have lives and that shit comes first but it’s just idk sad when I try so hard and I’m lost in the crowd if you will. I’ve reached out to people via dm and I usually try to comment and give my opinion to get some interaction . Perhaps I’m making a bigger deal than I should . I would love to come off anon and dm but I just don’t wanna be judged and I say this even though I know people reading this will think pathetic . It is what it is

Hi 💝! Thank you for writing again! First, no negative self-talk on my blog. 😊 It's not a rule exactly, but I don't support it. Maybe you follow me, that's irrelevant, but I doubt that the demographic of my followers will think anything about this is pathetic. Outside of them, if they think that, they can block me and then we don't have to worry about their opinions, do we?

Now that's out of the way, don't worry about coming off anon. You don't have to or you can decide later. I answered another ask and said this and it bears repeating:

Feelings are valid, but they are not always truth.

Maybe it is a big deal to you at this point in your life. It has been to me at other times (not on Tumblr because I was on a near-10 year break from it). I don't like to give advice because I'm not in your shoes. I can only offer an ear to listen and my honest opinions.

Keep creating!! Whether it's in a fandom setting or not. I only write what I want to write. I only make gifs of what I want (or need for a fic). Make things when you feel inspiration or even if you don't. Drop your imagines in here if you want. Especially (but not limited to) excitement you have during the second season! There is going to be so much lovely chaos during the second season. We are all going to have thoughts!

As for your experience on your blog, follow more people, reblog with comments/discourse (if it's kind and not hurtful). And try not to compare yourself to others. I know it's difficult when notes on a post feel so damn good, but they aren't always immediate. And be yourself. I don't mean any of this as advice - it's just how I behave on here. Try not to try, just be.

I am so glad you've been in the fandom since the start! I stared my HotD experience on AO3 because I had been on there for years. Then a conversation in the comments in October 2022 got me on Tumblr for the first time since 2013/14. I'm so glad it did! There has been drama (I took a hiatus from Jan 2023 until March 2024) but there has been more joy and fun than that for me. I do that on purpose.

As I've said before, there were about 9 million viewers for the season 1 finale. That's a lot of people. More than I can imagine. So, if I were to offer advice it would be this: this time around for me I have been looking at the tags I follow more often than I used to. I look at posts that are like-minded: kind posts, funny posts that don't make fun of any part of the fandom, and posts about niche characters/elements. Then I look at that blog further, check out older posts to see if they have my same values (or close), and if so, I give them a follow. People don't always follow back, that's okay. But I get to see their positivity or inclusivity and that enriches my experience. The Nettles community is one of the best out here and I am so glad I get to be a part of it. We don't always agree but it's so fun to find a part of another aspect of the fandom. I throw my net wide because there are so many of us.

Lastly, like I said in a recent answer: what do you do to make others feel heard? Do you comment on posts when people express that they are lonely in a fandom? Do you give them a hug emoji or a "hey, I see you" kind of reaction? I do these things when I see those posts because what we put out comes back to us. Treat others how you want to be treated. That's not to say you haven't been doing this but if you haven't, maybe think about why - are you shy, judgmental, unsure how it will be received, or other motivations to keep scrolling?

I want everyone to have a great time in this or any fandom. This fandom in particular needs more positivity and inclusivity. I didn't get the nickname auntie for nothing. 💕 But it's never forced or fake. Come back to my inbox any time and as often as you like. We don't have to keep discussing this unless you want to! Is Aemond your favorite? Which episode do you dislike the most? Are you excited about something in particular for season 2? But there is no expectation or obligation.

[antianakin]

So to start with, if you don't like this blog and the things I post on it, nobody's putting a gun to your head asking you to look at it. Feel free to block me, blacklist my username, block the anti and critical tags I try to use VERY frequently, etc. Nobody's asking you to look at the things I post and, quite honestly, the fact that you felt the need to leave me this message tells me that between the two of us, you're the one being unhealthy because you felt the need to tell someone innocently staying in their own lane that they're participating in fandom wrong rather than just... moving on and doing fandom in a way you enjoy more. If you want to see something else, go look at a different blog or make your own posts. Nobody's stopping you, least of all me.

But to actually answer the question you didn't ask, I made this blog because I wanted a place to make the kind of posts I wanted to see. Yes, it's a venting blog. That means sometimes I vent about the same thing more than once. Breaking news: people in fandom talk about the same hyperfixation more than once sometimes!

