#best 4k video player

[rocksvideoplayer]

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Download videos from different social media platforms with ASD Rocks Video Player app's video downloader feature.

We generally download third party video downloader applications to download videos from different social media platforms but with ASD Rocks Video Player you get an option of downloading videos directly from the app.

[userpeggycarter]

COLORING + SHARPENING TUTORIAL

someone asked for a coloring tutorial and my sharpening settings, so here it is! there are also a few tips to achieve more HQ gifs. :)

tutorial under the cut!

FOR HIGH-QUALITY GIFS

FILE SIZES

it doesn’t matter what your sharpening settings are if the file you’re using to gif is too low quality, so i tend to look for the best that i can get when downloading stuff. 

usually, movies (+2h) look better if they’re 5GB or more, while an episode (40 min/1h) can look good with even 1GB. the minimum definition i try to find is 1080p, but i gif with 2160p (4k) when available. unfortunately, not every computer can handle 4k, but don’t worry, you can gif with 1080p files just fine if they are big enough. contrary to popular belief, size does matter! which means sometimes a bigger 1080p file is better than a smaller 2160p one, for example.

SCREENCAPPING METHOD

this can too influence the quality of your gifs. as a gifmaker, i’ve tried it all: video frames to layers, directly opening video clips, loading files into stack, and i’ve finally settled down with opening screencaps as an image sequence. with bigger files, it doesn’t matter much what technique you use, but i’ve noticed with smaller files you can do wonders if you screencap (either by loading files into stack or opening as an image sequence) instead of using video clips. for example, this gif’s original video file was only 4GB (so smaller than i’ve usually go for), if you can believe it!

here’s a tutorial for setting up and screencapping with MPV, the media player i use to screencap. again, you can keep using video clips for bigger files, but you’ll find this useful when dealing with dire causes. i don't file loads into stack, though, like the video does. i open as an image sequence (open > screencap folder > select any image > click the image sequence button). just select OK for the speed. this will open your screencaps as a video clip (blue bar) in timeline mode (i'm a timeline gifmaker, i don't know about you). you will need this action pack to convert the clip into frames if you're a frames gifmaker. i suggest you convert them into frames even if you're a timeline gifmaker, just convert them into a timeline again at the end. that way you can delete the screencaps right away, otherwise you will delete the screencaps and get a static image as a "gif".

ATTENTION if you’re a Mac Sonoma user, MPV won’t be an option for you unless you downgrade your system. that is, if you have an Intel chip. if you have M1 Max chip (or even a better one), here’s a fix for MPV you can try while keeping that MacOS, because nowadays MPV is skipping frames in its latest build. or you can use MPlayer instead for less hassle. here are two tutorials for setting and using MPlayer. Windows users are fine, you can use MPV without trouble.

FOR EVEN MORE QUALITY

ADD NOISE

here’s a tutorial for adding noise as a way to achieve more HQ gifs if your original material is too low quality.

REDUCE NOISE WITH CAMERA RAW

instead of adding noise, you can reduce it, especially if your gif is very noisy as it is. 

the path is filter > camera raw > detail > nose reduction. i do this before sharpening, but only my video file isn't great to begin with. because it’s a smart filter, you can reduce or increase its opacity by clicking the bars next to its name in the layers panel.

TOPAZ AI

i use Topaz Photo AI to increase the quality of my screencaps when i need to. it’s paid software, but there are… ways to find it for free, usually on t0rrent websites. if someone’s interested, i can make a tutorial solely about it in the future.

SHARPENING SETTINGS

here are my sharpening settings (filter > sharpen > smart sharpen). i sharpen things twice: 500% 0.4px + 10% 10px. here's an action for it, for more convenience. here's a tutorial on how to use Photoshop actions. for animated stuff, i use this action pack.

COLORING

here’s the gif i'm gonna use as a base. it’s already sharpened like the way i always do it.

LIGHTNING THE SHOTS

half of the secret of a good coloring is good lightning. i always useCurves (layers > new adjustment layer > curves) and Brightness & Contrast (layers > new adjustment layer > brightness & contrast). the settings depend on the scene you’re giffing, but i always try make my gifs bright and with high contrast to make the colors pop.

CURVES

besides lighting your scene, the Curves adjustment layer has four automatic options that will color-correct it for you. it’s not always perfect and it doesn’t mean you won’t need to do further coloring, but it’s a great start. it’s a lifesaver for most ridiculously yellow scenes. look at the difference! this gif uses the 3rd automatic option (the screenshot below isn't mine btw so that's why the fourth option is the chosen one), from top to bottom. what automatic option you need to choose depends on the gif.

sometimes i like to tweak my Curves layer. not everybody does that, it’s not that necessary and if you’re not careful, it can screw your gif up. to modify your layer by hand, you will need to click and drag points of that straight line in the position you desire. this is the concept behind it:

basically, the lower part of the line handles the shadows, while the upper part handles the highlights of the image. if you pull a highlight point up, the image’s highlights will be brighter. if you pull it down, it will make them darker. same thing for the shadow points. you should play with it to get a grasp of it, that’s what i did when i first started giffing.

BRIGHTNESS & CONTRAST

then i added a bit of brightness and contrast.

CHANNEL MIXER

the scene looked a bit too yellow, so i used the Channel Mixer (layer > new adjustment layer > channel mixer) adjustment layer. here’s a tutorial of how it works. not every scene needs the Channel Mixer layer though, i mostly use it to remove heavy overall tints. in this particular case, the Curves layer got rid of most of the yellow, but i wanted the gif to be just a bit more blue so the Channel Mixer tweaks are very minimal.

SELECTIVE COLOR

now, this adjustment layer i always use: Selective Color (layer > new adjustment layer > selective color). this is THE adjustment layer to me, alongside the Curves one. this is how it works:

ie, you can separately edit a color this way, giving it tints. for this gif, i wanted to make the colors more vibrant. to achieve that, i edited the selected colors this way:

for the reds, i added even more red in them by moving the first slider to the right, making the color more vibrant. for his hat to have a more warm tint, i added yellow to the reds (third slider, moving it to the right). finally, to make the reds stronger, i moved the last slider to the right (more black).

for the yellows, i made them brighter by adding white to them, thus making the tile wall and Paddington more bright as well.

for the cyans and the blues, i just added the maximum (+100) of black that i could.

i wanted for Paddington's nose to be brighter, so i added more white to the whites.

lastly, i added depth to the blacks by increasing their own blackness.

you should always play with the Selective Colors sliders for a bit, before deciding what you want or need. with time, you will automatically know what to change to correct the color grading. it all takes practice!

HUE/SATURATION

i don’t know if you noticed, but there are some green spots on the blue wall behind Paddington. to correct that, i added a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer (layer > new adjustment layer > hue/saturation) and made the saturation of the greens 0%, making that unwanted green disappear from the background.

while the green spots on the wall are specific for this gif, i use hue/saturation a lot to tweak, well, hue and saturation. sometimes someone’s skin is too yellow, i made it redder by tweaking the reds and the yellows, or vice-versa. the hue bar follows the rainbow bar, so the maximum settings (+100 and -100) give the selected color to change its hue to something more red or pink (the rainbow extremities). changing hue can give pretty whacky results, like turning someone’s skin tone to green, so you will need to play with it to get the hang of it. you can also tweak the opacity of your hue/saturation layer to further improve your gif’s coloring. i didn’t do it in this case, the opacity is still 100%. the reds and the blues had their saturation increased to make them pop just a bit more, without affecting the other colors.

COLOR BALANCE

the highlights of the gif still had a green tint to it due to the automatic correction of the Curves layer, so i used Color Balance. this is how it works: instead of giving specific colors some tints, you can give them to the shadows, highlights, and mid-tones. if your shadows are too blue, you counterbalance them with the opposite color, yellow. same thing with the cyan-red and magenta-green pairings. in my case, i added a bit of magenta.

B&W GRADIENT MAP

now, if this gif was a dish, it’s time for the salt and pepper. i always add a Gradient Map (layer > new adjustment layer > gradient map) (black to white gradient) with the Soft Light blending mode, thus giving my shadows more depth without messing with the mid-tones and highlights. it also doesn’t “deep fry” (you know those memes?) the gif too much by adding even more contrast. usually, the opacity of the layer is between 30% to 70%, it all depends on the gif. it always does wonders, though!

COLOR FILTER

finally, i like to add Color Filters (layer > new adjustment layer > color filter) to my gifs. it’s very handy when giving different scenes for the same minimalistic set because it makes them kind of match despite having completely different colors. in this gif’s case, i added a “deep blue” filter, opacity 50% density 25. you can change the density and the opacity of the layer for further editing, again, it all depends on the gif.

VIBRANCE

if i feel like it, i add a vibrance layer (layer > new adjustment layer > vibrance) to make the colors pop. this can ruin your coloring sometimes, especially when regarding skin color, so be careful. i didn't do it in this gif because i felt i didn't need it.

TA-DA! 🥳

AN OTHER EXAMPLE

the color grading of the original scene it’s pretty good as it is, to be honest. let’s see a worse scenario, a VERY yellow one:

no channel mixer this time because the automatic curves option dealt with the yellowness, but you can see it made the gif too green. i needed to correct that with the following adjustment layers:

curves (automatic option) (gif 2) >> same curves layer (tweaks) (gif 3) >> brightness & contrast (gif 4) >> hue/saturation (tweaked cyan+blue+green) >> selective color >> color balance (gif 5) >> b&w gradient map >> (sepia) filter >> vibrance (gif 6)

i added a hue/saturation layer to remove the blues & greens before my selective color layer because i thought that was more urgent than tweaking the tint of all colors. color balance (gif 4) was the real hero here, though, by removing the green tint. the selective color layer was meant to make the red pop more than anything else, because the rest looked pretty good, especially her skin tone (despite the green tint). you can notice that tweaking the curves layer (small gif 3) also helped A LOT with the green problem.

tl;dr 😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫

here's a list of my go-to's while coloring and lightning gifs. it's not a rule, just a guide. there are gifs in which i don't use all these adjustment layers, or use them in a different order. it all depends!

1. curves (automatic option + tweaks) 2. brightness & contrast 3. channel mixer 4. selective color 5. hue/saturation 6. color balance 7. b&w gradient map 8. color filter 9. vibrance

i'll suggest that you study each adjustment layer listed for more info, either with other Tumblr tutorials or YouTube ones. the YouTube ones focus on images, but you can translate what they teach to gif making very easily. you can ask me to further explain any adjustment layer, too! i was brief to keep this short (which i kinda failed lol).

feel free to ask me for clarification or something else about gifmaking wise, i always like to help. ❤️

[alonetimelover]

pairing: Harry Styles x tennis player!reader

summary: sometimes it is not meant to work out, no matter how much you and everyone else want it to. or is it?

a/n: so before wimbledon ended (before Iga lost her quarterfinal), I made this. its like fiction within fiction, ya know?

masterlist (with more tennis player!reader)

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twitter

i love harry and yn | babiesharry

guys... just a quick thought. we haven't seen any pics of yn and harry together for a whole month. there are no interactions online, and there are no acknowledgements during concerts or after matches.

do we think its the, you know, end?

3k likes 1,04k comments 3,4k replies

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lot tour 23 | aliceeeee

it is a little bit confusing. in the latest interview yn, when asked about listening to music before a match, she answered only with Taylor (before she also was saying Harry)

so that's it...

