#new respect for gifmakers now

[cherrypikkins]

-coughs up blood-

i know how to make gifs now

[giftober]

Dear gifmakers, you're all oficially welcome to this Giftober 4th edition!! 👋🪄

The wait is over! Well, at least for me haha idk about you guys, but I was really looking forward to meet you all again!

As always the goal of these October 31 prompts is specially inspire, encourage and support the work of gifmakers 💗. (Work that deserves an appreciation that so often lacks these days.)

HOW TO PARTICIPATE:

Reblog this post. (Optional but encouraged.) Create a gifset inspired by the daily prompts. Tag your posts with #giftober2024. Caption your gifsets with: @giftober 2024 | Day #: "prompt description". (Recommended.)

IMPORTANT:

Make your own gifs. (I won´t reblog reposted gifs or gifs taken from the Tumblr search.) No explicit content. All fandoms are welcome! As long as you all respect each other! ☝

NEW: I created a FAQ page (and this post to acces from the app), to help you with your doubts. I also updated the blog desktop view, hoping it will be easier for you to navigate. 😊

OUR DATE IS ON OCTOBER 1ST! Hope to see you all then and your creations! 💗

Ele :))

(The prompt written list and tagged blogs under the cut.)

REMEMBER: These prompts are to inspire your creativeness, they are completely up to your own interpretation.

PROMPT LIST:

Broken

In Bed

Gold

Slow motion

Angelic

Brands

Helping

Home

Numbers

Cheering/Clapping

Orange

Hidden

Olympics/Sports

Stairs

References

Lights

Phone call/Text

Gift

Purple

Crowded

Minimalistic

Reactions

Fourth Wall

Summer Time

Devilish

One Gif

Blue

Mess

Doors

Relaxing

Free Choice

(Thanks @4marvels-universe for you invaluable help and patience! 💗)

Now, everyone in the following mentions and tags below are cordially invited to participate and/or to share this post so this can reach more fandoms. Every reblog will be greatly appreciated, thank you! 💗)

@sersi @madeline-kahn @djarin @anthonybrxdgerton @avasillva

@simonghostrileys @linusbenjamin @tomshiddles @cal-kestis @cressida-cowper

@ewans-mitchell @nikossasaki @userpeggycarter @cobiesmlders @enidsinclair

@crowley-anthony @shawnee-smith @magnusedom @anastasia-my-darlings @troublefindsme

@arabellas @hakurasakura @elena-gilbert @rhaenyratargaryns @bigfrozensix

@daisyssousa @bcth-uk @safedistancefrombeingsmart @cutterpillow92 @a-victorian-girl

@scottxlogan @everythingsouthasian @mel-loves-all @seth-lael @ijustthinkevilunoisneat

@thelostsmiles @eddiediaaz @antoniosvivaldi @walnutmistjamie @t-u-i-t-c

@crystal-bytes @lucy-sky @queen-daya @bo-katan @heatherfield

@walterkov @pensbridgerton @uyallstars @hidengifs @manny-jacinto

[photopeablr]

this blog is such a cool idea!! i'm fairly new to gifmaking and still learning how to get the best out of photopea. i was wondering if you knew of a way to get gif overlays to work seeing as there isn't a timeline function? like when one gif blends into another with like an ink effect? i was trying and failing yesterday 😅

hello!! thank you for the question <3 apologies for the wait on this tutorial, but follow the steps under the cut below to learn how to make a gif like this!

Before you do anything, make sure you know how many frames your gif is going to be. This is vital for this tutorial, as you are going to be blending gifs together and to do so, you need all of them to be the same length.

step one: the transition gif

Once you have found the gif overlay you want to use for your transition (I will be using the first one from this pack), open it in Photopea. Since you should know how many frames your gif is going to be, make sure you delete the unnecessary frames from the gif overlay. For example, my gif is going to be 36 frames, so I will make sure to delete any other frames I don’t want besides 36 frames. You will also probably need to rename the frames that you’re going to be keeping; with the gif overlay I’m using, all of the frames are titled something like “_a_frm0,30”. However, my gifs end with “,50”, so I need to change the names of the 36 frames of this overlay so they all say “_a_frm0,50” for all 36 frames. This is arguably the most tedious bit of the entire process, which is why I do it first before anything else.

Now you will need to save two different versions of this gif. The first version will be for the “first” gif, and the second version will be for the “second” gif that your gif will transition into. As you likely noticed, gif overlays are black and white; for this tutorial, the first version will be the gif as it comes, and the second version will be inverted. Below are what mine look like after having cropping and resizing the gifs to the size I need them to be for my finished product:

In order to do the inversion, while selecting the folder of your gif overlay on the “Layer” panel on your right, go to Layer… > New Adjustment Layer > Gradient Map…. With the pop up that shows up, check the “Reverse” button to invert your gif overlay. Save this version as well as the other version without the inversion.

step two: creating the transition

after creating both your gif overlay versions as well as the two gifs you’re going to transition between, open up all four of the completed gifs you have created thus far.

Copy over the gif overlays on top of their respective gifs (so, your first gif should have the first version of the gif overlay, and the second gif you want to transition to should have the inverted version of the gif overlay). To copy over the gifs, right click and select Duplicate Into… and select the gif that the overlay will be on. You will want the black of these overlays to show up on both of them, so make sure you set the blending mode on the gif overlay to “Multiply” (you don’t have to change anything about the actual gif that is going to be part of the transition).

Once you have completed this, go to Layer > Animation > Merge in order to combine the gifs with the overlay on them. These are what my gifs look like with the gif overlay transition over them:

step three: final gif

Create a new canvas by going to File > New and creating one with a black background and sized to the size you’ve cropped your other gifs. Duplicate your merged gifs into this canvas, first gif on the bottom above the Background layer and the second gif above that first gif.

You don’t have to do anything to the first gif, but for the second gif, you will need to change the blending mode to “Screen” for the transition to work properly.

From here, do anything else you would like to do to your finished product (add your watermark, do typography, etc). Once you’ve done what you wanted for your finished product, merge your gifs again using Layer > Animation > Merge and then save your gif.

And you’re done! You have successfully completed your gif overlay transition. :)

[wifeymakesgifs]

courtney eaton gif pack

This is my routine now, I guess. I post a pack every six months and then I disappear lol! So much has been going on in life, and I'm trying to get back into gifmaking and most importantly, sticking to a project! Short and sweet, just like me, to get me back!

In this gif pack, you can find 42 gifs of Courtney Eaton as Charlotte Alden in the movie Status Update (2018). All of these gifs were cropped and coloured by yours truly. Courtney is English and a New Zealander of Cook Islander, Chinese and Māori descent, so please be respectful of that when you use her!

TAGGING: @tasksweekly for tasks 86 & 233: Māori and Cook Islands.

Feel free to REBLOG if using this pack, and be mindful of my RULES when using. And please remember, #FREE PALESTINE!