My best friend in the Star Wars fandom happens to be someone who really likes Anakin. So whenever I disliked something about Anakin, she was not the person I could go to in order to discuss it. Well, not always anyway. Not when I got particularly bitter about it. And at the time that I made this blog over a year ago, I didn't have anywhere else to go to vent those feelings, so I made one for myself. I made myself a tiny safe haven where I could simply write those feelings out that I never really saw anybody else making or discussing. This wasn't intended to be a popular blog. I expected it to get about two followers total maybe and a LOT of haters.

Instead, I've actually heard from a number of people that this blog let them feel seen. That the things I've written have felt really relatable to people who just can't connect to all of the Anakin love that tends to exist in the fandom. Because yes, Anakin's been the villain since the 1970s, but you must not have spent a lot of time in this fandom because that is NOT a thing that a lot of his fans tend to remember or even believe anymore. According to a good number of Anakin fans, the Jedi are the real villains and Anakin is just a tragic victim who didn't really do anything wrong. And even a lot of the people who DO recognize that Anakin is the villain of the story often still tend to like Anakin as this tragic character and will primarily post positive things about him. So for those of us who just... don't LIKE Anakin very much, there isn't as much content out there for us. You either accept all of the Anakin love along with the content for the other characters you like or you just... don't consume very much content within the fandom. Or you find a very specific niche to try to stay in that you like better, I guess. But Anakin's the main character of the main saga, he's hard to avoid entirely.

So this blog helps provide one little safe haven for others who just... don't like this character much.

And that's not even the entirety of this blog anyway. If you had scrolled through it much, you might've noticed the fic rec lists that have nothing to do with Anakin at all and are actually a lot more aimed at being Pro Jedi. Because this blog is just as much about loving the Jedi as it is about disliking Anakin. You might've also noticed the extensive AU concepts I've written a few times, one of the most recent of which actually ended up leading to Anakin surviving ROTJ and figuring out how to stop being a Sith and getting mentally healthy. And Anakin's not even the only character who's GOTTEN criticism on this blog, the pinned post on this blog lists a good 10 characters I've had to add to it because there IS going to be criticism for them here, too, from Satine and Bo-Katan Kryze, to Aleksander Kallus, to Crosshair and TBB as a show in general, to Padme Amidala herself. Not to mention some criticism of Ahsoka, as well, sometimes. I'm an all access kind of hater I guess, I like to have a varied diet of characters I complain about.

So yes, it's a blog named antianakin because the url wasn't taken, I thought it was funny, and it works as a WARNING for anybody who sees my posts or decides to come onto my blog. Obviously it doesn't keep EVERYBODY out who shouldn't be looking at them, look at yourself for a good example of that. But I like to think it's helpful. Yes, this is a venting blog where I allow myself to be negative and complain about characters I don't like in a space I have created for me to do that in. This does not mean that I am not EVER positive about Star Wars, it doesn't even mean that I'm never positive about Star Wars ON THIS BLOG. It just means that this is a place that I am allowed to be salty in, it is a place where I put my most bitter thoughts and feelings and throw them into the void that is Tumblr just to get them out of me.

This is MY safe space, MY little fandom haven. Nobody asked you to be here, so if it doesn't feel safe or even just entertaining for you, you're more than welcome to leave and go find somewhere else you like better or create your own little fandom space where you can create the kind of things YOU want to see. I can wholeheartedly recommend it.

[alicentsswornshield]

@wolfie-1221 posted a list of their fav rhaenicent fics 🤌 10/10 recommendations

I've been inspired to share my own list since I've been spending probably too much time on ao3 - hopefully it will be helpful for anyone looking to start reading rhaenicent (note that few are already mentioned in the above mentioned post)

My favourites (in no particular order):

(WIP) Seven (by @comicxgrl)

The story follows two alternating timelines and you're equally invested in both. It's so so well written, you fall in love with the characters immediately, the pacing of the story line is incredible and with only 5 chapters published, I think story is slowly set up for the main arc. The author is an architect and you can feel the thought process and clear intention behind every line and action.

(WIP) Out of sun (by @lumyart )

Rhaenyra and Alicent share a complicated past. Skip 10yrs later, Alicent is an excellent surgeon, has three kids and a husband. Their paths cross again when Targaryen Enterprises start being involved with Alicent's hospital.

Tags for this story are #bdsm #makingkinkemotional #emotionalslowburn - I think that's all you need to know?

I feel like it's really hard to write about bdsm w/o making it feel gratuitous. That's not the case here. @lumyart involves it as one of the main plot points of the story. It explores the emotional/psychological reason/need behind kinks and how those relationships differ etc. The push and pull in their relationship is dizzying, as the story progresses we get snippets of their past and what went wrong between them and how did they get where they are now. It almost feels like you're uncovering a mystery. There's many layers to the story and each chapter gifts you one piece of the puzzle.

