#also I love b*obs

[exuberantocean]

The draw to Loki is mainly Loki, Mobius, and Sylvie.

Me apparently: let's open this story with B-15

[byfulcrums]

The pain of finding an interesting fanfic only to realize it's Ob*kin

[fionnaskyborn]

need to download the pw rom (not make a new save on the HD collection) so that i can upscale this and make it a wallpaper

[lostalioth]

𝘯𝘴𝘧𝘸 𝘢𝘣𝘤’𝘴 ; 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦

→ warnings: this is all written with a female reader in mind, smut [18+], all the dirty things that come with nsfw abcs :)

→ a/n: using old reliable nsfw abcs as a way of helping me warm back up to writing :) i havent written in SO LONG again but ive still been reading and my fixation on stevie is coming back strong so figure id use the pretty boy for nsfw abcs

A = Aftercare (what they’re like after sex)

I think Steve was a bit lame at aftercare in the beginning with past partners, he would clean them off when needed and offer water but that was about it.

Eventually the older he got the better he got with it, and the more he understood the importance of it. A part of him even found it to be his favorite thing to help you calm down and come down from your high slowly. Cooing at you and praising how well you did for him as his hands brush down your arms, your sore and shaking thighs that are still wrapped around his waist to soothe you. He’d clean the both of you up and get you fresh clothes and water. Steve lulling you to sleep in his arms with small kisses to your face and shoulders and whispers of even more praise.

B = Body part (their favorite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

His favorite on himself although it isn't exactly a body part, is his hair of course. He has always prided himself on his hair looking good, always making sure each strand was in place, it started as a vanity thing. However after he notices just how much you loved playing with his hair, running your fingers through it, tugging it, even styling when he gave in after a week of you begging him. His love and pride in it grew tenfold once it became something you loved about him.

His favorite on you would be in all honesty your tits. He's a simple man, no matter their size his hands are gonna gravite to them, rest his hand there when you're cuddling, grope and knead them under your shirt, lay his head on them rambling on and on about how soft they are.

C = Cum (anything to do with cum, basically)

Steve cums a lot and by a lot, I do mean A LOOTT. He honestly doesn't understand it but it's always been that way and because of it if he doesn't use a condom or have you swallow it, it's quite a lot and hard to clean up. Sometimes he loves making you an absolute mess, covered in his cum, sweat and saliva from his mouth exploring, kissing and licking every inch of your body. Steve being well aware of just how much he cums was amazed and admittedly a bit impressed the first time he cums down your throat. He had assumed it would be too much for you so the first time you had him in your mouth and he felt himself get close he tried to pull out so he could cum on your tits.

”Fuck babe im gonna- god im gonna cum” he nearly whines out as your head bobbed, taking his whole length down your throat. He attempts to pull his hips back to pull out of your mouth. You hum around his dick and look up at him with a begging look as you grab hold of his hips, digging your nails in pulling him back closer. The assertiveness of your move stuns Steve for a moment as red hot pleasure consumes him and before he can stop it, he is cumming down your throat. He watches in near shock as while his cock is still sitting heavy on your tongue you swallow all his cum down. He knows his pupils are blown wide as he stares at you, slipping your mouth off him and looking up at him. A cocky and proud smile starts to worm its way on your face. "Good girl—That's a good fucking girl. Fuck baby" he groans as he dives down to capture your lips in a heated kiss, the latter of his sentance mumbled against your lips.

D = Dirty secret (pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

He loves the idea of you dominating him. He has always been the dominant one in his past relationships, he feels that that's how it's supposed to be. However he can't deny that he likes the moments in bed when you boss him around telling him exactly what to do to please you and he obeys. He can't deny how much he likes when you praise him and call him a good boy when he does something you ask even if it's in a joking matter when he goes and grabs your phone you left in his room when you ask. To him it's his dirty secret, what Steve doesn't know is that you picked up on this little fantasy of his. It was one night after he had a long shift at work and he had practically begged you to let him eat you out cause all he wanted was to please you.

E = Experience (how experienced are they? do they know what they’re doing?)

I’d say Steve has pretty average experience. He’s had girlfriends, he's had hookups and one night stands. The only thing he wasn't all that experienced with was kinks. He has nothing to worry about though because you're there to help him out and teach him about all your kinks as well as aid him with discovering and testing his own out.

F = Favorite position (this goes without saying)

Steve loves any position where he gets to watch your face. The way it contorts in pleasure, your eyes screwing shut and your jaw falling open in either a sharp gasp or a wonton moan when you cum. He also loves holding you therefore his absolute favorite position would have to be when you're straddling him, your chest pressed to his as he is laid back on the bed. His knees bent so his hips can set a punishing and hard pace jackhammering up into you. His large hands cupping the sides of your face forcing you to look at him as he thrusts deep inside you.

“Fuck look at me, there we go sweet girl” Steve coos as he holds your face forcing you to hold eye contact. “There's my pretty girl.. Hii baby” a smirk blooms on his face as his hips speed up, his tip abusing that one spot deep inside you. The pleasure makes it harder to keep your eyes open and look at him. You whimper and mumble something that comes out as gibberish, too lost in the bliss and basking in his attention to form real words.

G = Goofy (are they more serious in the moment? are they humorous? etc.)

He’d be goofy at the start, smiling big and teasing you softly. Play fighting with you and tickling your sides would eventually morph into your hands pinned above your head and his mouth attacking your tits. Legs around his waist trying to shift your hips to grind your ass against the growing bulge in his jeans. The teasing wouldn't stop however he'd be a bit more serious the more into the moment the two of you became.

H = Hair (how well groomed are they? does the carpet match the drapes? etc.)

it would entirely depend on how you preferred him, he never used to bother with grooming himself down there as he had no complaints but if you preferred him to be more groomed he’d do it without hesitation. If you didn't care about it, he'd leave it. All he wants is to please you, he has no preference when it comes down to it so he defers to you for it.

I = Intimacy (how are they during the moment? the romantic aspect)

Steve gets very into the moment. He loves kissing all over your body as his hips thrust into you. Praise spilling out of his lips as you ride him, his arms wrapped around your torso holding you close to him. The man adores you, even when he's being desperate and rough and fast he makes sure to still hold you close and tell you he loves you as his hips bounce off yours hard enough you know there will be bruises in the morning.

J = Jack off (masturbation headcanon)

He does it probably more than he'd ever admit to you. He just gets so needy for you and knowing you're busy at work he’ll usually resort to fisting his cock. A pair of your panties you let him keep shoved against his nose, needing your scent to get him off. His head full of memories of your body under his, on top of his, your mouth on him, his tongue buried in your pussy, even images of new things he wants to try with you aid him and push him closer and closer to the edge. Jerking off however very rarely satiates him enough to where he wont be on you the second you walk through the door. Nothing does it good enough for him except his girl.

”Fuck sweetheart i missed you, i needed you so bad baby” he whines as he grinds his hips up against you, he had you pinned to the couch not even 10 seconds after greeting you at the door. “Had to rub one out so i didnt bug you at work” his voice came out full of desperation. “Stevie..” you whine out as he begins kissing down your neck. “Nothing is as good as this prefect fucking pussy though” he lets out a low groan as he starts working at getting you out of your work uniform.

K = Kink (one or more of their kinks)

Steve wasn't all that knowledgeable of kinks until you and boy did you help him learn. He loves praising you, watching your eyes sparkle and lit up when he tells you how good you're doing. He secretly loves when you praise him back, it makes an unusual feeling settle in his chest as it wasnt something he was used to hearing. He has a slight size kink, he likes when his body looms over yours and how delicate his large hands make your body look. On the very rare occasion as well he can be quite sadistic sometimes. He loves choking you as well, not like hardcore but lightly and he wouldn't be opposed to it being returned.