2k likes 1,44k comments 2,4k replies

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saw harry in vienna | lovingharry

harry is also not as bubbly as he made us used to see him, last night he wasn't even doing all the stomps during satellite, no funny dances or backbends...

1k likes 1k comments 3k replies

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yn is the best | lovingtennisyn

let's not speculate about them and just support our idols. yn has a very difficult tournament before herself and harry is almost done with touring. best we can do is applaud them for their work, their private lives shouldn't be our concern

4k likes 1,5k comments 5k replies

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harry my love | byebyenyc

i fear the worst... yn is in london and none interaction with Harry, his family, or friends? it is not an accident

2k likes 1,7k comments 0,9k replies

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Instagram

harryupdates

liked by ynupdates, hArrysbtch and 15 302 others

harryupdates HARRY AFTER CATCHNING A FANMADE BRACELET ON STAGE TONIGHT!

view all 2 402 comments

lanastyles IT WAS MINE!!!!!

⤷ hArrysbtch omg! what were the charms??

⤷ lanastyles i did harrys and yn's names with flowers and hearts! but i don't think he really liked it

⤷ harrysmoustache oh no, why do you think so?

⤷ lanastyles after he read what was on them, he showed it into his trousers' pocket

⤷ ynsmybestie no no no no no, the rumours are getting more true with each day

harrysfan84 i love him, man

harryswift he knows that speak now tv is coming, he dressed for the occasion!

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harrylot

liked by harryupdates, ynsmybestie and 18 301 others

harrylot "I don't think that anyone is perfect. you meet a lot of people during your lifetime, never knowing which one is gonna turn up being your person. huh? im sorry I cannot hear you. give it up for Lorine!" HARRY INTERACTING WITH A FAN TONIGHT

view all 6 301 comments

harryshoee i saw multiple videos from this interaction and the fan was soooo loud. he just didn't want to answer the question

⤷ ynshands what did they ask him?

⤷ harryshoee i believe it was "have you met your person?" and people around the fan screaming yn's name

harryupdates guys, don't assume anything based on one interaction

ynsmybestie that is concerning, but maybe he just doesn't want to be so public about it?

⤷ ynandhmyparents they were literally making out in the park in London and kissing on TV after yn won French Open. they didn't care, why would they now?

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yntennisfan

liked by ynupdates, harryshoee and 23 301 others

yntennisfan GUYS, I AM STRESSED OUT

view all 5 301 comments

yntennisfan UPDATE: SHE DEFENDED THOSE MATCH POINTS!!! WE HAVE TIE-BREAK!!!

yntennisfan UPDATE: GUYS, SHES SERVING FOR A MATCH

yntennisfan SHE FUCKING WON THIS MATCH !!!!!

ynupdates i had five heart attacks during this match

harryupdates she's so good at coming back to her good game!

ynshands AMAZING! I couldn't watch and just listened to the commentary on the radio. they were going crazy!

ynsmybestie she's unbelievable! sooo good

hArrysbtch i love tennis

harrysmoustache she's playing so differently to what she made us used to see

⤷ ynsmybestie i fear its because of that possible breakup

⤷ harrysfan83 harry didn't upload anything about the match like he used to, and he knows how grass is yn's the least favourite surface to play on

⤷ ynupdates can you guys just be happy about her win and stop bringing her relationship back up? thank you.

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enews

liked by tennisfan82 and 2 301 492 others

enews No. 1s in the tennis World - YN YSN and Carlos Alcaraz were spotted enjoying each other companies after YN's winning match in Wimbledon. YN has dated Harry Styles for almost three years before they broke up just a month ago. Moving on so quickly? More pictures in our link in bio.

view all 24 201 comments

ynupdates they are friends! can't they have a meal together?

ynsmybestie how i love you people ruining friendships... pathetic

ynshands celebrating her win can't only mean dating, you know?

harrysmoustache sooo, they really broke up? 💔

⤷ hArrysbtch nothing is confirmed, let's just wait

⤷ hArrysbtch yes, I am delusional

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ynupdates

liked by ynsmybestie, harrysmoustache and 34 402 others

ynupdates YN VIA HER IG STORY...

view all 7 402 comments

ynsmybestie nonononononono not them, please god no

ynshands jesus, even my breakup didn't hurt me as much as this one

hArrysbtch im a child of this divorce

harryupdates let's give them space to be

harryshoee no, my parents. please let it not be true. please.

ynswiftie guys, maybe she's just celebrating a Spek Now TV release?

⤷ ynsmybestie couldn't she do it with enchanted???

ynandcarlos well, Carlos has a tan skin too

⤷ ynshands oh shut up, respectfully

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harryupdates

liked by hArrysbtch, ynupdates and 65 407 others

harryupdates I MET HARRY IN LONDON JUST NOW. do you think he's attending wembley final today?

view all 8 402 comments

ynupdates you finally met him? congratulations darling!

ynupdates and I think he's attending. why would he come back from spain to london?

hArrysbtch he better attends and stop all those ridiculous rumours (yes, i am delusional)

harrysmoustache he looks so good, he can't be single (yes, i am delusional)

harryshoee yn crocheted that hat, i know it (yes, iam delusional)

⤷ ynupdates well, yn does know how to crochet so it is possible

harrysfan63 i also met him today!!!

⤷ harryupdates did you ask him about Wimbledon?

⤷ harrysfan63 yes! he just said "what's that?" with a smirk

⤷ harrysbtch this fucker, he's playing us

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harryupdates

liked by ynupdates, ynsmybestie and 82 230 others

harryupdates HARRY VIA HIS IG STORY. HE DIDN'T DELETE IT AFTER FIVE MINUTES. EVEN AFTER THIRTY.

view all 9 302 comments

ynupdates the world is healing

hArrysbtch thank you, harry. thank you, my man. I can still sing to london boy and think about you both

harrysmoustache so, they still together?

ynsmybestie thank fucking God!!!!!!! my parents are still together!

harryshoee my bitches are back!!!

ynandhmyparents i can still shamelessly use my username hehheh

user492 it would be hilarious later getting to know that they are, in fact, not back together

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yntennisfan

liked by ynupdates, harrysmoustache and 90 201 others

yntennisfan GUYSSSSSSS WTF WTF WTF. THIS IS YN'S REACTION TO PEOPLE CHEERING AFTER SHE ADMITTED SHE IS ENGAGED!!!!

view all 11 301 comments

yntennisfan it basically went like this: after winning the Wimbledon final yn was giving an interview. during it one of the fans screamed "MARRY ME, YN" and after a little laugh that the audience had yn responded with "I'M ALREADY ENGAGED, ACTUALLY"

yntennisfan the way people screamed!!!!! and then they showed smirking harry!!! does anyone have a picture??

ynupdates she is engaged... she won Wimbledon... oh god

harryupdates engaged... woah

hArrysbtch THE WORLD HEALED

harrysmoustache harry is engaged, do you hear it people?

ynsmybestie love is real, yn won her least comfortable tournament, god is a woman. yes.

harryshoee couldn't imagine a better partner for harry. she is so sweet and cute. they're perfect.

ynshands eat shit you haters that believed in every little rumour

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harrystyles

liked by yourinstagram, harryupdates and 17 402 939 others

harrystyles good morning, wimbledon champion fiancée

view all 203 301 comments

yourinstagram hiiii, fiancé

harryupdates how do I react when Harry is posting his partner on main????

ynupdates THEE CHAMPION

hArrysbtch PARENTS

⤷ yourinstagram harrystyles first child is here

⤷ harrystyles that's... fast

⤷ hArrysbtch guys, WTHFKSJEBJDE

annetwist beautiful, beautiful girl ❤️

ynsmybestie still processing the win and engagement and you're killing me with this post, harry. thank you.

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yourinstagram

liked by harrystyles, ynupdates, taylorswift, hArrysbtch and 16 930 493 others

yourinstagram my waves meet your shore, ever and evermore

view all 492 201 comments

harrystyles well, it was enchanting to meet you

ynupdates i can't get used to them using taylor's lyrics to express their love for each other

taylorswift Congratulations on the Wimbledon win and your engagement! You are welcome at any of the concerts. Just text me the date you're available!

comment liked by yourinstagram, harrystyles and 132 302 others

harryupdates congratulations!!!!

hArrysbtch mum, dad

[animatedjen]

The Best Movie Versions of Jedi: Fallen Order

As someone who has made too many videos about these games, figured I'd share my favorite "movie" editions of Fallen Order. It's the best way to meet the Mantis crew and experience Cal's journey if you don't have a gaming PC/console or want to relive the adventure in a condensed format. Also a great resource for making edits!

STAR WARS Jedi: Fallen Order - Movie Edition by MovieEditionGames

[2K, no HUD, YT CC captions available] My favorite viewing option for FO. It includes relevant gameplay mixed in with cutscenes, along with custom camera shots that showcase the environments during traversal. Clean music transitions and intentional character movement elevate it even further.

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (The Movie) by Andy Gilleand

[4K HDR, letterboxed, no HUD, YT CC captions available] A very close second for FO viewing. The high-res, detailed textures really showcase how beautiful this game is. Along with relevant gameplay blended with cutscenes, this version also includes chapter markers to find different sections more easily.

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order - Game Movie by Video Game Player

[4K 60FPS, letterboxed, no HUD, no captions] Another 4K option with chapter markers (this time with on screen titles!) but doesn't use HDR.

STAR WARS: JEDI FALLEN ORDER All Cutscenes (Cal Mod) by Gamer's Little Playground

[4K 60FPS, includes HUD and in-game captions] Cal takes a nap and wakes up with a beard! If you want to revisit the story with a new look, here's a good option.

Hope this helps! As of now I have not found a comparable version for Jedi Survivor. There are cutscene-only options and full 13-17 hour gameplay options, but nothing in between. If you have seen one let me know! Otherwise I may try to make it myself, eventually.

[header photo from u/D3athtroop3r on Reddit]

[flyboytracy]

I seem to recall you talking about your gif-making process somewhere?? It's a creative medium I'm now poking at, so I'm freshly curious as to your thoughts on the subject <3

Hola, Red! :D <33

GIF making is a pretty simple process when you strip it right down to the basics. It's really daunting to get into but once you're set up and used to the shortcuts, I can make a GIF in like, 5 mins.

The first thing you need is a video player that can automatically take screencaps. I recommend something like Potplayer. Over the years I've used things like VLC Player and KM Player, and Potplayer is a better/newer version of KM Player, I think. It can play HQ videos which is what you need for GIFs.

The next thing is videos. Potplayer can play pretty much anything. Just go for the best quality you can find. 720 should be like, bare minimum. I just have to be careful not to go too big because my laptop can't handle HQ for more than a minute lol. 4K is glorious but I think my laptop would explode if I tried to cap 4K LOTR extended edition rip.

To make screencaps in Potplayer, use ctrl & G and it should bring up a menu that lets you alter the settings for auto screencaps. I can go into this part in more detail later.

Next you need something to make GIFs. I have a really, really old version of Photoshop that I nicked from a workplace in 2009, so my advice is kind of limited from this part onwards because my process is just so outta date now. I think the process is generally the same for most apps and places where you can make GIFs. You import a folder of screencaps, edit it, and save it as a GIF. I think newer versions of PS can do the screencaps for you which is just wild to me and my super old version lmao.