GIF PACK IS IN THE SOURCE LINK BELOW

[pedgito]

Here it is, the PPCU Creator Masterlist (Part One)! For those without context, this is something I threw together for my 15k celebration and am doing as a way to promote both writers and creators within the community that pertain to Pedro in any form. Now, I know there are so many creators out there both old and new (if you'd like to be added to this last at any time, send me an ask/submit in the format below to be added) so, these posts will never be deleted. I highly recommend supporting creators on the platform through reblogs and interactions, but mostly importantly, just a follow! Please respect the guidelines/boundaries these blogs have set and more importantly, be kind. Lastly, thank you for all the support over the last year and half on this blog and I hope 2024 is amazing for all of you!

(A through M is listed below, N through Z can be found in part two.)

#

@604to647 — writer

Javier Pena

Din Djarin

Recommended place to start: Series Masterlist AO3: BigMac1383

A

@agentjackdaniels — writer

Dieter Bravo

Javi Gutierrez

Jack 'Whiskey' Daniels

Recommended place to start: Series AO3: CallieCadence

@amanitacowboy — writer

Joel Miller

Javier Pena

Frankie Morales

Recommended place to start: Masterlist AO3: amanitacowboy

@avastrasposts — writer

Dieter Bravo

Din Djarin

Frankie Morales

Recommended place to start: Series Masterlist AO3: Avastras_imagination

B

@beskarandblasters — writer

Joel Miller

Din Djarin

Frankie Morales

Recommended place to start: Series Masterlist

@bluestar22x — writer

Joel Miller

Javier Pena

Javi Gutierrez

Recommended place to start: Fic AO3: BlueStar22

@burntheedges — writer

Joel Miller

Din Djarin

Frankie Morales

Recommened place to start: Masterlist AO3: burntheedges

C

@cavillscurls — writer

Joel Miller

Javier Pena

Oberyn Martell

Recommended place to start: Fic AO3: cavillscurls

@chaotic-mystery — writer

Joel Miller

Javier Pena

Recommended place to start: Fic

@cool-iguana — writer/original art

Joel Miller

Javier Pena

Din Djarin

Recommended place to start: Series Masterlist AO3: cool_iguana

D

@dark-scape — writer

Joel Miller

Recommended place to start: Masterlist AO3: unlikelydarling

@decembermidnight — writer

Joel Miller

Din Djarin

Recommended place to start: Fic AO3: December_Moon

E

@elvenmother – writer

Marcus Pike

Din Djarin

Marcus Moreno

Recommended place to start: Series Masterlist AO3: ElvenMother

F

@familyvideostevie — writer

Joel Miller

Recommended place to start: Fic AO3: wmthackeray

@flightlessangelwings — writer/graphics

Joel Miller

Din Djarin

Frankie Morales

Recommended place to start: Fic AO3: FlightlessAngelWings

@frenchiereading — writer

Joel Miller

Frankie Morales

Recommended place to start: Fic AO3: mellyb6

@fuckyeahpaperco — shop owner

Pedro Pascal

Joel Miller

Javier Pena

Recommended place to start: Shop

@fuckyeahpedropascal — gifmaker/polls & analyses

Pedro Pascal

Joel Miller

Javier Pena

Recommended place to start: Pedro Boys color matrix

G

@ghostofaboy — writer

Frankie Morales

Maxwell Lord

Jack 'Whiskey' Daniels

Recommended place to start: Series Masterlist AO3: Ghost_Of_A_Boy

@goodwithcheese — writer

Joel Miller

Javier Pena

Frankie Morales

Recommended place to start: Series Masterlist AO3: goodwithcheese

@gracieheartspedro — writer

Pedro Pascal

Joel Miller

Javier Pena

Recommended place to start: Fic

I

@i-love-movies — gifmaker

Pedro Pascal

Javi Gutierrez

Ezra (Prospect)

Recommended place to start: Masterlist

@ilovepedro — writer

Javier Pena

Din Djarin

Frankie Morales

Recommended place to start: Fic

@ishabull — writer & art/drawings

Pedro Pascal

Marcus Pike

Din Djarin

Recommended place to start: Series Masterlist AO3: ishabull

@itsbrandy — writer

Dieter Bravo

Recommended place to start: Masterlist AO3: agentbrandy

J

@janaispunk — writer

Joel Miller

Javier Pena

Dave York

Recommended place to start: Fic

@javierpena-inatacvest — writer

Javier Peña

Frankie Morales

Places to start: Series Masterlist

@joelalorian — writer

Joel Miller

Recommended place to start: Series Masterlist AO3: Joelalorian (Lauri_Adores_Barba)

@joelscurls — writer

Joel Miller

Javier Pena

Frankie Morales

Recommended place to start: Fic

@joels-shitty-puns — writer

Pedro Pascal

Joel Miller

Dieter Bravo

Recommended place to start: Masterlist

@julesonrecord — writer

Din Djarin

Ezra (Prospect)

Jack 'Whiskey' Daniels

Recommended place to start: Series Masterlist

K

@katiexpunk — writer

Joel Miller

Javier Pena

Frankie Morales

Recommended place to start: Fic AO3: katiexpunk

@kiwisbell — writer

Joel Miller

Javier Pena

Frankie Morales

Recommended place to start: Series Masterlist AO3: kiwisbell

@kteague — writer

Joel Miller

Javier Pena

Frankie Morales

Recommended place to start: Fic AO3: FFanon

L

@ladamedusoif — writer

Javier Pena

Dieter Bravo

Din Djarin

Recommended place to start: Series Masterlist AO3: ladamedusoif

@linzels-blog – writer

Joel Miller

Din Djarin

Frankie Morales

Recommended place to start: Series Masterlist AO3: linzelcodesincplusplus

@loliwrites — writer

Joel Miller

Javier Pena

Recommended place to start: Fic

M

@maggiemayhemnj — writer

Joel Miller

Marcus Pike

Ezra (Prospect)

Recommended place to start: Series Masterlist

@magpiepills — writer

Joel

Javi

Dieter

Recommended place to start: Masterlist AO3: magpiepills

@max--phillips — writer

Din Djarin

Max Phillips

Jack 'Whiskey' Daniels

Recommended place to start: Fic AO3: spacegayofficial

@mermaidgirl30 — writer

Pedro Pascal

Joel Miller

Javier Pena

Recommended place to start: Masterlist AO3: mermaidgirl30

@miguelo-hara — gifmaker

Pedro Pascal

Joel Miller

Din Djarin

Recommended place to start: Gifset

@morallyinept — writer

Joel Miller

Dieter Bravo

Frankie Morales

Recommended place to start: Series Masterlist

@morning-star-joy — writer

Joel Miller

Recommended place to start: Series Masterlist AO3: MorningStarJoy

N-Z/PART TWO CAN BE FOUND HERE!

[bengiyo]

Why Do I Tag So Many Creators in My Posts? It’s About Respect

Earlier today I was talking with @sophsloveskpop in the notes of a post, and was asked about all of the interaction between blogs in the posts and essays about the shows. I’ve noticed an uptick in new names interacting with posts (and making great posts of their own!) and wanted to talk about why I do it and why I like fandom on Tumblr.