L = Location (favorite places to do the do)

The bedroom is Steve's favorite place. He knows that's boring but it gives him the most time and space as well as comfort to do as he pleases with you. Not that you guys haven't done it in other places, when you're feeling risky and both of you are extra needy you've done it in a bedroom at a house party, the bathroom at work, the back of Steve's car was the easiest place in your youth for the two of you to have alone time. Those places are just never as good as when Steve has you spread out on his bed where you don't have to worry about being quick or being caught.

M = Motivation (what turns them on, gets them going)

Just about anything you do. This man is so deeply obsessed and in love with you that something as simple as him looking at you, taking a sip of water and watching your thorat bob as you swallow would have him straining against his boxers. Watching you sit and do your makeup, a look of focus on your face as you concentrate would have him sneaking up behind you to kiss along the side of your neck up to your ear trying his hardest to break said focus. One look from you with a flutter of your eyelashes and a smile would have him on his knees begging you to leave a party earlier so you two can head home. A brush of your lips against his and he has to refrain from blowing his load in his pants like an inexperienced teenager.

“Baby i think i'm addicted to you” steve lets out a groan as he watches you glide around the house cleaning up after a large party. He sat up on the kitchen counter not being much of a help. Your hips swaying to the music playing softly in the background for ambiance nearly had the man drooling.

N = No (something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

Anything you don't like or aren't comfortable with. Hed do or try just about anything you ask, if it pleases you and you like it thats enough to turn him on.

O = Oral (preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.)

Steve LOVVEESSS being between your thighs, his tongue lapping at your cunt like a starved man. He doesn't eat pussy for his pleasure he does it for yours, all he cares about is your pleasure. He loves feeling you slowly lose yourself on his mouth, threading your fingers through his hair and holding him there as you cum with a loud drawn out moan of his name leaving your mouth. His preference is giving because when he's receiving?

He has a bit of a hard time holding it in, your mouth is like kryptonite or something cause the second the warmth of your pretty mouth envelopes his cock he's a goner. He turns into a whimpering, stuttering mess mumbling about how pretty you are, how good you are at sucking him off, how much he loves you.

“Sweet girl– shit go easy on me please baby or im gonna cum before we even get started” he whines as his hips buck up into your mouth.

P = Pace (are they fast and rough? slow and sensual? etc.)

Depends entirely on the mood, if the two of you have time steve is slow and sensual. Kissing down your body, working you open for his cock with his fingers or mouth. Slow making out as he slides inside you. Still a bit rough as Steve loves to watch as bruises and marks appear on both your bodies, marking you as his and him equally as yours.

But if you’re both needy and desperate for each other it's usually faster and just as rough, rushed foreplay, sloppy kisses, teeth clashing and hands everywhere nearly ripping each other's clothes off. Steve pleading and begging for you to cum for him.

Q = Quickie (their opinions on quickies, how often, etc.)

They aren't a rare or a frequent occurrence. They're more of a situational thing, when the two of you start something only to realize one of you is gonna be late to work if you don't hurry up or you have friends coming over in 10 minutes.

R = Risk (are they game to experiment? do they take risks? etc.)

Steve loves trying new things, anything and everything as long as you're comfortable with it. If you veto it then the two of you don't try it, the same goes for if he vetoes it but there is quite literally nothing he wouldn't let you do to him. He trusts you and would never say no to you.

S = Stamina (how many rounds can they go for? how long do they last?)

He has fairly standard if not a bit high stamina, going at least 3-4 rounds before he feels like his balls have been drained but give him a few hours and a slow makeout session and he’ll be ready to go again. He is fast to recover.

There are certain instances where steve is too weak for you though that he doesn't last as long.

T = Toys (do they own toys? do they use them? on a partner or themselves?)

Steve would own a vibrator that the two of you use on occasion but usually the two of you are so lost in the pleasure of each other's touch and bodies on their own that you both long forget about using it most of the time. Steve mostly uses it when he wants to overstimulate you by making you come over and over.

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

Ohh he loves teasing you all the time, and you love teasing him. It's like a game of tit for tat with the two of you. Steve will tease you while you're at work and even more when you come home before giving in. Though he's a little shit about it and if it starts to be too much he wont stop. "Aw, it hurts? Too bad. you're gonna keep taking it until i’m satisfied sweet girl” he chuckles softly and grips your hip harder as his thrusts speed up.

The next day as payback you'd prance around the house in only panties and one of his t-shirts and tease him all day right back. Then he’d return the teasing again and so the cycle continues.

V = Volume (how loud they are, what sounds they make, etc.)

When Steve's needy he's offly vocal, begging, whining and whimpering how much he wants you, needs you. And when you give in somehow he gets louder.

“Shit! Fuck! Princess mmm you feel so good god, i love ya’ baby”

Verus when you're the needy one and he's in a dominant mood, you're the very vocal one and he's fairly quiet, so he can hear all the pretty noises you make. He is often too focused as well on you to talk much besides the occasional filth leaving his mouth when he cant hold it back and he cums.

"You look so pretty like this sweetheart"

"That's it. That's my girl fuck”

W = Wild card (a random headcanon for the character)

He likes buying you pretty lingerie and pjs. He just likes buying you cute and pretty clothes. It makes his girl happy and she just looks so pretty in everything he buys and gives him a little fashion show. One that may or may not normally end with you in his lap, his hand around your neck and his cock buried inside you. Praise and compliments mumbled against your lips. It's a win-win situation really.

X = X-ray (let’s see what’s going on under those clothes

He's pretty above average. Standing around 8 inches hard and his girth is enough to give you that addictive stinging stretch when he first slips inside everytime. He was popular with the ladies for a reason, though most found him a bit too much to take. You however take it like a champ and Steve almost loses it every time he bottoms out with how tight your pussy squeezes him.

Y = Yearning (how high is their sex drive?)

Above average that's for sure and Steve will swear it used to be normal before you, but he just can't help it. He's obsessed with you and as stated before everything you do turns him on. His sex drive and desire for you are often what lead him to overstimulating you as he always wants you to cum more than once.

"You can give me another one, can't you baby? for me, come on please?" Steve begs as he looks at you through lust blown pupils, a small pleading smile on his face. Sweat dripping down his forehead as his hips snap against yours, your pussy red and puffy after you've already came twice. “Steve i dont think I can baby…” you whine and try pushing at his chest. “Come on princess, one last time and ill be done” he smirks and speeds up his hips and rubs his thumb in circles on your abused and throbbing nub.

Z = Zzz (how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

Steve will wait for you to fall asleep first, not that he isn't tired but he often stays awake until you succumb to sleep in case you need him to get you anything. Your body is usually a bit weak and your legs wobbly after sex so he offers to get you whatever you need. Once you are sound asleep against his chest though he will kiss your head and snuggle closer to your warm body before drifting off himself.

→ a/n: send me some requests lovilies i need to get back to writing before kinktober!! also sorry for any mistakes im a tad rusty.