There's a lot to talk about, such as editing and adding text and frames and speed and stuff, but generally the three biggest steps are to get your app, get your screencaps and get something to make GIFs with. I can ramble on about editing in part two :D

The editing is the fun part :D

I hope this helps to give you an idea of where to start. Once you're set up it's awesome but the set up is just...sheesh, where to even start.

<333

[tommybowefuneralattendee]

79 for shaymien tyvm - katie (the last one was also me you get it)

79. “i like being close to you. you’re warm.”

linked on ao3 || read under the cut || 4k, rated m

summary:

"Would it be okay if we just sat here?" Shayne asks quietly, the exhale of his speech warm on Damien's shirt. Damien scratches over Shayne's scalp and it's like his best friend turns to liquid in his lap. Damien grins. "We can sit here as long as you want." || Or, Shayne's tired after a workout and it leads to a conversation that's been a long time coming.

It's not like they ever plan on doing stuff like this. This happens every time they're both single, every time neither of them have seen their families in a while, every time one of them needs and the other can provide. Damien unlocks the door of Shayne's apartment without a bit of pause. Shayne is at the gym at this time most days, so Damien isn't exactly surprised to find the flat empty. He smiles at the two stacks of video games already set up on the coffee table, the groups divided by whether the game is multiplayer or single player, all ten of them games they both enjoy. His boy knows him too well. They hadn't even discussed hanging out today. 

He's been combing through the snacks in the kitchen for about five minutes when he hears the door being unlocked once again, cracking a smile as he closes the cabinet he was rifling through. 

"Hey man, let me get a quick shower and we can game?" Shayne calls from the living room. Damien makes an affirmative sound and begins transferring the snacks he had collected to the coffee table, barely aware of the sound of the bathroom door shutting behind his friend. Despite the fact that Shayne still shops like he and Damien live together, most of what Damien's grabbed are Shayne's favorites- the guy's always starving after working out, and if Damien gets him snacks now, he won't have to hear about it. Not that he even really minds when Shayne does complain. 

That was honestly the first thing that made Damien think that maybe his relationship with Shayne was different from all of his other relationships, that maybe this is what people are talking about when they say they have a best friend. It's not that he doesn't know who he would be if he didn't have Shayne. It's that he doesn't know that he became himself til loving Shayne shaped who he is. Who would he be without Shayne's hand over the gearshift, laughter ringing in their ears nearly an hour after the joke had been told, Shayne's smiling face colored pretty by the pink of the setting sun? 

He grabs Shayne a bottle of water. He heaves out a breath. He sits on the couch. 

He doesn't know how much time he's lost writing a sketch in his head before Shayne walks out of the bathroom, steam rolling out after him like some early aughts Old Spice commercial. Damien can't help but grin at him; Shayne throws the towel he'd been rubbing through his hair at Damien's head. Damien catches it, throwing it back faster than Shayne is apparently prepared for, as it strikes him directly in the chest rather than being caught in his hands. Despite being the one to throw it first, Shayne seems a little out of sorts. He's got that look to him that he gets after live streams sometimes, the one that's half tired and half overwhelmed, though the look is mellowed some by the comfort of being in his own home. Still, Damien leans back against the side of the couch and pulls his legs up as well. He's not even entirely settled, arms wide to hold his best friend and knees apart to accommodate him, before Shayne is diving into his lap, arms wrapped around Damien's waist, face rubbing into the other man's chest affectionately. Like a fucking cat.

A chuckle punches its way out of Damien's chest at the sight. "You alright there, bud?" he asks, settling back into the arm of the couch and running his hand over Shayne's hair. Shayne hums.

"I like being close to you. You’re warm," he says simply, as if that's all there is to it, like being with Damien is the easiest thing in the world. Damien knows it isn't. The way that Shayne has always disagreed with him on that still makes him feel warm after this many years together. No matter how much time he spends with his best friend, he doesn't know that it will ever feel like enough. Sometimes the sheer luck of meeting Shayne, of being on the same set as him at the same time, it hits Damien in the chest. On a universal level, he was so close to never having this. He holds onto Shayne a little tighter just because he can. Shayne hums again, pressing in and nuzzling his face into Damien's chest.

"You wanna play something or you just wanna sit here, baby boy?" Damien asks, his tone making it clear that he doesn't mind either way, even if the words aren't so clear. Shayne makes a noise of protest and starts pushing himself up, but Damien keeps him settled in the cradle of his hips with a gentle hand; it's obvious from his face and posture that Shayne is only trying to remove himself because that's what he thinks he's supposed to want to do. Damien runs his fingers through Shayne's hair, making the other man relax against him nearly instantaneously.

"Would it be okay if we just sat here?" Shayne asks quietly, the exhale of his speech warm on Damien's shirt. Damien scratches over Shayne's scalp and it's like his best friend turns to liquid in his lap. Damien grins.

"We can sit here as long as you want," he says, sliding down a little bit more so that Shayne's face is against his throat and they're settled chest to chest. He pulls the blanket off of the back of the couch, spreading it over Shayne's back.

"Thank you," Shayne murmurs. His mouth is right against Damien's throat, his breath warm and the vibration of his speech something Damien didn't know he found comforting. He should know, as many times as they've done this.

"Any time, bud. You know that," Damien reminds him, pressing a kiss to the side of Shayne's head. That's not new either, a long time habit from when they were so much younger and so much more scared, broke as fuck all the time and never knowing what the fuck to do about it. Shayne tilts his head up to brush a kiss against Damien's jaw, settling back down quickly. If Damien didn't know to look for it, he might miss the proliferation of rose spreading across Shayne's ears. But he does know to look for it. And seeing it always warms him from the inside out. The idea that he can still make Shayne blush is one he'll always be grateful for, and maybe a little winded that he can. He loves this boy so much.

They don't talk for the next little while; Damien couldn't even hazard a guess of how long, his phone left abandoned on the coffee table and his watch missing entirely. He doesn't always put on everything when he's just coming over to Shayne's, leaving off accessories at random just because Shayne is one of the only people in the world that Damien doesn't feel like he has to present himself well around. Sure, he gives some of his best to Shayne, but Shayne has also been the person to handle a lot of his worst, to hold him after breakups and reassure him when he's scared and all of the bullshit that comes with being just a little bit too codependent with your best friend. Damien brushes another kiss on the crown of Shayne's head just for thinking of it. Boredom doesn't pick at him in this quiet place with Shayne as it typically would. The weight against his chest, the warmth of another body, Shayne, it's all very calming.

"I love you, you know," Shayne says quietly, virtually apropos of nothing. Damien hums, rubbing his hand up and down Shayne's back.

"I know, baby boy. I love you too," he replies, natural and easy. Shayne lays a kiss down on Damien's shoulder.

"I mean it," he stresses. Damien raises an eyebrow even if Shayne can't see it, his hand moving from Shayne's back to the back of his head, gentle as he pulls Shayne up to look at him, pushing back to sit up a little himself. Shayne reluctantly moves to support himself so that he can make eye contact. Seeing the question in his gaze, Shayne sighs. "You're my person," he whispers, looking at Damien with so much emotion that Damien has no idea how to pick through it. Instead of trying, he cups Shayne's jaw.

"You're my person, too, Shayne. No one I trust more than you," he assures. It doesn't seem as if this was the response Shayne was looking for, his head listing into Damien's palm and his lips pursed. Damien raises his eyebrow again, asking Shayne to elaborate without asking aloud. Shayne kisses his palm before resettling into his grasp.

"You're my best friend and it still never feels like enough," he says quietly, no longer making eye contact with Damien. A hard feeling settles in Damien's chest, the easy happiness of a moment ago draining from him. Not enough is something that Damien has heard before. It's never been a good thing.

"Did I do something?" he asks, unable to keep the shake out of his voice. Shayne's eyes snap to his and then go soft; immediately, he gets his knees more steadily beneath himself so that he can reach up and cup the back of Damien's head, careful fingers tangled in his hair. Unable to make himself think any better of it, Damien catches his hands on the backs of Shayne's thighs and pulls, shifting Shayne to have his knees spread across Damien's lap. Immediately, there's relief in every place they touch. Reassurance. Peace. Shayne is smiling at him. He looks fucking beautiful.

"Move back in with me." Shayne drops this suddenly, his gaze still soft where Damien can practically feel it against his skin, and it sends Damien blinking in surprise. Of all of the things he might have thought Shayne would say, that wasn't one of them.

"Beg pardon?" he asks. Shayne's smile falls.

"It's- it's just an idea," Shayne says, looking away from Damien and looking like he wants to disappear in his own apartment and Damien can't have that.

"Shayne, you live in a one bedroom apartment," he says gently, putting it ahead of any of the other protests knocking in the back of his mind, addressing the most practical first. Shayne tries again to push himself up and out of Damien's lap, but he's still doing that thing he does. Sometimes, typically when he's showing any emotion at all instead of handling the emotions of most everyone around him, Shayne tries to recede back into himself. He'll pull in all of his tells and shut Damien out and it's so fucking frustrating, not because Damien doesn't want to do the work of loving his best friend, but because Shayne thinks he has to. Because Shayne thinks this is what everyone else wants from him. For him to be easy. Damien has only ever wanted Shayne. Not so interested in easy. He keeps his hands on Shayne's thighs and Shayne isn't trying particularly hard, so in Damien's lap he stays.

"I miss you," Shayne mumbles nonsensically. After a moment, though, it makes a lot of sense to Damien, honestly. He misses those early mornings with Shayne, the nights when Shayne would climb into bed with him just because they were still talking, the reassurance of knowing that no matter what kind of day he had, he'd be coming home to Shayne fucking Topp. Damien lifts one of his hands and holds it to Shayne's chest, fingers brushing his collarbones through his shirt. Shayne looks at him with far too much melancholy for a face like that.

"How about when both of our leases are up? Mark can find a new roommate, you and me can find a two bedroom, we'll live together again, yeah?" he suggests, surprised then when Shayne's expression twists before he catches himself, smoothing it out into a smile. "No, no, I saw that. What's up, Shayne?" he asks, patient and even. Shayne closes his eyes.

"It's stupid," he says. Damien hums, encouraging him to elaborate. Shayne sighs. "I don't want a two bedroom apartment." When he opens his eyes, Damien tilts his head at him, confused.

"Come on, man, you know I don't really get the whole beating around the bush thing. We've gotten as far as you want to live together again, but I don't know what that part means. Tell me what the problem is." He moves the hand on Shayne's chest over to his side, thumb stroking over his oblique. With a deep breath, Shayne seems to steel himself.

"I haven't been sleeping well lately," he says, the words falling out of his mouth like they're the beginning of something, but Shayne pauses once they've hit the air. Damien nods, silently imploring him to continue. "Best sleep I've had in months was when we were sharing that hotel room in Vegas." His voice is thin, and it only takes Damien a second to figure out why. Their room had been scheduled incorrectly in Vegas. Technically, anybody in their party could have shared the room with one bed and let them have one of the rooms with two, but it was the room Damien and Shayne had been given and they hadn't made any sort of fuss about it. He'd woken up with Shayne beautifully sleepsoft, tucked comfortably into his chest all three days they were in that hotel.