Fundamentally, I think it’s generally good courtesy to acknowledge when someone else has expressed a similar idea to your, or an idea that intrigues you. I think it’s best to tag that person and link to their post so that others can also experience it. It also opens you up to a dialogue with them and others.

People Like Getting Their Flowers

If someone posts an analysis or even a quirky idea that I felt the need to think about, I will mention them in my posts. None of the great content we get on here is necessarily quick to make. I absolutely love all of the gifmakers who fight against Photoshop, Tumblr, and God Himself to post snippets of shows on here for us. I wouldn’t be able to flesh out some of my posts, illustrates points, or otherwise breakup walls of text without @liyazaki, @wanderlust-in-my-soul, @pharawee, or @gabrielokun. Whenever I can’t find the gif I’m looking for through Tumblr’s terrible gif search, I reach out to one of them for permission to use their gifs directly.

Also, many of us just like being acknowledged that someone we wrote meant something to someone else. Every time I get tagged by someone in an essay I’m like:

It’s a Conversation

I don’t think fandom is about being the smartest person or the most correct person. My basic framework I’m writing from is Black Gay Nerd Who Watches a Lot of Stuff. It’s what I’m most familiar with personally, and I find that people have really responded to that.

I’ve been around for a very long time, and have been seeing folks like @so-much-yet-to-learn around the entire time, who often has more specific information about fandom life during the airing of shows. @absolutebl and @heretherebedork have watched more BL than I have, and I’ve seen at least 250 productions. ABL has some of the most comprehensive posts collecting some of the history.

I made so many friends after diving into @shortpplfedup DMs to talk about sustainable urbanism and bonding over our shared geography. Now we run @the-conversation-pod together. Through them I befriended so many others, like @elnotwoods and @kyr-kun-chan.

I’m not a color theory expert, and so I love reading posts from @respectthepetty and others (I think @sliceduplife writes about color too).

We wouldn't even have my favorite show without @isaksbestpillow.

I know what shows are coming because of @clairificusrex.

I don’t know much about music theory, but @iguessitsjustme write some great stuff about the music in these shows.

I don’t always read the body language of hands as closely as someone like @wen-kexing-apologist might.

I am not Asian, and so I like reading from @waitmyturtles, @telomeke-bbs, and @neuroticbookworm. I know that @recentadultburnout and @airenyah offer useful perspective on Thai language.

Sometimes folks are going to narrow down on specific shows and consistently write about them for years on side blogs like @miscellar.

Some people have studied so much and bring specific academic lenses to the genre that I find compelling, like @emotionallychargedtowel.

In many cases, I just vibe with them really hard, like @ginnymoonbeam.

I actually didn’t always post as much as I do, but I try to keep up my Stray Thoughts project so that people can keep track of what I’m watching. I used to write less meta, but then I befriended @waitmyturtles and @lurkingshan. Any time I say anything remotely thoughtful Shan is like:

Also, though, this is Tumblr! It’s easy to tag each other and link to each other’s posts! This is what makes us different from every

Isn’t It Just More Fun?

I don’t enjoy shows passively. I grew up in a family that watched things together. My mom, dad, sister, and I all have differing tastes from each other, but we watched a lot of different things together. My friends and I discussed the things we watched at school.

I’m a big fan of the water cooler approach to TV show distribution, which basically says you want your show to be the show people are talking about on their breaks at work. I always like Film Crit Hulk’s theory that movies (and our dramas) are the proverbial campfires around which we gather to share ourselves with each other.

This is all supposed to be fun, and I have more fun when we interact. I get tagged daily by @blmpff about updates from sets, or when we all need to rush to IG to make sure Fluke Pongsakorn doesn’t cut his hair. When @bl-bam-beyond makes a new set or post they let me know, and they recently rewatched Noah’s Arc! I made friends with @gillianthecat in the last year or so, and it’s been fun seeing her make her way through fandom. I always get excited with @troubled-mind pings me in a post because I know it’s going to give me something to chew on. I didn’t have a genuine appreciation for kink culture until I watched along with @lutawolf. If something funny is happening in fandom I know @benkaaoi is going to tag me. I still get excited when @heukheuk pops up in my mentions.

I know I’ve probably forgotten so many people alone the way here, and I’m sorry if I didn’t mention you.

Tag Because It’s the Right Thing to Do

So seriously, tag people and link to their posts. Try to use the giffmakers specific tags when you’re using the search feature. Fandom is better when we all interact respectfully and enthusiastically with each other. Tumblr is special because it lets us create goofy little essays like this and tag dozens of people just to get their attention.

If you have a cool thought about a show I’m watching, tag me. If you see something funny, tag me in the comments. If you wanna hash out an idea before posting it, DM me. This is Tumblr. Don’t be shy with your thoughts. It’s okay to be wrong on the internet. It’s actually fun to be wrong on the internet about show predictions!

Thank you as always for coming to my post.

[shaunashipman]

Being 100% serious, I was a hardcore b.ddie shipper before bucktommy happened. I was all in on the theories, the slow burn of it all, etc. I loved them. And when bucktommy first happened I was ready to dive in with multishipping bx to me that's just. What you do. When there are two/more ships that you like. You ship both. You ship all of them together. It's like playing with dolls, yknow?

But then the toxicity started. And fortunately I have amazing mutuals so I didn't see the worst of it until I went into the tags. And I am being so completely serious when I say that watching the toxic b.ddie stans rip bucktommy apart, harass the actors, harass Tim Minear, going out of their way to be the most aggressive, annoying people in fandom. It killed my enjoyment of the ship.

I dont ship b.ddie anymore because of the way these people have behaved. Because of the way that side of fandom has been overtaken by bitterness and hate and thinly veiled homophobia. I cannot find enjoyment in that ship anymore because of the way people have turned it into the new destiel.

Tim likes writing the buck/Eddie friendship, and I love seeing it on screen, but it would not surprise me in the LEAST if the stans cause another cast separation like the destiel fans did. (Iydk: destiel fans harassed the actors to such an extent that they actually severed ties irl; for years, they refused to do con panels together or pr together bx the fans were so obsessive that they actually sparked rumours about the ACTORS cheating on their respective wives* with each other.)

(*Do I think it'll go that far here? I hope not, but given that people are shipping Ryan and Oliver already, it wouldn't surprise me if they did.)

Sorry this got long. I dont normally just drop into ppls asks to whine like this but I just have to say it to someone who isn't going to crucify me for not shipping b.ddie anymore. Maybe if the fans calm tf down I'll go back but for now... b.ddie to me are platonic soulmates. That's all it's gonna be to me.

I hope your day is going better than mine.

I'm always good with rants in my inbox so long as ppl are respectful 🫶

I'm really sorry the other stans have ruined your enjoyment of the ship, that is one of the worst feelings in fandom. I too used to ship buddie, as a purely fanon ship, but now I don't even want to read fics, and seeing gifs of them gives me such a visceral no response, which sucks because a lot of the gifsets are gorgeous and as a fellow gifmaker I know how much effort goes into them

I do hope things will calm down and you can enjoy it again; unfortunately I fear if bucktommy are still together at the end of the season 🤞 and there isn't a clear shutdown on buddie from TPTB, that it's only going to get worse over the hiatus

in the meantime

[vinnymauro]

9, 28 and 41 for the gifmaker asks 😉

hi aimz!!