[twstgarden]

❀ ❝ 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝘀 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 ❞

━ post-ob! malleus draconia x gn! reader ━ after the events during lilia's farewell party, you found yourself concerned over your lover's wellbeing and decided to pay him a visit for comfort. (f/n means first name)

requested by: @starlitsky3600 request type: scenario / one shot requester’s message: For the requests can I request some post ob mal comfort with reader? Maybe helping him treat his wounds? florist’s note: i have no idea if I wrote this well or if this was what you requested, but here you go! thank you for the mallie request <3 

this work contains spoilers for chapter 7, diasomnia’s arc.

do not steal or translate without my permission.

ko-fi here if you want to support me, commissions are open

the events that took place during lilia’s farewell party never left the minds of every other student in the academy – you included. late at night, you find yourself wondering if there was anything you could have done to ease the loneliness that malleus felt. Yet, you also felt relieved that you were there to assist idia and the others in gaining back malleus’ senses and snapping out of his overblot phase.

he was your friend, sure. you can call him that. it was hard to deny that there was something unspoken between you two – the nights you spent talking to him and taking strolls in the garden, the days you’d go out of your way to invite him for lunch or breakfast at the cafeteria, and afternoons where you’d exchange letters talking about your day as if you had never seen each other hours prior.

a friend – is that what you’d call him? he knew you like the back of his hand, and yet you wished you could say the same. you knew his intimate details, home life, and secret desires that he never shared with anyone else, yet you feel as if there is still so much left to know about him.

and the day of the farewell party confirmed it.

now that the events had passed, you could not help but want to see him. it was late, and you were sure he was taking a rest, but you could not ease the thoughts of wanting to be with him after the events took place.

what is he doing? how is he feeling? is he alright?

those questions ran through your mind as you got out of bed and walked your way to the mirror chamber, passing through diasomnia’s mirror as you entered the dormitory and knocked on his bedroom door. it was silent for a moment until a soft ‘click’ was heard, unlocking the door as his eyes met yours in a pained and tired stare.

“…f/n?”

“…may I come in?”

without another word, he simply opened the door wide enough to allow you entry. once you two were all alone in the four walls of his chamber, you looked up at him and spoke gently, “are you alright?” your gentle tone eased him for a moment and all he could muster up in reply was a simple nod. pulling him in, you sat on his bed and wrapped your arms around him in hopes that your embrace could comfort him.

he did not say anything in response as he allowed himself to be spoiled by your affection. was he selfish for wanting you to stay? perhaps or perhaps not. he just wanted all those he loved to stay – to be happy and healthy. why was it so wrong for him to have that wish?

love drives you mad, is what he heard you say once during your bonding moments in the garden. the heart-to-heart talk you had that night opened secrets that were kept hidden for years. his struggles and your own were acknowledged by both, and he can’t help but feel as if he wanted to shield you, protect you and keep you safe and sound.

the aftermath of the incident made him think you saw him in a different light, that you wanted nothing to do with him anymore and wished to cut ties with him, and yet, here you are on his bed, arms wrapped around his taller figure as you placed gentle kisses on his forehead.

friend? no, he wasn’t just a friend. he was your lover, but no one else knew that except for his family – lilia, silver, and sebek.

sinking into your embrace, a soft sniffle could be heard from him as you frowned and hugged him tighter, “hey… let it out… if you want to cry, i’m here…” your gentle words brought a sense of comfort with a hint of sadness – enough to make him want to cry and let out the tears he was holding back.

“i had assumed you were cross with me…” muttered malleus.

“me? angry? perhaps a little, but i am not the kind to leave you on your alone when you clearly need my company…” you replied, cupping his cheeks, “you could have told me how you felt that night instead of storming off…”

“…i’m sorry,” replied malleus.

a soft sigh escaped your lips as you kissed his cheek, “you don’t have to apologise… i’m always here for you, remember that.”

“always…?”

you went quiet as he repeated your clause, avoiding his gaze for a moment as you tried not to touch upon the fact that your delicate lifespan could not compare to his. “…we talked about this, dear…” you whispered as you hugged him close.

“i know…” responded malleus, “which is why i did that in the first place…”

you did not know what to say in response, so you let out a soft sigh as you pulled away from the embrace and lifted his sleeves, eyeing his wounds as he tried to cover it. “stay still,” you reprimanded as he grunted softly and did as you say.

you then got out of bed and searched for a cotton ball and some alcohol to help clean his wounds. as soon as you got the things you needed, you sat back beside him and started patching up his wounds. he hissed softly as you dabbed the alcohol-absorbed cotton ball, “that hurts.”

“stay still or this will take longer, love,” you spoke, “you can’t heal this by yourself with your magic due to your exhausted state.”

he didn’t retort back. he knew you’d argue with him when it comes to his wellbeing and safety, so he sat there and took the stinging sensation with a hiss. once you were done, you patched up his wounds and cleaned up the area before checking on his arms.

“you really did not have to…” spoke malleus.

“nonsense. i want to make sure you sleep properly tonight with your wounds patched,” you replied, “does it hurt anywhere else?”

malleus shook his head before wrapping his arms around you, “no, the stinging sensation is no longer as unbearable as it was earlier.” you then hummed in response as you hugged him back while he continued, “…thank you.”

“of course…”

it was quiet for a while – comforting and peaceful. you held him in your arms while he hugged you close, taking comfort in your presence and embrace as he buried his face into your hair and took a whiff of your scent.

“can you please stay here… even for–” trailed malleus, but before he could complete his question, you replied.

“sure.”

‘i’ll stay here for as long as you want, my darling.’

© twstgarden 2024 || please do not steal, translate without my permission, or use this to train a.i.

[musclesandhammering]

And another thing-

All of the little details about OB just break my fucking heart, like

-him being so excited to see Mobius again even though the only interaction he ever had with him was Mobius accidentally showing up in his workshop once and then immediately leaving

-it being 400 years since his last visitor

-when Loki asked past!Ouroboros if he could call him OB and he says “OB? I like that :)” because he was happy that someone would want to give him a nickname

-him explaining what the TVA guidebook was after realising that no one in the group had ever read it and then quietly saying “I wrote it myself.”

-him saying “it’s great being part of a team :)” after explaining that he takes care of all the engineering stuff for everybody and no one ever interacts with him, and then hopefully asking “how’s the team doing up there?” like he’s sort of desperately trying to reassure himself that he is, in fact, important and a part of the team

-in one of the tube things in his workshop (I think this is in the credits sequence) there’s just a moldy banana and the work slip says it’s from a hunter, which maybe sort of implies that the hunters play mean jokes on him :(

-there’s also a prop poster on his floor that says sending inappropriate notes, live animals, and some other stuff down in the tubes is prohibited, which implies he’s had that happen enough times to make a poster about it. Which also implies the other workers just like to mess with him

-the fact that he seems to be the only TVA worker that didn’t have his memories wiped- which could mean he’s some all powerful being or something- but I’m pretty sure it just means that even Kang didn’t find him significant enough to brainwash, and he probably knew OB stayed alone in the basement all the time anyway so there was no chance of him blowing the ruse

-the way that all the other people at the TVA (even B-15 and Mobius) had to be convinced that pruning people was bad, but when OB mentioned deleting a bunch of timelines and B-15 said “that would kill all those people, we can’t do that.” he immediately just agreed and said he’d find another solution

-Mobius asking how tf he’s supposed to hoof it in that suit and OB saying “You have to!!” Like he has no reason to care about Mobius dying but he does

-there are “Danger!!! Maximum radiation!!!!” signs all over the walls of the loom room or whtvr but OB’s office is just like… feet from it. And he stays in there all the time. And no one seems to care ?

-how he was just so solemn and frantic and emotional throughout the whole astronaut Mobius scene, when again, none of that should even matter to him. The only thing he needs to do is close the loom door- all this fixing Loki business is extraneous.

I just love him. He has so much heart, he has such a big personality. And we’ve only known him for like 50 minutes so far 😭. I require this show to end with a found family, and I require Ouroboros to be part of it. He deserves friends, damn it!!