"You want to move in together, and you want to share a bed," Damien says; Shayne's face colors a deep red, but he nods in confirmation. A smile creeps its way onto Damien's face. "I guess we're about to have a lot of sleepovers til my lease is up, yeah?" he asks, watching with delight as Shayne's expression goes from that melancholic fear to overwhelmingly pleased. Impulse control completely with the fucking wind, Damien leans up and kisses his best friend on the mouth. Like that's a good idea. He doesn't even realize that Shayne is kinda kissing him back before he reels backwards, putting space between their faces even if they're still touching more than they're not. Shayne makes a soft noise, quiet protest clear as he tugs Damien back into another kiss, harder but no less full of care. He's delicate with the way he holds Damien's face in both hands, his movements deliberate as he tries to tell Damien through touch alone that he wants this too. That this is all he wants.

"Dames," Shayne breathes out against his mouth. Damien leans up to catch him in another kiss. For this being the first time they've done this, it's the easiest this has ever been for Damien, the most comfortable, the only first kisses he's ever had that didn't feel like a hostage negotiation he was having with his brain to wrest enjoyment from the clutches of discomfort. Of course he's comfortable. It's Shayne. There's not a more comfortable place in the world for Damien's hands than on Shayne's skin, no more comfortable weight in his lap than Shayne's warm body. Damien pulls back again and this time Shayne lets him, makes no move to stop him from burying his face in Shayne's shoulder, breathing out his overwhelm as best as he can. His heart is fucking pounding. Still, he can't help grinning when he lifts his head to look at Shayne. It's Shayne. Loving him is the easiest thing he's ever done.

"Are we doing this?" he asks, smile coloring his words with fondness more overtly than he's ever allowed himself to display. Shayne's grin is confident, but when he speaks, his voice is quiet.

"Please," he says, broad hands warm on Damien's face, and this is it. It is different. His relationship with Shayne is different because he fucking loves him, not just the barrage of platonic affection that has bowled him over for nearly half his life, he loves Shayne like cracking his chest open and letting the other man stick his hand in. In that moment, it needs to be said again.

"I love you," he says, turning his head to press a kiss against one of Shayne's palms. At that, Shayne climbs out of his lap. Not expecting the movement, Damien makes no protest, instead raising an eyebrow at Shayne once he's on his own two feet.

"I'm in love with you. I also want to be in bed with you," Shayne says, pulling him up by the hand. Knowing it's not what he means, Damien leers suggestively anyway.

"Very forward, baby boy. Here I thought you were gonna treat me like a gentleman," he teases. Shayne huffs out a laugh and looks down at his socked feet, smiling at the floor.

"Not what I meant, you asshole. I mean- we can do that at whatever pace, like, works for us? But I want-" Shayne cuts himself off, that deep red taking over his face once again, trailing down his neck. Damien knows exactly how far that blush goes, but that doesn't mean he's not thinking about it still. He wants to taste the heat on Shayne's skin. He wants to hold Shayne so he'll sleep well. He leans further into Shayne's space, not quite close enough to kiss but close enough it definitely wouldn't be hard.

"What do you want, Shayne?" he asks, the rasp of his voice sending a visual shiver down Shayne's spine. He leans his forehead against Damien's shoulder.

"I want you to hold me," he whispers, less like he's afraid to say it and more like he's afraid to break this moment. Damien nods, grabbing Shayne by the hand.

"I can do that."

He leads Shayne by the hand to his own bedroom, strips him of his shirt gently, and then of his sweats, even getting Shayne to pick up his feet so that Damien can take of his socks for him, and suddenly he realizes that none of this is new so far. Well, the kissing, that's new. But holding Shayne's hand? Leading him to his own room? Undressing him? He remembers late nights in their shared space, Shayne's tired eyes strained from practice script after practice script, his energy scraped thin. Damien would take his hand then, get him comfortable, tuck him in. Stay if Shayne grabbed for him, which he almost always did. Damien never minded. Divesting himself of his own clothing, Damien has to ignore the way that Shayne's eyes roam over his chest, his stomach, his boxers. He never thought when they were younger that Shayne would ever look at him like this. Looking retrospectively at all of this, he can't imagine he would have done anything differently if he knew then what he knows now. Who knows how long he and Shayne would have lasted if they'd jumped into this young and unsettled? He wouldn't do it any other way.

The chief sound of the two of them getting settled into bed together is laughter; they've never been able to share a bed without getting into some kind of wrestling match. Staring down at Shayne's pretty face with his best friend on his back underneath him, it strikes Damien that perhaps that wasn't always as platonic as it had felt. He leans down to kiss Shayne again, but they end up having to pull away given that they're both still laughing. His heart feels fit to fucking burst. Just looking at Shayne makes something catch in Damien's chest. Fuck, he loves him. Fuck. Shayne pulls Damien down on top of himself, knocking the breath out of Damien in the form of a surprised bark of a laugh. Grinning against his temple, Shayne runs his hands along Damien's back with eager hands, digging in his fingers in a way that feels good, and Damien groans.

"God, magic hands," he mumbles into Shayne's collarbone. The rumble of Shayne's laugh beneath him is probably one of the best things in the world. Right after Shayne's fucking magic hands, his wide fingertips digging into the knots in Damien's back, slight ache of it smoothed out by his broad palms. He's always liked Shayne's hands though. The feel of them, the weight of them, the look of them, the blunts of his nails, the scar between two of his fingers he got breaking a glass when he was thirteen. There's so much story in those hands. So much story in this boy. He kisses his way along Shayne's collarbone, not with any heat really, but just to move his lips across Shayne's skin. One of Shayne's hands moves up from Damien's back, clutching at but not pulling Damien's hair as he guides him up to look at him.

"I love you," he says again, voice laced with awe like he's lucky just to be able to say it, to be able to love Damien aloud. He gets halfway up on his knees between Shayne's thighs, making them fall a little wider to accommodate him. With the way Shayne is looking up at him, he doesn't think he minds.

"I love you so much." With that, Damien dips down and connects their lips. Shayne is pliable under him, soft skin and hard muscle both giving way to being manipulated by Damien's whims. His hands are hungry as he grabs at Shayne, nails skating across the other man's skin. He doesn't know what it would be like to love Shayne without a certain degree of violence. His love for him has never gone quietly, never been something that Damien could pack away into boxes like everything else, reduce the clutter of his mind and move on with his life. Instead, he built the whole world around him, the chaotic life of a performer in Los Angeles moored by the touchstone that is Shayne Topp. Things, in a lot of ways, make a lot more sense with Shayne's tongue in his mouth. Like, at least now he knows why he never really liked any of Shayne's exes. Just thinking of it makes Damien pull away from Shayne's mouth, laughing into his best friend's shoulder. Is that still what he calls Shayne? They should probably talk about that.

"You gonna share with the class?" Shayne asks, teasing in his tone as he nuzzles his face into Damien's hair. Damien kisses the junction of Shayne's throat and shoulder.

"I guess this kinda clears up why I never liked any of your exes," he says wryly, delighting in the bark of Shayne's laughter that immediately follows.

"I mean, yeah." He could have said anything, really, for as much as Damien is paying any mind to it- Shayne has freckles on his shoulders that Damien has always wanted to count, maybe in the back of his mind somewhere always wanted to kiss, and the opportunity begets compulsion. 

He traces feather-light kisses from one to the next, counting in his head with his mouth otherwise occupied. When he gets down Shayne's chest someways, he gets a giggle out of Shayne kissing one a few inches below where his armpit hair stops. When he gets to one not far from Shayne's nipple, the touch of his lips brings a gasp out of him. Another compulsion begotten by opportunity, Damien touches his mouth next to that nipple, already pebbled beneath the contact. Not wanting to take things too quickly, he abandons the journey down the route of Shayne's freckles, instead pressing kisses on his way up til he meets again with Shayne's mouth. He just brushes him with a kiss then, rolling off of Shayne and onto his back. Shayne tilts his head in question.

"How do you want to be held?" Damien asks, reminding Shayne of why they had moved to the bedroom in the first place. Half hard in his boxers, Shayne takes the pivot with admirable grace, still grinning as he pushes his way against Damien's chest.

"Like this," he says, tangling their legs together and nudging Damien until he puts his arms around Shayne's shoulders. His grip on Damien's waist is nothing to joke about either, his hands splayed possessively across Damien's lower back. Damien presses a kiss to the side of his head.

"I can do that."

[goldenseresinretriever]

You Catch More Bees With Honey: Chapter 18

Pairing: Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw x Reader

Part of the San Diego Dogfighters universe

Summary: Bradley Bradshaw, blindsided by a team he trusted like family has been traded to the San Diego Dogfighters. Across the country from the place he calls home, Bradley feels lost and betrayed. Not to mention the familiar faces and ghosts from his past that he now has to face every day at work. Bradley’s caught between wanting to show his former team the mistake they made in double-crossing him and wondering if it’s time to hang up his skates after one final season. You’re living your dream as the PR representative for the Dogfighters. When Coach Maverick made a bid to bring his godson to the team, you hadn’t batted an eye. Bradley was a good teammate, and a good player. Unfortunately, the Bradley that shows up in San Diego is nothing like your research suggested. He’s moody, irritable, aggressive, and angry, throwing a wrench in all your careful planning. What’s caused such a drastic change in him? And can you figure out how to help him before he makes a mistake you can’t fix?

Series CW: 18+ ONLY, swearing, dead parents, drunkenness, alcohol consumption, violence, sports violence, blood probably, angst, fluff, eventual smut, age gap (28 and 38), enemies to lovers, suggestive language, hockey inaccuracies etc. There will be individual chapter warnings. No use of Y/N.

Word Count: 4k

A/N: This is a repost of my completed series, You Catch More Bees With Honey. It was originally posted in November-March 2023, and was lost when my blog was deleted.

Previous Chapter // Series Masterlist // Next Chapter

The energy in the arena this evening is electric. Bradley recognizes it even if his teammates don’t. It happens anytime he plays the Boston Bruins. He had hoped it was exclusive to Philadelphia but this confirms that it’s him they’re buzzing for, not his former team. What they expect to see, he’s not sure. His mind tries to convince him it has everything to do with the two former Bruins in the building, Tom “Iceman” Kazansky and Beau “Cyclone” Simpson.” Maybe they expect him to lose it? To let out almost four decades of rage and resentment, but why would he? He doesn’t harbor any of those towards the players warming up on the other side of the rink. None of them were playing that day. It was thirty-six years ago, after all.

He’s seen the video, of course, grainy and not the best quality yet you can clearly make out the defenseman that lands the hit on Maverick before Nick Bradshaw steps in. He wasn’t a defenseman. No, Bradley’s father wasn’t built to be a defenseman. Where Bradley’s all hunking muscle and broad shoulders, his father was slender, their only common physical trait being their height. Nick Bradshaw was a right winger and he shouldn’t have tried to fight that defenseman from Boston. They called him Goose in the league because he was always sticking his neck out for Maverick. Bradley hates hearing the nickname now. It leaves a sour taste in his mouth as he thinks about how avoidable it all was. If his father hadn’t gone after that defenseman, he wouldn’t have lost his helmet. He wouldn’t have crashed into the boards with the force of the hit. He wouldn’t have been discharged without a proper concussion diagnosis. He wouldn’t have dropped dead in his kitchen in front of his wife two days later from an unprecedented brain hemorrhage.