9. what/who inspired you to start making gifs?

every gif maker on this website to be honest! i’ve talked abt this before but i’ve been photo editing since myspace days (2007 or so) but never really knew what gifs were until tumblr. even then, i was content with using screencaps and editing based off screencaps! and i was fine with it when my laptops felt old and sluggish while constantly saying next laptop i’ll learn to gif. i said that for like 3 laptops 😭 but last year (late october) i got a new laptop and finally decided i was going to gif! and now here i am! i really wanted to gif back when i was rping so i could make my own resources but now that i gif i would cry having to make my own resources. y’all need to respect all types of gif makers, esp those who make 100+ gifs of an actor for rp bc that can’t be fun or easy.

28. have you ever posted a set, regretted it and immediately deleted?

nope! you get what you get. and if i really don’t like it, i’ll do a remake. i’m all about improving and showing my improvements. this blog is 10 years old and it hosts a lot of shit that i no longer like or care for but it doesn’t mean it needs to be deleted! i’m gonna look back on old edits like here let me color this better as a gif. i should start a special remake tag 🤔

41. what is your least favorite part about your giffing process?

capping and typography. they’re even. with capping i use a program where i manually cap and i tend to over cap scenes bc idk what i want to cut away and what not. so i’m usually hitting two buttons back and forth for a while. and i get tired of it pretty quickly. and then typography is my nemesis. idk how people can use small fonts and be able to see (i also don’t know if i could make my workspace larger. idk how to explain it but it always feels smaller in photoshop and then i upload it like oh that looks bad). i did a quote edit last night and i was having an almost breakdown over the typography before i gave up trying to do something cool. it’s whatever. i’m still gonna post it 😂

gif maker asks!!

[ivettel]

anon, you're right! that is indeed petty behaviour, and beyond petty, it's quite frankly useless and asinine. as someone in law, it pisses me off to no end when people who clearly have no idea what they're talking about—people such as yourself—try to use legality as a defence for their views / actions / etc. let's go step by step here. (disclaimer: NOT legal advice, just info)

you aren't allowed to post gifs of material that you do not hold the copyright to on tumblr

the terms of service do not say this. read the page again. under s. 22 "dmca copyright policy" they very explicitly follow the us digital millennium copyright act. the very same dmca that makes itself painfully clear that it is still subject to fair use.

what is fair use? it's a us legal doctrine defined under s. 107 of the us copyright act.

"the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright."

now, at first blush, it may seem like tumblr gifs don't fall into the enumerated categories. but the key words here are "purposes such as." without getting into any case law, just based on the provision alone, we see that fair use considers:

(1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes; (2) the nature of the copyrighted work; (3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and (4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

emphasis added for your benefit. i'm not allowed to interpret this but i will say that transformative works such as gifs and edits have a place in us copyright law and your implication that "gifs of copyrighted material are inherently a violation of copyright law" literally doesn't exist.

so when i see someone acting like editing makes copyrighted material their own i report that copyright violation

this goes back to my previous point about fair use, but also the terms of service you're on your knees sucking have a whole section entitled "content and user content" (s. 6) which say, inter alia:

You retain ownership you have of any intellectual property you post to Tumblr.

You also agree that you will respect the intellectual property rights of others, and represent and warrant that you have all of the necessary rights to grant us this license for all User Content you provide.

if a user were to make user content that falls under fair use then that sure would imply a couple things, wouldn't it. again i'm not allowed to interpret this lest i illegally give out legal advice but i'll give you the benefit of the doubt that you can figure things out on your own.

all of the law aside:

i don't care tbh because we don't need people with big egos in fandom spaces.

this is really your problem, isn't it. you don't like that gifmakers get attention. you don't like that the numbers go to some people's heads and they act foolishly. you don't like that gifmakers can get popular on a dying socmed website. you don't like that they ask for recognition when they put work into creating something.

news flash: the world doesn't revolve around you and your feelings!

news flash 2: the block button is free!!

why do you care so much that people want attention. why do you care that people want credit. why is it your burden to micromanage how other people—especially people doing something as relatively harmless as GIFMAKING—behave.

nobody thinks they're "creating their own copyrighted material" by posting gifs of a tv show to tumblr dot com. it's a sign of acknowledgement (and your favourite terms of service acknowledge it too under s. 6) that what's posted online can't be kept to one place. good gifs get stolen and reposted without credit, so why not have the watermark there to make sure that credit is given regardless?

there are so many valid things to criticize tumblr gifmakers for, like whitewashing non-white people, or exploiting people's trauma / grief for clout, etc, the list goes on. but you've chosen to critique the use of WATERMARKS? AND clog up tumblr's already-overloaded copyright team with your inanity in the process, thereby indirectly harming artists/other creators who actually have valid claims that need processing??? that's egotistical on another level.

tl;dr keep the law out of your mouth until you put effort into learning how it works and get real. "lol"

this is petty but i always report the blogs of people who watermark their gifs. technically you aren't allowed to post gifs of material that you do not hold the copyright to on tumblr (it's in the terms and conditions that we all ignored and clicked "ok" on when we signed up lol), so when i see someone acting like editing makes copyrighted material their own i report that copyright violation. maybe that makes me a bad person but i don't care tbh because we don't need people with big egos in fandom spaces.

that's so dumb lmao people make gifs for fun, as a hobby and simply don't want it reposted so it's not that deep that people watermark it. you're the one with a big ego here actually to go out of your way and report them

[soonseokboos]

’an ode’ hope vers. wallpapers mingyu | woozi | hoshi | wonwoo [do not repost.] +like/reblog if using!

[giftober]

Hello everyone!! welcome to our 3rd round of Giftober!! 👋🪄

It´s so good to be back!! Last year event was fabulous so I really wanted to meet you all again finally!

If it´s your first time in this blog, I officially started this 2 years ago, with the idea that these October 31 prompts can specially inspire, encourage and support gifmakers across all fandoms!

HOW TO PARTICIPATE:

Reblog this post. (Optional but encouraged.) Create a gifset inspired by the daily prompts. Tag your posts with #giftober2023. Caption your gifsets with: @giftober 2023 | Day #: "prompt description". (Recommended.)

IMPORTANT:

Make your own gifs. (I won´t reblog reposted gifs or gifs taken from the Tumblr search.) No explicit content. All fandoms are welcome! As long as you all respect each other! ☝

(The prompt list written and more info under the cut.)

Any doubts you may have, you´re welcome to leave it in my 📧 inbox.

THIS EVENT STARTS ON OCTOBER 1ST and I can't wait to see all your creations! 💗

Ele :))

REMEMBER:

You don´t need to make all 31. You can make as much and as few as you want. And not exactly in order nor you have to post on time.

If you can´t exactly fit one of the prompt with your fandom, no worries! You can skip it or... modified it as your convinience, think of another prompt, do one from the 2021/2022 events instead! 😁

I know it might be a few others challenges in October, and make a daily set for a whole month sounds quite overwhelming, so please, don´t feel any pressure to complete this one! (in fact, you can combine prompts from other challenges!)