[m4rs-ex3]

so i finally finished the book 1 novelization. after owning it for 3 years. .............................................i've been busy. anyway, let the thoughts commence!

also i only started marking sections at like ep 5 don't ask why

even CLAUDIA could tell that rayla was a cinnamon roll

stop she's incredible

a) he's a dork b) i think they should kiss

"this freckle-faced goof [gren] was going to be the easiest prisoner he'd ever encountered." is he right? yes. am i still taking offense to this? yes

"'i didn't kill anyone,' Rayla said. it surprised her that she was so proud of this fact." YAS YOU GO GIRL

these additional details are incredibly necessary thank you so much Book

"Viren blinked twice, amazed at the folly of his own offspring." i know that it's incredibly sad but goddamn that is so funny

STOPPPPPPPP I CANT 😭 the use of the word "adored" no one fucking talk to me

them

"Rayla and Callum didn't know how easy they had it, what with their long legs and no heavy dragon egg on their backs."

the way that even back then ez was already thinking like a king, even when the subject was so "not of a king's concern," for lack of a better term (why am i rhyming)

what can i even say about this oh my god

"'no, not really, dummy.' sometimes, Rayla could barely believe the denseness she had to put up with."

god i love him god i love him i l obe him i love him i love hiom oi love hiojm and everybody clapped

sometimes these slight dialogue changes mean the world to me

his autistic ass 😭

"he turned and spoke only to her." i am dying

"i've always been different. it's hard for me to make friends with other kids. i just feel like i don't fit in." -> "i've always been different. i don't really 'get' other kids, and it's... so hard for me to fit in." this is AUTISTIC CODING he has AUTISM that is IT we have autistic claudia try and tell me that this child does have the tism and that they don't fucking know that

LMAO LITERALLY KICKING ROCKS HE'S SUCH A PISSBABY I LOVE IT

this is Everything to me. i. a moment of all time. behead me

i think they should kiss pt 2

STOP THEY CAN'T KEEP DOING THIS TO ME THE SIBLINGS OF ALL TIME ISTG

"Callum lingered" "for some reason, she wanted to share what she had seen with Callum, even is she didn't tell anyone else" i. think. they. should. kiss.

"Callum glared at his brother. there was a ginormous spider in their way. many things about this situation weren't right."

SHUT UP WHAT DO I EVEN SAY ABOUT THIS. OH YOURE TELLING ME THAT RAYLA IS IN A WHOLE NOTHER CLASS FROM ELLIS AND AVA?? THAT SHE IS SO MUCH MORE THAN A "FRIEND"??? BOTH IS THE SENSE THAT HE IS MADLY IN LOVE WITH HER AND THAT HE JUST GENERALLY MEANS MORE TO HIM????? IM THEOWING U _P (hey guys i think they should kiss)

shut the fuck up. buddy. i am gagged

oh Him

damn girl's always had a problem with Layla 💀

dear christ. the matter of fact "no, this is not your fault" (4x06 "Rayla. don't."), "he couldn't let Rayla carry that burden alone" (5x04, anybody?) also i am 100% reading way too far into this but it's still callum's pov so he is the one who described her "violet eyes" and i just would like to state this for the record

and oh yeah i think they should kiss

[juergenklopp]

How do you make your gifs?

Hello hello! I love talking about gifmaking, so thank you for giving me the chance to ramble.

Instead of a detailed step-by-step walkthrough, I will link tutorials and resources written by the wonderful Tumblr creators on here along the way. Everyone has their method and preferences, and there’s no right or wrong way to make gifs. I’m going to share techniques and resources I picked up along the way that work best for me—they may or may not be suited to your preferences, but I hope you’ll find some helpful things here.

(Warning: screenshot/image heavy)

USEFUL TUTORIALS AND RESOURCES

Here are some tutorials and resources that I found very useful when I got back into gifmaking:

Gifmaking tutorial using video timeline by @hope-mikaelson is identical to my own process

Gifmaking and coloring tutorial by @kitty-forman​, whose process is very similar to my own

Giffing 101 by @cillianmurphy​, an incredibly detailed tutorial that covers everything you need, including a step-by-step guide to using HandBrake

Gifmaking and coloring tutorial with 4K HDR footage by @sith-maul​, another incredibly detailed tutorial with many useful tips

Gifmaking tutorial by @jeonwonwoo, incredibly comprehensive and covers so many aspects of gifmaking from basics, sharpening, captioning, and text effects

Gifmaking/PS tips and tricks by @payidaresque

Action pack by @anyataylorjoy​, the Save action is especially a true life-saver

@usergif and @clubgif are amazing source blogs with many tutorials on gifmaking, color grading, and gif effects, can’t be thankful enough for the members for their work curating and creating for these blog!

TOOLS

Adobe Photoshop CS6 or higher, any version that supports video timeline. @completeresources​ has many links to download Photoshop, have a look!

Photopea is a free alternative to Photoshop, but it has a slightly different UI, check out these tutorials for gifmaking with Photopea

HandBrake or any other video encoder, especially if you’re working with .MKV formats 

4Kvideodownloader for downloading from YouTube, Vimeo, Instagram, etc.

OBS Studio or any other similar screen capturing software. To prevent duplicate frames in gifs that prevents your gifs from looking smooth, try to match the recording frame rate (FPS) with the source.

IMPORTING FOOTAGE AND WORKING IN VIDEO TIMELINE

I work exclusively in video timeline instead of importing video frames to layers or loading files into stack. For videos that don’t require converting/encoding using HandBrake, especially ones that are already in .MP4 format, I tend to open the video directly on Photoshop, and trim the videos around directly.

As mentioned above, this gifmaking tutorial using video timeline is exactly how I make gifs. I find it more efficient, especially if you’re making multiple gifs from the same video/the same scene with little to no change in lighting conditions You can simply slide around sections of gifs you want to save, and they will all be the same length.

Another thing also covered in the tutorial linked is the ability to change video speed in video timeline mode. Right click on the video and set the speed before proceeding with cropping/resizing. This is also very useful when you’re making blended gifs where you need the footage to have the same length.

Slowing footage down.

As mentioned in this post, changing the FPS before slowing down the gif results in smoother gifs. Doubling the frame rate before slowing down your gifs usually yields the best result.

Speeding footage up.

I love using this to speed up slow motion B-rolls to make the speed slightly more natural. It will result in nice, smooth gifs:

(B-roll footage, normal broadcast speed)

(200% speed)

Subject won’t stay in frame?

Another feature of the video timeline mode. Keyframes are your best friend. This tutorial by @kangyeosaang covers everything you need to know about panning gifs. I use this technique regularly, it’s a life-saver.

COLORING

Here are some coloring tutorials I found very useful:

Coloring tutorial by @brawn-gp beloved, their coloring style is second to none

Mega coloring tutorial by @yenvengerberg, for stylized /vibrant coloring

Understanding Channel Mixer by @zoyanazyalensky

Coloring rainbow gifs by @steveroger, which delves deep into Channel Mixer

I tend to go for neutral-saturated coloring in general,  especially for minimalist gifsets with no effects (blending/isolated coloring/overlays etc.), but the possibility is endless for stylized coloring. Here’s what my adjustment layers look like for the example gifs above.

The base footage for this Charles gifset is incredibly desaturated. I started with a Curves layer to bring contrast to the gif, as well as do some color-correcting to bring the base footage to a more neutral tone. To bump contrast, I also like to add a black and white Gradient Map layer with a Soft Light blending mode at 10%-30% opacity:

The Vibrance layer is then used to lift the saturation of the base footage, with the Selective Color, Hue/Saturation, and Channel Mixer layers to help remove the green/yellow tint to his skintone.