See also: Blame it on Fate (morning show au we deserved) | silver sparks (wish this was the s02 hod script)

Love is complicated (by @molter-writes)

Absolute favourite of molter's fics and that's really hard to decide on.

This story made me want to start a campaign to get @molter-writes to actually write a rhaenicent Notting Hill AU.

Don't even read the summary. Just read everything and anything by @molter-writes , it will always deliver strong writing, a compelling storyline and characters that you can't help but fall in love with.

Bodhrán beat (by @molter-writes)

I'm not a monarchist but I will make an exception for this modern royals au. Whatever you think this fic is about, you are mistaken.

Only one chapter posted so far but it's so so good. I don't think you realise how unwell I was after I read it.

See also: (WIP) leaf and blade | (Completed) grey ridge (ríl liatroma) | (Completed) ride the dragon (and do it quickly) | (WIP) song of the exposition

(WIP) Lying (in the hollows of your heart)  (by @wakesirens) 

I usually read only modern AUs (because of the misogyny in Westeros, I have enough of that irl thanks) but this fic is amazing nonetheless. Keeping Baelon alive and him being king gives us an alternate version of Rhaenyra's life. One where she's his most trusted advisor and representative of the Crown but she's not bound to the throne/realm in same way as the heir. This allows her to still attain power and freedom usually not afforded to women. Oh and Alicent works in a brothel.

What you wanted (by mrdcai)

Berlin, spies, complicated past, angst

Again it's just excellent writing! This one only has 1/3 chapters out but I'm already convinced that it deserves to be among top five fics. Only downside is that the story will only have three chapters, though a part of me is hoping that the author will change their mind and make it a longer story.

Side note, I keep imagining Alicent as Olivia Cooke's character from Slow Horses... great spy/thriller show btw

See also: Desire (I want to turn into you)

Some other fics I loved:

(WIP) Honey, make this easy (by nerdsofdeath)

Alicent is a history professor at university and Rhaenyra is her new TA. It's a slow burn and v angsty 😭

Midnights Like This (by pure_black_wings)

College AU, they're two idiots in love that don't know how to cope.

War of Hearts (by Silanahfire)

Rhaenyra Targaryen is barren and the realm needs an heir. The King and Grand Maester Mellos found a solution in the scripts of Old Valyria. Alicent Hightower will carry her child, even if the estrangement between the two seemed impossible to end. An arranged marriage waits both.

(WIP) You Broke Me (by skullgamerscy)

Angst 😭

The Silver Queen and the Lady in Green (by Wandering Fan)

This is AU in every sense of the word. The author built a whole different world with its own lore. Very very slow burn

[panelshowsource]

hey frends!

just a lil update to say that i'll be moving soon, so over the next 2–3 weeks i'll be quite busy and won't be able to post a lot a lot (not that i usually post that much but i do try!)

now that many panel shows are wrapping up their seasons, it's not too much to keep up with the masterpost or anything, so i'll definitely keep that chugging, but gifs might be a little slow :') i have a few requests i'll work on, and it's fine to send those in; plus, i said i'd be making BIG gifsets for the recent taskmaster contestants and i'm definitely working on those! i wanna do a good job so taking my time :)

wanna remind everyone about some of the newer additions to the googledrive!

ed gamble — glutton (audiobook) (i'll be listening to this today while i'm packing! if anyone else listened pls lmk what you think!! i'm also wrapping up david's book and gonna post my thoughts soon hehe)

added the most recent alex horne/tim key celebrity pointless to the alex horne collection folder

a couple seasons of duck quacks don't echo upgraded to 1080p

bbc radio 4's hard to tell from 2011, with jonny sweet, charlotte ritchie, katy wix, etc.

complete british as folk, with fern brady, ivo graham, and darren harriott (any other homo reading this grow up absolutely and painfully obsessed with queer as folk? either version? oh man... this programme gets a 10/10 for the name alone, iconic)

live at the moth club

lots of fun new episode of growing pains, hignfy, taskmaster, outsiders :)

as well, there are a couple of new podcasts out: russell howard's wonderbox and james acaster's springleaf :)

i have a bunch of asks and i'll post them later! you guys are being so cute about taskmaster it's been so fun

hope everyone is having a great weekend!