Since you don´t need to post in time, you can finish this after the month is over. Although I´ll check the tag less frequently then.

These prompts are completely up to your interpretation, but for any doubt, please, you´re welcome to ask me.

PROMPT LIST:

First meeting

Coffee/Tea

Mood

Eyes

Friendship

Red

Water

Funny

Shadows/Silhouettes

New

Pink

Cozy

Clocks

Reunion

Grief

Tropes

Mirrors

Romance

Green

Joy

Spring/Autumn

Yellow

Hands

Countries

Music

Teary

Old

Change

Backpacks/Handbags

Goodbye

Free choice

(Again, thanks @4marvels-universe for your help and patience! 💗)

Now, everyone in the following mentions and tags below are cordially invited to participate and/or to share this post so this can reach more fandoms. (thank you so much! 💗)

@sersi @luke-skywalker @anthonybrxdgerton @kamalaskhans @harrison-ford @edwards-teach @obiwan @daisyssousa @cutterpillow92 @safedistancefrombeingsmart @bcth-uk @lokihiddleston @oppienheimer @yellenabelova @cillianmurphy @scottxlogan @everythingsouthasian @mel-loves-all @sabinnewren @seth-lael @thelostsmiles @lastencoregraphics @suledins @mckiwixsylpha @ijustthinkevilunoisneat @madeline-kahn @arthurpendragonns @msmischief101 @simonghostrileys @avasillva @tomshiddles @henry-alex @eddiediaaz @carricfisher @piperhaliwell @cobiesmlders @linusbenjamin @bladesrunner @simoneashley @dani-clayton @annacoleman @ghouls-ghoul @tessas-thompson @trashcora @barbie-movie @tennant @cal-kestis @usercreate ❤

[sugurugetos]

— i think it’s been a year and a half since i posted my last tutorial! with a few more requests (and me learning new things) i decided to make a new and updated tutorial 💎 — this is a VERY image heavy tutorial and it is also very long! i’ve put it under the cut <3 like there are OVER 50 images...this is more of a masterpost really. if there is something that does not make sense, feel free to ask!! i will more than happy to clarify! — i promise the header gif was once good quality but for some reason, i did something to it and it became weird. please ignore that 😭

the first step is to make the gif! i’ll try to go through everything, step by step! there are different methods to make gifs but i’ll only be explaining the method i use. but i’ll link some incredible tutorials from other content creators later :D 

i’ll be using photoshop. make sure you use a version of photoshop that allows you access to the timeline option! there was a weird update where the adobe timelines were not compatible with the m1 macbook chips so look out for that!

— the first thing you need is an .mp4 video. i use the in-built screen recorder on a macbook (which you get by pressing command + shift + 5). i usually just record the section of the video that i need but some people use programs such as 4k video downloader (which also works very well but i stopped using it because i was worried that i was using too much data downloading longer videos!) 

— i’ll be using a clip of jeonghan from the hot music video! when you open photoshop, go to file > import > video frames to layers

— this will open up your files and from there, you should select the video that you want to make a gif out of!

— once you have selected the video, you will get a pop-up and it has a little trimmer (that i’ve highlighted in the blue box!) that you can use to find precisely what you want to gif. the little triangle that i’ve placed in the yellow box is like a slider than you can use to preview the video!

—now your specific video clip will be opened as a bunch of layers and you want to press the small button (i am so sorry 😭 i don’t know what it’s called) and it will do something (which, even after three years of making gifs, i still don’t what its called) but just press it!! i’ve highlighted it in the yellow box!!

— then select all the layers and right click and then convert to smart object. this will make it a lot easier for you to sharpen and colour your gif at a later stage.

— if you still think your gif has unnecessary frames/scenes, use the small trimmers in the timeline to trim the gif even further!

— now at this stage, your gif is technically ready but the chances are that the gif is too large to be posted on tumblr. tumblr has a 10mb gif size limit (praying that they don’t go ahead with the bad updates) so we want to bring that gif size down into a gif that can be posted onto the dashboard.

— go to image > image size! something very interesting that you can also do when resizing your gif is changing the resample settings (look at this post by @usergif here!)

— now there are many sizes you can make your gif but if you want a recommended size for a single gif on the dashboard - check this out! the width should always be 540px but the height can vary!

— now that your gif is ready (unsharpened and uncoloured - but this is just the base gif tutorial) we can now save the gif! go to file > export > save for web. don’t make the same mistake as me back in 2018 when i was trying to make lotr gifs but i kept clicking save as...and it would save as a still image.

— saving settings can vary! but these are the ones i use and they usually work for me! make sure that your looping is set to forever otherwise your gif will play out and then stop :(

— and this is our final gif! it has no sharpening or colouring but its a functioning gif on its own :D

— i enjoy this part the most!! there are so many different ways that you can colour a gif and it is all up to personal preference! but this is first the basic colouring on a gif. you should go to layer > new adjustment layer > curves. 

you’ll see three eyedroppers on the side (black, grey and white)! we’re going to be using the black and white ones! when you click the black eyedropper, you’re going to click it onto the darkest pixel in the gif. and then take the white eyedropper and place it onto the whitest/lightest pixel in the gif! it makes a huge difference!

— as you can see, the difference is immense. that cyan sort of washed tone has been lifted from the gif!

— the gif on the left is a comparison of only the curves layer against the original gif. the gif on the right includes some extra adjustments that may help your gif :D

the two little skin-tone rectangles compare jeonghan’s skin tone without selective colour and then WITH selective colour (respectively). the rectangles near the bottom-right corner show just one example of how you can play and adjust hues with selective colour!

— now i’ll show an example of how this might with a more yellow/darker toned scenes. for some reason, so many shows love turning the brightness down on their scenes and its up to gifmakers to actually make the scenes visible 😭 i’ve taken a small clip of halime sultan from dirilis ertugrul!

— i resized the gif but i have not added any adjustments yet to it!

— i created a new curves layer and i took the black eyedropper, placing it on the darkest pixel i could find (a fold in her headdress) and this is how the gif looks now. arguably it looks worse but this is a necessary step for the final gif.

— so now i took the white eyedropper and placed it on the lightest pixel i could find. it was a reflection on the metal decor on the headdress. and it brightened the gif up quite a bit!! but here is where things can get interesting...

— this is an alternative use of the white eyedropper! in this case, i placed the dropper on the highlight reflection on her cheekbone (which was originally tinted a more blue with red on the edges) and this also brightened up the gif but it gave it a more green/yellow hue!!

this is important and something that is so useful for me because basically if your gif is too BLUE-hued, find the lightest blue-ish pixel but if it is too YELLOW-hued, then find the lightest yellow-ish pixel. you can easily manipulate the tones in the gif this way!

— so on the left i have the final gif!! and on the right i have a comparison on how the lighting has improved so much from the original gif!

— now i could go on forever about all the ways you can colour a gif but we would be here forever, and you would be scrolling forever so instead, i put together some colourings that you can download here!