An underrated adjustment layer/preset in my opinion is the Color Lookup. You can layer in pre-loaded .LUT color grading presets to help speed up your process. For this gif, it’s simply a base preset Soft Warming Look to achieve a warm, pink-tinted tone.

In hindsight I feel like this gifset is too saturated, his skintone is skewing very red/pink, I could’ve bumped down the lightness of the reds with a Selective Color layer or a Hue/Saturation layer. Try to err on the side of neutral for skintones. Experiment with layer orders—there’s no right or wrong! Remember that each layer build up on the one before it.

The base footage of the Jalen gif is already quite nicely color-graded, but it’s still muddy and underexposed. As with the Charles gif, I started with a Curves layer to bring the gif to a better baseline contrast. Then I focus on brightening the gif with the Brightness/Contrast and Exposure layers.

The Hue/Saturation and Selective Color layers are to color-correct Jalen’s skin tone—it’s something I spend most of my time coloring gifs and focus a lot on, especially when color grading BIPOC skintones. Putting a Vibrance layer, upping the Vibrance and Saturation, and calling it a day would make his skintone skew very, very yellow/orange.

Focus on the reds and yellow for skintone, play around with the Saturation and Lightness sliders, use the Hue slider with caution.

It can be tricky to achieve the right skin tone when working with sports footage vs the higher quality, higher dynamic range footage of films or TV shows, but I try to keep it as close to the subject’s natural skintone as possible.

Here are some of tutorials with tips and tricks on coloring BIPOC:

How to fix orange-washed characters by @zoyanazyalensky

How to prevent pink-washing and yellow-washing by @jeonwonwoo

Coloring tutorial by @captain-hen

Changing lighting conditions?

Fret not—this is why I love working in video timeline. I’ll take this gifset as an example: it’s a deceptively difficult one to color. The footage is 720p and the sunlight shifts throughout the video, so matching across gifs was tricky.

My solution was to split the clips in sections with consistent lighting, and apply adjustment layers to the individual sections before applying general color grading layers on top of everything.

We can make use of the Fade Transition effect for sections where the lighting changes within the gif section we want to color.

(without vs with Fade on the Brightness/Contrast layer)

The difference is subtle in this example, but the brightness in the right gif is noticeably more consistent throughout. You can also add the Fade Transition effect to the beginning for a fade in, of course.

SHARPENING AND OPTIMIZING GIF QUALITY

This tutorial by @anya-chalotra​ covers everything you need to know about optimizing gifs for Tumblr.

Sharpening.

Sharpening is essential to making crisp gif images. Here’s another ask I answered re: my own sharpening settings and maximizing gif quality.

(base footage, unsharpened)

(color graded, unsharpened)

(color graded, sharpened)

The final gif is sharpened with Smart Sharpen, 500% at 0.3px and 10% at 10px (my standard sharpening settings).

Here are some tutorials and resources on sharpening:

Sharpening process by @anya-chalotra

Sharpening tutorial with added gaussian blur by @haleths

Sharpening action by @daenerys-stormborn

Size your gifs for Tumblr correctly.

This is essential: full width gifs are 540px wide.Two side-by-side gifs should be 268px wide. Here’s a handy post on gif size guide for Tumblr.

Incorrectly sizing your gifs will take away the quality of your gifs: undersizing your gifs will especially make them grainy, blurry, and /or pixelated, and won’t display correctly on many people’s desktop theme. Oversizing usually isn't as dramatic as undersizing, but it will make the gifset glitch when displayed, and the file size will be unnecessarily bloated.

Work with HD footage if possible.

Media fandoms (films/TV shows) are luckier than us in the sports trenches—we have to work with what we have. Broadcast footage is usually subpar: lacks contrast, pixelated, very desaturated, the list goes on. But it’s possible to still make high quality gifs from subpar footage. Here are a couple of tutorials to mask low source footage quality:

low quality video ➜ “HD” gifs tutorial by @nickoffermen

Sharpening low quality footage by @everglow-ing

(This gifset I made is from a 480p footage with horrendous lighting conditions and colors, and the end result is decent I’d say)

Save for Web (File > Export > Save for Web (Legacy) or Ctrl + Alt + Shift + S) settings.

I default to Adaptive + Diffusion but also use Adaptive + Pattern from time to time. Any combination of Adaptive or Selective + Diffusion or Pattern will give you a good result. In my experience some gifs will need the Selective color table for the colors to display correctly.

Here are my default settings:

SAVING AND EXPORTING FOR TUMBLR

Converting to frames and adjusting the gif speed.

If possible, avoid exporting your gif and reopening it to adjust the frame speed. I used to do this sometimes when I’m lazy, I have to admit, but this is where this Action as mentioned at the beginning comes in very handy. It converts all visible layer into smart object, then converts it back to frame animation.

Step-by-step:

1. Select all layers

2. Right click > Convert to Smart Object

3. Go to the Timeline menu (≡) > Convert Frames > Flatten Frames into Clips

4. Go to the Timeline menu again (≡) > Convert Frames > Convert to Frame Animation

5. In the same menu (≡), select Make Frames from Layers

6. Delete the first frame (it’s a duplicate) then set your frame speed

Now you can adjust the frame speed before exporting it (Save for Web).

Pay attention to the source framerate.

The frame delay of 0.05 s is usually the default to make gifs for TV shows and films, and it is preferred by most gifmakers. This stems from the fact that most movies and TV shows are 24 or 25 FPS. This may not be the case for all source videos: you might get 30 FPS footage, and sports or gaming footage can be 50 or 60 FPS. Gif speed also depends on the FPS of your original file. Play around with gif speed and see what feels most natural to you.

My rule of thumb is the frame delay Photoshop gives you + 0.01 s. For example, 50 FPS footage will give you 0.02 s frame delay (25 FPS gives you 0.04, 30 FPS gives you 0.03, etc.), so set it to 0.03 s. I usually err on the side of a faster frame delay for smoothness in in-game sports footage, anything else (interviews, press conferences, B-rolls) can get away with being slowed down. Again, experiment and see what you think looks best!

Keep gifs under the Tumblr file size limit (10 MB).

Cut down the number of frames. My gifs are usually around 60-70 frames for 540px full-width gifs, but depending on the coloring, sometimes you can get away with more. 268px gifs can go up to 200+ frames.

Crop your gifs. Remember to keep full-width gifs at 540px wide, but if necessary, you can crop the height. My go-to sizes are 540x540, 540x500, 540x450, and 540x400.

Amp up the contrast of your gifs. Flat colors like black cut down gif size.

The Grain filter or Noise filter, though beautiful for aesthetics or simply necessary sometimes to mask low source footage quality/pixelating, may bloat your gif size.

Play your gifs back before exporting.

Pay attention to duplicate frames or glitches, you might need to get rid of them!

Hope this is helpful! Don’t hesitate to send an Ask or DM if you need any help, I will happily answer all your questions and send over PSDs. (I’m also on Discord—just shoot me a message if you need my tag!) Happy creating :]

[viperwhispered]

Trying to finish designing a fucking summative biology experiment when my brain just drops this: Imagine a scenario where the reader is once again faced with OB!Jamil. Maybe its a dream, maybe they're in Jamil's heart, maybe he OBed again cause of some magic, whatever. Except, Jamil and the reader have been dating for a while, so the reader is completely unfazed because a) this isn't their first rodeo and b) they now Jamil would sooner walk off a cliff before hurting them.