btw... please don't feel obligated to anon me rude messages... i'm a little stressed with everything going on in Life, so maybe save those for the new year? i'll try to come up w witty retorts after i've had some sleep

it's funny, i've been hearing a lot about blog competition and fighting for notes and monopolising panel show content blah blah in my inbox recently. (i only included one here but there's genuinely been quite a few just in the last couple of weeks.) i don't know what might be going on on other blogs or discords or whatever, and i honestly didn't even know these were still convos people are having; i kinda thought we all agreed that this site isn't as big as it used to be, notes aren't as plentiful as they used to be, but by golly we'll just keep on posting anyways. i don't know if there are edit tags for any panel shows but i don't use them; i just post content here for my current followers and if you guys like it then that's all i wanted to do. i don't care if there are other panel show blogs with more followers or posts that get more notes or better gifs or better blogs or whatever. it's all fine. i don't care. i don't think about it. so you don't have to ask me that stuff — how to grow your blog or get more followers or more engagement, or how i feel about other blogs that post the same content as i do — i won't answer it. just post it because you want to; don't race to be the first one to get stuff at (especially at the expense of making content you're proud of!); don't put other people down; don't send anonymous hate. just be cool and worry about you. if you can't have fun here without validation in the notes then you're gonna be miserable. flopping is integral to being active.

[bettsfic]

Hi Betts, what was it like querying your novel? Do you have any advice on finding an agent?

querying agents...is not fun. it's the worst part of the publishing experience because you're on the precipice between "i've finished a manuscript" and "what if there's no one who sees the same merit in it that i do?" it's a very lonely time, and for me anyway, after a while it started to get kind of humiliating.

i initially queried with a novel that needed serious developmental revision that was beyond my capabilities at the time. there were several agents kind enough to give me feedback in that regard but i didn't really know how to implement their suggestions and ended up giving up on the project. i queried with my short story collection instead.

i found my agent through a twitter pitch event called DVpit. by that point i'd queried i think 60 agents and received 10 full MS requests on the novel. i'd queried 15 with the short story collection and didn't receive any response from anyone. i got one like on my DVpit tweet, followed up with that agent, and she read the MS and offered to sign me. i've been very happy with her. although we were unable to sell the short story collection, so we're working on first run revisions of a different novel right now.

i think getting started can be rough, because there's no cohesive database of agents yet, only pieces of databases. from my understanding, a lot of agencies are starting to use QueryTracker, so that might be a good place to start. there's also the #MSWL tag (manuscript wish list). what worked for me was finding one agent on twitter, then clicking through the recommended accounts, checking out agency websites, and finding which agent would be the best fit for my work at that agency. it was kind of a chaotic process and i didn't really know what i was doing.

my biggest tip is that somewhere on the spreadsheet or database where you track your queries, indicate whether a rejection is a rejection from the agent or the agency. for small agencies, they tell you a rejection from one of them is a rejection from all of them, because if you're a good fit for someone else, they'll send over your MS. however with bigger agencies where there are dozens of agents, a rejection from one means that you can query other agents at that agency.

another big tip is to make sure you're ready. i went in half-baked and i really regret that. make sure your manuscript is as far as you can get it, and you're confident enough to send it straight to print if you had to.

i can talk about query letters in a different post but the main things in your query are:

personalize the query to the agent

find good comp titles and use those titles to indicate a gap in the current market that your book fills

don't take risks

that last one may be controversial because i've heard people have had success with gimmicky queries, like writing the letter in the voice of the book's narrator. but unless you're a gimmicky writer, you're not going to sign the right agent with that method. it's important to show you understand the genre of the query letter and you've done your research. the agent you sign will have a huge stake in your work for years or maybe decades; they want to sign someone who is kind, patient, and professional.

once you get an offer, find a way to tactfully figure out the agent's likelihood they'll remain an agent for a long time. i know a lot of good writers who have lost representation because their agent retired, or became an editor, or just straight-up quit. ideally you want to find someone who is really passionate about putting good books in the world.

also, you'll want to find someone who loves the same things about your work that you do, and has the same vision for it. if you write what you feel is literary fiction but they want to market it as YA, that's not a good fit. if their critical feedback is hurtful and insulting instead of solution-oriented, that's also not a good fit.

and lastly, if you're young, say under 30, there are a lot of people who will try to exploit your youth and potential. they will try to overpower you and take your work in directions you don't want it to go. they'll make you feel powerless and bad about yourself. it may be hard, but if you get a big name agent who wants to sign you but they make you feel like shit (manipulation, backhanded compliments, judgments, etc.), it's better to walk away. from my experience this is a rarity, but it's still possible. look for someone who makes you feel understood and proud of your own work, who is excited to work with you, and whose critical feedback inspires your revision and doesn't hurt your feelings.