— cheers: it brings out the reds and orange and it turns greens into teals and blues! — selemzar: if you’ve watched historical turkish dramas, especially ones with tribe/city sets you know that they love their yellow hues! this one gets rid of the yellow cast on a scene <3 — httyd: a very basic psd that turns blues into greens and brings out skin tones! — up: i use this one very often (and named it after the mv in which i first made it). its a psd for bright and vibrant gif colourings that focuses on making the blue colours as bright as possible! 

— i’m gonna be honest...i am not a huge expert in this area and my knowledge of sharpening is limited to photoshop’s own features. there are so many softwares and programs you can use to clean up a video and to make it smoother and sharper such as avisynth and topaz!

— this is the sharpening i use the most nowadays! it has two layers of differing smart sharpens and then a layer of noise on top. it usually works well for me except noise increases the size of the gif a LOT so my gifs are never too long 😭

— this is one that i used to use all the time. it gives a very glowy look to the edges and i’ll use it if the video is lower quality as this sharpening covers up some of the weird pixel squares!

if you would like some more clean and comprehensive sharpenings, then take a look at these!

this tutorial by most beloved @woozi / this tutorial by @trashcora / this tutorial by @haleths / or this one from @hyunfelix 

— another thing i like are matte gifs!! i haven’t made many of them but they are such a neat effect to add onto gifs - especially stage/live gifs! so here i’ve made my base gif of heeseung and given it some base colouring (curves and selective colour)

— now i saw this tip from another blog (an nct/wayv blog im so sure but i cannot remember the url for the LIFE of me) but what i remember is that you add a levels layer (and with the three numbers under the graph in order: it’s 20 / 1 / 250 and then with the numbers next to output levels it’s: 20 / 240) and then you add a solid fill colour of #2f2f2f and set it to screen and you get the results below!

—  often if you’re giffing a music video / a film / a show, there are people speaking and you want to add subtitles!! i like to use the font: arial rounded mt bold and then i open the character window and click on the bold and italic T <3

— now we have the basic subtitles, but they are not as easy to read against jeonghan and seungkwan in the background so we’re going to right click on the text and go to blending options and then you add a shadow behind it!

— i personally find that subtitles look nicer with a stroke as well, so you can add a stroke (any size of your choosing) and set the position to outside.

— and here we have subtitled gifs!!! if there is more than one person speaking, you can change the colour of the gifs and my go-to secondary colour is #fda700 :)

— if you want to learn how to blur captions, i recommend this tutorial by @chanstopher

— now that i’ve gone through the basic tutorials for making gifs, let’s take a look at some fun effects!!

a place that i really recommend learning these things from is @usergif as they have super cool tutorials and a directory as well that you can access here <3

— if there is one thing i love...it’s gradient backgrounds. and also this video of seventeen and thus i will show both in this next tutorial! i’ve started off with this seokmin clip and i’ll add some adjustments to it.

— so now that i’ve added curves, exposure, colour balance etc (all the basic adjustments) we’re ready to add the gradient!

— go to layer > new fill layer > gradient!

— a small pop-up comes up and click on the gradient (in this case that blue-transparent bar) and another pop-up will appear! here you can make your own gradient or choose a pre-set gradient (there are heaps of good options)

— once you’re satisfied with the gradient, you can click OK and then set the gradient layer to hard light. you can play with different settings but this is the one that i prefer the most!

— now convert the gradient to a smart object!

— in the small yellow box, i’ve highlighted the layer mask button and you should add one to your gradient layer! a layer mask will be useful because if you make a mistake later on, you can simply make another layer mask and start again! also bring out a soft brush (hardness set to 0%) and make sure the brush colour is BLACK. a black brush erases the layer mask and a white brush brings it back. use the brush and you can erase over the subject in the gif!

— so now we have a seokmin-shaped hole in our gradient (if he is not a heart🧡 why heart shaped?) but the edges (even with the 0% hardness) are still too sharp and we want to soften the gradient!

— go to filter > blur > gaussian blur and play around with the blur settings till you find a gradient edge that satisfies you! you don’t want it to be so soft that the gradient ends up covering the subject again but not too hard either.

— and this is our final gif!! the gradient background is really so versatile and it adds pops of colour to your gifs (and can be very useful in covering pesky pixel ugly-coloured backgrounds!)

— another effect that i love so much is adding gradient text and pngs to gifs! i feel like they just make the gif so much more fun and interesting <3 so here i’ve got a gif ready (its been coloured and resized) and i want to add text and an image onto it!

— in any font you like, and any size you like, you can type out your text but make sure that the text is WHITE (otherwise you won’t achieve the same gradient effect)

— i love adding transparent pngs and a site i like to use is called nicepng.com as they’re free to use and they have a great selection of transparent images! i looked up an angel image (for beloved jeonghan ofc) and i downloaded one! i prefer images that have a thicker outline as this helps the gradient appear more clearly!

— i downloaded the png and placed it on the gif. but the original png was NOT white so i need to make it white. for that, i made a small white rectangle and placed it in a clipping mask over the angel wings and then merged the layers. then you can reposition the text and png to wherever you want them to sit in the image.

— now we’ve reached the gradient part! set the text to EXCLUSION (this will let your text have that see through property and if you don’t want it to look transparent, then you can keep it on normal). then go to BLENDING OPTIONS and go to gradient overlay. here you can select the gradient that you would like!

— once you’ve selected a gradient to your liking, click OK and then make sure that the blend mode of your gradient (in the gradient overlay box) is set to HARD LIGHT. in the previous step, if you did not change the white text to Exclusion, then you can keep the gradient blend mode on normal. i also like to add a shadow on my text as it helps it stand out a bit more!

— so i did the exact same process to the angel png (exclusion > blending options > gradient on hard light) and there we have our final gif! its such a versatile and fun effect that can liven up your gifs!!

there are countless more effects and tricks and tutorials that you can use to make your gifs but we would be here for another fifty years so i will add some links below of some incredible tutorials that i often refer back to! 

if there was anything that i said above that didn’t make sense (because after a while, my brain turned to mush), you can always come and ask for clarification :D

colour isolation tutorial by @simoneashly

my own tutorial on blending over @kgifsource 

an amazing guide on colouring those heavily yellow tinted scenes by @nobodynocrime as well as this amazing glitch effect tutorial!

the tutorials from which i learnt blending gifs together are these two: this one by @jackarthurdavenport and this one by @yenvengerberg

a guide on vapoursynth and colouring by one of my favs @wonublr​

and this comprehensive guide on gif making in general by @soonhoonsol​ <3

[bobbiedebruyn]

We need to talk.

Hello there, fellow gifmakers. I’m writing this post to address a phenomenon that's been happening for years both here and on Twitter – gif stealing. However, today we will talk about Twitter only (kinda ironic considering the circumstances, I know). Today we’ll talk about one particular person, whose whole Twitter brand is based on getting hit tweets with stolen Tumblr gifs, and it’s been happening for years now. So why we’re talking about this now? Because due to Twitter turning into a dumpster fire Tumblr welcomed a lot of new users, including that one person.