Anyway, Jamil starts going on his monologue about how its pointless to resist, yadda yadda, nobody's coming back, yadda yadda, classic villain stuff, yadda yadda, might as well just accept their place and maybe he'll be merciful, yadda yadda.

Then the reader just reaches out, uses a hankerchief to wipe off the blot goatee (no words can express how much I hate it), and pulls his fringe out of his turban (for reference here's a visual). They smile softly and go "There's my Jami!" in the sweetest tone.

OB!Jamil just goes red and melts.

Source

Cue Jamil silently cursing to himself "God damnit! Why are you so cute? How dare you be so lovely? Why am I such a FUCKING SIMP?! ARGH!"

The killing blow is when the reader says "Are you ready to go home now? I bought ingredients for a new curry recipe and there'll be a nice warm bath waiting for you. Tommorow's a Sunday and Kalim is going out with his clubmates, so we can just have a lazy day."

The sheer care dripping from their voice and the soft sweet way its delivered just one-hit-KOs his heart and he just goes "Fine" while being all tsundere. Meanwhile in his head he's thinking of all the ways he'll spoil you aftewards and plotting on how to build an empire worthy of you.

Bonus: I've mentioned this in my ask about bath scenarios, but washing the blot away sounds so romantic. The reader leading him to a river and gently scrubbing the ink of his skin. Jamil relaxing as their fingers stroke his hair, the snakes giving their fingers one final kiss until they each dissapear. As the blot finishes to fade away, Jamil is wrapped in a soft warm towel and recieves a kiss on his forehead. Cue pouting and asking for a real kiss (I swear this man will become so fucking spoiled).

Hasdfhs such impeccable energy and why does it make me think of like calming down a toddler having a meltdown.

(Also am I the only one who doesn't hate the goatee, lol. But maybe I'm just too busy being spooked by the sneks, because oh boy would they get to me.)

That blushy overblot Jamil tho… Delicious.

And hasdfgh why is he such a simp indeed. Could it be that it's just lovely to have found someone who's sweet and understanding and supportive and puts him first? Maybe perhaps?

And yes this man absolutely deserves to become so very spoiled. Just, smother him in a bit (a lot) of affection.

[ynscrazylife]

Feel free to ignore but if you feel like would you consider writing being in a relationship with Maya and Carina. Reader is a detective / cop , just the whole dynamic would be interesting I think.

Dating Maya Bishop & Carina DeLuca Would Include . . .

(I made Reader an FBI Agent partly b/c I love Criminal Minds, hope that’s alright)

You guys are such a power couple. Carina as an OB/GYN Attending, Maya has a Lieutenant of Station 19 (she should be Captain tho), and you as an FBI Agent

Unfortunately with your important jobs, it’s hard to see a lot of each other

It’s definitely made your relationship a little more difficult, but you all love each other so much, and you put in the work

Carina and Maya are always worried about you when you’re on your FBI missions and often won’t be able to rest unless they get a text from you

When you come home from your missions, Maya and Carina are always there for you no matter what

They’ll always insist on Carina checking you out for any injuries, no matter how small

They also let you vent and talk about the case, often encouraging you to let it out

And even if you don’t get any injuries, Maya and Carina insist on you taking at least a day to rest

I think Maya would definitely cuddle with you like a koala would, arms and legs wrapped around you

Meanwhile Carina would have you laying against her chest, her arms wrapped around you and your legs tangled together

When it’s the three of you, you take turns being in the middle

After missions, you are. After hard shifts at the station, it’s Maya. And after had shifts at the hospital, it’s Carina

Maya and Carina will listen to you ramble about psychology and such for hours. They adore how into it you get

You also can’t help but profile them — oops

And they think you are so hot when you’re training/fighting

Maya will hold you while Carina tends to any injuries, cooing about how great you’re doing

You often take baths when coming home from missions and Maya and Carina insist on at least one of them checking in on you after you fell asleep in there multiple times (but they also think it’s very cute)

Maya and Carina are always texting your coworkers to see if you’ve been overworking yourselves

You all have little ways of getting each other to relax

More often than not, you’re hunched over case files. Carina will start massaging your neck, shoulders, or back while Maya will cup your cheek or your head and close your laptop

They’re most effective when they tag team, though

Maya and Carina are really in sync, so they’re often tag teaming you anyway

They absolutely adore how you turn to putty and melt. It’s the cutest thing ever!

If you ever have nightmares about cases, Maya and Carina will both hold you and assure you that you’re safe and that they’ll protect you no matter what (you and Carina do the same when Maya has nightmares)

You and Maya also try to learn Italian together and Carina adores it (she also teases you)

If anything more serious ever happens to you, Maya and Carina are always the first ones there

With how busy your schedules are, you make a promise to each other to always take time off to spend and devote to each other

You and Andrew would also be good friends because he’d think it’s so cool that you’re an FBI agent

You three also love to watch each other work because all of you are so amazing in what you do

Whenever Maya gets jealous that Carina’s around women all day, you’re there to distract her with hugs and kisses

There are definitely some conflicts and arguments, but your love for each other conquers all

[inwantofamuse]

I had to watch and then rewatch the first episode of Loki before posting my thoughts:

Loki has scared poor Casey for two season premieres in a row.

Mobius chasing Loki is both heartbreaking and hot. Loki pleading with Mobius "it's me !" ...*cries in Asgardian*

I KNEW Ravonna knew all this time she was a variant.

B-15 should be protected at all cost.

Sylvie, get the Filet of Fish Sandwich.

The dude in the war room asleep during all that ruckus cracked me up.

X-5 is a jerk. NOBODY is mean to Mobius on my watch.

I lost count of how many times Loki said Mobius's name in the first fifteen minutes.

D-90 apologized to Mobius...aww.

Kang said "You've made a difference in this war" also means Ravonna was around during the multiversal war ? Or something different ?

Loki RUNNING to Mobius in the War room.

Mobius getting freaked out about Loki time slipping. No personal space AT ALL.

O. B. Remembered Loki from the past while Mobius and Casey didn't. Ummm...that means something.

Owen Wilson and Tom Hiddleston are phenomenal together.

I still think there is something locked in Mobius's memory that will help them in the end...but I think extracting it may come at a high price. Mobius is the ONLY character we've seen, who has issues remembering things that happened to him since he got to the TVA. (can't remember OB or leaving the rings on Ravonna's coffee table). Why is it ?

The score of this show is so thrilling. Love it.

[mellosdrawings]

You mentioned your K-pop era when discussing Jamil as a triple threat. I also listened to K-pop in high school! Who are your favorite bands? I love Shinee, B2st/Highlight, and 2pm. Book 5 actually got me back into listening to K-pop again. And if they were half as talented as a K-pop group then they most certainly would have beat a children's song with a dwarf who couldn't remember his Own Name. Your rant on Book 5 is a perfect analysis in my opinion.

Oh dear, gotta check my old playlists, I only listen to the old songs now.

Boybands: BTS, EXO, Super Junior, SHINee (but, you know, that happened and I never managed to listen to any new songs since), BAP, VIXX

Girlbands: 4Minute, Exid, Red Velvet, BlackPink, Twice

And then a few other groups I listened to sporadically like Speed, Monsta X, iKON, Block B, Got 7, Momoland, etc

I used to be quite curious about it at the time so I looked for new songs and groups regularly. Now I just go back every once in a while to check the groups I really like, but I don't look for new groups. All the new era groups are just vague names I heard but I never really bothered.

Thanks for liking my rant o/ Honestly I can see why RSA won from my experience in Kpop communities. Sometimes you end up not caring about the quality of a song, you just vote for your bias/ favorite groups because you're gonna support them till death or something. Considering Neige's popularity and the fact that NRC tribe was exhausted after having fought Vil’s OB, I can see how they could have won.