So no, Bradley doesn’t harbor any hatred for the Boston Bruins. He harbors it towards Pete Mitchell and he studiously tries to ignore his assistant coach’s eyes that he can feel on him. Instead, he focuses on the other pair of eyes he can feel. You look beautiful tonight, dressed in a smart-looking lavender skirt suit. It hugs your curves in all the right places and he’s selfishly looking forward to taking it off you later tonight. He can see you brush your hair away from your cheek, irritated. While for the most part, you’ve been enjoying your new, shorter cut, he’s caught you on more than one occasion attempting to sweep the strands into your signature ponytail only to find that you can’t anymore.

“What’s with the crowd tonight?” Javy asks Jake and Bradley turns as Jake nods towards him. Javy arches a dark eyebrow at Bradley.

“Him? What about you, Bradshaw?” Javy asks as Mickey and Reuben skate over, Bradley grimaces.

He hesitates before he answers, “It’s always like this when I play Boston,” he explains. “My dad’s accident was during a game against the Bruins.” He sighs. “It always feels like they're waiting for something but I don't know what. Whether it's for me to follow in his footsteps or for me to take some kind of revenge I don’t even want, I have no idea.” He shrugs before regarding the mixture of somber and surprised expressions. “It’s just another game, let’s win it.” He says and Jake nods in agreement.

***

The game has been exactly as he’d said, just like any other game. He could tell the other Dogfighters were mildly off put by the strange atmosphere but after he and Jake had reiterated that it was just another game, they seemed to have settled. The crowd continues to feel like it’s holding its breath and now Bradley’s tempted to join them.

They’re setting up for a faceoff after Boston iced the puck, Jake standing face-to-face with one of Boston’s centers. One of the other defensemen to his right is looking into the stands and Bradley’s uninterested until he speaks up. “Did you get a load of San Diego’s PR? What a smoke show, I bet her pussy’s as tight as her attitude.” Bradley stiffens and he watches the other guys, Jake included, follow suit. He grits his teeth, trying to control his temper even as he feels a surge of angry solidarity from his teammates. He thinks he’s just managed to reign himself in when the center opposite Jake smirks back at the defenseman, his expression oily.

“Eh, I hit that back when she was with Jacksonville, she wasn’t that great.” His smirk widens as he watches the Dogfighters tense up, basking in the daggers everyone within earshot is currently sending his way. Bradley can feel the anger inside him chafing at its leash as he struggles to keep it in check, to push aside the center's crude words that is until he keeps running his mouth. “You’re more than welcome to my sloppy seconds, though.” The leash snaps and Bradley barely remembers to toss his gloves aside as he tackles the center across from Jake. It’s an illegal hit, the puck wasn’t even in play, he knows that but he can’t see through his rage as he lands hit after hit on Boston’s center. He hears a shout of anger from the direction of the defenseman who made the original comment on you and then a cry of pain as the ice descends into madness. It’s a full-on brawl as the Dogfighters and Bruins go head-to-head. He can hear the whistles of the refs and shouts to break up the fight but he can’t see anything but the smirking face beneath his fists. When he pauses to catch his breath, the center spreads his bloody lips in a gross grin as he spits in Bradley’s face. “What’s wrong, big guy?” He smirks at Bradley’s red face now splattered with a combination of his saliva and blood as Bradley’s blood boils at the use of the nickname. “Upset Barbie isn’t a virgin?” Bradley doesn’t speak at first, his rage passing through him in a wordless, feral growl and he watches as fear flashes through the center’s eyes for a split second.

“Shut the FUCK up about my girlfriend, you worthless piece of shit.” The words are just as much of a growl, almost inhuman as he hurls them into the center’s face. He watches humor war with fear in the other man’s blue eyes as he realizes his mistake. “You talk about her? Look at her? So much as THINK about her? I’ll fucking KILL you.” His voice is so quiet he knows only the two of them heard it and then fear wins the war in those blue eyes as they see something in Bradley’s that wins the turbulent war in his head. He grabs at where Bradley has the collar of his jersey fisted in his hands, trying to remove them, but Bradley tosses him to the ice like a rag doll, standing to his feet just as the firm, furious fingers of the ref clasp his upper arm like a band of iron.

“That’s enough, #84, you’re done for the night.” He makes to drag Bradley to the bench but Bradley follows without resisting. At some point, he lost his helmet during the fight and his curls are stuck to his forehead with a combination of his sweat and the various fluids the center spit onto his face. He didn’t hand a single hit on Bradley other than that. He looks around to see the other Dogfighters in various states of injury being led off the ice. Mickey gives him a hard look, nodding firmly as if to thank Bradley for what he did. Jake meets his eyes at the bench as Bugs checks him out. There’s a shallow cut on his forehead that she’s assessing and his nose looks broken. When the ref releases Bradley, Jake reaches out to clasp his hand.

“Whatever anyone else says?” He says, tone even despite the heavy rising and falling to his chest. “You did what we all would have done. It was the right thing to do.” Bugs scowls at him, pinching his ear slightly before turning to Bradley.

“You okay, Bradley? Anything I need to look at before you get in the box?” He shakes his head as he looks around, the haze he was in early wearing off. Jake seems to understand as he supplies,

“Ten minutes for misconduct for every player on the ice.” Bradley’s eyebrows raise.

“EVERY player?” Jake gives him his signature cocky smile.

“You even got Bob to fight,” He nods in the direction of the goalie who’s currently being chewed out by his coach and girlfriend. He doesn’t get a chance to respond as Dare walks up.

“Bradley, what the hell was that?” She’s wearing an expression that’s partly irritation but mostly concern.

Bradley shrugs. “He was mouthing off, I didn’t like it.” Dare shakes her head before pinching the bridge of her nose. “Well don’t bother going to the box, you’re out for the rest of the game. You’ll be lucky if you’re not out for the next few let alone the rest of the season.” Bradley doesn’t say anything but shakes his head as Jake grimaces.

“I’m serving my penalty with my team first.” He watches Dare’s face soften with surprise before she nods curtly.

“Get over there then. Jake, you too.” She calls out to Bob as well as Bradley skates towards the box. As he climbs in, he takes a good look around at the other three guys in there. Javy’s got a split lip but he grins at the sight of Bradley, extending a fist out of sight of the cameras. The penalty box wasn’t designed for this many players at once. Bradley bumps his fist, subtly before turning to Mickey, who gives him a tired and tight-lipped smile.

“I know why you did it,” he says and he sounds exhausted. “I would have done it too. I just hope you’re ready to live with the consequences. She deserves a hell of a lot better than cleaning up after your messes.” Bradley’s heart stops at his words, instantly turning to look back at the bench. He hadn’t seen you when the ref brought him back, and you’re not there now.

“She’s talking with the reps, trying to see how they're going to punish you for starting that fight,” Reuben explains from where he’s sitting. Bradley feels his shoulders drop. He’s given you a reason to worry yet again. He keeps giving you reasons to worry.

“I need to talk to her,” he says and Mickey snorts.

“Get in line.” His normally cheerful expression is stormy. Bradley frowns at the change.

“What?” Mickey looks at him, his brown eyes dark with exhaustion. “What aren’t you telling me?”

“I’m tired of seeing her cry, man,” Mickey says, fire licking to life in his eyes with anger. “And I’m sick and fucking tired of seeing her cry over you.” Bradley’s blood runs cold. You were CRYING? He’d made you cry again? He curses under his breath but doesn’t have a chance to say anything as the door to the box opens and Bob and Jake shove themselves in. It’s a tight squeeze but they manage.

“While I’d normally be touched by your sudden bout of sportsmanship and loyalty, this box wasn’t meant for six,” Jake says with a playful grin on his lips even as he presses tighter against Bradley.

“Did you see Zam by any chance?” Bradley asks instead of commenting on Jake’s statement. Jake’s expression clouds as he chooses his words carefully.

“Yeah, she was understandably upset but I’m sure everything will be okay once you explain what happened.” He reaches out to squeeze Bradley’s shoulder in the cramped space but it doesn’t make him feel any better. He needs to find you. He needs to talk to you. He needs to be sure you’re okay.

***

At the end of the longest ten minutes of his life, Bradley heads down the tunnel in search of you. Normally, he’d be led down by a coach but Dare’s busy with the game and Maverick was sent off to talk to Cyclone and Ice about how to move forward. When he reaches the hallway at the end of the tunnel, he’s not sure where to check first but he doesn’t have to decide as you round the corner. Your face is puffy from crying though Bradley can tell you’re trying your best to hide it. On his skates, he towers over you. As he crosses the space over to you your eyes widen in surprise at seeing him. His heart breaks a little as you step back, almost like you’re afraid of him and he pulls up short as much as his body is screaming to pull you into his arms. He can barely hold himself back when he sees your lower lip tremble as you regard him warily.

“Honey, please, please don’t cry.” He urges, trying to resist the urge to cross the distance between the two of you. Restless and confused, he shoves a hand into his unruly curls, chest heaving with anxiety. You don’t say anything, simply watching him as he watches the lights wink out slowly in your eyes. “Honey, say something, you’re killing me, please.” That makes your lips move but all that comes out is an exhausted and dead laugh. It sends a chill down his spine.

“I’m killing YOU? Bradley, you promised me this was over. You promised me no more fighting.” His heart breaks in two, sinew snapping as he struggles to push the pieces back together.

“Honey, I know, I know I promised, I just-“

“No.” The word is so firm it shakes him to his core. “No Bradley, I can’t. I can’t do this anymore.”

“What?” His voice is dry and unfamiliar as the words tear past his lips. Never in his wildest dreams had he considered that he’d screwed up this badly.

He sees the pain twist your features even as your trembling lips set in a firm line. “I can’t live every day of my life, scared to lose someone else.” He feels like the breath has been punched out of his lungs as he stumbles back at the weight of your words. “I’ve spent the past eight years, afraid to let anyone in, afraid to get too close to anyone because I was scared I was going to lose them too. And then you came along and you showed me how to love again. You showed me it's okay to let people in. And I thought it could be different,” he watches the last bit of light wink out of your eyes and your shoulders slump with so much exhaustion that Bradley just wants to take the weight, for you to lean on him and let him carry you.

“It can be, Honey, I swear it can be. This is different, I can be different. I never want to hurt you, Honey.” He feels tears burning the backs of his eyes as he struggles to hold onto you, the best thing that’s been in his life all year, in all his years, truly.

“Then don’t.” You swallow and he watches you fight back tears of your own. “Stop hurting me and let me go, Bradley. I’m so tired of losing people. I can’t lose you too, so just let me let you go, please.” He never did stand a chance when you begged. He stands aside when you push past him and when the sound of your heels has retreated far enough that he can’t hear you anymore, he falls to his knees.

***

He’s not sure how long he’s been there, the picture of a fallen soldier but a hand finally closes over his shoulder. He looks up, not sure who he’s expecting but starts at the sight of a pair of blue-green eyes.

“You okay, kid?” Maverick’s voice is careful, cautious as if he’s trying not to spook a horse. Bradley’s too exhausted to reply, or even shrug his enormous shoulders. The two of them stay in that position, Mav’s hand on his shoulder until Bradley finally finds the words.

“She left me.” He barely makes it to the end of the sentence before his voice breaks. Maverick’s quiet for a minute, considering his words before he replies.