The person in question is @/red3corat3 (both here and on Twitter). Unfortunately, I already had an encounter with them a year ago, last summer when The Fear Street was trending. They screenshotted my gifset and posted it on Twitter with a same caption. When I asked them for credit – they simply blocked me. 

My post: https://deenafier.tumblr.com/post/656902582632136704/when-6-hours-chemistry-read-pays-off

Today I noticed that this person followed me on Tumblr (thankfully I remembered the username from that situation). I decided to check if they still were doing the same thing, and to no surprise it turned out to be true (I'm adding some screenshots, in reality there's even more posts like this made by them). Currently their main interest is Warrior Nun so their account is full of stolen WN gifs, however they’re also in fandoms such as Motherland Fort Salem, Station 19 and House of the Dragon.

What can we do? Block them on here, make sure their access to gifs is limited, let them know gif thieves are not welcomed here. Here's their tumblr blog:

We, gifmakers, spend hours on gifs, we’re doing this completely for free, simply out of passion for our favorite things. We don’t expect anything in return, but a simple credit or respect when a person says “I don’t want to see my work on other platforms” would’ve been enough.

[pedgito]

Here it is, the PPCU Creator Masterlist (Part Two)! For those without context, this is something I threw together for my 15k celebration and am doing as a way to promote both writers and creators within the community that pertain to Pedro in any form. Now, I know there are so many creators out there both old and new (if you'd like to be added to this last at any time, send me an ask/submit in the format below to be added) so, these posts will never be deleted. I highly recommend supporting creators on the platform through reblogs and interactions, but mostly importantly, just a follow! Please respect the guidelines/boundaries these blogs have set and more importantly, be kind. Lastly, thank you for all the support over the last year and half on this blog and I hope 2024 is amazing for all of you!

(N through Z is listed below, A through M can be found in part one.)

P

@palioom — writer

Javier Pena

Oberyn Martell

Jack 'Whiskey' Daniels

Recommended place to start: Masterlist AO3: palioom

@pamasaur — writer

Joel Miller

Recommended place to start: Fic

AO3: pamasaur

@pedrorascal — gifmaker/shop owner

Pedro Pascal

Javier Pena

Frankie Morales

Recommended place to start: Gifset / Redbubble

@perotovar — writer/gifmaker

Pedro Pascal

Javier Pena

Frankie Morales

Recommended place to start: Gifset / Series Masterlist

R

@ramblers-lets-get-ramblin — writer

Joel Miller

Javier Pena

Dieter Bravo

Recommended place to start: Series Masterlist AO3: ramblers_lets_get_ramblin

@rhoorl — writer

Dieter Bravo

Frankie Morales

Recommended place to start: Series Masterlist AO3: Rhoorlando

S

@saradika — writer & graphics (dividers, ect)

Din Djarin

Joel Miller (@eupheme is their Joel centric blog)

Recommended place to start: Series Masterlist AO3: saradika

@secretelephanttattoo — writer

Javier Pena

Marcus Pike

Tim Rockford

Recommended place to start: Series Masterlist AO3: SecretElephantTattoo

@shellshocklove — writer

Joel Miller

Recommended place to start: Fic AO3: shellshocklove

@southparkpedro — original art

Pedro Pascal

Dieter Bravo

Javi Gutierrez

Recommended place to start: Masterlist

@sp00kycrumpet — writer

Joel Miller

Javier Pena

Dieter Bravo

Recommended place to start: Fic AO3: SpookyCrumpet

@sp00kymulderr — writer

Joel Miller

Dieter Bravo

Ezra (Prospect)

Recommended place to start: Mini-series Masterlist

AO3: Walker_August

@sweetenerobert — writer

Pedro Pascal

Joel Miller

Dieter Bravo

Recommended place to start: Fic

@sweetercalypso — writer

Joel Miller

Din Djarin

Recommended place to start: Fic AO3: sweetercalypso

@sydneyinacoma - writer

Joel Miller

Jack ‘Whiskey’ Daniels

Recommended place to start: Masterlist AO3: sydneyinacoma

T

@tightjeansjavi – writer

Joel Miller

Javier Pena

Dieter Bravo

Recommended place to start: Masterlist AO3: tightjeansjavi

@theywhowriteandknowthings — writer

Joel Miller

Dave York

Din Djarin

Recommended place to start: Series Masterlist AO3: TheyWhoWriteAndKnowThings

@trulybetty — writer

Joel Miller

Dieter Bravo

Frankie Morales

Recommended place to start: Fic AO3: trulybetty

U

@undercoverpena — writer

Joel Miller

Javier Pena

Frankie Morales

Recommended place to start: Series Masterlist AO3: Undercoverpena

@userparamore — gifmaker

Pedro Pascal

Joel Miller

Oberyn Martell

Recommended place to start: Gifset

W

@wannab-urs — writer

Javier Pena

Dave York

Dieter Bravo

Recommended place to start: Fic AO3: wannab_urs

A-M/PART ONE CAN BE FOUND HERE!

[cpd5777]

The 10x03 ending Upstead scene. Angst in 3 parts…

This scene has haunted me since it aired. While I have no comment on the writing that got us here, I have nothing but absolute fangirling respect and awe for Tracy and Jesse’s talent. For me, Tracy took us all on this emotional journey with her and here is my breakdown of it.

Gif credit to @bleedinghearthalstead !

Part 1: Coming to grips with the fact that he resigned from the police force.

While we didn’t see this bit of dialogue and the scene opened with Hailey’s incredulous “what!?” It was obvious Jay had just told her he had resigned.

The fact that she was the one who made him realize that had her immediately feeling panicked. This reaction was everyone’s. She didn’t mean for him to throw the baby out with the bathwater. You can see her panic rise since she knows Jay is not dramatic and impulsive by nature.

When he responds that he had to

You can see her bow her head. She realizes she has to accept life without her work partner by her side, but she has him by her side in every other way. This will bend her but not break them, but she’s still devastated.

Part 2: From “I talked to Nolan” to “Jay”

Worrying that he is really not OK and has jumped into something irrational. She can’t believe he is already talking about another job. (Sorry I am light on the gifs here. Gifmaking is not in my spirit).

Part two was heartbreaking in a different sense because she first tries to get him to see reason but then when she realized he was serious, he just kept pummeling her with new information.

When he says “I took the job” you can practically HEAR her eyes blinking (sorry best way I can describe it). Shock does not even cover it.

But then after that you see her doubt herself. Is he escaping intelligence or is he leaving HER?

Her childlike, plaintive, slightly whiny “But you can’t just leave” is gutwrenching. Like a child begging to change circumstances they have no control over.

And then he can tell he will break her with the news but he tells her he is leaving today and then she is just terrified.

Part 3 - reassurance however thin

He sees she’s terrified and swoops in with the reassurance that they ate still in this together and that she’s it for him, then waits for her to confirm.

The saddest part is what comes next. I get it from a storyline standpoint, but it irked that he used her undying devotion to him as a lever to convince her to let him go. In that moment she realizes she has no fight in this situation. He waits patiently for her approval though- such a Jay thing to do.