But yeah, obviously Absolutely Beautiful was better. BTW I discovered a dance MV recently so if you wanna check it out, it's there

(Jamil's rapping ajsnskjdjdjd)

[lettingtimepass]

Loki s2e5 Thoughts & Feelings (Spoilers)

THE INTRO LOSING THE LETTERS!! I'm a sucker for when an intro is slightly changed. And in the end credits when the lines and type get all wonky! I love it.

Ok I have a question. When Loki finds everyone, they are all on branched timelines, not the Sacred Timeline. So doesn't that mean the lives on these branches could be slightly different or totally different than their original lives on the Sacred Timeline? Sylvie says they're back in their "real lives", but is that even true? 🤔 Also, I know people are theorizing that Don's wife was dusted during the snap, but technically in this branched timeline, the snap might not have happened.

B-15 being a doctor was so good 🥺 "I looked happy." Yes, you did... I just noticed her name on the captions was "Dr. Willis!"

Don!Mobius said he'd seen Loki in the shop before, did Loki timeslip there and not remember it? Or... has that not happened yet?

OB's workshop looking super similar to the one at the TVA - So cool!

"So I am gonna write a bestseller!" Stop he's so pure!!

Did anyone clock that OB's book cover looks similar to Loki and Slyvie on Lamentis? 👀

"It's impossible. But don't let that stop you."

This is probably obvious but Loki couldn't control the timeslipping until he truly accepted his "why." Not to protect the timelines from HWR, but to protect his friends.

Don!Mobius literally dropping everything to talk to Loki and offer him a drink. Fellas.....

"You saw something in me that I hadn't seen in myself." NO THIS IS STRAIGHT OUTTA FIC THO 😭

I can't believe Loki assembled his own Avengers 😭😭😭

Gawd, the show starting with Loki's speech about how humans don't need choices, and now he's fighting to give his friends choices..... that's the good shit.

"I want my friends back." DO YOU REALIZE THE CHARACTER GROWTH?!?! Loki never had a friend other than Thor. He was so closed off, he didn't think he ever needed anyone else. He told the lie that he was fine, better off, by himself. For him to admit that he has friends, and he wants them, and doesn't want to be alone...? 🤌🤌🤌

"But without them... Where do I belong?" WHERE IS TOM'S EMMY?!?! The tear, the voice shake... this man 😭😭😭

Remember, this Loki is a "cosmetic mistake." He isn't supposed to exist. Mobius saved him from being reset. Without the TVA, without Mobius... he has no reason to exist... no glorious purpose. But he was still willing to let them all go to do the right thing 🥲🥲🥲

Mobius trying to sell a Jet Ski to B-15 is too funny.

THE MONKEY FROM THE INTRO!! I've been wondering what that was all about... we also see OB's sticky note wall!

"The pens... we have all the pens!"

When they all start spagettifying being parallel to the dusting scenes in Infinity War.... RUDE, MARVEL. MR STARK I DON'T FEEL SO GOOD.

"I can rewrite the story." YES YOU CAN KING!! And my immediate reaction was "Loki, God of Stories"! At first I thought Loki and Sylvie were going to run the TVA together, but now I feel like it might be Loki alone (with Mobius' help of course), managing all the timelines... writing the story.

THAT ENDING!!!! I'M SO READY BUT NOT READY FOR NEXT WEEK!!! I can't believe we're at the end.... I'M SO SCARED! 😭

[chaos0pikachu]

So I wrote a bit about the film making of The Sign already but I wanted to dive a bit more into the VFX aspects b/c the show is - justifiably imo - getting a lot of praise for their work.

So I'm going to quote this video by VFX artists that I think sums up why, overall, the CGI works in The Sign:

"It's very interesting with a smaller budget Jurassic Park was crunched into choosing their VFX shots very very wisely and they didn't hold shots for longer than they needed to."

(I recommend watching the entire video, there's a lot of great discussion and education on how VFX is done in film. They're not simply "reacting" but talking about the techniques used in the film making itself.)

This is partly what The Sign is doing really well, they're not lingering on any shots, they're using their budget well by picking the most impactful moments to include more expensive and complicated CG effects.

What I love about smaller or mid-budget films is you can tell when the crew had to get truly inventive, creative, and purposeful when choosing how to portray a specific effect or action in a scene. Jaws is one of my favorite examples of this; Jaws cost 9 million (about 51 million adjusted to inflation) in 1975, and the shark animatronics (there were 3 pieces) was difficult to work with. This led to Spielberg and the crew switching things up and going for that shark POV that's now really famous.

It wasn't an accident, but it wasn't 100% planned or originally intentional, there was an issue, and the crew reworked things within their budget so they could still accomplish their creative goals.

The iconic first scene of the t-rex in Jurassic Park is a combination of an animatronic and CGI. In the video above they talk specifically about how this was filmed, and how setting the scene at night, with a singular main light source, and covered in water, really helped make the t-rex look "real". And why that scene holds up really well even today.

The Sign has used moments of CGI very sparingly which works within the story yes by building up tension within the narrative mystery, but also in the film making. They're not overwhelming the audience with it, whilst also using real sets and props to blend in with those scenes AND using a lot of the CGI in specific spaces.

The scene in ep01 where Phaya meets the Naga for the first time is a good example; the water is dark, there's only a singular light source (above) and there's a general lack of background. With only one light source, the VFX artists don't have to worry about shading every inch of the Naga to photorealistic standards, the image doesn't have to be insanely sharp b/c the water adds a layer of blur to everything, and since it's already a mystical creature the audience already has a higher suspension of disbelief anyway making us more forgiving to the fact this is not a "real" creature.

Compare this mythical creature with the dragons from Game of Thrones:

I want to first say I do think the special effects of GOT were really good, the VFX team's work is to be appreciated. But see how there's more light sources required for these dragons? They're just not just within a limited area, they're outdoors in the open which requires more math (literally) on where the light will bounce and reflect, plus all the disparities in texture on the dragons themselves. See how parts of their wings are more noticeably red then others?

Game of Thrones was a show with millions upon millions in it's budget, so they can indulge, The Sign doesn't, so they have to be smart. And they are!

Another standout scene so far in the series as far as filmmaking goes for me is from episode05.

If you look closely you can see the edges around Phaya are a bit blurred out and rewatching the scene you can see an image of him is almost transposed over the actor as well. It gives it a pseudo 3D effect, which helps blend the actor into the fake background which makes it less obvious it's, well, fake.

Then there's the Big Moment, the reveal of our Garuda:

I'm partially not convinced this was 100% CGI I'm wondering if they used a bit of claymation or maybe a miniature or something (maybe a puppet?). The weight of the movement and body feel like something more close to the use of a puppet or animatronic than straight CGI. (If you want to read more about miniatures in film I recommend this article on Godzilla 1954!)

But what I find smart about this shot is that the focus of the camera is on the Garuda, Phaya is much smaller and lower in the frame. I say this is smart because being distance from Phaya allows for the Garuda and the background to take up more space in the frame and contrast less with the real elements, ie Phaya's real human body. It also makes the Garuda more imposing, dominating the frame at a higher angle, and gives a sense of largeness in comparison to Phaya's smaller human self.

Since the Garuda is against an already fake background there is no need for a "light source". Notice how the Garuda has no shadows or light reflections, unlike the Naga from before (or the t-rex)? This makes less work for the VFX team b/c now they don't have to math out where all the bits of shadow, light, and color textures would come from, everything is flat and singular.