“She’ll come back.” Bradley chokes out a twisted excuse for a laugh, the sound dry and broken.

“You didn’t.” Maverick’s quiet for another long moment before he replies.

“She’s smarter than I am. Than I was,” he adds.

“She’s scared,” Bradley says then, unsure why he’s opening up to Maverick but right now he doesn’t know what else to do. “She thinks she’s going to lose me too.”

“I know the feeling,” Maverick says then. “It’s a valid fear.”

“She’s not the only one who doesn’t want to be left.” He says then, fists curling at his side. “I don’t want to lose her, because if I lose her,” he takes a sharp breath that pierces every one of his vital organs on the way in, unable to finish the thought. The two of them stay silent for a long moment before Bradley speaks again. “Trade me.” Maverick starts in surprise, his fingers curling tighter into Bradley’s jersey. “Please,” Bradley turns then, gripping the older man’s hand in his, even as Maverick holds onto Bradley’s jersey. “Please just get me out of here. I can’t be here. I can’t be here if I don’t have her, I can’t.”

“No.” Maverick’s words are firm even as he pulls his godson closer. “Take it from someone who knows a thing or two about leaving? Don’t run. Stay, fight for her. Fight for her because she’s everything.”

Bradley shakes his head. “She doesn’t want me. And if I lose her, I won’t have anyone.” Maverick grips his chin with his free hands forcing Bradley to look at him.

“Today, more than anything, proved that’s not true. You have a team that stands behind you, that wants to fight for you. That’s not nothing, and don’t you ever dare say it is.” His blue-green eyes are blazing with a fire that Bradley’s never seen. “Zam’s upset right now and she has every right to be. She’s scared of you leaving, so prove her wrong. Show her you can stay. Be the man I never could be. Tell her you’re sorry. Apologize, but don’t you dare leave her.” Shame washes over Bradley as he realizes what he’s just done. His shoulders shake as a son wracks his body and the tears he’s been fighting back break free. Maverick slides to his knees then, gathering his godson in his arms, and Bradley’s too tired to resist. “I know this doesn’t change the fact that I left,” Maverick whispers into his ear as he cradles the much larger man. “I don’t deserve your forgiveness, but you don’t deserve to make the same mistakes I once made. If I can prevent you from doing that, it’s the least I can do for you.

***

Bradley’s not sure he’s ever been in Iceman’s office. It’s on the top floor of the arena all by itself. The room is full, both his coaches standing on either side of him, with Cyclone pacing back and forth behind them as they wait. The chair next to Bradley is currently unoccupied and Iceman waits patiently as Cyclone grumbles and occasionally looks at the door. It's been less than twenty-four hours since the game against Boston. The Dogfighters barely edged them out at the last minute, Mickey scoring the winning point with an assist from Jake. Maverick told Bradley to go home after his breakdown, and so he hasn’t seen you since. The door opens with a click and he looks up to see you enter. You look exhausted. You’re wearing a suit in a soft butter yellow that doesn’t suit your darkened mood. There are smudges under your eyes that say you haven’t slept and Bradley’s heart clenches. He wants nothing more than to go to you and guide you into his lap but he forces his hands to remain in his lap as you cross the room, not looking at him and instead locking eyes with Iceman.

“Five games,” you announce and the pressure in the room releases like a heavy breath. “He’s suspended for five games.”

“How the hell did you manage that?” Everyone’s heads turn to where Cyclone has stopped his pacing. You look too tired to manage conversation right now and instead give him a tired shrug.

“I’m good at my job.” Bradley’s heart swims with pride even as it aches at the exhaustion that he can hear hanging off your every word. Cyclone shakes his head in astonishment before nodding curtly to you.

“Good work, then.” You turn to Iceman, placing a folder on his desk.

“That’s a summary of the official terms as well as summaries of the phone calls I made so we don’t get our wires crossed. As Beau said, we’re very lucky that this is all the penalty that Bradley’s facing. There’s also a pay cut taken out of his annual salary but nothing he can’t handle. The other guys are all off the hook.” Bradley’s stomach turns at the idea of his teammates potentially having to take a punishment as well for his actions. You look around the room, purposefully avoiding him before clasping your hands in front of you and turning to Iceman once again. “If that’s everything, allow me to excuse myself. We have a game tomorrow to prepare for, regardless of whether Bradshaw’s playing in it.” BRADSHAW. He hates the way you use his last name like it removes all emotion from the equation. It’s the way you used to address him when you were irritated with him, back when he was just a problem that needed solving. It’s what he feels like now. Iceman dismisses you and you exit the room without another word.

“She needs to go home, Tom. She’s no use to us exhausted.” Dare speaks up then and Iceman turns to her, raising a blonde eyebrow in curiosity. “Zam spent all night on the phone with the Department of Player Safety. It’s a wonder she got us the deal that she did. She’s done her part, she needs to go home and get some rest.” You’d been here all night? You’re wearing a different suit than you had been last night but knowing you, you have an extra stashed somewhere in your office for emergencies. Once again Bradley wants nothing more than to take you home and tuck you into bed where you’ll be safe, but he’s forfeited the right to do so. Guilt gnaws at him as Ice nods and Dare heads after you, squeezing Bradley’s shoulder before she goes. He hasn’t had a chance to talk to her about everything yet, but he has a feeling that Maverick’s filled her in.

When the door clicks shut behind Dare, Ice turns to Bradley and he starts in surprise at the twinkle of humor in the older man’s eyes as he regards Bradley silently. “You’re a lucky man, Bradley Bradshaw.” He says after a long moment. “She fought for you, better make it worth her while don’t you think?” Bradley nods firmly, trying to ignore the shame that’s worming its way into his chest at the idea of you on the phone all night, fighting for him even after you begged him to let you let him go.

“Yes, sir.” Ice nods back and the room is silent for a long moment, the other two men in the room having nothing to contribute to this seemingly private conversation.

“Good luck, Bradley.” He says, mouth curling up at the edge and Bradley feels a flutter of hope in his chest. “I think I speak for everyone in this room and on this team when I say I’m rooting for you.”

[hananoami]

[07/21] Deepspace Trials Prog

On July 15th more stages were added to the Deepspace Trials in Love and Deepspace version 2.0. With the addition of Sylus as new a love interest, his DIRECTIONAL ORBIT: ENERGY has been included starting from Stage 01 up to Stage 80.

The following orbits have been added:

OPEN ORBIT increased from 120 -> 180

DIRECTIONAL ORBIT: LIGHT increased from 120 -> 150

DIRECTIONAL ORBIT: ICE increased from 120 -> 150

DIRECTIONAL ORBIT: FIRE increased from 120 -> 150

DIRECTIONAL ORBIT: ENERGY starting at 01 -> 80

For those that are new to my blog, I've been doing these Deepspace Trial Progression notes every Sunday to keep track of my personal progress while I am challenging those fights. The last time I've written one of these post was on June 30th. This was after I finally cleared all for the available deepspace trials at the time in version 1.0. If curious, you can find all my post Stage 120 clears and view their clear videos here.

I'll also be updating my format a bit to reflect a weekly progress report rather than only focused on Sunday's allotted keys, as previously done. Each love interest allows you 3 keys per day, with 3 days available in the week for a total of 9 keys allotted per week. Some stages are easier than others; I've written about this in a previous post about how their orbit colors are good indicators. However I'll try to remember to record any of these stages' protofield stellactrum and the rewards that you can earn.

It'll be fun to resume this battle content again. I'm excited to see what challenges await me and all of the love interests. Time to start Opposing Visions with Stage 121!

WEEKLY KEYS USED

☆ XAVIER : 9/9 keys ; going on Stage 130 on Monday. ☆ ZAYNE : 9/9 keys ; going on Stage 130 on Tuesday. ☆ RAFAYEL : 9/9 keys ; going on stage Stage 130 on Wednesday. ☆ SYLUS : 9/9 keys ; going to stage 10 on Tuesday. ☆ OPEN ORBIT : currently stuck on Stage 150.

𝚇𝙰𝚅𝙸𝙴𝚁

To quote MC, "Lumiere really is the best!" Xavier used up all 9 of the allotted keys this week. The new changes to the target lock-on makes it so much easier to focus target the frenzied wanderer in those frenzy stages (stage 123). It also helps that I finally have [Lightseeking Shadowrend] at R2 thanks to the limited-time banner, Pulse Hunter. My Lightseeker now has memory pair duo rank 1 unlocked, so I can finally swap out the oath recovery boost beta protocore for something else! Expedited energy boost or Oath's strength here we come! God bless the devs for actually listening to the players complaints about fixing it because this will make these harder fights less miserable to challenge, aha. We'll be challenging Stage 130 on Monday! Hopefully that'll go well...

Directional Orbit: Light Protofield Stellactrum

121: 4 amber, 2 ruby -- rewards: 2k gold + 20 💎

122: 4 amber, 2 ruby -- rewards: 2k gold + 20 💎

123: 4 amber, 2 ruby (frenzy) -- rewards: 2k gold + 20 💎

124: none -- rewards: 2k gold, 20 💎

125: 4 amber + 2 sapphire -- rewards: 4k gold + 40 💎 + 4x bottle of wishes: sr

126: 4 amber, 2 sapphire -- rewards: 2k gold, 20 diamonds

127: none -- rewards: 2k gold +20 💎

128: 4 emerald, 2 pearl (protect the beacon) -- rewards: 2k gold + 20 💎

129: 4 emerald, 2 pearl -- rewards: 2k gold + 20 💎

𝚉𝙰𝚈𝙽𝙴

Zayne starting off strong in Opposing Visions by using up all 9 allotted keys for this week. I'm still slightly traumatized by his stage 120... but hopefully we'll continue to walk on nothing but flower paths this version. Thanks to the Pulse Hunter banner I got 2 more copies of [Forever Sealed] bringing his Foreseer memory pair to duo rank 2! The extra energy charge is so nice; not to mention having his [Schade's Mercy] outfit is welcomed bonus. This coming Tuesday is when we can challenge his Stage 130!

Directional Orbit: Ice Protofield Stellactrum

121: 4 ruby, 2 pearl -- rewards: 2k gold + 20 💎

122: 4 ruby, 2 pearl -- rewards: 2k gold + 20 💎

123: 4 ruby, 2 pearl (protect stabilizer) -- rewards: 2k gold + 20 💎

124: none -- rewards: 2k gold + 20 💎

125: 4 ruby, 2 violet -- rewards: 4k gold + 40 💎 + 4x bottle of wishes: sr

126: 4 ruby, 2 violet -- rewards: 2k gold + 20 💎

127: none -- rewards: 2k gold + 20 💎

128: 4 sapphire, 2 amber (activate beacon) -- rewards: 2k gold + 20 💎

129: 4 sapphire, 2 amber -- rewards: 2k gold + 20 💎

𝚁𝙰𝙵𝙰𝚈𝙴𝙻

It feels good to have all three of the original love interest progressing at the same time. Like the other companions Abysswalker also went from starting effect memory pair bonus to duo rank 1 after I obtained a second copy of [Deep Sea Promise] from Pulse Hunter! This allowed Rafayel to use up all 9 of his allotted keys for this week, though I did experience some challenges on one of his orbits. Stage 128 is a frenzy. While the changes to the focus target helped, for some reason I struggled to kill the frenzy wanderer during the second phase of the fight, resulting in me failing to obtain the ATK buff. I still managed to clear the fight with 30 seconds left to spare so maybe it was just a one time mishap. Stage 130 is next, but we wont be able to challenge that until Wednesday.