When she nods, he is overwhelmed…with how much he truly loves her, with her selflesness, with how she has always been there for him. He pours ALL of his love for her into this kiss.

I think it is during this kiss she realizes he is leaving. Maybe not leaving her, but leaving nonetheless.

Here is where he realizes that the right thing to do that felt so right means leaving his anchor and it hurts 10x more than he expected it to.

Then Hailey feels powerless and stunned. Pretty much how we all felt at the end of this scene.

What do we do now? What do we do without him?

[menofchaos]

Coco x Reader

Note: Shout out to s4 for already giving me a Coco/reader idea and shout out to my fellow associate @thesewickedhands​ for being a ridiculously talented gifmaker. This takes place during the first episode. Let me know if there’s any interest in part 2! Credit to @spideyspeaches​ for the dividers.

No matter how hard she tried, she could never fully shake him. It started off as just a hook up, both of them looking to scratch an itch. She wanted more, he didn’t. He got distant, stopped calling. She visited the clubhouse a few more times, just to be met by his absence. Enough pity smiles from EZ and Creeper finally got her to admit to herself it was over.

Maybe he finally found the one or whatever he was looking for. Whatever she didn’t have.

She tried everything. She threw herself into work, she went out with her friends. She hooked up with men and women, hoping to forget those intense eyes and long fingers. She tried to find new hobbies. Her house smelled like a bakery for weeks but none of it worked. He frustratingly infiltrated her thoughts with no signs of stopping.

Her phone lit up as she was cleaning up dinner one night and her breath caught when she saw his name.

Coco We gotta talk. Meet me at the clubhouse?

She didn’t respond right away, thoughts drifting as she continued doing the dishes. He never treated her bad when they were together. Respectful, honest, and sexy as hell. Maybe it was his experience but nobody could coax the same feelings from her. She would take one of his fingers and his crooked smile over entire sessions with anyone else. Her friends’ words rang in her ears as she pulled her boots on.

He’s not interested, babe. You got ghosted.

He’s a criminal anyway.

You have to move on, he’s gone.

Her stomach flushed with nerves as she pulled up to the clubhouse, EZ shutting the gate behind her. She walked in to see the usual occupants, minus Gilly and Coco. The girls all greeted her warmly, hugging her and catching up as Jess got her a drink. It felt like she had never left, like no time had passed.

Then the gunshots started.

Coco raced for cover with Gilly, pushing his drenched hair back as they caught their breath.

“They’re hitting the clubhouse,” Gilly realized.

Coco glared, “What the fuck did you guys do?”

He ran away from the van as Gilly covered him. He wasn’t religious but he prayed that she decided he wasn’t worth it that night.

“She better not be hurt,” he murmured, grunting as they climbed onto the roof. 

“If she’s even here,” Gilly snorted as he climbed next to him, “You blew her off so many goddamn times.”

“Shut up,” Coco whispered sharply, “I’m gonna make it right with her, too.”

She squeezed Jess’ hand as the guys followed the footsteps on the roof. She closed her eyes and took a shaky breath, shivering. She was soaked to the skin from the rain. She and Cielo took turns helping EZ throw a steady stream of molotov cocktails to ward off the attacking members. She had streaks of blood along her arms and neck from helping patch Creeper and Hank up.

“Get that fucking light out of my eyes,” the girls all let out a collective breath when they heard Gilly. Her heart raced when she heard Coco’s voice next. A hand squeezed her shoulder in reassurance.

“Fuck. Is she here? Is she okay?” 

She stood up quickly, choking on a sob when she saw Coco scanning the clubhouse. He pulled her into a tight hug, his own body drenched and shivering.

“Are you okay?” he whispered, his hands roaming her body to check for wounds.

“I’m okay,” she sniffled, “It’s not mine.”

He nodded, “I’m here now,” he kissed her temple, rubbing her back, “I won’t let anything happen to you,” he whispered, his own heart beating harder than it had been all night.

The clubhouse was quiet inside and out. Coco and Bishop exchanged a few words but it was brought to an end by Canche’s terrifying taunting, reminding them of their more important predicament. She was sitting between Coco’s legs, one arm around her waist as he smoked a cigarette.

“You awake?” his lips brushed her ear and she fought a shiver.

She nodded and rubbed his hand gently. She felt his lip curve into a smile against her skin.

“Listen,” his rough voice was quiet and only for her, “I did you wrong. And I’m sorry.”

“Coco-“ she tried to turn but he tightened his arm around her waist.

“Nah,” he whispered, “Not now. I’ll tell you everything. Just not here.”

She couldn’t stop the tears in her eyes, “You think we’ll make it out of here?” she asked softly.

He kissed her head, “You will. I promise.”

She frowned and opened her mouth to protest. Coco held her chin, tilting her face up to his. He kissed her carefully, like he was gauging her reaction. She kissed him back, smiling despite everything when he held the back of her head. She hugged him tight, her face pressed against his neck. She frowned when she realized how much thinner he felt.

He shook his head when she pulled back, “Later.”

She laid back against him, playing with a loose string on his hoodie as EZ and Bishop went back and forth. EZ stood up.

“Canche!”

“What the fuck are you doing?”

She exchanged a confused look with Coco, then watched EZ try to bargain with the rest of the members outside. Her eyes widened when he walked outside and closed the door.

“Hey, look at me,” he nudged her.

She looked up and he kissed her hard, pecking her lips a few times as Nails begged Angel not to go. 

“Coco, wait,” tears filled her eyes, “Coco!” he moved her off his lap and stood up as Gilly headed to the door.

She stood and tried to grab him but he was already out the door. Jess and Cielo brought her into their arms as she watched him helplessly. Nails joined their huddled group, sobbing. Tears fell down her cheeks when Coco was forced onto his knees.

“We got you,” Cielo told them, hugging them tight.

“Fuck! Get the fuck off me!” she tried to untangle herself from the other women when she heard Coco’s strangled yell. 

Cielo tightened her grip, “You know what happened to Rosa. Don’t,” then guided her head down so she couldn’t watch outside, “You don’t need to see that,” Cielo whispered.

Nails sobbed when EZ cried out. They both flinched when they heard another gunshot.

“Angel’s okay,” Jess whispered to Nails, who sobbed harder, “Coco, too. It’s over.”

She looked up in time to see Alvarez knock someone down. She wiped her eyes as the other members slowly left, collecting anyone still on the ground. After everyone left, the members of Santo Padre stood up slowly. Alvarez spoke to them quietly for a moment, the women loosening their grip as the stillness settled in once again.

Alvarez dismissed them and the men went their separate ways. Coco walked inside behind Angel and she was reaching for him immediately.

“Take me home?” he asked quietly, his grip tight.

She nodded, lacing their hands together as they walked down the steps. He dozed in the car and she looked over at him. She was deep in thought as she waited for the light to turn green. 

“Hey uh, I know I asked to talk,” he mumbled.

She shook her head, “We can talk tomorrow.”

“After we wake up?”

“Yeah. After we wake up.”