Keeping the Garuda at a distance as well, means we're not looking at or for the details of their feathers, or body. We see there is texture to them, but it doesn't need to look photorealistic b/c of that distance in the frame.

Contrast it with Simba from Lion King 2019, or Detective Pikachu:

Again, I think both look very good, but they need to because the audience is so close to the characters in frame. If Pikachu or Simba didn't have this level of care and detail put in when the audience is literally right in their faces everyone would notice how fake they look and complain (I mean I still complained about Lion King but b/c it was a bad and visually boring film but the VFX team did a great job).

We know this because Ant Man Quantumania didn't put the same care and effect in and it looked horrible. Everyone clowned Modak, and fair, but it wasn't just him that looked bad. Entire set pieces look clearly fake, like why is Ant Man suddenly in Zanarkand??

In the second image, look at Scott and Cassie's clothes, you can see the light on their clothes (especially Cassie's) isn't the same as what's happening in their surrounding environment (which is a lot jfc). It's also just poor film making because the frame of both shots is cluttered to the god damn BRIM with STUFF our eyes aren't sure what to focus on. There's a lack of perspective and weight given to the scenes (compare these wide shots to Jurassic Park when our protagonists see the dinosaurs in an open field for the first time, there's a sense of WONDER). So our human characters get completely lost in the frame and feel overwhelmed entirely. They also stick out because the CGI isn't fully well rendered.

Possibly my biggest chaotic take to date, I prefer the CGI in The Sign to Ant Man 3 there I fucking said it. Ugliest MCU movie to date I said what I said.

There is at least care going into The Sign, there's thought, there's creativity, there's a sense of passion. I can forgive that the Garuda isn't photorealistic because it doesn't need to be, it needs to be visibly believable within the world it's set in and it does. The show has been very smart about when to employ it's special effects, and how to film them. It's taken care. It has more in common with films like Godzilla Minus One which had a budget of 15 million and looks phenomenal, way better than Godzilla vs Kong or what we've seen from Godzilla x Kong (which I am looking forward to b/c I'm godzilla trash).

anyway watch the sign it's gucci

[thehollowwriter]

The Official Bio of Nkululeko Adrade

Basic Info:

Name: Nkululeko (En-koo-loo-lee-ko) Adrade

Nicknames: None yet, but some just call him Adrade or Nkulu for short

Homeland: Afterglow Savanna

Species: Sally Lightfoot Crab beastman

Birthday: 18th April

Age: 16

Height: 197cm

Dominant hand: Left

Class: 1-B

Dorm: Heartslabyul

Best subject: Conjugation

Club: Track and Field (He's very good at longjump)

Unique magic: TBA (He hasn't got his yet)

Family:

•Unnamed parent

•Unnamed siblings

•Unnamed cousins

Preferences:

Hobbies: Crafting/making things

Likes: Looking after the hedgehogs, the beach, flowers, drawing

Dislikes: Troublemakers, the cold, people who act fake

Favourite food: Nori wraps

Least favourite food: Octopus

Appearance:

Nkulu has long, waist length hair that is orange and red at the top and slowly shifts to light blue, like this:

However, unlike the picture, he has braids similar to this:

He often ties his hair in a pontail. However, he also loves to try out different hairstyles as much as he can. He has dark red eyes. His lower half is that of a Sally Lightfoot Crabs (which are aa brazilian crab!), and it is blue, black, gold, and red! Like this:

It makes him look extremely big and intimating even though he isn't. He's black (for the Americans/non-South Africans, I don't mean "not white" I mean black), tall, and very fit. He doesn't have pincers, but he does have claws.

Personality:

Nkulu is actually a very chill person. You could almost call him the stoner/surfer dude type. He gets excellent grades and is extremely dedicated to whatever he decides to do. He's honest to a fault, almost too honest, but will happily trip someone up if it benefits him. He's warm and easily excitable and always ready to try and learn new things. He's a bit of a jokester as well.

Some Fun Facts/Extra Info

•Nkululeko means "freedom" in Xhosa

•Nkulu is South African (whatever twst's equivalent is??) and one parent is Xhosa, and the other is Brazilian

•He thinks Riddle is great, especially post-OB Riddle

•He's trying to figure out his sexuality

•He's friends with Jack and Epel

•He heard Floyd call Yuu Shrimpy and told Yu with a completely straight face that he, as a crab, will have to eat them because that is the way of life. He then burst out laughing at their horrified face.

•He is extremely strong

...........................................

A/N: My other oc! Not a mer this time! I am not black, however I am South African and I thought it would be neat to have a South African oc besides Quinn ^^

Tagging: @distant-velleity @cyanide-latte @ramshacklerumble @kitwasnothere @the-banana-0verlord @officialdaydreamer00 @theleechyskrunkly @elenauaurs @jovieinramshackle @boopshoops @oya-oya-okay @whspermy-name @cynthinesia @elysia-nsimp @br3adtoasty @quartztwst

@the-trinket-witch @ghostiidasponk @natsukishinomiyaswife

[hanafubukki]

Controversial ask! I saw lots of people praying for what they wish for the new B-Day series to be (I haven't seen yours so this is my way of asking yours 👀👀)

Anyway here is mine!

1) A card where the baby versions and their current versions are together! I wanna see them baby and of course their feelings towards their baby versions!! It works really well as a growth card and sorry to say the best lore wise and visually B-Day series we got was Bloomquet!!

I added a card like how it should be!

(Momoi Airi from Project Sekai)

2) most controversial and I know this will never happen but as a long time bacha player I have to say! Selfcest!!!! (I think I only saw one Selfcest Yaoi and I need more) like make it platonic but I want it!!

Something about these cards is visually so good! Even if they don't make them B-day I have they can be theme of overblot cards!! [Yup this is my controversial take]

(Saori Hidaka from D4DJ)

(Aya Maruyama From BanG Dream!!)

So lemme know your thoughts before the series gets released!!! 💜✨ [feel free to delete the ask cause I know not everyone might enjoy the second one]

Hello Sayo 🫂💚💞

I agree with you! The Bloomquet is one of the best in the bday series to me. It’s honestly tied with the first bday series. I feel both gave so much to us lore wise and was visually appealing. First Bday I love because we the player were involved you know? And the groovies were beautiful. But the bloomquet!! The groovies were amazing! And the flower language!! Love love love, so many meanings!! I adore it 💞💞

Like you I would love love love to see baby bday cards. See how they view their younger selves and hear stories about what happened when they were younger 🥹💞 see how they changed.

I would also love to see casual wear bday cards. I want to see them in every day outfits! And see what they wear when they are not students but just themselves.

I want to see more colors (especially in mal) and hair styles. 🙏💞

I think another great idea would be them dressing up as the Disney characters? Maybe from their dorms or outside their dorms? It’s would be so cool.

Malleus dresses up as Maleficent or maybe one of the princes? It would be funny to see Sebek dressed up as the croc from Peter Pan. 🤔 maybe Ace in zootopia as the fox?

As for selfcest?? 🤔 I don’t think they would do that theme for Disney straight out? But maybe like a reflection 🤔 with the OB boys? One side OB and the other their normal selves? mirror halves. I can see that happening.

I know I’ve seen a lot of it for Lilia and gen Lilia when I go digging on twitter. So it’s not a new topic to me and 👀👀 wow some of those arts were bangers.

And funny, I saw some where our Lilia defeated gen Lilia 💞💞

I would love for the future or past selves to meet their current selves one day. I think that would be awesome and make great art 🥳💞

I think I also saw something related to that in the tags for malleus 🤔 have you seen it?