Directional Orbit: Fire Protofield Stellactrum

121: 4 pearl, 2 amber -- rewards: 2k gold + 20 💎

122: 4 pearl, 2 amber -- rewards: 2k gold + 20 💎

123: 4 pearl, 2 amber (boss absorb mobs) -- rewards: 2k gold + 20 💎

124: none -- rewards: 2k gold + 20 💎

125: 4 pearl, 2 emerald -- rewards: 4k gold + 40 💎 + 4x bottle of wishes: sr

126: 4 pearl, 2 emerald -- rewards: 2k gold + 20 💎

127 - none -- rewards: 2k gold + 20 💎

128: 4 violet, 2 ruby (frenzy) -- rewards: 2k gold + 20 💎

129: 4 violet, 2 ruby -- rewards: 2k gold + 20 💎

𝚂𝚈𝙻𝚄𝚂

I honestly have nothing to say about Sylus's first 9 orbits because he just overpowers every single stage on auto battle. Bless that Pulse Hunter limited-time banner. I managed to get his pearl solar myth pair, Relentless Conqueror, to memory pair duo rank 2 -- ultimately making my runs a comfy breeze for now. Looking forward to Tuesday to challenge his Stage 10!

Directional Orbit: Energy Protofield Stellactrum

01: 1 pearl -- rewards: 2k gold + 20 💎

02: 1 pearl -- rewards: 2k gold + 20 💎

03: 1 pearl (activate beacon) -- rewards: 2k gold + 20 💎

04: none -- rewards: 2k gold + 20 💎

05: 1 pearl, 1 emerald -- rewards: 4k gold, 40 dia, 4x bottle of wishes: sr

06: 1 pearl, 1 emerald -- rewards: 2k gold + 20 💎

07: none -- rewards: 2k gold + 20 💎

08: 1 pearl, 1 sapphire (tower defense) -- rewards: 2k gold + 20 💎

09: none -- rewards: 2k gold + 20 💎

𝙾𝙿𝙴𝙽 𝙾𝚁𝙱𝙸𝚃

I went from 121 -> 150 within the first week. I have a lot to cover from this orbit alone so a more detailed post about those runs will be linked [here] at a later time.

[rocksvideoplayer]

Best 4K Android video players in 2024

As humans, we always aim for the best—the best in terms of both quality and experience. Every component has better quality, whether it is digital or not. This technological improvement has provided the highest quality and experience. Both quality and quantity are increasing at the same time in technology. When it comes to 4k video players, their quality has also significantly increased.

This quality has increased to HD and 4K resolution in the 2000s. Transitioning from grainy to clean video quality has left everyone with unforgettable memories. Users admire the rich quality and satisfaction that this offers. Everyone enjoys a change that gives them a sense of luxury.

4K Video Players for Android

Let us know more about the HD video players that provide a rich video-watching experience.

1. VLC Media Player for Android

VLC Player is a well-known and widely used MP3 and MP4 video player program released in 2001 and can be found on several different platforms and operating systems. It is accessible for Android and iOS-based smartphones and tablets in addition to Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Why is VLC for Android the best Android video player?

Support colour correction, spatialization, equalisation, and other effects for both audio and video.

Video conversion to various multimedia formats.

Use an internet connection or network to stream video, including YouTube content.

Chromecast support, allows you to cast videos from your Android device to your TV.

2. MX Player

This MP4 video player has been downloaded by billions of people from the Google Play Store. Hence, it is one of the most widely used HD video players for having strong features and being able to play practically any kind of video. This app's kid lock feature is very helpful if your kids use your phones and tablets. This feature prevents the kids from inadvertently calling people or opening other apps.

Why is MX Player the best Android video player?

You name the file format and it supports it.

There are available gesture controls for brightness, speed, and more.

Improve the audio quality with an audio boost.

Multiple subtitle file formats are supported, as well as subtitle customization.

3. HD Video Player All Formats

HD Video Player All Formats supports high-quality audio and high-definition video formats. It is designed to play both Full HD and Ultra HD videos. It fulfils all of your needs for entertainment in a single convenient spot. Its many features and capabilities make it the best video player for Android.

Why is HD Video Player All Formats the best Android video player?

Allows for offline and online subtitle support.

There are gesture controls for brightness, volume, and other features.

Both background and floating video playback are supported.

Other incredible features include screencasting, downloading videos, and hiding videos.

4. AC3 Video Player

Known for being a lightweight MP4 video player, AC3 Player works with Android devices and all Windows versions. It can also stream and watch from any source because it supports a large variety of audio and video codecs. It has become one of the best video players for Android.

Why is AC3 Video Player the best Android video player?

Flexible user interface.

The audio playback quality is high.

The player is compatible with all popular audio and video formats.

Strong equalization parameters.

5. PlayerXtreme Media Player

A well-liked HD video player for many platforms, including iOS (iPhone and iPad), Android, and Apple TV, is PlayerXtreme Media Player. It is renowned for supporting a large number of file formats, which makes it a flexible option for playing different audio and video files. PlayerXtreme has several features to improve the media playback experience and supports both local and streaming content.

Why is PlayerXtreme Media Player the best Android video player?

Media from UPnP/DLNA servers, FTP servers, SMB (Windows shares), and cloud services like Dropbox and Google Drive can all be streamed by users using this app.

Standard playback controls, including play, pause, forward, rewind, and volume control, are available in the app. Moreover, gestures are supported for simpler navigation.

The video player has content protection features like a passcode lock to secure the application and the ability to hide certain folders.

PlayerXtreme is capable of supporting multiple video formats with subtitles. Users have the option to download subtitles straight from the app or add them manually.

6. Plex: Stream Movies & TV

It can be used to stream and organize your collection of media, which is capable of containing images, music, films, TV shows, and more. Smart TVs, Android, iOS, Linux, Windows, and macOS are just a few of the many gadgets and operating systems that Plex works with. It also boasts an intuitive user interface. It is indeed the best video player for Android.

Why is Plex: Stream Movies & TV the best Android video player?

Record and watch again at a later time with a digital video recorder (DVR).

To download media files to your Android device, you can sync your mobile device.

You can access your media libraries remotely from any location.

Watch local HD television channels live with Live TV.

7. CnX Player

Those who need high-quality playback of their media files have grown to rely heavily on CnX Player, an excellent 4K video player. Numerous audio and video formats are supported by this widely recognized media player. It claims to offer robust 4K UHD playback.

Why is CnX Player the best Android video player?

It has a user-friendly interface.

Up to 4K and UHD high-definition playback is supported.

Using network streaming, you can stream media files from the internet or local networks.

You can enhance the readability of the subtitles by customizing it.

Conclusion

We have discussed the requirements for a Best 4K Android video player as well as those available that support the 4K video format. With HD video players and 4K video players, you can immerse yourself in the rich visual experience of the video and world of cinema.

[canmom]

encoding this video for youtube which has a lot of dark values and subtle gradients which like. it's certainly proving educational, that's for sure.

youtube always reencodes. this cannot be avoided. so your best bet is to use an offensively high bitrate when you upload, to ensure that there are minimal encoding losses on your side of the fence. so far so good.

you try that. you're in macroblocking and banding hell. the video looks like utter garbage on youtube. grrr. you worked hard on this video! there has to be a workaround.

your video is in 1080p. you heard that if you upload a video in 1440p or 4k, youtube will enable its more efficient VP9 codec. your co-animator upscales the encode to test this. you make noises of consternation about encoding an encode, but it's a worthwhile experiment. the trick does enable vp9, but the 1080p still looks like shit, and even the 4k is macroblocking - the macroblocks just look smaller on a sub-4k screen.

you know about a thing called 10bit colour. this uses an extra two bits per channel, you can use it with hdr or sdr colour. most displays only take 8bit, but you can dither from the 10bit to get nicer gradients and stuff even on an 8bit display, which might be more efficient than trying to encode the dither patterns.

however, youtube only uses 10bit colour on hdr videos. you look up a guide on how to encode hdr from blender. it tells you to set up blender to use an industry standard set of colour profiles called ACES, then export a series of bt2020 16-bit tiffs, and then encode them with the proper hdr metadata using a program such as Hybrid. you aren't familiar with Hybrid so you try using an ffmpeg command you found on stack overflow instead. the result in your player is incredibly dark. turning on hdr on your monitor helps not at all, and on youtube it's butchered worse than ever. you must have done something wrong. you download Hybrid and try to encode to hdr exactly as the author of the guide did. it still looks like shit. you must have done something wrong. maybe it's a problem with the input.

you give up on ACES and bt.2020, and decide to just make the best rec.709 encode you can. you make some more 16-bit tifs using the familiar Filmic transfer function, and set Hybrid to encode them at 10bit - youtube will probably just truncate to 8 bits but at least it will look nice on your screen at home. and you set it to upscale to 4k - with lanczos, not bilinear, thank you very much - and also make a version with a debanding filter, just in case that helps.

it's now 6am. the encode is taking a while. (so much for fixing your sleep cycle.) will it work? who the fuck knows. maybe you've just found more ways to make the video look worse...

[barbieaemond]

Hi I hope my question will not bother you. I want to learn how to make gifs and I was wondering if you could explain how you do screencapturing? What's the best software? Thank you 🙏

Hi! There are several screencapture softwares. GOM player, MPV, even VLC allows you to take screencaps. However, from my experience, MPV is the best one. But, MPV is a bit tricky to install because you have do it manually. You will find a very good and detailed tutorial on how to do it here https://kylos.tumblr.com/post/178497909311

and here's the site to download the software: https://mpv.io/

Once you're done, you just have to play your episode/movie and

pause at the start of the clip you want to gif

press Option + S and then start playing. It’ll start screencapturing the clip frame by frame in your designated folder.

Be aware that the screencapturing process is slow, like it will go frame by frame very slowly, especially if you're using 4k videos.

then, when you want to stop the screencapturing, press Option + S again.

You'll find all the screencaps in your designated folder, ready to be uploaded to Photoshop.

I hope this was helpful. I couldn't go too much into detail, sorry, but I'll soon post a full tutorial on how to make gifs, with screenshots and everything so, stay tuned!

[justafriend-ql]

Hi! I just recently decided to start making gifsets, do you have any tips for begginers on best ways to render, best programs to use?

btw i love your blog, already followed you on my main account and your memes always crack me up auhuahsuuah

hi! happy to have you here :)

i only started making gifs in december, so i'd still consider myself an amateur gifmaker, but i can share some of the amazing tutorials i used to get started!

this incredibly comprehensive 'gifmaking for beginners' tutorial details every step of the process, from downloading source videos to exporting the gifs once they're complete.

the tutorial is for making gifs in photoshop, which is the program i use as well. i use 4K Video Downloader to download videos from youtube in 1080p and MPlayer OSX Extended video player to parse the video into frames. both are linked in the tutorial above!

once you have the basics down, you may want to play around with sharpening settings, coloring techniques, and other effects. here are some resources i've used in the past:

sharpening gifs

using the camera raw filter to help define facial features

making black and white gifs

fonts you can import to photoshop

adding grain/noise to gifs

applying color gradients to gifs

i hope this helps! a lot of it is experimentation and trial and error as you develop your own style. if anyone has other resources or tips they'd recommend, feel free to add them below!

[satoshi-mochida]

Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster physical edition launches November 8; ‘Director’s Report’ video - Gematsu

The physical edition of Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster, previously only announced as a November release, will launch for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series on November 8, Capcom announced. The digital edition is due out for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and PC via Steam on September 19.

Capcom also released a “Director’s Report” video highlighting an array of content from the remaster such as quality-of-life improvements, new features for in-game photos, and deeper introductions to some of the characters.

Get the latest details below.

Brought back to life with Capcom’s RE ENGINE, Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster is the definitive remaster of the classic Dead Rising game from 2006, with improved 4K resolution graphics and a 60 frames per second frame rate. Zombie slayers can experience a fresh take on the zombie genre with incredible action, over-the-top combat, hordes of weapon choices, eccentric costumes, and a comedic yet compelling storyline. Some of the additional details highlighted include:

Quality-of-Life Improvements – Improvements such as the ability to complete certain actions while talking on the transceiver and uninterrupted calls, even when being attacked, have been introduced.

Say Cheese! – Various photo filters like Black and White, Sepia, Vintage, Pixel Art, and more have been added to the game’s photo feature so players can flex their creative muscles as the best zombie-hunting photojournalist in the biz.

An All-Star Cast – Take a deeper look into some of the returning fan-favorite characters like the militaristic Brad Garrison, the new Department of Homeland Security agent Jessie McCarney, and the tight-lipped Russell Barnaby, plus some of the lovely Psychopaths like the Convicts, Steven Chapman, and Larry Chiang!

Watch the video below. View a new set of screenshots at the gallery.

Director’s Report

English

[shinovii]

Question: What do these...

have in common with...

these?

Initially this was gonna be a simple topic on my mind to ramble about, but I guess with the latest words from a soft gaming executive hitting the community in 2024 I now have more of a need to talk about this than ever. It's funny how gaming over the past couple decades went from something rather simple and expressive to complicated and, admittedly, dull in some areas. Wait did I say funny, I meant "completely baffling" and the worst of it, imo anyways, comes from this pretty egregious push towards a digital only future we're seeing, with no consideration for physical media, storage space, possible alternative formats to use, or even us gamers wanting to actually possess and own our games. Yeah we live in an age where media is offered to us in such convenient ways, but with gaming it is a whole other beast entirely and as such it requires a different way of thinking in regards to convenience. Thinking that needs to address some of the issues I have with what's presented to us nowadays, starting with...

Video games back then were pretty small in comparison to the massively large scale stuff we've seen these past couple generations, with every gen growing further and further to reach this point. However with that came this rapid race to pushing out not just the biggest of games, but the most visually stunning games as well...sort of. While there have been plenty of games that went for gorgeous stylized looks and graphical effects there have been way more games that aimed for graphics so realistic and lifelike, it resulted in detailed effects and textures that likely took up a ton of file space. Listen, I don't mind if a game looks great, but if the game's high resolution graphics and such are why it ends up with anywhere over 100GB of data to store then clearly we have a problem. I get it, 4K and 8K resolutions are indeed a thing, but to be honest it is not that much of a necessity in the grand scheme.

The overwhelming file size isn't just cause of graphics either, lack of optimization is just as prevalent and boy does it show. Okay sure, devs have to work under a deadline, gotta get as much of those release day sales as possible, but if optimizing a game to scale down the file size and keep it looking good and performing smoothly is a hassle, then maybe something has to give in order to make it easier to manage. Ya gotta know what's best to prioritize if you want the gaming experience feel fun for the player and save space for more, ya know?

Remember how simple storing game data was, where all you had to worry about was simply having a memory card was all you needed to keep your progress and you had the choice to buy or rent a game to pop in your system? That's what my question earlier was about, stuff like SD cards, flash drives, SSDs and HDDs all store data like the memory cards of old, however there is one difference: the latter mostly stored save data and occasionally DLC for some consoles, the former can fully store games.

After the 7th Generation there definitely was a push towards being able to play games digitally but imo it always felt sloppily done even to this day, unless you played on PC where everything had a designated file directory you could set up of course. For consoles sure you only had to buy an SD card or SSD for extra storage, but it didn’t practically feel like a requirement until games started taking up more and more space. Add onto that the save data, update patches and loads of DLC, and you're piling on more and more files to keep track of with every game you get. That hits even more when you realize that the you fill up more space buying digitally than physically, though nowadays that applies more to Nintendo Switch owners since Playstation and Xbox have treated physical copies like glorified installer discs since the 8th Generation.

Speaking of installer discs I should probably talk about the physical side of gaming, since now there's more of a prevalent discussion amongst the gaming community going on. I've always wondered why out of all the Big 3 in gaming, it was Nintendo that kept it mostly right on what format to use for games and how to store it, especially now. They had cartridges down to a science from the NES to the N64 (the handheld scene was well done too), their disc based systems were touch and go with the Wii being their best one, and when it came to the Switch they didn't follow the trend at all and went "cartridges are fine enough for what we're doing," kudos. I say all this because, for the most part anyway, all of the base game that gets released on Switch is in the cartridge, leaving you extra room for DLC and some digital games that may not take as much space in your storage. That's something I appreciated way more than one would think, as it let me pick and choose what games were worth buying physically and what won't eat up my SD card space, something I feel is greatly missing elsewhere to be honest.

Granted I know cartridges are probably more expensive to manufacture but it's clear the gaming industry wants to shy away from DVD/Blu-Rays as the years go by, however I do wish there was some consideration for not just cartridges, but other physical ways to store games and reduce all the clutter. SD cards are as abundant as can be and come in various capacities, I wouldn't think it'd be too hard to make great use of that and solely store games and DLC in em (shoot Sony themselves toyed with SD card-sized cartridges with the Vita before, they could've tried that format again without the Vita's failures weighing em down). A single SSD could potentially store those 100s of gigabytes that one game had and they're just as readily available to produce too, imagine a system that contained a slot for you to plug one in that had the game ready to boot anytime and could store any extra content.

The options are right there and they'd be great logical next steps in how to sell physical copies of video games, or any media for that matter, but man it's crazy how unnoticed they've gone. I just wish it were given some thought and considered at least.

I cannot for the life of me understand why anyone would dare say that gamers need to feel comfortable not owning their games, that is perhaps the biggest slap in the face to anybody who picks up a controller old and new. For decades it was pretty much an unspoken agreement between the gaming industry and the gaming community that we buy their games and thus we owned em until we either traded it, gave it away or sold it simple as that, but nowadays (since this past decade even) the industry has gotten bold. Between scummy business practices, horrible business mindsets and finding any which way they can to screw people over, it's disrespecting to the very essence of why we play video games.

Now I'm not gonna trash the very notion of digital gaming as a whole, it's here to stay and has been for a long time, but I cannot and will not accept it being the only way we play games when having the options and balance of choosing between it and physical titles in a better format is a perfectly fine way to go whenever we wanna buy a game.

The more limitations and restrictions you place on gaming and the more shenanigans you cause the more likely people are to relent against the industry, and when people relent well...

Hey, a service issue is a service issue is all I'm saying, there are definitely people out there who won't mind the high seas if push comes to shove.

[reilleclan-blog]

I FUCKING LOVR THIS PORSHE

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Hello hi , so I was reminiscencing about 2020. My whole life (most of my life) I only played call of duty. There was story RPGs here and there but I'd always go back to call of duty. And during 2018-2019 I was really starting to hate the State of COD. I played COD since I was little. Playing against bots b/c I couldn't get xbox online. I played the hell out of ghosts, bo4, Cold War, bo2 a bit, in total I'd probably have 4k hours racking up all together definitely more. And it's not like I didn't like story games or RPGs I think a lot of them outgrew replayability for me. The walking dead, life is strange, Bully. Most of these series I watched others play I never had money like that. But when I started working I played the hell out of these games and then I went back to multiplayers. Fortnite, was something I heavily played and Bo4. (These games I played heavily in high school 2016)

Then as time went on I stopped having ppl to play with and a lot of these games franchises I had loved , I started to despise. I never thought a company would hate their communities as much as they do now. I was strictly console player so I never had a chance to "broaden my horizons" with games and/or everyone was playing the same shit. So when I started to hate these games I took a chance on a game called "Cyberpunk 2077" I had saw clips of the game way back when, and I didn't really know shit about it except it was an open world rpg and u can hack shit.

So yeah I just wanted a change in scenery with my games I'd play. So yeah Cyberpunk released and it was broken. I was unfortunately experiencing it on ps4 anddd yeah the game barely functioned. The areas barely loaded in, yeah it was pretty bad. But I still wanted to see what the game had to offer. So as they made updates I was thrown into this new world that had me interested every step of the way. I don't usually say this but I'd genuinely want to play cyberpunk for the first time again.

Fast forward to 2020 I didn't realize other titles had released during 2020 cause all I was doing was playing cyberpunk. I had got a pc before or after it released but yeah. I was enjoying a shit ton of cyberpunk and learning Valorant. But for the most part cyberpunk was ALL I played for 4years. And idk I just can't believe CP2077 had such a hold on me. I think that's how games should be, I think CP2077 has written the best story I've seen in a very long time. And the different playstyles ppl can have was endless. During those 2 years of playing CP2077 there was countless updates and me STILL discovering new dialogues and choices thru out the game. Side quests and all.

I never thought I'd be a Virtual Photographer but CP2077 even sparked that for me and it's just made me so happy. I hope other games can take a page from CDPR's book to make these fresh and interesting. That may be easier said than done and "subjective" but I think cp2077 will be a top tier ip that everyone is going to love like gta and something like Skyrim. I hope I live long enough for the sequel and the world doesn't drop marshal law before I get to experience it 😎

I've felt this way for a long time but a lot of RPGs don't feel necessarily "fun" most stuff just feels like chores in the game. They slap a $70 price tag on these games just for the game to be broken, cliche story writing, and just bland and done before. A lot of RPGs follow a formula and I just hope these triple A companies break out of their comfort zones and actually create something new or engaging. Ppl deserve new stuff. I'm tired of seeing "10/10s" on games just cause it's "expected" to be good (but when I play it it's mid ashell)

This is my opinion please do not harass me over something like a damn video game this is just my thoughts. And I know this is wild but ppl have different opinions, and I'm not a god damn hive mind ass

[alivedean]

Hi! I have been learning gifmaking only for a few days so I'm really really new to this. It truly is a learning curve, but I have been enjoying it so far. I haven't posted my gifs anywhere yet, I'm really just familarizing myself to the process. I wanted to ask you if you have any tips for a beginner like me. I love your gifs, they are so beautiful and the coloring is so gorgeous. So I thought you might be the perfect person to ask :D

(No worries if you don't want to answer)

hi! the first and the most important thing is to go for the best quality available and whatever your computer can handle. if you can, go for 4k files, if not look up 1080p with the biggest file sizes. next up: screencaps. here’s a link to the video player that i use and a tutorial on how to use it. then you need to sharpen the gif. everyone does it a bit differently, like these settings for example, or you can pick a sharpening action you like. after that the gif needs to be colored, and for a beginner i would say it can be easier to use a premade psd (seriously allresources should be your new best friend because they have a ton of stuff including all kinds of tutorials)